Chapter 40: Niu Wuhua I think I will be in your hands for the rest of my life. ...
Luo Shu, engrossed in her conversation with Tang Tang, who hadn't seen her for a while, lost track of time and was a bit late for the evening celebration. When she arrived at the barbecue restaurant, on the open-air terrace overlooking the Ferris wheel, she found Xia Yimo alone, sitting at the table, applying a touch-up with a cushion.
Luo Shu glanced at the table filled with a variety of meat dishes and the newly lit charcoal grill, then chose a spot next to a can of Coke, put her bag down, and sat down. "Where are they?"
Xia Yimo didn't even raise her head: "Zhuang He went to get the wine, Gu Jiaqian..."
"Of course I'm going to prepare the dipping sauce." Gu Jiaqian could only hear the voice without seeing the person.
In the blink of an eye, a bowl full of dipping sauce appeared on the table.
Xia Yimo continued, "As for your boyfriend, he didn't tell us so it's not easy for us to ask."
Gu Jiaqian tattled, "Luo Shu, you weren't here just now, so there were only four of us. It was so awkward."
Luo Shu ate the beef belly on the plate and said, "What's there to be embarrassed about?"
"You don't know, Fang Qingzhuo and Xia Yimo sat there like two refrigerators, expressionless and silent. Before, I was just a bystander among the crowd, occasionally paying homage to the great god. Now, sitting at the same table with him, his aura is so intimidating that I dare not breathe. But Zhuang He, the one who keeps chattering, livens up the atmosphere. He's quite cute."
"Come on, what's there to talk about when his girlfriend isn't around? Besides, is it wrong to be quiet? You're just making accusations." Xia Yimo found time to retort. "Besides, how can that clueless Zhuang He be cute?"
Gu Jiaqian bit back the words she wanted to retort. She looked at Xia Yimo, who had cut her long hair and dyed it back to black, striving for a perfect look. "Forget it, since you're treating me today, I won't argue with you."
The meat on the grill is sizzling and emitting an enticing aroma.
Luo Shu put down the tongs. After much thought, she felt the need to explain something on Fang Qingzhuo's behalf. "He didn't mean it. He won't do it once he gets used to it."
After finishing her makeup, Xia Yimo snapped the air cushion closed. Seeing Luo Shu sitting across from her, she asked, "How did you know Fang Qingzhuo was sitting there?"
Gu Jiaqian held her chin and said, "I guess."
Luo Shu kept the secret secret and shook her index finger: "I'm not guessing."
His eyes then flicked to the only Coke bottle with a straw on the table, and he quietly revealed the answer: "Because he's the only one who likes to put a straw in his drinks, and he even has a habit of biting it."
At first, Luo Shu noticed Fang Qingzhuo always demanded a straw with every drink he bought, and she couldn't help but think he was too particular. Once, when she was drinking soda directly from her mouth, he lectured her about not using a straw. She grumbled, "I'm not as delicate as you," only to be nagged all day long. There were so many rats and cockroaches in the south; who could guarantee they wouldn't crawl over the bottle? Okay, she was superficial.
Gu Jiaqian immediately remembered a joke she had seen online and chuckled, "Hey, did you guys see that little science piece shared online?"
Xia Yimo drank a sugar-free drink and said casually, "What popular science?"
Gu Jiaqian's eyes rolled and she said mysteriously, "People who like to chew straws have strong needs in that area."
As soon as the words fell, their malicious gazes of inquiry immediately locked onto Luo Shu.
But the person involved was still unaware of this and was concentrating on flipping the beef belly on the rack.
Xia Yimo poked the back of her busy hand and winked, "Luo Shu, why don't you come out and tell me if it's true?"
Luo Shu followed up: "What do you mean, is it true?"
Gu Jiaqian thought to herself, "This class of students is so difficult to teach," and bent down to whisper in her ear to clear her up.
Maybe it was because the charcoal fire was getting stronger and stronger, but Luo Shu's cheeks felt a little hot. She embarrassedly dropped the barbecue tongs and punched everyone: "Okay, you guys are making fun of me."
