Chapter 521 - 535: Returning Home
Perfect.
"Does anything truly perfect exist in this world?"
An Ning’s question received a negative answer from Jiang Xia.
"I don’t think so."
"What a coincidence. I feel the same way."
After finishing a bowl of dough drop soup, the two of them concluded their last small gathering before their departure.
Early the next morning, before the sky had brightened, a bus departed discreetly from the hotel.
When a few scholars, drawn by their reputation, came to visit, all they found were empty rooms. By then, the Huaxia Team was literally up in the clouds.
On the journey home, everyone fell asleep, finally able to relax.
They no longer had to worry about the competition, the time difference, or, most importantly, their personal safety.
The moment they set foot on the soil of their homeland, their hearts felt even more at ease.
’This scent... it’s the smell of safety.’
’No one will be firing a gun in the middle of the night. How wonderful.’
Everyone said their goodbyes at the airport, exchanging contact information and sharing simple hugs before parting ways.
Yu Zheng picked up An Ning and Jiang Xia from the airport and drove them back to their homes near Beijing University.
The first thing An Ning did when she got home was call Lin Cuihua.
Making international calls was very inconvenient, and sometimes it was impossible to even hear the person on the other end. Lin Cuihua had known An Ning was going abroad and had been terribly worried.
She had no idea whether foreign countries were good or bad; all she knew was that her daughter was very, very far from home.
Leaning back in her chair, An Ning slipped off her shoes, wiggled her toes in relief, and dialed the number.
The phone barely rang twice before someone picked up.
"Grandma’s..."
A smile immediately spread across An Ning’s face.
"Hei Dan’er, it’s Auntie."
"Grandma—Auntie—"
Hei Dan’er yelled, and An Ning heard a CLATTERING crash, as if a washbasin had been dropped on the floor.
"Take your time! Tell Grandma not to rush."
Before Hei Dan’er could pass on the message, the person on the other end of the line changed.
"HELLO—? HELLO—?
Lin Cuihua shouted twice, her voice booming, terrified that An Ning wouldn’t be able to hear her.
"Mom—not so loud, I can hear you! I’m back!"
"Ah—you’re back! That’s wonderful! How are you? You’re not hurt, are you?"
"No, I’m back in one piece."
Lin Cuihua could finally breathe a sigh of relief. The two of them started chatting, their conversation drifting from the food abroad to how much An Ning missed her mom’s cooking.
"You silly girl, all you think about is food."
"Hehe, I can’t help it. My mom’s cooking is just too good."
"Oh, stop it. You’re just trying to butter me up."
Though Lin Cuihua’s words were dismissive, the smile on her face grew wider and wider.
The two chatted for over half an hour before finally hanging up.
An Ning had just taken a hot bath and changed out of her travel-worn clothes when there was a knock on the front door.
She threw on a jacket, ran out, and opened the door to find Jiang Xia standing there, still in the same clothes.
"Food. Here, take it."
"Aren’t you tired?"
"I’m fine. Tired or not, a person’s got to eat. Didn’t you say you were craving braised pork? I didn’t have enough time for that, so I made some soy-braised pork rice instead. It should be pretty good. I’ll make you proper braised pork tomorrow."
An Ning took the food container from Jiang Xia and asked casually, "Did you let Grandpa Jiang know you were back safely?"
"I did. I called and said I was home. My grandpa asked if there was anything else, I said no, and then he hung up."
"That simple?"
"How else is it supposed to go?"
Jiang Xia smiled, then urged her back inside. "Go on, get in there and eat. I’m heading back too. Get some rest. We can talk about everything else tomorrow."
"Alrighty! Bye."
SLAM!
The door was shut in his face. Jiang Xia stared at the door with a resigned look, muttering to himself, ’She sure doesn’t beat around the bush.’
Jiang Xia turned and went back to his apartment. He cleaned up the kitchen first, then went to wash up. Only after getting everything in order did he finally sit down to eat, already planning the menu for tomorrow.
Meanwhile, An Ning sat on the sofa with a large bowl of braised pork rice, watching TV and eating with relish.
’Nothing beats a home-cooked meal.’
After finishing the bowl of rice, An Ning snuggled into the sofa, not wanting to move, and drowsily fell asleep.
When she opened her eyes again, it was because she’d been woken by an urgent need to pee.
After a few minutes of internal debate, she finally got up.
’Humanity may be evolving, but we’re all still slaves to shit and piss.’
After taking care of that important business, An Ning went back to her room and flopped comfortably onto her bed, only to find she was now wide awake.
She squeezed her eyes shut and tried to force herself to sleep, but her mind only grew more alert.
’This is so frustrating!’
An Ning flipped over and sat up in bed, picking up the alarm clock next to her.
’It’s only three o’clock.’
This should have been the time she was sleeping most soundly, yet she was wide awake.
Since she couldn’t get back to sleep, An Ning decided she might as well get dressed and make some breakfast.
After all, she was hungry again.
’At this hour, it wouldn’t be right to wake up my neighbor, Jiang Xia.’
’I’ll just make myself some dough drop soup. How hard could it be?’
An Ning recalled how Lin Cuihua made the soup. First step: boil water.
While the water was heating up, she started mixing the dough.
The result: one moment, she’d added too much water; the next, too much flour.
Who knows how long she’d been fighting with the dough, but eventually, a burnt smell wafted out from the kitchen. Startled, An Ning’s hand jerked, and the extremely sticky ball of dough landed on the floor with a SPLAT. Both the palms and backs of her hands were covered in gooey batter.
An Ning was in a complete panic, like an ant on a hot griddle, not knowing what to deal with first.
Finally, she had no choice but to try and rescue the burning pot with her gooey hands.
When An Ning lifted the lid off the pot, a cloud of white smoke billowed out for what felt like a solid minute.
COUGH COUGH—COUGH COUGH COUGH—
CRASH!
The sound of the door being thrown open.
Jiang Xia, shirtless, barefoot, wearing only a pair of shorts, rushed in from outside.
"My god, get out—quick—AHH—"
Another THUD, accompanied by Jiang Xia’s yelp of pain. An Ning watched as he slipped on the dough on the floor and went sprawling.
An Ning crouched down sheepishly and said with a grin, "It’s true. There really is less smoke closer to the ground."
Sprawled on the floor, feeling the gooey dough beneath him and staring into the smoke, Jiang Xia offered a very sincere piece of advice. "Comrade An Ning, in the future, could you please refrain from dabbling in matters such as cooking?"
An Ning pouted, replying reluctantly, "I’m just a little rusty. I’ll get better with practice."
"No! Please don’t. When other people practice, they waste food at worst. You—you’re a threat to human life!"
"Listen to me, give up."
Jiang Xia tried to persuade her with all his heart, but An Ning just gave a haughty snort. "I refuse!"
And so, the two childish individuals began to chat in an extremely bizarre position.
"Alright, alright, you’re the boss. Whatever you say goes. Now, would you please allow your humble underling to clean up this disaster zone? I am allowed to clear the battlefield, aren’t I?"
"Mmm... Permission granted."
An Ning stood up guiltily, covered her mouth and nose, and ran out.
Once outside, An Ning smelled the acrid smoke lingering in the air and felt an even stronger pang of guilt.
’No wonder he got here so fast,’ she thought. ’This smoke is pretty intense.’
’How strange. Even my failed weapons experiments don’t produce this much smoke!’