Chapter 59 Was he injured?
Chen Yao'an had long forgotten that she had mentioned flowers.
On the weekend, Chen Yaoan came home from get off work and was in the yard with Zhou Yao when Xu Jialan came in from outside, her hands behind her back.
Zhou Yao was facing the doorway when she saw him first. She happily called out to him, "Xu Jialan, you're here!"
"Um.
Chen Yao'an did not turn around to look at him.
Xu Jialan walked up to her and stopped, then suddenly took out a bunch of wildflowers from behind her back and presented them to her, saying, "These are for you."
Chen Yao'an glanced at the bouquet of flowers; it was a bunch of pale purple wildflowers, emitting a faint fragrance. "Where did it come from?"
“You picked them from the mountain; didn’t you say you liked wildflowers?”
She then remembered that when he sent her flowers before, she had mentioned that she liked wildflowers from the mountains.
She didn't take it, but in the instant she looked down, she saw that his shoes were covered in mud and completely unrecognizable. Further up, his pants and shirt were also covered in mud to varying degrees, quite a lot of it.
Noticing her gaze, Xu Jialan explained, "It's been raining these past two days, and the mountain is all muddy. I accidentally got some on myself."
Chen Yao'an turned her head away, somewhat annoyed, "Who asked you!"
“You didn’t ask me.” Xu Jialan’s hand was still held up in front of him. “Then can I accept my flowers?”
Chen Yao'an turned her head away, showing no intention of accepting the money.
"Take it," Xu Jialan said, bending down, her voice low, as if coaxing her.
"No!"
Xu Jialan, however, wouldn't let her have her way and forcefully shoved the flowers into her hand, not allowing her to refuse, "So you're accepting them now."
Chen Yao'an was speechless and furious, "You!"
As she was about to raise her hand to throw the flowers on the ground, Zhou Yao stopped her.
"It's so pretty, don't throw it away!"
Chen Yaoan stopped and simply gave the flowers to Zhou Yao, saying, "Mom, if you like them, you can have them."
Zhou Yao happily reached out and took it.
Chen Yaoan turned and went into the house.
Xu Jialan looked at the flowers in Zhou Yao's hand and couldn't help but sigh.
He squatted down in front of Zhou Yao and coaxed her, "How about I help you arrange the flowers? That way they'll look good for a few days."
Zhou Yao thought for a moment before handing him the flowers: "Okay."
Xu Jialan reached out and took it, then walked into the Chen family's living room. Chen Yaoan wasn't in the living room. He searched for a while before finding a vase, filled it with water, put the flowers in it, and placed it on the living room table.
He carefully adjusted the arrangement of the flowers before he was satisfied, then turned around and went home to change his clothes.
When Chen Yao'an came out of the bedroom, she immediately saw the vase on the table and the bunch of wildflowers in it.
She stared at it for a while, then thought of the mud on Xu Jialan's body earlier. It didn't look like he had just rubbed himself in; he had most likely fallen.
Thinking of this, Chen Yao'an suddenly realized, why was she thinking about this?
Who cares if it was scratched or dropped!
Because of the recent rain, the kitchen renovation project has been put on hold.
As a result, Chen Yao'an needed to cook in Xu Jialan's kitchen every day, and she carried several bags of vegetables into his kitchen.
Xu Jialan watched her go into the kitchen and followed her, saying, "I've prepared a lot of things in the refrigerator. Feel free to take whatever you need."
Chen Yao'an replied sarcastically, "I can't afford your stuff, you can keep it yourself."
Xu Jialan wasn't annoyed; she just leaned against the doorframe and smiled.
What are you laughing at!
Seeing that he still wasn't leaving, Chen Yao'an said to shoo him away, "What are you still doing standing here?"
Xu Jialan straightened up, turned around and left.
Chen Yao'an glanced at his back, then lowered her head and continued cooking.
Halfway through, she rummaged through the bag for a long time, but there was no garlic left, and she didn't have any at home either. After thinking for a moment, she went over and opened Xu Jialan's refrigerator.
The refrigerator was indeed packed full, with all kinds of vegetables and meats.
