Chapter 262: Why is Jun Qingmeng Crying?
Chapter 262: Chapter 262: Why is Jun Qingmeng Crying?
Seeing Jiang Liu had fallen silent, Jun Qingmeng mustered her courage and turned to look at him.
Her gaze met his.
His eyes were rather deep.
’It’s over... My romance-addled brain is about to explode...’
Jun Qingmeng’s face flushed red again. She forced herself to remain calm and asked, "Why are you looking at me? What did you think of my suggestion?"
Jiang Liu deliberately shook his head without saying a word.
He wanted to tease Jun Qingmeng.
When Jun Qingmeng saw him shake his head, she immediately felt wronged.
She took his hand, looked at him, and said softly, "Jiang Liu, can you please not make me leave? I want to stay with you. I’m also worried that if you get sick, there will be no one to take care of you."
"Is that okay?"
...Jiang Liu looked at Jun Qingmeng’s pitiful expression.
He didn’t dare tease her anymore.
Sleeping together was fine; he didn’t dislike her.
As long as things didn’t progress at an unhealthily rapid pace.
Jiang Liu thought for a moment and said,
"How about this? The three of us can sleep together tonight, but Tongtong still has to be in the middle."
Tongtong, the happy little buffer, was now online.
Jun Qingmeng beamed and nodded vigorously.
"Mhm! I’ll sleep on the other side."
"Mommy, we can be together again?"
"That’s right!"
"Yay!"
Hearing Jiang Liu agree, Tongtong let out the breath she was holding. She and Jun Qingmeng hugged happily.
"Come on, let’s go back and watch."
The three of them carried the tablet, turned off the TV, and brought the fruit back to the bedroom.
They turned off the main light, switching on the small, warm-toned bedside lamp.
Jiang Liu and Tongtong were already in their moon-patterned pajamas.
Jun Qingmeng had also changed into a nightgown when she arrived.
Her nightgown was very pretty—pink, with lots of little bunnies on it.
Girls’ pajamas are usually cute, and Jun Qingmeng was no exception.
She used to like wearing black or blue, but ever since she started dating, she’d grown fond of cute things.
The three of them snuggled into bed.
Tongtong happily squeezed into the middle, holding the tablet and opening up the *Boonie Bears* cartoon.
"Hold on, let me text my mom first."
Jiang Liu sent a message to his mom on WeChat.
"When are you guys coming back? Tongtong and I are already in the bedroom getting ready for bed. We’ll watch a bit of a cartoon and then sleep."
Lin Qiu replied instantly: "What about Qingmeng? My daughter-in-law isn’t there?"
Jiang Liu: "She’s here."
Lin Qiu replied more than ten seconds later. He didn’t know what she had just been saying to Jiang Dahai.
"Okay, you guys get to bed early. We’re heading back to rest soon!"
Jiang Liu tossed his phone onto the desk to charge.
"Daddy, can we start now?"
Tongtong’s little hand hovered over the screen.
"Mhm, go ahead."
"Yay! Projectionist Tongtong is starting the show!"
...
Before they could finish one episode, Tongtong was already fast asleep, her head resting in Jiang Liu’s arms and her small hands clutching his arm. She was sleeping soundly.
Jun Qingmeng asked with an amused smile, "Tongtong’s asleep. Should we keep watching?"
Jiang Liu smiled. "Nah, let’s watch it together tomorrow. If we finish it without her, she’ll just end up sulking."
"Okay! Whatever you say."
The two of them suddenly fell silent, and the atmosphere grew awkward.
Jun Qingmeng snuggled under the covers, her head poking out as she lay on her side, watching Jiang Liu.
Jiang Liu felt it was a little too quiet, so he brought something up to break the silence. "Oh, right, let me check the new store’s revenue for today."
"How much is it?"
Jun Qingmeng sat up again and scooted closer to Jiang Liu.
Her warm, sweet breath tickled his face.
"Um... let me see."
Jiang Liu glanced at it. The income deposited into his CCB account had reached a little over 250,000.
