“It makes sense, what Gu Ting said is reasonable,” Wen Qiangguo nodded in agreement. “The third floor isn’t very tall, and if a thief tries to come into our house, that would be bad. We must install it!”
“I’ll discuss it with the landlord tomorrow. Even if the landlord doesn’t install it, we’ll pay for it ourselves,” Liu Qing said, looking back unconsciously. “It’s okay when we are at home, but it would be bad if only An’an is home alone and someone comes in.”
“Right, it’ll be good to install it. Then no thief can come in,” Wen Ke’an glanced at Gu Ting and quietly agreed.
After everything was settled, Wen Qiangguo quickly tidied up the shop, ready to go home.
Just after closing the shop’s door, Wen Qiangguo heard Wen Ke’an softly asking, “Was that thief really here to steal our recipe?”
“The thief admitted himself, he came to steal the recipe,” Wen Qiangguo paused before adding, “But I feel something’s off. The police checked the thief’s background, and he’s a professional, with many thefts under his belt. He had never been involved with braised food before, so why steal our recipe?”
Wen Ke’an thought for a moment, looked up at Wen Qiangguo, “Dad, do you think…”
“I think someone else is behind this, but that thief’s lips are sealed tight, only saying he wanted to steal it himself,” Wen Qiangguo said.
“……..”
“I’ll install more surveillance cameras outside the shop tomorrow,” Wen Qiangguo said.
It was already nearly eleven at night, with hardly anyone around, especially quiet.
Wen Ke’an was walking home with Wen Qiangguo, but after a few steps, Wen Ke’an suddenly stopped, turned to Gu Ting, and quietly asked, “Aren’t you going home?”
Gu Ting smiled, “I am.”
Seeing Wen Ke’an’s puzzled look, Gu Ting lowered his voice, “I recently moved. I now live below your house.”
“?”
Wen Ke’an only knew that someone was moving and renovating downstairs but didn’t realize it was him moving in.
“Surprised?”
“………”
Wen Qiangguo was efficient; someone came to install the security window at home the next afternoon.
Wen Ke’an, who was studying at home, asked upon seeing the security window Wen Qiangguo brought, “Dad, why can this security window be opened?”
Wen Ke’an looked at the security window for a while before realizing that it could be opened from the inside, with a rather small door.
Wen Qiangguo, while busy installing the security window, replied, “Gu Ting told me, this kind of security window is actually safer. This way, in case of a fire or other emergencies at home, there’s an escape route.”
“……..”
Wen Ke’an fell silent.
She knew Gu Ting must have other ways.
And Wen Qiangguo, unknowingly busy with work, still praised Gu Ting,
“Gu Ting, this child, is really attentive! I hadn’t even thought of it. If it weren’t for him stopping me, I would have bought those inflexible burglar bars!”
“………”
After more than an hour, Wen Qiangguo and an installer were finally about to finish the installation. Wen Ke’an couldn’t be of much help and could only assist on the sidelines.
Soon, the doorbell rang. Initially, Wen Ke’an thought her mother had returned but was surprised to see Gu Ting upon opening the door.
Wen Ke’an hadn’t washed her hands and somehow got her face dirty as well, looking like a little calico cat. Seeing Gu Ting, Wen Ke’an was slightly stunned and asked softly, “Why are you here?”
It had been especially cold outside these past few days, with a recent snowfall, and it was now when the snow was melting. The temperature was even colder than before. Gu Ting wore a thick woolen coat, and his clean shoes had some snow on them.
“I came to see you.” Gu Ting lowered his eyes to her dirty little calico cat face, couldn’t help but laugh, and said, “On the way here, I encountered someone selling roasted sweet potatoes. They looked good, so I bought two for you.”
Gu Ting gently raised his hand, and Wen Ke’an noticed he was holding a small bag with two roasted sweet potatoes in it.
“Come in first.” Wen Ke’an took the roasted sweet potatoes and pulled Gu Ting into the house by the sleeve of his coat.
The roasted sweet potatoes must have been bought nearby; they were still very hot.
Wen Ke’an particularly loved eating roasted sweet potatoes in winter. The sweet potatoes from their hometown were especially delicious, not only fragrant and sweet but many would ooze sugary syrup when opened, making them particularly tasty.
