Chapter 8, The Side Story of Hidden Concerns

Yet for her, he remains a stranger

With a sense of confusion, he sat there, eating slowly and drinking slowly. He did not ask for more food. Then she would bring it to him. She still did not look at him. He continued to eat slowly and linger. Well, he admitted, he indeed wanted to see whose patience was better, and who could endure until the very last moment

On that day, when he saw her, she was squatting in the open-air market outside the courtyard, with a large array of vegetables in front of her. She was orderly calling out the prices, stating how much cucumbers cost per pound, how much cabbage cost per pound, and the prices of potatoes, green beans, and eggplants per pound.

In the end, he thought, he would wait and see how long she could maintain her composure before coming to speak with him

Whenever he encounters her, it is always he who sees her, while she appears oblivious to his presence

For the first time, he felt a sense of disappointment in his heart. He had always been confident in his outstanding appearance; wherever he went, his strikingly handsome face could not be easily overlooked. Yet she, with her not-so-bright big eyes, completely overlooked him.

At first, he thought she was being deliberate, employing the strategy of feigned indifference to attract his attention. However, after three encounters, he finally realized that she was not pretending not to see him; she genuinely could not see him clearly

Arrived

Returning home, lying on the bed, this feeling grows stronger and stronger

After thinking for a moment, he found an empty table to sit down, ordered a bottle of beer, and some meat skewers. Looking at her figure, he hesitated slightly, then ordered two more vegetable skewers.

She skewered several串 of vegetables to grill. After they were done, she took out some money from her pocket and handed it to the vendor couple. The vendor's wife insisted on refusing, pushing back while saying: "This won't do! You say you kindly helped me串 the vegetables, and now that it's your turn to eat, I still charge you money? This absolutely won't do, it definitely won't do!"

The other guests in the restaurant could not help but laugh. He also slightly curled the corners of his mouth.

For reasons he could not articulate, after that incident, he unconsciously began to pay attention to her. The more he noticed her, the more he felt that she was quite a special girl. She had a fair and tender appearance, was cheerful, and lively. He did not know which school she attended. In any case, it was not his school, as he had never seen her during school hours.

Her mother had an expression that was both exasperated and amused, wanting to be serious yet feeling quite helpless

Amidst the cheerful laughter of the stall owner couple, he felt a slight stirring in his heart. This girl is indeed quite special.

From this point onward, he began to date beautiful girlfriends

Her mother, however, was undermining her: "She, after all, is studying mathematics. If she can't even do this, then all her studies have been in vain! I believe that if it were her classmates, certainly more than half of them would be able to remember it faster than she can!"

He picked up his phone, flipped to her photo, and pressed the button hard, wanting to delete it. But when the screen displayed the question "Are you sure you want to delete it?", he hesitated and hesitated, ultimately choosing no.

Grandma Su raised her hand and patted her head, her face filled with an immensely fond smile: "This child has a good memory! Whatever the price of the vegetables per pound, she remembers it after I say it just once!"

Using a broken devil's voice to attract his attention was truly a remarkable strategy of placing oneself in a life-or-death situation. It must be said that she succeeded; he indeed noticed her.

Every time he recalls their third encounter, even he, who usually acts cool and rarely smiles, cannot help but find it amusing

Except for one person

For the first time in his life, he began to doubt his previously formidable presence. No matter where he went, he was always the center of attention. He had long been accustomed to the admiring, envious gazes directed at him. In the past, he would feel irritated by the intense stares focused on him, but now he could effortlessly ignore those predatory looks, acting nonchalant and cool. The more he behaved this way, the more those girls became infatuated with him. Yet now he could effortlessly ignore those predatory looks, acting nonchalant and cool. The more he behaved this way, the more those girls became infatuated with him.

His second encounter with her, compared to the first, felt even more unique.

He did not know what had possessed him at that moment, as he unexpectedly took out his phone and secretly captured her charmingly innocent appearance.

He walked over and squatted down to pick vegetables. She squinted her eyes and looked at him, enthusiastically introducing the price of each vegetable as if she were a chatterbox. Another aunt squatted down beside them. As soon as the aunt squatted down, she said angrily: "Suya! Why did you come here to sell vegetables! Didn't I ask you to go downstairs to buy soy sauce for me! That pot of braised pork at home has been ruined because of you!"

