The next day, Jiangg Yao didn’t have a moment to spare.
She checked the weather forecast and saw news reports about an impending cold front and the cancellation of flights at several airports.
And so, the plan to have Wan help her deal with Jiangg Ning was born.
Besides this plan, she suddenly had a special idea over the weekend!
She was inevitably going to be spending a lot of time at Chen Yuan’s place. And she had a long-held dream she wanted to make a reality: "staying home and gaming with her boyfriend." When she excitedly told Chen Yuan about her idea, he agreed.
Jiangg Yao wanted to build the ultimate fantasy gaming room. That way, she could have Chen Yuan carry her in games in the future. ’How blissful would that be!’
They chose the spare bedroom for it. Jiangg Yao spent the entire day, from morning till night, asking experienced friends in her group chats for help with the design. The next day passed in the blink of an eye.
After another heart-pounding night...
On Monday, Lanjing began comprehensive drainage and repair work.
And Jiangg Ning, having caught a flight, was rushing over as well.
...
「Fengting District, Apartment 1301.」
Jiangg Ning struggled through the door, hauling a suitcase along with various large and small bags.
Jiangg Yao must have heard the commotion from the bedroom, because she poked her head out.
She was overjoyed to see Jiangg Ning.
She immediately ran over, dropping to her knees to hug Jiangg Ning, and whined coquettishly, "Sis, you’re finally back! I missed you so, so much these past two days... I couldn’t even sleep properly."
As she spoke, she looked up, batting her eyelashes with a look of pure sincerity.
Having not seen her for two days, Jiangg Ning had of course missed her younger sister dearly as well. She was used to taking care of her and was always worried about whether she was eating properly or what she would do when she got scared.
Seeing Jiangg Yao’s pitiful expression now, Jiangg Ning’s heart clenched with sympathy.
She quickly stroked Jiangg Yao’s head and said softly, "I’m back now, aren’t I?"
"Hugs."
"Alright, you can hug me for as long as you want," Jiangg Ning said, doting on her. A strange, motherly radiance seemed to emanate from her.
The two girls pressed their identical cheeks together.
If any outsider were present, they would surely marvel that twins are truly God’s finest works of art—especially since these two were so equally exquisite and beautiful.
"I brought you some pastries, too. Yesterday’s batch wasn’t fresh enough, so I gave them to Ms. Wu and bought you a new one!" Jiangg Ning opened a nearby package, taking out the sweet-smelling pastries as they both sat down on the sofa.
Jiangg Yao happily nuzzled her cheek against her sister’s. "Sis, you’re the best. I love you to death!"
"Hmph. I’m tired of hearing that."
"Hee hee, you know I’m a sweet-talker."
The living room was filled with such deep sisterly affection, a scene so heartwarming it could make your heart overflow with pink, bubbly feelings.
Now that Jiangg Ning was back, they naturally had endless things to talk about: the blind date, the banquet, the stunning wedding dress she’d seen. They chattered away for at least half an hour before reluctantly falling silent.
"Oh, right. You haven’t told me how your last two days were. And Wan? Has she left already?"
"She left first thing this morning. She had to go to work."
"That’s a shame. I didn’t get to see her, and I was planning on thanking her properly. You should take a share of these pastries to her later, you hear? You can’t possibly eat all of these yourself."
"Okay, I hear you!" Jiangg Yao nodded vigorously. ’I can find a chance to sneak them over to Chen Yuan’s place tonight,’ she thought. ’After all, I have a key!’
’Delicious treats, of course, must be shared with my young master~’
’As for Wan? That name sounds kind of familiar.’
’Who was that again?’
If—and this is just a hypothetical—Jiangg Ning could read minds and knew what Jiangg Yao was thinking and what she had done, she would probably...
...The best-case scenario would be Jiangg Yao being cleaved in two. The worst-case scenario would be death by a thousand cuts, but only after being tied to a post and whipped a hundred times.
Jiangg Ning went to put away her luggage. But not even half a second after she walked into the bedroom...
...a furious roar echoed out, making Jiangg Yao jump!
"Look at the state of this bedroom! Why are my stockings thrown on the headboard?! Jiangg Yao, get in here right now!"
...
Nearly two full days and nights of rain had given all of Lanjing a thorough washing. But the streets were far from clean; the sides were clogged with wet mud and silt, and all sorts of garbage had piled up around the storm drains.
Droves of sanitation workers and volunteers were busy with the cleanup.
Meanwhile, on the Lanjing University campus, similar cleanup efforts were underway.
The downpour hadn’t caused any major flooding in Lanjing, but the situation was far more severe in other regions, where it wasn’t uncommon for houses to have been washed away.
By comparison, Lanjing only required a simple cleanup, leaving the city’s administrators with a sense of relief, as if they had just survived a major catastrophe.
A look toward the tree-lined boulevards of Landa University revealed a disastrous scene. Branches from many of the towering trees had been snapped by the gale-force winds and now lay strewn across the ground. Some trees had even lost massive limbs that had broken off halfway up the trunk, and the shattered fragments were scattered everywhere.
Only strips of torn bark still clung tenaciously to the trunks, the splintered sides revealing the pale, yellowish wood within.
Smaller, broken twigs littered half the street.
The low holly bushes had been blown over, all leaning uniformly in one direction. After their washing by the rain, their leaves seemed even more verdant, like jade, cupping glistening water droplets that would occasionally fall to the ground.
On the walls of the clock tower, patches of the thick, layered ivy that had grown for who-knows-how-many years had been torn away, exposing the ancient brickwork beneath. Nearby, the lawn beside Qingyan Lake was as soaked as a marsh; the ground seemed swollen with water, ready to suck a shoe right in with a single step.