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After the May Day holiday, Hu Ruoyun received another payment from the Story Collection, and with the previous two installments, she had accumulated three remittance slips. During this time, she had been hesitant to visit the Post Office again, fearing that Mao Na might ask her something or give her a cold shoulder.
The key to Mao Na's dormitory was also brought back by Mao Jie. Mayor Mao got so busy that he completely forgot about Hu Ruoyun, but during their workout sessions, Mao Jie complained, "What exactly did you say to my dad? He’s hardly ever home now and only occasionally eats dinner at home… My mom says he’s so preoccupied at night that he barely talks; it’s like he’s lost in thought."
Hu Ruoyun asked, "His mental state is okay, right?"
Mao Jie replied, "Aside from being busy, everything else seems fine." He casually added, "My sister said you haven’t collected several months' worth of payments? Did you forget? If you wait too long, you won’t be able to cash them in."
Hu Ruoyun responded, "I’ll go in the next couple of days."
She remembered that Mao Na was always on duty on Saturdays and made a special trip to Gaoqiao Town Post Office on Sunday morning. To her surprise, when she walked in, it was still Mao Na sitting at the counter.
After carefully observing for a moment, Hu Ruoyun steeled herself and approached. Mao Na didn’t seem unhappy; instead, she appeared pleasantly surprised to see her. As she took the remittance slip from Hu Ruoyun, she joked, "I thought you were going to give up on this hundred-plus yuan!"
Hu Ruoyun felt relieved and replied, "How could I? I’ve just been a bit busy lately..."
As they chatted casually, a small door leading to the backyard opened, and a large figure squeezed through. "Na! Xiao Qiu just called and said she’d come by this afternoon to see you. She wants to take you out for dinner tonight. Aren't you taking a day off tomorrow? She also said she’d take you to the county town for some fun..."
Hu Ruoyun looked closely and recognized the Fat Woman she had seen leaving Mao Na's room that morning. The Fat Woman also recognized Hu Ruoyun. "Oh! Your cousin is here?"
"Cousin?" Mao Na looked puzzled and glanced at Hu Ruoyun before realizing. "Oh, Sister Zhou! My brother came to cash in his remittance slip."
Sister Zhou leaned in to look at the remittance slip. "So you’re Hu Ruoyun! Your sister often praises your talent..."
Mao Na's face turned noticeably red as she playfully scolded, "Sister, I’m busy here!"
The Fat Woman smiled broadly. "Alright then, keep busy! But after you're done, you should dress up a bit... I’ve never seen you wear that top he bought for you!"
That night when Hu Ruoyun stayed over at Mao Na's dormitory, she accidentally saw Mao Na's ID card. In it, Sister Mona wore a postal uniform with a youthful smile; her birth date was listed as June 28, 1973. She was only three years older than Hu Ruoyun and seemed more mature since she had started working earlier.
Hearing Sister Zhou's words made Mao Na's expression change slightly. She quickly glanced at Hu Ruoyun at the counter and called out urgently, "Sister Zhou, I can’t do it these days. My aunt’s birthday is tomorrow; my cousin and I are going shopping this afternoon to prepare a gift for her birthday celebration. Please tell him we can reconnect later."
As she spoke, she winked at Hu Ruoyun.
Sister Zhou looked at Hu Ruoyun, who nodded in agreement at the counter but seemed reluctant. "How about you take Xiao Qiu along to your aunt’s house? It would be nice for her to see him too."
"Let’s skip it this time, Sister Zhou... We can plan for another day," Mao Na replied.
The Fat Woman sighed in resignation. "Alright then; I’ll call him and let him know."
Watching the Fat Woman leave through the door, Mao Na's expression turned slightly grim. "What kind of people are these? So hard to deal with!"
After handing over more than 160 yuan to Hu Ruoyun, she suddenly asked seriously, "Xiao Hu, do you have any plans for this afternoon?"
Hu Ruoyun pondered for a moment and replied, "Not really."
Mao Na's face lit up with joy. "That's perfect! Come with me to the Black Dragon Pool this afternoon to relax."
Hu Ruoyun seemed a bit slow to react. "Just us? Is Mao Jie coming?"
Mao Na answered, "He’s not coming. He spent the morning with my mom and uncle visiting my grandmother, and he won’t be back until it’s almost dark. So it’s just us."
The Black Dragon Pool was a scenic spot in Gaoqiao Town. It used to be a state-owned forest farm in Annan County, covering hundreds of acres. In the center, surrounded by trees, was a natural pond that never ran dry throughout the seasons, spanning about ten acres. Legend had it that long ago, the youngest son of the East Sea Dragon King was punished here for breaking heavenly rules.
Hu Ruoyun had visited this place before with the sports committee member, Gao Jiazhuang. The towering trees created a canopy, making the forest dark and cool even on a bright sunny day outside. Since it had not been artificially developed, the ground was covered with wild grass and tangled shrubs, with only a narrow path winding its way to the pond.
