Chapter 879 - 881 Idle Talk, Qingmei Helps Out_1
Bystanders were cold and dismissive, but Lin Xufei, being the son of the Huainan King and having once escorted the Beiyu Study Palace on their journey, was not someone they could easily turn away. Back then, Tu Bai had been injured, and during the trip, they had been attacked again, with Lin Xufei assisting them.
Therefore, facing Lin Xufei, it wasn’t appropriate to deny him entry as they would a stranger like Li Jingwei.
Tu Ying still stopped Lin Xufei, her tone somewhat gentler, saying, "Young Master Lin, Ruozhu is administering acupuncture and must not be disturbed."
Honestly, this excuse was a bit weak; Bai Ruozhu had performed acupuncture on Tu Bai in broad daylight at the arena without worrying about disturbance.
Lin Xufei paused, his concern genuinely for Tu Bai, but realizing there might be inconveniences for the other party, he immediately stopped in his tracks and did not try to force his way in.
Li Jingwei was different, though. He craned his neck as if trying to peek through the crack of the door, then said loudly, "Inside is a female physician, right? Aren’t they afraid of scandal with a single man and woman alone together? Maybe we should go in and keep them company."
A murderous intent flashed in Tu Ying’s eyes. If it weren’t for the fact that the other party was from the organizing committee, she really wanted to throw him out.
Jianqi was not as polite, his cold gaze sweeping across Li Jingwei’s neck, "Get lost!"
Inside the room, Bai Ruozhu was already stitching up Tu Bai’s wounds and definitely couldn’t allow others to come in. Tu Bai also heard Li Jingwei’s words, his face reddening as he said softly, "Ruozhu, I’ve caused you trouble."
"It’s nothing; we’re all friends here, no need to mind gossip," Bai Ruozhu said, though secretly she took note of Li Jingwei. If it weren’t for being in Jiangnan and representing the Beiyu Study Palace, with the need to be considerate in her actions, she would have gone to mute that man!
Li Jingwei, cursed out by Jianqi, was furious. As the shouting seemed about to erupt, Lin Xufei hurriedly tried to mediate. Being the son of the Huainan King, he had some prestige in Xuanlang City, and Li Jingwei eventually gave him face and didn’t continue the quarrel.
Not far off, three women were looking at each other as if they had just uncovered some great secret. Xu Panrui gave the others a meaningful glance, and they turned and walked away.
"Sure enough, it was right to come and see; that Bai Ruozhu and the injured Tu Bai are suspiciously close. Otherwise, why would they treat an injury behind closed doors, even having subordinates and a sister keep watch?" Xu Panrui sneered.
Sun Lin showed contempt and chimed in, "That Tu Ying isn’t any better, an unmarried girl helping her brother conduct a secret affair. Just now, so many cheered for her, all deceived by her!"
The usually silent Su Bilan suddenly spoke up, her voice haunting, "We should tell those we know well, don’t let everyone be fooled by such shameless women."
The three had a dislike for Bai Ruozhu and Tu Ying. Bai Ruozhu was one thing, but Tu Ying’s performance that day had been particularly grating to them.
...
In another area, not far from the VIP seating, there was a temporary resting room. Jiang Yichun walked in helplessly, cradling Little Dengdeng, and murmured, "Little ancestor, why did you have to do this at such a critical moment? Fortunately, you finished watching your mother’s competition, otherwise be careful she might get angry."
Jiang Yichun was somewhat aloof, but whenever he faced his wife and child, the chill naturally faded away.
He fetched the cloth bag prepared in advance by Bai Ruozhu, from which he took out clean diapers and small underpants. Little Dengdeng had just wet and soiled himself, the diaper unable to hold up, and the underpants were soaked through. Naturally, some urine had also gotten onto the parents, but Jiang Yichun felt it was no big deal with infant urine.
As he removed Little Dengdeng’s pants, he couldn’t help but click his tongue at the sight of the little buttocks smeared with feces, forcing him to turn and call out, "Lightning, fetch me a basin of water!"
"Yes!" The dark guard outside hurried away to find a basin to fetch water.
Jiang Yichun took out some grass paper from his bag, and began carefully wiping Little Dengdeng’s bottom. Little Dengdeng, being mischievous, was still kicking around with poo on his bottom, forcing Jiang Yichun to glare at him fiercely and command, "Don’t move!"
Instantly, Dengdeng obeyed, allowing Jiang Yichun to properly clean him up, when suddenly the sound of hurried footsteps approached from behind.
"Brother Yichun, what’s wrong?" Lin Hanlan, having heard Jiang Yichun’s shout from outside, thought something had happened and charged in, ready to fight.
When Jiang Yichun turned around to see her, his one hand was grasping his son’s little feet while the other hand was holding the grass paper, wiping the shiny poo. Thus, for a moment, he showed an embarrassed expression and quickly turned his head back.
After all, she was a childhood friend, even a few years his junior, who used to follow him around, but seeing him in his current state made him feel exceedingly uncomfortable.
Lin Hanlan paused, her expression turning awkward as well. She said apologetically, "I was passing by and heard your voice; I thought there was an assassin, so I rushed in. It was reckless of me. Do you, uh, need any help?"
By now, Jiang Yichun had suppressed the embarrassment in his heart and said, "It’s not necessary. I wouldn’t want to dirty your clothes."
Lin Hanlan, however, rolled up her sleeves and moved to the side, nonchalantly saying, "It’s fine. I often help take care of my cousin’s kid. I’m not worried about getting dirty."
"Dengdeng is shy with strangers; you should step back for now," Jiang Yichun said coldly. He didn’t wish to get too close to other women and provoke unnecessary misunderstandings.
However, Lin Hanlan did not leave; her expression became somewhat gloomy as she asked, "Are you blaming us for not helping you back then? Believe me, I wanted to help you when I found out, but I was too young at the time. My family wouldn’t listen to me, and they told me not to interfere in other people’s affairs."
At the mention of the past, a cold aura emitted from Jiang Yichun, "Your family was right; it was someone else’s family matter, and none of you should have gotten involved."
"Can you stop being mad at me, please? Aren’t we still good buddies?" Lin Hanlan patted her chest and spoke with some bravado.
By this time, Jiang Yichun had finished wiping the poop off Little Dengdeng’s bottom, but there were still some yellow stains he couldn’t clean off. He had to wait for the water to arrive before washing him properly. While holding his son’s little feet with one hand, he turned his head and said, "We are men and women of different standings; it’s not like when we were kids anymore."
Lin Hanlan couldn’t help but laugh out loud, "Why has the Northland become so conservative? In Jiangnan, it’s common for young people to make friends; no one worries about those old-fashioned gender distinctions."
Just then, a voice like lightning came from outside, "Master, the water has arrived."
"Bring it in," said Jiang Yichun, "and escort Miss Lin to their team."
Lightning put down the basin of water, breathing a sigh of relief. He had heard a woman’s voice inside without entering and knew it wasn’t the lady of the house, which made him nervous. Luckily, the master’s attitude was very clear, and he had already issued an order to see the guest out.
"Miss Lin, this way, please," Lightning gestured for her to follow. But Lin Hanlan swiftly hopped over, took a cloth, dipped it in the water from the basin, and reached out to wipe.
"It’s hard to wipe by yourself; let me do it, so the child doesn’t get a cold belly from waiting too long," said Lin Hanlan with a smile.