Chapter 41.1

Li Xiao drove the old van, taking Jiang Rou and the others back to the house he rented.

While he was driving, Jiang Rou felt a bit uneasy and asked, “Is your leg healed?”

Li Xiao responded casually with a light “Mm,” adding, “I’ll just drive slowly; it’s fine.”

Jiang Rou didn’t know what to say to him, so she silently rolled her eyes.

The rented house was located behind G University. Li Xiao deliberately took Jiang Rou on a detour around the south gate of the university. The grand and imposing entrance left Li Xin, who was sitting in the back, completely awestruck.

The little girl in Jiang Rou’s arms was also mesmerized; she slightly opened her mouth, pointed at the gate, and exclaimed “Ahhh.” 

A stone archway, several meters high, held a plaque with the university’s name inscribed in flowing red calligraphy. Through the gate, a statue of an ancient figure could be seen. Jiang Rou was unsure whether it depicted Hua Tuo or Bian Que. Beside the statue, there was a large stone as tall as a person, inscribed with what she assumed was the school’s motto.

Jiang Rou rolled down the car window, and An An rested her small hands on the ledge, stretching her neck to get a better view.

Although it was summer break, there were still quite a few students coming and going at the entrance. An An stared wide-eyed at them as they passed by.

One male student couldn’t resist and reached out to gently pat her on the head.

Startled, An An quickly turned around and buried herself in Jiang Rou’s arms.

Jiang Rou held her close and patted her gently, saying, “You’re only brave when you’re at home.”

Li Xiao drove the car to the rear entrance of the university, where residential buildings lined the area. There was a main road, but it was rather quiet, with hardly anyone around. The house he rented was separated from G University by a wall. The alley was somewhat further in, so it took a few minutes to walk to the house.

“This campus is pretty big. I explored it a bit. Once school starts for you, I’ll get you a bike so you can ride to class every day. Walking would be too tiring.”

Of course, that was meant for Jiang Rou. If it were him, he’d just jump over the wall and be done with it.

Since the van couldn’t go any further, Li Xiao parked it under a tree by the entrance to the alley. He grabbed a couple of burlap bags and led the way toward the house.

Both sides of the alley were lined with high walls, blocking any view of the inside. Li Xiao stopped midway, took out a key from his pocket, and unlocked the door.

Upon opening the gate, they saw a small courtyard. It was quite different from his hometown, where the courtyards were spacious with trees and wells. Here, the courtyard felt cramped, barely big enough to turn around in, and at most, you could hang some clothes.

However, it was very clean. The yard’s ground was paved with cement, and there was a faucet in the center. Next to the faucet was a simple shed, which served as the kitchen.

As Li Xiao put down the bags, he said, “We’ll have to make do for now. In a couple of years, I’ll see if we can buy a bigger house. Then we can live in a tall building, the kind with an elevator, so we won’t have to climb stairs ourselves.”

Upon hearing this, Jiang Rou couldn’t help but ask, “Is the business going well?”

Li Xiao replied, “It’s alright. I’m planning to keep selling for now. Once we get the product ready next year, I’ll convert the shop.”

Jiang Rou nodded. She didn’t really understand these things, but she knew it wasn’t as simple as he made it sound. He had gotten much darker and thinner in the two months they hadn’t seen each other, so it must have been hard on him.

Jiang Rou handed the child to Li Xin and helped Li Xiao unpack.

The room appeared to have been cleaned by Li Xiao. It was tidy, with no dust or mildew, though it did look a bit bare—just a table, three chairs, and two beds.

The layout was straightforward: the main room was in the center, with the table and stools placed near the door. To the left was the larger room where Jiang Rou, Li Xiao, and An An would stay, while the right side was a smaller room for Li Xin.

An An stood by a chair, twisting her head to take in her surroundings, seemingly curious about this new place.

There were two quilts folded on the bed, still not spread out. Li Xiao explained, “I brought them over this morning. I came to pick you up right after, so I didn’t get to tidy up.”

He went over to spread the quilts, while Jiang Rou took one set to the other room for Li Xin.

When Jiang Rou came back, she noticed Li Xiao preparing to spread out the sheets and stopped him and took out the bedding they had brought from home.

She went close to the bed, raised her slender finger, and picked up the sheets. Jiang Rou asked with a hint of disdain, “I remember these were white before, weren’t they?”

