Chapter 11: Wrangler, where can you come in the middle of the night?
Luo Shu didn't reply for a long time, so long that the neighbors temporarily stopped fighting, and so long that Fang Qingzhuo personally called her to urge her.
When the call was connected, he was the first to speak: "Why aren't you answering?"
"I……"
"Do you want to come over?" He repeated the same sentence.
Luo Shu mustered up her courage and asked, "Where are you coming from?"
He suddenly smiled and said, "Where can you come in the middle of the night?"
The ending tone rises and stretches out, like the tip of a fishhook with bait hanging on the other end. Once bitten, the fish will fall into the trap and become the prey.
Luo Shu pinched the tassels on her shawl: "I don't know."
"Let's try something exciting."
Breathing suddenly became faster.
"What's exciting?"
Fang Qingzhuo said bluntly, "Did you hear the noise those two guys made disturbing the people?"
"...No." Luo Shu denied it flatly.
He laughed softly and exposed her: "So, you're hiding on the balcony, touching your face and covering your ears. Are you admiring the moon or feeding the mosquitoes?"
Following his words, Luo Shu looked up at the starry sky. Coincidentally, there was no moon tonight, and there were no mosquitoes in October. She immediately blushed because she was trying to hide her shame. She faced the direction where the evening breeze passed, trying to calm herself down.
"Why on earth did you ask me to come here? Just to make it clear in advance, I'm not a casual person."
After a long time, there was a voice from the other end: "Luo Shu..."
This seemed to be the first time he called her name.
Luo Shu: "What?"
"That's a beautiful thought. Don't assume others will think the same way just because you have a yellow mind."
“…”
Fang Qingzhuo didn't wait for her to retort and happily threw out the bait: "Do you want to get your camera repaired?"
"think."
"Then let's look at the news."
“…”
After a while, Luo Shu shifted her gaze from her phone screen to Fang Qingzhuo across from her in disbelief: "What if he hits me?"
Fang Qingzhuo leaned against the railing, calmly accepting the accusation: "We live in a society ruled by law now, and a guilty conscience is a traditional virtue of the Chinese nation. How dare he do that when he's in the wrong?"
Then, out of habit, he glanced at his watch and realized he had taken it off earlier. He stared at his empty wrist without changing his expression, "Hurry up and make a decision, or they'll start again soon."
After saying that, he shrugged and hung up the phone decisively under her gaze.
Time passed minute by minute. After weighing the pros and cons again and again, Luo Shu opened the door with a determined look as if she was going to the guillotine.
The carpet in the corridor is thick, and every step you take feels extremely heavy.
“Boom.”
It was the crisp sound of knuckles knocking on the door.
“Boom.”
After the second knock, Luo Shu immediately started to have second thoughts and looked up, praying that the door wouldn't open, or else she would be in trouble.
Contrary to her expectations, the door of the room opened while she was praying. The man inside was shirtless and wrapped in a bath towel from the hostel. He looked at the strange woman outside the door, wearing a shawl as a headscarf and a pair of black sunglasses, and said, "What's going on?"
After glancing at the slender figure across from her, Luo Shu quickly averted her eyes, as if afraid of getting a stye, and scanned a line of words on her phone: [Come over and pass on a few words for me. I'll send you to get your camera repaired tomorrow.]
Fang Qingzhuo was clearly using her as a tool.
Luo Shu prepared her feet for a run-up and coughed uncomfortably, her voice barely audible. "Someone asked me to pass on a message to you..."
The man interrupted impatiently, "What are you mumbling about? Speak louder."
Luo Shu was so scared that her shoulders shrank suddenly.
Fang Qingzhuo, damn it, just threw it all out, his voice strained as he read out the words on his phone: "Hey, buddy, that's not how you pretend to be energetic. There's no need to force people to shout it out over and over again. Can't you tell your girlfriend's shouting is just perfunctory? You don't have any self-awareness at all, do you?"
Luo Shu automatically muted the last three words.
Before the man's face turned black, she ran, ran with big strides, ran as hard as she could, ran back to the room, stood behind the door, panting, and locked it three times before she dared to go to bed.
-
The morning light was dim, the sky was turning pale, and as the rooster crowed, Fang Qingzhuo's call to his death arrived as expected.
