Chapter 26

After listening to Lu Yun’s response, Lu Xiang’an told her to pay attention to safety and most important is to come back early.

Lu Yun held the microphone and replied with a few murmurs, saying several times that she understood.

Only then did the two hang up the phone, and when Lu Yun lifted her head, she saw He Cheng’an was looking at her.

Lu Yun said, “I told them I’m in a relationship.”

Since Lu Yun had already informed her family about being in a relationship, He Cheng’an would certainly have to tell his family too.

However, he was unsure whom to tell. Or rather, there was no need to inform his parents.

As He Cheng’an was contemplating how to respond to Lu Yun regarding this matter, Lu Yun did not dwell on these thoughts. She stood up and walked to the floor-to-ceiling window to gaze at the rain outside.

When Lu Yun had just entered, she hadn’t noticed; it turned out that this hotel also had a view of the sea.

Wasn’t this a seaside hotel? Lu Yun spotted a boat on the water and excitedly called He Cheng’an over to look.

He Cheng’an walked over and stood beside Lu Yun, accompanying her.

The view outside was something He Cheng’an nearly saw every day. In the Seagull Garden community, the properties in better locations generally had a clear view of that stretch of sea. Several of the places He Cheng’an was responsible for renovating also had views of the sea.

He Cheng’an said, “Some houses in Seagull Garden can see the sea as well. If there are no modifications, most of those layouts have terraces.”

Lu Yun continued to gaze outside and nodded, “Terraces are nice. Those kinds of terraces can be used to plant flowers, and sitting outside in the summer to enjoy the cool breeze is really comfortable.”

Before her journey through time, Lu Yun had lived in a place that had a large terrace. Although maintaining the terrace was indeed quite a hassle, when it was useful, it was undoubtedly very pleasant.

Many of the residents in Lu Yun’s previous community disliked the hassle of cleaning, so they had enclosed their terraces. However, there was an advantage to this: after the terraces were enclosed, the interior space of the homes seemed larger.

Lu Yun added, “It’s just that cleaning the terrace can be a bit troublesome.”

He Cheng’an’s voice was low as he replied, “It’s not that troublesome.”

The sound of rain outside was loud, and Lu Yun couldn’t quite catch what He Cheng’an said afterward.

—o—o—o—

During winter, the rain felt colder than usual, and the air was brisk. Zhang Meili and Lu Dong, each holding an umbrella, returned home. Upon entering the house and feeling the warmth inside, they finally felt a bit more comfortable.

Zhang Meili asked, “Where’s your sister? Has she come back?”

Lu Xiang’an was roasting sweet potatoes on the stove when he heard Zhang Meili’s question and didn’t hide anything.

Since Lu Yun had already mentioned it, there was no need for secrecy. In fact, Lu Xiang’an felt that he might soon have a brother-in-law.

He repeated what Lu Yun had said to Zhang Meili.

Zhang Meili knew that although Lu Yun appeared gentle and delicate, she had her own opinions. After a while, she said, “When you have time tomorrow, go and find out more about He Cheng’an. It’s He Cheng’an, right?”

Lu Xiang’an replied, “Yes, he even attended Li Ling’s wedding banquet. Do you remember? The one in the white shirt that I asked you to look at? That’s He Cheng’an.”

If it were someone else, Zhang Meili might not have remembered their face from a brief encounter.

However, she distinctly recalled the person from Li Ling’s wedding.

At that time, she had secretly thought that he and Ah Yun would be a good match—totally not expecting that they were actually together now.

This made Zhang Meili smile a little more.

Zhang Meili said, “Alright, hurry up and eat. It’s raining today; your dad and I went to the cafeteria to get food.”

—o—o—o—

The rain in the provincial city continued until around six in the afternoon before it finally stopped.

He Cheng’an took Lu Yun out to eat, but he still remembered to bring an umbrella, worried it might rain again on their way back, as Lu Yun had already gotten wet.

He was still in the same clothes but had wiped his face with a towel and washed up in the hotel restroom. He looked more or less the same as before, though Lu Yun didn’t pay much attention to it.

The provincial city had a lot of food options, and Lu Yun wanted to eat pan-fried buns, which weren’t available in their county.

He Cheng’an had been in the provincial city for a long time, especially around Seagull Garden, but he also knew that there weren’t any pan-fried buns nearby. He recalled that there were pan-fried buns at the state-owned shopping mall. After glancing at his watch, He Cheng’an felt they had enough time to go to the mall to eat pan-fried buns, so he took Lu Yun to wait for the bus.

He Cheng’an smiled and told Lu Yun, “I want to eat pan-fried buns too.”

Perhaps because it had just stopped raining, there weren’t many people on the bus. When Lu Yun and He Cheng’an boarded, there were plenty of empty seats. The two found a row of two seats together and sat down.

This was Lu Yun’s first time looking at the night scene of the provincial city. Although the provincial city was much more prosperous than her county, it didn’t have many tall buildings, and there were very few private cars on the road—almost none at all. Most people walked, took the bus, or rode bicycles. Yet, Lu Yun felt that the liveliness of this place was more vibrant than the future she envisioned.

The bus had not yet reached the state-owned shopping mall when Lu Yun caught sight of the large letters spelling out “KFC” in the distance. She stared, surprised to see that KFC had already opened in 1988. She recalled that the last time she visited the state-owned mall, there hadn’t been a KFC.

He Cheng’an noticed her interest and asked, “How about we eat at KFC?”

Seeing Lu Yun’s intrigued expression, he added, “I think it’s really tasty.”

Lu Yun had loved KFC when she was in school, but with little pocket money, she couldn’t indulge in what she called “KFC freedom.” Whenever she went, she would carefully calculate the prices or wait for promotions. Later, as she became a food blogger and started earning money, she could enjoy KFC without worrying about the cost, but she didn’t eat it often, as she could also make fried chicken herself.

