23. Not important
Yao Ling returned to her room, still feeling his embrace around her waist. She had almost forgotten how he used to hold her like this, moving her from one place to another, sometimes deliberately tickling her, and she would laugh and kick her feet, only for him to hold her and kiss her until she stopped making trouble.
I guess he often does this to Chen Lier now, and it has nothing to do with her anymore.
Once in her own room, Yao Ling, like she had in Milan, undressed without even going to the bathroom. She looked down at her skin. It had been a bit pink that morning, but now it no longer had that intense, alluring color. It had come and gone quickly, like the rosy clouds here, leaving nothing to linger on.
After showering, Yao Ling applied body lotion in the mirror and dried her wet hair. She emerged feeling dry and ready to peel an orange she'd bought at the market when Xiaoyu called. She slid off the speakerphone and sat in a chair, slowly peeling the orange.
"Come pick me up from get off work tomorrow." Xiao Yu said with a smile.
Yao Ling peeled off a petal, put it in her mouth and chewed it, and laughed: "Why do you want me to take it?"
Xiao Yu couldn't wait to catch up with her, her tone a little coquettish but also a little excited, "We haven't seen each other for so long, I can't forget my friends for the sake of beauty, you have to accompany me too, we finally meet, can't you pick me up?"
"Okay," Yao Ling was impressed by her tone, "Send me the company address now, I'll go there tomorrow."
Within a minute, Xiao Yu sent her the address and said they should go out for a nice meal together after work. Yao Ling agreed, finished her orange, washed her hands, and lay on the bed, flipping through a fashion magazine.
At this time, the floor they live on is very quiet, and with good sound insulation, they are not easily disturbed, making it suitable for quiet reading and work.
Deng Shilang finished processing several emails in quick succession when a text message popped up on his phone. He picked it up and found it was from Liang Litang via iMessage. The message contained a few words accompanied by a frowning Mickey Mouse, suggesting resentment. He suddenly smiled and sent Liang Litang the same emoji, suspecting that Lu An might also be feeling the same resentment, and that they were all waiting for him to return to relieve their boredom.
Liang Litang chatted with him for a few words and asked him to show his concern for Chen Li'er. Then he switched to another mobile phone number and sent another message about Mickey Mouse with a frown, so Yao Ling also received this emoticon on iMessage.
【LLT】: Did you know that Hayden is not in Hong Kong either?
【RosalieYL】：I know.
【LLT】: Lonely.
【RosalieYL】：You tell him.
[LLT]: I just finished talking to him. I saw his girlfriend at the Ferris wheel in Central after work today. I've been going to and from work lately, so it's been boring. How have you been these past two days? I'm looking forward to your return.
Yao Ling replied that it was okay, and it was rare for her to choose an expression to comfort him. Then she stopped chatting with him, put the magazine and mobile phone beside the bed, turned off the lights and went to sleep.
As planned, Yao Ling went to wait for Xiaoyu downstairs at her office. After waiting for seven or eight minutes, she saw Xiaoyu at the building entrance. They had dinner together, deliberately choosing a traditional restaurant with a more down-to-earth feel, rather than a chain restaurant in a shopping mall, to create a sense of familiarity.
Xiao Yu ordered all their favorites. Their tastes should not have changed over the years. They started with four dishes and a soup, both light and spicy. There was also a table of signature seafood around them, and the aroma was everywhere.
Xiao Yu sat across from Yao Ling and noticed her lips. "I think you should drink more soup to clear away heat and detoxify." She began to serve them soup and asked, "Have you seen DC since you came here? You two haven't spoken much."
"We live in the same hotel. He's next to me." Yao Ling took the slightly hot white bowl.
Xiao Yu suddenly realized and sighed with emotion, "It's so clever and exaggerated, no wonder there's no need to communicate." She scooped a spoonful of soup, blew it to create ripples, and then paused to chat about some trivial matters: "What do you eat most in Milan? I haven't seen you update before."
"All kinds of pasta and pizza, and cooking at home." Yao Ling tasted the soup.
Xiao Yu could imagine it, pointed at her lips, and said with a smile: "Then you are not suffering from acclimatization now, are you?"
Yao Ling shook her head: "It's almost healed, no acclimatization issues."
They talked about their own lives and finished their meal while talking. Then they walked out of the old restaurant and along a street that led to Yao Ling's former home. There was an artificial lake park connected to it, which they had to cross. They went into the park as usual and took a walk to digest their food.