When going downstairs, Luo Shu's steps were weak, and she floated in and out of the elevator like a wandering soul.
It was not yet eight o'clock in the first-floor lobby, and the girl at the front desk was still sleeping. The soft light from outside shone through the clouds into the deserted sofa area. Fang Qingzhuo sat there with one foot resting on the other knee, looking like a very lordly man.
He had his hair done and changed his clothes. He was wearing a striking ether blue jacket zipped up to the top. He was looking at his phone with his chin buried in his hand. The white light from the screen reflected on his handsome face, making it look mechanical and cold.
She couldn't sleep well all night, but he was fine, sitting with his legs crossed and playing games with other people.
As if noticing her, Fang Qingzhuo picked up his backpack and rushed towards Luo Shu, who was standing at the elevator entrance with a dazed look in her eyes, whistled and gestured for her to follow him.
It was an hour's drive, and Luo Shu slept for the first 10 minutes.
Fang Qingzhuo looked at Luo Shu sleeping soundly in the back seat lying on her side in the rearview mirror, and suddenly felt upset. When she first got in the car, she was still sitting upright, but now her upper body was lying directly on the seat.
Not only did she use him as a driver, but she also lived a more comfortable life than him. Was she being too lenient with her? The steering wheel turned immediately and the car stopped steadily on the roadside ahead.
Due to inertia, Luo Shu's head hit the car door. She woke up suddenly with pain, climbed up, and looked around with sleepy eyes: "Are we there yet?"
"This is a Wrangler, not a manned rocket."
Fang Qingzhuo held the steering wheel with one hand, tapped it with his fingertips, and gave up. "It's your turn to drive."
Luo Shu rubbed her eyes, which were blinded by the sun. "Are you kidding me? I don't have a driver's license."
Fang Qingzhuo was so angry that she almost laughed. How could she have the nerve to dislike his reversing skills yesterday?
He pinched his brow helplessly and said, "Then come up and sit next to me."
Her tone was unyielding, as if the car would not move unless she moved.
Luo Shu opened the car door and got out obediently. As she sat in the passenger seat, Fang Qingzhuo saw the red bloodshot under his eyes. It turned out that he didn't sleep well either.
Off-road vehicles re-entered the traffic flow, shuttling through tunnel after tunnel in an orderly manner.
Suddenly, Luo Shu stood up with the help of the armrest, and leaned most of her body towards the back seat.
Fang Qingzhuo couldn't figure out what she was doing, and could only glance at her with his barely perceptible eyes, but he caught a glimpse of her exposed white waist and plump buttocks.
After searching for a while, Luo Shu brought a shopping bag with the logo of a 24-hour convenience store. She found a box of yogurt, inserted a straw into it, and took the initiative to put it to the mouth of Fang Qingzhuo who was driving in the driver's seat.
In response to her unclear purpose, Fang Qingzhuo raised his eyebrows: "What do you mean?"
"I left home too early. I was worried you'd be hungry."
Fang Qingzhuo hesitated for a few seconds, then slowly bent his neck, lowered his posture, and drank a mouthful of yogurt from her hand. In fact, he wanted to say that it was not impossible for him to drive with one hand, but it felt good to have someone to serve him.
Good intentions encourage bad habits, and Fang Qingzhuo became more and more demanding: "I want to try some bread and biscuits."
Luo Shu fed them one by one, and finally said: "Fang Qingzhuo, let's play a game. Quick questions and quick answers. Whoever answers slowly will treat everyone to lunch at noon."
Without waiting for his consent, "Let me make a sample first. What urgent matter did you have that made you leave early that day?"
Fang Qingzhuo didn't know what was wrong with him: "My family arranged a blind date for me at the last minute."
Luo Shu was surprised: "Are you in love?"
"She felt I couldn't stay up late with her, so she left in anger."
When it was Fang Qingzhuo's turn, he asked, "Why did you break up with your last boyfriend?"
"I didn't have a previous one."
The whistling of the wind was so loud that it could not be ignored even with the car windows closed. Fang Qingzhuo tilted his forehead and cast a questioning look towards the passenger seat. After seeing the calm expression on Luo Shu's face, he did not choose to pierce the window paper but instead withdrew his gaze with disdain.
