Novel Bin Chapter 43
Ruan Jiu Jiu had a dumbfounded look on her face. “Are you so bored you need to look for trouble now?”
“…”
What she didn’t know was, a certain someone’s extremely rusty survival instincts suddenly came online.
Cheng Jun had finished half the cake, and some cream was stuck on the corner of his mouth. He held the cake in his hand, and his gaze drifted off the side towards the outside of the window. Just a few seconds later, he said faintly, “My heartbeat feels a bit uncomfortable, let’s go to the hospital to do a checkup.”
Ruan Jiu Jiu cast a sidelong glance at him. “Did it suddenly stop or are you about to ascend? Congratulations, your fasting has finally become successful!”
Cheng Jun: “…”
After another while.
Cheng Jun: “I think my…”
“Shut up.”
“…”
Ruan Jiu Jiu was a bit bewildered at Cheng Jun’s sudden insistence on going to the hospital. Cheng Jun continued to stare at the tall buildings flashing by outside the window and asked, “Let’s go shopping, don’t you like shopping.”
Ruan Jiu Jiu: “It’s already midnight. Which stores are still open, Taobao?”
Cheng Jun seriously asked, “Is Taobao’s in person store open?”
Ruan Jiu Jiu: “…What exactly are you up to?!”
The man sitting next to her lowered his head at her words. He tightly closed the lid of the cake box. His hair that hadn’t yet dried damply drooped down and his long and thick eyelashes concealed the expression in his eyes. His whole body emitted the pitiful feeling of a cute little animal, making anyone who saw him feel distressed.
He said in a low voice, “Don’t wanna go home.” If they did, he was as good as dead.
A bajillion different things flashed by in Ruan Jiu Jiu’s mind. It was likely that in the past, Cheng Jun had always celebrated his birthday with his mom. Going home now would probably evoke many memories of the past, so presumably he would feel especially painful.
And when she recalled her own solitary lifestyle in the past, Ruan Jiu Jiu felt distressed.
She patted Cheng Jun’s shoulder and softly comforted him. “Since you don’t want to go back, let’s find somewhere else. Hmm…how about the movie theater?”
At this time if they wanted to find a place that wasn’t jam-packed with people, there was probably only the movie theater left that could accommodate them. As for a hotel, she didn’t even consider that for a second. At this time, they would definitely all be full of lovers getting it on.
Cheng Jun speedily agreed.
As a result, when they were only a few kilometers away from home, they turned another way. The taxi driver dropped them off at a movie theater. After paying the fare, Ruan Jiu Jiu shivered as she exited the car. But when she looked over at Cheng Jun, she saw him secure the lid and carry it with him as he got out. Ruan Jiu Jiu felt that it was a bit funny and said, “There’s only two bites left, if you don’t want to eat it anymore then forget it.”
Cheng Jun made a noise of acknowledgement and responded, “I didn’t finish eating it yet.”
Sure enough, Cheng Jun was experienced in domestic matters. Ruan Jiu Jiu really approved of how he didn’t waste food.
The two of them entered the movie theater. At this hour, there wasn’t anyone waiting around in the main hall anymore. The only people left were a few employees playing around on their phones. Ruan Jiu Jiu and Cheng Jun’s arrival immediately caught their attention. The handful of employees received them with the utmost courtesy, making Ruan Jiu Jiu feel a bit like she was at a fancy restaurant. This puzzling misconception confused her.
“Uh, can we get two tickets to the soonest show?”
“Of course!”
“A two-person set, large size popcorn.”
“Of course, no problem!”
The person manning the food stuffed a big bag full of popcorn until it was about to overflow. When Ruan Jiu Jiu took it, her hands were shaking with fear that it would spill onto the floor. Thankfully Cheng Jun’s movements were quick and he helped her take the bag. Ruan Jiu Jiu held the two cups of coca cola and the two of them managed to rush over to catch the showing of a comedic movie just in time. It only took them a few minutes to enter the auditorium.
She put down the drinks. In the entire auditorium, there were only a few scattered couples sitting in the very back row. Only Ruan Jiu Jiu and Cheng Jun were seated in the center.
Ruan Jiu Jiu felt a bit gloomy. “Are they stupid? Sitting in the very last row will impact the movie watching experience.”
Cheng Jun didn’t continue her line of conversation. He put the popcorn in her lap and calmly said, “I need to go out to take a call.”
“Hmm? Okay.”
