Chapter 57

The house in the Seagull Garden was decorated entirely according to Lu Yun’s requests. The color scheme was light, and the style was extremely simple. It had a total of three bedrooms: one main bedroom, one secondary bedroom, and another room converted into a walk-in closet. The home was also spotless.

Lu Yun especially liked the terrace of this house. Some residents had sealed off their terraces with windows and turned them into living rooms, but Lu Yun and his companions had not done so; they used the terrace as intended.

The next day, Lu Yun went to look at furniture with He Cheng’an. He Cheng’an was familiar with people in the furniture business, which made things easier for them.

The renovation featured a light color scheme, and the furniture leaned towards lighter colors as well. However, Lu Yun also chose some warmer or brighter colors for accents.

He Cheng’an managed to get the best prices available, allowing Lu Yun to focus solely on the styles. When Lu Yun hesitated, he quickly provided suggestions to help her make decisions. By the end of the morning, Lu Yun had selected all the necessary furniture.

As they exited the furniture store, Lu Yun felt a bit incredulous. If it had been up to her alone, she would have compared options repeatedly and become entangled in indecision.

At noon, Lu Yun and He Cheng’an went to a state-run shopping mall. He Cheng’an believed that Lu Yun particularly enjoyed fast food, so they had McDonald’s for lunch.

Originally, Lu Yun had not planned to continue shopping in the afternoon, as her delicate persona was genuine.

During the furniture selection earlier, there had been times when He Cheng’an was looking while she rested nearby, and she had taken a long break to enjoy a cold drink. However, as they prepared to return, they stumbled upon a Chunlan air conditioner in the mall.

The Chunlan air conditioner had been all the rage in the ’90s. On this day in 1989, their production value had reached about one hundred thousand units, but the price was also quite high—five thousand yuan for one unit.

While buying an air conditioner would certainly provide coolness, Lu Yun felt reluctant. She had been preoccupied with thoughts of purchasing a house, He Cheng’an’s business lease, and her plan to continue running her shop in the provincial capital. However, before Lu Yun could voice her concerns, He Cheng’an took her to buy the air conditioner.

Since He Cheng’an had come with Lu Yun to look at furniture, he had brought money along. When they were at the furniture store, he had only paid a deposit, and the remaining funds were sufficient to buy an air conditioner.

Lu Yun asked, “Are we going to buy an air conditioner?”

He Cheng’an replied, “I had ordered one here previously as a surprise for you, but since we’ve come across it now, let’s buy it. That way, you won’t have to go back and ponder whether to buy an air conditioner.” After he finished speaking, he reached out to wipe the sweat from Lu Yun’s brow.

—o—o—o—

In September, Lu Yun and He Cheng’an moved into their new home, and the Lu family took a day off to come help.

Since the house was in the provincial capital, Lu Yun and He Cheng’an didn’t plan on hosting a banquet; they only intended to have a meal with the Lu family.

However, when Zhang Meili and the others arrived, they still presented Lu Yun and He Cheng’an with plenty of red envelopes, which others had contributed to once they learned about the occasion.

After touring the house, Zhang Meili and the others remarked on how nice and bright the place was.

He Cheng’an said, “Once we’re a bit more financially stable, we’ll renovate the small house, so you can come stay whenever you want without being cramped. In the future, when we have more money, Ah Yun and I will buy a larger place.”

The Lu family planned to stay at the new house, but since there were only two bedrooms, Lu Xiang’an would have to sleep on the sofa.

Lu Dong was surprised by He Cheng’an’s words. “You’re really going to buy a bigger one?”

Zhang Hao and He Cheng’an’s newly promoted colleague, Xiao Chen, also came over. Xiao Chen was still chatty but appeared somewhat reserved, while Zhang Hao sat down on the sofa to test its softness.

“This sofa is great,” Zhang Hao commented.

Lu Yun laughed. “Isn’t your place almost done with renovations? Once you finish, I’ll send you a matching sofa.”

Zhang Hao replied, “Sister-in-law, I only brought red envelopes today; I didn’t think it through as much as you did.”

Lu Yun suggested, “Then you should help with the cooking; give your brother He a hand.”

Zhang Hao immediately perked up. “Don’t worry, sister-in-law. It’s just that Brother He is always concerned you won’t enjoy your meals, so he always cooks for you. I can cook just fine, so today, let me treat you.”

The first day in the new home was lively and filled with joy. Lu Yun was delighted to be living in a building with a large terrace, feeling that life was improving.

The meal was lavish, and after lunch, Xiao Chen and Zhang Hao both had things to attend to, so they left.

That night, as Lu Yun lay in bed enjoying the cool air from the air conditioner, she thought it was incredibly comfortable. Although the air conditioning couldn’t be on for too long, the refreshing chill was undeniable. Even in the heat of summer, she wouldn’t feel sticky at all.

After finishing his conversation with Lu Dong, He Cheng’an returned to the room holding a fan. He felt the coolness of the air conditioning and noticed Lu Yun lying on the bed, reading a book. It suddenly dawned on him that they had installed the air conditioner.

