Chapter 13 You...came to find me?

I've finished listening to the financial podcast.

Then, Su Mu's belly began to show a barely perceptible, yet real, curve.

At first, he only felt that the waistband of his pants was a little tight. Later, when he inadvertently looked down or turned to the side, he could vaguely see that his abdomen was no longer flat and had a slight bulge.

When he gently pressed his fingertips against it, he could feel a strange, inner fullness and firmness, as if it were reminding him, through his skin and muscles, that another life was quietly growing there, changing his body and everything about him.

He pulled a black, high-quality camera bag from the bottom of the box. Unzipping it revealed a Sony mirrorless camera; its metal body gleamed with a cool sheen, and the lens was impeccably protected.

This was a gift Jiang Ran gave him a long time ago.

When Jiang Ran gave it to him, she said she thought it suited him well, had good performance, and was lightweight. She also said that during the next holiday, they could go out together and take lots of photos with the camera to remember the trip.

There were still many photos stored in the camera. Su Mu plugged in the data cable, connected the phone, and looked through them one by one.

There are so many Zhang Jiangrans in there.

Jiang Ran running and jumping on the basketball court, her sweat glistening in the sunlight; Jiang Ran frowning as she reads by the window in the library, her profile sharp and defined; Jiang Ran holding a beer bottle at a roadside stall late at night, laughing freely and unrestrainedly.

There was even Jiang Ran, dressed in pajamas, with messy hair, making childish faces at the camera...

Back then, Skinny Monkey and Fatty Knife always teased Su Mu, saying that he was going to become a campus artist, with his camera always in his hand.

Su Mu always just smiled and didn't argue.

He had no artistic ambitions; he simply wanted to photograph Jiang Ran. He wanted to secretly and greedily collect every moment and every expression of that person, like collecting fragments of sunlight, hiding them in a corner known only to himself.

He flipped to a photo and lingered on it for a long time.

That was during the sophomore year when they welcomed new students. They were assigned to be in charge of the college's reception booth, which was set up under a huge sycamore tree outside the basketball court.

On an autumn afternoon, sunlight filtered through layers of sycamore leaves, casting dappled shadows. After a busy morning, Su Mu bought him lunch. Jiang Ran ate, then, exhausted, took advantage of a lull before any new students arrived and fell asleep on a makeshift wooden table.

He lay with his head turned to the side, resting his head on his arm. His thick eyelashes cast a small shadow under his eyelids, his nose was straight, and his lips were slightly pursed in relaxation. The sunlight fell perfectly on half of his face, outlining his handsome features and his unguarded sleeping expression with exceptional clarity. You could even see the fine, soft downy hairs on his cheeks.

Su Mu was sitting opposite him at the time, watching his peaceful sleeping face. She quietly raised her camera, adjusted the angle, and avoided the clutter on the table and the occasional passerby, focusing the lens only on the boy sleeping soundly in the dappled light.

The moment he pressed the shutter, he felt as if he had stolen a small piece of time, stolen a Jiang Ran who belonged only to him and was completely unguarded.

Jiang Ran in the photo really has that feeling of a campus heartthrob from a youth movie, someone who makes your heart flutter at first sight. Clean, dazzling, with a natural charm that makes it impossible to look away.

Besides Jiang Ran, the camera also captured photos of his parents.

There are images of him bending over to pick vegetables in the garden in front of his house, moments of him smiling and serving him food at the dinner table, and blurry figures waving goodbye as he is sent back to school at the train station.

Because the camera gift was so valuable, Su Mu felt uneasy after receiving it. He didn't want to owe Jiang Ran too much, so he worked part-time for several months to save up some money and bought Jiang Ran a pair of limited-edition basketball shoes from a famous brand that she liked, and gave them to her.

That was the most precious gift he could offer at the time. He simply couldn't afford anything more expensive.

It seems Jiang Ran never gave him such expensive gifts again after that. Perhaps she sensed his discomfort.

Their gift exchanges became more casual and inexpensive, involving things like a book, a record, or a box of pastries.

And now, Jiang Ran really hasn't contacted him anymore.

