Chapter 20

The idea of ​​using his uncle's influence to find Liang Shi flashed through his mind, but he quickly shook his head with a smile. Firstly, it would be an abuse of power, and secondly, his mother would find out.

As things stand, he still has no way to communicate with his mother about Liang Shi. That day, he went back home again to buy New Year's goods, trying to talk to Zhao Jiaren about Liang Shi coming to their house for the New Year, but she just said no way and left.

Several days have passed, and with the Spring Festival just around the corner, Li Junqian still can't find Liang Shi. Calling her now only results in the call being hung up on or the phone being switched off; it's probably been switched off for a long time now.

Gu Feng took a box of tea and walked into Li Junqian's office. His good friend could be described as gloomy and dejected.

"Is it really that big of a deal to break up? Your subordinates are terrified of you lately. What happened to all your usual friendliness? You know it's hard to hire people right now, right? Don't scare those employees away! Here, my old man got this. He said it's good tea. It'll help you cool down."

Li Junqian capped his pen, walked over to the sofa, and casually picked up the box: "Thank you. Any news?"

As soon as Gu Feng finished speaking, he quickly changed his sitting posture, leaning back on the sofa, with one hand stretched out and resting on the back of the sofa, and one leg bent and resting on the knee of the other, looking like a little hooligan in a suit.

"You didn't look for your uncle yourself, and now you're making me break the rules and abuse my power. But I'm a law-abiding citizen. Anyway, she's been gone for over 48 hours, and her phone is always switched off, so I reported her missing to my brother-in-law. Guess what?"

What Li Junqian couldn't stand most was his kind of rhetoric: "Believe it or not, I'll smash this tea can over your head."

Gu Feng shook his head: "You just don't understand humor..."

He was talking nonsense again when the tea canister in his hand was raised, and the person opposite him instantly sat up straight.

“Okay, okay, I’ll tell you! Suzie has flying experience. She asked me for leave that morning and quickly took a flight to Chengdu. But the expense record is…”

Gu Feng glanced furtively at his good friend, whose eyes were blazing with anger, and said bluntly, "In Wenchuan! I reckon..."

Wenchuan, ever since her father brought her back to Shanghai from that abyss, she has never returned to her hometown. With the Spring Festival approaching, all Chinese people are thinking about having a happy family reunion on this day. Li Junqian can understand her feelings. Wenchuan, it makes sense.

"I'm flying to Chengdu this afternoon. Please keep an eye on things at the company for the next few days."

"Wow, you're just leaving like that?"

"Send me Liang Shi's exact address."

Gu Feng felt like he was just cannon fodder, used and then discarded: "Why am I the one doing all the work for you when you're chasing after a woman? Don't fail again this time! Otherwise, you'll embarrass me too much!"

Li Junqian picked up the can of tea: "I believe in fate."

His connection with Liang Shi must have been quite deep.

...

Liang Shi has been using cash for shopping these past few days. When she goes out to buy groceries, she habitually grabs a handful of worn-out banknotes and coins. Prices are low in this small county town. Yesterday, Yuan An suggested having hot pot, so she bought a bunch of ingredients today.

With heavy bags in both hands, she didn't have time to ring the doorbell. She called out to Yuan An inside through the door. After things quieted down, Liang Shi heard a metallic scraping sound, and the security door opened quickly.

Liang Shi waved the bag in his hand in front of him: "It's a good thing you didn't say you wanted to eat taro chicken or anything like that, I really don't know how to make that."

Yuan An pushed the wheel and quickly moved next to her: "My cooking skills are not bad. If you want to eat taro chicken, I will cook it for you another day."

Liang Shi handed him a bag of bean sprouts and a plate: "Pick some vegetables, and I'll prepare the mushrooms. If we hurry, we might be able to eat by five o'clock."

Yuan An smiled and nodded: "Actually, you don't need to go to so much trouble. Just outside the neighborhood, there's a hot pot restaurant by Wang Sao across the street that's really good. How about we go eat there together before you go back to Shanghai?"

Liang Shi looked at the enoki mushrooms she had broken apart in her hand and felt inexplicably sad. She looked down at him; the bag of bean sprouts was on his lap, covered by a piece of cloth. When the wind blew, the cloth would sway, and anyone who saw it would know that this was a man without calves.

Having overcome their sadness a few days ago and vowing never to show it again, Liang Shi forced a smile: "Great! Finally, someone who can handle spicy food! You know, people in Shanghai put sugar in their food..."

