Warmth of Home

  "Where shall we go for a stroll?"

  "Go home, you're injured." Yu Qingying looked at Tang Zhendong's arm that had just stopped bleeding, but the bloodstain on his arm was obvious. It was clear that the bleeding had only just been stopped after he had put down his hand.

  "Alright, I'll send you back first." Tang Zhendong pulled Yu Qingying and was about to send her home first, but unexpectedly, she grabbed him instead. "It's not you sending me back, it's me sending you back first."

  Tang Zhendong was shocked, "Ah?"

  "What? Is it inconvenient for me to go home since there's a golden house with a hidden beauty?" Yu Qingying blinked her eyes, feeling somewhat pleased with herself for having come up with a small scheme.

  "No, not that," Tang Zhendong explained with a flourish, "I feel like we're not heading in the same direction. Later when you head back, I'll still have to send you back, isn't this just a hassle on the road?"

  It took Tang Zhendong a long time to make things clear to Yu Qingying.

  "It's okay, I'll take a taxi." Yu Qingying's expression was very relaxed, making Tang Zhendong feel a deep sense of guilt in his heart. He felt that if he refused Yu Qingying, it would be an unforgivable sin.

  "Alright then, let's go. It's just as well I didn't eat my fill, we can buy some cooked food on the way back and have another meal together." Tang Zhendong said after they left the supermarket.

  "Alright, but why buy takeout? I'll make some for you, don't you think my cooking is good enough? By the way, do you have a stove there?" Yu Qingying's big eyes blinked and shone, as if they could speak.

  "Yes, but my craftsmanship is not up to par, what I make is just edible, and as for color, fragrance, and taste, none of them are satisfactory." Tang Zhendong said with a self-deprecating smile.

  Actually, Tang Zhendong can cook, but this ability only stays at the level of being able to make food that is not raw.

  "Can you cook? I heard that nowadays girls are all about washing clothes, cooking and doing dishes, three things they don't want to do." Tang Zhendong seemed to not believe that Yu Qingying, who came from a high-ranking official family, could actually cook.

  "Hehe, then you can try this girl's craftsmanship now. This girl's craftsmanship has never been passed on to outsiders, and those who have eaten my personally cooked meals so far, you can be ranked among the top three."

  "Haha, okay, I'll try it first and then comment."

  The two of them walked around the supermarket and bought some vegetables and seafood. Yu Qingying also picked up some rubbing alcohol and Yunnan Baiyao.

  "Why buy this? The bleeding has stopped."

  "Alright, I'll take care of it when I get back later, you don't have to worry about it."

  。。。。。。。。。。。

  Yu Qingying followed Tang Zhendong walking under the dim streetlights of Xingfu New Village, dodging stones and debris on the ground with one foot deep and one foot shallow.

  Tang Zhendong caught Yu Qingying's hand while avoiding a small pothole, and then held it all the way back to his rental house.

  "Is this where you live?" The environment was fresh to Qingying, but she couldn't help feeling a little apprehensive. Did Haicheng still have such run-down places?

  The Qingying residential area is the municipal government compound, where the city's party committee and government leaders live. The entrance and exit are guarded by armed police officers, and sanitation is handled by a specialized cleaning company that sweeps at least three times a day. It's said to be spotless, which might be an exaggeration, but it gives you an idea of just how clean it is. You'd be hard-pressed to find a fallen leaf on the streets of Yong Road, despite the high greening rate in the municipal government compound.

  "Hehe, it's a bit old and worn out, but what can you do? It's cheap here." Tang Zhendong didn't feel the slightest bit of embarrassment. Even after seeing Yu Qingying's villa, he still didn't feel any inferiority when looking at his own small rental house.

  Yu Qingying couldn't help but feel a little sentimental, and she felt even more grateful to Tang Zhendong for his kindness. He had given her a magical water-repelling bead worth 10 million yuan, and she had personally heard Wang Xiaoya from the jewelry store offer 10 million yuan for it, yet Tang Zhendong hadn't shown any surprise at all. What did this show? This showed that Tang Zhendong was a person with a cold face but a warm heart. He had given her such an expensive gift without hesitation, not even batting an eyelid, and yet she lived in such a shabby place. Yu Qingying didn't look down on Tang Zhendong, but rather felt deeply moved, because he had given her the best things.

  A surge of great happiness suddenly rushed into Yu Qingying's chest. Yu Qingying was not unfamiliar with money, although his father Yu Zhenhua was the mayor and his salary was meager. However, Yu Qingying's mother Meng Ruhua came from a wealthy family, and his grandfather was a business magnate in Haicheng who had retired and passed on the entire Meng Group to his son, Yu Qingying's uncle.

  Mengshi Group is a well-known national papermaking giant. Many people may not know about Mengshi Group, but when it comes to Chenming Paper Industry, it is famous all over the country.

  Tang Zhendong took out the key, opened the door, and after Yu Qingying entered the house, she curiously looked at Tang Zhendong's simple and neat room. "Not bad, huh? Clean and tidy, wow, your quilt is folded so neatly."

  Qing Ying looked around and found a neat block of tofu on Tang Zhen Dong's bed, suddenly surprised.

  "After so many years in there, I've only mastered this one skill." Tang Zhendong said with a self-deprecating smile, not feeling the slightest bit inferior about his imprisonment. On the contrary, he felt that since he was going to be with Yu Qingying, he couldn't have any secrets from her, and it wouldn't be fair to her if he didn't tell her about his situation.

  Qingying smiled silently, not saying a word. In fact, she wasn't unaware of Tang Zhendong's experience. To be sure, for several months after Tang Zhendong was taken away from school, he had been the subject of discussion throughout the entire school, until half a year later when this wave of discussion slowly dissipated.

  Qingying had heard many such rumors, and there were also several versions of Tang Zhendong's imprisonment at the time, but the result was all the same.

  "Where is the water?" Yu Qingying pointed at the vegetables and seafood, breaking the silence.

  "There's one outside, I'll get it!" Tang Zhendong was about to take over the basin. In Tang Zhendong's place, basins and vegetable basins were not strictly distinguished, and they were not separated at home.

  "No need, just sit down, you're injured, just wait to eat." Yu Qingying pushed away Tang Zhendong's hand and took the basin out, with the sound of water splashing outside.

  Tang Zhendong took off his coat and arrived at the yard, beside Yu Qingying, scooped up water to clean the bloodstains on his arm wound under the dim light of the yard.

  "Don't worry about catching a cold, you go back first, I'll wipe it for you in a while!"

  "I'm fine, nothing's wrong."

  Qingying quickly finished washing the dishes and Tang Zhendong took the basin back to the house. He lit the fire, quickly put the seafood in the pot, and started boiling it. Then he chopped vegetables, chopped meat, and stir-fried them with a series of practiced movements, clearly not a novice in the kitchen.

  "Do you still cook at home?"

  "My parents are very busy, I'm often alone at home, so I have to cook for myself. Sometimes, they come back and eat together." Yu Qingying said while cooking, without delaying the stir-frying motion, "I have a strange feeling, although the environment of your village is poor, but since entering this courtyard, I feel refreshed and have a sense of being in a utopia."

  "Knock knock," Before Tang Zhendong could respond, a knocking sound came from outside the door. "Brother Zhendong, are you there?"