Feel sorry for him
When Zuo Xiao returned home, the lights in the living room were still on. Old Zuo was sitting on the sofa, seemingly waiting for something to happen for a long time.
"You still remember to come back?" He said in a bad tone.
Zuo Xiao glanced at the clock. It was almost one in the morning. "Why aren't you sleeping yet?"
"Sit down and talk."
As soon as Zuo Xiao's butt touched the sofa, he heard him say, "What does that guy named Luffy do?"
"He's in the same unit as me."
"Oh, there are no men in Beijing, right? Do you have to look for one at work?"
Zuo Xiao was already in a bad mood, and couldn't stand his sarcastic remarks anymore. He opened his mouth and said, "Did you eat firecrackers? Can you please talk properly?"
Old Zuo gave her a glare and ordered, "Go to Dr. Hu's house for lunch the day after tomorrow!"
Zuo Xiao suddenly became angry: "How many times do you want me to tell you this! I have a boyfriend, and I don't like Dr. Hu or Dr. Li. Can you please stop messing around?"
"That Lu guy is no good!" Old Zuo was even more arrogant than her. "That pretty boy, what a fake bastard, he's obviously not a good person! Dr. Hu is so good, an honest and decent kid, I know him inside and out!"
Zuo Xiao was too lazy to argue with him, so he just said, "Since you like Dr. Hu so much, then go talk to him," and got up and walked towards the room.
I heard him say behind me, "Come with me to Dr. Hu's house for lunch the day after tomorrow. If you don't go, don't come back and pretend you don't have me as your father!"
"Okay!" She laughed in anger. "Then remember this: it's not me who disowns you, it's you who disowns me. If there's no one to see you off a hundred years from now, don't blame me!"
She tossed and turned that night until almost dawn before she fell asleep. The next morning, she didn't get up until the alarm rang three times.
When they arrived at the hotel lobby, only the Zhuang brothers and sisters were waiting on the sofa. Zhuang Jinghao hurried over, helped her sit down, and said, "Brother Lu Fei checked out. We called him but no one answered. What happened?"
Zuo Xiao frowned: It was just a quarrel, why did this guy take it so seriously that he disappeared?
After thinking for a while, he said, "Maybe he was angry with my dad yesterday. Leave him alone and let him be quiet."
"Uh..." Zhuang Jinghao looked embarrassed, "Are you really not going to ask?"
"You guys are on a flight tonight, right?" Zuo Xiao changed the subject. "Come on, I'll treat you to two good meals! And then we'll buy you some good food to take back."
Before Zhuang Jinghao could say anything, Zhuang Yu'an suddenly asked, "Is the wheelchair from yesterday still there?"
"It's at my house," Zuo Xiao said. "I don't want to use it anymore. It's too much trouble to get in and out of the car and carry it back and forth."
"Your hands will hurt if you use crutches for too long." Zhuang Yu'an's eyes fell on her hands. "I see your palms are all red from being rubbed."
Zuo Xiao was stunned for a moment, then couldn't help but open her palm. Sure enough, the base of her palm was red. She hadn't noticed it herself, so when did Zhuang Yu'an notice it?
"Oh, it's really red!" Zhuang Jinghao grabbed her palm and pressed it gently, "Does it hurt?"
"I don't feel anything." She laughed. "But my arm strength has improved a lot recently. If I were to arm wrestle you, I could knock you down in 5 seconds."
"Five seconds?" Zhuang Jinghao thought about it seriously and shook his head. "Ever since I started playing badminton, my arm strength has gotten stronger!"
"Tsk!" Zuo Xiao scoffed and raised his chin. "Let's go over there and try it out?"
The three of them came to the round table. Zhuang Yu'an acted as referee: "3, 2, 1—go!"
The two girls were arm wrestling with all their might, their faces flushed red. Zhuang Yu'an looked from one to the other, occasionally reminding them, "Don't push too hard, or you might get hurt."
When Zuo Xiao finally overwhelmed his opponent, nearly half a minute had passed.
Although defeated, Zhuang Jinghao still held his ground and said with a smile, "I just told you it was impossible in 5 seconds, and you still didn't believe it..." He turned to look at his brother, only to see him staring at Zuo Xiao without blinking, his eyes indescribably gentle and focused.
She felt a strange feeling in her heart, but before she could think about it, she heard Zuo Xiao say, "It's because your brother kept telling me not to use too much force, so I only used 70% of my strength."
Zhuang Jing was no less impressed: "I collected it too! I only used 70%... no, 60%!"
