Chapter 20
The first thing I do when I wake up on New Year's Day is to take off and wash the bed sheets and clean the house.
Jiang Lan was busy, but Xiao Ming ignored her.
She sat on the sofa, holding a mirror up to the bluish-purple teeth marks on her face, and carefully applied medicine.
After applying the ointment to his face, he beckoned to Jiang Lan: "Come here, let me apply the ointment."
Jiang Lan sat next to her, raising his chin. His teeth mark still had some bloodstains, which looked somewhat ferocious on his pale skin.
She carefully applied the medicine to his skin and gave him a quick kiss on the lips: "All done. You're the one who caused trouble, you brought this on yourself. Luckily, your skin wasn't broken, or you might have been disfigured."
Because of their facial injuries, the two of them had to stay at home and didn't go out.
Xiao Ming lay sprawled on the sofa, scrolling through his family's updates on his social media account to see if they had any New Year's Day activities. Unsurprisingly, they were all supermarket discount and promotional ads.
When her father was young, he went to the town to make a living, did some small business, and then settled down there.
Zhou Zaiming, the eldest brother, had a childhood sweetheart in Mingzhen who later became his sister-in-law.
After graduating, the eldest sister-in-law passed the exam to become a primary school teacher in the small town. The two had a long-distance relationship that was on and off for many years. When the eldest sister-in-law made the difficult decision to give up the relationship, the eldest brother heard the news that his sister-in-law was going on blind dates. He couldn't accept it and eventually gave up his career in the big city. He chose to return to his hometown and opened the only supermarket in the town. He also successfully married his sister-in-law and had children.
Since her family opened a supermarket, they've been completely tied to it. While others get holidays off, the whole family works overtime. When she's on vacation at home, she's a full-time housewife and cook.
I was thinking of posting the photos from my trip a couple of days ago to the family group chat, but then I thought better of it, afraid of upsetting them.
Jiang Lan was also organizing his recent photos. He picked out a photo of the couple's necklace and a slightly blurry candid photo of Xiao Ming's back, posted it on social media, and set it to be visible only to family members.
For some reason, Xiaoming is very resistant to taking pictures. Other girls love to take selfies and enjoy creating beautiful photos, but she doesn't like taking selfies or appearing in other people's photos. All the photos of her on his phone are taken secretly, and there isn't a single one of them showing her face.
He had just posted an update asking for her opinion, and she saw that the photo only showed a blurry silhouette under the shade of a tree: "It's quite artistic."
Jiang Lan said proudly, "Of course, it doesn't matter who took the photo. I'm a great photographer."
After saying that, he held up his phone and pointed it at Xiaoming: "Shall we take a picture together now?"
Upon hearing this, Xiao Ming immediately raised his hand to cover his face: "No."
"Don't you want to take a photo with me?"
"No, I feel ashamed to be photographed, I don't like it."
"What do you do when you take photos at work or school?"
"Apply to be the one taking the photo when it's not necessary, and sit up straight and serious when it is necessary, then you won't feel awkward."
Jiang Lan was both amused and exasperated. Xiao Ming took his hand, took out his phone, snapped a picture of them holding hands, and handed it to him.
"I think this is more subtle and aesthetically pleasing."
It's really beautiful; the hands have fair skin, beautiful shape, and long fingers. If you blur the background, it could be used as wallpaper.
"It's too subtle, with no recognizable features at all. People will just think it's a photo downloaded randomly from the internet."
As she spoke, she leaned her head on Xiaoming's shoulder, arching and twisting her body, "I won't take pictures of your face, just your chin and neck, so the necklace is visible."
Xiao Ming was worn down by this combination of coquettish tactics and had no choice but to give in and take the photos.
Jiang Lan set the photo as her phone's lock screen and coaxed Xiao Ming to use the same photo as his lock screen as well.
Not long after, Jiang Lan received a call from her mother.
"Is your girlfriend next to you?" Jiang's mother asked him in a low voice.
"Yes, I'm sitting next to you, scrolling through my phone," Jiang Lan replied softly.
"Okay, you two have fun. Mom will call you again next time. Bye."
Jiang Lan stared at the phone that had been hung up, feeling somewhat bewildered.
After spending New Year's Day together in sweet bliss, the two of them were back to their miserable, back-to-back life.
The next day at work, Sister Ying saw that Xiaoming was wearing a mask and asked her, "Have you caught a cold again?"
Xiao Ming nodded: "Ah, I caught a cold."
