Chapter 458: Done

Wu An, holding the divided catch, had just stepped out the gate when he happened to meet Wu Yingwei, who had just returned.

"Dad, what's up? Why do you look so rushed?"

Wu Yingwei coughed once and said, "It's nothing, I'm just taking a stroll."

Wu An froze.

Beside him, Lao Meng, who was smoking a cigarette, laughed until he coughed: "A An, when your dad heard you were back, he followed you home."

Wu An realized.

Wu Yingwei lit a cigarette and casually said, "How did this trip go?"

Wu An nodded.

He walked over and handed a portion of the catch to Lao Meng, who didn't stand on ceremony, saying, "Fine, I'll grill it tonight and have a big drink with your dad."

Wu Yingwei saw Wu An still holding a bag in his hand and asked, "Are you heading out again?"

Wu An said, "I still have a few shares to deliver."

"If it's tonight… I won't come back to eat."

"Big brother, you keep an eye on the drinking tonight, don't let Dad and Lao Meng overdo it."

Wu Ping nodded.

Wu Yingwei frowned slightly, watching Wu An walk away humming a tune, then muttered, "You're never home; going out to sea is fine enough, but when you're back you still run off, not even worrying about being tired."

Wu Ping said, "Dad, A An is busy with proper work now, not like before when he was just messing around, so you don't need to worry."

Wu Yingwei glared: "How can I not worry?"

Wu Ping was about to speak when Lao Meng smiled and said, "A Ping, your dad isn't trying to control A An; he's worried A An will wear himself out. Just now when he came over, I saw his eyes were all bloodshot."

"You can tough it out when you're young, but you'll pay for it when you're old."

Wu Ping suddenly understood: "Then I'll go call A An home."

Wu Yingwei waved his hand: "Just don't make things worse."

Wu Ping: "How am I making trouble…"

Lao Meng burst out laughing, watching Mei Yueqin call Wu Ping away, and said, "With A Ping's honest nature, I don't know how he ever managed to win Yueqin."

"You're lucky too."

"A Ping is honest, his wife is virtuous; I see A An won't need your help in the future—instead he'll be able to support the family and establish a household."

Wu Yingwei blew a smoke ring: "Pfft, what's so great about luck."

"Nowadays, every big and small matter in the village needs to be managed."

"A lifetime of toil."

Lao Meng smiled and nodded at him.

……

Wu An passed Lao Meng's small shop, put down the seafood, and left.

He had just reached the village entrance.

Gu Anran came riding a tricycle; from afar, their eyes met, as if they'd clicked 502, and they couldn't bear to blink and break apart.

The tricycle was fast.

Gu Anran arrived right in front of him and slammed the brakes.

His whole body lurched forward, his chest jolting, making Wu An feel dizzy.

"What are you staring at?" Gu Anran straightened the bike, pulled at his clothes—he'd been wearing them a while, they were already a bit loose, any bigger movement would make them flop—he tidied his clothes, saw Wu An still standing at the side, and said irritably, "Stop staring, hop on."

Wu An came to his senses; he wasn't lovesick, just tired.

Although he'd slept on the boat, each time he couldn't sleep much, his sleep was fitful; though the duration was enough, the quality was poor, so now that he relaxed, he couldn't help feeling drowsy.

He put the seafood in the cargo bed.

Gu Anran scooted over, waited for Wu An to sit down, then took a close look, seeing his eyes full of bloodshot lines, felt heartbroken, and asked, "Every time you go out to sea it's one or two days, and you never even rest in between."

Wu An looked left and right; there was no one on the road at this point, so there was nothing to hold back, he directly put his arm around Gu Anran's waist, pulled him closer, and said, "I didn't come just to see you."

"Let me lean on you."

"Mm… what did you put on yourself? You smell so good."

Gu Anran was too shy to push him away, yet didn't want to, so he could only let Wu An tease him, whispering, "I didn't put on anything; this is just the smell of laundry detergent."

Wu An shook his head: "No, it's not just laundry detergent."

Gu Anran: "... Where... where else could there be a smell? I don't even have a kid!"

Having said that, she quickly pushed Wu An away.

A vehicle came up ahead.

Gu Anran rode the tricycle, first delivering the seafood home; Wu An didn't get off, because if he saw the old lady he'd have to greet her, and if he was enthusiastic he'd still have to drink a cup of tea—too much hassle, but as long as the gift arrived, it was fine.

As it turned out, Gu Anran hadn't come out yet; next door, Lady Gu came out to throw out trash, happened to see him, and greeted with a smile: "Hey, young man, you're here to see Anran?"

Wu An smiled and nodded, got off the vehicle, and greeted: "Lady Gu, not out gathering seafood?"

Lady Gu said, "What seafood to gather at this time?"

Wu An asked, "Has Gu Jianfa come back these past two days?"

Lady Gu shook her head: "No."

"Last time he made a scene, and he hasn't come back since."

"When are you going to drink the wedding wine with Anran?"

Wu An smiled: "Soon, soon."

After chatting a few words, Lady Gu returned to her own courtyard.

Gu Anran came out and asked, "Did I hear you talking with someone at the gate?"

Wu An nodded.

The two rode their vehicle to Lao Wu.

Gu Anran said, "The people who vandalized the milk tea shop were brought by Officer Yu to apologize and admit fault, and they also compensated me with five thousand yuan."

"They also promised not to come cause trouble again."

Wu An nodded.

Even counting their lost wages, the damage they caused probably wouldn't exceed two thousand yuan.

Of course.

Including compensation for mental distress, five thousand yuan is not much.

Letting Gao Kang's people go as soon as possible is his intention; A Jin also messaged that he has already gotten Gao Kang and them online, and now we just wait to watch the show.

Wu An patiently asked, "Is there anything else you want to say?"

Gu Anran shook her head, seeing Wu An about to pounce, she hurriedly said, "I... I..."

Wu An smiled at her.

Gu Anran closed her eyes: "Go slow."

She knew that coming to Lao Wu's side, she definitely couldn't escape.

But it wasn't dark yet, which was a bit embarrassing.

……

After night fell.

Gu Anran got up, made some rice noodles, and forced Wu An to eat some.

After eating.

Gu Anran tidied up, then rode away.

Wu An didn't brush his teeth, turned over and went to sleep.

At this moment he was both tired and sleepy; Gu Anran guessed that just as she started the vehicle, he had already begun snoring.

He slept until just after five in the morning.

After lying in bed for a while, he still felt restless; he also thought it miraculous that, despite being exhausted from the afternoon, after just one night he could recover so much energy.

In his previous life, he was in his thirties; even without exertion, if he did nothing for ten days or half a month, he would still wake up as limp as a worm.

How could it be the same as now?

Awesome!

He took a piss, washed up, and went out.

While he was eating buns and drinking soy milk, A Jin's call came in, saying his arranged people had seen Gu Jianfa and Guang Liangjun arrive at Lao Tan's three-story building.

Success!

Wu An listened, feeling happy, yet also a bit regretful.

If it weren't for going out to sea, he would have wanted to see it himself.