She couldn’t withstand another kiss.
At that moment, there was a knock at the door, and Peng Kai’s voice sounded from outside:
“Fu Fu, I’m sorry, please forgive me for losing control. I… I’ll be more careful in the future, please don’t be angry, okay?”
Even Peng Kai himself didn’t know why he was unable to control himself.
He was never like this before.
“Just say something to me, even if you come out and hit me a couple of times, that’s fine—just don’t be mad.”
He was probably the first man to make his girlfriend angry just one day after confirming their relationship.
Lan Hui heard the anxiety in Peng Kai’s voice.
Hearing this, Lan Hui realized Peng Kai misunderstood, so she explained, “Kai-ge, I’m not angry, I just feel like things are moving too fast, I’m not quite used to it. You didn’t sleep last night, so hurry and get some rest.”
“You’re really not mad?” Peng Kai sounded a bit uneasy.
“Really, I’m not.” Lan Hui said, “I’m tired and want to rest now. Good night.”
“Good night.” Peng Kai returned to his room.
The next morning, Lan Hui was woken up by her alarm clock. She got dressed and went to the bathroom.
On the sink, her toothbrush already had toothpaste on it, her cup was filled with water, and there was hot water in the washbasin…
A smile appeared on Lan Hui’s face. She was in a great mood.
When she finished washing up and came out, she happened to run into Peng Kai coming back from outside.
He was carrying breakfast in his hand. Seeing that she was already ready, he quickly called out, “Fu Fu, come have breakfast! I bought Uncle’s Meat Pie and tofu pudding for you today.”
Lan Hui exclaimed, “You got Uncle’s Meat Pie from that place?”
Peng Kai nodded and put the breakfast on the coffee table. “That’s the one. I remember you mentioned it before, said you liked Uncle’s Meat Pie.”
Lan Hui was deeply touched. “There are always so many people lining up for Uncle’s Meat Pie. How long did you have to wait in line?”
She’d lined up once before herself, and after waiting half an hour without getting any, she gave up because she had to go to work.
Peng Kai acted like it was nothing. “I bought it while running this morning, didn’t have to wait long.”
Lan Hui took a meat pie from the bag. “Open your mouth.”
Peng Kai obediently opened his mouth, and Lan Hui stuffed the meat pie right in.
“Next time, don’t wait in line. I know how it is at Uncle’s Meat Pie, he makes them on the spot, so you basically have to wait an hour, otherwise, you won’t get any.”
Peng Kai chewed the delicious meat pie his girlfriend fed him, his eyes full of laughter. It seemed she really wasn’t angry about last night.
“As long as you like it, I can buy it for you every day. I go for a run every morning anyway, so if I go early, I don’t have to wait as long.”
“That’s too much trouble, you don’t have to.” Lan Hui said directly, “You bought Uncle’s Meat Pie especially for me today because you thought I was mad last night and wanted to apologize, right?”
Peng Kai looked a little awkward. “I just wanted to make it up to you.”
Lan Hui rolled her beautiful eyes at him, playfully, without any bite at all. “Kai-ge, I really wasn’t mad last night. If I was, I’d tell you directly.”
She knew Peng Kai had gone through a rough relationship before and was always extra careful, but she didn’t need Peng Kai to treat her that way. If two people were together, only honesty could make it last.
Seeing the serious look on her face, Peng Kai finally relaxed after worrying all night.
“Alright, if there’s anything I don’t do well in the future, just tell me right away. If you’re mad, tell me directly. Let’s not second-guess each other.”
Lan Hui nodded with a bright smile.
Peng Kai’s lips curled into a smile as well. He took another meat pie from the bag and handed it to Lan Hui.
“If you like it, eat more. Tomorrow morning, I’ll line up early for the meat pies, then go running after I get them. There shouldn’t be anyone then, so it should only take about ten minutes.”
Lan Hui said, “No need to eat it every day, I’ll get tired of it. How about this, Kai-ge, just buy it once a week from now on.”
Peng Kai nodded. “Whatever Fu Fu says goes.”
Lan Hui looked at him curiously. “Kai-ge, do you really go running every day?”
Before she became his girlfriend, she always slept until her alarm went off, then rushed to work, so she didn’t know he had a habit of running.
“Yeah, pretty much every day,” Peng Kai said.
“What about when it rains?”
“I just run up and down the stairs, back and forth for half an hour. It’s about the same as running.”
The two of them had lived together for over three months, and she hadn’t mentioned it once before.