It will probably take quite a few days for this mark on her face to fade. I wonder if people will think she has a terminal illness after wearing a mask for so many days.
Unlike Xiaoming, who could avoid people even when he had to take off his mask to eat, Jiang Lan couldn't stay in the company for several days without taking it off, so he simply took it off as soon as he entered the company.
The employees who came and greeted him all glanced at his chin.
Jiang Lan entered her office expressionlessly.
When Liu Zhen entered the company, he noticed that everyone was unusually active today, whispering to each other everywhere.
As he passed by, everyone pretended to be busy, leaving Liu Zhen completely bewildered.
It wasn't until he went into Jiang Lan's office to talk to him and saw the conspicuous, almost sparkling, teeth mark on his chin that he finally understood why everyone had been so lively.
"Did your son Xiaoming do this?"
Jiang Lan remained silent, busy with her own things.
“That’s really wild. You bit me like this. What did you do?” Liu Zhen asked him.
"Don't talk about private matters."
"Tsk! Fine, I know you're shy, I'll let you off the hook."
Liu Zhen straightened his expression and started talking to Jiang Lan about the project orders he had secured at the last exhibition.
Designing products according to customer needs and meeting delivery deadlines means the technical department probably won't be able to go home for the Chinese New Year this year.
Xiaoming's company is having its annual meeting this Friday, and the whole company is rushing to finish year-end summaries and work plans for the coming year, including Xiaoming.
Jiang Lan didn't want to work overtime during the Spring Festival, afraid that coming home late would disturb Xiao Ming, so she has been sleeping at the company recently and hasn't come home for several days.
After the annual meeting, Xiaoming saw a criminal case consultation in a clip from a well-known lawyer's live stream.
Police have cracked a major case involving the theft and sale of female corpses. The case stemmed from a dispute over the division of spoils, which led to infighting within the criminal gang, resulting in one death and one serious injury.
The person consulting in the live stream was a relative of someone in the gang who claimed to be a lookout. Because all the people involved had been detained, this person was asking about the possibility of their relative receiving a heavy sentence.
After reviewing the video footage, Xiaoming searched for the case online and found the police report on the official website.
The buyers were all overseas families seeking posthumous marriages for their children. The trafficking gang searched China for families willing to provide remains for money. Xiaoming recognized the identity of the seriously injured criminal because his place of origin was unusual, containing many rare characters. She searched for local news from before the Lunar New Year and, sure enough, the girl who died suddenly in the factory was from that area.
Further investigation revealed that the seriously injured man was the younger brother of the girl who died suddenly. After her parents received compensation, they were gradually tricked into giving it to their son, who then gambled it all away and started borrowing money to gamble.
His gambling buddies gave him advice, saying that ghost marriages for unmarried girls were in high demand and out of supply, and suggested he think of ways to do that.
He was persuaded and secretly exhumed his sister's remains, selling them for hundreds of thousands of yuan.
Seeing that he had money again, his gambling friends immediately organized a game and invited him to the gambling table, saying that if he was lucky, he could not only pay off all the debts he had borrowed before, but also win back all the losses.
As a result, he became increasingly entangled in the crime and joined a corpse-stealing gang in order to pay off his debts.
The internal conflict arose because his share of the spoils was used to pay off gambling debts before he even received it. Another member had been mocking him for a long time, which made him angry and resentful. At a dinner party, he suddenly attacked the other member. Others couldn't stop him in time, and the other member died on the spot. The other member's older brother was also present. Seeing his brother die tragically, he gathered a group of people and beat him severely.
A group of ruthless outlaws with no moral compass were all brought to justice.
It's so pitiful that this girl was born into such a family, and even in death, her remains were left to wander in a foreign land.
Her parents lost their son and squandered their life savings. It's easy to imagine how miserable their later years will be. What goes around comes around; karma is truly swift and inevitable.
As the Spring Festival holiday approached, Xiaoming still couldn't buy a high-speed rail ticket home. Helpless, he had to postpone his return date and finally managed to buy a ticket for the 28th of the lunar calendar. His company started its holiday on the 24th of the lunar calendar. With nothing to do at home, Xiaoming swapped shifts with his colleagues, getting off the holiday three days later and reporting back three days later after the holiday.
On the 27th, Xiaoming got up early to clean the whole house, then put up the Spring Festival couplets and other decorations, took pictures and sent them to Jiang Lan.
