Living in the same room
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"Hello……"
Hearing Wu Jianwei's "Hello," Meng Yanxiu froze in front of the sofa, his pupils throbbing imperceptibly. His Adam's apple moved slightly, and finally turned into an emotionless sneer: "Hello."
"What's going on between you two? What's the matter with you two? What's going on?" The aunt stood up with a smile and took the clothes from Wu Jianwei's hand. "I'll go change first."
Wu Jianwei avoided his sight and led her aunt to the cloakroom. After returning, she chose a seat farthest away from him and sat down in a corner of the sofa with a biscuit in her arms.
Meng Yanxiu sat on the single sofa diagonally across the street, like a silent sculpture. His gaze was heavy on Wu Jianwei, and the only sound in the living room was the sound of Biscuit's tongue-loosening breathing.
In this strange atmosphere, Wu Jianwei felt very uncomfortable. Finally, she couldn't bear it anymore and lowered her voice to say, "My aunt said she wanted to come and see the cookies. You didn't change the password, so I came in... This doesn't count as trespassing, right?"
"Yeah." Meng Yanxiu finally spoke, his voice as cold as the night wind, whistling through the entire space, "The password has always been your birthday."
"...Oh." Wu Jianwei's heart seemed to be burned by these words. She lowered her head, buried her flushed cheeks in the soft and fluffy hair of Biscuit, and murmured softly, "Biscuit, you are so excited today, is it because you saw me?"
"Woof woof!" Biscuit immediately wagged his tail and licked her fingers.
At this time, the aunt came out after changing her clothes and sat down beside her: "Wuwu, what did you use to wash the clothes? They smell so good, fragrant and soft. I said I didn't want these clothes anymore, but you still took the trouble to wash them for me. Thank you."
Wu Jianwei leaned towards her aunt and said, "If you like it, I'll buy it and send it to you."
"Okay, I'm very happy that you come to see me." The aunt patted her lovingly.
"No need to buy." Meng Yanxiu said softly, "There are plenty at home. Bring a few bottles for me when you leave."
"Oh, okay..." Wu Jianwei looked up at him thoughtfully. The detergent had the same scent she liked. It turned out that he had been using it even after their breakup.
My aunt smiled and chatted with them warmly. A warm atmosphere flowed in the living room, just like a family.
Wu Jianwei couldn't help but have an inexplicable thought in her heart: Aunt, if you were his mother, he would have a mother who loves him.
Just as she was feeling sad, Wu Jianwei's stomach suddenly made an inopportune "gurgling" sound...
"Wuwu, you haven't eaten yet?" The aunt looked over with concern. "Then why did you tell me you had eaten with the clients?"
"I'm not hungry..." Before she could finish her words, Wu Jianwei's stomach growled again, as if making a audible protest.
Meng Yanxiu frowned, quickly took off his coat, draped it over the back of the sofa, rolled up his shirt sleeves, and walked towards the kitchen. He spoke with a familiar tone, "You always don't eat on time. What do you want to eat? I'll make it for you."
"Don't bother, it's so late." Wu Jianwei said, reaching out to pick up an orange from the fruit basket, trying to get away with it, "I'll just eat this."
"Why are you eating oranges on an empty stomach? Do you have any common sense?" Meng Yanxiu almost immediately turned back and took the orange from her hand. "Just stay with me and talk. The meal will be ready soon."
Wu Jianwei wanted to insist: "If you don't want to eat oranges, you can eat something else. There's really no need..."
"Let Yan Xiu do it." The aunt interrupted her with a smile, "I also want to try his cooking skills."
"Ah?" Wu Jianwei looked at her aunt in surprise, "Are you hungry too?"
"I'm not really hungry, I'm just curious that he can actually cook." The aunt pulled Wu Jianwei's hand, with a bit of childish cunning, "Wuwu, are you worried about Yanxiu and that's why you don't let him cook?"
"I'm not..." Wu Jianwei raised his eyes and met Meng Yanxiu's gaze. It seemed that he thought the same thing, and then he said, "You do it..."
However, in that exquisitely decorated kitchen, besides the expensive kitchenware, there wasn't even a grain of rice. Meng Yanxiu calmly dialed the number of a familiar seafood restaurant and gave a few instructions in a deep voice.
Not long after, the restaurant owner personally brought over the prepared Japanese snow crab and other ingredients. When Meng Yanxiu went to open the door, Wu Jianwei and his aunt looked at each other, each muttering inwardly that this meal might last until late at night.
