country bumpkin

Chapter 349 Rumors about Meng Hongping

Every day after get off work, the first thing Meng Hongping does is go to the conference room on the second floor of the office building to take a Korean language class.

I've been learning for over a month now and can do some basic spoken communication. I've also learned a Korean song and said I'll sing it to Yunya sometime.

Yunya was very excited; she had never heard Korean songs before. The two agreed to learn Korean songs together on Saturday or Sunday.

Sure enough, on Saturday, Meng Hongping came to find Yunya after breakfast. When she arrived at Yunya's dormitory, all her roommates were there. Meng Hongping was a little reserved; she didn't want to sing in front of so many people.

She invited Yunya to sing for her in the hallway, and Yunya readily agreed, as she didn't want anyone to hear her learning to sing Korean songs.

They went to a corner on the second floor and began to quietly practice singing.

Meng Hongping listened to her sing it once and thought it was terrible, not good at all. What kind of rubbish was that?

But you can't say things that are unpleasant in front of Meng Hongping, because that would be too hurtful.

So Yunya gritted her teeth and learned a few lines. When she had almost learned them, Meng Hongping asked her to sing them for her.

Yun Ya didn't hold back either, and began her first ever singing performance that was absolutely deadly.

"Han Ke La Yi Ku Long Gao Ti Er, Niu Hai Hai~ Te Dang Nei You Wei Dou, Sai You You..."

As Yunya sang, she burst into laughter, clutching her stomach until it hurt. Meng Hongping was a little confused and asked Yunya, "Sun Yunya, what are you laughing at?"

Yunya waved her hand, stopped laughing, and explained, "Hahahaha... I... I just... I just think Korean songs are really funny, that's all."

Meng Hongping didn't think much of it. She knew that Yun Ya was a straightforward person who said what she meant and wasn't the arrogant type who liked to play games with people.

Meng Hongping asked softly, "Do you... do you want to listen to more? I know another song, but I've only learned a few lines, not the whole thing yet."

Yunya waved her hand, "I'm not learning anymore, it's too hard. I still prefer listening to songs from our own country."

Meng Hongping didn't dwell on it. What she liked might not be what others liked, so respecting others was also respecting herself.

Meng Hongping also told Yunya that after she learned Korean and passed the proficiency test, she could give gifts to the director and run for group leader.

Yun Ya felt that this couldn't be done so easily, but she didn't discourage her. She only offered a few gentle words of advice, and Meng Hongping wasn't angry, knowing that this matter was indeed difficult to handle.

Meng Hongping returned to her dormitory at noon, and Yun Ya never saw her again.

Later, I heard that she seemed to have gone mad; it was spread by her colleagues in the same workshop.

She said that after she finished her exams, she wasn't selected as a group leader, so she went to give a gift that night. The director turned out to be a man, and he ruined her life. She was traumatized and became withdrawn.

Right now, she doesn't speak to anyone and avoids looking at everyone. Her eyes are full of fear.

The section chief in charge of the workers at the factory personally called her relatives in her hometown to tell them everything that had happened to her, and her aunt came to pick her up the next day.

The factory fired the director who broke the law and then called the police, who arrested him. As for how much compensation Meng Hongping received, nobody knows; it was all handled in secret.

These events only reached Yunya a month later. When Yunya heard the news, she felt a little sad for her.

She was originally a positive and hardworking girl, but her life ended in such a tragic way.

At the time, Yunya thought she was being delusional; what use was learning just that language?

If being a team leader were this simple, you'd be perfect at giving gifts to the right people.

But Yunya didn't understand these intricacies, so she didn't think of this. Otherwise, she would have stopped her then and there, or said something practical to discourage her, and perhaps this wouldn't have happened.

Yunya didn't feel guilty for long; she quickly forgot about it because of her busy work and fulfilling life.

…………

Spring has passed and autumn has arrived, and another National Day is here. This time, Yunya and her friends didn't go home, but went to the city center of Haishi to go shopping and have fun.

Meanwhile, her roommate Yang Tiantian, who was sitting opposite her, went on a date with her pen pal from afar.

Yang Tiantian's pen pal came to Haishi. He sat on a stool in a small restaurant opposite the shoe factory entrance, watching the girls coming out of the factory gate, hoping to see his pen pal Yang Tiantian.

