In the afternoon, it was Betty the foreign teacher's class in the computer lab building. After class, Xiaoqi decided to go to the horse farm to work.
She and Wei Cheng arranged their schedule so that Xiaoqi goes twice a week, taking the first half of the week and Wei Cheng takes the second half, going three times a week.
Last weekend, Xiaoqi went to Grace's house but did not see Betty. She thought they were not familiar with each other since they don't hang out with the same people. After all, even foreigners should have their own social circles. Unexpectedly, during the break between classes, Betty came to chat with her. Betty said she regretted that she had things to do in the city yesterday and could not attend Grace's party, so she missed the chance to eat the delicious food Xiaoqi made that they posted on Instagram. It looked amazing.
Compared to the more conservative Greek Grace, teacher Betty was clearly more open in the American style. Her clothing and makeup were fiery and revealing. At this moment during the break, the big screen at the lectern was playing an English song MV with English rap. The scenes in the video were also quite provocative with men and women dancing intimately together, wet clingy clothes, and things like that.
Betty teacher's outfit was also very hot. She wore a shirt on top but the buttons barely held it together. It felt like her chest would pop out at any moment. On the bottom she wore a tight medium length skirt that showed the contours of her hips. When she leaned against Xiaoqi, you could see the imprint it left on her bottom.
Xiaoqi thought, thankfully I'm a girl... otherwise I wouldn't be able to handle it.
Betty teacher spoke pure American English, and was very expressive, laughing loudly all the time and flashing her neat white teeth.
"Su, you must come next time I host a party. I also want to invite your pretty roommates." Just then the class bell rang, and Betty winked at Xiaoqi as she brushed up against her body.
Behind them a group of boys shrieked...
Xiaoqi: ......
Teachers shouldn't behave like this, flirting with female students too.
Even the usually chatty and noisy Mimi became a shy little girl in front of Betty teacher.
Xiaoqi tried to keep a straight serious face, but Betty teacher casually squeezed her cheek anyway.
It was a bit irritating... too enthusiastic.
Unknowingly she sat behind Li Weijin instead of her usual less conspicuous spot at the back. The gossip was that he sits in front because of Chu Yu. So she ended up sitting behind Chu Yu...
Xiaoqi didn't know who spread the rumor that it was just the three of them, her Li Weijin and Chu Yu, who went to the calligraphy club that day. She would never gossip about classmates like that. Where did that come from??
Chu Yu also seemed a little nervous, sitting up straighter than usual.
In fact, from that seat Li could look up directly at Su Xiaoqi.
Then he saw the English teacher actually flirting with Su Xiaoqi, and squeezing Xiaoqi's serious little face... He... he wanted to squeeze her too.
He also wanted to tug on that little hair bun on her head.
Thinking of this, he finally understood why his kindergarten deskmate always pulled the hair of the girl sitting in front of them as soon as class started...
He understood at 18 what his deskmate grasped at 4...
After school, Xiaoqi went straight to the new horse farm.
Yunshu and Wei Cheng were going to the library, and Mimi had a community service event to attend for her external relations club.
Xiaoqi went alone. The weather today was very nice for washing horses.
She swiped her campus card directly to get in, much more convenient than going the long way around the outside.
After she entered, she went straight to the stables, but unexpectedly there were quite a lot of people there today.
And a little kid.
Wearing a little white dress, white socks and dress shoes, coming up just past Xiaoqi’s knees. Chubby round face that somehow still looked very dignified, with thick brows and big eyes. Hair tied in two buns on top of her head.
She was crying outside a stable, where that innocent little pink foal was inside.
It was the pony Xiaoqi first saw outside the horse farm, not actually pink but white. But the hair had a faint pink sheen that looked deeper pink under sunlight, very delicate and pretty.
This pony kept to itself, coming and going alone.
Seeing the little girl clinging and wailing outside its stall now, snot and tears covering her face.
