Chapter 30
The winter winds were chilly. Ruan Jiu Jiu froze and shivered from the cold air that blew in from the window crack.
Her nose was a bit itchy. She almost sneezed before holding it in. She didn’t want Cheng Jun to discover that she had ordered takeout so it was better to be on the cautious side. With that thought, she proceeded more carefully.
Right now, Ruan Jiu Jiu was completely oblivious to the fact that a few meters away, a certain person’s death stare was currently locked onto her movements, which she thought had gone unnoticed.
“Grumble…”
Her stomach let out an impatient growl. Ruan Jiu Jiu swallowed her saliva. She could already imagine the beautiful life ahead of her, eating spicy crayfish while watching her soap operas.
She patiently waited another moment. The food delivery guy at the bottom of the building still didn’t shake the makeshift rope, indicating that it was ready to be hauled up. But she could already feel a weight at the end.
“…” Strange, was it ready or not?
Ruan Jiu Jiu clutched the makeshift rope with one hand as she popped the window open halfway. The bone-chilling wind was no longer hindered and suddenly poured in. It nearly froze her face solid. She shrunk her neck and regretted not bundling up in a jacket. Hearing nothing from Cheng Jun’s side, Ruan Jiu Jiu sneakily stuck her head out the window.
The food delivery guy downstairs stupidly stood in place. He was still torn over whether to tell her or not.
He still had a sense of ethics in his line of work. What if he didn’t say anything and the tip disappeared? What then?
From Ruan Jiu Jiu’s angle, she could only see the food delivery guy planted in place, seemingly looking up at her.
Ruan Jiu Jiu gave him an ok sign.
She gave the makeshift rope a tug and discovered that the he had knotted it pretty tight. Thus, she decided to slowly haul it in, one hand over the other. Her movements were very slow as she tried to draw the bag in at a steady pace in hopes that it would successfully reach its destination.
It was kind of heavy.
The next moment, Ruan Jiu Jiu was dumbstruck.
The takeout was stuck at the balcony railing below.
“…”
Ruan Jiu Jiu’s face flushed red as she stuck out her arms, hoping to yank the takeout out of place. The takeout container was heavy. Ruan Jiu Jiu was exhausted and sweating, and her arms tremored. In that moment, she was very depressed. Why did it take so much effort just to eat a meal?
The food delivery guy quickly hopped on his scooter and slipped away. In the dark night, his yellow figure absconded particularly fast. He disappeared in just a few seconds.
Ruan Jiu Jiu’s phone suddenly sounded. It was a phone call.
She was scared the ringing would disturb Cheng Jun. With one hand, she gripped the makeshift rope, and with the other she answered.
“Hello?”
Ruan Jiu Jiu spoke in a whisper. “Relax, I’ll tip you in a bit…”
“No, no it’s not about the tip. I work with an honest heart.” Mr. Li’s voice was very cool-headed. “Um… Madam, out of my own conscience, I recommend that you put your head out the window and look to the window to your east. I can only help you this far. If the fates allow, see you again.”
Beep beep beep. The other party hung up.
Ruan Jiu Jiu: “???”
In confusion, she followed the food delivery guy’s instructions and peeped out her window, looking at the window to the left of her.
Then…
The two locked eyes, staring at each other like one of those scenes straight out of a drama. She didn’t know how long Cheng Jun had been standing in front of the window. He looked at her with a faint gaze that reminded her of the way he looked at her in that restaurant when they awkwardly bumped into each other.
“…”
“…”
Ruan Jiu Jiu was shocked.
Her grip subconsciously loosened and the hefty takeout container plummeted, taking the makeshift rope with it. Ruan Jiu Jiu came to her senses and scrambled to save it. She reached out her arm, trying to grab the makeshift rope that was slithering down. Unfortunately, she was too late.
Ruan Jiu Jiu looked on helplessly as the takeout container tragically tumbled. With a thud, it dropped onto the lawn, exploded into a mess, and started leaking from the plastic bag.
Seeing this scene, Ruan Jiu Jiu helplessly clutched her head. She nearly let out a sob.
