Chapter 25
The wind was strong at night, perhaps because we were near the river, and it made people feel empty.
Guan Nan was feeling dizzy and disoriented; she was clearly drunk even though she hadn't been drinking.
She said, "I know."
Nobody likes to play with me, nobody likes me. So nobody likes you playing with me either.
As you've gotten a little closer to me, people have started talking to me more or less, mostly asking about me. But it's okay, at least they're talking to me now, which makes me feel like I'm not so annoying or disliked anymore.
At the same time, Jiang Li's words "quite alive" slowly fell as she spoke.
However, when Guan Nan continued speaking, Jiang Li just stared at her.
"I know this isn't good." Guan Nan's tone was calm, as if she had already accepted this fact and spoke these words before he could finish. "Let's keep our distance from now on, and don't let your daughter..."
"Jiang Li, thank you."
"Thank you for being so kind to me."
Guan Nan bit her lip, silently adding...
—It's been a long time since anyone has been this kind to me.
Although the time was short, she still wanted to thank him.
After a moment of silence, Jiang Li looked at her and asked, "Are you done?"
"······"
Jiang Li was exceptionally polite: "Now that you've finished speaking, isn't it my turn to speak?"
The streetlights illuminated the two figures at dusk, their shadows overlapping on the ground, stretching long and thin. Occasionally, a passing bicycle would ring its bell, but it couldn't scare them away.
Guan Nan remained silent.
"Then I'll say it," Jiang Li said bluntly, seeing that she didn't react, "You want to talk about a girlfriend? I don't have a girlfriend, not from beginning to end. It's just Lin Rui spreading rumors. You've seen how good he is at spreading rumors, so I won't say more."
"And what's this about keeping your distance, and what's this about thanking me?"
Guan Nan: "..."
Jiang Li stared at her for a while, then adjusted his tone and said calmly, "Aren't we friends? If we're friends, shouldn't you tell me if something's wrong? What are you guessing for?"
"······"
The air was still.
Everyone else thought she was rigid and boring, but Jiang Li said she was quite lively and loved to laugh.
Guan Nan sniffed, feeling bewildered by his initial politeness followed by a firm stance. She herself didn't even realize that her rare display of temper was directed at Jiang Li.
But the thought that Jiang Li didn't dislike her made her feel secretly happy and fortunate.
In short, I have inexplicably complex and contradictory emotions.
Guan Nan forced a smile. She was already the most clumsy of them all, and now she was even more at a loss for words when Jiang Li spoke: "I...I thought you...hated me..."
Suddenly, I lost my confidence.
Jiang Li chuckled, "I can understand, after all, we're just ordinary friends."
The way he pronounced the words "ordinary friend" was so fluent that it sounded strange to Guan Nan.
She wrinkled her nose and muttered softly, "That's not what I meant."
"Oh, what does that mean?" Jiang Li raised an eyebrow.
"..." Guan Nan opened her mouth and then closed it again, not knowing how to answer this question. She said, "Anyway, that's not what I meant."
Jiang Li remained as lazy as ever: "Oh."
Before boarding the subway, Jiang Li turned to look at her and said, "Next time you have a question, just ask me."
“...Oh.” Guan Nan tugged at the rabbit’s ears.
“Otherwise,” Jiang Li said, “I am completely innocent.”
After passing through security, Guan Nan felt that "seeing off the guest" was 100% complete, or even more complete.
Jiang Li clearly didn't think that way.
Guan Nan picked up her bag again, glanced at him once more, but he still didn't leave.
After a moment of silence, Guan Nan thought that Jiang Li wouldn't leave so many people playing and "send off" them home alone.
She swiped her student card and entered the gate.
Jiang Li followed closely behind.
"..." Guan Nan felt she should, appropriately, remind him.
"Jiang Li," Guan Nan turned her head, called his name, and said in a low voice, "It's too far, I can go back by myself."
"Hmm." He put one hand in his pocket, his voice faint.
Guan Nan: "......"
She tried to reason with him, speaking from his perspective: "You'll be back in a little while, it'll be quite a hassle."
"oh."
"......"
He only responded with zero action, and Guan Nan was convinced.
