Chapter 23 23 The two of them snuggled together and talked, very close...
After opening the door and throwing the purchased dishes on the table, Guan Xia hurried out to buy other things.
By the time everything on the memo was finished, it was already nine o'clock. There was still an hour before the housekeeping service came, so Guan Xia finally had time to make herself some breakfast.
Guan Xia made two egg pancakes, ate until she was 60% full, and then put them in the refrigerator and started preparing for today's housewarming.
All the dishes were brought to the kitchen. The fruits bought for juicing were placed aside. Some ingredients that needed to be soaked in advance were soaked. Guan Xia was busy like a top and before she knew it, it was ten o'clock.
When the doorbell rang, Guan Xia was stunned for a moment before she reacted and went to open the door.
A middle-aged woman with half-gray hair and a face full of fine lines, but a relaxed expression, stood outside the door. She looked at Guan Xia and greeted her with a smile, "Hello."
Guan Xia replied with a hello and made way for the woman to enter.
The woman swiftly put on her shoe covers and, upon entering the living room, eagerly got to work. She pulled out a small, scribbled notebook and asked Guan Xia, "Let me go over the menu for this reservation with you. See if you've missed anything."
Guan Xia quickly found the menu that she and Pang Le had decided on yesterday and placed it on the coffee table. The woman read out each item and ticked it off, then checked it again to confirm that everything was correct.
After completing this task, the woman's expression relaxed. "I'll do it all. Don't worry, I won't let you down."
After saying that, the woman took out the apron and hat she had prepared from the handbag she was carrying and put them on carefully. Then she walked into the kitchen like a professional chef and began to wash and cut skillfully.
Guan Xia stood at the kitchen door and took a look. Seeing that the woman had indeed handled it cleanly and carefully, she continued to work on the fruit she was preparing to juice with confidence, cutting it with the small chopping board.
After an unknown amount of time, the woman suddenly called out to Guan Xia, "Hello, I've prepared the cold dishes. Could you please taste them and see if there's anything I need to adjust?"
Guan Xia looked up and saw that the woman had already made the jelly that she always liked. She went over to taste it and found it tasted even better than she expected.
Guan Xia was a little surprised. With this skill, she could open a restaurant. Not only would there be a constant stream of customers, but at least there would be no shortage of business. It was really a waste for a woman to only do housework.
As if sensing Guan Xia's thoughts, the woman carefully wrapped the prepared cold dishes in plastic wrap and said with a smile, "I used to run a restaurant. It wasn't big, but business was good, and we even had some customers who came because of our reputation. Unfortunately, my husband got addicted to gambling and lost the business."
Guan Xia didn't expect the woman to say this. She was surprised but didn't know what to say. She opened and closed her mouth for a long time, but only uttered one word, "You..."
Guan Xia wanted to comfort her, but he felt that anything he said would be too light compared to the pain the woman had gone through. He was trying to organize his words when the woman suddenly laughed and said, "I've been saving money for several years just to open a shop again. I'm almost saved enough. When I open the shop, if you think my cooking is okay, you can come over for a meal when you don't feel like cooking. I live next door in the Lijing community, so I'll open a shop nearby. It won't be far for you to go."
Hearing that this was to attract future business, Guan Xia breathed a sigh of relief and nodded with a smile, "Okay, I'll definitely come and support you when your store reopens."
It doesn't matter where you eat. Although Guan Xia has only tasted one cold dish so far, she thinks the other dishes should be pretty good based on this one.
After a brief chat, the two of them went their separate ways.
It was almost 11 o'clock when Pang Le called. "Guan Xia, I just ran into Lawyer Shi and Lawyer Dong and was planning to go to your house right now. Do you think there's anything I should bring?"
Guan Xia quickly recalled and confirmed that she had bought everything she wanted, then she answered affirmatively, "No, I've bought everything, nothing is missing, just come over, the dishes have already started to be cooked, you just come over and wait a little while before we can eat."
"Okay then," Pang Le said with a smile, "Then we'll set off now. See you later."
More than half an hour later, the doorbell rang again. Guan Xia opened the door, said hello, and quickly took out the guest slippers.
The three of them changed into slippers and handed the house-warming gifts they had prepared to Guan Xia.
"Congratulations on moving to a new home," Dong Yuncheng said with a smile, "A new home and a new life will definitely get better and better."
Guan Xia smiled and said thank you.
Guan Xia asked the three of them to sit on the sofa, poured them some water and sat down as well.
"Dinner won't be ready for another half an hour. How about a game of Go?" Guan Xia asked. "Or Monopoly? I have a set in my study. I played it with my classmates when I was in college. It was quite fun."
"More than half an hour, it flew by in a flash," Dong Yuncheng thought for a moment and asked, "Do you mind if we take a look around? On the way here, Pang Le told me you have a lot of books and picture albums. We can just browse and pass the time."
Guan Xia didn't mind and stood up with a smile, "Okay, you guys can take a look around, I'll go get some juice."
Dong Yuncheng asked, "Do you need help?"
Guan Xia smiled and shook her head, "No, I'm almost ready. It will be ready in a moment. You guys can have fun."
Guan Xia said as she returned to her small chopping board. Dong Yuncheng glanced at her and then turned his gaze away and asked Shi Guangbo, "Shall we go take a look?"
Shi Guangbo didn't answer, but looked at Pang Le. He didn't stand up and follow Pang Le until Pang Le stood up and walked towards the study.
Guan Xia’s study is not big, but it is not small either. It is not crowded for three people to walk back and forth.
