Chapter 139: Nie Qiu, Sorry ③
Li Kai returned home, threw his schoolbag onto the bed in his room, and was about to leave, making a phone call to the family driver as he walked. Li Mingxue, who was sitting on the sofa, was engrossed in reading an original book. Seeing Li Kai about to go out, she quickly asked, “Xiao Kai, where are you going?”
“I’ve made plans with Ah Xu and the others to play basketball,” Li Kai said to Li Mingxue on the sofa while putting on his shoes. He didn’t dare to say he was going to pick up Nie Qiu or anything like that; if he did, he didn’t know how his older sister would react!
Li Mingxue put down her book, took a sip of juice from the coffee table, and then said, “You don’t need to lie to me. You’re going to pick up Nie Qiu, aren’t you? I went over this afternoon, and she said she wouldn’t be coming today.”
Li Kai, with his shoes half on and the laces still untied, stood up and looked at Li Mingxue. “She’s not coming today? Why? Did something happen at home?”
Li Mingxue shrugged her shoulders. “Not just not coming today, but not coming ever again.”
“What did you say?!” Li Kai, without even finishing putting on his shoes, strode towards Li Mingxue. He stumbled on his shoelaces midway and, in annoyance, took off his shoes and walked in his socks to stand in front of Li Mingxue. “Sis, you’re not joking, are you? We hired Nie Qiu as my tutor, and we have to pay her. Why wouldn’t she come?”
“She said she needs to help her mother sell vegetables,” Li Mingxue said, picking up her book and reading as she spoke. “Since she doesn’t want to teach you anymore, then so be it. Don’t worry, if Nie Qiu doesn’t come, I’ll find you a better tutor. I remember there’s a one-on-one learning institution with good tutors. You should go back to your study and do your homework now!”
“I don’t want another tutor!” Li Kai shouted, turned around, and walked towards the doorway. He haphazardly put on the shoes he had left in the hallway and was about to open the elevator to leave. “I’m going to find her!”
Li Mingxue stood up. “Where are you going to find her?”
“Her home!” Li Kai replied without looking back. The elevator opened, and he stepped inside.
Li Mingxue stomped her foot, picked up her mobile phone, and dialed Li Kai’s number. “Hello, do you know where her home is?”
“I…” Li Kai, standing in the elevator, thought for a moment, staring at the descending numbers. He really didn’t know where Nie Qiu lived. “I’ll go find her at the night market.”
“Her family isn’t selling barbecue anymore. Nie Qiu’s mother sells vegetables at the vegetable market,” Li Mingxue said.
“I know,” Li Kai nodded and walked out of the elevator. “Thank you, sis.”
Li Mingxue was stunned for a moment, then let out a laugh. “You rascal… hurry up and go!”
Li Kai hung up the phone. After waiting for a while and seeing that his driver wasn’t coming to pick him up, he decided to walk out of the residential area. He reached the main road, hailed a taxi, and headed to the large vegetable market.
Nie Qiu’s family’s vegetable stand was located at the entrance of the vegetable market. You could see them as soon as you entered. Li Kai didn’t have to search hard; he saw Nie Qiu collecting money from customers as soon as he entered the market.
Nie Qiu’s mother was weighing and pricing the vegetables, then calling out the total. Nie Qiu was collecting money, giving change, and then bagging the vegetables from the electronic scale to hand to the customers. The entire scene was very harmonious, with both of them wearing satisfied smiles.
From childhood to adulthood, for as long as he could remember, he had never been to a place like a vegetable market. He had bought groceries, but only at beautifully decorated supermarkets with bright fluorescent lights. He had never been to such a noisy market, nor had he seen how people conducted transactions there. He also didn’t understand where this lively sense of peace came from. Everyone was living for their lives, and even when spending money, they were smiling. The sellers and buyers, everyone was smiling so happily, bustling about. Was this what was called life?
He just watched. He used to consider this a place for commoner lifestyle. Recalling what Nie Qiu had said yesterday, about whether she would end up as a cleaning auntie at a classmate’s company when she grew up, then… if Nie Qiu didn’t work hard, would she really end up standing here, selling vegetables for a living like her mother?
He didn’t know. Such a hypothesis was just a hypothesis. At least, in his heart right now, he would absolutely not let such a thing happen.
There were originally several people buying vegetables, so he couldn’t approach. Now there were only two people buying vegetables. Li Kai lifted his foot and walked towards Nie Qiu’s vegetable stand.
Nie Aifang, who was looking down at the electronic scale, sensed a shadow and quickly asked, “What would you like to buy? Today’s water bamboo is very fresh…” When she looked up, she saw Li Kai.
Nie Aifang actually had a deep impression of this boy. When they were selling barbecue at the night market, he kicked away a thug’s small knife and saved her. She was very grateful. When Nie Qiu decided to transfer to Class 1, this boy organized a farewell party and spoke very well. In her eyes, he was a boy who knew how to speak well.
However, from the beginning, she knew how this boy had treated her daughter in the past. The day he saved her, after Qiu Qiu said this person was her classmate, and then said he was her deskmate, she knew who this person was and how he had treated Qiu Qiu before.
As a mother, she should have scolded him, should have hit him for her daughter. But… just as her daughter had said before, would hitting or scolding this person be useful?
No, it would only cause her daughter more harm. Her daughter had forgotten, but she couldn’t. After returning home that night, her daughter developed a high fever, her forehead burning terrifyingly. She soaked grass paper in alcohol and applied it to her daughter’s forehead. This was an old folk remedy from her hometown to reduce fever, but the grass paper dried out one after another on her daughter’s scorching forehead, yet the fever wouldn’t subside. The next morning, she carried her daughter to the hospital. The doctor said that if she had been half an hour later, she would never have seen her daughter again.
At that time, her heart ached, just as it did now, seeing the culprit.
But she didn’t speak, just looked at him. What did he want to do now? Did he want to play a prank again? Was Qiu Qiu bullied by him at his home yesterday? Although she really wanted to believe that with his girlfriend present, this person wouldn’t do anything to her daughter, she couldn’t help but worry.
“Hello, Auntie,” Li Kai said to Nie Aifang, starting the greeting a bit awkwardly.
“Mm,” Nie Aifang nodded and pretended to be unaware. “Are you here to buy vegetables? What kind do you want?”
“No, I’m here to find Nie Qiu,” Li Kai said, a little embarrassed. “Auntie, we’re going to take the high school entrance exam next year. You know, the grades of the people in our class aren’t top-notch. I… Nie Qiu got eighth place in the grade this time. I want to…”
