Transmigration: Flirted with My Childhood Sweetheart
Chapter 158 - 157: Meeting the Round-Faced Sister Again

Chapter 158: Chapter 157: Meeting the Round-Faced Sister Again

"Do you think we’re being a bit unkind to Uncle Sun?"

"He’s old, riding a bike can help him stay fit."

"That makes sense... then how about we come up with a plan to let Uncle Sun exercise more often?"

"Not a bad idea, let’s think it over."

Listening to the conversation of the two in the back seat, the driver’s hair stood on end.

Is this really something he should be overhearing?

Mr. Driver on the verge of tears, could only grip the steering wheel with trembling hands, his sweat pouring down and being dried by the wind.

"Comrade, please stop at the photo studio ahead."

The driver got a jolt and quickly nodded: "Yes, yes."

Lin Nianhe looked puzzled at Su Yuncheng: "What do we need at the photo studio?"

Su Yuncheng’s lips curled slightly, tilting his head to look at her gently, "Aren’t you homesick? Let’s take a couple of pictures to send back home."

Lin Nianhe’s lips parted slightly as she gazed at him fixedly.

Homesickness was just an excuse she had casually made up, and she hadn’t planned on bringing it up again, but he still remembered.

Lin Nianhe licked her lips and nodded, "Okay."

Su Yuncheng wanted to say more, but catching a glimpse of the driver in the front seat, he had to hold his words back for now.

The car stopped by the curb, and Lin Nianhe hopped out, following Su Yuncheng into the photo studio.

The photographer was a little old man, reading the newspaper through his reading glasses.

Hearing the door, he lifted his head slightly, his brows forming an eight-shape as he habitually pursed his lips, peering over his glasses at the newcomers.

"Comrade, we’d like to take a photo," said Su Yuncheng. "How many days until we can pick it up?"

"Seven days." The old photographer responded indifferently, not removing his glasses, simply rustling his newspaper.

Seven days?

Lin Nianhe put on a smile and came up to the counter, "Could you do us a favor and rush it, sir? We’re going back to Lan County the day after tomorrow."

The old photographer’s vertical frown lines deepened, his impatience clear on his face: "Then go back to Lan County and take your photos there."

State-run shops never care about service attitude - their salaries come regardless of the profit, and one less customer only means more peace and quiet.

Lin Nianhe lowered her gaze, then suddenly her face turned serious, "It won’t work, sir. The photo must be taken here, and it must be ready the day after tomorrow."

The old photographer didn’t quite catch her drift and began to chuckle in confusion: "What’s the matter? What are you going to do if I can’t produce it?"

Lin Nianhe remained silent, just watching him quietly.

From an angle Su Yuncheng couldn’t see, her eyes were cold as frost.

The atmosphere in the photo studio suddenly grew colder.

The old photographer furrowed his brows, pondered for a while, and then slowly took off his reading glasses.

He wiped his glasses with the hem of his shirt, silent, reflecting, and running through every wrong he had done in his life.

Then he successfully scared himself.

After a while, he said, "It can be done, but it’ll cost extra. That’s, that’s the rule of the photo studio."

His head hung quite low, his voice trembling with guilt and nervousness.

Rush processing photos was indeed possible, but some photographers found it troublesome and preferred not to bother. When asked by customers, they’d simply say it can’t be done – take it or leave it.

Lin Nianhe nodded, "That’s fine." And then she smiled again.

There was a mirror in the photo studio, and Lin Nianhe combed her hair into a braid again.

Black hair slipping through her fingers, she turned to Su Yuncheng, "Brother Yuncheng, why don’t you take one, too?"

"Hm?" Su Yuncheng tensed up in an instant, frowning and hesitating before nodding slowly, "Alright."

The photos were taken quickly, each person with individual portraits. Su Yuncheng requested three copies of each, then paid and collected the receipt.

The old photographer watched them leave, saw them get into the car by the roadside, clutching the duplicate receipt, his hands shaking non-stop.

