Chapter 10
Saturday started with a sudden downpour.
Jiang Wan sat on a beige sofa in front of the floor-to-ceiling window. The melodious music and the slightly low air conditioning temperature combined to create a gloomy atmosphere. She boredly watched passersby running frantically through the rain behind a window pane. A television hung in the corner of the optical shop. A beautiful and elegant weather forecaster, her voice clear and distant, analyzed the weather forecast for Nanyuan City for the coming week.
"Jiang Wan, what do you think of me wearing this?"
Chen Meiyu in front of the counter tilted her head and looked at her. She was wearing a pair of popular kitten-shaped glasses frames on her nose. The metal temples shone like satin under the cold white light in the store. She looked intellectual, elegant, and a little playful.
After trying for almost half an hour, she finally gave up on those frames with exaggerated colors and different shapes.
"Not bad." Jiang Wan breathed a sigh of relief and gave a fair evaluation, hoping that she would buy it immediately. After all, she had already drunk her fifth cup of tea.
Chen Meiyu turned to look at the salesgirl opposite: "Is it really good?" After getting an affirmative answer, she stared at herself in the mirror and looked left and right several times before finally paying.
When the two came out of the glasses store, the heavy rain outside had stopped. The ground was wet and the air was filled with the smell of earth after the rainstorm. The landmark buildings not far away were inserted in a swirling rain mist, and the sky was so gloomy that it seemed like water could drip out of it.
Jiang Wan counted the zeros on Chen Meiyu's shopping receipt, and his heart was bleeding.
"8,000? A pair of glasses for 8,000? You are buying a microscope, right?" Jiang Wan suddenly felt that studying was meaningless, and it would be better for him to open an eyewear store to make money quickly.
Chen Meiyun stuffed the receipt into her wallet and carefully kept it away: "I can't help it. I get dizzy when I wear other brands of glasses."
"I can see you're a princess~." Jiang Wan hummed in a strange voice beside her. Chen Meiyu immediately rolled her eyes at her: "Enough, Wanzai Wharf, did you forget to count when you paid 10,000 for a skirt?"
Well, Jiang Wan really forgot about this.
She kept that expensive skirt hanging in her closet and it has never seen the light of day.
"How can this be the same? Ms. Li Wan rarely shows her maternal love, letting me choose whatever I want. If I buy a Uniqlo, wouldn't that be a disservice to her reputation as a successful woman?"
Jiang Wan took out her cell phone and searched for navigation while avoiding a little boy who was running towards her.
Chen Meiyu sipped her milk tea, squinting her eyes and saying with a look of enjoyment, "Your mother is a role model for divorced women. Her career has flourished since her divorce. I think her training institution will be able to ring the bell on the Nasdaq in a few years, right?"
"Abandoning her husband and daughter, how could Ms. Li Wan be the heroine without some tricks?" Jiang Wan pulled Chen Meiyun in the opposite direction: "The subway station is this way."
"Why take the subway? Just take a taxi." Chen Meiyu was too lazy to move.
Jiang Wan was still feeling bad about the money she had wasted the last time she was locked out: "I wasted three hundred dollars on unlocking the door a few days ago. I'd save as much as I can, sister."
"How about you take a taxi and sit in the car, and I'll chase you from behind?"
Chen Meiyun was so happy that she choked on her milk tea: "You are crazy."
"By the way, does Lu Jiyu really live upstairs from you?" Chen Meiyu had been wanting to ask this for a while, and now she finally said it.
Jiang Wan had seen through her a long time ago: "You are quite capable for being able to endure until now and ask."
Chen Meiyun knew nothing about Lu Jiyu, except for the fact that he publicly scolded Li Wan at Jiang Wan's house three years ago and his Waterloo in the high school entrance exam. However, she casually mentioned this to a friend a few days ago and learned that the friend had been madly in love with him for three years in junior high school.
Through the mouths of those sisters, Chen Meiyu also got a vague understanding of some of Lu Jiyu's glorious deeds.
"That guy was a really cool guy in middle school. He wouldn't talk to anyone except his close friends. You know, my sister and I liked him for two years but never had a chance to talk to him alone."
Jiang Wan felt that he was a little arrogant when he got angry, but it wasn't that exaggerated.
"Is he Godzilla? He's so scary." After the two of them passed through subway security, they went downstairs to wait for the subway. Jiang Wan found an empty seat in the lounge area and opened the recently downloaded Candy Crush game on his phone. He had played a few rounds on Lu Jiyu's phone last time and found it surprisingly fun.
