An Mingji squeezed the clothes in his hand and turned back to look at Gu Jin, who was walking into the room. It wasn't until he saw the water in the enamel basin in the other person's hand that he finally realized.
He wasn't being disliked after all.
Gu Jin walked towards An Mingji, pulling him with one hand while placing the enamel basin on the shelf with the other.
"Let's wash up first, and then we'll put on clean clothes."
An Mingji lowered his head and responded softly, "Okay."
A relieved sigh of fortune.
He felt his heart going up and down, and even his heartbeat quickened.
After Gu Jin washed An Mingji's hands, she took a towel to wipe other places that were stained with blood, only then letting him change clothes.
As it turned out, her clothes from two to three years ago fit An Mingji just right now.
Looking at the other person's bruised and swollen features, this was a delicate and handsome face, with the promising contours of future maturity.
Gu Jin suddenly asked, "Xiao An, how old are you again?"
"I'm 13 years old."
An Mingji pinched the hem of his clothes, answering nervously.
"..." Gu Jin widened her eyes.
This child was actually only three years younger than her.
But he looked as weak as a child of seven or eight.
If she remembered correctly, the child who bullied An Mingji at the village entrance before, the first big kid she saw, the one who ran away with harsh words, was the same age as An Mingji.
That was Liu Dapeng, the son of Liu Lao'er from Qingshan Village.
The reason she remembered clearly was that the person left a deep impression on her.
Despite being younger than her, Liu Dapeng was "bully-like" in the village, often mingling with a group of kids who didn't go to school, engaging in petty thievery.
And this person hadn't bullied her any less either.
Even though Liu Dapeng was the same age as An Mingji, they looked as if there was a five or six-year age gap between them.
Gu Jin looked at An Mingji's weak, clearly malnourished body, with a look of pity and compassion on her face.
Just then, a rumbling noise sounded.
Gu Jin glanced at An Mingji's stomach, which continued to protest audibly.
As the sound emerged, An Mingji lowered his head, his small face already blushing.
Seeing him like this, Gu Jin reached out and patted his head, "Wait here, I'll find something for you to eat."
After saying this, she turned and left.
In the kitchen, Chen Hong sat on a small stool by the stove, complaining to her younger daughter who came to help, "… last year's harvest was bad, this year's grains won't be ready for at least another three months, and she's brought back a freeloader, a half-grown boy. How much food will he eat? We don't even have enough food for ourselves..."
When Gu Jin approached the kitchen, she heard her aunt grumbling inside.
Her steps did not pause; she walked directly into the kitchen.
Upon seeing her figure, Chen Hong's complaining mouth also stopped, and she pursed her lips, saying nothing further.
Gu Jin smiled and spoke, "Aunt, what do we have to eat in the kitchen? Xiao An is also someone who nearly fainted from hunger before I realized he hadn't eaten for days."
Upon hearing her words, Chen Hong's suppressed anger surged up, ready to refuse, but after hearing that he almost fainted from hunger, her face changed several times.
She pouted and stood up, saying to Gu Jin with dissatisfaction, "Wait here!"
Chen Hong went to the cupboard in front of the kitchen, lifted a cloth and took out a yellow corn bun, walked over to Gu Jin with a pained expression, and said, "Here!"
"Thank you, Aunt."
Gu Jin accepted the yellow corn bun, smiling as she thanked her.
The saying goes, a smiling face invites no slap; Chen Hong looked at this pretty niece's smiling face and couldn't help feeling a bit complicated inside.