The Twenty-Seventh Night (1)
Jiang Ran spent an entire afternoon tidying up the things she brought back from her trip. After she got tired, she directly ordered takeaway for dinner. She had stayed abroad for a week, once she returned to China, she found she’d accumulated a large backlog of orders. She needed to send a lot of goods at once.
She almost wanted to find a temporary worker to help her. But after calculating the labor costs and her income, she dismissed the idea. It was too uneconomical.
“Woof, woof, woof.” Seeing her busy for an entire afternoon, and that she finally stopped for a moment, Er Huang walked to the sofa and looked up at her.
His eyes were black and round, Jiang Ran could never help herself whenever he looked at her in such a way. Er Huang himself seemed to know that he looked very cute when he made the puppy eyes. So every time he wanted to eat, he’d look at her with this expression. Needless to say, it worked every time.
“Er Huang.” Jiang Ran called out, picked him up, and petted.
“Woof, woof.” Er Huang’s legs were wrapped in gauze, it was not easy to move, so he laid down on the sofa and snuggled against her.
Jiang Ran picked her mobile phone on the table, took a picture of him, and uploaded it to her circle of friends.
【Jiang Ran: My Little Hero Er Huang [Heart]】
【Yan Huanhuan: My circle of friends posts their selfies and their babies. Only you, perseveringly show your dog’s [smile].】
【Jiang Ran: [smile]】
【He Zhiyuan: What happened to Er Huang’s legs? Is he hurt?】
Jiang Ran responded to He Zhiyuan.
【Yes, he caught a thief last night [covering face.jpg]】
【Yan Huanhuan: I just noticed your dog’s legs are covered with gauze?】
Just when Jiang Ran was considering if she needed to send out a unified reply to them, a phone call came in. It was He Zhiyuan. She took a moment and answered the phone. “He Zhiyuan, what’s wrong?”
-
- “Did the thief break into your house last night?”
He Zhiyuan’s voice revealed a concern that could hardly be concealed.
Jiang Ran said, “Yes, but fortunately, the thief has already been caught by the police.”
-
- “Are you ok?”
“I’m fine, but Er Huang got a little hurt.”
-
- “Is it serious? Do you need to take him to the hospital? I’ll be off work soon. I can pick you up after.”
“Thank you, but Mr. Feng has taken him to the hospital this morning.”
At the words “Mr. Feng”, He Zhiyuan was silent for a while.
-
- “All right. Is Er Huang feeling better now?”
“He’s quite better, both doctors and policemen praised his bravery.” As she spoke, Jiang Ran rubbed Er Huang’s head again.
“Woof!” Er Huang responded with a bark.
He Zhiyuan smiled.
-
- “Then do you need any help? How about you take Er Huang and go stay with your parents for a few days?”
At his suggestion, Jiang Ran considered going back to her parents’. But in the end, she shook her head. “Forget it, if they know, they will get worried. Er Huang is very obedient and I’m fine here alone. Moreover, it took me a lot of time at the police station, there is still a lot of work waiting for me.”
He Zhiyuan was quiet for a bit.
-
- “All right, don’t work too hard. Just tell me if you need any help.”
“Okay, thank you.”
-
- “We’ve known each other for so long. Don’t be so polite.”
He Zhiyuan said this word with a self-deprecating tone.
-
- “Is your neighborhood safe enough now?”
“It should be safe. Anyway, since such a thing happened, the security guards should be extra alert for some time. Moreover, the police will focus on patrolling this area over the following days.”
-
- “That’s good then—”
He Zhiyuan swallowed the “goodbye” that he almost said out loud and changed his words to:
-
- “Are you free on Saturday? I’ll take you out for dinner. It’ll help you get over the shock.”
“Er, it’s not necessary, I’m fine.”
He Zhiyuan, who seemed to know that she would refuse, thus added …
-
- “I want to tell you something by the way.”
Jiang Ran froze and asked, “What is it? Can’t you say it over a phone call?”
[MamaGoose: *deep inhale* GASP- It’s happening folks, it’s happening!! SCREE-]
-
- “It’s better to talk face to face.”
Jiang Ran considered for a breath and said, “Ok.”
-
- “Then I will pick you up on Saturday.”
“Don’t take so much trouble, let’s meet directly at the Starlight Department Store.”
-
- “Ok.”
He Zhiyuan didn’t press her and made concessions in a timely manner.
“That’s settled then, be careful at night.”
“Ok, bye.”
[MamaGoose: *still screeching*]
Upon hanging, the phone still in hand, Jiang Ran sat on the sofa and spaced out. The thing that He Zhiyuan wanted to tell her, she could guess a little. The few times she had thought he would confess, he hadn’t … So would this time still be her reading too much into it?
❆
MamaGoose: Aight bet, throw my 50 cents in, GURL HE TOTALLY GONNA SPIT IT OUT YO- On that note, this has got to be the first time I don’t have a heavy second male lead syndrome?
Larkspur: Dear readers, there are no bets. What a certain bird thinks is 50 cents is just feathers. 😛