Chen Meiyu sat down next to her and leaned over mysteriously, "He's not as scary as Godzilla, but did you know he was suspended for a week in junior high?"
"As for the reason..."
The train roared into the station, and the tail end of Chen Meiyu's words was swallowed up by the strong wind in the long tunnel.
The mottled, decaying atmosphere of the underground instantly surged. The illuminated train carriages surged past, and the figures on the windowpanes were stretched into countless bizarre lines in just a few seconds.
Jiang Wan smoothed out a strand of hair that was hanging from the corner of his mouth, turned off his phone, and looked at Chen Meiyun with surprise but not too much surprise: "Really?"
＊
Because Jiang Huainan is traveling and Chen Jin is busy taking care of the children, their family's studio has been semi-closed recently.
Jiang Wan had accompanied Chen Meiyun to get her glasses fitted today and had originally planned to follow Jiang Huainan's instructions and show up at her aunt Jiang Ying's house. But then the rain suddenly got heavier, so she simply returned to the studio.
By six o'clock, the city was already shrouded in a gray haze due to the heavy rain, and every household had turned on its lights early. The misty nights of the southern metropolises always had a sense of fragmented decadence. Jiang Wan put down his phone, rose from his chair, walked outside, quickly looked up at the sky, and then his eyes unconsciously glanced at the second-floor window.
It's still dark and there's no one there.
Jiang Wan still had no time to thank him for opening the lock last time. She had originally planned to treat him to a meal, but then she thought that if he had a girlfriend, it would not be appropriate for her to treat him to a meal alone.
Later, she thought about giving him a gift. But she couldn't think of a gift at the time, and Jiang Wan immediately forgot about it. She didn't have his contact information, otherwise she could just ask him what he needed or liked. Of course, Jiang Wan couldn't afford something too expensive, and if he asked for too much, she would just pretend it never happened.
Chen Meiyun said she'd come to see him after her cram school. Jiang Wan repeatedly told her that Lu Jiyu had no roads recently, but she refused to believe him. Jiang Wan estimated the time and figured it would take her until after eight o'clock to get back from her training class.
The hour between seven and eight was just enough for her to go out for dinner.
Walk all the way to the end of this alley, and you will find a late-night food street opposite the end.
There was a self-service barbecue restaurant at the end of the street. It had been open on this road for some time. The prices were reasonable and the food was fresh. When Jiang Huainan was in the studio, he often took Jiang Wan with him. After going there so many times, Jiang Wan became familiar to the people in the restaurant.
It was almost seven o'clock, and the barbecue restaurant had just sent off the last group of customers. The waiter was busy pushing a cart through the restaurant to pick up the leftover dishes. The restaurant was still two-thirds full. Jiang Wan walked in and saw that her usual corner window seat was empty. Without waiting for the waiter to greet her, she hurried over and sat down. A passing waiter saw this and came over to pour her a glass of water. After a few instructions, he turned around and asked the customer at the next table to leave.
Jiang Wan took a sip of water and waved her hand, indicating that it was okay. She put down the water cup, paused for a moment, and stood up to get food from the dining area. She didn't have a big appetite, but she got up late today and woke up in the afternoon. She walked around for half a day and had hardly eaten anything. Now she was hungry, so she took two large plates of meat. Before leaving, she went to the vegetable section and picked out a few small greens to cover the meat. It was barely nutritionally balanced.
Jiang Wan was only selecting a dish when the barbecue restaurant suddenly became crowded with customers. The restaurant was small to begin with, and she was squeezed by the endless stream of customers rushing to select their dishes, forcing them to walk close to the wall.
A Korean drama was playing on the TV screen hanging on the wall of the barbecue restaurant. It was a few years old, and Jiang Wan had watched it a few times while Jiang Huainan was watching. The heroine was in the middle of a heartbreaking scene when the daughter she had painstakingly raised for years turned out to be the daughter of her husband's affair. Unable to accept this, she broke down and cried, her sparse eye makeup a mess. A few customers in the restaurant, attracted by the noise, looked up and smiled faintly.
Jiang Wan lamented that this drama was indeed a collection of all kinds of melodramatic things.
She lowered her head and carefully avoided a girl who stumbled towards her, then raised her head again and her eyes fell to the corner.
There was a person sitting on the chair where Jiang Wan was drinking water.
It's been a while since we last met. The aroma of sizzling meat on the grill at the bustling barbecue restaurant brought people closer together, and the fatigue and anger of the day were also burned away.
