Chapter 381
Upon hearing the sound, Ji Xingguo quickly put down his soup spoon, took off his apron, and hurriedly went out from the kitchen to greet them.
When Ji Wanmei and Lei Tingjun entered the courtyard, hand in hand, their eyes filled with smiles, they stood in the small courtyard surrounded by flowers, grass, and fir trees, making it bright and radiant, as splendid as midsummer.
Although Ji Xingguo was very reluctant to admit it, judging from their appearances alone, the two were indeed a very good match.
Lei Tingjun stepped forward at the opportune moment and bowed to Ji Xingguo: "Factory Director."
Ji Xingguo gave an awkward "hmm," then turned to Ji Wanmei with a forced smile: "You're back. You must be tired from the journey. Come inside and rest."
Ji Wanmei glanced at Lei Tingjun and gestured for him to hand over the gift box, saying, "Dad, these things were specially bought for you by Lei Tingjun."
Upon meeting, Ji Xingguo was still a bit aloof, saying, "I invited you to my home for a meal, not to bring gifts. If you bring so much stuff next time, don't come."
Lei Tingjun paused, about to speak, when Ji Wanmei smiled and chimed in, "My dad means that he really likes the things, so he'll accept them this time, but this won't happen again."
Ji Xingguo glared at him: "Is that what I meant?"
Ji Wanmei deliberately said, "So you mean you bought too little this time, and will buy more next time!"
"You brat, you're not even married yet, and you're already siding with outsiders," Ji Xingguo said sternly.
Lei Tingjun said very respectfully, "I didn't know what you liked, so I just bought a little bit of everything. If you don't like it, I'll bring you something else next time."
"Alright, alright, we have everything we need. Come on in, the soup in my pot is about to boil dry." Ji Xingguo said, rolling up his sleeves and rushing into his kitchen.
After watching her father go inside, Ji Wanmei turned to Lei Tingjun and said, "Let's go in. My dad is just stubborn and doesn't admit what he really thinks. He likes to say one thing but mean another. Sometimes you have to listen to him in a way that sounds ironic. Don't be fooled by his stern face just now; he was actually in a great mood today. Look at him, he was even running around just now."
Upon hearing this, Lei Tingjun thought to himself that he might have to put more effort into studying his future father-in-law's personality in the future, otherwise he wouldn't be able to understand the meaning behind his father-in-law's words.
Wouldn't that be a bad thing?
After entering the house, Ji Wanmei took the things she had brought back and put them in the side hall, then came over and poured Lei Tingjun a glass of water.
"Sit down for a bit," Ji Wanmei said, handing him some water so he wouldn't be tired from driving all the way. "I'll show you around later. Would you like to see my room?"
Of course, Lei Tingjun wanted to.
He didn't speak, but just looked up at Ji Wanmei, the expectant look in his eyes fully expressing his answer.
"I have a lot of little secrets in my room, do you want to see them?" Ji Wanmei insisted that he tell her.
"I want to." It's more than just wanting to.
The thought had become an ingrained obsession for him.
From the night Lei Tingjun left Pingquan County four years ago, he stood guard outside Ji Wanmei's room window all night.
He stood alone under the red wall and looked up at the night sky, watching the small light in her window go from bright to dark. From that moment on, he wondered what she was doing in that room.
What color are the curtains in front of her window? Does she sometimes keep a wooden comb on her bedside table? Does a soft strand of hair ever fall onto the pillowcase, only to be gently picked up by her slender fingers and blown away...?
On the table are some cute photos of her from when she was little. When she walks around the house in a floral dress, she might notice a silent young man outside the courtyard wall not far away, who wants to get close to her but doesn't dare to disturb her.
“If you want to see it, I’ll take you.” Ji Wanmei reached out and took Lei Tingjun’s hand, leading him into her bedroom.
Ji Wanmei's house wasn't actually that big, only about 80 or 90 square meters, but in the old days, the staff compound didn't have much of a shared area, so it was a real 80-odd square meters.
The layout has two bedrooms and two living rooms, which already looks quite spacious.
The furniture is all made of solid wood in a Chinese style, which is the style that Ji Xingguo and his generation liked, with a touch of scholarly charm.
However, the outer yard is quite spacious. The yard for planting flowers and plants alone is nearly 100 square meters, so there is a lot of room to move around.
Ji Wanmei's bedroom is on the right side, close to the courtyard, and the window faces the flowers and plants outside the courtyard.
Lei Tingjun had only ever seen the outside windows before, and had never been inside.
Upon entering Ji Wanmei's room, Lei Tingjun felt it was very similar to what he had imagined.
In his imagination, Ji Wanmei in her teenage years lived in such a warm and clean room, where she read, studied, and slept.
The windows were painted green, and a pot of hanging orchids sat on the windowsill. Matching checkered cotton curtains hung on iron hooks on both sides.
A slightly worn long desk stood by the window, with stacks of books neatly arranged on it. These books covered her life, from her middle school days to her university years, and later, her self-taught fashion design textbooks.
On the small desk are two framed photos that are some years old.
Lei Tingjun picked up a card to look at.
The girl in the photo has fair skin and black hair, is beautiful and charming, with two small braids and a floral dress. Her youthful vigor cannot be concealed even by the vintage laminated photo.
That was taken on the day Ji Wanmei turned eighteen; she went to a photo studio specifically for the photo.
Lei Tingjun stared at the photo for a while before saying, "I think that's when I first met you."
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