Chapter 70: Chapter 70: The Buns Didn’t Get Wet, Right?

"Daddy, hold me," Tongtong pleaded, tugging on Jiang Liu’s clothes.

"Okay."

Jiang Liu gathered the soft, sweet-smelling Tongtong into his arms.

Tongtong gently wrapped her arms around his neck, nuzzling his cheek.

"Daddy, are you unhappy? Tongtong will always be with you."

She could clearly sense that her father was in a bad mood.

She didn’t want her daddy to be sad.

"It’s all right, Tongtong. I’m fine."

Jiang Liu held her as he locked the door, then opened an umbrella and stepped out into the downpour.

Tongtong stuck her hand out from under the umbrella, feeling the streams of raindrops hit her palm.

Icy cool.

She loved this feeling of safety.

Being held tightly in her daddy’s arms, smelling his scent, cuddling against his warmth, with Miss Umbrella protecting them.

"Daddy, we have to be together forever. You have to protect Tongtong."

"I know, you little silly goose."

Jiang Liu gently flicked her on her little head.

Tongtong clutched her head, feigning pain. "Owwie, that hurts! I’m mad now. Daddy, you have to make it better."

"With a smack?"

"No, that’s okay!" Tongtong whimpered, shaking her head pitifully as she hugged Jiang Liu.

"I’ll reward you with a small cup of cola when we get home."

"Yay, yay!"

"Daddy’s the best! Mwah, a kiss for you! Let’s cuddle close so the big bad rain doesn’t get us wet."

The walk home was filled with warmth.

Back home.

The curtains were flapping wildly in the wind.

Jiang Liu closed the window, leaving just a crack open for ventilation.

A precaution against a potential gas leak during the night.

"Come on! Let’s get you cleaned up."

Worried that Tongtong might catch a cold, Jiang Liu led her off to take a bath.

"Aren’t we having cola first?" Tongtong asked, pointing at the refrigerator.

"You little glutton. The cola isn’t going anywhere. You can have it after your bath."

As he spoke, Jiang Liu grabbed two sets of dry clothes—one large and one small.

"Okay, I get cola after my bath."

Tongtong nodded her head. She really was such an obedient little darling.

He filled the tub, and the two of them soaked in the hot water.

「Meanwhile.」 𝙧𝙚𝙚𝔀𝒆𝓫𝓷𝙤𝓿𝒆𝙡.𝒄𝙤𝓶

The rain outside was coming down even harder.

Bean-sized raindrops hammered against the windshield.

The wiper blades struggled to keep up.

"Ma’am, taxis aren’t allowed inside the complex. I’ll have to drop you at the gate, is that all right?"

"What? But it’s pouring."

Jun Qingmeng stared glumly out the window at the puddles forming at the complex gate.

’How am I supposed to get back like this?’

’My clothes will be soaked.’

"Why don’t you ask a family member to come get you?" the driver suggested.

His voice was a little impatient. He was in a hurry to get his next fare—on a rainy day, time was money!

"All right, I’ll ask."

Jun Qingmeng unlocked her phone. It was a Huawei with a cute polar bear case.

She sent Guo Jia a message on WeChat:

"Guo Jia, I’m at the gate. The rain is too heavy, can you come get me?"

Twisting in a sultry dance while wearing cat-ear headphones, Guo Jia said excitedly, "Thanks to ’ImpatientBro’ for the big rocket! Love ya!"

She waited twenty seconds. No response.

Jun Qingmeng didn’t want to hold up the driver.

She quickly tried calling her.

In a bedroom overflowing with a childish, girly pink aesthetic...

...a phone on the computer desk vibrated. BZZZ. BZZZ. BZZZ.

Inside the headphones, DJ music boomed. THUMP-THUMP-THUMP.

Unable to get through, Jun Qingmeng felt a pang of frustration.

’If only Jiang Liu were here.’

’He would definitely protect me!’

"Sir, I’ll get out here."

"All right, ma’am. Watch your step."

With no other choice, Jun Qingmeng held the box of buns over her head and ran the two hundred meters back to her apartment building’s entrance.

The rain was torrential.

Her clothes were soaked through.

Her arms were covered in cold beads of rain.

Jun Qingmeng tugged at her drenched short-sleeved shirt and looked down to find her black bra was visible through the fabric.

Worried about being exposed, she clutched the bag of buns to her chest.