But Meng Yanxiu was a very considerate person. He asked the restaurant to send over a few ready-made hot dishes. After placing them one by one on the table, he said to them, "Eat first."
Wu Jianwei looked at the table full of dishes and asked him softly, "Everything is ready, what else do you want to do?"
"Dinner." Meng Yanxiu turned around and went back to the kitchen.
After they had eaten for a while, Meng Yanxiu came over with a pot of steaming crab meat rice, much faster than expected. It was obvious that he spent most of his time peeling the crab meat.
Meng Yanxiu opened the lid and saw a layer of solid crab meat on top of the golden rice grains, dotted with tender green vegetable shreds and pink shrimps. There was also crispy rice crust at the bottom of the pot. The color was attractive and the aroma was fragrant.
"Yanxiu, when did you learn to cook?" The aunt asked in surprise as she looked at the clay pot rice that looked no less delicious than Michelin-rated ones.
Meng Yanxiu's eyes fell on Wu Jianwei's face, and he said in a deep voice: "After getting to know her."
As he spoke, he stirred the clay pot rice with a spoon, mixed the rice and crab meat, divided it into two small bowls, and placed them in front of them.
Wu Jianwei turned sideways and said to her aunt: "Actually... I can cook too."
"Yeah." Meng Yanxiu suddenly replied, a smile in his eyes, "You made fried rice for me."
Kirimi was slightly taken aback. She hadn't expected him to remember that insignificant fried rice. It was a thunderstorm night when Meng Yanxiu suddenly visited her home. Unprepared, she could only dig out some luncheon meat, carrots, a green vegetable, and two eggs from the refrigerator to make a plate of fried rice. Knowing she wasn't a very good cook, she had a sudden inspiration and secretly added a "secret seasoning."
At this moment, looking at the meal prepared by Meng Yanxiu, Wu Jianwei lowered his eyes slightly, picked up the spoon and filled another bowl, gently pushing it in front of him: "Let's eat together."
"Okay." When Meng Yanxiu took the bowl, his fingertips touched hers. They both paused before withdrawing their hands.
The aunt picked up her chopsticks first, her brows relaxed: "It's really delicious."
When Wu Jianwei took the first bite, she suddenly looked up at Meng Yanxiu. Apart from the expensive ingredients, the seasoning of this rice was surprisingly similar to the simple fried rice she had made back then.
"What did you put in?" she couldn't help but ask.
Meng Yanxiu looked back at her, his gaze calm. The first time he ate her fried rice, he asked her what she put in it, but she refused to tell him. Then, after trying again and again, and knowing her better, he found the answer: "Instant noodle seasoning packet."
"...Oh, you figured it out." Wu Jianwei was a little embarrassed. Meeting her aunt's curious eyes, she explained in a low voice: "I used that to make fried rice for him before."
"You are really creative." After eating for a while, the aunt saw that it was late at night and prepared to go back.
Meng Yanxiu glanced at the time and said in a deep voice, "Auntie, it's too late now. You should stay at our house today. The weather forecast says it will rain soon. It will take another hour to get back to the old house from here. Don't bother."
My aunt's eyes widened in surprise. "Don't you hate it most when other people stay over at your house?"
Meng Yanxiu truly never entertained guests. Despite the numerous rooms in his villa, he only had one guest room, specially converted for Jiang He. Back then, Jiang He, to avoid pressure from her family to get married, moved in with Wu Jianwei. They spent the nights talking, and after two weeks, Wu Jianwei asked to stay with Jiang He for another half-month. Upon hearing this, Meng Yanxiu immediately had a study converted into a guest room, telling Wu Jianwei that even if she wanted to spend time with Jiang He, it would be at his house.
"You are my aunt, you can live here." After Meng Yanxiu finished speaking, he turned his gaze to Wu Jianwei, and sure enough, he met her stunned and angry eyes.
"That's good. I'm indeed a little tired today." The aunt then called the driver and informed him that he could go off work today.
"Auntie..." Wu Jianwei's heart tightened. If her auntie wanted to stay, how would she leave? "Do you recognize your bed? Will it affect your sleep here?"
The aunt smiled and waved her hands: "I fly around all year round, why should I be picky about my bed?"
"Then..." Wu Jianwei was still thinking of an excuse quickly, but her aunt had already taken over the conversation.
