Lunch was very simple, just ordinary home-style dishes from Southern Jiangsu.
But it was also very rich, with seven meat dishes, five vegetable dishes, and two soups, all appealing in color, aroma, and taste, making one's mouth water.
During the meal, Yao Qiuran only ate meat, throwing all the vegetable dishes into her boyfriend's bowl.
Even the scallions in the braised tofu with scallions, she would pick them all out before taking a bite.
"Aunt, you are..."
Yao An remembered that she wasn't picky about food before.
"She's playing the stock market," Feng Jingyu explained.
Yao An understood, it seemed she was deeply poisoned by the stock market.
"Oh, you're not old but you're already learning to play the stock market, how much money did you lose?" Yao Yuanping asked with a chuckle.
Yao Qiuran glared at him, proudly puffing out her chest.
"I only made over 200,000 yuan, it's certainly not as impressive as you, second brother, almost losing all your family's savings."
Yao Yuanping sullenly shut up.
When he was young, he was ignorant; Father Yao had also been wild, only gradually settling down as he got older, dedicating himself to his career and family.
His most extravagant act in his youth was to take most of the family's savings and invest them in the stock market during a stock market craze.
In the end, of course, he lost everything.
It was only because Yao An was too young at the time that she maintained the family bond, otherwise, it's hard to say what things would be like now.
This incident caused a huge stir within the family at the time, so much so that even now his sister brings it up to mock him.
That night, at Aunt's strong insistence, Yao An stayed in the same room with her.
The abandoned Feng Jingyu could only squeeze onto the not-so-spacious double bed with his eldest cousin.
Although both their son and daughter were quite accomplished and the family wasn't short on money, the conditions in the countryside certainly didn't allow for air conditioning in every room.
Coupled with the lush vegetation around and many mosquitoes, it was inevitable that the rooms would be somewhat humid and hot after continuous rain.
Men are more adaptable and found living in such an environment acceptable.
Women were different; not taking a shower at night made them feel incredibly uncomfortable.
The three-story self-built house only had two bathrooms: the downstairs one belonged to Liu Ying and the eldest aunt, and the upstairs one belonged to Yao An and Aunt.
As soon as Yao An entered the bathroom, before she even had a chance to lock the door, it was pushed open from the outside.
Yao Qiuran, wrapped only in a bath towel and with a shower cap on her head, walked in as if no one else was there.
"Aunt, are you in a hurry? Or would you like to go first?"
Yao Qiuran was applying a face mask in front of the mirror, her tone casual.
"Let's go together."
???
Yao An was full of question marks.
No, this is a bit too much.
Aunt is very beautiful and has a good figure, but she is her elder.
"You go first, I'll wait a bit, it's no trouble."
Yao An turned to leave but was pulled back by the arm.
"The water heater in this house is solar-powered, an antique from who knows how many years ago. It's terribly difficult to use, and the water storage is very poor, usually only enough for one person to shower each time."
"If you don't shower today, you'll have to wait until tomorrow morning. Can you really endure the discomfort all night?"
"I'm fine, I'll just shower tomorrow."
Yao An decisively refused.
"Have you forgotten when you used to pester me to shower with me? Back then, you even insisted I help you scrub your body, only caring about playing with the water."
"And have you just finished your period recently? There's a stuffy smell about you."
Yao An was silent.
Indeed, she hadn't showered in five days.
Although there were tampons at home, she couldn't yet accept their internal design.
Now, she felt stuffy and uncomfortable; if this state continued for a few more days, she couldn't guarantee that her sensitive skin wouldn't develop eczema.
Periods in summer were simply torture.
"Come on, take off your clothes, don't be shy. It's just a quick rinse, it'll be over soon."
"Tsk tsk, what a figure you have, it's absolutely enviable. Did you inherit all the excellent genes in your family? Your little nephew looks a bit dim-witted."
"Take it off, how can you shower wearing your underwear? Why be so coy with your aunt? I know how many hairs you have on your body..."
She didn't know.
"During my period... it's very uncomfortable during my period, so I... shaved it off."
The sound of water splashed in the bathroom.
"An'an, what's wrong? Why is your face so red?"
"Why are you bleeding from your nose? Are you feeling unwell? Do you need to go to the hospital?"
"I... I'm fine, it's just... it's just too hot."
The shower lasted only a little over ten minutes, and indeed, as Yao Qiuran said, the water heater's storage capacity was poor, and by the end, only cold water remained.
The two could only finish hastily.
During this time, Yao An washed her face with body wash, wiped her body with facial cleanser, accidentally squeezed shampoo onto her toothbrush, and her mind was completely blank throughout.
If it were anyone else in front of her, she certainly wouldn't be so embarrassed, but that was her own aunt!
She was now filled with guilt towards Uncle.
"A shower feels so much better."
Yao Qiuran had no idea what she was thinking. After returning to the room, she tossed aside the towel she had used to dry herself and began to sit in front of the computer, watching stocks while applying body lotion.
