Cheng You, arms crossed over her chest, leaned against the doorframe with a calm expression.
"You probably forgot where you are. By rights, you're not qualified to be here. I can have you thrown out anytime."
Cheng You couldn't be bothered to argue. If he didn't want to leave, so be it. She wanted to see how long Xu Nanxi could last here.
Just as she was about to close the door, her peripheral vision caught sight of Cheng Tao and the old Mrs. Feng.
The two walked arm in arm, appearing to be a loving grandmother and granddaughter.
Cheng You nodded slightly, not intending to chat, and tried to close the door.
Cheng Tao quickly called out, "Cheng You!"
Cheng You looked over with a blank expression, thinking to herself how slow her actions were.
"Is there something you need?"
Cheng Tao glanced at Xu Nanxi, and suddenly felt her heart skip a beat.
Her aesthetic had always been for jade-faced young scholars like Xu Nanxi.
His fair and delicate face struck a chord with her.
For a moment, she missed Cheng You's question and asked on her own, "Who is this?"
Cheng You had no intention of introducing them and asked again, "Do you need something? If not, I'm closing the door."
Cheng Tao had to put aside her thoughts and finally remembered why she had come.
"It's like this, I heard the pharmaceutical factory is refusing to accept our village's medicinal herbs. What's going on?"
Cheng You let out a laugh, full of sarcasm.
Someone like Cheng Tao was actually starting to worry about the villagers.
"Rather than the pharmaceutical factory refusing to accept them, it's more like they're refusing to sell them to the pharmaceutical factory. Since they broke the contract first, how can they blame the pharmaceutical factory for not accepting their herbs?"
There was no such logic.
Cheng Tao's face stiffened. She hadn't really understood the details, and had rushed over to condemn Cheng You after hearing a few words.
She hadn't expected there to be such a twist.
She glanced nervously at the old lady and indeed saw her eyes darken.
The old lady was a very upright person, who could not tolerate any wrongdoing.
Upon arriving at Cheng You's place and discovering that things were not as Cheng Tao had said, she was naturally displeased.
Cheng Tao bit her lip, "But I heard that medicinal herbs from Wujing Village can't be sold now. The villagers worked so hard to collect these herbs, what if they end up wasted?"
"You're asking me what to do? Since you're so capable, why don't you help them sell them?"
Cheng Tao quickly said, "But your Zhen Shan Tang always buys medicinal herbs, why don't you buy all the villagers' herbs?"
Cheng You had no intention of explaining further and simply waved her hand, "They have to bear the consequences of their own actions. They're all adults. I warned them when they signed the contract with Huichun Tang. Now that there's a problem, why should others clean up the mess? Cheng Tao, if you like being a good person so much, then help them sell the herbs yourself, don't stand here and be magnanimous with other people's money."
Cheng Tao wanted to beg the old lady to help persuade her, but was interrupted, "Cheng You is right. Once you've made a choice, you have to be able to bear the consequences. Let's go back."
From beginning to end, she hadn't even looked at Xu Nanxi.
Cheng Tao didn't want to leave just like that and mumbled, "Grandma, I'll chat with Cheng You here. You go back first."
The old lady gave her a sideways glance, "As you wish."
Xu Nanxi sized up Cheng Tao, wondering when the Feng family had acquired another granddaughter.
Before he could sort out his thoughts, he heard Cheng Tao say with a smile, "Hello, my name is Cheng Tao."
Zhao Yunlin had been away for a long time, and she raised her child alone every day, the loneliness in her heart unspeakable.
The moment she saw Xu Nanxi, her dormant heart seemed to be infused with vitality.
Women, after all, needed men.
Xu Nanxi nodded slightly, "My name is Xu Nanxi. I've never heard of Grandma Lin having a granddaughter before."
Cheng Tao immediately struck up a conversation with him, "My mother is the Feng family's daughter who was lost for many years. We've only recently reconnected."
Xu Nanxi's eyes narrowed slightly. So that was it.
Cheng You watched Cheng Tao's overly affectionate demeanor and thought that if she gave her more time, Zhao Yunlin would probably be wearing horns.
"If you two want to talk, go somewhere else. Don't stand at my doorstep."
Seeing that she wanted to close the door, Cheng Tao quickly reached out to stop her, but her hand got caught and she yelped in pain.
In her panic, Xu Nanxi quickly cupped her hand.
"Does it hurt?"
Cheng Tao's eyes were teary, and she shook her head, enduring the pain.
Their gazes met, and the look between them was like drawn-out silk, cloyingly sweet.
Cheng You felt nauseous and reminded them coolly, "Cheng Tao, don't forget, you're married, and your daughter is waiting for you at home."
The two seemed to snap out of a trance and quickly let go of each other's hands.
Cheng Tao couldn't help but feel regret, thinking why hadn't she met Xu Nanxi sooner.
Xu Nanxi was a sharp-witted person, and Cheng Tao's reaction clearly showed she was infatuated with him.
Being married didn't matter. As long as he beckoned, Cheng Tao would eagerly flock to him.
"Cheng You, just buy the medicinal herbs from Wujing Village. You're from Wujing Village too, how can you be so heartless?"
She persuaded him earnestly, trying her best to highlight her kindness in front of Xu Nanxi.
Cheng You rolled her eyes at her, "I'll say it again, if you want to help them, help them yourself. I'm afraid I'm unable to."
With that, she decisively closed the door.
Encountering Xu Nanxi made her feel unlucky, and she had lost all desire to go out.
Xu Nanxi frowned, staring at the closed door, "Cheng You is too heartless. They're all from the same village, and she's not helping."
Cheng Tao pretended to shake her head sadly, "It's all my fault for being useless, otherwise I could help everyone."
Xu Nanxi suddenly took her hand again and said seriously, "It's just selling medicinal herbs, I can help you too. Cheng Tao, I forgot to tell you, I'm studying journalism and currently interning at a newspaper. I'll try to get it published to find buyers for you."
In retrospect, this was his third internship.
He had gotten this current job after latching onto the daughter of the newspaper's editor-in-chief.
Cheng Tao was overjoyed, her eyes sparkling as she looked at him.
"Can you really help me?"
Xu Nanxi nodded, "Of course."
Not only would he help, but he would also condemn Cheng You's inaction in the newspaper.
Cheng Tao suddenly saw him holding her hand and her sense of morality surged at that moment.
"You... you should let go of my hand first."
Xu Nanxi then reluctantly let go, sighing with regret, "Why are you married?"
Seeing his expression, Cheng Tao's heart felt a prick, and she blurted out, "Although I'm married, my husband isn't in Yancheng. He's doing business elsewhere."
After saying that, she felt the words were too blunt, even a bit shameless.
Xu Nanxi chuckled heartily, "I'll help you resolve the medicinal herb issue first. Can I come find you if anything comes up during this time?"
"Of course."
Cheng You, who had overheard the entire conversation in the courtyard, was speechless.
Didn't they know that walls have ears?