Chapter 49
As it approached mealtime, the elevator lobby on the ninth floor of the inpatient department was particularly busy. People carrying various lunch boxes and take-out bags came down from the elevator one after another like the receding tide, turned around and walked towards different wards, leaving behind a floor filled with the smell of various foods mixed with the smell of hospital disinfectant.
Most people were in a hurry, and few noticed the young man and woman sitting on a row of three-seater stainless steel chairs in the corner of the elevator lobby. The midday sun streamed in through the window, falling on the young man and woman's toes. A faint halo surrounded them, like a once-fulfilled embrace.
Jiang Guan sat in the corner, with a green plant next to her that was almost as tall as her. The branches were green and it looked like it was growing well.
She touched a palm-sized leaf, her eyes fixed on the three elevators diagonally in front of her, and glanced at the boy next to her with a burning light in her eyes.
"How about a bet?"
Lu Jiyu's outfit today was a bit different from his usual style. He wore a light gray short-sleeved shirt, a white undershirt peeking out from the hem, light brown casual trousers, and a pair of white Adidas classic sneakers. On anyone else, it might have been an ordinary outfit, but on him, it had a distinctly youthful, high school vibe. Especially since his trip to the northwest, his skin had darkened a shade, and his hair had been cut much shorter, revealing his full forehead. This made his face look even sharper, and the sly look in his eyes deepened.
"Speak up, high school boy?" Jiang Wan nudged the person next to him with his elbow.
The high school man withdrew his gaze and glanced at her indifferently: "How do you bet?"
Hearing that he was willing, Jiang Wan held his face with one hand and pointed at the row of elevators with his finger: "There are three elevators in total, you choose one."
Lu Jiyu didn't ask why, he just raised his chin and pointed at the middle part.
"become."
"The rules are simple. Let's guess whether the number of people getting on and off this elevator is even or odd. Win two out of three."
Lu Jiyu took out his phone and opened the food delivery app. He noticed a bug and said, "Can I understand it this way? If one person guesses an even number, then the other person can only guess an odd number? Isn't this game rule a bit unfair?"
Jiang Wan guessed he was going to ask this: "Of course not. For example, if you and I both guess an even number, then we can concretize our guess to an exact number. Whoever guesses the number closest to the actual number of people wins."
It sounded like a boring game. Lu Jiyu wanted to ask her what she was thinking about every day.
But when the words came to his lips, he changed them to: "What's the bet?"
Jiang Wan looked at him and spread his hands, as if asking, "You don't even know this?" "It's the same as before."
"By the way." She leaned over and said, "Are you ordering takeout? Can you order me some Yunnan rice noodles? I left my phone in the ward."
Lu Jiyu used his finger to push away her head, his lips pursed into a ruthless expression: "Don't dream, the doctor said you can only eat liquid food now."
"This is simply alarmist."
"And how can rice noodles not be liquid? Rice noodles flow through the soup base, a liquid within a liquid."
But Lu Jiyu didn't buy her trick at all: "Jiang Wan, you'd better not be a doctor in the future, so as to avoid stealing money and killing people."
Jiang Wan wasn't angry at all. Instead, he nodded in agreement. "Have you ever heard the saying, 'If you persuade someone to study medicine, you'll be struck by lightning!' People like you who do the opposite are truly accumulating merit and virtue."
Lu Jiyu was speechless again because of her twisted logic: "Do you still want to play?"
Before he finished speaking, the door of the middle elevator slowly opened and the crowd filed out.
"Let's play, starting now." Jiang Wan sat up straight in his chair.
"You go first?" Jiang Wan glanced at Lu Jiyu as he tapped his phone and reminded him, "The food here is pretty average. It's salty and greasy."
"An even number." Although Lu Jiyu did not respond to the second half of Jiang Wan's sentence, he still took the advice and dragged out the dishes added to the shopping cart, then simply turned off the phone and stopped ordering.
"Then I guess an odd number."
It takes some time for the elevator to go up and down, especially since it is the lunch rush hour, and it seems difficult to pass the time without chatting.
"Why didn't you choose the competition path?" Zhou Zifang told Lu Jiyu that Jiang Wan had also joined a competition class in her freshman year of high school, but she dropped out after one semester. Her grades were pretty good, and their teacher had tried to keep her.
"Me?" Jiang Wan looked intently in the direction of the elevator.
"Because I'm not good at it." She smiled, then turned serious. "The competition class was too stressful, and my dad wasn't in good health at the time, so I dropped out."
"Actually, I don't think it's a pity. I think if I don't go into competition, I can still get into the school I want even if I take the mainstream path."
"But I only have one father, I can't abandon him." Jiang Guan rubbed her head, and Lu Jiyu turned his head to pay more attention to her.
"Lu Jiyu, how much do you think the painting I gave you is worth?"