"Then you should go back now." Guan Nan ignored his lack of movement and continued, "I'm going home now, goodbye."
Jiang Li said politely and courteously, "Goodbye."
Seeing this, Guan Nan carried the lop-eared rabbit down the elevator, and Jiang Li followed closely behind as soon as he stepped onto the elevator.
Guan Nan was speechless.
She returned to Cangyuan, but the subway didn't go directly there; she needed to transfer lines. Guan Nan wanted to remind him, but then thought he would probably just pretend to agree and continue following her.
Thinking of this, Guan Nan couldn't help but sigh.
She has always considered herself a habitual deceiver, always appearing weak and easy to deal with. When faced with something she doesn't want to face, she always brushes it off and pretends not to remember when asked.
With her good character as a foundation, she has never been caught being negligent or perfunctory in her attitude over the years.
But ever since she met Jiang Li, everything seems to have become more difficult to fool or deal with.
Thinking about this, Guan Nan felt an indescribable sense of frustration.
The subway stops at "Hecangyuan" station.
Guan Nan glanced at him again, thinking that he should go back this time.
The next second, Jiang Li's words shattered her illusions.
He asked, "Is it safe inside?"
“…Hmm.” It’s a residential area, how could it not be safe? Guan Nan didn’t quite understand what he meant, but she nodded nonetheless.
Jiang Li looked down at her: "Really?"
He was being unreasonable, so Guan Nan gave up resisting and cooperated fully, saying, "Jiang Li, why don't you go all the way? It's dark inside, come in with me."
"Alright," Jiang Li said reluctantly.
Guan Nan remained silent, walked through the guardhouse, and continued inside.
The streetlights in Hecangyuan were on, some of the old ones flickering and crackling, accompanied by the swaying banyan trees. There were hardly any people on the road, making it look like a scene from a horror movie.
After walking through several streets until she was almost at the entrance of the grocery store, Guan Nan stopped and said, "I'm here."
No sooner had he finished speaking than a boy came out of the grocery store, fanning himself with a palm-leaf fan.
Guan Nan's eyelids twitched immediately, and she had a bad feeling.
The boy called out, "Guan Nan?"
"Brother Qiyang." Seeing that he was looking at Jiang Li, Guan Nan quickly made an excuse and said, "This is my classmate. He wants to borrow my notes."
Qi Yang was a little surprised. He smiled at Jiang Li and asked, "Weren't you having dinner with a female classmate? Why are you back?"
Just then, the bell rang, 22:00.
The atmosphere was visibly awkward.
"..." Guan Nan paused for two seconds, then awkwardly said, "We ran into each other on our way back."
The subtext is that she had dinner with a female classmate. She bumped into this classmate on her way back; he asked to borrow her notes, which is why he was here.
Qi Yang glanced at Jiang Li beside him and asked, "Want to sit for a while?"
“No need,” Guan Nan said. “Brother Qi Yang is waiting for me downstairs. I can go up and get it.”
Qi Yang said, "Okay, Sister Zhen saved some food for you. Come over and have some later."
Guan Nan thought for a moment, then said, "Okay."
The pomegranate tree was very tall and large, with pomegranates of different sizes hanging from it, red like lanterns.
Jiang Li stood under the tree, the light and shadow filtering through the leaves and falling on his face, blurring his features.
If you're going to put on an act, you have to go all the way. Guan Nan told him to wait under the tree while she went up to get the things.
He gave a half-smile and said, word by word, "Female classmate."
Guan Nan looked embarrassed and stammered, "If I don't say it this way... people will misunderstand..."
After listening, Jiang Li was still smiling, but his smile was full of mockery.
His expression made Guan Nan feel uncomfortable. She lowered her head, pursed her lips, and said, "I'll go up first."
Jiang Li replied calmly, "Mm."
He took a half step back, bumping into a drooping branch that made a creaking sound. A pomegranate hit him on the head. He raised his hand to brush his hair, accidentally knocking off a half-ripe pomegranate.
Half red and half green, with a clear boundary.
Jiang Li stared at it, his eyes filled with an inscrutable expression.
