Chapter 4: Landlord So you are Luo Shu.
In a private hospital room, the attending physician, holding a CT scan, was flanked by a team of medical staff. It was the intern nurse's first day in the orthopedics department. After rotating through several departments, she finally had a feast for her eyes today. Her eyes darted back and forth between the three men in the room, all presumably in their early twenties. True to the saying, handsome guys only hang out with handsome guys.
The man on the hospital bed had thick eyebrows and big eyes, his temples shaved very short to reveal his forehead, an American spiky hairstyle, his arm in a cast, a healthy wheat-colored complexion, and the typical sunny appearance of a sports student. He was originally leaning against the head of the bed absent-mindedly, but after listening to the doctor's analysis of his condition, he turned around and asked when he could be discharged from the hospital?
The two people occupying the small sofa on the other side were probably classmates. One of them had his legs crossed on the low table, holding his phone horizontally and playing a mobile game with fighting sounds. His skull was smaller than that of a girl, with the same orange curly hair as Teddy, single eyelids, and a thick lower lip. He was very fashionable and had a good sense of matching. The silver Cuban bracelet on his wrist echoed the plain hoop earrings between his ears. He scratched his ears and cheeks from time to time, and his mouth opened and closed. It was guessed that he had not completed the game, but he did have some manners, at least he did not yell or curse loudly on the spot.
The remaining one was much quieter, with his long legs slightly spread apart, his right elbow resting on the armrest of the sofa to support his head, veins bulging on the back of his hand, and his other left hand wearing a black Hublot watch resting on his thigh, using all five fingers to quickly spin the Rubik's Cube to kill time.
The intern nurse couldn't help but wonder, wasn't this the man of her dreams? Her gaze drifted over the Adam's apple on his collar, the smooth lines of his jawline, the lips that were neither thick nor thin, the high bridge of his nose, and then stopped at his dark eyes, slightly obscured by his tattered black hair. A second later, the man spun a complete six-sided Rubik's Cube, lazily raising his eyelids to meet her lingering gaze through the air. She quickly turned her face away, her heart, brimming with girlish emotion, noticeably skipping a beat.
The doctor said he could be discharged after one more night of observation, and then he walked out of the room with a group of people in tow. Before leaving, the nurse stole a glance at the young man who was busy messing with the Rubik's Cube, and a blush crept up her cheekbones.
Guan Siqi was playing a game when a notification popped up. It was a crucial moment to clear the game, and he accidentally clicked on it instead. He was greeted by a lurid headline about the Fang Group's current chairman getting married. He waved at Fang Qingzhuo and shouted, "Oh my god, which unscrupulous media outlet reported your dad's remarriage?"
The depressed Gu Yang was also attracted and looked over.
Fang Qingzhuo looked straight ahead, unaffected at all, his attention still focused on the Rubik's Cube.
Seeing that he didn't say anything, Guan Siqi took it as a tacit agreement and took his legs off the table. "Really? Who is so shameless?"
"Lin Su." He answered.
Guan Siqi's pupils suddenly widened. "Your high school tutor? She seems only five or six years older than you." He marveled repeatedly. "Strange things happen every year, but this year has been especially intense. First, Gu Yang got dumped, and now your tutoring teacher has instantly become your stepmother."
"Your dad is so confused. Why would he take it so seriously as to get married if it's just for fun?"
On the contrary, the person involved was very calm: "She said she was pregnant."
Gu Yang, who had remained silent, asked, "What are your plans?"
Fang Qingzhuo didn't answer but asked, "What plans can I have?"
Gu Yang: "If she really gave birth to a child in your family, it would be a threat to you."
It's not that he doesn't understand this principle, but Fang Qingzhuo doesn't care.
"Don't worry, our house isn't that easy to get into." Fang Qingzhuo easily completed another six-sided turn, then tossed it aside, feeling it wasn't challenging enough. "I played a little joke on her before coming here, so I guess I'll be on edge for the rest of this time."
Guan Siqi crossed his legs and said, "It's so heartbreaking. During the summer vacation of high school, I wore low-cut miniskirts every day. I wanted to stick to you. If you didn't know me, you would think I had a crush on you. But it turns out I had even greater ambitions."
Fang Qingzhuo had no interest in knowing whether he was attracted to her or not, but she had her eye on the Fang family. Lin Su was ambitious and courageous enough to provoke him, but her intelligence was not up to par. He used a little trick to make her remember his mistake, so that he could keep her out of sight and out of mind. However, she would later establish a relationship with Fang Jueshan, which he had never expected.
Gu Yang: "Aren't you afraid that she will do something desperate?"
