Chapter 21 The First Night of Living Together with Changfeng.
It was already 7 p.m., and Rong Chengzhou took the cup from her hand: "What do you want to eat tonight? Should we go out to eat or I'll cook for you?"
Jiang Mingxue: "Can you cook?"
"Yes, I know a little."
Rong Chengzhou was used to living alone since he was a child, and he did his own laundry and cooking.
"Then shall I try your cooking?"
Jiang Mingxue also knew a little, but not much; she could only ensure she wouldn't starve, so she didn't dare say anything.
"Then feel free to wander around, just wait for me a moment."
Rong Chengzhou opened the refrigerator and looked at the ingredients inside. The aunt had prepared them in advance, and there were basically everything.
Jiang Mingxue nodded and went to the study to organize the books she had brought. There was a new computer in the study, and a large roll-up human body diagram was hanging on the wall. It could be retracted with a press, so it wouldn't affect the aesthetics of the study.
She accidentally pressed the switch for the automatic curtains, looked up, and then discovered that there was an open-air balcony outside the study.
She paused for a moment, then pushed open the glass door and stepped outside. A small greenhouse had been erected on the spacious open-air balcony, identical to the makeshift structure she had built in Haining, only more aesthetically pleasing, with green vines framing the joints and a ring of orchids around the perimeter. She peeked inside through the curtain; the greenhouse was fully equipped with planting tools and a layer of soil, but nothing was planted.
Jiang Mingxue squatted down and touched the soil. It wasn't for planting ordinary flowers and plants. She vaguely realized the purpose of this open-air balcony, and a warm feeling welled up in her chest.
Whether it was Madam Rong or Rong Chengzhou who prepared it, they all made her feel respected and valued, not only for her but also for her career.
She didn't go anywhere else. She pulled the curtains back to their original position, closed the study door, and returned to the living room, where Rong Chengzhou was busy in the kitchen wearing a gray apron.
The sky outside the window was a deep indigo. Only a warm light was on in the kitchen, hanging above the counter, casting a long shadow on the tiles. His suit jacket was draped over the back of a chair by the kitchen door, and his shirt sleeves were rolled up to his elbows, revealing his muscular forearms. Those hands that usually piloted the most advanced fighter jets were now gripping a spatula at the stove.
Jiang Mingxue stood in the living room, staring blankly for a while, then walked over and asked, "I'm all tidied up. Do you need any help?"
Rong Chengzhou glanced back at her: "No need, it'll be ready soon."
Jiang Mingxue, afraid of getting in the way, didn't interfere. She sat quietly in the living room, waiting for the meal to be ready before helping to set the table and serve the dishes.
"It's a bit late today, so I didn't ask the housekeeper to come over. I'm not a very good cook, so I can only make a few simple dishes. Please bear with me for now."
Rong Chengzhou untied his apron, hung it back in its place, and sat down opposite her.
The aroma of the dishes filled the air. Jiang Mingxue saw the corn and pork rib soup, tomato and potato stewed beef brisket, and lotus root stir-fry on the table, and silently redefined "knowing a little bit" in her mind.
With a calm expression, he nodded and said, "We've had enough to eat."
The two ate quietly, without any extra swallowing or chewing sounds; the only sounds in the restaurant were the occasional clinking of cutlery.
"Do you usually cook for yourself?" Rong Chengzhou suddenly asked, breaking the silence.
Jiang Mingxue swallowed what was in her mouth and slowly replied, "I know a little bit too."
Rong Chengzhou: "For example?"
Jiang Mingxue answered seriously: "Master Kong tomato and egg noodles."
Upon hearing this, the man opposite him paused in surprise.
After a moment, she slightly raised her lips, without any mockery, and said, "Then if I'm not here in the future, you can have Aunt Lian come and make it for you."
Jiang Mingxue nodded: "Okay, but the clinic usually provides boxed meals. If there are too many patients, I may not be back at night."
It's not that she can't cook; she simply doesn't have time to learn. She often doesn't even have time to eat.
Rong Chengzhou: "It's okay, I have time recently, I can deliver it to you."
Jiang Mingxue subconsciously wanted to say "That's too much trouble," but she swallowed the words back and only said "Okay."
After the meal, she helped clear the table and put the dishes in the dishwasher.
After tidying up the kitchen, Rong Chengzhou cut a plate of fruit, placed it on the coffee table, and asked her, "Have you looked at the rest of the house?"
Jiang Mingxue, holding a fork, shook her head: "I only looked at the study."
After thinking for a moment, I decided to ask, "I noticed there's a greenhouse on the balcony of the study. Can I grow some herbs there?"
