Since Jiang Zhixia came to Y City, Xia Zhixia has someone to pick her up from get off work, she no longer eats takeout or school canteen meals, and her home is always clean and tidy. Her quality of life has been greatly improved.
In the past, Xia Zhi's mornings at work were always a mess, like going to war. Because he often worked overtime until late at night, it was common for him to oversleep the next day. He left in a hurry in the morning, not to mention eating breakfast, he didn't even have time to drink water.
But after Jiang Zhixia moved in, it was no longer the alarm on her phone that woke her up in the morning, but her lover's gentle kiss. When she went to the bathroom to wash up, toothpaste was already squeezed on her toothbrush; there was a hearty breakfast on the dining table; and her clothes for going to work were also pre-matched and placed on the bed.
In short, Xia Zhi didn't have to worry about anything when he went to work in the morning. Jiang Zhixia would arrange every step from opening his eyes to going out in advance. He only had to follow his instructions like a puppet.
Although Jiang Zhixia's all-round care made Xia Zhi look like a useless person with zero self-care ability, he had to admit that it was really good to be taken care of in every aspect. The satisfaction of having a lover come out to greet him as soon as he got home was something that no romantic surprise could give him.
It’s a pity that this happiness is too short-lived.
The fourth day came in a blink of an eye. The crew had finished the final work in City C and were ready to leave for City Y to officially start filming.
"When will you return to the group?" In the evening, after the two had their routine in-depth communication, Xia Zhi lay limply on the bed as usual and enjoyed Jiang Zhixia's massage service.
"Tomorrow." Jiang Zhixia pressed both of her hands on his lower back and kneaded it gently. The body under her hands had been in a state of tension for a long time, and now after relaxing, the muscles were still trembling and spasming slightly.
"Hiss—" Jiang Zhixia exerted a little force, and Xia Zhi couldn't help but gasp, "It hurts, be gentle."
Jiang Zhixia quickly moved his hand away, only to find that he had been distracted and pressed on a bruise. This bruise was the finger mark he left on his body on the first day. At that time, because they hadn't seen each other for two months, he was so excited that he couldn't control his strength and left several obvious finger marks on his waist. Now it's the fourth day, the finger marks have faded a lot, but there are still some bruises.
"Does it still hurt?" Jiang Zhixia touched it gently with her fingertips.
"It's okay, I don't feel anything if I don't press too hard." Xia Zhi dodged to the side, but this time it wasn't because of pain, but because of itchiness. Her body, which had just been warm and tender, was so sensitive that she couldn't stand this kind of subtle touch.
"Press somewhere else." Xia Zhi held a pillow in his arms and rubbed his slightly hot cheeks into the pillow.
"Yeah." Jiang Zhixia moved his hand upwards and massaged his back.
"Do you want to live in the crew?" Xia Zhi tilted his head and stared at him.
"Not necessary this time."
"What do you mean?" Xia Zhi's eyes showed anticipation and joy.
Jiang Zhixia curled her lips and said, "We are going to shoot in the village this time. There is no guesthouse in the village, and it is not convenient to rent houses from the villagers, so we usually stay in a hotel in the city. After shooting the day's scenes, we will return to Y City and rush back the next morning. Before coming to Y City, I had already told the crew that I have my own residence in Y City, so I will not stay in a hotel with them."
"It's too tiring to go back and forth every morning and evening." Xia Zhi frowned, "It takes three hours a day just to travel."
"It's okay," Jiang Zhixia smiled faintly, "There aren't many scenes left, and the schedule is not rushed. We only need to shoot for half a day every day, so we don't have to leave early and come back late, and it won't be very tiring."
"That's great." Xia Zhi nodded with relief and asked with a smile, "So, you will continue to live here with me?"
"Well, a driver arranged by the crew will come to pick me up then." Jiang Zhixia moved her hands back to her lower back, stroking her soft skin with her palms. "But if I do that, I won't be able to pick you up from get off work."
"It's okay." Xia Zhi said indifferently, "Before you moved in, I always drove to and from get off work by myself."
"Why do I sound like I'm dispensable?" Jiang Zhixia pinched his waist in dissatisfaction.
