Chapter 123 Stopping the Car
The city was already awake at dawn.
Pure white snowflakes drifted down, falling gently on the traffic and among the hurried pedestrians.
Zhu Fan was still asleep.
Her phone buzzed and vibrated under her pillow. Wrapped in a soft down comforter, she groggily reached for her phone, saw the video call on the screen, and although her eyes weren't fully open, a smile curved her lips.
"Are you awake?" Fang Qizhou's voice had the slight delay characteristic of cross-ocean video calls.
This wake-up service has been going on for several days now.
Zhu Fan secretly wanted to video chat with Fang Qizhou more often, even if it was just watching him work without saying a word, she would still be happy.
But she didn't want him to stay up all night.
The first person Zhu Fan saw when she opened her eyes at the start of the new day was him. She didn't rush to get out of bed and decided to stay in bed a little longer.
The camera on Fang Qizhou's side was a bit shaky, but you could see the ivory-white walls of the hotel room behind him and a corner of the French-style floor-to-ceiling window peeking out.
Zhu Fan buried her face in the pillow, her voice muffled: "It's only midnight in the US, Fang Qizhou, why are you staying up all night again?"
Fang Qizhou adjusted the camera, bringing his face fully into the frame. He had a faint look of weariness under his eyes, high brow bones, thin eyelids, and a lazy smile on his lips.
Zhu Fan stared intently at Fang Qizhou on the screen, her tone somewhat harsh, "Fang Qizhou, hang up now and go to bed!"
Fang Qizhou's smile vanished. "Don't you want to video chat with me?"
Zhu Fan sat up in bed. "I've missed you so much! I've been counting down the days until you come back. How could you have guessed I didn't want to video chat with you!"
When Fang Qizhou wasn't smiling, he looked cold and stiff.
Zhu Fan poked his forehead with her fingertip through the screen, "Don't keep a straight face, smile for me."
Fang Qizhou didn't smile, but his expression no longer seemed fierce or cold.
The video in the early morning showed the couple, who hadn't seen each other for many days, being as naturally affectionate as could be.
Morning light filtered through the gaps, gently falling on the tips of Zhu Fan's curled eyelashes. Holding her phone, she lay back in her warm bed, her long hair softly spread across the pillow. "Fang Tiantian, the way you look right now makes me want to kiss you."
"I'll give you a kiss when I get back."
A violent coughing sound came from Fang Qizhou's video feed.
Fang Qizhou looked at the lit laptop screen on the table.
The interface remains stuck in the online meeting.
The online meeting is still going on, and no one has left the meeting room.
The microphone audio is flashing in Shen Ji's profile picture.
Before Fang Qizhou and Zhu Fan finished their video call, they clicked to adjourn the meeting.
I didn't notice that Professor Chen hadn't left the meeting yet, and he didn't have the access privileges.
His microphone was still on.
Fang Qizhou gripped the mouse and exited the meeting.
After Fang Qizhou left the meeting, Pan Sui immediately turned on her microphone and angrily berated him: "Chen Ji, if you're going to cough, can't you cough with your microphone off?"
"Everyone else is so quiet, but you're the only one with that eye-catching bag, you just have to make yourself noticed!"
"We've been on a tough business trip for so many days, and we finally get to hear some gossip and enjoy some sweet moments, and you've ruined it all."
Shen was furious, "It wasn't me coughing just now, it was our guide who choked on his water."
He was in the same room as Professor Chen.
Pan Sui: "Our director isn't as bored as us, eavesdropping on other people's gossip. Don't blame our director."
Professor Chen closed the mineral water bottle, pretending not to see the students' frequent glances that seemed to be begging him to speak up and explain.
Everyone in the meeting room turned on their microphones and sided with Pan Sui.
Shen Ji was about to be drowned in the spittle of the meeting room.
He looked at his mentor with a resentful expression.
He discovered that ever since the God of Daylight started dating, Professor Chen had become the real CP leader.
Zhu Fan's face flushed slightly. "Fang Qizhou, did you forget to turn off your microphone during the meeting?"
When Fang Qizhou said the meeting was over, she threw off the blanket covering her head, her face still flushed.
"How embarrassing..."
There was a knock on the door, and Zhu Fan answered, "Grandma, I'm awake."
She looked back at her phone screen. "Fang Qizhou, I have to get up. You should go to sleep."
Fang Qizhou pointed to his lips through the screen.
Zhu Fan pouted and kissed him through the screen.
-
The temple on a winter morning was covered with a thin layer of frost.
