Chapter Five

  Peng Kuang hung up the phone and slightly raised the corner of his mouth.

  Hao Zikui smiled and said: "Make a phone call, have you eaten honey?"

  He shook his head indifferently: "It's nothing."

  "When is he coming over?"

  "I'm going to sleep."

  "Humph!" Hao Zi Qian slapped his thigh and said indignantly: "This kid, day and night, only knows how to get into women's beds."

  Peng Qian patted his shoulder and said: "What's there to be angry about, let's just drink, drink, drink."

  Hao Zijian clinked his wine cup with him and grumbled discontentedly.

  Peng Ke thought that Su Lan usually didn't talk much, but when he spoke, his words were so sharp and electrifying that they made Peng's whole body feel numb.

  The next morning, Su Lan woke up and felt a sore throat and body aches all over. She looked around and saw that the space beside her was empty, but she didn't think much of it. The noodles on the table had no soup left, and when she went to the living room, the pile of cigarette butts was still there. She hadn't taken a close look last night, but now she saw clearly that the floor was covered in ash, indicating that he had been smoking again.

  It's been a long time since he came back, and now that he's here... She looks at the messy room and thinks it would be better if he hadn't come back, it would have been better if he had died outside and never returned.

  She felt uncomfortable and her nose was stuffy, so she hastily packed up, had a quick wash with some hot water, and then took a few mouthfuls. Just then, Jinglu called again to ask: "Mom, where are you?"

  "She stuffed her nose and said: 'At home, you'll stay with grandma for two days first, mom has a cold, don't get infected.'"

  Jinglu nodded obediently and asked again: "Mom, did Dad come pick you up yesterday?"

  Su Lan's heart inexplicably tightened, and she frowned, asking: "What about yesterday?"

  "Really? I told dad to pick you up and you lied again."

  Su Lan's heart was pounding, and she hurriedly comforted him: "Dad is picking up Mom, don't be angry, just stay there for now. You have to listen."

  "Mom, I'll be good, you get well soon."

  "Okay, mom, let's spend the New Year together."

  "Uh-huh."

  She hung up the phone, and Su Lan's head was killing her. She walked back and forth in the living room, then suddenly realized she had nothing to be tense about, and hadn't done anything wrong. Besides, if Jing Yang really saw something, he wouldn't have been so calm. Thinking again, that person was too deep, one sentence could mean a lot of things, maybe it was all hidden in his heart, waiting for the right moment to strike back. The more she thought about it, the more her head hurt, and in the end, she just gave up and went to find some medicine from the first aid kit. After taking it, she fell asleep with a blanket over her head, and when she woke up again, she felt much better.

  She thought her body was almost recovered and went to pick up Jinglu over there.

  It just so happened that I bumped into Jing's father and he said he had just returned.

  Jing's father has always been a straightforward person, not given to idle chatter. He is some kind of commander, but after being married for several years, Su Lan still hasn't figured out what this commander does exactly. She only knows that Jing's father is busy all year round and only comes back during holidays. He is also not very close to his children, especially Jing Yang, who runs his own business and recruits people everywhere except from his father. Usually, the two of them don't talk about these things and just get by with a perfunctory greeting whenever they meet.

  "Dad."

  Jing's father nodded and hugged Jinglu for a while, then asked how Jing Nian was doing.

  Su Lan didn't have anything else to do, so she just instructed her son for a few sentences and then returned to her room.

  The dinner was prepared with great abundance. At the table, Jing Bo mentioned again that their home was too quiet and if possible, he hoped Su Lan could have another child.

  This is the father of the Jing family who doesn't take care of anything, and Zhao Sai takes care of everything. The only thing he has done since she got married is to have children, which he has mentioned several times.

  She doesn't understand the meaning of Jing's father, after all, Jing Nian is not his own flesh and blood. It would be better for Jing Yang to have a few more children on this side, so that there will be someone to rely on in the future. The Jing family has always been a single child of Jing's father, and now they are still hoping that Jing Yang and Jing Xing can rely on each other. As a result, after Jing Xing got into trouble, the old couple was also worried and frightened. It was mentioned earlier that Jing Yang had already returned to Jing Road with a small mouth.

  The old man was worried that Su Lan would disagree, so he took a step back and said: "While your mother is still young, I'll retire in a year or two, there's nothing to do, you can just think of it as finding us some fun. When we get older, we won't be able to help you, you'll be busy with work and having children will become a burden. Don't even mention finding a nanny, no matter what, they're all outsiders, it's better to have someone we trust."

  Before, Jinglu was still young and could be pushed away, but this son is too clever, which isn't a good thing at the moment. He takes care of himself very well. She couldn't find an excuse, so she just nodded and perfunctorily said: "I'll ask Jingyang."

  Jing's father was taken aback: "What are you asking? He doesn't have a decent appearance at all! I've made up my mind on this matter!"

  Zhao Ze gave a slanted glance at Jing Fu: "What are you deciding on? The child isn't even yours."

  Su Lan smiled and evaded the question.

  After dinner, the whole family watched TV together for a while and talked about things that had happened over the past year.

  Jing's father is back, Su Lan naturally has to go back too. She's afraid Jing Yang doesn't know, so she sent a text message to the other side.

  But seeing this, time is no longer early.

  Zhao Ai yawned and looked at his watch again, urging: "It's already this late, when is Jing Yang coming back?"

  Su Lan was still worried about where he lived, hadn't seen him, and was just about to call.

  Someone came in. With a chill, he took off his coat as he entered the door and said, "Why haven't you slept yet?" He also saw the person sitting there and asked, "Dad, I'm back."

  Jing's father grunted and said: "What are you busy with every day? You don't even know when to go home."

  Jing Yang didn't respond, took off his coat, Su Lan hurried over to take it and asked in a low voice, "Are you cold?"

  Zhao Ai was afraid that the father and son would quarrel, so he said: "I've been waiting for you, just go to sleep now that you're here."

  Jing's father looked at Jing with a displeased expression. The two younger ones were clamoring to hear their grandfather tell stories, so they went over there to sleep.

  Jingxiang didn't say a word and followed Su Lan into the bedroom.

  Su Lan felt anxious from the moment she entered Jǐng Yǎng's place, worried that he might have seen something last night, but his calm demeanor only made her more uneasy.

  The two of them went into the bathroom, one in front and one behind. Su Lan was brushing her teeth at the washbasin, while Jing Yang was washing his face with his head buried in the basin. He lifted his head and looked at the person in the mirror, asking, "Did you sleep well today?"

  Su Lan spat out a mouthful of water and nodded: "It's okay."

  Jingxiang wiped his face and said, "Alright then."

  After brushing her teeth, Su Lan went out and lay on the bed, calm on the surface but with a wildly racing heart. She clutched at the corner of the quilt, feeling a little scared, as if she was living in the aftermath of an accident, on one hand thinking it was unbelievable, on the other hand worrying that she had relaxed too much, wondering if Jing Xiang was hiding in her heart.

  Suddenly, the bed sank on one side, and a warm body was pressed against her back, she stiffened.

  The man walked past her and put a glass of water on the cabinet with a "clunk", saying, "I met a Finnish client today and had a discussion with him."

  Su Lan glanced at the cup with her peripheral vision, a very strange cup, expensive due to its artistic value. Alvar Alto designed it with his wife, and it had always been her favorite. Su Lan's eyes were scorched, she quickly shifted her gaze, and whispered: "Trouble."