Chapter 43 Friends
"Jinjin, I'm really sorry to trouble you this time." Gao Yi said gratefully.
Chi Jinjin said with a smile, "It's okay, it's normal for friends to help each other."
"What do you think of this one?" Gao Yi asked as he took a piece of clothing from the hanger.
Chi Jinjin took it from him, looked at it and asked, "Uncle, what's your body shape and how tall are you?"
"About the same as me." Gao Yi replied.
Chi Jinjin compared the clothes to him and said, "This one is a bit too colorful. It doesn't suit you, uncle."
"Okay, then let's go look at something else?" Gao Yi took the clothes from her hand and hung them back.
Chi Jinjin nodded and continued searching with him.
Little did he know that all of this was seen by Nan Xuqiu.
Nan Xuqiu's expression was complicated, and his hand on the railing couldn't help but tighten its grip.
On Ji Yang's birthday, he held a big party and invited Chi Jinjin. Chi Jinjin couldn't refuse and had to go.
As soon as she entered the private room, Chi Jinjin felt what it meant to be crowded. There were only unfamiliar faces there. She could only smile awkwardly, then found Ji Yang in the crowd and gave him the birthday gift she had prepared.
Ji Yang looked at the gift she gave him and said happily, "Xiao Chi, thank you for your gift. I like it very much. You are so thoughtful."
"Senior, as long as you like it." Chi Jinjin said with a smile.
At this time, Tang Shi and Song Ci also walked in. Chi Jinjin hurried to Tang Shi's side and stayed with him.
Not long after Tang Shi and the others arrived, the door slowly opened again. Chi Jinjin turned her head and saw Nan Xuqiu slowly walking in amidst the brilliant halo of light.
In an instant, he undoubtedly became the focus of the whole audience.
Only Chi Jinjin deliberately looked away, but the first thing Nan Xuqiu saw when he came in was her, even though she was in a dim corner.
"Lao Nan, you're finally here." Ji Yang walked up to him and put his arm around his shoulders.
Nan Xuqiu smiled slightly.
Ji Yang took him to the main seat.
During this period, people kept asking about Nan Xuqiu's identity and name.
There were even a few pretty girls who took the initiative to ask Nan Xuqiu for his contact information.
But they were all rejected by Nan Xuqiu.
Tang Shi has always been a very outgoing person, and it didn't take long for him to get along with many people.
Although there were not many people around Nan Xuqiu, there was a circle of girls standing around him, all showing their charm to him openly or secretly.
But Nan Xuqiu's gaze had already passed them and fell on Chi Jinjin who was eating silently in the distance.
Chi Jinjin can't dance, and she can't sing freely in front of so many people, so she can only choose to eat.
The snacks that Ji Yang ordered were very delicious, but few people ate them. Some were singing, some were dancing, or some were playing various games at the drinking party.
Chi Jinjin thought that so many delicious foods should not be wasted, so she kept eating.
She had already spent a lot of money to buy a gift for Ji Yang, so it wouldn't be too much for her to eat a little more.
Chi Jinjin thought, her mouth was stuffed with food, like a little hamster.
"Come on, Lao Nan, have a drink!"
Ji Yang brought a glass of wine and handed it to Nan Xuqiu.
Nan Xuqiu took it, clinked glasses with him, raised his head and drank it, but his eyes were still sideways at Chi Jinjin outside the crowd.
After he finished drinking, he withdrew his gaze and smiled with his brows lowered.
"Lao Nan." Ji Yang sat down next to him and said, "I feel like you've been worried since you came back. Is it because of Lin Shuya?"
"What do you think?" Nan Xuqiu asked back.
Ji Yang said meaningfully, "I don't think so..."
Nan Xuqiu didn't answer. He took the wine next to him and poured another glass for himself and Ji Yang.
The private room was getting noisier and noisier. Chi Jinjin felt a little dizzy after staying there for a long time, and she accidentally ate too much.
So she quietly left the private room, thinking of going to the balcony outside to enjoy the evening breeze and help digest her food.
Before I knew where to go, I found that Nan Xuqiu was there.
Chi Jinjin was stunned for a moment, wondering, why is he here? Shouldn't he be in the private room?
She turned around and planned to leave quickly.
Unexpectedly, his voice came from behind, "Xiaochi-sister..."
Chi Jinjin paused, wondering why she was in such a daze just now. She should have left earlier. Now she was seen by someone.
She had no choice but to slowly turn around and smiled at him politely, "Senior...Senior, you are here too."
"Are you here to relax too?" Nan Xuqiu asked.