Chen Yaoan wondered why he bought so many ingredients when he doesn't cook.
She looked at it for a long time, then took out a clove of garlic, leaving the rest untouched.
When it comes to chopping and preparing vegetables, Chen Yao'an is used to preparing everything before starting to cook. After preparing everything, she throws all the scraps into the trash can.
Chen Yao'an opened the trash can and stared at it for a moment, stunned.
Surprisingly, the trash can contained quite a few cooked dishes, most of which were burnt black, with only a few looking decent.
What is she doing? Is Xu Jialan learning to cook?
He then rejected the idea.
This is unlike him.
Chen Yao'an didn't want to think too much about it, but in her heart she cursed him for wasting food.
After dinner, Chen Yaoan went back to her room to continue working as usual, while Xu Jialan stayed in the yard to play with Zhou Yao.
Chen Yao'an felt annoyed just looking at him, so she got up and drew the curtains.
Xu Jialan, with her sharp ears, heard a slight noise behind her. Turning around, she saw that the curtains were half-drawn, revealing the impatient look on her face.
He raised his hand and scratched his forehead, suddenly realizing that he had a long way to go.
Chen Yaoan worked straight until nearly 10 p.m. before finishing, and felt exhausted.
Yan Shumei and Zhou Yao were already asleep, so she went up to the roof to get some fresh air.
Fortunately, Xu Jialan spent this time playing with Zhou Yao and coaxing her to take her medicine, which gave her more time to focus on things at the shop...
Chen Yao'an's idea came to an abrupt halt the next second.
Pshaw! Why would she have such an outrageous idea!
He was just being delusional; does she expect her to thank him?
She shook her head, banishing these thoughts from her mind, climbed the stairs, and reached the rooftop.
Because it had been raining a lot recently, the air was much fresher after the rain. She took a deep breath and instantly felt her mind relax.
As he turned around, he looked down and saw Xu Jialan's courtyard.
His kitchen was on the east side of the yard, and she was standing there facing his kitchen.
The kitchen lights were on, and Xu Jialan could be seen busy inside through the window.
What is he doing in there so late at night instead of sleeping?
Chen Yao'an took a few steps forward to get a better view.
After watching for a few minutes, she finally realized that Xu Jialan was cooking while looking at her phone?
He kept checking his phone, adding seasonings to the pot, and sometimes his improper handling would lead to him becoming flustered and disorganized.
Instead of sleeping at night, he was learning to cook?
Chen Yaoan felt that Xu Jialan was acting a bit strangely these days; who would be holed up in the kitchen learning to cook late at night?
She watched his antics for a while, then turned and went downstairs to sleep.
Two days later.
Chen Yaoan was carrying groceries to Xu Jialan's house to cook when Xu Jialan stopped her at the kitchen door.
"What are you doing?" Chen Yaoan questioned him.
"I'll cook today, you go and rest."
"You?" Chen Yao'an looked at him with suspicion. "You've never cooked before, have you?"
After saying that, the image of him learning to cook in the kitchen that night flashed through her mind, but she still didn't trust him.
"Let me in."
Xu Jialan stopped her and pushed her out, saying, "Trust me, I'll take care of the cooking from now on. After all, I've eaten quite a few meals at your house recently."
Chen Yao'an frowned. "What do you mean?"
"You look so tired from cooking every day, I'll take over the cooking from now on," he said casually.
After saying that, he pushed her out and closed the kitchen door.
Chen Yao'an couldn't get in, so she had to give up.
What did he mean by what he just said?
Did he learn to cook at night for her?
No, no.
Chen Yao'an immediately banished this ridiculous thought from her mind. She was just being delusional. Even if she was, so what? She didn't care.
A gust of wind blew by.
The living room door was open, and a piece of paper was blown to the ground. Chen Yao'an subconsciously walked over and picked it up.
It's a blueprint, and it's a blueprint for a kitchen.
Seeing that the wind had picked up, Xu Jialan came out of the kitchen and, seeing Chen Yao holding the drawings, said, "These are drawings for your kitchen. It's been raining a lot lately, so we'll probably have to wait for a sunny day to start construction."