"You've been busy all day, go and have a rest." The aunt patted Wu Jianwei's hand lovingly.
"Okay." Meng Yanxiu responded straightforwardly, looking at Wu Jianwei, his tone couldn't be more natural, "You go upstairs and take a bath first, I'll clean up here, I'll come up to you soon."
"Take a bath? Are you crazy?" Wu Jianwei tapped the screen quickly with her fingertips, and a WeChat message instantly appeared on Meng Yanxiu's mobile phone screen.
Meng Yanxiu didn't even look at her. He knew she was scolding him without even looking.
Wu Jianwei stepped forward and took her aunt's arm, making a final effort: "Aunt, can I sleep with you tonight? I can still talk to you."
"How can that be? You two are newlyweds, I don't want to be a light bulb." The aunt pulled her upstairs and stood at the door of the guest room. The aunt yawned, "Wuwu, you should go and rest. I want to sleep too. I get sleepy easily when I get older."
"...Good night, aunt." Wu Jianwei could only respond in a low voice, and then pushed open the door of the master bedroom.
The layout of the room, the smell in the air, everything was so familiar that it made her feel uneasy.
She walked to the window and fell into deep thought. Not long after, the door was pushed open and Meng Yanxiu walked in.
"What are you standing there for?" He closed the door and walked towards her.
Wu Jianwei subconsciously took two steps back: "If not standing, then lying down?"
"Okay." Meng Yanxiu chuckled, his eyes sweeping across the big bed, "Of course you can lie down."
After saying that, he turned and walked into the storage room, holding out a brand new set of bedding: "I'll replace all of these, are you willing to sleep on them?"
Wu Jianwei widened her eyes and looked at him again: "Meng Yanxiu, there is no way I can sleep in the same bed with you."
"I know." Meng Yanxiu didn't stop moving as he swiftly removed the old bed sheet. "I'm going to move out. I'll be back tomorrow morning before you wake up."
Kirimi was slightly startled, then subconsciously stepped forward to grab the corner of the quilt and help him spread it out. Pretending to be casual, she asked, "Where are you going to live?"
Meng Yanxiu made the bed and put the changed bedding into the laundry room. He came back and sat on the sofa under the window. "Do you want to know where I'm going to live, or who I'm going to live with?"
"Who cares who you live with?" Kirito sat down on the other end of the sofa. "Just pretend I didn't ask."
Meng Yanxiu laughed softly: "I'm going to the hotel and sleeping alone."
"Oh." Wu Jianwei stopped talking.
Meng Yanxiu stood up, went to the cloakroom to get a set of clothes, and then returned to the master bedroom to close the curtains.
After doing all this, he walked to the door, put his hand on the door handle, turned back and looked at Wu Jianwei with his eyes downcast: "I'm leaving, you should rest early, good night."
"Hmm." Wu Jianwei looked at his back and suddenly blurted out, "Wait."
Meng Yanxiu hesitated and turned around, seeing her walking towards him: "What's wrong?"
Wu Jianwei took out the key from her bag and handed it over: "You can stay at my house."
"Why?" Meng Yanxiu didn't answer.
"I live in your house, but I let you stay in a hotel. It seems like I'm bullying you." Wu Jianwei met his gaze, "Huh? You don't want to go?"
Meng Yanxiu wrapped his palm around her entire hand, holding the key and her warm fingertips together, his voice cold.
"I won't sleep in the same bed you've slept in with another man."
The air suddenly froze, and the two looked at each other, their eyes dark.
Wu Jianwei suddenly pulled his hand back, a sneer on his lips: "Oh, then go to the hotel."
After saying that, she took the initiative to open the door for him.
Meng Yanxiu took a step forward and was about to turn around to say something, but she closed the door without hesitation, completely isolating him from finishing his words.
She leaned against the cold door, a wave of sadness washing over her. Before, when Meng Yanxiu thought she and Zhou Shuye were living together, she had allowed him to misunderstand her in order to make him give up.
But why at this moment, the pain brought by this misunderstanding hurts me even more deeply?
…
At night, even after taking the medicine, she still tossed and turned, waking up every two hours of sleep.
In a daze, she followed her memory, opened the drawer of the bedside table, and reached out to get the bergamot essential oil to relieve stress.
However, just as she touched the essential oil bottle, her fingertips also touched something else...
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