MY - 41

“Sister, do you know how good I am now?”

He was always trying to find an opportunity to praise himself.

Jiang Xi laughed at his words. “His girlfriend will be unhappy if she hears that.”

Lu Nandu said, “It’s fine, she can’t hear.”

Perhaps because she was in a relaxed mood tonight, Jiang Xi said, “You’re so shameless.”

Lu Nandu also knew that Jiang Xi was in a good mood tonight, and he took advantage of it. “If I’m not shameless, how can I win you over?”

Jiang Xi looked at the ceiling, her phone feeling warm in her hand.

For some reason, she suddenly asked, “What do you even like about me?”

Lu Nandu said, “I just like you. There’s no reason.”

Younger boys are straightforward in expressing their love, without the patience for ambiguity. Lu Nandu has always been this way, never being vague about his feelings. He is direct and passionate.

Jiang Xi fell silent.

After a while, she spoke again, but had changed the subject. “Don’t read those negative news stories in the future.”

Lu Nandu knew she was referring to the messages slandering her.

He said, “I have to. I need to see who is scolding you.”

Jiang Xi sensed something. “What are you going to do?”

Lu Nandu heard the hint of tension in her voice and laughed. “Don’t worry, I won’t cause any trouble. Is it not okay to just hold a grudge?”

Jiang Xi didn’t say anything else.

After a while, she took the phone away and glanced at the time. It was late, and they had been talking for a while.

She put the phone back to her ear. “Aren’t you going to sleep yet?”

Lu Nandu was still in his usual carefree manner. “Not yet, I still have a meeting.”

Jiang Xi said, “Then you go get busy. I’m going to sleep.”

Lu Nandu said, “I have free time now. Don’t be in a hurry to hang up.”

Jiang Xi faintly felt that Lu Nandu was becoming more and more like his old self.

She said, “I’m tired.”

The words “don’t sleep yet” were stuck in Lu Nandu’s throat.

After a few seconds, his voice held a hint of subtle disappointment. “Alright.”

The next moment, he was back to his usual self. “Good night then.”

Jiang Xi hummed. After thinking for a moment, she said, “You get some sleep too.”

Lu Nandu was obviously not expecting her to add that. He was stunned.

Like a child who had been given candy, he quickly smiled. “Okay, you too. You have to get up early tomorrow.”

Lu Nandu probably thought she had a date in the morning.

Jiang Xi didn’t explain further. “Okay, hanging up.”

It was only when Lu Nandu called her at seven o’clock the next morning that she realized what he meant by that sentence last night.

But at that time, when she was woken up, she only felt that Lu Nandu was being too clingy.

He had become increasingly clingy lately.

She picked up her phone and put it to her ear, her voice groggy from just waking up. “What’s wrong?”

Her breath was weak, carrying the haze of sleep, and her voice was softer than usual.

There was a moment of silence on Lu Nandu’s end.

Jiang Xi didn’t hear his voice and said, “Hello?”

The sound of wind came from his end, but it quickly disappeared. Lu Nandu seemed to have closed the car window.

He only spoke after a few seconds. “I brought you some rice noodle rolls. You didn’t eat them yesterday.”

Jiang Xi was lying on her side, half her face buried in the quilt, already slightly more awake.

She subconsciously glanced out the window, her view blocked by the tightly drawn curtains.

Lu Nandu asked her from his end, “Can’t get up?”

Jiang Xi turned over. “A little.”

It was freezing cold, and she didn’t really want to get out of bed.

But she was also craving them, as it had been a long time since she had them.

“Are you coming down?” Lu Nandu asked.

Although he was asking, it was clear he wanted her to come down.

Jiang Xi didn’t say anything.

Lu Nandu started being a rascal again. “It’s been a few days since we’ve seen each other, hasn’t it?”

“Come down. I’ll just look. I won’t do anything.”

Jiang Xi uncharacteristically responded, “What else would you want to do?”

Lu Nandu began to change the subject, not saying anything serious. “I want you to come down.”

Jiang Xi’s sleep was sufficient, and she wasn’t feeling sleepy anymore.

Seeing that she still didn’t speak, Lu Nandu said, “I bought these rice noodle rolls from far away. You should at least come down and have a bite.”

