Chapter 27 Was he really that sincere?

After finishing up at the restaurant, Xu Jialan got into her car.

He didn't rush to leave. He took out a lighter, lit a cigarette, and started playing with the silver lighter in his hand.

Xu Jialan has many fair-weather friends like Ma Qi.

At first, he thought they could help him forget his pain, but he didn't realize that it was just a temporary fix and they would only drag him into the abyss.

His brows relaxed, he took a deep drag of his cigarette, and then exhaled a smoke ring.

The smoke rings drifted towards the roof of the car and eventually disappeared.

He finished his cigarette when his phone rang.

It was a WeChat message from Chen Yao'an, asking if he had eaten on time.

A smile touched his eyebrows as he stubbed out his cigarette, started the car, and turned the steering wheel.

The car drove all the way to Wenzhi Street, where Xu Jialan parked the car on the side of the road and entered Youye.

Chen Yao'an was still wondering why Xu Jialan hadn't replied to her messages for so long when she looked up and saw her in person.

What are you doing here?

Xu Jialan walked in, saying, "I'm so bored at home, I feel like I'm going to get moldy."

Chen Yaoan sat behind the front desk and looked up at him.

She felt a sense of relief when she saw him after a few days, as he seemed to be in much better shape.

Seeing her staring at him, Xu Jialan smiled, his mischievous side returning, "What? Did you find me quite good-looking?"

Chen Yao'an solemnly withdrew her gaze, ignored his words, and continued with her own work.

Seeing this, Xu Jialan toned down her usual carefree attitude and asked her, "Have you eaten?"

Fortunately, she was still willing to respond when he spoke normally, saying, "I ate."

"Are you better now?"

"I'm almost fully recovered." Xu Jialan sat down on the sofa in her shop.

He told her what had just happened.

"I've fallen out with Maqi and his gang, and I won't associate with them anymore."

Chen Yaoan looked up at him, a hint of suspicion in her eyes.

Xu Jialan scratched her head. Was it really that hard for him to believe?

"It's true."

Chen Yaoan nodded. "That's good."

She stopped talking, and the two remained silent for a while. Finally, Xu Jialan couldn't help but ask, "Aren't you going to say anything to me?"

Is he dissatisfied?

What is he dissatisfied with?

Chen Yao'an looked up at him directly and said, "What do you want me to say? Do you want me to praise you?"

These words seemed to have struck a chord with him, and he knew he was happy. "Then give me a compliment."

Chen Yao'an gave a forced smile; he really knew how to take advantage of the situation.

Seeing that she didn't speak, Xu Jialan wouldn't give up, "Is it so hard for you to praise me?"

"It's quite difficult."

Xu Jialan clicked her tongue; she was always so unromantic.

The more she acted like this, the more he wanted to tease her.

He walked to the front desk, propped himself up on his arm, and looked at her. "Being my girlfriend shouldn't be that difficult."

The next second, Chen Yao'an's expression changed as expected.

She couldn't help but remind him, "I thought I had made it very clear to you before that we're not a good match. Did you even listen to what I said?"

They really can't take a joke.

"I listened."

Chen Yao'an was furious. "Then why did you say that?"

I was just teasing you.

Xu Jialan, with a languid posture and one arm propped on the front desk, suddenly became serious, "If we can't be lovers, can't we be something else?"

do what?

Does he want to be his mistress?

This is something Xu Jialan would actually say.

Thinking of this, Chen Yao'an's expression turned somewhat unpleasant.

"what you up to?"

Seeing her expression suddenly turn serious, Xu Jialan said, "For example, a one-night stand, a bed partner."

As soon as he finished speaking, something flew towards his face and was caught by Xu Jialan.

It's a pack of tissues.

Seeing that she was about to get really angry, Xu Jialan quickly reassured her, "I was just talking nonsense. What I meant was that we should be friends."

Chen Yao'an looked at him with a mixture of belief and skepticism.

Xu Jialan leaned against the front desk, her tone unusually serious, "I'm serious, all the friends I used to have were just fair-weather friends, not many of them were genuine."

"Isn't Mr. Zhang your friend?!"

"I'd say we're close colleagues; after all, taking care of me is part of his job."

really.

Looking back on everything since I met him, he was always surrounded by fair-weather friends.

He seems to dislike being alone, but he also doesn't like to easily open up to people.

So that's why those people were chosen?

So why choose her now?

She looked directly into Xu Jialan's eyes, trying to discern something from them.

Xu Jialan also looked at her, and the two stared at each other for a while, as if in a silent contest.

"Chen Yaoan, trust me this once."

His voice was deep and heavy.

It weighed heavily on Chen Yao'an's heart.

"Okay, then let's be friends."

"but……"

"Don't mention girlfriends anymore."

"Okay." He swallowed hard.

This was the first time he had realized that her answer could so deeply move him.

He laughed out loud, but it aggravated the wound on his face.

"Hiss~"

Chen Yao'an had noticed the wound on his face long ago. "What happened to the wound on your face?"

“Machi took it.”

"You two got into a fight?"