Lu Jiyu: What? Are you planning to take my money? It turns out you're not being sincere, you're just forcing me to buy something.
Jiang Wan saw that he had misunderstood and explained, "I mean, what do you think of my level?"
"Not bad." This was a sincere evaluation. Although Lu Jiyu knew that Jiang Wan's family ran an art studio, she had never seen Jiang Wan paint before. Although the painting she copied was still a little different from the original, the level was already close to professional.
"Is that so?" Jiang Wan nodded in agreement. "Gao Zhuo always said that I have a talent for painting."
Lu Jiyu's heart moved, Tsk, you believe everything others say, but you don't listen to what I say.
"Then why didn't you take this path?" Lu Jiyu's phone was buzzing with WeChat messages, making him too lazy to read them. They were all from Shan Ming, who was very sorry about Jiang Wan's situation and had been checking in on her since yesterday. He even transferred 5,000 yuan as a maintenance fee. Of course, Lu Jiyu didn't accept any of the money. He just said he was fine and told them not to worry, and then he didn't reply.
It seemed like the matter had passed so simply.
But the person on the other end of the line, Dan Mingduo, was quite the expert. He'd known Lu Jiyu for two or three years, initially just skiing buddies. Later, he'd stumbled upon Lu Jiyu's other family connections and connections. The reason for this was that he'd run into some trouble when he switched teams the previous year, and after trying every possible means to resolve the situation, he'd finally mentioned it to Lu Jiyu. The next day, he'd even received a call from his supervisor, who'd come to him personally, and his attitude was incredibly cordial.
There was nothing unusual about Lu Jiyu hanging out with them. He was easygoing, though he wasn't very forthcoming with strangers. Despite his strikingly handsome face, which was hard to ignore, Dan Ming could sense that Lu Jiyu was trying to minimize his presence. This was actually quite rare in their skiing community; speed and technique, if not used to show off, seemed to lack some meaning. Furthermore, Lu Jiyu's lifestyle and spending seemed refined, but not extravagant. Therefore, he had never delved into Lu Jiyu's background, simply assuming he was the son of a wealthy family.
But after the call from that leader, Shan Ming finally realized that Zhou Zifang's calling Lu Jiyu "Young Master" was not just hearsay.
At that time, Shan Ming prepared a snowboard that was so expensive that he himself was reluctant to buy it. One reason was to thank him for his help, and the other was that he went home and thought carefully. He realized that he had offended others when they were playing together in the past, and he wanted to take this opportunity to wipe out the grudges. However, he didn't expect that the other party would refuse. In the end, he couldn't refuse Shan Ming's kindness and "freeloaded" on his meal, which was considered to have wiped out the favor and the past.
So to be honest, Lu Jiyu is a very open-minded person who doesn't like to argue with others.
But for this matter, Shan Ming felt that Lu Jiyu would not be able to get over it in the short term.
Ultimately, though, Dan Ming was to blame for this. Lu Jiyu had asked him for a rare favor, and he'd hired someone so unreliable. Jason was skilled, sweet-talking, and good at making people happy, which was why Dan Ming had chosen him. But he hadn't expected him to leave the girl alone on the slopes and wander off.
Jiang Wan's eyes darted around after hearing Lu Jiyu's question. "Because my mother doesn't like it. She thinks this kind of thing is a sign of lack of knowledge and skill. She threw away all the paintbrushes I secretly bought when I was a kid, and I never thought about it again."
Now that he knew that Jiang Wan was Jiang Huainan's daughter, Lu Jiyu also recalled the incident when Jiang Huainan asked him to go to his house.
At first Lu Jiyu naturally refused.
But Jiang Huainan kept pestering him for several long breaks, even calling him in during several physical education classes just to talk about this matter, causing his friends to think he had done something wrong and come to him every day to ask about it. Lu Jiyu was also a "strong woman afraid of a clinging man", and finally agreed out of sheer desperation.
The result was a rejection.
It was also on that day that Lu Jiyu witnessed how a seemingly respectable adult hysterically attacked his own daughter in front of outsiders.
Lu Jiyu had never thought of getting involved in other people's family affairs. He leaned against the door silently, and the setting sun stretched his appearance into a long line. In the gaps between endless accusations and insults, he thought he heard a sound similar to the whimpering of a small animal, as if it was seriously injured, but was afraid of being discovered by its natural enemy, so it could only cover it up weakly.
Lu Jiyu suddenly woke up and realized what he was doing. What kind of encirclement and suppression was he participating in?
"No matter what, a mother should not stigmatize her daughter in front of an outsider. It is inhumane."
Fourteen-year-old Lu Jiyu stood up straight. Back then, he was four or five centimeters shorter than he is now, but the sharpness in his eyes hadn't been deliberately concealed. He stared into her eyes, half of his profile softened by the setting sun, but his words were as blunt as a sword.
