Chapter 144: A Handsome Guy as a Reward

"I see!" Dong Yanyan said with a smile. Actually, what she dreaded most when at home was walking outside. In the winter, rural folks had nothing to do and loved strolling around visiting neighbors, but she hated doing that. Coupled with the fact that she later left home for school and work, she spent very little time back in the village, barely recognizing the more distant neighbors she rarely interacted with. The killer part was that they all still recognized her; bumping into someone on the road without exchanging a few polite greetings was considered rude. Yet sometimes, when someone approached from the opposite direction, she wouldn't even know what to call them—talk about awkward! Still, you couldn't really blame her; everyone in the village was connected somehow through a maze of distant relations, making the forms of address hopelessly tangled. Take herself for instance: near or far, she had several third aunts, not to mention countless uncles you couldn't reach even with a pole. If she accidentally addressed someone incorrectly, it would be even more mortifying. It seemed having a lively personality was better after all, just like Li Juan, whom everyone in the village knew.

In the countryside, people ate two meals a day. When her mother and younger aunt served the dishes on the table, her eldest uncle and eldest aunt also arrived. Her eldest uncle was not yet sixty at this time and didn't look old at all, which brought Dong Yanyan a great sense of relief.

Her eldest sister and second sister had come as well. Her eldest sister was three years older than her and not yet married, though it would happen soon. Her future brother-in-law was an honest, hardworking farmer who treated his wife well, eventually pampering her into such a plump, fair state that she became almost unrecognizable. Her second sister, two years older than her, had also finished schooling by this time; she later went south to work odd jobs and did quite well for herself.

The eldest sister was honest and disliked dressing up, while the second sister was eloquent and wore pretty clothes.

Thus, as the saying goes, "As a child at three, so as an adult at eighty"; character determines destiny.

While helping carry the dishes to the table, Dong Yanyan let her mind wander aimlessly.

With the food served, the family sat closely around the table, the atmosphere wonderfully warm. Dong Yanyan was used to such occasions; regardless of how the food turned out, the family simply gathered for the lively, bustling vibe. It was a pity that her third uncle, fourth uncle, and second aunt were not there, unlike these relatives who all lived close by and saw each other every day, even if friction occasionally occurred. Fortunately, both grandparents were still around, so nothing could get too out of hand, and most of the time, the atmosphere was deeply affectionate and loving.

Her eldest uncle and father happily began to drink, while everyone else enthusiastically dug into the dishes, completely forgetting who the birthday star of the day was. Dong Yanyan finally realized they had all purely come for the stewed chicken with mushrooms.

"We're butchering a pig at our house in a couple of days, all of you should come over, Yanyan too, you hear?" her eldest aunt said with a smile as she ate.

"Eldest Aunt, save a side of ribs for our house, my mom loves those," the second sister requested.

"Eldest Aunt, then leave the other side of ribs for my place, my dad loves them," Dong Yanyan chimed in playfully.

Upon hearing this, her younger aunt's husband—her younger uncle—intervened anxiously, "No way, you've got to leave one side for us, I've had my eye on it for ages."

"Younger Uncle, why don't you just take both sides, and we'll all come over to eat at your place every day?" Dong Yanyan laughed.

"As long as you give it to me, I'm not afraid of you all eating it," her younger uncle said, placing a chicken leg in her bowl with a smile.

Dong Yanyan then picked up another chicken leg and put it in Nannan's bowl.

Seeing this, the second sister felt a sense of unfairness and said to her father, "Second Uncle, look, all the chicken legs went to your daughter."

"Sister, let me pick a wing for you. Don't you love wings?" Dong Yanyan smiled.

"I want the very tip of the heart," the second sister giggled.

"Fine, it's yours. The chicken heart tip." Dong Yanyan fished out the chicken heart and gave it to her. After all, if she didn't get the tip, she wouldn't feel satisfied.

