The two chatted briefly, and Jiang Xiaoli felt that although Jiang Chengle had a baby face, he was quite insightful in conversation.
I asked him and found out that he was already 25 years old and had graduated with a master's degree from Harvard.
Jiang Xiaoli smiled and cupped her hands in apology, "My apologies!"
Jiang Chengle found her gesture very interesting, saying, "I've only ever seen this gesture in Chinese period dramas."
Jiang Xiaoli was stunned; she had forgotten that this was a native-born ABC (American-born Chinese).
She explained the meaning of cupping her hands in a gesture of respect to him, then checked the time and said, "It's getting late, I need to go home."
Jiang Chengle stopped her, "Could you give me your contact information? I've only been in China for a short time and don't have many friends..."
Jiang Xiaoli thought for a moment, then pulled a piece of paper from the car, wrote down her phone number, and handed it to him. "This is my phone number, but I won't be in Kyoto for a while."
Jiang Chengle was somewhat surprised, "Aren't you from Kyoto?"
She shook her head. "No, I'm just studying in Kyoto."
After saying that, she didn't explain further, got into her car, waved goodbye to him, and drove away.
Jiang Xiaoli had just taken a couple of bites of the late-night snack her mother had made when Zong Jiayu arrived.
He asked, "Little Pear, when do you plan to go back to Xijing?"
She thought for a moment, "In three to five days, I'll have basically taken care of things in Kyoto. What's wrong? Can't you leave 'Yujia Technology'?"
Zong Jiayu nodded. "Yes, the server is being upgraded these past two days, and I want to wait until the upgrade is complete before I leave."
Jiang Xiaoli said, "Then come back when you're done with your work."
She glanced furtively at Li Guizhi, who was watching TV in the living room, and then slyly asked Zong Jiayu with a smile, "What? You can't be without me for even a day?"
Zong Jia nodded honestly.
Jiang Xiaoli laughed even more heartily, and she moved her chair closer to him. "Haven't you ever heard the saying—absence makes the heart grow fonder?"
Looking into her big, bright eyes, Zong Jiayu smiled and said, "So when are we getting married?"
Jiang Xiaoli rolled her eyes at him, "You look like a child trafficker."
Zong Jiayu's eyes were full of smiles. "How could that be? Little Pear is already a big girl."
The two of them just kept talking nonsense.
After watching two episodes of a TV series, Li Guizhi stood up and noticed that her daughter's late-night snack had gone cold and was unfinished.
She took the bowl away immediately, saying, "You're the one who comes in talking about eating. And you're the one who cooks for you, lets it get cold, and doesn't eat it."
Mom's complaints may have been late, but they finally came.
Jiang Xiaoli stuck out her tongue. "Mom, this is all your godson's fault for disturbing my meal!"
Li Guizhi ignored her, "You're really being unreasonable. Everyone's wrong, but you're the only one who's not wrong, right?"
She chuckled and changed the subject, "Mom, have you told your regular customers about taking a break?"
Li Guizhi nodded, "They've basically notified everyone."
She suddenly burst out laughing, “Sister Wen, who often comes to eat here, said she’s never seen such a capricious boss as me. Most people close for a week to two weeks during the Chinese New Year, but I’m taking a full month off.”
Jiang Xiaoli said with a smile, "Mom, you've been busy for so long, you should take a good rest."
Li Guizhi sighed, "Yes, I should rest. Tomorrow, when we go to the store to finish up, you can come with me to go shopping and buy some things to take back."
Hearing the words "shopping" made Jiang Xiaoli's head spin, but in the end she couldn't resist Li Guizhi's dangerous gaze.
"Okay, okay, whatever you say! I'll go shopping with you! I'll shop with you until you're satisfied!"
Zong Jiayu spoke up at the right moment, "Godmother, let me help you carry your bag."
Li Guizhi nodded in satisfaction, glancing at her daughter. "Look at her, Xiao Zong is much more sensible than you!"
Jiang Xiaoli was unhappy. "Mom, I'm going shopping with you, so I have to be your advisor and strategist. This is mental work. He's just a laborer carrying bags. Anyone on the street can do this job!"
Li Guizhi couldn't help but pat her head, "You always have so many fallacies!"
On the second day after "Guizhi Restaurant" closed, Li Guizhi took her daughter and godson out shopping.
In fact, Jiang Xiaoli was right. After shopping for two days in a row, Zong Jiayu really became a bag carrier.
After returning from shopping that day, Jiang Xiaoli received a call from Jiang Chengle, "Miss Jiang, I haven't received your bill yet. Did I forget to pay it?"
She then remembered that the car hadn't been dealt with yet.
She quickly replied, "Hehe, I've been quite busy these past few days and I forgot. I've had it fixed and the bill delivered to your hotel."
After hanging up the phone, she said to Zong Jiayu, "We're going back to Xijing tomorrow, could you help me with the car?"
Zong Jia asked, "What's wrong with the car?"
Jiang Xiaoli recounted the events of that night when she was rear-ended.
Zong Jia checked her over carefully and found nothing wrong, but was still a little worried. "Are you sure it was just a car bump and you're alright?"
Jiang Xiaoli looked at him with amusement and shrugged, "It's been several days already, do I look like something's wrong?"
Zong Jia then reluctantly accepted her explanation.
She wrote down her bank account information on the piece of paper that recorded Jiang Chengle's room number and phone number, and handed the paper to Zong Jiayu, saying, "Just deal with the car and have someone send the bill to this address."
"Okay, I understand."
On the day they returned to Xi'an, Jiang Xiaoli and Li Guizhi's luggage, along with the New Year's goods they had bought, filled two large suitcases.
Before heading to the airport, Jiang Xiaoli tried to lift her suitcase and put it in the trunk.
I tried three times and failed three times.
Zhong Yuan smiled and took the box from her hands. "Little Pear, you don't have to do everything yourself. Otherwise, what use are we?"
Jiang Xiaoli rubbed her arms. "I actually think I'm pretty strong!"
Zong Jiayu smiled and patted her head. "Alright, let's go."
After arriving at the airport and checking their luggage, Zong Jia held Jiang Xiaoli's hand tightly, reluctant to let go, just before going through security.
The two were so affectionate that Zhong Yuan and Da Fu were speechless.
In the end, Li Guizhi cruelly separated the two, saying, "Alright, alright, you'll see each other again in a few days, what's with the fuss?"
Zong Jiayu touched his nose sheepishly, "Godmother, Little Pear, remember to call me when you land."
Jiang Xiaoli nodded, "Okay."
Then she took her mother's arm and walked away without looking back. The three people behind her only saw her raise her hand and wave at them.
The three girlfriends had all left Kyoto, and the temporary bachelors exchanged glances, each seeing the helplessness in the other's eyes.
Zhong Yuan sighed deeply, "Meeting and parting, that's life!"
Dafu laughed and put his hand on his shoulder. "What's wrong? You've missed Xiao Hu so much you've become a poet?"
Zhong Yuan slapped his hand away, "Pah, pah, pah, you wouldn't understand even if I told you!"
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