Afterwards he occasionally thought about this incident and felt that he was too arrogant and didn't know his place, so he spoke so without restraint.
But now Jiang Wan told her that she felt happy because of his words that day.
Then everything is just right, right?
"What now?"
As they were talking, the door to the middle elevator slowly opened, and a group of people instantly poured out. Jiang Wan quickly glanced at the crowd and said somewhat listlessly, "14, an even number. You win this round."
"Yeah." There was not much expression on Lu Jiyu's face, as if he was still waiting for Jiang Wan's answer to the previous question.
"Actually, I have thought about learning animation." Regarding this idea, Jiang Wan basically never mentioned it to anyone except Chen Meiyu.
"Did you choose this as your major?"
"Of course not. My mom would kill me." Li Wan had always wanted her to study business management so she could inherit her company. Because of Jiang Huainan, Li Wan had a deep aversion to anything art-related.
"I lost the first round, let's start the second round." Jiang Wan suddenly remembered that Chen Meiyun and Zhou Zifang had been gone for a long time and had not returned yet: "Where are they? Will they come back for dinner?"
Lu Jiyu was replying to a WeChat message and handed the phone to Jiang Wan to look at.
It was a photo Zhou Zifang sent him, and the location was Shaxian Snacks.
"How did they get there?"
"I ran into Chen Meiyun's boyfriend. He said he had to treat Zhou Zifang to a meal, so we went to Shaxian Snacks."
This time, Lu Jiyu stubbornly chose the even number, while Jiang Wan still held high the banner of the odd number.
"If I lose again this time, then it seems like we're not meant to be together," Jiang Wan said this from the bottom of her heart, feeling incredibly calm. Lu Jiyu didn't even bother to guess whether she was being sincere or not.
"Will you say hello to me if we meet in college next time?"
"If, you know what I mean."
Lu Jiyu lowered his eyes and handed her the bottle of water that was almost warm in his hand.
Just now, the two of them passed by a vending machine, and Jiang Wan insisted on buying some ice water. Lu Jiyu had just put in the coin, but she didn't pay attention and asked her to press the button with the word "cold".
But Lu Jiyu got there first, bending down and scooping out the water. His meaning was clear: drink what you want.
Jiang Wan chased after him and asked, "Why can't I drink iced drinks? Lu Jiyu, you're really nosy."
"Can you drink something cold if you have a concussion? Jiang Wan, did you eat the whole thing mixed with the orange you just ate?"
He has been holding onto this bottle of water until now.
The water felt cool to the touch, but it was no longer icy. Jiang Wan had no intention of really drinking it and just shook it in his hand.
Lu Jiyu didn't answer her question. She didn't know whether he didn't know how to answer or was too lazy to answer. But Jiang Wan thought it was most likely the latter.
"Do you know how big F is?"
"Don't worry, if our majors didn't have cross-disciplinary courses, we probably wouldn't meet once in four years."
There are not so many coincidences in this world. Ninety-nine percent of the so-called "coincidences" are accompanied by lies and deliberate planning by the other party.
"If I miss you, can I come find you?"
Lu Jiyu was almost laughing out of anger. He turned his head, gritted his teeth, and then turned back to stare into Jiang Wan's eyes. Her face was filled with the same calm expression that never changed. He simply relaxed his body and leaned back on the chair behind him, with his legs spread out wide. His usually sharp eyes and eyebrows were now a bit reckless, and he suddenly had the aura of a scumbag who was at ease.
"Yeah." He rested his hand holding the phone on his lap, his eyes fixed on the white wall in front of him. His voice was a little sticky: "That depends on whether I have a girlfriend. If I do, it depends on whether she agrees."
It’s just a game, who’s afraid of who?
Jiang Wan thought about it seriously and said, "Forget it. I recently visited the F University campus forum and saw a lot of handsome men and beautiful women on the love wall. If you're in a hurry to find a girlfriend, I can send you the link."
There wasn't a hint of sarcasm in what he said; on the contrary, it sounded quite sincere.
In this moment that could make anyone mad, Lu Jiyu didn't know why he thought of Lu Lin. Lu Jiyu was born with a bit of a weird temper. He could still vividly remember the past when someone had made him so angry that he jumped up and down. Lu Jiyu didn't think much of it then, but now that he was the one to suffer, Lu Jiyu finally understood what "empathy" meant.
In order to avoid saying anything unpleasant, Lu Jiyu took a deep breath before speaking again, and even put on a faint smile: "Thank you, you are really a very nice person."
In a word, every word sounds like it was ground out between teeth.
Anyone with insight could see that Lu Jiyu was feeling a little uncomfortable, but the person in front of him seemed quite cheerful.
"Lu Jiyu." Jiang Wan pointed behind the person and said, "The elevator door is open again."
"15 people, I win this time."
"We're one to one."
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