Chapter 153 Not for This Reason

When she and Chen Yuan had gone to the kitchen for noodles earlier, based on the principle of "whoever isn't present gets talked about"—she and Chen Yuan had definitely become the topic of conversation among the relatives.

And most of it was probably about Chen Yuan.

Seeing Xia Xinyu blinking her eyes with a curious expression, the two brothers exchanged glances. Then, the aunt's son, Zheng Minghao, spoke, "We did talk about Chen Yuan… but it was all good things."

"Of course I know it was good things, be more specific, who said what?" Xia Xinyu suppressed her smile and put on a serious face.

Zheng Minghao honestly said, "Sister Ranran said that Chen Yuan-ge is tall and handsome, just like the male lead in a campus romance drama. Xia Min said that Chen Yuan-ge is love-struck; the way he looks at you, Xinyu-jie, is different…"

"Why do you look like you want to hear it but also don't want to hear it…"

Xu Zhou didn't understand why Xia Xinyu was acting so curious and shy. She's already a high school student, how can she be so naive? That's too low.

Xia Hai's level is really low.

"You talk too, what did Uncle say?" Staring at Xu Zhou, the troublemaker, Xia Xinyu continued to press.

"My dad ah…" Xu Zhou thought for a moment, then said, "He said that Chen Yuan-ge put his heart into it, coming all the way from so far away, and straight after finishing his exams. He's very responsible. But he mostly talked about hoping Chen Yuan-ge could get into a university in Jingnan."

Xia Xinyu understood that this was based on the premise that she was studying in Shaoxiang.

Her uncle wasn't disapproving of Chen Yuan; on the contrary, he was the most enthusiastic.

But he was still insisting that she stay here.

"What about Aunt?"

Her maternal uncle and aunt were her closest relatives, representing the love her deceased parents had left in the world, so their opinions were important.

I can grow up alone, but I can't live alone.

Their feelings were something she needed to seriously consider.

Zheng Minghao said, "My mom didn't say much. She just said that she hopes you guys will focus on your studies and at least get into good universities first. She also asked about Yuan-ge's grades, but my dad interrupted her right away… It wasn't a deep conversation."

That was a teacher's way of thinking. Moreover, being intellectuals, they understood the importance of academic performance in this era.

But her aunt was clearly overthinking things.

Chen Yuan and I aren't hindering each other right now; we're making progress together…

However, it's definitely too early to say that now.

Chen Yuan has improved.

Whether I've regressed or not depends on the next exam.

Chen Yuan's presence… it's more or less affecting my studies.

"Squeezing toothpaste?" Seeing the two little guys reluctant to be spies for their sister, Xia Xinyu urged, "Hurry, hurry up and talk."

"If you were even half as gentle with us as you are with Chen Yuan-ge…"

"Who isn't gentle with you guys? Is it me?"

Narrowing her eyes and tilting her head, Xia Xinyu looked kindly at the two middle school boys.

She's definitely a gentle older sister. Even though she's pressuring them today, she's still speaking nicely, unlike some other older sisters, who are just like dinosaurs!

But Xu Zhou was always complaining about her double standards.

It seems the real love-struck one is right in front of them.

"Although everyone else is praising him, but…"

Zheng Minghao didn't finish speaking before Xu Zhou suddenly stepped on his shoe. He immediately shut his mouth.

Noticing that the two of them were hiding something from her, Xia Xinyu's initially relaxed mood suddenly sank. She quietly asked, "Minghao, is there something bad?"

After being reminded by Xu Zhou, Zheng Minghao didn't dare to speak. "..."

"Minghao, tell me. This is very important to me. Your sister is begging you." Xia Xinyu was actually gentle at this moment.

Zheng Minghao glanced at Xu Zhou's complicated expression, then looked at Xia Xinyu. After gathering his courage for a while, he said, "Actually, everyone was praising Chen Yuan-ge for being tall, handsome, manly, and responsible. The conversation was very pleasant, and then…"

"And then?"

Looking at his cousin, Zheng Minghao said with a heavy heart, "Grandpa (Xia Xinyu's grandfather), who hadn't been saying anything, suddenly stood up somewhat angrily and said a couple of things like 'Too far away' and 'Too different' before going back to his room…"

"..."

It could be seen that the light in Xia Xinyu's eyes was dimming little by little.

She wanted to force a smile that said, 'I'm fine,' but no matter how hard she tried, she couldn't.

Then, she revealed a sorrowful expression that her two younger brothers had never seen before…

Xu Zhou then punched Zheng Minghao in the shoulder and scolded, "I told you not to say it!"

………

After finishing the noodles, Chen Yuan originally wanted to stay in the mourning hall for a while longer, but considering that his identity wasn't suitable and that his uncle had advised him to go upstairs and rest, he said goodbye to Xia Xinyu and went up to the second floor, to her room.

The room was very tidy. There weren't any crayon marks or scratches on the walls. Although the floor tiles were a bit old, they weren't stained. The sheets were light pink, and the quilt was also light pink.

So this is where Xia Xinyu grew up?

Because his phone was out of power and the only outlet was on the desk, he sat down at the desk and plugged in his phone. Just then, he saw something extremely interesting.

