970 Perplexed and Smitten 30 (1/2)
The temperatures were much cooler at night, although they were still considered to be unbearably warm.
The tent was left open in order to allow ventilation and prevent the air from getting too stuffy inside.
It was so warm that almost every single one of them could not fall asleep.
An Xiaoning lay on the straw mat on the ground, which caused her great discomfort because of how rigid it was.
However, she had no choice but to bear with it for a night.
”Ms. An, how did you and Jin Qingyan meet?”
An Xiaoning answered, ”I helped his mother get rid of a spirit that was pestering her back then. That's how we met.”
”I read in the news before that you married Jin Qingyan right after you divorced Shi Shaochuan. Is that true?”
”Ms. Wen, does knowing about these gossip benefit you in any way?”
”No, I'm just plain curious.” Wen Lele turned over to face her and continued, ”Since we can't sleep, let's have a chat. Jin Qingyan and I were table mates in Year 3 of high school. I still remember clearly what happened back then. Although he seems to be polite and mild-mannered on the surface, he's actually very arrogant and self-righteous deep down.”
”That's just how he is.”
”He had so many suitors back then, but none of them managed to win his heart at all. All the girls from the other classes were all envious of me for being able to sit beside him and be in such close proximity to him. Actually, I barely talked to him throughout the entire year of being his table mate. Ms. An, I only realize now after interacting with you that you're different from what the news make you out to be,” said Wen Lele, who recalled her high school days.
”How am I different?”
”To be honest, I've read a lot of news about you guys, and those comments are really awful. They criticize you so harshly. When you sat next to Jin Qingyan during the gathering that night, you were really eye-catching and you complemented his aura. I'm not trying to suck up to you, it's just my genuine opinion.”
An Xiaoning kept a straight face and stared at the dark sky above. She asked, ”Ms. Wen, how many boyfriends have you had before?”
Slightly taken aback because she did not expect An Xiaoning to bring that up all of a sudden, she answered, ”I had one boyfriend in university, but we broke up a while after we got together. I never dated anyone since.”
”Do you hold your standards and expectations too high?”
”That could be one of the reasons. I'm a very pragmatic person. It's okay for my boyfriend to not have a car, but he must have a house. I'm sure you know how expensive properties are in A City. The prices have soared to a ridiculous high. Throughout all these years, those whom I've carried a torch for never reciprocated my feelings. On the other hand, none of my suitors own a house. My parents have been rushing me to get married and even resorted to forcing me to attend matchmaking sessions. However, none of those worked out either. Ms. An, I know you and Jin Qingyan are acquainted with many promising bachelors. Why don't you introduce me to a few?”
”I do know many good catches, but I won't introduce you to them.”
She asked, ”Why?”
An Xiaoning answered bluntly, ”Material possessions may be important, but they can't possibly matter more than a man who truly loves you. Yet, all you care about is whether they own a house or not. I think you're way too materialistic.”