I wish I had even half of your skills!

"Brother..." he asked eagerly, "My dad wants me to learn to cook at Hongbinlou Restaurant. He said that once I'm a master chef, he'll recommend me to be the head chef at the steel rolling mill... Do you think we could work together in the future?"

Liu Dong nodded: "It's about 80% likely to succeed."

"Then..." He Yuzhu immediately changed his expression, grinning, "Brother, you'll have to take good care of me! Look at your clothes—I'll wash them for you!"

Liu Dong: ...

Before he could finish speaking, a voice suddenly came from behind him.

"Excuse me... is this the courtyard house at No. 7 Nanluoguxiang?"

Her voice was soft and gentle, with a sweet quality.

Swah——

Liu Dong and He Yuzhu turned their heads in unison.

A village girl stood at the door, dressed simply, but with a pleasing appearance.

Liu Dong recognized her at a glance—Qin Huairu!

And it was Qin Huairu, who was eighteen years old.

It must be said that she was indeed very beautiful when she was young.

She has fair skin, a full face, and big, watery eyes.

No wonder Jia Dongxu was head over heels for her in the original storyline.

However, in Liu Dong's eyes, this girl was only averagely pretty, far inferior to Chen Xueru, not even a fraction of her beauty.

But in the eyes of ordinary people, especially someone like He Yuzhu, he is simply a celestial being descended to earth.

At this moment, He Yuzhu was dumbfounded.

With his mouth agape and his eyes glued to her, Qin Huairu's cheeks flushed red.

Liu Dong chuckled inwardly—this was normal behavior; this guy was always into chasing under skirts, he couldn't change.

"That's right." He said calmly. "Girl, this is No. 7 Nanluoguxiang. You haven't gone to the wrong place."

He Yuzhu slapped his thigh in frustration: Why didn't I answer first!

Sigh, Dong-ge is still the most composed.

"Thank you." Qin Huairu smiled and took a few steps forward. "My name is Qin Huairu, and I'm looking for Jia Dongxu... Does he live here?"

He Yuzhu's heart sank: So he was looking for Jia Dongxu; it seemed he was already taken.

"It's him." Liu Dong pointed to the house next door. "That's his house, but they went out to run some errands and the door was locked."

He paused, then asked, "Hey girl, what do you need Dongxu for?"

Qin Huairu looked slightly disappointed: "Oh... you've gone out. I'm a friend of Jia Dongxu. I happened to be in Beijing for a visit, so I stopped by to see him."

"Oh, I see." Liu Dong raised an eyebrow. "Why don't you come in and sit for a while until he gets back?"

Qin Huairu quickly shook her head, "No need, thank you." Turning to her, she asked, "Are you and Dongxu on good terms?"

"Great, that's wonderful!" Liu Dong laughed. "We're brothers from the same courtyard, we see each other every day, we're as close as family, aren't we, Sha Zhu?"

He Yuzhu snapped to attention and quickly nodded, "Yes, yes, yes! Brother Dong is right!"

Liu Dong added, "Little sister, it's shady under the tree, why don't you sit down and rest for a while? Are you thirsty? I have some cooled boiled water at home, you can drink it anytime!"

Qin Huairu waved her hand: "I'm not thirsty."

She then approached the sink and looked at the clothes soaking in the basin: "Are you washing clothes?"

"Yes," Liu Dong sighed, "I have no parents, no relatives to help me, so I have to bear these things all by myself."

Upon hearing this, Qin Huairu immediately said, "I'll help you wash them. It's inconvenient for a man to wash clothes every day."

"Really?" Liu Dong's face lit up with joy. "Thank you so much!"

Two minutes later, Qin Huairu stood in front of the water basin and started washing clothes.

Liu Dong and He Yuzhu sat under the big locust tree, enjoying the breeze and coolness.

"Brother Dong..." He Yuzhu muttered softly, "You're really something. I didn't even know what to say. You managed to coax him into submission the moment you opened your mouth."

"Hahaha!" Liu Dong laughed. "Silly Zhu, from now on, you'll have plenty of opportunities to learn if you follow me!"

"You rest for a bit, I'll go get you something to drink?" he said, getting up and going back inside.

Once inside, he opened his portable wine cellar.

Inside was chilled baijiu, so cold it was dripping wet.

However, that stuff is too strong and not suitable as a beverage.

Forget it.

Let's just use cooled boiled water.

He poured two glasses of water and casually added a drop of alcohol to each.

It wasn't about the taste; it was just to get her a sip—so I could check her "good/evil value" in real time. Liu Dong carried the kettle in one hand and two enamel cups in the other, slowly strolling back to the yard.

He first handed a glass of water to He Yuzhu.

He poured another glass and handed it to Qin Huairu.

"Drink it while it's hot."

Qin Huairu didn't stand on ceremony. She took the cup and gulped down the water, finishing the whole cup in one go.

I've had a bumpy ride all the way from my hometown, my legs are about to give out, and my mouth is parched.

hum... hum...

Just as she swallowed the last mouthful of cool boiled water, two tiny pink hearts suddenly floated out from above her head.

Yo?

She actually has feelings for me? And both of us?

Liu Dong chuckled to himself: Ha, it seems my face is quite charming.

"Qin, you're really efficient!" He gave her a thumbs up. "You just sat down and you've already soaked my clothes?"

Qin Huairu waved her hand: "I haven't washed it yet. I've just lathered it with soap and will scrub it later. I'll start cleaning it after half an hour."

"Okay!" Liu Dong nodded in agreement.

At this moment, He Yuzhu interjected, "Sister Qin, you...you're Jia Dongxu's girlfriend?"

Qin Huairu blushed slightly and softly hummed in agreement: "Yes, my home is by the Chaobai River, next to Niulanshan."

She paused, then said softly, "I'm from the countryside, will you... look down on me for being unsophisticated?"

"Oh, what are you saying!" He Yuzhu quickly waved his hand, his face flushed with embarrassment. "Look how handsome you are, who would dare look down on you!"

As she spoke, she felt embarrassed.

Liu Dong laughed and replied, "So what if we come from the countryside? We're all Chinese, connected by roots and fate, that's what we call a bond that transcends life and death! Whether you're in the city or the countryside, living in the same courtyard, you're family."

"Don't worry, the people here are very honest and don't do those fancy things."

"As for you, just don't look down on me because my parents are gone and I'm an orphan with no roots!"

"Hehe..." Qin Huairu grinned, her heart immediately relaxing. This young man named Liu Dong was not only handsome, but also spoke in a soothing way.

Boom!Boom!

That smile was all it took; the number of little hearts above my head doubled!

Four tiny pink hearts hung steadily on her forehead, dazzling to the eye.

For the next half hour, Liu Dong chatted with her, making her giggle.

"Dong-ge, how can you say such sweet words?" Qin Huairu wiped away the tears of laughter from the corners of her eyes. "It's almost time, I'll go wash your clothes..."

"Okay, thank you for your hard work!" Liu Dong replied with a smile.

Qin Huairu skipped over and started washing clothes, her movements as light and quick as a little rabbit.

He Yuzhu swallowed hard, then whispered to Liu Dong, "Brother, you're amazing... I wish I had half your skills!"

Liu Dong squinted and smiled, "Silly Zhu, I can tell from your eyes—you like this girl, right? Isn't she attractive?"