Fang Qingzhuo changed into a comfortable position, fell back on the sofa, and put his arms behind his head. "I was worried that she wouldn't do something desperate. If she's in a good mood, she'll play tricks on others, but if she's not, she'll just be played. That kind of woman has a simple mindset. She'll either sit and wait for death, or she'll take the initiative and run to my dad to complain about me."
Gu Yang: "What if she really tries to sow discord?"
Fang Qingzhu: "Have you ever played Landlord? The landlord always has the initiative when it comes to the first card. If you want to come out on top, you have to let the cards fly for a while. Whether you wait, use coercion or inducement, force your opponent to reveal their cards first. That way, they'll be led by the nose. Win with one move or take it slow and steady. Enjoy the process of crushing your pride. It's all up to you."
Guan Siqi was confused: "You said Lin Su was a landlord."
"Lin Su?" Fang Qingzhuo curled his lips in disdain at Lin Su, who had neither background nor strength. "No, she doesn't even have a chance to sit at the table."
How can reeds lean against jade trees?
He was just gambling, betting on how much grain of sand Fang Jueshan could tolerate. "If this rebellious son of mine said this, it would be just unreasonable at best. But if it came from that woman's mouth, the effect would be different."
Just when Gu Yang was feeling relieved that this person was not his opponent but his brother, Fang Qingzhuo suddenly changed the subject: "Yangzi, what's wrong with you?"
Seeing that the fire spread to himself, Gu Yang chose to remain silent. Fang Qingzhuo knew that he was stubborn again, and asked another person who knew the situation with his eyes.
Guan Siqi received the signal and said, "Oh no, I was deleted for no reason, and then I happened to run into him on the way to dinner..."
Suddenly, Gu Yang coughed and gave a warning look. Guan Siqi had no choice but to avoid the main point. "I chased after him for an explanation, and then I got into a car accident. Fortunately, the school has a speed limit. Otherwise, if I had taken another road, I would have been in the ICU long ago."
"That Luo..." Fang Qingzhuo frowned.
"Luo Shu." Guan Siqi reminded.
Fang Qingzhuo: "Which girl?"
Guan Siqi: "There's a cinnabar next to the character for 'woman'."
The quiet girl is so beautiful, waiting for me at the corner of the city.
Fang Qingzhuo: "What she meant was that she was playing with the feelings of an innocent boy."
Guan Siqi shook his head and sneered: "If only it were just feelings, that would be fine."
Fang Qingzhuo followed up on his words and joked, "According to what you said, could it be possible that you cheated people out of money?"
Guan Siqi shrugged.
"How much?" Fang Qingzhuo asked.
"One hundred thousand of all kinds."
As soon as he finished speaking, Gu Yang pulled out the pillow from under him and threw it at Guan Siqi, the loud speaker: "If you don't speak, no one will think you are dumb."
Fang Qingzhuo also realized the seriousness of the matter at this moment: "This is easy to handle. It has reached the standard for filing a case of fraud."
Guan Siqi dodged the attack with a deft maneuver and nodded vigorously in agreement with Fang Qingzhuo's suggestion. He walked to the bedside, ready to demand a firm answer from Gu Yang, but then noticed his hesitation. "Come on, Yangzi, what's there to be hesitant about?"
Gu Yang avoided his gaze: "Let's see."
Guan Siqi was like an ant on a hot pan, scratching his head. "You're not still waiting for him to change his mind, are you?" He turned to Fang Qingzhuo in confusion and pointed at his head. "Are you sure it's just a minor injury? Do you want to do a CT scan of his head? Is his brain healthy?"
Gu Yang simply pretended to be dead, lay down and started to chase people away: "I'm tired, you guys go back first."
Before Guan Siqi could continue speaking, Fang Qingzhuo grabbed his shoulder and led him out of the ward: "Let's go. Didn't you hear Young Master Gu's instructions? If anything happens to him, it's your fault."
Guan Siqi yelled, "No, why is it blamed on me?" His subsequent cries of injustice were gradually isolated outside the ward.
After leaving the house, Guan Siqi paused for a moment and sighed, "Did he soften his heart?"
Fang Qingzhuo: "You can still call him Yangzi if you are not soft-hearted. Have you forgotten why we call him Yangzi?"
The Chinese alligator is the most docile species of crocodile.
"But that woman was really too much. Not only did she turn her back on me, she also threatened to call the police if Yangzi harassed her again in public."
Guan Siqi lost himself in memories. Because of Gu Yang's hunger strike, he'd been forced to sacrifice his stomach to keep his brother company. Unexpectedly, his stomach gave up first, and he coaxed the dejected Gu Yang into the cafeteria. On the way, he'd been planning to offer some indirect probing, but as he was still talking, Gu Yang blew past him and chased after the passerby.
Looking closely, one of the figures was Luo Shu.
