When the Top Chef Transmigrated into a Scum Alpha (GL) - Chapter 8

Ah Fu looked behind the teacher and saw Erfuzi, who shared a desk with her.

The other child was making faces at her, looking as punchable as ever.

Ah Fu was thinking about going over to roughhouse with him, so her answer was a little perfunctory. “It was Sister Wumian.”

After Xing Fuyu heard this, he frowned and followed up, “Wumian? Shang Wumian?”

Usually, it was Lin Qingwan who brought Ah Fu over, but today, it had been Shang Wumian. Judging from how Ah Fu addressed her, she even seemed to like the other party quite a bit.

He originally wanted to ask a few more questions, but seeing that Ah Fu had already walked into the school with the other students, he could only give up.

Xing Fuyu had heard Shang Wumian’s name from the villagers.

The other party was not from this village. Not long ago, when the shop caught fire, she had rushed in and saved Lin Qingwan and Ah Fu.

Watching the last student enter the school, Xing Fuyu walked inside with his brows locked. The matter on his mind, however, had nothing to do with the teaching that would follow.

A Qianyuan living in the home of an unmarried Kunze was improper after all.

Miss Lin, how foolish.

At the same time, Lin Qingwan, who was currently being sighed over by Xing Fuyu as foolish, was on the mountain gathering firewood with several familiar Kunze from the village.

Lin Qingwan usually was not willing to get too close to others, but she was not the sort of person who failed to fit in either.

She was beautiful, and toward everyone except Shang Wumian, her attitude could still be considered gentle.

Because of that, the young Kunze in the village were all willing to chat with Lin Qingwan a little more. Chatting while gathering firewood seemed to make the work easier too.

Just as they had finished gathering firewood and were preparing to go down the mountain, they ran into Qu San, who had also come to chop firewood.

When he saw Lin Qingwan preparing to lift the full basket of firewood onto her back, no one knew what he thought of, but he rushed a step ahead and carried the basket for her. “Miss Lin came up the mountain to gather firewood… It looks quite heavy. Why don’t I help you carry it?”

Qu San had only just gone up the mountain and had not even gathered any firewood yet, but he rushed to help. Naturally, this action stirred the interest of the other Kunze. “Hey, hey, hey, Qu San, what’s the meaning of this? There are clearly so many Kunze here, but you only have eyes for Qingwan?”

Another Kunze chimed in, “Exactly. Isn’t this a little too obvious?”

Only belatedly did Qu San realize that his behavior really was too easy to misunderstand. But hearing the others tease him, he subconsciously retorted, “D-Don’t talk nonsense. Miss Lin was closer to me, so I helped her along the way.”

Yang Xiaocui, who had spoken first, was not so easy to fool. She jokingly pressed him, “You’re being so attentive. Tell us! Do you have some other motive?”

For the first time since growing up, Qu San was being sized up by so many Kunze at once. He practically did not know where to put his hands and feet. He could only keep refuting them with a face that was about to turn red. “I don’t have any motive. What motive could I have?”

The young Kunze laughed for a while, then stopped teasing him.

This Qianyuan, who looked rather simple and foolish, had always been honest and sincere in the village. If one said he truly had some kind of motive, that would be strange. He had probably just helped in passing.

But after that shift in topic, the girls changed to discussing the Qianyuan in the village.

“That Qianyuan from the Zhang family drinks all day and doesn’t do a single bit of work. But there’s no helping it—his mother is willing to spoil him. A while ago, she was anxious to find her son a daughter-in-law, but naturally, she couldn’t find one.”

“He’s still considered fine. At least he only hides at home and doesn’t trouble anyone else. That Li Fu who lives in the east of the village, the one who went bald at such a young age! Every time he looks at a Kunze, that gaze of his scares me to death…”

In just a few words, nearly half the unmarried Qianyuan in the village had been brought up and discussed. Qu San was honest, kept his distance from the Kunze, and did not listen to their conversation.

But the more the Kunze listened, the more their brows wrinkled. “Aiya, stop talking about those Qianyuan already. One after another, none of them are any good. Which one of them is suitable to marry?”

Yang Xiaocui glanced at Lin Qingwan, and her tone instantly became mysterious. “Don’t say that. If we’re talking about a better Qianyuan, I actually thought of someone in particular.”

Wang Erhua, who was walking beside Yang Xiaocui, rolled her eyes at her and asked, “Who? When are you going to fix that awful habit of yours? You always love keeping people in suspense.”

Lin Qingwan was sharp. The moment she sensed Yang Xiaocui’s gaze falling on her, she had already guessed who the other party was referring to.

It had only been so long, yet that person had already made these Kunze so curious. She really did have some ability.

Sure enough, Yang Xiaocui slowly revealed the answer. “The one living in Qingwan’s house right now! If I remember correctly, she’s called Shang Wumian, right? That face of hers really is good-looking.”

Then she turned to look at Lin Qingwan, her words filled with gossip. “How about it, Qingwan? Does she have any thoughts about you? Or do you have any thoughts about her?”

Lin Qingwan’s expression did not ripple in the slightest. She only answered calmly, “No thoughts.”

Whenever gossip reached Lin Qingwan herself, her reaction was always like this. Everyone was used to it and did not bother pestering her further.

When several Kunze gathered together and chatted idly, even the basket of firewood on their backs seemed to become much lighter.

Lin Qingwan looked at the weeds by the roadside. In her heart, she was thinking about the guesses and evaluations these Kunze beside her had made about Shang Wumian just now.

In her eyes, Shang Wumian, whose vile nature had been exposed in her previous life, was no different from those two Qianyuan from the Zhang and Li families, whom everyone universally crossed out as unacceptable.

