Chapter 27: A Young Couple’s Life

On the street, Lu Dingquan opened the car door, allowing the two girls, one big and one small, to get in.

Shuangtao sat in the back seat, her eyes filled with both curiosity and awkwardness. She secretly glanced forward.

She had almost made a big mistake.

This uncle, who looked fierce and had been staring at her from afar, was actually Sister Jiang’s lover?

Thinking about what she had just said in Sister Jiang’s ear, Shuangtao felt a wave of embarrassment and sat down obediently, her head lowered.

Jiang Ning also didn’t expect to run into Lu Dingquan on the street, let alone be mistaken by Shuangtao for an ill-intentioned strange uncle.

After realizing it, she found it hilarious.

But Lu Dingquan seemed oblivious, and when he saw them stop, he called out to them to come and get in his car.

Today, Lu Dingquan was driving himself, which was unusual for Jiang Ning. She sat in the passenger seat, her heart full of laughter as she looked at him.

The man’s large hand rested on the steering wheel, his cold, sharp profile turning towards her. “What’s wrong?”

Jiang Ning: “Ah… nothing. It’s such a coincidence to run into you, did you see me from the car and stop?”

The car started and slowly drove towards the apartment building. His voice was low: “The car was parked across the street, and I saw you.”

“You guys are walking pretty fast.”

Jiang Ning: “Pfft… cough, it’s nothing.”

She caught Shuangtao’s complex and awkward gaze in the rearview mirror, and they both instinctively averted their eyes.

It wasn’t really Shuangtao’s fault. After all, seeing Lu Dingquan’s appearance so suddenly, even Jiang Ning was a little surprised.

The man driving in the driver’s seat was different from usual.

In just two days, he seemed to have changed. He wasn’t as scruffy as before, but his jawline had clearly grown a light layer of stubble.

He was wearing a dark brown collared jacket and black pants, the sleeves and legs of which seemed to be stained with mud and oil, looking dusty. It wasn’t exactly messy, but paired with his tall stature and the sharp contours of his face that looked very tough from afar, the overall effect was…

Well, you know.

She had never seen Lu Dingquan like this. He wasn’t the kind of man who cared about appearances, but being a former soldier, he usually paid attention to hygiene.

Jiang Ning asked: “Did you come back from the factory?”

Lu Dingquan: “I went to the countryside yesterday, just got back.”

So he had gone to the countryside temporarily, no wonder he looked like this. Jiang Ning saw a large patch of dark oil stains on his sleeve, probably from the machine.

He held the steering wheel, his eyes focused on the road ahead. There was a calm and composed aura about him as he drove, yet he was very focused.

Especially when Jiang Ning’s peripheral vision caught a glimpse of him.

It was completely dark outside, and the dim yellow light inside the car cast shadows. The man’s voice was casual as he asked: “Did you come from the county government?”

Jiang Ning: “No, Shuangtao and I came back from the Cultural Theatre. Shuangtao participated in the art troupe’s dance exam today, and she got first place!”

She had already introduced them to each other before getting in the car. Lu Dingquan actually knew her, this little girl was from the family next door, but he rarely stayed at home, so she didn’t recognize him.

Cheng Shuangtao was still immersed in embarrassment and restraint. Hearing this, she smiled shyly, blushing and saying: “Sister Jiang helped me a lot today. If it weren’t for Sister Jiang, I think I would have been in trouble.”

Lu Dingquan slightly turned his head and glanced at Jiang Ning.

His voice was deep and steady: “Little Ning is quite capable.”

He didn’t know the details, and Jiang Ning didn’t know why he suddenly praised her like that. It sounded strange.

But Shuangtao obviously thought that Sister Jiang’s lover was speaking from the heart, and immediately agreed: “Yes! I feel like I don’t even want to wash off this makeup tonight. Sister Jiang’s hands are amazing, my classmates were all staring at me with wide eyes!”

Lu Dingquan: “Is that so?”

Although Cheng Shuangtao was a little tired, she couldn’t hide her excitement when talking about what happened in the afternoon. “Yes, yes! Uncle, let me tell you, Sister Jiang even brought a lipstick with her, she’s so generous, she let all my classmates put it on, there’s one called Tang Jianhong…”

The car arrived outside the apartment building twenty minutes later.

