Chapter 102: Crossing the Pot (Part 1)

Yang Jianjun certainly would not want a second child, and Gao Meilan was only speaking out of anger; at over 40 years old, the risks of having a second child were great, and they also lacked the energy to raise one.

Yang Tianxing did not yet know that his mother was planning to give up on him, this "first-born," and as he leisurely transferred vehicles all the way to Liangshan Prefecture, a familiar feeling rushed toward him as if he had never left.

Pushing open the familiar brushwood gate, the only person in the courtyard was the little girl A-Ning, who was sitting alone on a small stool doing her homework, while the little mongrel dog and the house cat both lay listlessly at her feet.

Now that she saw Yang Tianxing, the little girl was not as afraid anymore; she specifically stood up, ran over, and tilted her head to greet him: "Big Brother."

"Why does this form of address sound like I'm a prince?"

Yang Tianxing muttered a sentence, then smilingly took out the snacks he had bought: "Where did Grandma and Big Sister go?"

"Grandma went to Great-Uncle's house, and Big Sister went to chop firewood."

When little A-Ning received the snacks, she did not rush to eat them herself; she slowly divided them into several portions, and Yang Tianxing, finding it interesting, asked A-Ning the reason.

"One portion for Grandma, one for Big Sister, one for Big Brother, and one for A-Ning."

Yang Tianxing stroked her hair: "Give Big Brother's portion to you."

Little A-Ning's father had gone out to work in his early years and then vanished without a trace, and her mother, unable to wait any longer, simply remarried, which meant that Liu Jiaoyue's grandmother had to raise the two children through school all by herself.

"Thank you, Big Brother."

Little A-Ning thanked him happily, then suddenly said: "Big Sister dreamed of Big Brother while she was sleeping."

"How does A-Ning know that?"

Yang Tianxing asked with a face full of smiles.

"Big Sister sleeps with me every day, and I heard her talking in her sleep."

A-Ning blinked her large eyes and answered earnestly.

"Hahahaha."

Yang Tianxing laughed loudly, picked up little A-Ning, and pinched her cheeks: "You and your Big Sister are truly too simple-minded."

Just as the two were talking, Liu Jiaoyue returned carrying a large bundle of firewood; she was quite tall herself, but because the firewood she carried was so heavy, her entire back was bent.

Yang Tianxing suppressed the tenderness rising in his heart and said with a frown: "Can't you carry a little less? You're really stupid to death."

In truth, Yang Tianxing found it strange himself; he was mostly tolerant when facing Tan Zhizhi, yet he was somewhat harsh every time he saw the simple-minded Liu Jiaoyue working.

Liu Jiaoyue was very happy to see Yang Tianxing, but she did not know how to express it in words; her simple, charming face was instantly filled with joy, and her peach-blossom eyes were watery, clear, and bright.

It was just that, having been scolded a moment ago, there was some grievance on her small face.

Yang Tianxing pretended not to see it and walked over to help unload the firewood from Liu Jiaoyue: "I'm asking you a question, why did you chop so much?"

"I, after I go to school, Grandma can't carry it at home..."

Liu Jiaoyue lowered her head and explained in a small voice; fearing that Yang Tianxing would continue to be angry, she carefully added: "Next time I won't carry so much, please don't be angry anymore."

Only then did Yang Tianxing realize he had misunderstood; Liu Jiaoyue wanted to store more firewood at home so that after she left for Chang'an, Grandma would not need to carry it.

"Ahem~"

Yang Tianxing felt too embarrassed to apologize, so he coughed and asked: "Do you still need to chop more?"

"Yes, I do, let me cook a meal for you first."

Liu Jiaoyue said in a small voice and walked toward the kitchen to prepare the stove.

Yang Tianxing shook his head: "I've already eaten, let's go chop together."

Liu Jiaoyue did not move; presumably, she did not want Yang Tianxing to do manual labor.

"Hurry up."

Yang Tianxing urged her, and only then did she hurriedly follow.

Chopping firewood was still a technical job; although Yang Tianxing had quite a bit of strength, without the right technique, it exhausted him, and several times Liu Jiaoyue wanted to take it over and chop it herself, but she was glared back by Yang Tianxing; they went back and forth three times before the firewood storage shed was filled.

Grandma also returned in the evening; she looked at the two young people busy in the courtyard without saying a word, then slowly took out a piece of cured meat to cook.

Seeing a meat dish during the meal, Yang Tianxing thought to himself that this must have to do with the money he left behind; it turned out that changing a poor family was not that difficult.

In fact, from the perspective of Liu Jiaoyue's family, with one student in university, one young child about to start school, and an old woman without the ability to work, money was not that easy to earn.

