Chapter 276: Rival’s Test

Chapter 276: Testing the Rival

Ye Xiaoxiao learned from Li Zhen that Yang Juan had been pursuing Jiang Leyin for several years but still hadn’t gotten her to say yes.

In Ye Xiaoxiao's view, if two people truly liked each other, they’d be together within two months. If it takes years of chasing, there’s usually nothing but trouble ahead.

Even if they ended up together, it would likely bring all kinds of problems.

After heating the water, Yang Juan left, letting Ye Xiaoxiao and Li Zhen bathe in the courtyard.

He had good manners—he knew how to keep his distance.

It was a shame he was still unmarried at thirty, which is considered old these days.

A guy like Yang Juan could easily find a wife. Clearly, he genuinely liked Jiang Leyin.

Ye Xiaoxiao made quick work of her bath, feeling much more refreshed.

“Do you think… someone might’ve bathed in the rain yesterday?”

Ye Xiaoxiao sat by the door drying her hair while chatting with Li Zhen inside.

Li Zhen took noticeably less time to bathe. She pushed the door open and casually adjusted her short hair. “Could be.”

Ye Xiaoxiao sighed. Since her family had started sending her supplies, she had everything… except water, which wasn’t an easy problem to solve.

As they say, distant water can’t quench present thirst.

Ye Xiaoxiao glanced at Li Zhen and thought she should learn more about the well-digging project.

Even if she might leave before its completion, helping the community was still worthwhile.

Before they knew it, November arrived, and the weather took a sharp turn for the colder.

Ye Xiaoxiao hadn’t brought many thick clothes, but she didn’t need to worry—Ye Changning had sent her a whole bunch.

Her third brother’s taste in clothes had gotten better. The outfits he picked were so stylish they'd still be fashionable as vintage wear twenty years later.

Ye Changning also sent a box of children’s clothes. Earlier, Ye Xiaoxiao had mentioned in a letter that there were many kids in the area, and he had remembered.

She was going to take these clothes to the nursery.

Li Zhen also received a puffy winter coat from Ye Xiaoxiao.

As he put it, there were so many clothes that she wouldn’t have to worry about laundry—she could wear something new every day.

Ye Xiaoxiao had already written back, asking him to stop sending more clothes.

Her place was packed, with many items stacked up everywhere.

Li Zhen carefully stored the coat away. It was the prettiest thing she'd ever worn.

Actually, no—she remembered back when her dad was alive, she used to get new winter clothes every year.

But that felt like a lifetime ago.

Ye Xiaoxiao and Li Zhen took the kids' clothes to the nursery.

The teachers there would naturally distribute them to the children.

Teacher Qiu looked at the items Ye Xiaoxiao had brought. "Ye Xiaoxiao, this must’ve cost you a lot."

"Not at all, these were donated by a clothing factory. I’m just helping to deliver them."

Teacher Qiu: "Could you tell me the name of the donor and the company? I want to thank them for the kids."

Ye Xiaoxiao then mentioned Ningyuan Company.

Teacher Qiu wrote it down.

The kids here already knew Ye Xiaoxiao well.

Even if she didn’t bring anything, they still loved hanging out with her.

The kids were even closer to Li Zhen.

But Li Zhen didn’t really like kids. She only helped at the nursery because she got paid.

On their way out, they happened to run into Jiang Leyin.

She was there for the kids’ monthly checkup. Sometimes she came alone, other times Zhao Chunhua would bring Yang Juan along.

Jiang Leyin already knew Ye Xiaoxiao’s family was well-off. These days, she’d seen Ye Xiaoxiao get a lot of packages.

Jiang Leyin was even more curious about what kind of family she had grown up in. Even the most spoiled kid wouldn’t keep getting packages in such a resource-scarce environment.

Didn’t the rest of her family need stuff too?

"Hey, what are you doing here?"

If she wasn’t mistaken, it was her turn to conduct the children’s health checkups.

"We dropped off some donations."

"If you’re free, Dr. Ye, wanna help with the checkups?"

There were only a dozen or so children, so even one person wouldn’t take much time.

Jiang Leyin wasn’t being lazy—she just wanted to get to know Ye Xiaoxiao better. So far, she hadn’t found anything wrong with her.

If she had to complain, it would be that she wasn’t exactly tough.

Among the people at Nalan Base, Ye Xiaoxiao was the only one with long hair.

Ye Xiaoxiao didn’t mind helping.

"Sure."

Li Zhen frowned and grumbled, "This is her job. Why’s she asking you?"

"It’s not like I have anything else to do anyway."

Li Zhen: "Maybe we should go get Yang Juan?"

Ye Xiaoxiao didn't know whether to laugh or sigh. "The checkup won't take long. Want to head back ahead of me?"

Li Zhen: "Nah, I'll stick with you."

The physical examination wasn’t particularly strict—mainly checking if the children had any injuries or growth issues.

They also needed to correct some bad habits early.

Ye Xiaoxiao and Jiang Leyin wrapped things up in under an hour.

During that time, Jiang Leyin kept asking Ye Xiaoxiao questions.

Ye Xiaoxiao picked up on the fact that Jiang Leyin seemed quite interested in Lu Hanchuan.

Many of the questions were about their relationship.

For example, how they met and whether their parents had already met.

Ye Xiaoxiao wasn't entirely forthcoming with her answers.

Instead, upon hearing Jiang Leyin’s inquiries, she just smiled knowingly.

"Dr. Jiang and Ah Chuan have been colleagues for two years. Haven't you had two years to ask him this stuff?"

Ye Xiaoxiao usually called him by his full name, but in this situation, a more affectionate nickname served to mark her territory.

Too bad Lu Hanchuan wasn’t there to hear it.

Jiang Leyin's face fell. She stared at Ye Xiaoxiao’s face, but the other woman remained calm, even smiling, giving nothing away.

Jiang Leyin turned her head away. "We're just colleagues. Besides, Regiment Commander Lu is not much of a talker."

Ye Xiaoxiao: "He's actually very good-tempered."

When talking about Lu Hanchuan, Ye Xiaoxiao’s eyes lit up.

Her expression was so innocent that Jiang Leyin, feeling guilty, had nothing left to say.

She quickly gathered her stuff. "I'd better get back to base now. Thanks for your help today."

Ye Xiaoxiao smirked. "You're welcome."

It wasn't until Jiang Leyin was gone that Li Zhen sat down beside her. "What were you two talking about?"

Ye Xiaoxiao's smile faded. "Nothing much, just casual conversation."

Li Zhen: "Then let’s hurry up and go back to the dorm."

Ye Xiaoxiao stood up and waved goodbye to Teacher Qiu and the children.