“Eat slowly, it’s very hot inside.” Seeing her eyes light up at the sight of the sweet potatoes, Gu Ting smiled and cautioned.
“I know,” Wen Ke’an responded softly.
“Who’s there?” Wen Qiangguo, in another room, heard the noise at the door and asked.
Gu Ting stepped forward, “Uncle, do you need help?”
Hearing Gu Ting’s voice this time, Wen Qiangguo responded, “Oh, it’s Gu Ting. No need, no need, we’re almost done.”
While putting away his tools, Wen Qiangguo smiled and asked, “What brings you here today, Gu Ting?”
(TL/n: He’s calling Gu Ting Gu Ting)
“I moved.”
“Moved to where?”
“Right upstairs from Uncle’s place.”
Wen Qiangguo was taken aback for a moment before saying, “That’s great, that’s great. No wonder I’ve been seeing moving trucks these past few days downstairs. It turns out you moved in!”
“Haha, good, you and An’an are classmates, so you can study together.” Wen Qiangguo said enthusiastically.
(TL/n: He called his daughter Wen Ke’an as An’an sometimes like a nickname)
“Okay, Uncle.” Gu Ting responded.
Wen Ke’an washed her hands, then quietly began eating the roasted sweet potatoes. She hadn’t expected anything, but her father had eagerly welcomed Gu Ting in.
Gu Ting’s house had been almost set up. Wen Ke’an checked it out in the afternoon, noticing it had been redecorated and looked nice. Some areas especially reminded them of a house they lived in in a previous life.
Although the house wasn’t large, it was more than enough for Gu Ting alone.
“Do you like it?”
Before Wen Ke’an could react, he heard Gu Ting say, “You’re welcome to live here if you like.”
“………”
“Forget it, I’m afraid my mom would kill me.” Wen Ke’an said.
It was too cold outside, so Wen Ke’an only gave Gu Ting’s new house a quick glance before quickly returning to his own home.
Gu Ting’s house had just been finished and was not yet livable. It needed to be aired out for some time.
These days, Gu Ting was rarely seen, probably because he was still dealing with company matters and didn’t visit often.
In the blink of an eye, the winter vacation had already passed by a week.
Over these days, Wen Ke’an caught a cold that had gotten worse. Previously, Wen Ke’an would help out in the shop in the afternoon, but now, worried about Wen Ke’an’s cold getting worse, Wen Qiangguo had her stay at home for several days.
Staying at home all the time also made Wen Ke’an feel bored. Finally, unable to stand it any longer, he got dressed and left the house at five o’clock in the afternoon. It was the time when many students were leaving their tuition classes and young people were getting off work.
The business at the shop was especially good during this time.
Having not been there for several days, Wen Ke’an was surprised to find the milk tea shop across from them suddenly closed for renovation.
“Mom, why is the shop across changing?” Wen Ke’an asked Quieting, walking over to Liu Qing, who was packing orders for customers.
While busy, Liu Qing explained, “It seems like they’re going to open some kind of chain store.”
“Is it also going to sell braised foods?” Wen Ke’an noticed their advertisement sign, which seemed to feature something like duck heads.
Liu Qing looked up and said, “Seems like it’s a big corporation, a nationwide chain.”
Initially, Wen Ke’an didn’t think much of it. After all, the area had many residential complexes and a good flow of people, making it a good location for a shop.
It wasn’t until one afternoon when Wen Ke’an noticed a familiar woman at the entrance of the shop across the street.
Wen Ke’an went over to Liu Qing and pointed outside, asking, “Mom, isn’t that auntie Li?”
Liu Qing looked and then frowned slightly, “It really seems to be Li Yueyue.”
“Who?” Wen Qiangguo also came over.
“I’ll go have a look.” After speaking, Liu Qing took off her gloves and went out.
Wen Ke’an and Wen Qiangguo exchanged glances and quickly followed.
When Liu Qing went out, Li Yueyue had just ended a call. She was surprised to see Liu Qing, “Oh, sister-in-law, you’re here too?”
“Why are you here?” Liu Qing was somewhat angry, her words leaving no room for politeness.
Li Yueyue, smiling, pointed to the badge on her chest and said, “I’m the manager of this store, in charge of several shops.”
