Chapter 89 Wang Kan didn't...
Wang Kan had only met Zhuo Rui a few times. The reason he was able to recognize him immediately was not only because the two phone calls had reinforced his memory, but also because he was in Fang Minzhou's graduation photos.
Heaven knows why this senior, who had already graduated, would make a special trip to attend his junior's graduation ceremony.
Like Lin Sinian, Zhuo Rui was academically excellent and well-mannered. In stark contrast to Lin Sinian, he shared many similarities with Fang Minzhou.
Wang Kan hated seeing women like Fang Minzhou around him. Later, he thought it was probably because he had been treated as a bad student for too many years. Although he was quite happy about it, his subconscious might have been poisoned by the exam-oriented education system. So he always felt that Fang Minzhou was standing opposite him, and that the good student Fang Minzhou would be next to a certain good student.
Later, Fang Minzhou wanted to see the photos he had "secretly taken," and Wang Kan found them. After Fang Minzhou saw them, she took the initiative to kiss him.
Wang Kan actually enjoyed it, but he didn't want Fang Minzhou to feel sorry or guilty. Should he cry instead of smiling in the graduation photo? He deliberately forgot his thoughts at that time; they were too self-conscious and too gloomy, and saying them might scare Fang Minzhou.
On the other hand, apart from Lin Ssu-nien being wronged by him, the others were not innocent at all.
Fang Minzhou hadn't seen him yet; instead, she took out her phone and checked it, as if waiting for some news.
Wang Kan's mind raced. Sure enough, a minute earlier, she sent a new WeChat message saying that she had run into a senior from university at the duty-free shop.
Wang Kan put away her phone and smiled.
She waved and walked quickly towards him. When she reached him, she tilted her head slightly, her lips curving into a wide smile. After taking the flowers, she glanced at him suspiciously and asked, "...What are you laughing at?"
"Laughing at you?" Wang Kan said bluntly.
Fang Minzhou glared at him with a slightly embarrassed and annoyed expression. Just as she was about to say something, Zhuo Rui walked over to them.
She immediately stopped smiling as if closing a drawer, and politely introduced them: "This is my senior from university, Zhuo Rui, you've met him before."
Wang Kan couldn't help but feel a little smug, but Fang Minzhou gave him a rather cautious look, as if to confirm whether he had seen her message.
"Oh, I remember." Wang Kan extended his hand, pretending to only recognize Zhuo Rui now. "Hello, senior."
"haven't seen you for a long time."
The two shook hands.
Seeing that Zhuo Rui showed no surprise or embarrassment and remained as polite as ever, Wang Kan guessed that Fang Minzhou had already mentioned him to him.
Fang Minzhou glanced at him again, then started talking about their chance encounter. Wang Kan chimed in, asking Zhuo Rui where he was going, "Shall we take you?"
"Thank you, but it's no trouble at all. My friend is here to pick me up and will be there soon," Zhuo Rui said. "You guys go ahead."
"Okay, I'll treat you to a meal sometime," Wang Kan said.
"Are you free?" Fang Minzhou asked Wang Kan.
"I made plans with Zheng Yanhang," Wang Kan said. "But I won't be joining your class reunion."
"Actually, no, it's probably just about finding an outdoor camping spot, and some people might even bring their kids," Zhuo Rui said.
"I'm not entirely sure either. We'll see how it goes, and I'll let you know if it's okay."
"OK."
Once in the car, Fang Minzhou asked Wang Kan, "Is Zheng Yanhang coming to Jiangcheng?"
Wang Kan glanced at her, and Fang Minzhou asked curiously, "...Are you going back to Zhangcheng this weekend?"
"I was just talking nonsense, can't you tell?"
Fang Minzhou: "..."
Fine, she decided not to argue with him. "If I'm going, you can come too, it's okay."
“I’m not going,” Wang Kan said. “Although the first part of my statement was a lie, the second part is true. Why would I go to your debate club’s dinner?”
Fang Minzhou said with a half-smile, "It's just a few people. Don't you know all my classmates from the debate club?"
Wang Kan coughed upon hearing this.
Back in his school days, he seized every opportunity to get close to Fang Minzhou and her teachers. Out of a desire to "claim ownership," he even ordered takeout cakes for their celebration parties.
"You've only seen each other once every few years, forget it, it's not necessary. It's enough that they know you have family."
"Have you become so materialistic now?"
"uh-huh."
Fang Minzhou looked at Wang Kan carefully, then stopped joking with him. "If I go, are you really okay?"
Wang Kan hummed again, "Do you think I'm going to get jealous and angry again?"
Fang Minzhou remained noncommittal: "You've made great progress; you're a promising young man."
"You've made great progress; you know to report in advance now."
Fang Minzhou burst out laughing.
"Then let me ask you, what were you talking about just now?"