Not long after, Yang Tiantian came out. He saw an average-looking girl with yellow skin and a ponytail walking towards the small restaurant in his direction.

His first feeling was disappointment. In his correspondence with Yang Tiantian, he had always imagined her to be a well-behaved and cute girl, someone who, even if not stunningly beautiful, would still be adorable and charming. But the girl in front of him looked plain and unsophisticated, and he couldn't see any playfulness in her at all.

Yang Tiantian saw him as soon as she entered. Since it wasn't mealtime, he was the only child in the small restaurant, and she could tell at a glance that he was her pen pal.

Yang Tiantian was also very disappointed. In her mind, her pen pal didn't have to be handsome, but he also had to be of average appearance.

But the young man in front of me was about 1.60 meters tall, thin and small, looking malnourished.

Looking at his facial features, with his short, center-parted hair, small eyes and head, fan-shaped ears, and thin arms and legs, he looks like a little mouse no matter how you look at him.

Yang Tiantian also looked down on him; both of them disliked each other in their hearts. However, they didn't say it aloud and still greeted each other warmly and chatted.

This young man has come all this way, we can't let him come for nothing! Yang Tiantian also felt that since he had come all this way, we shouldn't hurt his feelings if we didn't like him.

So the two pretended to be very familiar with each other and chatted. The young man wasn't stingy; since he had invited them to a restaurant, he had to treat them to a meal.

He called over the waiter, ordered two home-style dishes, and then gave the menu to Yang Tiantian so she could order two dishes as well.

Finally, four dishes were served, and he also ordered a bottle of baijiu (Chinese liquor) and two bottles of beer. The two of them then began to eat.

Yang Tiantian was also persuaded by him to drink a small glass of baijiu, and the young man drank the rest. The two also shared a bottle of beer each.

The two seemed to get along quite well, like old friends who hadn't seen each other in a long time, chatting and laughing, eating heartily and having a great time.

Although they disliked each other, they strangely found common ground. They chatted back and forth, rambling on and on.

It was only 1 p.m. after lunch, and the young man was a bit tired from his overnight train journey. He was also a little drunk, so he wanted to find a place to rest before buying his ticket home in the afternoon. He needed to sober up before heading back.

Next to the small restaurant, across two storefronts, was a small hotel. So Yang Tiantian accompanied him to book a room by the hour.

After paying the money, Yang Tiantian helped him into the room, put him on the bed, and then got up to say goodbye and go back.

The drunk young man wouldn't let Yang Tiantian leave. He grabbed her and tears streamed down his face before he could even speak.

"Little melon, please don't go! Can you stay with me and talk to me a little longer? I'm so sad..."

Little Sweet Melon is Yang Tiantian's pen name, and it is indeed a rather cute name.

"Fallen Feathers Turn to Frost. Killing Ice, don't be like this. I, I won't leave, I'll stay and talk to you for a while." Yang Tiantian also called out his pen name.

"Just call me Shi Bing," the young man said with a wry smile.

Yang Tiantian couldn't understand why someone in the prime of their life would be so sad. His usual replies were always sunny and confident; why was there such a stark contrast now?

Yang Tiantian even began to doubt whether he was her pen pal. So she voiced her doubts.

"Are you [Fallen Feathers Turn to Frost. Ice Slayer] yourself? Or are you here in place of someone else?!"

The young man smiled and said, "Yes, I am your pen pal. In our letters, you mentioned wanting to see my photo and asked me to send it to you as a keepsake!"

Yang Tiantian had indeed asked him for a photo, so she quickly dispelled her doubts and confirmed that it was indeed him.

Yang Tiantian then asked, "Is there anything that's bothering you? You can tell me anything. I can't help you, but I can listen to you. It'll make you feel better if you talk about what's bothering you."

Shi Bing slowly began to speak, “My dad found a young and beautiful woman and brought her home. My mom remarried, taking my younger sister with her. I’m still living in my dad’s house. But whenever I see that woman and her child, and my dad and his family being so sweet together like a family, I feel sad, upset, and angry for my mom.”

Yang Tiantian had never encountered such a situation before and didn't know how to advise him, so she could only listen silently.

As they were talking, Shi Bing suddenly started crying. He cried very sadly and felt very wronged. Yang Tiantian took out some tissues from her bag and wiped away his tears.