"An'an, come help me apply some to my back."
Yao An hesitated for a moment, then stepped forward and dutifully complied.
Soon, her attention was drawn to the K-line chart on the screen, which was all green.
Under Yao Yuanping's influence, she had a slight understanding of stock knowledge, such as reading K-line charts.
However, with so much green, there was no need to understand; anyone could see it was a loss.
"Aunt, you..."
"Shh."
Yao Qiuran covered her mouth with her hand and made a shushing gesture.
A moment later, she sighed helplessly.
"That's right, I lost some money in stocks. What I said at noon about making 200,000 yuan was just because I didn't want to lose face in front of my family."
"How much did you lose?"
"Less than 100,000 yuan now, but I feel this stock has potential; it should turn red soon."
"You invested 300,000 yuan?" Yao An asked tentatively.
Yao Qiuran held up five fingers.
Yao An was silent.
"Perhaps it's better to cut your losses in time."
Stop, Ah Zu, Uncle Long is everywhere outside; you'll lose everything, and your outcome probably won't be much better than my dad's.
But Aunt was clearly a person with many ideas, from her initial overseas purchasing, reselling trendy toys, to now playing the stock market.
Sure enough, she waved her hand.
"It's fine, you don't need to worry. I know what I'm doing."
"Remember not to tell anyone else about this, especially your big-mouthed dad."
Yao An nodded without saying more, quietly sitting on the bed to complete her daily skincare routine.
Time in the countryside was boring and short; the scenery was beautiful, but the surrounding infrastructure was really poor, and activities she once found interesting no longer held her attention as she grew older.
Aunt and the eldest uncle's family left on the second and fourth days respectively, and the once lively self-built house gradually became somewhat deserted.
Every day, Yao An would wake up early to exercise, then accompany her grandmother to do farm work, and in her free time, occasionally tease the mischievous Yao Jingxuan to relieve boredom.
With the handle for topping up games held by his scheming sister, he dared not defy her wishes... Time quickly moved to September 1st, the official registration day for university students.
Yao Yuanping and his wife woke up early to drive Yao An to the high-speed rail to meet Jiang Jingya.
Their original intention was to take their daughter directly to the dormitory building.
Yao An refused.
Although being doted upon felt good, she was an adult after all, and many things should be done independently.
Over-relying on someone is not a good thing, even if it's one's parents.
"Shanghai has high living expenses, so Mom will give you 6,000 yuan every month. If it's not enough, just ask us for more."
"Mom, I'm going to school, not settling in Shanghai. 6,000 yuan is too much." Yao An was a bit amused and exasperated. In the past, let alone Shanghai, even if she went to New York, getting 2,000 yuan would have meant her parents were being extremely generous.
Of course, only giving 2,000 for New York is a bit exaggerated, but the general idea is correct.
And many university graduates don't even earn 6,000 yuan.
"You girls need to buy clothes, buy cosmetics. There's no need to be too frugal in daily life. As I said before, Dad doesn't have a lot of money, but raising you like a princess is no problem."
It would be a lie to say she wasn't touched; she now understood what it meant to have the backing of her maiden family.
"Um... An'an."
"Hm?" Yao An looked at her mother.
Liu Ying carefully chose her words and said:
"It's normal for you young people to be impulsive sometimes. You're an adult now, and we don't object to you dating, but you should... pay attention to safety. Girls need to protect themselves when they're out."
It took Yao An a while to understand what her mother meant, and she couldn't help but feel a bit awkward.
She wondered what they would think if they knew she liked girls.
Better not to know, she felt they would be shocked.
Farewells are always tinged with reluctance, and it was the same for Yao An and Jiang Jingya's parents.
Especially since both girls had never lived alone in a strange city before.
The two middle-aged men, who usually bore the family's burdens, also looked very melancholic because of their daughters' departure, leaning against the car door, silently smoking.
"An'an, Mom will visit you every now and then. You must take good care of yourself out there!" Liu Ying couldn't help but shed tears.
Yao An, who had already walked a few steps hand-in-hand with Jiang Jingya, stopped in place, then suddenly turned back and plunged into her mother's embrace.
She used to feel that intimate gestures with her parents would make both sides awkward.
Now, there was no need to be awkward, because she was a girl, and she could naturally show a dramatic side to those who loved her.
After a moment of embrace, Yao An stepped back two paces, wiped away the tears from the corners of her eyes, then raised her hand and ruffled her little brother's hair.
"Say goodbye to me."
Yao Jingxuan was silent; he was a little kid who cared about his image.
Saying goodbye in front of so many people was a bit awkward.
Yao An crouched down and whispered in his ear:
"You don't want Mom to know about you topping up games, do you?"
"Goodbye, goodbye, Big Sister."
Yao Jingxuan was heartbroken by his sister's departure and shed reluctant tears.
Yao An was very satisfied, she tossed her long, flowing hair and departed gracefully.