Chapter 89
The air fell silent for a moment.
Guan Nan's unspoken words stuck in her throat.
"Hmm?" Jiang Li took a bite of noodles and noticed her hesitation. "You mind?"
Instead of answering, Guan Nan asked, "You don't mind?"
He neither said he minded nor he didn't, but simply gave a dismissive reply: "Waste is shameful."
Guan Nan didn't say anything more, silently watching him finish a bowl of instant noodles. He ate slowly and methodically without looking disheveled, but he wasn't exactly sluggish either; his speed wasn't slow either.
In less than two minutes, the bowl of instant noodles was empty.
Guan Nan silently picked up the bowl, grabbed the two pairs of chopsticks from the table, and walked into the kitchen, standing in front of the sink.
She used a loofah sponge as a dishcloth, hanging it on the wall alongside other kitchen utensils, clearly categorized. She took down the loofah sponge, wet it with water, and then squeezed a pump of dish soap onto it.
In the kitchen, she was washing dishes with her head down, the water dripping continuously.
Jiang Li leaned against the kitchen counter, an open can of Sprite beside him, casually playing with the bottle ring.
After she turned off the water, Jiang Li stopped what he was doing and spoke up, "You... don't you have anything you want to ask me?"
"What do you want to ask?" Guan Nan wiped the water stains off the countertop.
Jiang Li: "What do you want to ask?"
See?
He's always like that.
As they were talking, they passed the question back to her.
He was the one who asked the question, but before he could finish half a sentence, he turned around and shifted the blame to her.
Guan Nan washed her hands clean and slowly turned around.
Seeing this, Jiang Li tilted his head slightly and lazily leaned against the kitchen counter.
“Jiang Li,” Guan Nan looked at him, flicked her fingers, and said clearly, “You bastard.”
"Me, a bastard?" Jiang Li laughed angrily.
But Guan Nan didn't say anything.
She just looked at him without saying a word.
In the small space, the two stared at each other in silence, and time seemed to freeze. After an unknown amount of time, Jiang Li's shoulders relaxed, as if he had given up.
He nodded: "Yes, I'm an idiot."
The atmosphere was somewhat awkward, but despite Jiang Li's self-assured demeanor, she remained silent, though her mood was visibly bad.
"So what if I'm a jerk?" Jiang Li said nonchalantly, flicking the water off his face. "Just don't kick me out."
When he looked down again, he saw that her eyes were moist, with a faint redness in them.
At this moment, Jiang Li, who had been calm all night, completely panicked.
"Are you like this to everyone?" Guan Nan suddenly spoke, her voice trembling with a barely perceptible sob.
These words came out of nowhere, and considering the strangeness just now, as intelligent as Jiang Li was, how could he not understand what she meant? He paused immediately and asked, "What do you think?"
After a two-second pause, Guan Nan looked down and then up at him, saying, "I don't want to think that way."
Jiang Li looked at her, unable to continue speaking.
“Jiang Li,” Guan Nan told him, “I don’t want to think so.”
Jiang Li remained silent.
"Not at all." Guan Nan said, emphasizing each word.
He still didn't say anything.
Guan Nan blinked repeatedly, her voice soft: "But you always make me think about it."
In the small kitchen, only her voice remained, delicate, gentle, and soft.
Each word struck Jiang Li with devastating force, without argument, without accusation or blame. Yet, even so, it pierced his heart with pain.
Jiang Li stared at her, let out a soft sigh, and reached out to take her hand.
She instinctively shook her head and backed away.
"Didn't you say you were brave?" Jiang Li moved swiftly, closing in on her. His voice was low and hoarse, his eyes fixed on her face. "Show me your courage."
With nowhere to retreat, Guan Nan leaned against the sink counter, tilting her head back.
Jiang Li placed his hands on either side of her, as if encircling her in his arms. His face was lowered and hidden in darkness, making it impossible to see his expression, but he still maintained a dignified calm: "...What exactly made you misunderstand and think that I treat everyone like this?"
