Chapter 70 Entering the Room
The car drove over the bridge, passed through several corners and streets, drove into an old and crowded alley, and stopped in the middle of the road.
The alley is sandwiched between two gray-white old European-style buildings. It has few floors and is no more than twenty meters high.
After getting out of the car, Jiang Yanyu took out the key from his purse, opened the door, and a damp smell of moldy wood hit him in the face.
Once they entered the door and walked along a narrow and winding path, they finally reached the stairs.
The dark brown wooden spiral staircase is like a chandelier, suspended in the air layer by layer, extending towards the dome.
There is no elevator in the building. Black cracks are creeping on the white walls, from the corner all the way to the top, and finally bursting into cracks like broken flowers.
Luo Qinglin raised his head and looked upward, gazing at the faded murals on the dome.
In Luo Qinglin's imagination, Jiang Yanyu's home was magnificent, at least like what he had seen in the Lvyuan community.
But the house in front of him was too old. Luo Qinglin found it unbelievable and stood there in a daze.
Seeing the man standing there in a daze, Jiang Yanyu walked forward and wanted to pat Luo Qinglin on the shoulder, but his mind moved and his hand slid down and patted Luo Qinglin's right buttock.
"What's wrong?" Jiang Yanyu leaned close to his ear and asked, "You want me to carry you up again?"
Luo Qinglin hunched his shoulders, moved his feet, dodged to the side, and looked resentful, "Your hand!"
"What's wrong with touching it? It's not like you haven't touched it before." Jiang Yanyu said confidently.
This rogue...
Luo Qinglin covered his right hip to prevent Jiang Yanyu from attacking him again, and walked up the stairs on his own.
"Which floor is your home on?" Luo Qinglin asked as they walked.
"Sixth floor."
The spiral staircase is longer than the straight staircase. Luo Qinglin felt even more annoyed when he heard that it was on the sixth floor.
He sprinted to the third floor. As expected, Luo Qinglin's speed began to slow down, with each step becoming slower and slower, and he was out of breath.
"Mr. Luo, are you tired already?" Jiang Yanyu asked without breathing or blushing.
Luo Qinglin tried his best to control his breathing and pretended nothing happened, "No."
After walking up a few more steps slowly, Luo Qinglin felt really tired, so he stopped and leaned on the handrail to rest.
Jiang Yanyu also stopped and sighed exaggeratedly, "Hey, at Mr. Luo's speed, I'm afraid I won't be able to return home in half an hour."
Luo Qinglin turned his head, pretending not to hear the teasing, and looked downstairs.
"You go up first, I'll rest for a while and then come up." Luo Qinglin said uncomfortably.
Hearing this, Jiang Yanyu didn't say anything, nor did he go upstairs by himself. He just stood there waiting for Luo Qinglin.
Suddenly, a door of a house on the third floor opened and an old lady with gray hair walked out. The old lady was holding a small bag in her hand and had light makeup on her face. It was obvious that she was going out for something.
But as soon as she saw Jiang Yanyu, the old lady stopped, a smile of surprise appeared on her face, and she asked, "Louis?"
Jiang Yanyu turned around and faced the old lady, greeting her with the same exaggerated smile.
The two of them chattered a lot, but Luo Qinglin couldn't understand what they were saying, so he had to half-lie on the handrail and stare at the downstairs.
Luo Qinglin felt regretful when he thought about going to shows and parties in a few days and that he would not understand anything like he did now.
Why didn't he learn French earlier?
It’s good to study for a few minutes every day before going to bed.
Luo Qinglin sighed, worry gradually filling him up. He determined to start accumulating worry from today, and strive to be more at ease the next time he comes to Paris, and not be as helpless as he is now.
The two chatted for more than ten minutes, and finally kissed each other twice and said goodbye.
Before leaving, the old lady looked at Luo Qinglin a few times, and turned back every time she took a step, as if she wanted to say something to him.
When the old lady reached the second floor, she suddenly raised her head and met the eyes of Luo Qinglin on the third floor.