Speaking of this, I'm reminded of Li Junqian, a typical Shanghainese with a sweet tooth, but who prefers black coffee.

"So dark? Can you eat this?"

Liang Shi didn't mention her studying abroad, but if she were to say it, she would definitely say that Shanghai cuisine is better than all kinds of bread and pasta from abroad.

"It's alright, somewhat acceptable. Shall we get an extra spicy broth later?"

Yuan An said no problem, the two cooperated well, and started eating hot pot around the table a little after five o'clock.

To accommodate his height after his disability, the table legs were sawed off by five centimeters, which Liang Shi found quite amazing.

"I also bought some fireworks. We'll go downstairs to set them off after we finish eating. Firecrackers are banned in many areas of Shanghai, so there's no fun in celebrating the New Year. Come to think of it, it's been more than ten years since I last set off fireworks."

Yuan An listened intently to her conversation; perhaps because she hadn't spoken her local dialect in a long time, it sounded rather playful and endearing. Liang Shi had changed a lot; he couldn't reconcile the person before him with the Liang Shi from his first year of high school.

Back then, they skipped school to go to the arcade, and at their craziest, they rented pornographic DVDs. If his dad hadn't suddenly come home, he and she probably would have really tasted forbidden fruit and started dating.

Unfortunately, their relationship ended in that nightmarish earthquake.

While Li Junqian was checking his watch, Zhou Mengmeng walked up to him in her high heels, deliberately making noise on the tiles. He wasn't interested in looking at her: "Have you chosen yet?"

Zhou Mengmeng shrugged: "Does it look good?"

He didn't bother arguing with her: "I'll go pay the bill."

Zhou Mengmeng stared at the man's back. Tsk, her mother had said this man was gentle and refined the other day, how come he's so cold in person? She's a great beauty, after all! Lots of people in the industry are after her! This Li Junqian doesn't even give her a second glance!

After leaving the Jimmy Choo store in Taikoo Li, Zhou Mengmeng, ignoring her cold feet, chased after him, pulling her suitcase in her high heels: "Hey, is this how you treat me? It's almost dinner time, want to have hot pot together?"

Li Junqian suppressed his anger, but his upbringing told him that he should not be rude to women.

"Ms. Zhou, I've already apologized and offered my condolences, so please stop bothering me. If you feel one pair of shoes isn't enough, how many more do you want? I'll transfer them to you."

Zhou Mengmeng chuckled and quickly took out her phone to hand over her WeChat QR code. Li Junqian just wanted to get away as soon as possible, so he added her on WeChat and transferred 20,000 yuan to her without saying a word.

"Is it ready yet?" he asked impatiently.

"I won't take this money. Actually, I just wanted to add you on WeChat. Let's get to know each other. My name is Zhou Mengmeng. You're my type. Isn't this fate? I'm single, and you're not wearing a wedding ring, so you must be single too, right? How about we start dating?"

Zhou Mengmeng is as cute as her name suggests, and she looks like she just graduated from university. Li Junqian really doesn't want to waste any more time.

"Sorry, I have a girlfriend. Okay, I really have to go now."

Tsk, he's taken? Zhou Mengmeng didn't believe it. Just a few days ago, her mother was introducing her to potential partners at the dinner table, and one of them was him. Tsk, how could he already have a girlfriend? It's just an excuse!

However, there's plenty of time in the future. To be honest, she would never have believed in fate before, but what happened today was truly quite a coincidence.

The other party involved, Li Junqian, maintained a cold expression throughout, only feeling a little better when he got into the taxi to Wenchuan. He regretted it; if he hadn't insisted on buying a cup of coffee at the airport, he wouldn't have collided with that carefree woman dragging her suitcase around in the coffee shop.

He spilled coffee on someone's shoes. Although it wasn't entirely his fault, the woman was being arrogant in the coffee shop and insisted that he pay for her shoes. He took a taxi to the shoe store she mentioned, and it took him more than two hours to resolve this mess. As a result, he didn't arrive at his accommodation in Wenchuan Liang until almost eight o'clock.

Gu Feng is quite reliable; he even found out where Liang Shi lives. Back when the disaster was being rebuilt, his father had secured a small apartment for Liang Shi for one person, something he genuinely didn't know. Liang Shi being able to come back and move in is probably because her father had told her about it when he was alive.

The neighborhood was over ten years old, and the streetlights were extremely dim. It took him quite a while to find the building. He had excellent eyesight and hearing, and quickly recognized the woman standing in front of the unit entrance, grinning foolishly. Li Junqian remained hidden in the shadows, not approaching her, because there was someone else beside her.

