Chapter 15 First Dream
Back home, Jiang Le took a cold shower, trying to suppress the heat in her body and the annoyance in her heart. She walked out of the bathroom, wiping her wet hair, and saw Jiang Congyue standing in front of her closet, looking thoughtful.
"What's wrong?" Jiang Le asked in confusion.
Jiang Congyue sighed softly, with a hint of childish regret: "Oh, if I had known earlier, I should have persuaded you to wear those furry animal pajamas when you were little."
As she spoke, she seemed to imagine a certain scene and couldn't help laughing out loud.
Jiang Le's face flushed instantly. Jiang Congyue had put a lot of effort into this "pajamas business". If persuasion failed, she would find other ways, including but not limited to secretly hiding her old pajamas.
During that period, Jiang Le had to nervously check again and again whether his pajamas were in place before entering the bathroom.
She resisted the urge to throw the towel at someone, held her breath, picked up the hair dryer and prepared to take care of herself.
"Come, baby, sit down." Jiang Congyue quickly called her and snatched the hair dryer, "I'll blow dry it for you."
Jiang Le had no choice but to sit on the carpet and let Jiang Congyue play with her. Strangely enough, Jiang Le, who always resisted being touched by others, had a secret love for others touching her hair.
When Jiang Congyue's fingers, bringing warm breeze, shuttled through her hair and rubbed it gently, a fine electric current ran through her spine, and she almost trembled with pleasure.
Jiang Congyue seemed to understand her feelings, and he deliberately used his fingertips to gently scratch her most sensitive areas behind her ears and in the crook of her neck twice with a teasing look.
"Hiss..." Jiang Le shuddered suddenly, grabbed the rebellious hand, raised his head, and said with a hint of anger: "Can you blow properly?"
"Oh, you have quite a temper. You're so picky when I blow dry your hair." Jiang Congyue grinned and pressed her head, "Lower your head!"
Jiang Le's hair is always the perfect length, perhaps because she's used to the neat look she wore during her orphanage years. Once it grows past her shoulders, she can't help but cut it off. Too long is hard to manage, too short is too short to tie up, but she's most satisfied with just the right length to hang above her shoulders.
Therefore, Jiang Congyue didn't blow for long before the moisture dissipated.
"What should I wear tonight?" Jiang Congyue put down the hair dryer and looked around the closet.
However, for a meal with a few people, Jiang Le randomly picked out a simple black and white dress. Although Jiang Congyue never explicitly stated the value of these clothes, when his fingertips touched the delicate fabric and exquisite tailoring, Jiang Le knew in his heart that they were definitely not ordinary goods.
By the time the two of them had finished packing and went downstairs, Li Yan was already waiting impatiently in the living room. She stuffed her mouth with the fruit Aunt He handed her and mumbled, "You guys are taking too long!"
Jiang Congyue smiled and tapped her forehead: "Yeah, if you dawdle any longer, that greedy little cat will probably eat up all the fruit plate."
Li Yan patted his stomach with a smile, looking very proud: "No, no, I'm saving my stomach for dinner!"
Looking at the intimate and natural interaction in front of her, Jiang Le felt a strange feeling in her heart again. Jiang Congyue always managed to say what she wanted to say before her.
In the summer evening, the magnificent sunset splashes the sky into a brilliant purple and red.
As soon as Li Yan got off the car, he was attracted by the scene and took out his mobile phone to take pictures. After taking the pictures, he admired them seriously and praised his photography skills.
However, when no one was paying attention, her eyes froze for a moment at the photo on the screen, revealing a barely perceptible daze.
"Yanyan! What are you daydreaming about?" Li's mother shouted.
Li Yan suddenly came back to his senses, responded, quickly put away his phone and ran over.
Jiang Le took in Li Yan's moment of distraction. He glanced at a corner in the distance, raised his eyebrows thoughtfully, and then looked away calmly.
The group walked noisily into the reserved private room. Eating with two newly liberated children, there was no need for elegance; they ordered only the hearty dishes their age would enjoy.
Don’t think that Li Yan is more noisy than Jiang Le. In fact, she is a few months older than Jiang Le.
