CH 41

Chen Yuncheng wanted to talk and persuade Ning Junyan but ended up getting persuaded instead.

It wasn’t until he was lying on the bed in the guest room with the lights off that Chen Yuncheng still couldn’t sleep for a long time. He put his hands behind his head and wondered if Ning Junyan had gotten to a dead end. Perhaps it was because the experience of being together when they were young was too precious to them, or perhaps their separation was too sudden and unacceptable, so Ning Junyan still couldn’t let it go after so many years.

Chen Yuncheng couldn’t quite figure it out. The relationship between people were too complicated, sometimes he couldn’t even figure out what he was thinking himself, and it was really too difficult to figure out what kind of thoughts Ning Junyan has.

Because he had slept so late at night, Chen Yuncheng woke up a little later the next morning than yesterday.

When he came out of his room after changing his clothes, he heard noises coming from the kitchen and walked over to see Ning Junyan frying an egg.

Ning Junyan wore an apron over the sweater, held a spatula in his hand, and stared solemnly at the fried egg in the pan as he prepared to turn it over.

When he heard Chen Yuncheng’s footsteps, Ning Junyan turned his head and said to him, “Just give me a second.”

Chen Yuncheng said softly, “Huh?”

Ning Junyan waited until the eggs were almost fried, turned off the fire and put down the spatula, and went to the bathroom with Chen Yuncheng. He helped him wring out the hot towel and handed it to him, before going back to the kitchen to continue preparing breakfast.

The breakfast on the table was quite simple. Ning Junyan fried eggs, heated milk, toasted a few slices of bread bought from the supermarket last night and added a small saucer of jam.

Chen Yuncheng and Ning Junyan sat down face to face.

Ning Junyan said, “Are you used to eating these?”

Chen Yuncheng nodded.

Ning Junyan said, “If you are not used to eating these, I can buy you steamed buns or cook porridge or noodles for you.”

Chen Yuncheng quickly said, “I’m not used to it, but I can eat anything.”

Ning Junyan’s tone was very gentle, “Then you can switch to something else.”

Chen Yuncheng grabbed a piece of bread with his hand, brought it to his mouth and gnawed, not knowing what to say.

After breakfast, Chen Yuncheng watched Ning Junyan tidy up the table and stood up to help him tidy up. He insisted on taking the bowl to the kitchen, and washing them with gloves on.

When he came out, Ning Junyan picked up a key and an access control card and put them on the dining table, saying, “This is the key to the house.”

“Huh?” Chen Yuncheng didn’t reach for it.

Ning Junyan was about to go out, he picked up his coat and put it on, and said to Chen Yuncheng, “I’m on duty tonight.”

Chen Yuncheng suddenly realised that Ning Junyan was a doctor, and he would often work night shifts, which meant that he would live alone at Ning Junyan’s house tonight.

“Won’t it be inconvenient?” Chen Yuncheng asked subconsciously.

Ning Junyan said, “What’s the inconvenience?”

He originally supposed to just stay for a short time, yet the owner was not at home1, Chen Yuncheng thought so in his heart, but he didn’t say it out loud.

Ning Junyan picked up the key on the dining table, grabbed Chen Yuncheng’s wrist, put it in his hand, and said, “You can remove the gauze at night and call me if you still find it inconvenient.”

Chen Yuncheng looked down at his hands, “It should be fine.” After he said that, he couldn’t help but say, “You can’t come back even if I call you, right?”

Ning Junyan told him, “You can come to the hospital. It’s not far from here.”

Chen Yuncheng raised his head and smiled at him, “It will be fine.”

In the morning, Chen Yuncheng went back to the store first. He had an appointment with the supplier to count the returned goods.

The supplier drove over in a van, and today even the boss came in person. The boss, a middle-aged man, sat in Chen Yuncheng’s shop smoking a cigarette and chatting with Chen Yuncheng while watching the inventory.

The boss said that if it weren’t for the fact that Chen Yuncheng was a nice person and they had been doing business with each other for the past two years without problems, he wouldn’t let anyone to pick up goods.

Chen Yuncheng stood next to a small worker, watching him count and record, and said with a smile, “Thank you, Sun ge.”

Boss Sun waved his hand and asked Chen Yuncheng, “What are your plans for the future?”

Chen Yuncheng shook his head, “I haven’t figured it out yet, do you have a suitable job to introduce to me?”

Boss Sun seemed to remember something suddenly. He put an arm on the counter and said, “I have a cousin whose family looks after the agriculture tourism back home. He e only has one daughter and wants to find a son-in-law to help with the agritourism business.”

Chen Yuncheng looked at him, “Do you think I’m suitable?”

Boss Sun said, “I think you are suitable. Don’t think there’s anything wrong with being a son-in-law, my cousin’s niece isn’t too old either. If you get married, and have two children, one will take your surname and one will take hers. My cousin’s agritourism business is also quite good, there’s only one daughter anyway, it’s all yours in the future.”

Chen Yuncheng smiled and shook his head.

Boss Sun asked him, “Why not? Do you have a girlfriend?”

Chen Yuncheng still shook his head.

