Chapter 19 I really want to take a bite

Although it was unintentional, Fu Zhiheng seemed genuinely amused by Luo Xincheng.

She thought to herself, "They have such a low threshold for humor."

But to be honest, he looked much better when he smiled than when he looked so wronged just now.

She gazed at the lingering smile in the corner of his eyes, then suddenly became serious.

"But anyway, thank you for remembering Bossy's death anniversary, and thank you for coming to see it."

It turns out she wasn't the only one in the world who remembered that beautiful and clever little pony; that's good.

Fu Zhiheng turned his head and stared into her eyes.

Although there was no obvious emotion in her eyes, he felt that she must be quite sad at the moment.

Thinking of this, a hint of helplessness flashed across his face. "It's been so long since you've seen it. Do you have a lot to say to it? It's really inappropriate for an outsider like me to be here."

"I think I'd better avoid this."

Luo Xincheng felt that he was using a feigned retreat to advance, and casually retorted, "It's raining so hard, and you don't have an umbrella. Where are you going to take shelter?"

He quickly replied, "My car is parked outside the cemetery."

She glanced at him, catching his momentary unease, and said dismissively, "Forget it, there's no need."

After a two-second silence, she pouted and said, "It's not like we're in an art film. What kind of touching words are there to say to a pet that's been dead for so many years?"

At this point, she thought for a moment but couldn't remember, so she asked him, "When I brought you here, I didn't say anything to the tombstone, did I?"

He shook his head.

Luo Xincheng breathed a sigh of relief, thankful that her younger self didn't have so many delicate and sentimental thoughts.

Fu Zhiheng continued, "You said I'm not worthy to listen."

Luo Xincheng: "..."

Thankfully, it happened early.

The good news is that she didn't have any pretentious or whimsical ideas when she was young.

The bad news is that back then she was arrogant and conceited, and she was used to belittling people.

Finally, he added with a smile, "Saying I'm not qualified... I'm even less qualified to hear that now."

His smile wasn't very attractive.

Luo Xincheng's expression became somewhat subtle and strange as he spoke.

But she never doubted the veracity of what he said for a single second, because she was indeed the kind of person who could say such things.

Although I've long forgotten exactly what I was thinking back then, it was probably something like feeling ashamed to show my vulnerable side in front of him...

She didn't want to leave an impression of being sensitive or empathetic in the minds of outsiders, because that would make her seem 'soft' and 'kind.' While these might be shining qualities in the eyes of ordinary people, they could be easy to manipulate in the eyes of some with ulterior motives.

Luo Xincheng hates being treated like a pushover; she prefers to be seen as a cold and unapproachable person.

The same applies to boyfriends.

Of course, she would never say such a thought out loud; it would seem a bit childish.

So, at this moment, facing his slightly resentful and accusing gaze, she could only force a smile and give a dry laugh, like a robot.

"Hehe, really? I was quite cheeky back then."

So she really doesn't want to have anything to do with Fu Zhiheng anymore, because she doesn't know when he'll bring up some of her past scandals again.

She glanced at him and reiterated, "You have a really good memory."

These words sounded like they were squeezed out from between clenched teeth.

Fu Zhiheng sensed her sarcastic tone and said seriously, "It's not that good."

I just happen to remember everything about her.

Although she didn't seem to want him to remember so clearly.

The rain kept falling, and it was getting heavier and heavier, pounding on the umbrella with such force that it seemed like it was going to smash the umbrella surface.

Luo Xincheng gazed at Bossy's photo on the tombstone, now clean yet blurred by the rain, and sighed softly.

People's emotions can be affected by the weather.

If it were just a light drizzle, she would be enveloped in the continuous rain, gazing at the tombstone of her beloved pet. Perhaps some sad and melancholic emotions would gradually well up in her heart, like newly sprouted buds, growing weakly yet tenaciously in the wind and rain.

But today's rain is just too heavy; it's like firecrackers going off, crackling and popping so loudly it's unbearable.

I should have known better than to listen to the weather forecast that it would be cloudy turning to light rain; I should have waited for the rain to stop before coming.

How old is it?

His voice rang out abruptly, interrupting Luo Xincheng's resentment towards the weather.

She froze, calculating in her mind, "Hmm, if he's not dead, he should be seventeen this year."

Fu Zhiheng nodded, unconcerned about revealing his ignorance, "It's really beautiful, what breed of horse is it?"

Didn't she even say that at the time?

