The courtyard: the atmosphere of human life

Chapter 139 Rumors

In the first few days when Zhong Yunxing went out to work, Darong actually thought about asking him to go with Darong's father, but in the end she couldn't say it out loud.

When Zhong Yunxing came back early that day, he saw Xiao Ruyi standing in the empty closet as soon as he pushed the door open. Seeing her pouting and looking stubborn, Zhong Yunxing's fatigue seemed to be relieved by half.

"What's wrong, my daughter? Are you making me stand so early in the morning?" Zhong Yunxing asked his precious daughter while sitting on the sofa.

"I don't want the last name 'Zhong'! Humph..." Little Ruyi stomped her feet and her tears started falling again.

Zhong Yunxing's smile froze on his face after hearing Xiao Ruyi's words. It had only been one night and something big was going to happen!

Zhong Yunxing raised his head and looked at Da Rong, who was trying not to laugh, with a questioning look on his face.

"Don't look at me, let her speak for herself. I can't control your precious daughter." After Darong said this, she burst into laughter out of anger.

"Come on, girl, tell daddy, this is a big deal, why don't you have the last name Zhong anymore?"

When Zhong Yunxing saw Darong's expression, he knew that it must be Xiao Ruyi who had caused trouble again.

"I don't want to have the last name Zhong. It's too hard to write. From now on, my last name will be Yi and I'll be called Yi Er San, wuwuwu..."

After Xiao Ruyi finished speaking, she opened her mouth wide and started crying again. When Zhong Yunxing heard that it was because of this reason, he also started laughing.

"My dear daughter, you haven't learned how to write your own name in half an hour. Look, your notebook has been put on the top of the flying cabinet. You have to change your name to One Two Three. You still have to go to school in the second half of the year."

Darong pointed towards the cabinet, and Zhong Yunxing saw the exercise book hanging on the top.

It seemed that Zhong Yunxing had not spent time with Ruyi for many days. Every day when he got home, he was so tired that he fell asleep immediately. When he woke up, he quickly ate something and went out again.

It's called work, but in fact it's just hard labor. The more he works, the more he can earn, so except for the time to catch up on sleep during the day, he has almost no fixed working hours.

"Come, let Daddy teach you. You are Daddy's daughter. Daddy's last name is Zhong, so you should also be Zhong. How can you change your last name casually?"

Zhong Yunxing happily took down the notebook from the top of the cabinet and picked up the broken pencil from the ground.

"Dad, why don't you also have the surname Yi? Let's not have the surname Zhong. Zhong is too difficult to write..." Little Ruyi's crying had become much quieter, but she was still determined not to have the surname Zhong.

"Dad, I don't dare. Your grandfather will break my legs."

Zhong Yunxing took Xiao Ruyi out of the empty cupboard with a hearty laugh, and taught her how to write her name stroke by stroke.

"Does his brother-in-law work the night shift every day?"

Aunt Sun sat at the door of the small kitchen picking vegetable leaves in her hand. After the beginning of spring, the vegetables on the street began to become more abundant.

"Yeah, he covers the night shift for other people every day." Darong was busy making lunch in her own small kitchen, while Zhong Yunxing was still snoring loudly in the room.

"Hehehe... this snoring is so loud that it sounds like thunder. If I wasn't so glamorous every day, just listening to this snoring would be like being tortured."

Aunt Sun smiled and glanced at Darong.

Darong just smiled and didn't say anything else. Ever since Zhong Yunxing started doing this job, Darong wanted to ask about the situation several times, but he always avoided the question and never responded to Darong directly.

I don't know why, but during that period of time, there were always people in Nanjian who intentionally or unintentionally whispered in Darong's ear that "the pretty boy has no good intentions." At first, Darong didn't take it seriously, but later she gradually realized that these words seemed to be directed at Zhong Yunxing.

Zhong Yunxing was considered a handsome guy in the mainstream aesthetic of that era. Because he looked very similar to the actor who played Zhao Yongsheng in the movie, he was always called a "creamy boy" when he was young.

"His aunt, these two Jindan clothes are too small. If you don't mind, you can keep them for Ruyi. You can't tell whether they are for a boy or a girl. They were bought by my sisters and they are quite new."

Jin Er's wife knocked on Darong's door holding two pieces of children's clothes.

It was just getting dark and Zhong Yunxing had already finished his meal and went out. Little Ruyi had gone to her grandmother's house and had not been brought back yet, so Darong was the only one at home.

"Come in, sister-in-law. There's nothing to be disgusted with about children's clothes."

Darong warmly welcomed Jin Er's wife into the house. Jin Er's wife did not hesitate to sit on the sofa and started chatting with Darong.

"Her aunt, do you know what her uncle-in-law does for a living?" As she spoke, Jin Er's sister-in-law turned the topic to Zhong Yunxing.

"What's wrong, sister-in-law? If you have something to say, just say it."

Darong realized that Jin Er's wife's coming to deliver clothes today was just an excuse. Considering the gossips in the compound in the past few days, Darong knew that they were all directed at Zhong Yunxing.

"His aunt, I'm not saying anything to rip my wife off, but the words are getting more and more outrageous, so I still want to talk to you about it."

Mrs. Jin stood up, closed the door, lowered her voice and spoke carefully.

"Sister-in-law, if you have something to say, just say it. I know you mean well."

Ever since Darong and Jin Er's wife had a long talk last time, the relationship between the two has become much closer. Although they are not best friends, they can at least be considered friends.

"No one knows what his uncle does in this class. He works at night and sleeps during the day. After a while, people started gossiping about him. At first, no one said anything excessive, but now, I don't know how rumors started to spread that he is a 'gigolo'."

When she said this, Mrs. Jin pursed her lips, not knowing what to say next.

In fact, when she said the three words "pretty boy", Darong understood the implication. At that time, this title had a very derogatory meaning in Nanjiao.

"Who spread this?" Darong stood up angrily.

"His aunt, I don't mean to sow discord, but I see all these rumors and I can't bear not to tell you..."

"Sister-in-law, it's okay. I understand what you mean. I get it."

After Darong adjusted her mood, she sat back down again. In fact, Darong knew that such an outrageous rumor could not have been spread by a second person.

But when she first heard it, she couldn't hold back her emotions to some extent.

After Jin Er's wife left, Darong sat on the bed and sulked. Although she guessed where the rumor started, she couldn't think of a suitable way to fight back for a while. After all, she couldn't openly betray Jin Er's wife's kindness.

"Mother……"

While Darong was thinking about it, she heard the sound of a motorcycle coming from the backyard, and after a while Xiao Ruyi ran into the room.

"Eh!"

Darong stood up and walked out of the house, greeting Darong's father who was at the gate of the courtyard.