Chapter 636 A Premeditated Dinner

Early the next morning, An Ning rose for her usual workout. Jiang Xia, who had planned this all along, was waiting with Da Huang by the side of the road, ready to stage a chance encounter.

CREAK...

As the door opened, Jiang Xia struck a pose he considered dashing but which, to any observer, looked utterly flamboyant. He tilted his head for a killer look and waited.

"Jiang Xia—what’s wrong with your back?"

An Sancheng, who had just stepped out to take out the trash, rushed over with the bag in hand, ready to help Jiang Xia. An Ning, emerging behind her father for her run, immediately burst out laughing.

She joined in on the teasing, shouting, "You must have thrown it out..."

Jiang Xia had already straightened up. Gazing at An Ning, who was laughing without a hint of restraint, what could he do?

"I’m fine... Uncle... I was just tying my shoelace."

An Sancheng looked at him doubtfully. Recalling Jiang Xia’s contorted pose, he had a moment of epiphany. "No wonder your back hurts! How could it not, holding a pose like that?"

An Sancheng walked past Jiang Xia with one hand behind his back, shaking his head from side to side.

Jiang Xia clearly heard him mutter, "Kids these days... I just don’t get it..."

"I... I... I..."

Jiang Xia mouthed the word for a long moment, unable to make a sound. Finally, he called out meekly, "Take care, Uncle!"

"PFFT— HAHAHAHA!"

An Ning’s irrepressible laughter made Jiang Xia tilt his head.

"Funny, is it?"

"Hilarious! You were so meek just now."

The truly meek Jiang Xia glanced at An Sancheng’s retreating figure and scurried over in a few steps.

"You don’t get it. It’s a natural fear."

The fear a future son-in-law holds for his father-in-law.

An Sancheng might seem to view Jiang Xia favorably now, but if he knew Jiang Xia was his future son-in-law, it would be an entirely different story.

An Ning hummed meaningfully, then turned and started her run with Xiao Lang.

"Hey... wait for me!"

Jiang Xia immediately gave chase. As usual, Da Huang and Xiao Lang were not getting along, racing against each other.

Jiang Xia and An Ning ran side-by-side. They instinctively glanced at each other and spoke at the exact same moment.

"You—"

"You—"

"You go first."

"You go first."

An Ning and Jiang Xia both laughed. An Ning beat him to the punch. "I’ll go first."

"Okay, you go first."

"How about dinner tonight?"

An Ning posed the question. Jiang Xia, still unaware that anything was amiss and focused on his own plan, readily agreed. "Okay!"

And so, a dinner date, premeditated by both sides, was set.

After their morning run, they both headed home. As An Ning passed Jiang Xia’s house, Master Tang handed her a small dish of pickled vegetables.

"Take this home. It goes well with congee."

"Thank you, Master Tang!"

An Ning brought the dish home and gave it to Lin Cuihua. After quickly washing up, she came out for breakfast.

For the first time ever, An Ning didn’t head out to Shili Gou to work after breakfast. Instead, she packed a bag and left the house.

Lin Cuihua had a feeling that something was going on that she didn’t know about. Watching An Ning’s retreating figure, she muttered, "What on earth is happening?"

An Ning hadn’t gone off to do anything else—she had gone clothes shopping.

’She was taking tonight’s date very seriously. She planned to confess her feelings, to make their relationship official. And if things went a step further... holding hands, a little... kiss... hehe, it wasn’t out of the question.’

At the same time, Jiang Xia had spread all the clothes he’d brought with him onto his bed. Nothing he looked at seemed right; everything was either dissatisfying or just plain ugly.

’Why didn’t I think to bring more clothes back with me?’

Finally, Jiang Xia decided to make a trip to the county town to buy a new outfit.

Throughout the day, An Ning bought a new outfit, jewelry, a new bag, and new shoes. She also got her hair done and her nails painted.

When she returned home in her brand-new getup, the basin of chicken feed Lin Cuihua was holding slipped from her hands and scattered across the ground.

