Chapter 106
"I've come to take you home." Jiang Li stood beside her, his voice, muffled by the rain, clear and crisp.
Guan Nan looked up at him, and after hearing what he said, she slowly blinked and gave a soft "oh".
The rainy night was long, the rain was heavy, and a misty fog enveloped everyone.
The two went home together. As soon as the door opened and before she could even take out the key, Guan Nan hugged him tightly, buried her face in his chest, and heard the strong, resounding heartbeat pounding against his ribs.
Fang was still empty and desolate, as if his heart, full of sores and leaks, found some solace at this moment.
The iron gate slammed against the wall, the key jingled and clanged.
Jiang Li paused, wrapped his arms around her back, and placed his palm on her long hair at the side of her neck.
As if given permission, Guan Nan buried her head even deeper.
She didn't know how to tell Jiang Li that if they hadn't gotten married and hadn't sold the house, perhaps they wouldn't have needed to cancel the household registration, but that day had come, and no matter how much she tried to avoid it, she would eventually have to face it.
But, but, but she doesn't have a mother anymore.
She has no home anymore.
"Jiang Li," Guan Nan said in a muffled voice.
Jiang Li stroked her hair, calming her down, and said, "Mm."
"You know what?" Guan Nan said, her voice trembling, the sound of rain still ringing in her ears. She trailed off, unable to continue, "I—"
I have never been happy.
It's always raining in my world.
The words were on the tip of her tongue, but she paused for a few seconds before suddenly saying, "I didn't know it was going to rain today."
"Hmm." Jiang Li let go of her, turned on the light along the wall with one hand, and let her sit on the sofa. He also saw the photo frame lying flat, which contained a photo he had helped take at the parent-teacher conference that year.
Jiang Li subtly looked away, handed her a towel, and told her to take a shower so she wouldn't catch a cold.
Following the instructions, Guan Nan went into the bathroom in a daze, then came out and went to the bedroom to get her clothes.
Taking advantage of the break, Jiang Li glanced at the instant noodle bag in the trash can, took out his phone from his pocket with one hand, and called Feijiu. There was hot food there, so he asked someone to bring it over.
Jiang Li hung up the phone, bent down and picked up the damp canvas bag from the corner of the sofa, taking out the items one by one. With a "thud," an ID card fell out, and he picked it up and looked at it.
The ID card, missing a corner, clearly bears the name Ran Mingju.
Today is her vibrant forty-fifth birthday.
Jiang Li glanced at the bathroom, then stuffed his ID card back into the file. But when he saw the glaring red stamp that read "Household Registration Cancellation" on the open household registration book, his heart skipped a beat for no reason.
Her purpose for going out today, and the strangeness she displayed for a moment, all became clear in that instant.
Jiang Li stared at these for a long time.
His thoughts were interrupted when someone brought him food and drinks. He opened the door and saw a man and a woman standing there. Jiang Li took the food, stepped aside to block their view, and didn't give them a chance to come in.
Xie Shuwan changed her perspective several times, but even standing on tiptoe she couldn't see anyone inside. She lowered her voice and said, "Don't you have any manners? It's late at night, and it's raining so hard, and you make someone run errands for you, and then you don't even give them a sip of water."
Jiang Li remained unfazed: "Return the coffee, drink as much as you want, Mr. Jiang will pay."
"You big spender." Xie Shuwan saw how firmly he was blocking her way and scorned him mercilessly. "By the way, Xin Jia asked me to tell you to reserve two tickets for him at your tour."
"No," Jiang Li said, and then turned to close the door.
Lin Rui propped himself up with one hand and said in a low voice, "Xin Jia has been in trouble lately."
Jiang Li couldn't tell from Xin Jia's unreliable banyan tree, "And then?"
“Reserve a ticket,” Xie Shuwan said. “Isn’t your tour in Fuling already being arranged? Just give us a family ticket.”
Jiang Li raised his chin: "Ask him."
"Bullshit, at most he can get me in, you're the boss." Xie Shuwan rolled her eyes at him.