The first thing Dong Yuncheng saw when he entered was an easel. On it was a half-finished painting, a vast sea of flowers, a light blue sky, and a young girl in a halter dress with floral patterns gazing into the distance. An invisible breeze blew her long hair. Although her face was not yet fully drawn, one could tell it was Pang Le based on the length of her hair and the slightly outlined expression.
Shi Lu's attention was also drawn to him. He only took a quick look before turning around and asking, "Is that you in the painting?"
Pang Le bent down and looked carefully, then smiled after a moment, "Yes, it's me. I still remember this spot. We went there together when we went on a trip last month. Although the painting is of me, I was actually more focused on the scenery."
Dong Yuncheng and Shi Lu looked at each other again and nodded at the same time.
Indeed, although Pang Le's figure is outlined in great detail, it occupies a very small area in the entire painting, only a corner in the lower right corner. The rest is filled with flowers and the sky. When looking at it, people feel the sunshine and the gentle breeze, and their whole heart becomes quiet.
After admiring the paintings for a while, Dong Yuncheng picked up a random picture album and looked through it.
There are still page after page of scenery, with green mountains, rivers, dense forests, and quiet ancient temples. Some paintings have people, and some do not, but no matter which one, when you flip through it, you can feel the relaxation of temporarily being away from the hustle and bustle.
Before he knew it, Dong Yuncheng had finished reading a picture album. After putting it back, he stared at the unfinished painting on the easel for a few seconds in fascination. Then he turned around and asked Pang Le casually, "How did you two know each other?"
Pang Le was looking at the books on the shelf. Hearing this, he recalled and said, "I was a hero saving a beautiful woman? I can't remember the details, I've saved so many people, but Guan Xia was out to dinner with her friends and encountered a drunk hooligan who tried to take advantage of her, but I beat him off. At the time, I felt a sense of accomplishment from the way she looked at me with sparkling eyes. We left our contact information and made a few dinner plans, and we became close friends."
Dong Yuncheng took another album, glanced at Shi Guangbo and said teasingly, "It's popular with both men and women. That must be really stressful for someone."
Shi Guangbo understood, but said nothing. He just looked at Dong Yuncheng expressionlessly.
Dong Yuncheng immediately understood and lowered his head, "Okay, I'll shut up."
Guan Xia worked hard for more than ten minutes and finally succeeded in making two large pots of juice.
After cleaning up the chopping board and juicer, Guan Xia was about to go to the study to see what the three people were doing when the doorbell rang again.
Guan Xia was a little surprised. When she opened the door, she found it was the courier. Then she remembered that it was the book she had bought before.
Looking at the three large boxes piled on the ground, Guan Xia quickly cried out to Pang Le for help, "Help, Pang Le, come and help me."
Hearing the noise, the three of them came out of the study. Pang Le was a little surprised to see the box. "What did you buy? Don't tell me it's all books."
Guan Xia smiled shyly, "As expected, you're the only one who understands me best. Hurry up and move them into the study. Put them all up there before dinner is ready. I even cleared a bookshelf just for them."
Pang Le curled his lips and muttered, "You just order me around." But he still picked up a box obediently.
Guan Xia also wanted to hug one, but was snatched away by Dong Yuncheng, so she had to follow the three people into the study empty-handed.
Pang Le skillfully pulled out a small knife from his pocket, held it up, and asked Guan Xia, "Shall I start dismantling it?"
Guan Xia nodded vigorously, "Tear it down, tear it down, tear it down."
After opening all three boxes and seeing the books inside, Pang Le's face changed. He picked up a book and asked Guan Xia, "Why did you suddenly think of buying a book on criminal investigation?"
Shi Guangbo and Dong Yuncheng also looked at Guan Xia curiously.
Guan Xia picked up a few books and put them on the bookshelf while saying, "I've been watching a crime drama lately. Suddenly, I had a vague idea and wanted to learn more about this subject. Anyway, I've been free lately, so reading a book can help me kill time."
Pang Le looked at Guan Xia silently for a few seconds, then said, "I hope this is just inspiration."
Perhaps because Shi Guangbo and Dong Yuncheng were there, Pang Le was hesitant to say some things. He just said this suggestively and then helped to put the books on the bookshelf.
The time was about the same as Guan Xia had calculated. The three boxes of books were placed on the table. A woman's voice rang out, "The meal is ready. You can start eating."
Guan Xia agreed and was about to leave when she saw a sketch she had drawn a few days ago about the murderer. She went over to fix it.
I looked up inadvertently and saw two familiar little figures playing on the lawn downstairs.
Guan Xia took a closer look and found that one was the little girl whose mother was abused in Building 7, and the other was actually the daughter of the vegetable seller.
The two of them snuggled together and talked, looking very close.
Guan Xia glanced at it twice and didn't pay any more attention. Just as she was about to walk away, she saw the little girl in Building 7 suddenly stand up, throw something as if she was angry, and run away without looking back.
The vegetable seller's daughter was left standing alone, looking at her figure, until the little girl ran into the unit door, then she silently picked up the things.
Guan Xia looked at it carefully for a long time and vaguely saw that it was a lollipop. The vegetable seller's daughter lowered her head and looked at it for a while before putting the lollipop into her pocket. Then she looked at Building No. 7 silently and walked towards the gate of the community without looking back.
Although Guan Xia was a little surprised that the two girls were alone together, she didn't think much about it. She put the picture album beside her back on the bookshelf and happily went to the living room to have dinner with her friends.
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