"Don't you feel guilty saying that?" Xia Zhi also stretched out a finger to poke his waist.
He has only lived here for a few days, but he is already treated like an emperor with everything provided for him. Jiang Zhixia spoiled him to no end when they were still in the group, and now it has gone even further, even taking off his pants for him when he goes to the toilet. Xia Zhi seriously suspects that Jiang Zhixia is deliberately spoiling him so that he can't live without him for the rest of his life.
The intention is extremely sinister.
The next day, Jiang Zhixia reported back to the crew. Fortunately, he didn't have many scenes to act, only four or five at most a day, and they were basically concentrated in the daytime, so he finished work before four o'clock every day, and it was only six o'clock when he returned to Y City. He still insisted on cooking in person at night, and when he finished dinner, Xia Zhi would just be home.
Since Jiang Zhixia came here, Xia Zhi gets off work on time every day. Even if she has work to do, she will take it home to do it, and she will postpone dinner parties with colleagues whenever possible.
That day, Jiang Zhixia finished work before 4 o'clock as usual. The driver drove him back to City A. Jiang Chi followed him back.
Jiang Zhixia was originally resting with her eyes closed, but suddenly she opened her eyes and asked Jiang Chi beside her, "Is there no show the day after tomorrow?"
Jiang Chi looked at the schedule, nodded, and said, "That's right, there are no shows the day after tomorrow and the day after tomorrow. What's wrong, Brother Zhixia? Do you have other plans? Do you need me to prepare in advance?"
"No." Jiang Zhixia said, "I'm just asking casually."
"Oh." Jiang Chi nodded.
After the car returned to Y City, it drove straight to Xia Zhi's community. The driver assigned by the crew drove Jiang Zhixia. After two trips a day, he was very familiar with the route to the community, but he always waited for him at the gate of the community and never went up. Therefore, he didn't know that Xia Zhi also lived here, let alone that they were currently living together. He always thought that Jiang Zhixia didn't like staying in hotels, so he rented a house in Y City.
Jiang Chi was the only one in the crew who knew that Jiang Zhixia was living with Xia Zhi. However, Xia Zhi's get off work schedule was different from Jiang Zhixia's. Jiang Chi had been in Y City for some time, but he had not seen Xia Zhi yet.
After successfully sending Jiang Zhixia to her residence, Jiang Chi and the driver returned to the hotel where the crew was staying.
Jiang Zhixia returned home, entered the door with the password, and was about to change his shoes when he found a pair of women's leather shoes at the entrance. He was stunned, and the first thought that flashed through his mind was - is there a thief? But he quickly rejected it.
The security of this community is very tight. Outsiders need to be authenticated by residents before they are allowed in, so the possibility of a thief sneaking in is very small. And judging from the style of the women's shoes, the owner of the shoes should not be too young, at least fifty years old or above.
Jiang Zhixia had some guesses about the man who was over fifty and had the password to Xia Zhi's room. Jiang Zhixia was a little hesitant about whether to go out and hide first. But before she could make up her mind, she heard a familiar voice.
"It's Xiao Jiang."
Jiang Zhixia looked up and saw a familiar yet strange face—Xia Zhi's mother. She hadn't changed much in appearance, except that she looked a little older than eight years ago.
"Auntie." Jiang Zhixia calmed down and greeted her calmly, "Long time no see."
"It's been a long time since we last met, about eight years." Xia Junmei smiled gently, "I heard from Xia Xia that you've been filming a movie recently?"
"Yes." Jiang Zhixia explained, "We're shooting in a village under the jurisdiction of Y City these days, so I'm staying here with Xia Xia temporarily."
"So that's how it is." Xia Junmei murmured.
She came here to do some work today, and on her way back she stopped by the community to take a look. She knew her son would not be able to take care of anything once he was busy, and she heard that he had been working overtime every day these days, so she wanted to come over to help clean up the house and see if there was anything missing, so that she could go to the supermarket to buy everything.
But Xia Junmei noticed something strange as soon as she opened the door. Every time she came to her son's house, the house was always a mess, with books everywhere; there were always crumpled manuscripts on the floor; the quilt in the bedroom was never folded and was a mess.