"Yanyan, I heard you were on TV," her eldest aunt remarked. "I was wondering if that was you when I saw it on television the other day, and later Xiao Juan's mother confirmed it. Getting that kind of education really pays off."

Dong Yanyan felt a bit ashamed. Back when she spent four years studying, in the end, apart from snagging a husband, she had practically returned all that knowledge to her teachers. She would even get nervous just changing a lightbulb—something Xu Cheng had mocked her for more than once.

"Exactly, the whole village knows now. You've really brought honor to our family," her younger aunt smiled. "How much money did the television station give you?"

In the rural society of that era, having someone in the family appear on television was major news, and many people had already said the exact same thing to her over the past couple of days.

"They didn't give me money; they gave me a handsome guy instead," Dong Yanyan joked casually.

"Really or fake? There's such a good thing? Why don't you hook one up for me someday!" the second sister laughed.

"You're still just a kid, talking nonsense about everything. Hurry up and eat!" her eldest uncle said with a hint of displeasure.

Dong Yanyan glanced at her second sister, who stuck her tongue out at her in response.

***

That evening, as Dong Yanyan was bent over her desk doing homework, Li Juan came looking for her. The moment she stepped inside, she pulled the door tightly shut and whispered mysteriously, "I have a hunch—Wang Qingwei wrote me a letter."

Dong Yanyan nodded solemnly, "Classmate, your hunch is correct! How are you going to thank me?"

"Do we really need to go through all these empty formalities between us? Where is it? Give it to me quickly!" Li Juan hugged her shoulders and laughed, making Dong Yanyan feel as though her shoulders were about to be crushed under the weight.

"You're such a pain! Just wait!" Saying this, Dong Yanyan got down from the kang, opened her book chest, and fetched the letter. When she returned with it, she found Li Juan flipping through her books.

"Whose is this? So handsome!" Li Juan exclaimed, holding up a photo of Ren Jiaxuan with a smile. Dong Yanyan snatched it right back and tucked it back into her book. "No looking! What would you do if his face got so deeply imprinted in your eyes you couldn't pull it out?" she scolded playfully.

"Tch! Such a stingy-pats," Li Juan muttered, snatching her own letter, tearing it open, and sitting on the edge of the kang to read it with intense concentration. Dong Yanyan leaned against the desk, cupping her chin in her hands, and watched her friend swoon. Even a tomboy looked quite charming when love-struck.

"He dyed his hair again! He dyed it once back at school—that kind of dark reddish-black shade where you couldn't tell at a glance. But once during class, he sat right beneath the sunlight, and when the light shifted, his head was completely blazing red. Our teacher caught him and dragged him to the barbershop to dye it back," Li Juan recounted excitedly, a glowing smile on her face. "For a grown boy, he sure is vain!"

"My boyfriend is just the same! Being vain is one thing, but he loves to show off everywhere! When a guy who dances ballroom starts showing off, you can only imagine what it's like—unbearably flashy and outrageously flamboyant." Dong Yanyan chuckled as well.

"The one in the photo? He is quite handsome. How tall is he?" Li Juan asked.

After a moment of thought, Dong Yanyan decided she still needed to satisfy Li Juan's sense of superiority regarding her boyfriend's height. Otherwise, seeing how handsome Jiaxuan was, what if Li Juan developed thoughts of poaching him? You must guard against fire, theft, and your best friend at all times; you can never lower your guard.

"One meter seventy-five, a normal height, just a little on the thin side," Dong Yanyan replied with a smile.

Upon hearing this, Li Juan beamed with delight, "Wang Qingwei is one meter eighty-two. That's tall, right?"

"Not bad, suits your height perfectly. If I looked for someone one meter eighty-two, I'd probably have to walk on tiptoe whenever we went shopping. I've been researching how to grow taller lately—what kind of things should I eat to help?" Dong Yanyan asked with a troubled expression.

"Chicken pieces?! Your family stewed a chicken today!" Li Juan sniffed the air and declared with absolute certainty.