“Our shop opens tomorrow. You’re welcome to come and support us.”
“……..”
“Opening right across our store, who are you trying to disgust?”
Returning to her own shop, Liu Qing was furious.
“How did she become a manager of such a big company in such a short time? These positions require experience, right?”
Wen Ke’an asked in confusion. In her last memory, Li Yueyue seemed to have been jobless a few months ago.
“I remember her brother is a very powerful regional manager, arranging a minor manager role for her secretly should be very easy,” Wen Qiangguo replied.
After Wen Ke’an got home, she immediately checked the chain store brand where Li Yueyue worked and found it to indeed be a quite large company, now having about five hundred stores nationwide.
Wen Ke’an also remembered that she seemed to have tasted this brand’s marinated food in her previous life. The taste was average, but it was cheap. Later on, they even started producing vacuum-packed snacks in factories, which sold pretty well.
Probably because of the brand’s influence, when the store opposite opened, it had many activities and quite a few customers.
However, since the two stores didn’t sell identical items, and now that Wen Qiangguo had developed some new products, not just selling duck heads and necks, the opposite store didn’t significantly impact their business.
With only seven days left until New Year, the shop’s business had been getting better and better, with many people coming out to stock up on New Year goods.
Wen Ke’an would head home early after being busy in the afternoon. That day, just after she came home and took a bath, she received a message from Chu Han.
“An’an what are you doing? I miss you so much!!”
“Do you miss me??”
Wen Ke’an had just come out of the bathroom, her hair still dripping. She first put down her phone to get a dry towel, wiped her hair, and then opened the chat box to reply.
“Miss you miss you miss you!”
After she sent the message, she realized something was wrong.
Wen Ke’an looked carefully at the contact name, and she had accidentally sent it to Gu Ting.
Wen Ke’an’s hand shook, instinctively hurried to retract the message.
She retracted it very quickly, and since Gu Ting had been busy lately, he probably wouldn’t have seen it.
Just when Wen Ke’an harbored such thoughts, she heard her phone ping, Gu Ting had sent her a message.
“?”
Perhaps he was just curious why she retracted the message, Wen Ke’an thought about it and replied.
“Sent wrong.”
“?”
Wen Ke’an felt a vague bad premonition and then saw the message appear on her phone.
“I saw it.”
“………”
Since it had come to this, Wen Ke’an simply put down her phone and first dried her hair. When she picked up her phone again, she saw the message.
“Open the window, I’ll come over in a bit.”
“…….”
Wen Ke’an silently looked back at Liu Qing and Wen Qiangguo sitting on the sofa watching TV.
She thought it was too risky for him to come over at this time, but she felt bad rejecting him, so she decided to ignore the message, pretending she hadn’t seen it.
Wen Ke’an was reading in her room when she heard the doorbell. It was Liu Qing who went to open the door.
Wen Ke’an subconsciously opened her room door and looked towards the entrance, only to see Gu Ting holding a book, earnestly telling her parents, “Excuse me, auntie, uncle, there are some questions I don’t understand and was wondering if I could ask An’an?”
Hearing Gu Ting came over to study, Liu Qing happily replied, “Yes, yes, yes, don’t worry, An’an is also studying in her room!”
“Our houses are so close; you can come over to study with An’an in the future!” Wen Qiangguo said with a smile. “An’an likes to stay at home; you’re welcome to come over and play whenever you’re free!”
Liu Qing turned around and saw Wen Ke’an frozen at the door. She smiled and waved at Wen Ke’an, saying, “An’an, Gu Ting is here, come over!”
Wen Ke’an never expected that Gu Ting would come to her room so openly. Her parents not only weren’t angry but also seemed quite happy.
After Wen Ke’an and Gu Ting walked into the room, Liu Qing stood at the door, looked at them, and said with a smile, “You two go ahead and study, I’ll get some fruit for you.”
“Thank you, Auntie,” Gu Ting said politely.
“It’s no trouble at all. If you have any questions, feel free to discuss them with each other. I won’t disturb you anymore.”
After saying that, Liu Qing thoughtfully closed the door behind them.
Feeling guilty, Wen Ke’an didn’t dare to look at Gu Ting.