After eating for a while, Li Yan couldn't contain his excitement. He put his arm around Jiang Le's shoulders and shouted to Jiang Congyue, "Aunt Jiang! The college entrance examination is over! Can we open some wine to celebrate?"
Jiang Le paused, trying to break free from the octopus.
Jiang Congyue smiled brightly and raised her hand to greet the waiter: "Okay! We are all adults! Your mother has to drive and can't drink, so I'll accompany you!" She added enthusiastically, "Just bring a few bottles of low-proof fruit wine!"
The two hit it off immediately and were about to raise their glasses excitedly. Jiang Le thought of Jiang Congyue's health and was about to speak to dissuade them when they were pulled up by the two men, one on each side.
The three of them stood in a row, looking a bit like the Three Heroes of Peach Garden.
"Come on! Lele! Yanyan!" Jiang Congyue raised his glass, his voice filled with rare heroism, "I wish you success in the imperial examinations and a bright future!"
Li Yan immediately started acting like a character, pretending to be moved to tears. "Thank you so much, Aunt Jiang, for your kind words! I also wish you good fortune and a long life!"
"cheers!"
"cheers!"
Li's mother smiled and clapped on the side, and the atmosphere was lively and harmonious.
“…”
Jiang Le closed her eyes helplessly. She knew that if she stayed with Li Yan for too long, Jiang Congyue's few remaining moments of seriousness would eventually be distracted.
But he was outnumbered and could not defeat the two people who had just sworn brotherhood. Poor Jiang Le, who had never touched a drop of alcohol, was forced to drink several glasses of fruit wine.
She wanted to refuse, but Li Yan waved his hands and said, "Hey! It's only a few days away from adulthood! Don't be so picky!"
Jiang Le couldn't hold her liquor very well, and after a few drinks, her head began to spin. She sat there dazed, her cheeks burning, her eyes blurry and unfocused.
"Hehe, look at Lele!" Li Yan pointed at Jiang Le's red cheeks and laughed at him mercilessly.
As soon as she finished speaking, she fell headfirst onto the table with a "thump", unconscious.
Jiang Congyue and Li's mother smiled at each other, shook their heads helplessly, and each of them helped one of them to stuff the two drunks who were staggering into the car.
"Hey, look who's that over there?" Jiang Congyue suddenly pretended to be surprised and pointed at a figure standing not far away.
Just as Mother Li settled the limp Jiang Le, she looked up and her face instantly darkened. Without saying a word, she pushed Li Yan in as well.
"Auntie!" The figure hurried over, his voice anxious.
Mother Li frowned and said in a cold tone, "Why did you find yourself here? Didn't I tell you to stop bothering Yanyan? Don't you understand me?"
Chen Ting eagerly grabbed Li Yan's drooping wrist and said, "Auntie, please, let me say a few words to her, just a few words..."
Just as Li's mother was about to scold her, Jiang Congyue interrupted her with a smile: "Everything must have a beginning and an end. Let her talk. You send Lele back to rest first. I'll watch over her here. She'll be fine."
Mother Li hesitated for a moment, then saw the unconscious Li Yan unconsciously leaning towards Chen Ting. She finally sighed, "Sorry to bother you, Boss Jiang. I'll be right back after I send Lele off."
—
Inside the car, Jiang Le felt her head was as heavy as if it were filled with lead, her ears were buzzing, and she could faintly hear the sounds of an argument, which made her cover her ears in annoyance.
I'm sleepy and just want to sleep.
But the small compartment made her feel uncomfortable no matter how she curled up.
Half asleep and half awake, she felt someone helping her up the stairs. A familiar breath enveloped her, and her body sank into a soft bed. It was her own bed.
Her tired and sore limbs were finally stretched, she hummed twice in satisfaction, and sank completely into darkness.
He didn't know how long he had slept when a long, melodious melody suddenly invaded his dream. Jiang Le seemed to be in a brightly lit ballroom, surrounded by men and women in gorgeous clothes, dancing in pairs.
Suddenly, a warm hand firmly grasped hers. Then, her hand was gently lifted up, and through the cool and delicate mask on the other person's face, a soft yet hot kiss was placed.
"Beautiful lady, would you please do me the honor of dancing with me?" A cool and pleasant voice sounded.
