Chapter 107: Summer Maple Has Joined the Group Chat

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He was lost in thought and forgot to answer the girl’s question. Seeing that Lu Yuanqiu remained silent, Bai Qingxia thought he disagreed, so she lowered her head slightly and didn’t ask again.

The two arrived at the supermarket entrance. After Lu Yuanqiu parked his bicycle, he walked inside with Bai Qingxia.

Lu Tian was not at the cash register.

After putting on the supermarket’s red vest, Bai Qingxia headed toward the storeroom. Suddenly, she stopped in surprise.

At the storeroom’s doorway, Lu Tian leaned one hand against the wall, coaxing the person in front of him like a child, “Yes, that’s it. Move these all out—one by one. Yes, yes! Just like that!”

In front of him stood Bai Songzhe, dressed in blue overalls.

Bai Songzhe’s expression was dazed yet adorably obedient. He repeatedly performed simple, mechanical motions, carrying boxes of goods out of the storeroom one by one. After placing each box on the ground, he stood up obediently and clapped his hands as if dust clung to his palms, then swaggered back inside the storeroom.

Lu Tian kept encouraging him from the side.

Seeing this scene, the girl stood rooted to the spot, stunned for a long time.

Gradually, a smile appeared on her fair face.

Hearing footsteps behind her, Bai Qingxia immediately turned around, pointed, and said to Lu Yuanqiu, “My dad is here!”

She was surprised, but Lu Yuanqiu was not.

The young man smiled, standing beside her with his arms crossed. “I’ll ask my dad to bring your dad over when he has time. Find him some work. It’s better than him just sitting outside the school every day, right?”

Bai Qingxia looked over and nodded immediately, her eyes filled with the image of her busy father.

Lu Yuanqiu said, “Actually, you could have come earlier this morning, brought your dad to the supermarket, and once he got the hang of it, he could work here, have meals here, and earn a salary higher than yours in a month.”

Hearing this, Bai Qingxia nodded again.

Lu Yuanqiu smiled, but suddenly noticed the girl raising her sleeve to wipe her eyes. Startled, he turned to look and saw Bai Qingxia shedding tears. When Lu Yuanqiu approached, she smiled through her tears, showing her happiness.

“Why are you crying?”

“...I couldn’t hold it in.” The girl raised both hands, wiping her tears with a smile. She lowered her head and explained, “It just feels really good like this... Thank you.”

By the last few words, her voice had choked with emotion.

Lu Yuanqiu took a deep breath and slowly exhaled. He reached out from behind to gently pat her head twice.

“Even if your dad is different from before, deep down he must want to make his daughter feel safe to do whatever she wants, not to worry about him, not to be concerned.”

“Look at him, how eager he is to learn. He must believe that what he’s doing now is something that will make his daughter happy, so he’s so enthusiastic. Subconsciously, he’s trying to help you share the burden.”

Bai Qingxia listened, lifting her tear-clouded eyes to glance briefly at Lu Yuanqiu’s chest, then lowered her head again, choked up and speechless.

Lu Yuanqiu said, “Let’s not disturb them. Seeing you here, your dad will probably get distracted again.”

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The girl nodded and followed behind Lu Yuanqiu, still glancing back at her father as she took each step.

At that moment, her father seemed to have returned to the way he was before.

This man worked hard, bearing the family’s heavy load alone, laboring at the construction site until midnight, often going hungry, so exhausted that he would fall asleep the moment his body touched a chair.

Hearing the noise, Lu Tian turned around and smiled at Lu Yuanqiu and Bai Qingxia.

At the counter, Lu Yuanqiu pulled out two photo frames from a drawer.

“The photos from last time are developed, and I even got frames for you.”

Bai Qingxia wiped the tears from her face and quickly reached out to take the two frames.

One photo was taken at the carousel, the other by the altar.

Bai Qingxia looked down at them, gazing for a long, long time.

So... she could, at this age, capture her youthful self in photographs just like everyone else.

Looking at it this way, her seventeen-year-old self did look quite beautiful.

The girl gently traced the photos with her pale fingers. She glanced at the two delicate frames and then looked up quickly.

“I really like them. How much do they cost? I have to pay you.”

Lu Yuanqiu smiled and shrugged, “Five yuan each. Give me ten.”

“Okay!”

Bai Qingxia put down the frames and immediately took money from her pocket—one five-yuan note, four one-yuan notes, and a coin.

Lu Yuanqiu took the money and tossed it into the drawer casually.

In truth, he didn’t really know the exact amount.

He only knew these two photos meant enough to the girl that they needed to be exchanged for precious money, so what she held in her hands could truly belong to her.

...

Night deepened.

Back in the rented room in the urban village, Bai Qingxia went to the bedside and hung the photo taken by the altar on the wall.

This photo held the central spot on the small “photo wall”—the place for the year she was seventeen.

...

Lu Yuanqiu sat in the bedroom, opened his computer, glanced at the note with the class group number, and applied to join the group.

After the application was accepted, he found that over thirty people had already joined.

The group chat was lively at that moment, clearly meaning Liu Wei had not yet joined.

“Heart Big Radish”: Who is this One Leaf Knows Autumn? Could it be that idiot Lu Yuanqiu?

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Heart Big Radish?

Judging by the tone, Lu Yuanqiu typed, “I’m Lu Yuanqiu. Are you Zhong Jincheng?”

“Heart Big Radish”: It’s me. Your name sounds so pretentious.

Lu Yuanqiu barely had any friends in the class, not even old acquaintances like Zhong Jincheng.

Besides, in his past life, he seemed never to have joined the class group—very rebellious.

“One Leaf Knows Autumn”: Your nickname surprises me. So ordinary?

“Heart Big Radish”: Ordinary? You’re too young. Break these two words apart and see.

Lu Yuanqiu was stunned.

Heart, Big Radish...

“One Leaf Knows Autumn”: Awesome, awesome, awesome! I’m defeated!

“Heart Big Radish”: *grins*

Just then, a group notification popped up:

“Maple of Summer has joined the group chat.”

Bai Qingxia had entered.

“Heart Big Radish”: Who is Maple of Summer? Why are your nicknames such a mess?

“One Leaf Knows Autumn”: That’s Bai Qingxia.

“Maple of Summer”: *smiles*

Lu Yuanqiu couldn’t hold it in—she sent another smile...

After sending the smile emoji, Bai Qingxia didn’t say anything else. More people joined the group, soon reaching fifty.

Zhong Jincheng and someone named “iQiangge” were chatting energetically, dominating the group chat. Judging by the tone, Lu Yuanqiu guessed “iQiangge” was Gao Qiang.

At that moment, a user named “Mickey Mouse Clubhouse” joined the group.

(The End of This Chapter)