bullyxtreme Chapter 544 Keeping a Canary in Captivity (23)
Chapter 544 Keeping a Canary in Captivity (23)
Old Chen?
Yan Zhen asked, "Are you and Lao Chen the only ones on duty today?"
There are four drivers in the family who take turns on duty. Old Chen was introduced to work for the Yan family by Gao Shenghan. He is related to Gao Shenghan by marriage, but they are also distant relatives.
If Old Chen were to come pick me up, I reckon Gao Shenghan would start asking me where I'd been the moment I got home.
"Yes, Xiao Zhao is on vacation, and Lao Zhou is working the day shift. He's already off work at this time."
"No need," Yan Zhen said. "I'll just take a taxi back later."
After hanging up the phone, Yan Zhen thought about waiting for Xiao Yun to finish showering so she could say hello and then go downstairs to take a taxi home.
More than ten minutes later, Xiao Yun came out of the bathroom, still damp. He had changed into a casual outfit with long sleeves and trousers, and his long bangs hung softly on his forehead, making him look as innocent as a male college student.
Yan Zhen looked away from him and told him about Lao Zhang's car accident: "There's no porridge left, you can order some takeout."
Xiao Yun paused for a moment, then asked, "And what about you?"
"I?"
"What would you like to eat?" Xiao Yun asked cautiously. "You rushed to Xinyue Media after work, dealt with Xie Yu's matter, and then took me to the hospital and home. You've been through so much, you haven't had dinner yet, have you? If you don't mind, I know a soup place that tastes really good and is very clean and hygienic. If you pay the owner a little extra, they can deliver it to your door... Would you like to have some soup before you go?"
Yan Zhen was silent for a moment, then agreed: "Okay."
Seeing that Yan Zhen agreed, Xiao Yun, who had been observing her reaction, breathed a sigh of relief and quickly took out his phone to order food.
While waiting for the food to be delivered, Xiao Yun probably worried that it would be awkward to have nothing to say to Yan Zhen, so she lowered the projection screen hanging on the wall and turned on the projector.
The projector screen flickered, then showed a half-finished episode of "Animal World," depicting two caracals playing on the grassland, chasing each other, their agile figures both adorable and endearing.
Yan Zhen asked, "Do you usually watch these kinds of things?"
“I watch this when I’m stressed, it’s very stress-relieving,” Xiao Yun said. “The animal world is simple and cruel: food, mating, reproduction, territoriality. Their goals are clear and definite. There is no right or wrong. Whoever grabs something gets it. I like this simple and brutal rule.”
Yan Zhen asked, "Why?"
Xiao Yun thought for a moment and said, "It's probably because I'm all brawn and no brains. I can't outwit others, and I'm powerless to do anything about injustice. So I yearn for a world where all problems can be solved with force."
Yan Zhen: "..."
Seeing Xiao Yun's serious expression, Yan Zhen couldn't tell whether he was mocking himself or complaining.
The two stared at each other for a few seconds, then Xiao Yun scratched his head sheepishly: "Was my idea stupid?"
Yan Zhen chuckled.
"Very naive."
Xiao Yun noticed that there was no sarcasm in her tone, so he smiled as well.
Just then, there was a knock on the door, and Xiao Yun immediately got up to open it.
The delivery person has arrived.
A short while later, Xiao Yun came in carrying the food.
He opened the bag, took out the plastic box, and placed a serving of fresh pork dumplings and a serving of lean pork porridge in front of Yan Zhen.
She picked up another bowl of corn and pork rib soup, skimmed off the layer of oil floating on top of the soup bit by bit, and handed it to Yan Zhen along with a clean spoon and chopsticks.
"Taste it."
Yan Zhen took the spoon and took a small bite.
Surprisingly, the soup was very flavorful, and the sweetness of the corn balanced the greasiness of the ribs. After skimming off the oil, only a faint meaty aroma remained.
Yan Zhen drank a few more sips and tasted a hint of sweetness similar to coconut juice.
"Why does it smell like coconut juice?" Yan Zhen asked.
Xiao Yun explained, "Five-finger peach was added inside."
Yan Zhen scooped up two or three thin slices of five-finger peach with a spoon.
After drinking half a bowl of soup, Yan Zhen felt her stomach, which had been cold and tight like a knot, slowly relax. She picked up her chopsticks and ate a small steamed bun.
The xiaolongbao has a soft, fluffy skin and a savory meat filling. It's not overly seasoned, and the juices burst out when you bite into it.
Yan Zhen ate the soup and unknowingly finished the whole serving of xiaolongbao.
She didn't touch the porridge, but pushed it back to Xiao Yun: "You eat it."
Xiao Yun, who was drinking a bowl of peanut and pork rib soup, did not refuse: "Okay."
After eating and drinking his fill, Yan Zhen leaned lazily on the sofa, propping his head up with one hand and watching "Animal World" on the projector.
The two caracals on the screen have gone from chasing and playing to having kittens.
The mother caracal gave birth to twins, and her fur is no longer as smooth as it was when she was dating.
With upbeat background music and a deep, magnetic narration, Yan Zhen watched and felt the highly saturated grassland on the rough screen slowly becoming blurry.
She felt sleepy right after eating and suspected she had suffered from carbon monoxide poisoning.
As drowsiness crept in, Yan Zhen knew that falling asleep here was not a wise choice.
But after being tormented by poor sleep for several days, she felt that this moment of natural sleepiness was particularly rare and precious. She symbolically resisted her reason for a while, and then let herself drift into sleep.
While Xiao Yun was cleaning up the plastic bowls and bags, she returned to the living room to find Yan Zhen already asleep on the sofa.
He paused, intending to wake her, but hesitated when he saw the obvious dark circles under her eyes.
After hesitating for a while, he tiptoed and gently laid Yan Zhenping on the sofa, took off her shoes, brought a blanket to cover her, and then switched the projector to the rainy night hypnosis mode.
After doing all that, he went back to his room to rest.
The next day, Yan Zhen slept until he naturally woke up.
She had a long and relaxing dream.
In her dream, she lived alone in a wooden cabin deep in the mountains. It was raining outside, and fog was rising in the forest. She was lying on a rocking chair, covered with a soft blanket.
The fireplace was burning in the living room, and the temperature and humidity were just right. Through the floor-to-ceiling windows, she closed her eyes and listened to the rustling sound of raindrops hitting the leaves.
That feeling of comfort, from body to mind, relaxed every pore and every nerve in her body.
When Yan Zhen opened her eyes, she found herself lying in a cramped rented room, with the clock on the wall pointing to nine o'clock in the morning.
Yan Zhen sat up and stared blankly for a while. This sleep gave her a refreshing and comfortable feeling, like she had taken a nice shower after being drenched in sweat.
Just then, the phone next to me vibrated.
When Yan Zhen looked at the screen, there were dozens of missed calls and unread WeChat messages. Some were from Yan's father, some from Yan's mother, some were from Gao Xinyu using a children's watch, and most were from Gao Shenghan.
The original owner had poor sleep quality, and their phone was set to automatically enter sleep mode at 9 PM, so incoming calls and messages would not be notified.
Yan Zhen glanced at the unread WeChat messages, first letting her parents know she was safe, and then replying to Gao Xinyu.
She selectively ignores Gao Shenghan.
Yan Zhen was replying to messages when Xiao Yun came out of the kitchen.
He was still wearing his apron. When he saw that Yan Zhen was awake, he smiled and said, "You're awake? There are toiletries on the table, all new. Breakfast will be ready soon. Please eat before you leave."