Chapter 27 Laundry Room Yes, my Lord Luo Shu.
Another sudden downpour. The room was quiet, but the raindrops were fierce and powerful, hitting the entire floor-to-ceiling glass.
Fang Qingzhuo was so disturbed that he threw off the quilt and got up from the bed in anger because his sleep was disturbed. He closed the window and drew the curtains. When he was halfway through, the rain still launched a fierce attack tirelessly. His body became more and more tense. It was indescribable that every sound was like a heavy blow on his rock-hard heart, and he couldn't help but feel scared.
Shenzhen had been raining for several days in a row, and he spent every day trapped in a ridiculous existence, going only between his studio and home, and rarely going to school.
Perhaps this world is still as ugly as ever, full of temptations, calculations and selfish desires. No one can live without anyone else, and no one likes to be deceived, especially those close to them.
As if he was thinking of someone, he stared tirelessly at the heavy rain curtain, not knowing whether he was really watching the rain or reminiscing about a miserable rainy night through the rain.
The hands of the wall clock slid across the scales one by one until raindrops slipped in through the window and soaked most of Fang Qingzhuo's face, awakening the indifference in his bones. He closed the window with his backhand and made a decision: he could not let her influence him anymore.
Whether it was himself or all the ties between him and Gu Yang.
This timely rain came at an opportune moment, and it came with such force that it overwhelmed his heart. The raindrops formed washed away the dust and dirt that had been on the glass surface for a long time. Fang Qingzhuo kept taking deep breaths to comfort himself. It was great. It should have ended long ago.
A few minutes later, fierce screams of people fighting monsters in the game were heard from the inner room.
After playing game after game for the whole morning, Fang Qingzhuo was a little tired. He lowered his head as if he had a headache and rubbed his eyebrows which were almost squeezed into a "川" shape.
He regrouped and started playing handheld games because he was tired of mobile games. In short, he couldn't let himself be idle. He went to look for the physical cartridges that he had not yet completed, and found the game cartridge that Luo Shu had won for him.
The Legend of Zelda, the new collector's edition, the only one missing from your collection cabinet.
After tearing off the seal, a cassette the size of a memory card lay in the card slot. Fang Qingzhuo used his hands to pick it out, but he failed to do so after using all his strength. A nameless anger suddenly rose in his heart. People were against him, and now even the card was against him. He was so angry that he smashed the cassette disc directly to the corner of the table, knocking over the gift bag placed on the corner of the table. The little gadgets inside broke free from their shackles and instantly covered the carpet.
There were all sorts of strangely shaped lighters scattered around the floor. Luo Shu's anniversary gift was actually a lighter. Fang Qingzhuo froze where he was. That night, he drove away, and the club staff caught up with him, claiming they had found the gift while cleaning. Only then did he realize she had left it in the private room.
During this time at home, he didn't dare open his phone, let alone this gift, for fear of triggering a new random event. For example, this relationship was just starting to take off, and after his violent outburst, she would definitely be disappointed. Would she take the opportunity to break up with him? Would he just be dumped?
So he was tense, flammable and explosive, like a twisted child who had done something wrong. On the one hand, he was extremely sensitive and tried to comfort himself, telling himself that he didn't care. What could be done to him if he made a mistake? The sky would not fall, and he was still the unattainable Fang Qingzhuo. On the other hand, he was contradictory and worried about this and afraid of that.
At this moment, Fang Qingzhuo suddenly realized that no matter how he tried to hide or pretend, for him, this rain did not mean the end nor relief...
Suddenly, a series of urgent doorbells interrupted his thoughts.
"Hello, delivery."
Spying through the peephole, Fang Qingzhuo spotted a man carrying a takeout box. He patiently turned the doorknob and said, "Wrong delivery. I didn't yell."
The person outside the door was curious at first, observing the owner, whose hair was slightly tangled and looked a little depressed, for a long time. Then he looked up at the house number and confirmed again and again: "This is the address."
Fang Qingzhuo weakly lifted her bangs and glanced at the words "Xian'e Zhuang" on the packaging bag and his work uniform. "Xian'e Zhuang? Don't you have delivery service? Who asked you to deliver it? Didn't you leave your contact information?"
