Chapter 4-1
Chapter Four: Brooklyn: Holding Hands
1
Qiao Ruo first went to Guangzhou, stayed in a hotel there for one night, and then met up with Hong Yantao and Hong Mengqi at Baiyun Airport the next morning. They transited through Hong Kong, and after a long journey of more than twenty hours, they arrived safely at JFK Airport on Friday evening local time in the United States.
He Yajun drove to the airport to pick them up. When the plane landed, Qiao Ruo was still able to tell herself that everything was real. However, from the moment she saw him in the crowd of people picking them up, she began to suspect that she was in a dream.
During the month they were apart, they had video chatted more than once, especially in the last few days, almost every day. They talked about everything, serious and not so serious, and their relationship could be described as quite familiar. She had long since learned not to have her heart race easily when she saw his face on the phone. But now, as he walked towards her, his face full of smiles, his eyes seemingly filled with infinite tenderness as he swept over her, she still blushed and panicked, just like before.
As he drew closer, his faint, pleasant scent became more and more pronounced. This familiar aroma inexplicably made her eyes sting. She was glad that she had worn a thick scarf, which she could easily pull up to cover her eyes and prevent herself from losing her composure.
God knows how much she longed to see him. If it weren't for the fact that Hong Yantao and Hong Mengqi were also present, she would have rushed over, thrown herself into his arms, hugged him tightly, and kissed him.
He Yajun remained as composed as ever, showing no signs of excitement on the surface. He first called out Qiao Ruo and Hong Mengqi's names as a greeting, and then said to Hong Yantao, "I didn't expect to see you again so soon."
Hong Yantao seemed to want to roll his eyes at him, but he held back and said with a half-smile, "Yeah, I'm getting sick of seeing you so often. When I told my dad I was coming to America, he immediately said I was definitely coming to see you, and he even suspected we had some kind of inappropriate relationship."
He Yajun took the suitcases pushed by the two ladies and led the three of them forward. Hearing her friend's words, she laughed: "Forget it, even if you like me, I might not like you. I can't bring myself to kiss you."
Hong Yantao was speechless, then pretended to vomit: "If you disgust me again, I might really throw up in your car later."
He Yajun laughed loudly and said nonchalantly, "Go ahead and vomit, it won't be me who's embarrassed."
Qiao Ruo walked quietly beside them, her gaze almost entirely fixed on He Yajun, except for the occasional glance at the foreigners coming and going.
He was wearing a caramel-colored thick down jacket and black casual pants, with Nike sneakers on his feet. Apart from the bright color of the down jacket, his outfit was actually quite ordinary, but in Qiao Ruo's eyes, it looked inexplicably good.
Upon arriving at the parking lot, He Yajun went straight to a white car and stuffed Qiao Ruo and Hong Mengqi's suitcases into the trunk. Hong Yantao, on the other hand, traveled light, carrying only a backpack and a medium-sized travel bag. He threw his luggage into the trunk as well: "When we return to China, I'll also buy an SUV, but I won't be as rich as you. Remember to sponsor me then."
"Okay, but if I really sponsor you, wouldn't that be considered keeping you as a sugar daddy/sugar baby? That would confirm your father's suspicions."
"Get lost," Hong Yantao laughed and scolded. "I've figured it out. You're all talk and no action."
He Yajun finished his rambling with his friend, turned around and extended his hand to Qiao Ruo. Qiao Ruo was stunned for a moment before extending her hand and placing it in his palm.
He paused for a moment, then immediately smiled, took her hand, led her to the passenger side, opened the car door, and said, "Are you tired? Give me your backpack, you get in first."
She did as she asked and handed him her backpack, which he took and walked to the back of the car.
She got into the passenger seat and fastened her seatbelt. She glanced back casually and saw Hong Mengqi staring intently at her from the back seat, which startled her.
When Qiao Ruo met Hong Mengqi in Guangzhou, she immediately took the initiative to greet her and exchange pleasantries. However, Hong Mengqi only said "hello" in a lukewarm manner and then ignored her, fiddling with her phone.
Qiao Ruo was slightly surprised, but after thinking for a moment, she understood. Hong Mengqi clearly liked He Yajun. Since Hong Yantao took her abroad, he must have told her that he and He Yajun were now a couple. It's only natural that she would feel uncomfortable and unhappy if the person she liked had a girlfriend.
Qiao Ruo hadn't expected her to wear her thoughts so openly on her face, without any attempt to hide them. So she simply stopped trying to talk to her, lest she upset her even more.
Hong Yantao, however, couldn't stand his sister's behavior anymore. After checking in and going through security, while Hong Mengqi was in the restroom, he moved to Qiao Ruo's side and said he wanted to apologize on behalf of his sister, telling her not to take it to heart. He also explained that his sister had argued with him before leaving, which was why she had a sour face and ignored everyone.
“My parents and I can’t handle her. She’s spoiled by the family and her behavior is absolutely outrageous.” Hong Yantao looked like he had a headache. “A few days ago, when she heard that I was going to America, she insisted on coming with me. I didn’t agree at first, and she got really angry and was sullen for several days. I finally agreed to take her with me, which calmed her down. But this morning she suddenly exploded and accused me of not caring about her. Sigh, with a sister like this, I’m never going to have an easy time in my life.”
