Village Belle Chapter 97
Translated by Digitalian (ko-fi)
Chapter 97: Failed To Go Home Once Again
Milksop was really rich and naïve. Su Tao tugged at him and whispered, "It’s their treat."
"We have to pay." Xie Yuntang, who was always obedient, suddenly became a little stubborn.
Su Tao, "..."
Fine, they’d pay for it.
She took out a purse from her clothes and placed eighty-eight coins on the table. "We’ve paid. Let's go."
After leaving the restaurant, Su Tao glanced at the boy next to her. This silly boy really had a lot of money. She opened her mouth to say something to him, but closed her mouth again.
"Milksop, where do you feel unwell? Do you want to see a doctor?"
Facing Sister Taozi’s worried eyes, Xie Yuntang blushed a little guilty and said softly, "Sister Taozi, I'm fine. I'm not feeling unwell."
It didn’t occur to Su Tao that he was lying to her. "Really?"
"Yeah." Xie Yuntang nodded seriously.
"Then buy me a sugar cake."
"Okay, what else do you want?"
"Fried chestnuts!"
……
Two days later, Xie Yuntang finished the exam. The results would only be announced three days later, so Xie Qing took them on a cruise.
Although it wasn’t her first time on a boat, Su Tao was still quite interested and stood at the bow to look at the fish in the river.
She guessed that they were specially raised for tourists to see.
"Sister Tao, look, this fish is so big."
Xie Yuntang next to her pointed happily at the fish in the river. Su Tao looked over and saw that it was indeed fat. She gulped and said, "Is there a basket? Let's haul it up."
She saw that the boats next to her were all catching fish.
When the boatman heard this, he went to get a basket for them and said with a smile, "You can roast them on the boat after you catch them."
Su Tao became interested, and her eyes lit up. She leaned against the side of the boat. "Milksop, hold my legs. Don't let me fall."
Xie Yuntang hurriedly held her legs, his little face showing nervousness and excitement. "Sister Taozi, be careful."
Xie Qing and Mrs. Xie-Qin sat in the boat, looking at the two children kindly. Mrs. Xie-Qin smiled. "If I had known earlier, I would have found a child to play with Yuntang."
Xie Qing shook his head. "Most children aren’t as clever as Taozi. It's not entirely true that she’s ignorant. She can clearly see the big picture."
"That's right. I like Taozi very much. It would be fine if she could be Yuntang's wife. Yuntang would be happy too." Mrs. Xie-Qin began to worry about Xie Yuntang's marriage.
Xie Qing glanced at the two children who were having fun outside. "You’re worrying too early. Yuntang has always had a mind of his own. If he likes something, he'll make his own decision."
"However, we know Taozi well, so we feel more assured if it were her instead of others."
The two of them didn't consider the fact that Su Tao's family was poor. After all, the Xie family already had money.
Over at this end, the two children didn't know anything at all, and they were having a lot of fun fishing. "Milksop, pull me quickly. I caught a big fish. It’s enough for us to eat."
Xie Yuntang pulled her hard. Probably because of too much force, her clothes were torn. Su Tao pulled the fish up, and then turned her head to look at her clothes. There was a ripped seam on the back sleeve.
Fortunately, it could be mended.
Xie Yuntang apologized quickly, "Sister Taozi, I didn't mean it. I'll give you my clothes to wear."
"No need, it’s just a ripped seam. I won't feel cold." As soon as Su Tao finished speaking, Xie Yuntang had already taken off his clothes and handed them to her.
Su Tao couldn't help but feel the urge to tap him. She took the clothes, put them back on him, and whispered, "Milksop, be good, or I’ll beat you when we go back tonight!"
Then she said in a lower voice, "Mister, help me grill the fish."
"I'm coming." The man on the fishing boat was very hospitable, mainly because he was already paid for his services.
Soon, the fish was grilled. Su Tao and Xie Yuntang sat together, staring at the grilled fish motionlessly, looking a little silly.