He quivered as he reached for his cigarette pack, lit one up and took two fierce drags, then pieced together the reason behind today’s incident in his mind.

Someone at the top wanted to crack down on their dawdling ways.

But only two youngsters came, so it probably wouldn’t be a big problem.

With an unfinished cigarette in his mouth, he put aside the newspaper and hastily took out the washed photos that had been stacked together, sorting them one by one.

Today, the paper he used to wrap the photos was folded particularly neatly.

...

Su Yuncheng said he would take Lin Nianhe to the provincial city to have fun, and it turned out to be just that, fun.

He took her shopping, bought all sorts of canned goods and snacks, hairbands, and hair clips. He wanted to buy her clothes, but Lin Nianhe firmly refused.

He noticed her interest in woolen overcoats, that she had looked at them for quite a while, and even chatted with the sales clerk to ask about the price.

"Geez, that’s really expensive," Lin Nianhe remarked, showing her disdain for the ordinary woolen overcoat before her.

With such a simple design, she examined it a few times, her eyes indicating she knew how to make it.

Just like that, one would cost between one hundred and twenty to one hundred and eighty, and it required cloth tickets.

Lin Nianhe had her calculations figured out and turned her head to see Su Yuncheng carefully looking at a few women’s woolen overcoats.

She quickly said, "I really can’t wear that. Before I left, my mom specifically instructed me to dress simply."

There truly was no need to buy it.

She already had woolen material at hand; if she really wanted one, wouldn’t it be better to have Tailor Wen make it?

After hearing this, Su Yuncheng dismissed the idea of going back to buy Lin Nianhe an overcoat.

He nodded and said, "Then we’ll wait for another time."

"Mhm," Lin Nianhe nodded in agreement, rubbing her stomach, "I’m a bit hungry, let’s go eat."

"Alright."

Having accomplished the most important thing in the provincial city, Lin Nianhe’s mood was pleasant and relaxed.

She had already planned out another route to prosperity and just needed to follow it step by step steadily.

There weren’t many entertainment activities at this time, after eating, they watched a movie. Su Yuncheng said, tomorrow they’ll go to the park and then to the post office to buy some stamps.

Lin Nianhe liked stamps, he always remembered that.

The provincial city was indeed much more bustling; the park was crowded with people, and at the entrance, there were vendors selling soda and popsicles.

The orange soda was so sweet it was almost sickening, not quenching thirst at all, but holding it would make any passing child cry with envy.

With a soda bottle in her left hand and a cream popsicle in her right, Lin Nianhe felt like the richest kid in the park.

"Why do you need soda? You look like soda yourself."

She couldn’t remember how many times she had heard similar phrases, and although she should have been numb to them, a familiar female voice piqued her curiosity.

Looking in the direction of the voice, she saw the round-faced lady she had met on the train the day before.

This time she wasn’t carrying her son; she held a little boy in one arm and led a five or six-year-old girl with the other hand.

The girl looked a lot like her, with the same round face.

Both children were chubby little dumplings, extra adorable.

"You know her?" Su Yuncheng asked.

"Yeah," Lin Nianhe nodded, "That’s the lady from the train yesterday who invited me to help discipline her child."

Su Yuncheng nodded, following her gaze, and after a moment, he suddenly furrowed his brow.

Seeing his change of expression, Lin Nianhe immediately tensed, "What’s wrong? Is she a fugitive?"

Su Yuncheng did not answer; he shifted his gaze away and led her quickly around the path, avoiding the woman’s line of sight.

He pondered for a moment with a frown, then looked apologetically at Lin Nianhe.

Lin Nianhe nodded perceptively, "It’s okay, you go do what you need to. I’ll have Brother Zhang take me to the post office, and then I’ll browse the bookstore."

"Sorry," Su Yuncheng said in a low voice, "Wherever you want to go, have Brother Zhang take you. If I’m not back by dinner time, go eat by yourself."

"Sure, be safe, don’t worry about me."

"Mhm."