Chapter 63 Subtle Changes
Su Qing stood under the grape trellis in her yard. The sunlight shone through the lush green leaves, and mottled light and shadows danced on her face like a string of sparkling pearls.
In her hand, she held tightly the key to the most popular new-style 28-inch bicycle, which she had exchanged specifically for Lu Xingchen in the space system.
Su Qing's pocket watch was broken and had been left aside unable to be repaired.
Originally, the same style of pocket watch could be exchanged in the space, but Su Qing considered it again and again, and finally thought about Lu Xingchen, thinking that it was indeed inconvenient for him to ride the old bicycle that was crashed last time every day.
Hence the brand new bicycle in the yard.
At this moment, she had been waiting in the yard of her home for a long time, with the excitement and anticipation of a child about to show her treasure.
She looked outside the courtyard gate and saw Lu Xingchen riding that old bicycle, slowly returning from the town.
His shirt was soaked with sweat and stuck to his back, but he had a satisfied and determined smile on his face.
The expert research team has been disbanded, and Lu Xingchen chose to stay and help Su Qing manage the business of the town’s shops.
"Ding ding ding dong, look, what is this!" Su Qing waved the keys in her hand, suddenly flashed out, and shouted excitedly to Lu Xingchen.
Her voice was full of anticipation, as if the key was the key to the door of happiness.
Lu Xingchen got out of the car and pushed the cart into the yard with a puzzled look on his face.
He looked at the key in Su Qing's hand, frowned, and asked in confusion: "Where did you get this key?"
Su Qing smiled mysteriously, with a hint of mischief in her eyes: "Guess?"
Lu Xingchen shook his head and smiled helplessly: "What? You seem so mysterious."
Su Qing raised her eyebrows proudly and pointed to the corner of the yard. "This is the bicycle I exchanged from the space. Look over there!"
Lu Xingchen was stunned, with a hint of surprise and joy in his eyes.
He took the key, rubbed it gently, and whispered, "Is it for me?"
Su Qing smiled and gently pushed Lu Xingchen's shoulder: "Go and have a look, see if you like it."
Lu Xingchen nodded, parked the old bicycle, and couldn't wait to ride the new bicycle out of the yard.
After a while, he turned around and rode back. To him, this was undoubtedly a generous gift.
In this era of material scarcity, owning a brand new bicycle was such a luxury. I already had one at home, and now I had a new one.
"How is it?" Su Qing asked expectantly.
Lu Xingchen turned around and looked at Su Qing, his eyes full of gratitude and love, "Very good, much better than the old one."
Su Qing smiled. She knew that Lu Xingchen would definitely like this gift.
She watched him carefully wipe the dust off the bicycle, and a warm feeling welled up in her heart.
Just then, Director Ye Dajing of Jinfeng Farm came in with a cooperation agreement. He had previously agreed with Su Qing to sign the contract today to jointly develop the farm business.
Su Qing's eyes lit up. She knew this was a rare opportunity that would not only expand her business territory, but also bring more employment opportunities to the shops in her town.
Su Qing warmly received the farm representative Ye Dajing. She listened carefully to his proposal and then put forward her own views and conditions.
After some negotiations, the two sides finally reached a preliminary cooperation agreement.
Lu Xingchen watched from the side, secretly proud of Su Qing's intelligence and decisiveness.
After the agreement was signed, Su Qing and Lu Xingchen saw Ye Dajing off and celebrated together under the grape trellis.
Lu Xingchen looked at Su Qing and secretly decided in his heart that he would work harder to help Su Qing realize her dream.
In fact, Lu Xingchen pretended to be indifferent about Su Qing giving him a bicycle, but in fact he couldn't put it down.
When Su Qing was not around, he would secretly go over and touch every inch of metal on the bicycle, as if he was touching Su Qing's heart.
He kept this feeling deep in his heart, not daring to express it easily, because he knew that the gift was too valuable and he was afraid that his feelings would seem frivolous.
In the afternoon, with nothing to do, Su Qing and Lu Xingchen sat on the stone bench in the yard, enjoying the cool under the grape trees.
They didn't talk much, but every sentence was full of affection.
Su Qing suddenly remembered something, took out a thin thread from her pocket, and handed it to Lu Xingchen, “Uncle Lu, let’s try this.”
Lu Xingchen took the thin wire and looked at Su Qing puzzledly, “What is this?”
"This is a traditional game here, called "Mianmao Clamp." Su Qing explained with a smile.
There was a hint of playfulness in her smile, as if she had returned to her childhood.
Su Qing folded the thin thread in half, put one end into her mouth and bit it with her teeth, pulled the other end of the thread with both hands, and began to gently pull at Lu Xingchen's cheek hair.
Lu Xingchen frowned, but still followed Su Qing's instructions and allowed Su Qing to rub the thin thread back and forth on his face, pinching his facial hair.
She moved very carefully, afraid of hurting the other person.
"Oh, be gentler!" Lu Xingchen pretended to be coquettish, making Su Qing couldn't help laughing, and at the same time she softened her strength.
If someone were passing by at this moment, they would definitely misunderstand that the two were doing something ambiguous in the house.
Lu Xingchen's facial hair was intertwined under the pull of the thin thread, and embarrassment and laughter were intertwined, adding a touch of warmth to the courtyard.
Their relationship gradually warmed up during this awkward interaction.
"Uncle Lu, do you know?" Su Qing suddenly stopped what she was doing, looked at Lu Xingchen, and said half-jokingly: "I think the relationship between us is like this thin thread, although fragile, it can tightly connect us together."
Lu Xingchen just smiled awkwardly. Compared to Captain Lu, he liked Uncle Lu more, which was her way of addressing him.
Tonight, while Lu Xingchen went to take a shower, Su Qing dismantled the bed that Lu Xingchen slept on the floor.
Lu Xingchen returned to the room, looking confused and at a loss.
He found his quilt in the closet, but heard Su Qing pretending to cough several times behind him.
Until Lu Xingchen realized that she agreed to let him go to bed.
But he still covered himself with his thin quilt.
In this way, the sensitive nerves of both Su Qing and Lu Xingchen noticed that subtle changes were taking place between them, and some feelings were slowly fermenting.
Their relationship, like that bicycle, has weathered many storms but remains resilient.
Their story is like that thin thread, fragile but able to tightly connect them together.
In this summer, the story between the two of them, like the scenery in the small town, blooms quietly and exudes a faint fragrance.