197: Chapter 197: Not Just…
But More Cost-Effective 197: Chapter 197: Not Just…
But More Cost-Effective Sitting by the window, holding a coffee in hand, he quietly admired the bustling street scene below, with its constant flow of traffic.
It gave him the odd illusion of having returned to the future.
Wang Yunxiao wasn’t trying to be arty for its own sake; it was mainly because Little Gourd had pestered him to share a cake with her, threatening not to eat it otherwise.
What’s so good about cream cakes?
As a straight man who hardly partook in sweet snacks, Wang Yunxiao had no appetite for such things.
But he couldn’t withstand the pressure; little girls, both from the future and the present, were all fond of them.
If a woman tells you she doesn’t like cake, it isn’t necessarily true—she might just not enjoy eating it with you.
Little Gourd used to come from a well-off family; according to Brother Youtiao, her parents were both highly educated intellectuals.
They could even afford to cultivate a variety of plants and keep all sorts of antiques, collectibles, and books at home.
This was indeed a scholarly family of substance with true pedigree, raising a lady of high societal standing.
This was evident from her adept use of knife and fork now.
Wang Yunxiao had wanted to buy her a whole cake, but she steadfastly refused and settled for just a slice, insisting on sharing it with Wang Yunxiao.
If he didn’t eat, she wouldn’t eat either.
In the end, Wang Yunxiao, harried by her insistence, ordered himself a cup of black coffee.
Coffee without sugar doesn’t actually taste good.
Don’t believe those Southern literati who preach eating foods in their ‘natural flavor’—no sugar in coffee, no sugar in herbal tea, not dipping zongzi in sugar…
Let them endure a couple of years in the North, go out and turn a few times in thirty degrees below zero, and all their cravings for plain flavors will be cured.
They’d gleefully shove chunks of fatty meat dipped in chili oil into their mouths.
“Brother…”
Little Gourd’s voice pulled Wang Yunxiao’s attention back from the street outside.
He thought he’d seen a familiar woman a moment ago, someone he’d seen somewhere before, but upon closer inspection, he couldn’t recall who she was.
He wondered when he had come to know so many women.
Could it be that he’d become so well-fed recently that he started to think about ‘that sort of thing’?
“Do you think…
Brother Youtiao might have a thing for Sister Yan’er?”
Little Gourd asked, biting on her fork with a gossipy expression.
“A bit, but not much,” Wang Yunxiao responded, not minding spilling the beans about Brother Youtiao in front of his own sister.
“Eh?
What do you mean by ‘a bit, but not much’?”
“What I mean is, he’s got a bit of a thing for her, but won’t admit it.”
Wang Yunxiao laughed and then countered, “What do you think about Qu Wenming from Class Two?”
“Huh?”
Little Gourd was flabbergasted.
As she caught on, she quickly shook her head: “I don’t really know him.
I mean, I know there’s someone like that, but I’m really not familiar with him.
Did you hear someone talking about me behind my back, big brother?”
“Why the panic?”
Wang Yunxiao stared suspiciously at Little Gourd: “I was just making an example.
Why are you so defensive?
What have you been up to behind my back?”
“Ah ha ha~”
Little Gourd laughed awkwardly: “Actually, it’s nothing much…
it’s just that before, I always thought Brother Youtiao had a thing for Sister Yan’er, so I lied to him saying the arts committee member from Class Two, Qu Wenming, was flirting with Sister Yan’er.
Brother Youtiao looked quite upset…”
Under Wang Yunxiao’s gaze, her voice grew quieter and her head dropped lower.
“Jiang Xiaotang…”
“I was wrong!”
Little Gourd shuddered upon hearing her name, and hurriedly bowed her head in admission of her mistake.
“Eat quickly, after you finish we’ll go buy you some clothes!”
“Oh!”
Little Gourd was reluctant to let Wang Yunxiao spend more money on her, and Wang Yunxiao didn’t insist.
As the saying goes, Wu Dalang plays with night owls, and people are akin to the birds they flock with.
Regardless of Little Gourd’s past, now she was his, Wang Yunxiao’s, sister, and not some wealthy young miss.
Even if she were dressed in fine silks and satins, others wouldn’t perceive it as anything special.
Arriving at the department store, Wang Yunxiao took out two yuan and bought her two pairs of cloth shoes, a dozen pairs of socks, girls’ underwear, and personal hygiene products.
He was shameless and indifferent, while Little Gourd was so embarrassed she could hardly take it.
She hid behind him, clutching the hem of his coat, too afraid to speak, worried she might hear some lewd comment from the vendor.
After a round of shopping that filled a large bag, they left the department store, ready to head back, when Wang Yunxiao’s eyes were caught by an exquisite Western-style dress in a sidewalk shop.
The light coffee-colored ladies’ short-sleeved suit jacket paired with a pleated straight skirt, white lace-trimmed blouse, and a thin necktie looked particularly good on the mannequin, blending the smart and efficient charm of a British female spy from an early World War II movie with playful cuteness.
Wang Yunxiao lifted his foot to step inside when Little Gourd firmly pulled him back, “Big brother, don’t be impulsive!
How could I ever wear such clothes out?”
“I know, I just wanted to ask about the price, just in case there’s some formal occasion in the future…”
“I’d die before wearing that!
Don’t waste your money!”
In the end, Wang Yunxiao did not step inside, not because Little Gourd was threatening him with her death, but because he saw the price tag on the dress.
￥25
Excuse me, sorry.
To think they dared to ask for twenty-five yuan for a little Western-style dress—it was the mark of a cutthroat and exploitative merchant.
Earlier in the department store, he had inquired about it—good quality cotton fabric cost less than twenty cents per foot.
Having a tailor make Little Gourd a dress in the style young female students wore these days, including the cost of labor, would total no more than two or three yuan.
Wang Yunxiao already had an idea in mind, and he knew exactly who to ask.
Back at the school, it was after one in the afternoon.
Wang Yunxiao told Little Gourd to store the things he had bought for her in her dormitory, then took her with him to the headmaster’s office.
He was going to tattle.
He was going to complain!
Surprisingly, there were people in the headmaster’s office at this time, and muffled voices could be heard from within.
Wang Yunxiao and Little Gourd waited outside the door for a moment until a girl with red eyes and tear stains on her face came out.
Seeing people at the door, she instinctively dodged, keeping her head down, trying to bypass them, but unexpectedly Wang Yunxiao pushed her against the wall.
“Zhou Qing?”
Wang Yunxiao turned his head to glance at the brilliant sunlight outside the window, then looked back at the girl, who was startled, her eyes wide with fright, and who seemed on the verge of breaking into tears again.
“You…”
He turned to look at Little Gourd and noticed that she was just as shocked.
Wang Yunxiao was certain he hadn’t mistaken the person, and there was no chance of a dog-blood twist like encountering an identical twin.
Although he didn’t know Zhou Qing very well, to speak bluntly—if “Little Yuxiu” had had a twin sister, it would have been a matter of considerable wealth and fame, and that newspaper would not have failed to mention it.
So what was this situation?
Wang Yunxiao reached out and pinched her cheek—soft, tender, with a temperature, breathing, definitely alive.
This child, already timid, and now emotionally unstable, burst into tears when he pinched her.