Volume Four, Third Floor. The Village Chapter 126. Qiao Lingxiang's Troubles
"haven't seen you for a long time."
Qiao Lingxiang slowly raised her head under the gaze of Gu Qingzhi and Tang Ling. On her chubby cheek, there was a bright red slap mark. The side of Qiao Lingxiang's cheek that was hit was a little swollen and looked particularly miserable. She
The tears on her face hadn't dried yet. She tried to smile at Gu Qingzhi and Tang Ling, but she just moved her mouth a little. Her cheeks hurt, and she gave up on letting herself laugh.
"Sister Qiao, what's wrong with your face?"
Tang Ling asked worriedly, while Gu Qingzhi beside him slowly raised a hand and gently touched Qiao Lingxiang's cheek. With a look of distress on his face, he asked softly: "Does it hurt?"
There is no need to think about the source of this slap mark. It must be Qiao Dabao who just left the Qiao family angrily. Gu Qingzhi and Tang Ling couldn't figure out how Uncle Qiao, who usually loves Qiao Lingxiang so much, could deal such a heavy hand to Qiao Lingxiang. It's just that they
She was full of doubts and couldn't say much at this time, so she could only stay by Qiao Lingxiang's side silently.
"It's okay." Qiao Lingxiang turned her head to avoid Gu Qingzhi's hand, then slowly got down from the stool and walked towards the kitchen while talking to Tang Ling and Gu Qingzhi, "Let's eat first, and we will go out to play later."
Tang Ling raised her head and looked at Gu Qingzhi. The other person's eyes were fixed on Qiao Lingxiang who was leaving. His face was worried, but also a little frustrated and hurt. His fingers hanging on one side were rubbing unconsciously. Tang Ling tugged on Gu Qingzhi.
He turned to the corner of his clothes and asked: "Brother Gu, what should we do?"
"Let's eat with Lingxiang first. After eating, let's take a walk with her and play with her to make her happy." Gu Qingzhi knelt down, touched Tang Ling's head and said to her. After seeing Tang Ling nod obediently,
, Gu Qingzhi smiled at her, but the worry on his face still did not dissipate.
After the two of them had a silent breakfast with Qiao Lingxiang, Zhou Xuemei planned to give Qiao Lingxiang a hard-boiled shelled egg to relieve the swelling on her face, but Qiao Lingxiang left the house without saying a word, leaving behind
Zhou Xuemei stood there helplessly holding the egg. Gu Qingzhi quickly took the egg from Zhou Xuemei's hand and promised to give it to Qiao Lingxiang to reduce the swelling. He quickly pulled Tang Ling to speed up and catch up with Qiao Lingxiang. Zhou Xuemei looked at the children on the spot.
He left and let out a long sigh.
On the rural road in the morning, a few people occasionally passed by. The passing women in twos and threes saw Tang Ling, Gu Qingzhi, and Qiao Lingxiang, and they all greeted them cheerfully, especially Gu Qingzhi, whose smiles were almost overflowing.
After arriving, she chatted with Gu Qingzhi eagerly for a few words. At this time, Qiao Lingxiang habitually wanted to go aside and avoid any unnecessary communication with these women, but before she could do anything, she covered herself
The injured face ran aside, and a sharp-eyed grandma noticed Qiao Lingxiang's abnormality. She deliberately used her sharp and aggressive voice, seemingly caring but full of sarcasm, and asked: "Yo? That baby from the Qiao family,...
What happened to your face? Did you get hit?"
"Ouch! If you didn't tell me, Aunt Liu, I really wouldn't have noticed. Sister Qiao, what happened? Who did you fight with? You're a girl and you don't like to fight. Did you get into trouble?"
Aunt Zhang, who was next to Aunt Liu and was about to pull Gu Qingzhi to continue chatting, heard Aunt Liu's words and quickly focused her attention on Qiao Lingxiang, who was blocked behind Gu Qingzhi. There was some disgust on her face. This has happened since Gu Qingzhi entered high school.
, he is getting taller and taller, and he is getting more and more handsome. I heard that he is still an outstanding student in the school. He is good-looking, capable, and has a cheerful personality. In their place, Gu Qingzhi is favored by some young and beautiful people.
Girls like it, but this guy is stubborn. He only thinks about his sister next door all day long. This Qiao Lingxiang is as fat as a pig, but she still hangs around Dr. Chen Qing all day long.
A womanizer is not a good thing at first glance. Gu Qingzhi is also blind, he actually falls in love with her.
Seeing those aunts looking at Qiao Lingxiang more and more wantonly, the expression on Qiao Lingxiang's face was a little ugly. Of course she knew what color the eyes of these aunts looked at her, including contempt, sarcasm, and disgust. From then on,
It had been like this before. Every time she and Gu Qingzhi walked outside together, everyone looked at her with strange eyes, and the eyes they looked at Gu Qingzhi were not very friendly. She was the one who caused Gu Qingzhi. Qiao Lingxiang felt a little sad.
She thought that, especially since she went to work at Dr. Chen Qing's place, everyone looked at her more unkindly. She had always known about the rumors circulating in the village, but she tried her best not to care about it.
She said it would be fine if she was alone, as long as she didn't involve the people she cared about, but slowly, other people also joined the ranks of being gossiped about by others. Even Tang Ling was said to be the same as her by those people.
A child with no future, that's why he got so close to her.
"Dear mothers-in-law, my dad asked me to go to the post office in town to send something. It's too late, so we can't talk any more. Let's leave first."
Just when Qiao Lingxiang was caught in her own emotional whirlpool and others were talking more and more enthusiastically, Gu Qingzhi suddenly shouted loudly to the aunts in front of him. His hand with his back turned quietly grabbed Qiao Lingxiang's hand and squeezed it gently.