Liang Shi handed Yuan An a sparkler, and the latter laughed: "I thought you bought a flying firework, but I didn't expect it to be a handheld one."

She lit one for him, then lit one for herself. The sparkler glowed in the darkness. She drew circles with her hand, and if you stared at it, you could indeed see the circle of light in the air for a second.

“I originally wanted to buy it, but I was afraid of disturbing the residents in the community. Yuan An, you said I've changed. Thinking about it carefully, it's true. If it were me back then, I wouldn't care what others thought. I would definitely have set off fireworks that would light up the whole sky.”

Yuan An stared at the firework in his hand that was slowly burning out, a glimmer of light still remaining in his eyes, but it quickly faded, just like when he saw her that day when he opened the door to get the vegetables.

Liang Shi was like fireworks, dazzling and brilliant. Even after so many years, he recognized her at a glance. However, after exchanging a few words, he knew she had changed a lot. She was different from before. The gap between them was widening.

Actually, Yuan An was very upset that day. After all, the girl he once liked had become more and more beautiful, while he had been in a wheelchair for more than ten years, lacking exercise and becoming thinner and thinner. His inferiority complex made him always keep his head down. But Liang Shi squatted down, took his hand, and cried for a long time on his withered thighs, for their past.

Thinking of this, Yuan An burst into tears: "Gaoliangmi'er, I thought I would never see you again. When we were eating hot pot, you asked which neighborhood they lived in, and I said it wasn't far from here. I was lying to you. Xiao Gui, Yuan Yuan, and Fatty weren't as lucky as us."

When Liang Shi heard this long-lost nickname, it felt like a lifetime had passed. The scene of everyone playing together back then seemed to be right in front of his eyes, but those people were already gone.

She didn't know what to say. At that moment, tears were truly worthless; they fell as soon as they were shed.

Yuan An wiped away his tears: "That year, when I woke up, I was lying in bed with a thin cloth covering me. My lower limbs were in a lot of pain. When I saw the empty bed frame beneath me, I thought to myself, why didn't this earthquake just take my life? Why did it have to make me live like this? I was depressed, I self-harmed, and I even thought about suicide. Later, I heard my sister talk about what happened to Xiao Gui and the others. From that day on, I came to terms with it. I have to live for my brothers and sisters, to see more of this world, and to see how our country is getting better and better. Look, this Spring Festival, I've finally seen you."

Liang Shi did not suppress his sobs, and cried freely on Yuan An, for his friends, for his family, and even more so for the heroes who saved him and those who sacrificed their lives.

"Don't cry, we're all fine now."

There's no such thing as a "stone woman" anymore; it's all an act in front of others. Once you touch on her inner secrets, she has no desire to control her emotions.

She cried so hard she could barely breathe: "Yuan An, we all have to live well."

"Sorghum Rice, if any girl who likes me sees you lying on top of me like this, she'll have to take a detour."

Liang Shi stood up, wiping away tears, his voice hoarse: "Then I'll bring him back, and I'll tell you that your life's most important matter is this."

Yuan An smiled, but soon felt a little bitter. His hands, which were gloved, were still a little cold on the wheels. He skillfully turned the wheelchair to face her. He looked up and asked the question he had wanted to ask for the past few days: "Liang Shi, if it weren't for that earthquake back then, we probably would have fallen in love, right?"

Liang Shi didn't shy away from the question. Back then, Yuan An was in their school. He was tall and thin, dressed in a stylish way, and was quite handsome, especially during that non-mainstream era. Besides, they almost broke through that barrier back then.

"Yeah, I still remember our rebellious and confused teenage years. To be honest, the only time I've ever watched a porn movie was with you."

Yuan An got the answer he wanted: even though they weren't in a romantic relationship, he still considered Liang Shi to be his first love.

"Luckily, my dad came home early that day. Otherwise..."

The topic gradually veered off course, and Liang Shi coughed lightly: "Um, it's cold, shall we go upstairs?"

Yuan An also felt he had talked too much: "Okay, can you get my cane for me?"

"Will it work?"

Yuan An smiled and raised his hand for her to massage the muscles in his arm: "Without legs, I basically rely on my arms to do things. Luckily, the muscles in my hands are still okay. There's a small basketball court in the neighborhood, and when the weather is nice, Xiao Lei... cough, there's just one community worker, she'll push me there to shoot some hoops. Let's go."

The stairwell lights automatically turned on whenever there was a sound. Liang Shi looked at Yuan An, who was using medical crutches to climb the stairs, and felt a pang of sympathy.

