Slowly Falling For Changkong 65

Chapter 65

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Recently, Xu Lian and Xiang ChangKong were thinking about redecorating. Xu Lian had bought and stayed in this home when she was still single, so it still had the vague traces of bachelorhood. After Xiang Xin was born, Xiang ChangKong was worried that they wouldn't have enough space, so he put in a down payment for another bigger unit in the same building.

(T/N: They don't live in the typical houses you see in western suburbs. Their home can be considered a really big apartment? Something like that.)

Now it seemed that his actions were the right decision. The rooms in their home could no longer contain the active Xiang Xin, who had just started kindergarten. Moreover, Xiang Xin had mentioned several times to her parents that she wanted a little sister.

The couple had no plans on having a second child at the moment, so they decided to raise a pet instead to distract their daughter.

But whether it was a second child or a pet, there was definitely not enough room in their home right now.

After Xu Lian and Xiang ChangKong consulted with each other, they decided to move into the new unit. However, moving wasn't a simple matter. When Xiang ChangKong bought the bigger unit, the couple had no thoughts on renovating the place and just left it empty. It was only now when they decided to move that they realized just how many things needed to be done.

Even the very first step-drawing the designs-gave Xu Lian a lot of trouble. 

Their new home was much bigger than their current living space, so there were many things to plan. For one, the balcony connected to the living room was almost 20 square meters. It was more a sunroom than it was a balcony.

Xu Lian wanted to make the area into a small garden with a swing and a few chairs. Her family could read or play with their pets while basking in the sunlight.

Of course, a room needed to be transformed into Xu Lian's workshop too. Like her current workshop in her store, it needed a large table for candle-making and for her tools.

After talking with the designer back and forth, modifying the design plans several times, and agonizing about the smallest placements, Xu Lian was finally satisfied. When Xiang ChangKong came out of the bathroom after taking a shower, Xu Lian waved him over and showed him her tablet. "The sketches have been modified again. Come and have a look."

Xiang ChangKong casually rubbed his hair and neck with a towel, then sat down beside Xu Lian with a grin. "As long as you like it, I don't care what it looks like."

"Still, you'd better take a look. If you end up not liking it after everything's installed, you can only pry the bricks off yourself."

Xiang ChangKong chuckled. "There's no need to be so serious about this."

"Of course we need to be serious." Xu Lian looked towards him. "Do you know how many couples end up divorcing because of home renovations?"

Xiang ChangKong: "..."

"It might be hard to believe, but our current designer had clients like that before. She previously worked for a couple who were about to get married. But one liked a rustic sort of style, while the other preffered modern minimalist styles. In the end, they got into a huge argument and broke up."

"...." Xiang ChangKong was quiet for a while, then said: "I think we should change designers. Too unlucky."

Xu Lian couldn't help but laugh. "That's why I'm asking you to look over the design plans. Not only the sketches, but also the materials and the furniture. Who knows? Maybe all it takes is an off-colored sofa or a strange door handle and we'll end up in divorce."

Xiang ChangKong: "...."

Xiang ChangKong solemnly took the tablet in Xu Lian's hand and went over the pictures the designer had drawn. Finally, he put forward some suggestions for modifying the TV wall. "I don't think we should have the hanging cabinets. It'll be difficult to clean if it ends up getting dirty."

Xu Lian replied: "But if we take out the cabinets, then the wall will look a little empty. That wall in our living room is pretty big, ah."

Xiang ChangKong thought about it. "How about this kind of cabinets? They would be easier to clean."
　　　　
"Ah...but it won't look that good. Well, it doesn't matter; in the future, we can just use a housekeeping company to clean it."

"Hm..." Xiang ChangKong swiped on the tablet screen. "It's also better to change the blinds on the balcony. It's quite difficult to clean blinds and it accumulates dust very easily."

Xu Lian replied: "But the blinds look good. It doesn't matter, we can just get housekeeping to clean it."

"Well..." Xiang ChangKong looked at the tablet for a few more seconds then lifted his head and smiled at Xu Lian. "That's it."

"How about the cabinets and the wall tiles? Do you want to change anything about it?"

Xiang ChangKong thought for a while, then asked: "What do you think?"

Xu Lian replied: "I think they're great."

Xiang ChangKong then said: "I think they're good too."

Xu Lian looked at him for a while, then asked: "Do you like rustic style, or do you prefer the modern minimalist style?"

Xiang ChangKong replied: "I like whatever you like."

Xu Lian laughed. "Alright, alright, I can feel your desire to survive."

Xiang ChangKong laughed along with her, then rubbed Xu Lian's head. "It seems that before a man and woman enter a relationship, they must first ask the other party's decor preferences, not just their three views and interests."

Xu Lian smiled. "Makes sense."

After the plans were finalized, the renovation company chose an auspicious date for them to start. They even decided the time, accurate to the minutes. Of course, the materials needed to be prepared in advance, as not to waste any of the workers' time, so Xu Lian and Xiang ChangKong went to the largest material seller in A City.

Xiang Nuan also went with them, but after picking the doors, windows, glasses, bath, and ceramic tiles, she suddenly lost any enthusiasm for buying a house.

"I'm so tired! I can't walk anymore...let's have some ice cream." Xiang Nuan pounded on her calves as she sat on the sofa.

