Chapter 135: Hometown? Da Ya—Su Qinghe

Chapter 135: Chapter 135: Hometown? Da Ya—Su Qinghe

By the guardrail along the coast, the salty sea breeze felt a little sticky as it blew past.

Su Qinghe gazed at the scattered lights of fishing boats on the distant sea horizon, lost in thought.

"Su Hanhan, what are you thinking about?"

Gu Yifan said, ruffling her hair.

Her once silky-smooth hair was now a bit messy from his touch, but it didn’t look bad. In fact, it had a certain tousled charm.

"I..."

Su Qinghe’s lips parted slightly. After a moment’s hesitation, she turned to Gu Yifan and said softly, "I suddenly feel so useless."

"Hm?"

Gu Yifan couldn’t help but frown.

He looked at Su Qinghe, puzzled. "Why would you suddenly say that?"

"I... You’re just too amazing."

She pouted and mumbled shyly.

"Uh..."

Gu Yifan was stunned. He didn’t know whether to laugh or cry.

"You, you... you really are a silly Hanhan!"

Gu Yifan couldn’t resist pinching her cheek. Then he said softly, "You silly girl, you’re actually amazing yourself!"

"Look at you. You get good grades, you’re beautiful, and you’re Goddess Su to all the guys at school!"

Hearing Gu Yifan say the words "Goddess Su," Su Qinghe couldn’t help but blush. ’Something about that feels a little strange,’ she thought.

"Alright, don’t put yourself down. In my eyes, you’re wonderful and amazing too!"

"When we used to walk together, didn’t you see how the other guys looked at me? Their eyes were filled with envy—some even looked like they wanted to kill me."

Gu Yifan said with a slight smile.

At this, the blush on Su Qinghe’s face deepened, and she couldn’t help but roll her eyes at Gu Yifan.

’This jerk is talking nonsense!’

’It wasn’t that exaggerated!’

"Alright, be good~"

"Don’t overthink it, and don’t worry about what other people say. Just be your truest self. I’ll take care of the rest!"

Gu Yifan said, his voice gentle and soft.

Su Qinghe tilted her head up to look at him, and their eyes met.

After a moment.

As if she had figured something out, Su Qinghe broke into a radiant smile. "Mhm, I understand now."

Seeing her smile, Gu Yifan smiled too.

...

At 11:30 PM.

After their walk on the beach, the two returned to the hotel.

Perhaps having learned from their previous experience, this time, Su Qinghe scurried back to her own room the moment she finished her shower.

Gu Yifan didn’t have any distracting thoughts this time either. After a cigarette, he also showered and went to bed.

The night passed peacefully.

Early the next morning, after finishing breakfast at the hotel, Gu Yifan and Su Qinghe headed out.

The Zhang City District was only a few dozen kilometers from Su Qinghe’s hometown. After buying incense, joss paper, and other offerings in the city, they drove toward Sha Xi Village.

Sha Xi Village was where Su Qinghe’s old home was located, a small fishing village by the sea.

The drive there was almost entirely along the coastal highway, and the scenery on both sides was quite beautiful.

Gu Yifan kept the car at a slow speed. They admired the passing scenery and enjoyed the sea breeze—it was very pleasant!

Around 9:30 in the morning, they arrived at Su Qinghe’s old home—Sha Xi Village.

The village wasn’t very large, consisting of a dozen or so households. The primary language spoken here was Minnan, which Gu Yifan naturally couldn’t understand.

"We’re here. It’s just up ahead."

Su Qinghe said softly, pointing to a dilapidated, weed-choked brick house up ahead.

"Okay!"

"Let’s find a place to park the car first," Gu Yifan said.

"Mhm."

Su Qinghe nodded, but her eyes never left the dilapidated house.

Outsiders rarely visited this place, let alone in a luxury car like theirs. The moment Gu Yifan and Su Qinghe entered the village, they drew attention.

After parking, they had just stepped out of the car when several middle-aged women, who were sitting under a large banyan tree shelling peanuts, began to size them up with curiosity.

Perhaps it was the anxiety of returning home after so long.

Su Qinghe couldn’t help but feel a surge of nervousness. Gu Yifan, on the other hand, was unfazed. He even smiled and greeted the older women under the banyan tree.

With his easy familiarity, he was what later generations would call a social powerhouse.

As expected!

Like mother, like son.

Gu Yifan had clearly inherited Chen Dongmei’s socially gifted personality.

Looking at the house that held all her childhood memories, now mottled, dilapidated, and overgrown with weeds, Su Qinghe was overwhelmed with a mix of emotions.

Noticing her distress, Gu Yifan walked over and gently took her hand. "It’s okay," he said softly. "I’m here."

"Mhm."

Su Qinghe looked up at him and gave a small nod.

Just then, an old woman emerged from a low-slung house nearby.

"Eh? Who are you...?"

She asked, looking quizzically at the unfamiliar pair of Gu Yifan and Su Qinghe.

Hearing the voice, both Gu Yifan and Su Qinghe turned to look.

The old woman was speaking Minnan, so Gu Yifan couldn’t understand her. But Su Qinghe recognized her at once and replied softly in Minnan, "Third Great-Aunt."

"Hm?"

The old woman Su Qinghe had called Third Great-Aunt was clearly taken aback by this.

She studied Su Qinghe carefully, her brow furrowed.

She simply couldn’t recognize who Su Qinghe was.

"Third Great-Aunt, it’s me. I’m Da Ya,"

Seeming to notice the confusion in the old woman’s eyes, Su Qinghe spoke again in Minnan.

"Da Ya?"

The old woman seemed to recall something. She looked at Su Qinghe and asked tentatively, "Da Ya, are you Su Mei’s girl—Qinghe?"

"Mhm, that’s me!"

Su Qinghe nodded and said softly.

"Oh my, Da Ya, it really is you!"

"In the blink of an eye, you’ve gotten so big! Your Third Great-Aunt didn’t even recognize you!"

The old woman exclaimed in surprise.

"Mhm."

Su Qinghe nodded, not saying much else.

That was just her personality; it couldn’t be helped.

"So,"

"Are you back to stay?"

"Da Ya, what brings you back this time?"

the Third Great-Aunt asked Su Qinghe casually.

"No."

Su Qinghe shook her head and said softly, "I just came back to pay respects to my parents."

"Oh, I see!"

The Third Great-Aunt nodded. "You’re so grown up now. You probably haven’t been back in a long time, so it’s right that you should come pay your respects to your parents."

"Mhm."

Su Qinghe nodded and fell silent again.

It was Gu Yifan who spoke up, asking Su Qinghe, "Is she... a relative?"

Su Qinghe first nodded, then shook her head. She thought for a moment before saying softly, "Mhm. The Third Great-Aunt is my grandmother’s sister."

"Oh, okay."

Gu Yifan nodded.

Hearing the two of them talking, the old woman couldn’t really understand Mandarin, but she could roughly guess their meaning from their expressions and body language.

And so, she began to speak to them in a low voice...