He Cheng’an placed the fan on the table, and Lu Yun smiled at him, asking, “Ah, does that mean you don’t have to fan me today?”

He Cheng’an replied, “Exactly! Now we can share a quilt again.”

—o—o—o—

Although Lu Yun had resigned from the Cotton Textile Factory, her relationship with Sister Sun remained excellent.

Every time Sister Sun came to the provincial capital, she would seek out Lu Yun. Thanks to Lu Yun having a pager, it was easy for them to stay in touch.

On the weekend, after shopping at the state-run mall with Sister Sun, the two went out for a meal together. During lunch, Sister Sun looked at Lu Yun with a hint of concern.

Sister Sun observed that Lu Yun seemed to have something on her mind and said, “You know, your brother has found a girlfriend like that. How are they going to get by in the future?”

Lu Yun was currently worried about where He Cheng’an would rent his storefront and was surprised to hear this. She shook her head and asked, “What do you mean?”

Sister Sun replied, “You don’t know?”

Lu Yun called the Lu family every few days at their small shop, and every week either they visited her or she went back home to see them. She genuinely didn’t know about Lu Xiang’an’s girlfriend, as they had never mentioned it to her.

Since Sister Sun had already brought it up, she felt it was inappropriate not to share what she knew.

She explained that Lu Xiang’an was seeing the daughter of a factory manager. The girl came from a wealthy family, which made her a bit arrogant.

It just so happened that on the day Sister Sun had bought a lot of fresh fruit at a discount to bring to the Lu family, she encountered Lu Xiang’an returning home with his girlfriend.

His girlfriend had looked down on the Lu family for living in a crowded courtyard, and Sister Sun felt embarrassed, so she left without delivering the fruit.

Listening to Sister Sun, Lu Yun began to understand why Lu Xiang’an hadn’t brought his girlfriend home. It turned out he was aware of his girlfriend’s personality but had still chosen to be with her, likely because he had feelings for her.

Lu Yun realized she couldn’t just break them up now.

After thinking it over, Lu Yun felt that the issue was ultimately a lack of money. If she could earn more, Lu Xiang’an’s girlfriend would probably think twice about her attitude.

—o—o—o—

On her way back from shopping, Lu Yun found He Cheng’an cooking. The smell of braised meatballs wafted through the air as she entered the house. Lu Yun inhaled deeply and suddenly remembered that she was a food blogger. Ever since marrying He Cheng’an, she hadn’t cooked a single meal.

During dinner, Lu Yun paired rice with the braised meatballs. She lowered her head as she ate, while He Cheng’an served her some greens. He had noticed that recently, Lu Yun had become a bit picky with her food and didn’t enjoy vegetables much. Therefore, he always made an effort to serve her some greens during meals to ensure she ate them.

This time, however, Lu Yun remained silent and quietly ate the vegetables.

He Cheng’an asked, “Are you not happy today?”

Lu Yun nodded, “Yeah, I’m not happy.”

Under He Cheng’an’s gaze, Lu Yun explained the situation regarding Lu Xiang’an. She mentioned that the Lu family hadn’t shared their thoughts with her, probably because they were worried about stressing her out, considering how busy she was every day.

After finishing their meal, Lu Yun went to take a shower. Once she was done, she pulled out the hairdryer she had been longing to use to dry her hair. However, feeling a bit lazy after a while, it was He Cheng’an who helped her dry it.

When the lights were turned off and they were getting ready for bed, He Cheng’an said, “We’ll go back for a visit in the next few days. Ah Yun, don’t worry; I won’t let you be wronged.”

Lu Yun hugged He Cheng’an without saying anything, selfishly wishing that Lu Xiang’an would reconsider marrying his current girlfriend. She genuinely liked how things were at the moment.

He Cheng’an gently patted Lu Yun, reassuring her, “I’ll always be here and nothing will change.”

Lu Yun’s voice was muffled as she replied, “Who said you would change?”

He Cheng’an said, “I think your parents seem to like your store quite a bit. Why not let them come to the provincial capital if they want? You’re planning to open a store here anyway, right?”

Lu Yun hummed in agreement but didn’t say much more because she wasn’t sure if Zhang Meili and Lu Dong would be willing to come.

She remembered a girl from her previous team who had a good relationship with her brother. However, after her brother got married, things grew distant due to his wife’s influence.

In the end, she even heard her brother say things to appease his wife, often at his own expense.

Lu Yun didn’t want that to happen.

As Lu Yun was preparing to sleep, He Cheng’an felt that she shouldn’t go to bed unhappy.

It then occurred to him that they hadn’t opened the red envelopes they received when they moved, so he called Lu Yun back to help him count the money.

He Cheng’an asked, “Are you feeling better now?”

Lu Yun bit her lip and playfully said, “I want to eat hot pot.” He Cheng’an responded, “I’ll make it. After we eat, we can go to sleep.”