Chapter 19
In the end, Jiang Li still didn't let Guan Nan pay the bill.
Guan Nan put away her wallet and, after coming out, couldn't help but ask, "Didn't you say I was treating?"
"Just kidding," Jiang Li tugged at her ponytail, her expression cheerful, her voice laced with soft laughter, "How can you be so easily fooled?"
Guan Nan touched her hair, looked up at him, and said, "Jiang Li, you treated me to dinner, so I'll treat you to liangxia (a type of cold noodle dish)."
The night light shone into her eyes, as if falling into them, spreading finely and densely across her pupils, creating rings of moisture and clarity.
His heart skipped a beat when their eyes met.
I was stunned for two seconds.
Jiang Li's expression returned to normal, and he raised an eyebrow: "Okay."
We decided to go right away. The Liangxia restaurant is located at the intersection of Hehui Cangyuan. Go uphill and to the right, there is a gas station. After passing the gas station, go straight and walk through two shops to reach the restaurant.
One of them was a shop specializing in weddings, with its equipment displayed openly and casually.
"Aren't you afraid?" Jiang Li asked in a low voice, his brows furrowed as he passed by.
Realizing what he meant, Guan Nan paused and replied, "I used to be afraid, but I'm not anymore."
The next second, a pair of hands covered the eyes, blocking the intruding light source.
Guan Nan blinked, and the heat from her palm sprayed all over her face. Gradually, her cheeks began to heat up, and all the blood seemed to rush to her head at that moment.
She clenched her fingers, her voice trembling as she said, "Jiang Li—"
I'm not afraid anymore.
I'm not afraid anymore.
I won't be afraid anymore.
In an instant, a sentence came to my ear: "You can be afraid."
He noticed her subconscious lowering of her eyes and shrugging of her shoulders.
Saying you're not afraid is far less effective than taking concrete actions.
Upon hearing this, Guan Nan bit her lip and slowly followed his steps, traversing that short distance.
A short journey, shallow breathing, and the warmth before my eyes.
Ten seconds, a minute, ten minutes, or even a whole century.
In the time that passed, she never realized how long time could go, and the road beneath her feet seemed endless.
A moment later.
He slowly spread his fingers, and only lowered them after she had adjusted to the light.
Guan Nan was unsure how to react.
As if making conversation, she pointed to the liangxia (a type of cold noodle dish) on the signboard and said very seriously, "This liangxia is made with glutinous rice and it's very delicious."
"Okay, sure." Jiang Li glanced at it, his mind clearly elsewhere.
Knowing he couldn't eat spicy food, Guan Nan hesitated and asked, "Can you eat it if I drizzle it with brown sugar sauce?"
Jiang Li: "Okay."
Guan Nan ordered two bowls of liangxia (a type of cold noodle dish) from the owner. She took out her wallet, handed the owner ten yuan from a stack of change, and then specially set aside two hundred yuan to put in her pocket.
Guan Nan noticed that Jiang Li was acting strangely at the moment.
He held his chest bag with one hand, while his right hand remained tightly tucked into his pocket. His brows were relaxed and cheerful, and a smile on his face, different from his usual nonchalant demeanor, was on display.
"Can you have something sweet?" Guan Nan asked. "The brown sugar sauce is a bit sweet."
Jiang Li realized something, but her eyes were still bright and cheerful. "Less sweet."
Then, Guan Nan heard him add, as if explaining, "Our family eats light food. We've always eaten less oil, less salt, less sweet food, and no spicy food. It's all because of my mom's requirements. My dad says she wants to live to be a hundred years old and still be a young girl."
“Eating it this way is also good; it’s less likely to cause internal heat.” Guan Nan took a spoon.
She thought to herself that although Jiang Li was a notorious "bad student," the only thing people feared about him was the rumor that he beat up teachers. He had no bad habits, didn't eat sweets or spicy food, and had a band with him.
In the future, he may transform from a self-disciplined, unaffiliated artist into a true artist.
With such a handsome face and a clear, crisp voice.
Absolutely stunning looks, exceptional talent, and impeccable fashion sense.
Each one of them is quite impressive.
