Chapter 55
Chen Meiyu bought a lot of local specialties.
Lu Jiyu got out of the car to help her move the things to the trunk. Jiang Wan also followed over to take a look and saw that she had bought various walnuts and candied dates.
"I've never seen you eat these."
Chen Meiyun also realized at this time that she had made an impulse purchase. She pushed Jiang Wan into the car a little embarrassedly: "We can eat on the way. If we can't finish it, we can take it home as a souvenir."
Dong Lin, who was walking in front of them, suddenly turned his head and looked at Jiang Wan to discuss: "Can I sit in the back later? The sun is too strong today. I just went out and forgot to put on sunscreen."
Jiang Wan was a little surprised, but didn't refuse: "Okay, but aren't you carsick?"
Dong Lin shrugged and thanked him, "The rest of the road is highway, I should be fine."
The car returned to the main road.
Chen Meiyun was holding a box of fresh wolfberries she had just bought at the service area. Out of curiosity, she took a bite and found the taste unexpected. "It tastes pretty good. Do you want to try some?"
"Is it true?" Dong Lin saw her eat a few more and tried it too.
"Is it okay?"
Seeing the other party nod, Chen Meiyun handed the wolfberry to the front row: "You guys try it too."
Seeing Jiang Wan eat one, Lu Jiyu asked in a low voice, "How is it?"
Jiang Guan had earphones on her ears, and it was unclear whether she didn't hear it or what. She didn't reply, but just turned around and took two more wolfberries and stuffed them into her mouth.
Chen Meiyu wanted Lu Jiyu to have a taste too.
"No, it's inconvenient for me to drive." Lu Jiyu looked ahead with a calm expression in his eyes.
It was the afternoon when people were most sleepy. Not long after we started again, Chen Meiyu and Dong Lin in the back row started talking about being sleepy and gradually fell silent.
The road was lined with desolate Gobi desert, scorched by the scorching sun. Traffic on the highway was sparse, save for the occasional large container truck approaching from the opposite direction.
Jiang Wan was wearing a sun-protective straw hat and leaning against the passenger window, as if he was asleep and not moving.
"Jiang Wan." A voice called her from the side.
She raised her head slightly, then pretended not to hear and continued in the same posture.
Seeing her obviously pretending to be asleep, Lu Jiyu sighed deeply in his heart: "Jiang Wan." He lowered his voice and called her again.
"My navigation phone is running out of battery. Can you help me find the charging cable and charge it?"
After three seconds of silence.
"Where is the charging cable?" Jiang Wan raised the brim of his hat and looked at him. His eyes were clear without a trace of sleepiness.
"It should be in the armrest box. Please help me look for it."
While she was looking down for something, Lu Jiyu quickly spoke: "What happened just now was my fault."
"Found it." Jiang Wan pretended not to hear. He took the phone he had placed on the center console, plugged it in, and continued, "I think what you said just now is very right."
"It's true that I didn't think it through."
Then they were silent all the way until they arrived at the hotel where Jiang Wan and the others were staying.
Li Mu and his group were already waiting in the hotel lobby.
"Lu Jiyu, your driving skills are not good enough. You just arrived at this time."
Chen Meiyun followed behind and explained for him: "Don't blame him, we were delayed on the way to buy local specialties."
"I knew it was you." Zhou Zifang, who was busy playing with his phone on the sofa nearby, did not forget to jump out and retort.
Because there were so many people around, Chen Meiyu just rolled her eyes at him and took Jiang Wan's arm to go upstairs to put the luggage.
We had dinner together in the evening. The restaurant was a local restaurant famous for its cold-water fish.
Li Mu and Zhou Zifang trailed behind, planning to smoke before entering the store. Li Mu had spent years abroad, hanging out with a crowd of skilled smokers and drinkers, and over time, he'd picked up the habit. But since returning to China, he'd been putting on a good front. His grandfather died of lung cancer, so no one in his family dared smoke in front of his grandmother, lest anyone smoke on the spot. He hadn't had much time to smoke during the drive, so now he was feeling the urge.