The water stopped, and Jiang Li's ears twitched. He said "We'll talk about it later" and closed the door, leaving the two people outside looking at each other in surprise and simultaneously cursing him as a dog.
Of course, Jiang Li couldn't hear any of this.
Guan Nan's hair was dripping wet. He naturally took the towel, led Guan Nan to sit on a stool, and gently dried her long hair.
Guan Nan hesitated for a moment, then asked, "Is someone coming?"
“Hmm,” Jiang Li said calmly, “running errands.”
"Oh." Guan Nan glanced at the exquisite packaging bag on the table, then unpacked the stylish and tasteful takeout box, and had no suspicions.
She lowered her head, feeling five fingers run from the ends of her hair to the tip, occasionally brushing against her neck before quickly withdrawing. Guan Nan felt a ticklish sensation, a ticklishness that made her shudder and stiffen.
Jiang Li looked down at him, his eyes seemingly filled with questions.
Meeting his gaze, Guan Nan pursed her lips, trying to cover up her misunderstanding by explaining, "It's a little hot."
"The fan is on." Jiang Li tilted his head, gesturing for her to look.
"..." Guan Nan glanced at it, feeling somewhat embarrassed and frustrated, and said evasively, "It's still hot."
Jiang Li asked, "How hot is it?"
Guan Nan couldn't explain it clearly, and mumbled, "Anyway, it's pretty hot."
“Okay,” Jiang Li raised an eyebrow, “We’ll install the air conditioner tomorrow.”
Upon hearing this, Guan Nan shook her head: "No, thank you."
"No?" Jiang Li pressed the towel, looked down at her, and said casually, "Is it because you don't want the air conditioning on, or because it's not hot enough? Make it clear."
"······"
Jiang Li bent down to meet her gaze, draping the towel over the back of the chair: "Hmm?"
This moment is incredibly seductive.
She didn't know where she got the courage, but Guan Nan cupped his face in her hands, then slowly leaned in and lightly kissed his lips.
The only sounds in the room were the pounding of my heart and the whirring of the fan.
Jiang Li's face tightened, his throat bobbed, and he asked in a controlled voice, "What do you mean?"
Guan Nan instinctively tried to run.
As if he had expected this, he grabbed her wrist, pressed her down on the stool, stared straight at her, and stubbornly asked, "What do you mean?"
"What's the point of kissing your own boyfriend?" Guan Nan swallowed.
Jiang Li's eyes narrowed, and he said in a low voice, "No need."
“That’s it.” Guan Nan put on her long-lost thick skin and placed it squarely in front of him, bracing herself as she continued, “If you’re not satisfied, I can leave through OA.”
"..." Jiang Li found this somewhat absurd. "Through OA?"
Guan Nan: "Perhaps, should we make an appointment a week in advance?"
"······"
Seeing his horrified expression, Guan Nan relaxed her terms, "A month is fine too."
"A month?" Jiang Li found it unbelievable.
"How about you choose?" Guan Nan said hesitantly, "You can let me know when the time comes. I'll follow your schedule and give you priority in everything."
There was a moment of silence.
Jiang Li said, "Have you gone stupid from working so much?"
Guan Nan wanted to say something more but didn't know where to begin.
Immediately afterwards, I heard him say:
"Is dating like going to work? Does it mean clocking in and out on time? Do you have to write applications and go through the OA system for every little thing, and then go through special approval for every little thing that happens? Do you have to give me a few days off every month? Do you have to set up a special fund for food, drinks and travel and reimburse me for it every week based on receipts? Do you have to choose between alternating weeks of 5 days and 6 days off or weekends off?"
He sounded a bit exasperated, and although his tone remained calm, his expression was much colder.
But Guan Nan was speechless after his question.
Because that's really what she thought.
"No." Guan Nan forced a smile, her voice hesitant.
"Guan Nan," seeing that she was clearly taken aback, Jiang Li patted her head and said in a very reasonable manner, "This is life, not work. There aren't so many rules and regulations. Do whatever makes you happy."
Guan Nan pursed her lips: "And what about you?"
Understanding her meaning, Jiang Li rubbed his thumb against her forehead and said calmly, "That's not important."
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