All of this was not only due to Jiang Li himself, but also to the contributions of Jiang's mother, whom he had never met.
Just then, the owner packed up the cold rice noodles and handed them over. Guan Nan took the bag, asked which portion had less sugar, gave it to Jiang Li first, and then hooked the spoon upside down.
“What’s so good about it?” Jiang Li finally took out his right hand, held the spoon and took a sip. “My mom goes to bed early for health reasons, and my sister and dad often sneak out late at night to have hot pot, barbecue and crayfish without my mom knowing.”
Guan Nan's eyes crinkled with laughter as she listened. "Aren't you going to eat?"
"I study music, but they don't include me in their group." Jiang Li said casually as he walked forward, "Is Wulidian open yet?"
"Huh?" Guan Nan swallowed a mouthful of cold shrimp. "Now?"
Jiang Li: "Mm."
Guan Nan glanced at the time and honestly said, "It's almost time to open for business."
"Let's go," Jiang Li said leisurely. "Didn't you say you'd take me with you last time?"
"......"
Did she agree last time?
But then he saw Jiang Li's expression that said, "What are you waiting for? Lead the way."
After hesitating for two seconds, Guan Nan nodded, treating the promise she hadn't made that day as a promise.
Not knowing what he wanted to buy, Guan Nan told him, "Is there anything you want to buy? That place is mostly for secondhand goods, it doesn't have everything."
"I don't know," Jiang Li followed her, "Let's go take a look first."
Okay. Guan Nan didn't press the issue further, guessing that he had never been to such a place before and was particularly curious and eager to see it.
......
At night, there are a lot of cars here, especially mobile stalls.
As they crossed the road, the two walked side by side. A series of tricycles came rushing from behind. Urged on by the horns, Guan Nan moved slightly to the left to let them pass, but was almost swept away by the electric tricycles.
Jiang Li grabbed her arm and pulled her closer to him.
Guan Nan's face turned pale, and she choked on her breath.
She tilted her head back, noticing his arm pressed tightly against hers, and her lips moved slightly, as if she wanted to say something.
Before she could speak, Jiang Li took out his phone to take a picture and said first, "Let's cross the road first."
"Oh," Guan Nan replied blankly, unaware that the hand holding her arm hadn't let go, still shaken.
After crossing the road, he let go of her hand, and Guan Nan looked down at her warm arm.
Out of the corner of my eye, I saw Jiang Li looking down at his phone.
Guan Nan carefully and secretly touched the spot where he had just been holding her hand. It felt like an electric current shot through her spine, and she quickly withdrew her hand.
My mind is blank and confused.
My ears, my heartbeat, pounding loudly.
She didn't know what was wrong with her.
Suddenly, something seemed to be struggling in a tiny, subtle way.
"Alright," Jiang Li said, closing the 12345 complaint page and putting away his phone. "Let's go."
Guan Nan lowered her head, not daring to look at his face, and afraid that he would notice her unusual behavior. She stammered, "You were taking pictures just now..."
Jiang Li didn't tell her the truth and made up a story: "I thought that person was my sister."
...The person riding the bicycle was clearly a man.
"Oh," Guan Nan replied dryly.
Wulidian sounds like a shop name, but it's actually a place name. It's located in the gap between buildings in the city center CBD. After getting off the subway, cross the road and walk straight down the underground passage at the traffic light intersection.
"It's so winding," Jiang Li followed her down the tunnel, "How did you find your way here?"
Guan Nan gave a vague answer: "Someone brought me here."
This time, Jiang Li's meticulous thoughtfulness vanished. As if he hadn't noticed her attempt to brush it off, his smile was faint: "Qi Yang?"
After a two-second silence, Guan Nan's expression stiffened, and she hummed softly, "Hmm."
Jiang Li tilted his head, his deep eyes fixed on her face, and a slight smile appeared on his lips: "Are you very familiar with him?"
“We grew up together.” Guan Nan went down the tunnel, turned left, and saw that the stalls and lights inside were gradually turning on. “I should call him brother.”
Jiang Li caught up with her, "Just because we grew up together, you call me brother?"
