Old Friends (3)

"You..."

Huang Qingqing was scolded until her face flushed red and hot. She probably hadn't expected all her hidden thoughts to be seen through by Jiang Ru, let alone exposed directly in front of someone else. In particular, that final word, "disgusting," was the harshest thing she had ever heard, leaving her utterly humiliated.

She stood up in anger, her lips trembling.

She stared straight at the calm Jiang Ru, feeling an inescapable sense of unease, afraid that if she said too much, she would slip up. In the end, she left behind a resentful remark: "No good deed goes unpunished. I'll wait and see you regret this in the future."

She turned and ran outside in a huff.

Leaving Zhang Ping behind, embarrassed, not knowing whether to sit or stand, calling out softly: "Jiang Ru."

Jiang Ru slowly picked up her cup of brown sugar water, took a sip, and calmly replied, "It's fine."

"Ah, alright."

Zhang Ping held her cup and nodded, not knowing what to say for a long time.

The Jiang Ru in her memory was a very weak person who liked to dwell on trivial matters, and she usually never spoke in a loud voice. This was the first time she had seen her scold someone with such sharp words that left the other person completely speechless.

Perhaps because they hadn't met in a long time, Zhang Ping suddenly felt that this version of Jiang Ru was somewhat unfamiliar. In the end, she left after only a few more words.

Jiang Ru still had a good impression of her, so she packed a bag of the golden tofu she had made that morning for her to take. Zhang Ping politely declined a few times but eventually accepted it sheepishly.

Before leaving, she smiled at Jiang Ru: "Don't listen to her nonsense. Just live your own life. As long as you're happy, that's what matters."

That was the only way she could comfort her.

Although she didn't like Huang Qingqing's words, she couldn't deny that deep down, she also felt those words weren't entirely wrong. Now that Jiang Ru had a husband and a child, her life would likely remain like this forever, and she would grow further and further apart from them.

Jiang Ru patted her hand with a smile, saying nothing more.

She saw her friend to the door. Once they had walked far away, she was about to turn back inside when she saw her neighbor, Auntie Wang, poking her head out to look.

Auntie Wang met Jiang Ru's eyes and smiled a bit sheepishly: "Your uncle is watching the stall, so I came back to cook lunch. I originally wanted to drop by and tell you how things went this morning, but when I reached the door, I heard people talking in your yard, so I didn't come in. Is everything alright?"

As she spoke the last words, she asked carefully, her face carrying a hint of curiosity.

The voices in the yard had been quite loud. Auntie Wang couldn't help but eavesdrop for a bit, and then she heard Jiang Ru's words. She hadn't expected Jiang Ru, who looked so gentle, polite, and delicate, to be so fierce when angry, fiercely protecting her own like a mother bird. Not a single word about Li Xiao from her mouth was bad.

In her heart, she felt this girl was truly decent; Li Xiao had found the right person.

People were just like that. If everyone said someone was bad, even if that person had never offended them, they would gradually start to think they were bad too.

But if one day, someone started speaking up for him, even if it was just one person, their perception would shift slightly.

Auntie Wang was exactly that kind of person. Right now, it was hard to say what her impression of Li Xiao was, but she really liked Jiang Ru's attitude. She felt this girl sincerely wanted to build a life with Li Xiao, steady and capable. If she had a son, she would definitely want to marry her into the family.

With such an understanding wife, Li Xiao probably wouldn't continue down a bad path in the future.

Jiang Ru smiled faintly, not minding at all: "It's nothing, just an old classmate. We aren't very close."

Not wanting to say more, she instead asked Auntie Wang, "How was the situation this morning? Did anyone buy anything, Auntie?"