84: Chapter 84 Returning to Jiangcheng

Sixty-three thousand yuan.

Stacked bundle by bundle in a plastic bag, mostly red bills, with a few fifties sandwiched in between, their edges frayed from being folded.

Jiang Chen didn't even count them; he just stuffed them into the glove box and closed the lid.

He put his phone back on the mount and started the car.

The panamera slowly pulled out of the alley and merged into the flow of traffic on the main road.

The cold air blowing from the AC vent made his shirt collar flutter slightly as he held the steering wheel with one hand.

He didn't know where to go.

Just as he was about to drive in any random direction, his phone screen lit up.

A WeChat message.

Su Xiaoxi.

He glanced at it, slowed down, and picked up the phone.

It was a location pin in the southern part of Lanbei's Old City District, about a twenty-minute drive from where he was.

Below the location pin was a line of text, reflecting the kind of hesitation where she had typed and deleted several words before finally sending just a short sentence: "I'm all set here, I can leave anytime."

Jiang Chen looked at it for two seconds, put his phone back on the mount, turned the wheel, and made a U-turn at the next intersection.

He stepped on the gas, the V8 engine let out a low roar, and the car accelerated smoothly, heading toward the location.

On the way, he sent a message to Lin Hao: "I've picked her up. Keep an eye on the wrap-up here in Lanbei."

Lin Hao replied instantly: "Don't worry."

Twenty minutes later, he turned into a narrow street.

The houses in this area were even older than the apartment building in North City. The sides of the road were packed with electric scooters and tricycles, and overhead, a dense web of power lines cut the sky into irregular fragments.

The location Su Xiaoxi sent was at the base of an old six-story residential building.

Jiang Chen parked the car on the side of the road and turned off the engine.

Just as he pushed open the car door, he saw someone walking out from the iron gate of the apartment building.

Su Xiaoxi was wearing a light-colored floral dress, her hair was down, and she had white canvas shoes on her feet.

She was pulling a suitcase with her left hand, carrying a bulging canvas duffel bag in her right, and wearing a backpack on her shoulders.

It wasn't much, but it was clearly a bit of a struggle for one person to carry.

When she saw Jiang Chen's car, her eyes instantly lit up, and her pace quickened noticeably. The wheels of the suitcase clattered as they bumped along the pitted concrete ground, making a rumbling sound.

She walked up to him, looked up at his face, her lips moved as if she wanted to say something, but she swallowed it back.

In the end, she just stood there quietly, like a little kitten that had finally waited for its owner to come for her.

Jiang Chen took the suitcase and duffel bag from her and turned to put them in the trunk.

Su Xiaoxi followed behind him and said in a very small voice, "Thank you."

Her voice was as light as a breeze passing by the ear, carrying a hint of cautious timidity.

Jiang Chen didn't respond; he stacked the luggage neatly and closed the trunk lid.

He looked back at her.

Su Xiaoxi stood by the car, gripping the straps of her backpack with both hands, waiting obediently.

The expression on her face was one of relieved ease, with a hint of irrepressible joy in her eyes.

There were fine beads of sweat on her forehead, her bangs were a bit messy from the wind, and a few strands of hair were stuck to her cheeks.

"Is this everything?" Jiang Chen asked.

"Yes, I've got everything," she nodded, her tone soft and warm.

"Get in the car."

Jiang Chen opened the passenger door, and Su Xiaoxi obediently bent down and sat inside, her movements gentle, as if she were afraid of breaking something.

He walked around the front of the car, sat in the driver's seat, buckled his seatbelt, and started the car.

Su Xiaoxi sat in the passenger seat with her hands on her knees and her back held straight. From time to time, she would steal a glance at him and then quickly look away, as if afraid he would notice.

Jiang Chen caught her little movements in the rearview mirror but said nothing. He lowered the AC temperature by two degrees, shifted into gear, and drove out of the narrow street.

After the car turned onto the main road, Su Xiaoxi's tense shoulders finally began to relax.