“He came to Jiangcheng on a business trip, and we talked about having dinner together.” Fang Minzhou looked at Wang Kan’s profile. To be honest, she wasn’t used to him being so calm. However, because he was too calm, it seemed deliberate. His slight wariness, like an unbreakable nylon thread, also entangled her. It would be nice if the two of them were tied together like this. “Then he asked me how to get there, and I said my boyfriend was coming to pick me up. He asked again, and I said it was you.”
Wang Kan looked over and quickly ruffled Fang Minzhou's hair with her right hand. "Well said!"
"Ouch!" Fang Minzhou exclaimed, her hair all messed up.
Wang Kan laughed heartily.
"You're driving," Fang Minzhou reminded him.
In the past, Wang Kan would have wanted Fang Minzhou to cut all ties with people of the opposite sex who had clearly expressed their affection but were rejected.
After they reconciled, besides eating and doing things together, they also had spiritual exchanges. They talked about what they did today, what they plan to do tomorrow, and after discussing the present and the future, they also looked back on the past and talked about what happened before.
We started by talking about sweet, funny, and wonderful memories. Once the sweetness was gone, we started bringing up old grievances.
When it comes to the fact that he's a jealous husband, Wang Kan still has to say a few words in his own defense. Just like a little quarrel is good for the relationship, sometimes he just means to be affectionate, but Fang Minzhou is too serious and proper. As the saying goes, small things should be resolved peacefully, but in Fang Minzhou's eyes, some small things are escalated to a very high level.
Fang Minzhou admitted that she had this problem, "...maybe it was influenced by my father."
Wang Kan: "..."
He didn't really want to talk about Mr. Fang, so he said instead, "And I will never let you misunderstand, but there are people around you, one, two, three, four, five, six, seven, eight."
"Yeah?"
"yes."
Fang Minzhou looked at him in silence for a while, and Wang Kan felt a little uneasy for some reason. To his surprise, Fang Minzhou mentioned a female classmate from his university.
Fang Minzhou said that she used to be very bothered by that girl because she thought the girl was very outstanding, and they went to class together every day, occasionally had meals together, often cooperated on group projects and some competitions, and even trained together during the summer vacation. "I felt that you two were very like-minded."
As Wang Kan listened, the surprise outweighed the joy.
He wanted Fang Minzhou to be jealous so as to satisfy his male pride. She really was jealous, but he didn't notice at all. He wanted Fang Minzhou to be jealous so that he could tease her. But in reality, when he watched Fang Minzhou talk about these things with a slightly self-deprecating tone, he felt nothing but pain.
“You even praised her in front of me back then,” Fang Minzhou said.
Wang Kan swallowed the words "really or not." He had forgotten that such a thing might have happened. Fang Minzhou wouldn't make it up. He did remember which female classmates Fang Minzhou had mentioned to him.
"Why didn't you say anything? You went off to be sad all by yourself?" Wang Kan said to her.
Fang Minzhou said calmly, "I know how to regulate my emotions, unlike you, who resorts to physical violence at the drop of a hat."
He smiled, but his heart grew heavier and heavier.
He realized he had mistaken his willfulness for ignorance. Knowing full well how painful jealousy was, that bittersweet feeling, why did he still insist Fang Minzhou experience it? And Fang Minzhou always gave him the best.
Wang Kan pressed the elevator button for her floor and said two words: "Guess."
Fang Minzhou: "..."
She was mentally prepared, but when she entered the house, at first glance, she couldn't see anything different. The furniture and decorations were exactly the same as when she left, except for a pot of fragrant soup warming in the kitchen.
When she entered the bedroom, she saw a new four-piece bedding set, and even more of Wang Kan's clothes in the walk-in closet.
Actually, that separate clothes rack was something Wang Kan bought some time ago.
"Am I really going to tear the house down?" Wang Kan said.
He handed Fang Minzhou a glass of water. The glass was new, shaped like a tree, and looked like it had been hand-molded and fired. Fang Minzhou took a sip, assuming it was warm water, but it turned out to be honey water. Then she looked at Wang Kan and noticed he was holding a matching glass shaped like another tree.
You made this yourself?
"Yeah, I did it last year when I had nothing else to do."
"Why are you finally willing to take it out and use it now?"
"Consider it a housewarming gift."
Fang Minzhou's ears felt slightly warm, but she smiled and continued drinking water.
The ingredients for the other dishes were all prepared. Wang Kan started cooking, while Fang Minzhou went to take a shower first.
As she took a towel from the closet, a note fell out. When she picked it up, she saw that it was in Wang Kan's handwriting: "I found that your towel is softer than mine."
The date on the cover was the third day of her business trip.
Fang Minzhou couldn't help but laugh again, and then suddenly felt a little sad, feeling that he was a bit pitiful, not in a tragic way, but in a way that made people feel sorry for him, even though she only thought he was hateful when she saw his face.