Just as she was about to turn quietly towards the desk, he pinned her against the door.
“What are you doing?” Wen Ke’an looked up at him and asked softly.
“Sent the message to the wrong person?”
Wen Ke’an realized he came to settle the score this time.
“Then who were you thinking about?” Gu Ting asked again.
“I was sending a message to Chu Han,” Wen Ke’an said softly.
“Oh, so you think about Chu Han and not me, huh?” Gu Ting’s tone was inexplicably sour.
“I think about you!” Wen Ke’an quickly tried to appease him.
“Not sincere at all.”
They were right outside the living room, and Wen Ke’an could even clearly hear Liu Qing walking. Worried she might come in at any moment, Wen Ke’an looked at Gu Ting and said, “My mom might come in. Let me go.”
Gu Ting uncharacteristically refused, “No.”
“Believe it or not, I’ll bite you,” Wen Ke’an said angrily.
Gu Ting smiled at her, “Haven’t you bitten me enough times already?”
“Do you want to try something exciting?”
“What?”
Wen Ke’an immediately understood what Gu Ting wanted to do the next second. He lowered his gaze as his tender lips pressed against hers.
Hearing the gradually approaching footsteps behind her, Wen Ke’an instinctively tried to push Gu Ting away.
But he was too strong; she couldn’t budge him at all.
Wen Ke’an heard Liu Qing had already walked up to her door, “An’an, I’ve cut some fruit, do you want to have some?”
Wen Ke’an was terrified.
Seeing there was no sound from the room, Wen Qiangguo, who was sitting on the sofa, said, “They’re studying, let’s wait a bit.”
“Alright then.”
Liu Qing then left with the tray.
Gu Ting’s eyes curved slightly as he continued kissing her.
Wen Ke’an was really angry now; no matter what Gu Ting did to try to get in, Wen Ke’an just wouldn’t open her mouth.
Gu Ting was amused by her stubbornness. He directly reached out and pinched her chin, lowering his eyes to look at her, and said hoarsely, “Open your mouth.”
After being teased, Wen Ke’an’s lips ended up a bit swollen.
Wen Ke’an silently broke free from Gu Ting’s hand, sat down at her desk, opened her book, and started doing her homework, not wanting to say a single word to Gu Ting.
Gu Ting leaned over next to her, “Are you mad?”
“”
“I was wrong, I won’t dare to do it again.”
“”
“Don’t be mad.”
Wen Ke’an finally got annoyed by his incessant talking. Her delicate eyebrows slightly furrowed, “Study.”
Gu Ting obediently opened his book: “Alright.”
Not long after they began seriously studying, Liu Qing came by and quietly peeked through the door to check. Seeing both of them focused on their studies, she satisfiedly closed the door softly.
She then turned to Wen Qiangguo, who was watching TV, “The two kids are seriously studying, lower the volume of the TV!”
“Alright, alright!” Wen Qiangguo quickly turned down the volume.
Gu Ting studied until 10:30 PM before leaving Wen Ke’an’s house.
After seeing Gu Ting off, Liu Qing sat in the living room, feeling sentimental for a while. She looked at Wen Ke’an and said softly, “Gu Ting is a pitiful child. His parents are always busy with work and rarely at home, so he’s often by himself. An’an, try to help him more in the future.”
Wen Ke’an was silent for a moment, then responded sullenly, “I got it.”
—-
The New Year was approaching, and the streets were gradually filled with festive spirit. Many shops had hung up “Fu” characters, and red lanterns adorned the streetlights.
Wen Ke’an went to the store to help out in the afternoon as usual. Before she even reached the store, she saw a girl being kicked out of the store across the street by the staff.
The girl was quite tall, with short hair, wearing a black down jacket, and carrying a camera.
The girl seemed to be in low spirits, head down, possibly crying.
Wen Ke’an walked over to her and asked softly, “What’s wrong, sister?”
Fu Huan looked up to see a little girl who had appeared beside her at some point. The girl was dressed in a white puffer coat with a hat, looking like a high school student.
Fu Huan smiled and said, “It’s nothing, I just wanted to shoot some video, but I got rejected.”
“Are you a content creator?” Wen Ke’an glanced at the camera Fu Huan was carrying and asked.
