Chapter 492 - 506: Preparing to Go Home
In the back seat, An Ning opened her eyes and cleared her throat slightly.
"Qiu Rui, please take Yu Zheng home. And arrange a few psychological counseling sessions for him over the next few days."
Qiu Rui, who was driving, looked at An Ning through the rearview mirror. "Okay. What about you?"
After all, she had been sent by her superiors specifically to provide psychological counseling for An Ning.
An Ning rested a hand on the door handle and smiled faintly. "Don’t worry. I used to butcher pigs all the time back home. I’m used to it."
With a CLICK, An Ning got out.
Inside the car, Yu Zheng gave Qiu Rui an awkward smile.
"I’m not usually like this. Today was just... a bit sudden."
Qiu Rui turned her head to look at Yu Zheng beside her. "Does butchering pigs really have that effect?"
"Huh? Maybe. She’s An Ning, after all."
She was An Ning. That one sentence seemed to explain everything, yet at the same time, nothing at all.
The car drove off into the night. Escorted by the beautiful woman, Yu Zheng returned home safely.
Meanwhile, An Ning, who had gotten out of the car, also arrived home.
In the darkness of the night, a single yellow lamp lit the room. An Ning sat on a small stool, her feet in a porcelain basin filled with pleasantly warm water.
She was soaking her feet.
"Xiao Lang, you can’t drink that. You really aren’t picky, are you?"
Just as she said he wasn’t picky, An Ning saw Xiao Lang stick out his red tongue and start spitting. SPIT, SPIT, SPIT.
"Hey, hey, hey, what’s that supposed to mean? I get the feeling you’re deliberately trying to gross me out."
Xiao Lang, of course, didn’t answer, but his actions spoke volumes.
An Ning watched as Xiao Lang left her side, went over to his own drinking spot, and used the water from his own bowl to rinse his mouth.
The GURGLE GURGLE sound made An Ning laugh.
"I’ve discovered something. You’re evolving way too fast. You even know how to rinse your mouth now?"
As An Ning teased him, Xiao Lang happily wiggled his little backside and returned, plopping down next to her basin again and trying to stick a paw into her foot bath.
"You want to soak your paws?"
"Wait, which ones do you want to soak?"
"All four? At that point, you might as well just take a bath."
The moment he heard An Ning mention a bath, Xiao Lang quickly retracted his paw and shuffled his little butt a bit farther away from her.
Having perfectly handled Xiao Lang, An Ning’s mood improved considerably.
She leaned back on the small stool, stretched, and stared blankly at the ceiling, muttering to herself.
"’Those beyond the heavens, though detached, are still entangled in worldly affairs.’"
’I finally understand what the master meant by that. Wherever I go, something always happens.’
’Trying to get through just one peaceful day... It’s so hard.’
RING—
The sudden ring of the phone made the muttering An Ning scramble to get up. As one arm reached for the phone, the foot basin under her feet slipped.
SPLASH—THUD!
AWOOO—
An Ning kicked the basin away, and it flipped over with perfect accuracy onto the unsuspecting Xiao Lang. Drenched, Xiao Lang let out a howl and shot An Ning an accusing glare.
An Ning suppressed a laugh, her hand already on the phone. "Hello?" she said.
"Mom— I’m heading back tomorrow. I want to eat braised pork with dried long beans... and buns with pork cracklings and cabbage... oh, and also..."
An Ning chatted on the phone with Lin Cuihua on the other end, talking about her return, the menu, and then the arrangements for the New Year.
About ten minutes later, An Ning hung up the phone, full of anticipation. She turned to Xiao Lang and did an excited little dance.
"We’re going home!"
"Yeah! We’re going home!"
Going home made An Ning forget everything else. She always felt that only at home could she truly, completely relax.
Once she’d let out most of her excitement, An Ning was suddenly energized and began packing for her trip home the next day.
The gifts were bought, Jiang Xia had booked the tickets, and she would hand over the foundational communications research to Director Zhao before leaving. Everything was ready. All she had to do was wait for tomorrow.
That night, An Ning fell asleep feeling slightly giddy. As for the murder and dismemberment case, it didn’t cross her mind at all.
In contrast, the onlookers, including Yu Zheng, didn’t sleep well that night. The moment they closed their eyes, the image of that head rolling nimbly would appear before them.
As for Shen Weidong and the others, they weren’t afraid, of course—because they had no time to sleep at all.
A dismemberment case involving five bodies was a major case no matter where it happened.
Investigate!
They had to investigate!
So, the investigators investigated, the sleepers slept, and the frightened remained frightened.
The next morning, An Ning was up bright and early. Before Da Huang could even show up with breakfast, she was already knocking on the door of Jiang Xia’s place.
Jiang Xia rushed out with a toothbrush in his mouth, grunting "Mmm-hmm-hmm" at An Ning several times.
An Ning took several steps back in disgust, holding a hand up to shield her face. "Please keep your foam where it belongs."
Jiang Xia had no choice but to open the door, run back inside, and let An Ning in.
When he came out after rinsing his mouth, he asked, "So early? Are you hungry?"
"What? Can’t I come see you if I’m not hungry?"
"Then are you here to pick another fight with me?"
"Can’t you ever think anything good about me?"
An Ning glared. She then heard Jiang Xia exclaim as if he’d had a revelation, "I know! You must be eager to go home, right?"
Jiang Xia’s reward was a cold hmph from An Ning.
"I bought tickets for the afternoon. Don’t we have to wait for... you-know-who?"
"Wait for who?"
An Ning’s question was met with a regretful tone from Jiang Xia. "What a shame. I should’ve recorded that to show An Guoping."
An Guoping!
"Of course I know we’re waiting for An Guoping! What I mean is, is there anyone else?"
Jiang Xia didn’t bother calling out the stubborn An Ning. He just went along with it. "No one else. Yang Jianguo’s train left this morning; he’ll find us when he gets back. Yin Xuemei isn’t going back."
Feeling a little in the wrong, An Ning didn’t reply and instead urged Jiang Xia to cook, saying she was hungry.
Jiang Xia, not minding at all, asked, "How about some plain noodle soup?"
"I want—"
"I know, I know. One fried egg, one boiled egg, extra cilantro, light on the scallions."
Before he even finished speaking, Jiang Xia was already in the kitchen starting on the noodles.
Soon, two bowls of plain noodle soup were ready.
A bowl of hot plain noodle soup on a winter morning was truly comforting.
With nothing else to do that morning, An Ning called Director Zhao, who came over in person.
An Ning gave Director Zhao some materials related to communications and also brought up Jiang Xia’s matter.
"It does need capital investment, but the higher-ups will still be involved."
"That’s fine. You don’t have to show any favoritism, either. Just choose fairly."
Director Zhao nodded at An Ning, agreeing out loud, but how could he not actually show some favoritism?
Not long after An Ning saw Director Zhao off, An Guoping returned, laden with bags big and small.
"Sis—"
An Guoping’s shout echoed through the entire street.
An Ning quickly opened the door from the inside, holding a stick high in the air.
"Who stepped on your tail?!"
"Sis—"
An Guoping’s pitiful "Sis" made An Ning toss the stick aside and smack him on the shoulder.
"What are you shouting for! I’m not deaf. I can hear you just fine."
"No, it’s just... what is all this stuff you’re carrying? It’s so heavy."