Chapter 24: Needle vs. Cotton
Hearing the voice, Luo Qinglin opened his eyes hazily and suddenly found himself hanging in mid-air, so he quickly hugged Jiang Yanyu's neck with his right hand.
Being frightened like this, Luo Qinglin's dazed brain was immediately awakened. After looking around, he raised his left arm and greeted Qin Xiaoxi, "Why are you here?"
Luo Qinglin raised his hand, and the sleeve of his shirt slid down, revealing the plaster on his left arm. Only then did Qin Xiaoxi understand what Jiang Yanyu meant by being injured.
"Brother Jiang asked me to come here," Qin Xiaoxi said without asking about Luo Qinglin's injury, "By the way, this is Mr. Bai, the photographer who covered for you when you were hospitalized due to an allergy last time."
"Hello, Mr. Bai." Luo Qinglin patted Jiang Yanyu on the back, motioning him to put him down.
However, Jiang Yanyu did not do so. Instead, she held him and strode towards the dining table, doing her own thing, without any awareness of the host's duty to entertain guests.
Luo Qinglin was extremely embarrassed as he was carried to a seat in public. Fortunately, he had a fever and his face was red, so it was not obvious whether he was embarrassed or not.
After the four of them were seated, Bai Shengyun belatedly responded, "I've long heard of your name, Mr. Luo."
There were not many dishes on the table, just three dishes, one soup, one porridge and one salad.
Several Cantonese dishes - braised chicken with zhu hou sauce, spare ribs with salted egg and golden sand sauce, lettuce with oyster sauce, and pork ribs soup with king flower - were obviously prepared for Bai Shengyun and Qin Xiaoxi.
In front of Jiang Yanyu was still the bland cobb salad, while next to Luo Qinglin was a light bowl of zucchini, pork and rice porridge.
Qin Xiaoxi was drooling as she hadn't tasted home-style food for a long time. After Jiang Yanyu took a bite of the chicken breast, she couldn't wait to scoop up a whole bowl of soup, drank it in a few gulps, and then buried her head in eating.
"What's the matter with calling me here?" Bai Shengyun took a sip of soup and put down the bowl.
Jiang Yanyu finished the chicken breast and avocado in a few bites, then dropped the fork and the remaining vegetables, snatched the spoon from Luo Qinglin's hand, and insisted on feeding him himself.
"Of course I have something important to ask you." Jiang Yanyu said as he fed him.
Jiang Yanyu didn't just feed him. He had to scoop up half a spoonful of porridge and blow on it for several seconds. Only when the porridge was half warm would he feed it to Luo Qinglin's mouth.
Even if Qin Xiaoxi didn't look up, she could smell the sour smell of love just by listening to the whirring sound of air from the other side.
Tsk tsk tsk, he is so old and still needs to be fed like a baby.
Qin Xiaoxi pursed her lips speechlessly and was about to raise her hand to pick up the lettuce that was a little further away, but a pair of chopsticks silently reached over from the right and put a piece of lettuce dipped in oyster sauce and garlic sauce into her bowl.
Oh my god, Mr. Bai wouldn't really fall for this old girl who has accomplished nothing, right?
Qin Xiaoxi pondered for a moment and decided not to look up to say thank you, nor to eat the lettuce. She just left it in the bowl and did not eat it until the end of the meal. In this case, Bai Shengyun should be able to understand what she means, right?
"Miss Qin doesn't like lettuce?" Bai Shengyun picked up the ribs again and put them in Qin Xiaoxi's bowl.
Staring at the spareribs and lettuce in the bowl, Qin Xiaoxi swallowed nervously and glanced to the right.
Bai Shengyun was smiling with his eyes narrowed, the corners of his mouth curved like the beak of a bird doctor, and his whole face looked like a male version of Medusa, as if he would stare at her and turn her into a stone statue if she didn't eat.
"I......"
"Mr. Bai," Luo Qinglin suddenly interrupted, "Xiaoxi is not in good health and doesn't like to eat dishes picked by others."
Luo Qinglin picked up the chopsticks on the table, picked up the lettuce and pork ribs from Qin Xiaoxi's bowl, and put them into his own bowl.
"Mr. Bai, have you taken a Helicobacter pylori test recently? If not, you'd better not pick up food for Xiaoxi casually."
Although Luo Qinglin's tone was soft due to the fever, his face was now cold and his tone was hard, showing a warning that he was not to be trifled with.
"Mr. Luo cares so much about Miss Qin," Bai Shengyun glanced at Jiang Yanyu, "Aren't you afraid that Brother Jiang will have an opinion?"
"Xiaoxi is my sister. If Mr. Bai has any thoughts about her that go beyond friendship, please first find out whether she is willing before you do anything that will cause others to think too much." Luo Qinglin replied.
Luo Qinglin stared at Bai Shengyun, his gaze like an ice cone, shooting straight at the opposite side. Bai Shengyun also stopped smiling, clasped his hands together, supported his chin, and looked at Luo Qinglin.
"Tsk..." A sudden sound of "tsk..." broke the deadlock.
Jiang Yanyu pinched Luo Qinglin's face, put the warm porridge into his mouth, and winked at Bai Shengyun, "Eat well, I have something important to say."
"Yes, yes, yes," Qin Xiaoxi said awkwardly, "Brother Jiang, what do you want to talk about?"