Zhou Zifang can smoke, but not often, and he doesn’t like it.
It was almost nine in the evening, and the sky was still bright. The two stood under a roadside tree, watching the traffic for a while. After smoking half a cigarette in silence, Li Mu couldn't help but ask, "What's the matter with Lu Jiyu suddenly coming to Xinjiang?"
Zhou Zifang was rolling around aimlessly, grinding a small stone under his feet. When he heard Li Mu's question, he smiled, then choked on the smoke he had just inhaled. He covered his mouth and coughed twice before speaking in a hoarse voice, "Why don't you ask him?"
"You think I haven't asked?"
Lu Jiyu's mouth is like a bank safe, it can't be pried open at all.
"It can't be really for Jiang Wan, right? Being nice to someone without any status is not like Lu Beibei's style." Li Mu was still guessing.
Zhou Zifang frowned, pouted, and slowly took another puff of his cigarette: "Of course not."
Li Mu couldn't stand his pretentious look: "I said I just smoked a cigarette, can you be more normal? If I smoked this cigarette, I would feel like I was molested."
"Go away, you know who I just learned from? Chow Yun-fat!"
Li Mu had a headache: "You'd better not learn from anyone else and just be your Zhou Bajie."
Zhou Zifang immediately jumped up and down: "Can we still chat? If not, I'll go upstairs."
"Okay, okay, I was wrong." Li Mu stopped the man with a flexible attitude: "Tell me what you know."
"Although Lu Jiyu really likes Jiang Wan, from what I've observed, he would never have a secret relationship with someone. You know that what he hates most since he was a child is ambiguity. And you know what—"
Li Mu couldn't stand his suspense any more: "If you have something to say, please tell me now!"
“Tsk.”
"Can you be more civilized?" Zhou Zifang kicked him. "I've noticed recently that Lu Jiyu seems to be flirting with new girls."
"What?" Li Mu was shocked. "Lu Beibei, are you saying that if a tree doesn't bloom, thousands of pear trees will bloom? You're kidding me."
"What nonsense! Seriously."
"He's been chatting with someone on WeChat lately named 'Shuijiao is a little sweet'. Just look at the name, you can tell it's a girl."
"Is this true?" Li Mu still couldn't accept it: "Lu Jiyu doesn't seem like that kind of person."
"What do you know?" Zhou Zifang nodded in a pretentious manner. "Lu Beibei finally got it. If he has a face like that and wants to do pure love, he should just be a scumbag, okay?"
…
After a long day of traveling, no one was in the mood to talk during dinner. Lu Jiyu, in particular, barely spoke a word and ate very little.
He had already put down his chopsticks while others were still eating. Zhou Zifang, who was sitting next to him, kept looking back and forth between Lu Jiyu and Jiang Wan, who was sitting opposite him. He realized that the two of them had not said a word during the meal, and they didn't even make eye contact.
Is there really no hope?
Lu Jiyu put down his chopsticks and leaned back in his chair, holding his phone and starting to type. You could tell he was chatting with someone without even looking. Zhou Zifang pretended to be very casual and gave Li Mu, who was sitting closer to Lu Jiyu, a look: Why don't you take a look?
Unfortunately, Ji Yu noticed him halfway.
He placed his phone upside down on the table, tapped the surface with his index finger, and looked at them with a cold expression: "What are you two flirting with behind my back?"
Lu Jiyu had a straight face and sharp eyes, and when his expression was completely cold, he had a kind of righteous and awe-inspiring aura. So Zhou Zifang had always believed that he was particularly suitable for joining the judicial system and becoming a handsome judge.
People with a guilty conscience will speak faster: "No, really not." Li Mu quickly laughed it off: "Don't think too much. I just noticed that your appetite seems to be poor today, so as a brother, I am concerned."
