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Chapter 1844 - Very Beautiful

The bluestone road in the alley was warmed by the setting sun.

Huang Yuqi turned her head and reached out to take several bags of gifts from Jiang Cheng's hands.

She looked like she wanted to help him share the load.

Although this movement was normal, it was inevitable that their fingertips would touch.

The moment they touched, Jiang Cheng noticed that the tips of Huang Yuqi's ears instantly turned slightly red.

Neither of them spoke, walking forward in silence.

Their footsteps made a slight creaking sound on the stones, and the atmosphere of daily life in the communal courtyard grew stronger.

The aroma of food mixed with the faint scent of soap from laundry detergent.

Just as they rounded a corner piled with honeycomb briquettes, a crisp child's voice rang out: "Sister Yuqi!"

Huang Yuqi paused and turned back with a smile.

Li Tanghu, holding a box of marbles, scurried out from under an old locust tree.

"This is that..."

Seeing that Jiang Cheng couldn't remember his name, Huang Yuqi chimed in, "Li Tanghu!"

"Oh, right, I haven't seen this kid in a few months, and he's grown so tall..."

Huang Yuqi smiled. "Yeah, kids grow fast. A couple of days ago, Principal Zheng sent me photos of the children at Hope Primary School, and several of them have grown taller too..."

When Li Tanghu walked closer and saw Jiang Cheng, his eyes suddenly lit up, and his voice became even louder.

"Brother Jiang Cheng! You're here too!"

He shouted so loudly that the wooden door of the neighboring courtyard creaked open.

Several old ladies who were sewing shoe soles poked their heads out.

Their eyes scanned Jiang Cheng and Huang Yuqi, the smiles on their lips carrying a hint of wanting to watch a scene unfold.

"Oh, Yuqi, are you bringing a friend back?"

"This young man looks quite spirited. Bringing so many things, he looks very respectable!"

Huang Yuqi's cheeks instantly flushed a pale red.

After nodding to greet the old ladies, she clutched the corner of her clothes and stomped her foot lightly. "Little Hu, keep your voice down!"

For an elementary school kid like Li Tanghu, he had no concept of keeping his voice down.

"Isn't this our little anti-fraud guardian? Have you been doing a good job promoting it to your classmates at school lately?"

At the mention of this, Li Tanghu instantly became proud.

He puffed out his chest high.

"Of course! Our teacher played the film the TV station made last time three times in class! Now many students at school know me, and some even ask for my autograph!"

As he spoke, he pulled a crumpled little notebook from his pocket.

On it were several crookedly drawn little figures. "Look! I've recorded it all. If anyone tells me they want to 'play marbles to win pocket money' again, I'll take them to the teacher's office!"

Jiang Cheng couldn't help but chuckle and nodded in praise. "Well done, keep it up."

Seeing Tanghu's silly energy, for some reason, Jiang Cheng was reminded of Annie's quirky little face.

They say Little Girls develop intelligence and mature earlier than little boys.

This was indeed true.

Li Tanghu was already in the third grade of elementary school, yet he still looked so silly.

He looked like the kind of "tiger boy" who would let Little Girls ride on his back at school.

Seeing Jiang Cheng praise him, Li Tanghu's round eyes sized up the things in his hands.

"Brother Jiang Cheng, are you going to Sister Yuqi's house to propose marriage?"

Huang Yuqi panicked as soon as she heard this. "What nonsense are you talking about!"

Li Tanghu made a "wuwu" sound before saying, "Isn't it? That's how my cousin's boyfriend was during the New Year. Look at all those bags of gifts. My mom said that when a boy carries things to a Girl's house, he wants to be the son-in-law!"

As soon as he said this, the laughter of the old ladies nearby grew louder.

Huang Yuqi's face turned so red it looked like it might bleed, and she reached out to cover Li Tanghu's mouth. "Stop talking..."

Seeing Huang Yuqi's embarrassed look, Jiang Cheng found it quite interesting.

This Girl was different from others; he didn't know if it was because she was too open or because she had too many thoughts about him.

Most of the time, she was very natural and poised when facing him.

This also meant that even though Jiang Cheng was a good man...

...he also had a bit of selfishness regarding her.

But he hoped even more that she could live the life she wanted according to her own heart.

Jiang Cheng rarely had such thoughts.

The first time was when he saw her in the simple teachers' building at Hope Primary School, and the second time was when he got a healing card from her at the amusement park last time.

At that time, Jiang Cheng decided that no matter what his future interactions with Huang Yuqi might be, he would ensure she lived a safe and smooth life forever.

After Li Tanghu broke free from Huang Yuqi's hand, he turned and ran deeper into the courtyard.

While running, he shouted at the top of his lungs, "I'm going to tell my mom that Sister Yuqi brought her boyfriend home..."

His loud voice quickly spread through the non-soundproof Courtyard House.

