Bringing the Nation's Husband Home

Lu Jinnian had woken up early in the morning to come to the Mount Yi villa. As he still had a slight fever, he never slept well, and so listening to Qiao Anhao’s chatter, he unwittingly nodded off.

That nap, he fell into a particularly deep sleep. When he woke up again, sky outside his window was already dark. As the lights were off in his room, it was pitch-black.

Lu Jinnian felt around for the remote control. He turned on all the lights in the villa. Seeing that he was the only one in the room, he instinctively raised his arm to rub the bandage on his back. With this, he confirmed that Qiao Anhao had really been here this afternoon. He then flew off the bed and left the room.

The villa was very quiet. Apart from his footsteps, no other sounds could be heard. The floor-to-ceiling window on the first floor wasn’t shut, and so the cold night air blew the curtains, fluttering them endlessly.

Lu Jinnian went around the whole villa but couldn’t see Qiao Anhao at all. A hint of disappointment couldn’t help but appear in his heart. She had already left... Lu Jinnian stood in the large empty living room on his own for a long while before pursing his lips and striding up the stairs. He circled the bedroom once more before finally taking a few pills from the cabinet by the bedhead.

Lu Jinnian’s line of sight instantly paused. He quietly stared for a long time, and then pulled out a cigarette from the side-drawer, sitting down. He lit it up but didn’t take a hit, as he heard a faint sound coming from downstairs.

He furrowed his brows and listened carefully. There was in fact a faint sound of footsteps. Thereupon, he put out the cigarette in his hand in the ash tray, then quickly got up and left the room. Just as he reached the stairs, he saw Qiao Anhao panting, carrying a large bag into the dining room.

Lu Jinnian strode over, casually going down the stairs towards the dining room.

The dining room’s door was open, and he saw her taking one dish out after the other from her bag of takeaway and place them neatly on the dining table.

Lu Jinnian didn’t say a word to disturb her, leaning on the dining room doo as he quietly watched.

Qiao Anhao nicely packed everything away, looked at the table of food, and clapped her hands in satisfaction. She turned around then, ready to call Lu Jinnian for dinner. When she saw him posed leisurely at the door, she jumped in shock, but then smiled at him. ”You’re up? Then go wash your hands for dinner.”

Lu Jinnian didn’t move but stared into Qiao Anhao’s eyes for a while, then asked, ”You went out just now to get take out?”

Qiao Anhao nodded, then said with a hint of an anger in her voice, ”You live too far. They wouldn’t deliver here, and so I had to drive over there myself to get it.”

So she didn’t leave after all... Lu Jinnian’s heart relaxed a little. He slowly stood upright, turned towards the first floor, and went to the communal bathroom to wash his hands. When he came back, Qiao Anhao already sat obediently at the dining table, waiting for him.

As she saw him come in, she said, ”I can’t cook, and I don’t know what you like to eat, so I bought some rather bland food.”

Lu Jinnian pulled out the chair in front of Qiao Anhao and sat down. He glanced over five dishes and one soup. The meat and vegetables suited each other well, and nutrition was well balanced. He nodded at Qiao Anhao and picked up the chopsticks that she’d prepared for him earlier and started to eat.

After a few bites, Lu Jinnian raised his head and looked at Qiao Anhao, who was eating in silence. He stopped for a moment, thinking of a topic for conversation. He asked, ”How did you get in?”