Chapter 22. Do you want to give it a try?
With the help of the two aunties, the orders from Qingbang Real Estate were completed relatively easily.
On the last day of the deadline, Chen Yao'an took two aunts to deliver clothes, and Zhang Ting personally received them.
After confirming that there was nothing wrong with the clothes, Zhang Ting readily settled the bill.
Everything went smoothly. Chen Yao'an was exhausted after so many days and wanted to go back to rest, but Xu Jialan stopped her.
"You've all worked hard these past few days, I'll treat you to a meal."
There's no reason for the client to treat you to a meal.
Sima Zhao's intentions are as clear as day.
Zhang Ting scoffed at it.
Chen Yao'an was somewhat reluctant. She didn't want to have anything to do with Xu Jialan anymore. "There's no such thing as hardship or not. We're just doing business. Now that the money and goods are settled, there's no need for a meal."
Hearing her say that, the two aunties secretly felt it was a pity, as it would be nice to have a free meal.
Xu Jialan naturally wouldn't let her go so easily.
"If you won't accept my offer of a meal, then how about Mr. Chen treats us to one? Mr. Chen must have made a lot of money from this order. These two aunties have helped you a lot. Mr. Chen wouldn't be so stingy, would he?"
The two aunties immediately looked at her expectantly.
That makes sense. Although they receive a salary, they work very hard, often working overtime.
Xu Jialan has lifted her up.
She really didn't want to eat this meal, but if she didn't, it would seem like she was being unreasonable and ungrateful.
"Then... I'll treat you to dinner."
In the end, the four of them, along with Zhang Ting, went to a Chinese restaurant. Although it wasn't a high-end restaurant, the ambiance and food were quite good.
The other four seemed quite happy, but Chen Yao'an just wanted to finish eating quickly and leave so she could escape Xu Jialan's entanglement.
Xu Jialan didn't stop talking from the moment she entered the restaurant.
Chen Yao'an wanted to avoid sitting with him, but Xu Jialan followed closely and, anticipating her move, gentlemanly pulled out a chair for her in advance.
He gestured with his chin to the seat he had chosen, indicating that she should sit down.
She looked up at him, then at the others. Everyone else was already seated, leaving only the two seats next to them. Chen Yao'an had no choice but to make do with them.
Xu Jialan sat down next to her.
"What would you like to eat? Order whatever you like."
After flipping through a few pages, Xu Jialan handed her the menu, but she casually put it aside.
He didn't even order any food. Xu Jialan flipped through a few pages before realizing that even though he had known her for so long, he didn't know what she liked to eat.
The dishes were ordered by other people. When the table of dishes was served, Xu Jialan put each dish onto her plate.
Seeing her looking at him, Xu Jialan smiled gently, "Eat slowly."
Chen Yao'an ignored him and picked out her favorite food from the plate to eat first.
While talking to the person next to her, Xu Jialan kept an eye on Chen Yaoan's movements.
Chen Yao'an was exceptionally quiet while eating, only answering when asked a question, her attention entirely focused on the food in front of her, picking up bits of food and putting them into her mouth little by little, like a greedy little cat.
And this kitten seems to have a preference for spicy food.
Xu Jialan watched with great interest.
Chen Yao'an felt uncomfortable under his gaze, so she turned her head and glared at him, "What are you looking at?"
Xu Jialan: "Watching the kitten eat."
Chen Yao'an: "..."
baffling!
Chen Yao'an frowned; this person was truly quite annoying.
She didn't say anything, got up and went to the bathroom.
Unexpectedly, when I came out of the bathroom, I bumped into Xu Jialan again, and there was another girl standing next to him.
Xu Jialan seemed to have been stopped by the girl.
"Hey handsome, can I add you on WeChat?"
The girl was holding her phone up, looking up at Xu Jialan with an expectant expression.
Xu Jialan looked at the girl, then at Chen Yaoan standing on the other side of the corridor, and said, "Then you should ask my girlfriend if she agrees first."
The girl followed Xu Jialan's gaze and saw Chen Yaoan. She was immediately embarrassed and didn't know what to do. Her cheeks turned red. "I'm sorry, I didn't know you had a girlfriend. Sorry to bother you."
After saying that, he ran off.
Chen Yao'an was a little unhappy. Xu Jialan's playboy nature hadn't changed at all. He casually uttered nonsense like "I have a girlfriend."
Chen Yao'an didn't want to pay attention to him, but she couldn't help but correct him.
"Xu Jialan, can you stop talking nonsense?"
"Which of my statements was nonsense?" Xu Jialan asked knowingly.
Even if you want to refuse someone, you can't use me as an excuse.
"Who said I used you as an excuse? I was just stating established facts."
She discovered that Xu Jialan always had a way of making her angry.
Chen Yao'an gritted her teeth and warned him, "Stop talking nonsense!"
Xu Jialan still had that same smile, "I'm always serious."
Chen Yao'an couldn't argue with him, so she had to give up.
"Get out of the way! I want to go back." The corridor was only so wide, and Xu Jialan, being tall and strong, blocked her way.
"Why don't we go together? I'm going back too." He blocked her way.
Chen Yao'an couldn't leave. "Can you please stop bothering me?"
"cannot."
Chen Yao'an was furious and spoke without restraint, "Didn't your mother tell you that this is very impolite?"
Xu Jialan stopped abruptly, and the atmosphere instantly froze.
Chen Yao'an immediately realized that she might have said something wrong. She remembered that a few days ago, when the two aunts were chatting, they asked his parents about it, and he had the same expression at the time.
Xu Jialan didn't say anything more and turned to leave.
Back at our seats, everyone was having a great time chatting.
Aunt Sun was holding her phone and laughing happily, then she held it up to show it off to everyone.
