As Wu Liangchen stepped into the main hall, a girl’s trembling voice ca from the inner room.
"D-don’t co in yet!"
Wu Liangchen smiled. "Alright, don’t worry. Take your ti. I’ll wait for you out here."
With that, Wu Liangchen found a chair and sat down.
As for Uncle Bai, he had just rembered sothing very important he had to do, so he disappeared right after opening the door.
He didn’t have to wait long at all. The curtain to the inner room was soon lifted, and Bai Erya walked out timidly.
She was dressed in a fiery red that made her skin look as white as jade. Paired with the shy, crimson blush that appeared on her cheeks upon seeing the sweetheart she had longed for day and night, it was a sight that made even Wu Liangchen’s eyes light up.
"I-is it pretty?" Feeling Wu Liangchen’s fervent gaze, Bai Erya’s heart swelled with joy, and she couldn’t help but muster the courage to ask.
"Yes, it’s pretty!" Wu Liangchen nodded, then added another sentence.
"It’s absolutely beautiful!"
Bai Erya smiled.
As the saying goes, a woman adorns herself for the one who adores her. She had spent so long getting ready precisely for these words.
But in the next second, Wu Liangchen pulled her into his arms.
After a brief gasp, Bai Erya lted into his embrace, burying her head in Wu Liangchen’s chest like a little kitten, refusing to let go.
"Did you miss ?" Wu Liangchen asked.
"Mhm!" A muffled response ca from his arms. Imdiately after, Wu Liangchen felt a warmth on his chest and knew that the girl had started to cry.
He didn’t say anything, just held her quietly.
At a ti like this, an embrace was the greatest comfort he could offer.
After a long while, Bai Erya finally looked up. "Brother Xiaowu, why are you back all of a sudden? Where are ngchan and the others?"
"Oh, they’re all at the Huangpu Guard right now. I ca back because I have sothing very important to do."
"What important thing?" Bai Erya asked, a bit confused.
Wu Liangchen smiled. "It’s a secret for now."
Bai Erya didn’t dwell on it. ’Brother Xiaowu is a man who does great things,’ she thought. ’I’m just a woman who can’t be of much help, so it’s better not to ask too many questions.’
"Have you eaten then?"
"Not yet!"
Wu Liangchen really hadn’t eaten. He had been in such a hurry to travel that he’d basically been eating only one al a day for the past few days. Today, for example, he had only eaten so of the dry rations he carried with him around noon.
Hearing this, Bai Erya imdiately stood up. "Then I’ll go make you sothing. What do you want to eat?"
"Anything is fine!"
"Okay, wait for !"
With that, Bai Erya hurried out.
In her eyes, nothing was more important than her sweetheart not having eaten.
Today, however, she wouldn’t have to do the work herself. As soon as she entered the kitchen, she saw that Uncle Bai had already prepared the wonton filling and was now humming a little tune as he wrapped the wontons.
For him, Wu Liangchen’s return had lifted a great weight from his mind.
After all, Erya was his only daughter, and he was very well aware of her feelings for Wu Liangchen.
Although he was relatively confident in Wu Liangchen’s character, the Huangpu Guard was a different world.
It was a dazzling, cosmopolitan place.
And with Wu Liangchen’s looks and strength, what kind of woman couldn’t he find there?
So he had always been worried, afraid that Wu Liangchen would get tired of her and abandon her. If that happened, his daughter would surely be driven to despair.
Fortunately, all these worries turned to dust after seeing Wu Liangchen today.
That’s why Uncle Bai, his heart greatly eased, had hidden away in the kitchen to make wontons for his "son-in-law."
But when he saw Bai Erya, Uncle Bai was taken aback for a mont before speaking.
"What are you doing here? Xiaowu has finally co back. Go spend more ti talking with him. You’re not needed here."
Bai Erya grinned and rolled up her sleeves. "Let wrap them. It’ll be faster this way."
Without another word, she took the rolling pin and deftly started rolling out wonton wrappers.
In no ti, a thick stack of wonton wrappers was ready. Then, her hands moving in a blur, she began wrapping the wontons at an incredible speed.
On the other side, Uncle Bai had already started the fire, and the long-unused wonton pot was once again steaming.
Watching Erya’s nimble movents, Uncle Bai felt as if he had been transported back to the days when they were street vendors.
Back then, the two of them, father and daughter, would often work like this until the early hours of the morning, regardless of the cold or heat.
On the way back, Erya, already drowsy with exhaustion, would still help him push the cart and carry the poles.
Sotis they were caught in a sudden downpour, which was even more miserable.
But even so, Erya never once complained. Instead, she would comfort him.
The thought tugged at Uncle Bai’s heartstrings, and his eyes reddened before he knew it.
Fortunately, he quickly lowered his head, pretending the smoke was getting in his eyes. He rubbed them continuously while urging her on.
"The water’s boiling! Hurry up and put them in the pot!"
"You got it!"
A few monts later, a large, steaming bowl of wontons, topped with a thick layer of dried shrimp, was ready.
"Eat up while it’s hot, Brother Xiaowu. There’s plenty more coming!" Bai Erya said with a bright smile as she placed the wontons in front of Wu Liangchen.
"Alright!"
Wu Liangchen was truly hungry. He grabbed his chopsticks and took a big bite.
