weddingnovel Chapter 61 Jiang Yan's Righteous and Eloquent Words
Chapter 61 Jiang Yan's Righteous and Eloquent Words
"Don't say that, Nuna. I just got back too."
Jiang Yan stepped forward, bowed slightly, and then introduced the landlady to her, saying, "Grandma, this is a senior colleague from my company."
The landlady squinted at Lim Yoon-ah for a while, then smiled kindly and said, "Oh my, this girl has such beautiful eyes and eyebrows."
Yoona politely removed her mask, using the slight bow and the falling hair to obscure her face: "Hello, Grandma, I'm sorry to bother you."
"Don't bother me, don't bother me, go on upstairs, it's chilly outside." The old lady waved her hand, then glanced at Jiang Yan, her eyes clearly carrying another meaning.
Jiang Yan pretended not to understand and led Lin Yun'er upstairs.
The old-fashioned staircase was narrow, and it was a bit cramped for two people to walk side by side. Jiang Yan stepped aside to let Lin Yun'er walk in front, and followed half a step behind.
One by one, the voice-activated lights turned on, and then one by one they went out behind us.
"This building must be quite old, right?" Yoona's voice echoed in the hallway.
"Yes, it was built in the 1990s. There's no elevator; you have to climb six floors."
"It's nice. Apgujeong is full of new buildings, and it doesn't have the feel of these old houses."
Upon arriving on the sixth floor, Jiang Yan quickly took two steps, unlocked the door to room 601 with his key, and stepped aside to let Lin Yoona go in first.
"Please come in."
Lin Yoona took off her canvas shoes and put on a pair of new slippers that Jiang Yan had prepared in advance, her gaze naturally sweeping across the room.
Then she handed the white paper bag in her hand to Jiang Yan: "I brought you a little gift. It's nothing expensive, just consider it a belated welcome gift."
Jiang Yan took the bag and glanced inside. Inside was a bottle of red wine with a label full of French writing. Although he couldn't understand it, he knew it wasn't cheap just by looking at the packaging.
"Nunna, you're too kind. Please have a seat. I'll get you some water."
Jiang Yan placed the red wine on the dining table and turned to walk into the kitchen.
Yoona sat down on the living room sofa, her gaze sweeping over the Marine Corps dog tag on the wall before returning to the figure at the kitchen doorway, who was putting her apron back on.
Lin Xiaolu floated opposite Lin Yoona, her deer-like eyes fixed on her.
"What's she thinking?" Jiang Yan wondered to himself as he prepared the food.
Hearing this, Lin Xiaolu couldn't help but purse her lips. "She's thinking that your house is cleaner than she imagined, and it doesn't look like a house for a single man. Also, she's wondering if you can really cook, or if you're just putting on a show."
Jiang Yan came out carrying two glasses of water and placed them in front of Lin Yun'er.
"Noona, we're having barbecue tonight. I've already prepared the ingredients, so we'll grill and eat as we go."
As he spoke, he set up the induction cooker and baking tray.
Watching him busily working in an orderly manner, Lim Yoona picked up her water glass, took a sip, and said with a smile, "Kang Yeon-ssi is so capable at home too. Tiffany unnie said you work like a madman, but I didn't expect you to be so thoughtful in your daily life as well."
"I'm used to it." Jiang Yan brought out plates of marinated Korean beef and other food, and finally placed a plate of lettuce and a plate of garlic and chili slices on top. "I grew up with my adoptive father, who wasn't very good at cooking, so I learned to cook by myself."
Im Yoona's eyes flickered slightly. "Foster father?"
"Okay." Jiang Yan nodded and brushed a thin layer of oil onto the baking tray. Once the oil was hot, he laid the Korean beef on top.
When the oil comes into contact with high temperature, it sizzles and explodes, white smoke rises, and the aroma of meat instantly fills the air. "I lived in an orphanage when I was a child, and later I was adopted by my father, but he passed away last month."
Upon hearing this, Yoona's inquiring expression stiffened slightly. "Mianye, I shouldn't have asked that."
Jiang Yan shook his head and placed a perfectly grilled slice of Korean beef on the plate in front of her. "Noona, don't worry about it, it's all in the past. Here, try this. I made the sauce myself, with a little more pear juice than the ones in noodle shops, so it won't be too salty."
Lim Yoona looked down at the tempting browned Korean beef on the plate, picked up her chopsticks, and put it in her mouth.
Then he gave a thumbs up and said, "Dafa, it's really delicious. You really can do everything."
Jiang Yan smiled slightly, then suddenly said, "Nuna, now that we've eaten the meat, shouldn't we be more honest with each other?"
Yoona's heart skipped a beat, but she feigned surprise, "What?"
Jiang Yan sighed slowly. He had guessed that if he agreed to have dinner with Lin Yun'er, she would definitely pretend to be stupid after confirming that there would be no backlash, and thus get freebies from him.
If he wasn't forced to, Jiang Yan really didn't want to meet Lin Yoona right now.
He shrugged and said bluntly, "Don't you think you're being too curious about me? The way you looked at me last night wasn't like a senior looking at a junior, so it's pointless for you to keep pretending to be clueless."
Yoona's fingers tightened slightly as she gripped the chopsticks, and the smile on her face faded visibly.
She put down her chopsticks, and the gentleness and kindness in her doe-like eyes vanished completely, replaced by a sharp scrutiny.
"So last night at the barbecue restaurant, you knew from the beginning that I was testing you."
"Yes." Jiang Yan didn't deny it, picking up a slice of Korean beef and placing it on the grill, the fat sizzling. "Just like Noona felt, we both felt something was off about each other, didn't we?"
Lin Yoona was silent for a moment, then chuckled softly. This chuckle was different from all her previous gentle and proper chuckles; it carried a hint of self-mockery, a hint of relief, and a hint of ease that she no longer had to pretend.
"You're right, there's no point in continuing to play dumb."
She picked up the water glass, took a sip, and when she put the glass down, her fingers were no longer trembling, and her eyes had regained their usual composure.
Lim Yoona slightly raised her chin, placed her hands on her knees, and said, "Let me go first. I come from another timeline. In my memory, SM has never had a producer named Kang Yeon. Tiffany unnie's first solo album went very smoothly. Also, I heard from the film department today that Sulli rejected the movie 'Real,' which also never happened. As for your sister Kim Minjung, her signing with SM is next year, not this year."
With each sentence she spoke, Jiang Yan placed a piece of meat on the grill. Only after she finished did he slowly ask, "So, in the Nuna timeline, what were the consequences of these events?"
Yoona shook her head and blinked her doe eyes. "Jiang Yanxi, you still haven't told me your identity."
"Alright." Jiang Yan shrugged and said righteously, "Nuna guessed right, I also transmigrated here, but I'm not in the peninsula, but in China."
Lin Xiaolu was floating in mid-air, resting her chin on her hand and watching the show. Upon hearing this, she almost stumbled and fell from mid-air.
She glared at Jiang Yan, her head snapping back. "Hey! Weren't we supposed to be honest? What nonsense are you spouting? How could you lie to her?"
Jiang Yan didn't even glance at her, choosing to continue his nonsense: "I don't know how I ended up here in such a muddle. When I opened my eyes, I was in a welfare home in Busan."