Doing Good

They smoothly brought Grandma Wan out.

However, Su Bai and the others did not immediately leave Banshan County. First, they escorted Grandma Wan back to the super RV, as Su Bai still had a few things to do.

The first was the local pheasants and rabbits from Banshan County.

These were local specialties. Grandma Wan knew where to buy reliable quality ones, so she had Wan Xinyan go make the purchase. The local farmers knew the Wan sisters, having watched them grow up.

When you go on a trip, you should always bring back some local specialties.

The second matter was an impromptu addition to the itinerary, because of Xu Xinran.

Xu Xinran was at the home of a student she was sponsoring, asking Su Bai and the others if they had arrived. Su Bai said not only had they arrived, they were almost ready to leave. So, Xu Xinran asked him to come take a look if he had time.

Since Su Bai hadn't encountered any trouble from local troublemakers, Xu Xinran naturally didn't need to step in, which left her feeling a bit disappointed. Tch, she thought she could have taken the chance to show off her connections to her "little brother".

A well-connected rich girl from a good family naturally has different ways of attracting guys compared to a poor girl who only has her looks.

Xia Lin proved this point quite thoroughly.

Xia Lin had provided Su Bai with many conveniences. If you didn't consider their mutual trust and intimacy, Xia Lin's actions could almost be described as those of a "simp".

The whole concept of being a "simp" is rather mysterious.

If you truly see the other person as reliable family for the long term, and you give to each other, then it's not really simping behavior.

Well, Su Bai had also put in considerable effort in the physical sense... he was quite energetic in Xia Lin's office...

Xu Xinran wanted to replicate Xia Lin's approach. Su Bai was just too tempting, and besides, Su Bai didn't seem to mind having one more close female friend.

But it seemed this required a process.

So, Xu Xinran called Su Bai over to take a look. Su Bai agreed, proving he wasn't averse to her, or rather, he was willing to deepen their mutual understanding.

At that moment, Xu Xinran was at the sponsored student's home, looking over the student's exam papers.

The school had just finished mid-term exams.

The print quality of the test paper wasn't great, and the little girl's answers weren't perfect either. Her grades could only be considered good, not comparable to those "genius" elementary school students in the city who studied day and night. However, for a county with a less developed education level, it was already quite good.

For the children here, studying didn't necessarily need to lead to extraordinary achievements. Being able to smoothly obtain a degree from a public university was actually a significant improvement to their life circumstances.

This family's situation was quite typical for the area. The husband worked in the mines, suffered an accident that left him disabled, and due to various hard-to-swallow reasons, only received meager compensation... It was Xu Xinran's efforts that helped this family secure a normal compensation amount.

But they absolutely couldn't live off that forever. Usually, the wife went out to work, and the husband stayed home to look after the child.

Life was manageable.

Every time Xu Xinran came to see the child, the couple was very warm. Given their family conditions, they naturally couldn't provide hospitality matching the young lady's status, but they did their best.

Xu Xinran didn't seem to mind much either.

She was a good person, without a doubt—the kind willing to do good deeds, somewhat lacking in this era, without many hidden, ulterior motives, simply for peace of mind.

As they chatted, they habitually drifted to the topic of Xu Xinran's life milestones. Rural conversations often revolve around those few topics: weddings, funerals, marriages, children—nothing beyond that.

Chatting with Xu Xinran was actually quite relaxing. This girl was interested in rural affairs, and she would even meticulously take notes on those vulgar, even crude village gossip.

Call it field research.

The couple wasn't highly educated and had never interacted with scholars or professors in their lives, but they felt Xu Xinran had that air about her.

"Miss Xu, your family must also pressure you about marriage..."

"It's okay. My dad has gotten used to it."

"Getting used to it is good... Actually, there's no need to rush. Fate will come when it's time..."

While they were talking, Su Bai arrived.

The couple, including the little girl who had just had her exam results checked, stared intently at Su Bai.

Putting aside his demeanor, his tall and burly physique alone was quite rare.

Coming to her senses, the wife felt she might have hit the nail on the head earlier. Could this be Miss Xu's fate?

It wasn't just his appearance; she could tell from the way Xu Xinran looked at this man that it was different.

There's a kind of understanding among women; they can easily tell from a fellow woman's eyes whether she's truly fallen for a man.

Just like how a close girlfriend can easily tell if she actually likes her own boyfriend.

Regarding his relationship with Xu Xinran, Su Bai's introduction was very straightforward:

"Friends. We haven't known each other too long. Actually, my university counselor is old friends with her." When saying this, Su Bai couldn't help but add a teasing, slightly mocking tone.

Xu Xinran's preferences were indeed a bit out there. The more she saw Xia Lin's deep feelings for Su Bai, the more motivated she was to pursue him herself.

"Big brother, you're still in school?" The child was a bit surprised. Although Su Bai looked young, his demeanor was closer to that of an adult in society. He genuinely didn't have much of a student vibe about him.

Being carefree and shameless does that to a person.

In the university environment, it was fine because Su Bai didn't like to show off and was relatively quiet. Usually, his classmates' attention was drawn away by his extraordinary roommate, so they didn't see through Su Bai's true nature.

In other environments, you'd realize that Su Bai easily blended into the social setting.

This wasn't an ability he awakened after binding with the "Indulgence System"; he had always been like this.

Call it refined and easygoing.

"Only a freshman in university, huh? Tsk tsk, truly a fine figure of a man..."

"Not bad, not bad."

"Have some of our local grain tea. We grew it ourselves..."

It seems every place has its own special tea. Broadly speaking, any non-toxic plant can be used to brew or boil tea, with all sorts of strange flavors.

Su Bai stayed at this home for over ten minutes before leaving with Xu Xinran. As they left, the way the couple watched them reminded Su Bai of the satisfied onlookers at weddings he had attended, observing how well-matched the bride and groom were...

"What do you think?" Xu Xinran suddenly asked as they walked on the deserted road.

"Think about what?"

"I put a lot of energy into helping these people. Many of my peers say I'm hypocritically charitable."

"...It's normal for peers to badmouth each other."

"What do you think? Just tell the truth. I'm not fragile."

"The truth is... I find it quite admirable. Not just the intention to do good, but being able to persist is also impressive. You know, I'm someone who really avoids trouble. Even if I were to do charity, at most I'd donate money. If you really asked me to put in the energy to do it, I probably couldn't handle it either."