<h4>Chapter 336: I Didn’t Have A Woman I Wanted To Be Meticulous For. You’re The First</h4>


    “There’s no point in regretting it.” Yan Molun pinched her little face. He wanted to say some tender words to her before leaving. Now, he couldn’t bring himself to be tender. “Watch your safety. Don’t always go down the mountains whenever you like. Wait for me to return.”


    “Oh,” she replied softly.


    Back in the room, Duoyao hugged Xiling’s waist sadly. “Done for, done for. I only found out today that Yan Molun is already 32.”


    “Didn’t you know before that?” Xiling was speechless when she heard that. “Shouldn’t you know these things clearly before you even start going out?”


    Duoyao’s eyes darted around. “I forgot.”


    Xiling rolled her eyes. “It’s quite a miracle you haven’t been abducted. However, 32 is okay. An older man is more mature and meticulous. There are some couples that have an age gap of 10 or even 20 years. You two are only seven years apart.”


    Duoyao was still in despair. “I still haven’t gotten over the fact that I’ve gotten myself an old man.”


    Xiling: “...”


    Would Yan Molun be driven to his grave if he heard that?


    —————————-


    The next morning, Yan Molun had already left when Duoyao woke up. Duoyao stood at the old table tennis table, where Yan Molun usually sat to smoke, and nked out for a while. Xiling walked over and patted her shoulder. “Shouldn’t you be very happy that your old man is gone?”


    “Yeah. I’m very happy. He’s so old.” Duoyao snorted and she sashayed back to eat.


    Yan Molun left for an even longer time than before. In the blink of an eye, half a month passed. Although Duoyao was usually busy with teaching, she still enriched herself when she should. However, without television to watch and without the use of her phone, she had nothing to do when she was bored. Suddenly, it felt as though a certain piece of her life had gone missing.


    Sometimes, Duoyao would hold her phone in her hands andment, “Why do I feel like I’m not in a rtionship at all?”


    “There’s no choice. There’s no reception here. Even if he wanted to send you a message or call you, I doubt he would be able to reach you.” Xiling paused for a while and added, “However, if Yan Molun did call, you would probably go on and on about him being an old man.”


    Duoyao: “....”


    She was seriously suspecting that Xiling had been bought over by Yan Molun. Didn’t she just say he was an old man once? Xiling had used that against her ever since. However, it was true that she would never admit to the fact that she was missing an old man.


    ...


    Another seven to eight days passed and there was still no news of Yan Molun. Duoyao was a little angry. On Sunday, she took Uncle Ah Si’s mule cart down the mountain with Xiling to take a breather since they were bored. The main aim was to get some reception and make a call.


    When they got to the bottom of the mountain, more than 100 messages and missed calls came in. Some from Ruan Yang, Guan Ying, and Changqing. She called them back one by one. Firstly her parents, then herpany, andstly her friends. She called Ruan Yang of all her friends first since the two hadn’t been in touch for too long. “Ruan Yang, where are you now? How are you?”


    “I’m in Bergen, Norway. The scenery here isn’t bad and it’s near the sea.” Ruan Yang sounded like the spring breeze. “I’m baking a cake right now. My pastry skills are pretty decent right now.”


    Duoyao looked at her disheveled self and imagined Ruan Yang baking a cake elegantly on the Norwegian coast and suddenly felt a sudden sense of mncholy.


    Ruan Yang continued, “I heard you went to Tibet to teach. That’s pretty meaningful.”


    “It is pretty meaningful,” Duoyao started softly. “Are youing back?”


    “Of course, but it’ll be in around half a year to one year. This ce is simply heaven.” Ruan Yang said, from the bottom of her heart, “You cane over to y.”


    “I will when I’m free.” Duoyao sighed. She called Changqing. Before she even heard Chagqing speak, the sound of eating came from the other side. “You’re eating?”


    “Yeah. My stomach’s gotten a little big now and I rarely take part in events. I only record programs every week so I’m rather free now.” Changqing stretchedzily and said, “How’re things going between you and Brother Molun?”


    Duoyao knew she would ask that. Duoyao scratched her little face. “Song Chuyi didn’t tell you?”


    “Don’t tell me... you two are going out already?” Changqing lowered her voice carefully and asked a little nervously.


    Duoyao remained silent out of embarrassment.


    Silence meant yes. Changqing stood up agitatedly. “Are you serious? The two of you are really going out? It’s only been a while since west talked. You two are progressing pretty quickly. Speak. Which stage are you at? Holding hands? Hugging? Kissing? Or sex?”


    Duoyao covered her face. “Yan Changqing. You’re a married woman—why are you getting so agitated?”


    “Aiyo, I was just curious. You also asked about me and Chuchu in the past and I told you everything honestly, didn’t I? There shouldn’t be secrets between the two of us,” Changqing said with a grin.


    “Are you sure you were honest?” Duoyao snorted. She didn’t believe that.