Now it had turned yellow, and she wondered if it hadn’t been washed since she left.

Li Xiao curved his lips into a slight smile but said nothing.

Jiang Rou felt annoyed and glared at him.

Li Xiao took half a day off and prepared lunch. He set up all the kitchen utensils and bought rice and flour. He cooked a large pot of noodles and added two spoonfuls of chili sauce that Jiang Rou had brought from home. 

The result was quite delicious.

In the afternoon, Li Xiao went out to work, while Jiang Rou cleaned the house with Li Xin and then went to the second-hand market Li Xiao had mentioned to buy some useful items.

Around five o’clock, Li Xiao returned and mentioned that they would be going out for dinner, just the family and Zhou Jian.

Li Xiao drove them again, taking a long route to reach the destination. It was an unassuming little restaurant that looked quite ordinary from the outside, but once they went inside, they found it surprisingly crowded.

Zhou Jian had already arrived and secured a table. When he saw Jiang Rou, he flashed a big smile, revealing his white teeth. “Sister-in-law!”

Jiang Rou had thought Li Xiao was quite tanned, but Zhou Jian was even darker. He stood up enthusiastically and said, “Come on over! I waited a long time to get this table. Don’t be fooled by the small size of this place—the food here is great. Big Brother was the one who discovered this place.”

Jiang Rou, who was holding An An, walked over and sat down. The rectangular table was against the wall. Li Xiao naturally sat next to Zhou Jian, facing Jiang Rou, while Li Xin sat beside Jiang Rou.

An An, who was always curious, stretched her neck from Jiang Rou’s arms to look around the lively restaurant. When her little aunt blocked her view, she tried to push her aside with her tiny hands.

Li Xin leaned back with a laugh.

Li Xiao picked up the menu from the table and chose dishes. After ordering six dishes, he showed the menu to Jiang Rou and asked if she wanted anything else.

Jiang Rou glanced at the menu and decided to add two small desserts for An An and Li Xin.

Li Xiao got up and took the menu to the counter to pay.

Without waiting for Zhou Jian to inquire, Jiang Rou took the initiative to update him on his family’s situation. “Auntie seems to be doing better and better. The last time I visited her, she was still making tofu at home. The baby in your wife’s belly is a fan of opera; every time Auntie sings, the baby gets all excited, kicking and moving around.”

“Your wife is also in good health, with a great appetite. Your son seems to have grown taller recently, and he’s speaking more clearly too. And your brother-in-law often visits your house, so no one dares to bully them.”

Zhou Jian’s smile widened upon hearing this. “That’s good to hear. Everything here is fine, but I do miss them a bit.”

Jiang Rou smiled back, “They miss you too. When we were leaving, they gave us half a sack of cured meat, saying it’s your favorite.”

Zhou Jian looked helpless. “Why did they send so much? It must have been a hassle for you, sister-in-law.”

Jiang Rou chuckled, “It’s not all for you. Your wife mentioned that half of it was for us.”

Zhou Jian burst into laughter. “That’s fair enough. I have to say, the cured meat made by my brother-in-law’s family is really delicious.”

Li Xiao came back after paying and saw them chatting happily. He asked, “What are you talking about?”

He took a teapot, sat down, and poured a glass of water for Jiang Rou first.

Jiang Rou was indeed a little thirsty and picked up the cup to take a sip.

Zhou Jian next to him repeated what he had just said to Li Xiao.

Soon, the dishes started arriving, with the desserts coming first. Jiang Rou noticed there was an extra serving. Li Xiao immediately placed the extra bowl in front of her.

Jiang Rou looked up at him, puzzled, and said, “An An can’t finish this. I was planning to share with her.”

Li Xiao calmly replied, “If she can’t finish, I’ll eat it.”

“Mm.”

Jiang Rou agreed but wondered: ‘I thought he doesn’t like sweet food? ’

—o—o—o—

The meal took quite a while, lasting over two hours, so by the time they returned home, it was already around seven or eight in the evening, and the sky had turned dark.

An An had already fallen asleep in Jiang Rou’s arms. Li Xiao went to heat some water, and after quickly washing up, they each returned to their rooms.

Inside the room, Jiang Rou had added a mosquito net, which she had bought in the afternoon. An An was particularly prone to mosquito bites and couldn’t sleep without the net.