Her question was too polite. Rong Chengzhou looked up at her for two seconds but did not answer immediately.
Instead, he got up, took a property deed and a gift agreement from his study, and came out.
“I didn’t have time to give it to you today.” He opened the property certificate to the first page and handed it to her. “This house is only in your name. You have complete autonomy over every room and corner, without needing to ask my opinion, including whether I stay or leave.”
The warm light from the crystal chandelier in the living room was dazzling. Jiang Mingxue stared intently at the words on it. The rights holder column read "Jiang Mingxue," and the ownership status was "solely owned."
She blinked, still feeling like a windfall had fallen from the sky. Such a large house was all hers, and she'd even signed a gratuitous gift agreement—wasn't this marriage too easy for her?
"I understand." She took the property certificate with some doubt, and assured him firmly, "Don't worry, I won't kick you out."
Rong Chengzhou stared at her silently, then suddenly smiled.
After she finished eating the fruit, Rong Chengzhou washed the dishes and closed the kitchen door.
Seeing that she was still sitting in the living room, he picked up her bag that she had left in the entryway. Inside were her everyday clothes and personal items.
"Should we stay in the master bedroom or the second bedroom?" he asked.
Jiang Mingxue got up and followed behind him: "Where do you live?"
“My things are in the master bedroom.” Rong Chengzhou lowered his eyes. “If you don’t want to share a room with me, I can move to the second bedroom.”
Jiang Mingxue stood at the door and measured the size of the master bedroom bed. It looked to be more than two meters wide, much wider than the one-and-a-half-meter single bed at the air force base.
They've slept together in those narrow beds at the air force base, so this bed is quite big. And Rong Chengzhou is a gentleman, so there shouldn't be any problems.
She said, "I'll sleep in the master bedroom too."
Rong Chengzhou nodded slightly and carried her things to the master bedroom: "There are clean bathrobes in the closet. You can wash them first, then I'll wash mine."
Following his instructions, Jiang Mingxue opened the left cabinet door and immediately saw the white bathrobe hanging inside. She reached out and took it down, then took out a change of clothes from her bag and went to the bathroom to take a shower.
The master bathroom is huge, the kind where you can hear an echo if you clear your throat. The bathtub is wide enough to fit two people, but Jiang Mingxue thought it took too long to fill, so she simply used the shower.
Madam Rong made very thoughtful arrangements. The slippers were a couple's set, and the toothbrush and toothbrush cup on the washstand were a brand new couple's set. The toiletries were also all new. Rong Chengzhou must have just moved in that morning and hadn't used them yet.
Jiang Mingxue stood under the showerhead, washing herself thoroughly. Since deciding to move here last night, she had already mentally prepared herself. The thought of sleeping in the same bed with Rong Chengzhou later didn't cause her as much of a stir as it had been at the air force base last time.
One reason was that she understood Rong Chengzhou's character, and another important reason was something she had inadvertently overlooked before—
Rong Chengzhou is impotent, so what does she have to worry about?
So when he asked her where she would sleep, she unhesitatingly chose to share a room with him.
This time, she didn't linger in the bathroom. She finished showering at a normal pace, changed into a bathrobe, and went out. As a result, when Rong Chengzhou saw her come out of the bathroom, his gaze lingered on her for a long time.
Her hair was half-dry and hadn't been blow-dried yet; it was draped loosely over her shoulders, wetting the fabric of the back of her bathrobe.
She looked down and tugged at her loose white bathrobe, asking, "Is this too big?"
When I put it on, I noticed that the sleeves were too long and the robe reached my ankles. Perhaps Madam Rong didn't know her size and bought the wrong one.
Rong Chengzhou sat on the sofa in the bedroom, quietly looking at her: "That's mine."
Jiang Mingxue: "..."
No wonder he kept looking at her.
She concealed her embarrassment and calmly walked to the wardrobe, only to find that their clothes were stored separately, with hers on the other side.
She coughed lightly: "Wait for me, I'll go change it back."
Jiang Mingxue took her much smaller bathrobe and went back into the bathroom to change.
Then she came out carrying Rong Chengzhou's bathrobe, remembering that he would change into a new one even if he smelled of smoke, let alone a personal garment like a bathrobe, which still had water stains left from her shower.
Most importantly, she hadn't taken her bra with her when she took a shower, and was only wearing underwear...
Her face flushed slightly, whether from embarrassment or the steam from the bathroom, she walked up to Rong Chengzhou and asked softly, "Why don't you wear something else first, and I'll wash and dry it before giving it to you?"
