Chapter 24: Love 01
A Thousand and One Nights Series Short Stories 4
Love
bySang Jie
01
*
It was a little after two in the morning.
Zhong Yining rubbed his eyes and found that the person next to him lifted the quilt and climbed out of bed, then walked lightly to the closet to change clothes.
She tried to hold it in for two seconds, but couldn't help it. She sat up and turned on the bedside lamp.
The person changing clothes was caught by the sudden light and seemed startled. Then he turned around and said to her with a particularly attentive smile, "Wife, did I wake you up?"
She didn't respond, but instead asked, "What are you doing?"
"Ah, the United States suddenly requested a meeting, so I have to go to the company."
She lowered her eyes. "Can't we hold a conference call at home? Why do we have to go to the company?"
This question made the other party a little stunned. After a few seconds, when he was still racking his brains to think of a response, she suddenly smiled and said, "It's okay, go ahead."
Fu Yan felt as if he had been granted amnesty. He put on his coat, quickly walked around to her, kissed her forehead, told her to continue sleeping, and then left the bedroom without looking back.
When she heard the sound of the door opening and closing in the hall downstairs, she closed her eyes and no longer felt sleepy.
It should be said that she had actually woken up a long time ago.
Because just before Fu Yan got out of bed, he had been sending WeChat messages for a long time with his back to her. It was the continuous light from the phone screen projected onto the wall that woke her up.
Zhong Yining sat on the bed for a while, then got up and went downstairs.
Turning on the light in the hall, she went to get a glass of water and drank it slowly while leaning against the sink.
This situation started happening two months after she and Fu Yan got married and has continued until now, for more than a year.
Five days a week, he either left home in the middle of the night or arrived home at three or four in the morning. His excuses were always social engagements and overtime work at the company. When he returned home, he always had a faint fragrance on his body.
When she finished drinking the water and wanted to go upstairs again, the door of her house was suddenly opened again.
A tall and thin man with a white coat hanging in his hand, wearing a hoodie and jeans, walked in. He moved very quietly, probably because he was afraid of disturbing people's rest.
When the man came in and found the living room light on, he was stunned for a moment and looked up at her.
"Yi Qiu,"
She leaned against the kitchen counter and looked at him with a smile, "Why are you here today?"
Fu Yiqiu stared at her motionlessly for a few seconds, then turned his gaze away and said in a light tone, "I was sent to a hospital near your home to watch an operation today. It was a bit late after it ended, and I was too lazy to go back home."
"Thank you for your hard work. Have you eaten?" She took a few steps towards him. "There's some porridge left in the refrigerator. Can I heat it up for you?"
His expression was still dull. "I've already eaten. No need."
Zhong Yining nodded and didn't force him.
This handsome guy, who is three years younger than her, is her husband's younger brother and her brother-in-law.
Fu Yiqiu and Fu Yan are completely two different people. Fu Yan is the kind of businessman who is very smooth-talking and tells lies nine out of ten sentences, while Fu Yiqiu is the kind of person who is cold, taciturn and straightforward.
Before she married Fu Yan, she had only met Fu Yiqiu a few times. She only knew that he was a very good doctor who had achieved many achievements that others could not match at such a young age. He was very busy and stayed in the hospital almost every day from morning to night. He usually kept to himself and never showed much enthusiasm for his brother Fu Yan.
In short, he is the kind of person who is very cool and awesome.
And based on her girl's intuition, she felt that Fu Yiqiu disliked her a little.
"Then you should go to bed early," she said out of politeness and turned to go upstairs.
"My brother is not here again?" She had just taken a step when she heard him ask behind her.
The word "又" is a bit subtle.
Zhong Yining turned around and asked, "How do you know he's not here again?"
He pointed at the slippers on the ground, his eyes flickering slightly. "I remember the few times I came here, he didn't seem to be at home in the middle of the night."
She lowered her eyes and said, "Hmm," "He's busy. He went to the company for a meeting."
"Going to a meeting at the company at two in the morning?" He put his white coat on the sofa and said indifferently, "I think for him, everything is more attractive than work."
She didn't say anything.
Fu Yiqiu walked towards her step by step. She was standing by the stairs. He stopped with his long legs and leaned against the stairs.
"Zhong Yining," his words were cold and sharp under the warm light of the living room, "Are you really naive, or are you pretending to be stupid?"
She looked up at him.
This young man has a more handsome face than Fu Yan. His nose is particularly straight and his facial features are three-dimensional like a statue, but the tone of his voice always makes people feel discouraged.
She looked at him for a few seconds and smiled, "Call me sister-in-law first, and I'll tell you."
Fu Yiqiu was stunned.
For a long time before this, she had always been polite to him. Even though he never called her sister-in-law and was very cold towards her, she still did not fail to show any courtesy.
Today, she actually dared to speak to him like that.
Seeing that he was silent, she smiled again, walked past him and went up the stairs. After taking two steps, she looked down at him from the stairs.
"Fu Yiqiu, you are still young, you don't understand,"
Her curved eyebrows revealed a thorn hidden in her gentleness. "Life is just a matter of getting by, isn't it?"
-
The next morning, she thought Fu Yiqiu had left.
As a result, when she went downstairs, she found him sitting at the high table with his legs up, eating breakfast.
Zhong Yining was a little stunned and stood at the stairs looking at him.
It was he who broke the silence first, looking up at her and asking, "Want to eat?"
