Chapter 12

The man’s voice was deep and hoarse.

But Jiang Rou still recognized him immediately and shouted with uncertainty, “Li Xiao?”

Before the other could respond, she quickly sat up from the bed and clutched her stomach, making the bed creak. The man outside nervously reminded her, “Take it easy.”

A faint chuckle accompanied his deep voice.

Jiang Rou didn’t notice it. She turned on the light and found her shoes under the bed. She got up to open the door of her room and then went out to open the main door.

The man was already standing at the doorstep, carrying a snakeskin bag on his shoulder and holding a suitcase in his other hand. He strode into the threshold.

Jiang Rou stepped aside, then remembered something, and turned to brighten the lights in the hall.

The lights in the hall were newly replaced, and Jiang Rou felt that the original lighting was too dim. She felt a bit scared being alone at home at night, so she changed the lights in the hall and kitchen to 100 watts.

The dazzling white light illuminated the entire hall brightly and also made the man clearly visible.

Having not seen each other for nearly two months, Li Xiao had almost lost weight, but his complexion was a bit fairer, and his features became more prominent.

But the biggest change was that he had cut his long hair and shaved his head into a one-inch cut.

The buzz cut, which easily exposed flaws, unexpectedly added to his charm. His head shape was very attractive; the back of his head was full, without the cover of long hair, and his slim and handsome face highlighted his entire facial features, perfectly proportioned, with delicate and outstanding features.

With long hair, he was handsome and dashing; with the buzz cut, he was strikingly bold and attractive, with a hint of dangerous allure.

This dangerous allure was particularly attractive, the kind that made you want to get close to him even though you knew he was dangerous, full of masculinity.

Jiang Rou was stunned for a moment, and the man felt a bit uncomfortable under her gaze, thinking his new haircut was strange.

He thought his long hair was a hindrance, so he decided to cut it when he passed by a hair salon.

After tossing the luggage on his shoulder to the ground, he reached up to touch his head, turned, and walked towards the dining table. There was only a thermos and a teapot on the table, no cups. Jiang Rou had washed the cups for drinking water and put them away in the cupboard. Her cups were in the room.

The man didn’t care and just picked up the teapot and poured water into his mouth directly, looking parched.

Seeing him like this, even though she felt a bit estranged after not seeing him for a while, Jiang Rou couldn’t help but feel sorry. “I’ll fry some noodles for you.”

Jiang Rou went straight to the kitchen.

She had fried noodles for dinner, intentionally making a bit more so she could eat some the next day. She liked to be lazy when she was home alone.

As soon as she lit the stove, the man arrived with a white towel draped over his shoulder. He walked straight to the table where her toiletries were placed, picked up the basin she usually used, and scooped a basin of cold water from the bucket.

Jiang Rou put a handful of dry firewood into the stove and stood up. Seeing this scene, she twitched her mouth but ultimately said nothing. However, she thought to herself that she’d have to wash that basin tomorrow morning.

She put water in the pot, then turned to take out the noodles from the cupboard. At the end of September, the weather had cooled down a bit, and the noodles wouldn’t go bad overnight.

She also took some leftover vegetables from home, carrots, a few bean sprouts, and two eggs. She washed the vegetables, shredded the carrots, and beat the eggs in a small bowl.

After the water in the pot boiled, she cooked the noodles. When they were about 70-80% done, she scooped them out and put them in a bowl of cold water. Then she washed the pot and put oil in it, first frying the eggs, then smashing them with a spatula, and then adding the vegetables and noodles, stir-frying them together with chopped green onions, garlic, soy sauce, oyster sauce, and a little salt.

Jiang Rou also picked up a piece of braised pig intestine from the pot next to it, cut a large piece, and then cut it into small pieces and poured them into the pot to fry together.

…

After washing his face, Li Xiao sat down at the bottom of the stove to watch the fire. His eyes were fixed on the red flames, and he breathed in the scent wafting from the kitchen, finally relaxing completely.

When he was on the train, he missed home, Jiang Rou, and the child in her belly. He didn’t know why, but from childhood to adulthood, he had never had any special feelings about “home.” To him, this place was just a house, something replaceable. He even hated coming “home” at one point because as soon as he got home, he would hear his short-tempered stepfather’s curses and Lin Meiru crying.

Actually, he hadn’t spent much time with Jiang Rou, and they couldn’t even be considered familiar with each other, but on this trip, she was the one he thought of the most. He wondered if she had eaten at home, how big her belly was, and if she had encountered any difficulties…

When he finally saw her, his heart finally calmed down.

For the first time, Li Xiao felt like he had a home.

