Despite Zhai Sheng’s age, he had waited for Qiao Nan for four to five years. At most, the two of them had only held hands and kissed on the lips, and they had only kissed twice.

  As an able-bodied and healthy man of over twenty years old, Zhai Sheng’s veins in his eyeballs were going to explode soon. “Nan Nan, let me remind you. If you let me endure too much now, you have much to suffer in the future. This kind of matter is different from repaying a monetary debt. The situation of the body remaining healthy despite increasing debts does not exist. If you deal with it separately and allocate time, it will be more beneficial to our minds and bodies.”

  Qiao Nan blushed fervently. At the thought that this was the small courtyard of the Lin family and there were other people present in the house, Qiao Nan lowered her voice. “Brother Zhai, if you talk about driving each time we bicker, be careful that I may not pick up your call in the future.”

  Zhai Sheng sighed and said resentfully as if he was a sorrowful woman in the deep palace, “Nan Nan, you should really consider my suggestion carefully. My body is very good. If I accumulate too much ‘inventory’, I am afraid you won’t be able to take it in the future.”

  “.……” Facing such a Zhai Sheng that was beyond advice, smoke was almost rising from Qiao Nan’s head. Was Brother Zhai a clown hired by the great monkey sage? She was angry with people from the Feng family earlier. Now, given what happened with Brother Zhai, she did not feel angry anymore. “Brother Zhai, I don’t support ‘driving’ without a license. As a soldier of the country and a party member, you should know how to be self-sufficient. Please don’t waste your five-finger lady and let it serve you well. I can guarantee you that you will find satisfaction in both your heart and mind such that you will be able to return to the army in your best condition.”

  “Alright, I can’t talk to you anymore. It’s not convenient. If I continue to chat, most likely, someone will glare through my back.” Feng Meng’s sight seemed to be like two rays that wanted to shoot through Qiao Nan’s body.

  Although Feng Meng did not hear the entire conversation between Qiao Nan and Zhai Sheng, given the current time, he had guessed that Zhai Sheng was most probably the caller.

  Qing Qing had just fallen out of love and Qiao Nan could not wait to show off her love with Zhai Sheng. Wouldn’t that make Qing Qing feel more unhappy and upset?

  Could this kind of person be considered a friend?

  Feng Meng was a man and he had dated many girlfriends before. As an individual who had stepped into the society, the things between a man and a woman—there was nothing that he had not done before.

  When Qiao Nan blushed, Feng Meng could sense that Qiao Nan and Zhai Sheng must be talking about something that was censored for those below eighteen years of age.

  \r \r \r

  The more that was the case, the blacker Feng Meng’s face turned. He was like Rakkhasa[1] and could scare a child into crying.

  “Brother, why are you standing here in a daze? Are you helping or not?” Shi Qing was sweating after moving the items. When she saw Feng Meng standing at the entrance of the courtyard as if he was serving a punishment, she was so angry that she nudged him. “Didn’t you see that I’m exhausted?”

  Even if it was September now, the weather at noon was terrible.

  At the sight of the silly-looking Shi Qing, Feng Meng could not help but feel his heart ache. “You’re tired. I have seen it. I just don’t know if someone else has eyes. You’re also too guileless. Can’t you just move your own stuff? Do you know who she is talking to over the phone? It’s good for her. She is dating over the phone while she let you be her coolie. My silly sister, what should I say to you?”

  Feng Meng felt his heart ache so much for Shi Qing.

  However, Shi Qing’s heart did not ache for herself. It was obvious that Qiao Nan was in a phone call and not doing anything else. Shi Qing not only condoned such selfish behavior of Qiao Nan but also foolishly moved Qiao Nan’s belongings down the car.

  If not because he knew that Shi Qing would stop him-although Feng Meng was a man who did not hit women usually—he would have thrown the carton in his hands at Qiao Nan.

  Feng Meng’s voice was extremely loud. Zhai Sheng, who was on the other end of the phone, could also hear him, let alone Qiao Nan.

  Zhai Sheng’s face turned black. This time, he had truly felt how displeased the Feng family was toward Qiao Nan.

  Before Zhai Sheng flared up and fought for her, Qiao Nan, who was starting to feel anxious, said hurriedly, “Brother Zhai, I will chat with you again after I tidy up the house. Bye.”

  After putting down the phone, Qiao Nan did not even glance at Feng Meng or argue back. She only returned to her bedroom to take a look before doing the same at Shi Qing’s bedroom.

  The small courtyard of the Lin family had been vacant for a long time. Moreover, no one was housekeeping it. Certainly, it was not in a move-in condition and they had to clean it up properly.

  Qiao Nan took out two sets of tools from her luggage and gave Shi Qing one set of them. She then wore the other set on her body. “We will move the belongings to the courtyard temporarily first while making sure that they will not be damaged under the sun. Next, we will do a thorough cleaning. Judging by this, we will most likely have to clean up until night time.”

  In actual fact, it was good that they had not moved the items into the house. The house was considered quite empty and it was thus easier for them to clean it up.

  If there were too many things in the house, it would be troublesome to clean it up.

  “What should we do next?” Shi Qing looked as if she was waiting for Qiao Nan’s instructions.

  Qiao Nan, who was wearing a mask and covered from tip to toe, said, “I will take down the curtains first and wash them. After I take them down, don’t sweep the floor first. Pour some water at every place of the house, and then wipe the floor with a cloth. Use a dry cloth for the first wipe. For the second and third wipes, I will do them with you using wet ones.”

  The small courtyard of the Lin family was vacant. There was only dust and not much thrash. Hence, there was only one task for Qiao Nan and Shi Qing: remove the dust.

  “Okay.” Shi Qing nodded and moved the stool for Qiao Nan so that Qiao Nan could take down the curtains. “Qiao Nan, you’re a little shorter than me. Why don’t I take them down while you wash the floor?”

  Seeing that Qiao Nan was stepping on the stool and standing on tiptoe, it seemed tough and Shi Qing wanted to swap tasks with Qiao Nan.

  “Let me do it……” Feng Meng, who had been standing by the side for a while, rolled up his sleeves. Pulling a long face, he moved another stool and reached out to take off the curtains.

  Feng Meng would definitely not step on the stool that had been stepped on by Qiao Nan.

  If it had not been for the sake of Shi Qing, he would not have cared.

  It was just that compared to just now, Qiao Nan did not refuse to clean up the place. Even if she was the one allocating the tasks, the duties that she assigned for herself were not less than that of Shi Qing. As such, Feng Meng’s anger subsided a little.

  Qiao Nan would not take the initiative to ask Feng Meng for help. Nevertheless, she would not stop Feng Meng from helping Shi Qing do the work.

  Once Feng Meng stepped up, Qiao Nan simply climbed down from the stool so that she could take over the curtains from him.

  When the curtains had been taken down, Qiao Nan did not mind the dirt either. Anyway, she was wearing an apron. She walked to the patio and threw the curtains into the big and red wooden pail. She then used the pulley to retrieve water from the well and poured it into the big wooden basin.

  The curtains were thick and huge. Although it was September now and the sun at noon was not as hot as that of July or August, it was vicious nevertheless.

  [1] A demon in Buddhism that eats human flesh