A man's clothes can only be touched by his own woman; no one else is allowed.
Lin Xiaoran pushed her shopping cart leisurely through the supermarket's rows of shelves. Occasionally, when she reached a spacious, empty area, she would push the cart forward with all her might, then bend over, lean on the handrail, lift her feet off the ground, and glide forward a short distance using the momentum.
Although she knew that such behavior was dangerous and uncivilized, she just couldn't help wanting to do it, so she would get scolded every time she went to the supermarket with her mother.
Jiang Hailang took two bags of potato chips from the shelf and turned around to see Lin Xiaoran using the shopping cart as a skateboard again. He reached out and grabbed the edge of the cart, stopping it in front of him.
"Bo Bo, which brand do you want?"
Lin Xiaoran pointed to the one endorsed by a handsome male celebrity. "This one."
Jiang Hailang put the one she didn't want back, and then casually took a few more bags of the potato chips endorsed by the male celebrity.
"Bobo, shall we have steak or pasta for dinner?" Jiang Hailang took the shopping cart from Lin Xiaoran and continued walking.
"Eat whatever you can cook, I can't cook anyway." Lin Xiaoran texted her mother on her phone, saying she wouldn't be home for dinner that night.
She didn't remember promising Jiang Hailang at noon that she would come to his house to play games, but when she got off work, Jiang Hailang said she had promised and insisted on taking her to the supermarket to buy things so they could cook dinner at his house that night. He said if she didn't come, she would be breaking her promise, and that she was afraid of him.
I can tolerate her not keeping her word, but I can't tolerate her saying she's scared.
"Bobo, let's buy a few self-heating hot pots, shall we? Didn't you complain that the food in the cafeteria wasn't good? Then next time you can bring a self-heating hot pot with you." Jiang Hailang said, taking several different flavors of self-heating hot pots and putting them into the shopping cart.
"Other people bring their own homemade and delicious lunches, but I have to bring a self-heating hot pot?"
"BoBo, want some pomegranate? Mango? Kiwi?"
"Mango, please."
"Okay, then I'll have a little of everything."
Jiang Hailang held a bottle of red wine in each hand. "BoBo, which one should we buy?"
"I'll take whichever is more expensive."
Jiang Hailang glanced at the two bottles of red wine in his hand, priced at 19,999 and 19,998 respectively, then put the 19,998 bottle back. "Okay, whatever you say."
Jiang Hailang lives in an apartment complex not far from Lancheng University. It's a three-bedroom apartment; he lives in one room, leaves one empty, and uses the other room specifically for storing clothes.
Lin Xiaoran glanced around as she changed her shoes, finding everything neat and tidy. "Wow, it's quite clean."
“A woman often comes to my house to clean, so it’s naturally clean,” Jiang Hailang said with a smile, then picked up his shopping bags and walked towards the kitchen.
Lin Xiaoran gave a sincere thumbs up. "President Lang is indeed amazing."
Jiang Hailang glanced back at her. "I pay, she cleans. It's a fair trade."
The housekeeper comes twice a week to clean the house and wash clothes and bedding.
Lin Xiaoran looked around the room, and Jiang Hailang placed the ingredients on the counter and then came out to accompany her.
The large window in the living room faces Lancheng University, but the visibility is poor at night, and you can only see white lights shining from the tall buildings in the distance.
“That’s the library. It’s a landmark building of Lan University.” After saying that, Jiang Hailang pointed to a dark area next to him and said, “That’s the Political Science, Economics and Law Building. We used to have classes in that building.”
Lin Xiaoran turned to look at Jiang Hailang. "Do you especially miss your college days? Do you still like your girlfriend from college?"
Jiang Hailang laughed, "Jealous?"
"Stop being so vain. Who's jealous of you? I'm just worried that if you still like her, wouldn't I be breaking them up?"
After all, Gao Jiali had come several times, and she had been verbally attacked each time.
"My college days are over, there's nothing to reminisce about. Besides, with so many girlfriends, why would I have time to reminisce about someone I broke up with years ago? Do I seem like that kind of person who's sentimental?"
