Chapter 117 - Chapter 117: Red Exclamation Mark
Chapter 117: Red Exclamation Mark
Translator: EndlessFantasy Translation Editor: EndlessFantasy Translation
The well was located by a winding road. There were quite a few old ladies sitting by the well at this time. They were in the midst of a discussion when they saw Lin Xiaowan and Lin Qing. They fell silent immediately and looked at the duo with curious gazes. If this happened in the past, Lin Xiaowan would have felt extremely nervous being stared at like this. However, now, she only looked up and met their eyes silently.
The old ladies probably did not expect Lin Xiaowan to boldly meet their eyes so they averted their eyes one after another and looked around before their eyes fell on Lin Xing, who was drawing water with a hemp rope tied to the bucket. They did not say anything, but they exchanged meaningful looks with each other.
For some reason, Lin Xiaowan felt that their gazes were not very friendly. Since they had arrived, she had a feeling that the majority of the villagers did not seem to like Lin Qing. Moreover, she had overheard a few criticisms as well. She felt that his current state was like when she was living in her hometown. She was also extremely unpopular there. When the old ladies there saw her, they would criticize her behind her back, not daring to question her directly. Their eyes were like searchlights, staring at her from afar.
However, Lin Qing did not seem to care about other people. He remained expressionless and turned a blind eye to those old ladies. As he fetched water, he said to Lin Xiaowan, “The well water here is very cold. If the weather is hot tomorrow, we can soak the watermelon in cold water before eating it.”
Lin Xiaowan no longer paid attention to the old ladies. She crouched down and looked at the bucket before she asked, “Can 1 drink this water directly?” ‘Mineral water should be like this, right?’
Lin Qing shook his head and said in a slightly regretful tone, “It’s better not to drink it directly now. It would have been fine if it was ten or twenty years ago.”
Not only was the water different from before, but people’s stomachs were also weaker now. It would probably make one sick if one drank the water directly now.
Lin Qing filled two buckets of water before weighing them and lifting them. He squatted down and leaned sideways, easily carrying the pole on his shoulders. The two buckets only swayed slightly, and no water spilled from them.
“Let’s go back,” Lin Qing said.
“All, okay!”
Lin Xiaowan skipped as they returned, looking at the roadside flowers and plucking them. After a while, she seemed to think of something and asked, “Our surnames are Lin. Did your Lin family originate from Shuangmu?”
Lin Qing smiled. “Yes.”
“What a coincidence!” Lin Xiaowan said, “Perhaps, we share the same ancestors from 500 years ago!”
Thinking that she had not seen any fruit shops since she arrived, Lin Xiaowan asked again, “Does the small shop in the village sell fruits?”
Lin Xiaowan loved eating fruits, especially in the summer. When she was bored, she would look for fruits to eat.
Lin Qing carried two buckets filled with water, but his steps were light and agile. The distance between each of his steps was also large, and Lin Xiaowan had to walk quickly to catch up with him. Despite all of this, he was not out of breath at all when he replied, “No. I planted the watermelons myself.”
Lin Xiaowan carefully recalled the layout of Lin Qing’s courtyard before she said, “I didn’t see any watermelons earlier…”
“They’re not in the yard. I have a fruit and vegetable garden at the back as well.
I usually grow my own vegetables and fruits to eat. If you’re interested, I’ll bring you to have a look.”
Lin Xiaowan was very interested. “Okay!”
When the duo returned, Gu Yuwu was holding a camera and taking photos. When she saw Lin Qing carrying water into the house, she quickly pressed the shutter. As he walked in earlier, there was a ray of light that shone over.
When Gu Yuwu saw Lin Xiaowan following Lin Qing to the kitchen, she said, “Huo Zheng couldn’t get in touch with you so he contacted me. If you’re free now, hurry up and call him back.”
Lin Xiaowan did not have pockets today. After getting out of the car, she had put her phone away in Gu Yuwu’s bag. After Gu Yuwu’s reminder, she turned back and asked for her phone from Gu Yuwu.
“It’s in the house. However, the signal here isn’t very good. You might not be able to hear clearly. In any case, give it a try.”
When Lin Xiaowan found her phone, she saw that there was only one pitiful bar that was lit. She saw two missed calls and a few messages from Huo Zheng.
[Huo Zheng: Watch your steps when you walk. If your things are too heavy, walk slowly. Don’t trip.]
[Huo Zheng: Give me a call when you arrive, okay?]
After another 15 minutes, seeing that there was no reply, Huo Zeng sent another message again.
[Huo Zheng: Have you arrived?]
After another 15 minutes, he sent a message again.
[Huo Zheng: You haven’t arrived?]
Perhaps he had already contacted Gu Yuwu, there was no more message after that.
Lin Xiaowan replied with a cute cat-poking-its-head-out emoji first.
[Lin Xiaowan: I’ve arrived.]
However, the message and the emoji were not sent immediately, and the buffering circle at the end of the messages did not disappear for a long time. After a long time, a red exclamation mark appeared at the end of the emoji, indicating that she had failed to send the emoji. Only the message was sent out. Just as Gu Yuwu had said earlier, the signal here was bad.
However, it did not matter that the cat emoji was not sent. After Huo Zheng finally received a reply, he quickly called his girlfriend, whom he was worried about.
When the familiar string of numbers appeared on her phone, Lin Xiaowan immediately answered the call.
“Hello,” she said before frowning. She could only hear Huo Zheng’s voice intermittently, and there was a buzzing and crackling noise.
This was the first time she had encountered such a situation. She called out a few times, “Hello? Can you hear me? The signal here isn’t good so I can’t hear you.”
Lin Xiaowan stood up and raised her phone before she paced around looking for signal. However, it was still the same. She still could not hear him clearly and could only ask again, “Hello? Can you hear me? The signal is too bad. I’ll hang up first and send you a message.”
Lin Xiaowan sighed. ‘I wonder if I can even send messages…’
It took a few tries before she successfully sent him a message, telling him that the signal was very bad.
At the same time, she also received a message from Huo Zheng. He could not hear her earlier so he could only send her a message, asking about what she had said earlier..