Jiang Le's dizzy head couldn't function immediately, and he only felt that the voice had a strange sense of familiarity.
She stood there, not responding. The man opposite her didn't seem anxious either, just patiently holding her hand, as if just being there quietly like this was a great satisfaction.
"...Okay." Jiang Le heard his own hoarse voice squeeze out a response.
After receiving permission, the other party seemed to laugh very lightly, but this laughter fell into the confused ears of Jiang Le, but was misinterpreted as mockery.
She was furious and tried to pull her hand back, but the man refused to let go and quickly chased after her, humbly apologizing.
Adhering to the principle of "once spoken, it cannot be taken back", Jiang Le finally slid stiffly into the dance floor with the other party.
However, having never learned ballroom dancing, her limbs were clumsy, as if they had just been put on. She moved and stepped stiffly, like a landlubber floundering in shallow water.
After being stepped on countless times, the other person sighed helplessly, and suddenly used his arms to hold her waist, lifted her up slightly, and then motioned for her to take off her shoes and stepped directly on the instep of his feet.
"Come, follow my steps." The other party's voice carried a reassuring guidance.
Jiang Le was forced to cling to the person opposite him and move with his steps.
This overly intimate posture made her realize belatedly that she was embarrassed, and at the same time she was surprised to find that the other person's stature seemed to be almost the same as hers. How did the other person have such strength to support her?
Before she could figure it out, the scene suddenly changed. She lay back on the soft bed, but she felt a heavy pressure on her body.
She tried hard to open her eyes and see clearly, but her heavy eyelids drooped again.
I'm so sleepy, I just want to sleep.
But at this moment, rustling sounds began to come from the kitchen.
The man seemed to be about to stir-fry Dongpo pork. He poured a layer of hot oil on it first. The oil slid down slowly from the top of the meat under his hand with amazing clarity like a snake, winding all the way to the strong muscles.
It's so annoying. Why is someone constantly cooking in her head?
"Hmm..." Jiang Le felt an inexplicable heat and anger rising in her dream. She suddenly grabbed the hand that was causing trouble. In her drowsiness, she just wanted to bite it hard to vent her anger. Who was it that was making such a loud noise while preparing food, disturbing her sleep?
She pouted her lips and pretended to bite, but heard the person on her let out another low chuckle.
The laughter stimulated her. She struggled to open her heavy eyelids and instinctively pulled off the troublesome mask on the other person's face.
"I'm not hungry, stop cooking, it's noisy!"
But wait until she sees that face clearly.
Jiang Le's heart seemed to be gripped by an invisible hand, and it skipped a beat.
Under the mask, there was a face exactly like hers!
She looked at the astonished Jiang Le, with a meaningful arc on the corner of her mouth. The hand that was caught not only did not stop, but instead touched the handle of the pot more provocatively, and began to shake the pot with a ping-pong sound, flipping the food in the pot over and over again, throwing it up and down like a show of skill.
Jiang Le's mind buzzed. She tried to stop him, but it was too late. That hand, with enough fire to start a whole prairie fire, easily ignited the pot she had never used before...
The banging of pots and pans and the swaying of spoons sound like lightning and thunder beside your ears!
—
"ah!"
Jiang Le was suddenly awakened from a suffocating wave of horror mixed with the joy of the ultimate fire and the aroma of fireworks.
Her back was already drenched in cold sweat, her heart pounding wildly in her chest. She gasped for air, bewilderedly raising her hand to pat her cheek, which seemed to be burning from the fumes of the pot.
Because of the hangover, her throat was as dry as fire. She struggled to get up and stumbled to reach the glass of water on the table.
After drinking half a glass of cold water, the burning sensation in my throat subsided a little, but the absurd yet clear images in the dream rushed into my mind.
She bit her lower lip and raised her hand hesitantly.
Is she so narcissistic?
I can actually dream of cooking in my dream?!
She covered her face with her hands and then threw them away.
But fortunately, the person in the dream is myself.
Jiang Le felt a sense of relief at surviving a disaster.
If it was someone else in the dream, just thinking about it would make her stomach churn and she would feel like vomiting!
–
Jiang Congyue:21
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