After a while.
When did you learn to cook?
Su Mo asked seemingly casually, and Jiang Jianhuan hesitated for a few seconds before finally speaking.
"Abroad."
The two arrived at their destination quietly. During the meal, only the occasional clinking of bowls and chopsticks could be heard. After the meal, Su Mo escorted her to her apartment building.
Jiang Jianhuan pushed open the door without turning around.
"I've transferred this month's salary to your bank card. It might be a small amount, but I'll pay it back slowly."
After saying that, without waiting for Su Mo's reply, she got out of the car, closed the door, and disappeared into the stairwell.
It's raining tonight. The biting wind, carrying raindrops, is pounding against the glass. The room is dark, with the lights off.
Jiang Jianhuan stood by the window, pulled back the curtain beside her, and saw that the black car below was still there, parked motionless downstairs, being washed by the rain in the wind.
She went back to bed and pulled the covers over her head. The oxygen was slowly disappearing, and a feeling of suffocation washed over her. Jiang Jianhuan pulled away and gasped for breath.
Putting on her coat and picking up her keys, Jiang Jianhuan opened the door in the darkness and strode towards the stairwell. The flashlight from her phone shone brightly in the night.
Su Mo saw a person in pajamas not far away, her heart tightened slightly, and she immediately got out of the car and walked towards her.
Why did you get down here?
Why are you still here?
The two spoke almost simultaneously, and Su Mo's eyes flickered before she remained silent.
Jiang Jianhuan waited for a while, then lost patience.
"you--"
Achoo!
She had just started speaking when she was interrupted by a slightly loud sneeze. Su Mo rubbed her nose and looked at her with slightly misty eyes.
Jiang Jianhuan swallowed the words she was about to say and lowered her voice.
"You should go back quickly."
A gust of cold wind swept by, and Su Mo, who was only wearing a thin coat, shivered involuntarily, but still stood in front of her.
The two faced each other in silence. After a while, Su Mo was heard speaking softly.
"I'm a little cold, could you give me a cup of hot water?"
"There's air conditioning in the car," Jiang Jianhuan replied coldly, unmoved. Su Mo sniffed.
"Out of gas."
"......"
After a long silence, Jiang Jianhuan finally gave in and spoke somewhat reluctantly.
"Come on up."
This was Su Mo's second visit. He had gotten a little wet downstairs, so Jiang Jianhuan gave him a dry towel and then started boiling water in the kitchen.
The room was heated and the temperature was just right, which was extremely comfortable compared to the freezing cold outside.
The sound of boiling water gurgling could be heard. Su Mo sat on the soft sofa, forcing herself to stay awake.
He had been working for more than 20 hours straight. He finished recording the program in the early hours of last night and flew back to Jiangcheng. He went into the recording studio early this morning.
Going to Jiang Jianhuan's company building was a completely spur-of-the-moment decision.
He had only seen a figure walking by that looked exactly like her. This kind of illusion had occurred countless times over the years, but the difference was that now he could find her very quickly.
Real, vibrant, existing right before our eyes.
The noise from the kitchen stopped, and Jiang Jianhuan came over with a pot of boiling water. Su Mo stared at her without moving.
"It's a little hot, be careful."
"Um."
He took the scalding hot glass, held it in his palm, and the chill on his body was gradually dispelled.
The rain was still falling, pattering on the ground, and the quiet, dimly lit house felt warmer in the rainy night.
The atmosphere was too quiet, so Jiang Jianhuan turned on the living room TV. The evening channel was broadcasting the news, and the host's voice broke the awkward silence between the two.
Su Mo drank the water very slowly, probably because it was too hot. Jiang Jianhuan stared at the TV screen, trying his best to focus on the news that "male high school student jumps off a cliff after breaking up, calls police due to pain".
Jiang Jianhuan didn't know how much time had passed, but after he finished watching the love and hate of the high school students, everything around him seemed to fall silent.
She turned her head and saw Su Mo leaning against the tan sofa, asleep.
The news continued, but this time it was titled "Man Detained for Stealing 1,500 Yuan After Failing to Earn Money and Being Ashamed to Face His Parents," with the background voice reading the script in a very serious and formal tone.
Su Mo was sleeping soundly, probably because she was extremely tired. There was a faint bluish ring under her eyes, which was particularly noticeable against her fair skin.
He leaned back, his head resting against the back of the sofa, his long eyelashes covering his eyelids, and his lips slightly pursed.
Jiang Jianhuan recalled what Li Sa had said: Su Mo had been so busy lately that she was working day and night, only getting five or six hours of sleep a day at most, not to mention her irregular meals and disordered schedule.