Her takeout! Her money! Her crayfish!
They were all gone!
……
Ten minutes later.
Ruan Jiu Jiu was bundled up in a thick, black puffer as she dejectedly walked down the stairs with a drooped head. Cheng Jun was behind her, and the whole way down, the two didn’t exchange a word, making Ruan Jiu Jiu feel a bit awkward.
She opened her flashlight. She shined it on the lawn and easily found the tragic crime scene.
Cheng Jun had an empty bag and a roll of paper. He had come with Ruan Jiu Jiu to mop up the scene. Ruan Jiu Jiu couldn’t go to sleep with the mess just laying out there. After all, the lawn was a public space.
Ruan Jiu Jiu grew even more dejected. Who would chuck 200 dollars worth of trash on the lawn!
Could she be even more useless?
The two scooched over to where the crayfish were and crouched down, both speechless.
To lighten the mood, Ruan Jiu Jiu joked, “I heard that if food falls on the ground, you still have a few seconds to eat it. We’ve only been here for a few minutes. Do you think we can…ahahahaha”
Hearing Ruan Jiu Jiu’s words, Cheng Jun who was crouched silently next to her, sunk into thought.
He fixed his gaze on the cold crayfish laying on the lawn. “…”
Ruan Jiu Jiu said, “Stop! You can’t eat it!”
Cheng Jun took the initiative to finish mopping up the crime scene. He wore nylon gloves, swept all the remnants into the bag, and wiped the place down with paper towels. Ruan Jiu Jiu stood to the side with her phone flashlight lighting the area.
Cheng Jun didn’t say a peep throughout the process. He picked up one especially large crayfish in dead silence.
Ruan Jiu Jiu lowered her head. “Sorry.”
He then picked up the icy-cold skewers in dead silence.
Ruan Jiu Jiu’s head hung a centimeter lower. “Sorry.”
If secretly ordering takeout and being discovered was awkward, then Cheng Jun picking up each and every piece of evidence of her solo feast, in front of her face, was practically death by a thousand cuts. Ruan Jiu Jiu nearly burst into tears.
God! She vowed to never eat anything behind his back!
Ruan Jiu Jiu drooped her head and dejectedly asked, “How did you know that I bought takeout?” She was starting to suspect that Cheng Jun had a nose like the Heavenly Dog from Chinese mythology and could catch a whiff of anything from a thousand miles away.
Cheng Jun calmly said, “I just happened to open the window for air.”
Ruan Jiu Jiu: “…”
Her luck was remarkable.
In truth, Cheng Jun had been standing in front of the window in a daze. He had been standing there ever since she went to bed, surveying the barren, empty ground. It was only when he saw a food delivery guy walk toward their building that he quietly opened the window. Then, he saw the adjacent window open a crack and “rope” being flung out.
Ruan Jiu Jiu sighed.
Her stomach then grumbled and her face reddened.
Cheng Jun stood. He carried the trash without a trace of disgust and went off first. The chilly wind carried his cool voice back to her. “C’mon, let’s do a little scraping by.”
Ruan Jiu Jiu knew she was in the wrong and could only pretend not to hear.
As expected, Cheng Jun’s scraping by wasn’t really “scraping by.”
The two sat in a private room at a Jianghu cuisine restaurant, and ordered a table full of dishes. There was spicy crayfish and meat skewers. The colors looked enticing, and the aroma assailed the nostrils. One look and saliva would start forming. Ruan Jiu Jiu tended her own affairs as she peeled the bright red crayfish. She stuffed her face till oil was dripping out of her mouth. It was so spicy that she was huffing, and soon her face flushed red.
As she was chowing down, Ruan Jiu Jiu suddenly thought of the reason behind today’s silent treatment.
She gloomily asked, “What was up with you today? Why did you suddenly ignore me?”
Hearing this, Cheng Jun’s paused amidst peeling the crayfish. “Personal reasons. It had nothing to do with you. Sorry.”
“What’s wrong? If there’s anything that’s making you unhappy, I’ll help you out a bit.”