In May and June, when it was sweltering outside, entering the forest felt refreshing. Although it lacked the beauty of man-made decorations, it possessed a natural simplicity and charm.
Back at school, thinking about their afternoon date made Hu Ruoyun inexplicably excited.
At two o'clock in the afternoon, having skipped his nap, Hu Ruoyun donned his clean sportswear and rode his bicycle to the back gate of the Post Office. From afar, he spotted Mao Na wearing a white long-sleeve shirt paired with beige straight-leg pants and half-heeled leather shoes. Her long hair was tied back in a ponytail; she looked more like she was dressed for an outing than for a day in nature.
As he approached, Hu Ruoyun handed her a bag. "Sister Mona, hold this; I’ll carry you."
Mao Na took the bag and peeked inside to find several pieces of bread, some sausages, and two bottles of sports drink. "I was just thinking about picking up some snacks on the way; you’ve already brought everything."
Hu Ruoyun hopped onto his bike while Mao Na grabbed the hem of his shirt with her right hand and leaned over to sit on the back seat without letting go.
It was less than four miles from Town to Black Dragon Pool. Even with someone on the back seat, they arrived in under twenty minutes.
After parking their bikes, they followed the winding path deeper into the woods.
"Did Sister Zhou see you when you stayed over at my place that day?" Mao Na suddenly asked.
Hu Ruoyun felt a bit embarrassed. "I meant to leave early, but I overslept."
Mao Na didn’t seem upset. "That’s our director's wife; she can be quite annoying. She kept asking me if you were my cousin from my aunt’s side or my uncle’s side..."
Hu Ruoyun teased her, "She really cares about you."
"What does it matter? She said she wanted to introduce me to someone—it's that Xiao Qiu I mentioned this morning... Oh right! He was there when you took your two female classmates out for dinner."
Hu Ruoyun recalled the young man in a suit; although his impression wasn’t very strong, he still complimented him. "He’s the one in the suit? He does look quite handsome."
"Handsome? Can that fill your stomach?" Mao Na suddenly seemed annoyed. "After one meal, all he did was show off—talking about how great his dad is and how amazing his mom is... but he himself is just mediocre and so effeminate."
"Are you not interested then?" Hu Ruoyun asked.
"But my mom is happy about it! She says his dad is the Deputy Secretary of the County Committee, and his mom is the County Women's Federation Director." Mao Na's expression darkened.
"Well, that seems like a good match for you," Hu Ruoyun said, but for some reason, her heart ached a little.
"That's nonsense!"
Mao Na was genuinely annoyed. "What era are we in? Shouldn't marriage be about the two people involved? Why does it have to involve other factors? Besides, how long can his dad hold that position as Deputy Secretary, or his mom as a Women's Federation Director? If it weren't for our director's wife introducing us, I would have gotten rid of him long ago. He just keeps chattering on and boasting that his mom wants to buy him a car... With their salaries, can they even afford a car? That money doesn't come easily! If he were doing well on his own, even if his dad were just a farmer, I'd still think better of him."
"What does Mayor Mao think?" Hu Ruoyun slowed her pace.
"My dad said I should make my own decisions without considering other factors. If I want it, then great; if I don't, then that's fine too. I shouldn't compromise myself."
"Your dad is something!" Hu Ruoyun gave her a thumbs up. Then she added, "What do the Deputy Secretary of the County Committee and the County Women's Federation Director matter? Your dad has a long road ahead of him..."
Mao Na nodded involuntarily at Hu Ruoyun's serious tone.
The two wandered around, finally making their way through the thicket to the edge of a pond. The shore was nothing but sand and stones, and the heat from outside was nowhere to be felt here.
"I'm hungry; give me a piece of bread," Mao Na said as she found a flat stone and wiped it off with some paper before sitting down. She reached out her delicate white hand toward Hu Ruoyun, who was carrying a bag.
Hu Ruoyun took out a piece of bread, gently unwrapped it, and handed it over.
"You should eat too!" Mao Na said while putting the bread in her mouth.
"You eat; I'll take a walk nearby," Hu Ruoyun replied.
"No way! You have to keep an eye on me; I'm afraid there might be wild cats!" Mao Na scolded playfully, her eyes squinting with laughter.
"Alright, alright, I'll watch you. If there are any wild cats, I'll kick them away," Hu Ruoyun said as she sat down beside her “sister,” who was three years older than her and acting all cute. She quickly pulled out a can of energy drink and popped it open with a "crack," handing it over.
Mao Na took it with satisfaction and raised it to her mouth, taking a big gulp without caring about her image. Suddenly, she choked and bent down, coughing repeatedly.
Hu Ruoyun quickly set down her bag and gently patted her back.
After quite some time, Mao Na finally stopped coughing, breathless and slightly embarrassed as she fished out some tissue from her pocket to wipe away the tears from her face, which made Hu Ruoyun unable to help but laugh.
"Don't laugh!" Mao Na straightened up and scolded while pretending to hit her.
Hu Ruoyun turned and ran away. The two chased each other through the woods, their laughter echoing in the air.
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