Wang Kan used to often engage in petty tricks, but at the time, Fang Minzhou thought it was just affection and never realized it was a sign of vulnerability.
What was he thinking when he wrote this note?
She took a pen from the cabinet, wrote a reply on a sticky note: "I have ordered the same item," and then put the note on the bedside table.
After drying her hair and stepping out of the bedroom, Wang Kan had almost finished preparing dinner: four dishes and a soup. It seemed like the two of them couldn't finish it, but it wasn't a big problem.
"Did you change the plates?" Fang Minzhou noticed the difference again.
"Um."
Why change it if it's perfectly fine?
Her kitchenware was also carefully selected by her, okay?
"I was too embarrassed to say before that I didn't appreciate your plates, so I changed to ones I liked."
Fang Minzhou felt her aesthetic sense had been insulted. She almost stopped eating and even considered canceling the towel order she had just placed. "Are you deliberately creating conflict where none exists?"
Wang Kan pursed her lips and placed a bowl of lotus root and pork rib soup in front of Fang Minzhou, saying, "Next time you cook, you can use your own utensils."
Fang Minzhou: "..."
She took a deep breath and drank some soup.
It must be said that this is a solution.
Wang Kan asked her with a smile, "How does it taste?"
"It's alright," Fang Minzhou said coldly.
Given the choice between using her favorite tableware and washing her hands while waiting for her meal, she chose the latter.
Fang Minzhou still went to the gathering on Saturday. Wang Kan originally offered to take her, but since it was in a tea plantation in the suburbs, which was far away, and he didn't know when she would be back, Fang Minzhou told him not to bother.
"What a terrible place you chose." Wang Kan couldn't help but complain as she saw her off.
"It wasn't Zhuo Rui who chose it, it was my teacher."
Wang Kan stubbornly replied, "That's a bird-filled place, a place with little birds."
Fang Minzhou was amused, but after laughing, she felt she had been disrespectful to her teacher and silently apologized in her heart.
After Fang Minzhou left, Wang Kan didn't stay at home for long before going out to the gym.
After lunch, we briefly visited a design exhibition, and then went home to build Lego. If Fang Minzhou were home, she would probably be building with him, and if she wanted, they could even find a place to have a barbecue.
Having an outdoor barbecue on such a cold day is quite a leisurely and enjoyable experience.
It got dark around 5 p.m., and by the time Wang Kan felt hungry, it was only a little before 7 p.m.
Too lazy to cook, he went downstairs to eat, then strolled around a nearby shopping mall, bought some things at the supermarket, and only went to the cashier to pay after receiving a message from Fang Minzhou saying she was almost home. As he walked to the entrance of the residential complex, coincidentally, he saw Fang Minzhou getting out of an unfamiliar car.
Then another person got out of the passenger seat.
Wang Kan felt that she had matured and her temper was much better now.
Fang Minzhou chatted with Zhuo Rui for a few minutes, then the car window was rolled down. There were other people in the car. After saying something, Fang Minzhou waved goodbye to them and left.
After watching Fang Minzhou's figure disappear into the residential area, Wang Kan looked back and saw Zhuo Rui still standing there, turning around to get into the car. At that moment, he saw him.
"It really is you guys." Wang Kan walked over and greeted them. "Thank you for bringing Min Zhou back."
Zhuo Rui smiled and said, "You're welcome. We called a designated driver, and it's on our way."
"Hey!" In the back seat of the car were a man and a woman. Wang Kan recognized them as Fang Minzhou's teammates from the same grade. They were a little drunk, but they still recognized him and looked surprised.
"Oh dear, why didn't you come today? You missed the show!" the boy said, slurring his words.
Wang Kan asked with a smile, "What good show?"
Zhuo Rui replied, "Some people have never seen you before, but they keep asking Fang Minzhou for photos."
As he spoke, he glanced down at the plastic bag in his hand. He hadn't bought much, just some fruit and snacks.
"Have you seen it?" he asked.
"I read it, and it's all good stuff."
Wang Kan seemed very happy to hear this. After exchanging pleasantries for a while, the boy in the car told Wang Kan that she must come next time and said that she wanted to attend their wedding. Wang Kan agreed to everything and then asked Zhuo Rui and the others where they were staying.
Zhuo Rui gave a hotel name, which was indeed on the way, about three or four kilometers away.
Wang Kan nodded. A cold wind blew by, and he smelled a faint smell of smoke. He thought that Fang Minzhou might have the same smell, which annoyed him a little. However, he guessed that the first thing Fang Minzhou would do when he got home was to take a shower.
There wasn't much to say, so he commented that the hotel's service was pretty good. Zhuo Rui said he had heard Fang Minzhou mention his job, and took out his business card. Wang Kan took it, but said embarrassedly that he didn't have any business cards on him. "If there's anything, you can ask Minzhou to talk to me."