Faced with his household registration-like questioning, the young man immediately showed embarrassment: "Handsome man, please don't embarrass me. I'm just a waiter. The boss asked me to deliver to this address, so I did. I don't know anything else."
There was no point in saying more, so Fang Qingzhuo simply signed for the room and closed it. He returned to the living room and immediately dialed a number. The person on the other end answered almost instantly: "Qingzhuo, are you coming to eat? I saved a table for you."
"No, I just want to ask when Fresh Goose House will start its delivery service?"
"It's not open yet." The other end paused for a moment, "But, we do have an order today, it's a favor."
"A favor list?"
"Just a while ago, a girl came in and said her boyfriend loved it and wanted me to help with the delivery."
"So you gave it to her?"
"How is that possible? We said we can only dine in. That's the principle."
“…”
"But, the girl was very persistent and sweet-talking. She said that since she studied digital media, she could provide free logo and VI design for Xian E Zhuang. I thought it was a good deal, so I agreed. Today she sent me the final draft, and the result is really good..."
Fang Qingzhuo's brain automatically blocked out whatever he said next, and his turbulent emotions could not calm down for a long time. The reason was that last time they made a dinner appointment, they went to the coconut chicken restaurant he often eats. Luo Shu was late again, and he got angry and refused to pick up his chopsticks. Luo Shu knew she was in the wrong and boasted that she would treat him to whatever he wanted to eat next time. He casually said that he wanted to eat at Xian E Zhuang at home, which made her give up because Xian E Zhuang only allows dine-in.
The person on the other end of the phone finally realized something was wrong: "Could that girl be... your girlfriend?"
"Yeah, my girlfriend."
I experienced the favor that I had always dreamed of but could never get from her.
-
At twelve o'clock in the morning, Shenzhen University of Technology was shrouded in dark moonlight and slanting rain, and the sound of the rain was especially helpful for sleeping.
After the lights were turned off, the corridor of the girls' dormitory was completely silent. No one noticed that a yellow SpongeBob SquarePants figure sneaked out of dormitory 603. He hunched over with his wide hat brim covering his entire face, and turned mysteriously into the blind spot of the surveillance camera.
The rain washed away the darkness, and the road seemed to have no end. The light bulb in the public laundry room on the first floor had been broken for at least half a month. Luo Shu leaned against the prison-style security window with the flashlight on her cell phone, staring intently, waiting hungrily for the food to be delivered by the convenience store owner.
Under the dim street lights, a man was walking towards them from afar, holding a black umbrella. He took big and quick steps and didn't care even though he stepped into puddles several times. His purpose was clear, and he went straight to the laundry room where Luo Shu was staying to pay for the goods.
The umbrella was flying very low, and Luo Shu didn't recognize Lushan's true appearance. "Boss, you're a little late today."
"Yeah." There was a low response through the umbrella.
Luo Shu stretched out her index finger to hook the mouth of the plastic bag: "How much? I'll scan it with WeChat..."
As the pure black umbrella slowly moved upwards, the already weak voice stopped abruptly after seeing the face clearly. Luo Shu even thought that she was hallucinating due to hunger, and subconsciously retracted her hand, but was held tightly by the man.
The real feeling of my five fingers trapped in the slightly cool palm is not an illusion. This bastard is really...
The bright light from the phone shone on Fang Qingzhuo's well-defined features. His cold pale face contrasted with his dark pupils. He opened his thin lips slightly and asked, "Didn't you have enough for dinner?"
The harsh words exchanged that night, along with the long-lost voice, resurfaced in her mind one after another. Luo Shu tried to resist: "It's none of your business."
Fang Qingzhuo ignored him and said, "I was afraid you couldn't handle it, so I ordered some more chocolate to replenish your energy."
"Fang Qingzhuo, what on earth are you playing?"
"What tricks can I play?" He said in a normal tone, without any inflection. "Oh, and there are cheese hot dog sticks, eat them while they're hot."
Luo Shu didn't appreciate it. "Tell me, it was the boss who gave it to me last night, why is it you who gave it to me tonight?"
"Just think of me as a part-time Didi delivery driver." Fang Qingzhuo answered in a nonchalant manner.
