Chapter 42: Going to Borrow a Bicycle

The meal was finally over, safe and sound.

It had been another day of replacing roof tiles and cleaning up; they were covered in dust, their clothes laden with grime from God knows how many layers of dirt.

After eating, Tang Lin and Leng Hui went to the washroom to wash their hair, then fetched water to sponge bath in the inner room before changing into clean clothes.

By the time they finished washing, hung up the dirty laundry, and returned to the inner room of the main house, Leng Yongkang was surprisingly not asleep; he was sitting on the small bed waiting for them.

The mother and daughter exchanged a glance, then crouched down to shove their washbasins under the bed. Tang Lin pulled the curtain aside and crawled straight into the quilt, having no intention of acknowledging him at all.

Leng Hui sat on the edge of the bed, leaning lazily against the headboard, looking at Leng Yongkang as if she had only just noticed him.

"Oh? Comrade Leng Yongkang, are you waiting for us?"

Leng Yongkang rubbed his brow and asked, "Where did you two go today?"

"Is this you showing concern? It's just that I have no desire to answer the questions you're asking," Leng Hui said with disdain at his belated concern.

She let out a yawn and pulled the cloth curtain shut with a *swish*, cutting off Leng Yongkang's line of sight.

Leng Yongkang sighed inwardly, took off his shoes, and lay back on the small bed. After an unknown amount of time, his voice rang out again in the quiet room.

He seemed only to want to speak, indifferent to whether the mother and daughter were listening. "I was out running errands all day today and didn't get any news on housing. When I came back this evening, Xiao Mei told me there's a dilapidated little courtyard over on Furong Street that hasn't been lived in for over a decade. I was thinking of going to check it out tomorrow. If it works out, we can move out of this house as soon as possible."

On the large bed, the drowsy mother and daughter were instantly jolted awake by these words.

Tang Lin and Leng Hui looked at each other.

Leng Hui looked at Tang Lin, her eyes signaling: *Is there really such a coincidence in this world?*

Tang Lin blinked: *Are there other dilapidated houses on Furong Street?*

Leng Hui wagged her index finger side to side: *Impossible. With the housing shortage, houses wouldn't be lying around like common street trash. That is the only dilapidated house on Furong Street; there are no others.*

Tang Lin pulled the quilt over their heads and whispered into Leng Hui's ear, "The female lead, Leng Mei, suggested Leng Yongkang go for that courtyard. Could there be something about that place we don't know?"

Leng Hui whispered back, "It's quite possible. Try hard to think—was this mentioned in the book?"

"No. When I read, I only like the exciting parts. I don't have the patience for the mundane daily life and family drama."

Leng Hui encouraged her, "Try harder. Maybe some details you overlooked before will slowly come back to you."

Tang Lin still couldn't remember.

Leng Hui frowned slightly, considering a possibility. "When real estate boomed later on, to increase the land value, developers turned the barren mountains behind that dilapidated courtyard into a park. The land at the foot of the mountain was developed into rows of villas and detached houses. Do you think Leng Mei knows that the courtyard will appreciate in value in the future?"

Nestled against mountains and water, picturesque scenery, and quietude amidst the bustle—these were all the selling points developers used.

"Very likely."

Tang Lin nodded. If she were the one who had been reborn and knew that a worthless, broken courtyard could make one's descendants wealthy through future redevelopment, she would also have snatched it up without hesitation.

The next day, after breakfast, Tang Lin and Leng Hui headed out. Leng Yongkang had already left on his bicycle.

"Your dad left first. Without a bike, how are you going to get to the brick and tile factory?"

The factory was in the suburbs, and there were no buses going out of town, making it quite inconvenient to get there.

Leng Hui told Tang Lin to go catch a bus to work first while she would find another way—at worst, she would go to the factory to find him.

However, Leng Hui suspected that Leng Yongkang might have taken another day off today.

After seeing Tang Lin onto the bus, Leng Hui turned and walked toward the Jiang family's courtyard.

