8. No changes
At eight o'clock, Liang Litang and Yao Ling had dinner near Central and then went home. The night temperature had plummeted, so he drove her to Tsim Sha Tsui. When she arrived, she opened the door and felt the wind brush against her skin. She shivered and quickly got back into his car to keep warm.
Someone was calling, and Liang Litang picked up the phone right away. The car was connected to the Bluetooth speaker, and the other party said, "I have a credit card."
It was Deng Shilang's voice.
Liang Litang was so shocked that he immediately searched for his wallet, but couldn't find it. He cursed, "Shit, luckily you found it in time."
Deng Shilang was amused by his curse words and movements, and his laughter was very sweet: "I told you to use Apple Pay, but you can just leave your card with me when you treat someone."
"It's convenient to use a credit card."
"I just dropped Gigi off home, are you coming to me to get it or something?"
Liang Litang glanced at the person next to him and said, "Rosalie is next to me. I also happened to be parked here in Tsim Sha Tsui."
Yao Ling stayed out of the situation, silently waving goodbye to Liang Litang. She was sitting in the passenger seat. As soon as she opened the door and stretched her legs out, her hair flew in the wind, and the air was so cold that she shivered. She sneezed softly, and the person on the other end of the line heard it.
Deng Shilang's voice played throughout the car, "Wear more clothes. Don't think Hong Kong isn't cold."
Yao Ling covered her itchy nose and didn't get out of the car. Liang Litang realized she was cold and took off his suit to cover her, "Try mine first."
Deng Shilang waited until the rustling stopped and continued, "I'm driving to the Hung Hom Tunnel now. Go home and prepare a bottle of red wine, and I'll make mulled wine." He turned the steering wheel and entered the tunnel. "I didn't drink tonight, so it wasn't fun enough."
"No problem." Liang Litang agreed with interest. After hanging up the phone, he asked the person who was warming himself next to him, "Do you want to come to my house and take a look?"
"It has nothing to do with me." Yao Ling refused.
"That's so disrespectful."
Yao Ling leaned against the window and looked at him. The streetlight outside the window lit up the ends of her hair, an orange hue that made it shine. "Then tell me what is it about your house that attracts me?"
Liang Litang confidently listed the collections she would like: "At home, I have the original DVD of Chungking Express, Leonardo da Vinci's Vitruvian Man mechanical book, a limited edition Elvis Presley vinyl record, and a Maison Margiela and Reebok collaboration..."
Yao Ling spotted a brand she was interested in and said, "I like Maison Margiela after the new designer took over, but I'm not interested in shoes."
"This is a birthday present from Hayden. He seems to like the designer you mentioned, John Galliano, right?"
Yao Ling was stunned. It was him, no doubt; she loved his fashion designs and the fashion photography from his official brand. Unexpectedly, there was a knock on the windowpane. She turned around and saw her parents, exhausted from their travels.
Liang Litang saw his uncle and aunt, rolled down the car window, and a burst of music, tea, fireworks and copper coin incense from Wong Tai Sin rushed in.
Shen Yu was carrying a bag of tangerines, squinting her eyes and smiling as she asked, "Are you guys about to go out or did you just get home?"
Before Yao Ling could even speak, Liang Litang immediately spoke up and said, "I'm planning to take her to visit my house. My friend is coming too, so she can play with us."
Yao Ling was speechless. She had no choice but to give in. If she refused her cousin, her parents would think she had a bad relationship with her relatives and, out of guilt, would take her back to Hong Kong. Even Aunt Qiuping would be disappointed. She obeyed respectfully, nodding at her mother outside the car window: "I'll be back later."
Chen Yu wished her daughter could have fun with her relatives in Hong Kong. "It's okay if you don't come back tonight, just have fun." She blew a kiss to her and said goodbye.
"Bye, Mommy." Yao Ling replied with a smile.
Liang Litang's apartment was on Nathan Road. His B&B was on the same street as Qiuping's, but there was a subway station just a stone's throw away. This made it closer to Deng Shilang's home in Hengfeng, so Deng Shilang often stopped by to rest after gatherings at Liang Litang's. Deng Shilang would park his car at Hengfeng before gatherings and walk the short distance to Liang Litang's. If he got drunk, he'd sleep at his place and pick up his car at Hengfeng the next day for work.
Liang Litang's apartment was spotless, and at a glance, the collection he had just displayed was visible. He listed them all, meticulously and attentively, and told Yao Ling to go ahead and then went to the wine cabinet to get some red wine.
Yao Ling took off his suit jacket and looked around. Apart from the books in the bookcase, she politely did not touch any other valuables.
At 9:15 in the evening, the bell rang and Liang Litang opened the door.
Deng Shilang stood at the doorway, holding a credit card between his fingers. The card, lost for hours, seemed to have a gleaming edge, revealing the owner's Central records stored at HSBC. He smiled and slipped it into Liang Litong's shirt pocket, prompting a fist bump.
Liang Litang put the credit card back into his pocket and let him help himself. "There are oranges, lemons, oh, and apples. The spices seem to be only star anise and cinnamon. You can use whatever you like."
"That's enough."