Her mouth shouting, “I want to ride this horse, uncle I want to ride this horse, big brother I want to ride this horse!”
Xiaoqi had thought maybe this kid was the boss’ daughter, but hearing her call uncle, turns out it was his niece. The boss was the big brother.
Xiao Shengzhou was getting a big headache. His little uncle had come to play around the farm, that was fine, but why did he have to bring this little ancestor. She only listened to her mother, no one else could control her. She would cry loudly for half a day straight without stopping when throwing a tantrum.
Xiao Yu also felt his brain short circuiting. At the time it seemed reasonable to bring little chubby girl to play, but didn’t expect her to be so hard to handle, much more difficult than his women.
Xiaoqi had come to work. Master Xiao said the stables didn’t need cleaning today. Her job was to wash two horses that would be kept in their stalls ahead of time.
One was the little pink foal, the other was the sleek shiny jet black Taylor that Li Taiping had brought to take photos of Wu Xinyue last time.
Wu Xinyue had complained that the horse was uncooperative and got her all wet.
But Xiaoqi thought Taylor was quite obedient, much better than Little Gray. Little Gray was still a somewhat unruly young foal, while Taylor was a mature horse in his prime.
Most of the horses at the farm were male. Racehorses tended to be male, with only about 1% being mares. And if the fastest record was held by one of those 1% mares, most people still rarely bet on them.
Because there was also the issue of breeding.
Stallions theoretically could be bred unlimited times. A top quality racehorse, just from breeding fees alone could earn huge sums of money. But not so for mares. Once pregnant, the mare herself might not be able to compete again. And they couldn’t be kept pregnant all the time either.
This was a bit like the issue women faced in the workplace.
Compared to Taylor, the lone pink foal was still just in the juvenile stage, on the same level as the little girl crying outside its stall right now.
Seeing the kid cry so badly, Xiaoqi couldn’t just ignore her and work. After all, she was the boss’ family.
She went over and said, “Little one, I’m going to give Coral a bath. Do you want to help?”
The chubby girl immediately stopped crying and looked up to see a beautiful big sister. She blurted out, “Big sister, I’ve seen you before. My uncle looks at you on his phone even when he’s going to the bathroom!”
Su Xiaoqi: ...... cough cough.
Xiao Yu: ...... Want to smack this little traitor so much right now.
“My name is Xiao Bao’er. Is Coral this horse’s name? What’s your name, big sister?”
The topic shifted so smoothly... Looking at the dignified miniature fat version of the boss’ face, Xiaoqi always felt an urge to laugh when she glanced at her. The little girl was too endearing, made people want to reach out and squeeze her cheeks.
Which made her think of when Betty teacher squeezed her own face, probably felt the same way.
Betty: Yes, this cute little Asian girl acts all serious and proper but looks adorable with that tiny hair bun. Just want to pinch her cheeks.
“I’m called Su Xiaoqi. You’re so cute.” Xiaoqi still couldn’t resist pinching the little girl’s chubby cheek.
On one side, Xiao Shengzhou... also felt his face getting pinched.
On the other side, the still ignored Xiao Yu... for the first time felt his name was badly picked. Xiao Yu, Xiao Yu, seemed a bit redundant?
In fact Xiaoqi tended to avoid very handsome beautiful boys. Probably too dazzling, didn’t dare look too much in case she acted like a silly fangirl and embarrassed herself.
Her classmate Li Weijin was like that. Xiaoqi tried not to interact with him much.
And the little girl’s little uncle was the same. Peach blossom eyes, high nose bridge, thin lips, very tall too, over 6 foot probably. His clothes were neat and trim, gave off a refined charming air. Anyway not the sort one would find in the ancient wood village, Xiaoqi rarely saw in Lu Mountain City either.
Compared to him, the Liu Shaowei from her high school class probably looked like a restrained primary school student.
So one really had to go out and see the world, to realize how big it was with so many different people. Not be stuck in one corner, tangled up in what’s in front of you.