There was also a standing fan in the room, a bit old but still functional. Jiang Rou set it to the second speed, and it swayed as it oscillated.

The little one was crawling all over the bed, so Jiang Rou went to catch her. Once she caught her, she placed her on her lap, bouncing her up and down. An An grabbed onto her mother’s arms and giggled happily.

Li Xiao, who was outside taking a shower, could hear the noise. When he returned to the room, he was only wearing a pair of shorts—the one Jiang Rou had bought for him earlier—only reaching down to his knees.

His hair had grown longer now, and he’d had it cut once, styled into an Aaron Kwok haircut. His hair was thick and jet-black. After wiping it a few times with a towel, he casually pushed it back with one hand, revealing a full, attractive forehead with sharp eyebrows and bright eyes.

Li Xiao’s upper body was muscular, with six well-defined abdominal muscles on his abdomen. His skin had a honey-colored hue, though his arms were darker from frequent sun exposure.

Once the water on his hair had stopped dripping, he placed the towel on the wooden board at the foot of the bed and climbed directly into the mosquito net.

The bed was quite large, probably about 1.8 meters wide, but once he got on, it felt a bit crowded. The little one immediately rolled inward, moving farther away from him.

Li Xiao found this amusing and reached out, catching her chubby little leg and gently pulling her back.

The little one let out an excited cry of “Ah ah ah” as her chubby legs kicked about.

Jiang Rou, who was also drying her hair, couldn’t help but laugh at the sight.

At first, An An had been a bit resistant to Li Xiao, but after playing with her father for a while, she warmed up to him. Li Xiao even let her ride on his back as he crawled forward.

An An lay happily on her father’s back, calling out “Daddy Daddy” and occasionally “Mommy” and “Auntie.”

Li Xiao, always one to show off, carried his daughter on his back and came over to Jiang Rou. With a smile, he asked, “Do you want to come up too?”

Jiang Rou was taken aback. She blushed and pushed him away, saying unhappily, “I don’t want to. You two can play by yourselves.”

Li Xiao continued to carry his daughter around the bed, and even as bedtime approached, An An was reluctant to get down.

Jiang Rou gave her a pat on the bottom. “Time to sleep.”

An An obediently let go of her father’s hand and twisted her body, snuggling into Jiang Rou’s arms.

Jiang Rou gently stroked her back, softly humming a song. The little one, already tired, closed her eyes and soon fell asleep.

Once An An was asleep, Li Xiao carefully moved her to the inside of the bed and took the middle spot himself.

Whether it was his large movements or just the quietness of the room, the bed made creaking sounds.

Jiang Rou saw him coming and pursed her lips. Jiang Rou pressed her lips together and whispered, “Be gentle.”

Then she scooted a little further away.

Li Xiao immediately responded: “I especially bought a big bed; it’s of good quality.”

After hearing this, Jiang Rou thought of something else and felt embarrassed. “You have no shame.”

The man chuckled softly, “What’s wrong with that?”

He moved closer and directly reached out to embrace her, his hand gently touching her face. Once he found the right position, he lowered his head and kissed her.

His large hand caressed Jiang Rou’s body, holding her hand and intertwining their fingers, then placed her hand on top of her head.

Perhaps due to their long separation and mutual longing, the kiss grew more intense. Eventually, he pressed down on her, and his hand around her waist began to tug at her clothes. However, each slight movement caused the bed to creak loudly.

Jiang Rou, alarmed by the noise, quickly stopped him. “Is this the good bed you picked?”

Forget about waking up An An next to them; she suspected even Li Xin in the other room could hear the noise of this bed.

Li Xiao, breathing heavily, refused to believe it and moved again, only for the bed to continue creaking.

It stopped when he stopped moving.

He couldn’t help but curse, “Damn it!”

Jiang Rou almost burst out laughing.

She pushed at his chest. “Get off, you’re too heavy.”

Li Xiao didn’t move but instead buried his face in her neck.

Feeling his burning body, Jiang Rou bit her lip. 

Finally, she whispered something in his ear.

The man’s body stiffened, and he raised his head to look at her with difficulty. “Really?”

Jiang Rou met his intense gaze and nodded awkwardly.

Li Xiao kissed her and immediately got off her.

After a while, the room was filled with the sound of suppressed gasps.

—o—o—o—