Chapter 214: Chapter 214

Li Xianglu and her group had collected bird eggs for a while before playing in the sea when they suddenly heard some commotion behind them. They quickly ran back to see what was happening.

And there they saw Lu Anna sitting on the ground, slapping the kneeling Qin Zhen in front of her.

Qin Zhen was stunned by the slap at first and his face turned red as he prepared to leave, but then he saw Lu Anna holding her chest with both hands in a mix of shame and annoyance, and without much ado, he took off his wet shirt and covered her chest with it, then got up and left.

Li Xianglu didn’t know what had happened, but seeing Lu Anna soaking wet, she deduced that Anna must have fallen into the water. However, that was no reason to hit someone, and a look of displeasure crossed her face.

Iro, who obviously knew the whole story, gave Li Xianglu a wink, while Xi Yunmei also arrived quickly and helped the seated Lu Anna toward the resting quarters for the staff.

Fortunately, they had brought towels. Lu Anna looked pale as she wiped herself down; Li Xianglu, worried about getting wet while playing in the water, had also brought a skirt along and offered it to Anna. Anna, being about the same height but a bit chubbier than Xianglu, could still fit into it, so she took it to change.

Xi Yunmei was also unaware of what had transpired; she and her son had been collecting bird eggs when suddenly there were shouts of someone falling into the water, which had brought her rushing here. She found her sister-in-law soaking and sitting on the ground.

Iro said in a low voice, "She and Qin Zhen, I don’t know how, ended up near those rocks, and somehow Anna fell into the water. It was Qin Zhen who pulled her up, and then..." Iro pouted her lips, kissed the air, and said mischievously, "Mouth-to-mouth resuscitation, and when Anna came to, she hit Qin Zhen."

So that was what happened. However, Li Xianglu was still not pleased. Qin Zhen had saved her, how could she hit him? Though Qin Zhen was known to be boisterous and immature, to Li Xianglu he was family, and it’s upsetting to see a family member get hit without cause, even if by a good friend.

Seeing Li Xianglu upset, Xi Yunmei realized this was a tricky situation to handle. After all, their sister-in-law was a maiden and getting kissed—even if for resuscitation—would be psychologically upsetting, but he did save her life, making the incident hard to address.

Xi Yunmei decided to pull Li Xianglu outside with her. Finding Qin Zhen shirtless and blushing, Xianglu cautiously asked him, "Does it hurt?"

Qin Zhen shook his head, visibly worried as he inquired, "How is she?"

Annoyed, Li Xianglu replied, "She’s fine. She even hit you just now and you’re concerned about her!"

Qin Zhen’s face flushed even more at this. Ai Xin then brought over a shirt, suggesting they could still play for a while instead of just standing around. Thus, Li Xianglu stopped worrying about the situation; even the person involved appeared to be fine. Besides, she would need to inquire more about the incident later; it was possible Anna had been pushed into the water by this troublemaker.

Anna came out wearing the skirt, her face still flushed and silent. With Iro relentlessly winking at Li Xianglu, she had no choice but to walk behind with her.

Iro whispered, "It seemed like they went to talk there on purpose, and then Anna accidentally fell into the water. Your Uncle didn’t think twice before jumping in to save her. It turned out that Anna’s foot got stuck between the rocks, and your Uncle went up for air once but still managed to rescue her." She finished with a smack of her lips, looking like she still enjoyed the tale.

Li Xianglu touched her forehead, speechless, astonished at how Iro had managed to learn such detailed information in such a short time.

Iro shook her head and said, "I feel like my second brother has no chance now?"

Li Xianglu was puzzled, "What do you mean no chance?"

Iro widened her eyes as if it was obvious and pitifully shook her head, "Haven’t you noticed something off about Anna and Qin Zhen?"

What? Qin Zhen and Lu Anna? You must be joking, but Iro looked dead serious, which made Li Xianglu think more about it.

When did things start to seem off? It seems to have been from the first time Anna visited the house. At that time, Qin Zhen was the one who opened the door, and then the two of them had a little banter. And then there was the duck roast dinner, and this is only their third meeting, right? How come their relationship seems unusual now?

Seeing Li Xianglu deep in thought, Iro didn’t disturb her. Instead, she looked at Lu Anna’s figure and then took another look at Qin Zhen’s back, nodding continuously, like a matchmaker.

Li Xianglu, finding this amusing, said, "I think you’re overthinking it. Qin Zhen is still a child, what does he know?"

Iro, as if hearing an absurd joke, said incredulously, "A child? How big can a child be? He’s the same age as you, isn’t he? Nineteen this year. Anna is already twenty-one, that’s not young. My parents had my older brother at this age!"

Li Xianglu blinked, okay then, herself only nineteen and already married for a year. People of this era marry early, so if there really was something between them, it wouldn’t be such a big deal. But what about the Lu Family’s opinion? Li Xianglu shook her head in denial, would the Lu Family accept such a son-in-law?

Seeing Lu Ping’an waving at her from a distance, Li Xianglu couldn’t help but laugh. What’s this all about, she’s overthinking it. If Qin Zhen and Anna really like each other, she’ll consider future issues later.

With these thoughts, Li Xianglu quickened her pace to join everyone else in happily watching the sea. Ai Xin brought a camera, specially collected from the organization department, a color one. The girls were thrilled, snapping photos non-stop, until the sunset and the boatman warned of the incoming tide before they reluctantly started heading back.

Ever since Iro mentioned something was off, Li Xianglu started to observe carefully.

Several times Qin Zhen was caught staring at Anna, and then when Anna turned her head and saw him, her face would go red with anger, she’d glare at him fiercely and then turn away. But Qin Zhen would just smile foolishly and look elsewhere, while Anna was extremely cautious, you wouldn’t notice her eyes following Qin Zhen’s figure or profile if you weren’t paying attention.

Li Xianglu was shocked. Was it really as Iro said? Li Xianglu couldn’t help but recall an internet catchphrase from her previous life: All the good cabbages are hogged by the pigs!

In the afternoon when they got back to the guesthouse, they gave a basket full of bird eggs to the kitchen, paid extra money, asking them to prepare a few dishes, and then ordered some local specialties.

Everyone was a bit dirty and went back to their rooms to change. Li Xianglu gave away the red dress she hadn’t worn to Anna; she didn’t plan to keep it, so she took out a knee-length, goose egg yellow dress for Iro. It would be unfair to favor one person over the others; the three were roommates after all.

Thus at dinner, the three of them appeared at the dining table in their red, yellow, and green dresses. Li Xianglu noticed that Qin Zhen’s stare was fiery as he fixed his gaze on Anna, which was somewhat baffling, as she had already worn that dress at noon.

ps: I have to go out later this afternoon, so I hurried to write more, there will be two more updates.