Chapter 51

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When Xu Lian dazedly opened her eyes, the sounds of splashing in the bathroom stopped. Xiang ChangKong soon came out in his pajamas and was wiping his hair with a dry towel. Seeing Xu Lian’s drowsy expression, Xiang ChangKong smiled and sat next to her. “You’ve woken up?”

“Un…” Xu Lian felt a little tired and also somewhat sore. She didn’t want to move. Xiang ChangKong gently touched her hair and said: “Take a bath. I’ll go fill the tub for you.”

“Un.”

“I’m going to cook. What do you want to eat?”

Xu Lian thought for a while, then said: “I don’t think there are any ingredients in the fridge.” These past few days, she had been relying on the food Xiang ChangKong was sending to her. She hadn’t bought vegetables for a long time.

Xiang ChangKong replied: “It’s alright. The rain has stopped so I can go to the supermarket downstairs and buy some.”

Xu Lian lazily answered, then Xiang ChangKong went back into the bathroom to fill the bathtub. After a while, he came back into the room and called Xu Lian to take a bath. Xu Lian involuntarily rose from her comfortable position and went in with a towel.

Xiang ChangKong put their laundered clothes outside to dry, then went downstairs to buy food. There was only one supermarket nearby, but the recently opened market was a vegetable store connected to Starlight Farm. Starlight Farm’s products were more expensive than the other supermarkets, so Xiang ChangKong chose to go to another supermarket despite it being a little further away.

The environment of this neighborhood was great, but most of the stores nearby were partial to the Starlight brand. The nearest vegetable market not connected to Starlight was more than ten minutes away by car. After moving here, it wouldn’t be as convenient to buy things compared to his previous home.

The area around Starlight Park had been developing ever since Starlight Park was constructed. The community of apartments was very new, but there were almost no support facilities around it. It only had one supermarket. But residents living in such remote places usually had cars, so it wasn’t too much trouble for them.

Fortunately, he still had his battery scooter.

Xiang ChangKong went to the supermarket to buy some things, then went to another nearby vegetable market to buy vegetables before going home.

He carried the bags up the building and opened Xu Lian’s front door with her key. It seems that Xu Lian was still in the bath since the room was so quiet. He put the food in the kitchen, then went to the bedroom to knock on the bathroom door. “Xu Lian, did you fall asleep again? Wake up, the water’s probably gone cold.”

Xu Lian really did fall asleep in the bathtub, and Xiang ChangKong’s knock woke her up. She sat up and looked towards the closed door. “You’re back?”

“Un. I’m going to cook now. You can eat after you wash up.”

“Un.” Xu Lian stretched her neck then turned on the shower.

Xiang ChangKong’s calculations were entirely accurate. Xu Lian came out of the shower just as he placed the last dish on the table. At first, Xu Lian felt too tired to be hungry, but when she smelled the delicious food, her stomach suddenly grumbled.

Xu Lian: “…”

She was actually this hungry?

Xiang ChangKong heard her little grunt and smiled. He helped Xu Lian to the chair then placed some chopsticks into her hand. “If you’re hungry, then you should eat. Do you want some soup?”

“Un.”

Xiang ChangKong took her empty bowl then poured some soup for her.

Xu Lian thought how comfortable it was to be served like this.

Ah…becoming corrupt is so easy.

After dinner, Xiang ChangKong naturally washed the dishes. Xu Lian said she was going to buy a dishwasher before, but she had completely forgotten all about it.

“I’ll remember to look at some dishwasher machines tomorrow.” Xu Lian hammered her aching waist then walked towards Xiang ChangKong.

Xiang ChangKong didn’t mind washing the dishes since he had been doing a lot of housework for the past few years. He told her: “Don’t worry about it. Go sit down and rest; don’t mind me.”

“Oh.”Xu Lian took two steps towards the living room, then looked back towards Xiang ChangKong. “Are you leaving after you’ve washed the dishes?”

“Well, I have to go back and pack my things for the move. Oh, I also have to call Xiang Nuan.”

Xu Lian thought about it and nodded. Then, she went back to her room, feeling exhausted. She figured she wouldn’t be able to live if this continued until next month.

But while she thought like this, Xu Lian still picked up her phone and sent a message, asking if those little red boxes were still available.

Xiang ChangKong used the last box today. She had to re-stock.

After she dealt with the matter, she safely went back to sleep.

Meanwhile, when Xiang ChangKong returned home, Weng ShuLi had already cooked dinner. When she saw her son come back, she asked: “You’re back? Have you eaten?”

“I already ate.” Xiang ChangKong replied.

Weng ShuLi then asked: “How’s the house?”

“It’s a nice apartment, but it only has two rooms. I have to discuss the living arrangements with Xiang Nuan.”

Weng ShuLi thought for a moment, then said: “She can stay with me, but she’s getting older. I’m afraid she wouldn’t want to live with me.” Even if Xiang Nuan was still a child, she still should have her own private space.

Xiang ChangKong smiled and explained: “Well, Xu Lian said she had a spare room at her place. Xiang Nuan can stay there if she wants, and if she doesn’t, well, we can put a bed int he living room.” After all, he and Xu Lian haven’t married. Xiang ChangKong felt that it wasn’t very appropriate for him to move in like this.

He waited until Xiang Nuan’s school was over, then called her to talk about it. And as he guessed, Xiang Nuan didn’t even need a second to think about it before she replied: “Brother, why sleep in the living room when you can just live with big sister Xu Lian?”

