She was still planning to make some soup noodles today, a dish she liked and found easy to make. Making extra meant she could save a meal for the evening.
Just as the noodles had gone into the pot, she heard a knock at the door.
Her heart trembled slightly, unable to put her feelings into words.
Could it be that when he said he would come over at noon, he didn’t mean her stall but here?
Qin Xiangnuan turned down the gas stove a bit, wiped her hands quickly on her body, and ran to open the door.
As soon as she opened the door, there he was, standing at the doorway, holding a large leather suitcase.
"I came to join you for a meal."
The man walked in casually, placed the suitcase on the floor carelessly, and said, "Mmm, what are you cooking? It smells delicious, I’m hungry."
He then picked up his suitcase again and walked into the living room, familiar with the place as this wasn’t his first visit. But this left Qin Xiangnuan standing dumbfounded for quite some time until she smelled something burning and quickly rushed into the kitchen.
Fortunately, only the bottom was burnt. Otherwise, what would she have eaten?
Soon after, she brought the pot out, along with two bowls.
Jian Zhiqing casually set his suitcase aside, took a bowl, and served himself some without hesitation because he was really hungry. He had only had a Conghua pancake in the morning and had been hungry until now, which really wasn’t easy.
"Brother Jian, what are you doing?"
Qin Xiangnuan pointed at Jian Zhiqing’s luggage. "You aren’t running away from home, are you?"
"Why, can’t I?" Jian Zhiqing raised an eyebrow, obviously joking, but why did he look so serious?
Really ran away from home? Qin Xiangnuan bit her finger, Such a grown-up man throwing a tantrum? But that seemed unlike him. Despite his young age, Jian Zhiqing was surely not so childish to do such a thing without reason, right?
"Why eat your fingers? Eat your food," Jian Zhiqing pulled her hand down and placed chopsticks in her hand.
Only then did Qin Xiangnuan start poking at the noodles with her chopsticks.
Right, she just remembered that Jian Zhiqing had given her fifty yuan in the morning for shared expenses. Could it be that’s what he meant? But, but she hadn’t agreed yet. However, if Jian Zhiqing really were to stay here, she couldn’t bring herself to refuse him.
And she indeed never spoke the word "no."
She opened a door. "Brother Jian, how do you feel about this room? It’s quite quiet."
Wait, she felt she just said something pointless. It was all quiet around here; there wasn’t a noisy spot.
Jian Zhiqing went in, and indeed, it was nice. The room was neither too big nor too small, just suitable for one person. The bed and everything else were ready, and they were quite old, so acquiring this Siheyuan was truly a bargain for Qin Xiangnuan. Not to mention the location, even the furniture alone could fetch a good sum of money.
Qin Xiangnuan touched the table, "Brother Jian, I just cleaned here, I will clean it again for you later. I also have a new set of bedding that I haven’t used before, should I bring it over?"
"Sure," Jian Zhiqing took off his clothes, hung them aside, and rolled up his sleeves. "Even if it’s used, I don’t mind."
Qin Xiangnuan opened her mouth but then decided not to speak. Somehow, she felt Jian Zhiqing’s words were strange, seemingly meaningful yet not, and she wondered if she was overthinking.