Some windows and doors that were originally closed were pushed open, and many middle-aged women poked their heads out.

Huang Yuqi sighed helplessly and whispered, "That Little Hu, really..."

Before she could finish, a somewhat abrupt male voice came from behind the moon gate ahead: "Yuqi."

Jiang Cheng looked up and saw a young man in a white shirt standing there.

He was clutching a basketball, with beads of sweat still on his forehead.

There was a hint of deliberate gentleness in his expression, but his gaze fell straight on Huang Yuqi.

"Zhao Bin..."

Zhao Bin walked over a few steps, his gaze scanning the supplements Jiang Cheng was carrying.

When his gaze swept over Jiang Cheng, that gentleness faded a bit, replaced by a hint of scrutiny.

"I just heard Little Hu calling your name, so I came out to see. Who is this?"

Just as Huang Yuqi was about to introduce him, Zhao Bin acted as if he had asked but didn't actually want to hear the answer.

Stepping forward, he reached out his hand to Jiang Cheng with a polite smile on his face, though his words were thorny. "Hello, I'm Yuqi's neighbor, Zhao Bin. Yuqi and I grew up together. When she's not home, I take care of her grandmother for her."

Hearing this, Jiang Cheng's lips curled into a smile.

The meaning in Zhao Bin's words was obvious.

He and Yuqi had a special relationship; where did you come from?

Jiang Cheng didn't reach out his hand, merely nodding faintly.

This attitude left Zhao Bin's hand frozen in mid-air, and his expression darkened slightly.

The old ladies watching the scene nearby began to whisper.

"Doesn't this Little Teacher Zhao always like Yuqi?"

"Yeah, he often helps Yuqi's family fix water pipes and change light bulbs, and he always brings fruit to her grandmother."

"Now there's a good show to watch..."

Zhao Bin acted as if he had hadn't heard the gossip, his gaze returning to Huang Yuqi, a smile he thought was gentle playing on his lips.

"Yuqi, come to my house for dinner tonight. I bought a lot of groceries this morning."

At this, Huang Yuqi refused quite bluntly. "No thanks, Teacher Zhao. We have a guest at home today."

After being rejected, Zhao Bin's expression instantly changed.

"He is? Your boyfriend?"

At these words, Huang Yuqi's expression froze for a moment.

Just as she was about to explain "no," she heard Jiang Cheng speak.

"Not yet."

Jiang Cheng's voice wasn't loud, but it clearly reached everyone's ears.

He looked at Huang Yuqi, a playful glint in his eyes. "However, I'm working on it."

These words instantly caused Huang Yuqi's eyes to widen.

She looked up and met Jiang Cheng's deep gaze.

With Jiang Cheng staring at her, her heart skipped a beat, and the heat in her cheeks instantly burned to the tips of her ears.

Zhao Bin's face completely darkened, his knuckles turning white as he gripped the basketball.

"Little Yuqi is a good Girl; she's not someone you can just joke around with."

"Do I look like I'm joking? I came today specifically to see Grandma. And also... to talk to Yuqi about something."

Zhao Bin sized up Jiang Cheng once more.

Jealousy was practically overflowing from his tone. "Yuqi, have you thought about what I told you yesterday? About going mountain climbing together this weekend? I've already made plans with my colleagues, and they all want to meet you."

Huang Yuqi frowned and refused again. "I can't. I have to pack my luggage these few days, and there are some trivial matters to handle..."

Seeing Huang Yuqi refuse him in front of Jiang Cheng...

Zhao Bin grew anxious, his voice rising. "Yuqi, don't you realize I've liked you for so many years? Those outsiders might look glamorous, but who knows what their intentions are!"

Suddenly hearing Zhao Bin's confession, Huang Yuqi was instantly startled.

"What!"

She had never thought about this issue.

In her eyes, Zhao Bin was just like Principal Zheng of Hope Primary School.

He was a friend she could talk to about school and her grandmother, a "comrade-in-arms" type of presence.

He suddenly said he liked her?

Huang Yuqi's mind couldn't quite process this.

She even had a bit of unbelievable daze, as if she had heard some tall tale.

Seeing the daze in her eyes, the irritation Jiang Cheng felt from Zhao Bin mostly dissipated, replaced by a sort of indulgent urge to laugh.

Huang Yuqi's psychological surprise was genuine, with no hint of acting... Jiang Cheng raised an eyebrow and didn't speak, simply placing the supplements in his hand onto a nearby stone pillar, making a soft thud.

He looked at him with a cold smirk.

The movement wasn't large, but it made Zhao Bin subconsciously shut his mouth.

But seeing Huang Yuqi nearby, he still refused to back down verbally. "What? Am I wrong? Some men nowadays just rely on having a bit of stinking money to..."

Jiang Cheng glanced toward the moon gate.

Originally, he didn't want to use wealth and power to suppress others.

