### Chapter 428: Too Bored?
After some playful scuffling in bed, Xia Ling and Jiang Hanhang found themselves not feeling sleepy anymore but rather quite hungry.
“Say, isn’t Little Yu working in the kitchen right now? Why don’t we go ask her for a chicken leg?” Jiang Hanhang mused cheerfully, lying on top of Xia Ling. Although she could order one from her bodyguards, there was something about asking Little Yu that made her feel more satisfied.
Xia Ling never dared to imagine such things before, but since Jiang Hanhang brought it up, she thought, “Well then, get up quickly and change clothes; let’s go take a look.” “Alright!”
On the other side, Xia Yu had long stopped butchering chickens and ducks. Her current task was chopping pork belly to make a savory dish, keeping her quite busy. Originally, Wang Gui had tasked Xia Yu with gutting fish, but she still felt a bit queasy doing it, unable to bring herself to k*ll living creatures.
It’s funny to think about it, Xia Yu had learned cooking for so long yet still hasn’t gotten over this one thing, and Master Chen didn’t push her on it either. He figured she could buy pre-prepared ingredients later and just do the finishing touches.
Time flew by, and soon it was lunchtime, and more people started pouring into the kitchen. Some were cooking, others carrying dishes, and anyone who noticed too many or too few items would come alert someone.
Of course, this wasn’t Xia Yu’s problem. Her job was simply to chop vegetables, not prepare the dishes herself, so she avoided all the hassle. She only needed to complete what Wang Gui had asked her to do.
Though Wang Gui wasn’t part of the family, most of the bustling kitchen workers were from Xia Family Village and thus knew Xia Yu. Initially, they were surprised how beautiful Xia Yu had become and that she no longer looked like a boy at all.
But after seeing Xia Yu’s brutal kn*fe skills, they decided not to mess around with her any more. They knew that Xia Yu might not be a good match-up when she was their age.
Probably because Xia Yu still seemed like a kid to these adults, they occasionally glanced at her but kept their distance, not wanting to interfere with her work.
Xia Yu herself enjoyed the silence. She was genuinely bad at handling interpersonal relationships, so the less she interacted, the better.
Just as Xia Yu was numbly thinking she’d continue her morning routine until someone interrupted her by shouting behind her, “Hey Little Yu, your dad left his phone at home. Someone just called him, you should check.”
Sure enough, it was Xia Yu’s old elementary school classmate. Thinking back, Xia Yu almost forgot about having an old friend, especially while spending happy times with Little Ning.
While past memories were grim, Xia Yu was still somewhat comfortable interacting with fellow classmates, even if a bit awkward. So she hesitated whether she should turn around. Before she could decide, she heard another voice.
“Oh, I see. By the way, you have a classmate Xia Yu here. You haven’t seen each other in a while, maybe go say hi?” “Huh?”
Xia Junshuang glanced in the direction his father indicated, and sure enough, someone was standing on a chair chopping vegetables, and she had a girl’s silhouette.
Unlike Xia Yu, Xia Junshuang wasn’t socially anxious. Curious, he walked over to investigate and confirm if it really was Xia Yu.
From the outfit perspective, there was nothing special; Xia Yu dressed very neutrally. And Xia Yun had no idea why she liked wearing such gender-neutral clothes. Couldn’t she just dress coolly like a boy?
Little did anyone know, Xia Yu didn’t have any boys’ clothes left; the few she had were in Peng City which she couldn’t fetch easily.
Before Xia Junshuang could realize, he reached next to Xia Yu and took in her entire appearance. Anyone who spent time with Xia Yu and Xia Ling would know besides dress and hairstyle, her demeanor also differed subtly. Xia Yu gave off a weak, indifferent vibe, as if she didn’t care much about anything except for occasionally backing down first.
Xia Ling, on the other hand, was full of vitality, her eyes sparkled with life. She was completely opposite from Xia Yu.