Peng Kai looked at her. “Why are you asking about this all of a sudden?”
Lan Hui pouted. “Now that I’m your girlfriend, of course I want to know more about your daily routine.”
She couldn’t help but think back to when she first moved in and cooked noodles for him in the middle of the night, and saw his leg hair.
At the time, she thought, whoever ends up with Peng Kai needs to be in good shape—otherwise, she wouldn’t be able to handle Peng Kai the Ultraman’s stamina.
She’d even secretly felt sorry for that unknown future girlfriend.
Now that she was Peng Kai’s girlfriend and knew how much he loved to work out, she was really worried.
She was healthy enough, but compared to Peng Kai at 1.85 meters tall, she was no match.
Peng Kai saw that she was lost in thought and looking a bit down. The half-eaten meat pie sat in her hand, and it seemed to have lost its flavor…
“Fu Fu, what’s wrong? Is something bothering you?”
Lan Hui looked at Peng Kai. Her only worry was him.
“I’ve decided, from now on, every day after school, I’ll do half an hour of exercise.”
For the sake of the future, she had to get her body in shape, or she’d be the one to suffer.
Peng Kai couldn’t help but laugh. “That’s it?”
Lan Hui nodded. “This is no small matter! You don’t get it.”
Peng Kai chuckled. “I really don’t.”
“Enough, I won’t talk to you about it anymore. I need to hurry up and finish eating, or I’ll be late.”
Peng Kai helped her open the tofu pudding container. “Don’t worry, there’s plenty of time.”
***
Soon, Lan Hui’s day off arrived.
She slept in blissfully, not getting up until after noon.
First, she cleaned up the house, then went to the supermarket to buy Meihua Pork for dumplings. Meihua Pork has a great balance of fat and lean, making it perfect for dumplings.
The dumplings in the fridge had been eaten up by the two of them, so Lan Hui took advantage of her day off to make some more.
Peng Kai did physical labor every day and especially loved eating meat. This time, Lan Hui bought five jin of pork, planning to use it all for scallion and pork dumplings.
Lan Hui worked until after five in the afternoon, making over two hundred dumplings and filling the freezer to the brim. She also cooked a few dozen to bring to Peng Kai at the shop.
They had agreed to see a movie together tonight. He was so busy, he probably hadn’t had time to eat yet.
It was their first date, so Lan Hui took it very seriously, dressing up carefully before heading to the shop with the dumplings.
She wore a caramel-colored coat today, paired with white knee-high boots, and a snow-white scarf wrapped around her neck. She looked pure and beautiful, turning heads everywhere she went.
Lan Hui’s beauty wasn’t aggressive—men liked to look at her, but so did women.
When she walked into Peng Kai Auto Repair Shop, she didn’t see Peng Kai and figured he must be under a car fixing something.
She went straight to the counter to put down the food box. Several customers couldn’t help but glance her way.
Little Fatty was busy applying a film to a car and didn’t notice Lan Hui come in.
Lan Hui didn’t disturb him either, just sat at the counter and started playing Fruit Elimination on her phone.
Peng Kai heard people talking and guessed his girlfriend had arrived. He crawled out from under a car.
Someone quickly came up to ask Peng Kai, “Boss, a pretty girl just came to your shop, looks about eighteen or nineteen. Is she your sister?”
Lan Hui was twenty this year. Ever since she got a raise, she’d been willing to spend more on herself.
Her clothes were fashionable, her makeup light, and her temperament clean—like a lotus out of water, she looked just like a college freshman.
Peng Kai could tell right away that the customer asking had his eye on Lan Hui, so he said with a straight face, “She’s not my sister, she’s my girlfriend.”
As soon as he said that, several customers nearby couldn’t hide their disappointment.
But they were all regulars, so after the letdown, they congratulated him, “Boss Peng, you’re really lucky! Such a pretty girl and you managed to win her over.”
“Impressive! She still looks like a student!”
Peng Kai didn’t say much more. He took out a pack of cigarettes and handed one to each of them.
Among men, sometimes a cigarette was all that needed to be said.
Lan Hui saw Peng Kai come in and put down her phone with a smile. “Kai-ge, you’re done working?”
“Not yet, but I figured it was about time for you to arrive, so I came out to check.” Peng Kai didn’t mention that he came out because he heard people talking about her, worried she might feel awkward.
His gaze landed on her, and his eyes flashed with amazement.
He knew she was pretty, but with the extra effort she’d put in today, he couldn’t take his eyes off her.