"Today’s income is... over eighty thousand."
"Over eighty thousand?! That’s pretty good!" Jun Qingmeng leaned in a little closer, pretending she was trying to get a better look at the screen.
"Mhm. Now, even if we take a break, we’ll still have a decent income."
Jun Qingmeng said lovingly,
"In that case, if you’re tired in the future, can you take a break? Sometimes I think about how great it would be if my cooking was as good as yours. Then you could just sleep in at home on weekends."
A warm feeling washed over Jiang Liu’s heart.
’My girlfriend really is wonderful.’
"It’s fine. I’m in pretty good shape. I can handle this level of work easily."
Jun Qingmeng rolled her eyes at him and gently leaned her head on his shoulder.
"Can we just talk for a bit? Let’s not talk about income."
"Sure. What do you want to talk about?"
"Jiang Liu, I’ve liked you for a really, really long time. I’ve even forgotten when it started."
Jun Qingmeng’s voice was very gentle, her eyes filled with nostalgia.
She was thinking about her secret crush back in school.
Jiang Liu raised a hand to stroke her soft hair reassuringly.
"Don’t worry."
He could sense that Jun Qingmeng felt very insecure at times.
Jun Qingmeng nuzzled her head against his neck. "If one day, I do something wrong, can you give me a chance to fix it? Please don’t make me leave, okay?"
Jiang Liu chuckled. "As long as it’s not a huge mistake, I can forgive you. What about me? If I do something wrong, what’s your take on it?"
"Well, that depends. As long as you don’t cheat, you can even hit me."
???
Jiang Liu gave Jun Qingmeng a flick on the forehead.
"You said it."
Jun Qingmeng rubbed her forehead, glaring at Jiang Liu with her beautiful eyes.
Unfortunately, her eyes were too pretty for the glare to have any bite.
"Can you not flick my forehead? I am very smart, after all."
"Why are you starting to sound like Tongtong? Should I spank you instead?"
"No way!!"
Embarrassed, Jun Qingmeng buried her face in his chest.
"Let’s get to sleep. Go to bed early so you’re well-rested."
"Okay. Mwah!"
Jun Qingmeng gave Jiang Liu a kiss on the cheek, snuggled back under the covers facing him, and her breathing evened out in less than a minute.
She was out like a light.
Just then, the phone on the desk vibrated a few times.
Jiang Liu picked up his phone.
It was a WeChat message from Hu Yongfa.
"Master, the egg fried rice recipe you gave me is a massive hit! I followed your advice and soaked the side ingredients in salt water beforehand. I used very little salt in the rice itself, and with just a little sugar, light soy sauce, and dark soy sauce, the flavor is incredibly savory!"
Jiang Liu: "Okay, got it. Send me a personnel report for the store tomorrow. Try to hire a few more people, otherwise it’s impossible to arrange days off."
Then, Jiang Liu transferred 43,000 yuan to Hu Yongfa’s bank card.
38,000 of that was for operating costs.
Hu Yongfa had been paying for it out of his own pocket for the past three days.
Hu Yongfa: "Master, you sent an extra five thousand?"
Jiang Liu: "Take that five thousand and give the guys some bonuses. It’s all up to you. You and Yue Longfan can decide how to split it."
Jiang Liu: "It might get even tougher from now on, but however much effort you put in, I’ll make sure you’re rewarded for it."
Hu Yongfa: "Thank you, Master!!"
He was ecstatic, even in the middle of the night.
’The master really knows how to take care of his people.’
For the past few days, he had been working tirelessly under pressure without a single complaint.
It was proof that following his master would definitely lead to a bright future.
Jiang Liu put down his phone and drifted off to sleep before he knew it.
「Nightfall.」
A cold draft blew in through a crack in the window, making the curtains sway.
Jiang Liu was startled awake by the sound of crying.
’What’s going on???’
He was completely baffled.
He rubbed his eyes and finally realized.
Jun Qingmeng had buried her head under the covers and was sobbing.
Jiang Liu gently patted Jun Qingmeng.