"Sister Taozi, do you like grilled fish?"
"It’s okay."
"Sister Taozi, I’ll take you to Fucheng to take a boat next time. The river in Fucheng is very big, and there is a lot of food on the boat."
"Okay."
"Sister Taozi..."
Seeing that he was talking endlessly, Su Tao tilted her head and glared at him, whispering, "Milksop, I think you should be called a chatterbox."
Xie Yuntang stopped talking obediently. He merely wanted to talk to Sister Taozi.
But he was also happy to sit next to Sister Taozi.
Suddenly, the match began to jump over the fire, and Su Tao was burned. She grimaced in pain, and then sparks started to fly again.
Xie Yuntang grabbed her instinctively. Perhaps the movement was too big, and Su Tao staggered as she sat on the side of the boat. Just as she was about to steady herself, an idea suddenly occurred to her.
This should also be considered Milksop killing her!
She suddenly lost her balance and fell into the water with a "thump" without struggling.
"Sister Taozi! Dad and Mom, save Sister Taozi!"
Xie Yuntang screamed in fear. He bent down and reached out to grab her, but to no avail.
Although Su Tao's body sank, she still heard Milksop’s anxious voice. If she died, Milksop would definitely be scared.
But she couldn't be blamed. This was the only way for her to go home.
She owed Milksop, but she couldn't repay him.
Suddenly, a rapid beeping sound rang in her head.
Illegal operation, illegal operation, illegal operation. The system will automatically start the punishment...
Su Tao, "..."
Wretched system, let her go home!
How did she violate the rules? She didn't ask Milksop to push her!
Suddenly, her head hit something and she fainted.
……
When Su Tao woke up again, she had a headache and grimaced in pain.
Darn, the wretched system actually punished her.
What a wicked system!
At this time, the boy sobbed and said hoarsely, "Sister Taozi, you finally woke up."
Hearing his voice, Su Tao knew that she definitely failed to go back.
Sigh, she probably couldn’t go back for some time.
This system needed Milksop to kill her of his own volition.
Who the hell would be so wicked as to kill someone of his own volition? She didn't dig up his ancestral grave.
Even if she did, Milksop probably wouldn't want to kill her. At most, he would think she was sick again.
"I'm fine. Why are you crying?"
"Sister Taozi, it's all my fault. I caused you to fall into the water. Sister Taozi... boo hoo..." Xie Yuntang never liked to cry. Seeing that she woke up, his tears couldn't stop falling.
Su Tao also knew that she scared him, so she raised her hand and touched his head. "It’s not your fault. I fell into the water... hiss... myself."
She also wanted to cry.
"Sister Taozi, I was so afraid that you wouldn't wake up, so I bought you a lot of lotus-flavored chicken." Xie Yuntang's eyes were red and swollen from crying.
Su Tao raised her hand and patted him. "Oh, don't cry. I'm fine. If you continue to cry, I'll have a headache."
Xie Yuntang sniffled and stopped crying. He looked at her adorably and pitifully, obviously scared.
Su Tao felt guilty and touched the tip of her nose, then changed the subject. "Where's the lotus-flavored chicken?"
Xie Yuntang hurried to get it for her. "Sister Taozi, here. But you can't eat too much. The doctor said you should eat light food."
Su Tao felt that other than the headache, she was fine. Just as she was about to eat, Xie Qing and Mrs. Xie-Qin came in.
Seeing that she woke up, Mrs. Xie-Qin heaved a sigh of relief. "Taozi, besides your headache, do you feel unwell anywhere else?"
Su Tao shook her head. "Auntie Xie, I'm fine."
Soon, she didn’t feel well.
Mrs. Xie-Qin looked at her head and seemed to be hesitant to speak. Su Tao felt something was amiss, so she reached out and touched her head, and soon found that half of her hair was gone.
Suddenly, her expression became a little distorted. Wretched system, I'm not done with you.