Luo Xincheng casually replied, "Its scientific name is Kipchak Nirma, or Gypsy horse for short."

He opened his eyes wide at just the right moment, looking as if he had gained some new knowledge.

"It must be very smart, well-behaved, and obedient, right? That's why you like it so much and miss it so much."

Her nonchalant expression suddenly changed.

Very smart... very obedient?

Her face was blank, and her gaze at the tombstone suddenly became somewhat lost.

She should have nodded immediately upon hearing the question, confirming with certainty that it was indeed a smart, obedient, and well-behaved pony, and then quickly ended the conversation.

It's just her pet, it has nothing to do with him, so why say so much?

no need.

but……

But it's been such a long, long time since anyone talked to her about Bossy. So long that she can't even remember what it looks like without looking at a picture. So long that the impression she has of it is about to completely transform into what she imagined.

"Intelligent... I don't know, I certainly didn't see how it was any smarter than other horses, as for being obedient..."

Her lips curled up, but her brows furrowed, revealing a very awkward smile.

"Naughty, disobedient?" Fu Zhiheng looked puzzled and said in a low voice, "But you used to say that you only liked obedient girls who would do whatever you said, otherwise you didn't want them."

"That's definitely what I want," she chuckled briefly. "But how intelligent are horses? They're not even as smart as dogs. Their brains are probably smaller than a walnut. What can they understand?"

Fu Zhiheng: "So...it's neither smart nor obedient?"

Luo Xincheng did not respond immediately.

She looked straight ahead and took a deep breath.

The cool, moist air rushed into her nasal cavity, giving her mind a brief moment of clarity.

Fu Zhiheng waited patiently, but when he didn't get a response, the light of hope in his eyes flickered and gradually faded away.

"I..." He forced a light laugh, repeating her words in a joking tone, "Am I not worthy to hear this?"

She shook her head, her expression somewhat dazed, as if she were still lost in memories.

"I just can't quite remember its true personality."

He tilted his head, indicating his confusion.

Luo Xincheng sighed softly, "Time really does beautify many memories."

She claims to be illiterate, but when it comes to her beloved pets, she can actually say some philosophical things.

However, she quickly abandoned this pretentious manner and began to speak in her usual calm tone.

"It's actually not well-behaved at all. The first time I saw it was at a horse farm in Ireland. It was walking on the lawn with other horses of the same age, with a carrot in its mouth, eating and spilling as it ate."

“When the zookeeper took me to interact with them, all the other ponies let me pet them obediently, but this one came up and licked me and even nibbled on my hair.” She looked disgusted. “There were carrot bits in its mouth, all stuck to my hair.”

She didn't know where this inexplicable urge to express herself came from, even though she hadn't wanted to talk to Fu Zhiheng about these things before.

But if she doesn't speak up now, she's not sure how long her brain can store these memories.

Fu Zhiheng has a very good memory; if you tell him what you want to say, he will help you remember it.

Fu Zhiheng: "But I heard that when a horse licks you, it's a sign that it likes you."

Luo Xincheng nodded, "That's what the zookeeper said at the time, so I begged my parents to buy it."

Fu Zhiheng couldn't help but imagine her as a child, acting spoiled and unreasonable. He laughed, his voice incredibly soft.

"And then you took it home as you wished?"

"Well, I did bring it home later, but... the process wasn't so smooth."

"?"

Meeting his questioning gaze, Luo Xincheng explained, "The house my family lived in at the time was quite small, with a backyard of less than 200 square meters. There was really no place for it to live. Even if we reluctantly brought it back, it would feel very cramped, so my parents disagreed."

The backyard is less than 200 square meters?

Even though he knew she wasn't deliberately being eccentric, Fu Zhiheng's lips still twitched involuntarily.

"Then why did they agree later?" He paused, his voice rising at the end, "Was it because you cried, shouted, and threw a tantrum at them?"

Luo Xincheng glared at him fiercely, "What are you speculating about? Do you think I'm that kind of person?"

yes.

she is.

Having just graduated from kindergarten, she was at the age when she was most shameless and unscrupulous, and she would stop at nothing to get what she wanted.

In young Luo Xincheng's view, problems that can be solved with money are not problems. If the house is not big enough to keep horses, then just change houses. It's not a big deal. Why can't she keep them?

She immediately hugged her mother's waist, crying and wailing, almost rolling around on the lawn. The little pony she had her eye on was grinning with its big teeth right next to her.