She went upstairs, opened her apartment door, and quickly locked it behind her.

The warmth and safety of the apartment made Jun Qingmeng sigh in relief.

"Guo Jia, are you home?"

She called out as she took off her shoes.

’The Bun-Bringer is back! She’s finally home!’

Guo Jia excitedly took off her headphones.

"Be right back, viewers. My meal ticket just got home."

[Get lost, get lost]

[Your punishment when you get back is a striptease.]

[Hurry back, I want to see the nurse costume.]

With that, she opened her bedroom door and walked out.

The first thing she saw was Jun Qingmeng, looking like a drowned rat.

She was a truly pathetic sight.

"This can’t be right."

Guo Jia scratched her head, thinking she was dreaming. She went back into her room, then opened the door again.

The next moment, she cried out:

"Ah?! Mengmeng, why are your clothes all wet?"

"What happened? Tell me! I’ll get justice for you!"

Guo Jia’s heart ached for her.

Jun Qingmeng pulled open the living room curtains and gave her a polite smile. "Did you not know it was pouring outside?"

"It’s raining?" Guo Jia was dumbfounded. "I had no idea. I keep the curtains drawn so tight in here."

"Why didn’t you call me? I would have gone out to get you."

Guo Jia spent her days dancing with headphones on, living in a virtual world, completely oblivious to the weather outside.

Jun Qingmeng laughed, exasperated. "I sent you a message. I also called you. Did you come get me?"

Guo Jia checked her phone and was immediately overcome with guilt.

’It was all her fault that her best friend had gotten soaked like this.’

’And if she remembered correctly, Mengmeng was supposed to get her period soon.’

"Oh, right! My buns! They didn’t get wet, did they?"

"You’re still worried about your buns?"

"Forget about eating them. I’m going to feed them to the dogs!"

As she spoke, Jun Qingmeng moved to take the buns from the table into her room.

The buns were protected by a plastic bag, a paper bag, and a container, so they hadn’t gotten wet.

"I’m a dog! Feed me!" Guo Jia said, hugging Jun Qingmeng’s leg and panting with her tongue out.

’She could live without her computer, but she couldn’t live without her buns and juice!!’

"Here," Jun Qingmeng said. "But if there’s a next time, don’t blame Mommy for being merciless!"

"Thank you, Mommy! You’re the best! The best in the whole world!!"

In the face of buns and juice, Guo Jia shamelessly cast aside all her dignity.

"Holy shit!! Egg and fennel filling?! Damn, damn, damn, a new flavor! Why didn’t you say so earlier? If you had, I definitely would’ve answered the phone!"

"This is delicious! It smells amazing! I love Jiang Liu’s buns so much, they’re incredible!"

"Mengmeng, bring me twenty next time. I’m worried I’ll dream about eating them tonight."

"In your dreams. Jiang Liu’s buns are a limited supply."

Jun Qingmeng snorted, then went to her bedroom to grab her pajamas before heading for a shower.

Guo Jia stuffed a bun into her mouth, took a blissful sip of juice, and her eyes narrowed in pleasure.

"But I’ve got you, don’t I? Jiang Liu is my future brother-in-law, so I can eat as many as I want."

"Dream on."

「Fifteen minutes later.」

Jun Qingmeng finished her hot bath and drank some hot water.

Just as she lay down on her bed, about to send a message, she felt a sudden cramp in her lower abdomen.

She touched her stomach; it was ice-cold.

Her head also began to ache, and she felt dizzy.

’This feels awful.’

Her phone vibrated.

Jiang Liu: Did you make it home? How are you?

Jun Qingmeng touched her forehead. It felt a little hot.

’Am I catching a cold? I’m so frail.’

Fighting through her weakness, she walked out of the bedroom, refilled a large glass with hot water, and gulped it down.

Lying in bed and wrapped in her quilt, she still felt miserable.

Jun Qingmeng remembered she wanted to message Jiang Liu and quickly grabbed her phone.

When she opened WeChat, she saw his message.

Jiang Liu: "Did you make it home? How are you?"

Her mood instantly brightened, and even the cramping in her abdomen seemed to ease.

Jun Qingmeng typed out a reply: "I’m home. Just had a hot bath. How about you?"

Jiang Liu: "We’re home. I just gave Tongtong her bath."

Jun Qingmeng: "Mm, that’s good. What are you doing now?"

Jiang Liu: "Lying on the couch, watching anime."