Chapter 12: Afraid of her associating with Huo Beixi

She dared not listen to Hua Qingmei and say right now that she chose Wang Liang. Otherwise, if Hua Qingmei ran to Wang Liang’s house to tell him, and Wang Liang’s family came over to cause a scene, what would she do?

“Hey, Xia Li, where is the bracelet you made with grass beads? I remember you always wore it on your wrist. How come it’s gone?” Hua Qingmei’s eyes suddenly lit up, as if she had only just noticed that Hua Xiali’s wrist was bare.

In truth, her eyes had been glancing at Hua Xiali’s wrist from time to time. Hua Xiali had been observing her and naturally noticed it long ago, but she hadn’t asked what Hua Qingmei was probing for.

Hua Xiali glanced at her wrist and put on a look of sudden realization. “Oh, that? Didn’t Wang Liang ask me to go hiking the other day? I accidentally tripped while hiking, and my wrist hit a rock, snapping the string. The grass beads scattered everywhere. I intended to pick them up, but it was too dangerous there. Wang Liang wouldn’t let me pick them up, nor would he help me, and he even said he would compensate me with a gold bracelet. I don’t know if he’ll actually buy it for me, but if he’s really generous enough to buy me a gold bracelet, then I’ll choose him.”

“It snapped?” Hua Qingmei froze, then reacted and asked hurriedly, “Where did it snap? Why didn’t you pick them up?”

Hua Xiali was very puzzled. It was just a grass bead bracelet; why was Hua Qingmei so nervous and anxious? Could this mean she knew about the world inside the grass bead bracelet?

If so, she would have to be more careful when using the spiritual spring water in the future; it wouldn’t be good if Hua Qingmei discovered anything unusual.

“It’s just a grass bead bracelet, I don’t even care, why do you care so much? When the grass beads ripen again this year, I’ll just go pick a handful and string them up again, won’t I?” Hua Xiali said, pretending to be indifferent.

Hua Qingmei realized she had been too excited just now and gave a sheepish smile. “I just saw you wearing it for several years and felt you must really like that bracelet. It’s such a pity to lose it like that!”

“What’s there to pity? Grass beads don’t cost money, gold bracelets are the valuable ones! I still prefer gold bracelets.” Hua Xiali put on an expression of immense longing for a gold bracelet.

Watching Hua Xiali’s greedy look, Hua Qingmei found it laughable. A gold bracelet for someone like her? In her next life, maybe!

However, Hua Qingmei didn’t show it on the surface. Instead, she affectionately took Hua Xiali’s arm, acting like they were the best of friends, and continued to probe, “Which mountain did you and Wang Liang go hiking on? What kind of things are on the mountain? Is it fun? Can you tell me the hiking route? After I get married, I’ll have my husband take me hiking too. He’s always busy working and making money; we’ve never really gone out to have fun…”

Hua Xiali knew she was indirectly trying to find out where her grass bead bracelet had broken. So, Hua Xiali went back to her room, got paper and a pen, and drew the route she and Wang Liang had taken that day. She even marked a spot at the summit and told her that was where the bracelet had broken.

If Hua Qingmei really went to look, it would prove she truly knew there was a small world inside the grass bead bracelet.

After getting the hiking route map, Hua Qingmei hypocritically chatted with Hua Xiali for a while longer, urged her to choose Wang Liang, and revealed the news that Huo Beixi was already married back in his hometown, before finally leaving Hua Xiali’s house.

Once Hua Qingmei left, Hua Xiali completely relaxed. She still couldn’t determine if Hua Qingmei had been reborn or if her soul had been replaced.

But regardless, she had never offended Hua Qingmei. Why did Hua Qingmei want to steal her opportunity, and why did she want to persuade her to marry Wang Liang and live a miserable life?

Because she couldn’t figure out the situation, Hua Xiali stopped thinking about it. She didn’t want to waste time on Hua Qingmei’s affairs. Anyway, she had been reborn and had discovered the spiritual spring space in advance; no one would be able to hurt her.

As for the news that Huo Beixi was already married, Hua Xiali didn’t believe it. In her previous life, after Huo Beixi died, no one from his family came to claim his body. If he had a wife and children, it was impossible that they wouldn’t have come to demand compensation or a pension; after all, everyone loves money.

On his tombstone, there were no names of parents, a wife, or children—only his own.

Furthermore, after Hua Xiali divorced and returned to her maiden home with her two children in her previous life, she would visit the cemetery on New Year’s Eve to pay respects to her ancestors and deceased relatives. She would also clear the weeds from Huo Beixi’s grave and burn some paper money, because besides her, no one ever burned paper money for him. This fully demonstrated that he had no family.

Why did Hua Qingmei lie to her, saying Huo Beixi was already married in his hometown? Hua Qingmei seemed afraid of her associating with Huo Beixi. Could it be that there was some story between her and Huo Beixi that she didn’t know about, and Hua Qingmei was very clear on it?

Hua Xiali shook those annoying thoughts out of her head, then got up to feed the poultry in the yard. When she saw the eggs in the chicken coop, her eyes widened.

She hadn’t expected the number of eggs to be more than double what it was before. She had only added a tiny bit of spiritual spring water to the water; could it really have such a powerful effect?

Then, before Hua Qingmei got married, she couldn’t use the spiritual spring water anymore. Otherwise, if her family underwent too many changes from eating the eggs, poultry meat, or vegetables, Hua Qingmei would definitely notice at a glance.

Sigh, she wanted to improve her family’s health, but there was a roadblock in the way. She would just have to wait a little longer.

Hua Xiali was going to her fourth uncle’s house in the afternoon to snap bamboo shoots with her fourth aunt, so at noon, she started preparing lunch.

After eating, Hua Xiali told Mother Hua and set off to the roadside to catch a ride. Mother Hua didn’t ask why Hua Xiali was going to her fourth uncle and aunt’s house; the child was grown up, and she didn’t tell her everything.

Halfway there, Hua Xiali suddenly remembered she still owed Huo Beixi a handkerchief. She had forgotten to buy it before, so today, no matter what, she had to buy it to avoid forgetting about it completely.

Arriving at the town’s bus station, she saw someone setting up a stall outside. Hua Xiali walked over, took Huo Beixi’s handkerchief out of her pocket, and handed it to the vendor. “Boss, could you please help me find a handkerchief exactly like this one?”

The boss looked through his stock and then pulled out a handkerchief and handed it to Hua Xiali. “Is it this one?”

Hua Xiali took the handkerchief, compared it carefully, and confirmed it was the same. She nodded. “Yes, it’s the same. How much is this handkerchief?”

“Five yuan.” The boss held up his hand.

Five yuan for a handkerchief was indeed a bit expensive for Hua Xiali, who didn’t have much money right now. But she owed someone something and couldn’t not pay it back, so she gritted her teeth and bought it.