Ruan Jiu Jiu followed Cheng Jun with her eyes as he left and suddenly stopped blankly. The movie hadn’t started yet, so why did Cheng Jun need to run outside to take his call?
Cheng Jun, who had left the movie theater, leaned against a wall and set a message to the “Chatting” group chat.
Cheng Jun: Who’s still awake, there’s an urgent matter.
Immediately, Tu Nan happily popped up: I’m here I’m here!
Ever since Cheng Jun had hung up the phone, he had been a bit absent-minded. The young woman he was on the blind date with who had just come back from studying abroad was intelligent. Noticing that Tu Nan wasn’t that interested in her, she politely found an excuse to leave.
Thus, on the very last day of this year, Tu Nan was still unsuccessful in his attempts to find a partner.
On his way home, he was constantly on tenterhooks, not knowing how things were going with Cheng Jun and Sister-in-law. How could Tu Nan have predicted that Ruan Jiu Jiu would want to chase after Cheng Jun. His sister-in-law looked soft and delicate, but in reality was quite daring!
At night, he couldn’t fall asleep. Tu Nan attempted to play the card game Dou Dizhu to relieve his anxiety. Right at that time, he received the message from Cheng Jun. Immediately it was like he saw the light at the end of the tunnel so he was extremely excited and immediately rushed forward to lick Cheng Jun’s boots.
Cheng Jun sent him a direct message.
Cheng Jun: Come over to get my keys, help me clean things up at home.
Tu Nan: ???
Cheng Jun: Put away everything that’s out in the dining room. Here’s my location.
Tu Nan: Boss, may I ask why?
Cheng Jun: You may not.
Tu Nan: …I’m coming over right now!
If the boss said it was good, it was good, if the boss didn’t allow questions, he wouldn’t ask. Tu Nan was extremely well-versed in boot-licking. He immediately sternly told himself to grab this opportunity to help Cheng Jun forget about today’s matters.
Cheng Jun went back inside the movie theater.
The movie was about to start. He sat next to Ruan Jiu Jiu. Taking a glance out of the corner of his eyes, he saw Ruan Jiu Jiu watching the commercial being broadcast on the screen with great interest as she munched away on the popcorn. Ruan Jiu Jiu handed the popcorn over to Cheng Jun. “Eat.”
Against her expectations, Cheng Jun actually refused.
Ruan Jiu Jiu’s entire face expressed how inconceivable this was. When it came to food, Cheng Jun had never refused her before.
She carefully asked, “It can’t be that you really don’t feel good?”
Cheng Jun: “…”
The movie began and the auditorium was wreathed in darkness. You could vaguely hear some soft rustling noises. Ruan Jiu Jiu couldn’t resist and turned back to take a look. As far as she could see, if a couple weren’t sweetly snuggled together, they were kissing as if they were glued to each other’s lips.
She and Cheng Jun were sitting properly in the center of the rows like a solitary island that was totally incongruous with their surroundings.
Ruan Jiu Jiu didn’t know whether to laugh or cry. “No wonder they’re all sitting in the very last row. Why’d they come all the way here to get intimate.”
Right as she said that, Cheng Jun pressed down on Ruan Jiu Jiu’s head with a hand and twisted it back around. His voice was very slow as he said, “Watch the movie.”
“Oh.”
As they talked, Cheng Jun took a glance at his phone.
“I need to go out to take a call.”
“There really isn’t anything going on?” Ruan Jiu Jiu felt a bit worried.
“It’s nothing much.”
Cheng Jun walked out of the movie theater. Tu Nan was waiting at the door, and when he saw Cheng Jun he flashed an embarrassed smile. “Boss, good evening.”
Cheng Jun took his key out of pocket and gave it to him.
“When you’ve finished cleaning things up send me a photo.”
“Sure, no problem!” Cheng Jun saluted him. “I can guarantee to you that I’ll definitely accomplish this mission!”
In the next moment, Tu Nan successfully received a cool glance from his boss.
He sensed that the mishap today was caused by him and immediately said his goodbyes in a downtrodden manner, then immediately ran off to complete the mission assigned by his boss.
Ruan Jiu Jiu’s eyes were glued to the screen as she watched the movie, totally absorbed. She took a massive gulp of the coke and hiccuped.
Sitting next to her, Cheng Jun helped Ruan Jiu Jiu hold the popcorn. She lowered her voice as she asked, “Is it a work matter?”
Cheng Jun: “Mhm.”