After a while, when Guan Nan casually picked up a notebook and came downstairs, Grandma Wang from the left side of the building was walking out, carrying a soy sauce bottle in her hand.
As luck would have it, the two bumped into each other.
"Guan Guan," Grandma Wang greeted her, "You're here today."
Guan Nan nodded: "Grandma, where are you going so late?"
“Sigh,” Grandma Wang said, “that old man in my family, when I ask him to buy soy sauce, he buys vinegar instead. Now I have to go down and get it myself.”
The two chatted as they went downstairs. When they saw the person standing under the tree, Grandma Wang smiled and said, "Cousin's here! Why didn't you come up and sit down?"
Jiang Li behaved politely and obediently: "Hello, Grandma."
"He...he just grabbed something and left," Guan Nan said hurriedly, afraid that the two of them had misunderstood each other.
Then, Guan Nan handed the notebook to Jiang Li, signaling him to hurry up and leave.
Jiang Li smiled and said, "Then I'll be going now. Goodbye, Grandma."
"Sigh, goodbye, goodbye."
After Jiang Li walked away, Guan Nan accompanied Grandma Wang to the grocery store. Qi Yang finished making sauce for Grandma Wang, heated up the dishes, and brought them out. He told Guan Nan to sit down first, and then went upstairs to call Sister Zhen.
Ms. Zhen is Qi Yang's mother. The two became friends after Ran Mingju was born, and they still are.
"I've already signed you up for all the part-time jobs these past few days." Qi Yang got down first and sat on the stone bench, saying, "Today is a holiday, so Sister Zhen is off at home and I didn't go either."
Guan Nan nodded: "Of course."
A precious family reunion holiday should be spent together as a family.
Even a simple meal deserves to be cherished.
Not long after, Sister Zhen came down.
The chat didn't last long, but Zhenjie cried for a long time after listening to it.
Others might find Ran Mingju pitiful, but Guan Nan thought it hypocritical when these words came from Sister Zhen, who was also married from afar and shared the same plight of not being liked by her mother-in-law.
Zhen Jie genuinely felt that Ran Mingju's situation was both difficult and arduous.
Sister Zhen genuinely felt sorry for Ran Mingju.
......
On her first day of part-time work after the holiday, Guan Nan set off at the same time as Qi Yang.
However, things weren't so lucky today. This time, the part-time job was at Carrefour, and it wasn't about taking the subway or doing food sampling and promotions, but about picking up goods.
Customers place orders through the mini-program, and the pickers' job is to receive the orders, scan the barcodes, pick and pack the goods, with a time limit of one or two minutes.
Online orders have been non-stop, leaving no time for even the most basic rest; I'm constantly running back and forth across the venue.
Fortunately, the salary wasn't low, it was two hundred yuan.
After three days of searching, Guan Nan was reassigned to a McDonald's job where she earned 22 yuan an hour.
On the third day, when it was time to sign out after the event, Guan Nan went to see Qi Yang.
Qi Yang busied himself methodically among the people, signing out and receiving daily pay, while Guan Nan prepared her words on the side.
A moment later, Qi Yang finally finished his work.
Guan Nan and he walked together toward the bus stop.
She hesitated before asking, "Brother Qiyang, will you still be here tomorrow?"
"Yes," Qi Yang put away his phone. "Is there something you need? If so, I can contact someone else now."
"no."
Qi Yang said, "Too tiring? Let me see if I can find someone to switch with you, because all the work here is physically demanding. I remember there's a security guard who controls traffic in the parking lot. Let me see."
As he spoke, he turned on his phone and quickly found a group for part-time jobs.
——Fuling Part-time Daily Pay Group
He is the leader of this group.
Guan Nan: "No, Brother Qiyang, that's not what I meant."
As far as she knew, Qi Yang himself was also pulling carts and moving goods in the Carrefour warehouse, and his situation wasn't much better. He even had to help her find other people to switch jobs or fill in for her.
Guan Nan was really uneasy.
"Then who are you?" Qi Yang asked, puzzled.
"Well..." Guan Nan mumbled, "Is the new city square still short-staffed?"
