Chapter 41 — Emergency braking at this time is not good for the body.
Jian Yan woke up first the next morning. He Xiu was still soundly asleep, the corner of his lips tilted slightly upward as if he was happily thinking of something.
Jian Yan saw this funny sight and gazed at him for a moment, thinking to herself that he most likely spent a lot of time staying at the company instead of at the He Mansion because he was very unhappy there. He had even stayed at the company on New Year"s Eve.
He probably didn"t want to return back.
a.s.suming that it was probably rare for him to sleep in, Jian Yan didn"t wake him. Descending downstairs, she made breakfast. He Xiu had really fallen into a deep sleep. By the time Jian Yan returned, he still hadn"t woken up.
She expertly poked him twice and called out, "Great Director He, get up and eat breakfast."
He Xiu"s lashes lightly fluttered twice, and his eyes slowly opened. Catching sight of Jian Yan standing to his side, he extended a hand from beneath the blanket and easily pulled her back into bed. "You"re awake so early?"
Jian Yan was startled for a beat before angrily glaring at him. "It"s not early anymore. It"s already 8:30AM. I would have already checked into work for morning shift at this time before." It was good he was CEO; no one would dare to say anything even if he was late.
He Xiu stifled a chuckle as he helped turn her around, slightly messing up her hair in the process. "I normally don"t sleep in. I don"t know why, but last night I slept especially well; I even slept until now."
"Maybe because you didn"t want to make breakfast."
Chuckling again, He Xiu turned over to kiss Jian Yan"s lips. Jian Yan originally resisted for a little while before gradually becoming absorbed in this kiss. He Xiu"s upper body was bare. To her, the skin beneath her fingers became near scalding.
He Xiu"s body unknowingly rubbed against her body, seemingly craving for something. He trailed kisses down her neck all the way to her chest, his hand also drifting down from her collarbone to explore as well.
Jian Yan unconsciously moaned softly as He Xiu lightly nipped her collarbone, his body pressing even closer to hers. "This distance right now, will it make you feel uncomfortable?"
His voice deepened, as if he was holding something back. Yet when his s.e.xyvoice fell into Jian Yan"s ear, it was like a catalyst to soften her body imperceptibly.
"A bit uncomfortable&h.e.l.lip;"
She breathed out an unsteady reply. He Xiu"s attractive brows furrowed slightly, and he pulled back slightly to increase the distance between them.
A hint of embarra.s.sment flashed through Jian Yan"s mind. Speaking softly so only the two of them could hear, she murmured, "Not that type of&h.e.l.lip;nausea discomfort&h.e.l.lip;"
He Xiu"s eyes flickered, seemingly understanding that the feeling of discomfort she spoke of was that type of discomfort. His lips quirked up into a smile, and he pressed closer to her again. "Then&h.e.l.lip;if we move closer, does the discomfort go away?"
Jian Yan flushed red at his inquiry. With great difficulty, she raised her hand to push him away slightly. "How can you kiss without brushing your teeth?"
He Xiu"s gaze lowered as he laughed quietly. Raising his head, he stared into her eyes. "Emergency braking at this time is not good for the body."
Jian Yan: "&h.e.l.lip;"
But He Xiu indeed wasn"t intending to go further with her this time. Jian Yan had a very critical opposition to those of the male gender. Although she accepted him, he still couldn"t be so impetuous. He got up and smiled at Jian Yan. "Then I"ll go clean myself up."
Seeing that he actually left, Jian Yan sighed in relief. Just now, that unfamiliar yet stimulating feeling&h.e.l.lip;was actually very comfortable.
She concluded that He Xiu was restraining himself, but what he said was correct: emergency braking was not good for the body. Therefore in the future, she shouldn"t make him stop here.
She went downstairs to continue making breakfast. By the time it was ready, He Xiu had finished cleaning himself up and had come down as well. He walked over to the dining table and examined the spread. Jian Yan had prepared a very scrumptious breakfast: omelette roll, vegetable salad, fruit and oatmeal yogurt, sliced oranges, and sliced kiwifruit.
The oranges and kiwis were neatly arranged on a plate, their skin peeled off.
He Xiu raised his brow, head lifted to look at her. "You are so hardworking and skillful. I feel very pressured, feeling as if I would be no good at waiting upon you."
Jian Yan was unperturbed with his praise. "Which is why you need to work hard."