He raised his head to look at her. His heart couldn't help but stir. The innocent little expression on her face became increasingly intriguing the more he looked at it

Her mother couldn't help but laugh after listening to Grandma Su's words, saying, "Does she still find others annoying? It's a miracle that you all don't find her annoying! She is just a little chatterbox!" He almost laughed, looking up at her, as she was making faces at her mother, sticking out her tongue and rolling her eyes.

... ...

Later, the house he owned was renovated. They moved into the new house. He had once secretly returned to the family compound. It is hard to explain why, but he always had this feeling that if he went back for a stroll, he might encounter her

For him, their relationship was no longer that of a first encounter.

He was somewhat astonished. How deep must this girl’s scheming be in order to remain oblivious to him while trying to attract his attention?

However, after the girl entered, she did not glance at him even once; she simply continued her endless, lively conversation with the proprietress. It was not until his meal arrived, until he slowly finished eating, until he leisurely wiped his mouth clean, until he meticulously took out his money to settle the bill, and until he stood up to leave, that she still had not looked at him even once. She remained engaged in her cheerful banter with the proprietress, squinting her eyes and laughing.

Then, during the golden voice period, he saw her again

She and he live in a large courtyard. Sometimes she wears a ponytail, and other times she has her hair down in smooth waves. She is cheerful every day, greeting everyone she meets with a friendly hello. When she is not smiling or speaking, her eyes curve into crescent shapes when she does smile, exuding an indescribable charm and joy.

... ...

... ...

From that moment on, that photo was deeply buried in his phone

When he finally saw her again, he was surprised to find that she already had a boyfriend. He could only see the man's back. He was tall, dressed in an elegant suit, and driving an expensive car

She cheerfully stuffed the money into the pocket of her apron: "Auntie, it's not easy for you to just arrive in City A and rent a small storefront to do business, especially since you also have to support a college student! Just take this money, and when you become prosperous in the future and your family transforms into a luxurious star-rated hotel, I will come back and indulge myself as a glutton!"

What surprised him was that he had actually kept this photograph all along

He was waiting for her to come in and say to him, "Can we be friends?" when suddenly he heard the owner of the small restaurant shout at her, "Su Ya! My little aunt! Are you sincerely trying to mess up my business? Everyone in the ten-mile and eight-village area knows how terrible your singing is! Just tell me, who can eat after listening to your song? Please be quiet and stop singing, I'm begging you as an aunt!"

He felt a slight stir in his heart. It seemed that her gaze was not very good. This suggests that she might truly be oblivious to him. Their encounters were merely a series of coincidences, rather than her attempting to attract his attention as he had thought.

Her direction is precisely facing him in the restaurant

While he was feeling somewhat sentimental and lost in thought, the vegetable vendor, Grandma Su, returned. Upon seeing her mother, Grandma Su began to praise her profusely: "Your Su Ya is truly a wonderful child! Not at all spoiled, very polite, and every time she comes to the market, she is willing to chat with us, never finds us bothersome. If you give her a stool, she happily sits with us for quite a while! She's even better than my grandson!" Not at all spoiled, very polite, and every time she comes to the market, she is willing to chat with us, never finds us bothersome. If you give her a stool, she happily sits with us for quite a while! She's even better than my grandson!

He couldn't help but chuckle. Recently at school, those girls had been trying various tricks to get close to him, employing all sorts of tactics. However, he felt that none of those girls could compare to the one before him, who was both charismatic and resourceful

The couple running the stall ultimately could not resist her and accepted the money. She walked away, happily carrying the vegetable skewers, taking one step after another. Throughout the entire encounter, she did not glance at him even once

She smiled sweetly and said, "Didn’t you make an appointment for Uncle Wang to perform the surgery on me? After the surgery, I will have eyes like fire, so who needs glasses? Let them be, they can go wherever they want!"

... ...

While paying, he couldn't help but ask the vendor couple, "Who was the girl that helped you skewer the vegetables just now?"

At that time, he was still unaware of such feelings; in fact, it was precisely during the naive years that a young person's first stirrings of love began to awaken

He amusingly thought, she is truly powerful. Not only is she talkative, but she also helps people with skewering vegetables, and now she has even learned to sell vegetables.

