After Rebirth, Minor Character Only Wants to Level Up
Chapter 21 - 020: Interlude

Chapter 21: 020: Interlude

Compared to Ye Ling’s rustic appearance, she truly looked like a princess.

A red and white checkered outfit, nowadays all the clothes have similar styles, just like what Ye Ling was wearing, but the different color and aura made the same style appear completely different.

Paired with a pair of black pants and leather shoes, it looked simple yet elegant. Plus, with a fair and delicate face, especially the cherry lips moving when she spoke, it made people feel parched upon seeing. And along with those big eyes with long lashes, she was a standard beauty.

When Ye Qian came out of the bathroom, Ye Ling couldn’t help but glance at her. No wonder everyone liked her; it’s hard not to like someone who looks good. However, seeing Ye Qian’s usual two braids turned into a ponytail like her own, Ye Ling slightly curled the corner of her lip, then shifted her gaze and continued helping Old Mrs. Ye adjust her collar.

Ye Qian sensed someone was looking at her and looked around. Seeing her sister not looking at her, she lowered her head, perhaps feeling a little guilty about her hairstyle.

Nowadays, young ones wear two big braids and married women wear one. Then there’s the student bob, but ponytails like Ye Ling’s are really unusual. To ordinary eyes, it might seem odd, but to someone like Ye Qian with an eye for beauty, she knew this hairstyle looked good.

Originally, Ye Qian planned to braid her hair like Ye Ling’s after she returned to the countryside. But since they were going to the company for New Year’s, and because she still wanted to look pretty—being only fourteen years old, she couldn’t resist and tied it up.

After doing her hair, Ye Qian was pleased with her reflection in the mirror. However, she feared seeing her sister’s mocking look as she walked out. Fortunately, her sister didn’t look over.

Bai Xue came out of the West Room with prepared candies and sunflower seeds and, upon seeing her daughter’s hairstyle, exclaimed, "Why did you do your hair like that?" _{fre/ew.ebnovel.c om}

Ye Qian’s face flushed upon hearing her mother’s words. She glanced at the East Room, saw no one was looking, then tugged her mother’s arm and pouted, "I saw sister style hers this way, and it looks really neat."

"Put on your coat, and call Grandma, so we can go." But in her heart, she thought it was just copying those strange styles.

She didn’t want to set the image of gossiping in front of her daughter.

Ye Qian responded cheerily, took her army green coat from the chair, put it on, and went to the east room’s doorway, "Sister, Grandma, let’s go."

The company’s car had already

arrived and was waiting outside the compound.

It was a medium-sized minibus—after all, there were many people from the compound, and with it being the dead of winter, large trucks were cold, and cars couldn’t fit everyone, so they sent the minibus.

The logistics department had seven families, few with elders. Like Zhao Guodong’s family that had just one elder without any woman, there were altogether fifteen or sixteen people.

As Ye Ling helped Grandma into the bus, almost all the seats in the front were taken. Just as she was about to move to the back, Mrs. Zhao waved at Old Mrs. Ye, "Is this Minister Ye’s mother? Come sit here."

Prompting her grandson nearby, "Guodong, go sit in the back."

Zhao Guodong wore altered clothes from his father, but for a boy at fifteen, he was over 1.7 meters tall, so the oversized clothes didn’t need much changing.

Fang Pan had single phoenix eyes and plump lips on a naive-looking face. Hearing his grandma’s words, Zhao Guodong got up without hesitation and headed to the back.

Since her grandson left, Old Mrs. Ye had no reason to refuse. But with only one seat, Old Mrs. Ye hesitated until her eldest granddaughter spoke up, "Grandma, you sit here. I’ll go to the back. You and Grandma Zhao can have a chat."

What troubled Old Mrs. Ye most was her eldest granddaughter.

Seated, Grandma Zhao also smiled, "That’s right, sitting together in the same car, don’t worry. Come on over, sister."

Old Mrs. Ye finally said with a smile, "Alright."

After reminding her eldest granddaughter a few things, she sat down.

After settling Grandma in, Ye Ling found that her mother and Ye Qian had already seated themselves in the third-to-last row. Everyone was settled in, and now the only empty seat next to Zhao Guodong in the second-to-last row was available.

Ye Ling walked down the aisle; Bai Xue turned her face toward the window as if she hadn’t seen her eldest daughter. Ye Qian lowered her head, playing with her fingers. With a cold smile, Ye Ling went to the empty seat next to Zhao Guodong and sat down.

Without waiting longer, a young staff member got on the bus, "Are all the comrades’ wives here? Let’s get going."

Someone responded, and the young employee shut the door and started the drive.

Inside the bus, people chatted or struck up conversations. Sitting next to Zhao Guodong, Ye Ling didn’t feel awkward. Meanwhile, in the last row, Song Mei, Jiang Yan, and Gao Tian occasionally glanced at Ye Ling and whispered among themselves.

Ye Ling, having lived two lifetimes, naturally didn’t care about their gossiping and gesturing. As for Zhao Guodong, ever since Ye Ling sat beside him, he hadn’t turned his head and kept looking out the window.

Back then, the distance between boys and girls was still wide. If a boy talked to a girl, the other boys would tease him relentlessly, which explained why Zhao Guodong kept his eyes outside. Ye Ling understood, noticing that Zhao Guodong hadn’t moved at all since she sat down—he must have been nervous.

Ye Ling found it amusing, as she now had an adult’s mindset and viewed Zhao Guodong as just a kid.

However, there’s a saying that happiness precedes sorrow.

Just as Ye Ling relaxed, without knowing how it happened, Zhao Guodong suddenly turned around and glared at her angrily, "Who told you to sit here?"

Though his voice was soft, it was audible both front and back.

The adults didn’t make much of it, knowing that young lads easily get embarrassed.

But the trio in the last row—Song Mei and the others—happily watched the scene unfold.

Ye Ling thought about retorting but knew that, in her past life understanding, Zhao Guodong was soft-hearted. If you approached him with toughness, he would respond toughly; however, if you softened, he might sympathize with you. So, Ye Ling simply looked down, feigning sadness, and said nothing.

From the side, Zhao Guodong could see the aggrieved look on Ye Ling’s face. The anger he felt from the taunting by Song Mei had been slowly fading. Though just a teenager, Zhao Guodong had heard that the eldest Ye daughter returned and was quite the rustic rural girl.

Sitting next to him didn’t bother him until he heard enough from Song Mei and the others, kindling his anger. Besides, Song Mei’s group often sided with the management faction led by Liu Zhiyuan, which annoyed Zhao Guodong. Being ridiculed by them did not please him.

But just as Ye Ling predicted, Zhao Guodong had a soft heart, and seeing Ye Ling lowering her head like that, he didn’t have the heart to push her away again. Not knowing how to handle his pride, he just snorted coldly, turning to gaze out the window again.

Ye Ling subtly curled up the corners of her mouth. He truly was just a teenage boy.