"So it's them."
Jiang Yuwei suddenly realized why they looked familiar. She hadn't paid much attention to Chen Lishu before, but Gu Xingdong's appearance and military uniform were quite memorable.
"Zhiwei, look quickly! Chen Lishu is walking and talking with a man!" As soon as they exited the school gate, Feng Pangzi, with sharp eyes, spotted Chen Lishu and immediately nudged Li Zhiwei with his elbow.
"I see. I'm not blind."
"That man is probably her boyfriend, right? He's really good-looking and tall. When the two of them stand together, it reminds me of an idiom: golden boy and jade girl!"
A handsome man and a beautiful woman walking together is a pleasing sight. Feng Pangzi couldn't help but stare dazedly.
"Are you using the right idiom? It should be 'a talented man and a beautiful woman.' " Li Zhiwei corrected him, then quickly spat, "You've confused me with your words. That man is just so-so compared to me."
Feng Pangzi eyed him up and down with suspicion, then let out a tsk.
"You fatso, what do you mean by that?"
"Zhiwei, I'm not blind."
Li Zhiwei: "..." This friend is impossible to get along with.
Chen Lishu and Gu Xingdong went to the Renmin Restaurant near the school. It was lunchtime, and the place was quite crowded.
"What do you want to eat?" Standing by the window, Chen Lishu looked at the dishes on the blackboard and turned to ask Gu Xingdong.
Gu Xingdong scanned the menu. "Noodles, I guess."
"Then I'll have wontons." Chen Lishu looked up and said to the window attendant with a smile, "One bowl of Zha Jiang Mian and one portion of wontons."
"That will be seven mao and three liang of grain coupons."
Chen Lishu found the money and coupons from her bag and handed them to the attendant. Then, they found an empty seat together.
"What's the use of being good-looking if he makes the girl pay? Isn't that just living off a woman?" As soon as they sat down, a young man at the next table said contemptuously to the girl opposite him.
He was pursuing her and was determined to win her over today, which was why he spared no expense in treating her to a meal at the restaurant. Who knew that ever since the couple next to them entered, the girl had been staring at the man? Annoyed, he couldn't help but utter a remark.
His voice wasn't intentionally lowered. Those around who heard it turned their attention to Chen Lishu and Gu Xingdong.
Gu Xingdong and Chen Lishu naturally heard it too. They exchanged a glance, and neither said anything, choosing to ignore it.
"What do you mean 'living off a woman'? Can't you say it more nicely? It's just the cost of one meal. Maybe he forgot to bring money." The girl argued softly.
Actually, she also looked down on men who didn't pay for meals. However, Gu Xingdong's appearance was too outstanding, and she couldn't help but want to speak up for him.
Seeing that she was even defending the other person, the young man became even more annoyed. "You're just too naive. Those are common excuses they use. Once they've tricked someone, they won't even bother to make excuses."
"Ah?" The girl was a little surprised. "Is that true?"
Seeing that she had taken his words to heart, the young man smiled confidently and said, "That's because you don't understand men. You can't just look at someone's face; you have to look at their character. If a man is unwilling to spend money even to treat a girl to a meal, he must be no good."
Chen Lishu couldn't listen any further and couldn't help but interrupt him, saying coldly, "How good can someone's character be when they're gossiping about others behind their backs?"
The young man choked. "I'm telling the truth. I dare to say it to his face. Didn't you pay for him?"
"She paid," Gu Xingdong interjected before Chen Lishu could speak.
The young man sneered, "It's good that you admit it."
Gu Xingdong raised an eyebrow and looked at him with a half-smile. "You're not married yet, are you?"
"What does that have to do with you?"
Gu Xingdong tsked. "This is my wife. Ask her if you don't understand in the future. You already don't look very good, your character is also bad, and you have no money. What could the girl possibly see in you?"
Seeing the young man's face turn red and then pale, Chen Lishu stifled a laugh and added, "Perhaps she sees his money."
As soon as she finished speaking, the young man's face turned into a palette of colors.
The girl's expression also looked unpleasant. That's right, he wasn't good-looking, his character wasn't good either, and he had no money. Then why was she still dating him? "You eat by yourself, I have something to do and I'm leaving." The girl suddenly stood up and left without looking back, before the young man could say anything.
The young man glanced at the half-eaten food, hesitated for a moment, and then quickly chased after her. "Xiao Li!"
"The noodles and wontons are ready." The attendant came over and placed two large bowls in front of them.
After eating, the two left the restaurant. The weather was nice, and they didn't take a car. Instead, they strolled to the town park, where there was a large artificial lake and rockeries, creating a pleasant environment.
"Xingdong, that person over there seems to be selling fruit," Chen Lishu said, pointing to a cautiously looking woman with a woven basket in her hand across the street.
The weather was gradually warming up, and many southern fruits were already coming down. Northern fruits were still scarce. Coupled with transportation and technical issues, fruit stores had very few fruits at this time.
Villagers with the means would secretly grow some strawberries, cherries, and other fruits at home to sell, and the price was much cheaper than in fruit stores.
Gu Xingdong glanced in that direction. "You want to eat some?"
"Mhm," Chen Lishu nodded.
"Then wait here for a moment, I'll go buy some," Gu Xingdong instructed and quickly walked towards the woman.
"Young lady, please be merciful. My child is sick and I have no money for treatment. My son and I haven't had a full meal in days."
As Chen Lishu was waiting, a woman suddenly approached her. She spoke with an accent from another region, was dirty and tattered, and struggled to hold a child about four or five years old in her arms. The child was also dirty, with abnormal redness on his cheeks. Perhaps because he was uncomfortable, his head leaned on the woman's shoulder, and his eyes were half-open and listless.
The child clearly looked very ill, especially with a fever, which could not be delayed. Without a second thought, Chen Lishu took out five yuan from her pocket. "Sister, the child has a fever, right? Hurry and take him to the hospital."
Seeing that she had taken out five yuan so readily, the woman became overjoyed. She eagerly took the money and said, "You're a kind sister, good deeds are rewarded. I'll take the child to see the doctor now."
Just as the woman was about to leave with the child, the boy in her arms suddenly mumbled, "Mama..."
Chen Lishu frowned subconsciously upon hearing the boy's voice.