Xiang ChangKong embarrassedly replied: “We haven’t gotten married; it wouldn’t be suitable.”

“….” Xiang Nuan was speechless. You’ve already done this and that, ah. It’s a little late for you to think about such things. She didn’t want her brother to sleep in the living room, so she said: “Then I’ll move with big sister Xu Lian first. Brother, you should hurry up, ah. The earlier you get things sorted, the earlier I can give you my room in big sister’s house.”

Xiang ChangKong: “….”

Xiang Nuan was actually a little curious about Xu Lian’s home. She had seen Xu Lian’s beautiful decorated store, so she figured that Xu Lian’s house would be just as lovely. Xiang Nuan wondered what kind of home a beautiful and independent big sister like Xu Lian had.

With this kind of expectation in their hearts, Saturday was finally ushered in. When Xiang Nuan came home, the place was filled with packed boxes. Xiang ChangKong and Weng ShuLi had packed some things, but they waited for Xiang Nuan to clean up her own stuff.

After having lunch, Xiang Nuan began to pack and move to Xu Lian’s home. Xiang ChangKong had already told Xu Lian that Xiang Nuan was moving in, and Xu Lian had long guessed that this would be the case.

Since Xiang Nuan spent most of her time in school, she didn’t have a lot of things she needed to pack. This move also had very little impact on her. Xu Lian simply tidied up the guest room a bit and transferred the small number of personal belongings she had back into her own room. Then, she went downstairs to the entrance to wait for Xiang Nuan.

Moving was never easy. There were too many things to move, so for today, it would only be Xiang Nuan who would be moving. Xiang ChangKong helped Xiang Nuan bring up her things first, and planned to gradually move the rest of their stuff in the new house after Xiang Nuan went back to school.

As soon as Xiang Nuan entered the neighborhood, she became excited. “It’s so great here! Although it’s a little far from the city, it’s quiet.”

Xu Lian agreed with this very much. It was the main reason why she chose this place. Apart from it’s close proximity to Starlight Park, she enjoyed its quiet surroundings.

Of course, being quiet also meant it was sparsely populated.

Worried that Xiang Nuan would be inconvenienced by its lack of facilities, Xu Lian tried to pitch her home to her. “Although I’m a bit biased, I think the area has a lot of potential. There’s a subway entrance nearby, making it convenient to travel. The area relies heavily on Starlight Park, but the government is focusing on expanding the area, so after all the construction is finished, we wouldn’t need to go as far as downtown for necessities.”

Xiang Nuan laughed. “Big sister Xu Lian, is that the pitch they used to cheat you into buying your home?”

Xu Lian: “….”

Truthfully, Xu Lian was aware that while those future projects seemed nice, half of those plans weren’t even finished. Moreover, such a massive project could only be completed after ten years.

Xiang Nuan walked ahead, while Xu Lian and Xiang ChangKong were a little ways behind. Xiang ChangKong said: “The flying institute is also in the area, so I’ll be able to work nearby in the future.”

The flying institute was even further than Starlight Park, but they were both in the same direction, and there wasn’t a district in between the two, making it somewhat convenient.

Xu Lian smiled and nodded in response.

When they arrived at Xu Lian’s house, Xu Lian took out the slippers she specially prepared for Xiang Nuan. Xiang Nuan looked at the fluffy slippers beside her feet and couldn’t help but feel moved. “What lovely slippers! Thank you, big sister Xu Lian!”

Xu Lian smiled. This little girl is so cute, ah, getting so happy over a pair of slippers. Xu Lian couldn’t help but rub the top of Xiang Nuan’s head and say: “That’s good. Come in and have a look around.”

After entering the house, Xiang Nuan happily sighed at Xu Lian’s tasteful decorations. She then went and looked at her room, noticing that the decor beautifully matched the aesthetics in the living room. There was even a small bay window in her room that instantly captured her heart. After a brief turn, Xiang Nuan went to check Xu Lian’s bedroom.

Xu Lian’s vanity was filled with various bottles and jars of different heights, then a single tube of lipstick. Xiang Nuan couldn’t help but exclaim at the sight. Xiang ChangKong followed her in, worried that Xiang Nuan would mess up Xu Lian’s things. Seeing his sister’s eyes shining, he couldn’t help but follow the direction of her gaze.

Truthfully, he was also a little curious about the things on Xu Lian’s vanity.

He asked Xiang Nuan: “Do you know what those are?”

Xiang Nuan replied: “Those are hundreds of yuan, ah.”

Xiang ChangKong: “….”

Xu Lian walked over and asked: “What are you looking at?”

The brother-sister pair turned back and looked at her at the same time, then simultaneously said: “Nothing.”

Xu Lian: “….”

After Xiang Nuan was settled, Xiang ChangKong signed the contract with the landlord and paid one year’s worth of rent. After that, Xiang ChangKong and WengShuLi moved some of their things over and did a big cleanup.

Although it was only a rental, the move still deserved a proper housewarming. Xiang ChangKong took advantage of Xiang Nuan’s presence and made a big feast in their new home.

Xu Lian ate a wonderful, hearty meal. Xu Lian also unveiled the dishwasher that she had bought for them as a congratulatory gift. Xu Lian explained that she had planned on buying a dishwasher and ended up buying two when the salesperson offered a 20% discount on the two machines.

Xiang ChangKong didn’t find her words very convincing. After all, who would buy two dishwashers for one house?

But the dishwasher was a good brand, so it still ended up the new house.

The temperatures were getting increasingly lower, and the year was gradually drawing to a close.