After waiting nearly half an hour, the towing company finally arrived.
The car was towed away. On the way, Jiang Fuyue made a phone call and asked the family driver to come pick her up.
“Yueyue.”
“Uncle? Why is it you?”
Han Shen had come personally to drive.
“I just got off work. It was on the way.”
By the time they returned home, it was already ten o’clock. The old master was sitting in the living room waiting for them.
“Everything alright?”
Jiang Fuyue shook her head. “It’s all been taken care of.”
The next morning, Jiang Fuyue called Xie Dingyuan early.
No one answered?
After breakfast, she called again, still no answer.
Jiang Fuyue frowned.
“What’s wrong, Yueyue?” Seeing that her expression wasn’t right, Han Shen looked concerned.
“Uncle, I’m going out for a bit.”
After saying that, she grabbed her coat and bag, took the car keys, and soon disappeared.
Han Qishan: “What’s this child doing? In such a hurry…”
Han Shen: “Not sure.”
But it definitely had something to do with Xie Dingyuan.
…
At nine in the morning, Jiang Fuyue arrived at the apartment.
The lock had three methods: password, fingerprint, and key.
Yesterday when she opened the door, she had already registered her fingerprint.
So after pressing the doorbell twice with no one answering, Jiang Fuyue unlocked it with her fingerprint and went in.
It had been too late yesterday, and the lighting was dim, so she hadn’t had time to properly look at the interior.
The living room was bright and spotless, with excellent lighting. Every corner was cleaned thoroughly, and everything was placed neatly.
Simple, bright, it was definitely Xie Dingyuan’s straight-man style.
Jiang Fuyue changed into slippers, took off her coat, and walked toward the master bedroom.
Pushing the door open, the room was dark and quiet. On the two-meter bed, a lump rose beneath the blanket.
She walked over and saw someone lying on his side, sleeping soundly.
Was he really that tired?
Jiang Fuyue reached out to check his forehead temperature. The moment her palm touched it, her wrist was grabbed.
The man, whose eyes had been tightly shut, suddenly opened them. The originally deep pupils were now covered with the haziness of just waking up. The sharpness had faded, revealing a bit of softness and blur.
Jiang Fuyue: “Did I wake you?”
Xie Dingyuan shook his head. “I smelled the fragrance on you.”
“Fragrance? I didn’t put on perfume…”
“Anyway, I smelled it.”
“…”
Jiang Fuyue pressed her palm against his forehead for more than ten seconds, then signaled for him to let go of her wrist, but Xie Dingyuan refused.
“What? Afraid I’m sick?”
Jiang Fuyue glanced at him. “Your temperature is normal. No fever.”
“It was only two cups of alcohol. I’m not that useless…” he muttered softly.
“Then why didn’t you answer the phone?”
Xie Dingyuan froze. “You called me?”
Jiang Fuyue: “Twice.”
He tried to find his phone, but after searching around he couldn’t see it.
“Call again.”
Finally it was found among the pile of clothes he had taken off yesterday. “It was on silent mode…”
Xie Dingyuan didn’t know when he had turned it on; it was very likely he pressed it by mistake.
“I thought you were deliberately getting back at me.” Jiang Fuyue sat by the bed, looking at him with a half-smile.
Before, she hadn’t answered his call. Now it was his turn to repay tooth for tooth.
Very good.
The man’s mouth twitched. “Am I that petty?” Saying that, he sat up, raised a hand to support his forehead, and rubbed his temple with his fingertips. “The aftereffect is pretty strong… What time is it?”
Jiang Fuyue: “Quarter past nine.”
“Why did you come so early? I…”
Thinking of how she had reached out to check his forehead as soon as she came in, Xie Dingyuan said, “You thought I was sick?”
Jiang Fuyue rolled her eyes at him. “Whose fault is it for not answering the phone?”
The man moved closer to her. “I’ll be more careful in the future. I won’t randomly turn on silent mode again.”
“Mm.”
“But you were worried about me, and that makes me very happy.” Even if he had been sick, he would still be happy.
Xie Dingyuan wrapped an arm around her waist and pulled her onto the bed. The two of them lay down together.
“Hiss, ” Jiang Fuyue was caught off guard. “What are you doing?”
“Stay with me and lie down a bit longer.” After saying that, he used both arms and legs to wrap around her, then pulled the blanket over the two of them.
Warmth spread over them.
Part of it came from the quilt, and part from the man’s body.
Jiang Fuyue: “You didn’t eat breakfast. Aren’t you hungry?”
Xie Dingyuan: “A beautiful sight is enough to eat.”
“…”
“Or, love can make you full just by drinking water?”
“…”
These flirtatious little lines came one after another.
As expected of an upgraded straight man, shedding the iron-steel flavor and starting to move toward rustic pickup lines.
Jiang Fuyue stayed lying with him until ten. During that time, Xie Dingyuan didn’t fall asleep either; he just held her, kissing and rubbing against her.
He was satisfied, but Jiang Fuyue ended up sweating all over from the heat.
“You’re holding too tightly. Loosen up a bit.”
