Chapter 16
It was already dark outside, and the colorful lights wrapped around the trees along the roadside were flashing brightly.
"Honey, go home and sleep tonight," Jiang's mother said to Jiang Wanwan.
Mr. Jiang had already parked his car on the side of the road, ready to pick up his wife and daughter and take them home.
Jiang Wanwan opened the car door for her mother, greeted her father first, and then said, "I'm not going back. I have to go to work tomorrow. You guys go ahead. I'll go back to my public rental apartment by myself later."
Jiang Wanwan's home and the public rental housing are located in opposite directions, one to the south and the other to the north, and are not on the same route.
Upon hearing this, Jiang's mother sighed and said, "Oh, it's so late. Let your father take you home."
Jiang Wanwan insisted on refusing, not wanting to trouble the elderly couple any further. Jiang's mother was somewhat unhappy to see this, so Jiang's father stepped in to smooth things over.
"Oh dear, our daughter is all grown up now and can take care of herself. Besides, there are streetlights and surveillance cameras all over the place, so don't worry unnecessarily."
Upon hearing this, Jiang's mother immediately retorted, "No matter how old she is, she's still a little girl in my eyes..."
Seeing that the two were about to start arguing again, Jiang Wanwan quickly stepped in to stop them and assured them that she would be careful. She finally managed to see the two elders off.
As night deepened, standing on the bridge, the flashing car lights stretched endlessly below.
Jiang Wanwan watched her family's car merge into the traffic flow, then turned and left Gaoqiao.
Back in her rented apartment, Jiang Wanwan took out her key, unlocked the door, and placed her bag on the counter by the door.
After changing her shoes, she walked towards the living room.
"Snap—" The indoor lights were turned on, illuminating the room as if it were daytime.
However, the moment Jiang Wanwan turned her head, she screamed in fright.
"ah--"
She saw a man sitting on the sofa, staring intently at her with a wary look in his eyes.
“Mr. Xiao…” Jiang Wanwan patted her chest, and after seeing the other person clearly, she slowly calmed down.
She hadn't been contacted all day, and she thought he had already left. She never expected that he was still here.
Hearing Jiang Wanwan's words, Xiao Mingzhu remained silent for a long time before finally asking in confusion, "You know me?"
? ? ?
Jiang Wanwan's expression was even more surprised than the man's. She walked up to him and tentatively said, "You don't recognize me? I'm Jiang Wanwan from Yanyuan No.1 Middle School."
Xiao Mingzhu's gaze remained blank, and no matter how Jiang Wanwan asked, he knew nothing.
"Do you still remember your name?" Jiang Wanwan gritted her teeth and finally asked.
The principal had always called him Mr. Xiao, so she didn't know his real name, only that his surname was Xiao.
“I…” Xiao Mingzhu frowned, as if trying to think, “I don’t remember.”
At first, a glimmer of hope appeared in Jiang Wanwan's eyes, but upon hearing the second half of the sentence, she was immediately dashed.
He has amnesia!
The woman spread her arms, leaned back on the sofa, and put one hand on her forehead, looking very troubled and helpless.
Although she had an empty bedroom, she still felt somewhat uncomfortable taking in a strange man.
If she knew his name, she could take him to the police station to check his ID and somehow contact his family and friends, but now that plan seems to have fallen through.
Suddenly, she remembered something, immediately sat up, and said excitedly, "Don't worry, I'll ask the principal tomorrow."
Since he donated money to the school, there must be information about the donor and copies of his identification documents.
Thinking of this, Jiang Wanwan felt as if she had been injected with chicken blood and came back to life.
Xiao Mingzhu stared at the woman in front of him, who was sometimes frowning and sometimes beaming with joy, and maintained his usual expressionless face.
Jiang Wanwan turned her head and saw that the bread on the coffee table was intact. As if she had just remembered something, she asked in shock, "Mr. Xiao, you haven't eaten anything all day, have you?"
Upon hearing this, Xiao Mingzhu nodded slightly.
Upon seeing this, Jiang Wanwan's eyes widened in surprise. She secretly sighed that the other party was a ruthless person. Sure enough, big shots can endure what ordinary people cannot.
Wait a minute! What if he regains his memory later? Won't he accuse her of abuse?
Jiang Wanwan immediately jumped up from the sofa. "Mr. Xiao, let me make you a bowl of noodles."
It wasn't that she didn't want to feed him well; it was just that all she knew how to cook was noodles.
Given the treatment and benefits afforded to him, he should at least be eating something high-class, but it's already so late, and many restaurants are closed.
It's better to cook noodles; it's quick and cheap.
Jiang Wanwan would never admit that she was reluctant to spend money. If the other party insisted on eating lobster and king crab, her monthly salary wouldn't even be enough for him to eat.
After saying that, she ran towards the kitchen.
The boiling water was bubbling in the pot, releasing white steam.
Jiang Wanwan skillfully put the noodles into the pot, her mind drifting as she recalled the scene from last night.
In the dark alley, she helped the man up, intending to take him to the hospital. He refused and pushed her away. She lost her grip on him, and then heard a thud…
Suddenly, Jiang Wanwan had a bold guess—could it be that she failed to support him and caused him to lose his memory?
A feeling of guilt instantly welled up inside her. She blinked her eyelashes and added two more poached eggs to the pot.
Oh, it's all her fault.
Jiang Wanwan served the noodles to the table and kindly invited the man to eat.
Looking at the woman with the strange smile, Xiao Mingzhu suspected that her face had been poisoned. Although he had amnesia, he was not stupid.
