17. Sleeping together
The car slowly moved along the tree-lined avenue and drove into the Chen family's old house.
Unlike Chen Yunsheng's modern minimalist apartment in the city center, the old house is full of traditional charm, with flying eaves and corners, winding corridors, and lotus leaves in the pond swaying gently in the breeze under the afterglow of the setting sun.
The housekeeper had been waiting at the door for a long time. He respectfully opened the car door and said to Chen Yunsheng, "The old man and his wife are waiting for you in the flower hall."
Chen Yunsheng nodded and naturally extended his hand to Jiang Nan, who had not yet gotten out of the car.
Jiang Nan glanced at the housekeeper, then carefully took Chen Yunsheng's hand, trying to make her movements of squirming out of the car more graceful - in fact, Jiang Nan thought in her heart that squirming out of the car would not look good in any way.
Moreover, she was not used to such slightly intimate physical contact, but this was in the old house, and she and Chen Yunsheng needed to play a loving couple. Therefore, she forced herself to put aside all disturbing thoughts and follow Chen Yunsheng attentively, while mentally rehearsing the words of blessing she would say to Mr. Chen.
Chen Yunsheng patted the back of Jiang Nan's hand encouragingly and gave her a gentle smile: "Don't be nervous."
Jiang Nan nodded, pretending to be confident and calm, but in fact, he was extremely nervous.
Fortunately, Mr. Chen was happy when he saw them.
He praised the gift Jiang Nan had 'prepared' for him: "Nannan is so thoughtful. I've wanted to add some new tea for a long time, but I just wanted to see how Yunsheng would perform." He sighed exaggeratedly, "Alas, my grandson's wife is still the best."
"Grandpa, actually it was Yunsheng's idea to buy tea. I'm just a plagiarist." Jiang Nan told the truth half jokingly and half sincerely.
Hearing Jiang Nan's words, Chen Yunsheng, who had been talking to Chen Mingyuan and Chen Minghui, looked up at her. Then, he echoed, "I just gave some advice. The executor is still Nan Nan herself."
Although Jiang Nan expected that she and Chen Yunsheng would inevitably address each other more intimately in the old house, she still felt a little uncomfortable and a little secretly excited when she heard him call her Nan Nan naturally.
However, Mr. Chen seemed very satisfied with the relationship between Chen Yunsheng and Jiang Nan. He chuckled cheerfully and asked the housekeeper to put away the tea leaves. Then, he grabbed Jiang Nan and played chess.
Jiang Nan wasn't a proficient chess player, but she was very good at making the old man laugh. She deliberately made a few bad moves, which made the old man laugh out loud. Even until dinner, he was still talking to Chen Yunsheng about Jiang Nan's moves. After talking about the chess game, the old man sighed sincerely: "Nan Nan is much better than those ostentatious ones."
Chen Yunsheng smiled and said in a pleasant tone, "As long as Grandpa likes it."
But compared to the happy Mr. Chen, the others at the table seemed too silent.
Chen Mingyuan and Su Wanrong seemed relatively calm, but Chen Minghui and Li Li seemed a bit upset. To be more precise, Chen Minghui looked embarrassed, while Li Li was ashamed and angry.
Jiang Nan saw that there was something hidden, and she quickly glanced at Chen Yunsheng next to her, trying to read his face. However, Chen Yunsheng was calm and composed, ignoring the changes in Chen Minghui and Li Li.
After a while, perhaps unable to bear the murmur of silence, Su Wanrong suddenly spoke up and asked Jiang Nan some innocuous questions.
Jiang Nan answered politely, trying to be considerate of Su Wanrong's feelings. Su Wanrong had always hoped that Jiang Nan would be more elegant, and that her dress and manners would be more in line with the image of Chen Yunsheng's wife. Therefore, when facing Su Wanrong, Jiang Nan would unconsciously be polite.
Su Wanrong's expression was indifferent to Jiang Nan's answer, and it was impossible to tell whether she was happy or angry.
Just as Jiang Nan was trying to figure out Chen's mother's mood, Chen Mingyuan asked a few questions about Jiang Nan's work.
"I heard that your company recently had a very successful project? Did it increase your company's market value a lot?" Chen Mingyuan asked Jiang Nan.
Jiang Nan replied cautiously, "Yes, the initial promotion has been completed."
Chen Mingyuan nodded: "Instead of relying on large groups, it is better to do business on your own."
Jiang Nan glanced at Chen Yunsheng and saw that he looked normal before he said softly, "Yes. The company's development still depends on its own solid management."
This statement is objective and appropriate, and can be regarded as the entry point into Tai Chi.
Even Su Wanrong looked at her again.
Li Li couldn't help but roll her eyes when she saw Jiang Nan getting a good deal, but out of consideration for Chen Yunsheng, she didn't dare show her dissatisfaction too obviously. She just ate her food in silence, occasionally making indirect accusations at Chen Minghui. Chen Minghui put on a smile, trying to persuade Li Li while apologizing to Mr. Chen and Chen Mingyuan.
This interruption made Jiang Nan realize something - Su Wanrong didn't like Li Li very much. She frowned almost every time Li Li said something.
Jiang Nan was happy in her heart and sighed that she was not the first on Su Wanrong's blacklist.
However, she concealed her emotions well and focused on eating while studying the relationships in the Chen family.
Although there was a minor incident at dinner that day, it was generally light and peaceful.
Later, Mr. Chen was in high spirits. After finishing dinner, he continued to play chess with Jiang Nan.
This time, Jiang Nan didn't deliberately make bad moves, but instead imitated Mr. Chen's previous moves, causing him to sigh in admiration. Chen Yunsheng, who was watching the game from the side, also smiled with joy.
