Chapter 92 The door code to the apartment I went home with him was—the date they got their marriage certificate…
Zhu Liushuang was already reluctant to leave her mother alone at home, and before leaving, she looked back every few steps, her eyes brimming with tears as she gazed longingly at her mother.
"You silly child, why are you acting like we'll never see each other again!" Gu Chunling said, both amused and exasperated, urging her daughter to leave and telling them, "Come back with Xiao He more often on weekends, Mom will cook you something delicious."
"Mom—" Zhu Liushuang sniffed and said with a pout, "You have to take good care of yourself, don't overwork yourself, remember to take your medicine and get your injections on time... Don't always eat leftovers when you're home alone, I'll come to check on you from time to time!"
"Okay, okay! Don't worry about it at all, Mom will call you if anything happens." After seeing the two to the door, Gu Chunling excused herself from going downstairs, saying she had trouble walking. Seeing her daughter standing on the stairs, clinging to the railing and refusing to go down, she hardened her heart and went back inside first.
The moment the door closed, her previously wide smile drooped. A wet streak ran down her face; she raised her hand to touch it, and found it was tears she hadn't shed in many years.
Raising Zhu Liushuang single-handedly was no easy feat. When her daughter wasn't dating, she often worried: was it her family's circumstances that were holding her daughter back, making her unwilling to have friends? When her daughter suddenly brought someone home, she worried about the other person's family background and whether their character was reliable. Her child was growing up and would eventually leave the protection of her parents to build their own family; as someone who regularly took medication and injections, she really didn't want to be a burden to her daughter.
Gu Chunling pressed her ear against the door, listening quietly as the footsteps descended the stairs and faded into the distance. Then, she stood up, supporting her back, and walked to the window.
It was broad daylight outside. She lifted a corner of the curtain, hid behind it, and secretly watched two figures on the path.
Her daughter, standing next to the tall man, looked so small and frail. Through their intertwined silhouettes, she seemed to see her husband and herself in their youth.
She suddenly felt an urge to run downstairs, hold her son-in-law's hand tightly, and give him a few more words of advice.
"You must treat Xiaoshuang well!"
"We absolutely cannot let Xiaoshuang suffer any injustice!"
"When there are conflicts, we should communicate more and manage our family well. That's more important than anything else."
But she was tongue-tied; a heavy weight of words pressed on her heart, and she just couldn't express them. She opened her mouth and murmured to the window, "Xiaoshuang, Mom wishes you happiness."
Zhu Liushuang believes that there must be a telepathic connection between people.
For example, right now.
Countless times when she looked back at her window, all she saw were thick blackout curtains. Yet she firmly believed that her mother's figure was behind those curtains. Perhaps she was secretly wiping away tears, watching her mother leave as she sobbed. She probably had a thousand words she wanted to say, but couldn't find the words.
He Ming put the remaining luggage into the trunk, hesitated for a long time, and only managed to utter a single, abrupt "you." Zhu Liushuang's sadness and reluctance were written all over her face, and he didn't know how to comfort her. Given their current relationship, he wasn't selfless enough to say something like, "If you're really worried, you can bring your mother to stay with you."
After all—he was used to being alone and didn't like others intruding on his "territory." His acceptance of Zhu Liushuang living with him was merely to fulfill a promise he had made.
"I'm fine." Zhu Liu's eyes were red like a rabbit's, and she tried her best to hide her depressed mood.
"Get in the car." He Ming opened the car door, his voice calm and even.
A slender hand touched the passenger door, and the owner of the hand forced a smile and said, "Senior, I have to ride my electric scooter there myself. Send me the location of your neighborhood."
He Ming frowned almost imperceptibly: "There's a direct bus from my house to your company, and it takes about fifteen minutes by taxi..."
Zhu Liushuang deliberately omitted the word "public transport," rubbed the back of her hands, and said, "Electric bikes are still more free, and it's more convenient to get back here."
She was determined to commute to work by electric scooter, and He Ming didn't want to interfere. He glanced at the bike shed from afar and spotted Zhu Liushuang's scooter among the crowd.
The white electric scooter was small and compact, with a light gray windshield covering the front and thick cotton gloves covering the handlebars, so it should be fine for wind and cold protection. He Ming made up his mind, then looked down and sent the neighborhood's location to Zhu Liushuang's phone.
"Chunhua Lane, please use the navigation."
It turns out his family lives in Chunhua Lane. Zhu Liushuang knew about this development; she'd heard it was developed by a large real estate company in the provincial capital, specializing in high-end townhouses. Because of its unique and exquisite landscaping, the community had been featured on the front page of local news in Gucheng several times.
"Okay." Zhu Liushuang turned her back and walked towards the bike shed, pondering how to split the expenses after moving in together. Chunhua Lane is not like Donghu Community; the property management fees, water and electricity bills, etc., will definitely be much more expensive, plus daily living expenses... the expenses will definitely be much more than living at home.
But she couldn't very well just stand there without paying a cent; she couldn't bring herself to eat and stay for free. He Ming might not want her "rent" money because of their marriage certificate, but they weren't officially a couple yet, so sticking to the split-the-bill system was only right.
As a result, she is one step further away from her goal of buying a house!
Because she was preoccupied with something, Zhu Liushuang got on the electric scooter and followed the navigation, not even glancing at the black SUV parked under the streetlights, completely forgetting about it.
The pale yellow woolen scarf swayed in the cold wind before finally settling onto the woman's shoulders. He Ming stood by the roadside, watching with amusement as she got into the car, put on her helmet, and left without a word, feeling somewhat puzzled.