In any case, people like him were not of her circle. She did not pay them much attention.
Xiao Bao'er had never heard anyone compliment her for being pretty before. At most, people would say she was cute. She was quite precocious and there was no helping it—everyone in her family was an adult and there were no other little kids her age. She already knew that being called cute was not the same as being called pretty.
She immediately took a liking to this older sister.
Even when she pinched Xiao Bao'er's face, she didn't mind.
Moreover, she liked this older sister a lot and was prepared to include her among her circle of friends and peers.
The older sister said solemnly, "Xiao Qi, you're quite pretty. It's probably because your hairstyle is the same as mine—we both look good."
Xiao Qi held back her laughter and nodded, wanting again to pinch the little one's cheeks. Her pretense of being grown-up was just too cute.
But there were still things to do first; she couldn't forget why she had come. Especially not in front of the boss.
Xiao Qi picked Coral up and carried her to the side. Then she went to open the horse stables...the little girl was rather heavy.
Having been so easily lifted up, Xiao Bao'er was very happy. None of the other older sisters could pick her up. Even her preschool teachers seldom carried her, complaining that she was too chunky. As a result, this older sister effortlessly picked her up. Clearly, it wasn't that Xiao Bao'er was too heavy, but that the others lacked strength.
When Xiao Qi opened the horse stables, she saw that Coral had curled up in a corner and did not want to come out. Upon closer look, the horse feed in front of Coral was wet. This silly creature probably had a cleanliness obsession and did not want to step on the damp area. She stubbornly stayed put and refused to come out.
However, when Xiao Qi examined the wet patch, which smelled foul, she realized it was probably Coral's own pee... How silly, the horse was repulsed by her own urine.
Xiao Qi used a shovel to scoop that section of soiled feed into a corner. Sure enough, little Coral nimbly jumped out, even snorting loudly...looking as if she had barely escaped death.
Xiao Qi was exasperated by this stupid horse. She should have known better than to pee in the corner if she was so repulsed by it...
In the afternoon, it was Betty the foreign teacher's class in the computer lab building. After class, Xiaoqi decided to go to the horse farm to work.
She and Wei Cheng arranged their schedule so that Xiaoqi goes twice a week, taking the first half of the week and Wei Cheng takes the second half, going three times a week.
Last weekend, Xiaoqi went to Grace's house but did not see Betty. She thought they were not familiar with each other since they don't hang out with the same people. After all, even foreigners should have their own social circles. Unexpectedly, during the break between classes, Betty came to chat with her. Betty said she regretted that she had things to do in the city yesterday and could not attend Grace's party, so she missed the chance to eat the delicious food Xiaoqi made that they posted on Instagram. It looked amazing.
Compared to the more conservative Greek Grace, teacher Betty was clearly more open in the American style. Her clothing and makeup were fiery and revealing. At this moment during the break, the big screen at the lectern was playing an English song MV with English rap. The scenes in the video were also quite provocative with men and women dancing intimately together, wet clingy clothes, and things like that.
Betty teacher's outfit was also very hot. She wore a shirt on top but the buttons barely held it together. It felt like her chest would pop out at any moment. On the bottom she wore a tight medium length skirt that showed the contours of her hips. When she leaned against Xiaoqi, you could see the imprint it left on her bottom.
Xiaoqi thought, thankfully I'm a girl... otherwise I wouldn't be able to handle it.
Betty teacher spoke pure American English, and was very expressive, laughing loudly all the time and flashing her neat white teeth.
"Su, you must come next time I host a party. I also want to invite your pretty roommates." Just then the class bell rang, and Betty winked at Xiaoqi as she brushed up against her body.
Behind them a group of boys shrieked...
Xiaoqi: ......
Teachers shouldn't behave like this, flirting with female students too.
Even the usually chatty and noisy Mimi became a shy little girl in front of Betty teacher.
Xiaoqi tried to keep a straight serious face, but Betty teacher casually squeezed her cheek anyway.