Xiang ChangKong felt that Xu Lian should also be feeling tired, so he pressed Xu Lian down on the sofa next to Xiang Nuan and went to go buy some food.

Xiang Nuan continued to pound on her calves as she turned to Xu Lian. "Say, this sofa is pretty comfortable. Have you chosen a sofa yet?"

Xu Lian shook her head. "Not yet. We plan on buying the furniture and appliances last."

Actually, this was the first time Xu Lian was experiencing the hard work of decorating a house. When she moved into her previous home, her father was in charge of all the decorating and she basically did nothing. Now that she was experiencing it firsthand, she finally realized just how tiring it was.

Xiang Nuan felt that this sofa really was quite comfortable. She secretly glanced at the price tag, but ended up coughing in surprise. "Sister Xu, how much is your budget?"

She knew that all her brother's money was put into buying the actual house, so Xu Lian must be paying for all the renovation.

It was true that Xu Lian was the one in charge of all the finances in their household, but as for the specific amount they spent on renovations, Xu Lian hadn't carefully calculated it yet. Xu Lian pounded on her own calves as she told Xiang Nuan: "Having a nailed-down budget for this kind of thing isn't really all that helpful. For example, my father was the one in charge of renovations in my first house. My mom gave him the money and simply told him to do the renovations according to the budget."

"What happened?"

"My father stubbornly tried to save money by installing some things himself. Halfway through, things ended up in disaster and he had to hire people to do everything all over again."

"Haha, smart man."

Home renovations simply don't have a set standard. In the same house, one could spend 200,000, but could just as easily spend 2 million yuan. But since they had Xiang Xi, they should probably strive to save a little. Xu Lian decided to write up a good budget when they go back home. Even if they ended up going over budget, they should at least have a number to aim for.

So that night, Xu Lian rummaged through her closet for an old account book and for the first time in her life, began to bookkeep.

Af first, Xiang ChangKong tried to coax her to sleep, but after seeing Xu Lian so concentrated on writing, he approached and asked: "What are you doing?"

Xu Lian looked up and smiled at him. "Bookkeeping. We can't spend too much money in the renovations, as we still have to raise a daughter."

Her tone was so solemn that, and it made Xiang ChangKong smile. Honestly, it could be said that from the moment she was born, Xiang Xin was pampered by her parents to the max. Even Xiang Xin's grandparents, who raised their children to be independent, were thrusting all sorts of gifts upon their grandchild. In fact, even Xiang Nuan, Xiang Xi's auntie who didn't have a lot of money, would rather buy a dress for her niece rather than for herself.

But in the end, Xiang ChangKong didn't discourage Xu Lian's new-found enthusiasm for bookkeeping. It was always better to track and write all their expenses down, rather than to leave things be. Xiang ChangKong told her: "After you calculate things, let's discuss whether to get a dog or cat for Xiang Xin."

While pressing some buttons on her calculator, Xu Lian told him: "A dog will need more space compared to a cat. After all, they're a lot more active than cats. Some dog breeds are quite big too."

Over the years, Xu Lian had seen a neighbor walk their dog during her morning runs. The first time she saw the dog, it was still a puppy and was quite small. But it didn't take long for that dog to triple in size.

"So you think we should get a cat?" Xiang ChangKong asked.

"I personally think getting a cat is better. But we better ask Xiang Xin what she prefers first."

"Haha, I asked her before and she asked if we could get both a cat and a dog."

Xu Lian smiled at that. "That little girl is quite greedy, ah. I'll tell her tomorrow that she can only choose one."

Xu Lian added: "She's used to getting spoiled by you."

Xiang ChangKong grinned. "Hey, don't look at me, ah. Her most favorite person in the entire world is her grandpa."

Xu Lian could only agree. "I thought that my father spoiled me as a child, but now that I see him with Xiang Xi, I honestly believe that he held back with me. Nowadays, I think all the things he's given me only ended up in my hands because it couldn't be given to Xiang Xi."

Greatly amused, Xiang ChangKong told her: "Don't say that, ah. Your dad still loves you."

"Well, I certainly don't feel the love." Xu Lian curled her lip. But then she turned towards Xiang ChangKong and wrapped her arms around his neck. "But it doesn't matter. I think it's my husband who treats be the best."

Xiang ChangKong bent down and hugged her, placing his forehead against hers. "It's good that you know."

Xu Lian's smiled and kissed Xiang ChangKong on the lips. Then, in a low voice, she asked: "Is Xiang Xin asleep yet?"

"Hm, yeah..." Xiang ChangKong mumbled against Xu Lian's lips, his voice turning ambiguous.

Xu Lian pressed forward, their breaths blending together. "Then come hold me in bed and coax me to sleep."

Xiang ChangKong smiled and asked: "How do you want me to coax you?"

Xu Lian didn't answer, causing Xiang ChangKong to gently pick her up and bring her to bed.

The atmosphere was quiet, causing their heartbeats to reverberate loudly in each other's ears. They beat together in harmony, making it hard to differentiate. Xiang ChangKong raised a hand and brushed a lock of hair from Xu Lian's face before kissing her passionately. "Sleeping is boring. I prefer keeping you awake, rather than coaxing you to sleep."

***

The last extra is about Wei YiChen so I think this is the end for Xu Lian and Xiang ChangKong. 

A happy, pink-tinged life!

 

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