Boss Sun said, “That’s right, you always have to find a girlfriend to marry, why don’t you go and meet that niece of mine and maybe you’ll be satisfied?”

Chen Yuncheng heard the words and said, “I’m not ready to get married yet.”

“What’s there to prepare for?” Boss Sun smoked a cigarette to the end, “The agritourism over there is waiting for you to move in with your bags. What do you need to prepare? Mental preparation, huh? A man who is almost thirty should be realistic and not be impractical.”

Chen Yuncheng just smiled at him.

After checking the goods, Boss Sun said to Chen Yuncheng when he left with the car, “I know you are good-looking, and it’s normal to have more ideas, but at this age, you can really think about it. How many Ms.Perfect2 look for poor boys?”

Chen Yuncheng put one hand on the edge of the car window, and smiled at Boss Sun, “Take care, Sun ge.”

Boss Sun said, “Call me when you’ve figured it out.”

Chen Yuncheng nodded, “No problem.”

He took two steps back and watched the car leave, feeling a little dazed. When Boss Sun mentioned Ms.Perfect just now, he immediately thought of Ning Junyan and then felt embarrassed by his own thoughts. He raised his hand to ruffle his hair which had not been properly groomed.

In the afternoon, Chen Yuncheng also packed all of his personal belongings in the inner room and put them in a suitcase, planning to take them to Ning Junyan’s side for the time being, and then find a suitable place to live later.

He came out of the store, put the suitcase on the side, and when he turned around and closed the shutter door, he felt as if someone was looking at him from across the street. He looked back, but saw that no one was looking at him, so he locked the door and walked towards the underground station.

In the evening, Chen Yuncheng ate alone and kept it simple. He went straight to the hospital for a fast food meal nearby, and then planned to visit Zhou Yan’s child.

He bought some snacks and milk and brought them to Gu Yaojia.

Gu Yaojia’s emotions had calmed down and sat on the edge of the hospital bed with Chen Yuncheng and said, “The doctor said that we still need to observe, and there was no way to discharge her from the hospital for the time being.”

Ever since Zhou Yan disappeared, Gu Yaojia had been unable to leave the hospital by herself. She could only use a basin to store hot water to bathe and wash her hair in the ward bathroom. She only changes her clothes after a long time, and her clothes were only changed once in a while, following the example of the families of other long-term inpatients, who hung out their underwear directly in the hospital stairwell.

For such a young girl, this kind of life was too hard for her.

Gu Yaojia looked at Chen Yuncheng and suddenly said, “Cheng ge, thank you for coming to see me, today is my twentieth birthday.”

Chen Yuncheng was stunned for a moment, “Today? Why didn’t you say it earlier, I didn’t even buy a gift.”

Gu Yaojia smiled, “It’s nothing, it’s good that you came to see us.”

Chen Yuncheng asked her, “Would you like to go back and have a rest, and I will help you look after the child today?”

Gu Yaojia shook her head, “No need, I’m used to it.” She was silent for a while and asked, “Cheng ge, do you think I can still wait until Zhou Yan comes back?”

“What’s wrong?” Chen Yuncheng wondered why she said such words suddenly.

Gu Yaojia glanced at the door, bent down close to Chen Yuncheng’s ear, and whispered, “The police came to look for me twice today, and a man of the family member of the child in the hospital bed in the hallway outside the door came here today. I always feel that he is spying on us. Cheng ge, what kind of trouble did Zhou Yan cause? Is there something else you’re hiding from me?”

Chen Yuncheng frowned slightly. He subconsciously glanced at the door of the room, from his spot but he couldn’t see the hospital bed in the corridor outside. He said to Gu Yaojia, “It’s alright, don’t worry too much.”

When he came out of the ward, Chen Yuncheng saw the hospital bed next to the door. A little girl was lying on the bed. Her mother was sitting by the bed and chatting with her. There was a man beside the bed. They seemed like a family. But the man and the little girl hadn’t communicated with each other, and when they saw Chen Yuncheng coming out, they even looked up at him.

When Chen Yuncheng was about to reach the lift door, his mobile phone suddenly rang. He stopped, took the mobile phone out of his coat pocket, and saw that it was Ning Junyan calling.

At the same time as the phone was connected, the door of the elevator in front also opened. Because it was an elevator that was going up, Chen Yuncheng was not in a hurry but stood on the spot and whispered to Ning Junyan, “Hello?”

Ning Junyan asked him, “Have you eaten yet?”

Chen Yuncheng didn’t answer. He saw a man standing inside the elevator, wearing a mask and a hat covering most of his face, but Chen Yuncheng was too familiar with him. Just by looking at his figure and the eyes that were mostly covered by the hat, he knew that he was Zhou Yan.

Zhou Yan, who was about to come out also saw Chen Yuncheng. He panicked instantly and hurriedly pressed the elevator closing button with his hands.

Chen Yuncheng strode over, and Ning Junyan’s voice came over the phone, “Why aren’t you talking?”

“I’ll talk to you later,” Chen Yuncheng hung up the phone, and when he walked quickly to the front of the elevator, the elevator door was already closed, and the elevator continued to ascend to the upper floors.