The young master Jiang who had once persistently called him from different numbers and inquired about his whereabouts through various channels seemed to have vanished from his world overnight.

The phone was eerily quiet, and even that strange ID 6653365985 seemed to have quieted down considerably after his outburst.

Su Mu held the cold camera, her fingertips tracing the old photo of a sleeping face on the screen. Then, subconsciously, she gently pressed it against her slightly protruding belly and took a picture in the mirror.

I never intended to tell him about this in the first place.

What good would it do to tell him?

Are you hoping he'll be overjoyed, rush over immediately, make promises, and take responsibility? Or are you afraid to see him shocked, disgusted, or even coldly demand that it be disposed of?

Or perhaps, they worry that this will only make their already chaotic relationship even more entangled, eventually turning into an even more embarrassing farce, completely tainting even the last remaining tender moments in their memories that may have truly existed.

He didn't know.

He dared not think about it.

Therefore, not telling might be the right thing to do.

As if all of this was just his own choice, Jiang Ran's disappearance, in a way, was like making a choice for him, allowing him to more easily and justifiably classify this little life as his own secret and responsibility.

However, perhaps after seeing those photos of Jiang Ran in the camera, the memories of the past and some indescribable emotions that had been deliberately suppressed in his heart quietly surged up again.

He opened his chat with Skinny Monkey and sent the simplest, most casual greeting: What have you been up to lately?

Skinny Monkey: What else can I do? Work, bro. Staring at the computer all day, my eyes are almost blind. Sigh, I wish I had your courage to just pack up and go.

It was followed by a crying face emoji.

Su Mu looked at the reply and the corners of his mouth unconsciously curved up. Skinny Monkey was still Skinny Monkey.

He swiped his finger across the screen, wanting to say something more, but found there was nothing to talk about.

Work? He's not doing it anymore.

Life? He works at a small factory, drives a forklift, and his increasingly noticeable pregnant belly.

In the end, he couldn't hold back and asked the question that had been lingering in his heart, a question he knew he shouldn't ask, that asking it would only make him feel worse: Where is Young Master Jiang? Has the marriage alliance been arranged recently?

After sending it, he regretted it a little.

Skinny Monkey: Young Master Jiang? I don't know anything about him. He's like a dragon, appearing and disappearing without a trace. A few days ago he was like his pants were on fire, asking about you everywhere, asking me about you eight hundred times a day, it was so annoying. But lately he seems to have calmed down, hasn't contacted me at all. Probably busy going on blind dates with some girl?

Feeling depressed.

I should have known better than to ask.

Last night, Mr. Su went fishing at a nearby reservoir with his fishing buddies.

The reservoir is some distance from the town, nestled in a mountain valley. The water is wide and clear. Several secluded and suitable fishing spots along the shore have been developed by fishing enthusiasts over the years.

Su's father was a regular there. Although his skills weren't top-notch, he was patient and often made some progress.

Autumn has arrived, and the weather is dry.

After keeping watch for most of the night, several wild crucian carp, their scales gleaming silver, were caught and were jumping around.

Su Mu saw the several fresh crucian carp in the bucket when he was brushing his teeth in the morning.

Su's mother said, "Wild crucian carp is the most nutritious. It's very good and tastes delicious. Come home early from get off work today, and I'll make you some crucian carp soup. It'll be milky white, sprinkled with some chopped green onions, and it'll smell wonderful."

Su Mu was rubbing his eyes, and when he heard the words "crucian carp soup," his mind was still a little foggy. He subconsciously repeated, "Crucian carp soup?"

Then, as if he had suddenly remembered something, his expression turned a little strange, and he was mostly awake. He walked to the kitchen doorway, watched his mother's busy figure, and ran to ask his father.

"Dad, I drank the crucian carp soup. Will it help with milk production?"

After asking the question, he himself felt that it was a bit silly.

Su's father was taken aback by his question, then burst out laughing: "Of course not, what are you thinking? If drinking crucian carp soup could increase milk production, then when you were little, we would have had to search everywhere for milk powder to drink."

Su's mother overheard this from the kitchen: "What nonsense are you thinking about all day long? Crucian carp soup is good for your health, helps with edema, and is also good for your brain. You loved eating fish when you were little, so your father and I often made fish for you. Otherwise, how could you be so smart and do so well in your studies?"