He finally understands where her talkative nature comes from

He couldn't help but think that she, despite her young age, was quite the chatterbox. He couldn't help but think again that he had finally encountered someone with a higher level of skill, who was surprisingly so composed.

What surprised him was that she still did not even glance at him, coming hurriedly, leaving hurriedly, and rushing back to continue threading the vegetable skewers

Seeing the two of them walking ahead hand in hand, he felt an indescribable sensation rising within him. It was somewhat suffocating. A bit breathless. Very melancholic and disheartened.

From that point on, he never returned to that large courtyard

But until he had exhausted most of the guests and only a few remained in the stall, she still managed to keep her composure. He felt as if he was about to vomit from eating so much

That year, due to his father's job transfer, their family moved to City A. The newly purchased house had not yet been renovated, so they temporarily lived in an empty apartment in the residential compound of his father's workplace.

Her mother kept lecturing her without pause, having already transitioned from the issue of buying soy sauce to that of contact lenses: "... you didn't even put away your contact lenses properly. When I came out, I saw one on the dining table and the other on the shoe cabinet, separated by a vast distance. I really don't know how you managed to take them off!"

She cheerfully handed the skewered vegetables to the stall owner couple. As the stall owner's wife received them, she kept thanking her. There were many people waiting in front of the stall for meat and vegetable skewers, almost overwhelming. After they were grilled, she helped the stall owner couple bring the skewers to him. He thought, well, your opportunity has come, now tell me what you want to do!

He was on his way home when he saw her at a small barbecue stall outside the courtyard. To his surprise, she was helping the stall owners thread the skewers.

... ...

She stubbornly stamped her feet and called out "Mom," looking so delicate and charming, truly resembling a little girl.

From this point onward, he gradually felt that he was almost about to forget her

The stall owner's wife added: "This girl is truly both interesting and likable! She can't help but praise her; once you compliment her, she will work hard to help you! I merely mentioned that she cuts vegetables neatly, and she immediately rolled up her sleeves and helped me skewer the vegetables. I felt quite embarrassed! Hehehe..."

The first time he noticed her was when he went downstairs to a nearby small restaurant for a meal. While waiting after placing his order, he suddenly heard a rather off-key and soul-stirring song. Following the sound, he looked over to see a girl outside the small restaurant, holding a copy of "Zhi Yin" in her hands, earnestly humming the melody from the last page of the sheet music.

... ...

Then, then

The girl outside rushed in with great energy. The corners of his mouth, which had been turned up in a smile, immediately transformed into a curve of mockery.

In that year, he had already grown into a tall and elegant young man, exuding a subtle charm of a young gentleman in his demeanor. The girls in the school and the neighborhood were all captivated by him, nearly everyone found him unforgettable and drooled over him. Yet, there was one person who always seemed to overlook his presence

The three individuals were engaged in a serious conversation, and none of them noticed his actions

He saw her busily chopping cabbage behind the stall owners, cutting the leaves into small pieces and the stems into sections, then wrapping the stems with the leaves. She found pre-cut dried tofu skin to roll them up, and then threaded a bamboo skewer through the middle. After repeating this process four times, four exquisite vegetable rolls were neatly strung on the skewer. This is how a string of vegetable skewers was prepared.

She slapped her forehead and exclaimed, "Oh no! Mom, I forgot! After I came here, I didn't see Grandma Su selling vegetables! She is in a hurry to pick up her grandson from school, and there is no one to help watch her stall. I thought, after all, we are relatives, so I said... I can help Grandma Su watch her stall. ..." As she spoke, her voice grew softer, and by the end, it was almost pitiful. ... I can help Grandma Su watch her stall. ..." As she spoke, her voice grew softer, and by the end, it was almost pitiful.

The couple running the stall smiled. The stall owner said: "To be honest, we have only just met a few days ago. She comes here every day to buy vegetable skewers. Today, we happened to have a lot of customers, and the vegetable skewers were sold out, so I told her that if she didn't mind the trouble, she could come back later when there were fewer people, and we would prepare them fresh. This girl was quite bold and volunteered to skewer them herself. We thought it would save us some trouble, so we let her do it. As a result, after she came to buy the vegetable skewers, I don't know how it happened, but more and more people started coming to buy them, and it turned out that she was helping us skewer the vegetable skewers to sell to everyone!"