It was the sa familiar taste.
The savory wonton filling, made from finely minced fresh at, was delicious, and when paired with the rich broth simred from pork bones, it was simply divine.
"Is Uncle Bai still making wontons?" Wu Liangchen asked, sowhat surprised.
This rich broth wasn’t sothing you could whip up on short notice.
"My dad can’t bear to part with his broth pot. He adds water and ingredients to it and lets it simr for a while every day. So, is it good?"
Wu Liangchen didn’t speak. He just gave her a thumbs-up, then buried his head and began slurping down the wontons.
Bai Erya sat across from him, a blissful expression on her face, watching him quietly.
This was the scene she had once dread of.
Back then, she had imagined it more than once: Brother Xiaowu would co ho after a long day of pulling a rickshaw, sit down in a chair, and not have to lift a finger. She would bring him tea, massage his shoulders and legs, make him delicious food, and then sit across from him, watching quietly, just like now.
So even if this was a dream, she would gladly accept it.
Soon, the entire bowl of wontons was gone.
Although this amount of food was just a drop in the bucket for Wu Liangchen’s appetite, the satisfaction from a hot al was sothing that half-cooked roasted ga could never compare to.
Before he could even set the bowl down, Bai Erya had already taken it and run off excitedly.
A mont later, she returned with another bowl.
"Brother Xiaowu, don’t rush, eat slowly. The wontons won’t taste as good if you cook too many at once," Bai Erya said.
"You eat too!"
"I’m not hungry!"
How could Bai Erya have any appetite right now? She secretly watched him while he ate.
’Brother Xiaowu seems a bit taller than before, but he hasn’t gotten thinner. And he’s gotten even more handso.’
Bai Erya watched him, infatuated, as countless thoughts flashed through her mind.
Finally, after eating five large bowls of wontons in a row, Wu Liangchen put down his chopsticks.
"Alright, I’m full!"
"Have a little more. I made a lot!" Bai Erya said.
"No, it’s fine. We can save the rest for breakfast tomorrow." Saying this, Wu Liangchen stood up.
Bai Erya imdiately grew tense. "Brother Xiaowu, are you... leaving?"
"What, are you trying to kick out?" Wu Liangchen chuckled.
"Of course not," Bai Erya hastily explained. "I was just asking, and also..."
Bai Erya lowered her head, her cheeks blushing as she said, "There’s a spare room here. Why don’t you stay here?"
Before she could finish, she felt a large, warm hand rest on her shoulder, and then she heard Wu Liangchen’s voice.
"Of course I’m staying here."
In an instant, joy flooded her heart. But due to her maidenly shyness, Bai Erya couldn’t even lift her head, only stamring.
"M-mhm, I’ll get you a quilt later. It’s a new one I made, with freshly carded cotton..."
Her voice trailed off as Wu Liangchen leaned down and whispered sothing in her ear.
"No need to go to all that trouble. I’ll just stay in your room."
Bai Erya’s face instantly flushed red to the tips of her ears. She glanced nervously outside, and only after seeing that Uncle Bai wasn’t coming did she say in a trembling voice.
"Okay... but you have to wait until my dad is asleep, or he’ll get angry."
Wu Liangchen, who had only ant to tease the silly girl, was taken aback.
Now it was his turn to be at a loss for how to respond.
Bai Erya didn’t notice any of this and continued on her own.
"Brother Xiaowu, you can sleep in another room first. After my dad falls asleep, you can sneak in quietly. I’ll leave the door unlocked for you..."
She didn’t say the rest, because that was the most an innocent, inexperienced girl like her could bring herself to say.
Even so, Bai Erya’s face was as red as blood, and she didn’t dare look up at Wu Liangchen.
Wu Liangchen smiled and ruffled Bai Erya’s hair. "Alright, but I have to go out and take care of sothing first. I’ll be back later."
"Mhm, you go do what you need to. I’ll wait for you," Bai Erya said.
Wu Liangchen didn’t say more, just nodded. He then went out and called to Uncle Bai.
"Uncle Bai, I’m heading out for a bit. I’ll be back later."
"Be careful on the road!"
"Got it!"
With that, Wu Liangchen left the Bai family’s ho, found a deserted spot, and leaped into the air, heading straight for the large courtyard where he used to live.
He could walk this path with his eyes closed, so he was back in the courtyard in the blink of an eye.
The courtyard hadn’t changed much. The room he and his sister used to live in was locked, but it was clear that no one was living there.
By now, almost everyone was asleep. Only the Liu family’s ho still had a light on.
Wu Liangchen didn’t alert anyone. He silently approached the door and was just about to knock when he heard Third Granny’s voice from inside.
"Xiaoxia, go to bed. It looks like Dongchuan will be working late again tonight before he cos back."
"Okay, Mom. You go to bed first. I’ll sleep after I finish stitching this pair of soles."
"Sigh, that Dongchuan. Ever since he beca a minor leader, he’s been so busy he can’t even look after his own family," Third Granny sighed.
"Mom, it’s a good thing for a man to be busy with his career. At least our lives are much better than before, right?"
"That’s true."
Outside, Wu Liangchen’s thoughts stirred.
’Brother Liu isn’t ho?’
He then pulled back the hand that was about to knock, and with a light leap, vanished into the night.
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