As long as it doesn't promote lactation, it's fine. He didn't have high expectations for intelligence, but given his and Jiang Ran's genes, he shouldn't be too stupid. As long as it's good for the baby and doesn't cause any strange side effects for him, it's fine.

"Oh, that's good. I'll come back early today."

When Su Mu went to work, he rode his little electric scooter slowly, facing the warm sunshine, with the wind blowing on his face, bringing the dryness unique to autumn.

However, Su Mu didn't know why he kept sneezing today.

Su's mother was worried that he had caught a cold.

Su Mu said, "No, maybe someone is thinking about me."

There wasn't much work at the factory today, so the factory manager asked Su Mu to go over this afternoon.

Jiang Ran set off from Jiangzhou.

He didn't bring much luggage, just a light carry-on suitcase containing a few changes of clothes and necessities, as well as his laptop that he never parted with.

The schedule was extremely tight, almost as if his secretary Allen had compressed it for him with maximum efficiency. After handing over all the work that could be done, he immediately booked the next high-speed train ticket to He City.

Upon arriving at Heshi High-Speed ​​Railway Station, he didn't stop at all, nor did he even leave the station to take a closer look at this unfamiliar city. Instead, he directly hailed a taxi that looked fairly clean at the station exit and told the driver the name of Qu County.

The driver confirmed the destination in heavily accented Mandarin, then stepped on the gas and drove him away from the bustling city center, heading towards a more remote county town.

The road to Qu County wasn't in great condition, with some sections still under repair. Jiang Ran rolled down the car window a little to let in the wind, which carried dust and the scent of the fields.

Is this Su Mu's hometown?

We finally arrived in Qu County, and it was already afternoon. The county town was small, the streets looked somewhat old, and the mix of pedestrians and vehicles created a slow pace of life.

Jiang Ran got out of the taxi and stood by the roadside, looking at the unfamiliar surroundings and the crowds of people speaking a local dialect that he couldn't understand at all. For the first time, he felt a sense of isolation that was almost bewildering.

He needs to go to the town where Phoenix Village is located.

He asked several passersby, but the answers he received were either spoken very quickly and mixed with a lot of dialect words, leaving him completely confused; or they pointed in a vague direction and said, "Take the bus, there's a stop over there."

He followed the signs and found the so-called bus stop, which was just a roadside with a few dilapidated minibuses parked there and no proper bus stop sign.

They were talking past each other.

The word popped into Jiang Ran's mind.

He couldn't find directions online either. He actually wanted to call Su Mu, but he had already gotten this far and suddenly couldn't find his way. It was really lame of him.

He was used to using precise language to control the overall situation at the negotiating table, and used to using fluent words to handle social situations with ease. He never thought that one day he would be trapped next to a small county train station because of language barriers.

He even started considering whether he should just rent a car in this small county town and drive there himself.

Although I'm not familiar with the area, it's still better than wasting time here and having to communicate with people.

Just as he was frowning and taking out his phone to search for local car rental information, a dark-skinned middle-aged man wearing a faded old jacket and smoking a cigarette came to a stop in front of him on a three-wheeled motorcycle with peeling paint and mud splattered in the back.

The man looked Jiang Ran up and down a few times, his gaze lingering for a moment on his clothes and demeanor, which were clearly out of place with his surroundings. Then he spat out the cigarette butt and asked directly in heavily accented but barely understandable Mandarin.

"Where are you going? I'll give you a ride."

His three-wheeled motorcycle was pitifully rudimentary, without even a decent windshield, and a few tools and a snakeskin bag of indeterminate color were carelessly thrown into the cargo bed.

This car is from a completely different world from the vehicles Jiang Ran usually uses.

Jiang Ran's gaze swept over the tricycle, then she looked around at the surrounding environment—a place far from any village or shop, making communication difficult.

He gave his destination, saying it was the factory where Su Mu worked.

The man said, "Waiting for a bus won't help; it will only get you to the street, and then you'll have to walk a long time."

