54: Go back to my hometown

After Wu Fan returned home, Xiao Ai lovingly helped him take off his shoes and put slippers on his feet.

Wu Fan stroked her pretty cheek before heading back to his room.

After lighting a cigarette, he narrowed his eyes, plotting the construction of the house back in his hometown.

To the left of the old house was a vacant lot left by his great-grandfather. This time, he would add a room onto that empty space, which would be sufficient.

After all, the New Year was less than three months away, and there was no need to bother building a massive villa. Besides, what he was planning was to buy a villa in Island City and move his parents there.

Adding a two-story room onto this vacant lot would create four rooms, which was plenty of space.

Renovating the old house to include a kitchen and a living room would still leave ample space.

Wu Fan stubbed out his cigarette, exhaled, and considered the plans for the house back home settled.

Xiao Ai knocked on the door and brought Wu Fan a plate of steaming dumplings, accompanied by a small dish of fragrant vinegar.

She handed the chopsticks to Wu Fan and smiled sweetly.

Wu Fan immediately pulled her into his arms, picked up a dumpling, and fed it into her small mouth.

Xiao Ai wore a happy smile, snatched the chopsticks, and began feeding Wu Fan.

Wu Fan ate the delicious dumplings while Xiao Ai blushed... Wu Fan said meaningfully, "..."

"..."

... That night, Wu Fan went to the bar to relax, and after Liu Tingting finished singing, they returned to the hotel together.

Liu Tingting was like floodwaters unleashed, unstoppable. As soon as they entered the room, she clung to him like sticky candy.

Wu Fan laughed, patted her, and said, "Don't rush, I have something to tell you."

Only then did Liu Tingting stop, asking, "What is it? You sound so serious."

Wu Fan stepped back a few paces, sat on the sofa, lit a cigarette, and said, "I haven't paid you for your performances for several days, have I?"

Liu Tingting sat down next to him, snatched the cigarette, and extinguished it, saying, "I don't want money, I just want you to come and accompany me at night."

Wu Fan couldn't help but laugh out loud. "What? Are you implying I'm a gigolo?"

Liu Tingting covered her mouth and chuckled. "I didn't say that."

Wu Fan pulled her into his embrace and said, "I'm going back to my hometown tomorrow. Will you still be singing at the bar?"

Hearing this, Liu Tingting broke free from Wu Fan's arms and said, "Why so sudden? If you're not here, I'll definitely go home too."

Wu Fan raised his hand, gently touched her upturned nose, and said, "The old house needs renovation. The New Year is approaching. If I don't fix it now, I won't have anywhere to stay when I go back."

Liu Tingting nestled back into Wu Fan's arms. "That is indeed an important matter."

Early the next morning, Wu Fan quietly left after watching Liu Tingting fall asleep.

Wu Fan transferred one hundred thousand to her, secretly used her fingerprint to unlock her phone, accepted the payment for her, and then left with peace of mind.

Wu Fan felt completely assured entrusting Yaoyao entirely to Xiao Ai.

As for the kindergarten, he still had to rely on Teacher Chu.

So Wu Fan found Chu Ying on wechat and transferred another ten thousand.

Chu Ying replied instantly: {Brother Fan, what is this for?}

Although she said this, her heart was already pounding faster.

Brother Fan was truly too generous; transferring ten thousand yuan at the drop of a hat was incredible.

Wu Fan said: {I'm going back to my hometown to stay for a while starting today, so I need to completely rely on you for Yaoyao at school. [Hand-cupping gesture emoji]}

Chu Ying said: {This is my duty, why are you being so polite?}

Wu Fan said: {If you don't accept it, I won't feel settled. Once a person doesn't feel settled, he won't be able to do anything properly when he goes back home. Please help me out and accept it first.}

Chu Ying saw Wu Fan's message and couldn't help but secretly smile. This man certainly knew how to talk. {Brother Fan, then I will accept it. You can be ten thousand percent assured about Yaoyao.}

Wu Fan said: {Thank you. We might see each other at the end of the semester.}

Wu Fan's words had two meanings. The first was that he wanted to ask her out at the end of the semester. The second was that he hadn't forgotten his previous promise to give her fifty thousand at that time.

Chu Ying stared at the sentence, stunned for a while before replying: {Okay, no problem.}

After handling Yaoyao's affairs, Wu Fan sent wechat messages to Fang Hanyu, Chen Lu, Pan Shiting, Lin Daixi, and a few others, informing them that he was going back to his hometown.

He also called Fei Wei, telling him he was returning home to rebuild a house for his parents. He also informed him that Liu Tingting was leaving and asked him to find another beautiful female singer to perform at the bar.

Fei Wei complained, "It's too hard to find a resident female singer."

Wu Fan said, "Then you guys handle it yourselves. When I return from my hometown, I'll find you a pretty girl."

Fei Wei said expectantly, "Brother, finding a female singer, we have to rely on you."

Wu Fan didn't say anything more and hung up the phone.

He drove his car onto the ferry and left Island City.

Wu Fan planned to travel through Shanghai, then to Shaoxing, and finally to the village.

The estimated driving time was nearly five hours.

His hometown was a remote village in Shaoxing City called Wujiabao Village, a poor mountain village nestled completely within the great mountains.

The village had no industry, and the bamboo shoots harvested from the mountains were the only economic crop for every household.

The air in the village was exceptionally fresh, and the water was exceptionally good.

The clear spring water flowing down from Shimen Mountain was incredibly sweet and refreshing.

In the summer, villagers would simply scoop the water into their hands and drink it.

If this mountain spring water was used to brew the wild tea leaves from Shimen Mountain, that hint of pure fragrance was the flavor Wu Fan could never forget.

During the years he lived in Island City, whenever he drank tea, he would remember that cup of clear tea from his hometown.

This taste could only be found when he returned home.

After the car left the ferry, Wu Fan drove for nearly two hours and entered Shanghai.

As he passed the "Shanghai Welcomes You" sign, Wu Fan's heart inexplicably ached again.

He knew he would have to come here eventually to deal with Liu Yue and Han Li.

As his car drove through Yangpu District, Wu Fan actually saw the branch office of Zhengda Group.

The magnificent gate shone brightly under the sun, but to Wu Fan, it seemed to reflect his past sorrow.

Wu Fan lightly stepped on the brakes and looked back.

He suddenly had a strange thought, hoping that familiar figure would emerge from inside, but she did not.

After arriving in Pudong New Area, Wu Fan got out of the car, preparing to find something to eat.

He was truly hungry.

He hadn't had the appetite to eat while on the ferry. The waves were quite strong today, and the boat had been shaking violently.

Wu Fan searched on his phone and found a relatively high-end Thai restaurant nearby.

As he walked in, he actually saw the woman he constantly thought of yet hated bitterly...!