It was a bit irritating... too enthusiastic.
Unknowingly she sat behind Li Weijin instead of her usual less conspicuous spot at the back. The gossip was that he sits in front because of Chu Yu. So she ended up sitting behind Chu Yu...
Xiaoqi didn't know who spread the rumor that it was just the three of them, her Li Weijin and Chu Yu, who went to the calligraphy club that day. She would never gossip about classmates like that. Where did that come from??
Chu Yu also seemed a little nervous, sitting up straighter than usual.
In fact, from that seat Li could look up directly at Su Xiaoqi.
Then he saw the English teacher actually flirting with Su Xiaoqi, and squeezing Xiaoqi's serious little face... He... he wanted to squeeze her too.
He also wanted to tug on that little hair bun on her head.
Thinking of this, he finally understood why his kindergarten deskmate always pulled the hair of the girl sitting in front of them as soon as class started...
He understood at 18 what his deskmate grasped at 4...
After school, Xiaoqi went straight to the new horse farm.
Yunshu and Wei Cheng were going to the library, and Mimi had a community service event to attend for her external relations club.
Xiaoqi went alone. The weather today was very nice for washing horses.
She swiped her campus card directly to get in, much more convenient than going the long way around the outside.
After she entered, she went straight to the stables, but unexpectedly there were quite a lot of people there today.
And a little kid.
Wearing a little white dress, white socks and dress shoes, coming up just past Xiaoqi’s knees. Chubby round face that somehow still looked very dignified, with thick brows and big eyes. Hair tied in two buns on top of her head.
She was crying outside a stable, where that innocent little pink foal was inside.
It was the pony Xiaoqi first saw outside the horse farm, not actually pink but white. But the hair had a faint pink sheen that looked deeper pink under sunlight, very delicate and pretty.
This pony kept to itself, coming and going alone.
Seeing the little girl clinging and wailing outside its stall now, snot and tears covering her face.
Her mouth shouting, “I want to ride this horse, uncle I want to ride this horse, big brother I want to ride this horse!”
Xiaoqi had thought maybe this kid was the boss’ daughter, but hearing her call uncle, turns out it was his niece. The boss was the big brother.
Xiao Shengzhou was getting a big headache. His little uncle had come to play around the farm, that was fine, but why did he have to bring this little ancestor. She only listened to her mother, no one else could control her. She would cry loudly for half a day straight without stopping when throwing a tantrum.
Xiao Yu also felt his brain short circuiting. At the time it seemed reasonable to bring little chubby girl to play, but didn’t expect her to be so hard to handle, much more difficult than his women.
Xiaoqi had come to work. Master Xiao said the stables didn’t need cleaning today. Her job was to wash two horses that would be kept in their stalls ahead of time.
One was the little pink foal, the other was the sleek shiny jet black Taylor that Li Taiping had brought to take photos of Wu Xinyue last time.
Wu Xinyue had complained that the horse was uncooperative and got her all wet.
But Xiaoqi thought Taylor was quite obedient, much better than Little Gray. Little Gray was still a somewhat unruly young foal, while Taylor was a mature horse in his prime.
Most of the horses at the farm were male. Racehorses tended to be male, with only about 1% being mares. And if the fastest record was held by one of those 1% mares, most people still rarely bet on them.
Because there was also the issue of breeding.
Stallions theoretically could be bred unlimited times. A top quality racehorse, just from breeding fees alone could earn huge sums of money. But not so for mares. Once pregnant, the mare herself might not be able to compete again. And they couldn’t be kept pregnant all the time either.
This was a bit like the issue women faced in the workplace.
Compared to Taylor, the lone pink foal was still just in the juvenile stage, on the same level as the little girl crying outside its stall right now.
Seeing the kid cry so badly, Xiaoqi couldn’t just ignore her and work. After all, she was the boss’ family.
She went over and said, “Little one, I’m going to give Coral a bath. Do you want to help?”