Perhaps because he often goes up and down stairs like this, he moves very quickly, while she, carrying the wheelchair, moves very slowly to the first floor.

Li Junqian emerged from the shadows, realizing he had acted somewhat immorally; his eavesdropping and peeping were indeed uncivilized. But he remained standing there for a long time.

When Liang Shi cried, he really wanted to go up and hug her. Ten minutes later, the lights on the second floor came on, and Li Junqian walked into the unit with his suitcase.

Passing by the first floor, he paused for a moment at the door. Apparently, the person inside heard the noise, and the door opened. To be honest, Li Junqian felt a little awkward for the first time. The man who opened the door was very pale, perhaps due to spending a long time indoors in a wheelchair, giving him a sickly pallor.

Yuan An assumed it was Liang Shi coming down again, so he quickly pushed the wheelchair to open the door, only to find a well-dressed man with an air of nobility standing out starkly against the cramped and dimly lit hallway.

Just like when I saw Liang that day, she was wearing a cashmere coat that looked expensive. Could they know each other? After all, their demeanor was remarkably similar.

Yuan An remained vigilant: "Who are you? Are you here to see someone?"

Li Junqian nodded to him and pointed upstairs: "I'm looking for Liang Shi."

He guessed right. Yuan An suddenly felt a profound sense of loss. Although he and this man were only a little over a meter apart, he felt the gap between their social classes.

The day after Liang Shi returned, he went somewhere and bought a bright red coat, blending in with the local customs and seemingly closing the distance between them. But with this man's appearance, Yuan An realized that some distances cannot be bridged; he had missed her for over a decade. All those years, she had stayed in China's most bustling metropolis, surely encountering countless outstanding men.

"She...is upstairs."

Li Junqian smiled politely at him and said, "I know."

Yuan An didn't want to ask, but he couldn't help himself: "Who are you to her?"

With only two days left until the Lunar New Year, who would still make a special trip to see her? The answer was obvious, and Yuan An felt that this question was somewhat self-humiliating.

"My ex-boyfriend is asking to get back together. What about you? What's your relationship with him?"

If someone with little presence had said such a thing, Yuan An would have immediately blurted out the word "first love." But in front of this man, he hesitated, even though the word "ex" was added before "boyfriend."

"His high school classmate."

Li Junqian glanced at his watch; it was getting late. If he could, he wanted to talk to her, even just a few words.

"Hello, Li Junqian."

"Yuan An, the 'An' in 'peaceful'. Are you... sure you're coming to ask for reconciliation so late at night?"

Li Junqian also felt it wasn't the right time, but he wanted to give it a try.

"Let's see if she gives me that chance."

Yuan An forced a smile: "Good luck."

The door closed, Yuan An took out her phone, edited the message, but hesitated to send it. Then she deleted the entire message, "Your ex-boyfriend is here. Tell me if you need anything."

This is her private matter, and Yuan An has no right to interfere.

Liang Shi took a quick shower and heard the doorbell ring. She thought she must have misheard. Who would be looking for her in the middle of the night? Could it be Yuan An? Afraid that she would wait too long outside with her cane, Liang Shi didn't change her clothes and just put her down jacket over her pajamas to open the door.

When the door opened, Liang Shi almost thought he was dreaming: "...What are you doing here?"

She came to Wenchuan without telling anyone, and only she knew about this house. How could he...?

Although she had washed her face, her eyes were still a little red and swollen from crying. Li Junqian stood outside the door, looking down slightly at her, and really wanted to reach out and touch her: "Xiaoshi, do you really not want to see me?"

Liang Shi gripped the doorknob, his heart pounding, feeling like it was all unreal.

“Mr. Li, we have already broken up. If you continue to investigate me and stalk me, I can call the police.”

Seeing her quick wit, Li Junqian felt a sense of familiarity: "Little girl, it's too cold outside, may I come in?"

Liang Shi frowned, thinking that this man was definitely up to no good: "Mr. Li, you have such a high status and wealth, my place is too small. You'd better not come in. It's not too late now. I suggest you take a taxi and find a hotel to stay in for the night."

She closed the door from the inside, but unfortunately, the man outside reacted quickly and was very strong, so she couldn't close it no matter how hard she tried: "Li Junqian, are you out of your mind this late at night? I asked for leave properly, and President Gu approved it. Why do you have to come and disturb my life?"

When men get stubborn, especially someone like Li Junqian, it's truly eye-opening. I never imagined he could be so shameless!

