Chapter Sixty-Three: Surprise Turns into Fright, My Love-Struck Brain Is Almost Dried Up
The cicadas chirped incessantly outside the window, and the air still carried the lingering summer heat that hadn't quite dissipated after the start of autumn.
Luo Yan rested her chin on her hand, sighed as she looked at her phone screen, and unconsciously tapped the chat box with Jiang Sui.
What a jerk! He was on a business trip for three days, and besides saying good morning and good night, he didn't say a single unnecessary word. He was like a pre-programmed work machine.
Exit the chat interface and send Zeng Rong a message:
- Granny Rong, help! Why does my relationship seem to have entered a plateau prematurely? Jiang Sui used to bicker and play tricks on me, but now he's gone on a business trip and I can't reach him!
Zeng Rong replied instantly:
- You don't understand, do you? The key to keeping a relationship fresh is creating uncertainty. If you always wait for him to take the initiative, won't things get boring after a while? You have to surprise him from time to time so he always feels that you're something new!
Luo Yan:
-What kind of surprises can a civil servant like me come up with? Send him a banner that says "Model Boyfriend Who Loves His Job and Is Dedicated to His Work"?
Zeng Rong:
-I'm so disappointed in you! You need to broaden your perspective! For example, when he comes back from a business trip, dress up nicely to pick him up, give him a surprise hug, and then sweetly confess your feelings. I guarantee he'll be overjoyed. You can just apply child psychology to men.
Luo Yan stroked her chin and began to ponder.
That seems to make sense. Jiang Sui's abstinence in public and indulgence in private might actually work for that.
She checked her return flight information. Her flight would land in Yu'an at 5 p.m. the next day. It would only take about 40 minutes to drive from the airport to his house, so she could go there right after get off work.
The next day during lunch break, Luo Yan secretly slipped into the bathroom to touch up her makeup. She fiddled with it in front of the mirror for a long time, but in the end, she still wiped off her lipstick.
She's too glamorous; Director Zheng will have to talk to her later to emphasize the image of civil servants.
After thinking for a moment, she changed into a pale yellow long dress, put on a gray blazer, and wore the puppy necklace he had given her. She looked both formal and feminine, perfectly balancing her roles as a girlfriend and a civil servant.
At five o'clock sharp, Luo Yan grabbed her bag, rushed out the gate, and took a taxi straight to Jiang Sui's residential area.
To maintain the surprise, she didn't tell him she was coming and deliberately went to the underground parking lot to wait for him.
The parking lot was dimly lit. Luo Yan hid behind a pillar, clutching the milk tea she had just bought. Her heart was pounding. What would his reaction be? Would he like this "surprise"?
Just as he was lost in thought, the sound of a car engine came from behind him, and a black SUV slowly pulled into the parking space. It was Jiang Sui's car.
Luo Yan took out a small mirror and looked at herself. Hmm, her makeup was perfect and her hair was in no mess. Just as she was about to rush out, she caught a glimpse of another silver minivan stopping out of the corner of her eye. The door opened, and Jiang Qiming got out, called out to Jiang Sui, and walked straight over.
Luo Yan quickly withdrew one of her left feet, while shrinking her body behind the pillar, leaning against the wall and barely daring to breathe.
Jiang Qiming's arrival was perfectly timed. Why now of all times, and why did we have to run into each other in the parking lot?
"What are you doing here?" Jiang Sui's voice carried a hint of surprise, as well as a barely perceptible sense of distance.
"Just passing by, thought I'd drop by." Jiang Qiming's gaze swept over the suitcase in his hand. "Just got back from a business trip? Was it the Pingchuan project? Luo Muyang really trusts you completely, putting you in charge of all the important projects, and even entrusting his precious daughter to you."
"Just say what you have to say." Jiang Sui clearly didn't want to talk to his father much.
"Then I'll be blunt. I'm here today to tell you to resign immediately and return to Mingsheng."
"I am doing very well in my current job and have no plans to resign or go to Mingsheng."
After saying this in a lukewarm tone, Jiang Sui picked up her suitcase and turned to leave.
"I haven't finished speaking!"
As Jiang Qiming walked over, he suddenly caught a glimpse of a pale yellow hem of clothing quickly disappearing behind a pillar not far behind Jiang Sui. A flash of light appeared on his glasses.
"Okay, let's not talk about work then, let's talk about your life. You're still with Luo Yan? Are you serious?"
Luo Yan held her breath and pricked up her ears.
"What do you mean?" Jiang Sui did not answer directly.
Jiang Qiming sneered, "So, you mean you genuinely like her, or is it just that being with her makes me unhappy?"
Jiang Sui frowned: "This is none of your business. I have no obligation to explain my relationship with Luo Yan to anyone."
"None of my business?" Jiang Qiming raised his voice. "Everything I've asked you to do over the years, wasn't for your own good? Can you honestly say that going to Feiyang to help Luo Muyang back then wasn't just to spite me? Now, being with his daughter is just because you think she's the last person I want you to choose. Wasn't it all just for my benefit?"
"That's not true."
"No? Then tell me, what do you like about Luo Yan? She's an illegitimate child with an eccentric personality. Besides her decent looks and her respectable civil servant status, what other qualities do you have that make you so obsessed with her? Jiang Sui, do you really have to argue with me to see who wins?"
