Chapter 39: Orange Blossom Fruit Scent Fang Qingzhuo seems to be the one who is most insecure...
Across the street, Luo Shu looked at them with burning eyes from a distance that was neither too close nor too far.
Perhaps guessing that something interesting was about to happen, the moon moved out from behind the clouds without hesitation, revealing the expressions of everyone present.
At that moment, Fang Qingzhuo's nerves were tense and the blood in his body was flowing backwards. He watched her leave Liang Anqi and walk towards him angrily with clenched fists. The fear wrapped in the air ran through his limbs and bones. His left hand was shaking uncontrollably. He barely suppressed the panic and madness and winked at Guan Siqi to get out of the way quickly.
Guan Siqi didn't expect to bump into her at this critical moment. He cursed in his heart, what's going on? She put him in a passive position. Just as he was about to run away, Luo Shu swung her shoulder bag and hit him directly on the back.
He was caught completely off guard when something sharp pierced his spine. The pain made him gasp and momentarily forget what he was doing. He froze in his tracks, feeling absurd, and yelled at the attacker, "Why are you hitting me?"
I don’t know what’s in the bag. I touched my injured back and my nose started to hurt.
Luo Shu had never seen such a shameless person before in her life. She rolled up her sleeves and said indignantly, "You are born in the Year of the Dog, right? You are so good at biting back. You are bullying others and you think you are right."
"Me? Bullying him?" Guan Siqi pointed incredulously at Fang Qingzhuo, who was standing nearby, and retreated half a step in fear that she would attack him again. "Why would I bully him?"
Fang Qingzhuo was also confused. Luo Shu thought that Guan Siqi was bullying him, but then she felt relieved. Indeed, Guan Siqi had just grabbed his collar and looked ferocious. In the eyes of outsiders, it looked like bullying.
Luo Shu was too lazy to bother arguing with the curly-haired girl in front of her, who was all dressed up and adorned with accessories. She threw her shoulder bag and said, "What are you doing? Who knows what you're doing? Anyway, you're trying to do something inappropriate. Normally, I wouldn't even touch him, and you want to hit him? Did you ask for my opinion? Ah!"
With the painful experience from last time, Guan Siqi was well prepared this time. He raised his arms and easily took all the attacks. In an instant, the heavy English Listening Level 6 textbooks and notebooks in his bag all popped out and scattered all over the floor.
Finally he knew what was in the package. Let's just say, these abstruse books were against his will.
Fang Qingzhuo on the side finally took action and took a step forward. Guan Siqi thought he was coming to clarify and mediate, so he stopped with shining eyes and did not block with his arms, waiting for his brothers to come and rescue him. But what he waited for was that grandson staring at his girlfriend with an infatuated look on his face, his eyes wide open.
Okay, brother is unreliable. Guan Siqi ran away. In Luo Shu's eyes, this was a naked escape from the crime. She picked up a book and chased after him. Fortunately, Liang Anqi came over to protect him: "Sister Luo Shu, my brother didn't mean to hit anyone, they were just joking."
"Is there anyone who pulls someone's neck for fun?" Catching the missing key words, Luo Shu paused in throwing the book. "Your brother? You said this guy is your brother?"
Fang Qingzhuo’s childhood friend?
Looking closely, this little gangster doesn't look like the same kind of person at all.
Liang Anqi survived in the cracks and finally squeezed in between the two of them: "He is really my brother."
Although she didn't know why the two of them suddenly started fighting, she hurriedly turned to Fang Qingzhuo for help, "Brother Qingzhuo, please explain quickly."
When his name was called, Fang Qingzhuo came back to his senses from the luck that he had escaped danger. He stared quietly at Luo Shu in the moonlight for two seconds. A strong but silent emotion was released from his eyes, and he took a step forward and suddenly hugged her.
"Next time this happens, don't rush forward. What if you get hurt?"
The completely unrelated explanation left the three people present confused.
Angela Leong's eyes were full of stars, and Guan Siqi couldn't bear to look at her and rolled his eyes. It was like they were acting in an idol drama. But to be honest, this guy has become normal after falling in love, at least he has become what a 20-year-old boy should be like.
Luo Shu blinked helplessly, her fingertips twitching as she was about to return the unexpected hug when she suddenly realized there were outsiders present. She pushed away the weight on her body, her strength holding a sense of revenge: "Do you really know each other?"
Fang Qingzhuo also understood the meaning in her eyes and said with a guilty conscience: "Well, we were just joking."
"Why didn't you say so earlier?"
The Chinese woman, who had always been strong-willed, had no choice but to turn to the victim and apologize: "I'm sorry, I misunderstood."
