Chapter 95
The atmosphere became very subtle.
"What's wrong?" Guan Nan didn't notice Ming Li's expression change, but she also felt a little guilty.
Jiang Li slapped her hand away and said irritably, "Eat something good."
In the brief moment that his hand fell, the takeout box was in the trash can in the blink of an eye. Guan Nan was a little stunned by the sudden and brief action, but she only glanced at him.
As soon as she turned around, she remembered what she had said downstairs and abruptly changed her posture.
She stomped down on the sofa.
Then, he took out his phone, looked down, and ordered takeout again.
"Tsk," Jiang Li snatched the phone, stuffed it into his pocket, and, not bothering to watch her continue, cut off the source of the problem. "You won't listen, huh?"
"······"
What do I need to buy groceries for?
"······"
"If you're not going to use it for cooking, is it just for decoration? Does it even look good sitting there?"
Guan Nan stared blankly for a moment, then slowly raised her head and said dryly, "It's...it's alright."
The atmosphere remained deadlocked.
Both the speaker and the responder fell silent due to their inappropriate responses, while in the large house, only the fresh shrimp on the kitchen counter continued to throb.
For a moment, it seemed that no one knew how to break the deadlock.
Guan Nan wanted to speak.
She wanted to say that living here had actually caused him a lot of unnecessary trouble.
She wanted to say that she would move out as soon as possible, that he didn't need to accommodate her so much, and that he was already having a hard time and she should pay for the rent and utilities since she was living there.
At least that way she can feel a little more at ease.
But these words, though repeatedly pondered, reviewed, checked, deleted, and supplemented, could not be uttered.
After a long silence, Guan Nan looked up and saw...
Jiang Li was still standing there, with his head bowed and eyes downcast, one hand in his pocket.
Guan Nan closed her eyes and opened them again, letting out a soft sigh. She spoke slowly and deliberately, "Jiang Li, it's been a long time, a really long time."
"Hmm." Jiang Li remained still.
“Whether before or now,” Guan Nan said softly, “I’ve caused you so much trouble, but I haven’t properly thanked you yet, which is just not right—”
Suddenly, Jiang Li seemed to have lost patience and interrupted her: "You do."
Upon hearing this, Guan Nan just stared at him, the rest of her words stuck in her throat.
He suddenly smiled, tilted his slightly hunched neck, and looked at the pale red figure standing outside the window. It was inexplicably glaring and mocking: "Didn't you already thank me?"
Upon hearing this, Guan Nan looked blank, seemingly not remembering the matter: "Thank you?"
"Mmm," Jiang Li replied lazily.
Guan Nan was still puzzled: "When?"
Jiang Li looked away, stared at her for a few seconds, and slowly replied, "You gave it to me."
At that moment, Guan Nan was unaware of anything and was still thinking about what she had given, but her thoughts were interrupted the next second.
“Food gets stale if it’s left out too long,” Jiang Li said, his throat bobbing slightly, his expression as calm and composed as ever, his tone natural. “Why don’t you do me the honor of having a meal together?”
The conversation seemed to pass by quickly, and the two stood on either side of the kitchen counter.
After Jiang Li cleaned the pot and turned on the range hood.
Guan Nan wanted to leave, but then felt it wasn't appropriate, so she restrained herself again, lowered her head and quietly cleaned the counter, then glanced at the stewed beef brisket with potatoes in the pot.
He lit both stoves simultaneously, operating them slowly and methodically, his movements exuding a practiced nonchalance.
Guan Nan stared intently, then seemed to remember something.
She said, "Was it that time we went to refuel?"
As soon as he finished speaking, Jiang Li lifted the lid of the pot that was simmering over low heat and took out a piece of beef brisket.
Not getting an answer, Guan Nan stared at him.
The beef brisket seemed to have cooled down a bit.
Jiang Li turned around, handed over the chopsticks, and said without changing his expression, "Is it flavorful yet?"
As the food reached her lips, Guan Nan was somewhat surprised. She subconsciously opened her mouth, and the meat was already inside. The broth seemed to burst open in her mouth. The fatty meat was neither salty nor greasy, and it was tender with a faint fragrance but not very spicy.
Guan Nan was very familiar with this dish; it tasted like her mother's cooking.
She nodded blankly, not even having a chance to say how delicious it was, nor did she expect it to be such a coincidence.
Then Jiang Li said, "It was the first time you went to the coffee shop."
Guan Nan suddenly remembered that glass of wine.
The memory is so vivid, it all feels like a dream, as if it happened just yesterday, he said.
—"Minimum spending is 1,680."
"Pao Zai, 1,680 isn't enough, you need to pay more."
Along with it came the mischievous QR code that had left her blushing with embarrassment.
Guan Nan gave an awkward, fake laugh. Considering the excellent location, environment, and privacy of Yuyuan Garden, she politely added, "Really? Isn't it a bit too little?"
“Not much,” Jiang Li glanced at her, put away his chopsticks, turned the heat down a bit, and said with a half-smile, “How much is Boss Guan planning to invest?”
Having gotten to the point, Guan Nan pursed her lips and tentatively asked, "How much more are you lacking?"
"How much do you have?" Jiang Li didn't even look up.
Guan Nan honestly calculated and didn't hide anything from him, speaking frankly: "1.26 million in the bank, 37,849 in Alipay balance, available for withdrawal in a current account."
Jiang Li hummed in agreement.