He would not tell her the truth and say that he was watching her step count on WeChat every night and why it was updated in the early morning for two consecutive days. For this reason, he specially came to the school to stake out her for two days.
The other party was so tight-lipped that Luo Shu felt it would be a waste of words to say anything: "I don't want it anymore."
"What don't you want?" Fang Qingzhuo raised his eyelids, his pair of black eyes filled with seriousness.
Don't want these things or don't want him.
"Of course not..." He had barely uttered half of the words when he heard the courageous shout of the dormitory manager from the corridor, as she had noticed something was wrong and was coming to inspect.
"Who? Who's there? I saw you, come out now."
Luo Shu struggled desperately to pull her arm back, but failed. Angry, she lowered her voice and warned, "Fang Qingzhuo, let go of your hand immediately. It will be bad for both of us if we get caught."
Fang Qingzhuo stood still, looking at Luo Shu, who was extremely anxious at the moment, in the light.
It was obvious that she was raised by her family and was ignorant of the world. Her face was full of collagen and there was not a single pore flaw. She was wearing SpongeBob pajamas, which was childish to the extreme. The eyes of the murderer who resisted in vain were not as fierce as the two eyes on her chest.
The footsteps were getting closer and closer. Fang Qingzhuo judged the situation and let go in time but did not intend to retreat. He went through the window, put his hand on her head and pressed down to signal her to squat. At the same time, he dropped the umbrella with his left hand, snatched the mobile phone from her other hand, and quickly turned off the flashlight function.
The next second, the dorm manager, wearing a coat and waving a flashlight, stepped into the laundry room. After scanning the area for a few times and finding no one around, she muttered to herself, "I clearly heard some noise. Could it be mice again?"
Luo Shu covered her mouth and nose and huddled up behind the washing machine. Her heart was beating so fast that it had already jumped into her throat. In another second, it would have jumped out of her throat.
In a moment, the surroundings returned to silence. Having escaped danger, Luo Shu's tense nerves relaxed a little, and she groped her way to the railing with her back hunched.
"Give me back my phone."
No one answered.
Thinking the voice was too quiet to be heard, she moved closer and said, "Fang Qingzhuo, give me back my phone."
Under the dripping eaves, Fang Qingzhuo leaned against the wall without moving, his umbrella lying at his feet without opening it, his body damp from the rain.
"No." He said with a resentful look on his face.
He also felt wronged.
After that, both of them fell into a continuous silence.
Without the light from her phone, Luo Shu couldn't quite make out his expression, but she could easily imagine the awkwardness. "Fang Qingzhuo, you're refusing to leave and talk now. Do you want to apologize?"
Fang Qingzhuo looked as if he had been hit on the heart of something and refused to look up.
About a century had passed: "Um, I'm sorry."
He turned around and said to me, "Do you want to break up?"
"In other words, do you still like me?"
This time it’s Luo Shu’s turn.
His vision dimmed, he asked again stubbornly, "Luo Shu, do you still like me?"
The rain seems to be easing.
"I've been forcing my emotions on you: my entanglements, my sensitivity, my irrationality, my mood swings, my aggressiveness. It's terrible to say that, except for your boyfriend, who treats you badly, all the men out there...want to be nice to you."
Originally, he wanted to use the word "slutty bitch outside", but when the words came to his lips, he felt uncomfortable and swallowed them back.
"Ever since I was little, I've longed for someone to be indiscriminately and unconditionally partial to me, to care about me, to show concern for me. But my pride and the environment I grew up in didn't allow me to make such a request, so all these unreleased emotions piled up to become who I am today. I'm contradictory, I'm quirky about details, I tend to say things in a sarcastic way, I ignore people when I'm unhappy, I'm afraid of becoming dependent on someone, so I keep pushing them away and then trying to confirm again. When faced with problems, I'm used to using aggression to protect myself, and I can be prickly. Not only do I hate you for all these things, I hate myself too."
"I was wrong to take all the anger others had towards me out on you. I know you've been wronged, and I apologize." Fang Qingzhuo coughed for a moment due to a sore throat. "Since you're here, you can hit me or scold me as you please, okay?"
