“Snap.”
It was already around eight or nine o’clock. Jiang Lingwei lay face down, burying herself in the soft bed, feeling a bit exhausted.
Just half an hour ago, Jiang Yao had come back with Xiao Bai.
No one knew where the two of them had gone; Xiao Bai’s fur was all messy.
Were they racing planes for speed? Or did they go up to the rooftop to enjoy the cold wind?
But neither Jiang Lingwei nor Jiang Cheng paid much attention.
Instead, Jiang Yao glanced between the two of them with her eyes before smiling and heading back to her floor.
As for Jiang Cheng? That guy later polished off an entire pot of rice, a plate of braised pork, and a big bowl of mashed potatoes. Even the beef persimmon soup Jiang Lingwei made afterward was devoured in an instant.
While eating, he kept praising, “Xiao Wei’s cooking is simply the best in the world.”
“No, it’s just heaven itself!”
“Even if you gave me a five-star chef, I wouldn’t switch.”
“So fragrant! It’s perfect just the way it is!”
The result was that after he finished eating, even the double-door refrigerator at home looked much emptier.
At first, Jiang Lingwei was a little surprised at his appetite, but later she became completely numb to it.
When Jiang Cheng finally put down his chopsticks and said, “I’m full,” she felt less like his wife and more like his mother—without any joy of love or friendship, only the relief of a mother seeing her son eat well.
“Forget it, just consider it raising a pig.”
She flipped over and mumbled to herself as she changed to lying on her back.
She hadn’t been lying face down for a long time and had even forgotten that her current figure was really not suitable for it—too much chest pressure.
After twisting a few times on the bed, she placed her arms behind her head and squinted her eyes.
“Heh heh heh…”
The corners of her mouth couldn’t help but lift.
There was no helping it; she couldn’t resist. The fact that he finished everything proved Jiang Cheng’s recognition of her cooking skills.
What could make a “master chef” happier than family support?
“Family…”
Right now, she didn’t dislike Jiang Cheng—in fact, this man really was hard to hate.
Except for his stubborn refusal to listen about confessing his feelings, both his appearance and character had Jiang Lingwei’s approval.
He just had his own insistence but wasn’t clingy, and he even admired her a lot.
Putting aside their identity issues, if he really were just a friend from the past, she would feel happy about it.
“But now…”
Murmuring softly, she turned over again, flinging out her fair thigh, accidentally trapping the blanket awkwardly.
Jiang Lingwei took out her phone and found Wen Yaqian’s contact.
When she came back earlier, she had already reported her safety to Wen Yaqian but hadn’t figured out how to explain her current situation.
And at this moment, Wen Yaqian was the only person she could confide in who might give some advice.
So Jiang Lingwei typed:
“Are you there?”
After more than ten seconds, the reply came:
[What’s up.]
This message made Jiang Lingwei a little suspicious:
(There’s a period too—could Sister Yaqian be a bit upset?)
After considering it, Jiang Lingwei typed slowly:
“Are you busy?”
(sneak peek emoji)
[Ah, not very busy. Little Aurora, what’s going on with you?]
[Is it related to today’s enemy?]
Good, this time the tone softened quite a bit.
After hesitating for a few more seconds, Jiang Lingwei sent:
“That person is back.”
After a moment:
[Who?]
[Did you remember something?]
“Sigh.”
Jiang Lingwei gave up and sent a frustrated message:
“I mean, the child’s dad is back.”
[!]
[(shocked emoji)]
[(I have to sit up to see this emoji properly.)]
[No way, girl, what did you say?]
[Who came back?]
Just as Jiang Lingwei was about to reply, a video call came through:
“Hey? Little Aurora, are you sure it’s that person?”
Wen Yaqian’s hair looked a bit messy, and Jiang Lingwei seemed to hear a familiar male voice in the background saying:
“Wife… you two talk, I’m going out first?”
“You can’t leave.” Wen Yaqian glanced off-camera, then turned back to give Jiang Lingwei a slightly scolding but helpless look and said:
“Fine, fine, you can sleep on the sofa tonight.”
“Yay!”
Although being sent to the sofa, the man sounded quite happy:
“Then can I go fishing tomorrow…?”
“You dare?! With that time, why not just buy some at the seafood market? You won’t catch any anyway, but you’ll have to buy a couple just to post on social media.”
“You promised tonight…”
“You! Old Lin! I’m on the phone here!”
Wen Yaqian’s face quickly flushed pink, and that rare shy expression appeared again.
Jiang Lingwei, already used to modern life, instantly started furiously screenshotting her blushing friend!
“Well, I don’t care.” The man lowered his voice slightly, probably thinking Jiang Lingwei couldn’t hear him, proudly saying, “It’s not my fault, I’m going fishing tomorrow.”
Hearing this, Wen Yaqian smiled faintly:
“Good.”
She rolled her eyes flirtatiously:
“Alright, very good, Old Lin, you’ve improved. I like it. Behave yourself~ After I hang up, I’ll come find you on the sofa tonight~”
After this, the man didn’t reply, only the faint sound of staggered, slightly unsteady footsteps fading away.
On the other end of the call, Jiang Lingwei, who was mentally sharp, already realized she had stumbled into a very serious married life and was trembling silently, too afraid to speak.
“What’s up.”
Wen Yaqian’s eyes returned to her:
“Such a fuss, you both have kids now, why be so reserved?”
“Strictly speaking, I’m still a kid mentally, you weird aunt!”
