Deep autumn, withered yellow leaves rustling in the chilly wind, the emptiness brought by the wind blew into Gao Chuan's car, the fresh and cool breeze stroked the man's coarse eyebrows.
The person who had just completed a surgery was already exhausted, but a call from ho had summoned him there.
Gao Chuan stopped the car at a red light, lowered his head to glance at the silver-grey wristwatch on his hand, eight twelve.
The city lights were already glimring outside the window as the evening haze rose.
The car's music player was on, playing Wang Fei's "Qing Feng Xu Lai," the lody lodious and lingering, the light singing voice spreading slowly through the air.
"A gentle breeze, the water remains still.
Which script doesn't have its ups and downs."
During the idle mont, a WeChat ssage popped up, and he reached out to tap it open.
The pinned ssage was from Jiang An.
She said, "Dr. Gao, auntie asked to et you downstairs, have you arrived?"
In a fleeting mont, the green light ca on, Gao Chuan turned off his phone and continued driving, turning right at two intersections to enter Nuanyang District, indeed he saw the person shivering in the autumn wind at the gate, dressed in a light purple dress, her back figure svelte and carefree, constantly looking around.
Gao Chuan, who had an impassive face the entire way, slowly halted the car, simply watching from afar the woman who was still foolishly looking around, his gaze suddenly froze, and the corners of his mouth curled into an arc.
He recalled a sentence Jiang An once said to him.
"Dr. Gao, I'm simple-minded, don't trick ."
Looking at her like this, she did seem a bit naive.
It wasn't until Gao Chuan slowly drove his car next to Jiang An that she reacted, bending down to talk to the man sitting in the driver's seat, but the car door had already been opened from the inside; and as she lifted her foot to get in, she said sweetly, "Dr. Gao."
"Sorry, Dr. Gao, I just thought of bringing you the clothes, and then auntie dragged here, I've already explained, but auntie just wouldn't believe it, when we go up, you'll have to explain to her nicely..." Jiang An was often incoherent when she spoke to Gao Chuan, but today she was unusually clear.
Listening to Jiang An's hurried and confused spiel, Gao Chuan's expression remained completely unchanged; he could well imagine the scene of Jiang An being dragged here by the strong-willed old lady.
After parking the car, they went upstairs together; in the elevator, Jiang An looked at Gao Chuan who was still indifferent, her eyebrows knitted together, and as they were about to reach the Zhou Family's floor, the elevator doors chanically opened. Just as Gao Chuan, who was about to walk out, was suddenly stopped by the timid Jiang An pulling at the hem of his clothes from behind, "Dr. Gao, should we get our story straight?"
Gao Chuan turned around to see Jiang An with her head buried low, her body tensely wound up, eyes filled with a pleading look akin to a small animal trapped for too long.
The accumulated resentnts within him dissipated; he stopped the action of unbuttoning his shirt cuffs and extended his right hand to gently touch Jiang An's head. His pale, slender palm slid over Jiang An's hair, followed by his magnetically soothing voice overhead that provided inexplicable comfort.
"Don't worry, I'll take care of it."
Warm words and hands-on gestures caused a wave of emotion in Jiang An's heart.
Having waited a full quarter of an hour at ho, Shen i, who couldn't wait to call them, was promptly dissuaded by Gao Lin, who was sitting on the sofa reading the newspaper. The old man, wearing a pair of nearly faded silver-frad glasses, looked kindly and reminded her, "Don't rush, the young couple might have sothing to do downstairs!"
Shen i's brows and eyes imdiately relaxed upon hearing her husband's words, and she happily turned back to continue simring her black chicken soup.
Gao Chuan, the second son at ho, was already thirty-one this year, standing at one ter eighty-three, a Tier-3 chief physician in the oncology departnt of City Hospital with seven years of clinical experience, holding his own in the hospital with a Volkswagen Phaeton and a fully-paid two-bedroom apartnt, yet despite all this, he remained alone.
For the first twenty-so years, his family never worried about him, but this matter of marriage had managed to wear down the always illustrious Shen i.
Shen i, now retired at ho, spent her days busily matchmaking for her son, but found that the noncompliant Dr. Gao was always working, with not a single female friend by his side.