Luo Shu seemed to be frozen and was in a state of shutdown for a long time. When she asked herself honestly, there was actually no need to ask. She really liked Fang Qingzhuo. She liked him so much that even if he said harsh words to her, she could still worry about his cough at this critical moment and couldn't bear to pour cold water on him.
"Give me your phone, I want to see you."
As a cluster of light came on, Fang Qingzhuo's entire body was illuminated extremely clearly. The thin collar of his sweatshirt revealed half of his slender collarbone, and his long and straight eyelashes cast a shadow on his pale skin. The small water droplets on his head were stained by the fragmented light, and behind him was a cool drizzle floating in the air.
"Did you mean that as long as I can vent my anger, I won't say anything back when I scold you, and I won't fight back when I hit you?"
"Yeah." He pressed against the window, wishing he could get in, and nodded vigorously.
"Then lower your head a little."
Without any hesitation, Fang Qingzhuo obediently did as he was told. He vaguely caught a glimpse of the hand's posture through the corner of his eye. He closed his eyes honestly and slapped it down with his palm. Uh... it didn't hurt at all. It felt more like he was rubbing a dog.
Luo Shu wiped the rain from his hair and sighed, "Fang Qingzhuo, I accept your apology this time, but next time I hope to hear you say that you like me..."
What made her sad was not that he yelled at her and took his anger out on her, but that she couldn't feel his love for her.
"like."
Luo Shu stopped what she was doing: "What?"
Fang Qingzhuo straightened his always proud head, his empty eyes slowly focused on her, and he said with even greater certainty: "I like you, I like you very much."
Fang Qingzhuo was sure that he liked Luo Shu on a rainy day when it was not sunny. The next morning, when he could not figure out the problem of counting steps in the early morning, he ran to the classroom where people were going to school at 8 o'clock to peek. To his surprise, Luo Shu was indifferent. When it was her turn to wipe the blackboard before class, a bunch of enthusiastic people rushed to help her. During the break, she took notes and listened to the lectures. When she was praised for her homework, she just smiled faintly.
It is like the plum blossoms that have no intention of struggling for spring in the snow. They do not worry about being three points less white than the snow, nor do they worry about being invaded by wind and snow and withering. They will not let themselves fade because of a few words from others.
In the past, he would have felt an imbalance that he was living in dire straits and getting worse, so why should you be so leisurely and comfortable? But at that moment, he was replaced by a huge panic that gripped every bone in his body.
He was uneasy and puzzled, and finally stayed up all night analyzing and dissecting the matter and came to the following conclusion: this was totally unlike himself, a very stupid and contradictory way of thinking, and a manifestation of love.
The moment he figured it out, his worldview and the precarious walls of his rationality began to lose control and even collapse, and the foundation named after Luo Shu rose from the ground.
After saying the words that weighed on his heart, Fang Qingzhuo felt more relaxed than ever before: "I like the way you pick at the coating on my cigarette box, I like the way you always coax me like a child, I like the way you call me Zhuobao, I like the way you feel sorry for me and your eyes are full of me."
At such a close distance, the heartbeat and the sound echoing in the ears resonate at the same frequency.
Luo Shu clutched the hem of her pajamas and concentrated on digesting every word of the college entrance examination English listening test, not daring to breathe too hard. Her surprised eyes, suspecting she was hallucinating, slowly wandered over Fang Qingzhuo's face, and she paused when she saw his eyes, which were so sincere that they almost burned her heart.
She always felt that there was a wall in Fang Qingzhuo's heart, a solid and permanently closed wall. Passersby would be deterred by the gloomy atmosphere. But who could blame her for being smart? She discovered the back door he left. In addition to the wall in his heart, there was also a window in his eyes, a window that opened and closed from time to time. It was not locked, but unfortunately there was no pattern. It was often closed. Occasionally, if she was lucky, she would see a tiny gap with a hint of light seeping through, as if it all depended on the owner's mood.
Tonight, this window opened completely to her.
She tried her best to maintain a normal tone: "Fang Qingzhuo, I want to eat chocolate."
The rainy night was long, and a warmth gradually filled Fang Qingzhao's heart from his chest.
"As you command, King Luo Shu."
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The author has something to say: Fang Qingzhuo’s view on love can be summed up in four words: endure the hardship without suffering!
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