Chapter 1027: Chapter 589: Exposed

Approaching noon.

River Dam Bungalow.

Jiang Ning sat on a small stool by the clay stove’s mouth, took a piece of firewood, and placed it into the stove, letting the flames burn freely.

It was already late November, the temperature was dropping, and this weather made burning firewood a pleasure.

The oil in the iron pot above the clay stove heated up, and Aunt Gu picked up an oval-shaped carp, coated with a layer of starch, resembling more of a string of fish than a single one.

She tossed the carp into the pot, causing the oil to sizzle loudly.

Once the fish was cooked, Aunt Gu took out the fried carp.

Xue Yuantong, who was learning to cook nearby, caught a whiff of the fish’s aroma and exclaimed, “Mom, I’m hungry~”

Aunt Gu glared at her daughter and scolded, “Eat, eat, eat, all you know is eating every day!”

The stern tone and rapid speed of speech made Xue Yuantong pout and secretly resentful.

Aunt Gu retrieved the pre-made tomato juice from the juicer, made from tomatoes Jiang Ning picked from Hu Qi Mountain, rich with a sweet and sour aroma.

Sitting on the small stool, Xue Chuchu could almost imagine how delicious it would taste.

Aunt Gu simmered the tomato juice with sugar, vinegar, and other ingredients.

The fragrance wafted around.

Finally, Aunt Gu poured the simmered tomato sauce over the fried carp, completing the dish of squirrel fish.

…

Outside the door.

Yan Bo had learned from Boss Yang where Jiang Ning lived, and he cursed inwardly, wondering when he had last felt this annoyed.

The last time he felt like this was when he was starting a small factory and someone cut the power lines.

Angrily, Yan Bo approached, ready to confront Jiang Ning.

As he got closer, he suddenly caught a scent that almost made his mouth water.

‘What smells so good?’ This aroma was much better than anything cooked by the chef at Boss Yang’s place.

Yan Bo stood at the doorway, peering into the courtyard.

At this moment, Jiang Ning came out of the house, and seeing this young man, Yan Bo’s expression changed. He had never imagined he’d be played by him.

Especially since the other person was just a high school student, which, for Yan Bo, was quite embarrassing.

He had assumed that with his social experience, dealing with a student would be a breeze, but he hadn’t expected the other person to be so cunning.

However, Yan Bo admitted that the main reason was that the girl was so pretty, which made him lose his composure and trust the other person’s words too easily.

Yan Bo dragged out his words, “Bro, you’re not being honest. She’s clearly your girlfriend, why’d you say she’s your sister?”

As Yan Bo questioned, he also probed their relationship once more.

He felt that their relationship might not be ordinary, knowing your opponent well leads to winning battles.

This little thought of his was seen through by Jiang Ning, as men’s intelligence tends to drop when chasing girls.

Jiang Ning smiled and said, “She and I are neighbors, we play together every day. She often comes to my house to play games at night. I’m older than her, what’s wrong with calling her my sister?”

Saying this, he looked at Yan Bo with surprise.

Hearing this, Yan Bo’s heart suddenly sank, especially the part where Jiang Ning mentioned ‘playing games at his house every night.’

Being an adult, Yan Bo’s imagination naturally leaned towards adult themes. A girl going to a guy’s room to play games every night, is it really just playing games?

For a moment, his expression was uncertain.

He finally understood their relationship, living close as neighbors, playing together daily, isn’t it exactly what you’d call childhood sweethearts?

The difficulty of stealing her heart suddenly increased by more than one level.

Yan Bo even doubted, ‘Can I compete with the bond between them?’

He feigned composure again, considering that childhood sweethearts rarely last, and felt he still had hope.

But the thought of that pretty girl being so close with another guy irritated Yan Bo immensely. He wished Jiang Ning would get hit by a car right now.

The girl he had his eyes on was not for anyone else to touch.

Yan Bo had always chosen pure girls, even back when pursuing vocational girls, he sought out clean ones. His initial interest in Guo Ran was not just because she was pretty and a certified teacher, but also because she had never been in a relationship.

Given his numerous relationships, Yan Bo considered himself knowledgeable about male-female relations, and thus paid special attention to a girl’s history.

Seeing him not speak, Jiang Ning moved his gaze to the plastic bag Yan Bo was holding and asked, “What do you have in the bag?”

Yan Bo had originally planned to present the snakehead fish as a gift, intending to pursue her ‘sister.’

Now aware of the truth, there’s no way he’d give it!

Yan Bo swung the plastic bag, revealing the snakehead fish inside.

He raised his head and boasted, “After leaving the pond, luck turned around, caught two snakehead fish, not big, only around two pounds.”

Facing the ‘romantic rival,’ Yan Bo had to put on airs. Being older, he couldn’t let his fishing skills be inferior to a high school student, right?

Though he caught fish at a two-pound level, the other guy caught carp, while he got snakehead fish, clearly of different levels, fully displaying the difference.

Jiang Ning straightforwardly said, “Bought from the market, huh?”

Yan Bo was taken aback by the exposure of his lie, and then indignantly raised his voice several decibels, questioning:

“Why do you say my fish were bought? They were clearly caught by me!”

“You can have good luck, but I can’t, is that it?”

“If you don’t give me an explanation today, I’ll be at odds with you!” Yan Bo’s aggressive attitude, fueled by the embarrassment of the exposed lie, made his dignity seem stepped on, compelling him to argue fervently.

The commotion drew Xue Chuchu and Xue Yuantong, the two girls, out from the kitchen to watch the spectacle.