Luo Qinglin's heart tightened, he blinked nervously, and said hesitantly: "Sa... salut." (Goodbye)
The old lady raised her eyebrows, smiled ambiguously, and replied to Luo Qinglin "a~ salut", then she hummed a little tune and walked downstairs.
"If Mr. Luo has had a good rest, shall we continue?" Jiang Yanyu asked after the old lady left.
Luo Qinglin reluctantly stood up, left the handrail, and continued walking to the sixth floor.
Jiang Yanyu's house is the one on the far left.
Before entering the door, Luo Qinglin smelled the aroma of fruit and cake. The sweet smell of butter and sugar diffused in the air, making people salivate.
Jiang Yanyu inserted the key into the rusty lock and twisted it left and right several times before the door opened.
The space inside the house is not big, only about 50 square meters.
The overall decoration is rich in colors, mainly light blue, light pink and linen. Each room is small and all the furniture is compact, which makes the room feel warmer.
Although the area is only 50 square meters, it has two bedrooms and a living room. It not only has a kitchen, bathroom and study, but also a small balcony at the edge of the living room.
In the middle of the living room stood a small camphor wood table. On the pink checkered tablecloth were cakes, red wine and unlit candles.
There is a small wooden shoe cabinet at the entrance, with a group photo on it.
The photo shows a blonde and brown-eyed woman holding a black-haired child. They are standing under the Eiffel Tower and smiling at the camera.
The child's eyes were amber, and his eyebrows and features were similar to Jiang Yanyu's, clearly him as a child.
Jiang Yanyu opened the cabinet door and took out two pairs of lace-up slippers. The crocheted slippers were bright red, with a fat white rabbit crocheted on the upper.
Luo Qinglin hadn't seen this kind of slippers for a long time. Looking at this pair of retro slippers, he suddenly had the illusion of going back more than ten years ago.
Jiang Yanyu changed his shoes and saw Luo Qinglin still staring at the floor. He asked jokingly, "Do you want me to help you change?"
Luo Qinglin shook his head, immediately came back to his senses, and squatted down to change his shoes.
As if seeing his doubts, Jiang Yanyu walked towards the kitchen and explained, "These two pairs of slippers were made by my mother."
Luo Qinglin hesitated slightly when untying his shoelaces.
Jiang Yanyu’s mother?
Luo Qinglin recalled carefully, this seemed to be the first time Jiang Yanyu mentioned his mother.
He always thought that Jiang Yanyu had a bad relationship with his parents and couldn't even mention them, but he didn't expect that Jiang Yanyu didn't seem to mind mentioning his mother.
Putting the canvas shoes he took off into the shoe cabinet, Luo Qinglin asked tentatively: "Then your mother..."
"He died of illness a few years ago." Jiang Yanyu replied.
His curiosity was strangled by this answer. Luo Qinglin pursed his lips and dared not ask any other questions.
There was a cashmere carpet under the small table. There was no sofa or chair next to the table, so Luo Qinglin could only sit on the carpet with his knees bent.
Jiang Yanyu was fiddling with something in the kitchen. There were sounds of water and glass clanging.
Not long after, Jiang Yanyu walked out of the kitchen, holding two wine glasses in one hand and a plate and knife and fork in the other.
Jiang Yanyu turned off the lights, lit the candles, sat next to Luo Qinglin, picked up the decanter and shook it a few times, then poured the red wine into the goblet.
Luo Qinglin placed his hands on his knees, his back straight, looking cautious.
After pouring the wine and cutting the cake, Jiang Yanyu asked, "Why are you so nervous? Are you worried that I'll want to 'have dinner' again?"
Ever since he said "he died of illness", Luo Qinglin became a little reserved, fearing that he would say something wrong and make Jiang Yanyu sad.
Unexpectedly, Jiang Yanyu was not moved by the scene. Instead, he was in high spirits and even had the leisure to tease him.
