NOVEL NEXT Vol. 1 - Ch. 374 - Trouble
After HuMing finished tidying up the room, Ye QiuXue and Grandma finally returned home. But as they walked in, something seemed off about Ye QiuXue—her face was faintly red, like she was flustered or embarrassed. Whatever had happened outside, she clearly wasn't ready to talk about it.
HuMing wanted to ask, but before he could open his mouth, Grandma stopped him.
"Xiao Ming, we're out of groceries for tonight. Could you come to the market with me?"
Once Grandma asked, HuMing naturally couldn't say no. In his heart, Ye QiuXue's family was already his family too.
There was a small electric scooter parked outside—looked like one Ye QiuXue had borrowed from her aunt for easier errands.
HuMing drove the scooter with Grandma riding behind him as they made their way to the town market.
Along the ride, Grandma gently started chatting.
"Xiao Ming, this whole trip must've been tiring for you? QiuXue's hometown is so out of the way. You only start seeing real shops when you get to town. She told me something about ordering food from your phones these days? That kind of delivery doesn't even reach us out here."
Her voice was warm and kind, every bit the friendly elder.
HuMing liked being around elders like her—even more so because she was Ye QiuXue's grandmother.
"It's no trouble at all. Actually, sometimes coming out to the countryside is its own kind of peace. You wouldn't believe how many times I suggested coming here, but QiuXue's always so busy with school. Only got the chance last time to finally visit."
"That girl takes her studies so seriously. Long ago, people used to call her a study robot. I used to worry about her future. Folks who didn't know her well always misunderstood, but I knew... she's not like that at all."
As Grandma talked about Ye QiuXue, her face lit up with pride.
And in that moment, HuMing understood—this trip to buy groceries wasn't just about food. She'd taken him aside to entrust something important to him.
And it had everything to do with Ye QiuXue.
…
He followed Grandma through the market, picking out vegetables and meats. It seemed like everyone here knew her—several people stopped to greet her while she shopped.
"Ehh, who's this handsome young man next to you? Doesn't look like someone from around town," a fish vendor asked, curious, while chopping off a fish's head.
Grandma patted HuMing's arm and smiled.
"This is QiuXue's boyfriend! Smart and handsome. He even came along just to help me shop today."
Hearing her speak like that, HuMing couldn't help but laugh to himself. It reminded him of his own mom—every time she ran into strangers, she'd brag about him like he was a national treasure, even making up stuff that wasn't true.
Turns out that kind of habit doesn't fade with age.
"QiuXue's such a pretty girl, and now she's found herself such a good-looking boyfriend too. But... that mayor Wang's family didn't come bother you again, did they? It's been a while, they should've given up by now."
"Oh, it's nothing—just little things, not worth talking about. Hey, is Old Zhang still open? I want to get a chicken."
"Still open, still open! Go on over!"
HuMing instinctively reached for his phone to pay, but Grandma had already pulled out a few crumpled bills from her pocket and handed them over.
Seeing that, HuMing fell silent for a moment.
He followed her to the poultry stall.
As they walked, he overheard more of the conversation with the vendor—and that same name came up again: Mayor Wang.
Something about it made him uneasy.
From what he could piece together, it sounded like that mayor had been harassing Grandma. But she'd never mentioned it—not wanting to worry Ye QiuXue.
They bought the chicken and headed home together.
"Grandma," HuMing asked, "who exactly is that Mayor Wang they were talking about? Sounds like he's been bothering you?"
He didn't want Ye QiuXue dragged into any trouble—and now that he considered Grandma part of his own family, he definitely wouldn't stand by and ignore something like this.
"Ah, it's nothing, just minor annoyances. It won't affect anything between you and QiuXue. But Xiao Ming, what I do hope is that you're truly good to her. I know I won't be able to walk with her to the end. And her parents… well, they're not dependable. When I'm gone, she'll have no one else."
"Hey, don't say that, Grandma! You'll live a long and healthy life, we all know it!"
"Haha, I'm already this old, I've made peace with things. This afternoon, I took QiuXue to see her aunt. You know she reads fortunes, right? I brought both your birth dates to see what she says about when you two should make things official."
HuMing blinked, caught off guard—then his whole face lit up with a grin.
"Grandma, you're the best!"
"Haha, everyone just needs to be happy, that's all."
They returned home still smiling, laughter bouncing down the narrow roads. Even the scenery looked brighter on the way back.
…
HuMing brought the groceries into the house. But the moment he stepped inside, he noticed something wrong.
Ye QiuXue stood in the room, her brow furrowed, her chest rising and falling with frustration—she looked like she'd just been through an argument.
He set the groceries down and quickly walked over.
"What happened? Did something just go wrong?"
Ye QiuXue glanced at the door, noticing Grandma hadn't come in yet. She frowned deeper.
"Where's Grandma?"
"Huh?" HuMing looked over his shoulder. "She was just right behind me. I turned around and she was gone."
He was about to go outside to look for her when Grandma stepped through the door.
"QiuXue," she asked, a little breathless, "did he come back to see you?"
"No." Ye QiuXue's voice was firm, almost stubborn.
But Grandma continued, a trace of anger in her tone.
"Aunt Li saw him at the village entrance. That man... how does he even have the nerve to come back? Thinks just because you're doing better now, he can weasel his way back in?"
The more she talked, the more worked up she became—her breathing quickened.
HuMing hurried over and held her by the shoulders, gently calming her.
"Grandma, it's okay. Breathe. Let's talk it through. If he's not important, we can just ignore him."
"Xiao Ming's right. We should ignore him!"
"He said that woman dumped him," Ye QiuXue muttered angrily, "and that she took all his money. Now he wants to come crawling back and 'reunite the family'—as if that's going to happen!"
Her words trembled with emotion—it was clear she still harbored deep resentment toward that man.
And HuMing now understood exactly who they were talking about.
Ye QiuXue's father.
He'd dealt with the man long ago, and from the start, he'd had no fondness for him. A man who abandoned his own daughter? HuMing didn't have the time of day for someone like that.
But now—to think he actually had the audacity to show his face again?
And only after hitting rock bottom?
It was exactly the kind of thing a pathetic man would do.
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