“Everyone’s upstairs and downstairs,” Guan Nan quickly added, noticing a hint of amusement in his voice, “that’s what we’ve called each other since we were little.”
Stalls were set up on both sides of the tunnel, with a passageway in the middle for people to walk back and forth. The stalls were filled with old books, old clothes, old watches, jade bracelets, gold jewelry, and all kinds of luxury brands. There was nothing to be found.
Jiang Li looked on with curiosity: "Upstairs and downstairs?"
“…Hmm.” He knew about Hecangyuan too, so Guan Nan didn’t lie to him. “I lived in Hecangyuan until the second year of junior high school. Our family and their family were neighbors in the same building. He was well-behaved and sensible from a young age, and was more liked by adults than other naughty children.”
"And then you started calling him 'brother'?" Jiang Li said.
"No, it's just that my mom really likes him. She always brings him to our house to listen to me..." She paused for two seconds, pretending nothing had happened, and glossed over the fact that, "he supervises my homework."
As if oblivious to her abrupt change of tone, Jiang Li remained as natural as ever, chatting idly as if he were bored: "You call me 'brother' just because I'm supervising your homework?"
"......"
I don't know why he's so obsessed with "brother".
Guan Nan felt a little aggrieved by his repeated use of the word "brother": "No."
"What's that?" Jiang Li asked lazily, as if he had remembered something, and countered, "Are you still calling me cousin?"
"ah?"
Jiang Li glanced at her and said pettily, as if in revenge, "Calling me cousin is fine too."
What is all this about?
Guan Nan's expression was strange.
"Um?"
Guan Nan didn't say anything.
“Ah Guan.”
Guan Nan pursed her lips, not really wanting to say anything.
Just then, Jiang Li passed by a mobile phone stall and tugged at her ponytail to indicate that he had found the stall.
Guan Nan looked down and watched him intently examining each old mobile phone in front of a haphazardly arranged stall.
She was still a little slow on the uptake. She squatted down next to him and asked softly, "Are you looking to buy a cell phone?"
"Let me see your phone." Jiang Li put down his old straight-backed phone, which he had been using to play games.
Without thinking, Guan Nan handed him the phone.
"Boss," Jiang Li showed the shopkeeper the styles, "do you have this model?"
The shopkeeper glanced at it, then rummaged through his bag for a long time before pulling out a candybar phone of the same model and color, which he handed to Jiang Li to take a look at.
Jiang Li checked it over and immediately asked the price: "How much?"
"200," the boss said.
Seeing that Jiang Li had no concept of bargaining and was about to pay with his phone, Guan Nan instinctively stopped him. She immediately told the shopkeeper, "50."
Seeing this, Jiang Li held his phone and locked the screen.
Boss: "100."
Guan Nan remained firm: "50."
"Sister, I've already charged more than 50, you can't bargain like this."
“50,” Guan Nan said firmly, “No batteries.”
The shop owner looked at her with a helpless expression that said, "Wow, little sister, please be reasonable. I'll still charge you 50 even if there are no batteries."
"Let's take another look." Guan Nan put her phone inside.
Jiang Li got up with her, a faint smile on his face that he couldn't hide.
"Hey, hey, hey, I'll sell it to you for 50!" The shopkeeper picked up the phone, pointed to the QR code on the ground, and said admiringly, "Scan the code, you little devil, you're really clever for your age."
After paying the bill, the two walked a little further away, looked at each other, and couldn't help but laugh.
Guan Nan pursed her lips and lowered her head shyly.
"Let's go." Jiang Li coughed lightly, put his phone in his pocket, and said slowly, "Let's see what else is ahead."
Guan Nan followed him, unaware that the home team had changed without her noticing.
They walked through the entire tunnel, entering from the east entrance and exiting from the west, carrying a few odds and ends in their hands. As they headed towards the subway station, Jiang Li took out a small, square, black object.
Jiang Li stretched out his arm, his attitude very serious, without mentioning that he had been watching her for a long time, and said, "Let's be friends."
Guan Nan didn't answer, but she was very serious and spoke gently: "We already are."
"Not enough."
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
