Chapter 15 (Part 2)
Wu Juan was operating the washing machine in the bathroom when Gan Ling went over to tell her about going to Kong Yu's house. "If you can do it, it'll be more stable than working as a cleaner at Sister Meiling's company. The working hours are negotiable, and they're fixed, which will make it easier for you to take care of the family. The salary will also be higher than Sister Meiling's. You can discuss the specific amount with Kong Yu. She promised it won't be lower than your current salary." "Thank you so much, Xiaoling." Wu Juan was so moved that she lowered her head and wiped away her tears. After the joy, she suddenly became worried. "Is Miss Kong easy to get along with?" "To be honest, she has a bit of a spoiled temper, but she is very open-minded and kind-hearted. You are so down-to-earth and capable, she will like you." Wu Juan nodded cautiously, "Then I'll give it a try." After discussing it with Wu Juan, the two went to discuss the matter with Gan Wenkang. Gan Wenkang was naturally not happy about it, but there was nothing he could do. Wu Juan immediately said that they could wait until the new person arrived before leaving. Although Gan Ling also hoped so, given her past experience, she was not confident that she could find a suitable caregiver right away. She was also worried that if it took too long, the situation on Kong Yu's side would change. "It's okay here. I'm here! It only takes a few minutes to get home from the bookstore. I can come back anytime if something happens. It's very convenient." Gan Wenkang looked at his daughter worriedly. Gan Ling knew that he didn't want to be a burden, so after taking a shower, she took her laptop out of the room and immediately went online to screen new caregivers. Wu Juan also enthusiastically helped with suggestions. As they were discussing, Gan Wenkang suddenly handed Gan Ling's phone to her. Gan Ling took it and saw that it was Cheng Zhao who had sent her a message. She had marked Cheng Zhao as "CZ" on WeChat. She didn't know if Gan Wenkang understood it. Gan Ling's face felt a little hot. She grabbed the phone and got up to go back to her room to check. Cheng Zhao: "I'm upstairs, can you come up?" Gan Ling replied, checking the time. It was nine-thirty. She came out and said to Gan Wenkang, "Dad, it's getting late. Go to bed! We'll pick tomorrow." Wu Juan hurried to the bathroom to get Gan Wenkang a change of clothes and fill the bathtub. Gan Wenkang could only take a tub bath. While Gan Wenkang was showering, Gan Ling said to Wu Juan, "I have something to run out for. I might be back late. Don't wait for me. Go to bed early!" After giving her instructions, Gan Ling pretended to grab her bag and walked out the door. She glanced around. The hallway was quiet. Then she tiptoed upstairs. She had the key to room 402, hidden in her bag. She took it out and clutched it in her hand. When she got there, she would open it herself, saving herself the hassle of knocking and waiting, like a thief. A bright light shone through the window of room 402. The glass was covered with frosted paper...
Wu Juan was operating the washing machine in the bathroom. Gan Ling went over and told her about her trip to Kong Yu's house.
"If you can do it, it will be more stable than working as a cleaner at Meiling's company. The working hours are negotiable and fixed, which will make it easier for you to take care of the family. The salary will also be higher than Meiling's. You can discuss the specific amount with Kong Yu. She promised that it will not be lower than your current salary."
"Thank you so much, Xiaoling." Wu Juan was so moved that she lowered her head and wiped away her tears. After the joy, she suddenly became worried.
"Is Miss Kong easy to get along with?"
"To be honest, she has a bit of a temper, but she's very open-minded and kind-hearted. You're so down-to-earth and capable, she'll like you."
Wu Juan nodded cautiously, "Then I'll go try it first."
After discussing it with Wu Juan, the two went to talk to Gan Wenkang about this matter. Gan Wenkang was naturally not happy about it, but there was nothing he could do about it.
Wu Juan immediately said that they could wait until the new person arrived before leaving. Although Gan Ling also hoped so, given past experiences, she was not very confident that she could find a suitable caregiver immediately. She was also worried that if time was delayed, the situation on Kong Yu's side would change.
"I'm fine here. I'm here! It only takes a few minutes from the bookstore to my home. I can come back anytime if something happens. It's very convenient."
Gan Wenkang, however, looked at his daughter with a worried look on his face. Gan Ling knew he didn't want to burden her, so after taking a shower, she took her laptop out of her room and immediately went online to search for new caregivers. Wu Juan also enthusiastically offered advice.
While they were discussing, Gan Wenkang suddenly handed Gan Ling's cell phone to her.