Seeing her like this, her parents felt both embarrassed and amused. They took pictures of her with their phones for a while before finally agreeing to her request.

Anyway...

In any case, the outcome was good.

"So later, you moved to a different house?"

Luo Xincheng shook his head.

"No, the house we lived in at the time was in a good location, quite close to my parents' companies. If we moved, we wouldn't be able to find a more suitable place in a short time. So, Bossy was raised by my maternal grandfather."

My maternal grandfather's estate covers nearly twenty acres, providing ample space for him to roam.

"So you go to your grandfather's house to visit it every day after school?"

"No, my maternal grandfather's family lives in Jinhai. I usually only go there on weekends when I have time off."

Fu Zhiheng raised an eyebrow in surprise.

Luo Xincheng didn't miss his micro-expression and had already expected it.

She gave a cryptic smile. "Surprised? Actually, Bossy and I don't spend every day together."

He nodded hesitantly, "I thought you two had such a deep bond because you were together every day."

She shrugged. "Actually, our relationship wasn't as deep as you think. The main reason I've been thinking about it for so long is because of the time it passed away...it was very...very..."

She opened her mouth in vain, and in the end, she could only describe it dryly, "...special".

At that time, her parents had been divorced for more than a year and were busy with their own careers, so busy that Luo Xincheng would only see them a few times a semester.

Until Bossy passed away, they finally managed to find some time amidst their busy schedules to get together and hold a small funeral for it.

She cried terribly on the day of the funeral, and by the end, she couldn't even tell if she was crying for poor Bossy.

She never imagined that the family reunion she had been longing for would happen in such a setting.

After the funeral, the two had other work commitments and were planning to leave, but she couldn't bear to part with them. She grabbed one of them with each hand to prevent them from leaving, and cried out in exaggerated words, exaggerating her seven points of love for Bossy into twelve.

Looking back now, it's really hard to bear to look at. I feel so sorry for Bossy, that even in death I was still used by her like this.

This clumsy performance, of course, failed to fool my parents, who have seen it all.

Although both of them are meticulous in their work, they have different approaches to educating their children.

Before the family fell apart, the only way he could appease Luo Xincheng was by showering her with money.

No matter why you're unhappy, just throw money at it.

Still unhappy after spending all that money?

That means not enough smashing!

As for emotional value? What's that? Let's not bother him while he's making money, okay?

Wang Jinlin was naturally heartbroken to see his daughter weeping over the loss of her beloved pet, but that didn't stop him from pushing away her hand as soon as the funeral ended and resolutely boarding the next flight to start his new job.

As for how to make it up to her daughter later?

He chose to continue throwing money at the problem.

Are you grieving for your deceased pet?

At that time, he happened to have a piece of vacant land in the southern suburbs. It was in a remote location and not very large. He didn't know what kind of project to build on it. Now he didn't have to worry about it anymore. He simply waved his hand and designated the land as a pet cemetery.

As soon as the cemetery was completed, Bossy's ashes were moved in.

What about fatherly love? How do we define such an ethereal thing as fatherly love?

Let's just measure everything with money. It's data-driven, intuitive, and straightforward!

After all that, even Luo Xincheng was at a loss for words.

Does her father love her?

It must be love, otherwise why would he spend so much money on her?

What's the point of worrying so much?

It's meaningless.

It will only make you look childish, and make you look like those people on the internet who cry and say, "I don't want a lot of money, I just want a lot of love," which is really pretentious.

As for her mother, Luo Anjiu, she was softer-hearted. Seeing her child tugging at her clothes so reluctantly, she immediately canceled some of her work and chose to stay by her side.

"People should always look forward. As for the lives that have passed away, we should give them the final respect and dignity. There is no need to dwell on sadness."

"Of course, if you really miss Bossy, we can go to Ireland and buy an even more beautiful and intelligent horse than Bossy."

The mother stroked her hair, her smile loving. "Didn't you always complain that Bossy was stupid, couldn't understand you, and always chewed on your hair? This time we can observe him for a longer period of time and pick a more obedient one."

"We've moved to a bigger house now, haven't we? We can keep the new pony in the yard, and you can see it every day..."

Before she could finish speaking, Luo Xincheng, unable to bear it any longer, covered her mouth.

Manually mute the microphone.

"There won't be any more."

She looked directly into her mother's eyes and said, word by word:

"There is no horse in the world more beautiful, smarter, or more obedient than Bossy."

Although her feelings for Bossy were somewhat exaggerated, her pain at the time was real.