Today he wore a lake blue casual striped shirt with dark blue accents on the shoulders and cuffs. The fabric was crisp and natural, simple yet refined. The dark grey sneakers on his feet looked familiar; they were a recent collaboration between a leading international luxury brand and a renowned sportswear brand.
Jiang Wan had initially thought him ordinary in photos, but now, seeing him in person, there was an inexplicable sense of harmony and naturalness. The sounds of laughter from the surroundings, complaints about family matters, and the recital of exhaustion after a long day at work, surrounded him with the whirlwind of worldly life. The sharp, determined youthfulness that permeated his entire being, extending to every strand of his hair, slowly built a wall of his own. Jiang Wan had always heard Li Wan say that people have auras. Beauty and handsomeness can be acquired through money, but the dullness in one's eyes and the clumsiness in one's gestures are shortcomings that no material possessions can compensate for.
Jiang Wan had always thought that "aura" was something only older people possessed.
It turns out some people are not.
A certainty suddenly surged in Jiang Wan's heart. At this moment, and even at every moment thereafter, this young man should be a unique existence in this world.
At the very moment Jiang Wan was thinking about this, his gaze passed over the wall he had built, casually passed over the noisy crowd, and directly cast in Jiang Wan's direction. After carefully considering it for two seconds, Jiang Wan was sure that his gaze should be the melodramatic drama on the TV behind her.
Jiang Wan glanced around and confirmed that he was the most attentive spectator in the entire store. The only one who could compete with him was the cleaning lady who was leaning against the cash register, propping up a mop and quietly slacking off.
The restaurant was already full, and Jiang Wan walked back to their table carrying two plates of meat. Zhou Zifang felt someone standing next to him, thinking it was a waiter, and without even looking up, he said, "Miss, please refill my tea."
The teapot was on the shelf next to the table, within easy reach. Jiang Wan put down the plate of meat in her hand and was about to reach out to take it. However, someone beat her, the "temporary waiter", to the punch. He put down his chopsticks, raised his head, and glanced at her quickly with his dark eyes.
There was no wave of surprise in his eyes, not even a hint of surprise.
Jiang Wan was curious whether he had noticed her a long time ago, or was really used to her sudden appearance.
Lu Jiyu's slender fingers clasped the plastic handle of the teapot, and he casually picked up an empty teacup from the side. He poured half a cup of tea into the bowl in front of him after washing it, and then slowly filled another cup with tea.
The hand raised and dropped again, and the teacup was right in front of Jiang Wan. It turned out to be poured for her.
Jiang Wan was a bit surprised by this. Zhou Zifang, who was standing next to him, finally noticed Jiang Wan's presence after he had swallowed a small plate of meat.
"Oh my god—" He looked up as if he had seen a ghost, and in his excitement he choked on the meat he hadn't swallowed in time. He quickly turned around and coughed several times with his back to Jiang Wan before turning his head to look at her anxiously. His face flushed half red, and he said in a teasing tone: "Hey, goddess, why are you here? When did you get here?"
Jiang Wan put down the other plate of meat in his hand and smiled: "I should be the one asking you this."
"What do you mean?" Zhou Zifang reached under the table and kicked Lu Jiyu. This guy's face was surprisingly calm.
The person opposite him looked impatient: "Isn't that enough? You almost kicked the table over." Lu Jiyu looked calm on the surface, but in fact, a speechless thought flashed through his mind for a moment, such as whether this world is really too small.
Although Zhou Zifang had a layer of prejudice against Jiang Wan because of Chen Wulin, he couldn't deny that facing a beauty of Jiang Wan's level, you couldn't have any unfriendly thoughts towards her. Seeing that Lu Jiyu was unmoved, he put on a bright smile and said, "What a coincidence, you are out for barbecue too?"
"Alone? Where are you sitting?" Zhou Zifang said, looking behind her. "And your plating is quite unique."
"Isn't it?" Jiang Wan was a little proud when he heard him say that: "This plating has a name."
Lu Jiyu's intuition told him that the name she came up with was definitely not a serious one.
"It's called the 'to live a decent life, you have to have a green head' package."
really.
Zhou Zifang was stunned for half a second, looking at the two plates of meat, then at Lu Jiyu in front of him, and he exclaimed in unison, "A goddess is a goddess. She can even find philosophical insights while eating barbecue."
Lu Jiyu looked at her: "Where are you sitting?" He wanted to say that there are quite a lot of people here, and you must be tired of coming here specially to chat with these two plates of "A Little Green" set meals.
Jiang Wan didn't intend to elaborate on the matter of the occupied seat, so he just vaguely pointed in a random direction and said, "I sat there when I first arrived, but when I went to get some food, someone else took it when I came back."
