Chapter 61 Oath

Chen Yaoan put down what she was holding, walked over, looked at Xu Jialan, and finally looked at Zheng Bo's son. "It's too hot. You should take a rest."

Zheng Bo's son was tall and strong. Although it was hot, he didn't feel tired. "It's nothing, this is just the beginning."

Chen Yao'an: "..."

Xu Jialan looked at her and said, "Are you tired? Go find a shady spot to sit. I'll take care of the rest. I'll go get you some water."

Before she could speak, he turned and left, went to the edge of the field to get a water cup, then came back. Seeing that she was still standing there, he urged her to go to a shady spot under a tree.

He folded the sun-protective clothing he had brought and placed it on the ground for her to sit on, then handed her a water cup.

"You just stay here and watch, don't do it anymore."

Chen Yaoan remained silent.

Xu Jialan didn't say much and turned to leave.

"that……"

He turned to look at her.

"Um...would you like to rest for a bit too?" Chen Yao'an asked, not daring to look at his expression.

Xu Jialan chuckled, "It's okay, I'm not tired yet."

After saying that, he turned and left.

With the help of Xu Jialan and Zheng Bo's son, the messy pile of branches on the ground was quickly cleared away.

I originally wanted to invite Uncle Zheng and his son to dinner before I left, but they declined.

Ever since that day Xu Jialan kicked her out of the kitchen, he has basically been cooking dinner for her, except for today, which was cooked by Chen Yaoan.

After setting the dishes on the table, Xu Jialan, having washed her hands, came in. "I'll go get the bowls."

He turned and went to the cupboard, reached in and took out four bowls, but his hand trembled and the top two bowls fell down.

With a clanging sound.

It successfully caught Chen Yao'an's attention.

She went over to him. "What's wrong?"

Xu Jialan replied nonchalantly, "It's nothing, I just didn't hold it properly."

He picked up the bowl again, his hand still trembling, but thankfully he didn't drop it this time.

Chen Yaoan noticed this, and her feelings became somewhat complicated.

Around 10 p.m., Chen Yaoan put down her work and went to the rooftop for some fresh air as usual. She subconsciously looked towards Xu Jialan's yard.

Xu Jialan's courtyard was brightly lit, with all the lights in the rooms on and the courtyard lights also on.

Why isn't he sleeping this late?

Chen Yao'an stood on tiptoe, trying to see more clearly.

Xu Jialan passed by the door carrying a basin of water. She watched as he placed the basin on the ground, wrung out a rag, and began wiping the shoe cabinet by the door.

Chen Yaoan suddenly realized that he had been helping her family clean up these past few days and hadn't had time to clean up his own house at all.

Thinking of this, she immediately lost her interest in going out for fresh air.

She slowly descended the stairs, instinctively heading towards the door, but halfway there she suddenly realized what she was doing, turned around, went inside, and returned to her room.

I lay in bed, but couldn't fall asleep no matter what I did.

After hesitating for a long time, Chen Yaoan finally got out of bed and went to the next room.

The door next door was open, so she went straight in.

Xu Jialan was still engrossed in cleaning the furniture when she stood at the door and coughed awkwardly.

He heard the noise and turned around. "Why are you here so late?"

"Um... I went out for a walk and saw your door was open, so I came in."

"Why are you out for a walk so late instead of sleeping?"

"Yeah, work is a bit tiring."

She asked knowingly, "What are you doing?"

"Cleaning."

"Cleaning so late?" Chen Yaoan glanced around. The furniture was covered in a layer of mud, and the floor had only been tidied up briefly, so it wasn't exactly clean.

"Well, I want to get this ready as soon as possible. It's so late, you should go back to sleep."

After saying that, he continued to work diligently.

Chen Yao'an stood at the door without leaving. After a while, she walked over, took a rag, and said, "Let me help you. How long are you going to finish this by yourself?"

Xu Jialan turned to look at her and chuckled.

Chen Yaoan ignored him and took the rag to another place.

—

As the weather gradually clears up, it's time to put the renovation of the Chen family kitchen on the agenda.

However, before Chen Yaoan could go find someone to repair it as planned, Xu Jialan seemed to have already prepared everything.

Several truckloads of building materials were brought in and piled up outside the Chen family's house.

She was a little confused when she came home from get off work and saw so many extra things.

"Who bought those things outside the door?" she asked Yan Shumei.

"Who else could it be? Xu Jialan said she wanted to fix our kitchen."

So she went to ask him.

Why did you buy all this stuff?

"How can I fix your kitchen if there's nothing in it?"

"Didn't I say I would find someone to fix it?"

"You don't need to look anymore, I've already found someone. I work at a construction company, and the person I found is definitely more professional than you, so you don't need to worry about it."

After saying that, he turned and left, disappearing into the kitchen.

To repair her kitchen, Xu Jialan took several days off from work to personally supervise and participate in the construction.

Xu Jialan was pampered from a young age. Although her family was in the real estate business, she had never been to a construction site, let alone laid cement or bricks.

Under the blazing sun, Xu Jialan, wearing only a white vest, stood with an experienced craftsman, holding a brick in her hand and asking him how to build a wall.

After the master craftsman finished teaching, Xu Jialan tried to build a few blocks on her own.

Let the experienced craftsman see his work.

The experienced craftsman nodded.

Clearly, they were quite satisfied with his work skills.

After two days, Xu Jialan had become quite adept at bricklaying and building houses, although he had gotten a lot of sunburn.

Under the blazing sun, his skin turned red and looked like it was about to get sunburned.

Chen Yao'an has seen all of this over the past few days.