Fragments from her previous life flashed through her mind, and the warmth in Lin Qingwan’s eyes quietly cooled a little. Before, she had once laughably thought that the other party was a good person too.

Qu San, who had walked in front with his eyes and nose and heart all properly kept to himself the whole way, directly carried Lin Qingwan’s firewood back to her home. After setting the basket down, he simply stretched his limbs a little before taking the water Lin Qingwan handed him.

Shang Wumian was not home. No one knew where she had gone.

She was a Qianyuan, so logically speaking, it would clearly be better to order her to go up the mountain to gather firewood. But Lin Qingwan remembered how, in her previous life, that person would go on and on several times over after doing the tiniest bit of work, so she would rather gather it herself.

Watching Qu San gulp down the water, Lin Qingwan could not help smiling faintly. “Brother Qu San, thank you for your help.”

After Qu San had drunk enough water, he casually wiped his mouth. Only then did he scratch his head and chuckle, repeatedly saying that helping in passing was what he ought to do.

Lin Qingwan noticed that Qu San’s gaze seemed to drift toward the stove from time to time. With a turn of thought, she came up with a way to thank him. “It’s almost noon. Brother Qu San, why don’t you stay and have lunch here?”

Qu San’s eyes lit up slightly. It could be seen that he was somewhat tempted, but he was visibly hesitant. “Miss Lin… I lied back then. Actually, I did have a bit of a motive in helping you carry the firewood.”

Lin Qingwan raised her brows slightly and waited for what he would say next.

Qu San did not like her, so she did not need to worry that he would suddenly confess his feelings next.

Qu San scratched his head in embarrassment. “Those little crispy cakes you gave me last time, can you make some more? They were really too delicious. After I went back, I kept thinking about them, and I also wanted to let Eldest and Second try them…”

So that was it.

Lin Qingwan found it somewhat unexpected, yet still within reason.

Wanting to eat little crispy cakes truly could not be considered a major request.

But the key issue was that those little crispy cakes had not been made by her.

Just as Lin Qingwan was hesitating, Shang Wumian walked back in from outside, carrying three blocks of tofu in her hand.

The first thing she saw was Lin Qingwan, and she subconsciously said, “Ah Fu wanted to eat little crispy cakes at noon, so I bought a few blocks of tofu.”

Shang Wumian felt a little guilty, for no other reason than the fact that the money used to buy the tofu had been given to her by Ah Fu.

Since she had taken a child’s money, she ought to explain it to the child’s sister.

Lin Qingwan looked at Shang Wumian and said nothing at all, seeming rather like the calm before a storm.

Her gaze made Shang Wumian feel increasingly uncertain.

Then Lin Qingwan suddenly moved her arm, startling Shang Wumian.

In the end, Lin Qingwan merely took out a few more copper coins and handed them to her. “I’ll give you a few more coins. Go buy a few more blocks of tofu. Make more of the little crispy cakes at noon and give some to Brother Qu San’s family to try.”

Shang Wumian subconsciously accepted the money. Only then did she see that there was another person in the house.

Qu San. She recognized him. A few days ago, he had come over to help repair the eaves.

This time, he had most likely come over and helped the household with something again.

Shang Wumian smiled at him in a friendly way. While carefully placing the tofu she had bought beside the stove, she warmly greeted him. “Brother Qu San, stay and eat here at noon. Try the little crispy cakes I make.”

When Qu San heard the words “little crispy cakes,” he scratched his head in some embarrassment. “Mm, can I eat with you too? Then I’ll have to trouble you…”

Shang Wumian only smiled.

After Shang Wumian left, Qu San stood at the doorway and looked at her retreating figure, unable to resist praising her to Lin Qingwan. “So those little crispy cakes were made by Miss Shang. Amazing!”

Lin Qingwan carelessly gave a soft “Mm,” treating it as joining in the praise.

Not long after, Shang Wumian once again stood before the tofu peddler. The peddler was not from this village and did not recognize Shang Wumian. Seeing that she looked friendly, he spoke more casually.

“Qianyuan-jun, you like my family’s tofu that much? You just bought three blocks, and now you’re back for more?” The peddler joked with Shang Wumian while picking out tofu for her. “Don’t tell me you dropped and broke them halfway home just now? You’re going to get beaten by the Kunze wife at home!”

Not only was Shang Wumian not annoyed, she even went along with it and bargained with him. “That’s right, I’m going to get beaten. So seeing as I’m this pitiful, how about you give me one extra block of tofu?”

The peddler clicked his tongue lightly and indeed picked up one extra block for her. “One extra block it is. I’m keeping a regular customer, after all. Hey, looks like Qianyuan-jun refuses to take a loss.”

Shang Wumian raised her brows lightly, carrying a faint smile on the way back.

When it was time for lunch, not only did she make quite a few tofu-filled little crispy cakes, she also stir-fried two small dishes. Finally, she tossed a plate of tofu with scallions and brought everything to the table.

Ah Fu was satisfied that Sister Wumian had kept her promise and quietly gave her a thumbs-up. After Lin Qingwan saw it, she pretended as if nothing had happened.

Lin Qingwan still remembered the matter of thanking Qu San, so she called to him, “A lot of little crispy cakes were made. Brother Qu San, eat as much as you like. The portion for you to bring back has already been set aside.”

Shang Wumian nodded along as well, indicating that he could eat freely.

Smelling the fragrance of the food drifting from the table, Qu San no longer stood on ceremony. He quickly picked up his chopsticks and tasted some.

After eating only two or three bites of each dish, he could not help praising it endlessly. “So delicious! It feels even better than what those great chefs in the city make!”