Chapter 45
Lu Jiyu was woken up by a call from Chen Tingzhe the next day.
Yesterday it was the kid, today it's the dad. Sure enough, neither of them is worry-free.
Lu Jiyu hadn't drunk in a long time, and the feeling of a hangover seemed like a thing from his past life. Chen Zhe's voice on the other end of the phone seemed to come from a distant valley, sometimes far away, sometimes near. Lu Jiyu drooped his eyelids, feeling that everything was unreal.
"Lu Jiyu, are you listening to me?"
"No." Lu Jiyu struggled to pull himself up from the bed. He leaned his head back against the headboard for a few seconds, then waited patiently for the most uncomfortable moment to pass. The curtains behind the bed were not drawn tightly, and the scorching sunlight outside the window shone through, turning all his discomfort into a quiet silhouette.
The phone's speaker is on.
Lu Jiyu stood in front of the sink, refreshing himself with cold water while listening to Chen Tingzhe's speech nonchalantly.
"What do you think of the road trip I mentioned earlier?"
"My vacation is already planned. Can you leave? Give me a definite answer."
Lu Jiyu took two pieces of paper and casually wiped the water off his face before leaving the bedroom. The living room wasn't air-conditioned, and an overwhelming heat wave enveloped him like freshly poured asphalt on the roadside, thick and sudden.
The empty living room.
The coffee table is still the same as yesterday.
Two opened bottles of mineral water were placed one after the other on the black countertop.
Lu Jiyu walked over and looked at it without even looking at it. He picked up a bottle at random and took two gulps. As a result, he could tell from the first sip that this was not the bottle he drank yesterday.
This bottle has a peach flavor.
peach.
Lu Jiyu put down the water bottle and thought about yesterday when she was very close to him. The smell was very vivid, especially between her breaths.
So what exactly was that smell like? Perhaps he was just like her, thinking, why take it so seriously? Since the atmosphere was there, and she felt so good, then why not just kiss her, hold her and do everything she wanted. No matter how deep the vortex went, he would play with her to its very depths, tearing away all rationality and seeing who could be swallowed by desire. Yes, just play. They had the resources. How fun it was, and there was no burden, right?
Lu Jiyu's eyes were tinged with intense emotions. He leaned back on the sofa, trying to calm everything down, but he also knew that it was his emotions that were fighting back. When he woke up in the morning and saw Jiang Wan's innocent, cold and self-sufficient face, he knew that he was finished.
He didn't answer Chen Tingzhe's question and hung up the phone directly.
I have been sitting quietly for nearly ten minutes. It is almost noon now, the busiest time in the entire Luoying Lane. The aroma of lunch is mixed with the gossips of neighbors. This is the moment when fireworks in the world become concrete, and it is also very suitable to contrast Chu Lu Ji Yu's loneliness at the moment.
He looked up at the standing air conditioner in the corner. Although Jiang Wan had coveted it several times, it was still just an ordinary air conditioner. Lu Jiyu's eyes wandered aimlessly along the air conditioner until they stopped at the top of the unit, where a white package had appeared.
The origin is unknown, but it is about to come out.
It was Jiang Wan who stayed here yesterday. His heart sank.
When did she leave it here? It must have been yesterday. Then where did she leave it all the way here yesterday? How come he didn't notice it at all?
She is so good at it.
A large amount of information that could not be connected flashed through Lu Jiyu's mind. He carefully peeled off the wrapping paper of the "gift". He originally thought that there should be another layer of paper box or other packaging inside.
But no more.
Behind a thin layer of wrapping paper is a golden poplar forest and an endless desert.
Permanent collection No. 18, Hall 1, Boya Art Museum.
It was his mother's painting. Lu Jiyu's hand paused there for a long time.
There is a line of small words on the back of the painting, with elegant and graceful handwriting.
Lu Jiyu, four seasons for you, happy summer! Signed: Jiang Wan.
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After Jiang Wan and Lu Jiyu parted ways on bad terms, they hadn't been in touch for several days. With nothing to do at home, she started researching food, intending to improve her cooking skills.
After being forced to eat several of Jiang Wan's special dishes, Jiang Huainan finally couldn't help but ask her with a look of annoyance, "Wanzi, have you been worried about something lately? Or did Daddy offend you? Are you planning to kill me with this blunt knife?"
Jiang Wan was halfway through her meal when she picked up a piece of stir-fried pork tenderloin with green rice dumplings and ate it without changing her expression: "Oh, men are just pretentious."