But this time the house was cleaned up, the books were neatly placed on the bookshelf, the floor was so clean that not even a hair could be seen, let alone crumpled manuscript paper, and the quilt in the bedroom was also laid out flat. What surprised her most was that her son could not cook so the refrigerator was always full, but this time when she opened the refrigerator, it was full of fresh vegetables and meat, neatly arranged.
Xia Junmei was surprised and surprised. This was the first time she saw such a strong atmosphere of life in her son's home. She didn't think that her son, who had always had little self-care ability, suddenly became smart and knew how to live. When she saw the frequent appearance of pairs of items in the house, she finally understood what was going on.
Xia Junmei smiled with relief, and did not call her son to confirm. She walked around the house and found that her son was indeed doing well during this period, so she was relieved and prepared to leave. However, as soon as she walked into the living room, she saw Jiang Zhixia opening the door and coming in. The two bumped into each other.
After a brief silence, Jiang Zhixia took the initiative to bring up the topic: "Auntie, are you here to look for Xia Xia? He won't be off work for a while."
Xia Junmei smiled and waved her hands: "I know, I didn't come here specifically to see him. I was just doing some business nearby and happened to pass by the community so I came up to see him. I'm ready to leave."
"How about you sit for a while?" Jiang Zhixia persuaded him, "Xia Xia will probably be back at six o'clock."
"No thanks." Xia Junmei declined, "I should go back too. Your uncle is waiting for me at home for dinner."
Jiang Zhixia didn't insist: "Then I'll take you there."
"No, no." Xia Junmei declined again, "You stay in the room and don't go downstairs. I'm very familiar with this place. I don't need anyone to send me off."
Jiang Zhixia had no choice but to send her out to take the elevator.
While they were waiting for the elevator, Xia Junmei suddenly asked him, "Xiao Jiang, do you want to film tomorrow?"
"I'm filming tomorrow, but I'll have a day off the day after tomorrow." Jiang Zhixia answered politely.
"That's perfect," Xia Junmei said with a smile, "Come to my house with Xia Xia for dinner the day after tomorrow, and your uncle and I will cook for you."
.
"My mom asked me to take you home for dinner?" That night, Xia Zhi got home from get off work and found out about this first thing. "Did you agree?"
"I am embarrassed to refuse an invitation from my elders." Jiang Zhixia pinched his chin, narrowed his eyes and said in a deep voice, "Does your expression mean you don't want to take me home?"
"No." Xia Zhi smacked his lips, "I just didn't expect you two would meet in this way."
"I didn't expect that. But this is not bad." Jiang Zhixia pinched his chin and shook it gently, "Do you want to take me home?"
Xia Zhi raised his head and asked instead of answering: "Then do you want to go home with me?"
Jiang Zhixia lowered her head and kissed him on the lips, saying seriously, "I do. I dream about it."
Xia Zhi curled her lips: "Okay, then I'll take you home."
-
On Friday, Sheng Yingying was called home by her parents right after class.
"Mom and Dad, what's the matter? Why do you want me to come home this week? I told you last week that I would go to the next city with my roommate this weekend to watch a concert of my favorite singer." Sheng Yingying said with a slightly dissatisfied tone. Because her parents' tone was so strong, she had no choice but to give the concert ticket to someone else and ran back home in tears.
Xia Junmei was about to explain, but when she turned around and saw her daughter's hair, she was so shocked that she forgot about the important matter and asked hurriedly, "What's wrong with your hair?"
Sheng Yingying reached out and ruffled her pink hair, half happy and half depressed: "I dyed it yesterday just to go to the concert. Doesn't it look good?"
Sheng Mingyan also saw his daughter's eye-catching pink hair and frowned, "Why dye it this color for no reason? It's not dignified at all."
"We're just going to a concert, why do we have to be so solemn?" Sheng Yingying deliberately moved her head closer to her parents and shook it. "I chose this color on purpose to make it eye-catching! When we go to the concert, I'll definitely be the most eye-catching person standing in the crowd!"
"I don't know if you are the most eye-catching one, but I know you are definitely the one who deserves a beating the most!" Xia Junmei pulled her daughter's hair in anger, "Go dye it after dinner!"