Qi Yang paused, exited the group chat, opened the "New City Plaza Publicity Group," and scrolled through the messages: "You want to go there, right?"
Standing in front of the platform, Guan Nan gave a dry "hmm".
Qi Yang saw two vacancies in the group chat and turned to look at Guan Nan: "Waitress and filler."
As the name suggests, "filling the crowd" means warming up the atmosphere. When there aren't enough people at an event, part-time people are hired outside to fill the crowd, also known as "plants".
Guan Nan hesitated: "Are there any others?"
"What kind are you looking for? I'll take a look for you."
“It’s like this…” Guan Nan bit her lip, “It’s like this, handing out flyers outdoors, preferably in a square.”
She spoke in great detail, and her purpose was very clear; she made no attempt to conceal anything.
By the time she realized what was happening, it was too late.
Qi Yang frowned and looked at her suspiciously: "Let me ask."
Just then, the bus arrived.
The two got into the car together.
After getting on the bus, the person who asked replied that there was only one part-time job opening left in the square for interacting with mascots.
Because the clothes were heavy, and the weather was hot and humid, plus the fact that they had to stand in the open all day in the mascot costume, no one answered the part-time job ad in the half hour after it was posted. The part-time job manager was ready to take the job himself.
"Are you sure you can do it?" Qi Yang finished explaining the situation to her.
Guan Nan didn't hesitate: "Sure."
"It will be very tiring."
I'm so tired, so very tired, and I'm covered in sweat.
Under the scorching sun, Guan Nan was drenched in sweat after wearing the mascot costume for less than two hours. Her hair, neck, and back were all soaked, and even her underwear was wet.
On National Day, people with free time flock to shopping malls to enjoy the air conditioning and Wi-Fi.
It's also because of the current promotions everywhere. For example, today she's wearing a bunny mascot with the name of an English training institution and a sign that says "Two people enter the store, one person gets a free meal."
Her main tasks are distributing flyers and scanning QR codes to guide customers into the store to learn more.
At 1 p.m., Guan Nan finished her meal, put on the mascot costume, and started shaking her head and waving her hands in the mall, trying to look cute.
The child went from chasing after her to playing with her to chasing after her and hitting her.
Just then, a group of students carrying equipment walked over. One moment they were chatting and laughing, but the next second, the person walking with their back turned didn't notice and bumped into the back of the doll.
Guan Nan was now attacked from both sides, facing enemies on all sides.
"I'm sorry," the person who hit the child put down their equipment, apologized immediately, and then pushed the child away. "Are you alright?"
His voice was clear and indifferent, conveying a strong sense of distance.
But when that familiar voice rang out, Guan Nan's eyelids trembled unconsciously.
She lowered her voice and said in a muffled tone, "It's nothing."
After saying that, she turned around and tried to walk away, not wanting to appear in front of him in her disheveled state, soaked in sweat.
She didn't want him to find out that the person inside the doll was her.
Hearing the deliberately suppressed somber tone, Jiang Li's ears twitched.
"What happened, Brother Jiang?" The people moving the equipment stopped and rushed over, thinking something had happened.
Jiang Li: "It's nothing."
"Are you sure everything's alright?" Jiang Li stared at the rabbit's face, his eyes unreadable.
The rabbit waved its hand and stopped making a sound.
“Fifth floor, Ting,” Jiang Li said, “If there’s anything, just come to me directly.”
The rabbit nodded, but still didn't say anything.
The people carrying the equipment ran over and redistributed the work, then took over the task of moving the drum set from Jiang Li himself, saying, "Brother Jiang, you don't need to move any more, just carry the set."
Just as Jiang Li was about to refuse, he heard him say, "You're the King of our band. If anything happens to you, our entire performance will be over."
After hearing this, Jiang Li did not respond to him, but turned to look at Rabbit Head.
"Then I'll be going now," Jiang Li said politely.
"Tsk," Lin Rui said impatiently from behind. Carrying the electronic keyboard was already annoying enough, but seeing him dawdling like this only made him more annoyed. "Jiang Li, what are you doing? Are you meeting your lover? Can't you find another place? The table outside has been set up for ages!"
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