Chapter 763: Chapter 662: Dragonfly

Xiao Man and Xia Qingting hit it off right away. Before they had even left the family compound, the two had become fast friends who could talk about anything. As a pair of young, beautiful, happy, and lively girls, their constant laughter drew many admiring gazes as they walked.

Xia Qingting’s name felt familiar to Xiao Man, stirring up a special kind of nostalgia. What child who grew up in the countryside hadn’t chased a few dragonflies in their youth? Red ones, green ones, black ones, and brown ones, all fluttering about in the evening glow—it was one of her fondest childhood memories.

But after getting to know her, Xiao Man realized that the "Dragonfly Girl" had quite a story, full of surprising details. Two things in particular left Xiao Man especially astonished.

First, she had already graduated from university. Not only that, but she was a top student from a prestigious school and was now a faculty member there. Looking at her in jeans, a light-colored sweater, a jacket, and a pair of sneakers, she still had the simple, casual air of a student. Xiao Man couldn’t imagine what she would look like standing at a lecturer’s podium.

Second, she was Director Xia’s biological daughter, but she hadn’t grown up with him and his wife. At the age of two, she was sent to live with her maternal grandparents, and she grew up thinking of her aunt and uncle as her parents. When her biological parents came to get her at age six or seven, she mistook them for kidnappers and insisted her uncle drive them away. Even after she grew up and understood the situation, she still refused to return to them. She continued to live happily in a small town as her aunt and uncle’s eldest daughter. She didn’t even know where the name Qingting came from; it was just what all the kids in town called her. When she started school, she earnestly wrote it on her homework, and it became her official name. The original name her biological father had given her, Xia Deqing, became her former name.

Director Xia and his wife had four children in total. Back then, they were swamped with work and already found it difficult to raise their three older children. Thinking their youngest daughter was too young to understand and that a temporary separation wouldn’t matter, they sent her away without much discussion. The result was that they couldn’t get her back. Their daughter had decisively rejected them!

The couple was filled with regret. Afterward, they would rush the whole family over to see their youngest daughter whenever they had a holiday. In truth, Xia Qingting wasn’t that stubborn; on the contrary, she was a very loving person. She just couldn’t bear to leave her maternal grandparents, aunt, and uncle, who had doted on and cared for her since she was little, or the younger siblings she had grown up with. Even after accepting her biological parents, she still refused to move back. It wasn’t until she went to university and her older siblings had all started working, gotten married, and moved out, leaving her biological parents all alone, that she started visiting them during school breaks to stay for a while.

So, like Xiao Man, Xia Qingting wasn’t very familiar with the G Province provincial city. After leaving the family compound, the two went out to walk around and have fun. They talked as they walked, not even needing to take a bus. The more they got along, the farther they walked without feeling tired. They had no fixed destination, just buying a few things they liked when they saw them. In the end, they had no idea which street they’d wandered onto and had to put in quite an effort to find their way back to the military district. By the time they returned, it was already time to prepare for dinner. Xia Qingting pulled Xiao Man straight to her house. Xiao Man wanted to go to the dormitory to wait for Gu Shaojun, but Xia Qingting said, "I’ll call my dad when we get home and have him pass on the message. I’ll tell him you’re already at my place and that Gu Shaojun can just come over on his own."

"Shouldn’t I bring something? It’s not good to show up at someone’s house empty-handed," Xiao Man said with a laugh.

"Don’t you already have something? That brand of canned food you bought earlier, plus the freshly made pastries and fried dough snacks from the little shop—my parents love those. That’s enough. We don’t have any kids at home, so there’s no need to buy any candy."

Xiao Man was speechless.

’This girl is so practical and informal,’ she thought. ’No wonder she was so insistent that I buy those local snacks. I did buy a few pounds’ worth, but we already opened them and tried them on the way back. How could I possibly give them as a gift?’

Fortunately, Xiao Man had given Gu Shaojun a bunch of things to hold onto earlier. She figured he would probably bring them over in a mesh bag.

So, Xiao Man went back with Xia Qingting first and met Director Xia’s wife, Qiu Limai. Qiu Limai worked at the district office and was close to retirement. Her figure was a little plump, and her uniform didn’t look as good on her as Wei Shumin’s did, but she still had an imposing air. She took Xiao Man’s hand and made small talk, asking what kinds of food Xiao Man liked. When a smile appeared on her fair, round face, Xiao Man could finally see a faint resemblance between her and Xia Qingting.

When she met Director Xia, Xiao Man couldn’t help but sigh inwardly. ’Mr. Xia’s genes are really strong. Xia Qingting and her older siblings in the photo album inherited ninety-nine percent of their looks from Director Xia. Xia Qingting’s darker skin also came from him. The tall and sturdy Director Xia has coarse, dark skin; standing there, he looks just like a black iron tower. His powerful and imposing build fits the image of an ancient, battle-hardened Great General. If their family name were Bao, I’d definitely believe they were descendants of Bao Zheng. Thankfully, Xia Qingting and her sister’s complexions are a bit lighter. Her two older brothers, however, are just as dark as Director Xia.’

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