Chen Yao'an put the blueprints back and said irritably, "Who told you to meddle in other people's business!"
Her tone was far from pleasant; in the past, Xu Jialan would have lost her temper long ago.
This time, however, he didn't react much; the corners of his mouth remained turned up, which was quite unlike him.
Chen Yaoan turned and left.
Xu Jialan's first time cooking went surprisingly smoothly.
He brought several dishes to the Chen family's house, and Yan Shumei was very surprised, "Did you make all of these?"
"Yes, Grandma, you should try it!"
Yan Shumei picked up her chopsticks, took a bite, and praised, "Hmm, it tastes pretty good."
"That's good."
Chen Yaoan led Zhou Yao to sit down at the table. Yan Shumei said, "Jialan's first time cooking, and it tastes so good. She has a talent for cooking."
She was too lazy to talk.
Xu Jialan didn't expect her to say anything. She would serve food to Zhou Yao and sometimes even clean up her dirty sleeves.
That being said, since Xu Jialan moved here, he has actually taken care of Zhou Yao more often.
After serving Zhou Yao, he put a few more dishes into Chen Yao'an's bowl, saying, "Try it."
She was about to pick out the few bites of food when she happened to glance at the oil blisters and burns on his hands, some of which were almost healed, and some of which were newly formed.
Chen Yao'an's chopsticks suddenly stopped moving. After thinking for a moment, she put the food she had picked up back into her bowl and then ate it bite by bite with rice.
After dinner, as they were clearing the dishes together, Chen Yao'an asked him, "Did you get burned while cooking?"
Almost as soon as she asked the question, Chen Yao'an regretted it. Why couldn't she just say something?
Just as Xu Jialan was about to speak, she added, "Pretend I didn't ask what you just said."
After saying that, he picked up the bowl and plates and left.
Despite this, Xu Jialan was much happier.
one
The weather in Dai County has been extremely unstable lately. Sometimes it's sunny when you wake up in the morning, but before noon, dark clouds quickly drift over and it starts to rain.
That afternoon, a sudden downpour caught everyone off guard. In less than two hours, the rain had flooded Wenzhi Street, and the rain showed no signs of stopping.
Chen Yaoan quickly realized that the situation was not good. If this trend continued, it wouldn't be long before the water from the street would flood into the shop.
She went to the street and took a look. The surrounding shops also realized something was wrong and began to try to find a solution. They were so busy that no one had time to take care of anyone else.
Chen Yaoan quickly ran back to the store, packed all the clothes on the rack into boxes, and then moved the boxes to the highest place possible.
She still had a lot of clothes in her storage room, which she needed to move out, otherwise they would be damaged by water and suffer heavy losses. She also had some fabrics and patterns in her studio.
She was so anxious that she couldn't think of anything else.
Suddenly, the shop door was pushed open forcefully, and someone rushed into her shop, bringing with them the wind and rain outside, causing the bell on the top of her door to ring incessantly.
Chen Yaoan was startled, but quickly recognized the person as Xu Jialan.
His hair and shirt were wet, and his pants were not spared either; water was dripping from his forehead.
For some reason, Chen Yaoan suddenly felt calmer and less panicked than before.
After a long pause, he finally said, "Why are you here?"
Xu Jialan quickly walked to her side and started helping her tidy up. As she tidied up, she explained, "I heard from a local colleague that Wenzhi Street is low-lying and might be flooded, so I came here to check it out."
He was panting heavily as he spoke, his voice unsteady, indicating that he had rushed over in a hurry.
After collecting them, he asked, "Where do you plan to put these things?"
Chen Yao'an was also at a loss. This situation rarely occurred in Dai County, and it was the first time she had encountered it. "I don't know. I've temporarily moved everything to the table."
Upon hearing this, Xu Jialan quickly made a decision: "Move the things to my car and leave them upstairs in my apartment complex; it won't flood there."
Chen Yaoan had no other choice but to listen to him.
The two carried the boxes out of the studio. Xu Jialan took the boxes from her hands and said, "You wait here. The car can't come in. I parked it outside. I'll go over by myself."