Guan Siqi didn't fall for her tricks. His back was still numb. Who would have thought that under her pitiful appearance, she was so vicious. But on second thought, how weak could a woman be who could make Gu Yang and Fang Qingzhuo so foolish?
Adding new hatred to old grudges, he just couldn't vent his anger because of Fang Qingzhao's presence.
Guan Siqi was silent, and Liang Anqi was inevitably a little embarrassed. She pulled his sleeve and whispered to him, "Brother, please say something."
He didn't appreciate it and instead dragged Liang Anqi away, not forgetting to give Luo Shu a fierce look before leaving.
Luo Shu was still baffled. She had apologized, so what else could she do? She blamed Fang Qingzhuo for everything. Turning around, she saw the culprit squatting on the ground cleaning up the mess. He met her complaining gaze, picked up the Level 6 textbook with a damaged cover, and before she could get angry, he joked, "Baby, if, if I say, if I can't pass the Level 6, will you blame me?"
At three o'clock in the morning that night, Guan Siqi tossed and turned and couldn't fall asleep. He wondered what was going on when he was beaten up by a woman for no reason.
He took out the mobile phone next to his pillow, typed on the keyboard and sent a series of messages to bombard Fang Qingzhuo, demanding compensation for mental damage and medical expenses.
3:08
"That woman wasn't too ruthless. My back still hurts, and it's so painful I can't sleep. You must compensate me for my medical expenses and a collector's edition skin."
3:54
"I don't understand. What do you like about her? Aren't you afraid she'll abuse you in the future, even though she's such a bitch?"
4:23
[Fang Qingzhuo, get up...]
5:36
Please pay attention to me...
At six o'clock in the morning, he finally received the cold text from the other party with dark circles under his eyes.
[If you don't have anything to do recently, don't hang around in school. If you run into her, she'll remind you of something. If that doesn't work, cut your curly hair.]
-
After class today, Luo Shu secretly went to Fang Qingzhuo's studio in CBD with a surprise she had prepared for a long time.
The office door was not closed and was wide open.
It was noon, and the sunlight slanted into the room through the window glass and fell on the man.
Fang Qingzhuo was sitting upright in front of the computer desk in casual clothes. His off-white lapel sweater made him look very respectable. With the sunlight shining on him, he looked a lot gentler. He stared at the document in his hand, his bony fingers constantly flipping the paper as he read ten lines at a glance. His sleeves were rolled up, revealing a small part of his strong forearm.
This face was a combination of Ding, Ding, Mao and Mao, and a serious working attitude that indicated a bright future. Luo Shu couldn't help but be fascinated by it. She used to think that finding fault with Fang Qingzhuo was as easy as drinking water, but she also overlooked that as long as this guy didn't speak, it was as easy for him to control her as breathing.
Perhaps due to eye fatigue, Fang Qingzhuo put down the documents, closed his eyes and leaned back in his chair, pressing his left hand between his eyebrows while reaching into the drawer with his right hand, groping for something.
Luo Shu's attention gradually shifted to his V-neck sweater. The pure white color did not make his original skin tone look too dark at all. It was the icing on the cake when paired with his exposed slender neck. She almost forgot that he had fair skin.
Some scenes from the past flooded into Luo Shu's mind like raging waves. Her expression became a little subtle. She shook her head to try to get rid of those images, but she inadvertently glanced at a box of Jiayun fruit candies placed abruptly on the minimalist table. The flavor was still the orange flavor she had recommended before.
Here, Fang Qingzhuo took out a pack of cigarettes from the drawer. Halfway through, he felt a strong intuition telling him that there was a burning gaze in front of him. He immediately raised his eyes and, as expected, Luo Shu was standing at the door holding a takeaway bag with the words "a certain breakfast restaurant" on it.
When he met her gaze, he was stunned for a moment. The irritation that had just appeared on his brows disappeared, and was replaced by panic about how to cover up the crime. Why did she catch him at this critical moment?
Just as he was about to hide the cigarette in his hand and sell it, Luo Shu rushed in.
"Fang Qingzhuo, I'll count to three. If you don't hand over the cigarette, you're done for today."
Fang Qingzhuo was trapped in the chair by her and put on a flattering smile: "Baby, I said I just took it out to smell it, do you believe me?"
Believe it, don't believe him. The skillful movement of reaching into the drawer with eyes closed must have been a long time ago.
"three……"
"I really didn't plan to smoke."
"two……"
Fang Qingzhuo raised his hands in surrender and offered himself up obediently and humbly.
When the cigarette lay in Luo Shu's palm, she opened the side drawer uprightly, found the black cigarette boxes and confiscated them all.
"Quitting smoking depends entirely on self-awareness. If I accept it this time and you turn around and buy it again, does that make sense?"