For a moment, as if to comfort her, Tang Ling on the side also grabbed the corner of Qiao Lingxiang's clothes, and kept looking up at her worriedly. Qiao Lingxiang looked at the movements of the two of them, felt warm in her heart, pursed her lips, and controlled
He suppressed the raised corners of his mouth to avoid attracting the judgment of those aunts again.
After hearing what Gu Qingzhi said, the aunts stopped talking and quickly praised Gu Qingzhi for his filial piety. Then they walked aside, made way, said goodbye to Gu Qingzhi cordially, and continued chatting loudly before leaving. During this period, they were completely
He didn't pay any attention to Tang Ling and Qiao Lingxiang who were beside Gu Qingzhi.
After finally finding a place where no one was coming, the three of them sat down on the grass.
Gu Qingzhi took out the egg that was very hot under his own cover, handed it to Qiao Lingxiang, and said, "Take it to reduce the swelling. It's not too hot now, and the temperature is just right."
"Thank you." Qiao Lingxiang took the egg that Gu Qingzhi brought over. She thanked her sullenly and pressed the egg gently on her face. The three of them sat quietly on the ground. Qiao Lingxiang looked at the overlapping mountains in the distance.
In a daze, Gu Qingzhi and Tang Ling looked at her quietly. They knew they needed to leave Qiao Lingxiang alone for a while, and no one spoke.
"Are you curious why my dad beat me?"
After a long time, Qiao Lingxiang suddenly laughed. The two bright gazes around her made it difficult for her to ignore. Qiao Lingxiang couldn't help but laugh. The depressed mood in the morning slowly dissipated. She turned around and asked him
both.
"I'm just curious, but don't say anything if you don't want to say it. Anyway, Xiao Guitou and I will always stand by your side and support you." Gu Qingzhi finally felt relieved when he saw Qiao Lingxiang, who had always been sullen, finally showing his familiar smile.
In one breath, he fell down on the grass, resting his head on his hands, looking at the blue sky.
"Yes! Sister Qiao, no matter what you do, I will always support you!" Tang Ling beside her nodded, unconditionally trusting Qiao Lingxiang. She grabbed one of Qiao Lingxiang's hands, and then raised her own hand
swear.
"Hahaha." Qiao Lingxiang was amused by Tang Ling's serious look. She felt warm in her heart. She touched Tang Ling's hair and looked at her gently. After a long while, Qiao Lingxiang suddenly asked Tang Ling, "Lingling,
Have you ever thought about leaving this deep mountain?"
"Leave? You want to leave?" When Gu Qingzhi next to him heard Qiao Lingxiang's words, he didn't understand anything. He quickly sat up and looked at Qiao Lingxiang in surprise.
"Sister Qiao, are you leaving?" Tang Ling panicked when she heard Gu Qingzhi's words. She was about to let go of Qiao Lingxiang's hand but quickly tightened it, fearing that she would disappear in the next second.
"Why do we have to stay here forever? From birth to old age, illness and death, from the time we come out of our stomachs to when our ashes are scattered on the ground, do we have to be trapped in this mountain all our lives without seeing the outside world? I don't want to be trapped here,
The people in the village are really strange. Why do they have a natural sense of superiority? They think that if they just stay in Yushen Village and be protected by the mountain god, they will have a smooth life. What about the mountain god? I think it is just the greed of a group of guys who are greedy for life and afraid of death. "
At this point, Qiao Lingxiang's face flashed with disgust. After noticing the way Tang Ling looked at her, Qiao Lingxiang quickly retracted the bad look on her face. She rubbed Tang Ling's head with some distress.
She turned to Gu Qingzhi, who had been looking at her: "Azhi, I think it's very unfair. Why can't the girls in the village study or learn skills? They only deserve to get married when they are old enough to raise their husbands and children. They can't get married."
Girls are said to be undesirable, and those who are not married are said to be idle. They have said all kinds of things. We have been devalued to the point of being worthless. There are even...Azhi, you have been in school, you don't know, I
After you left here to study elsewhere, my dad never allowed me to go to school again. He said it was for your sake that he let me go to junior high school. But you went to another place, and I
Dad felt that there was no chance for us two, so he wanted me to stop reading."
"What?! Why didn't you ever tell me?"
Gu Qingzhi's face was full of shock. After hearing the news, he felt like he was struck by lightning. He stood up uncontrollably and spoke to Qiao Lingxiang in a voice that was several decibels louder. Gu Qingzhi looked at Qiao Lingxiang with a sad face and said to her
He felt that Uncle Qiao's behavior was extremely ridiculous. At the same time, he regretted it and kept asking himself why he couldn't work harder and why he overslept on the exam so that Qiao Lingxiang could continue studying.
Gu Qingzhi knows better than anyone that Qiao Lingxiang likes to read. She is different from many other children. She is devoted to studying. She was once the first in the class and the first in the grade. She held many positions. Many teachers still think that
A rare good talent. He and she work harder than anyone else. Sometimes even he doesn't understand why Qiao Lingxiang works so hard on her studies, as if she is dealing with some rare treasure and refuses to relax at all.
It turned out to be because this was a hard-won opportunity for her.
"Because I know you will react this way when you know the truth." Qiao Lingxiang turned to look at Gu Qingzhi. Seeing the self-blame and regret on his face, she smiled peacefully and motioned for Gu Qingzhi to calm down first and wait for Gu Qingzhi to sit down.
After that, Qiao Lingxiang continued, "Actually, regardless of whether it's you or not, my dad will never let me study again, so it has nothing to do with you, Azhi, don't blame yourself. You and I grew up together, and of course I understand you."
Some weird associations will arise because of my words, but it’s not what you think, it’s just that I’ve reached the age where I should stay away from school.”