"Heh... then let's compete again?" Zuo Xiao raised an eyebrow. "Don't hold back, just come at me, okay?"
Zhuang Jinghao was about to accept the challenge when his brother gently grabbed his wrist. "Alright, we haven't had breakfast yet." He smiled gently, "Let's go."
Zuo Xiao took them to an old restaurant to eat pork noodles. After the meal, Zhuang Yu'an suggested they find a cafe, and the three of them went to a nearby cafe with a small courtyard.
October is the most pleasant time of year in Nanjing, with crisp autumn air and the fragrance of sweet osmanthus. Looking around, the whitewashed walls, wooden windows, bluestone pavements, and rattan tables and chairs exude a tranquil and ancient atmosphere.
The three of them sat down under a sweet-scented osmanthus tree. At that moment, there were only two tables of guests in the courtyard, and it was very quiet and leisurely. A plump orange cat was nestled beside a flower pot, basking in the sun.
庄静好问了许多左晓以前的事，左晓专挑有趣的说，还时不时提到陈立卿：说他小学数学考了32分，自己用红笔改成82，结果被他爸一眼识破，挨了一顿胖揍；又说他高中暑假被一个男的在大街上表白，视频传得到处都是，臊得他半月没出门。
While Zhuang Yu'an was in the bathroom, Zuo Xiao revealed, "I have a surprise for your brother later."
"Surprise?" Zhuang Jing asked hurriedly, and Zuo Xiao whispered a few words in her ear.
About half an hour later, the "surprise" came.
"Ziwen!" Zuo Xiao waved toward the gate. Zhuang Jinghao tilted his head and saw a beautiful woman approaching. Her hair was long, wavy chestnut, and her stilettos made a gentle, elegant "clacking" sound on the stone pavement.
Zhuang Jinghao forgot to blink for a moment, thinking: She is indeed a beauty who can be ranked alongside Xiaoxiao Beibi as the class beauty.
Zuo Xiao introduced the audience, focusing on Xu Ziwen. She studied in Shanghai, recently graduated with a master's degree, and had just been hired as a reporter for a prominent media outlet. She would be reporting to her workplace in Beijing after the holiday. She was about to appear on a well-produced video program featuring interviews with emerging entrepreneurs from various industries.
With Zuo Xiao's help, Xu Ziwen and Zhuang Yu'an added each other on WeChat on the spot. Zhuang Jinghao also added her, thinking about finding an opportunity to help Chen Liqing connect with this person, but then she thought that Chen Liqing might also be familiar with her.
Xu Ziwen left after lunch. Zuo Xiao was about to take the Zhuang siblings to buy some traditional dim sum, but Zhuang Yu'an said he had a college classmate for tea and a chat near the airport and was leaving immediately. So, the siblings said goodbye to Zuo Xiao at the hotel entrance.
Unexpectedly, after just over ten minutes of driving, the ride-hailing vehicle stopped on an old street. Confused, Zhuang Jing followed her brother out of the car and, dragging her luggage, arrived at a bakery.
"This restaurant is very famous. What do you want to eat?"
Seeing his brother acting as if nothing had happened, Zhuang Jing was puzzled: "Brother, didn't you say that it was too late?"
"Let's talk about this later. Let's buy some snacks first."
After buying some dim sum, the two took a taxi to a teahouse with a Republican-era style. Zhuang Jinghao had been holding it in for the entire journey, and after placing her order, she finally asked, "Brother, did you lie to Zuo Xiao on purpose?"
"You..." Zhuang Yu'an smiled helplessly, "Didn't you notice that Zuo Xiao is different today?"
"Ah?" Zhuang Jinghao scratched his head, his brain working hard. After a moment, he suddenly realized: "You mean she looks better than usual? Indeed, the skirt she wore today has a bit of a cheongsam style, so beautiful, sitting in the courtyard like a painting..." As he spoke, his mind began to replay the image of Zuo Xiao sitting in the courtyard, talking and laughing, his eyes revealing an intoxicated look.
Zhuang Yu'an was distracted for a moment, then shook his head and said, "She doesn't look well today. She yawned several times this morning. It's obvious she didn't get enough rest last night."
Zhuang Jinghao was stunned for a moment and said, "Now that you put it that way, it seems so..." She felt something was amiss and was only trying to figure out where this strange feeling came from. She asked casually, "So?"
A helpless smile appeared on my brother's face again, and he explained, "She was obviously very sleepy and tired, but she was embarrassed to leave us and go home to rest. If I hadn't told her otherwise, she would have stayed with us until the evening."