"How wicked!" Zhou Zifang cursed as he glanced at the direction Jiang Wan was pointing, a look of suspicion on his face. "But are you sure you were sitting in that direction?"
Jiang Wan had no doubt: "Yes." It was just taken away by two wicked ghosts.
"But there's nothing in that direction except the toilet."
Jiang Wan didn't know why his first reaction was to look at Lu Jiyu. He tapped the edge of his plate with his chopsticks and tilted his head. His bangs, which had been hanging over his eyebrows, had grown over his eyelids, somewhat masking his emotions, but they couldn't hide the faintest hint of a cold smile in his eyes. It looked like he was mocking Jiang Wan for making his story more convincing.
Jiang Wan remained calm and pointed forward casually: "Then I remembered it wrongly, that's it."
"This is my first time here. I'm not familiar with it and can't remember the directions."
Just as he finished speaking, a middle-aged waiter happened to pass by Lu Jiyu and their table. Seeing Jiang Wan, he stopped and greeted her: "Miss Jiang, you are here again? Are you here with your friends today? I haven't seen your father for a long time."
Jiang Wan waved his hand and smiled: "......"
Okay, just pretend I didn't say anything.
Zhou Zifang was quite considerate. He saw through Jiang Wan's situation but didn't say anything. He pointed behind him and said, "The table is full now. Why don't you share one with us?"
Jiang Wan was thinking the same thing: "Okay." She stood beside Zhou Zifang, staring at him with a smile on her face, her meaning almost explicit. Zhou Zifang had no choice but to get up and go around to sit across from Lu Jiyu. Jiang Wan sat down and naturally reached out to take the water on the table that Lu Jiyu had just poured for her. Zhou Zifang smiled and thought of something: "There are quite a lot of seats in this restaurant. We just went out to get the food, and when we came back there was a glass of water on the table that someone had drunk, and that glass was from Lu Jiyu——."
Zhou Zifang didn't finish his words. Lu Jiyu didn't give him a chance to finish.
Jiang Wan saw someone, who had been looking down at their phone, suddenly pick up a piece of meat from his plate and, without a word, shove it directly into Zhou Zifang's mouth as he was speaking. Then, he put the chopsticks aside and pulled out a pair of quick chopsticks from the chopstick box against the wall.
Jiang Wan watched him complete the entire process, then realized that he had taken their seats first, but after a while, they were sitting back at the same table. But that wasn't the point now. The point was, "I'll treat you to this meal."
Jiang Wan brought the two plates of meat he had brought to the table: "The pork belly here is very tender."
Lu Jiyu picked up a nearby wet wipe and wiped the sauce off his fingers. He folded his arms in front of him and lazily leaned back on the sofa chair behind him. He pretended to be curious and said, "You know so much about the market here? Didn't you just say it was your first time here?"
Chen Meiyu was chatting with Jiang Wan on her phone. She paused as she typed a reply. She felt like she was almost used to Lu Jiyu's way of speaking. She raised her head and curled her lips perfunctorily, "What I mean is, this is my first time coming here with you guys. Maybe you misunderstood."
Huo, she was too lazy to pretend.
"And I was serious when I said I'd treat you guys to a meal." She exited WeChat and put her phone on the table.
"I never really thanked you for what happened last time." She looked at Lu Jiyu seriously, "But I haven't seen you these past few days."
Lu Jiyu: Yes, I’m avoiding you, okay?
After saying that, Jiang Wan looked at his phone again: "If you don't mind, I have a friend who happens to be nearby." Jiang Wan had just casually told Chen Meiyu about meeting Lu Jiyu, but she didn't expect that the other party would skip class and make a fuss to come and meet her "new neighbor".
To be honest, the word "friend" from Jiang Wan made Zhou Zifang feel a little sensitive.
He asked directly: "A man or a woman?" If it were Chen Wulin, he would burn down the store on the spot.
Jiang Wan replied to another message and saw that Zhou Zifang looked nervous. He thought that the person on the other side seemed to be particularly sensitive to the topic of men and women.
She picked up the barbecue tongs on the table, picked up a few slices of meat and threw them onto the grill. The raw meat hit the hot iron, and suddenly there was a sizzling sound, and the smoke splashed everywhere. Jiang Wan leaned back to avoid it, and she raised her chin to look at Lu Jiyu and asked casually, "Your girlfriend probably doesn't know what happened between us that night, right?"
Lu Jiyu: ...
Zhou Zifang: ...Which night? What happened? Could you please tell me more?
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