There was nothing to pick and choose from. Tian Tian casually tried out the guitar chords and the tone of the zither, quickly settled on a style, and asked the boss to pack it up.
Before she could even ask the boss for the price, Chen Dongyang, acting very proactively, walked over to the counter with his phone.
The two items together cost over seventeen thousand yuan. The boss gave a discount, making it fifteen thousand yuan flat. Chen Dongyang paid without batting an eye.
The boss politely helped them load the items into the car. Tian Tian, watching the content Chen Dongyang, was speechless for a moment before tapping on her phone a few times.
"The money has been transferred to you."
"We are not a couple now, nor are we truly married. I don't want to take advantage of you."
Chen Dongyang took out his phone to check, and indeed, it was true.
Alipay transfer of fifteen thousand yuan received.
After shamelessly persisting for a few days, she still maintained the same attitude. Chen Dongyang felt it was necessary to have a good talk with her.
"Tian Tian, I was wrong before. I took your affection for granted, never even pursued you properly, and somehow ended up with you, causing you to suffer so much with me."
"Now, I've thoroughly realized my mistakes and want to make amends. Can you please stop acting like this? Give me a chance."
"I'm not asking you to accept me immediately, but at least don't push me away all the time. Let us start over, let me follow the proper procedure, and pursue you step by step. Can we stop being awkward and making life difficult for ourselves?"
To be honest, in a poor, remote village thousands of miles away, having a man who was devoted to her, followed her everywhere, felt quite good.
Unfortunately, Tian Tian still couldn't accept it.
It was too fast. Less than a month had passed, and to put it bluntly, Shang Jin Cheng's five-day mourning period wasn't even over yet, and she was already letting go of everything and embracing life again. Wasn't that too superficial?
She dared not imagine what kind of life Ge'er was living every day.
If she were weeping her eyes out, while she herself was happily embracing her boyfriend, wouldn't that be a huge joke?
Tian Tian also didn't want to punish Chen Dongyang for her own psychological issues.
However, the moment she thought of Shang Jin Cheng, thought of Ge'er, thought of their child who lost their father before even being born, she couldn't help but feel sad.
Seeing her looking fine just moments ago, her expression gradually darkened after his words, Chen Dongyang knew she must have thought of Shang Jin Cheng.
She must be blaming herself in her heart again.
Frightened, he quickly changed his tune, "I'm not trying to force you, Tian Tian. Don't rush. I'm not in a hurry either. I believe time can heal everything. You will get better, Ge'er will get better, and we can all return to a normal life. Please don't be like this."
"Just pretend I didn't say anything. I'll never bring this topic up again. Don't make things difficult for yourself."
The two drove back to the roundabout. Teacher Tang hadn't arrived yet.
Tian Tian leaned against the car window, lost in thought. Chen Dongyang dared not speak, accompanying her silently.
After an unknown period of time, Teacher Tang appeared on the road ahead, staggering along with several large plastic bags in her hands.
Tian Tian finally came back to her senses. Seeing Teacher Tang struggling with so many things, she glanced at Chen Dongyang.
"She's here. Go down and help her."
Chen Dongyang had already seen her, but he didn't want to move.
Firstly, he disliked people with Teacher Tang's personality and feared that if he interacted with her too much, she would stick to him like sticky candy and be hard to shake off.
Secondly, apart from Tian Tian, he didn't want to interact with any other woman. Even if there was no possibility, he had to avoid unnecessary misunderstandings.
Moreover, Tian Tian was clearly toying with him.
She knew very well that Teacher Tang had ulterior motives towards him.
Pretending not to hear, Chen Dongyang remained seated, unmoving.
Tian Tian called him again, "Don't you see Teacher Tang? She can't carry it. Go down and help her with it."
Chen Dongyang remained unmoved, refusing, "I'm not going."
"Whether she can carry it or not, what does it have to do with me? I'm not her boyfriend. Besides you, I won't help any woman."
Uh oh, he had just said he would shut up and not mention the boyfriend thing, and now he was taking the opportunity to declare his stance again.
Tian Tian gave him a glare and opened the door to get out.
Helping to load the items into the trunk, Teacher Tang saw the zither and the guitar and couldn't help but exclaim.
"You're really generous, buying them as soon as you decided. How much did it cost?"
"I say, Teacher Jiang, how much is your monthly salary? Buying two instruments must be at least a year's worth of your salary, right? I really don't understand what you're after."
After all, she was educated. Why did her words always carry a hint of vulgarity?
Tian Tian felt Chen Dongyang was right. She shouldn't have helped her; she should stay away from people like her.
She replied curtly, "I'm not after anything. I'm after self-satisfaction, after peace of mind."
As night began to fall, by the time the three returned to the school, it was already dark.
There was nowhere to put the zither, so it had to be placed in the office.
After running around, everyone was sweating.
Tian Tian helped Teacher Tang carry her things to the dormitory. Seeing Teacher Tang's slender fingers hooked around several large plastic bags, Chen Dongyang couldn't bear it and snatched them from her.
The two women walked in front, and he followed behind.
Teacher Tang, in particular, was sweating profusely and said as she walked that she needed to take a shower as soon as she got back.
"We've walked all the way for this week. I'm exhausted. They should thank me properly."
Speaking of showering, Tian Tian thought of the large iron pot again and hurriedly asked her where she would wash.
"Where do you wash?"
Teacher Tang pointed with her chin to a corner at the bottom left of the courtyard wall.
"See that place?"
Tian Tian had noticed it during the day. In the corner, a black cloth was hung on a bamboo pole, forming a semicircular tent. It looked strange and didn't fit the courtyard at all.
Could there be something hidden behind the cloth?
Was this the shower room?
Tian Tian was shocked again but still held onto a sliver of hope.
"I see it. What about it?"
"That's the shower room. Teacher Li and I set it up together."
"..."
Behind the classroom was a row of low, flat houses, divided into four large rooms, housing all the school's boys and girls.
It was not yet bedtime, and the dormitories were buzzing with chatter.
The student dormitories and their area were not separated by a courtyard wall or any barrier, only a row of teaching buildings in between.
With so many students who could rush out at any moment, they were showering in the courtyard, covered by just a piece of cloth?
Seeing the young lady's surprise, Teacher Tang seemed quite pleased.
She even exaggerated, "This is already quite good. When we first arrived, we didn't even have this. The ground was all dirt. We had to use a bucket to mix some warm water and stand in it to wash. Each time, we had to put a wooden board underneath, and if we weren't careful, we'd splash mud all over our legs. It's much better now, be content."
Tian Tian was utterly speechless. She looked at that spot again.
"What about winter? In such cold weather, wouldn't standing there to wash freeze people to death?"
"Winter? In winter, we go to the public bathhouse."
Tian Tian followed the chatter and glanced back at the dormitories behind.
"What about the students? Where do they get hot water? Where do they wash?"