NOVEL NEXT Vol. 1 - Ch. 376 - Like It Was All Planned
HuMing woke up early the next morning, looking as fresh and calm as if last night's madness had never happened.
Beside him, Ye QiuXue was still asleep, her smooth shoulder exposed above the blanket—an unspoken invitation.
HuMing swallowed hard and forcibly shoved aside a few dangerous thoughts.
Last night, Ye QiuXue had to stifle her cries with her own hands, nearly in tears. That pitiful, fragile look on her face had almost made him lose control.
Only now did he finally understand why King You of Zhou would give up his kingdom for a beauty.
He gently pulled the blanket over her shoulder, then quietly got out of bed to wash up.
But as soon as he stepped outside, he saw Grandma returning from the fields, hoe slung over her shoulder.
She smiled warmly when she saw him.
"You're up already, Xiao Ming? Sit down for a bit. I'll go heat up breakfast."
"No need, Grandma. I just woke up and I'm not that hungry yet. Besides, QiuXue's still sleeping—I'll wait until she's up so we can eat together."
Grandma didn't press the issue. But just as she turned to head inside, she stopped halfway and came back out again.
"Xiao Ming, let me ask you something. Do you kids still like that... what's it called... Ken-something Chicken?"
"You mean KFC?"
"Yes, that's the one! Back then, when I used to take QiuXue into town, she'd always stop and stare at the window of that place. But I only had about thirty yuan to spend on groceries for the day, just barely enough for the two of us to eat. She always pretended she didn't want it, but I could tell—she really wanted to try it."
HuMing froze, taken aback.
Since he himself wasn't picky about food, they always ended up grabbing fast food or simple meals outside.
His lips parted slightly.
He suddenly realized this might be a small but real regret for her.
"Then how about we go into town later and grab some?" he said.
"Great idea! Let's keep it a secret and surprise her when we come back!"
Grandma's face lit up, full of youthful energy, and HuMing felt a swell of joy seeing her like that.
…
When Ye QiuXue stirred awake, her arm reached toward her side out of habit—but the emptiness startled her.
She instinctively opened her eyes and found the space beside her already cold. HuMing was gone.
Rubbing her blurry eyes, she sat up in confusion.
Normally, she was the first to wake up—HuMing was always still curled up beside her at this hour.
She changed clothes and went to look for him and Grandma, but both of them were nowhere to be found.
Frowning, she called HuMing's phone. The moment the call connected, she could hear a cacophony of sounds in the background—crowds, voices, vendors shouting. The unmistakable din of a marketplace.
That only confused her more.
"HuMing, where are you and Grandma?"
"Oh, we're just buying a few things in town. We'll be back soon. You go find something to do, okay?" he replied, and before she could ask more, he hung up.
Ye QiuXue stared at her phone in disbelief.
The way he spoke—it was like he was trying to distract a child. It didn't feel like him.
Still, she wasn't overly worried. Grandma was with him, after all. There was no way he'd do anything too outrageous in front of her.
She sat down and began scrolling through her phone, browsing for something simple—an entry-level smartphone.
She wanted to buy one for Grandma.
That way, when she was back in the city, she could video call her. Just hearing someone's voice wasn't enough to truly know how they were doing—being able to see her would bring peace of mind.
She wasn't planning to ask HuMing for help with this.
But she didn't want to rely on him for everything.
This was something she could handle on her own.
No matter how much time had passed, Ye QiuXue's mindset had never changed:
She didn't need to rely on anyone to live her life—she was perfectly capable on her own.
That was her pride, and her confidence.
…
"Well, well, look who's here—what brings such a lady of leisure to a place like this?"
A shrill, mocking voice drifted in from outside.
Ye QiuXue froze.
She stood up and stepped outside, only to find a finely dressed woman in the middle of a quarrel with the auntie next door.
The auntie looked openly disgusted, clearly unable to hide her contempt.
As for the overdressed woman—her brows were furrowed, her posture stiff, like she was repulsed just by standing so close to the auntie. The two of them looked like they were from entirely different worlds.
Ye QiuXue stared at the scene in silence, unsure what to say.
Yesterday it was that man.
"This has nothing to do with you. I'm here to see my daughter!"
"Your daughter? Oh please. Now you remember you have a daughter? Where were you when she needed you?"
The auntie's voice was full of disdain, and the well-dressed woman's pale, made-up face turned red with embarrassment.
She couldn't argue with the woman. On one hand, she thought it was beneath her to quarrel with someone like that. On the other... she had no rebuttal.
Her eyes darted around like she was looking for an escape—until they landed on Ye QiuXue.
Instantly, her expression lit up like she'd spotted a life raft.
"QiuXue! There you are—I've been looking all over for you! I went to the capital and heard you'd left, so I figured you might've come back to your hometown..."
Zhao DanNi hurried toward her like someone clinging to their last hope.
But Ye QiuXue only frowned and took a step to the side, avoiding her approach.
The auntie saw this and jumped in to warn her.
"QiuXue, listen to me. Don't go soft on that woman. She never treated you right before, and now she's just crawling back because things aren't going well for her!"
Zhao DanNi, already flustered, couldn't take it anymore and snapped.
"This has nothing to do with you! Can't you mind your own business for once, you loud-mouthed woman?!"
"Spare me!" the auntie shot back. "I watched QiuXue grow up. Where were you back then, huh? Not here, that's for damn sure. So don't you tell me what does or doesn't concern me!"
Zhao DanNi's face flushed crimson. She couldn't argue. It was the truth, and she had no defense.
Left with no choice, she tried to grab Ye QiuXue's arm and pull her inside.
But Ye QiuXue only looked at her with a cold, distant gaze—
Like this woman before her was nothing more than a stranger.
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