His intentions were not in the food.

The next sentence indeed revealed his true intentions. He said with a smile, “Even if you don’t eat them, at least tell me which floor you live on. Stand by the window and let me see you for a few moments.”

Jiang Xi said, “Lu Nandu, aren’t you bored?”

“Very bored,” Lu Nandu said. “If you let me see you once, I won’t be bored anymore.”

Jiang Xi couldn’t do anything about him.

Lu Nandu urged her again. “The rice noodle rolls are getting cold.”

Jiang Xi finally threw off the covers. “Wait for me downstairs.”

After washing up, she put on a jacket and went out. Lu Nandu’s car had been parked downstairs the whole time.

As she walked out of the community gate, Jiang Xi realized that it hadn’t been more than eight hours since they hung up the phone last night, but Lu Nandu was not tired of her at all.

Seeing her approach, Lu Nandu pushed the car door open and got out.

Jiang Xi had the hood of her down jacket on, with a circle of fine fluff around the edge, making her face look small.

She stopped in front of Lu Nandu and looked at him. There were no rice noodle rolls in his hand at all. “Didn’t you say you brought me rice noodle rolls?”

Lu Nandu looked down at her. “They’re in the car.”

It was a bit cold outside. Jiang Xi’s eyelashes fluttered slightly in the wind. “I’ll take them upstairs.”

Lu Nandu said, “It’s warm in the car. Get in and eat.”

I haven’t seen enough of you.

“Besides, the weather is so cold. They’ll be cold by the time you get them upstairs.”

Jiang Xi looked at him and noticed the faint dark circles under his eyes.

Lu Nandu’s gaze swept over her brows, eyes, mouth, and nose, finally resting on her thin lips that were slightly pale from the cold.

His gaze lingered for a second, but fearing that Jiang Xi would notice, he quickly looked away.

Jiang Xi didn’t notice. It was really cold. She agreed, “Okay, let’s get in the car.”

She walked towards Lu Nandu’s car, thinking it might be inconvenient to eat in the passenger seat. She opened the rear car door and sat inside.

When Lu Nandu saw her sitting in the back, he also opened the back door.

Jiang Xi leaned back in the seat and glanced at him. “Aren’t you afraid it will be too crowded?”

Lu Nandu sat in and started making up nonsense. “It’s so cold. It’s warmer if we’re crowded.”

He handed her a box of rice noodle rolls, the outside still warm.

She took the chopsticks that Lu Nandu handed her. The rice noodle rolls were the same as she remembered.

He had deliberately added two eggs, a habit of hers that he always remembered.

Jiang Xi ate slowly.

Halfway through, she asked Lu Nandu, “Didn’t you sleep last night?”

Lu Nandu lied with a straight face. “I did.”

Jiang Xi glanced at him. “Look at your dark circles.”

Lu Nandu knew he couldn’t hide it from her, so he smiled and joked, “Eight hours is sleeping, and one hour is also sleeping. There’s no difference.”

She could probably tell that Lu Nandu had a meeting very late last night.

This person, who was childish and talkative in front of her, was actually working harder than anyone else.

And he even got up early to drive a long distance just to buy rice noodle rolls.

Jiang Xi didn’t say anything else. When Lu Nandu finished eating, she still had more than half left.

“You can eat slowly. I’m not in a hurry.” After saying that, he just leaned back in his seat and watched her.

Jiang Xi didn’t look at him and said, “Don’t look at me.”

Lu Nandu said, “How can I not?”

No one around Jiang Xi was more of a flirt than he was. He said, “I asked you to come down just to see you. It would be a loss if I didn’t look.”

Jiang Xi couldn’t help but roll her eyes at him.

However, this atmosphere put Lu Nandu in a very good mood, even though Jiang Xi was still not as warm to him as she used to be.

But this was the best she had been since they reunited.

If it had been a few months ago, Jiang Xi would have already gotten angry with him for saying that.

After Jiang Xi finished eating, Lu Nandu didn’t keep her any longer.

As she got out of the car, he said, “I wish you a smooth afternoon.”

Jiang Xi was pushing the car door open. She turned back to look at him when she heard that. “Thanks.”

