"Thanks."
Su Mo quickly took a bottle of water from inside and handed it to her. After Jiang Jianhuan took it, he rubbed his nose awkwardly.
"There's an empty room upstairs, but there's no bed. If you don't want to sleep in my room tonight, I'll sleep on the sofa."
"Ah..." Jiang Jianhuan was speechless and choked with emotion.
"Because it's been vacant, I haven't bothered to clean it." Su Mo said, a hint of guilt in her voice, thinking of another bedroom that had been turned into a storage room.
“Oh, okay,” Jiang Jianhuan agreed, having no objection to him sleeping on the sofa that night.
"Where's the restroom? I want to take off my makeup first." She had been feeling unwell for a long time, and even though there was heating, her bare legs in her skirt felt chilly.
"It's on the second floor, on the left," Su Mo quickly replied.
Jiang Jianhuan went into the bathroom, where all the toiletries were provided, and they all seemed to be Su Mo's personal items. There was a toothbrush and face wash on the sink.
She had just turned on the tap to wash her face when there was a knock on the bathroom glass door. Su Mo stood there, holding a set of pajamas, a towel, and a toothbrush.
“These are all new, the pajamas are mine, if you mind…” he hesitated.
“I called Li Sa and asked him to buy a new one.”
"No need." Jiang Jianhuan's gaze fell on the blue plaid pajamas in his hand, her expression slightly complicated.
The pajamas were quite old, faded and worn, looking like they had been used for many years, with the edges of the cotton fabric frayed.
It's exactly the same as the one she bought for him when he was in college.
"You haven't thrown these clothes away yet?" Jiang Jianhuan asked calmly. Su Mo was taken aback and then realized what was going on.
“No, this isn’t the one you bought for me,” he said in a low voice.
"That outfit is too worn out a long time ago."
Four or five years had passed, and the clothes couldn't withstand washing anymore. One time, Su Mo wore them and discovered that there was a hole in the knee.
He originally only had two sets of pajamas, both bought for him by Jiang Jianhuan. After this set became unwearable, Su Mo wore only the other set every day. Li Sa couldn't stand it anymore and bought him an identical set from somewhere.
Actually, it doesn't have to be the same, it's just that Su Mo is too lazy to change. He uses his things for a long time because there is a long period of discomfort when getting used to something new.
Just like he didn't necessarily have to wait for Jiang Jianhuan to come back, it's just that he couldn't accept anyone else besides her.
If she never appears in his future life again, Su Mo has long been prepared to be alone.
Jiang Jianhuan took the items and closed the bathroom door. Besides the toiletries, she noticed a small bottle of makeup remover underneath, wondering where Su Mo had found it.
After taking a hot shower, she felt completely relaxed. While the man with the ponytail was putting on makeup, he sprayed a whole bunch of random stuff on her hair, which smelled wonderful. Jiang Jianhuan then thoroughly washed her hair again.
She sniffed it; her hair had a faint scent of ocean lemon, like the smell of sour cream.
It's very familiar, long-lost, and can easily evoke memories and past events.
During her sophomore year, Su Mo rented a small house off-campus for the convenience of working part-time. Jiang Jianhuan would go there every few days and often stayed out all night.
The once tidy house gradually became filled with her things; the living room, kitchen, bedroom, and bathroom were all filled with her traces.
Jiang Jianhuan was keen on adding items to the room, and she especially liked buying things for Su Mo, from clothes to shower gel, and even the brand of toothpaste, all of which were chosen by her.
If it weren't for her family's objections, Jiang Jianhuan would probably have moved out and lived with him long ago.
However, at that time it was almost like living together.
Now, many years later, nothing in Su Mo has changed.
Shower gel, shampoo, and even a tube of toothpaste on the sink.
Time seemed to stand still for him.
Jiang Jianhuan rummaged through the closet to find a hairdryer to dry her hair. Just as she was about to get into bed, she heard Su Mo knocking on the door.
He had already taken a shower and changed into his pajamas.
"I don't know if you've eaten yet. I cooked some wontons. Would you like some?"
Jiang Jianhuan hadn't felt hungry until he mentioned it, and then she remembered that she hadn't eaten dinner yet. She nodded and followed Su Mo downstairs.
On the restaurant table were two bowls of small wontons with thin wrappers and generous fillings, including shrimp. It was from Jiang Jianhuan's favorite century-old restaurant.
They sell raw wontons, and she used to like to buy them, freeze them, and use them for breakfast.
The bowl still had bright green lettuce boiling in it, and the soup was seasoned with a secret blend of spices, making it incredibly fragrant.
Jiang Jianhuan finished the whole bowl and drank a lot of soup. Fine beads of sweat appeared on the tip of his nose from the steam, and his lips were bright red.
Su Mo sat across from her, slowly eating with a spoon. He couldn't bear to rush, afraid that if he did, the moment when the two of them sat quietly together eating wontons would be gone forever.
Chapter 24
A quiet living room, a table, and a man in pajamas.
When Su Mo buried her head in her soup, there was a satisfied and obedient look in her eyes that made people's hearts melt.
Jiang Jianhuan put down her chopsticks, sat there, and gently placed her gaze on him.
Finally, he slowly finished the bowl of wontons.
"I'll go wash the dishes," Jiang Jianhuan said, but Su Mo shook her head.