After staying for two days, Ms. Jie was undoubtedly an excellent businesswoman. She shared without pause how she had instantly spotted Shi Li among a group of outstanding groomsmen.
Shi Li maintained a stiff smile as she listened to her enthusiastic sharing.
Huang Jie had more to say. As a mother with a young daughter, she wasn't yet at the stage of introducing potential partners to her child. However, whenever she saw an excellent single young man, she would consider if he might be suitable for her daughter. At the wedding, the groom had mentioned that the groomsmen were single and even tried to play matchmaker for his good friends. Huang Jie noticed her daughter's exaggerated expression at the time, which drew her attention to Chu Chunsheng.
Although her own daughter was too young, her niece Shi Ruan was at a suitable age for marriage and happened to be single.
With the mindset of keeping good things within the family, Huang Jie introduced him to her sister-in-law after returning home.
Shi Li's eldest aunt, upon hearing her sister-in-law's introduction, thought it was indeed a good match, at least better than the blind dates her daughter had been on recently.
Finally hearing Huang Jie finish, Shi Li gave a thumbs up to the phone screen, "Mom, you're really something."
Huang Jie took it as a compliment from her daughter and accepted it without modesty. She said, "Sweetie, Mom is very open-minded about relationships. Even puppy love is okay, it's a life experience. But you're young now, so you need to protect yourself, understand?"
Shi Li didn't understand. She didn't know what Huang Jie meant.
She could understand each word individually, but put together, she couldn't comprehend at all.
Faced with her daughter's confused expression, Huang Jie thought she was pretending, obviously not wanting her family to know about her relationship. So she very understandingly changed the subject, saying she had work to do and told her to stay a couple more days with Grandma, no rush to come home.
After hanging up, Shi Li lay in bed, tossing and turning, unable to fall asleep no matter what.
Shi Li hugged her pillow and knocked on Shi Ruan's bedroom door.
After returning to her room, Shi Ruan had made a PowerPoint for class, finishing her work for the day before getting too tired, and returned to bed.
Shi Ruan was lying on the bed playing an otome game when she heard the knock. She jumped off the bed barefoot, thinking it was her mother looking for her. Opening the door, she saw her little cousin standing there with a pillow, her hair all fluffy.
Knowing she wanted to sleep together, Shi Ruan moved her pillow and blanket to the side, making space for half the bed, then patted the empty spot, "Come on."
Shi Li brought her own thin blanket and pillow, making herself at home in the space provided.
Noticing her little cousin's gloomy expression, Shi Ruan tossed aside the half-naked man in her phone game and leaned towards Shi Li, asking, "What's wrong? Why so unhappy? Did you have a fight with your boyfriend? Or did you not do well on a test?"
These were the troubles Shi Ruan could think of for a high school student.
Shi Li shook her head, "It's not that."
Seeing her little cousin's bird's nest hairstyle, Shi Ruan couldn't help but laugh, her tone especially gentle, "Then what's making you unhappy? How about I take you shopping tomorrow?"
Shi Li looked at her with pitiful eyes. Receiving her little cousin's pitiful gaze, Shi Ruan felt her heart melt, instantly feeling protective, "Whatever problem you're facing, tell your big sister. I'll help you solve it. Even if I can't do it myself, I'll find a way."
"It's not difficult for others, but it might be a bit hard for you. I think it's asking too much, so I'd better not say it. I'll just deal with it myself quietly."
She spoke halfway, leaving Shi Ruan hanging uncomfortably, "Come on, tell me, what is it?"
"Why is it not difficult for others but hard for me? Are you looking down on your big sister?"
Shi Li had a very conflicted expression and shook her head, saying, "Forget it, I won't say it."
Shi Ruan sat up anxiously, slapping her thigh, "Just tell me!"
She hesitantly said, "I just feel like that guy you had a blind date with today doesn't seem like a good person. Don't like him, and don't date him."
Shi Ruan's expression changed, looking troubled, "This is indeed a bit difficult. How about you wait until I've successfully pursued him before saying that?"
Shi Li's little sour face immediately scrunched up. Shi Ruan laughed, "I don't plan to marry him anyway, just dating for now to see how it goes. His character doesn't matter, as long as we're happy."
"That doesn't sound like something a role model teacher should say."
Shi Ruan shrugged, "Work is work, life is life. The two can't be mixed up. You're just a kid, you don't understand."
Shi Li didn't want to understand.
She simply felt that Chu Chunsheng shouldn't be someone easy to get. Would her cousin develop an obsession after failing?
But seeing Shi Ruan's confident face, Shi Li could only gently remind her, "Dating without the intention of marriage is just playing around."
Shi Ruan scoffed lightly, pinching Shi Li's soft cheeks, "Where did this little antique come from, ending up in my bed?"
Shi Li turned her head away, "If you keep this up, I'll tell Uncle."
Shi Ruan was most afraid of her old-fashioned father. Hearing her cousin mention her father, Shi Ruan immediately made a gesture of begging for mercy, "Okay, okay, I'm wrong, it's my fault. Don't tell your uncle."
"Don't worry, I'll definitely correct my thinking!"
"Then you should study the new ideology seriously in your weekly Party lectures, and strive to be a new youth."
Now it was Shi Ruan's turn to be full of question marks. Was she too old now to keep up with young people's imagination? She couldn't understand what dating had to do with Party lectures.
Shi Li added, "Study the spirit of the Civil Code well, let the rule of law thinking cleanse your mind." She couldn't commit illegal acts for the sake of a man.
Shi Ruan: ? Wait, I'm not a criminal, and I don't have any intention of committing crimes. My mind is pure and unblemished, why does it need cleansing?
Shi Ruan couldn't resist the urge and ended up pulling the blanket over Shi Li's head.
The two sisters played around for a while, working up a sweat.
Because of this pre-bedtime roughhousing, the sisters slept very soundly that night.
Shi Li stayed at the old house for two extra days, accompanying Grandma to watch dramas and do illustrations.
To Shi Li's surprise, Shi Ruan didn't go out to chase men these few days. The two sisters stayed at home together to keep Grandma company, making her very happy.
Shi Li thought it was because of their late-night talk, but she hadn't considered that in today's technologically advanced world, there was no need to meet in person to check in, as it might seem too deliberate.