Deng Shilang and Steven left the biopharmaceutical company and were treated to dinner by the company's receptionist. He was familiar with the area, so after dinner he said goodbye to the company and took Steven for a stroll around the area.
The park smelled of lake water. Streetlights lit the gravel every few meters, their orange glow illuminating the surrounding area. People were running and cycling nearby. There were several paths in the park, and Deng Shilang took him on a short path, away from the streetlights and into the darker areas, avoiding the crowds and allowing him to leisurely walk through the park.
"You know this place very well." Steven was tired after a long day and wanted to relax and stretch his body which was stiff from socializing.
Deng Shilang strolled slowly until he came to a bench under a tree stump. He pointed and said, "When we were dating in high school, I would take my ex home after school. We would first take the bus and then go to this park when we got to the station. Sometimes we would kiss there."
"It's so dark, there must be more than just kissing." Steven observed the structure there and came to a conclusion.
Deng Shilang sat down on a bench, inhaled the salty smell of the lake, and said, "More than that."
"It's quite romantic. Send her home every day?"
"After the relationship is confirmed, every day."
Steven admired him. Seeing him sitting on a bench, he took the opportunity to sit down and catch some fresh air. "I used to work at a comic book place in Causeway Bay. I wore a Band 2 uniform and used a book to cover my cigarette holder."
"If you don't play cigar reels, you should be able to go to band 1."
"It doesn't matter whether I go or not, I'll still graduate from Australia and come back in the end."
Deng Shilang talked about the transformation from the past to the present. He rubbed his brow and couldn't help laughing, covering half of his face with his palm, "Believe it or not, Liang Litong used to be MK."
Steven exclaimed, "Impossible."
Two Central residents on a business trip sat on a dark bench, sharing their youth. Suddenly, a surprised and delighted voice rang out. It was Xiao Yu, "DC?"
Deng Shilang looked up when he heard the voice and saw two people, one of whom was Yao Ling.
Steven realized they knew each other and said, "Your friend."
"I just told you." Deng Shilang stood up.
Steven immediately understood, stood up, and introduced himself to the two people in front of him, "Hello, I am Deng Shilang's colleague." He seemed to recognize one of them and had seen her in the gym before.
Deng Shilang was talking to Xiaoyu, and Steven immediately mistook her for his ex-girlfriend. He moved closer to this person he had met at the gym, explaining to her, "They were catching up."
"Then let them reminisce." Seeing that the bench was empty, Yao Ling sat down, turned on her cell phone, and the screen light illuminated her face.
Steven didn't get involved in the reminiscing, thinking she was also out of the loop. He sat down again and added beside her, "I heard he used to walk her home every day. Maybe they would talk for a long time."
Yao Ling paused, turned off her phone, and turned around. "Really?"
"Ask your friend."
Yao Ling smiled lightly, remembering Xiao Yu's complaints back then, and learned from them: "She used to get out of school with me after school."
Steven crossed his arms, "I rarely see anyone who can send his girlfriend home every day."
"He should be about the same now."
"Pretty much. Everyone needs space after work. It's impossible to be like middle school students. But everyone in our department knows that he takes good care of his girlfriend. He'll pick her up most of the time, unless both of them are very busy."
After hearing this, Yao Ling narrowed her eyes, and looked a little charming because of her cold and pale skin.
At some point, Deng Shilang came over and nodded, then asked Steven if he wanted to rest. Steven happened to have a phone call, so he didn't have time to answer. He went behind a tree stump to talk for two minutes, and after hanging up, he said he wanted to go back the same way to get a document. Xiaoyu happened to be planning to go that way too, so she led the way for him.
Deng Shilang watched them leave without sitting down. He asked Yao Ling, "What are you daydreaming about?"
Yao Ling wasn't in a daze, she was just taking in the scenery. "Your colleague thought Xiao Yu was your ex and said something to me."
"You didn't correct him." Deng Shilang thought she would continue to hide this lie.
"It doesn't matter." Yao Ling didn't care whether others misunderstood.
Deng Shilang didn't care about the misunderstanding, "I'm not afraid of being hurt by the scene."
Yao Ling looked up and asked softly, "Can you?" Without waiting for his reply, she interrupted him honestly, "I can't."
Deng Shilang expected this answer, "It's okay. Like you said, it's not important. I can't feel it if I say it out loud."
"I believe this." She smiled, hooked the hair that was stuck to her lips by the wind, and tucked it behind her ear.
*
Band 1 & 2 & 3: Ranked first, second and third in Hong Kong according to scores. The top students will be admitted to Band 1 secondary schools, and so on.
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