The chubby girl immediately stopped crying and looked up to see a beautiful big sister. She blurted out, “Big sister, I’ve seen you before. My uncle looks at you on his phone even when he’s going to the bathroom!”
Su Xiaoqi: ...... cough cough.
Xiao Yu: ...... Want to smack this little traitor so much right now.
“My name is Xiao Bao’er. Is Coral this horse’s name? What’s your name, big sister?”
The topic shifted so smoothly... Looking at the dignified miniature fat version of the boss’ face, Xiaoqi always felt an urge to laugh when she glanced at her. The little girl was too endearing, made people want to reach out and squeeze her cheeks.
Which made her think of when Betty teacher squeezed her own face, probably felt the same way.
Betty: Yes, this cute little Asian girl acts all serious and proper but looks adorable with that tiny hair bun. Just want to pinch her cheeks.
“I’m called Su Xiaoqi. You’re so cute.” Xiaoqi still couldn’t resist pinching the little girl’s chubby cheek.
On one side, Xiao Shengzhou... also felt his face getting pinched.
On the other side, the still ignored Xiao Yu... for the first time felt his name was badly picked. Xiao Yu, Xiao Yu, seemed a bit redundant?
In fact Xiaoqi tended to avoid very handsome beautiful boys. Probably too dazzling, didn’t dare look too much in case she acted like a silly fangirl and embarrassed herself.
Her classmate Li Weijin was like that. Xiaoqi tried not to interact with him much.
And the little girl’s little uncle was the same. Peach blossom eyes, high nose bridge, thin lips, very tall too, over 6 foot probably. His clothes were neat and trim, gave off a refined charming air. Anyway not the sort one would find in the ancient wood village, Xiaoqi rarely saw in Lu Mountain City either.
Compared to him, the Liu Shaowei from her high school class probably looked like a restrained primary school student.
So one really had to go out and see the world, to realize how big it was with so many different people. Not be stuck in one corner, tangled up in what’s in front of you.
In any case, people like him were not of her circle. She did not pay them much attention.
Xiao Bao'er had never heard anyone compliment her for being pretty before. At most, people would say she was cute. She was quite precocious and there was no helping it—everyone in her family was an adult and there were no other little kids her age. She already knew that being called cute was not the same as being called pretty.
She immediately took a liking to this older sister.
Even when she pinched Xiao Bao'er's face, she didn't mind.
Moreover, she liked this older sister a lot and was prepared to include her among her circle of friends and peers.
The older sister said solemnly, "Xiao Qi, you're quite pretty. It's probably because your hairstyle is the same as mine—we both look good."
Xiao Qi held back her laughter and nodded, wanting again to pinch the little one's cheeks. Her pretense of being grown-up was just too cute.
But there were still things to do first; she couldn't forget why she had come. Especially not in front of the boss.
Xiao Qi picked Coral up and carried her to the side. Then she went to open the horse stables...the little girl was rather heavy.
Having been so easily lifted up, Xiao Bao'er was very happy. None of the other older sisters could pick her up. Even her preschool teachers seldom carried her, complaining that she was too chunky. As a result, this older sister effortlessly picked her up. Clearly, it wasn't that Xiao Bao'er was too heavy, but that the others lacked strength.
When Xiao Qi opened the horse stables, she saw that Coral had curled up in a corner and did not want to come out. Upon closer look, the horse feed in front of Coral was wet. This silly creature probably had a cleanliness obsession and did not want to step on the damp area. She stubbornly stayed put and refused to come out.
However, when Xiao Qi examined the wet patch, which smelled foul, she realized it was probably Coral's own pee... How silly, the horse was repulsed by her own urine.
Xiao Qi used a shovel to scoop that section of soiled feed into a corner. Sure enough, little Coral nimbly jumped out, even snorting loudly...looking as if she had barely escaped death.
Xiao Qi was exasperated by this stupid horse. She should have known better than to pee in the corner if she was so repulsed by it...