During this short drive, Cheng Shuangtao had already told them everything.

Moreover, Jiang Ning discovered that this little girl had a special talent for storytelling, making the “lipstick fraud case” sound like a suspense novel.

She also once again experienced the depth of this man’s character.

The little girl was initially quite afraid of him, but with just a few calm and collected sentences, he managed to get Shuangtao to tell him everything, as if he was a very good listener, afraid that he would miss any information.

Lu Dingquan didn’t comment on the whole thing. Until they got out of the car and went upstairs, Shuangtao called out crisply:

“Sister Jiang, goodbye, Uncle Lu!”

He nodded slightly, but his eyes were looking at Jiang Ning, who was just a step away, his dark eyes holding a hint of depth.

SIster Ying, the neighbor next door, had already come out to greet her daughter, hearing that her daughter had won first place, she was both surprised and delighted. She gratefully invited Jiang Ning to come over for dinner, she had already prepared everything.

Seeing that the Lu factory manager next door had also come back, she was about to warmly invite him to join them for dinner, when she heard her daughter, in her carefree way, say this, and the smile on her face instantly froze.

This child!

Jiang Ning smiled, while Lu Dingquan, with a calm expression, politely declined the neighbor’s invitation: “I won’t bother you. I brought some food back, the kind that Little Ning likes. If we don’t eat it tonight, it will go bad.”

He was indeed holding two aluminum lunchboxes.

The couple rarely stayed home together, so SIster Ying naturally understood. She smiled and agreed, pulling her daughter back into the house quickly.

They could still faintly hear the voices inside after the door closed.

“You child, you have no sense! How can you call him uncle?”

“Ah, then what should I call him?”

He Fangying wanted to say “brother,” but she obviously stopped herself.

The Lu factory manager next door, he didn’t look like a brother at all.

…

Jiang Ning also went back to her room and closed the door.

Lu Dingquan’s sudden return tonight was unexpected.

Her house was a little messy, she hadn’t had time to tidy up after going out today. Fortunately, after Lu Dingquan entered, he put the lunchboxes on the table and went straight to the bathroom to get the thermos.

“I’m going to take a shower, you eat first, while it’s hot.”

He had just come back from the countryside and even brought her food?

Jiang Ning curiously opened the lunchboxes. One contained white rice, the other contained braised beef with potatoes.

They were still very hot, as if they had been packed right after being cooked, still emitting a little steam. As soon as she opened them, she could smell the aroma.

She glanced at them and quickly went to wash her hands and get chopsticks.

She asked Lu Dingquan: “Did you eat?”

The man took the thermos and went to the curtained room to get his change of clothes. He paused for a second, his voice low: “I ate.”

Jiang Ning was relieved, she could eat peacefully.

There was plenty of meat in the braised beef with potatoes. She used a spoon to pour the dish over the rice, making a delicious rice bowl. It was so delicious.

Dinner was the greatest cure for humanity.

After a busy day, a good meal was more important than anything else.

Halfway through her meal, she suddenly remembered that she would be sleeping on the sofa again tonight.

But tonight was also a good opportunity, she could have a good chat with Lu Dingquan about things she hadn’t had time to talk about before.

After she finished eating, Lu Dingquan still hadn’t come back. Jiang Ning planned to take a shower, but remembered that he had taken both thermoses, so she had to tidy up and wait for him.

The sofa and table were scattered with the makeup tools she had used for Shuangtao this morning. She put them all away. There were clothes hangers piled up on the windowsill, which also needed to be organized.

She pulled open the curtain and wanted to get the small blanket she would be using tonight.

She saw that the bed was also messy, and there was even a piece of underwear lying there, in a very conspicuous place…

She instantly remembered that it was a clean piece of clothing she had put away before going out today, and she had just thrown it on the bed.

Jiang Ning: …!

So Lu Dingquan had seen it, right?!

He went to the closet to get his clothes, he must have passed by the bed and seen it.

But the bed was quite messy, maybe he went straight to the closet and didn’t notice it?

With a slight sense of shame, she quickly put away the clothes on the bed and tidied the sheets and pillow, making them smooth.

Well, couples living together, it’s inevitable to encounter this kind of situation. Didn’t she even see his upper body naked before?

Be calm.

As long as she was calm, Lu Dingquan would be the one who was embarrassed.