After he finished speaking, he opened the door and ran out into the wind and rain.
Chen Yaoan followed him to the door and watched him run away, completely soaked in the rain. Why did he just go out like that?
She quickly turned around, ran to the storage room to find a raincoat she hadn't worn in a long time, and handed it to him when he returned, saying, "Put this on, you're soaked."
Xu Jialan smiled, took it and put it on, then carried it several times.
Let's go.
Chen Yaoan went to get two umbrellas. When she came back, Xu Jialan was taking off her raincoat. After taking it off, she put it on Chen Yaoan. "Put this on. It's too windy outside. Umbrellas aren't very effective."
She thought about it and put it on anyway.
The umbrella was indeed not very useful. As soon as Chen Yao'an stepped out, she was drenched in the rain, and the umbrella she was carrying was rendered useless.
Xu Jialan pulled her under his umbrella, shielding her by his side, and they walked forward together.
He held her tightly, tilting the umbrella towards her, letting the rain fall on him.
She looked up at him, and he looked straight ahead, leading her forward.
Rainwater stung his face, raindrops streaming down his chin. Chen Yao'an wanted to raise her hand to wipe it clean for him, but ultimately refrained.
After finally getting into the car, Xu Jialan drove, and Chen Yaoan, worried about home, called her grandmother. The call was only answered on the second try.
Yan Shumei said the situation at home was not good either, as the water level on the street kept rising.
The rain hadn't stopped yet. Xu Jialan said, "Put your things down, and we'll go back to pick them up."
"Okay." It seemed like that was the only option, and besides, she was worried about leaving them alone at home.
Back at Xu Jialan's apartment complex, the two carried their belongings upstairs, Xu Jialan changed her clothes, and then they rushed back to Yao'an Town without stopping.
Xu Jialan took a roundabout route, and it took quite a bit of effort to drive to Yao'an Town, but fortunately the rain had lessened considerably along the way.
But when he arrived in Yao'an Town, he couldn't drive the car in, so he had to park it on a nearby hillside.
Just as the two were worrying, they saw people walking out. They got out of the car to inquire and found out that the road ahead was indeed flooded and some cars were stuck in it. They could only walk out by following the hillside.
Xu Jialan immediately made up her mind, "I'll walk down the hillside and bring Grandma and Aunt Zhou out. You just wait here."
"Why make me wait here? Those are my grandma and mom, after all."
But he was determined, saying, "You should stay in the car. The road ahead is difficult, and I'll have to take care of you, which will only make me more distracted."
"……All right."
Xu Jialan set off quickly, while Chen Yaoan could only wait where she was.
One hour, two hours...
Chen Yao'an grew increasingly anxious waiting in the car, but thankfully Xu Jialan finally returned, carrying Yan Shumei on her back.
Yan Shumei was wearing a raincoat and wasn't very wet, but Xu Jialan's clothes, which she had just changed into, were soaked again.
Without time to rest, he had to turn back to pick up Zhou Yao. "Aunt Zhou can't walk anymore, so she's resting where she is. There are some people from your town nearby, and I've asked them to take care of her."
Chen Lian'an nodded, without saying anything more.
Afraid that she would miss Zhou Yao, he didn't have time to rest and immediately went back to pick her up.
Chen Yao'an stopped him and handed him a bottle of water. "Don't rush. It's not too late to go back after you've rested for a while. Or I can go instead."
"No, I'll go."
He poured half a bottle of water into his mouth, didn't linger, and turned to leave in a hurry.
Half an hour later, Zhou Yao was also carried back by him.
After everyone got into the car, Chen Yaoan quickly found a towel and handed it to Xu Jialan so he could wipe himself off.
Xu Jialan took it and smiled at her.
She quickly turned her head and looked elsewhere.
With nowhere else to go, the family had no choice but to move into Xu Jialan's house in the county town.
That evening, Chen Yaoan gave Zhou Yao a bath. Zhou Yao was playing in the water when she suddenly remembered something and said to her, "Xu Jialan is bleeding."
She paused, looking at Zhou Yao. "You mean, he's injured?"
Zhou Yao nodded.
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