She was stunned. "Me?"
"There's another one in the microwave," he said, then lowered his head and continued to look at the document on the computer.
She was puzzled and went to the bathroom to wash up, then saw a hot bacon, lettuce and egg roll on the dining table.
Fu Yiqiu was already preparing to leave and was standing at the entrance bending over to put on his shoes. She couldn't help but walk over to him, looked at him, and said "thank you".
"I took too much ingredients from the refrigerator, so I just made an extra portion," he straightened up, his expression still cold.
"Oh," she nodded, "thank you anyway."
For a moment she thought he smiled, and then she watched him open the door and start to leave.
"I'll be here again tonight," he said suddenly, holding the door handle. "If you come back early, we can have dinner together."
Before she could respond, he closed the door and left.
Zhong Yining felt that her brother-in-law was really a little strange today. Usually he would not even look at her directly, but this morning he not only made breakfast for her, but also said he would come over for dinner in the evening.
Besides, their conversation in the early morning ended on bad terms, right?
She thought about it for a long time but couldn't figure out what was going on, so she went back to eat the breakfast he left for her.
Well, it’s quite delicious. This guy has good cooking skills.
She is a fashion designer and has a very flexible job. She can usually work at home and only go to the company when it is time to submit a manuscript for discussion.
Fu Yan called her in the afternoon and said that since he had a meeting in the middle of the night and it was almost dawn, he decided not to come back to disturb her sleep and stayed in the company. He also said that he had to attend a social event tonight and would probably be back very late.
For some reason, when she heard him say that, she didn't feel the slightest bit of emotion. She hung up the phone and went to the kitchen early to prepare dinner.
-
Fu Yiqiu walked in at eight o'clock. As soon as he entered the room, there were already several plates of delicious dishes on the table. Zhong Yining was serving soup with her back to him.
The light shone on her slender back. He looked at her soft hair draped over her shoulders and suddenly wanted to walk over and touch her hair.
She heard the noise, turned around and saw him standing motionless at the door. She smiled and said, "Are you stupid? Come in, I'm hungry."
He made a soft "tsk" sound, suppressed the impulse, put down the bag in his hand, and went to wash his hands.
During dinner, the two of them hardly spoke. He was not the kind of person who would actively look for topics to talk about, and if she didn't start talking, he would be even less likely to speak. Besides, they had never spoken much before, and it was like two strangers who were forced to be relatives having dinner together for the first time.
After the meal, she suddenly said, "Fu Yiqiu, do you want to drink?"
He was stunned for a moment and put down his chopsticks.
She didn't wait for his answer, but went straight to the refrigerator to get a few cans of beer, opened them skillfully, and gulped them down.
Fu Yiqiu just looked at her, standing by the table and drinking three cans of beer in a row as if they were plain water, and his face didn't even turn red.
This woman seems to have a good alcohol tolerance.
When she was enjoying the drink, she realized there was only one can left on the table. She exclaimed, "Ah!" and said, "I'll get you another one."
"No," he reached out, took the last can, opened it, and took a sip, "I don't really like it."
She nodded, leaned on the table with one hand, and looked down at him, "So what do you like to drink?"
He put down the beer can, "Water, tea."
"Are all doctors so health-conscious?" She smiled.
Zhong Yining has dimples. When she smiles lightly, the dimples are shallow, but when she laughs widely, the dimples become very deep.
It's so cute that you can't help but want to reach out and poke it.
She is a pretty girl, but not the kind of gorgeous one. She has a gentle, non-aggressive look that is pleasing to the eye, and the more you look at her, the prettier she becomes.
Fu Yiqiu looked at her for a few seconds and looked away. "It's okay. I'm used to it. I have to go to the operating table to save patients at any time. It's impossible for me to remain unconscious."
"So, apart from working in the hospital, what do you like to do in your daily life?" Maybe it was the alcohol, or maybe it was his subtle approach this morning that made her bolder and she started talking to him like an ordinary friend.
“Stay home, watch movies, read books.”
The Fu family is wealthy, and the two brothers own countless properties. Fu Yan finally chose the most expensive villa in the city center to live in, and as far as she knows, Fu Yiqiu chose a more ordinary, less luxurious house close to his hospital.
"Alone?" She blinked slightly.
In fact, she has always been a little curious about whether this cool, awesome and handsome brother-in-law has a girlfriend.
Doctors are very busy and probably don't have much time for romance, but he is so handsome and smart, hanging around the hospital all day. Other doctors, nurses, and even patients might be attracted to him. If he wants to find a girlfriend, it would only take a few minutes.
He then picked up the beer and took a sip, then raised his eyebrows slightly. "Sister-in-law, why are you so concerned about my personal condition?"
This was the first time he addressed her seriously. Zhong Yining was stunned for a moment. After a few seconds, she quickly replied, "You've already called me sister-in-law. How can I not care?"
Fu Yiqiu narrowed his eyes.
In fact, he knew from the first moment he saw her that this girl's heart was not as delicate and fragile as her appearance. On the contrary, she was very smart, stubborn, and even a little bit sinister.
Only his brother thought that she was a naive girl who knew nothing but was very gentle and pretty, and was suitable to be married home as a vase.
"I don't have a girlfriend,"
After a while, he tapped the table lightly with his slender fingers, looked at her, and opened his thin lips, "But I have someone I like."
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