Graduation photos!

It's not good to secretly look at a girl's photos.

So Chen Yuan was looking at the boys of Class One, Grade Three, of Xiqing Town Junior High School.

How can you assume I'm looking at the girls?

Although he was looking at the boys of Class One, Grade Three, Xia Xinyu ran into his line of sight.

I'm not responsible.

"It's actually pigtails…"

Looking at the girl in the photo, who seemed even thinner but whose looks were basically the same, Xia Xinyu with pigtails, Chen Yuan felt quite novel, as if he had been pulled into that scene. The back seat of the bicycle with pigtails flying in the wind, eating ice cream, and holding the ice cream in front of his face.

And although they were pigtails, they weren't old-fashioned at all. Maybe it was because her hair was smoother and not as thick, and the pigtails were thin and long, so Chen Yuan only saw a delicate and innocent girl whose style was completely different from everyone else.

Save a photo of Xia Xin…

Save a group photo of the boys of Class One, Grade Three, of Xiqing Town Junior High School.

After casually taking a picture of this graduation photo, Chen Yuan accidentally discovered that there was also a group photo of the boys of Class Two, Grade Six, of Xiqing Elementary School behind it.

"It's actually braided pigtails…"

Chen Yuan discovered the pattern: the older Xia Xinyu got, the straighter her hair became, and the fewer pigtails she had.

And this photo, which featured Xia Xinyu, who was about 1.4 meters tall and had a slightly rounder face than now, could be described as "extremely cute."

She was even coaxed by the classmates next to her to make a small "yay" sign.

It was cuteness itself.

Take another photo of Xia Xinyu in elementary school.

No, are you just not pretending anymore?

"Time to sleep, I can't get up late tomorrow."

Chen Yuan had taken a day off tomorrow to participate in the official burial. Even though there wasn't much he could do, he hoped to at least appear within Xia Xinyu's sight as much as possible.

She was too busy and forgot to take the lucky sachet away.

So he couldn't stand far away, or the buff would be ineffective.

Sitting on the edge of the bed, thinking about how Xia Xinyu had nodded and directly accepted the one thousand yuan white envelope he had given her without any hesitation, Chen Yuan had the idea of using Mind Reading to peek into her heart, but he decided against it.

One reason was that actively using it would consume energy.

The other reason was that he seemed to know what Xia Xinyu meant.

But he couldn't accurately describe it in words. He could only think of a somewhat similar but definitely inaccurate statement: "Xia Xinyu and I are very close."

Although he didn't know if they were the best in the world, they were definitely very close.

"But it's strange, since the superpower has been refreshed, why don't I feel anything?"

The first two were vision and hearing, and they had unlimited magnification.

But today, after the refresh, he didn't notice anything unusual from Xia Xinyu or from this world.

What kind of ability is this…

Because he was too tired, Chen Yuan didn't think too much and prepared to go to sleep. At this moment, the WeChat message sound suddenly rang on his phone.

He got out of bed and went to the desk to turn on his phone.

The moment he saw the message, he admitted that his sleepiness suddenly wasn't that strong anymore.

Xia Xinyu: Do you agree if I don't go back to Xia Hai?

According to "Emotional Intelligence," this sentence generally means: I can't go back to Xia Hai, what should I do?

If this were emotional intelligence online, he should reply: What's wrong? Did something happen?

There were even more emotionally intelligent words that could warm her up for the whole day with just three words.

He didn't know what those three words were, but they definitely weren't the three words he was about to send.

Chen Yuan: I don't agree.

……

——I don't agree.

Xia Xinyu's choice depended on Chen Yuan's answer.

One-sided rushes didn't exist.

Of course, Chen Yuan was also rushing, and it was a literal thousand-mile rush.

When she had seen Chen Yuan, who looked tired but was trying his best to put on a suitable expression to deal with social niceties, she had felt sorry for him.

Because she had calculated that it would be very difficult to get to the station even if he finished the exam early, she knew how hard this trip had been.

So, just having your words is enough.

"After things are settled, I want to go back to Xia Hai early."

After turning off her phone, Xia Xinyu, kneeling in front of the spirit tablet, suddenly spoke, and the relatives in the mourning hall were stunned.

And her uncle obviously wanted to say something, but hesitated.

The people he loved most, besides his wife and children, were his own younger sister, Xia Xinyu's mother.

So, after his sister's death, he transferred all this affection to Xia Xinyu. He wanted his sister to see in heaven that her older brother would definitely protect the person she loved most.

Putting aside other things.

In Shaoxiang, with so many relatives from her mother's side, Xia Xinyu wouldn't be an orphan.

"I think that's a good idea."

Because most people were suggesting that she stay in Shaoxiang, her aunt's tone was very gentle when she spoke. She explained, "After all, No. 4 High School has better education quality. Xinyu is a hardworking child who doesn't want to fall behind in her studies. Jingnan also has 985 universities. Xinyu can test back here in the future…"

"I."

Before her aunt could finish speaking, Xia Xinyu, who was always quiet and polite, interrupted her elder. She lowered her head and said in a firm tone, "I'm not doing it for that reason."

(End of Chapter)