He Xiu embraced her, kissing her lips. "I"ll definitely work hard."
Jian Yan: "&h.e.l.lip;"
Were all men like this—regardless of what they say, all they can think of was s.e.x?
"Eat quickly; I had just made the omelette rolls. There"s roasted bacon inside too; wait for it to cool down." Jian Yan tapped the plate in front of him as she spoke. "Oh, that"s right. Drive me to Starlight General Merchandise later; I need to go buy some things from the supermarket. I might as well pick up my car and drive it back on the way."
"Okay."
He chauffeured Jian Yan to Starlight General Merchandise and then headed straight to work. Jian Yan, alone, pushed her cart into the supermarket and strolled around. The food at home wasn"t completely consumed yet, but she wanted to stock up for the future. Inspecting a non-stick pan that a salesperson recommended, she suddenly recalled Aunt Jiang saying that she wanted to learn to bake. Did she buy an oven yet?
Thinking of this, Jian Yan pa.s.sed through the home appliance area on the way. The salesperson saw her examining an oven and actively walked up to her to inquire, "Are you choosing an oven? May I ask if it"s for home use or business use?"
Jian Yan said, "Home use."
"Then Miss should take a look at this model series. Innumerable customers like this one. It has Smart Control, a lot of room, and is also very easy to clean. Not only that, it has a discounted sale price at 85% of its value—very worthwhile."
"Mn&h.e.l.lip;I feel that it"s a bit too large." She recalled Aunt Jiang"s kitchen. Her apartment was an old house model without much s.p.a.ce. Placing a large oven in the kitchen would take up too much room.
"Then how about this model. This series is a bit smaller, but it has many functions. Even though this series isn"t currently on sale, we can throw in mitts and two baking molds."
Jian Yan examined it. Its exterior was very attractive, and its dimensions were also suitable. "Would your store be responsible for delivering this?"
"Yes. Miss needs to fill out a delivery form, and we"ll deliver it to you today."
Jian Yan nodded before allowing the salesperson to tell her the oven"s specific details and functions, only handing over the deposit after. She knew Aunt Jiang"s address as she had previously been there, but she had no choice but to fill in her own phone number. The salesperson helped connect her with a delivery staff member who said that they could deliver it immediately. Jian Yan drove straight to Aunt Jiang"s house with the intention of waiting for them to deliver the oven.
Just as she entered the courtyard leading to Aunt Jiang"s residence, she caught sight of several aunties standing together and chatting. This scene was one Jian Yan was familiar with; when she had returned home last time, she had unfortunately met several aunties trying to run the bank on her mother about her lack of marriage.
Recalling that Aunt Jiang had no children, Jiang Yan was afraid that she was being bullied, so she headed straight into the courtyard after parking her car. She had just rolled down her window when she really did hear an aunt flaunting her daughter-in-law.
She leaned her head out the window and called out, "Aunt Jiang!"
Startled, Aunt Jiang turned her head and caught sight of Jian Yan. Surprised yet delighted, she called out, "Yan Yan, how come you"re here?" She then looked around. "You came here alone? He Xiu didn"t come with you?"
Jian Yan laughed and said, "He"s at work. I just came back from the supermarket and bought you an oven on the way since it was convenient. I don"t know if you need one?"
"Ai, how could I let you buy me one, silly me!"
"It"s nothing. You shouldn"t have bought one yet, right? If you bought one already, I"ll just have to bring it to my home instead."
"I didn"t buy one yet, but you children are truly&h.e.l.lip; You both spend money so recklessly."
Jian Yan couldn"t help but laugh again. Aunt Jiang was indeed like her own mother. Buying anything for her resulted in her saying she was spending money recklessly.
To the side, the several aunties finally couldn"t take it anymore and inquired one after another, "Ai, Xiao Jiang, who is this beautiful woman? I"ve never seen her before."
Aunt Jiang said, "Oh, my daughter-in-law."
The delivery people had arrived just as she said this, so Aunt Jiang and Jian Yan went inside with them. Jian Yan directed the staff member in the kitchen to place the oven there while Aunt Jian stealthily escaped to the balcony to call He Xiu.
She had just called Jian Yan her daughter-in-law, yet Jian Yan hadn"t revealed an unhappy expression. Did that mean she was already together with He Xiu?