On the other side, Jiang Wan was eating fish seriously. Chen Meiyun reminded her, "Your phone vibrated several times. Did your dad send you a WeChat message? Do you want to check it out?"
Jiang Wan didn't even raise her head: "It's okay, I'll reply to his message when I get back."
It was already eleven o'clock when Lu Jiyu finished eating. Jiang Wan and the others returned to the hotel. They were going to Hemu the next day. Chen Meiyu was looking at the travel arrangements for Hemu on her phone. "I want to go horseback riding or watch the sunrise from the observation deck."
Dong Lin listened and sighed angrily: "I was going to watch the sunrise with my boyfriend, but now I almost lose my boyfriend."
"No, then no, the next one will be better." Chen Meiyu patted her shoulder and said, "I'm telling you, you can't have a hypocritical man. He can't do this or that. What else can I do with him, right?"
"I hope so."
It wasn't until they reached the hotel entrance, just before getting off the car, that Jiang Wan said the first words to Lu Jiyu tonight: "What time do we leave tomorrow?"
"Yes, what time?" Chen Meiyu in the back row also leaned over and asked.
Lu Jiyu put one hand on the steering wheel and grabbed his phone from the center console with the other. He opened his schedule and took a look. "How about 8:30?"
"good."
"Jiang Wan—" Lu Jiyu suddenly called out to the man who was about to close the car door. The man glanced at him and asked, "What's wrong?"
The two people in the back seat who were about to get off the car were also frozen by his sudden shout, staring at Lu Jiyu with curiosity.
"Gao Zhuo sent me a message saying he wants to talk to you and asked you to send him a WeChat message when you have time."
Jiang Wan: ...
"Do you think Lu Jiyu is in a bad mood today?" As soon as they entered the hotel, Chen Meiyu grabbed Jiang Wan and complained to her.
"Why?" Jiang Wan was checking WeChat on her phone and found that Gao Zhuo had actually sent her a message.
Gao Lego: Jiang Wan, I passed by your studio again today. Teacher Jiang secretly dyed her hair. Attached two smirking emojis.
Jiang Wan clicked on the photo he posted below.
The photo was secretly taken from outside. Jiang Huainan was sitting on a recliner behind the glass door, his arms and legs raised, looking very comfortable. With the tuft of light brown hair on his head, he looked like the second-in-command of a family with land.
It is not surprising that Jiang Huainan likes to dye his hair.
In his youth, he was an artistic man. He attended an art academy, where his uninhibited and unbridled air flourished. With his polo shirt collar turned up and his hair shiny with pomade, he'd paint and write poetry by the campus lake—a truly delightful experience. If it weren't for Jiang Sheng's mishap, Jiang Huainan's ambition would have been crushed. After graduation, he returned home and hastily found a teaching job. He then went on a blind date and married Li Wan, then spent years as a coward and a constant source of arguments.
"Oh my god, your dad dyed his hair? I've never seen that before!" Chen Meiyu came over to talk to Jiang Wan and happened to glance at the photo on her phone.
Jiang Wan turned off his phone: "So you see, as long as I don't keep an eye on him for a day, he will let himself go."
Dong Lin was also curious: "I thought the father of the academic master would be an old scholar, but I didn't expect him to be a trendy guy."
Jiang Wan smiled but didn't respond. He was still thinking about the photo and the blurry female figure in the floral shirt in the corner of the photo.
Arriving at the hotel room, Chen Meiyun put down her luggage and immediately rushed to the bathroom. Seeing her anxious look, Jiang Wan asked at the door with concern: "What's wrong?"
Sure enough, a mournful sigh came from inside: "Wanzi, my aunt is here early!"
"I don't have any sanitary napkins, do you have any?"
Jiang Wan and Dong Lin's menstrual period had just ended, so they didn't bring this thing with them.