Now, seeing KFC—a place that had just opened and was ubiquitous in the future—she wanted to go, so she nodded in agreement to He Cheng’an.

Upon entering the KFC, Lu Yun noticed that there was actually a birthday celebration happening inside. After a quick glance, her attention shifted to the menu. She was surprised to find that, at this time, KFC didn’t even have hamburgers. The menu offered only four items: fried chicken, shredded vegetable salad, chicken gravy mashed potatoes, and bread. The cheapest item, the chicken gravy mashed potatoes, cost eighty cents, but she realized that for that price elsewhere, she could order a portion of spare ribs.

While she pondered this, He Cheng’an said, “Let’s get two of each.”

KFC was quick in serving, and after Lu Yun and He Cheng’an found a place to sit, He Cheng’an told Lu Yun to start eating while he stepped out for a moment. She didn’t listen to his suggestion to eat first; instead, she watched the birthday celebration unfold inside KFC.

The birthday girl was a little girl, surrounded by many children who attended the party. They looked on enviously at the girl, and indeed, having a birthday celebration at KFC was quite a luxury at that time.

When He Cheng’an returned, he smiled at Lu Yun without saying a word. He reached into his bag and pulled out a box of water dumplings. Lu Yun was pleasantly surprised; she hadn’t expected He Cheng’an to buy her water dumplings.

He Cheng’an said, “One is filled with pork, and the other with shrimp. Take a look and see which one you’d like.”

After waiting for a moment and seeing Lu Yun still didn’t make a move, he suddenly watched as she took a handkerchief and started to wipe the rainwater off his face.

Lu Yun said, “After we finish eating, you should go back quickly and take a shower when you get home.”

Outside, it had started to rain lightly again without her realizing it.

He Cheng’an nodded, “Okay, I’ll do what you say.”

The KFC food was quite good at that time, especially since Lu Yun hadn’t had it for a long while. However, she thought the chicken gravy mashed potatoes didn’t taste as good as regular mashed potatoes; she preferred the original flavor or cheese mashed potatoes.

Everything she didn’t like ended up in He Cheng’an’s mouth, while the things she enjoyed, he didn’t eat at all. The two had grown accustomed to sharing their meals this way.

Lu Yun asked, “He Cheng’an, what do you like to eat?”

At this question, Lu Yun felt a little shy. She realized that she didn’t actually know what He Cheng’an liked or disliked. He had never mentioned it and seemed to enjoy everything.

He Cheng’an replied earnestly, “I can eat anything; I’m not picky.”

Lu Yun remembered Lu Xiang’an and said, “My brother isn’t picky either. Recently, he’s even started to like pickled vegetables, which he used to dislike.”

Hearing Lu Yun talk about her brother made He Cheng’an smile a little. He followed up with her, asking, “Why is that?”

As they spoke, they walked outside, and He Cheng’an would laugh at what Lu Yun said, just enjoying watching her smile.

—o—o—o—

After He Cheng’an dropped Lu Yun back at the hotel, he returned to his own place in the provincial city. He took a shower and changed his clothes.

When he came out, Zhang Hao was fiddling with the radio.

When Zhang Hao stood in front of He Cheng’an, He Cheng’an glanced at him.

Zhang Hao said, “Hey, Brother He, what are you thinking about? I just spoke to you a few times. Lately, some people are jealous of us and want to poach our staff.

They’ve offered them high salaries to quit and even approached me. Luckily, you were smart before; when we brought people in to work, they all signed contracts. I told them that if they quit, they’d have to pay us back money. That’s what made them give up on the idea. But it’s good this way; now we can see clearly who we can rely on in the future and who we can’t.”

He Cheng’an had seen this kind of tactic before, and he nodded.

He Cheng’an said, “I’m worried about the thunder tonight. If she’s scared, I should go check on Lu Yun at the hotel.”

—o—o—o—

He went back to get some money and arrived at the hotel where Lu Yun was staying. He planned to open a room next to hers.

When he arrived at the door of Lu Yun’s hotel room, he knocked and waited for Lu Yun to open the door.

When he saw Lu Yun, he pointed to the room next door to talk, but he noticed that her face was somewhat pale, causing his heart to tighten.

He Cheng’an asked, “What’s wrong?”

Lu Yun replied, “I think I just saw a mouse in here, and there’s someone arguing downstairs. I’m a bit scared.”

Though Lu Yun had stayed in hotels before without feeling afraid, the sight of a mouse and the intense argument downstairs had unsettled her.

Maybe it was her delicate demeanor that made her feel timider.

She didn’t want to stay here.

He Cheng’an didn’t mention that he had just opened a room next door; instead, he said, “I’ll take you home.”

Lu Yun shook her head and tugged at his sleeve, her expression determined and bright. “Can we get a refund? I know you work hard for your money.”

She nodded firmly. “We have to get a refund.”

He Cheng’an was momentarily taken aback, but then his eyes lit up with joy. He nodded, saying, “Alright, let’s go get a refund, and then I’ll take you home.”

He took Lu Yun downstairs and asked her to wait in the hotel lobby on the first floor while he dealt with the front desk about the issue.

Usually, he was very patient when handling such matters, but this time he felt somewhat anxious and impatient.

The front desk staff could see He Cheng’an’s mood and didn’t dare speak loudly, and quickly contacting the hotel manager.

After a moment, Lu Yun looked up to see He Cheng’an pouring her a cup of hot water, squatting down to talk to her softly, his expression incredibly gentle.

He Cheng’an reassured Lu Yun, “Don’t worry. The money will be refunded. We’ll resolve this quickly.”