If Yang Tianxing had not intervened in Liu Jiaoyue's life, Liu Ningning's elementary school tuition would likely have depended on Liu Jiaoyue working hard at part-time jobs in the cafeteria and library, and then saving money by eating plain rice that cost thirty cents.

After finishing dinner, Yang Tianxing sat in the small kitchen petting the cat and teasing the dog, a cigarette dangling from his mouth.

Outside the door, the north wind was blowing with a "whoosh," and in the small kitchen, the firewood chopped that afternoon was burning, occasionally making "crackling" sounds as it burst from the firelight of the stove.

Liu Jiaoyue sat to one side earnestly guiding little A-Ning with her homework, occasionally tucking stray strands of hair behind her ear, revealing a side profile and earlobe flushed red by the firelight, while the old woman sat in her chair, drowsy.

……………

The next day, Yang Tianxing and Liu Jiaoyue left Liangshan Prefecture, but when they arrived in Rongcheng, they did not go to the train station, but to the airport.

Liu Jiaoyue only realized they were taking a plane when they reached the boarding gate; she tugged lightly on the corner of Yang Tianxing's clothes: "Let's go take the train, okay?"

Yang Tianxing knew her thoughts and comforted her: "Plane tickets bought in advance cost about the same as a soft sleeper, don't worry."

This was the truth, but for Liu Jiaoyue, the nervousness of taking a plane for the first time far outweighed the novelty, especially when it first took off; her small face turned deathly pale, and she gripped Yang Tianxing's hand tightly without letting go.

Even after entering the stratosphere and becoming relatively stable, Liu Jiaoyue's shoulders could not stop trembling.

"N-next time we won't take a plane."

Liu Jiaoyue requested in a small voice, tears the size of beans swirling in her eye sockets, and as her peach-blossom eyes blinked, they rolled down.

"No problem, then give me a kiss, and we won't take a plane next time."

Yang Tianxing smiled and wiped the tears from her face.

Such a request in a public place was truly too difficult for Liu Jiaoyue; she turned her head away to look out the window, tears still clinging to her long, curled eyelashes.

After the plane had been flying for a while, Yang Tianxing shook Liu Jiaoyue's fingers: "Let go for a second, I'm going to the restroom and will be right back."

"Oh, oh, oh."

Liu Jiaoyue slowly let go, but the plane immediately hit another bump, and she grabbed Yang Tianxing tightly again, her eyes filled with reliance.

"Forget it."

Yang Tianxing sighed and patted her tender white hand: "I'll just pee in my pants."

……………

After a two-and-a-half-hour flight to Chang'an International Airport and a car ride back to school, Yang Tianxing didn't even have time to sleep before rushing back to Jinzhou.

Although Tan Zhizhi found Yang Tianxing's excuse of "visiting relatives" a bit strange, he had at least made it back in time, and Yang Tianxing also put on a show of riding in Tan Qingwu's car to school.

Shao Ziyang and the others were there too, chattering away the whole way, and Tan Zhizhi even nudged Yang Tianxing: "Little Yang, do you think there will be big changes at school after a year?"

Yang Tianxing curled his lip: "What kind of changes could there be? It's all the same old look."

"Pfft, saying it so definitively, as if you'd just seen it."

Little Zhiliao pouted and said.

Yang Tianxing's shoulders twitched unnaturally; he had indeed just returned from there.

Since the other classmates' schools were relatively far from Yang Tianxing and Tan Zhizhi's, Tan Qingwu dropped off a few classmates at their schools first, and would go to Jiaotong University and the Finance Institute last.

"Why is this road so crowded?"

Old Tan said with a frown.

Yang Tianxing looked up; the two schools weren't far apart, so the bus stops were packed with students carrying luggage, and with the street vendors added in, the vehicle was slow to move forward.

"It's just the start of the school term right now..."

Yang Tianxing stopped abruptly halfway through his sentence because he saw a familiar figure.

Liu Jiaoyue!

She was wearing that royal blue down jacket, and she was standing right by the side of the road.

"It's over, why would she appear here."

Liu Jiaoyue was probably out to buy some things, or perhaps just out for a walk, but that was no longer important; Yang Tianxing's mind went completely blank in an instant.

"Little Zhiliao, there's a girl up ahead, the clothes she's wearing look just like yours."

Just at this moment, Old Tan, who had sharp eyes, saw her too, but he just assumed it was the same style or a coincidence.

"Really?"

Tan Zhizhi slowly lifted her chin and looked out the window.

Yang Tianxing's heart tightened violently.