“No! It cost me hundreds of dollars to dye my hair!” Sheng Yingying protected her head. “Besides, I just dyed it yesterday. Frequent bleaching and dyeing will damage your hair!”
"Now you know it will damage your hair! Why didn't you know yesterday?" Xia Junmei couldn't argue with her daughter, so she could only wave her hand and let her do what she wanted. "If you don't want to dye it, forget it. Just don't cry when the customers see you laughing at it."
"What guests? Are there going to be guests at home tomorrow?" Sheng Yingying walked into the house and was shocked when she saw the scene in the living room. "Wow! Is there a thief at home?"
"Your father and I are cleaning the house." Xia Junmei stuffed a rag into her hand, "You come too."
"Are you sure we're cleaning the house and not moving?" Sheng Yingying asked incredulously, "Do we need to move out all the cabinets and sofas to clean the house?"
"It's cleaner this way," Sheng Mingyan explained, "These places are the easiest to hide dust. You wouldn't notice it if you didn't move it around. Just now, your mom and I moved it out and saw all kinds of garbage inside. We also found a lot of Alice's missing toys."
"By the way, speaking of Alice," Xia Junmei pointed at Sheng Yingying and said, "After dinner, give it a bath."
"Give Alice a bath?!" Sheng Yingying refused sharply, "You'd better kill me than let me give this guy a bath! This brat screams and howls when he takes a bath, and I can't control him by myself!"
"Who is coming tomorrow? They need to do carpet cleaning and wash the dog." Sheng Yingying wondered, "Could it be some important VIP?"
Xia Junmei and Sheng Mingyan smiled at each other.
"Do you think your brother's partner is a heavyweight VIP?" Xia Junmei asked back.
Sheng Yingying was stunned for two or three seconds, then she suddenly jumped up: "What! My brother is finally going to bring my sister-in-law back?!"
The couple smiled and nodded.
Sheng Yingying was ecstatic—she could finally meet her sister-in-law!!!
Ever since she found out her brother had a girlfriend, Sheng Yingying tried every way to get some information about her future sister-in-law from him. But her brother was tight-lipped, and he refused to reveal a word no matter how hard she tried. Later, she asked her parents, but they were also very secretive when talking about her brother's girlfriend, and always dismissed her with a simple "you'll see her sooner or later."
But the less her parents and brother said, the more curious Sheng Yingying became. Over time, her future sister-in-law became her obsession, and she dreamed of meeting this mysterious future sister-in-law as soon as possible. Now that the mysterious sister-in-law is finally going to reveal her true identity, how can she not be happy? After knowing that her parents cleaned the house to welcome the future sister-in-law, Sheng Yingying stopped complaining and worked very hard. She did whatever her parents asked her to do. When asked to clean her own doghouse, she did it obediently; when asked to wash the dog, she resolutely dragged the dog into the bathroom at the risk of losing her hearing. As soon as the bathroom door was closed, there was a chaotic scene with people and horses falling to the ground. Alice's ghost screams mixed with Sheng Yingying's collapsed scolding almost overturned the ceiling.
Xia Junmei and Sheng Mingyan successfully rescued two people from the bathroom before it was demolished.
Sheng Yingying was soaked from head to toe, and Xia Junmei was wiping her hair with a large bath towel. Sheng Yingying tilted her head back, her face aggrieved: "Tomorrow when my sister-in-law comes home, you have to prove to me that I washed the dog, not the dog washing me."
Xia Junmei was both angry and amused. She bent two fingers and tapped her forehead twice through the bath towel: "You're still joking at this time. Go take a shower quickly and be careful not to catch a cold. The weather has been quite cold these days. I'll make you some ginger soup to drive away the cold."
"Oh." Sheng Yingying thought for a moment and added, "Less ginger and more brown sugar."
Her mother has been fascinated by nutrition recipes recently. Whether cooking or making soup, she pursues an original style - very few seasonings! The food tasted ordinary to begin with, but now, in order to preserve the original soup and food, she doesn't even add seasonings, just salt! She doesn't even want to add more salt! The taste is so bland!
Sheng Yingying had a profound experience of what it meant to be bored, so she didn't want to go home during this period. His brother didn't come home much recently, probably because of this reason.