As Xia Junshuang glanced at Xia Yu, she curiously met his gaze but quickly looked away to keep chopping vegetables silently, acting as if she didn’t recognize him, much to Xia Junshuang’s bewilderment.
Xia Yu didn’t want to talk, but Xia Junshuang did. Since he had nothing else to do, he decided to chat with Xia Yu, his childhood friend. Clearly, he didn’t know how Xia Yu felt about him, so to him, Xia Yu was still the shy kid from before, trying to fit in with the boys and failing. Xia Yu’s past issues weren’t relevant to him, and he didn’t feel pressured.
When it came to what Jiang Kekai did, those who were a little smart understood it was just defending Xia Yu, nothing too extreme, and eventually, the matter died down. He realized, since everyone was embarrassed, it wasn’t embarrassing anymore.
“Xia Yu? Long time no see.”
“Yeah, long time.”
Xia Yu held no grudges; since the other person had greeted her, responding was the polite thing to do.
Especially after becoming a girl, Xia Yu became even more considerate—it must be her personality. Xia Junshuang: “!! Your voice…”
In the past year, Xia Yu changed a lot, developing more like a girl than a boy, including voice, skin, face. If you stayed close to her, it was hard to notice immediately, but the changes were noticeable day to day.
But, if you knew Xia Yu well from the past and saw her now, differences were glaring.
“What’s wrong with my voice?”
Xia Yu paused chopping, outwardly calm, inwardly worried if her disguise was exposed. There were so many acquaintances around, she didn’t want it all to fall apart.
“Nothing, just unexpected, your voice sounds clear and fresh… not quite like a boy’s.” Xia Yu: “…..Oh.”
Honestly, if she sounded like a boy it would be weird. However, being called out like this bothered her. Perhaps the reason she had social anxiety made sense—fear of saying the wrong thing and making others unhappy.
So, Xia Yu resumed chopping vegetables, ending the conversation. Now you can go, huh?
Unknown to Xia Yu, Xia Junshuang didn’t plan to leave. Xia Yu’s transformation was substantial. Whether in looks or personality, he felt almost alienated from her.
“By the way, why are you here?”
“My dad told me to help out, and I know some kn*fe skills.”
“Really? Where did you practice?”
“More or less. In Peng City,” Xia Yu: “…..”
She usually kept silent at school, but now this guy talked non-stop. When did she meet such a chatterbox? Xia Yu wanted nothing more than to be left alone.
Just then, Jiang Hanhang finally arrived at the village kitchen, led by Xia Ling. While strangers weren’t allowed in, people were generally lenient if it was an emergency.
“Little Yu, we’re here to visit you.”
Jiang Hanhang, with her social confidence, wasn’t intimidated by the unfamiliar adults. Even with a loud voice, she made sure Xia Yu knew she had arrived.
Xia Yu: “.…”
Upon seeing Xia Junshuang, Xia Ling questioned, “What are you doing here?”
She was surprised to find Xia Junshuang chatting with Xia Yu, given that the last time someone caused trouble, it ended badly. Xia Ling’s own friendship suffered. She guessed the girls didn’t like her not helping.
But at least she still had Jiang Hanhang to rely on, and they had confessed to each other.
“Hmm, just dropping off something for dad, saw Xia Yu here, thought we could talk.” “Talk?”
Even though Xia Junshuang had no intentions, creative Jiang Hanhang jumped to conclusions. Xia Yu should stay with her friends, otherwise, she’ll learn to pick up boys.
The look from both girls made Xia Junshuang uncomfortable. This time, he was determined to leave. “Alright, you two catch up. I’m heading out.”
Recalling something, he turned back, “There’s a new class group and a school group, care to join?”
“Sure!”
Xia Ling eagerly grabbed her phone, guessing the new group was perhaps to avoid her and Xia Yu. She wanted to find out if people talked behind her back when she wasn’t around.
Truth was, Xia Ling was just bored.