    Changqing was a little guilty. “You two probably wouldn’t sleep together so quickly, right? There are no condoms in the mountains. You have to be careful.”


    “No.” Duoyao took a deep breath. Suddenly, she could understand how dirty she was in the past.


    “Do you need me to send you a box of condoms?” Changqing suddenlyughed out loud.


    “Thanks but you should keep them for yourself.” Duoyao really regretted making this call.


    “Forget it, I’ll stop teasing you,” Changqing said. “Let me tell you—our Lolita is pregnant and her stomach’s pretty big right now. We’ll probably have a lot of puppies by the time youe back.”


    “Then congrattions to you. You’re about to be a grandma. Your Lolita has finally continued the family line for you.” Duoyao teased. Suddenly she seemed to notice a car driving into the town.


    Her heart skipped a beat. When the car got closer, she realized it was a ck SUV.


    She felt her heart tightening suddenly. Changqing went on for quite a while on the other end with no reply. “Hey, Duoyao, are you listening to me? Are you having difficulty getting reception again?”


    “Er... Changqing, I have something to do here. I’m hanging up.” She put her phone down and when the SUV closed in, the window was wound down. Yan Molun’s solemn face peeked out. He stared at her with a deep gaze even more harsh than the afternoon sun.


    Duoyao stood there. She felt something tickling internally as though her heart was scratched by a kitten. She moved her lips and finally squeezed out a line after a long time. “Why did you suddenlye back?”


    Yan Molun didn’t reply and only smiled.


    Xiling walked over and said, “Mr. Yan, you’re finally back. A certain someone has been thinking of you every day.”


    “I wasn’t.” Duoyao red at her.


    Yan Molun smiled. “I doubt that too. When I left, she still despised me for being old.”


    Duoyao was embarrassed. She didn’t think he would still remember that.


    Xiling smiled. “Duoyao, you can go back with Mr. Yan first. I’ll wait for Uncle Ah Si and take his mule cart back.”


    “The mule cart is too bumpy.” Duoyao knew Xiling wanted them to spend some alone time together but she felt bad.


    “It’s alright; I’m bored anyway. I’d have nothing to do if I returned so early. I can make a few more calls while waiting.” Xiling waved her off.


    “Get in.” Yan Molun opened the door to the passenger’s seat in case a certain someone took the backseat again.


    “Then be careful while you’re on your own ande back sooner,” Duoyao reminded before getting in the car.


    ———————


    On the way back to the school, Yan Molun said very few words, mainly because the mountain roads were too steep and he couldn’t afford to be distracted. He drove on for another 20 minutes until they couldn’t proceed any further before getting out.


    Duoyao unbuckled her seatbelt and was about to look at the trunk to see what he brought when Yan Molun suddenly grabbed her hand. “It’s still early. Don’t be in a rush to return. There seems to be a piece of grasnd over there—let’s take a walk there.”


    He sounded as though he was asking for her opinion but before she could even reply, he had already grabbed her hand and pulled her in that direction.


    Duoyao followed behind him step by step. For some reason, she was actually a little nervous and started letting her thoughts run wild again. She put all the me on Changqing. It was her fault for mentioning condoms for no reason. How evil.


    Actually, although life was tough here, the natural scenery was pretty good. It wasn’t very warm despite being summer and there were various flowers in bloom on the mountain. They could see a meandering river in the distance while standing on the hill.


    After walking for more than 10 minutes, Yan Molun brought her to a clear spot on the grasnd to sit. He pulled out a purple Bodhisattva jade from his jacket pocket and passed it to her. “For you.”


    “This must’ve been expensive.” Duoyao had seen a simr piece of jade in an auction before. She heard that such concentrated and pure purple was very rare and there was one time when she witnessed someone spending a few millions of dors to auction a little piece of purple jade that looked like that.


    “It was alright,” Yan Molun said lightly. “I saw it in Myanmar and thought it was pretty, so I got a friend over there to carve it out. It even has your name on the back.”


    Duoyao flipped it over to take a look and could see a little “Yao” carved on it. She didn’t think that he would put so much thought into it and was suddenly regretting calling him an old man when he left.


    “Don’t Chinese people always call purple an auspicious color? Wearing this might bring you good luck.” Yan Molun took the jade from her. “Let me put it on for you.”


    Duoyao nodded. She lifted her hair to reveal her thin and white neck. Yan Molun fiddled around at the back for a very long time but still couldn’t get it done. She was getting a little impatient from waiting. “Isn’t it just tying a knot? Why aren’t you done yet?”


    “Mm, I’ve never done this for a woman before so I’m a little slow.” He was speaking in a calm and low tone but it made one ooze with sweetness.


    “Impossible. You must’ve been with a lot of women before me,” Duoyao said, trying to sound him out.


    “I’ve never had a woman I wanted to be meticulous for,” Yan Molun answered calmly. “You’re the first.”