“Oh.”
“…Did you loosen?”
“I did!”
“Then why don’t I feel any difference?”
Xie Dingyuan: “I do.”
Jiang Fuyue: “…”
In the end, she really couldn’t lie there anymore. She struggled up, nimbly dodging the hand the man reached out again, and quickly got off the bed.
Xie Dingyuan’s hand grasped empty air, his mouth tightening.
Jiang Fuyue ignored his sour expression. “I’ll go see what’s in the fridge to eat.”
After saying that, she ran off.
Xie Dingyuan sat on the bed, looking annoyed.
Without Jiang Fuyue beside him, lying there was meaningless. He simply got up, took a shower, and changed into a clean set of pajamas.
When he went to the living room, Jiang Fuyue had already placed a steaming bowl of noodles on the table, with a golden fried egg on top.
“I don’t cook often, but it should taste alright. Try it.”
At that moment, looking at the bright dining room and the girl smiling at him with expectant eyes, a wave of warmth suddenly rose in Xie Dingyuan’s heart.
For the first time, he felt that this place had the feeling of a home.
And for the first time, he had the impulse to get married.
“Yueyue, let’s find a time for both sides’ parents to meet, alright?”
Jiang Fuyue was a little surprised. “Why bring this up all of a sudden?”
“Answer me first, okay?”
“Okay.” She nodded.
Xie Dingyuan’s lips curled upward, and the corners of his eyes and brows were filled with joy and satisfaction.
“You still haven’t said why you suddenly brought this up?”
“Ahem… I’m afraid you’ll run away. If we make it official in front of both families first, at least there’ll be some guarantee, right?”
Jiang Fuyue: “…” Quite the calculation!
Xie Dingyuan ate the noodles until not a single bite remained, and in the end even drank the soup, directly using his actions to prove how delicious Jiang Fuyue’s cooking was.
After eating, he took the initiative to tidy up the bowls and chopsticks, brought them to the kitchen, washed them clean, and when he came out, he had already cut a plate of fruit and placed it in front of Jiang Fuyue.
“I tasted it. Not sour, sweet.”
Each toothpick was at the same height; it really was difficult for him to be so precise.
Xie Dingyuan turned on the TV and switched it to the science and education channel. “Are we eating lunch at home?”
Jiang Fuyue told him to turn the volume up a bit. “…There’s nothing in the fridge. Are we eating air?”
“We can buy some.”
Jiang Fuyue was stunned for a moment, still holding a segment of orange in her mouth. “Now?”
“Mm!”
Both of them were people of action. Once they decided, they left immediately and headed straight to the supermarket.
Xie Dingyuan pushed the shopping cart behind her while Jiang Fuyue walked ahead, moving through the aisles, once she picked something, she tossed it straight into the cart.
Not only was she fast at solving problems, she was also fast at shopping. Soon the cart had piled up into a small mountain.
“What else is missing?” she asked, turning back to Xie Dingyuan.
“We’re out of white sugar.”
Jiang Fuyue went to get it.
Besides the basic ingredients, the two of them also bought quite a lot of fruit.
“Does anyone usually live in the apartment?” she asked.
Xie Dingyuan shook his head. “Most of the time I stay at the old residence. I only go to the apartment when you come.”
Isn’t a world for just the two of us better?
Unfortunately, opportunities like that were really too rare.
Jiang Fuyue: “Then don’t buy too much. If we can’t finish it, it’ll be a waste.”
“If you come a few more times, it won’t go to waste no matter what.”
Jiang Fuyue glanced at him but didn’t respond.
Xie Dingyuan: “I remember Ming University only requires first-year students to live on campus.”
“So?”
“Ahem! Since you’re a sophomore, you can completely move out to live. The apartment isn’t far from Ming University either, so actually you could…”
“I haven’t lived in the dorm for a long time already. It’s not much different from living outside now.”
Jiang Fuyue didn’t even go to school that often anymore, and she stayed in the dorm even less.
Besides finishing her regular coursework, Liu Sisi often disappeared, appearing and vanishing like a dragon, very mysterious.
Huo Fanjin had gone to intern at the Biophysics Research Institute. She was busy every day, so she simply bought a loft nearby and rarely returned to the dorm.
Cen Qiaoqiao saw that everyone was often absent, and staying alone was boring. On top of that she was homesick and had grown up like a pampered flower in a greenhouse, so she simply went back to live with her parents.
Every day she had food served to her and clothes handed to her, and she could act cute and make her elders happy. Her little life couldn’t be more comfortable!
So now, although bed 4-3 in Building A was still made up, it was rarely occupied.
Xie Dingyuan: “What I mean is, the apartment is empty anyway. If you need it, you can live there anytime. Since your fingerprint is already registered, you can just open the door and come in.”
Jiang Fuyue nodded and accepted the gesture. “Alright.”
Once they had everything, the two checked again to make sure nothing was missing before pushing the heavy cart to checkout.
Xie Dingyuan took the initiative to scan the code and pay, then neatly packed the bags and carried the large and small bags all the way down to the parking garage, placing them in the back seat.