Luo Qinglin shook his head and scooped up a spoonful of cake and put it into his mouth. The aroma of cherries and butter bursts out, the cake base is soft, soaked in cherry juice, juicy and soft.
"Is it delicious?" Jiang Yanyu asked, taking a sip of red wine.
Luo Qinglin nodded and picked up another ripe cherry. "It's delicious."
"That's good," Jiang Yanyu said with a smile, "I loved eating clafoutis when I was a kid, especially the ones made by my mother."
Hearing this, Luo Qinglin paused in chewing, turned his head slightly, and secretly observed Jiang Yanyu's expression.
The candlelight flickered and was a little dim, and the light waves reflected on Jiang Yanyu's face, like waves dyed golden by the setting sun.
Not sure if it was an illusion, but Luo Qinglin always felt that Jiang Yanyu was not as happy as he appeared to be, and there was a certain disappointment hidden in his high spirits.
Luo Qinglin wanted to take a closer look, but Jiang Yanyu suddenly glanced at him and asked, "Why are you peeking at me?"
After being caught peeking, Luo Qinglin immediately retracted his gaze and prepared to eat the cake seriously, but Jiang Yanyu suddenly pinched his face.
Jiang Yanyu stared at him straight, his fox eyes slightly narrowed, as if he was observing his heart through his eyes.
"You, don't seem very happy," Luo Qinglin asked cautiously, "Do you... miss your mother?"
Jiang Yanyu was stunned when he heard this, and suddenly loosened his grip on his hands. Luo Qinglin shrank back and quickly broke free from the shackles.
After being stunned for a moment, Jiang Yanyu silently picked up the fork, picked up a cherry, scraped off the cake base on the surface, and then put it into his mouth.
"Maybe." Jiang Yanyu said.
"You lived here before?"
Luo Qinglin actually wanted to ask a lot of questions, but he didn't dare to ask easily, let alone mention Jiang Ligang, so he could only ask some irrelevant nonsense.
"I lived here until I was 10 years old," Jiang Yanyu replied.
As if knowing what Luo Qinglin wanted to ask, Jiang Yanyu continued, "Later, I moved to the Jiang family and lived there for two years. When I was 12, my grandmother took me to London."
"Why......"
"She met someone she liked and was planning to get married, so she sent me to the Jiang family."
"The aunt I just met downstairs often came to my house to take care of me when I was a child." After explaining this, Jiang Yanyu suddenly fell silent again.
The atmosphere was stagnant, with only the wind blowing through the walls, making a whirring sound.
The autumn wind blew through the window, making the white translucent curtains swell and sway. The candlelight also swayed with the ups and downs of the curtains, sometimes dim and sometimes bright.
Luo Qinglin finished the cake on the plate silently and picked up another piece of cake with a fork.
The silence was uncomfortable. Luo Qinglin separated the cake base and the cherries and took the initiative to break the silence. "If I were you, I would not be able to eat the cake even if it was right in front of me. I would have retired long ago."
As expected, Jiang Yanyu would raise her chin proudly, chuckle a few times, and then joke with him as usual.
But Jiang Yanyu still had a sullen face. He slowly turned his head and stared at Luo Qinglin.
"Luo Qinglin, why do you think I like you?" Jiang Yanyu asked in a low voice.
Luo Qinglin hesitated for a moment and gave a known answer, "... Gentle? Good temper?"
This sentence sounded like boasting. Luo Qinglin felt ashamed and stopped after answering one sentence.
Seeing Luo Qinglin frowning in shame and looking uncomfortable, Jiang Yanyu finally smiled and returned to his original appearance.
"I forgot to mention that there is one more thing that is the most important and my favorite."
Jiang Yanyu lowered his head, looked at the cherries on the plate, and said softly, "You are very kind, kinder than anyone I have ever met."
The author has something to say:
Luo Qinglin: It's all gibberish, I don't understand (holding his chin)
actual:
Old lady: Louis, who is he? Your boyfriend (raised eyebrows)
Jiang Yanyu: She’s my wife (wink)
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