There was an open space in our backyard. My father had turned it into a vegetable garden. The garden had lots of seasonal vegetables, all of it grown organically. When I was in City B, I bought a few tomatoes but they were grown with fertilisers and hormones. If I kept it eyes open while eating them , I knew I was eating tomatoes. But if I closed my eyes , it didn’t taste like anything natural.
So when I ate the tomatoes grown here by my dad , I almost burst into tears. My dad panicked at my overwrought emotions and asked me what was going on. “ Hey, why don’t you have a few more tomatoes ?”
On that particular day , I was holding a cucumber in one hand and a tomato in the other. I was eating with great focus while wondering what Zhong Yuan was doing. He had gone out after lunch and was not back yet. I had asked him where he was going , but he had been very mysterious about it. He just told me ,”You will know when it is time .” As if he was an underground spy !
Although I wasn’t happy with all this secrecy , a day without Zhong Yuan around was a day without oppression. I had to wholly cherish such a rare opportunity. So I swung in the hammock under the Phoenix tree , watching the scenery around while eating cucumber.
Suddenly, a figure blocked my view.
Zhang Xu stood beside me.He bent down slightly and looked at me.
I was shocked by a person suddenly coming into my view. I quickly sat up and looked at him, “ Zhang Xu… what are you doing here?”
He held a bamboo basket in one hand. He looked like a little girl going to pick mushrooms. He saw me looking at him and immediately blushed. He lowered his read and after a bit of silence asked me , “ Why are you not calling me brother Zhang Xu?”
I tidied my hair as I replied ,” Oh, just forgot !”
If I didn’t change the way I addressed him, a certain guy would take revenge !
Zhang Xu continued to keep his head lowered. He twisted and pinched his fingers for a long time without a single word. To me, he looked like a shy daughter in law in front of her mother in law. I really could not gifted out why he was so shy. I remembered that he had spoken to me before and we were no longer enemies. Moreover , he had been a squad header fir ten years. When he spoke to others , he spoke with confidence. What was happening now ?
The more I thought about it, the more I could feel a headache coming on. So I decided to stop thinking about it. I took a bite of a tomato in my have and asked him straight ,” What are you here for?” Please excuse me for the rude words. This old thing had been tortured over a long period. All I wanted to do was rest and enjoy my freedom
Zhang Xu handed the basket to me. “These are some fruits from the family garden. My mom asked me to give them to you. “
I looked down and saw that there were a lot of plums in the basket. They were brightly coloured , plump and juicy. I started drooling. I gulped and shook my head .” No need , we already have so many at home. You can keep it.”
Although I was tempted , I had to prove to my Dad with practical actions that I was a mature person.
Zhang Xu put the basket on the small table and said ,” This year, we had a bumper crop. So we are distributing to all our neighbours. There’s nothing else to it.”
After he says this, I no longer needed to decline. Ok. I had to be polite. So I stared at the plums, secretly running my hands in anticipation of when I could lay my hands on them.
After he put down the basket , Zhang Xu stood still. I felt it would be awkward to start eating right in front of him so I asked again,” Is there anything else?”
Zhang Xu once again started the whole shy Daughter in law act and I had to endure it. I gazed at the plums on the table.. those plump fresh fruits were beckoning to me, “ Come and eat me, come eat me..”
Zhang Xu seems to have come to a conclusion., he raised his eyes and looked at me with full focus. Then he said, “ Mu er, I want to ask you…you and Zhong Xu.. are you..are you dating ?”
I was stunned.
I had no idea he was going to say this. After twisting and hesitating for such a long time, all he wanted was to know what was happening between Zhong Yuan and I?
Although some people were already speculating about us, I needed to deny everything to uphold the principle of honesty. So I shook my head and said, “ How is that possible?” I shuddered as I imagined being the girlfriend of someone who was torturing me day and night.
Zhang Xu did not believe me.”But…”
“ We are really not dating.” A voice suddenly rang out. I looked back MR saw Zhong Yun walking into the courtyard with a bag in his hand. He approached us, then stood still, looking at me first. Then he smiled and turned to look at Zhang Xu.
“ We are in a serious relationship.”
I had no idea what to say.