But unfortunately, this Zhao Bin in front of him was an idiot.

"You live here?"

He looked at Jiang Cheng's well-tailored suit and then at his own dust-stained shirt, feeling inexplicably ashamed of his inferiority.

"That's right. Based on my understanding of Yuqi, she isn't some gold-digging woman; you won't be able to corrupt her..."

When Zhao Bin said this, Huang Yuqi felt her face flush with embarrassment.

"Zhao Bin," Huang Yuqi interrupted him, "can you stop saying things like that? It makes me blush just hearing it. And you're not allowed to talk about Jiang Cheng like that..."

Seeing her protect Jiang Cheng, Zhao Bin felt even worse. He stiffened his neck and said, "Yuqi, I'm doing this for your own good! What exactly does he do? Do you even know him?"

Huang Yuqi took a deep breath and turned to look at Jiang Cheng, a hint of determination in her eyes.

Then she looked at Zhao Bin and said word for word.

"I know what kind of person he is better than you do."

She paused, and looking at Zhao Bin's stunned expression, she said clearly, "Even if he is my boyfriend, so what?"

As soon as she said this, the whole place fell silent.

Even the old ladies watching the scene were stunned, and then a louder burst of discussion broke out.

Zhao Bin's face turned red and white in turns, his hand clutching the basketball trembling slightly. He couldn't say a word for a long time.

Jiang Cheng looked at Huang Yuqi's reddened ear tips, the smile in his eyes deepening.

He bent down to pick up the supplements from the stone pillar and gave Zhao Bin a faint smile. "Teacher Zhao, right? Thank you for taking care of Yuqi and Grandma usually. However, in the future, don't bother yourself with such things. Sometimes it's better to train your eyes more; some people just like to confuse being a simp with being devoted..."

After speaking, he tilted his chin toward Huang Yuqi. "Let's go, don't keep Grandma waiting."

Huang Yuqi nodded, walked quickly to his side, and walked deeper into the courtyard side by side with him.

Behind them, Zhao Bin froze in place, his face ashen as he watched their retreating figures.

The basketball in his hand dropped instantly.

Seeing several middle-aged women huddling together to discuss him...

...he instantly lost the heart to even pick up the basketball and walked inside with red eyes.

"Mom~ I've been dumped!!"

The setting sun stretched their shadows long, extending all the way to the mottled wooden door of Huang Yuqi's home.

Huang Yuqi stole a glance at Jiang Cheng beside her and whispered, "Just now... thank you."

Jiang Cheng turned his head, looking at her flushed cheeks, his lips curling up. "Thank me for what? For helping you block unwanted suitors?"

Huang Yuqi's face turned even redder as she clutched the corner of her clothes.

"No, I've known Zhao Bin since we were kids. I've even seen him in split-seat pants. I really thought he was like Principal Zheng Qiu. You know, Principal Zheng Qiu treats me like a brother."

Jiang Cheng finally understood why Huang Yuqi was always so open with him.

He had even specially developed a conscience for her.

It turns out this Girl hasn't even developed her romantic intelligence yet!!

Zheng Qiu had said before: Besides being ugly, Teacher Huang is a really good person.

With those spots printed on her face and those middle-aged woman clothes she wore before, wasn't it normal to treat her like a brother?

If he saw her now with her ugly makeup removed, let's see if he could still treat her like a brother...

The two reached the wooden door, and Huang Yuqi took a deep breath, raising her hand to knock gently.

A hurried set of footsteps soon came from inside, and then the wooden door creaked open.

Standing at the door was an old lady with gray hair combed neatly. Her face carried a bit of post-illness haggardness, but her eyes were very bright.

She wore a faded navy-blue cotton shirt and clutched a rag used for wiping tables.

Seeing the two at the door, the wrinkles on her face instantly bloomed into a smile.

"Are you... Xiao Jiang?" Grandma's voice carried a hint of uncertainty as her gaze fell on Jiang Cheng, sizing him up carefully.

Last time when she fainted from high blood pressure, Huang Yuqi had panicked and called Jiang Cheng in Shanghai while crying.

She only remembered that many people came to the house that day, and doctors in white coats watched over her all night.

There were also caregivers who came every day to clean and cook, all arranged by Jiang Cheng.

But she had never met Jiang Cheng in person, only hearing her granddaughter mention that he was an extremely kind-hearted young man.

Jiang Cheng quickly stepped forward, bowing slightly with a gentle tone. "Grandma, it's me. I've come to see you. Are you feeling better?"

He handed over the supplements in his hand, explaining with a smile, "I specifically asked the doctor about these. They're mild and nourishing, not greasy, very suitable for you to eat now."

"Oh, you child, you're here, why bring things!" Grandma quickly stepped aside to let them in, her words polite while her hands had already taken the gifts. "Come in, come in! It's windy outside."

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