Listening to his bland words, Zhuang Jinghao's mind suddenly buzzed.
She knew something was wrong!
She raised her eyes and looked at her brother: "Brother, so you lied to trick her back home to rest..."
"Yes." Zhuang Yu'an nodded and glanced at his watch. "There are still more than two hours left. Is there anything else you want to buy or visit?"
"Let me think about it..." She answered absentmindedly.
At this time, the waiter brought tea and snacks. The brother and sister drank the tea in silence for a while. Zhuang Jinghao raised his eyes from time to time to peek, but was caught red-handed.
"What's wrong?" her brother's gentle voice came. Her heart skipped a beat and she put down her teacup.
"Brother, what do you think of Ziwen?"
The elder brother smiled slightly: "Which aspect do you mean?"
"It's just the overall feeling!" She suppressed her nervousness and continued to test the waters. "Zuo Xiao said she was the class beauty! I think she's very pretty and has a great temperament! What do you think?"
"Yeah." The brother lowered his eyes, his emotions undetectable, and murmured, "Very good."
"Zuo Xiao said this is a surprise for you." She carefully studied his expression, trying to decide whether to speak more bluntly, but he smiled faintly, "I see."
At this moment, Zhuang Jinghao saw through the loneliness hidden in his brother's smile, and his heart suddenly tightened.
When he spoke again, his voice was dry: "Brother, you like Zuo Xiao, right?"
For a moment, a hint of panic flashed across my brother's eyes. After a moment, he said, "I like her as much as you do."
His reaction made her feel like the sky was falling.
"I'm not talking about friendship." She felt as sad as if she were soaked in lemon juice, and her voice became increasingly hoarse. "You treat her differently from others, and the way you look at her is also different..."
The elder brother was slightly startled, then forced a smile: "Silly boy, don't think too much."
Zhuang Jinghao felt as if his heart was being stabbed. He held back his tears and said, "Brother, Zuo Xiao and Brother Luffy have a good relationship... It's obvious that they are very compatible."
"Yeah, I know."
"Then..." She bit her lower lip and choked, "Can you please stop liking Zuo Xiao?"
After a brief silence, I heard him say, "I'll try my best."
At that moment, sadness flooded in like a tidal wave. Zhuang Jinghao kept saying in her heart: My brother is so pitiful... so pitiful... By the time she realized what was happening, tears were already flowing uncontrollably.
Zhuang Yu'an looked up in surprise, and seeing his sister crying in front of him, he was immediately panicked. He quickly sat down next to her and took out a tissue to wipe her tears: "Why are you crying for no reason?"
Zhuang Jinghao couldn't stop crying, and she threw herself into his arms, crying and muttering: "Brother, why are you so stupid... There are so many girls, why do you like Zuo Xiao... Why..."
Her brother silently hugged her. Unwilling to give up, she looked up and said, "Si Rui, Yan Qing, and Zi Wen, they are all very good! Brother, can you try to like someone else? Can you?"
"I tried." Zhuang Yu'an said bitterly, "But I promise you, I will try my best to control my emotions."
Zhuang Jinghao felt only more sorrow and despair. She knew all too well what it felt like to secretly love someone impossible. You know your crush has someone else in their heart, yet you still chase after them uncontrollably, like a bird trying to catch a gust of wind, a fish trying to hold onto a wave... Her brother said to control her emotions, but if she could control her feelings, she would have let go of Chen Liqing long ago.
She felt that the sadness in her brother's heart would be even greater than she had ever experienced, because his love was even more hopeless than hers.
Although Chen Liqing obviously didn't like her, at least the person he liked didn't like him either, and at least he was single. So no matter how hard and painful the process of chasing the wind and waves was, she always held on to a glimmer of hope.
However, her brother was in a dark abyss. The girl he liked already had a boyfriend. Unless he could cast aside his moral shackles and steal her away, there was not even a sliver of a chance! Just imagining Zuo Xiao wearing a wedding dress and exchanging rings with another man one day while her brother could only watch from the audience, she felt her heart break.
In an instant, a wicked thought arose in my heart: If only Luffy and Zuo Xiao broke up...
Soon, she slammed the thought down. She couldn't do such a thing, and her brother definitely wasn't that kind of person.
She cried intermittently for a long time. After getting on the plane, she fell asleep leaning on her brother's shoulder not long after.
When she woke up, the plane was slowly descending over the city. She looked out the window at the lights of thousands of homes, and her mind was filled with only one thought:
I must find a way to make my brother happy!
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