Lu Nandu said, “No need to thank me. You’ll owe me a favor.”

Jiang Xi’s lips curled into a slight smile. This indeed made her feel less burdened. “I’m leaving.”

“Okay.”

In the afternoon, Jiang Xi arrived at the coffee shop early.

The shopping mall wasn’t very crowded on a weekday.

The coffee shop was on the first floor. Jiang Xi sat by the floor-to-ceiling window, where cars were bustling on the road outside.

A waiter came over, and she ordered a cup of coffee for herself first.

Unexpectedly, not long after she sat down, a figure appeared at the coffee shop’s entrance.

The man was wearing a black trench coat. His skin was very fair, and his features were handsome. His deep pupils were cold and expressionless.

Time had barely left any traces on his face.

Su An saw Jiang Xi as soon as he entered.

Jiang Xi nodded to him in greeting, and Su An also gave a faint nod in return before walking over to the table and sitting down opposite her.

Jiang Xi ordered a cup of coffee for him.

They had said most of what they needed to say on the phone yesterday.

After a few brief exchanges, Su An gave her a response, and he said the longest sentence he had said since they met.

“Well, it’s not good for me to come forward to clarify for you. I will try to persuade my mother.”

Su An had been officially reported as having died in the line of duty as a drug enforcement officer, and Jiang Xi was also aware of his sensitive identity.

She understood and was extremely grateful. “Thank you.”

The man’s indifference was inherent. The two of them had talked for no more than five minutes.

Just as they didn’t know what to talk about, someone suddenly approached the window outside.

Jiang Xi turned her head to look.

A woman was standing outside the window, holding a child.

The woman was very beautiful, with bright features and a vibrant beauty.

She was holding a one or two-year-old boy in her arms. The boy had fair, tender skin and was very pretty.

Jiang Xi felt that the little boy looked somewhat familiar.

It wasn’t until the little boy’s two soft little hands gently patted the glass and he babbled a few times, calling the person inside “daddy,” that Jiang Xi suddenly realized the child looked a lot like Su An. He had the same beautiful features, but the child’s temperament was not as cold as his father’s.

The woman outside the window was smiling brightly, preparing to take the child inside.

Jiang Xi looked at Su An across from her and asked, “Your girlfriend?”

“Yes,” Su An’s gaze returned from the mother and son outside. “My wife.”

Jiang Xi was a little surprised that this person with such a cold demeanor would also have a soft side.

The woman quickly came in with the child. Her personality was completely different from Su An’s and she was very easy to get along with.

“Are you done talking?” she asked, sitting down next to Su An.

Su An hummed.

As soon as he sat down, the little boy climbed onto Su An.

The woman looked at Jiang Xi across from her. “I’m sorry, my husband here isn’t much of a talker.”

Su An gave her a faint look.

Jiang Xi smiled. “It’s fine.”

The woman extended her hand to her. “Yi Yan.”

Jiang Xi reached out to shake her hand back. “Jiang Xi.”

After they let go, Yi Yan said, “I’ve seen you on TV. You’re very beautiful.”

She also said, “Your paintings are pretty good too.”

It was rare for anyone to praise her paintings anymore. Jiang Xi was stunned. She knew Yi Yan was praising her, and she smiled. “Thank you.”

Yi Yan curled her lips. “You’re welcome. I’m just stating a fact.”

After a few conversations, Jiang Xi learned that the couple was also planning to take their child out to play today.

So she didn’t stay any longer and said goodbye to them.

As she walked out of the coffee shop, she heard Yi Yan ask the little boy, “Why aren’t you clinging to Mommy for a hug today?”

The little boy said in a milky voice, “Daddy said that we boys should love Mommy together, or Mommy will get tired.”

...

Jiang Xi smiled. As she was leaving, she happened to receive a call from Lu Nandu.

“Are you done talking?”

“Yeah.”

“That fast?” Lu Nandu said. “I told that brat Su An to talk to you more. Did he not?”

Jiang Xi laughed. “Don’t make things difficult for him. Who’s as talkative as you? This is the third call from you since last night.”

Lu Nandu also laughed. “Now you’re complaining that I’m too talkative?”