novelraw Chapter 160: What Are You Trying to Do?
Chapter 160: What Are You Trying to Do?
"It means you’re what we commonly call a foolish son-in-law. In our hometown, there’s a saying: a girl should marry someone who’s rich, gullible, and easy to fool."
Such a small, lousy fish, you can buy a bucket of them at the market for ten bucks. How much did he spend on gas driving back and forth?
Yu Minglang couldn’t laugh anymore, fishing with pent-up frustration. He really is great at fishing, with one rod and multiple hooks, catching at least three fish at a time.
Qian rests her chin in her hand and gives a precise comment.
"Fool catches foolish fish."
Yu Minglang got angry, threw down the rod, grabbed the woman trying to escape, and kissed her fiercely, only satisfied when her annoying little mouth couldn’t say anything to anger him.
Yu Minglang’s fishing speed was really quick; it wasn’t long before he had half a bucket. He shoved the fishing rod into Qian’s hand to let her fish for fun, while he gathered some dry wood, started a fire, and used the mineral water he brought to make fish soup for her.
He handled the fish, he started the fire, while Qian fished for a long time without catching a single one, eventually just watching him busy around.
If he didn’t act foolishly, he could be quite dependable. If he hadn’t turned Qian into a mud person, this kind of picnic could be quite a bonus.
When he had nearly everything ready, Qian took out his phone from him, and after entering a few numbers, the words black cucumber popped up.
Qian’s mouth twitched, Yu Minglang was too shameless, storing Zheng Xu’s number like that.
"Why are you calling him?" Yu Minglang thought she was calling home and came over to see she was calling black cucumber, feeling displeased.
"Since we bumped into him, let’s have a meal together. Yesterday he also ran an errand for me and was mad at you, it’s a coincidence we’re meeting again. Better early than late. You two even had a fight before, and both of our parents know each other; it wouldn’t be good to let things go sour."
Qian thought this was a good chance to reconcile Zheng Xu and Yu Minglang.
Yu Minglang snorted, "I only brought two bowls."
"One for me and one for Zheng Xu, just perfect."
Yu Minglang stood up and headed towards the pot, not willing to be stopped, intending to throw dirt into the pot!
"You’ll share one with me. We’re hosting; he’s the guest; you can’t let him find fault with us."
"That’s more like it." Yu Minglang felt comfortable, understanding that Qian was implying he’s family while Zheng Xu was just freeloading.
Qian made the call, but no one answered.
"What’s going on? Does he find you annoying, not answering your call?"
"Black cucumber isn’t like that; maybe he didn’t hear it. Call again."
Zheng Xu had gone in for quite a while and still hadn’t seen his car come out; he must still be in the school.
Qian found it strange and dialed again, still getting no answer.
"That’s not right; could something have happened to him inside?"
"What could happen to him? That kid is probably somewhere nostalgic in a corner; don’t bother with him." Yu Minglang refused to believe someone like Zheng Xu could get into trouble in such a wasteland.
He smirked, "For all we know, he’s inside dismantling old doors and windows to sell them for money, a sly businessman."
Qian slapped his head, "Can’t go a day without criticizing someone, can you? Get up, take me inside to find him!"
"My fish soup isn’t finished cooking yet."
Yu Minglang didn’t care to look for Zheng Xu; it’s enough kindness that he invited the guy for fish soup, asking him to go in and invite him just elevated Zheng Xu too much.
"You’re not going, huh? Fine, I’ll go myself!" Qian grew increasingly uneasy; Zheng Xu had a particular phobia, and if something at the school triggered it, he definitely wasn’t in a safe situation!
Listening to her say this, Yu Minglang reluctantly removed the fish soup from the fire and extinguished it.
"Though it doesn’t look far, the road isn’t easy; I’ll drive you there."
The off-road drove across the muddy ground and followed Zheng Xu’s tire tracks into the abandoned campus. The school wasn’t large, so driving in quickly revealed Zheng Xu’s car. Yu Minglang parked next to it and got out with Qian.
Afraid Qian might fall, he held her hand as they followed the footsteps all the way.
Overgrown with weeds, Zheng Xu’s tread marks were easily spotted. As they followed the marks, Yu Minglang wondered aloud.
"What’s he doing in here?"
Qian looked up at a dilapidated small brick house; all the glass had been removed by nearby villagers, leaving it pitch black, with faint black marks on the walls.
"This is the warehouse I saved back in the day—hey, Zheng Xu, are you inside?" Yu Minglang shouted into the dark little shack, with echoes resonating in the emptiness.
After shouting twice and hearing no response, Yu Minglang led Qian inside.
The small room wasn’t big, filled with thick dust, in a backlit warehouse where only sunlight shone through the windows, Yu Minglang and Qian raised a dust cloud as they walked in.
Qian immediately saw Zheng Xu lying on the ground!
"Zheng Xu!" Qian quickly ran over, followed by Yu Minglang, who deftly placed a hand near Zheng Xu’s nose, confirming he was breathing, then grabbed his wrist to check pulse.
"Vital signs appear normal—did this guy drink too much and passed out?"
Qian glanced around the room, her gaze suddenly landing on the warehouse roof beams. The warehouse was very basic; the beams were original rural wooden beams without a ceiling. From her angle, the thickest one had a white paint mark on it, looking like a large sawtooth.
She cursed under her breath, "Get him to the car, quickly."
Indeed, something had triggered his phobia.
Qian directed Yu Minglang to carry Zheng Xu out, and as they left, she looked up at the strange roof beam again, finally dismissing it as a coincidence.
Yu Minglang put Zheng Xu in the car, reclining the seat, and began pinching Zheng Xu’s philtrum, trying to revive him, but Zheng Xu didn’t wake up.
"Why don’t you give him mouth-to-mouth and see if it works?" Qian knew Zheng Xu’s condition wasn’t serious and he’d wake soon, teasing Yu Minglang.
Yu Minglang showed an incredibly conflicted reaction, looking at Zheng Xu’s thin lips and swallowing hard.
"He’s not really in a condition for mouth-to-mouth, he can breathe on his own..."
"Saving a life is more meritorious than building a seven-tier pagoda. Look, he’s like this, can you kiss him for me—I mean, give him mouth-to-mouth once?" Qian’s eyes sparkled.
Yu Minglang couldn’t resist her pleading, feeling like when Qian begged, her eyes seemed electrified.
He steeled himself mentally, just to pretend blowing air onto a rubber doll, imagining Zheng Xu as a big chunk of silent pork.
Seeing Yu Minglang seriously about to perform mouth-to-mouth, Qian didn’t want to mess with him anymore, not planning to actually let him kiss. She was just testing if Yu Minglang listened to her. She was about to tap his shoulder to stop him when Zheng Xu opened his eyes.
Immediately, he saw Yu Minglang’s magnified face, less than 40 centimeters away, with eyes closed. What’s this about?!
Without hesitation, Zheng Xu threw a punch, Yu Minglang sensed danger instantly and turned to dodge the swing.
Zheng Xu sat up, "What are you doing?"