Fang Qingzhuo was also very wronged. He had been inhaling secondhand smoke for a while and hadn't smoked a single puff. Today, he couldn't stand the torture anymore and took it out to satisfy his urge to smoke. But who knew that the blind cat would catch a dead mouse.
"I'm not trying to get away with it. You'll know if you smell it."
He said as he extended his hands.
Luo Shu looked at him doubtfully, sniffed his left and right hands cooperatively, then leaned over and grabbed his sweater to smell it.
Just smell it, what's the point of touching him randomly?
Fang Qingzhuo was distracted and hooked his arm, hugging the man around the waist and holding him on his thighs.
Luo Shu lowered her head to look at the head buried in her arms. "Fang Qingzhuo, do you think you can deny it every time you do this?"
He reluctantly peeked out his misty black eyes from his arms, looking confused and curious: "You smell like orange, the scent of orange blossom."
After he finished speaking, he leaned in close, nuzzling her neck and sniffing carefully, half studying and half commenting: "Like a ripe, plump tangerine."
Luo Shu's breathing became rapid due to his action, and she instinctively wanted to escape. But the important thing was that she didn't close the door and it would have a bad impact if someone saw her.
But Fang Qingzhuo was holding her too tightly. The moment she moved to separate, he maliciously burrowed into her arms, like a worm in Luo Shu's stomach. In the third round of the tug-of-war, he took the initiative to show weakness before she lost her temper: "I just want to hug you, nothing else."
Then he picked up the black Lanzhou cigarette box on the table and began to explain, "There were nineteen cigarettes in the box plus the one I took out, a total of twenty intact cigarettes, and I didn't bring a lighter, so I really didn't plan to smoke."
The grip around her waist loosened a bit, and Luo Shu stopped struggling: "Really?"
Fang Qingzhuo smiled, a smile that formed two small parentheses. It was brief, but not too brief. The smile spread from the corners of his mouth to the corners of his eyes. "I won't break my promise to you."
The two of them cuddled together for a while, and Luo Shu suddenly remembered something important: "Fang Qingzhuo, I have a surprise for you."
He raised his eyebrows in interest: "What surprise?"
"Let me show you my entry." Luo Shu proudly pulled out her phone, opened a picture, and sent him a copy of the source file. "The finals deadline is in two days. I was planning to tell you the results after they came out, but I'm worried I won't rank high enough, so I might as well share it sooner rather than later."
Following her words, Fang Qingzhuo looked at the screen curiously. It was a set of original paintings, and both the scene design and the character design were very eye-catching.
Putting her arm on his shoulder, Luo Shu explained the inspiration for her design: "Remember what we experienced together during the National Day holiday? The night sky of the stilt house, the rice fields in late autumn, Master Tang's Nuo opera combined with batik techniques."
"So you did all this for me?" Something seemed to be touching Fang Qingzhuo's soft nerves.
Luo Shu lowered her forehead to touch his: "Yes, for you."
After officially getting together with Fang Qingzhuo, Luo Shu subconsciously believed that she would be the insecure one in this relationship, but as time went on, the opposite was true, and Fang Qingzhuo seemed to be the most insecure one.
"If my work can be recognized, I want to prove that I can be your support."
"You don't need to prove it." Fang Qingzhuo said firmly.
"Didn't I tell you already? I don't want you to work too hard. If I'm going to do free art design for you, I'll have to have some achievements first."
Hearing this, Fang Qingzhuo couldn't help but recall the deep memory of that night. He curled his lips and said, "I thought someone forgot because they were drunk."
Luo Shu became stubborn again, poking his chest and saying, "I've told you many times that I was conscious at that time, don't disbelieve me."
"I believe it."
"So what does your smile mean?"
"I really believe it."
At this moment, a person's sudden appearance interrupted the sweet talk between the young couple.
"Oh my god, I didn't see anything." Zhuang He exaggeratedly made a look-away gesture, covering his eyes with one hand and holding the door handle with the other. "Fang Qingzhuo, what's wrong with you? You didn't say a word when Luo Shu came? Don't worry, I didn't see anything. You guys continue."
"I came here for something, and I'll bring you some food." Luo Shu jumped off Fang Qingzhuo's legs with a shy face. Compared with her embarrassment, Fang Qingzhuo was particularly calm.
"So there's a portion for me." Without waiting for an invitation, Zhuang He entered the room, swept the packaging bags on the table, and uttered a sharp roar, "Ah, how did you know this is my favorite place?"
A dazzling array of various morning teas filled the entire coffee table. Zhuang He unpicked his chopsticks without hesitation: "I've been studying in Shenzhen for these years, and I've loved this."