At that time, being a content creator wasn’t very popular yet, and there weren’t many video bloggers.
Hearing the term “content creator” from this high school girl surprised Fu Huan. She smiled and asked, “You know about content creators?”
Wen Ke’an nodded, “Yes, I know a bit.”
“Why did they reject you?” Wen Ke’an looked at the shop across the street and asked in confusion.
“I’m working on a food series video, and I often film the food preparation process of famous chain stores in the country,” Fu Huan said with a smile. “Huai Central Duck Heads is a well-known brand domestically, and I planned to make a video about them. But I’ve been rejected by more than ten stores already. They fear I might reveal their secret recipe.”
“I have a contract with the platform to release a video every week, but it seems I won’t be able to make this week’s video,” Fu Huan said helplessly.
Wen Ke’an thought for a moment and said, “Our family also sells marinated food. If you’re interested, you can shoot at our place.”
Fu Huan was a bit surprised, “Really?”
“Yes, our store is right over there,” Wen Ke’an pointed to her family’s shop.
“Ah, so those are run by your parents? I saw how busy it was, so I didn’t want to interrupt.”
“If you need to film, I can ask my parents,” Wen Ke’an said with a smile.
“Sure, thank you so much!”
Upon hearing that someone wanted to come and film, Wen Qiangguo didn’t mind at all and readily agreed. However, given the late hour, Wen Qiangguo arranged for them to come early the next morning to shoot.
After everything was settled, Wen Ke’an curiously whispered to Fu Huan, “Sister, can I see your videos?”
“Of course,” Fu Huan said, opening her phone and showing Wen Ke’an some of her videos.
To be honest, Wen Ke’an was a bit surprised by Fu Huan’s videos. Her editing and filming skills were exceptional, and the style seemed oddly familiar.
After watching the videos, Wen Ke’an genuinely praised her, “Sister, these are really good!”
The sweet words from the little girl lifted Fu Huan’s spirits. Humbly, she said, “They’re just okay. I’m still starting out and don’t have many followers.”
“You’ll definitely get better and better,” Wen Ke’an assured her.
Fu Huan smiled at Wen Ke’an, “Thank you.”
That evening after dinner, Wen Ke’an was playing with the big orange cat in the living room when Gu Ting came over with a book to study with her.
Once they were in her room, Wen Ke’an quietly asked, “What’s wrong?”
It was clear to Wen Ke’an that Gu Ting was off. “Is something wrong at work?”
Gu Ting looked at her and said, “Yeah, but it’s nothing major, just really frustrating.”
“It’s okay, let’s not get upset,” Wen Ke’an said softly, trying to comfort him.
“I miss you,” Gu Ting said, leaning closer and resting his chin on her shoulder.
“Won’t you comfort me?” he asked.
Wen Ke’an chuckled, reached out, and scratched his chin, “Good boy.”
Gu Ting suddenly realized the gesture was exactly like the way she had scratched the orange cat’s chin earlier.
Feeling better, Gu Ting got up and said with a smile, “Let’s study now.”
“Is your school’s testing really that tough?” Wen Ke’an asked, noticing how diligently Gu Ting had been studying lately.
“I want to take the entrance exam for No. 1 High School,” Gu Ting said as he opened his exercise book.
Hearing this, Wen Ke’an was slightly taken aback, “You want to come to No. 1 High School? Do they still accept new students?”
No. 1 High School hardly ever accepts transfer students. Besides the entrance exams for high school and special exams for second-year high school, there is almost no other way to get in.
“It’s not a problem, having the right connections can help,” Gu Ting replied.
“Then why didn’t you go before?” Wen Ke’an asked, puzzled.
She thought Gu Ting was very smart, and even if he couldn’t get into No. 1 High School, he shouldn’t be stuck at his current school.
“Because I was rebellious before and wanted to piss off my old man.”
“”
“Good luck! If you get into No. 1 High School, I’ll celebrate for you!” Wen Ke’an said happily.
“I don’t want a celebration, how about a reward?” Gu Ting suggested.
“What kind of reward do you want?”
After pretending to think for a moment, Gu Ting smiled and said, “How about a kiss from you every time I solve a problem?”
“”:,,,
