Chapter 30: It Seems Like a Man Is Following Her

Chapter 30: A Man Seems to Be Following Her

Zhou Chenglei was a man of few words and did not enjoy talking. Now, while driving the tractor, he had to focus on two things: the road conditions and whether Jiang Xia was feeling unwell.

Having someone "chirping" incessantly in his ear, talking about trivial and mindless things, only made him feel annoyed.

That was why he had finally reached his breaking point and snapped, "You're too noisy!"

He felt she was even louder than the tractor!

Wen Wan's face flushed bright red, feeling a level of embarrassment she had never experienced before.

The world went silent!

When they finally arrived at the town market, Zhou Chenglei found a place to park the tractor and quickly hopped off to help Wen Wan unload the iron cart and the mutton.

His speed was so fast that Jiang Xia found it somewhat amusing. She had sensed his impatience long ago, but the female lead seemed completely oblivious, acting like a chatterbox.

Still blushing and feeling a bit awkward, Wen Wan smiled and said, "Thank you, Brother Zhou, Sister Jiang Xia."

She couldn't help but steal a glance at Jiang Xia, feeling as though the other woman was laughing at her joke.

Zhou Chenglei gave a cold nod, not wanting to say a single word.

He looked at Jiang Xia, patiently waiting for her to "arm" herself.

Jiang Xia ignored everyone. As the sun came out, she put on her straw hat and arm sleeves, trying her best not to let an inch of skin be exposed to the sunlight.

Today, Jiang Xia wore her hair in two braids. She wore a white floral print cotton garment paired with green military trousers, a pair of liberation shoes, and a straw hat. Her skin was as white as frost and snow; despite the rustic outfit, she managed to wear it with a certain elegance, possessing a beauty that made it impossible to look away.

Passersby in the market couldn't help but steal extra glances at her.

Wen Wan was also beautiful—a gentle, pure kind of beauty.

But Jiang Xia was tall, had a great figure, and possessed an excellent temperament. She carried an aura in her every movement; standing there, she was like the rising sun over a midsummer river, dazzling and eye-catching.

Beside Jiang Xia, Wen Wan was like the moon that hadn't clocked out yet after the sun had risen.

Her beauty paled in comparison.

Looking at Jiang Xia's mannerisms, Wen Wan felt a surge of dislike: *So pretentious!*

*If you're afraid of the sun, don't go out.*

*Since when do people from the countryside go to the market looking like that?*

*Zhou Chenglei must find it eyesore, right?*

Wen Wan glanced at Zhou Chenglei, only to see him staring at Jiang Xia without even blinking.

Wen Wan: "..."

She lowered her head to look at her white dress, which was stained with a bit of mutton blood. Her face reddened, and she hurriedly pushed the iron cart away.

"Let's go!" After fully arming herself, Jiang Xia picked up a yellow-green plastic woven shopping basket and headed into the market.

The market was situated along a main street. The section ahead mostly sold poultry like chickens, geese, ducks, and rabbits. If a household already had chickens and ducks, they wouldn't need to buy more.

Jiang Xia saw some goslings for sale; they were green and fluffy and very cute.

"Want to raise geese?" Zhou Chenglei asked from beside her, shielding her from passing pedestrians.

Jiang Xia nodded, then shook her head. "I want to eat goose meat. I won't buy them now. Let's move on!"

Jiang Xia continued walking forward. Zhou Chenglei said nothing and quickly followed.

Feathers were flying everywhere along this stretch of the road, so the two of them walked quite briskly.

Zhou Chenglei led Jiang Xia to the area selling handicrafts.

Jiang Xia saw many bamboo baskets, winnowing trays, and other items. Only one shop sold bamboo beds, bamboo chairs, and rattan furniture. Not far away, there was also a shop selling wooden furniture, though all the styles were very simple, without any patterns or decorative craftsmanship.

Touching a bamboo bed, Jiang Xia looked at it with appreciation

"This bamboo bed is really beautiful! We could buy this for the courtyard. We can set up a grape trellis, put this underneath, and hang some gauze curtains in the summer. Sleeping under a grape trellis should be very cool."

Zhou Chenglei asked, "Uncle, how much for this bamboo bed?"

The man quoted a price and added, "No bargaining!"

Zhou Chenglei replied, "I'll take it."