"So what if it is? So what if it isn't? You stopped caring about my life or death a long time ago, so what's the point of saying all this now?"
Jiang Sui's tone became visibly irritated. "I'm living a good life now, please stop interfering."
Jiang Qiming smiled knowingly and nodded, "Alright, take care of yourself." With that, he turned and got into his car, the engine noise gradually fading into the distance.
Jiang Sui stood there, his shoulders slightly tense, lost in thought.
Luo Yan felt her body trembling uncontrollably.
The conversation between the father and son struck her heart like a hammer.
Jiang Sui was with her not because he truly loved her, but simply to... rebel against Jiang Qiming?
She wanted to question him, but she was afraid to hear the answer she dreaded, because it seemed that... just as Jiang Qiming had said, there was nothing that could make Jiang Sui indispensable to her.
After hesitating for a long time, she took a deep breath, forced herself to calm down, and walked out from behind the pillar. At this moment, Jiang Sui turned around and was surprised to see her. He was stunned for a moment, but the gloom in his eyes instantly disappeared: "When did you get here? Why didn't you go home?" He walked over and wanted to take her hand.
Luo Yan shrank back slightly, and Jiang Sui's hand froze in mid-air, a look of confusion on his face: "What's wrong? Are you in a bad mood?"
"It's nothing..." She bit her lip, slightly avoiding his gaze. "Was the business trip tiring?"
Jiang Sui smiled and said, "Let's talk upstairs."
Along the way, Luo Yan felt as if a stone was pressing on her heart. Her mind was filled with Jiang Qiming's words and Jiang Sui's ambiguous answers. He neither denied rebelling against his father nor explained whether his feelings for her were real.
Back home, Jiang Sui put her luggage at the door and poured her a glass of warm water: "Have you missed me these past few days?"
"Hmm..." Luo Yan replied perfunctorily, her eyes wandering aimlessly around the room.
Jiang Sui noticed that something was wrong with her and came over to sit next to her: "You're acting strange today, is something wrong?"
"No." Luo Yan forced a smile. "I was doing community outreach today, I'm a little tired... By the way, did your business trip go well? Did you finish negotiating the Pingchuan project?"
She deliberately changed the subject. Although Jiang Sui found it strange, she didn't press the matter and continued, "It went quite smoothly, but I'm not used to the food there. I think about the sandwiches you make every day."
"I'll make it for you tonight." Luo Yan stood up. "I'll go check what ingredients are in the refrigerator."
She fled into the kitchen, leaning against the refrigerator door, her heart pounding. She suddenly remembered the days when she was a child and people pointed at her, remembered Xu Jingfei's indifference towards her and even her view of her as a burden that would ruin her life, remembered her ten years with Wu Yuzhou that ended only with betrayal. She suddenly realized that she had never been chosen with conviction.
Is she going to go back to her old ways again? Continuing to blindly chase after someone who doesn't love her for another ten years?
Would Jiang Sui be different?
In the evening, Luo Yan made Jiang Sui's favorite tomato and egg sandwich, while she herself kept her head down and picked at the noodles in her bowl, with little appetite.
Jiang Sui looked up at her: "Not to your liking? I'll make you something new. What would you like to eat?"
"No need, I'm almost done eating." Luo Yan quickly shoveled down a couple of mouthfuls of noodles, but her mind was becoming increasingly conflicted.
After dinner, Jiang Sui went to wash the dishes, while Luo Yan sat on the sofa scrolling through her phone and sent Zeng Rong a message:
- Rong Momo, how can you tell if a man truly loves you? Not because of rebellion or novelty, but simply because of love.
Zeng Rong:
-What did Mr. Jiang do? Why do you have such an insecure question?!
Luo Yan:
-It's none of his business, I was just asking...
Zeng Rong:
- It's actually very simple. Just deliberately get close to other guys and see if he gets jealous. Jealousy means love! Or you could threaten to break up and see if he tries to win you back. Trying to win him back means love!
Luo Yan rolled her eyes.
Are there any other criteria for judgment? Not the kind that leads to reckless behavior.
Zeng Rong:
A man's heart is where his money is; if he's willing to spend money on you, that's love! Or, see if he spends time with you; if he's willing, that's love!
Looking at these incoherent suggestions, Luo Yan felt like her brain had been burned dry.
Jealous? Jiang Sui is incredibly good at it, even with cats; break up? No way, what if it becomes real? Spend money? The most understated gift Jiang Sui gave her was that puppy necklace, a five-figure price tag, which shows he's willing to spend money on her; spend time? This workaholic spends almost all his free time with her, so that also qualifies.
At this moment, Zeng Rong suddenly sent another message:
- There's another golden standard: watch his performance in bed. If he puts in the effort, that's love! PS: If he's not just focused on his own pleasure but also tries to make you feel good too, it's definitely true love. My husband is like that. [shy][winking]
Luo Yan couldn't help but look up at Jiang Sui. He was still wiping the stove, completely unaware of the gaze behind him. His black shirt neatly outlined his upright back, the hem of which was tucked into his waistband, and his waist swayed slightly with the movement of his hands.
His "performance" in bed...
Luo Yan suddenly felt her throat was inexplicably dry, and involuntarily swallowed several mouthfuls of saliva. She quickly shook her head, trying to shake off certain indescribable images.
Zeng Rong really... doesn't treat her like an outsider.
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