Deng Shilang came in and saw Yao Ling. She was sitting on the sofa reading a book, with her legs curled up together, not afraid of the light at all.
She didn't intend to pay any attention to him, and he didn't bother to greet him. He picked up the red wine and went into the kitchen. When he came out of the kitchen, he put the mulled wine on the table. She was no longer reading, but kneeling on the blanket, bending over to grope for the DVD under the TV, revealing her soft back.
Liang Litang poured the wine and invited Yao Ling to join him. He and Deng Shilang were very casual, lacking the formality and elegance of European customs. They didn't gather around the table to drink, but instead went to the sofa or balcony, enjoying a drink, chatting in the breeze, and vaping.
Since Yao Ling was showing a movie, the two of them decided to drink in the living room.
"Do you know how to smoke?" Liang Litang asked, holding up two vaping cigarettes.
"What's that smell?" Yao Ling lay on the edge of the sofa, her chest resting on a soft tassel pillow. Her beautiful shoulders were slightly raised because of her posture, and her back was naturally visible to them. Her short skirt just covered her hips.
"One refreshing mint, one blueberry pop."
Only then did Yao Ling look at Deng Shilang and said, "Let me have a cigarette with you."
"casual."
Yao Ling ordered a Blueberry Pop, took a drag, and slowly exhaled. Her eyes were half-hidden in the mist, and her throat felt cool. She held her chin and handed the vaping device to Deng Shilang. He didn't smoke immediately. Instead, he sat on the blanket, leaning back against the sofa, leaving the back of his head open for her.
"When did you learn to vape?" Deng Shilang took a sip of wine.
Yao Ling felt that this was very common in Europe, especially among girls of similar age. Her voice came from behind him, "After going to Milan, there were bars, train stations, photo studios, and fashion shows." She smiled and said, "Do you still think I'm stupid?"
"Is it fun?" He didn't answer the latter part of the question, but asked casually.
"It's okay. I don't smoke much by myself."
Liang Litang noticed something different and asked curiously, "So what was Rosalie like before?"
Deng Shilang smiled, not caring what the people behind him thought, "He looks very pure, but he often has a cold face."
"No change." Yao Ling asserted herself.
Deng Shilang spread his hands, implying that his previous words were irrelevant. What he said was unimportant; what mattered was her own words. He picked up his vape, touched it to the spot where she had held it, and took a puff.
"Why don't you have milk in your hot cocoa?"
Deng Shilang waited for a long time for Yao Ling to answer herself, but she remained silent, so he said, "I feel bored."
Yao Ling's phone rang. She clicked on it and saw a topless photo sent by Pierre. She took a sip of wine and gave him a greeting.
Liang Litang could see it from his perspective without turning his head, and exclaimed, "Your SP, such a good figure, where is she from?"
"France."
Deng Shilang was as casual as usual, drinking with his head tilted back.
Yao Ling put away her phone and asked like an ordinary friend, "How are you going to work tomorrow?"
Liang Litang replied, "You won't get a hangover. Many people in Central go drinking after work, and the next day they still go about their IPOs and trades."
"fine."
"I'm tired."
They were chatting when Deng Shilang's phone rang. As usual, he had to report his itinerary to Chen Li'er and try to coax her. The screen was bright, so the person behind him could be seen at any time.
Yao Ling noticed him scrolling through his phone, but she wouldn't peek. She finished her glass of wine, got off the sofa, and went into the bathroom. When she came out, she saw Liang Litang yawning and saying he was sleepy and wanted to go back to his room to rest. The two of them continued to relax.
Anyway, Liang Litang could sleep peacefully because Deng Shilang knew the structure here very well and could deal with his drowsiness, and he handled it well every time.
Deng Shilang took the wine glasses into the kitchen, washed them, dried his hands, and came out, saying, "Let's go home."
Yao Ling put on her shoes, followed him, closed the door, and went downstairs.
The two of them entered the elevator together. Deng Shilang turned his head and asked, "Are you cold?"
"It's not cold now."
"Wearing so little."
"I like it." Yao Ling suddenly said, "You should say this to your girlfriend, not me."
Deng Shilang laughed: "Why, you're being sentimental. I'm just concerned about you as a friend."
Yao Ling refused to be outdone. She turned around, took his hand, and placed it on the skin of her back, staring into his eyes. "You like looking at my back, don't think I don't know."
Deng Shilang was not surprised by her behavior; she had always behaved this way. "Just because I liked it before doesn't mean I like it now."
Yao Ling was not afraid of being mentioned, "Really? Don't pretend here. When you see my back, you will remember how you used to penetrate me from behind."
Deng Shilang's hand was held by her and rested on her smooth skin. He felt that she was powerful, so he had no choice but to get closer to her, blocking her against the elevator wall, leaning over and about to kiss her. Just when she opened her eyes blankly, he stopped, "I'm not going to kiss you, what are you expecting?"
The elevator just arrived and they both separated, leaving in opposite directions without looking back.
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Card: Swipe card
vaping: electronic cigarettes
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Why can't the popularity go up? How can there be no exposure at all? It's weird! I guess it's the cover and the copywriting. I don't understand!
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