103: Chapter 103 You're giving me pigtails?

The flight from Star City to Magic City took just over two hours.

Li Cheng parked his Buick GL8 at the arrivals exit, his hazard lights flashing.

Jiang Fan and Zhou Yutong pushed the luggage cart in front, while Shen Nian followed closely behind, wearing a face mask.

After getting into the car, Li Cheng glanced at Shen Nian in the rearview mirror.

"Shen Nian, you've really been reborn. You look so healthy I almost didn't recognize you. Congratulations, congratulations."

Shen Nian nodded from the back seat: "It's all thanks to Brother Li. And Jiang Fan."

Jiang Fan, sitting in the passenger seat, didn't respond to that, scrolling through a message from Xu Qingya on his phone.

[Xu Qingya: Tomorrow night at eight, I've saved two seats for you in the VIP section.]

Jiang Fan typed two characters: "Okay."

Li Cheng took a detour first to drop Zhou Yutong off at her rented apartment.

Zhou Yutong pulled her suitcase and waved that old Nokia phone at the car window.

The window rolled up, and the GL8 pulled away from the curb.

When the car arrived at the apartment building, Shen Nian got out first with her suitcase.

Jiang Fan didn't move. He waited until she walked into the lobby entrance, then turned his head to look at Li Cheng.

"Tomorrow night, I'm taking Shen Nian to see Xu Qingya's concert."

Li Cheng's eyes lit up: "I'm going too. Are there any tickets left?"

"Go buy them yourself."

"I—" Li Cheng opened his mouth, "You could at least take me with you. I'll give you..."

The car door slammed shut.

Li Cheng cursed, shifted into gear, and drove off.

— —

In the elevator of the apartment building.

Jiang Fan and Shen Nian stood side by side, with the distance of a suitcase between them.

Shen Nian stared at the jumping floor numbers, not turning her head when she spoke.

"Are you coming to my place for dinner tonight?"

Jiang Fan turned his head to look at her.

"What's for dinner? Making noodles again?"

Shen Nian turned back and glared at him.

"Get lost. Eat it or don't."

The elevator arrived.

Shen Nian pulled her suitcase out, walking with quick strides.

— —

6:30 PM.

Jiang Fan stood at the door of Shen Nian's apartment with a bag of groceries, unlocked the keypad, and walked in.

Shen Nian had changed into a loose white T-shirt and tied her hair in a low ponytail.

She took out a pair of slippers for Jiang Fan to change into.

"What groceries did you buy?"

"Tomato beef brisket."

Jiang Fan took the beef brisket out of the plastic bag. Shen Nian followed him to the kitchen doorway, holding a throw pillow from the sofa, and leaned against the doorframe watching him wash and chop vegetables.

"Why are you standing there?"

"Watching you cook."

Jiang Fan didn't shoo her away again.

He peeled the tomatoes, sautéed them in the pan until the juices came out, added the blanched and chopped beef brisket, poured in hot water until it covered the meat, covered the pot, and turned the heat to low.

It simmered for forty minutes.

The aroma of the tomatoes and beef stewing together in the kitchen grew stronger and stronger, and Shen Nian's stomach let out a "rumble."

She buried her face in the pillow, pretending it never happened.

Jiang Fan lifted the lid, tasted the soup, and added a pinch of salt.

"Alright, let's eat."

— —

Shen Nian devoured two bowls of rice.

Jiang Fan's chopsticks paused in mid-air as he watched the speed at which she shoveled the rice.

This girl used to barely finish half a bowl of rice in one sitting.

"Is it good?"

"Mm." Shen Nian responded vaguely, her mouth stuffed with rice, and picked up another piece of beef brisket.

After the meal, Jiang Fan washed the dishes. Shen Nian curled up on the sofa scrolling through her phone, her feet propped up on the edge of the coffee table.

Once the dishes were done, Jiang Fan wiped his hands and walked over, sitting down beside her.

"Are you free tomorrow night?"

Shen Nian put down her phone.

"What is it?"

"I'm taking you to see Xu Qingya's concert."

Shen Nian's fingers froze on the screen.

"Diva Xu's concert?"