Forget it, it would be pointless to expose it now. He just likes to watch people perform from a God's perspective, and if he is in a good mood, he can even perform a scene or two along with them.
"What about you? Do you have a girlfriend now?" Luo Shu grabbed the seat belt.
"No."
"Duan Ran is pursuing you."
"I guess so."
Fang Qingzhuo continued to ask, "He's not in bad shape, are you hanging on to him?"
Luo Shu waved her hands anxiously: "I don't have any."
Thinking of the relationship between him and Duan Ran that almost everyone knows: "You don't like Duan Ran?"
Fang Qingzhuo sneered: "Why would I like a grown man like him if I have nothing to do with myself?"
"I have a good friend who was recently hurt by his girlfriend. Do you think I should help him?"
Luo Shu thought that helping him was to help him get over the trauma of his broken heart, so she answered without hesitation: "As a good friend, I must help."
"It's my turn. Are you here for tourism?"
"No, I'm here to find inspiration for game development."
Tang Tang mentioned that he wanted to open a studio, which turned out to be a game studio.
Luo Shu: "What type?"
"ARPG, a traditional Chinese action role-playing game, set against the backdrop of ancient mythology, a world where humans, monsters, and gods coexist." Fang Qingzhuo added, "It's still in the planning stages."
"That sounds interesting, but shouldn't your major be responsible for programming?" Luo Shu said without hesitation, "I understand. A programmer who doesn't want to be a planner is not a good programmer."
The entire emotional value is maximized.
Fang Qingzhuo twisted his neck back and forth and left and right.
"Can players create their own faces?" she asked again.
Most players care about game mechanics, gameplay, numbers, and story levels, but she cares a lot about skins.
Fang Qingzhuo curled his lips and said, "I can consider it."
The subsequent journey was surprisingly harmonious due to the involvement of the game, but the false illusion of harmony between the two only lasted until they left the repair shop.
Fang Qingzhuo strode ahead, while Luo Shu followed closely behind with small steps: "Slow down, wait a minute..."
Before he finished speaking, Fang Qingzhuo stopped, turned around and almost caught up with the short-legged man who almost failed to brake.
His chin brushed against her head slightly, and he turned his face away in a somewhat annoyed manner. Fang Qingzhuo held his anger for a few seconds, then erupted immediately: "I'm confused. How can you bargain like that? It took you 15 minutes just to haggle. Didn't you notice the boss's threatening look? And you're asking for a discount. Aren't you afraid they'll give us a discount?"
Luo Shu had never seen him talk to a machine gun, so she could imagine how angry he was. She said timidly, "But it doesn't have to be so expensive to replace a UV lens."
Fang Qingzhuo said sarcastically, "I paid for it, did I say it was too expensive?"
"It's because you're paying that I have to put myself in your shoes. Whose money comes from the wind?"
"Should I thank you? Write a thank you letter and let the world know?"
She seemed not to have noticed his sarcasm and said sympathetically, "No need to thank me. Also, don't think too badly of others. There are still many good people in the world."
Fang Qingzhuo's mentality completely collapsed. If he encountered someone who was servile, he could fight back verbally. If he encountered someone who was provoked, he could use force to solve the problem, but if he encountered someone who was stupid, he couldn't just use his brain to do the same.
With the feeling of a fist hitting cotton, he snorted through his nose: "Huh, for example?"
"You and I."
"Am I good to you?"
"It's okay." Luo Shu said affirmatively.
Fang Qingzhuo's originally tense face flickered with a flicker of relaxation, but it disappeared in an instant: "Then let me tell you clearly, in my eyes, good person is not a compliment. There is no such thing as a good person in this world. What exists is simply that I will treat you the same way you treat me."
Luo Shu didn't understand why the simple art of discounting had gradually changed in his mouth, evolving into the definition of a good person. She became serious and pulled the drawstring of his shirt and shook it: "Let's go eat. What do you want to eat? It's my treat."
Fang Qingzhuo rolled up his sleeves, saying he had no appetite, and walked honestly towards the noodle shop ten meters away.
Under the sweet-scented osmanthus tree where the cool breeze blew the fragrant snow, Luo Shu smiled, her eyes following Fang Qingzhuo who had rushed into the restaurant. She seemed to have found the key to something even in front of an iron wall.
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