Xu Jialan subconsciously touched the wound on the corner of her mouth, which still hurt quite a bit. "We didn't fight. He just punched me, and I punched him back."

Do you have any medicine here?

"There should be."

Chen Yao'an opened the cabinet to find him medicine. She rarely used medicine, but fortunately it hadn't expired yet.

She handed him the medicine, but Xu Jialan didn't take it. "Or you can apply it for me, I can't see it."

Chen Yao'an remained in the act of handing over the medicine, her words icy cold, "Can you go back on your promise to be friends?"

“I can do it myself.” Xu Jialan took the medicine from her hand.

Chen Yao'an thoughtfully found him a mirror to use.

After the medicine was applied, Xu Jialan didn't stop for a moment. She looked at Chen Yaoan and asked, "Do you have anything to eat? I haven't had lunch yet."

Chen Yaoan glanced at his watch; it was well past lunchtime. No wonder he had managed to put himself in such a state.

"Only noodles."

"Anything will do, even noodles."

Chen Yao'an brought him a pot and a bag of noodles, saying, "You can cook for yourself."

Xu Jialan first filled a pot with water, found a corner, plugged in the pot, and waited for the water to boil.

He had never eaten dried noodles before, so he really didn't know how to cook them. He asked Chen Yao'an, "Do you just put the noodles in the water?"

"Yes, just like cooking instant noodles."

Xu Jialan grabbed a handful of noodles and was about to throw them in.

Fortunately, Chen Yao'an was still worried and looked back, after all, she knew he didn't eat noodles.

She immediately spoke up to stop them: "Wait."

Xu Jialan paused in her embarrassing actions.

"What's wrong?"

"That's too much." She took the noodles from his hand, put a little into the pot, and put the rest back.

A handful of noodles was thrown in, and the once boiling pot calmed down, only to start boiling again shortly afterward.

Chen Yao'an stood up to leave, but Xu Jialan pulled her back down to squat down.

How long will it take to ripen?

"Well..." It's really hard to describe; she just looks at how translucent the noodles are. "Do you prefer them softer or firmer?"

Xu Jialan didn't really understand this, but she still said, "It's hard."

Chen Yaoan nodded, "I'll keep an eye on it for you."

The two of them squatted side by side in a small corner, guarding a pot.

Chen Yaoan kept staring at the pot, and Xu Jialan turned to look at her.

The rising steam made her face appear even more gentle and soft.

He says he'll only be friends, but is he really that sincere?

Chen Yaoan turned off the heat, scooped out the noodles, and handed them to Xu Jialan.

To be honest, the noodles weren't very tasty; they were bland and tasteless. But Xu Jialan still ate the whole bowl.

When he finished clearing the dishes and came out from the back, he saw an old lady standing in the shop. She was dressed fashionably and had a very good temperament.

The old lady had just entered the room when she saw Xu Jialan coming out from behind. She asked, "Yao'an, is this your boyfriend? He's quite handsome."

Chen Yaoan didn't look at Xu Jialan and explained, "No, she's just a friend of mine."

"Grandma Tan, is there something you need today?"

She lifted the groceries in her hand and said, "I just happened to pass by here when I went to the market to buy groceries, so I came in to take a look."

After saying that, she looked around and asked, "Has business been slow at your shop lately? It's rather quiet."

Chen Yao'an was a little embarrassed. "It's alright, but there aren't many people here today."

Grandma Tan nodded. "That's good. Business is tough these days. And just a reminder, it's time to pay next year's rent again."

Chen Yao'an certainly remembered that she always submitted her work in advance in previous years, but this year she was a little short on money, so she delayed it. No wonder Grandma Tan came to find her today.

She subconsciously turned her head to look at Xu Jialan, who was casually scrolling through his phone, as if he wasn't listening to them at all.

"Yes, but I've been too busy lately and accidentally forgot. I'll call you back later."

Hearing this, Grandma Tan didn't say much, "It's good that you remember, then I'll go back now."

Take care.

After seeing Grandma Tan off, Chen Yao'an didn't say anything. She sat down at the front desk as usual and opened her laptop, which she usually used for drawing.

Facing the computer screen, Chen Yao'an couldn't draw a single stroke, her mind unconsciously going over her accounts again.

Last year, she took Zhou Yao to another city for medical treatment, which cost a lot of money. This year, business is not as good as before, so she doesn't have much money left.

Zhou Yao's illness is a ticking time bomb, and it could worsen at any moment. She must keep some money on hand as a backup, and this money cannot be touched.

This shop has a good location, but the annual rent is not cheap.

If she has to pay the rent, she will have to use the little savings she has. What about the reserve fund for her mother's medical treatment?

"Was that your landlord just now?"

Chen Yaoan kept her head down, her gaze fixed on the tablet screen, but her mind was clearly not on it.

Xu Jialan called her name again, "Chen Yaoan".

Chen Yaoan snapped out of her daze and looked up at him. "What's wrong?"

What are you thinking about?

She shook her head. "It's nothing."

"Really nothing?"

"No, really."

Xu Jialan was about to open her mouth again.

"I already said I'm fine."

Her expression made it seem like she would turn on him if he asked one more question.