"Everything's ready, let's go."
Su Mo drove, Jiang Jianhuan pushed Zhao Zhao's wheelchair, and in the end, the task of carrying the luggage fell to Bai Qiu. He stared at the cat on the suitcase, feeling that he had been having some bad luck lately.
Bai Qiu's house is very close, only a ten-minute walk away. It's a three-bedroom, one-living room apartment with great natural light. Because Zhao Zhao was going to move in, Bai Qiu tidied up the second bedroom in advance, making it bright and clean.
Zhao Zhao was very satisfied.
After settling her in, the two returned, leaving Jiang Jianhuan somewhat worried.
"Is Zhao Zhao really alright all by himself there?"
"There's still Bai Qiu." Su Mo said casually, turning the steering wheel.
"But..." After all, they were a man and a woman alone together. Although a caregiver would be there during the day to help take care of Zhao Zhao and prepare three meals a day, they were always alone together at night.
"What are you worried about?" Su Mo glanced at her thoughtfully while waiting at the traffic light.
"I..." Jiang Jianhuan stammered. "It just feels like... they live alone..."
"You're overthinking it." Su Mo smiled, the corners of her mouth curving upwards.
"Bai Qiu has never been interested in women. Look at his attitude towards Zhao Zhao... Don't worry, what you're worried about won't happen."
"What am I worried about!" Jiang Jianhuan said firmly after his thoughts were exposed. "Don't get the wrong idea. I just feel a little guilty about leaving Zhao Zhao there alone."
"Okay, okay, I was overthinking it." Su Mo admitted her mistake repeatedly, but her eyes were full of smiles.
As early winter arrived in Jiangcheng, Jiang Jianhuan hadn't paid any attention to her work after submitting it for the "Gold and Silver Award" design competition. However, she was constantly busy with people making custom orders for her.
Her dresses are now very expensive. A year ago, she never imagined she could get to this point. Her savings have been increasing, slowly, slowly approaching a certain amount.
Jiang Jianhuan thought that after a while, she would be able to pay off all the money.
When the finalists were announced, Jiang Jianhuan was in the workshop measuring fabric when Xu Xue rushed in and excitedly shouted at her from the doorway.
"Jianhuan! You've made it to the finals!!"
"Really? That's great." Jiang Jianhuan straightened up, her eyes filled with genuine excitement, yet also seemed to be captivated by a sense of entitlement.
"Yes, there are only ten people in total, and the deadline for garment production is next month—"
Xu Xue came over and pulled her. Jiang Jianhuan put down the measuring tape in her hand and followed her outside. The computer screen displayed the content of the competition webpage. Jiang Jianhuan carefully moved the mouse, her eyes sweeping over the names on it.
"Ah, they're all big names in the industry."
After she finished speaking, her gaze fell on a familiar name in the back row. She paused slightly, then quickly looked on again.
“Yes, so you’re really amazing!” Xu Xue gave her two thumbs up. Jiang Jianhuan chuckled, her gaze lingering on the thumbs for a long time.
"Oh right, Zhou Ran also made it to the finals this time." Xu Xue remembered something and whispered in Jiang Jianhuan's ear, "Xie Shuang performed steadily and, as always, didn't make it."
"Ah..." Jiang Jianhuan instinctively followed her gaze and saw Zhou Ran sitting there with her back straight, seemingly also browsing the web. Jiang Jianhuan pursed her lips and didn't say anything.
“Zhou Ran makes it in every year, but I don’t know if she can win an award. However, I feel like she’s been a bit distracted lately,” Xu Xue muttered, drawing Jiang Jianhuan’s attention away.
Zhou Ran hasn't been in a good state lately. She often gets distracted during meetings, and Jiang Jianhuan has seen her staring blankly at the computer screen several times when she passes by her desk. She has also made several mistakes at work and was called in for a talk by Jiang Yuan once.
She drifted off into thought for a moment, then quickly pulled herself back to reality. It was someone else's business, after all.
Over the weekend, Jiang Jianhuan and Su Mo went to Bai Qiu's house together. Although she felt that Zhao Zhao was in good spirits when she chatted with her, she was still a little worried.
Taking this opportunity, Su Mo also invited Zhou You and the others, and little girl Li Li also came.
The weather was lovely today; the winter sun was almost too comforting. The tall trees on both sides of the road were bare, their branches reaching towards the azure sky. There were many people out and about, causing some traffic congestion. When Jiang Jianhuan arrived, they were already there.
After not seeing her for a while, Lili had grown taller and had blossomed into a young woman. As soon as he saw her, he grabbed her hand and sat her on the sofa, complaining about the annoying suitors at school.
Zhou You rolled her eyes at him, clearly annoyed.
"Such a tiny little person, and already has emotional troubles."
"Hmph, when you were my age, your ex-girlfriends could have circled Bai Qiu's house."
"Hey!" Zhou You pretended to hit her, and Li Li burrowed straight into Jiang Jianhuan's arms.
The two were fooling around when Su Mo went into the kitchen. Bai Qiu had studied abroad for several years and could cook herself. Zhao Zhao was jumping around with his legs crossed. When he saw Su Mo, he almost choked on the cucumber slice he had stolen.
"Ahem, my idol..." She patted her chest, and when she saw Su Mo roll up his sleeves and skillfully stand next to Bai Qiu to help prepare the ingredients, her face showed a look of infatuation, and she exclaimed.
"Wow, my idol, you can even cook!!! Oh my god! That's so cool!" She clenched her fists and rested them on her chin, her eyes practically sparkling.
Bai Qiu was cutting fish when she heard this and glanced at her.
"Is being able to cook something to be proud of?" He suddenly increased the pressure on his hands, chopping the cutting board with a loud cracking sound. Zhao Zhao was startled for a second, and his tone changed abruptly.
"It's alright. It's normal for someone like you to be able to cook, but it's incredible that Su Mo can do it!" Her eyes lit up again, and her expression was completely different from before when she said that last sentence. Her girlish heart was soaring.
Bai Qiu chuckled coldly twice, his sword thrusts unabated. Su Mo glanced at him inexplicably.
With these two around, there was basically no need to get involved. Jiang Jianhuan washed the fruit she had bought, plated it, and placed it in the living room where the group ate while waiting for the meal to be ready.
"Are you having any trouble adjusting to living here?" Jiang Jianhuan couldn't help but ask, while Zhao Zhao remained nonchalant.
"That's great! I have food and sleep, and I can write novels at home without any restraint. It couldn't be better!" Zhao Zhao thought about it and was still a little excited.
"And Bai Qiu, how are things going between you two?" Jiang Jianhuan was relieved to see that she was genuinely happy.
"Ah...he's fine." Zhao Zhao nodded, then thought for a moment and said seriously.