"Put some paper under it first, I'll go downstairs and show you." Jiang Wan remembered that when Lu Jiyu sent them back, she saw a small shop next to the hotel.
"Oh my god, you're so nice."
"Love you, buy me some sleep pants! Thank you!"
"knew."
Jiang Wan took out her phone and room card and went downstairs. It was almost midnight and there were almost no people in the hotel lobby. There was only one staff member on duty at the front desk. She smiled slightly when she saw Jiang Wan.
Jiang Wan walked out of the door and turned to the small shop next to him. Just as he was about to step into the door, he almost bumped into someone who was about to walk out of the door.
Lu Jiyu was carrying two bags in one hand and a mobile phone in the other, seemingly sending a WeChat message. Sure enough, the next second, Jiang Wan's phone vibrated slightly.
The two looked up and looked at each other. It turned out that the letter was sent to her.
Jiang Wan leaned over and looked directly at Lu Jiyu's phone screen: "What did you send me?"
——Are you going to ignore me in this life?
He didn't feel anything when typing it, but when the person involved read it out loud in public, even though Lu Jiyu was used to seeing so many storms, he couldn't hold back his expression.
He turned off his phone and changed the subject very deliberately: "Are you coming down to buy something?"
"Buy sanitary napkins."
"Are you on your period?" Lu Jiyu grabbed Jiang Wan who was about to enter the store.
Jiang Wan looked around and said deliberately, "Aren't you afraid of being seen?"
"I was the one who made a fuss this morning. I was wrong." Lu Jiyu knew that she had ignored him for most of the day because of this matter, and he himself was upset and had been out of his element the whole day. He had just reflected on himself and wondered why he was being so pretentious when the atmosphere was so good.
Seeing that Jiang Wan still didn't say anything, Lu Jiyu couldn't help but pinch her face directly: "How long are you going to be angry about such a small thing? You're making me so angry that I'm dying. You want to seamlessly move on to the next 'first love', right?"
Jiang Wan had just washed her face when she came down, and now it was as smooth and tender as a freshly peeled egg. Lu Jiyu pinched it twice and couldn't let it go.
Jiang Wan tilted her head and pretended to bite his hand. Lu Jiyu smiled and rubbed her chin before stopping: "You are such a dog."
"Then what are you?"
“I’m a dog lover.”
"So, may I ask what's the matter with this dog lover who stopped me on the road?"
"I have sanitary napkins in my car, come with me to get them."
Jiang Wan deliberately showed a look of shock: "You also use sanitary napkins?"
Jiang Wan is just like that. She has a gentle, quiet, and well-behaved face, and with her bangs, she can definitely channel the sweet girl vibe. To those unfamiliar with her, she's quiet and reserved, making others think she's aloof. But once you get to know her, you realize she's always got a little mischief hidden within her, occasionally popping up to annoy you, and yet you can't really do anything about it.
"What do you want today, Wanzai Wharf?" Lu Jiyu was so angry that he laughed, and was about to put down what he was holding and have a good talk with her. Seeing that he was about to get serious, Jiang Wan was very tactful and waved her hand to admit her mistake: "I was wrong, don't be angry. I know you don't need sanitary napkins anymore."
"Do you want to say more?" Lu Jiyu stretched out his hand, grabbed Jiang Wan's neck and pulled her into his arms.
The two of them quarreled for a while, and Jiang Wan thought that Chen Meiyun was still waiting for her, so she hurriedly urged Lu Jiyu: "Okay, Chen Meiyun is waiting for me."
Lu Jiyu's car was parked opposite the hotel entrance. The two of them walked around to the trunk of the car and asked, "What do you want?"
"What? You have everything I want? Do you run a convenience store?"
Lu Jiyu took out a black backpack from the trunk: "Take a look for yourself." He opened the zipper and pushed the bag in front of Jiang Wan.
He had everything for day and night, and even a pack of pajamas. Jiang Wan contentedly picked out two packs and asked, "Why did you bring all this?"