……
At the same time, Tu Nan quickly rushed over to Cheng Jun’s place. He carefully turned on the lights and was shocked by the sight in front of his eyes. The curtains were drawn shut and in the room were arranged some scented candles. A tablecloth had been placed over the table and on top of it was a bottle of red wine and wine glasses. There were also steaks that had already gone cold.
The Boss’s movements were really big! Tu Nan was dumbstruck by his old-fashioned style of chasing his wife.
In his understanding of Cheng Jun, he would never arrange a date night like this. This was a complete impossibility!
So it turned out that the cold-faced, cold-hearted Boss was like this when dating. It really was actually quite cute.
Tu Nan laughed mischievously and then suddenly realized that his actions were a bit rude. He coughed dryly and decided to hurry up and commence his assistance.
Even though he didn’t know why Cheng Jun wanted him to clean up these things, Tu Nan decided not to do anything unnecessary that might ruin things.
He forgot that Cheng Jun wanted him to put things into his study and moved everything into the kitchen. He quickly put away the candles and tablecloth, returned the wine to its spot and put the food away, and painstakingly returned everything to normal. Tu Nan wiped the sweat on his forehead and decided to pay his own housekeeper auntie some more.
It was too hard to do housework, money really wasn’t easy to earn!
When Tu Nan cleaned everything up, he sent a photo to Cheng Jun. Cheng Jun inspected the photo and confirmed that there were no issues and responded with an “ok”, allowing Tu Nan to finally retreat victoriously.
Cheng Jun put his phone away, all his movements extremely stable.
It wasn’t because of himself. Ruan Jiu Jiu typically didn’t stay up late and by the time they had watched half of the movie, she was drowsy. Unknowingly, she leaned against Cheng Jun’s shoulder and fell asleep. She slept very deeply, and her soft cheek rested against his shoulder with both her eyes tightly shut. In the dimly lit auditorium, she slept peacefully.
On the other hand, Cheng Jun was totally awake.
He stiffly sat up with a straight back and lowered the armrest to allow Ruan Jiu Jiu to sleep a bit more comfortably. Ruan Jiu Jiu smacked her lips and said a few words in a daze. As she slept, she ended up in Cheng Jun’s arms.
He subconsciously hugged her. In his arms was a soft and light scent, like a fluffy cloud of cotton candy light and graceful beyond measure, giving him an unreal feeling.
He softly called her name. “Jiu Jiu, Jiu Jiu.”
The person in his arms slept deeply, seemingly without any intent to wake up.
Cheng Jun helped brush her scattered hair to the side. In her dreams, Ruan Jiu Jiu felt an itchy feeling and furrowed her brows with some impatience before suddenly grabbing Cheng Jun’s hand. She was totally asleep, and her soft fingers that grabbed his were about to relax and release his hand when the man reacted and quickly gripped her hand.
His palm began to sweat, yet he continued to hold on.
Fast asleep, Ruan Jiu Jiu felt a bit uncomfortable and muttered under her breath, “Hot.”
It was like grabbing a bar of heated iron, both hot and hard, and she couldn’t release it no matter how hard she tried.
From her ear came a low voice saying “Be good.” It was both pleasant to the ear and light. The final syllable was hoarse, making anyone who heard it feel a ticklish feeling in their heart. Ruan Jiu Jiu once again fell back asleep in a daze.
……
In the early hours of the morning, Ruan Jiu Jiu woke up and found that she was lying in Cheng Jun’s lap. She blinked, noticing that the screen in front of them was playing something that seemed to resemble the plot of an idol drama.
Ruan Jiu Jiu gazed at Cheng Jun’s face that was so handsome it made you want to furiously march up to the heavens to complain, and revealed a sweet smile. “Good morning~”
Their eyes met, and time seemed to freeze as if it would forever stop at this moment.
Cheng Jun sighed. “My legs are numb.”
Ruan Jiu Jiu: “…”
Cheng Jun suffered through her disgust as they went home. Next to him, Ruan Jiu Jiu seemed not to have slept well and her face was totally expressionless as she changed her shoes and went to wash her face and brush her teeth.
On the first day of the year, they should have a nice breakfast.
After washing up, Ruan Jiu jiu planned to cook breakfast. She went to the kitchen and opened the fridge, suddenly discovering that inside was already-cooked steak and red wine. Then when she went to open the cabinet above the range hood, she found a stack of red candles inside.
Ruan Jiu Jiu: “???”
What happened here?
Author’s note:
Ruan Jiu Jiu: What’s up with this eh, my old boy?
Cheng Jun (pointing at Tu Nan): What’s up with this?