Chen Jianmin covered his eyes and walked out to check whether it was Zhuang Sheng's car.
As expected, the car stopped in front of the shop. Chen Jianmin frowned and looked at the mud-covered car. Then Zhuang Sheng slowly got out of the car.
Chen Jianmin hurried forward, took Zhuang Sheng's hand and asked, "What happened? Why did you become like this?"
Zhuang Sheng smiled and replied, "It's okay, auntie, the car just got stuck in a mud pit."
As soon as he finished speaking, a thunderclap struck the sky, startling Chen Jianmin. Zhuang Sheng opened the car door, and Liu Kaixu and Song Xinlan got out. Chen Jianmin saw that Liu Kaixu was also covered in mud and asked with concern, "Uncle Liu, are you okay?"
"It's okay." Liu Kaixu shook his head and pulled Song Xinlan away from the car. Then he turned to Zhuang Sheng and said, "You guys should go back quickly! Judging from the situation, the next rain will come soon."
At this time, Liu Ruonan and Ning Haotian also got out of the car. No matter what, Liu Ruonan had to see her grandparents off, and Ning Haotian had to be at least polite.
"What are you doing down here? When you go back, ask Zhuang Sheng to make some ginger soup for you all to drink. Don't catch a cold." Liu Kaixu reminded.
Liu Ruonan nodded and responded, "I understand, Grandpa and Grandma, please go in with Auntie!"
Liu Kaixu didn't want to linger any longer, because if he stayed any longer, Liu Ruonan and the others would have to stand outside the car. Liu Kaixu and Song Xinlan followed Chen Jianmin into the house.
Song Xinlan kept looking back, watching Liu Ruonan and repeatedly admonishing her, "Drink more ginger soup. You're pregnant, and it's not good to take medicine when you have a cold."
"I understand, grandma."
The three of them entered the shop. Chen Jianmin closed the door and watched the lights inside go out. Only then did Liu Ruonan and his group get into the car with peace of mind. Thunder roared one after another, and lightning whizzed across the sky. It seemed that there would be a heavy rainstorm tonight.
Zhuang Sheng started the engine and drove away.
"Where do you live?" Zhuang Sheng asked Ning Haotian who was sitting in the back seat in the rearview mirror.
Ning Haotian responded with a cold face: "Under the overpass."
"Under the overpass?" Zhuang Sheng asked, puzzled. Was he still living under the overpass? Had he been hiding there the entire time he disappeared?
"Haven't I always lived there?" Ning Haotian said.
Zhuang Sheng helplessly responded, "The area under the overpass has probably been flooded for a long time. Come home with me!"
The terrain under the overpass is already low, and in this kind of weather, I'm afraid those homeless people would have moved their base long ago.
Zhuang Sheng had never imagined that a man like Ning Haotian, who dressed so respectably, had lived under an overpass. He didn't know why, but he had a strange feeling that Ning Haotian wasn't as simple as he thought.
But no matter what, he couldn't let Ning Haotian become homeless, let alone in such bad weather.
"Your house?" Ning Haotian asked in surprise, "Don't be ridiculous. There's only one bed in your house. It's not like three people are squeezing into one bed, right?"
Ning Haotian half-jokingly remarked that it wasn't like he hadn't been to Zhuang Sheng's family compound before. He also knew the situation in his room. It was just a living room, furnished with a sofa, a coffee table, and a dining table, and it was a bit cramped. Connecting to the living room was their bedroom, which was also quite simple, with only a bed and a wardrobe.
"You sleep on the sofa!" Zhuang Sheng retorted coldly and bluntly. This joke seemed a bit too much.
Liu Ruonan just sat there in a daze, thinking about the road construction. Where would the money come from? How would it come from? This was not a small amount of money!
Ning Haotian pondered for a long moment. He truly had nowhere to go. When he first returned from his hometown, he couldn't wait to find out where Liu Ruonan lived and negotiated a partnership with her. That night, he stayed in a hotel. Being a casual person, he didn't bring much with him, just a backpack containing a few changes of clothes and some daily necessities.
Ning Haotian was actually just joking with Zhuang Sheng, he wanted to continue staying in the hotel.
"Just kidding, take me to find a hotel!"
As he was speaking, another loud thunder sounded, followed by another downpour.
Zhuang Sheng looked at Ning Haotian and said, "It's getting late, and Nannan should go back to rest. Why don't you stay at my house for the night?"
Ning Haotian looked at the weather and didn't refuse.
After returning home, Zhuang Sheng asked Liu Ruonan to go back to the bedroom. He went to the kitchen first and boiled a pot of ginger soup.
It is not yet the beginning of summer, and it has rained heavily, so the weather is still a bit cold at night.
Zhuang Sheng brought a bowl to Ning Haotian, who took it and said jokingly, "You are really omnipotent."
Zhuang Sheng ignored him and went into the bedroom with another bowl of ginger soup, only to find Liu Ruonan already asleep with her clothes on. Zhuang Sheng had already washed his hands and gently shook Liu Ruonan, saying, "Ruonan, Ruonan, wake up and drink the ginger soup, otherwise you'll catch a cold."
Liu Ruonan slowly opened her eyes and took the ginger soup brought by Zhuang Sheng in a daze. She blew away the hot air and drank it all. Then Zhuang Sheng helped her lie down again.
Liu Ruonan looked at Zhuang Sheng and said distressedly, "Brother Zhuang Sheng, go wash up!"
"I'll go now." Zhuang Sheng responded with a smile and gave her a reassuring look.
"Remember to drink a bowl of ginger soup." Liu Ruonan reminded.
"I got it, let's go to sleep!" Zhuang Sheng said, then walked out of the bedroom and went straight to the living room.
While he was cooking the ginger soup, Ning Haotian had already taken a bath and drank the ginger soup that Zhuang Sheng brought him.
During their time abroad together, Zhuang Sheng and Ning Haotian had become quite close. However, he still knew nothing about Ning Haotian's affairs. He had no interest and didn't want to ask. Furthermore, it looked like Ning Haotian wasn't going to tell him either.
Zhuang Sheng thought, everyone has their own little secrets, their own little world. Perhaps, in that little world, they don't want others to pry, inquire, or know about it. So, they try hard to hide it.
Others don’t know, just like Liu Ruonan.
She also has her own little world and her own little secrets.
Even though Zhuang Sheng was her husband, she still had reasons that she couldn't tell him. But for Liu Ruonan, all Zhuang Sheng had to do was choose to believe her.
But, as for Ning Haotian, he just wasn't interested in knowing.
After drinking the ginger soup, Zhuang Sheng took a bath and washed his muddy clothes. When hanging out his clothes, he saw Ning Haotian's clothes hanging there too.
It is undeniable that the environment here is indeed a bit poor. Not only the bathroom, but even the kitchen is shared.
Fortunately, the army is now building a new family compound. By then, he and Liu Ruonan will have their own separate rooms, and the bathroom and kitchen will no longer be shared.
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