She turned her head, looking at the receding streetscape outside the window, and stayed quiet for a while.

"Is Jiangcheng far from Lanbei?" she asked softly, her voice tender.

"Two and a half hours."

Su Xiaoxi gave an "oh" and didn't speak again, but the corners of her mouth curved slightly, as if she were silently memorizing the number.

The car became quiet, leaving only the faint sound of the AC vents and the low hum of the tires against the road.

The car got onto the highway.

The scenery on both sides of the road began to recede faster—fields, villages, and billboards flashed past the window frame by frame.

The sky was still gray, with lightning flickering in the clouds in the distance, but the rain never did fall.

Su Xiaoxi leaned back in her seat, looking out the window. After a while, she suddenly spoke softly: "I've never left Lanbei."

Jiang Chen didn't respond.

"From childhood to now, studying, working—it's all been here."

Her voice was very light and soft, as if she were talking to him, yet also to herself.

"The furthest I've been was the neighboring county, and that was for a school spring trip back in elementary school."

She paused, her fingers unconsciously tracing circles on her knee.

"I never thought I would leave like this one day."

She turned her head to look at him, something sparkling in her eyes. "Following you."

Those last three words were spoken very softly, almost drowned out by the wind outside, but every word was earnest.

Jiang Chen held the steering wheel with one hand, his eyes on the road ahead.

"Are you afraid?" he asked.

Su Xiaoxi thought for a moment, shook her head, and then nodded.

"A little," she said, "but with you here, I'm not so afraid anymore."

When she said this, her tone was very calm, as if she were stating something obvious.

It was as if as long as he was there, the sky wouldn't fall.

Jiang Chen glanced at her in the rearview mirror.

Su Xiaoxi noticed his gaze, and her face instantly turned red. She lowered her head, her fingers twisting together, and the tips of her ears burned hot.

"Um..." she whispered, changing the subject, "Don't you look at the road when you're driving?"

The corner of Jiang Chen's mouth twitched slightly.

"I am."

"You were clearly looking at the rearview mirror."

"The rearview mirror is also used to observe road conditions."

Su Xiaoxi was left speechless by his words. Her lips moved, and in the end, she just gave a small "oh," lowered her eyes, and obediently stopped asking.

Watching her reaction, the curve of Jiang Chen's mouth widened just a bit more.

The car traveled steadily along the highway as the sky outside gradually darkened.

Su Xiaoxi started to feel sleepy.

She forced her eyes open for a while, but her eyelids grew heavier and heavier, and her head began to nod down bit by bit, like a dozing chick.

Jiang Chen reached for a jacket from the back seat and gently draped it over her.

Su Xiaoxi felt it in her daze. She curled up slightly, wrapped the jacket around herself, and mumbled something incoherently.

If one listened closely, it sounded like "Thank you, Brother Chen."

Jiang Chen's hand paused for a moment.

He withdrew his gaze and turned off the stereo, leaving only the sound of the wind and tire noise in the cabin.

By the time they arrived in Jiangcheng, the sky had completely darkened.

The city lights spread out in the distance like a golden ocean.

Traffic flowed endlessly on the overpasses, and the high-rise buildings on both sides were lit with dense window grids, each one glowing with a different light.

Su Xiaoxi woke up in the passenger seat, rubbed her eyes groggily, and took several seconds to realize where she was.

Her first instinct was to look at Jiang Chen beside her. Seeing he was still there, she relaxed with a sense of security.

"Are we here?" Her voice was still husky from sleep.

"We're here."

The car turned off the overpass and merged into the traffic of the main urban area.

Jiangcheng's night was much livelier than Lanbei's. The shops on both sides of the road were brightly lit, pedestrians walked to and fro on the sidewalks, and the neon lights flashed past the car window frame by frame.

Su Xiaoxi leaned against the car window, watching it all with sparkling eyes, like a kitten seeing the outside world for the first time—curious yet timid.

Jiang Chen did not take her to Yujiang Bay.

Instead, he would find a five-star hotel first and help her find a place tomorrow.