Guan Nan glanced at his face and, seeing that he was expressionless and showed no emotion, continued, "I have two other properties under my name, and I should be able to scrape together five million. You can decide when you need them, or rather, after this period, I'll contact an agent to list them and try my best to raise the money by the end of this month."
After turning off the stove, Jiang Li slowly turned his head and said calmly, "Have you forgotten what I told you?"
"What?"
Don't spend money on others casually.
“But,” Guan Nan’s eyes welled up with tears, and she bit her lip, reminding herself and him, “you are not just anyone, Jiang Li, we are married.”
“It wouldn’t work for me either, even if we were already married and had the marriage certificate.” Jiang Li said bluntly, “Also, if you’re talking about selling the house in Hecangyuan, then there’s no need for that. I don’t know who told you what, but it’s really not as difficult as you think.”
Guan Nan stared at him stubbornly, remaining silent as if she would not compromise on this issue.
The space, neither too big nor too small, was quiet now that the range hood had stopped working, so quiet that only their breathing and heartbeats could be heard. Then, Jiang Li finished cooking the dishes and placed them one by one on the island counter, gesturing for her to come over.
Seeing that she remained unmoved, Jiang Li turned around and said patiently, "Let's eat first."
"Do you want it after you finish eating?" Guan Nan persisted.
"No...let's eat first," Jiang Li smiled and said, "I want to talk to you again, okay?"
The two sat at the island counter. Halfway through their meal, he answered a phone call. After listening for only a few words, he subconsciously turned down the volume and got up to walk to the balcony.
Seeing that her attempt to avoid the issue was too obvious, Guan Nan quickened her pace, washed the dishes, and went back to her room.
A moment later, the door opened and then closed again.
The matter seemed urgent. He stopped eating, leaving his bowl and chopsticks exactly as they had been on the table, and hurriedly went out the door. He didn't return until nightfall.
In the early hours of the morning, Guan Nan sat in her room, quietly waiting for the door to open.
Instead of receiving a message, she was bombarded with messages and calls, as if attacked by a swarm of people. But her phone, which was on do-not-disturb mode, did not attract her attention.
She was thinking about how to sell the apartment in Tangzi Lane.
Guan Nan had already started preparing for the sale of the house after returning to Fuling. She had a good understanding of the market price and had also consulted many real estate agents.
Guan Nan picked up her phone and saw 99+ messages and calls, her eyelids twitching suddenly.
At this time, "non-compete agreement" has surged into the top three trending topics.
Upon clicking, one discovers that a powerful figure who had intervened in the startup's management and decision-making power posted a lengthy accusation against her at exactly 10:00 PM, urging netizens to take legal action.
At the same time, a lawyer's letter was also sent to her.
At first glance, it's quite frightening, especially after the other party produced a lawyer's letter, instantly seizing the moral high ground and demanding exorbitant compensation from her.
As an industry professional, Guan Nan was well aware of this series of familiar operations.
The lawyer's letter only served as a scare tactic; if the other party had real evidence, they would have already sued her. Furthermore, the company isn't currently paying her social security, and her salary is being paid in several separate bank accounts—a classic case of tax evasion. There's no way she could admit to ever having worked for the company.
Guan Nan observed the other party's tactics of grabbing attention and generating traffic.
But she couldn't care less about that at the moment; she was focused on the apartment in Tangzi Lane and had arranged a time to view it with the real estate agent.
The next day, Guan Nan was dressed conservatively and hadn't even had a chance to go out yet.
Jiang Li returned at this moment.
"Going out?" Jiang Li asked, halfway off his shoes, as he saw her come out carrying her bag.
Guan Nan instinctively locked the screen and mumbled, "Yeah, I'm going out to meet a friend, I'll be back in a bit."
Upon hearing this, Jiang Li stepped on the ground, swept the keys over, and put them in his pocket.
Guan Nan noticed his attire and was a little puzzled, but she was in a hurry to meet the agent and didn't pay much attention. After changing her shoes, she found him still standing at the door.
"Did you come home very late last night?" The two stood in front of the shoe cabinet, too awkward to say anything, so Guan Nan tried to find a topic to talk about.
Jiang Li lowered his head and gave a casual "hmm".
Seeing that he didn't seem to want to talk, Guan Nan changed her shoes and got up. Not wanting to make a fool of herself, she assumed she was blocking his way. She said, "Then I'll go first," and prepared to press the elevator button to go down.
But Jiang Li was one step ahead and pressed the elevator down button.
One elevator per household, and the elevator came up not too slowly, taking only a short while.
Guan Nan followed behind him and saw him press the button for the second basement level on the ground. She was about to reach out and press the button for the first floor herself.
Suddenly I heard him say, "Where to?"
Guan Nan gave an address.
"Oh," Jiang Li replied casually.
Seeing this, Guan Nan abruptly withdrew her hand that was about to press the button and shamelessly asked, "Are you going the same way?"
Jiang Li succinctly stated: "Things aren't going well."
Guan Nan thought for a moment, then pressed on: "Can we go along with it?"
At that moment, Jiang Li slightly turned his head and looked her up and down with his eyelids lifted.
Guan Nan waited silently.
She didn't press any buttons, nor did she urge him; she just stared at him.
--"bite."
The elevator doors opened, and a voice announced, "We've arrived at the second basement level."
Jiang Li was also reluctant to comply.
He said, "I'll think about it."
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