After an unknown amount of time, Su Wanrong suddenly walked over gracefully. "It's getting late, you should stay here tonight. Yunsheng's room is always cleaned, so you can move in directly." She gave Jiang Nan a meaningful look and said, "Do you need a guest room prepared?"
Chen Yunsheng replied naturally: "No need. Nannan and I can just stay in the same room."
Jiang Nan felt her heart skip a beat. However, she forced herself to smile and nod calmly, as if accepting any arrangement.
A little later, Jiang Nan and Old Man Chen finished their game. The old man smiled and said a few words before taking the housekeeper's hand and returning to the room. Once the old man left, Chen Mingyuan and Chen Minghui had no reason to stay any longer.
Su Wanrong gave Chen Yunsheng a few words of advice and then caught up with Chen Mingyuan, ignoring Jiang Nan's affairs.
Things happened very quickly.
In just a few minutes, the hall was deserted. In other words, Jiang Nan hadn't recovered from the shock before she followed Chen Yunsheng to his room.
The rooms in the old house retain the layout of Chen Yunsheng's youth. But it has a more lively atmosphere than the apartment in the city center, but it is still serious and even a little old-fashioned.
Dark solid wood furniture, bookshelves covering an entire wall, trophies in the display cabinet, and pens neatly arranged on the table according to light and dark colors.
At first, Jiang Nan could pretend to be immersed in admiring the room.
However, as soon as the door closed, the atmosphere suddenly became awkward.
"You sleep on the bed and I sleep on the couch." Chen Yunsheng broke the silence first and raised his chin towards the couch by the window.
Jiang Nan quickly shook his head: "No! I'll sleep on the couch. I'm small and can fit. You're too tall and it would be very uncomfortable to sleep on it."
"You're a guest, you can't sleep on the couch," Chen Yunsheng said firmly. He then changed the subject at the right moment. "The bathroom is on the left, and the toiletries are all new. I had my aunt pack your clothes this afternoon and put them in the bathroom cabinet. Go in and look for them. If they're not there, I'll find you something else."
Jiang Nan had no choice but to nod woodenly, agreeing to Chen Yunsheng's arrangement, and walked into the bathroom in a daze.
She found her clothes in the bathroom cabinet and began to wash with mixed feelings.
The warm water washed away the day's fatigue, but it couldn't dispel the tension in her heart. Tonight she would be sharing a room with Chen Yunsheng—although they would sleep on the same bed and couch separately—but her heart still raced, and she felt uneasy.
When she finally came out, Chen Yunsheng had already changed into his pajamas and was sitting at his desk reading some documents. He glanced back at her and asked, "Are you done washing?"
Jiang Nan nodded. She was very grateful that her aunt had found her some very conservative pajamas, not some revealing ones. However, she still stood at the bathroom door, dazed, feeling somewhat lost.
"Go to sleep," Chen Yunsheng said in a calm and restrained tone, "I still have some documents to look at."
Jiang Nan felt as if he had been pardoned. He quickly got into the quilt and wrapped himself tightly.
The mattress is very soft, and the pillows smell like a mixture of sunshine and laundry detergent, warm and full of fragrance.
Lying on her side, she could hear the subtle sounds of Chen Yunsheng sliding the screen and turning papers, as well as her own pounding heartbeat.
Jiang Nan wanted to hypnotize herself, but she had too many thoughts in her mind and couldn't fall asleep.
She remained in the same position for more than ten minutes and still couldn't fall asleep.
Jiang Nan carefully turned over, then squinted his eyes and looked at the bookshelf in the dim light of the spotlight. The bookshelf was filled with books, ranging from business management to literature.
"Can't sleep?" Chen Yunsheng suddenly spoke, almost scaring Jiang Nan.
"I'm a bit picky about my bed..." she explained quietly, then asked curiously, "Have you read all those books?"
Chen Yunsheng followed her gaze towards the bookshelf: "Most of these were read when I was a student. I don't have much time to read now."
As he spoke, Jiang Nan's attention was drawn to an unexpected book title - Wuthering Heights. She smiled and couldn't help but say, "I didn't expect you would read this book."
"Which one?"
"Wuthering Heights."
Chen Yunsheng put down the documents, walked to the bookshelf and pulled out the book. "I think I used it as a sample for some research topic." He flipped through a few pages, a smile playing on his face. "At the time, I thought Heathcliff was a lunatic."
Jiang Nan sat up: "What now?"
Chen Yunsheng thought for a moment. "Now I think he's too radical, but revenge is not something that can be handled calmly." He handed the book to Jiang Nan, "You can read it again, just to pass the time."
Jiang Nan took the book, and her fingers accidentally touched his. The subtle touch made her almost drop the book on the bed. She hurriedly lowered her head and flipped through the book, trying to cover up her gaffe.
"Do you think Heathcliff really loves Catherine?" she asked, trying to distract herself with the discussion.
Chen Yunsheng sat down beside the bed, keeping a polite distance. "It's a mixture of love and hate. When feelings are too strong, it's often hard to tell whether it's love or obsession."
Jiang Nan's hands unconsciously stroked the pages of the book. "When I read this book before, I also felt that the love and hate in it were too strong, a little scary, like a ball of fire."
Chen Yunsheng tilted his head to look at her.
Under the warm yellow light, Jiang Nan's hair was draped loosely on her shoulders. She looked less capable than usual and more gentle. Her eyes lit up slightly when she spoke, as if she was really interested in the question.
"Real relationships are rarely that extreme," he said. "They're more about trade-offs and compromises."
Jiang Nan raised her head and met his gaze. At that moment, the atmosphere between the two of them suddenly became a little strange, as if a confusing feeling filled the air, which gradually blurred their vision and made it almost impossible to see clearly what was in front of them.
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