"OK."
After a polite farewell, Zhuo Rui seemed to remember something and said, "We had barbecue and drank some alcohol, but Fang Minzhou didn't drink much, so he should be fine."
He left it at that, and Wang Kan understood. "Okay, thank you."
"It's nothing, I'm just worried that her stomach might be upset."
Wang Kan was confused now. He himself had ruined his stomach by drinking, so had Fang Minzhou done the same? "...Has she ever drunk with you guys before, or what?"
He didn't remember Fang Minzhou ever having stomach problems. On the contrary, apart from menstrual cramps, she rarely got sick. The last time he knew of her was during the summer after the college entrance exam.
A few lonely beams of light shone in the dead of night—the moon's, the streetlights', and the car lights—each illuminating a small area. "She's never been drunk, but she was hospitalized once because of stomach pain, which is why I'm saying this. Remember that time you called her, and I told you she was busy and to contact her later?"
Wang Kan's expression changed, and she silently looked at Zhuo Rui.
"It seems like it was because of too much pressure. A few of us classmates went to see her. You called while she was asleep. I saw you were on the phone, so I answered, but I didn't know whether I should say anything."
"She didn't tell you afterward, right? That's definitely Fang Minzhou's personality. I heard she went to see you even though she wasn't fully recovered yet?"
"I'm telling you all this because... the past is the past, and I'm thinking that I might need her help with some work-related issues in the future."
Zhuo Rui said these words as if he were being sincere.
"Why aren't you guys finished talking yet?" someone in the car called out, as if they had fallen asleep and then woken up again, and then fell silent.
"Are you telling me all this because you think I would disagree with Fang Minzhou cooperating with you?"
"I was afraid you'd misunderstand." Zhuo Rui still had a smile on his face.
"That won't happen anymore. I hope you don't misunderstand. If Fang Minzhou rejects you, then she really means it. I won't interfere with her thoughts, and she won't be interfered with by me. If she cooperates with you, I'd be happy for her to make a lot of money to support me."
Zhuo Rui's face stiffened. He probably felt incredibly shameless, wondering how Fang Minzhou could like a man like him.
"But thank you for telling me all this anyway."
"...You're welcome. I sincerely wish you happiness."
The car drove away.
After Fang Minzhou finished showering, Wang Kan was still nowhere to be seen. She was a little puzzled and also had a bit of paranoia. Just as she was about to call him, the door opened from the outside, and she breathed a slight sigh of relief: "I was wondering where you went."
As she rummaged through the bag in Wang Kan's hand to see what he had bought, he suddenly pulled her into his arms.
Fang Minzhou: "..."
She felt that Wang Kan's enthusiasm was a bit too exaggerated, but thinking about it, she had a reason to make him go crazy today, so she let him be. However, she had just finished taking a shower, so Wang Kan should at least take off his coat first, right?
"When was the last time you were sick?" Wang Kan suddenly asked, seemingly out of the blue.
Fang Minzhou was taken aback. "Are you sick?"
"A little."
"Are you cold?"
"No."
"Where does it hurt?" Fang Minzhou touched his forehead. "You don't have a fever."
"heart."
Fang Minzhou chuckled and urged him to hurry up and take a shower.
"You still haven't answered me, when was the last time you were sick?"
Fang Minzhou sensed something was amiss, but couldn't guess what had happened, so she answered Wang Kan's question first, "I don't remember, I had a cold last winter?"
Wang Kan responded sullenly, then added, "You smell nice."
Fang Minzhou blushed, "Go take a shower, you'll smell nice too."
Wang Kan fell silent again, and Fang Minzhou became genuinely worried about him. "What's wrong with you?"
Wang Kan shook her head. "I think I'm so stupid."
Normally, Fang Minzhou would probably have agreed, but something was off this time. She asked him softly, "What's wrong? Who said anything about you?"
Wang Kan simply shook his head again.
Fang Min was completely confused, but all she could do was hug him and pat his head to comfort him.
As he touched her, he kissed her, a hot, gentle kiss, and Fang Minzhou responded softly.
After a while, it seemed that Wang Kan's emotions had finally stabilized. He went into the bathroom, and Fang Minzhou waited outside, intending to have a good talk with him after he finished showering.
I really can't figure out what happened. Could it be that she was unhappy because she went to a dinner party and had an anxiety attack?
The bathroom still held lingering moisture and fragrance. Most of the toiletries were bought by Fang Minzhou; there were three bottles of shower gel alone, each with a different scent. Fang Minzhou was meticulous in other matters, but she frequently changed her shower gel.
One of Wang Kan's pleasures in taking a bath was knowing which bottle Fang Minzhou had used by smelling her scent after she had bathed, and then using the same one herself.
She smells like roses today.
Hot water was poured down, and Wang Kan covered her face.
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Author's Note: The End in the Next Chapter
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