The thin layer of snow on the stone steps in front of the mountain gate was swept clean.
The snow has stopped.
The scent of incense was slowed by the biting weather. Wisps of smoke drifted out from the main hall.
Zhu Fan helped her grandmother step over the high wooden threshold. Inside the shop, the shadows were thick, and the lamps that stayed on shone with a warm yellow light.
The Buddhist hall was solemn and dignified.
After offering incense and praying for blessings with her grandmother, Zhu Fan ate a vegetarian lunch at the temple.
After the snow cleared, the old lady stood under the eaves of the Buddhist temple talking to the fortune teller.
She has been having many dreams lately, and for the past two weeks, she has often been plagued by nightmares.
I woke up this morning with a strange unease in my heart.
Upon entering the temple, the unease that had been lingering in my heart subsided somewhat.
Copying scriptures to calm the mind, time flew by and it was already 3:00 PM.
As I left the temple, it felt as if I had been touched by the incense smoke from the Buddhist hall.
The driver was already waiting outside.
Seeing that her grandmother's eyes were still filled with worry after she got on the bus, Zhu Fan pressed her temples and said, "Grandma, don't worry. Our family will be healthy and safe."
Grandma Zhu took her granddaughter's hand and gently patted the back of her hand. "Afan is right. Grandma has been tired lately and her mind is in turmoil, which is why she has so many worries."
Zhu Fan hugged her grandmother's arm and said, "Grandma, you let A Yuan take a break, so you should take a break too."
Speaking of A-Yuan, Grandma Zhu looked at the streets where snow had started falling again and said, "A-Fan, call A-Yuan and Mom and ask if they've gone back from the winery yet. The snow is getting heavier and heavier, and the roads will be difficult to travel if they go back late."
-
When Zhu Wan received her sister's call, she was already on her way back with her mother.
Today, Meng Yin, understanding that the driver had a cold, gave him the day off.
The snow was heavy, but fortunately there was no snow accumulation on the roads.
She looked straight ahead and smiled as she said to her daughter, "Ah Wan, if you're sleepy, just close your eyes and go to sleep. Mommy drives very steadily, don't worry."
Zhu Wan pressed her forehead against the car window, watching the snowflakes swirling down outside.
"Ah Wan, don't think about your homework at home."
"It's a holiday today," Zhu Wan assured with a smile. "I don't want to think about homework or tests, I just want to relax and play."
Meng Yin then nodded with a smile.
Someone was waving to flag down a car on the roadside.
Meng Yin lowered the car window, and the wind and snow, carrying a chill, rushed in—
Seeing that familiar face, Meng Yin asked in surprise, "Miss Zhong? What are you doing here?"
Zhong Fei stood in the swirling snow, her face pale with cold. "Mrs. Zhu, I made plans to come to the orchard with a friend, but her car broke down on the way."
"In this weather..." Meng Yin frowned, "How did you get here?"
“I took a taxi,” Zhong Fei said, hugging her arms, her hair and eyelashes covered in ice crystals, her voice trembling, “Now… I can’t get a taxi anywhere.”
Seeing that she was freezing, Meng Yin unlocked the car door: "Miss Zhong, I'll give you a ride back to the city."
Zhong Fei shook off the snow, got into the car, and breathed on her stiff hands, saying, "Thank you, Mrs. Zhu. If it weren't for you, I don't know how long I would have been frozen."
Meng Yin asked A Yuan to hand her a tissue.
Zhu Wan handed the tissue box to Zhong Fei.
Zhong Fei wiped the moisture from her hair and face after the snow melted, and handed the tissue box back to Zhu Wan.
A pungent odor faintly brushed past the tip of my nose.
Zhu Wan hugged the tissue box, a wave of drowsiness washing over her.
In the driver's seat, Meng Yin's eyelids also began to feel heavy.
She blinked hard, trying to hold onto her fading consciousness.
“Mrs. Zhu, you look very tired,” Zhong Fei’s voice drifted from behind, as gentle as falling snow. “Let me take a break.”
The voice was ethereal and unreal.
Meng Yin barely managed to press the brake, shift into Park, and slumped limply towards the steering wheel.
She wanted to call out to A-Yuan, but only a faint whisper escaped her lips.
Zhu Wan, who was in the passenger seat, had already fallen asleep with her head tilted to the side.
Before her vision blurred, Meng Yin saw something in the rearview mirror—
Zhong Fei was taking two slender syringes out of her bag, the tips of which reflected a cold, faint light.
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