【The posters also need to be put up at the big house. You can go there first; I'll be off work soon and will go straight there after work.】
That's all, that's all for now. *shrug*
[You, Zhou Xiaoming, don't you know that you can't get fat by eating alone? You're only thinking about yourself when you're making those "Fu" characters! Unbelievable.JPG]
[Injustice.JPG] I didn't buy it; it was a company benefit.
[Feeling wronged.JPG] Wait for me to get back, let's go to the flower market together.
【OK, well-behaved.JPG】
Around 2 PM, Jiang Lan returned. After spending a few days at the company, the once neat and meticulous young man had become a disheveled and slovenly middle-aged man.
After taking a good shower, they took the dirty clothes out of their bags and put them in the washing machine, then hurried to the flower market.
After parking the car, we entered the flower market, which was bustling with people. Contrary to their expectations, the market was not in a situation where the owners were going home for the Chinese New Year and would be closing up shop later.
When choosing Spring Festival couplets, Xiaoming asked Jiang Lan, "Is it appropriate to put up such festive things in your house with its minimalist style?"
Jiang Lan raised an eyebrow and glanced at Xiao Ming: "What you're saying is true. In our area, any style of building is suitable for putting up such festive things. The more festive, the better."
There was no trace of those Spring Festival couplets or the character "福" (good fortune) on his house at all. Xiao Ming pouted, "What a copycat."
Jiang Lan leaned close to Xiao Ming's ear and said through gritted teeth with ill intent, "You've forgotten the pain once the wound has healed, haven't you? How about I give you another one on your face to keep you company during the New Year?"
Xiao Ming instinctively covered his face and leaned back: "Buy, buy more, I'll put them on your toilet too."
Jiang Lan nodded jokingly: "Okay, smooth sailing is a good omen."
Passing by the flower section, Xiaoming picked out two pots of small kumquats, two pots of phalaenopsis orchids, and two pots of bromeliads.
Jiang Lan looked at the trunk and back seat, which were crammed full, and asked her, "Can you fit everything in your room?"
Xiao Ming shook his head: "Keep them all with you, it'll bring good luck."
"No one waters it."
"I don't care, that's your business, you can arrange it yourself."
Jiang Lan frowned, then smiled again after a moment's thought. Seeing that Xiao Ming had fastened his seatbelt, she cupped her face and kissed him hard: "Good buy, I like it very much."
The two got haircuts before returning to Jiang Lan's place.
Jiang Lan's house was kept very clean, with no area needing a major cleaning. Xiao Ming kept his promise and covered the house with bright red stickers.
"It would be great if all the stickers were Double Happiness," Jiang Lan muttered.
"What's that person muttering about? Go and bring the flowers up."
"No rush, I'll move tomorrow. Let me rest for a bit first."
"Then you rest, I'm going back." Xiaoming said, getting up to pack his things.
Jiang Lan got a headache just hearing the word "go back," and quickly got up to hold the person down: "Is there something dirty in this house or teeth growing on the sofa? You can't stand staying here, can you?"
"I need to go back and pack my things. I have to catch a train tomorrow. Besides, I didn't bring anything with me this time. Maybe next time. I'll definitely stay next time."
Jiang Lan couldn't refuse her, so she changed cars to take Xiaoming home and stayed there herself.
After dinner, the two found a suspense movie and lay down to watch it in bed. As they watched, Jiang Lan fell asleep. When she woke up, all she could see was the faint blue light from the electrical indicator lights.
He turned on the bedside lamp, looked at Xiaoming's sleeping face, and couldn't help but lower his head and kiss her. Then, he couldn't stop himself. In the end, he wanted to melt into her body.
Xiao Ming reached out and turned off the alarm clock, removed the arm from his waist, got up, picked up his pajamas that had fallen to the ground, put them on, and went to the bathroom to wash up.
After heating up a few steamed buns and putting them on the table, Jiang Lan took out two cartons of milk and got up as well.
After finishing breakfast and tidying up the house, Xiaoming got into Jiang Lan's car and went to the high-speed rail station to catch his train.
Jiang Lan remained quiet the entire way, and Xiao Ming glanced at him from time to time without making a sound.
When they arrived at the waiting hall, he pulled her suitcase, and the two of them stood hand in hand in a corner, looking up at the display screen that kept refreshing the train schedule information. When they saw Xiaoming's train number appear on it, Jiang Lan hugged him and said, "Come back soon."
"Um."
Jiang Lan watched Xiaoming enter the ticket gate for a while before turning to leave.
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
