20. Bracelet
When the rice dumplings are cooked and served, the whole side hall is filled with the fragrance of glutinous rice and rice dumpling leaves.
But in addition to rice dumplings, the long table was also served with sugar, honey and several other side dishes, but the main attraction was the rice dumplings served on exquisite porcelain plates.
However, there was a plate of not-so-pretty-looking rice dumplings on the table in front of Mr. Chen - they were made by Jiang Nan and Chen Yunsheng together.
Old Master Chen sat at the main seat and invited everyone to pick up their chopsticks with a smile: "Try it everyone. In addition to white rice dumplings this year, we also have red bean paste, fresh meat and egg yolk. Just find something that suits your taste." After that, he picked one of the rice dumplings from the plate and asked the housekeeper Qian Yuan to peel it for him.
"Did Yunsheng make this?" The old man looked at Chen Yunsheng and Jiang Nan with a smile.
Chen Yunsheng smiled and said, "I can't wrap it as nicely as Nannan."
"My dumplings aren't good-looking either," Jiang Nan replied. Then she looked up at the old man and pretended to be friendly and teasing. "Grandpa, please try them and see whose dumplings are better."
"I like everything you two make." Mr. Chen said with a smile.
Second Aunt Li Li glanced at them and said indifferently, "Yunsheng can cook now."
Chen Yunsheng seemed not to notice the sting in his words and replied gently, "I'm just trying."
Second uncle Chen Minghui smiled and tried to smooth things over: "Nannan isn't from Jiangcheng, is she used to eating white rice dumplings?"
Jiang Nan nodded: "I'm used to it. My father makes it often." What she didn't say was that the rice dumplings made by Jiang's father were always small and solid, and stuffed full of fillings, unlike these delicate but slightly polite rice dumplings in front of her.
"Do you want some sugar?" Chen Yunsheng interrupted Chen Minghui and Li Li, holding a sugar jar and asking Jiang Nan. His eyes fell on her slightly flushed cheeks, and he couldn't help but observe them.
The dress she wore today was simple and plain, nothing special, but she looked calm and elegant in it, with a gentle and watery temperament, like a lotus swaying gently in the wind in a pond.
Then he noticed that her hair was tied up loosely, with a few strands falling around her neck, making her look soft and elegant.
"No, this zongzi is sweet to begin with." Jiang Nan picked up a zongzi, carefully untied the cotton string, and peeled back the dark green leaves, revealing the soft, white glutinous rice and red dates inside. Then, she naturally placed the peeled zongzi on the plate in front of Chen Yunsheng.
"Try it?" She raised her head, her eyes curved with a hint of almost playful anticipation, as if she was sharing a secret that only the two of them understood.
Chen Yunsheng looked at her cute expression, which said, "There's something funny going on in my mind, but I can't tell it," and suddenly his heart softened. He smiled and handed Jiang Nan a towel to wipe her hands, then picked up his chopsticks, picked up a small piece of zongzi, and put it in his mouth.
After chewing and tasting it slowly, he nodded and gave a sincere evaluation: "Sweet, but not greasy."
"Really?" Jiang Nan's eyes lit up, and she immediately picked up another one. "How about another salty one? I put salted egg yolk and pork belly in it."
She started peeling the second one with great interest, her movements brisk and a faint smile on her lips - she was thinking that if Wenwen was there, she would definitely make Wenwen beg her before she peeled one for him in a pretentious tone, and Wenwen would cooperate with her and shout out funny responses like "Long live the emperor".
Chen Yunsheng watched her quietly from the side. Then, a slight sense of loss quietly grew in this heartwarming scene. He could see her vividness, taste the food she made, and feel her friendliness, even a hint of intimacy. But he knew clearly that the employment relationship was like a layer of transparent glass, separating them from deeper things.
He couldn't know exactly what she was thinking when she peeled the rice dumplings - was she simply sharing the delicious food, or was she trying to exchange a friendly attitude for a little convenience, or was she calculating the time of the agreement.
Are her sudden agility and playfulness an expression of her true emotions, or another more sophisticated performance?
He found himself eager to know more.
"You eat too," he suppressed the inexplicable regret and silently picked up a new clean towel. His tone was as gentle as usual, "Don't just care about others."
"Okay." Jiang Nan agreed, and then placed the peeled salty rice dumplings on her plate. She took the towel handed to her by Chen Yunsheng and wiped it carefully, while asking him: "Don't you like salty rice dumplings?"
"Not really... I don't seem to have any particular fondness for zongzi," Chen Yunsheng answered her seriously, "but there's nothing I don't like either."
Jiang Nan nodded thoughtfully without commenting.
——
After the banquet, the guests left one after another, and Jiang Nan followed Chen Yunsheng to see them off.
Song Wei and Qin Yu still felt a little awkward when facing her, but not as blatantly as before. Their attitude was not respectful, but they maintained basic politeness.
Jiang Nan thought, after all the targeting, he finally succumbed to the power of money.
After the guests left, the family moved to the flower hall to chat and drink tea to digest their food.
Jiang Nan pretended to have left something in the side hall, and then took advantage of this break to start looking at tickets - train tickets, plane tickets, and even long-distance bus tickets.
She finally decided to buy the plane ticket, but only when the time was right.
If the Chen family has something else to do in the afternoon, then she can't leave too early, but if she is any later, the few remaining tickets will be gone.
She quietly calculated the flight time and carefully considered her words. When she returned to the lobby and met Chen Yunsheng, she casually asked, "Mr. Chen, you said earlier that the afternoon was my free time. What's the approximate range? Do you have any other plans for the evening? I...I want to prepare in advance to avoid any mistakes."