…

Jiang Rou had prepared too much food. After the noodles were done, they couldn’t fit in a large soup bowl. Coincidentally, she was also a bit hungry, so she took a small bowl and served herself some.

The two of them carried the noodles to the hall to eat, sitting face to face.

Having not seen each other for a long time, there was initially some distance between them, but now, sitting together at close range to eat noodles, especially seeing the man opposite her seeming quite hungry, burying his head to eat with loud slurps, the sense of distance vanished in an instant.

Jiang Rou glanced at him and couldn’t help but remind him, “Slow down. Why are you so hungry? Don’t tell me you haven’t eaten for a few days, have you?”

If it were at her home, her mother would definitely scold him.

As she spoke, she picked up a few strands of noodles herself and chewed them slowly without making a sound.

Without lifting his head, the man replied directly, “I was in a rush to catch the train this morning, so I didn’t have time to eat.”

This was mainly because Zhu Qiang hesitated and didn’t want to come back. He didn’t make any money from this trip and was completely scammed. He didn’t have the face to come back, and he was afraid that his fiancée would be angry. He had promised that Mei Zi or Li Zi or whatever her name was would buy her a colored TV.

Li Xiao couldn’t wait any longer. Seeing the train about to depart, he quickly handed over two hundred yuan and jumped on board.

During the train’s midway stop, he spent half a day in the neighboring city, buying many things from the big market there.

Thinking of Zhu Qiang’s weak appearance and fearing his fiancée’s anger, Li Xiao suddenly said to Jiang Rou, “I didn’t make any money on this trip; I was tricked by someone.”

His gaze fell on Jiang Rou’s face as if he didn’t want to let go of any expression on her face.

Jiang Rou was busy eating, and she didn’t react much to his words. She replied casually, “If you didn’t make any money, then you didn’t make any money. The important thing is that you came back safely.”

She was not mad at all. There’s not even any fluctuation in her expression.

It seemed that his safe return was the most important thing; whether or not he brought back money did not matter.

Li Xiao’s hand holding the chopsticks paused.

When Jiang Rou didn’t hear any reply from the other side for a long time, she noticed his expression was off. She asked curiously, “What’s wrong?”

She didn’t think there was anything wrong with what she said. She thought it might be because she had traveled through time, and some situations might have changed. Regardless of whether he had accidentally entered pyramid schemes or brought those people to justice, she decided not to ask.

In the previous life, because of the long gap in time and the incomplete description in the neighboring city’s police records, Jiang Rou only saw that he had worked with the police to crack down on the pyramid scheme, almost glossing over it without detailing the specifics. Jiang Rou didn’t know the locations of those pyramid schemes or who was involved.

Otherwise, she would have just called the police.

Now, she sincerely felt that his safe return was what mattered.

Li Xiao lowered his head and said hoarsely, “Nothing, just choked a bit.”

Choked?

Jiang Rou thought the noodles were just fine.

Seeing him like this, she thought maybe his pride was hurt, and he was embarrassed to mention this. Although he had been involved in a pyramid scheme in the previous life, he had brought back a bonus, but this time, he seemed different.

Who knew what kind of luck he had?

Jiang Rou speculated wildly that maybe the boss ran away with the money or something. There were often such reports in later years. So she comforted him, “Money is not everything. What matters is that you’re back safe and sound. Don’t think too much about it. Just enjoy your noodles. You’ve lost weight. Take it easy. Things will work out eventually.”

Li Xiao didn’t say anything.

Jiang Rou finished eating and took her bowl to the kitchen. It hadn’t been washed yet, so she planned to let Li Xiao wash it with him when he finished eating.

She took the basin Li Xiao had just used to wash his face, poured in a lot of laundry detergent, and then filled it halfway with hot water to take to the main room. When she came out of the kitchen, she said proudly, “Just stay home and rest well these days. Let me tell you, I’ve earned a lot of money at home, enough for us to use for a long time.”

Li Xiao raised his head to look at her and raised his eyebrows.

He also saw the pot of braised pig intestines just now but didn’t ask about it.

Jiang Rou placed the basin next to the package Li Xiao brought back, ready to soak the clothes he had brought.

She had seen Li Xiao wash clothes before; they were just a mess. Her clothes were fine, not dirty. A few rubs, and they could be worn after drying. But Li Xiao’s clothes….. even after washing the dirty parts, and they even became harder to wash after being washed and dried.

They needed to soak in laundry detergent water for a longer time to remove the sweat and stains.

Li Xiao, who was eating noodles, didn’t say a word when he saw this scene.