Lu Jiyu placed one hand on the trunk lid and looked at her with half-closed eyelids: "Well, maybe I really will use it myself."
Seeing that he was about to get angry again, Jiang Wan quickly coaxed him: "Okay, don't be angry, let me show you a photo of my dad dyeing his hair."
Lu Jiyu looked uninterested, but when Jiang Wanzhen took out his phone, he still cooperated and took a look: "Teacher Jiang is quite fashionable."
He commented pertinently.
"Did my dad always act serious when he was teaching your class?"
"Let me tell you, this is his first time teaching your class, and it's a key class. He's incredibly nervous every day when he gets home, preparing lessons until midnight. Sometimes he even asks me to act out the troublesome student, so he can simulate dealing with me, you know?"
"Fortunately, he only worked there for two months." Jiang Wan said as he walked forward, and Lu Jiyu followed behind him. He was about to say something when the person in front of him suddenly turned around, opened the back door and stuffed Lu Jiyu into the car without saying a word.
"What happened—" He was about to ask when Jiang Wan came in with the two bags of sanitary napkins in her hands. "Hurry, hurry, get your head down. Dong Lin is coming down. He's right in front of the hotel."
Jiang Wan pressed Lu Jiyu's head down, pushing him down without even noticing. She crouched down, only her eyes visible as she watched—Dong Lin came out of the hotel, wandered around the canteen, and then came out again.
It looks like he is looking for Jiang Wan.
Sure enough, the next second Jiang Wan's cell phone in his trouser pocket vibrated.
"Hello." She calmed her breath and quickly picked up the phone.
"Jiang Wan, where have you been for so long? Chen Meiyun was worried and asked me to come down to check on you."
"It's okay, I just went out to buy some things and I'm about to take a taxi back now."
"Oh, then when will you be back? Do you want me to wait for you downstairs?"
"No, it will be there in four or five minutes."
Dong Lin felt relieved after hearing this: "But Jiang Wan, I think I saw Lu Jiyu's car is still here. Is he still here?"
These words made Jiang Wan lean down again. She was almost touching Lu Jiyu, with her chin hanging on Lu Jiyu's shoulder. The breath she exhaled when she spoke was almost on his neck, making Lu Jiyu feel hot and itchy, and the key point was that there was nowhere to hide.
"I don't know. Maybe he has something else to do. I'm going to take a taxi, so I'll hang up first." Jiang Wan hung up the phone without getting up. She looked down at the person who was pressed under her and looked unhappy. Suddenly, some bad ideas came to her mind.
"Are you not getting up yet?" Lu Jiyu couldn't see out the window and could only look at her.
"No." Jiang Wan shook his head: "Dong Lin hasn't left yet."
Lu Jiyu stared at her half-believingly and half-doubtingly: "Are you kidding me? My legs are going to be numb from being squeezed." He was about 1.8 meters tall, and it was indeed not very comfortable for him to have a pair of long legs curled up in the back seat.
"Is it only your legs that are numb?" Jiang Wan stared into his eyes, then slowly lowered her head and whispered in his ear. The gentle, lingering words were like a slippery little snake, instantly slithering down the ear canal and all the way to the heart.
Lu Jiyu instinctively raised his hand to support her waist, but quickly put it down. The dark carriage effectively hid the patience and repression that flashed across his eyes at that moment.
The hotel parking lot is close to the road, and occasionally a car honking its horn will pass by quickly from behind.
Other than that it was quiet.
It was so quiet that only the sound of breathing and the thumping of a racing heart could be heard. It was hard to tell whose it was, but it didn't matter. The air in the sealed compartment rapidly depleted with their breathing, the effects of the carbon dioxide gradually taking effect.
In a daze, Lu Jiyu heard the person on his body speaking in his ear again.
"Pure and innocent high school boy, do you want a kiss?"
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