When Leng Hui arrived at the Jiang residence, the Jiang parents had already gone to work, and Jiang Jingtao was just about to head out, pushing his bicycle.

"Leng Hui, what brings you here?"

"I have something to discuss with you. Where are you heading?"

Jiang Jingtao parked his bike and pushed open the courtyard gate to invite her in. "I was bored at home and was about to go find someone to hang out with. If you have something to say, just say it."

Leng Hui didn't enter the courtyard; her business could be explained standing at the gate. "I want to go to Longquan'ao this morning. There are no buses there, so I thought I'd come and borrow your bicycle."

"What are you doing in Longquan'ao?"

"I want to order some bricks and tiles."

"Order bricks and tiles?"

"Yes!"

Leng Hui briefly explained the divorce between Tang Lin and Leng Yongkang, as well as their plan to move houses.

This couldn't be kept secret; once they moved, everyone who needed to know would find out.

"Wait for me."

Jiang Jingtao turned back to close and lock the courtyard gate. He swung his long legs over the bicycle, bracing it so Leng Hui could sit on the back seat.

Leng Hui held on firmly. Seeing that Jiang Jingtao was not heading out of town, she asked in confusion, "Where are you going? Longquan'ao isn't in this direction."

Jiang Jingtao's powerful long legs pedaled hard. The wind whistled past their ears. He tossed his hair and replied, "Don't worry, you'll know in a moment."

Seeing the bicycle heading in the opposite direction, Leng Hui's face darkened. "Jiang Jingtao, you brat, if you just want to go play, go play. I don't have time to waste with you. Stop the bike immediately; I still have to get to Longquan'ao."

"I told you not to worry. Why are you so impatient all of a sudden? We're almost there."

In the time it took to speak, the bicycle surged onto the curb and came to a sudden, screeching halt in front of a group of people.

*Ouch!*

The moment the bicycle hit the curb, Leng Hui, sitting on the back, was jolted violently. Her backside slammed heavily against the seat, and she nearly injured her tailbone.

Even after the bike came to a stop, the pain in her tailbone wouldn't subside for a long time.

"Brother, Brother Xiao, I have things to do today, so I can't join you guys. Sorry."

Brother? Brother Xiao?

Only then did Leng Hui notice the several grown men in front of her; she didn't recognize a single one of them.

Were these handsome men relatives of the Jiang family?

"Little Brother Jiang, your habit of riding your bike recklessly hasn't changed. It looks like your friend took quite a bump today."

At that moment, Xiao Ye noticed Leng Hui's expression and offered a reminder.

As soon as Xiao Ye spoke, Leng Hui naturally noticed him.

The men before her all had decent builds, but his posture was the most upright. His strong, long legs were wrapped in army-green trousers, seemingly brimming with endless strength.

His facial features were well-defined and three-dimensional; his thick, dark sword-like eyebrows were enough to command one's attention at a single glance.

In particular, meeting his deep eyes—which exuded both stability and determination—made one's heart skip a beat.

Jiang Jingtao was startled by Xiao Ye's words and hurriedly turned to look at Leng Hui. His expression looked somewhat guilty as he asked, "Leng Hui, you're not *that* fragile, are you? You're acting like this just from a little bump on a bike?"

Leng Hui took a deep breath to suppress her racing heart. Thinking about how Jiang Jingtao had made her lose face in front of such a handsome man, she felt a surge of anger.

She jumped off the bike. In front of so many relatives, she couldn't make too much of a scene.

However, Leng Hui still gave his shin a sharp kick. "You're a bad rider and you still like to speed. Is that my fault?"

Watching his cousin's expression—alternating between a cheeky grin and a grimace of pain—Jiang Jinghao shook his head in exasperation.

As a man, being careless was one thing, but being unable to show tenderness to a lady meant his path to romance was destined to be rocky.

To put it bluntly, he was just not the type women liked.