Jiang Xia looked at the bamboo chairs. "How about buying a few bamboo chairs? Sitting on long benches during meals feels like sitting on a seesaw; you're always worried the other person will suddenly stand up and the bench will flip."

Zhou Chenglei said to the owner, "We also want six bamboo chairs."

Jiang Xia added, "This lounge chair looks very comfortable! Should we buy two lounge chairs as well? We can move them to the courtyard at night, lie on them to feel the breeze and watch the stars. How comfortable would that be!"

The owner said, "Those are rattan chairs. They are more expensive, but they are much more comfortable than bamboo ones."

Looking at the lounge chairs, Zhou Chenglei thought of the last time he helped her wash her hair; she had said that lying down to wash would prevent water from getting in her eyes or wetting her clothes.

"We'll take two."

The owner said happily, "Alright! See if there's anything else you need; I have plenty here. Do you need winnowing trays or sieves?"

In the end, Zhou Chenglei bought one bamboo bed, six bamboo chairs, two rattan lounge chairs, a bamboo basket with a lid, two bamboo trays, several circular winnowing trays and sieves of various sizes, fish baskets, a bamboo hat, and more.

Whenever Zhou Chenglei saw Jiang Xia pick something up to examine, he bought it.

The couple bought more than half of the stall's stock.

The vendor smiled, showing a row of white teeth, and offered to help them carry the items to the tractor.

Zhou Chenglei paid and said they would come back to pick up the goods after they finished shopping.

The couple continued walking. Jiang Xia saw a timber shop containing a solid wood sofa paired with a coffee table; it looked simple and sturdy.

Jiang Xia remarked, "That looks quite practical. We can put it in the living room, and when the time comes, we can add some cushions and throw pillows to make it comfortable. And that coffee table—the set looks quite nice. It would look good in our old house."

Zhou Chenglei then led Jiang Xia across to the timber shop and bought a solid wood sofa, a wooden coffee table, and even a desk for Zhou Zhou.

The owner enthusiastically offered to help them load the items onto the tractor.

Zhou Chenglei also went to a nearby grocery store to buy a large iron pot and a coal stove before leading the way to load all the furniture onto the tractor.

Wanting to see what else was available, Jiang Xia decided to wander through the market on her own.

She ended up buying three pounds of fresh water caltrops, two pounds of mountain berries, three pineapples, four melons, and then went to the pork stall to buy half a slab of ribs.

Wen Wan watched Jiang Xia shopping as if money didn't exist; as long as she took an interest in something, she bought it, seemingly without a second thought about the cost.

Meanwhile, she could only stand there shouting to sell mutton. Wen Wan's eyes dimmed.

*Once Jiang Xia and Zhou Chenglei divorce, and I marry him, will I live a life like that too?*

As Jiang Xia walked along, looking at what else the market had to offer, someone suddenly grabbed her arm from behind: "Xiao Xia."

*

After Zhou Chenglei had finished loading and securing everything on the tractor, he turned around to look for Jiang Xia.

Seeing Zhou Chenglei looking around, Wen Wan called out, "Brother Zhou, are you looking for Sister Jiang Xia?"

Hearing this, Zhou Chenglei looked at her. "Did you see her?"

Wen Wan pointed ahead. "I saw Sister Jiang Xia going ahead to buy things. A man seemed to be following her, but there are so many people in the market, I'm not sure if he was actually following her. He just looked at her a few extra times, which is normal since she's so beautiful."

Upon hearing this, Zhou Chenglei strode forward with large steps.

Wen Wan bit her lower lip. She felt she had said too much; she shouldn't have added those last two sentences, as it made her sound like she was trying to sow discord.

But she was also afraid Jiang Xia might run into trouble.

Just now, Wu Qizhi had come to buy mutton and had even flirted with her.

That was Jiang Xia's man; why was he flirting with her?

She couldn't help but say, "Aren't you afraid Sister Jiang Xia will see you acting like this?"

Then she looked toward Jiang Xia in the distance. Following her gaze, Wu Qizhi also saw Jiang Xia.

He then began to chase after her.

Wen Wan could no longer see Jiang Xia's figure due to the crowds. She felt uneasy and was worried about Jiang Xia, which was why she had spoken to Zhou Chenglei.