The man held up three sticks and waved them in front of him, saying succinctly, "Three hundred, I'll take you to the door."

The price is ridiculously high for the distance from the county seat to the town, clearly indicating overcharging.

Normally, Jiang Ran wouldn't even glance at it.

But at this moment, all he wanted was to leave this place as soon as possible, get to that place called Phoenix Village as soon as possible, and find Su Mu as soon as possible.

He simply nodded slightly, his voice flat: "Deal."

Jiang Ran sat on the back of that simple three-wheeled motorcycle, maintaining an unwavering posture.

The wind blew directly in his face without any obstruction, carrying dust, the smell of fertilizer from the farmland by the roadside, and the somewhat pungent diesel smell from the tricycle's exhaust pipe, which made his meticulously styled hair look disheveled.

He had to turn slightly to the side, shield his forehead with his hand, and squint to barely see the bumpy, dusty country road ahead.

The driver was clearly a chatterbox, and it was probably the first time he had seen a young man like Jiang Ran dressed so formally in their area. He was incredibly curious.

Jiang Ran thought she was dressed quite casually today: a dark gray casual jacket over a simple short-sleeved shirt, matching casual trousers, and black sneakers.

This outfit would be considered casual in any setting in Jiangzhou.

However, on this dusty rural road, the clanging tricycle did indeed seem a bit out of place, not to mention the understated yet valuable mechanical watch on his wrist, which gleamed with a cold and precise light in the occasional sliver of sunlight.

Needless to say, his attire and overall demeanor alone make him stand out from his surroundings, clearly indicating that he is an "outsider," a "rich person," and a "city dweller."

The driver couldn't help but glance at him a few more times in the mirror. Finally, unable to contain himself any longer, he raised his voice and spoke in heavily accented Mandarin, his voice mixed with the roar of the engine and the sound of the wind: "Boss, you've come all this way, are you looking for someone? Or visiting relatives?"

Jiang Ran, feeling agitated from the jolting, said, "Find someone."

"Oh! Looking for someone!" the driver said. "Looking for a relative? This place is small, and many people in the surrounding area are related. Who do you think you're looking for? Maybe I know someone!"

Jiang Ran was silent for a few seconds before reluctantly and vaguely correcting him: "...friend."

"A friend?" The driver sounded even more surprised, as if he couldn't believe that Jiang Ran could be a friend in a place like this. "Didn't your friend say he would pick you up? This place is hard to find. It just so happens that I have a relative who works here. It's such a coincidence that you met me."

Jiang Ran didn't respond to that.

Could he say that he sneaked over like a stalker?

Seeing his silence, the driver didn't mind and continued, his tone carrying a hint of local familiarity: "Hey boss, let me tell you, if I hadn't been giving you a ride today, and if you didn't have any friends to pick you up, you might not have been able to find a car to Phoenix Village even after dark. Look, it's almost five o'clock now, and the last bus to town leaves at four-thirty! At this hour, there's no other way but for us unlicensed taxis!"

Jiang Ran listened and said, "Then the transportation here... isn't it very inconvenient?"

The driver laughed it off, saying, "It's alright! We're used to it. There are fewer shifts on weekdays, but we all have our own motorcycles and electric bikes. It's enough for going to town and the county. Besides, we're here for you!"

He patted the handlebars of his tricycle, his tone revealing a grassroots wisdom and open-mindedness in survival.

The tricycle continued its chugging journey, winding around fields of harvested rice stubble and passing through several scattered villages that looked much the same.

As the sun set, it painted the sky a warm orange-red, casting a soft yet still unfamiliar glow over this unfamiliar land.

Jiang Ran looked out the window at the scenery that was receding into the distance, a landscape completely different from the environment in which he had grown up.

Finally, after passing through yet another village that looked no different from the others, a cluster of relatively concentrated blue-roofed factory buildings appeared ahead, with the faint sound of machinery humming in the distance.

A simple sign stood by the roadside, with faded red paint on it that read "Phoenix Town Timber Processing Plant".

The driver skillfully turned the tricycle onto a dirt road next to the factory gate, and then turned off the engine at the factory gate.