"Take a bite first," he said cautiously.
Jiang Wanwan froze, disbelief in her eyes. She had kindly cooked for him, and he still doubted her!
The two stared at each other for a long time before Jiang Wanwan finally gave in.
She picked up a mouthful of noodles from the bowl, caught it with her hand, and quickly put it in her mouth. "Is this okay now?"
Xiao Mingzhu observed the other person for a while and, finding no problems, began to eat.
He ate very quickly, looking extremely hungry, yet his movements remained elegant, as if he were a Western aristocrat.
Jiang Wanwan looked at the empty bowl, a hint of sympathy flashing in her eyes, and slowly said, "Eat slowly, there's still some in the pot."
That evening, Jiang Wanwan tidied up the empty bedroom and planned to let the man stay there temporarily. After all, he had already made the man suffer on the sofa all night yesterday, and it would be inappropriate to do the same again today.
This empty bedroom was originally prepared for Mr. and Mrs. Jiang. When they heard that she was going to move out, Mrs. Jiang repeatedly emphasized that they should buy an extra bed so that if they missed their daughter, they could move in and stay with her for a couple of days.
In fact, Jiang Wanwan felt it was unnecessary, since it wasn't like she wouldn't see her for a long time, and she often went home on weekends, but she couldn't resist her mother's stubbornness.
Looking at the figure standing in the living room, Jiang Wanwan thought to herself, "Now it's come in handy."
Fortunately, she had extra toiletries at home, but she certainly didn't have any men's underwear, so she ordered one online via express delivery.
Soon after, the deliveryman arrived, but even after she closed the door, she couldn't forget the mocking look on his face.
She patted her slightly flushed cheeks and placed the things at the door of the other person's bedroom.
In the quiet of the night, Jiang Wanwan tossed and turned in bed alone.
A philanthropist who is willing to support education doesn't seem like a bad person at all. If she didn't know the other person was a good person, she would never have brought a strange man into her home.
However, one should always be wary of others. She didn't completely trust the other person, so just like last night, she locked the bedroom door again.
The next day, the first thing Jiang Wan did after getting off work was to go to the principal's office to inquire about Mr. Xiao's situation.
The principal scratched his head as he listened to Jiang Wanwan's tactful probing.
"Xiao Jiang, it's not that I don't want to tell you, his name seems to be Xiao... Mingtang, or Xiao Yuming or something, I really can't remember."
The principal is also worried. Mr. Xiao said that his ID card hadn't been processed yet, so he would wait a while before signing the contract and making payment with the school. But now he can't contact him anymore.
The principal's hair turned a few more gray because of this, and he even thought he had been scammed.
Seeing that the principal genuinely didn't know, Jiang Wanwan felt a chill in her heart. "Alright, then thank you for your help."
Who would have thought that even the principal didn't know the other party's identity information?
Left with no other choice, she had to take him in for the time being.
After getting off work, Jiang Wanwan first bought a large bag of food from the supermarket. She had to work during the day, so she planned to let her husband, Xiao, cook for her.
Pushing open the door, Jiang Wanwan placed her things on the table and knocked on the door of the other bedroom.
"Mr. Xiao, are you inside?"
There was no response, and Jiang Wanwan was a little puzzled. She wanted to press the handle directly.
The door actually opened, and there was no one inside. Just then, a sinister voice suddenly sounded behind her ear: "What are you going to do?"
Jiang Wanwan shuddered in fright, turned around slightly annoyed, and said, "You scared me to death! Can you please not show up so suddenly next time?"
Hearing the woman's reproachful voice, Xiao Mingzhu pursed his thin lips and said innocently, "I'm sorry, Wanwan."
What did you call me?
“Wanwan, that’s what those people outside called you this morning,” Xiao Mingzhu said with a perfectly normal expression.
Normally only people close to her would call her that, so when Jiang Wanwan suddenly heard this nickname, she couldn't stay angry.
She gazed at the man's handsome face and suddenly gave a mischievous smile.
"Then can I call you Ah Xiao from now on?"
She wouldn't let go of any opportunity to boast to a big shot.
Xiao Mingzhu tilted his head, thought for a moment, and nodded, "Okay."
Jiang Wanwan smiled sweetly, in a very good mood.
She led him to the table and showed him the food she had bought. Considering that he probably couldn't cook, she specially bought a lot of frozen and ready-to-eat foods to make it easier for him to prepare.
The man stood quietly to the side, listening attentively. He looked obedient and well-behaved, a stark contrast to his previous image of being dressed in a suit and tie, which stirred a moment of maternal affection in Jiang Wanwan.
Suddenly, she noticed a stain on the other person's clothes, right on the cartoon cat's cheek.
This is a new nightgown she bought. She hadn't worn it before, but since she didn't have any men's clothes at home, she gave it to him temporarily.
"Oh dear, I forgot to buy you new clothes." Jiang Wanwan felt a little regretful. She had thought the other person wouldn't be staying for long, so she hadn't thought about getting a change of clothes.
Following the woman's gaze, Xiao Mingzhu saw his chest and frowned slightly.
Looking at the other person's expression, Jiang Wanwan suddenly remembered the other person's injury and immediately asked anxiously, "Has the wound reopened?"
The stain looked more and more like blood. Jiang Wanwan wanted to check his wound, but the man silently went back to his bedroom.
Seeing how wary the other person was of her, Jiang Wanwan almost laughed in anger. Doctors have the heart of parents, she was just worried about him, why did it make her seem like she wanted to take advantage of him?
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