Chapter 24 She was just being pushed against the wall...
Tao Siyun was stunned, wondering what he meant by this. It wasn't like he had gotten such a great deal that he would deliberately show off in front of the landlord's sister, right?
What a strange mentality.
The two of them were silent, suddenly and inexplicably caught in an awkward situation where they didn't know what to say.
Tao Siyun glanced at him furtively, thinking about saying something casually. Otherwise, sitting face to face with him would be too awkward. So he started a conversation and asked casually, "Why didn't you arrange for someone to install the WiFi before you moved?"
"I thought there would be."
"Oh, no one has lived in my brother's house since it was renovated. He seldom comes to Shanghai West. You are the first person to live in it." Tao Siyun explained.
Xu Ji raised his eyebrows slightly: "Then I am really honored."
“…”
The topic ended again.
After Xu Ji finished his meal, he was very conscious and took the initiative to take on the task of washing the pots and dishes.
Tao Siyun didn't stop him. It was just two bowls, there was nothing to argue about. If he wanted to wash them, he could wash them.
She took two boxes of yogurt and just closed the refrigerator door when she suddenly remembered what Ji Yao said last time, that this person was allergic to mangoes, so she put them back.
By this time it was already dark outside, and the sound of running water could be heard from the kitchen.
Tao Siyun stood at the kitchen door.
In her impression, Xu Ji has always been the prodigy in high school, with a character that is both arrogant and indifferent. Although he occasionally reveals a rare bit of gentleness, most of the time, he has the image of a young master.
This image has almost become deeply ingrained in her mind.
So even after so many years, it will take some time to reverse the situation.
From her perspective, Xu Ji's back as he washed dishes gave her an extremely confusing illusion, as if the person in the kitchen at this moment was not the person she knew in her memory, but a man with a "home" label on his back.
There is a sense of home that does not fit my image.
As expected, you can’t judge a book by its cover.
Tao Siyun lowered his eyelashes silently.
Come to think of it, after all, he had been living in Beijing for two years, so it would be unreasonable if he didn't know anything.
People always need to grow.
Seven years can indeed change a person a lot, like her.
The visa was processed in a hurry that year, and she was sent abroad knowing almost nothing except fluent English. She learned all the life skills bit by bit later.
At the beginning, I ate cold white food all day long and had no appetite at all. I lost five or six pounds in a short period of time.
Once, she was picking at the tasteless vegetable salad in the bowl, when suddenly an idea came to her. She poured the washed rice into a tin foil box, added water, and put it in the oven to bake.
I don’t know if it was because there was too little water or the temperature was too high, but it was cooked in the end, but it was very dry.
Tao Siyun has lived for eighteen years and has never eaten such dry rice. It is no exaggeration to say that she feels that rice baked in the oven is harder than the layer of rice crust at the bottom of rice cooked in an iron pot.
She missed Chinese food in China so much that she downloaded several cooking apps and planned to learn how to cook according to the recipes.
However, supermarkets abroad lacked seasonings for making Chinese food, the Chinese Super League was far from where she lived, and she had to go to a language institution to take French classes every day. During that time, facing the dual pressures of language exams and school applications, she simply didn't have much time to spend on cooking.
In the end, she gave up and decided to just eat some fruit yogurt or something every day to get by.
The result was that I couldn't even last a week. I ate apples and had acid reflux, which caused stomach problems. I really couldn't hold on any longer, so I had to start learning to cook again.
She was unfamiliar with the place and had no way to join any groups for international students. She was so miserable that she couldn't even buy a second-hand rice cooker.
Every day, I cook some weird dishes that are neither Chinese nor Western, including making Chinese fried noodles with pasta and dipping cheese dumplings in hot and sour sauce...
Before buying an electric rice cooker, she also tried using a steamer, pouring the rice into a small bowl and steaming it over water.
The taste is a little better than oven-baked, but only a little. Sometimes the steaming time is not enough and the rice becomes half-cooked.
…
Now when he thinks back to the time when he first went abroad to study, Tao Siyun feels that he is quite pitiful.
Xu Ji had his back to her, wearing a light-colored long-sleeved T-shirt with his sleeves rolled up, and was methodically cleaning the used chopping board and marble countertop.
Although he looks like a man who has never done housework, his proficiency in doing housework is in stark contrast to his appearance.
Tao Siyun held a straw in his mouth, looked at his back and asked, "Are you full?"
Xu Ji turned off the faucet and the sound of running water stopped abruptly.
He turned his head and looked down at her, his eyes slowly moving to the yogurt in her hand, and raised his eyebrows, "Were you not full just now?"
"I'm full." Tao Siyun flattened the empty yogurt container and threw it into the kitchen waste bin. He licked the yogurt on his lips and suddenly thought of something. So he asked, "Um, Ji Yao said you're allergic to mangoes?"