Jiang Nan tried her best to make her tone sound normal, as if she was really just going through her daily planning.
But when Chen Yunsheng heard her words, his hand holding the teacup froze for a moment. Then, his gaze fell on her flickering eyes.
He caught the cautious tentativeness in her voice almost instantly.
Although he knew she wanted to go home at noon, he didn't expect that she was so eager to go home and planned to leave at a specific time, even considering tonight's red-eye flight.
An indescribable sense of loss and depression gently blocked his heart, but his expression remained calm and gentle.
After a few seconds of silence, he put down his teacup and said in a gentle but direct voice, "Do you want to buy a plane ticket tonight?"
Jiang Nan didn't expect him to see through her. Her cheeks felt slightly hot and she nodded awkwardly, "Yeah, I just want to go home early."
"I'll ask Wei Yan to book a ticket for you," Chen Yunsheng took out his phone, "When Grandpa comes down, we'll tell him and then go home. If you don't mind, I can drive you to the airport."
"No need to bother," she waved her hand quickly, "I can book the ticket myself. I won't waste your time."
"It won't delay you," Chen Yunsheng said with a hint of laughter in his voice. "Just think of it as a holiday benefit."
At this time, Mr. Chen came over with his housekeeper Qian Yuan. His face was full of satisfaction and kindness, and Qian Yuan was holding an antique velvet box in his hands.
The old man looked at Jiang Nan with a smile: "Nan Nan, come here, this is for you."
Qian Yuan opened the box at the right time, revealing what was inside.
It is a transparent and moist jade bracelet.
Jiang Nan blinked his eyes and thought, there really is such a thing of inheritance. Now it is a question whether to accept it or not.
The old man glared at Chen Yunsheng, then winked at him: "This is what Yunsheng's grandmother left behind. It was sent for cleaning some time ago and was only recently brought back. Since you are here today, take it back."
"Grandpa, this is too expensive..." Jiang Nan was a little at a loss.
Chen Yunsheng was silent for a moment, then picked up the bracelet and turned to look at Jiang Nan: "It's a gift from the elders, I dare not refuse, just take it."
He took her hand and slowly slipped the bracelet onto her wrist.
Jiang Nan restrained the urge to pull his hand away and run away, guessing that Chen Yunsheng wanted to go along with the old man first and then make other plans.
The old man looked at Chen Yunsheng and Jiang Nan quietly, his eyes kind: "It's not a valuable thing, just a thought. You are a good child, Yunsheng is with you, I feel at ease."
The cool touch on her wrist calmed Jiang Nan down a bit. She looked up at Old Man Chen with a gentle smile, "Grandpa, don't worry. I'll take good care of it and make sure it doesn't get bumped, and I'll also try to keep Yunsheng safe from bumps."
The old man laughed heartily.
As they were talking, Su Wanrong and Chen Mingyuan also walked over. Su Wanrong's eyes moved slightly when she saw the bracelet, but she immediately regained her composure, her attitude as elegant and calm as always: "Dad gave it to me, so I'll keep it."
The attitude is polite and distant, but it can be regarded as a kind of tacit approval.
Chen Mingyuan simply nodded, his elegant face showing no emotion. "Be careful on your way back."
Chen Yunsheng agreed and didn't say anything else.
Uncle Chen Minghui and Aunt Li Li stood a little further away. Li Li stared at the bracelet with a complicated expression, forcing a smile: "Dad really loves his grandson's wife." The sourness in her tone was barely concealed.
Chen Minghui tugged at her arm and whispered, "Speak less."
They have no children, and looking at this scene with a strong sense of inheritance, their expressions can't help but be a little gloomy and lonely.
Chen Yunsheng seemed oblivious to the undercurrent surging on the other side. He simply lowered his head to check his phone, then said to Jiang Nan, "Let's go now. The time is just right."
Jiang Nan stroked the warm bracelet on his wrist, feeling mixed emotions.
This recognition came suddenly and heavily, making her feel more and more confused in this contractual relationship.
She looked up into Chen Yunsheng's calm eyes and finally nodded: "Okay, thank you. I'll go get my bag."
"No need to say thank you all the time." Chen Yunsheng said suddenly.
Jiang Nan was stunned for a moment before continuing his words, saying in a relaxed tone: "I can't help it, I'm a good young man in society."
Chen Yunsheng lowered his head and smiled, then nodded slightly to the elders with Jiang Nan: "Grandpa, Dad, Mom, Second Uncle and Second Aunt, we are leaving first."
The old man waved his hand and said, "Go ahead, be careful on the road."
After receiving approval, Jiang Nan carefully turned around and walked towards Chen Yunsheng's yard. As Chen Yunsheng hurried after her, he couldn't help but stare at her back, his expression focused and curious, even a little scrutinizing.
Jiang Nan was so engrossed in the joy of returning home that she didn't notice the change in Chen Yunsheng's expression. As she hurried up the stairs, holding up her skirt, she asked, "Will there be a traffic jam on our way back?"
"This possibility cannot be ruled out, but the road back to the city should not be as congested as the road out of the city." Chen Yunsheng looked at her hair jumping up and down as she walked, and suddenly felt that it looked a bit like a rabbit's tail.
Jiang Nan nodded, quickly entered the room and began to pack up.
Chen Yunsheng followed her into the room.
He watched her excited movements, and after a minute or two of silence, he turned his head to look at the table, hoping to find something he also wanted to take away.
But after searching for a long time, he was only sure that he didn't have anything he wanted to take away. However, he still found himself inexplicably hoping that the journey home could be slower, slower, preferably slower enough to keep her.
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