At the same time, the Drum Tower struck the hour, and the lights on the quietly rotating Ferris wheel came on. The originally dim and bleak terrace was now illuminated by neon lights and city lights, which were dazzling and dazzling. The scene of girls playing was especially beautiful.
In a corner where no one paid attention, Fang Qingzhuo stood in front of the flower stand and stared at it for a long time.
In the dreamlike light and shadow, Luo Shu, his girlfriend, had a beautiful and harmless smile.
The inappropriate message vibration sound came from his pocket again and again, and his eyes, which were full of tenderness, suddenly dropped to freezing point. After hesitating for two seconds, Fang Qingzhuo took out his mobile phone, which showed a new text message from the same number.
Click on it.
Believe it or not, there are eight other victims like me. We're contacting you for no other reason than to remind you, Luo Shu, that your current girlfriend is a liar who exploits men's feelings for money.
If you think those chat screenshots and transfers are fake, we can confront each other face to face.
Since this morning, he has received a warning text message from someone who claims to have dated Luo Shu.
The accompanying content is shocking.
His thumb slowly extended towards the input box, about half a finger away. Zhuang He walked by with a beer in each hand. Seeing Fang Qingzhuo standing in the way, he nudged him with his butt: "Mani, take a seat."
Zhuang He bumped into it so randomly that his fingertips slid to the exit function at the bottom.
Fang Qingzhuo turned off the screen and looked up. Zhuang He had already taken his seat and was greeting everyone enthusiastically, vaguely saying something like "Have fun tonight, don't go home until you're drunk", as if he was the boss.
Then he swiftly opened the bottle cap, and even followed the local custom of warming the cup before pouring the wine. With ulterior motive, he deliberately poured half a cup of beer and handed it to Xia Yimo alone.
It's really biased.
When giving it to Luo Shu, Fang Qingzhuo appeared in a flash, lowered the rim of the cup with his finger, and explained that "she can't drink alcohol" while handing her the milk tea he had just bought in the queue.
Gu Jiaqian asked curiously: "Luo Shu, you really can't drink?"
Luo Shu scratched her neck embarrassedly: "I think I'm allergic to alcohol."
"It's not just like that, it's that I'm allergic to alcohol." Fang Qingzhuo tore open the straw packaging, inserted it directly into the milk tea cup, and stuffed it into Luo Shu's palm to stop her from wanting to drink.
Upon hearing this, the girls all expressed their concern.
During this interval, Zhuang He seemed to have become a spirit who could lift bottles from the bottle. He bit the bottle caps one by one with great enthusiasm, and the wine bottle instantly filled up one corner of the table.
Fang Qingzhuo couldn't bear to watch it anymore, so he kicked his stool under the table and hooked his index finger to get him to lean closer to his ear: "We are all girls, and you thought you were drinking with men at a food stall? Are you trying to win Xia Yimo's favor?"
Zhuang He nodded repeatedly, pressing his ear closer with urgency, and only heard this heartless man say six words: "Talk less, smile more."
In order to stop him from talking, Fang Qingzhuo reached for the grill with chopsticks in his right hand.
Luo Shu saw Fang Qingzhuo picking up the barbecued meat on the rack and was ready to lift the bowl to receive it, but the meat somehow ended up in Zhuang He's bowl.
It’s okay, it’s just the first piece, she comforted herself in her heart.
Seeing the second, third, and even the last piece all go into Zhuang He's bowl, she was puzzled, she was wondering, she was emotional: "Fang Qingzhuo, why did you give all the meat to Zhuang He?"
The three pairs of eyes in the room all turned to them.
"Except him, I don't know who to give it to." Fang Qingzhuo's chopsticks stopped in mid-air, maintaining the current position motionless, answering seriously and as if it were a matter of course.
At that time, Zhuang He heard it and was moved. He was about to persuade them to reconcile and said, "You two should stop quarreling and hurting your feelings because of me."