Fang Qingzhuo sat on the sofa, ignoring the starving people drooling all over the table. He picked up the phone he hadn't had time to look at all morning and looked down at the messages: "Then don't waste it."
Zhuang He picked up a shrimp Shao Mai Huang and threw it into his mouth: "Then don't fight with me, my schoolmate Luo Shu and I will finish it all together."
Luo Shu also helped Fang Qingzhuo unpack a pair of chopsticks: "By the way, Xia Yimo is treating us to dinner tonight, in the university town."
"Really?" Zhuang He was so surprised that he forgot to chew the food in his mouth and spoke incoherently. "She went back to school?"
"When did she come back? Is she in a better mood? Who did she invite to dinner?"
Faced with the sudden enthusiasm, Luo Shu was slightly stunned: "Slow down, you said it was to thank us for what happened last time, just the few of us and our roommates."
Zhuang He laughed foolishly and put down his chopsticks: "I don't feel particularly hungry. I'll save some for dinner."
"As long as you're happy." Luo Shu took a bite of the red rice sausage and noticed that Fang Qingzhuo beside her hadn't touched his chopsticks yet. She picked up a piece of egg yolk mille-feuille and fed it to him: "Stop playing with your phone and eat quickly."
The words in his field of vision were completely covered by the pastries. Fang Qingzhuo's distracted gaze slowly shifted from the phone to her face. Without thinking, he took a bite of the dessert she had personally handed him. The unknown complex emotions in his eyes finally converged into an indulgent smile: "Delicious."
After returning to school in the afternoon, Tang Tang made an appointment with Luo Shu to meet at the school's beverage store.
At the small round table by the window, Tang Tang excitedly pulled her over to reminisce about the past: "Luo Shu, I thought you'd forgotten about me since you quit the Student Union."
"How could that be?" Thinking back to her hard life in the student union, and thankfully having Tang Tang as her companion, Luo Shu smiled. "I heard you were recently promoted, too. I haven't officially congratulated you yet, Vice Chairman Tang."
Tang Tang's mouth was almost stretched to the back of his ears, and his ambiguous eyes lingered on her face: "Then should I congratulate you too?"
"What are you congratulating me for? I haven't gotten promoted or made any money."
"Congratulations on finally getting married. You said you were in a relationship too, but you didn't even tell me, and your partner is Fang Qingzhuo..."
Luo Shu forked a piece of apple pie and stuffed it into her mouth, chattering, "Eat this, it's delicious."
Tang Tang puffed up his cheeks a few times and continued to expose the secrets: "I said something was wrong with the last group chat. You sent the wrong message in the group and Fang Qingzhuo followed up with a message that had no beginning or end. It turned out that he was covering for you."
She recalled the clues she had missed, "And last time during the team building, he, who never cared about the affairs of the meeting, actually came to ask me what I said in the meeting. It seems like he had planned this for a long time."
Luo Shu paused while holding the straw. No wonder he showed up at the team building that night.
As if remembering something, Tang Tang covered her mouth in surprise: "So when we played Truth or Dare, the person you said you liked wasn't Duan Ran, but Fang Qingzhuo."
When she mentioned Duan Ran, she started to regret her decision by performing a Peking Opera face-changing routine again. "Luo Shu, you won't blame me for not informing you about Duan Ran's confession, right? But he's in a bad situation now."
As soon as the words fell, three girls cursed all the way from the door to the ordering area. One of the girls, who was doing the princess cut, directly bypassed the girl in front of her to place her order. This unethical behavior immediately caused quite a commotion and attracted all the attention in the store.
As everyone around her paid close attention, Luo Shu also looked over. Coincidentally, Tao Jun, the leader, was also staring at her with an angry look in his eyes.
The background sound of pop music playing in the store was a chaotic and noisy sound, swirling in the air.
The two looked at each other silently across the restlessness. After a moment, Tao Junxian withdrew his competitive gaze and left with his companion without ordering.
Noticing Luo Shu's gaze, Tang Tang nudged her with his elbow: "Do you know Tao Jun and the others? Why is she looking at you like that?"
He looked at me as if I were an enemy.
Luo Shu took a sip of the drink from the cup through the straw: "Not really acquaintance, but how do you know them?"
"We're all in the same class, so how could we not know that he's acting like a millionaire just because he has a licking dog pursuer?"
"Is the suitor you are talking about Zhong Zixu?" Luo Shu asked.
"You know?"
"Aren't they boyfriend and girlfriend?"
"Less than a week later, the guy broke up and dropped out of school to go abroad." Tang Tang didn't notice that Luo Shu's cup of milk tea was already empty, and she was busy gossiping. "I don't know if it's karma, but after Tao Jun was dumped, all the scholarships and competition qualifications he had been promised were gone. Now he's so low-key..."
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