He Xiu had just left work when Aunt Jiang had called him. Believing that she had a problem, he hurriedly accepted. "Aunt Jiang, what happened?"
"He Xiu ah, Jian Yan just bought me an oven and had it delivered. It"s currently still being installed at my place. Let me ask you, did you finally catch the person?"
"Mn&h.e.l.lip;?" He Xiu didn"t react for a moment. Didn"t Jian Yan head to the supermarket? How come she suddenly bought an oven and went over to Aunt Jiang"s place?
"Still pretending in front of me? If she wasn"t your girlfriend, why on earth would she be so good to an old woman like me? Going as far as to buy me an oven and personally come over?"
He Xiu said with laughter, "Mn, yes. She is my girlfriend."
"Ai, that"s good; that"s good. This young lady is beautiful yet very kind. Your ancestors have indeed gathered good fortune."
"Mn, I gathered good fortune in my past lives as well."
"Not you and your nonsense again." Aunt Jiang laughed before continuing, "I"m making her stay for lunch today. You should come over too."
"Okay, I"ll leave early in the afternoon."
"Then that"s settled." Aunt Jiang saw Jian Yan come out and hastily hung up.
Jian Yan called out a question to her, "Aunt Jiang, come inside and take a look; is it okay to arrange the oven here?"
"Okay, okay." Aunt Jiang happily walked over.
After the oven was installed, Aunt Jiang began to make lunch with vigor. "Yan Yan ah, stay here for lunch. I"ll make you something delicious."
Jian Yan felt somewhat embarra.s.sed. "There"s no need to trouble you."
"Not troubling; look at you delivering an oven to me. Let me treat you to a meal."
"I didn"t give you a present for your birthday last time. This oven makes up for it."
"He Xiu already gave me a birthday present. What"s the difference between him giving me one and you?" Aunt Jiang was determined to have Jian Yan stay and eat lunch. "I already called He Xiu over to eat lunch together."
Jian Yan thought for a moment before suggesting, "Why don"t we make hotpot for lunch? I just bought many ingredients from the supermarket. Eating hotpot will also make us nice and warm."
"Okay!"
"Then I"ll go bring up the ingredients."
He Xiu finally came over at 11:30AM. Aunt Jiang just happened to be simmering the hotpot base ingredients, the alluring fragrance a.s.saulting him the moment he entered through the door. "Wow, so appetizing."
When Aunt Jiang saw him, she swiftly put him to work. "You can go help Yan Yan cut ingredients. Look at her very beautiful hands. If they kept doing kitchen work, I don"t know who would be more regretful."1
He Xiu chuckled and walked up to take the knife from Jian Yan"s hand. "I"ll cut; you can go rest in the living room."
How could Jian Yan go to the living room and rest? Last time Aunt Jian had been really busy in the kitchen while she stayed out of it and had fun. How could she be so shameless to do that again? She took the pot from Aunt Jiang and said to her, "Aunt Jiang, I"ll cook the hotpot ingredients. You can go take a break."
Aunt Jiang originally wanted to refuse her, but then she thought, Letting them be alone in the kitchen is also good. Smiling, she went to the living room. "Then I"ll hand it over to you two. I"ll go set the table."
After she walked away, Jian Yan began to simmer the hotpot ingredients. He Xiu eyed the new oven added to the kitchen and said to Jian Yan while cutting more ingredients, "Thank you."
"Mn? What are you thanking me for?"
"Thank you for being so good to Aunt Jiang." He Xiu paused to look at Jian Yan. "Aunt Jiang had always been alone. I couldn"t keep her company all the time, so for many years, there was no one else apart from me who cared about her."
Jian Yan"s nose indescribably crinkled, her heart aching at his words. "Why are you suddenly saying such emotionally touching words? Is it because you don"t want to cut ingredients?"
A laugh escaped him as He Xiu said, "Just now when Aunt Jiang called me, she told me that being blessed with you as my girlfriend is all because of the good fortune my ancestors had gathered. I think that probably after and only after I had used up all of the good fortune I acc.u.mulated in my past lives was I able to meet you in this life."
Author"s Note:
Being able to marry Boss Jian, He gou dan really does need to cultivate ten lifetime"s worth of good fortune 『serious face』
Expressing thanks to sponsors~
Referecing to how too much menial work (in this case cutting ingredients) will create callouses, nicks, etc., causing her hands to become ugly. ↩