The next second, Fang Qingzhuo brought out another plate of plain beef: "The meat on the rack is all burnt. We're serving it on our own. If you take more than 300g, you'll be fined. We can't just throw it in the trash and waste food."
Luo Shu: “…”
Xia Yimo: “…”
Gu Jiaqian: “…”
Zhuang He: “……………………”
Only Fang Qingzhuo remained calm. He slowly and methodically spread the beef flat on the rack, turning it over and over until there was no blood left. He grilled it until it was golden brown, picked up a piece, coated it with dipping sauce, and put it into Luo Shu's bowl, while giving her a look that said, "See, you wrongly blamed your innocent boyfriend again."
Elsewhere, before Zhuang He could get red-eyed and spoil the whole bunch, Xia Yimo generously raised her glass: "Thank you all for your presence today. And to celebrate my one million followers, please eat your fill. I'll pay."
Because Xia Yimo had turned a deaf ear to the world for days and posted vlogs showing off her wealth without any remorse, netizens' condemnation of her reached a boiling point. Under fierce criticism, the public opinion changed completely after she posted irrefutable evidence to prove her innocence. It only took one night for people to go from being kicked out of the beauty circle to feeling sorry for beautiful women. This is how the online world is. Wherever the wind blows, the grass will bend.
Xia Yimo took advantage of this characteristic and achieved a brilliant turnaround, gaining both business and reputation.
After eating until they were about 70% full and everyone was a little tired, Gu Jiaqian suggested playing a game of "I have you, don't have it." After a few rounds, Zhuang He was at a disadvantage. Whether it was just bad luck or someone deliberately targeting him, he basically took two-thirds of the drinks at the table.
Fang Qingzhuo's words, "I have a girlfriend," defeated Zhuang He again. He angrily broke off his index finger, leaving only his middle finger. His meaning was obvious. He thought he couldn't just sit there and wait for death. Then he had an idea: "I have two mines at home."
As soon as these words were spoken, everyone present except him broke off a finger one by one.
Luo Shu stared at Zhuang He, who looked like he had won the whole world because he had temporarily defeated Fang Qingzhuo. The word "the landlord's stupid son" popped up in her mind subconsciously. Fang Qingzhuo caught it, held her hand with the hand on his knee, and tickled her palm with jealousy, forcing her to look over. Then he shrugged his shoulders aggrievedly and played with her fingernails unscrupulously.
Zhuang He was very pleased with everyone's admiration and stood up proudly: "I've already said that I'm Young Master Zhuang, not just pretending to be one."
He was so proud of himself that he dared to flirt with his big lobster claws to tease Xia Yimo. The result was that Xia Yimo shot him a dagger in the eye. He immediately behaved himself, pinched his two big claws to cover his face, and said in a pretentious tone: "Haha, actually I'm not Zhuang He, I'm the most powerful man in Bikini Bottom."
Everyone present burst into laughter, even Xia Yimo turned her head and smiled. Amidst the laughter, Luo Shu's cell phone rang several times. She pulled out her hand, which was tightly clasped by Fang Qingzhuo, and said she wanted to go to the bathroom. Gu Jiaqian, who had sharp ears, heard it and shouted to go with her.
When they came back from the bathroom, grand and brilliant fireworks were set off above the terrace. Gu Jiaqian screamed "Ah" and ran to take pictures excitedly.
Luo Shu returned to her seat. Zhuang He and Xia Yimo were nowhere to be seen. Fang Qingzhuo was left alone, picking up the remaining wine from the bottle.
The more crowded the place is, the more lonely it becomes.
As if sensing something, Fang Qingzhuo held the bottle, took a sip, and then turned back. The moment their eyes met, he smiled and waved for her to sit over.
After sitting quietly for a while, Luo Shu took the empty bottle from his hand and looked at him, unsure of his state of mind: tipsy, happy, or drunk?
"Fang Qingzhuo, are you drunk?" she asked.
Fang Qingzhuo turned his eyes and was about to reply, but saw her clear pupils reflecting a myriad of beautiful things, including him. He paused and asked himself in his heart, is he drunk? He didn't know, but he was sure that whether he was addicted or sober was all in his mind.