The man's gaze lingered on the blush on her face.
After a moment, he stood up, his tall figure looming over her. He took the bathrobe from her arms and walked towards the bathroom: "No need."
With a "click," the bathroom door closed.
Jiang Mingxue's forced composure finally crumbled, and she covered her face, lying on the bed for a long time to recover.
Remembering that she wasn't wearing a bra, she bravely got up again.
I took a clean set of underwear out of my bag, untied the belt of my bathrobe, and was about to change in the bedroom when I heard the sound of running water coming from the bathroom.
Worried that Rong Chengzhou might suddenly appear, she re-fastened her belt and took her underwear to the second bedroom to change.
Living with other men is not as convenient as living alone at home; she even has to wear underwear to sleep.
This question made Jiang Mingxue reconsider the possibility of sleeping in separate beds.
A few minutes later, she changed her clothes and returned to the master bedroom, took the clothes out of her bag, and hung them in the closet. There was a walk-in closet next door, but she didn't have many clothes and didn't need it for the time being.
In her bedroom, there was a dressing table that belonged to her alone, which was even bigger than the one she had at home. She casually arranged her skincare and makeup products, and then opened a face mask and put it on her face.
When I was halfway through applying the adhesive, the sound of water running in the bathroom stopped.
Not long after, Rong Chengzhou came out of the bathroom wrapped in the bathrobe she had worn. Jiang Mingxue had her back to him and secretly glanced at his expression in the mirror. Seeing that he didn't seem displeased about wearing a wet bathrobe, she felt a little more at ease.
Contrary to expectations, there was no picture of a handsome man emerging from the bath with his chest and abs exposed. Rong Chengzhou, always meticulous in his dressing and actions, wore a bathrobe that clung to his body, revealing only his sharp collarbone and a small patch of warm skin at the collar. The steam hadn't completely dissipated, and water dripped from his hair, sliding down his neck and into the bathrobe.
Rong Chengzhou was drying his hair with a towel when he looked up in the mirror and their eyes met: "What time are you at the clinic tomorrow?"
Jiang Mingxue's heart skipped a beat, feeling as if she had been caught spying, but she calmly moved away and replied, "The museum opens at eight o'clock, and I usually arrive at seven-thirty."
The man nodded: "I'll take you tomorrow."
Jiang Mingxue's car was still at the clinic, and she really needed him to take her there, so she nodded in agreement.
Before she knew it, it was already past ten o'clock. Jiang Mingxue finished applying the face mask, took it off, and went to the bathroom to wash her face and dry her hair.
When he came out again, Rong Chengzhou was leaning against the headboard, making a phone call. It sounded like someone from his family.
"Yes, I'll take her to the clinic tomorrow morning."
"......"
"Tomorrow won't work. I'll drop her off first and then go over there. I'll take her back to the compound next week when she has time off."
"Okay, I'll hang up now."
Jiang Mingxue walked to the other side, lifted the covers, got into bed, and asked, "What's wrong?"
"Mom asked if you have time tomorrow and asked me to bring you home for dinner."
"Oh." Jiang Mingxue understood, and calculated the time in her mind. "Actually, if we rush tomorrow, we should be able to free up some time in the afternoon."
Rong Chengzhou put away his phone and spoke at a measured pace, his voice low and deliberate: "I've already refused. Use this time to rest and don't worry about anyone else."
Jiang Mingxue felt a warmth in her heart. She had indeed been very busy this week. She nodded and said, "Okay."
"Go to sleep." Rong Chengzhou reached out and covered her with the blanket, then turned off the bedside lamp.
The room was pitch black. The two of them were covered with the same thin down comforter. Rong Chengzhou was sleeping in the right position, while Jiang Mingxue lay flat on one side of the bed, occupying only the edge, leaving a gap about the width of a person in between.
The cold air from the air conditioner easily gets in, so there's little difference whether you cover it or not.
In the silence of the room, Rong Chengzhou's voice suddenly rang out: "Do you need another blanket?"
Jiang Mingxue shook her head: "No need, I'm not cold."
There was a two-second silence, followed by a rustling sound from beside me, as if someone had turned over.
The next second, a large, hot hand covered her waist, gently pinched her, and lifted her to the middle of the bed.
She was pressed tightly against the man's firm chest, his heat radiating through the two layers of bathrobes. They used the same shampoo and shower gel, and she couldn't tell whose scent it was.
Before she could react, that magnetic, steady voice rang out above her head:
"My newlywed wife fell off the bed on our first night together, and I didn't know how to explain it to my parents-in-law."
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