Recalling Zhu Liushuang's red eyes and the way she was trying so hard to hold back her tears, his hand paused involuntarily. No matter how strong and sensible she seemed, she was still just a little girl.
After standing there for a while, He Ming exhaled a puff of white breath, opened the car door, and sat in the driver's seat.
————
Although Chunhua Lane and Donghu Community are in opposite directions, it only takes about half an hour to drive between them. Looking at the map, Chunhua Lane is actually closer to Zhu Liushuang's company.
When the electric scooter arrived at the entrance of the residential area, a security guard wearing a military overcoat came out of the duty room and bowed respectfully to her.
"Hello ma'am, visitors need to register before entering the community." A registration book was handed to her.
Zhu Liushuang took the notebook and pen and quickly wrote down her information. When she got to the "reason for visit" section, she paused.
"Liu Shuang—" Before she could write down the fabricated reason, she heard He Ming's voice coming from afar.
She raised her head, her gaze drifting blankly ahead.
The camphor trees remained verdant even in late autumn. He walked along the tree-lined path, his strides long. His Oxford shoes clicked on the dappled sunlight, like light drumbeats. The autumn wind ruffled his coat, revealing a corner of his lake-blue knit sweater. The gentle sunlight gilded the stray hairs on his forehead with gold…
Zhu Liushuang suddenly couldn't distinguish between dreams and reality; the person who was once out of reach was walking towards her step by step.
He stood firmly in front of her.
She heard him say kindly to the security guard on duty, "Hello, I am the owner of apartment 502 in building 1. Could you please help me register for the facial recognition access control system?"
He didn't explicitly state her identity, but those who could access the access control system were undoubtedly family members of the homeowner. The security guard understood and gave a professional smile, saying, "Madam, please follow me."
She said "Oh" and reached out to take off her safety helmet.
He Ming took the helmet from him and said, "Go on over there, I'll wait for you here."
Following the security guard, Zhu Liushuang arrived at the property management office and had her face recorded. The whole process took only three to five minutes. When she returned to the entrance of the community, He Ming was still standing next to the electric scooter.
Unlike before, he was now playing with her safety helmet. His long, strong index finger turned it gently, and the helmet danced obediently on his fingertip.
He must have been playing with her helmet like a basketball!
She had seen him spin the ball before; he could spin it for several minutes at a time.
Memory and reality overlap, and the boy's face gradually changes, becoming the mature man before us.
As he stood there quietly turning his helmet, she noticed a rare youthful energy in him.
"Senior, the facial recognition is complete," Zhu Liushuang said gently, concealing her lingering affection and flutter of the heart.
"Electric vehicles can be parked on the basement level, where there are free charging stations. I'll take you there now."
Zhu Liushuang got on the electric scooter and slowed it down to the lowest speed. She secretly glanced at him several times; the helmet was still in his hand, but he showed no intention of returning it to her.
"Building 1 is at the westernmost part of the community. Go north from the south gate, then turn left and keep going until the end." He Ming followed her car, pointing out the way as they drove. "It's here. Use the circular fountain as a dividing line, then turn..."
Upon arriving at Chunhua Lane, Zhu Liushuang couldn't help but feel a sense of novelty.
The landscaping in the community is indeed excellent, making one feel as if they have stumbled into an ecological park.
"It must be so beautiful here in spring," she murmured to herself. "The name and the scenery are such a perfect match, spring blossoms and autumn harvests..."
"Hmm, not bad..." He Ming felt a little ashamed. He usually left early and returned late, so he hadn't really paid much attention to the scenery of the neighborhood.
The residential complex was large, and the two chatted casually for a while before entering the basement. He Ming led Zhu Liushuang to the designated parking space, taught her how to use the charging station, and then led her to the elevator.
“I’ve already taken your luggage upstairs. This place has a layout of two apartments per floor, so it’s not crowded and relatively quiet.”
"With so much luggage, why didn't you wait for me to help you carry it? It must be so tiring!" Zhu Liushuang felt bad and muttered to herself.
He Ming remained silent and pressed the "up" button on his own.
The elevator doors opened quickly, and the two entered the car one after the other.
Every time she rode the elevator with him, Zhu Liushuang would inexplicably become nervous. Perhaps it was because in a confined space, all of one's senses would be amplified. Like now, she could clearly hear his breathing.
She became even more nervous!
Fortunately, it only takes a few seconds to go from the first floor to the fifth floor.
With a "ding," the elevator doors opened just in time to save her.
She silently followed in his footsteps, her heart pounding, until she reached the door of room 502. A combination lock was installed on the black wooden door. Staring at the neatly arranged numbers on the screen, she was lost in thought: What could the password be? Was it his birthday? Or…
"Beep beep beep beep—" The interface lit up with a blue light. He Ming quickly pressed a string of numbers, turned his head and said, "The password is 000901. Can you remember it?"
00090…1? Zhu Liushuang repeated the number to herself, the final syllable of "six" being crushed by the thunderous pounding of her heart. September 1st—wasn't that the day they were supposed to get their marriage certificate?
"Did you change the password on purpose, senior?" Her ears flushed red before her cheeks, and she tilted her head, asking knowingly. Her eyelashes fluttered like butterfly wings.
She inadvertently revealed her true feelings.
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Author's Note: [Cat emoji][Cat emoji] Face recognition done, room password changed! Sharing a room... how far away is that?
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