At this moment, Gu Xiaoshuang was wearing a patched shirt and trousers; even the cloth shoes on her feet were patched.
Although patching clothes was very normal in this era, one could discern a family's level of wealth based on the number of patches.
Seeing Wang An's sidecar, Gu Xiaoshuang instinctively dodged to the side.
However, when she saw Wang An in the sidecar, she immediately gave a shy smile, like a flower blooming.
Gu Xiaoshuang was not stupid; she knew better than anyone why she was suddenly able to come to the county to attend junior high school.
She was simply a girl from a poor family who didn't know how to express her gratitude.
Wang An brought the sidecar to a stop and greeted her with a smile
"Finished registering?"
Gu Xiaoshuang nodded rapidly, like a chick pecking at rice, and said
"Mm-hmm, everything is done. Thank you, Big Brother."
Wang An smiled casually
"As long as it's done. Study hard from now on, hehehe..."
Gu Xiaoshuang pressed her lips together and nodded heavily, but her eyes suddenly grew moist.
Though it was unknown what would become of this girl in the future, because of Wang An's rebirth, her original fate had indeed been rewritten.
Wang An gave Gu Xiaoshuang an encouraging look and said nothing more.
However, Wang Yi had already jumped down from the sidecar and stepped forward to chat with Gu Xiaoshuang.
Wang An didn't want to interfere in the reunion between classmates, so he didn't get off the sidecar. Instead, he lit a cigarette and listened from the side.
It had to be said that just by seeing Wang Yi and Gu Xiaoshuang standing together, one could clearly feel the gap between people.
Gu Xiaoshuang was covered in patches, while Wang Yi was dressed entirely in new clothes.
Although wearing patched clothes was quite normal in this era, they were both students; if someone else was in brand new clothes while you were in patches... no matter who it happened to, they could absolutely not remain indifferent and at ease.
Don't start talking about "not focusing on appearances," or "what you wear isn't important, material conditions aren't important," or things like "compete in studies, not in clothing"... and so on and so forth.
That's all complete bullshit!
What are you talking to a ten-something-year-old child about regarding their "spiritual world"?
It is well known that because of a man named Kuang Heng, the idiom "boring light through a hole in the wall" came to be. But what is less known is that after Kuang Heng's brilliant feat, he ended up becoming something worse than a pig or a dog?
Of course, many things are unavoidable, and one cannot generalize.
From their conversation, he learned that Gu Xiaoshuang had also been assigned to Class 2 of the first year.
The reason Wang An hadn't run into Gu Xiaoshuang when he took Wang Yi to the classroom was that Gu Xiaoshuang and her mother had set off from home on foot at three in the morning.
The mother and daughter had carried grain and luggage, walking for a full four hours before arriving at the County First Middle School.
Of course, even if they had arrived after 7:00, it would still have been much earlier than Wang An and Wang Yi, as the two of them hadn't left home until nearly 8:00.
To be honest, Wang An was fucking shocked when he heard this.
While walking thirty-some li was normal in this era, walking thirty-some li while carrying grain and luggage was no easy feat.
Mainly, Wang An had seen Gu Xiaoshuang's mother; although she was 1.6 meters tall, she weighed at most 80 or 90 jin.
It had to be said, this woman was truly impressive, genuinely formidable.
Of course, this could also be explained by the saying, "Women are naturally weak, but strong as mothers."
The reason Gu Xiaoshuang had come back out was that her mother had to go home, and she had come out of the school to see her off.
After finishing a cigarette, Wang An saw that the two were still chatting endlessly, and he began to grow a bit impatient.
Interrupting forcibly would be disrespectful, and he had to save some face for Wang Yi, so Wang An said with a smile
"Xiao Yi, Xiao Shuang, stop chatting for a moment. Let's go eat first, and you two can continue chatting at the table."
Hearing this, Gu Xiaoshuang hurriedly declined
"No need, I brought food from home. You guys go ahead."
As soon as she finished, Wang Yi immediately said to her
"Let's go together. You haven't eaten either. My Big Brother is taking me to a restaurant; I've never eaten in a restaurant before, let's go try it together."
Gu Xiaoshuang continued to refuse
"Really, no need. I brought food, I'm heading back to the dormitory now."
As she spoke, Gu Xiaoshuang turned to leave.
Wang Yi quickly pinched Gu Xiaoshuang's sleeve with his thumb and index finger, urging
"Oh come on, it's just one meal, just come with us."
Because of the distinction between genders, Wang Yi let go of her sleeve immediately after one tug, but it was obvious that Wang Yi definitely had other thoughts regarding Gu Xiaoshuang.
It was normal to have such thoughts; Gu Xiaoshuang took after her mother, and the girl was indeed quite striking.
Although she hadn't fully filled out yet due to her age and nutrition, she would certainly be something in the future.
Seeing that Gu Xiaoshuang still wanted to refuse, Wang An frowned and spoke to her in the tone of an elder
"Hurry up and get in the sidecar with Xiao Yi, then we'll go grab a bite. Move it. What's there to argue about over a meal? Why so stubborn?"
Gu Xiaoshuang stole a glance at Wang An, and only then did she walk toward the sidecar with some hesitation.
Once Gu Xiaoshuang sat in the sidecar seat, Wang Yi sat behind Wang An with a hint of excitement.
Noticing that Gu Xiaoshuang was a bit apprehensive, Wang An continued in the tone of an elder
"It wasn't easy for you and Xiao Yi to come to the county for school. Don't spend your days always thinking about refusing people. What's the use? How much is 'face' worth? And self-esteem—don't hold onto that thing so tightly, it's useless."
He didn't know if Gu Xiaoshuang could understand, so Wang An stopped talking after that.
A few minutes later, Wang An stopped the sidecar in front of the state-run restaurant.
Perhaps because it was the start of the school term, the restaurant was quite crowded, and many parents were eating there with their children.
Fortunately, there were still empty tables, so the three of them sat down.
After they sat, they waited for a full ten minutes before a waitress walked over quite reluctantly.
There was no helping it; restaurants in this era were like this—eat if you want, or get lost.
However, when the waitress noticed Wang An's uniform and the peaked cap placed on the table, her attitude immediately improved, and she asked in a very amiable tone
"What would you like to eat?"
He had to admit, this outfit of his was indeed useful wherever he went. The saying "respect the robe, not the man" was indeed spot on.
Looking at the malnourished Gu Xiaoshuang, Wang An ordered four meat dishes in a row.
(End of Chapter)