"Your love life is also a part of your life. I knew what I was doing when I was young. I came here today to tell you clearly that being with you is based on the premise of marriage."

It would be a lie to say I wasn't surprised and moved, but unfortunately, there was an insurmountable obstacle between them.

"Your mother doesn't like me, there's no future for us, you should understand that."

Taking advantage of her inattention, Li Junqian pushed the door in slightly, reached out and took her hand; it was small, warm and soft.

"Nothing is impossible, Xiaoshi, you should have faith in me."

She was even more moved, but Liang Shi didn't think she had that kind of courage. If it were ten years ago, she would have gone all in to love someone, regardless of everything else. But things were different now; she didn't want to gamble her entire future.

She would rather not have a marriage that is not blessed by her elders.

"Li Junqian, when did you become like this? You've become a master of groping?"

Li Junqian, who was outside the door, released her at the opportune moment and used a clever trick to push the door open: "On the way here, we passed some buildings and traces of the earthquake from back then. Little girl, can I hug you?"

Liang Shi found Li Junqian's act of barging into his home to be a 21st-century spectacle. When did this man become so cunning?

She said she would call the police, but she was just trying to scare him. She couldn't bring herself to waste police resources and disturb the peace of the neighborhood in the middle of the night for her love life.

I'm too lazy to care anymore. Let him come in if he wants. There's nothing in this house. I'll just make him back off later.

Liang Shi went back to the bathroom to blow-dry her hair. After she finished, someone sat on the living room sofa as if he were a guest.

The living room wasn't big, so the sofa wasn't big either. When he sat down on the two-seater sofa, there wasn't enough room for a second person.

"My house is completely exposed, and there's nothing there. If you want to chat with me, then I won't keep you company. It's getting late, and I'm getting ready to sleep. I'd appreciate it if Mr. Li could check into a hotel as soon as possible; I'm really tired."

Li Junqian patted the sofa: "Xiaoshi, do you have any extra blankets? I can sleep here for one night."

Excuse me? Liang Shi frowned deeply: "Li Junqian, are you really sick?! My sofa is so small, how are you going to sleep? And I don't have any extra blankets. Just get out of here, okay?"

To everyone's surprise, this man was shameless: "I'm tired too, and I don't want to bother anymore. It's okay if there's no blanket; I can sleep sitting up. If you don't want to chat, go to sleep. I'll turn off the outside light."

Liang Shi: "..."

She just wanted to swear. How could this person be so stubborn? So shameless! The Li Junqian she knew wasn't like this!

Liang Shi ignored him, went back to her room, locked the door, and went to sleep. Since returning to Wenchuan, she had been going to bed early and waking up early every day, and she was so tired that she fell asleep as soon as she lay down. Perhaps because of Li Junqian's arrival, she still had some worries on her mind, and woke up in the middle of the night. She took out her phone to check the time; it was only two o'clock.

She drank too much water that night. The toilet was outside. Liang Shi hesitated for a moment, then opened the door and went out. She turned on the living room light. To be honest, she did it on purpose. Even though they had broken up, he was still her boss. If she froze to death in the dead of winter without air conditioning, she would have no way to explain herself.

She walked over. The man was half-reclining on the sofa, his legs so long they almost touched the floor. On the coffee table sat a plastic bag containing a roll of cookies and an empty water bottle. She had bought the cookies and water on her way home and left them untouched on the coffee table, but he had eaten them all. Had he skipped dinner?

It must have been very cold; he had both hands tucked into the sleeves of his coat, a rather inelegant gesture. Liang Shi had never seen Li Junqian like this before. Just as he was about to take a picture of him with his phone, the man on the sofa slightly woke up. Liang Shi awkwardly brushed his hair aside: "I got up to use the restroom and came to check if he'd frozen to death."

To be honest, Li Junqian was really cold. The living room was chilly after nightfall, and his body temperature dropped when he fell asleep, which made his hands and feet icy cold.

"I'm a little cold."

It's really maddening. That voice, just woken up, is so magnetic. Combined with Li Junqian's face, Liang Shi felt like she looked exactly like a villainous female supporting character in a TV series. She never expected that Li Junqian would be so good at playing the victim.

Especially when his large, cold hand held hers, Liang Shi felt a pang of guilt, her mind filled with questions like, "How can the young master sleep on a cold sofa?" and "What if he catches a cold?"

She was probably still half asleep and her brain wasn't fully activated when she said, "Come in, let's sleep together."

Of course, Li Junqian also felt that he had misheard, but he didn't want to miss the opportunity: "Okay."