Jiang Yanyu said calmly, "Yinghuang is going to produce a model competition variety show in October and would like to invite Qinglin to be the photographer. I would like to ask you to bring him to your studio for an internship recently so that he can familiarize himself with the process of shooting a magazine cover in advance."
?
Why didn’t Jiang Yanyu say it earlier?
Luo Qinglin and Qin Xiaoxi stared at each other, as if they saw their doomed future in each other's eyes.
Recalling the scene of the argument just now, Luo Qinglin felt that Bai Shengyun would not agree.
"Sure," Bai Shengyun replied calmly, "Ms. Qin, as Mr. Luo's assistant, will also come to my studio for internship, right?"
Hearing this, Luo Qinglin felt a panic in his heart. He glanced at Qin Xiaoxi worriedly, then turned his head and looked at Jiang Yanyu pleadingly.
"Yes, I'm Qinglin's assistant, of course I'll go." Qin Xiaoxi replied with a smile, but her voice was a little shaky.
"When Mr. Luo's left hand injury is healed, I will personally send someone to pick you up to my studio," Bai Shengyun dropped his chopsticks and stood up. "I have something else to do, so I'll leave first. Miss Qin, please take another car back later."
After Bai Shengyun left, the atmosphere at the table fell into a deadlock again.
Qin Xiaoxi ate in silence. Luo Qinglin had no appetite for his porridge. He stared absentmindedly at the night sky outside the window, not knowing what he was thinking about.
After finishing her meal in a few bites, Qin Xiaoxi said goodbye to the two of them with a stiff smile, and left in a hurry without waiting for Luo Qinglin to stay.
Bang!
As soon as the door closed, Luo Qinglin came back to his senses.
He turned his head and said with pleading eyes: "I know that my current workload is very small and I can't afford such a high salary, but I will work hard to create rewards and value for you."
After a pause, Luo Qinglin begged, "Can you please not let Xiaoxi go with us?"
After a moment of silence, Jiang Yanyu suddenly laughed dryly and asked in frustration: "During this time, do you feel that you are just completing your work?"
"No, I..."
"Or do you think I want to sell Qin Xiaoxi out in exchange for an opportunity for you to go to Bai Shengyun to improve yourself, so that we can go to the model competition without losing face?" Jiang Yanyu raised his voice.
The topic became more and more off-topic, and the voices became louder and louder. Luo Qinglin nervously explained: "I didn't think so. You don't know that Xiaoxi used to..."
"I know," Jiang Yanyu interrupted, "Bai Shengyun also knows. He even knew Qin Xiaoxi before you did."
Luo Qinglin fell silent, looking at the obvious disappointment in Jiang Yanyu's eyes, unable to speak.
"Luo Qinglin, you shouldn't put yourself in such a low position and talk to me in the tone of a subordinate trying to please his superior."
Jiang Yanyu lowered his voice and settled all the old and new accounts. "I have no objection to whoever you want to help and save. I will help you, but you shouldn't always charge into battle alone, put yourself in danger, and be overly protective of everyone."
After saying this, Jiang Yanyu dropped the spoon in his hand, stood up suddenly and walked towards the gym. The chair was suddenly pushed back, rubbing against the floor, making a harsh sound.
After the sound, the only sounds left in the living room were the air conditioner and the sound of wind outside hitting the floor-to-ceiling windows on the upper floors.
There were no stars in the night sky, and the bright warm-colored street lights shone on the artificial lake, making it look like a giant gem glowing in the dark night.
Melancholy was like a silk thread, tightly wrapping around Luo Qinglin's heart, getting tighter and tighter, making it almost suffocating him.
After a short while of silence, the sound of heavy hammers could be heard in the gym. The sound continued and the frequency became faster and faster, revealing the boxer's inner impatience.
Luo Qinglin let out a long sigh, slowly stood up, and unbuttoned the two buttons on his shirt collar while walking towards the gym.
Jiang Yanyu changed into his pajamas and wore only a pair of sweatpants, hitting the sandbag with dark red boxing gloves on his hands.
The punch was powerful and fast, and the hanging sandbag was shaken back and forth, and the leather surface became concave and flat, flat and concave.
Sensing a figure outside the door, Jiang Yanyu snorted coldly, without raising his head or punching, and asked while hitting: "What are you doing?"
"I want to take a shower." Luo Qinglin said, leaning against the door frame.
"What did you say?" Jiang Yanyu stopped punching and looked towards the door.
Luo Qinglin stood at an angle by the door, his white shirt was loose and his collar was wide open, revealing his well-defined clavicle. His clavicle pit was deep and obvious, as if it could hold several pearls steadily.
"I said, I want to take a shower," Luo Qinglin raised his left arm in plaster, his tone no longer flattering, but rather a bit bossy, "My hand is injured, I can't take a shower by myself."
His eyes swept over Luo Qinglin's fair calves and the thin ankles in slippers. Jiang Yanyu silently took off his gloves and bandages and threw them to the ground.
Jiang Yanyu's eyes were fixed, and he walked quickly towards the door, like a wild fox about to catch the prey it had been chasing for a long time.
When they reached the door, Jiang Yanyu put his arm around Luo Qinglin's waist and lifted him off the ground with one hand.
"You asked for it."
The author has something to say:
Jiang Yanyu: How could such a good thing happen from a one-sided quarrel?
author:
Warning: The next two chapters are about the past from Qin Xiaoxi's perspective, mainly about her ex-boyfriend who pua her. If you don't like it, you can skip it, it won't have much impact.
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