Within a moment, he gave the answer with a smile: "Well, I'm drunk."
Hearing his admission, Luo Shu took out a disposable wet wipe from her bag, lifted his hair, and carefully wiped his forehead, brow bone, and neck.
"Luo Shu." Fang Qingzhuo called her name out of the blue, his head drooping. The alcohol seemed to have made him lose his ability to disguise himself. His uncertain tone was filled with a hint of self-abandonment and goodwill. "I shouldn't be that bad, right?"
"Why do you ask?"
He raised his head and looked at her again, but this time his eyes were more sincere: "I'm thinking about what I can do to make a girl feel that I am worthy of trust."
"Let me guess, is that girl me?" Luo Shu asked knowingly with a smile.
"Yes, it's you." He nodded solemnly and said, "I'm very obedient now, so can you tell me what bad habits I need to change?"
Luo Shu seemed to be stumped by Fang Qingzhuo's question for the first time, and her thoughts suddenly stopped.
Although she always talked about Fang Qingzhuo having a lot of bad habits, but on second thought, yes, Fang Qingzhuo with all his shortcomings might not be as perfect as imagined, but it didn't seem too bad. After all, Fang Qingzhuo was a stingy person, but he knew how to correct his mistakes.
"You are good as you are now, so there is no need to change."
Fang Qingzhuo was breathing heavily. He always hated oaths and promises. To him, these were undoubtedly just words to cheer himself up when he was drunk, blank checks without any legal effect.
The world is unpredictable and his bottom line has, to a certain extent, been wide open to one person, against his subjective will.
"Luo Shu, I love you very much. I think I'm doomed to die in your hands. But I'm too greedy and selfish. Are you willing to give me, alone, lots of love?"
Fang Qingzhuo's voice trembled at the end, and his left hand was shaking as well. He kept calculating various outcomes in his mind. The first possibility was that she refused, so he would pretend to be deaf. The second possibility was that she neither agreed nor refused, so he would cheat and declare that he tacitly agreed to her.
"I do."
A third possibility occurred.
At this moment, the night sky was filled with scattering flowers, illuminating the tenderness in Luo Shu's eyes: "I am willing to give Fang Qingzhuo a lot of love."
"really?"
"really."
"Then come here and kiss me now." When Fang Qingzhuo said this, he was sitting motionless, like a puddle of mud, slumped lazily in the chair, his head tilted towards her, the happiness that came as he wished turned into substance and overflowed from the corners of his eyes, like a sinful poppy blooming quietly in the night.
As if bewitched, Luo Shu put her hand on the armrest of Fang Qingzhuo's chair, and as she stood up and moved closer, the fireworks in her ears gradually became blurred, as did the noise around her.
Fireworks are blooming in this city filled with towering steel forests, and two hearts with the same rhythm are slowly approaching each other.
"Do you know how to take portraits? I won't do that anymore."
"I really can shoot, and I've won awards. Please give me another chance..."
Zhuang He and Xia Yimo came back and saw the ambiguous scene in front of them. They were in an intimate posture facing each other and seemed to have kissed each other. However, because of their appearance, the heroine quickly buried her face in the hero's chest like a turtle. Xia Yimo looked away tactfully, but Zhuang He was different. He whistled: "Wow, it seems that we came back at the wrong time!"
Fang Qingzhuo opened his eyes and glared at him, his hands resting on the back of his head buried in his arms, and there was no trace of the previous drunken state in his eyes.
I don’t know if I owed Zhuang He in my previous life, and he came to collect the debt in this life. Fang Qingzhuo saw that guy opening and closing his mouth, and he was silently asking him, how does your first kiss feel?
First kiss? Kiss his grandma's leg. The truth is, we didn't kiss at all.
He calmed down and stroked Luo Shu's long hair again and again, while recalling the heart-pounding stimulation of her soft lips brushing against his lips not long ago.
Just a little bit, just a little bit.
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