The large rooster started clucking incessantly, as if it were seeing An Ning for the very first time.

"Daughter... what’s happened to you?"

Lin Cuihua stared at An Ning with concern. An Ning did a little spin and asked, "Don’t I look good?"

’Good?’

’How was she supposed to critique this?’

An Ning now sported a frizzy perm. In her twenties, she had managed to achieve the vintage look of someone in their forties, fast-forwarding her life by two decades.

The floral print dress, the small, pearl-strapped purse, and the white high heels—taken individually, none of them seemed to be a problem.

But the problem was that when all these items were piled onto An Ning, the result was incredibly awkward.

"Grandma—Grand-auntie’s here!"

Hei Dan’er’s cry of ’Grand-auntie’ made An Ning’s eyes narrow.

’Murderous intent!’

Hei Dan’er ducked behind Lin Cuihua, peering out to size up the person in front of him.

"She kinda looks like my aunt..."

"Looks like hell! As of today, you no longer have an aunt!"

An Ning stomped away, the CLICK-CLACK of her little high heels echoing as she vanished from the courtyard.

Only then did it click for Hei Dan. He looked at Lin Cuihua and asked, "Grandma... was that my aunt? What’s wrong with her?"

"I’d like to know what’s wrong, too!"

Lin Cuihua stared at the closed door. ’Could it be that her daughter’s finally started to care about her looks?’

’But this sense of style... it really doesn’t match how smart An Ning is.’

’For someone so clever, could this really be her shortcoming?’

Inside the house, An Ning was standing in front of a mirror, crying.

"Goddammit... they did my hair like this!"

"How can I possibly go out in public like this!"

"If I go out with Jiang Xia, people will think I’m his aunt!"

An Ning was filled with regret.

’She had just wanted a new, prettier hairstyle to create a wonderful memory.’

’Now, all she wanted was to maim that hairdresser!’

’All my life I’ve been sharp, and I got duped by some kid at a hair salon!’

She had only wanted a trim, but somehow she’d been talked into getting a perm.

When she saw the head full of tight curls, An Ning wanted to cry. She really, truly wanted to cry.

But then the hairdresser had conned her again, "It looks great! Really, it looks great!"

Others in the salon chimed in, saying how good it looked, and she had almost believed them.

But the moment she got home, Lin Cuihua and Hei Dan’er shattered her illusion and brought her crashing back to reality.

SOB SOB SOB... "Jiang Xia..."

An Ning pulled out her phone and sent Jiang Xia a text.

Meanwhile, Jiang Xia took out his phone and read the message aloud.

"Tonight, your grand-auntie has a date with you."

’Grand-auntie? Whose grand-auntie is coming?’

Jiang Xia was holding his phone, just about to reply.

"All done. Take a look, what do you think?"

Jiang Xia, who was also at the hairdresser’s, lifted his head to look in the mirror directly in front of him. His eyes went wide and vacant.

’He could almost see it... his life on the inside.’

’This hairstyle... it looked good for ten-plus years.’

"Not bad, huh? Looks sharp!"

The hairdresser removed the cape from around Jiang Xia’s neck, gave it a couple of shakes, and draped it over a nearby chair.

Jiang Xia clutched his phone and stood up. He didn’t want to say another word. He just had to get out of there.

"Come back soon!"

’Heh... ’Come back?’ I’d have to be a complete moron!’

Once outside, Jiang Xia got into his car and sat down to text An Ning back.

"You bring the grand-auntie, I’ll bring the criminal haircut."

An Ning received Jiang Xia’s reply and texted back in a flash: "You got a haircut too?"

’Too?’

Jiang Xia stared at her text. Suddenly, her "grand-auntie" message made a different kind of sense.

’An Ning got a haircut, too?’

’Did she have the same idea as him?’

’Does that mean she bought a new outfit, too?’

They both arrived at the same conclusion, and a little bit of sweetness bloomed in their hearts.

In the end, the date was still on, filled with anticipation.