"Yes. I wrote a new song for her, and she's performing it live for the first time tomorrow. I wanted to take you to hear it."

Shen Nian crossed her legs, hugged the pillow to her chest, rested her chin on it, and said nothing.

Jiang Fan turned to look at her.

"You don't want to go?"

Shen Nian bit her lower lip.

"...I'll go. I want to see just how good that song you wrote for her really is."

Her tone was sour, but Jiang Fan pretended not to notice. He stood up, poured two glasses of water, and brought them over.

"You'll have your own concerts in the future. Go and experience the feeling of a live show first."

Shen Nian took the glass and took a sip. The glass covered half her face, her eyes watching him from above the rim.

"It's still too early for me."

"It's not too early. The stream count for 'the wind rises' is about to hit one hundred million. A few more songs of this caliber, and you'll be qualified."

Shen Nian didn't reply, lowering her eyes to stare at the water in the glass.

The two chatted casually. They talked a bit about tomorrow's plans and then discussed the preparation strategy for the next episode of 'The Sound of Nature'.

9:30 PM.

Shen Nian stood up and took the empty glasses to the kitchen to put them away.

As she walked, the hem of her T-shirt swayed, revealing her shorts underneath.

"I'm going to take a shower."

"Mm."

With that, she opened the bathroom door and went in.

Jiang Fan got up from the sofa, turned off the living room lights, and left only one wall lamp on.

Thirty minutes later, the bathroom door opened.

Shen Nian walked out wearing a pink spaghetti-strap nightgown, her hair wet and draped over her shoulders.

She walked to the bedroom door, hand on the doorknob, and looked back at him.

Jiang Fan understood, quickly stripped off his clothes, and walked into the bathroom.

Five minutes later, he was done.

With a towel wrapped around his waist, he pushed open the bedroom door.

Shen Nian was sitting by the head of the bed, using a hairdryer on her hair.

The bedside lamp was on, casting an orange glow over her. One strap of her nightgown had slipped down, resting on her arm.

Seeing Jiang Fan enter, the sound of the hairdryer stopped.

"I can't reach the back. Help me dry it."

Jiang Fan walked over and took the hairdryer from her hands.

"Turn around."

Shen Nian turned around, facing away from him.

Jiang Fan gathered her wet hair in one hand and held the hairdryer in the other, blowing warm air from the roots to the ends.

Shen Nian closed her eyes, her back slightly pressing against his abdomen.

The scent of her post-shower body mixed with the fragrance of the shampoo, warm and cozy.

"Alright, that's about enough—"

"Help me tie it up."

Shen Nian didn't open her eyes, her voice soft enough to melt.

Jiang Fan set the hairdryer aside and picked up two black hair ties from the nightstand.

Shen Nian's hair was dark and silky, making it easy to comb.

He gathered it into a bunch, planning to tie it into a low ponytail—

He looked down at the two hair ties resting in his palm.

His hand paused.

Jiang Fan thought for two seconds.

Then he parted the hair down the middle and gathered a bunch on each side.

He tied the left side first. One loop, two loops, three loops, secured with the hair tie.

Then he tied the right side.

His technique wasn't very practiced, but he tied them quite securely.

"All done."

Shen Nian opened her eyes, tilted her head, and felt it.

Something wasn't right.

She reached up and touched it—a bunch on the left, a bunch on the right.

Shen Nian jumped off the bed, slipped on her slippers, and ran to the mirror in front of the vanity.

The person in the mirror had two perfectly even pigtails, one on each side, sticking up. Paired with her bare face and the spaghetti-strap nightgown—

She looked exactly like an eighteen-year-old lolita.

Shen Nian's mouth hung open.

"Jiang Fan."

"Hm?"

"What kind of thing did you tie my hair into?"

Jiang Fan walked up behind her, placed both hands on her shoulders, and looked at her in the mirror.

"It looks quite good."

"Good my ass!"

Shen Nian reached up to take them out, but Jiang Fan pressed her hands down.

"Don't take them out. I spent ages tying them."

"You spent ages just to tie this?" Shen Nian glared at herself in the mirror, her face flushed red. "I asked you to help me tie my hair, and you gave me pigtails?"