Just like those customers said, he really was lucky.
“Dressed so nicely today?”
Lan Hui smiled, “Does Kai-ge think I look good?”
Peng Kai nodded. “You look great.”
Lan Hui felt sweet inside, her eyes crinkling with joy. “As long as you think so.” This was their first date, and she cared a lot.
“By the way, Kai-ge, if you have time, eat the dumplings first. I cooked enough for you and Xiao Pang.”
Xiao Pang’s real name was Yang Quan, but everyone called him Xiao Pang, so Lan Hui did too.
“Alright, I’ll go wash my hands first.” Peng Kai headed straight for the restroom.
Soon, Peng Kai came back. He split the dumplings into two portions, eating one himself and saving the other for Xiao Pang.
“Smells so good.” Peng Kai took big bites, completely satisfied. “Fu Fu, the car still isn’t fixed, so we might have to go see the movie a bit late tonight. Sorry about that.”
Yue Fu saw how busy he was, barely having time to eat, and her heart ached for him. How could she bear to blame him?
“It’s fine, you go ahead and work. I’ll wait for you. I have my phone anyway, I can play games.”
Lan Hui waited, and waited—from a little after six all the way until after eleven at night.
Little Fatty had already gotten off work, but Peng Kai still wasn’t done.
It was the New Year, and a lot of people needed maintenance or wanted film applied to their cars. The shop was a madhouse.
Originally, Peng Kai had finished fixing the car a little after eight, but then another car showed up needing urgent repairs, and he had no choice but to prioritize work.
Lan Hui waited until after eleven, and she was so tired she couldn’t keep her eyes open. She fell asleep playing on her phone.
When Peng Kai finally finished and came back, he saw his girlfriend sleeping at the counter, and felt a pang in his heart.
It was their first date today, and because of his delay, it was pretty much ruined.
He changed into clean clothes and gently picked up his girlfriend to carry her to the car.
He was extremely careful, afraid of waking her, but Lan Hui was a light sleeper. The moment she sat in the car, she woke up.
Peng Kai looked at her apologetically. “Fu Fu, I’m sorry. I couldn’t take you to the movies tonight, and made you wait at the shop for so long.”
It was just Yue Fu had a good temper—if it had been Gu Shinan, she probably would have already given him the cold shoulder.
Yue Fu rubbed her eyes, still half-asleep. “It’s fine. Kai-ge, you were just working hard to make money. It’s not like you went out to have fun alone. I’m really not mad at all.”
“Today was our first date…” Peng Kai sighed.
Yue Fu smiled. “Really, it’s fine. We’ll have plenty of chances in the future. Anyway, as long as I’m with you, anywhere counts as a date. Kai-ge, let’s get going, let’s go home.”
Peng Kai’s heart melted completely. “Alright.”
Three minutes later, the car stopped steadily inside Xiangrun Community, and Lan Hui and Peng Kai walked upstairs hand in hand.
Peng Kai personally walked Lan Hui to her room door. “Goodnight.”
Lan Hui waved at him with a smile. “Kai-ge, go get some sleep.”
Peng Kai nodded. As Lan Hui opened the door to go in, Peng Kai called out to her again. “Fu Fu, how about we find a movie to watch in the living room?”
Since they hadn’t made it to the cinema today, Peng Kai wanted to make it up to his girlfriend. She’d waited for him at the shop for over five hours!
Lan Hui refused. “Kai-ge, let’s do it another day. It’s too late today, and I have to work tomorrow.”
Peng Kai nodded. “Alright, another day then.”
Seeing the guilty look on his face, worried that she might be angry, Lan Hui figured if she didn’t do something, he probably wouldn’t sleep well tonight.
She walked straight over to him, and under his surprised gaze, wrapped her arms around his neck, stood on tiptoe, and kissed him on the cheek.
It was Lan Hui’s first time kissing a boy, and her delicate face turned an intoxicating shade of red. Even her voice was laced with shyness.
“Kai-ge, don’t overthink it. I’m not mad. You’ve been working hard all day too. Go get some sleep—we have all the time in the world.”
With that, she pretended to run away.
How could Peng Kai let her go? He grabbed her slender waist and locked her in his embrace.
Peng Kai’s breathing grew rapid, his voice low and hoarse. “Fu Fu, do you know what you just did?”
His girlfriend was so passionate, so forward, so full of surprises—no man could resist. Peng Kai was just an ordinary guy, and the taut string in his mind snapped. In his eyes, a storm was brewing.