novelinnhs Chapter 40 The Sound That Came Abruptly to an End
Chapter 40 The Sound That Came Abruptly to an End
Choi Sulli's gaze fell on the military license plate and never looked away.
She walked forward in her slippers, tilted her head slightly, and looked at the gleaming metal plaque.
"This is... Father Jiang's military license plate?"
Jiang Yan put the bag aside, turned around and glanced at it upon hearing this, then gave a soft "hmm".
Choi Sulli nodded and stared at the military tag for a long time.
Then she turned around, walked straight up to him, pointed to the incense burner under the dog tag, and then pointed to the sandalwood box peeking out from under the TV cabinet.
"May I offer incense?"
Jiang Yan was stunned for a moment, not expecting her to make such a request. He walked over, rummaged through the TV cabinet, pulled out the box of sandalwood incense, took out a stick, and handed it to her.
Choi Sulli took the sandalwood incense and then picked up a lighter from the side.
With a clatter.
As the flame rose, she cupped it in her palm, brought the incense stick close to light it, and the orange-red sparks flickered at the top, while a wisp of thin white smoke rose gently.
She took two steps back, raised the sandalwood incense to the level of her brow with both hands, and bowed slightly.
Jiang Yan stood aside and watched as her lips moved slightly.
"……thank you."
Sulli bowed, and the smoke drifted through her fingers, slowly rising to the ceiling.
"Thank you for taking him from the orphanage back then, giving him a home, giving him a surname, raising him to be healthy and strong, and letting him grow into such a good person."
After saying that, he bowed again.
"Thank you for bringing him to Seoul, for allowing him to reappear before me during my most difficult time."
She straightened up, placed the sandalwood incense stick into the incense burner, and the thin white smoke rose steadily, spreading into a light mist in front of the dog tag.
After doing all this, she stared at the deeply engraved number on the military license plate, then suddenly smiled, her eyes crinkling, revealing a shallow dimple at the corner of her mouth: "Don't worry, he won't be all alone here. I'll look after him for you from now on."
Jiang Yan quickly turned his face away, rubbed his sore nose, and went to the refrigerator to pour himself a glass of iced orange juice.
By the time she turned around, he had completely masked his emotions and casually handed her the cup.
"Alright, go sit on the sofa. There's still something to finish in the kitchen. Minjun should be done washing up soon. I'll go grill the meat first."
"Okay, go ahead." Choi Sulli took the cup, sipped the orange juice slowly, but her eyes were not idle, slowly looking around the room.
The apartment is about 60 square meters. Although there isn't much furniture, it's very clean.
Apart from the military sign and the welcome banner, there were no other decorations on the wall.
The balcony door was half-open, and a gentle breeze carrying the scent of early spring grass blew in, causing the curtains to billow slightly before falling back down.
She put down her juice glass, walked barefoot around the living room twice, and finally stopped in front of a closed door.
A cute sticker was pasted on the door.
Choi Sulli stared at the sticker for a while, then turned and walked back to the kitchen doorway.
Jiang Yanzheng stood in front of the stove, using tongs to flip the Korean beef in the frying pan.
The oil sizzled under the high temperature, and the rich aroma of meat mixed with the fragrance of sesame instantly filled the entire room.
Hearing footsteps, he asked without turning around, "What's wrong? Hungry?"
"Ani, I'd like to ask, is that door with the sticker on it your sister's room?"
"Um."
"May I go in and take a look?"
Jiang Yan paused for a moment, turned his head to look at her, and then looked in the direction of the restroom.
He thought for a moment, then shook his head: "I can't make that decision. That's Minjung's private space. After she finishes showering, you can ask her yourself if she's willing."
Choi Sulli pursed her lips, gave a soft snort, but her eyes were full of laughter: "Hmph, how enviable."
Jiang Yan rolled her eyes at her, wiped her hands, walked back to the living room, and pushed open another door: "If you want to visit, you can look around my room as you like."