Chi Jinjin nodded and said, "Yeah, well, I'll go back after I finish my work."
"Really? But I just saw you coming out of the private room." Nan Xuqiu said slowly.
The smile on Chi Jinjin's face became even stiffer.
"Uh... I was just kidding." Chi Jinjin walked forward, leaned on the guardrail, closed her eyes and pretended to feel the evening breeze, then changed the subject, "The evening breeze tonight is really comfortable."
Nan Xuqiu didn't say anything, but leaned lazily on the railing beside her.
After barely standing there for a minute, Chi Jinjin said pretentiously, "Senior, I... I'll go in first and not disturb you anymore."
She turned around and wanted to leave, but just as she took a step, Nan Xuqiu suddenly reached out and hooked her bag chain with his index finger.
Chi Jinjin turned around and looked at him in confusion.
I don’t know if it’s because of drinking, but the corners of Nan Xuqiu’s eyes are slightly red, looking like peach petals.
"Chi Jinjin." Nan Xuqiu raised his lips and called her slowly.
Chi Jinjin's heart trembled. This was the second time he called her name. The first time seemed to be when he introduced himself to Lin Shuya.
She didn't know why, but whenever he called her name, she couldn't help but feel an indescribable feeling in her heart.
It was like she suddenly saw something extremely happy or extremely sad, and she couldn't help but feel a soreness in her nose.
Nan Xuqiu asked cautiously, "Am I not back too late? Am I back too late..."
Chi Jinjin didn't understand what he wanted to say, and replied politely, "It's not too late, of course not too late."
"Then why do you seem to hate me?" Nan Xuqiu asked.
Chi Jinjin was stunned again, and quickly replied, "No, how could I possibly hate you, senior."
"Then why do you try so hard to avoid me and hide from me?"
"Ah? I...I'm not hiding from you, Senior..."
She smiled awkwardly, her fingers interlocking.
Nan Xuqiu stared at her straight, making her feel nervous.
"Chi Jinjin, five years ago, I told you that you are not suitable for lying." Nan Xuqiu said bluntly.
Her thoughts were seen through, leaving no room for words. Chi Jinjin knew she couldn't hide it any longer, so she said, "Yes, I won't lie, but senior, I really don't hate you. I avoided you because... I was worried that you hated me. Have you forgotten that you deleted me as a friend..."
She thought, he probably hated himself.
Chi Jinjin lowered her head.
Nan Xuqiu was stunned for a moment, then told her seriously, "Chi Jinjin, from the beginning to the end, I have never hated you. Not before, not now."
Chi Jinjin raised her eyes and looked at him again.
Nan Xuqiu said with regret, "I admit that I made the wrong decision to delete you as a friend. Perhaps I made the wrong decision a long time ago..."
Is he apologizing to himself?
Chi Jinjin was surprised, but she also felt that he had done nothing wrong. As she grew older and had a deeper understanding of society, she felt that it was rare to find a guy like Nan Xuqiu who had a girlfriend but would immediately cut off any relationship as soon as there was any sign of ambiguity.
So, she never blamed him for what happened back then.
Now after hearing his apology, Chi Jinjin felt that she seemed to be wrong and a little hypocritical.
She remembered what Tang Shi said: only those who can't let go will feel embarrassed.
So, since I've already let it go, why should I be embarrassed? Isn't it all in the past?
"Senior." Chi Jinjin suddenly came to her senses and said to him, "Since you don't hate me, why don't we just be friends like before?"
"Can we be friends with someone we once loved?" Nan Xuqiu asked.
"Of course." Chi Jinjin said, "It's been so long anyway, don't worry, senior. I've long forgotten how I felt about you back then. Now I sincerely just want to be friends with you."
"Friend..." Nan Xuqiu smiled meaningfully and said to her, "Okay."
Chi Jinjin smiled slightly and said, "Then... Senior, I will go back to the private room. Do you want to go back?"
"No, I want to stay a little longer." Nan Xuqiu said.
"Okay, I'm leaving now."
Chi Jinjin continued to walk forward.
The shoulder bag chain slipped through his fingertips, and his hand remained in the air for a moment before he slowly lowered it and retracted it.
Watching her enter the private room, Nan Xuqiu's eyes hid a hint of loss.
After the party ended, they stayed until the end, and Nan Xuqiu said he wanted to take Chi Jinjin back to school.
Chi Jinjin said, "No need, senior, my friend will come to pick me up."
As he was speaking, Gao Yi came over on an electric bike.