"Today is Mother's Day, and my daughter sent me a red envelope to wish me a happy Mother's Day."
Chen Yaoan was taken aback. Is today Mother's Day?
She was so busy rushing to meet orders these past few days that she didn't even realize Mother's Day was approaching.
Everyone cooperated and crowded around to look at the transfer records on her phone.
Aunt Jin, standing next to me, was clearly a little jealous. "It's better to have a daughter. My son hasn't even called me once."
Aunt Sun became even more smug, and then pretended to complain, "She's filial, but her work is too far away from us."
"What do you mean by far or not? My son lives nearby, and it's the same for him."
"It's so good to live close by, so I can take care of them."
"Indeed, he does come home quite often."
The two aunties took turns talking, and every sentence they uttered was about their children.
Xu Jialan suddenly stood up from her seat, left silently, and went outside the store.
Chen Yaoan watched him stand by the roadside, lighting a cigarette for himself. The smoke rose slowly, thin and lonely.
Zhang Ting also noticed Xu Jialan.
Chen Yaoan looked away and asked Zhang Ting, "Mr. Zhang, are Xu Jialan's parents no longer alive?"
"Who told you that?"
"Himself."
Zhang Ting was stunned for a moment. It seemed that the father and son's relationship was really bad.
"Chairman Xu is still alive, but as far as I know, Madam Xu passed away many years ago."
Chen Yaoan nodded and didn't ask any further questions.
She glanced back out the window again; Xu Jialan was still standing in the same spot, smoking.
Even though he was surrounded by bustling traffic, he couldn't feel himself part of it at all.
She thought, shouldn't we also celebrate Mother's Day with Zhou Yao?
I'm going out for a bit.
As Chen Yaoan stepped out of the store, she saw a cake shop across the street.
As she passed by Xu Jialan, she saw several cigarette butts thrown onto the trash can next to her.
She didn't greet him, but crossed the street and went into the cake shop.
A few minutes later, Chen Yaoan came out of the cake shop and passed by Xu Jialan again. She noticed that there seemed to be more cigarette butts on the trash can than before.
She frowned slightly and asked him, "Aren't you going in?"
Xu Jialan turned to look at her, then her gaze fell on the bag in her hand. "What did you buy?"
"cake."
Xu Jialan paused for a moment, "Because of Mother's Day?"
"Um."
He took a drag of his cigarette, and after a long pause, slowly exhaled a few words, "Can I eat it?"
Chen Yao'an instinctively refused: "No."
Xu Jialan turned her head away and didn't look at her again.
She took a few steps forward, then remembered her earlier rashness and looked back at him.
Xu Jialan kept his head down, remaining motionless as the cigarette in his hand burned to the end, the stray hairs on his forehead casting shadows in front of his eyes.
Chen Yaoan called to him, "Xu Jialan, do you still want to eat cake?"
Xu Jialan looked up at her, the shop lights illuminating his eyes.
Half an hour later, the dinner ended, and Zhang Ting offered to take the two aunties home.
Chen Yaoan and Xu Jialan got into his car together.
As usual, the car was parked in the alleyway leading to her house.
The two got off the bus together.
As the weather warms up, elderly people in the neighborhood sit on the street chatting in the evenings.
Seeing Chen Yao'an get out of a car, followed by a man, one can't help but feel curious and gossipy.
Chen Yao'an greeted them indifferently.
Someone then asked, "Is this your boyfriend?"
"no."
Several pairs of eyes stared at Xu Jialan, looking him up and down, wanting to ask more questions, but Chen Yaoan didn't stop at all and took him home.
Back home, Yan Shumei watched TV with Zhou Yao in the living room, but Yan Shumei was feeling a little sleepy.
Chen Yao'an woke her up, "Grandma, go to sleep."
"Um."
She only noticed Xu Jialan when she reached the door. "Xiao Xu, what brings you here?"
"grandmother,……"
Chen Yao'an answered her question first, "He was passing by and brought me back."
Yan Shumei was indeed tired, so she didn't ask any more questions and went back to her room.
Chen Yaoan led Zhou Yao to the courtyard, and the three of them sat down at the table.
She took out the cake she had bought and placed it in front of Zhou Yao. When she bought the cake, she specifically asked the shop assistant for candles, which she lit and stuck into the cake.
"Mom, today is Mother's Day."
She naturally couldn't understand it.
Zhou Yao's current IQ is equivalent to that of a child of a few years old. She doesn't have any particular favorite things, except for eating cake.
Zhou Yao's eyes lit up as she stared at the cake.
She knew the procedure well, and waited for the candle to burn for a few seconds before blowing it out in one breath.
Then, I laughed happily.
Chen Yao'an removed the candle for her, and she couldn't wait to take a bite.
It was late at night, so Chen Yaoan didn't let her eat much. After coaxing her to drink her medicine, he took her to bed.
When Chen Yaoan finished her work and came out, Xu Jialan was still sitting quietly in the courtyard.
Chen Yao'an sat down opposite him.
He asked her, "Do you celebrate every holiday like this for your mother?"
She nodded. "My mom only likes cake now."
She took another piece of cake out of the bag, placed it on the table, and then pulled out a candle and handed it to him. "Would you like to try some?"
"It might be useful."
Her voice was soft, as if she understood everything he said without him saying a word.
He didn't believe in these things, but he still took the candle, lit it, and stuck it on the cake.
For the next few seconds, neither of them spoke, letting the flames flicker gently in the air.
Suddenly, a gust of wind blew by, ruffling their hair, and the candle went out with a whoosh.
The two looked up and gazed at each other silently; the world fell silent.
The breeze just now seemed to magically smooth out a wrinkle in his heart.
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