Gan Ling took it and saw that it was a message from Cheng Zhao. She had marked Cheng Zhao as "CZ" on WeChat. She didn't know if Gan Wenkang understood it. Gan Ling's face felt a little hot. She grabbed the phone and got up to go back to her room to check.
Cheng Zhao: "I'm upstairs, can you come up?"
After Gan Ling finished replying, she glanced at the time. It was half past nine. She walked out and said to Gan Wenkang, "Dad, it's getting late. Go to bed! We'll pick it tomorrow."
Wu Juan hurried to the bathroom to get Gan Wenkang some clean clothes and run some bath water. Gan Wenkang could only take a bath in the tub.
While Gan Wenkang was taking a shower, Gan Ling said to Wu Juan, "I have something to go out for. I may be back very late. Don't wait for me. Go to bed early!"
After explaining everything, Gan Ling pretended to grab her bag and walked out the door. She glanced around and saw the hallway was quiet. Then she tiptoed upstairs. She had the key to Room 402 hidden in her bag. She took it out, clutched it in her hand, and opened the door herself when she got there, saving herself the hassle of knocking and waiting, like a thief.
Bright light streamed through the window of Room 402, the glass covered in frosted paper, making it impossible to discern any movement from within. Gan Ling inserted her key into the lock, but before she could turn it, she heard footsteps coming up from downstairs. Her entire body tensed up, and she exerted force with her hands, but the lock refused to open, as if deliberately playing a trick on her. She twisted left and right, but it was no use. The footsteps had already reached the upper floor, so she quickly pulled out her key, hid it behind her, and abruptly turned to face the approaching person.
The visitor, Old Chen, was stunned when he saw Gan Ling at the door of Room 402.
"Xiao Ling?" He looked around anxiously, "I'm only on the third floor now."
Gan Ling concealed her embarrassment and said, "It's the fourth floor. I was distracted while walking and climbed one more floor."
Old Chen patted the back of his head and said, "You are so young, how come your memory is not as good as an old man like me!"
Gan Ling smiled apologetically and made to go downstairs. At that moment, the door of Room 402 opened and Cheng Zhao appeared at the door. "Gan Ling! Why don't you come in?"
Gan Ling was petrified on the spot, and the expression on Lao Chen's face could be copied and made into an emoticon.
"Hoho! I didn't see anything! Hoho! You two chat, I'm going upstairs!"
Old Chen's ecstatic expression made Gan Ling's face redder than a persimmon. Cheng Zhao naively let her into the house.
"Did I say anything wrong?"
Gan Ling sighed, "It's too late to say anything now anyway."
"Did Lao Chen see them? Hey! If they saw it, they'd see it! They'll know it sooner or later."
Gan Ling thought so too. She just wasn't used to being the subject of neighborly gossip again. She put down her bag and felt that the whole house looked different from before. But after a closer look, she couldn't see any changes.
"Why did you come back so early?" she asked Cheng Zhao.
Cheng Zhao said, "We met and had dinner, but they wanted to have a card game, which would last all night, so I found an excuse to slip away. I even rushed home, grabbed a few changes of clothes, and came here without even showering."
"What are you rushing for?"
Cheng Zhao chuckled, "I was afraid you would be asleep if I came too late."
He lowered his head and sniffed himself, frowning, "It smells like cigarettes. I'm going to take a shower! What do you want to drink? It's in the fridge, take it yourself."
While Cheng Zhao was showering, Gan Ling wandered around. Cheng Zhao's refrigerator was in the corner of the living room. She opened the door and saw the freezer was filled with fruit, cakes, and drinks. She felt them all warm, clearly having just been there.
As she reached the room, she found the bed, surprisingly, completely spruced up, with brand new sheets, a comfortable, low-saturation gray-green. Two new pillows were added, each in a matching pillowcase. The air seemed to be perfumed. Gan Ling searched around and found a bottle on the left nightstand. She picked it up and saw it was TF's Oud, a soothing and calming fragrance. She finally understood where the strange feeling she'd felt upon entering must have come from. The faint scent of oud drifted from the room, filling the air and subtly changing the atmosphere.
When she turned around, Cheng Zhao was standing behind her.
Gan Ling said, "I didn't expect you to do so many things in one night."
"You only know now that I'm an efficient little expert—do you like it?"
"Yeah. You have good taste."
Cheng Zhao hugged her from behind, rubbing his lips against her ears gently, his tone dreamy, "Whether it's really good or not, you have to try it to know."