Buying this house was simply a wish he made when he was in a bad financial situation: that he would definitely buy a house here when he had money. So, as soon as he actually made money, he came here to fulfill his wish.
“That doesn’t seem like it.” After saying that, Lin Xiaoran turned around and went to visit the dressing room.
Pushing open the door, the scene before me could only be described as shocking. Everything outside was neat and spotless, but the walk-in closet was such a mess that I didn't know which foot to step in with first.
The clothes hanging on the wall were presentable enough, but the low cabinets, jewelry cabinets, and small sofas were all piled with all sorts of clothes.
"Was your walk-in closet robbed?" Lin Xiaoran picked up a shirt from the single sofa with two fingers and threw it onto the glass surface of the jewelry cabinet.
“It’s not strange for a single man like this, is it?” Jiang Hailang said, picking up a few pieces of clothing and throwing them into a blue basket on the ground.
"Doesn't the housekeeper tidy up your clothes?"
"Only a man's woman can touch his clothes; no one else can." As he said this, Jiang Hailang threw two more pieces of clothing into the white basket.
Their rules are: every corner must be thoroughly cleaned, bedding must be changed twice a week, and clothes must be washed and ironed. But only clothes that he throws into the laundry basket can be washed – the blue basket for washing and the white basket for dry cleaning. Other clothes, even if they are thrown on the floor, must remain on the floor and are not allowed to be touched.
He wanted that carefree, disorganized freedom that comes with being a single man.
The doorbell rang, and Jiang Hailang went to open the door. The deliveryman handed him a large box to sign for.
Jiang Hailang squatted on the living room floor, unpacking boxes. Lin Xiaoran went over to him and asked, "What's this?"
"Game console."
Lin Xiaoran leaned closer; they had all sorts of brands. Suddenly, she realized something was off. "You don't even have a game console at home, and you dare invite me over to play?"
“Now we have them, right? I bought several. Take a look and see which one you want to play.” Jiang Hailang handed a game catalog to Lin Xiaoran. Then he got up from the floor. “I’ll go cook.”
He placed the order online as soon as he got to work in the afternoon, and JD.com was very efficient; it was delivered that evening.
Lin Xiaoran picked out the game, placed it separately on the coffee table, and then ran to the kitchen to watch Jiang Hailang cook.
Seeing him wearing an apron and washing pots, he seemed quite professional. But then, looking at the overly clean kitchen, as if it had never been used, it didn't quite seem right.
Jiang Hailang put the pasta in the pot to cook, and then took a frying pan to fry the steak. Lin Xiaoran sat on the counter with a bag of potato chips and watched. She felt that the counter was so clean that if she sat on it, Jiang Hailang might scold her for getting her clothes dirty.
The fire was too high. Smoke started rising from the bottom of the pan shortly after the steak was put in. Jiang Hailang quickly flipped it over with a spatula, but a large area of the steak was still charred black.
The water in the pasta pot next to him was boiling, bubbling and pushing the lid off. Jiang Hailang hurriedly tried to lift the lid, but the hot steam scalded him so much that he threw the lid aside. Luckily, the lid was sturdy enough not to break on the spot.
I added cold water to the pasta pot, but the steak had already burned on the other side.
Lin Xiaoran sat there, her legs dangling in the air, watching the lively kitchen drama unfold like a spectacle. She didn't forget to pop a few more potato chips into her mouth.
Fortunately, she had the foresight to bring her own food to the kitchen instead of leaving the responsibility of feeding Jiang Hailang to him.
After the second steak was burnt and the spaghetti turned into clumps of sticky, unidentified stuff in the pan, Jiang Hailang finally gave up resisting.
He turned off the stove and sighed. "Well, the first use of the kitchen has ended in failure."
Lin Xiaoran smiled and handed over some potato chips, saying it was better to have something to eat than to go hungry.
Jiang Hailang also jumped onto the kitchen counter and sat down next to Lin Xiaoran, eating the potato chips she handed him.
When the doorbell rang again, Lin Xiaoran excitedly jumped off the counter and skipped out of the kitchen to open the door, shouting as she ran, "Yo-ho, my spicy crayfish are here!"