There was an open space in our backyard. My father had turned it into a vegetable garden. The garden had lots of seasonal vegetables, all of it grown organically. When I was in City B, I bought a few tomatoes but they were grown with fertilisers and hormones. If I kept it eyes open while eating them , I knew I was eating tomatoes. But if I closed my eyes , it didn’t taste like anything natural.
So when I ate the tomatoes grown here by my dad , I almost burst into tears. My dad panicked at my overwrought emotions and asked me what was going on. “ Hey, why don’t you have a few more tomatoes ?”
On that particular day , I was holding a cucumber in one hand and a tomato in the other. I was eating with great focus while wondering what Zhong Yuan was doing. He had gone out after lunch and was not back yet. I had asked him where he was going , but he had been very mysterious about it. He just told me ,”You will know when it is time .” As if he was an underground spy !
Although I wasn’t happy with all this secrecy , a day without Zhong Yuan around was a day without oppression. I had to wholly cherish such a rare opportunity. So I swung in the hammock under the Phoenix tree , watching the scenery around while eating cucumber.
Suddenly, a figure blocked my view.
Zhang Xu stood beside me.He bent down slightly and looked at me.
I was shocked by a person suddenly coming into my view. I quickly sat up and looked at him, “ Zhang Xu… what are you doing here?”
He held a bamboo basket in one hand. He looked like a little girl going to pick mushrooms. He saw me looking at him and immediately blushed. He lowered his read and after a bit of silence asked me , “ Why are you not calling me brother Zhang Xu?”
I tidied my hair as I replied ,” Oh, just forgot !”
If I didn’t change the way I addressed him, a certain guy would take revenge !
Zhang Xu continued to keep his head lowered. He twisted and pinched his fingers for a long time without a single word. To me, he looked like a shy daughter in law in front of her mother in law. I really could not gifted out why he was so shy. I remembered that he had spoken to me before and we were no longer enemies. Moreover , he had been a squad header fir ten years. When he spoke to others , he spoke with confidence. What was happening now ?
The more I thought about it, the more I could feel a headache coming on. So I decided to stop thinking about it. I took a bite of a tomato in my have and asked him straight ,” What are you here for?” Please excuse me for the rude words. This old thing had been tortured over a long period. All I wanted to do was rest and enjoy my freedom
Zhang Xu handed the basket to me. “These are some fruits from the family garden. My mom asked me to give them to you. “
I looked down and saw that there were a lot of plums in the basket. They were brightly coloured , plump and juicy. I started drooling. I gulped and shook my head .” No need , we already have so many at home. You can keep it.”
Although I was tempted , I had to prove to my Dad with practical actions that I was a mature person.
Zhang Xu put the basket on the small table and said ,” This year, we had a bumper crop. So we are distributing to all our neighbours. There’s nothing else to it.”
After he says this, I no longer needed to decline. Ok. I had to be polite. So I stared at the plums, secretly running my hands in anticipation of when I could lay my hands on them.
After he put down the basket , Zhang Xu stood still. I felt it would be awkward to start eating right in front of him so I asked again,” Is there anything else?”
Zhang Xu once again started the whole shy Daughter in law act and I had to endure it. I gazed at the plums on the table.. those plump fresh fruits were beckoning to me, “ Come and eat me, come eat me..”
Zhang Xu seems to have come to a conclusion., he raised his eyes and looked at me with full focus. Then he said, “ Mu er, I want to ask you…you and Zhong Xu.. are you..are you dating ?”
I was stunned.
I had no idea he was going to say this. After twisting and hesitating for such a long time, all he wanted was to know what was happening between Zhong Yuan and I?
Although some people were already speculating about us, I needed to deny everything to uphold the principle of honesty. So I shook my head and said, “ How is that possible?” I shuddered as I imagined being the girlfriend of someone who was torturing me day and night.
Zhang Xu did not believe me.”But…”
“ We are really not dating.” A voice suddenly rang out. I looked back MR saw Zhong Yun walking into the courtyard with a bag in his hand. He approached us, then stood still, looking at me first. Then he smiled and turned to look at Zhang Xu.
“ We are in a serious relationship.”
I had no idea what to say.
