Chapter 55 Getting Closer Unconsciously
"Alright, Auntie, Songning, you two should rest now. We'll take care of the kitchen." Zhou Qiao and Lu Xiaomeng took the initiative to clean up.
"You are guests, how can we let you clean up?" Ms. Xu said unhappily.
"Auntie, aren't you treating us like outsiders?" Zhou Qiao rolled up her sleeves, ready to clear the dishes. Lu Xiaomeng followed her sister Zhou's steps, and the two of them looked ready to get down to business.
Xu Songning slammed his hand on the table, speechless, and said, "I said, have you forgotten that I have a dishwasher? Washing a few dishes yourself is considered being diligent, but you really want to wash so many dishes?"
Zhou Qiao and Lu Xiaomeng both shook their heads. "Oh no, we really forgot you have a dishwasher."
"Mom, you go take a shower first. After we finish cleaning up, we'll get ready to shower too." Xu Songning "shooed" Ms. Xu off the table. The three of them cleaned up the food scraps, put the dishes in the dishwasher, and Lu Xiaomeng was in charge of wiping the table.
It took half an hour to sort it out.
Xu Songning escorted everyone downstairs and gave each of them a bucket of fresh, hot, insulated seafood so they could have a meal at home.
"Sister Xu, I'll be going now. Oh, by the way, that car..." Lu Xiaomeng scratched her head.
"I'll take a nap and drive you there. I've called a taxi for you," Xu Songning said. She really didn't dare let Lu Xiaomeng drive home by herself.
"Hehe, thank you, Sister Xu! I'll be going now!" Lu Xiaomeng waved and left.
Zhou Qiao stood to the side with a thermos in hand, shaking her car keys. "I don't need to take a taxi. I'll drive myself. Just take me to the garage!"
"Walk."
The two walked side by side in the garage. Xu Songning tucked a strand of hair behind her ear. "Want to have a heart-to-heart talk?"
“You really can’t hide anything from you,” Zhou Qiao sighed. “Song Ning, why do you think he’s still bothering me? We’ve already broken up. I thought that all breakups should end with no further contact. I never bother others, and I don’t want others to bother me.”
"Qiaoqiao, there are some things I don't know if it's appropriate for me to say, but you two are so stubborn, one of you is narrow-minded and the other is argumentative. There are things you could talk about openly, but neither of you will say them. Admit it, Qiaoqiao, you just can't let him go." Xu Songning stopped and looked at her seriously.
Zhou Qiao's eyes were blank. She seemed to doubt what Xu Songning said, but couldn't find an excuse to refute it.
"Do you have any cigarettes?" She slumped down, put the thermos aside, and reached out her hand to Xu Songning.
"No, it hurts my throat." Xu Songning patted her palm, trying to pull her up, but Zhou Qiao used a bit of force, so she swayed a couple of times and squatted down in the corner with Zhou Qiao.
"Can you tell the truth? What's the point of our heart-to-heart talk if you don't tell the truth?" Xu Songning said, resting his chin on his hand.
Zhou Qiao stroked the plain ring on her middle finger, turning it repeatedly, "I can't let go."
"Oh, how could this happen? Songning, how could I not let him go?" Zhou Qiao looked at her sadly, her eyes glistening with tears. She looked up and blinked hard, but the tears disappeared.
“He can’t let you go either. The two of you are just torturing each other.” Xu Songning took her hand and gently kneaded her knuckles. “I think it was okay for you to break up before. He has his own things to do, and you’ve always been focused on yourself. Maybe breaking up would have helped you both figure out what you really want.”
Zhou Qiao tilted her head to look at her, her expression focused, "I've been thinking about this a lot lately, I'm so distracted, I almost made a mistake when I was keeping accounts."
"Even Mr. Zhou, who loves money more than anything, can make a mistake in the accounts? It seems he really cares about it."
"Songning, you actually helped him, didn't you?"
Xu Songning remained silent.
Zhou Qiao laughed, "The wind chime broke, you told him, right? He sent me an identical one the next day, but I didn't hang it up. Tell me, even if they're exactly the same, can I really assume they're the same? He sends me flowers, I don't accept them; he sends me food, I have no reason not to take it. He adds me when I've opened the friend request feature, and then I happen to be soft-hearted. If he knew all these methods of pursuing someone, he would have won me back long ago. I can tell someone's cheating for him."
“I can help with cheating, but that depends on the examiner turning a blind eye,” Xu Songning said.
"I'm just doing this for the food."
When is he going back to Shanghai? Would you like to meet and talk?
"No! I'll give you food, but I don't want to meet you." Zhou Qiao's face was full of refusal.
Xu Songning felt strange and nudged her with her shoulder. "Why? Why don't you just talk it out? You two are so inseparable."
“He has his dreams, and I have things I want to do. I want to open branches of the ‘Freedom’ bar, all over the country. I want—freedom,” Zhou Qiao said with a smile.
For Xu Songning, freedom means flying in the sky, landing on the ground, and being free from anyone's control. But if two people are really going to be together, there is no freedom to speak of.
Isn't falling in love about abandoning your freedom and willingly entering a cage called "love"?
Qin You yearns for ideals, while Zhou Qiao craves freedom.
Xu Songning didn't know how to comment, so she simply helped her up and asked, "So, you two just stay like this?"
“Yeah, if he’s willing to give it to me, I’ll accept it. But if he’s not willing anymore, then he shouldn’t bother me anymore. I’m already so old, why am I still talking to a younger man about love and not love, these vague and ethereal things? Nothing is more practical than making money.” Zhou Qiao said, hands on her hips.
“That’s right, Boss Zhou must make more money; getting rich is the right path,” Xu Songning said.
She thought that perhaps separating for a while would be the best option, allowing them to see each other's future more clearly.
Xu Songning saw Zhou Qiao off and turned to go upstairs when he heard a car honk twice.
She turned around and saw the familiar black Porsche parked in the parking space, flashing its hazard lights twice. Then, Xiang Yun got out of the car.
"Brother Yun." Xu Songning called out and waved.
Xiang Yun strode towards her. It was cold in the underground parking garage, and she was dressed in thin clothes. She hugged her arms in the cold wind. She hadn't felt cold when Zhou Qiao was here, but as soon as Xiang Yun approached, his warm breath blew on her, and she couldn't help but sneeze.
Why are you dressed so scantily?
A light coat, carrying the scent of a man, draped over her shoulders, dispelling the chill.
Xu Songning sniffed, and with each breath, she smelled Xiang Yun's scent, which was very pleasant.
"I came down to see someone off, but I didn't expect we'd end up chatting for so long." Xu Songning rubbed her nose, which was a little cold from the cold. She breathed on it and stamped her feet.
"Let's go upstairs." Xiang Yun pressed the elevator button. As the elevator arrived, Xu Songning inadvertently took a step closer to him. Xiang Yun did not move away, and their shoulders touched slightly through Xiang Yun's coat.
Xiang Yun was dressed in thin clothes underneath, but his body was warm, which showed that he had a strong constitution.
Xu Songning glanced at his four-pointed star button and her earlobes immediately turned red. They were so close; she regretted it. She should have kept her distance.
When did you get back?
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