When she came home from get off work that day, a group of people were still working on the project, including Xu Jialan, who was working enthusiastically and didn't seem to feel tired at all.

Chen Yao'an couldn't help but stop, her gaze involuntarily falling on him.

The setting sun behind him was about to sink, its orange-red rays shining on his sweaty face and the taut muscles of his arms.

It was as if a layer of soft light was cast over him.

Chen Yao'an could hardly remember what he looked like when she first met him; it seemed completely different from how he looked now.

Just as she was lost in thought, a voice suddenly interrupted all her ideas.

Shi Xinyu appeared silently beside her at some point and whispered in her ear.

"What are you looking at?"

A sudden voice rang in her ears, startling her.

Chen Yao'an turned to look at her with a look of horror, "When did you get here?"

"Just as you were engrossed in watching it."

Chen Yao'an suddenly felt her cheeks burning, and she vehemently denied it, "How could I have been so engrossed in watching?"

"No one?" Shi Xinyu also looked at the person squatting on the scaffolding, but after looking for a long time, she couldn't find Xu Jialan. "Which one is Xu Jialan?"

"The one wearing the black vest."

Shi Xinyu's smile suddenly became meaningful. She turned to the side and nudged her, "You still say you didn't see? You just got back, and you know exactly what he's wearing."

Chen Yao'an felt her cheeks burning even hotter. "No way!"

Shi Xinyu finally found Xu Jialan and exclaimed in surprise, "Is this still the Xu Jialan I know?"

In her memory, he was still that playboy who frequented the glitz and glamour of the nightlife scene.

"Wow, you've completely transformed a city playboy into a rough country bumpkin!"

What are you saying?

Chen Yaoan turned and went into the house, and Shi Xinyu followed her in.

"I've heard that Xu Jialan not only moved next door to you, but also risked her life to come back and take Grandma and Aunt Zhou out when our area was flooded. Afterwards, she helped you with the work in the fields and helped you build your house. I'm really impressed."

After speaking, Shi Xinyu paused for a moment, then leaned closer to her, "By the way, did you soften your heart towards him?"

Chen Yao'an was pouring water when she heard her words and her hand holding the water glass trembled.

"No, that's not true."

Shi Xinyu seemed to see right through her. "What's so hard about admitting this? If it were me, I would also soften. It's just... do you think he's really changed? Speaking of which, he hasn't been to our bar in a long time."

Chen Yao'an held the cup for a long time without saying a word.

She suddenly didn't want to talk about him anymore.

"So, what brings you here today? Aren't you planning to open for business?"

At this point, Shi Xinyu immediately lost her spirits. "It's closed for renovations. This rain flooded my shop, and I lost a lot of wine. The new wine hasn't arrived yet. I've been busy cleaning up the shop for the past few days, and I've been resting for several days now."

She suddenly remembered something and asked her, "How's your shop?"

"My shop is okay, but it was flooded too. I didn't lose much clothing though."

This was all thanks to Xu Jialan for rescuing her clothes.

"Then you can stay for dinner tonight and help me cook."

"OK."

Before the construction workers had even stopped, they went straight to the next building.

Half an hour later, it got dark, and Xu Jialan and the others stopped working and went home.

After Xu Jialan returned, he washed up in the yard. Shi Xinyu heard the noise and ran out, standing aside with her arms crossed to watch him.

Chen Yao'an also went out.

Shi Shuaiyu teased him, "Wow, you've completely changed in just a few days."

Xu Jialan looked at her, "What has changed?"

Shi Xinyu looked him up and down a few more times, then frowned, "Why are you all so red?"

As he spoke, he reached out and poked T.

A tingling, stinging pain shot through the area she touched.

Chen Yaoan also looked over, her gaze falling on him, unable to help but scrutinize him closely.

Xu Jialan said nonchalantly, "It's nothing, just from the sun."

"Be careful not to get sunburned," Shi Xinyu casually remarked with concern. "The UV radiation here is quite strong."

Chen Yao'an stood to the side without saying a word.

After dinner, Shi Xinyu stayed for a while, and the two chatted for a bit before she left as it was getting late.

After seeing Shi Xinyu off, she returned to find the light still on at Xu Jialan's place. She remembered seeing his skin reddened from the sun earlier that evening.

After thinking for a while, she went home, and soon came out again with a bottle of moisturizer and sunscreen. She stood at his door but didn't go in.

Should I send him this or not?

Will he overthink it?

After hesitating for a long time, Chen Yaoan finally stepped inside.

Xu Jialan was still awake, working in the living room. She was a little surprised to see her come over so late. "Why aren't you asleep yet?"

Without saying a word, she handed over what she was holding.

Xu Jialan subconsciously reached out and took it. "For me?"

Before he could ask anything, she hurriedly explained, "I'm afraid you'll get sunburned while building our house, and then I'll have to take responsibility."

Chen Yao'an was about to leave when Xu Jialan quickly reached out and grabbed her, "Why are you in such a hurry?"

She shook off his hand and asked, "What's wrong?"

"You're showing concern for me."

He was stating a fact.

His bluntness annoyed Chen Yao'an. "Who cares about you! Didn't I just say that? Stop flattering yourself!"

"I don't think I'm being presumptuous."

Chen Yao'an was even more annoyed because his words made her feel flustered. She turned to look at him, her words tinged with sarcasm, "Can Xu Jia stop being so self-righteous? The whole world doesn't revolve around you."

Xu Jialan was silent for a moment, then suddenly said, "I'm sorry."

She paused for a moment, then turned and left.

He chased her into the courtyard, grabbed her again, and said to himself, "I'm sorry, I know I've done a lot of terrible things in the past, but I will never do it again, I swear to you."