Ms. Shen, in a huff, whispered to the old man that the younger son would take a wife without regard to her looks or family, as long as she was female.
So when Ms. Shen saw the innocently-faced Jiang An at Gao Chuan's doorstep, her eagerness to find a daughter-in-law led her to directly pull this dazed and cute girl into the house, enveloped her with motherly radiance throughout, and without listening to the girl's explanations, foisted an alleged "scandalous girlfriend" upon Gao Chuan.
Dr. Gao, along with his rumored girlfriend, returned ho and was changing shoes at the entryway when the Goldendoodle indoors, excited to see its owner, prepared to pounce. Gao Chuan, with his mild germophobia, instinctively prepared to dodge, but before he could turn aside, he saw the little fellow bypassing him and dashing toward the "little woman" behind him.
Gao Chuan: "..."
Jiang An nearly fell over when the massive Goldendoodle lunged at her, but she couldn't help smiling as she looked at the dog wagging its tongue affectionately in front of her.
Hearing the voices, Shen i hurried to arrange for the housekeeper to set the tableware for dinner, and the four of them took their seats one after another. As if intending to matchmake the two, Shen i deliberately seated Jiang An next to Gao Chuan. The young girl had been anxious all day, it seed she was only waiting for this al to quickly clear up the misunderstanding.
"Co, Anan, eat this, Auntie's taro pork belly is her best dish." Shen i, seeing the two not talking, proactively picked up the communal chopsticks to serve Jiang An so food.
Jiang An, looking at the several succulent pieces of at in her bowl, was flabbergasted and hastily expressed her thanks.
Shen i had asked all she needed to on the way ho after picking up Jiang An and was quite pleased with the girl before her; she always didn't demand that her daughter-in-law be from an equal social standing, being clean and tidy was the most important.
"Really, Gao Chuan, you've been dating a girl and didn't even think to bring her ho. If I hadn't gone to deliver sothing to you today, I wouldn't even know of Anan's existence!" Shen i glared at Gao Chuan, who spent the whole ti focusing on his al, and complained.
Hearing this, Gao Chuan put down his soup spoon, just about to speak, when he felt the corner of his shirt being gently tugged by the person seated next to him. Turning his head, he saw Jiang An looking at him with hopeful eyes, her butterfly-like eyelashes fluttering, and her cherry lips glistening.
Jiang An was clearly hinting to Gao Chuan that this was the best ti to clear things up, but Gao Chuan, the ultimate teammate, remained unruffled and covered up his tracks by saying to Shen i: "It's been quite busy at the hospital recently."
"Anan, I like you more and more each ti I look at you. When you have ti, let Gao Chuan take you to see his grandma. She's old and spends her days looking forward to his marriage. She'd be thrilled to have you visit," Shen i advised earnestly.
Dinner ended without a single word of explanation from Gao Chuan, and while the enthusiastic Shen i was contemplating asking Jiang An to stay over, Gao Chuan flatly refused.
Close to nine-thirty, Gao Chuan drove Jiang An back to her apartnt, and the two of them rode in silence.
The girl quietly clenched the hem of her clothes, a habit when she was nervous.
The car continued to the apartnt, and she was still feeling dizzy, realizing she was ho only when she reflexively tried to open the door, only to frustratedly discover the door was already locked. Jiang An turned her puzzled face towards Gao Chuan.
It seed Gao Chuan was waiting for her to turn around and was well aware of the confusion in Jiang An's heart, yet he kept silent.
The night breeze was unusually gentle, and the street lights cast a soft glow, illuminating one side of each person's face.
Having reached their destination, Gao Chuan still held the steering wheel, his gaze lingering on Jiang An's dark pupils, his swallowing motion barely perceptible.
Just as Jiang An was about to speak, Gao Chuan's cool voice already filled the car.
A statent so out of the blue, it left Jiang An stunned in place, hand frozen in the act of opening the door.
She heard him say,
"Jiang An, let's get married!"
The evening breeze gently brushed against the willow tips, and the moon seed to smile in amusent. The temperature wasn't too high, and Jiang An's blushing cheeks felt a bit cool in the night, as if everything was just right.
The timing, the rate of her heartbeat, the temperature, just right—at that very mont.
You have ignited completely.
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