Thinking of her parents' craftsmanship, she suddenly became a little worried.
"By the way, Mom and Dad, my sister-in-law is coming to our house tomorrow, let's go out for dinner!" Sheng Yingying suggested sincerely.
"No, we'll eat at home tomorrow." Xia Junmei said with a smile, "Today I went to the market with you and bought a lot of vegetables."
"Why don't we go out to eat?" Sheng Yingying persuaded tirelessly, "It's much easier to book a table at a restaurant, and you don't have to wash the dishes."
Xia Junmei had been persuaded by her daughter, but when she thought of her future identity as a "daughter-in-law", she finally refused: "No, let's eat at home. It's the first time for the children to come to our house, and we cook for them ourselves, which will show more sincerity."
"..." Sheng Yingying sighed. What if the food tomorrow was so bad that her sister-in-law thought that her whole family was being perfunctory towards her, and she broke up with her brother in anger
Will his brother become the first unlucky person in history to be dumped because of his parents’ bad cooking
At this time, a similar conversation was taking place in Xia Zhi's apartment.
"My parents will cook for you tomorrow." Xia Zhi pushed Jiang Zhixia onto the sofa and sat astride his legs, with his hands on his shoulders and a serious expression.
"I know." Jiang Zhixia smiled, thinking that he felt sorry for his parents' hard work in the kitchen, so she said considerately, "Tell uncle and auntie not to prepare too much, just prepare some home-cooked dishes."
Xia Zhi sighed heavily. His boyfriend obviously knew nothing about his family's situation.
"Don't worry, my parents' cooking skills are limited. Even if you want a sumptuous meal, they can't make it." Xia Zhi explained hesitantly, "Our whole family has no talent in cooking. Yingying and I don't need to be mentioned. My parents' skills are also extremely limited! Really limited! They can't be called delicious. At most, they are edible, but not deadly. So, you should be prepared."
Jiang Zhixia nodded, and patted his lower back with her hand through his clothes: "I'm not picky."
Xia Zhi reminded again: "Although my parents have no talent for cooking, they are very passionate. So if they ask you if the food is delicious, do you know how to answer?"
"No matter what they ask, I tell them it's delicious." That's really nice.
Xia Zhi was also satisfied, and patted his cheek gently, saying: "If you really can't eat anymore, eat less. I'll take you out to eat delicious food in the evening."
"good."
Their eyes met and they naturally kissed, and finally they fell on the sofa in each other's arms.
The next day, Jiang Zhixia woke up early in the morning. He went to the bathroom to take a shower, then washed his face and shaved in front of the mirror on the sink. After washing, he went into the cloakroom to pick out clothes.
Xia Zhi was woken up by the noise of him taking a shower. After being woken up, she couldn't fall asleep, and she didn't want to get up so early, so she stayed in bed and watched Jiang Zhixia make various preparations before departure with a dull look.
"You've met my family, and they all know you. There's no need to be so formal." After Jiang Zhixia changed three sets of clothes, Xia Zhixia finally couldn't help but speak.
"It has a different meaning." Jiang Zhixia put on her fourth set of clothes and thought they were good, so she came out to show Xia Zhi, "How is it?"
"Handsome." Xia Zhi said perfunctorily and yawned after saying it.
So Jiang Zhixia prepared to change to the fifth set.
"Don't change, you're really handsome!" Xia Zhi stopped him and praised him sincerely, "You are naturally beautiful. You'll look good even if you're wrapped in a sack."
Jiang Zhixia stared at him helplessly.
Xia Zhi turned over with a smile, lay on the bed, waved at him, and said, "It's still early, give me a back massage first."
Jiang Zhixia climbed back onto the bed as instructed and obediently gave her partner a back massage.
After dawdling for a while until ten o'clock, the two finally went out. Jiang Zhixia specially asked Jiang Chi to go to the mall last night to buy some gifts for the visit.
While the two were driving home, Sheng Yingying had already looked out the window nearly a dozen times.
"Why haven't you come back yet? It's almost noon." Sheng Yingying walked around the kitchen with her hands behind her back, "Did my brother call?"
"Why are you in such a hurry? Are you afraid they won't come?" Xia Junmei came out of the kitchen, handed him a plate of cold dishes, and instructed, "Put it on the dining table."
