A leisurely life starting in a bar after being reborn

The flight was in the afternoon, and we arrived in Yanjing at almost seven o'clock.

Zhao Gang drove to the airport to pick up Lin Xiaochen, first dropping her off at her apartment complex. As Lin Xiaochen got out of the car, she glanced back at Fu Yan: "Mr. Fu, I'll report any news from the new company as soon as possible."

"Okay, go back now, and be careful on the road."

The car door closed, and the A8 continued driving towards Shichahai. Fu Yan leaned back in the seat, watching the streetlights flash by outside the window, and suddenly felt a little tired. Not physically tired, but the kind of exhaustion that comes after running around, meeting a bunch of people, and drinking a lot of alcohol.

That's how business trips are; when you're out there, you feel busy and fulfilled, but as soon as you head back, exhaustion catches up with you.

The car turned into Yandaixie Street and stopped in front of the courtyard house. Fu Yan got out of the car and smelled a delicious aroma before even opening the door—the smell of braised pork, with a hint of sweetness from star anise and cinnamon.

Pushing open the door, I saw the lights in the yard were on, and I could hear clanging and tinkling sounds coming from the kitchen.

Fu Yan changed his shoes and walked inside, stopping at the kitchen doorway.

Two people were standing in front of the stove. Sister Zhou, wearing an apron and arm sleeves, was tossing the wok with practiced ease. Next to her stood a girl in pajamas, tiptoeing as she placed vegetables onto plates—it was Xu Wenshu.

She returned at some point, her hair casually tied in a ponytail, her apron crookedly tied, and she was learning from Sister Zhou how to serve braised pork in a pretty way.

"Put this fattest piece in the middle..."

"It doesn't look good in the middle, put it on the side!"

"Listen to me, the fatty parts of the braised pork look best when placed in the middle!"

"Sister Zhou, your taste is terrible!"

The two men were arguing heatedly over where to put a piece of braised pork, neither of them noticing the person standing at the door.

As Fu Yan leaned against the door frame and watched this scene, he suddenly felt that most of the exhaustion he had felt dissipate.

The steam from the stove filled the kitchen with a hazy mist, and the light from the bulb shone through the vapor, casting a warm glow. Sister Zhou was busy at the stove, while Xu Wenshu meddled in beside her, the food in the pot bubbling and bubbling—

Isn't this the feeling of having a wife, kids, and a warm bed?

Although I don't have children yet.

Fu Yan coughed.

The two turned around at the same time. Xu Wenshu saw him first, her eyes lit up, and then she pouted: "So you finally decided to come back?"

"The contract's been signed, how can I not go back?" Fu Yan walked into the kitchen, casually picked up a piece of meat from the plate and stuffed it into her mouth. "Hmm, Sister Zhou's cooking skills have improved."

"That's right, we learned it by following the lesson plan." Xu Wenshu took off her apron. "Go wash your hands first, dinner will be served soon."

Fu Yan washed his hands and came out to find four dishes already laid out on the table: braised pork belly, stir-fried seasonal vegetables, sweet and sour pork ribs, and an egg drop soup. It wasn't a lavish meal, but it was warm and comforting, much better than the one at the Shanghai hotel.

During the meal, Fu Yan took out the things she had bought in Shanghai one by one. She gave two scarves to Xu Wenshu, the trench coat was also for her, and she picked out a camel-colored bag, a size larger than the one she gave Lin Xiaochen. Zhou Jie received a silk scarf and a box of pastries.

"Is this all you bought in Shanghai?" Xu Wenshu rummaged through her bag. "Didn't you go to the Bund?"

"I just wandered around for a bit, I was too busy buying bags." Fu Yan picked up a piece of pork rib.

"Who did you buy bags for?" Xu Wenshu's radar went off instantly.

Fu Yan paused, realizing he'd made a mistake; he shouldn't have said that. But he didn't want to lie—"I brought one for Lin Xiaochen, as a work reward."

The kitchen was quiet for about two seconds.

Xu Wenshu said "Oh," then pushed the camel-colored bag aside and began to concentrate on eating.

Fu Yan glanced at her expression and decided not to explain. The more he explained, the worse it would get; it was better to keep quiet.

Zhou Jie quietly pushed the bag back to Xu Wenshu and whispered, "The one that President Fu bought for you is more expensive."

Xu Wenshu didn't say anything, but she kept putting down that bag afterwards.

……

It's not appropriate to go into details about what happened at night.

In short, a man returning from a business trip, a woman receiving a gift, and a bed that's not too soft but big enough—a chemical reaction is inevitable.

Fu Yan later recalled that night and felt that Xu Wenshu probably vented all of her feelings by combining her longing for the past few days, her fondness for the bag, and her emotions about "buying a bag for another woman."

In short, he's very aggressive and uninhibited.

So when the alarm rang the next morning, Fu Yan rolled over and listlessly said to the ceiling, "Let's cancel the morning exercise."

Xu Wenshu had already finished showering and was sitting in front of the dressing table with wet hair. She glanced at him in the mirror and smiled with great satisfaction: "Don't force yourself if you can't get up."

Fu Yan covered his face with the pillow.

My back really hurts.

……

The singer in the bar, who was singing in the early hours of the morning, has improved a lot recently.

Fu Yan could tell. This girl's voice originally had a velvety quality, but it was a bit rough before, like unpolished material. Now, after a few weeks of adjustments by the vocal coach that Qiu Kai found, that roughness has gone down, and what she sings is much smoother, and her breath control is also more stable.

On Wednesday night, as usual, she came to perform at the bar in the early hours of the morning. This time, she sang an English song, Eva Cassidy's "Fields of Gold." Fu Yan, sitting behind the bar, listened for a moment and almost choked on his whiskey—not because she sang badly, but because she sang exceptionally well, even better than last week.

When Fu Yanchong finished singing and left the stage, he gave Qiu Kai a thumbs-up. Qiu Kai understood and, while he came to get his water bottle in the early morning, he casually mentioned the formal contract.

I signed it without much hesitation in the early hours of the morning.

"But I still have to attend classes." She carefully folded the contract and put it into her bag. "Every Wednesday and Friday, that can't be changed."

"No problem." Qiu Kai nodded. "What about the training instructors' schedules?"

"Saturday morning." Ling Chen thought for a moment, "I don't have classes on Saturday afternoon. After practicing vocals in the morning, I can go back to school to do my homework in the afternoon."

Qiu Kai was a little surprised: "You'll still choose Teacher Hong for your vocal training, right?"

"Well, Brother Fu said that Teacher Hong is an academic, which can enrich my music theory knowledge." Ling Chen took a sip of water. "I thought, I'll just start learning and see how much I can learn. I can't waste the boss's good intentions."

Qiu Kai didn't say anything more, but he made a mental note of it. He mentioned it to Fu Yan when he turned around, but Fu Yan just hummed in response without saying anything.

Some things don't need to be rushed; things will naturally fall into place when the time is right.

……

Fu Yan's life continued in this uneventful way.

During the day, I sleep until I naturally wake up, and Sister Zhou prepares breakfast and puts it on the table. I occasionally go to the office in the morning, but most of the time I don't. In the afternoon, I either go to a bar or stay at home to read and sunbathe. In the evening, Xu Wenshu comes home from work, and the two of us eat together, take a walk, watch TV, and occasionally have a few arguments—all about trivial things, such as who gets the remote control, who washes the fruit, and what temperature to set the air conditioner.

Sometimes Fu Yan felt as if his life was no different from that of a retired cadre.

Until Chen Jian called.