Choi Sulli curiously peeked in halfway, but froze on the spot after just one glance.
This bedroom and the living room are like two extremes.
The living room at least had a bit of cooking smell, but this place was as clean as a standard hotel room that had just been checked out, with very few belongings.
A simple wooden single bed, covered with a white sheet, with the quilt folded neatly.
There was only a lamp on the bedside table, not even a water glass, and the wardrobe door next to it wasn't closed properly, with only a handful of clothes hanging inside.
On the desk next to him was a laptop, a pair of black monitoring headphones, and several well-worn textbooks on composition theory.
The only vibrant spot in the entire room was the plump succulent on the windowsill, its glossy leaves clearly indicating that it had been carefully tended to.
Choi Sulli stood in the doorway with her arms crossed, shaking her head repeatedly: "Hey Kang Yeon-xi, did you spend all your salary in your sister's room?"
Jiang Yan ignored the question and continued to lay slices of Korean beef on the grill, the oil sizzling as it hit the hot iron plate.
Seeing that he ignored her, Choi Sulli's gaze swept from the simple single bed to the door with cartoon stickers, then back to the back of the man busy turning meat in the kitchen. The more she looked, the more unbalanced she felt. She walked to the kitchen door in her slippers.
"Jiang Yanxi, you're really tough on yourself. That mattress looks thinner than the ones in the company trainees' dorms. You can count the clothes in your closet on one hand. The only decoration in the whole room is that succulent on the windowsill. Did you get it as a free gift with a ramen purchase?"
Without turning his head, Jiang Yan used tongs to flip the slightly charred Korean beef over: "Minjung loves nature, but with limited resources, we can only buy succulents."
Choi Sulli was so taken aback by those words that she felt a lump in her throat. She raised her hand to her chest, looking heartbroken. "It's all over. You can't stop talking about Minjung. Kang Yeon, you're hopeless."
Jiang Yan placed the grilled Korean beef into the plate next to him, and then added new slices of meat. "It's not like I haven't experienced hardship before. When I lived in a semi-basement, the mattress was so thin that you could count how many springs were underneath. This is already an upgrade."
"How can that be the same?" Choi Sulli took two steps forward, stood beside him, and looked up at his profile. "You used to be a student, but now you're a full-fledged producer at SM. You have money in your account, yet you still sleep on such a thin mattress."
Jiang Yan patted his forehead, his face a mixture of amusement and exasperation: "Nuna, please forgive me! I'll buy it next time, okay?"
"Next time is next time," Choi Sulli replied matter-of-factly. After a pause, she suddenly reached out and grabbed Jiang Yan's shirt, shaking it. Her tone softened slightly. "I just feel it's unfair. You've never treated me like this before. No, you have to buy it for me too."
As she spoke, she unconsciously leaned forward again, the ribbons of her light beige silk shirt drooping down, almost brushing against Jiang Yan's arm.
Jiang Yan subconsciously wanted to take a half step back, but there was a stove behind him, and there was nowhere to retreat. He could only turn slightly to the side and switch the barbecue tongs to his other hand: "Okay, okay, I'll buy it for you. Don't stand so close, there's a lot of smoke. Your shirt looks expensive, don't blame me if you get oil splattered on it."
"You'll have to pay if it splashes on you." Instead of backing away, Choi Sulli leaned forward a little, tilting her head up to look at him. Her almond-shaped eyes reflected the flickering flames on the stove, and a mischievous smile played on her lips. "We just bought them together."
Jiang Yan lowered his eyes and met her pretty face, which was so close to his.
The warm yellow kitchen light shone down from above, casting a small fan-shaped shadow on her long eyelashes.
He could smell the faint scent of gardenias on her, mixed with the aroma of roasted meat, seeping into his nose bit by bit.
He opened his mouth, about to say something, when the bathroom door suddenly clicked open, followed by Kim Minjung's crisp voice.
"Oppa, I'm done washing. The water was a bit too hot, it took me ages to adjust it..."
The sound stopped abruptly.