Ruan Jiu Jiu chuckled as she scooched closer. “It’ll definitely help resolve your unhappiness.”
Cheng Jun slowly said, “Will it make me happier than eating alone?”
Ruan Jiu Jiu: “… Are you still unhappy?”
Cheng Jun didn’t want to say anything, and Ruan Jiu Jiu didn’t know what to do with him. She might as well leave it at that, and ate minding her own business. It was perfectly harmonious this way.
Ruan Jiu Jiu was stuffed and reclined against her seat, not wanting to move an inch.
She worriedly asked, “Will I get fat if I continue eating like this?”
Cheng Jun unhurriedly reasoned out, “You burn 1200 calories as a baseline. If you don’t exercise, then your metabolism will be even lower. At night, you even consume carbs and foods high in oil and fat. Not only will you get fat, you will…”
“Wanna die?” Ruan Jiu Jiu coldly laughed and cut him off. “Women only want to hear one thing at this time: You definitely won’t get fat.”
Cheng Jun, who had been forced into silence, wanted to express that women only liked hearing lies that would hurt them.
……
Cheng Jun paid the bill. With her hands stuffed in her pockets, Ruan Jiu Jiu waited behind him.
The two’s stunning looks turned many heads in the restaurant. Even the person at the till was very courteous, taking 33% off their bill and giving them a VIP card in hopes they would return.
Ruan Jiu Jiu pulled up her puffer’s hoodie, hoping to hide part of her face. Thankfully Cheng Jun was quick and they quickly left after paying.
It was pitch dark outside and Ruan Jiu Jiu was so cold she shivered.
She followed in Cheng Jun’s footsteps in the direction of their home. The two didn’t walk very far before a car brushed by, almost veering off the road and onto the sidewalk. Everything happened so fast she didn’t even have time to be alarmed before a strong force tightly gripped her and dragged her back. She staggered to the side a few steps. Thankfully, Cheng Jun held steady or else she would have taken a devastating fall.
Then, her head bumped into his chest.
Cheng Jun pressed his hand down, stabilizing her flailing head and asked, “Are you hurt?”
He lowered his head and the distance between the two suddenly closed. Under the faint lights, his eyelashes fluttered like a crow’s feathers. His lowered gaze fixed on Ruan Jiu Jiu, and his eyes weren’t as placid as usual. His pupils were exceedingly black. The inky darkness that permeated the night stained them, such that Ruan Jiu Jiu was a unable to make out the intensity held within his eyes.
She wasn’t hurt the least bit. Cheng Jun reacted quickly when the car was still a distance away.
In her sluggish state, Ruan Jiu Jiu finally experienced what post-traumatic stress was like. Her small face was a ghastly white.
“Nothing, let’s go home,” she said.
“Mm.” Cheng Jun didn’t let go.
He dragged Ruan Jiu Jiu by the arm as they headed home. They walked rather quickly, and Ruan Jiu Jiu couldn’t help but scuttle along. Cheng Jun seemed to have noticed that she was unable to keep pace. He purposely slowed his footsteps so she could keep up.
Ruan Jiu Jiu felt like Cheng Jun was very attractive when he became serious. His stunning beauty in that moment even made her waver.
The two were silent on the way back. There was only the sound of their shoes stepping on the ground. Ruan Jiu Jiu wasn’t uncomfortable being pulled by the arm. She walked a few steps and quietly said, “Thanks.”
Though he was only her husband in name, he was still pretty reliable.
Only
“Mhm,” Cheng Jun lightly said.
He wore a long, black puffer. He was tall and lanky, only leaving Ruan Jiu Jiu a glimpse of his languid side profile. It was as if he was unmoved by Ruan Jiu Jiu’s word of thanks, giving him a cool attitude.
Ruan Jiu Jiu shot him a glance, and then another.
“Um…”
Ruan Jiu Jiu was a bit hesitant.
“Why are you walking with your arms and legs together like a penguin?”
Cheng Jun: “…”
Author’s Note: Today’s little Jun is a shy Cheng Jun lol
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