Later, Jiang Huainan was really at his wit's end and could only escape to the studio to hide. After hearing about this, Chen Meiyun was happy to ask Jiang Wan out, but after seeing the special dishes in Jiang Wan's photo album that were comparable to those in bizarre costumes, she shed a few non-existent tears of sympathy for Old Jiang.
After talking about this, Chen Meiyu turned her wrist over mysteriously and stretched it in front of Jiang Wan for her to see.
Jiang Guan raised his eyes and saw a fluctuating pink electrocardiogram on his wrist.
Chen Meiyun had mentioned this to Chen Meiyun on WeChat before, so she wasn't too surprised: "Really got a tattoo?"
Chen Meiyun took out her phone and scanned the QR code on the table. She shook her head fearfully, "After thinking about it, I still didn't dare to do it. If my mom found out, she would probably chop off my hand."
Chen Meiyu is a very interesting person. When she is in a state of excitement, she is fully committed and outsiders think that ten bulls cannot pull her back. However, once it comes to issues of principle, she can still remain calm when she needs to.
Chen Meiyun looked at Jiang Wan and saw faint dark circles under her eyes. She felt that her spirits were much worse than during the college entrance examination. "Why do you look so bad?"
Jiang Wan drank a sip of lemonade, looked around, not knowing what he was looking for, and said honestly, "I didn't sleep well."
Chen Meiyun knew that she had been tutoring her brother: "Did your cousin who wrote 'Su Shi's Night Visit to Hitler' torture you?"
Jiang Wan put down the cup and waved his hand: "Not really, I haven't slept well recently mainly because--"
"What a coincidence, you are here too?" A male voice came from the side, interrupting Jiang Wan's words. She looked in the direction of the voice and saw Zhou Zifang standing behind Chen Meiyu, who appeared out of nowhere.
Chen Meirang was startled by Zhou Zifang's sudden appearance. Just as she was about to criticize Zhou Zifang for his intimidating personality and was about to raise her hand, she caught a glimpse of a girl standing behind Zhou Zifang. She had bangs and big smoky eyes, looking like a punk sweet girl, so cool.
Her first reaction was that the relationship between the man and Zhou Zifang might not be simple, so she quickly withdrew her hand.
Zhou Zifang looked at Jiang Wan with a grin. His expression and tone were the same as before, but Jiang Wan still felt something was a little different. She looked in the direction they came from and asked, "Did you just finish eating?"
"I was about to leave, and I saw you, so I came over to say hello."
Zhou Zifang and Li Qingxi walked all the way to the door of the restaurant before they hurriedly took out their cell phones from their pockets to tip off someone who was driving on the Qinghai-Gansu Grand Loop to heal his broken heart.
Li Qingxi had just returned to China a few days ago, hoping to catch up with friends during the summer break. However, Lu Jiyu had already left, and Li Mu, even more spineless, had bought a plane ticket the very next day upon hearing she'd returned, fleeing to Yunnan to spend the holiday with his grandparents.
In the end, only the bored Zhou Zifang was left, and she had to pay the bill when he came out to have dinner with her.
"I just took a close look at Jiang Wan. Damn, I tell you, the dark circles under her eyes are almost falling to her mouth. She said she hasn't slept well recently. I guess she will regret it if she can't catch you."
"But I'm not telling you this to soften your heart. I just want to tell you, look, she's having a hard time because of you. Wouldn't that make you feel better? So, just have fun out there. If you see a girl who's suitable, just flirt with her."
Zhou Zifang was just wondering how his typing had automatically been converted to voice. Then, when he looked up, he met Li Qingxi's big, punk eyes.
"Fuck, why are you getting so close to me all of a sudden?"
"And more." Zhou Zifang took a step back, covering his phone in vain. "Why were you snooping through my WeChat messages? You've been in the UK for so long that you've forgotten our laws, haven't you? We protect every citizen's basic right to privacy."
"Do you know the law?" Li Qingxi glanced at Zhou Zifang lightly, with a hint of disdain in his ice-blue cat-like eyes.
"Forget it, forget it, just pretend I didn't say anything, okay?" Zhou Zifang recalled the way Li Mu cried in front of him like a fatherless person after being scolded by Li Qingxi, and suddenly remembered that Li Qingxi was known as Li Mochou in the martial arts world, and was the kind of woman who was even more difficult to deal with than Jiang Wan.
But Li Qingxi didn't intend to let him go just like that. She thought of the pretty girl who had just spoken to Zhou Zifang: "That cute girl is Lu Jiyu's girlfriend? She doesn't have any dark circles under her eyes. You're not going to be able to change your habit of lying with your eyes open, right?"
Zhou Zifang held his head high and proudly: "What girlfriend? You really think too highly of that girl. Also, this is called exaggeration. What's with all that nonsense? If you don't understand, don't talk nonsense."