Jiang Ran jumped out of the car, dusted off her hands, and the driver said to her, "Hey boss, we're here. This is it. Does the person you're looking for live here or work here? Should I take you inside to ask?"

Jiang Ran ignored the driver's kindness and got off the bus with her suitcase.

Jiang Ran didn't waste any words. She took out her phone from her inner pocket and opened the payment app: "Payment code, I'll scan it for you."

The driver chuckled, quickly pulled an old cell phone with a slightly cracked screen from the inside pocket of his crumpled jacket, displayed the green QR code for payment, and handed it to Jiang Ran.

The phone emitted a soft "beep" sound.

Just then, Su Mu finished work and walked out of the side gate of the factory area. He was thinking about the crucian carp soup at home and was about to go to the bike shed to ride his electric scooter.

As soon as he reached the roadside, he spotted his uncle's signature three-wheeled motorcycle, its paint worn and faded, parked at the entrance of the dormitory area. A smile spread across his face, and he was about to raise his hand and call out "Uncle!" to say hello.

However, his smile froze on his face as he raised his hand halfway.

Because he saw a person jump out of the back of the three-wheeled motorcycle with somewhat stiff but still nimble movements.

The man had his back to him. He was tall and slender, wearing a dark gray casual jacket that looked high-quality even in the sunset. His hair was a little messy from the wind, but it still couldn't hide his innate, extraordinary temperament.

Just a glimpse of his back was enough to make Su Mu's blood seem to freeze instantly, his heart stop beating, and his breath catch in his throat.

Jiang Ran.

How did he end up here? At the entrance of the factory dormitory in this remote town, jumping off his uncle's beat-up tricycle?

Su Mu almost thought he was hallucinating. He blinked hard, then blinked again.

The figure didn't disappear. He even saw his uncle holding a phone, leaning close to the person.

It's not a hallucination.

Su Mu's mind went blank. After several seconds, he seemed to regain control of his body and moved step by step toward the tricycle and the figure in the distance.

Just as he approached, his uncle's phone rang with a crystal-clear, synthesized female voice announcing: "WeChat payment received: 300 yuan—"

When Su Mu's uncle heard the announcement, his smile widened. He looked up and saw Su Mu pushing his electric scooter towards him. He immediately greeted him warmly, "Oh, Xiao Mu's off work! Perfect timing!"

He pointed to Jiang Ran, who had turned around and was looking at them, and said, "This boss is my uncle's customer. He chartered a car from the county town. He said he's looking for someone, but he's unfamiliar with the area. Xiao Mu, you know a lot of people at the factory, see if you can help him find the person he's looking for?"

Su Mu's uncle spoke with great enthusiasm.

Jiang Ran froze the moment he heard the name "Xiao Mu," and slowly, extremely slowly, turned around.

Their eyes met.

The air seemed to freeze completely at that moment.

Su Mu looked at Jiang Ran, at the face he had secretly thought about countless nights and forced himself to forget, now appearing so real before him, covered in dust and weariness.

It took him a long while to confirm in disbelief: "You... came to see me?"

Although absurd and unbelievable, it seems there is no other possibility.

Jiang Ran didn't answer immediately. He simply looked at Su Mu, his gaze sweeping from Su Mu's shocked face, over his slightly fuller body, and finally settling back on his eyes. Then, he nodded.

Su Mu received an affirmative answer, and it felt like a depth charge had been dropped into his heart, making his internal organs feel disoriented. He turned to his uncle, who still looked bewildered, and asked, "Uncle, how much did you swindle him?"

When Su Mu's uncle was asked this question by his nephew, he rubbed his hands together, chuckled dryly twice, and didn't say anything, but his eyes wandered around.

Jiang Ran: "Three hundred."

Su Mu: "…………"

A note from the author:

Young Master Jiang rode his tricycle with an air of dominance over the world.

Little Wood: ...Even our own family members get cheated.

The next chapter will be available for purchase. If things go smoothly, I'll update at midnight. It depends on when the editor approves the application, but it will be tomorrow. There will be a 10,000-word update.

It's just a cute and innocent couple [starry eyes]. There's not much angst. This is my first time writing this kind of slice-of-life story. It's adorable.