As his emotions stirred, Cheng Zhao suddenly recalled Wei Chi's description of Gan Ling, calling her sexually apathetic. Yet, Gan Ling before him was soft and warm, like a flower blossoming in his arms. Cheng Zhao's heart was filled with indescribable emotion. He leaned over, kissing Gan Ling with utmost delicacy and tenderness, and then, with the same tenderness, he sank into her body.
He did his best to please her. He wanted her to be happy, wholeheartedly happy. When Gan Ling paused, he bent down in time, wrapping his body tightly around hers, feeling the trembling in her body. Then, she stretched out her arms, hooked them around Cheng Zhao's neck, and matched his rhythm, entering a new round of dance.
Without asking, Cheng Zhao knew she was happy, which made him feel satisfied and proud.
Spring nights pass quickly, and people in love always feel that the time they have spent in love is not enough. When they come to their senses, it is already midnight.
"I should go back." Gan Ling wanted to get up.
Cheng Zhao hugged her tightly and said, "Sleep upstairs and come down in the morning."
"No, my dad will find out."
"It's discovered...Old Chen saw it, and your dad won't be far from discovering it."
Gan Ling was silent for a moment, then explained, "Why don't we wait a little longer until I resolve Wu Juan's issue? I can't throw too many changes at my dad all at once, or he won't be able to handle it."
Cheng Zhao nodded considerately. "I'll go to the company tomorrow and ask if there's anyone suitable to take care of your dad. It would be best if someone local could help you feel more at ease."
"I don't really care whether they're local or not, as long as they're nice. My dad is very picky, and it's not easy to satisfy him."
"Okay." After finishing the business, Cheng Zhao still refused to let her go, "Then stay with me for a while."
Gan Ling was reluctant to leave immediately, and the two of them snuggled up on the new bed sheets. Cheng Zhao said, "Don't look down on me. I study too."
Gan Ling smiled: "How do you prove it?"
Cheng Zhao took a deep breath and recited with deep emotion:
How do I make you meet me
In my most beautiful moment
For this
I have prayed to the Buddha for five hundred years.
Ask it to let us have a relationship
The Buddha then transformed me into a tree
Growing by the road you must pass
…
Cheng Zhao recited the poem word for word, which really shocked Gan Ling. She propped herself up and looked at Cheng Zhao carefully, as if she didn't know him.
"You can do it, Cheng Zhao. Hidden talents!"
Cheng Zhao was pleased with himself. "Now you believe it, don't you? Are you still worried that we don't have a common language?"
Gan Ling smiled and lay down again. "Anything else? Recite some more for me. Your voice when you recite poetry is very nice."
Cheng Zhao confessed honestly, "There's no more, I only know this one. If you like it, I'll go back and continue memorizing it."
"What book is this poem from?"
"Uh, I forgot."
"The Complete Works of Xi Murong?"
“It seems so.”
Gan Ling grabbed his hand and gently pinched each finger, as if giving him a massage.
"Cheng Zhao."
"Um?"
"You don't have to force yourself to do something you don't like for me."
"I don't……"
"If you don't like reading, you don't have to. We still have a lot of other things to talk about."
“…”
Gan Ling looked up at him. Their eyes met, and Cheng Zhao finally dropped his disguise. He smiled and said, "I really can't hide anything from you."
Gan Ling also smiled. "But the poem is very nice, and you recite it with emotion. Can you recite it to me often in the future?"
Cheng Zhao hugged her and buried his face in her neck, "Gan Ling, I love you."
Gan Ling was held in Cheng Zhao's arms again, with her head resting on his strong chest. Listening to his strong heartbeat, she felt very at ease. Suddenly she felt that it was good to be at this age now. When she was seventeen or eighteen, she had no control over anything, even her emotions were out of control, let alone making promises to each other for the future. Although she was independent in her twenties and had accumulated some experience, she was still full of vigor and desires. She always felt that there were better people and things waiting for her ahead, and it was still difficult for her to settle down. Only after she was over thirty, when the pattern of her life was roughly determined, her heart was calm and steady, she could see herself clearly, and she could see others clearly. Only then could she reunite and have long-term hope.
Yet Gan Ling didn't expect a long-lasting relationship; it was simply a false concept. Being able to be together and depend on each other was already a great blessing, and she didn't force the outcome. Her true joy was that she had finally become brave enough to respond and accept the call of her heart, no longer clinging to the fear of loss.
She closed her eyes again and concentrated all her energy on listening to Cheng Zhao's heartbeat.
This moment, so beautiful, is enough for her.
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