Chapter 254: This Question, She Knows It!

Qian Zhao carried a bundle of firewood as he circled around from the front, "What are you two chatting about?"

Just then, An Yinan was surprised to notice that Qiu Hua's ears were slightly flushed.

This topic, she knew it!

"We were talking about you delivering firewood to the backyard. Do the people in the front have any objections?" An Yinan teased.

She and Qian Zhao had come to the countryside together, and later, when building the house, Qian Zhao had helped out quite a bit.

He was a very honest and sincere person, not the type to be cunning or lazy, and he had a very upright set of values; he was poor but had high aspirations.

If it weren't for the fact that only female Educated Youth could live in the backyard, she would have really liked to let Qian Zhao live in the small room she had tidied up before.

Who lived there didn't really matter, did it?

Qian Zhao scratched his hair, "Hey, I carry the most firewood in the front yard, what could they possibly say?"

To avoid being gossiped about by that group of people, Qian Zhao was willing to do more work.

He would set off on a long journey before dawn, and when he reached the mountain, the sky would still be dim; he got up earlier than everyone else, and after finishing the firewood, he would eat whatever was available before heading to work.

Even with such a busy schedule, he never missed out on earning Work Points.

It was clear he was a steady person who knew how to live a good life.

An Yinan nodded, "Eat here tonight. I caught a few rabbits and was just worrying about who to have process them; you've come at the perfect time."

Qian Zhao looked at Zhao Qiu Hua, then hurriedly waved his hands, "No, no need. The Educated Youth Courtyard has already cooked, I'll just clean them up for you and go back to eat."

An Yinan looked at Zhao Qiu Hua's increasingly red ears and smiled slyly, "Don't be like that, it's as if we in the backyard don't know how to treat a guest."

"No, I really didn't mean it like that." Qian Zhao quickly looked up at An Yinan, then at Zhao Qiu Hua.

He was afraid that Zhao Qiu Hua would misunderstand.

Zhao Qiu Hua slapped An Yinan on the arm, "You brat!"

Only then did she say to Qian Zhao, "She's joking, don't take it too seriously."

"Just eat in the backyard. This girl went and caught rabbits today, so we'll just stew a pot; it'll be lively with more people," Zhao Qiu Hua said openly.

Qian Zhao's face lit up with joy, and he quickly agreed, "Alright, I'll go to the front yard to tell them first, then I'll come over to do the work."

"Don't move this firewood, wait for me to come over in a bit and stack it neatly. Just leave the rabbits there, I'll handle them."

An Yinan raised an eyebrow and said nothing more.

She had said it, hadn't she? Before, when Qiu Hua wanted to find a partner, because she had mentioned the possibility of the College Entrance Examination, Qiu Hua had started focusing all her energy on studying.

However, even if her family introduced her to someone, she shouldn't have been this resistant.

Who would have thought, the prince has the intention, and the goddess has the heart.

"Alright, if you have anything you want to ask, just ask," Zhao Qiu Hua glanced at An Yinan.

Xiue was very gentle; even if she noticed something, she wouldn't say it out loud, nor would she ask.

And Xie Yuanyuan was purely a scatterbrain; apart from being shrewd about food, she didn't care about anything else.

But the one in front of her was a pure fox; nothing could escape her eyes!

"You and him?" An Yinan didn't finish the sentence, but the meaning was clear.

Zhao Qiu Hua sighed, "I refused the ones back home, but with my parents' temperaments, it's hard to say."

"Qian Zhao has expressed his feelings, but I haven't given him an answer yet."

Before, she was limited to her own little world, seeing only what was right in front of her, so her thoughts were fixed there.

But An Yinan's mention of the possibility of universities opening up was like a heavy blow, shattering her fixed mindset.

It turned out she could live a more colorful life, and it turned out she could rely on herself.

But regarding Qian Zhao, her feelings were complicated.

To say there were no feelings? That wasn't true.

To say there were feelings? There were still concerns.

An Yinan saw her conflicted expression and could roughly guess a few things, "What are you worried about?"

Zhao Qiu Hua poured out all her thoughts, and only after she finished did she let out a sigh of relief. She had kept these words bottled up inside for a long time, wanting to tell someone but not knowing how to start.

Now, it was a relief to get it all out.

"My dear sister, you're so silly!"

"Let Qian Zhao study. Looking at him, he seems like someone with a sharp mind."

"Mm, and his taste isn't bad either."

"Although there are many people around us now, with you watching over him, he will definitely study even harder."

"In the future, if you both get into a university in the same City, what could possibly be the problem?"

An Yinan explained carefully; a man fears choosing the wrong profession, and a woman fears marrying the wrong man.

For a woman, marriage is like being reborn; the happiness or misfortune of this life will be reflected in every detail.

She was afraid that Qiu Hua would regret it later.

"Study? Is that possible?" Zhao Qiu Hua looked at An Yinan.

An Yinan tapped her forehead, "You, you just think too much. Learn from Yuanyuan; there's nothing wrong with that."

While the two were talking, everyone else finished their work.

"I heard that, you're praising me!" Xie Yuanyuan skipped over; at over twenty years old, she was like a carefree little elf.

Zhao Qiu Hua and An Yinan looked at each other, then smiled helplessly; this was a girl raised by her family with love.

The two said in unison, "We were praising you!"

Xie Yuanyuan looked at one, then the other, and muttered softly, "Don't think I'm stupid."

The two of them definitely had some little secret.

However, An Yinan's words had also opened up Zhao Qiu Hua's mind.

Since he has the heart and she has the intention, why can't the two of them give it a try?

Give each other a chance, so that even if they miss out later, they won't have any regrets.

Qian Zhao told the front yard that there was no need to cook his meal that evening, then returned to his room to get the grain before coming to the backyard.

Just as he entered the courtyard, Zhao Qiu Hua walked over.

"I..." Qian Zhao handed over the bowl containing the grain, but he hadn't finished speaking.

Zhao Qiu Hua snatched the bowl, placed it on the table nearby, and said to him, "Let's talk."

Qian Zhao felt a bit uneasy as he followed Zhao Qiu Hua under the eaves outside, the two of them standing a meter apart to avoid outsiders seeing them and gossiping.

"I want to take the university entrance exam in the future." Zhao Qiu Hua did not hide her ambition; she used to only look at her own small plot of land, but her horizons had broadened, and the companionship and hard work of her friends kept her constantly raising her goals, and she also believed in herself.

Qian Zhao widened his eyes, "No..."

Zhao Qiu Hua interrupted his words once again, "It is the general trend; although we don't know when universities will open, it is only a matter of time."

Hearing this, Qian Zhao's eyes slowly dimmed; she wanted to take the university entrance exam, so how could he be worthy of someone as outstanding as her?

Qian Zhao, who was eloquent in front of others, became like a silent gourd with its mouth sawed shut whenever he was in front of Zhao Qiu Hua.

"I don't have that much time right now to think about personal romantic matters."

Hearing this, Qian Zhao was already on the verge of giving up; although he liked her immensely, he could not let his own feelings hinder her future.

She could have a better future and would find someone more outstanding to accompany her in the days to come.

But he did not expect that Zhao Qiu Hua's next sentence would be.

"However, are you willing to take the university entrance exam? If we get into the same university, shall we try dating?" Zhao Qiu Hua asked.

She wanted to provide a path for the two of them, so that neither of them would have regrets.