Gu Yang's face turned pale with anxiety: "I know you are still angry with me, but why did you delete me?"
Guan Siqi, following closely behind, was immediately struck by this devastating news. What! It turned out his brother had been depressed all day because he'd been dumped and deleted from WeChat. Just as he was trying to speak up for his brother, explaining how miserable he'd been today, how he'd lost his appetite and looked completely listless, Luo Shu's next words made him frown.
"Classmate, you got the wrong person, I don't know you."
Gu Yang said humbly, "Baby, I was really wrong. Please don't be like this, okay? I know you're busy and I shouldn't ask to meet you, but please don't ignore me, okay?"
After apologizing, he took a step forward and was about to hold Luo Shu's hand, but she dodged him.
This was the first time Guan Siqi had encountered such a situation. As he was hesitating, he heard a decisive voice in his ears.
"I said I don't know you, don't you understand what I'm saying?"
Fortunately, the noise they made was so loud that it attracted passing students to stop and watch, pointing and talking.
"Is there such a way of chatting up people these days?"
“That’s too scary.”
The accusations intensified, and Gu Yang's heart and eyes were focused on Luo Shu: "What do you want me to do to forgive me? Buy me a bag, buy me clothes, or transfer money?"
It wasn't until the person involved sternly cursed, "If you continue like this, we will call the police," that the joke was finally over.
Guan Siqi couldn't bear to see his good brother humiliating himself, so he dragged the stubborn Gu Yang away and said, "Yangzi, come back with me."
Gu Yang was not willing to give in easily. When he saw that they were trying to leave during this gap, he got hot-headed and his eyes turned red, and he was determined to demand an explanation.
During the chase, Gu Yang accidentally punched Guan Siqi in the chest and ribs. Guan Siqi covered the painful area and became angry. He hugged Gu Yang tightly with all his strength and threatened him that even if he was beaten to death, he would never let him grovel in front of that woman again.
But he also underestimated the guy's brute force. He didn't expect that he would be harder to control than the New Year's pig. Instead, he was thrown two meters away. He got up within two seconds and witnessed Gu Yang, who had only run a few steps, crashing into the front of the car.
The two took a taxi back to school. Halfway through the journey, Fang Qingzhuo felt a craving for a cigarette. He had been holding it in since he was in the hospital. He was in a hurry to go out and was still wearing his home clothes. He borrowed a cigarette from Guan Siqi.
Guan Siqi took out a cigarette and handed it to him, saying curiously, "Doesn't our brother Zhuo only smoke Lanzhou cigarettes?"
"Where's the fire?"
Guan Siqi: "Where's your lighter?"
"Nonsense, is there one or not?"
Guan Siqi felt his shrunken pockets again and spread his hands: "I don't know where I forgot it."
A few minutes later, Fang Qingzhuo was waiting at the entrance of the supermarket. He easily ran into an acquaintance and successfully borrowed a light, even though the chance of running into one at night was extremely small. Guan Siqi had gone to buy a light and still hadn't returned. He continued to wait and decided to leave before he came back after smoking another cigarette. He lamented that the taste of the Grand View Garden in his mouth was not satisfactory, and only Guan Siqi, who was dragging his feet, liked to smoke.
"Fang Qingzhuo."
He vaguely heard someone calling his name, so he turned around and saw a man and a woman walking towards him.
"It's really you. I saw a figure from a distance, but I didn't dare to confirm it..."
Fang Qingzhuo squinted in the dim light and looked at the boy. He was familiar, Duan Ran from the same class. As for the girl, after thinking for a few seconds, it seemed as if he had pieced together the complete fragments of his memory.
Guan Siqi wasted some time because he had struck up a conversation with a schoolgirl. When he returned from buying a lighter, he saw from afar a triangle of men and women staring at each other. The cigarette stuck between his teeth clattered to the ground. He frantically called Fang Qingzhuo, who was not far away. "Azhuo, this woman is Luo Shu, the Luo Shu who toyed with Yangzi."
The atmosphere suddenly became very strange. Fang Qingzhuo cut off the call, and his originally slightly furrowed brows tightened even more. He bit the popping bead hidden in the filter tip and a unique minty coolness flowed through his throat, making him feel refreshed.
I haven't been so excited in a long time, I feel like the blood in my body is boiling.
Duan Ran was still chattering pleasantries when Fang Qingzhuo pointed his gaze at the person next to him and interrupted him rudely: "Girlfriend? Don't you want to introduce her?"
"Not yet."
"no."
Two voices overlapped, one light, the other heavy. The difference in the first word was clear. The second introduced herself: "Hello, senior. My name is Luo Shu."
He stared silently at the famous Luo Shu in front of him for a long time, and then a meaningful arc appeared at the corner of his mouth.
"So you are Luo Shu."
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