This detailed explanation left Qiao Ruo speechless for a moment.
Hong Yantao shook his head with a smile: "If she gives you a hard time again, just ignore her. Don't let her ruin your good mood."
Qiao Ruo understood that he was not only apologizing to her, but also probably giving her a heads-up. As for what he was trying to prevent, the answer was obvious.
She didn't point it out, and smiled, "It's okay, I don't mind."
She wasn't pretending to be magnanimous; she genuinely didn't care about Hong Mengqi's attitude towards her. On the contrary, she understood Hong Mengqi's feelings. If she were facing He Yajun's girlfriend, she thought she wouldn't be able to remain calm either; she was just better at pretending.
Although Qiao Ruo wasn't used to Hong Mengqi's rudeness, she didn't want to make an enemy of her. After fastening her seatbelt, she smiled at Hong Mengqi as a gesture of goodwill, but Hong Mengqi remained indifferent, merely twitching the corner of her mouth before turning her gaze to the outside of the car window. Qiao Ruo had no choice but to suppress her feelings and decide to accept Hong Yantao's advice to ignore the girl to avoid unnecessary trouble.
"Qiao Ruo, hold this for me." As soon as He Yajun got into the car, she took off her down jacket and handed it to Qiao Ruo before fastening her seatbelt.
The car's air conditioning was turned on early, and compared to the cold outside, it was warm inside, like springtime. Qiao Ruo had just taken off her scarf and unzipped her down jacket.
She took He Yajun's clothes, straightened them, and placed them on her lap. When she turned her head, she saw He Yajun looking at her with a smile on her lips.
"Not bad, it seems you still remember me. I thought that after a month, you would have forgotten me as your boyfriend."
She was speechless and a little embarrassed. She really wanted to be with him openly, but she didn't have the bad taste to flirt and show affection in public, not to mention that his friends and admirers were sitting in the car.
She could guess what expressions Hong Yantao and Hong Mengqi would have without even turning around.
"I'm exhausted from the flight, I'm hungry and sleepy, you should drive." She wasn't exaggerating. She had been curled up on the plane for almost twenty hours, and it was hard for her body to stretch properly. Her shoulders, waist and legs were still stiff and sore. In addition, she was excited and nervous, so she couldn't fall asleep at all and was in a daze.
He Yajun's smile remained unchanged. He patted her head, then took her hand and kissed it: "You've worked hard. Let's go eat first, and then go back to sleep."
She was stunned by his intimate gesture, and her ears felt faintly hot.
He Yajun turned to Hong Yantao, who was sitting behind Qiao Ruozheng, and said, "It's getting late. Let's eat something else tonight, and then go to your favorite Peter Luger steakhouse for lunch tomorrow."
"Let's skip tonight, we're all pretty tired. Just take us to the hotel, all I want to do right now is lie down and get some sleep."
"I thought you wanted to have a drink with me. Okay, let's meet up again tomorrow."
He started the car and was about to drive off when Hong Yantao suddenly spoke up: "Ya Jun, the hotel I booked seems to be a bit far from where you're staying. Don't bother seeing me off. Let's get out and take a taxi ourselves."
He Yajun turned around in surprise: "The hotel is less than a ten-minute drive from where I live, it's very close."
Qiao Ruo looked back in confusion, and when the car lights came on again, she was shocked to see Hong Mengqi with tears streaming down her face.
He Yajun noticed Qiao Ruo's strange expression, unbuckled her seatbelt, and followed her gaze to Hong Mengqi, whereupon she froze.
He opened his mouth as if to say something, but in the end he closed it with a wry smile.
Hong Yantao hugged Hong Mengqi and whispered, "Be good, Mengqi."
Hong Mengqi remained motionless, staring intently at He Yajun.
Hong Yantao sighed, utterly helpless: "You promised me you'd have a great time in America. Get off the bus, we're at the hotel. Get some rest. Tomorrow, I'll go wherever you want to go."
Hong Mengqi remained silent, her tears flowing even more fiercely.
Qiao Ruo didn't know what to do, so she could only look away. She was a little annoyed and also felt a little sad for the girl.
He Yajun fastened her seatbelt again and started the car: "It's getting late, let me give you a ride."
Before she could finish speaking, Qiao Ruo heard a loud "waaaah" from behind her. She was stunned and exchanged a glance with He Yajun, whose eyes showed the same shock and helplessness.
Hong Yantao was also startled by Hong Mengqi's sudden outburst, and covered his eyes in bewilderment: "Mengqi, you're an adult, you have to be mindful of the occasion when you do anything. Aren't you putting us all in a difficult position? Behave yourself, we can talk about it when we get to the hotel."
He Yajun looked unusually conflicted. Qiao Ruo took a deep breath and pressed his hand, signaling him not to speak.
“Mengqi,” Qiao Ruo tried to soften her voice, “let’s talk.”
Then she said to He Yajun and Hong Yantao, "Please get out of the car and wait a moment, I'll talk to her."
He Yajun and Hong Yantao both frowned, clearly not agreeing with her plan. Qiao Ruo smiled and said, "Some things are easier for girls to talk about. Don't worry, I'll take care of her feelings."
He Yajun nodded, put on her down jacket and got out of the car, and Hong Yantao had no choice but to get out of the car as well.
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