CHAPTER 87: CHAPTER 86: I’M A PROPER LADY, NOT A FLOWER THIEF

This house really needs someone to live in it to have some vitality. After Yu Xiaolian finished surveying the newly renovated house, she placed a thick stack of label papers on the small kang table in front of Su Jingchen.

The reason she came so late was because she cut two more batches of blank label papers.

With a free copier, of course, he should write more; the more, the better.

"Where’s Su Jingyue?"

"Aunt Li said we lack a lot of things at home, so she went shopping in the street, and Jingyue went along." Su Jingchen said while grinding ink.

As Su Jingchen dipped the brush in ink, Yu Xiaolian took out the label sample paper she brought.

"Should I write like this?"

To make the label paper look high-end and classy, Yu Xiaolian drew golden European-style patterns on the edges of the paper.

Originally, she planned to draw orchids, roses, lilies, and lavenders on separate papers, according to the scent of the gel.

But after trying a few drawings, she quickly gave up.

She underestimated herself as a member of the clumsy hands club.

The imagination was quite beautiful, but reality was a slap in the face.

The European-style pattern she drew was the simplest style, as she’s part of the clumsy hands club.

The patterns she envisioned in her mind were quite elegant and beautiful, but once drawn, they were something else.

Yu Xiaolian nodded, "Yes, just write according to this!"

Su Jingchen nodded and started writing.

In no time, he finished a sheet and passed it to Yu Xiaolian to review.

Yu Xiaolian took a look and laughed.

"Your brother said your writing is good, but doesn’t it look just like mine?"

Can’t see where anything looks good!

Su Jingchen frowned, "Didn’t you say to write like this?"

Yu Xiaolian was surprised; Su Jingchen thought she wanted him to write exactly like the label sample paper.

She was wondering why the handwriting looked so familiar, only to realize he was imitating her handwriting.

Upon closer inspection, even the extra stroke she made in the European-style pattern, he imitated perfectly.

This guy really takes himself as a printing machine!

Yu Xiaolian reproached with a tender voice, "I already said my writing isn’t pretty, that’s why I came to you. You deliberately imitated my handwriting, didn’t you?"

Su Jingchen pressed the corners of his mouth, hiding the smile about to escape.

"It’s my fault. I’ll rewrite it!"

Yu Xiaolian took out a golden color pen, "I’ll use this to draw the edges, you are only responsible for writing."

Su Jingchen nodded and quickly wrote the first sheet, "Rose freshener, what is a rose?"

Yu Xiaolian didn’t know whether roses existed in this world, but she didn’t have lying syndrome, "Rose is the name of a wildflower."

Taking the note paper Su Jingchen wrote, Yu Xiaolian scrutinized it.

The brushwork produced characters thinner than those she wrote with a signature pen, truly unfair.

Comparing people with one another is infuriating.

Heaven is inexplicably biased towards some people.

With the golden pen, Yu Xiaolian quickly outlined a simple pattern, finishing a sheet.

After writing approximately dozens of rose freshener labels, she began writing for the lavender ones.

"What is lavender?" Su Jingchen asked.

"Also a type of wildflower." Yu Xiaolian replied without lifting her head, continuing to draw patterns.

Such a perfunctory response? Su Jingchen laughed, not even bothering to change the phrasing.

Yu Xiaolian felt Su Jingchen’s scrutinizing gaze, looked up, and met Su Jingchen’s meaningful smile.

"May I ask about this golden pen?"

"No!"

Yu Xiaolian handed the batch of papers over, "Write quickly, don’t slack off!"

Su Jingchen didn’t pursue further, resuming writing diligently.

One focused silently on writing, the other silently on drawing, spawning a sense of harmony.

Until Yu Changhe’s voice rang in the courtyard, Yu Xiaolian hurriedly said to Su Jingchen, "I’ll go home first. I’ll come by again tomorrow."

"I’m going to the academy during the day tomorrow; and my guess is Uncle Yu won’t let you come over at night. You don’t need to come; I’ll write it and have Aunt Li bring it to you."

While putting on her shoes off the kang, Yu Xiaolian said, "Uh... you don’t have to hurry with this, your studies are more important; mine isn’t urgent."

Actually, it was quite urgent, but she momentarily found her conscience, thinking such exploitation of Su Jingchen wasn’t right.

Su Jingchen nodded in agreement, "Hurry back; Uncle Yu is waiting impatiently."

Yu Changhe frowned as soon as he saw Yu Xiaolian, unhappily said, "I’ve told you before not to come over here when you have nothing to do, but you spent the entire afternoon here. If I hadn’t come to fetch you, wouldn’t you realize it’s time to go back?"

Yu Xiaolian felt like an erring child at that moment, being scolded by her father, not daring to talk back.

Yu Changhe closed the wooden door of the compound and continued, "I think this door is unnecessary; I wanted to keep outsiders out, but it looks like people should be keeping you out."

Yu Xiaolian glared resentfully at Yu Changhe’s tall figure; normally Sun talks about how Yu Changhe has a clumsy tongue, but what’s clumsy about it?

Here he goes, chattering away.

"I just wanted Su Jingchen to help me write some label papers, do you have to react like this? And they should guard against me; I’m a virtuous girl, not a flower thief."

Yu Xiaolian just argued, and her head got tapped by Yu Changhe.

"Watch what you say; who talks about flower thieves casually?"

Having been hit, Yu Xiaolian held her head, pouting.

She felt wronged, but she didn’t speak up.

If she spoke up, it would be arguing back, and arguing back would lead to being hit.

Yu Changhe sternly warned, "In conclusion, you are not allowed to run over to the Su Family for no reason anymore, understood?"

"Got it." A good man doesn’t suffer immediate loss; Yu Xiaolian decided to temporarily comply with Yu Changhe’s tyranny.

"Also, why didn’t you come out quickly when I called you just now? Why were you dawdling?"

"Where was I dawdling? When you called, I hastily put on my shoes, and as soon as I put them on, I came out."

Yu Changhe’s eyes widened, "Shoes? Did you take off your shoes and get on the kang?"

Yu Xiaolian realized the precariousness and softened her voice somewhat, "The kang is warm; it’s so cold now."

Yu Changhe’s eyes flared, "Is that boy staying on the kang too?"

"Ah!" It’s his house, why shouldn’t he stay on the kang?

"So, you both stayed on the same kang? Don’t you know the rule of not sharing seats between genders after seven years old? Even if you don’t know, shouldn’t a scholar like him know? No wonder this guy rents our house; apparently, he’s up to no good."

Yu Changhe was indignant, "Tomorrow I’ll build a wall at the arched door."

Yu Xiaolian didn’t expect Yu Changhe to get this angry.

She wanted to say, was it necessary?

But she swallowed the words, not daring to speak.

She could only internally complain about Yu Changhe’s fussing.

Yu Changhe angrily recounted Yu Xiaolian’s ’wrongdoing’ to Sun, announcing his intention to build a wall tomorrow.

Sun was making cotton clothes, and upon hearing Yu Changhe detail everything, Sun seriously told Yu Xiaolian, "Mother knows that back in the village, you didn’t have many friends, just got along with Zhao Erya for a few days. Now you want to make friends, and I understand, but there are differences between men and women, you need to be mindful of propriety."

What could Yu Xiaolian say? Ancient people regarded gender differences seriously; whatever she argued seemed irrational here.

The mistake was in her hurried speech, mentioning that she took off the shoes.