Lin Xiaoran gave up resisting even earlier than Jiang Hailang. After Jiang Hailang clumsily burned the first steak with his spatula, she no longer believed she could get anything worthy of being called dinner from him. So, she cleverly picked up her phone and ordered some crayfish.
Two people who had turned the kitchen into a battlefield and had no time to clean up were now sitting at the dining table, feasting on a large plate of spicy crayfish.
Jiang Hailang picked up the decanted red wine and poured a glass for himself and Lin Xiaoran. Crayfish with red wine, not bad at all.
After the meal, looking at the mess on the table and in the kitchen, Lin Xiaoran turned to look at Jiang Hailang. Without a word, he understood.
"Don't worry about it, the housekeeper will come to clean tomorrow. Let me see what game you chose?" Jiang Hailang picked up the game catalog card on the table and started looking at it.
Lin Xiaoran asked, "Shall we play tennis?"
“No problem. I was in the tennis club in college.” Jiang Hailang moved the coffee table aside and then started searching for games on the screen.
"What a coincidence, me too."
Next up is a showdown between two tennis masters.
Lin Xiaoran was very lively, jumping around, but jumping so much inevitably made her tired quickly. Jiang Hailang, on the other hand, found a good position and kept a close eye on the direction the ball was flying, hitting the ball accurately and steadily.
Jiang Hailang won the match and raised an eyebrow at Lin Xiaoran: "Still saying I'm no good?"
"You're good, you're really good. Let's play something else." Lin Xiaoran flipped through the catalog on the screen and selected a dance game.
For Jiang Hailang, one of the advantages of frequenting nightclubs was that, besides having a good alcohol tolerance, he was also relatively coordinated and could keep up with the energetic dance moves. However, after a fast-paced dance, both of them were covered in sweat.
Lin Xiaoran was sprawled out on the sofa, and Jiang Hailang handed her a tissue to wipe her sweat. He then went to the refrigerator and took out two cans of drinks. He sat down on the carpet next to her and handed her one of the cans.
After taking a few sips, Lin Xiaoran suddenly noticed that the library directly opposite her window was completely dark, hidden in the boundless night.
I turned on my phone and checked the time; it was almost midnight.
She quickly got up from the sofa. "It's so late? I have to go home, or I'll get scolded again."
Jiang Hailang sat on the ground, reached out and pulled her up, and asked, "Will you stay here tonight?" Afraid that she would misunderstand his words, he added, "You can sleep in the second bedroom."
"Forget it. There are family rules. If I come home late, I'll just get scolded; if I don't come home at all, I'll probably get beaten up."
Jiang Hailang smiled, placed the drink on the coffee table, and stood up. "Come on, I'll take you home."
After hailing a taxi and stating his destination, Jiang Hailang suddenly said, "Driver, let's take a ride around the Third Ring Road first."
The driver glanced at the two people sitting side by side in the back seat in the rearview mirror, gave a nod, and said nothing more.
Jiang Hailang asked Lin Xiaoran, "Is it okay?"
"Sure. Since I'm going to get yelled at anyway, what's the difference between going back at midnight and going back at one o'clock?"
The Third Ring Road was nearly empty at midnight. Lin Xiaoran turned to look at the tall buildings and lights outside the window.
A WeChat notification sounded, and when she took out her phone, she was surprised to see that the sender was Jiang Hailang. She glanced at him questioningly, then opened the message and read it carefully.
There were no words, only a string of numbers.
Jiang Hailang said, "This is the password to my door. You can come to my house by yourself in the future."
"Why should I go to your house by myself? I can wait until you're home before I go."
"That's fine too." Actually, he didn't know under what circumstances Lin Xiaoran would go to his house on her own, but he just felt like telling her the password.
"Besides, if I come uninvited and happen to run into one of your girlfriends, wouldn't I be in a situation where I can't clear my name no matter what?"
"Don't worry, you won't run into them."
Since he bought the house, only three women have ever visited: his mother, the housekeeper, and Lin Xiaoran.
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