Jiang Rou first opened the snakeskin bag, rummaged through it a few times, and then pulled out several pieces of crumpled and smelly clothes.

“Eh?”

She leaned back, turned her face to the side in a hurry, and then held her nose with her left hand. The other hand held the clothes far away, and she quickly threw them into the basin.

The smell was too strong.

Li Xiao finished all the fried noodles in the bowl, feeling a bit full. He leaned back against the back of the chair, then picked up the teapot and poured a few sips into his mouth. Satisfied with the food and drink, he relaxed.

His right leg swayed over his left leg, looking very leisurely.

Seeing Jiang Rou being bothered by the smell of his clothes, he chuckled lightly and said, “Check the other package.”

Jiang Rou looked up at him after hearing these words, and he didn’t say much. He had a mischievous expression on his face, which seemed like he was teasing her.

“What good stuff?”

Jiang Rou couldn’t help asking, abandoning the half-opened snakeskin bag and opening the carry-on bag instead. It had a zipper, and when she pulled it open, she saw it was packed full. She reached in and took out several items to examine. They were children’s clothes, still with tags on them.

She opened her eyes wide and looked up at the man sitting like an old man with a surprised expression on her face.

She never expected him to buy clothes for children. “I thought you didn’t make any money?”

Li Xiao didn’t answer her question but instead smirked, “There’s more below.”

Jiang Rou continued to rummage through the bag. The top half was all children’s clothes. He probably didn’t pick them carefully; some were big and small, but they were all brightly colored, and the fabric felt soft and fluffy. There were also two sweaters and a jacket.

Not bad. He even thought about the child’s birth during the cold weather. This father seemed thoughtful.

But his taste was a bit off. The styles were outdated, but the colors seemed to clash no matter how you paired them.

It seemed that the clothes for adults were below. Jiang Rou took them out to take a look.

She took out a green wool coat with three large red flowers embroidered on the chest and high shoulder pads on both sides.

It looked like something a woman would wear.

She didn’t even think about trying it on herself. With this color and style, she doubted if she could even wear it out.

Jiang Rou smiled and stood up, comparing it to herself. It was quite loose, and then she looked at the man with admiration, “Is this for Mom? It’s beautiful. She’ll love it.”

She didn’t need to wear it, so praising it wouldn’t hurt.

Unexpectedly, the man sneered and said, “Why would I buy it for her? It’s for you.”

After saying that, he stood up, took the empty bowl, and went to the kitchen.

Jiang Rou stood dumbfounded, staring at the wool coat she had just received. She couldn’t believe that this ugly thing was actually for her.

It was too ugly.

Moreover, from the kitchen came a faint voice, “There’s also a pair of high heels below, also for you.”

Jiang Rou couldn’t resist her curiosity and took out the high heels.

Sure enough, there is no ugliest, only uglier.

The high heels were bright red, with thick heels and pointed toes. The buckles had wide hollow patterns, and even a lace white flower was at the button.

“…”

There were two more items in the bag. Jiang Rou couldn’t help but take them all out. A purple scarf, black leather pants, and a pair of wine-red women’s leather gloves.

To be honest, her mother wouldn’t wear these clothes even in her previous life.

After washing the dishes, the man came out with a basin of water. Seeing Jiang Rou flipping through the clothes with wide eyes, he thought she was pleased. He asked in a good mood, “Do you like them?”

Jiang Rou looked up with a complicated expression. This was the first time she had received a gift from the opposite sex.

When she was in school, there were boys who liked her, but none of them confessed or gave her gifts because her brother had warned them all.

With a smile on his face, he said, “How could I not like it? It’s really beautiful. I can’t bear to wear so many beautiful clothes, so I’ll save them for… our future daughter-in-law.”

The man sneered and said, “Yeah, right.”

He walked past her to get the washbasin, his steps light and cheerful, as if he were in a good mood.

Jiang Rou quickly stuffed the clothes back into the zippered bag and took them to the room.

She wouldn’t wear any of these clothes even if she were beaten to death.

As she walked to the door, she saw the man washing the basin in the yard and couldn’t help but ask, “Didn’t you say you didn’t make any money? Did you rob someone?”

Buying so many clothes couldn’t have been cheap.

Actually, she was more curious about what he had been doing outside this time.

The man carried the basin of cold water into the house, closed the door with his feet, put down the basin, poured the hot water he had just fetched into it and started to undress.

Jiang Rou caught a glimpse of his strong back.

She hurriedly turned around and went back to the room without saying anything.

After taking a few steps, she heard the man’s voice behind her, “Find me a shirt.”