Guan Nan's expression froze.
"Guan Nan," Jiang Li tapped her heart, "don't you have a heart?"
The kitchen was lit by an old, dim light bulb, its light casting a hazy glow on the two of them, vaguely telling the story of the years gone by and reflecting the inexplicable events of those years.
Guan Nan could never see the light clearly; all he could see was his heart pounding faster.
some.
I have it.
Guan Nan wanted to answer him, but it was still jumping very fast.
But he remained silent, and the silence seemed to echo his earlier words.
Just then, Jiang Li pulled the person away, seemingly unhappy.
He said, "If you don't have it, go to the side."
Guan Nan gritted her teeth, hesitated a few times, and then grabbed his wrist.
But once I finally managed to grab him, I didn't know what to say.
Jiang Li lifted his eyelids and looked down at the hand encircling his wrist. The hand was long and wet, and even the calluses on his palms seemed to have softened. "Guan Nan."
Upon hearing her name called, Guan Nan responded, "Mm."
"You did this on purpose, didn't you?"
Guan Nan looked up at him, still somewhat bewildered.
"You just don't want me to have an easy time." Jiang Li nimbly turned his wrist, slowly turned on the tap, and rinsed his hands.
She was still staring blankly at her suddenly empty hand.
The next second, Jiang Li put his hands together, adopting a handcuffed posture: "Come on."
"What?" Guan Nan asked, dumbfounded.
"As you see fit."
Silence fell once again.
Clearly, Guan Nan was stumped by his words, her mind went blank, and she couldn't speak for a long time, even forgetting what her next move should be.
After holding it in for a while, Guan Nan finally managed to squeeze out, "I'm going to the restroom."
They then fled in a sorry state.
The parrot inside the house was listless, showing none of its usual arrogance, and shrank its neck, not daring to meet Jiang Li's gaze.
Jiang Li patted its head and said coldly, "You dare to scratch anyone."
Knowing it was in the wrong, the bird cowered and rubbed its head against the ground, trying to appease the bird.
As soon as I came out, I saw him training the parrot. The parrot was trembling and didn't dare to move its wings. It glanced timidly in my direction, then silently and guiltily turned its head away.
Guan Nan felt like laughing.
She walked over, bent down and unplugged the computer cable, and whispered, "It's quite well-behaved."
"You're certainly good at putting on an act," Jiang Li said coldly.
She tried to help the parrot out of its predicament but failed. While tangling the laptop charging cable, she looked at the parrot curiously and asked, "Is this a little brother or a little sister?"
Jiang Li: "Son."
"..." Guan Nan paused, somewhat incredulous at her ears. "What?"
“I said,” Jiang Li put the lid on the jar, turned around, and raised an eyebrow slightly, “my son.”
Guan Nan: "..."
"What's the problem?" Jiang Li asked again.
After wrapping the remaining two loops of wire, Guan Nan put the charging cable away in the compartment. As she bent down to zip up the zipper, she whispered, "I wouldn't dare."
“Don’t be afraid,” Jiang Li put down the can, picked up the Sprite and took a sip, his voice cool, “It’s your son. Now that it’s living here with you, you have a responsibility.”
Guan Nan didn't know how things had suddenly turned into robber logic, especially since it involved her son.
But seeing Jiang Li sitting on the sofa, looking quite energetic, yet unable to hide the faint weariness between his brows, Guan Nan realized he was very tired.
So she didn't argue with him, especially after meeting his eyes.
The bright white light made the color of his eyes appear very dark.
"Are you still leaving?" Guan Nan closed the wooden door, turned the fan down a notch, and casually tossed the Sprite off the coffee table.
Jiang Li narrowed his eyes: "I'm not leaving."
"Do you want to go back to coffee?" Guan Nan thought for a moment before asking.
Jiang Li frowned. "Are you trying to get rid of me?"
"·····"
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