Xu Ji paused while wiping his hands and asked in confusion, "What's wrong?"
"Nothing..."
"?"
Tao Siyun hesitated for a few seconds, then spoke reluctantly under his gaze, which asked, "Can you please not say only half of what you want to say?" "It's just that I remembered the last time you fought with me for yogurt in the supermarket." "..."
It had been so long, and she remembered it again.
Xu Ji was silent for a moment and said nothing.
"So why are you, a person allergic to mangoes, competing with me for mango yogurt?"
In fact, it’s not Tao Siyun’s fault that she is upset. She didn’t think about this matter in detail. She just asked about it as the topic came to her mind.
She was already prepared to hear Xu Ji say things like "I was just being naughty and wanted to grab it" and "What can you do to me?", which were completely consistent with his usual nonchalant and nonsensical explanations.
As a result, the man calmly wiped his fingers one by one, and then threw the crumpled tissue into the trash can at her feet in a parabola.
Tao Siyun was stunned, watching Xu Ji walk towards her slowly and steadily, stopping at a safe distance that was neither far nor close to her.
Xu Ji was 1.86 meters tall, and when he stood in front of her, he easily blocked the light above his head.
Tao Siyun tilted her head slightly, and Xu Ji's straight and handsome facial features gradually became larger in her sight.
Their eyes met, and the two of them stared at each other quietly for a moment.
The strong and oppressive feeling from Xu Ji kept coming at her.
The height difference of almost 20 centimeters made her look a little weak in front of Xu Ji, and she stood up straight involuntarily.
"Tao Siyun." Xu Ji called her playfully, and suddenly stretched out a hand to support the kitchen door behind her.
Tao Siyun's breathing stagnated, and he was stunned for a moment, stuttering: "What are you doing?"
"Nothing." Xu Ji bent down and slowly approached her, smiling maliciously and saying with an expression that looked like he wanted a beating, "Because you stepped on my foot the other day."
!!!
Being so close, Tao Siyun could feel the hot breath from his breath on her face.
Her back was pressed against the glass door, and she was completely stunned.
"Let's go." Xu Ji stood up and snapped his fingers at her. Before she could react, he was out of the kitchen.
There was a sound of a door opening in the living room, followed by a "bang" and the door was closed again.
Tao Siyun remained motionless against the kitchen door, stunned for a long time, his heart beating wildly.
Was she just being pushed against the wall?
***
The wraparound balcony connects from the bedroom to the living room and is right next to the master bedroom opposite, almost less than half a meter away.
Tao Siyun crouched down and took a look from a distance, then closed the balcony door quietly.
At this time, most of the others had gone to bed, only the night owl Bian Chengzi was still awake. For the first time in her life, Tao Siyun called her best friend in the middle of the night to harass her.
"Hey, are you asleep?"
"Hmm..." Bian Chengzi stretched out her voice and said weakly, "What's wrong? What's the matter?"
Tao Siyun felt strange, "Why did you go to bed so early today?"
"My boss suddenly called me on a business trip, and I stayed up two nights in a row. I was so sleepy. Last night I had a social event. My colleague had just returned from maternity leave and couldn't drink, so the client insisted on getting us young people drunk. Damn, in the end I was so drunk I don't even know how I got back. I slept in the hotel all day."
Due to the nature of Bian Chengzi's job, working overtime and staying up late is the norm. When she is free, she is really free. But when she is busy, Tao Siyun may not see her for ten days or half a month.
After working for two years, my salary didn't increase much, but I did improve my drinking capacity.
"You should drink less. You have male colleagues here, so don't try to be so arrogant."
"They're so bad, they get drunk after just a few drinks, not even as good as me. No, it's already so late, why are you still awake? Don't you have classes tomorrow?"
"No." Tao Siyun stared at the ceiling with lifeless eyes. He really didn't know how to explain to her why he couldn't sleep tonight. "I just suddenly couldn't sleep and wanted to chat with you."
"Oh, let's talk then." Bian Chengzi yawned groggily, feeling something was wrong. "Wait, what do you mean by 'suddenly can't sleep'? What's wrong with you? How could you suddenly be unable to sleep?"
“…I have my own concerns.”
There was sudden silence on the other end of the phone for a few seconds.
Bian Chengzi expressed her confusion. "What on earth could a 24-year-old in the prime of life have on his mind at one in the morning? Why are you so emo? Do you have melatonin? Be good, take two and you'll fall asleep."
"No."
"How about I sing you a lullaby?"
"Let's just forget it."
Bian Chengzi closed her eyes, pulled the quilt inward, and said in a tone that said, "You little girls with the sequelae of puberty are so pretentious," "I think you just lack exercise. When I get back from my business trip, I'll take you to the gym to get a membership, and then find a handsome personal trainer to exercise with you for a few days. Then you'll be able to fall asleep."
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