During the whole process, he didn’t let Jiang Fuyue touch a single thing.
“Let me carry something too!”
Xie Dingyuan pretended not to hear and quickened his pace.
Let him handle this kind of rough work.
The two returned home loaded with goods and cooked lunch themselves.
Jiang Fuyue contributed two meat dishes, and Xie Dingyuan handed in one dish and one soup as his answer sheet.
In addition, he was the one who cooked the rice.
…
In the afternoon, the two of them curled up in the home theater to watch movies.
Two romance films, Jiang Fuyue chose one, and Xie Dingyuan chose one. Both were nostalgic classic works.
The reason Xie Dingyuan had prepared this apartment in the first place was actually to bring Jiang Fuyue here to watch movies.
The male and female leads kissed on the screen, and they embraced on the sofa.
Outside the window the sunset burned red; inside the room, affection ran deep.
For dinner, neither of them wanted to cook again, so they simply went out to eat.
Jiang Fuyue also told him about towing the car for repairs. “The mechanic said it’s a small problem. It can be picked up tomorrow.”
“Shall we go together?”
Jiang Fuyue agreed.
The next day Jiang Fuyue first drove to pick up Xie Dingyuan, and then the two went together to the 4S dealership.
“A part came loose. We installed a new one. It should be fine now. Want to drive around a couple of laps to test it?”
Xie Dingyuan didn’t test it; he simply drove the car away.
After the two left, an apprentice ran over. “Master Zhang, where’s the car?”
“The owner already drove it away.”
“Ah?”
“What’s the matter with you, kid?”
“Nothing… I just think it’s a bit strange. That car was very well maintained, and it’s a high-end configuration at that price range. Logically speaking, the nut shouldn’t have aged or come loose like that.”
“What exactly are you trying to say?”
The apprentice lowered his voice. “I just checked the nut we replaced. Guess what I found?”
“W-what did you find?” Master Zhang swallowed.
“There are tool marks on the nut. Someone deliberately used a tool to loosen it, which caused the part to fall off and the car to break down.”
“You mean someone tampered with the car?! Trying to stage a car accident?!”
The apprentice nodded, then shook his head. “The nut coming loose was definitely caused by someone. I’m sure I didn’t judge that wrong. If you don’t believe me, you can go look later, the nut is still there.”
“Then why did you shake your head?”
“Well… damaging that nut doesn’t really accomplish much. At most it causes a breakdown. The possibility of causing a car accident is extremely small.”
“Forget it. Let’s not overthink it. People who can afford that kind of car are either rich or powerful, big families. Don’t TV dramas always show it? Scheming against each other, hurting each other. In any case, it has nothing to do with ordinary folks like us.”
“Then should we tell the owner?” The apprentice scratched his head, looking conflicted.
Originally he had run over to talk about this.
Master Zhang pondered for a moment. “Forget it. Better to avoid unnecessary trouble. If it’s not our responsibility, don’t meddle, otherwise we might bring trouble onto ourselves.”
“Besides, didn’t you just say it? One nut can’t cause a car accident. That means the other party didn’t want anyone’s life. It’s not like we’re abandoning someone to die.”
“But… isn’t that a bit wrong?”
“What’s wrong about it? It’s perfectly fine! Come on, let’s go back to work.”
“…Oh.”
…
Besides accompanying Xie Dingyuan, Jiang Fuyue also found time to visit Ming Yu.
Rehabilitation had been quite effective, and he had already returned to Ming University to teach.
However, his movements were still somewhat inconvenient, and he needed to use a cane.
Jiang Fuyue waited outside the classroom until all the students had left before Ming Yu came out.
“Ah Yu.” She tapped his shoulder from behind.
Ming Yu turned around, delight appearing on his face, his eyes lighting up. “Why are you here?”
“I called Shigong, and he said you had already returned to Ming University to teach. I happened to go to the academic affairs office to submit some forms, so I thought I’d come take a look at you. Do you have another class later?”
“No.”
“Then shall we eat together?”
Ming Yu smiled and nodded. “Alright. I’ll go back to the office to put my things down, and then we’ll go.”
“I’ll go with you.”
For specially appointed professors like Ming Yu, the university arranged a personal office.
It was a single room, so he didn’t have to squeeze together with other teachers, and the privacy was better.
“Why haven’t I seen Zhong Hao lately?”
Zhong Hao was the young assistant who followed Ming Yu around. He didn’t talk much but was very reliable at work. Jiang Fuyue had some impression of him.
“He still has two projects to follow at the Northwest Research Institute. He’s been staying there during this period.”
“Is it convenient for you? Do you want to find another one…”
“No need.” Ming Yu looked up at her, smiling gently. “Things are good just like this. I’m finished packing. Let’s go.”
“Mm. What do you want to eat?”
Ming Yu: “Hot pot.”
Jiang Fuyue’s eyes lit up. “I know a restaurant…”
She happened to want hot pot too!
As they walked, Ming Yu listened to her talk, occasionally nodding with a smile.
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