This was the first time she had faced the fragility of life head-on, and she didn't know the right way to deal with it.

Given her limited knowledge and clumsy language skills at the time, she was even less able to fluently express that heavy feeling.

She remembered that her family would bring offerings to worship their ancestors every year, so she naively told her mother that every year from now on, on the anniversary of Bossy's death, she would also bring its favorite food to visit it.

After hearing this, her mother said nothing, but slowly curved her eyes into a gentle, forgiving smile. Just like countless times before, when she listened to her gesturing wildly as she recounted all sorts of fantastical ideas.

Luo Xincheng knew what she was thinking.

It's simply that I felt I was just acting on impulse and couldn't accept the death of my pet, which is why I said such things without thinking.

In her heart, she estimated that before long, due to laziness, aversion to trouble, forgetfulness, and other reasons, she would abandon the delusions she had once made a hundred thousand miles away.

...

But surprisingly, she actually persevered in the end.

Except for two years when I was unable to return to Yanjing for various reasons, I actually visited Bossy on its death anniversary six years out of the eight years since its death.

It's unbelievable when you think about it.

Even now, she's still a little unsure of her purpose in coming here—whether it's because she truly misses Bossy, or because she wants to use this to prove her 'love' for Bossy and to retaliate against her mother's disdain and contempt back then.

She lowered her eyes and looked at the handbag she had placed in front of the tombstone not long ago. It was filled with deep rainwater, and most of Bossy's favorite snacks were submerged.

Bossy, you're having rice soaked in soup too.

Fu Zhiheng quietly gazed at her serene profile. Even though he hadn't been able to wait for her to continue, he didn't tactlessly ask any questions.

He tilted his neck slightly forward, trying to take in her entire face.

She is usually very sensitive to other people's gazes and doesn't like others staring at her for too long. If she feels that she has been stared at for too long, she will glare back unhappily.

Fu Zhiheng had been glared at fiercely many times.

But this time, even though he had been staring at her for so long, she seemed not to notice, staring blankly at the tombstone in front of her, not giving him a single extra glance.

So he seized the rare opportunity and greedily began to look at her.

On a rainy day, as the temperature dropped, she was dressed rather lightly, in a long, ankle-length beige dress and a light apricot cloak loosely draped over her shoulders. She stood with her arms crossed, the delicate tassels of the cloak hanging softly at her waist, swaying in the damp wind.

Aren't you cold?

At that moment, Fu Zhiheng really wanted to do what he did on TV and take off his coat to keep her warm.

But the thought that he had just been caught in the rain and his coat was soaked through completely made him abandon the idea.

He raised his eyes and glanced at her plain face.

At that moment, she seemed lost in thought, her expression quite intriguing. Her brows were furrowed, her eyes were half-closed, and her lips were slightly pouted, as if she were arguing with someone and looked quite defiant.

What is he thinking? He really wants to know.

He stared at her intently, almost forgetting to blink. His gaze, fixed on her, was like interwoven spider silk, light, supple, and slightly sticky, trying to attract something, or even more so, to capture something.

Just then, a gust of wind rose, and Luo Xincheng involuntarily shivered, feeling a chill for some reason.

She tightened the cloak on her shoulders, wrapping herself up even more.

The wind ruffled her hair, so she raised her hand to smooth it down and tucked the unruly strands behind her ear.

At the same time, she finally realized that Fu Zhiheng was actually watching her, and turned her head to look at him with an unfriendly expression.

"Why are you looking at me like that?" She seemed to have imagined something, her face darkening. "You don't think I'm crying, do you?"

His lips twitched, as if he wanted to laugh, but he held it back.

I know you won't cry.

After saying that, his long, dark eyelashes trembled slightly, and his soft voice sounded somewhat shy, "I just didn't mean to..."

"Alright, that's enough."

Luo Xincheng used the act of rubbing her temples to half-cover her face.

I have a feeling he's going to say something really cheesy...

To avoid embarrassment, she wisely decided not to listen.

Despite being deliberately interrupted, Fu Zhiheng was not annoyed at all; his eyes behind his transparent glasses even curved into a pleasant arc.

What is she thinking about at this moment?

He watched as she hastily pressed her temples twice, gritting her teeth in a huff, looking rather unhappy, her cheeks quickly puffing up in a soft, delicate curve.

cute.

He looked at the bulging cheek and licked his itchy teeth with impatience.

I really want to take a bite.

Author's note: Here I am! Hopefully no one will say I'm short today [pity]