He stopped in front of Chi Jinjin and said, "Let's go, Jinjin."
"I'm going back first, bye." Chi Jinjin said to Tang Shi, Nan Xuqiu and others, then sat in the back seat of Gao Yi's car, waved goodbye, and disappeared into the distance with him.
Chi Jinjin sat in the back seat and said to Gao Yi in the front, "Gao Yi, thank you for bothering me to pick you up at such a late hour."
"It's okay, I just happened to be playing nearby, so it was just a small thing to do." Gao Yi replied with a happy face.
Nan Xuqiu returned to his home, walked to the balcony, turned on his mobile phone and played the enrollment video recorded by Gao Yi and Chi Jinjin over and over again.
In the video, Chi Jinjin has a high ponytail, holds a thick legal code in her hand, and wears a black lawyer's robe, talking eloquently and energetically.
But when his gaze moved to Gao Yi next to him, his eyes darkened a little.
"Gao Yi...my friend..."
Nan Xuqiu turned off his cell phone, put his hand on the guardrail, looked up at the sky, and seemed to be thinking about something.
A week later.
Chi Jinjin finished washing up and climbed onto the bed. As she was lying down and reading a book, the cell phone next to her suddenly rang.
Chi Jinjin took it and saw that it was an unfamiliar number.
She didn't answer, but soon the same number called again.
Chi Jinjin hesitated for a moment and answered the phone.
"Hello, is this Chi Jinjin, Miss Chi?"
A boy's voice came from the other end of the phone.
"Yes, I am. May I ask who you are?" Chi Jinjin asked.
The person on the other end of the phone replied, "Hello, I'm a waiter at Inspiration Bar. Mr. Nan Xuqiunan is drunk here. Could you please take him away? We're closing soon."
Nan Xuqiu?
Chi Jinjin was surprised and asked, "Is there no one else around him?"
"No."
Strange, are Song Ci and Ji Yang not here?
But if he is drunk, there is nothing I can do, and it is so late.
Chi Jinjin looked at the time. It was already half past nine. If she went out, she would definitely not be able to make it back in time for the night curfew.
"Well, how about you please call someone else? It's not convenient for me to come..." Chi Jinjin said.
The person on the other end of the phone said, "We have called Mr. Song and Mr. Ji, but their numbers are not working. Only your number is working."
"Can you guys look for it again?" Chi Jinjin really didn't want to go.
The waiter said, "Miss Chi, I'm so sorry, but this is all we know. Mr. Nan won't say anything else, and we'll be closing soon. If you don't come, we'll have to leave him outside our bar."
In front of the bar? Isn't that right on the street?
Chi Jinjin remembered hearing people say that many bad guys like to pick people up at the door of the bar. Although Nan Xuqiu is a boy, in today's society, boys are not safe either. And he is so handsome...
Some bad thoughts came to Chi Jinjin's mind.
She was startled and said hurriedly, "Don't touch him first. I'll come to pick him up right away. Tell me the address."
While listening, Chi Jinjin quickly climbed out of bed, took her clothes and changed them quickly.
"Jinjin, it's already late, you're not going out, are you?" Zhou Zhou asked in surprise, "The gate is almost closed."
"I have something urgent to do and won't be back tonight." Chi Jinjin replied, picked up her bag and hurried out of the dormitory.
Nan Xuqiu had helped her a lot in school before, and she still remembered it. But she couldn't let him be left on the street. If something happened, she would definitely not feel good about it.
Chi Jinjin ran to the school gate, hailed a taxi and headed to the bar.
In the car, Chi Jinjin was extremely anxious and kept asking the driver to drive a little faster.
Almost twenty minutes later, Chi Jinjin finally arrived at the bar.
When the waiter heard that she was looking for Nan Xuqiu, he took her upstairs to the VIP room.
"Ms. Chi, this is it. I hope you can take him away as soon as possible. We will close in half an hour." said the waiter.
Chi Jinjin nodded, "Okay, I understand, I'll take him away now."
"Okay, thank you for your cooperation." The waiter bowed to her and turned to leave.
Chi Jinjin pushed the door open and walked in. Only a dim light was on in the room. Empty wine bottles were scattered all over the floor and the table. The air was filled with a strong smell of alcohol, which made Chi Jinjin feel a little dizzy.
He couldn't have drunk all of this alone...
Chi Jinjin slowly walked towards Nan Xuqiu.
Nan Xuqiu leaned his head on the back of the sofa, holding half a glass of red wine in his hand. His eyes, which used to be clear, were now blurred and distracted, and he just slumped on the sofa.
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