Faced with this, Jiang Lingwei couldn’t help but complain:
“I admit it’s my fault for contacting you so late, I apologize, but Sister Yaqian, you have to watch your influence!”
“Then show the weird aunt—your man is back, so that counts as a married woman attribute, heh heh heh heh heh, this weird aunt loves married women the most.”
“Sister Yaqian!”
“Alright, alright.”
Seeing Jiang Lingwei’s face blush deeply on the other side of the call, Wen Yaqian sighed:
“You’re too easy to tease. Spill it, what’s going on? Do you need me to blow him up?”
“This…”
After a moment.
Jiang Lingwei recalled earlier events, twitching at the corner of her mouth:
“Well… I guess not…”
“So, your man… the kid’s dad? Where is he now?”
“Going to the guest room to tidy up, he’s sleeping there tonight, probably still needs to…”
Jiang Lingwei leaned back, resting her head on the pillow, phone propped on her chest.
She suddenly discovered a new function of her chest—looking at it this way, Da Lei wasn’t completely useless after all.
Wen Yaqian on the other end continued asking:
“How is he?”
With a daughter in mind, Jiang Lingwei replied without hesitation:
“Pretty handsome.”
“…Girl, you’re already in love mode? Who asked about handsome or not? I’m asking how he is! Personality, habits, that kind of stuff.”
Wen Yaqian’s expression turned strange: “Little Aurora, when he wasn’t back, you wanted to kill him, and now that he is, you’re obsessing over looks. He must be really handsome to have you like this.”
“This, this, this—I, I, I!”
Jiang Lingwei almost threw her phone away.
She was absolutely mortified—who knew the “how is he” question wasn’t about looks!
“Don’t panic, don’t panic,” Wen Yaqian comforted, “Just tell me.”
“Hoo.”
Jiang Lingwei fanned her inexplicably hot face with her hand and took a deep breath.
The story.
Next, Jiang Lingwei detailed everything that happened today to Wen Yaqian.
“Mm, I understand.”
Involving past companions, Wen Yaqian no longer joked and said seriously:
“As for the Yunxia situation, come over tomorrow, and we’ll discuss it properly.”
“Mm.”
Jiang Lingwei said with a troubled expression:
“But that’s not my main worry. I mean, the kid’s dad—how should I get along with him from now on?”
“What’s there to worry about? You already know.”
Wen Yaqian yawned:
“Just treat it like you’re newly acquainted. You don’t dislike him, right?”
“…I don’t dislike him.”
“Then that’s fine. Your situation is indeed a bit special, but you’re still the kid’s mom and dad. How could you just separate?”
Wen Yaqian waved her hand:
“Don’t expect to develop into something like me and Old Lin overnight, that’s unrealistic.”
“Uh.”
Jiang Lingwei tried hard to shake out the images from her mind, whether memories or imagination, and hurriedly said:
“Sister Yaqian! Can you be serious? Don’t say such embarrassing stuff!”
“Tch, spirit~ sharp~ girl~.”
“Hajiquan!”
“Yes, yes.”
Wen Yaqian waved dismissively:
“You said it yourself, he’s not bad, you don’t dislike him, and on paper you’re still married. Why make such a fuss?”
“Don’t be fooled by my attitude—it’s mainly for your sake. If you didn’t like him, I’d have blown him up tonight with a bomb, or I’d just say he’s a dark minion and report him. I have some connections; it wouldn’t be a problem to lock him up.”
“But since you do like him, and feel comfortable with him, what else can I say? What can I say?”
Wen Yaqian’s words struck Jiang Lingwei like a northern wind’s bullet right in the center of her brow, leaving her speechless.
“So.”
Seeing Jiang Lingwei silent on the other end, Wen Yaqian said:
“Just go with the flow. If you like him, keep him. If not, kick him out. No matter what, I’ll always support you.”
“Now, why not think about what you want to do next?”
“How about… go see him?”
In the dark hallway, someone tiptoed quietly outside the guest room door of Jiang Lingwei’s home.
Yes, that was Jiang Lingwei herself.
After hanging up with Wen Yaqian, she couldn’t fall asleep out of restlessness, so she thought she might as well check on how Jiang Cheng was doing with tidying up and if he needed any help.
Anyway, she couldn’t sleep! Nothing else to do! Bored!
As she leaned against the room’s door, she heard the sound of scrubbing inside.
Jiang Lingwei knocked, and after hearing a reply from inside, she pushed the door open.
Inside, many places were covered in dust. Jiang Yao used to tidy up the main room regularly, as if for Jiang Lingwei’s sake, but the guest room was completely abandoned.
Jiang Cheng was carefully wiping these areas—especially the empty bed frame. He had to clean it well before putting the mattress on.
Clearly, this wasn’t a small job, and if he kept going like this, he’d probably be up very late.
Jiang Lingwei felt a bit guilty.
It was so late, and they were supposed to get familiar with modern society together tomorrow—letting him stay up so late wasn’t good.
“Um, Chengzi.”
Jiang Lingwei slowly stepped closer, and when she reached Jiang Cheng’s side, she quietly said:
“Sleep in the main room tonight first.”
As soon as the words came out, she realized what she’d said.
(Silly me! Why did I say that? Even saying I want to help would have been better!)
“Eh?”
Jiang Cheng put the cloth into the water basin and looked down at her shy face, tentatively asking:
“Is that okay?”
“Y-yeah, it is.”
(I already said it, how can I take it back!)
(Forget it… it’s not a big deal!)