"Oh." Sheng Yingying took the cold dishes to the dining room and put them away. She quickly ran back to the kitchen door and saw Xia Junmei was about to stir-fry water spinach. She couldn't help but remind her, "Mom, remember to add more salt! My future sister-in-law might like salty food!"
Xia Junmei thought about it and felt that it made sense, so she added another spoonful of salt.
Sheng Yingying was relieved: "Where's my dad? He hasn't been seen since a while ago."
"I asked him to buy roast duck." Xia Junmei said, "This kind of specialty dish is difficult to make, and we don't have the skills to do it. It's more economical to buy it ready-made in the store."
"Roast duck is good! Roast duck is good!" Sheng Yingying couldn't help swallowing her saliva while saying this - finally there is a dish that is good enough to show off! It's not too shabby!
Not long after, Sheng Mingyan came back with a delicious roast duck, and with him came Alice, who looked listless.
Sheng Mingyan carried the roast duck into the kitchen to prepare it for plating, and said to his daughter, "Gouzi looks listless today. Is he sick?"
"Don't worry, it's an old problem." Sheng Yingying rubbed Alice's big ears and said, "This guy gets depressed for two days every time he takes a bath, but he'll be fine after two days."
Alice lay at Sheng Yingying's feet. When everyone in the family was happily preparing to welcome the new family member, only she was immersed in her own sadness - being forced to take a bath was really too sad for the dog!
At nearly eleven o'clock, Sheng Yingying finally received a call from her brother, saying that he had arrived at the gate of the community. The three people who had been looking forward to this moment began to get nervous, especially Sheng Yingying.
"Mom, is my future sister-in-law easy to get along with?" Sheng Yingying waited at the door for a while and couldn't help but run back, asking her mother worriedly, "Will we not get along? What if my future sister-in-law doesn't like me?"
Xia Junmei helped her straighten her collar and consoled her with a smile, "How could that be? You are your brother's biological sister. Your sister-in-law loves your brother, so she will naturally like you too. Love your brother and he will love you too."
"Aren't you worried?" Sheng Yingying asked her mother with her head tilted.
"worry about what?"
"The relationship between mother-in-law and daughter-in-law," Sheng Yingying said, "This is the greatest problem of all time!"
"No," Xia Junmei still smiled calmly, "the problem you are worried about will not occur."
"Are you so sure?" Sheng Yingying was a little surprised.
Xia Junmei touched her daughter's head and said, "You'll know when they get here."
As they were talking, there was a knock on the door.
"Here they come! They must be my brother and his friends!" Sheng Yingying excitedly ran towards the door, "I'll go open the door!"
"Yingying!" Xia Junmei wanted to call her, but it was too late. Sheng Yingying had already rushed to the door and grabbed the door handle.
In order to leave a good impression on her future sister-in-law, Sheng Yingying practiced smiling in front of the mirror all night. She ran to the door and stood still. She took a deep breath, pulled up the corners of her mouth to show her eight teeth, and opened the door with a bright smile.
"You guys go back... Wow!"
"boom!"
She slammed the door shut again.
"What's wrong?" Xia Junmei was startled by her daughter's scream and hurried over. Seeing that she had closed the door again, she was a little confused, "Isn't it your brother who is back?"
"Yes, yes, yes, it's my brother who's back!" Sheng Yingying stuttered, her eyes wide open.
"Since your brother and the others are back, why are you closing the door?" Xia Junmei urged, "Open the door quickly."
“Yes, yes, yes, there are others!” Sheng Yingying was still in shock.
"Nonsense," Xia Junmei didn't know whether to laugh or cry, "Didn't I say your brother was going to bring his girlfriend home for dinner? Of course it's someone else."
"Hmm? Wait..." Sheng Yingying barely recovered from the shock just now, but then fell into an even greater shock, "But the one who came back with my brother is a man! And he's my idol! His former teammate!"
"Has your mind still not come to its senses?" Xia Junmei poked her forehead gently with her index finger and explained to him while holding back her laughter, "That's your 'sister-in-law'."
Sheng Yingying: “(O^O!!!)”
(End of this chapter)