Chapter 522 - 506: Thick-skinned Gu’er

Gu’er understood. Xinghua had taken a liking to a young man, but she didn’t know him well. Fate was a mysterious thing—you never knew where it might be waiting for you.

In fact, quite a few people had tried to play matchmaker for Xinghua. While she hadn’t fully inherited Lin Shuying’s beauty, she was still quite pretty. Combined with her cheerful and capable nature, she was very well-liked.

But whenever someone brought up a potential match, she would always say she wanted to wait a couple of years. Who would have thought she’d end up taking a fancy to someone on her own?

"How old is he? What does his family do for a living?"

Lin Shuying asked, feeling very worried.

"He looks about twenty-two or twenty-three, I think. I have no idea what his family does. I don’t even know his name."

Xinghua admitted truthfully. She had wanted to ask last time but was too embarrassed.

"You don’t know anything about him and yet you’re... Honestly."

Lin Shuying didn’t know what to say to her daughter.

"Auntie, Xinghua probably just thinks his smile looks sincere. Don’t worry. Xinghua said so herself—she just thinks he has a nice smile, there’s nothing more to it."

Gu’er quickly tried to placate her, afraid Lin Shuying would read too much into it.

"Auntie, how about this? Xinghua can check what day he’s supposed to pick up the sweater, and I’ll go with her to take a look."

Gu’er didn’t think it was a big deal, but since it was rare for Xinghua to take an interest in someone, she figured it wouldn’t hurt to check him out. ’What if he’s actually a great guy? This could be the one for her.’

Lin Shuying glanced at Xinghua, who nodded. Only then did Lin Shuying relax, seeing that her daughter wasn’t getting carried away.

"Alright, Gu’er. You go have a look, then come back and tell your auntie what you find out."

Lin Shuying felt at ease entrusting this matter to Gu’er.

Xinghua told Gu’er the pickup was scheduled for the afternoon two days from now. Gu’er said she would remember.

On the afternoon of the twenty-second, after lunch, Sun Jiaming drove Gu’er and Jiji to Xinghua’s shop.

Xinghua’s shop was much larger than before. Finished sweaters hung on display, and of course, if a customer liked one, they could buy it on the spot.

The shelves were also packed with yarn of all kinds—thick and thin, in every color imaginable.

Besides Xinghua, there were two other people in the shop: a young woman and a middle-aged lady. Their hands flew as they knitted sweaters; they were employees Xinghua had hired.

"Sis, come sit down! Jiji, come over to Auntie Xinghua!"

Xinghua called to Jiji, clapping her hands.

Sun Jiaming said a brief hello and then headed to the mall, arranging to pick Gu’er up later so they could go home together.

Jiji was fascinated by all the colorful yarn in the shop. Gu’er told him not to touch it, which only made him want to grab it more. He wriggled his little body, straining to reach the yarn.

"Sis, just let him play with it. We have to wind it into balls anyway. If he tangles it, I’ll just re-wind it later."

Xinghua couldn’t stand seeing Jiji’s crestfallen face. ’It’s only natural for a child to be drawn to bright colors.’

Seeing as Xinghua insisted, Gu’er set Jiji down. Xinghua gave him a few balls of yarn—red, pink, and green. Jiji sat down happily and began to unravel them.

Gu’er and Xinghua started talking about sweater patterns. Gu’er briefly described some of the styles that would become popular in the future, and Xinghua was extremely interested. This was her passion—researching new designs. She was determined to make her knitting shop the best in the city.

By a little after three in the afternoon, Gu’er had seen quite a few customers come and go. Some were picking out patterns, others were browsing yarn, and a few were picking up their orders. However, she hadn’t seen the young man Xinghua mentioned.

Gu’er could see that Xinghua was getting anxious, so she didn’t mention it, not wanting to embarrass her or make her even more antsy.

Suddenly, Gu’er saw Xinghua’s eyes light up. ’He’s here?’

Gu’er followed Xinghua’s gaze. A man was up front, talking to the middle-aged woman who was knitting.

"Sis, that’s him."

Xinghua whispered before standing up and walking over to the young man. Since she had been the one to help him initially and had recommended the pattern, she knew which sweater he was there to pick up.

Gu’er sized up the young man as he spoke with Xinghua.

He had taken off his hat and unwound his scarf, revealing a youthful face.

He had short hair, thick eyebrows, and big, bright eyes. His nose was straight, and his mouth was well-formed. He even had dimples that appeared when he smiled.

’No wonder Xinghua said his smile made her feel so at ease.’ He was a spirited young man, and his smile felt sunny and warm, yet it held a hint of shyness.

’His features are quite nice, and his gaze is steady. He seems like a straightforward person.’

After assessing his face, Gu’er looked at his attire: a thick blue cotton-padded jacket, matching cotton-padded pants, and black cotton shoes. The clothes were an old style and looked a bit worn, but they were clean.

’His family’s financial situation is probably just average.’

’But then again, Auntie and Xinghua aren’t the types to care about that. They value a person’s character above all else.’

With that thought, Gu’er walked over. Xinghua was just showing him the sweater.

"What do you think? Are you satisfied? If there’s anything you don’t like about it, just let me know. We can make adjustments."

Xinghua asked, her heart unexpectedly starting to pound. She was terrified he wouldn’t be happy with it.

"It’s great. The knitting is very even, and the yarn feels soft."

The young man nodded in satisfaction, and Xinghua’s heart, which had been in her throat, finally settled.

"This style is pretty plain, and the color is a bit drab," Gu’er chimed in, chiding Xinghua. "Why did you knit a sweater like this for him? What if he’s giving it to his girlfriend and she doesn’t like it?"

Xinghua let out a little "ah," a look of surprise on her face. ’That doesn’t sound like something Sis would say.’

"Hello, you’ve misunderstood," the young man quickly explained, seeing Gu’er’s reproachful expression as he spoke up for Xinghua. "This isn’t for a girlfriend, it’s for my mom. I’m the one who asked the young lady to knit it this way. It’s not her fault."

"Oh, I see! I thought Xinghua had messed up your order," Gu’er said. "My friend, it’s very thoughtful of you to get a sweater for your mom, but with the New Year just around the corner, shouldn’t you get one for your girlfriend to make her happy, too?"

And just like that, Gu’er had struck up a conversation with the young man. Xinghua finally realized what was happening—her cousin was helping her fish for information. She blushed and lowered her head.

"I... I don’t have a girlfriend yet."

The young man blushed a little too. But she was speaking to him with such warmth that he couldn’t just ignore her. Besides, Gu’er was so pretty it was hard to refuse her anything.

"Oh, you don’t? My apologies, I misunderstood. Seeing such a fine young man like you, I just assumed... You’re such a good son. Not many people think to buy things for their mothers for the New Year these days. Where do you work? You look so familiar... Have we met before?"

Gu’er brazenly pushed for more information, inwardly cringing at her own behavior. ’This is the first time I’ve ever met him, how can I be so forward? I’ve never done anything like this before!’ But for Xinghua’s sake, she had to find out his name and where he worked. Otherwise, how could they possibly learn more about him? For her cousin’s happiness, she would have to be shameless just this once.

——————

Author’s Note: Bonus Chapter. That’s all for today. I’ll see if I can release three Chapters tomorrow. If not, I’ll make up for it on Monday. I have to take my child for a vaccination and visit my mother-in-law’s house, so I probably won’t be home during the day.