Zhou Zifang became excited: "I tell you, Lu Jiyu is now completely mentally broken by this cute girl, and is looking for the meaning of life in a no-man's land." As he said, he looked up and down at Li Qingxi in front of him. She and Jiang Wan are both beautiful, but the underlying personalities of the two are still very different.
Li Qingxi is completely taking the cold and cool route.
Jiang Wan is also cold, but in a calm and self-controlled way.
In short, neither of these two types is easy to deal with, but unexpectedly, the two brothers encountered them both.
Finally, Zhou Zifang said as if he was making a closing statement: "When I look for a girlfriend in the future, I will first exclude girls like you with bangs."
"ah!"
Zhou Zifang screamed.
Li Qingxi kicked him without hesitation: "I've been back home for so many days, and I forgot that my feet haven't even said hello to yours!"
＊
In the restaurant.
"So you didn't sleep well because you were studying the recipe?" Chen Meiyu was once again impressed by Jiang Wan's execution ability.
Jiang Wan nodded and took a sip of the rice noodle soup. It was a bit spicy and not fresh enough.
This Yunnan restaurant serves food quickly and has good service, but the food tastes just average. Before coming here, Chen Meiyun vowed that this was the last time she would trust online celebrity reviews, but now she has changed her mind.
"I will never believe in online celebrity reviews again." Chen Meiyu pushed the overly greasy mushroom chicken soup in front of her aside with disgust.
Getting back to the topic, the two did not forget the main purpose of coming out today.
"I've checked the airfares, and the prices are pretty much the same throughout June. My friend said it's open after the 15th. What do you think?"
Jiang Wan thought for a moment and asked, "How about after the 20th?"
Chen Meiyun was curious: "Have you had any problems recently?"
"It's not an important matter." Jiang Wan took out her cell phone and casually opened the WeChat interface. The WeChat message she sent to Lu Jiyu late at night when they had a fight still had no response.
Jiang Wan thought that Lu Jiyu would be a little angry.
I just didn't expect him to be so angry. And so steadfast and unyielding.
Jiang Wan also thought about giving up. If she was so difficult to deal with, she wouldn't need her to comfort her if she got angry in the future.
But she still couldn't convince herself.
Jiang Wan exited WeChat and turned off his phone: "I want to learn skiing recently."
"Why do you suddenly want to learn this?" Chen Meiyu had never seen Jiang Wan show any interest in skiing.
There was soft classical music playing in the restaurant.
Jiang Wan supported her chin with her hand and stared at the double-skin breasts in front of her with half-closed eyelids.
Because she made a bet with someone.
One-sided.
"I just want to learn." Jiang Wan wasn't really sure about this matter, so he didn't want to say much.
Chen Meiyun understood what Jiang Wan meant and considerately didn't ask any further questions. "But learning to ski requires a coach, right? Do you plan to find one at the ski resort or ask a friend to take you?"
Chen Meiyu had skied several times before and knew that skiing was quite dangerous for novices.
"But there are only a few people around us who know good skiers. Lin Yiping? Didn't he win a prize in a competition? But he's always had inappropriate thoughts about you. If you go to him, he'll definitely think you're hinting at something. No, no."
"Actually, after thinking about it, I think Lu Jiyu is quite suitable, but he's gone out driving now, and I don't think he'll be back for a while."
"Driving? Where are you going?"
Jiang Wan was not very clear about Lu Jiyu's movements. He seldom posted on WeChat Moments. Ever since the two of them had an awkward argument, they stopped chatting and became even more distant.
"Didn't I ask him if he wanted to go on a road trip to Xinjiang with us? Zhou Zifang said Lu Jiyu wasn't available. He'd made plans to go on a road trip along the Qinghai-Gansu Grand Loop, and he probably wouldn't be back for at least half a month. And I heard he'd probably continue flying to Europe after he came back."
"It's okay, I won't look for him." Jiang Wan raised her hand to call the waiter to settle the bill. When she looked down, she found that Chen Meiyu was looking at her with strange eyes.
"What's wrong? Is there something on my face?"
Chen Meiyun's mind was filled with a chaotic stream of thoughts: "Wanzi, are you and Lu Jiyu not getting along?"
"To be honest, when I first saw you and him standing together, I really thought you two were a match made in heaven."
Jiang Wan wanted to ask why he asked that, but when the words came to his lips, they still became: "What about now?"
"Now?"
Chen Meiyu thought for a moment and said, "Do you feel that your auras are somewhat similar? Both of you are very strong."
"Now it's more like a sudden and violent encounter."
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