Chapter 31
Lu Jiyu stood in front of the door and entered the password. At the same time, he was very aware of theft prevention and used one hand to cover the input pad so that no one could see it.
"Why are you here?" Lu Jiyu's handsome face, expressionless, had a rather intimidating aloofness. He pushed the door open and walked in, casually placing the remaining coffee cup on the shoe cabinet at the entrance.
"I was just passing by. Do you believe it?" Jiang Wan glanced at his right hand. He was wearing a light blue shirt and dark grey casual pants. It was refreshing, but there was always a sense of decadence that was hard to describe.
Lu Jiyu went straight to the bathroom after entering. He was in a hurry to go out today and hadn't done much to clean up his face. With his experience from last time in mind, he turned on the air conditioner in the living room before going in, then pointed to the sofa with his chin as a gesture of hospitality. This wasn't Jiang Wan's first time at Lu Jiyu's house, but it was the first time she took a good look around. The general layout of the room was similar to her previous one, except for the floor-standing air conditioner next to the TV cabinet and the two skis stacked in the corner next to the dining table.
Lu Jiyu cleaned it briefly, a few drops of water still clinging to his chin, leaving him feeling damp and refreshing. He saw Jiang Wan staring at his skis and went to the kitchen. There were still a few bottles of lime juice left in the fridge, but this brand was quite sour, and he wasn't sure if Jiang Wan would be comfortable with it.
Then I changed my mind and decided to not care whether she was used to drinking or not, or whether she wanted to drink or not.
Jiang Wan took the drink from Lu Jiyu and asked casually, "Did you buy this air conditioner yourself?"
Lu Jiyu sat down on the sofa next to her and looked at her with a tired look, wondering why she was so interested in the air conditioner in his house. "Yes, it turns out there's no air conditioner in the living room."
Jiang Wan took a sip of lime juice, frowned slightly, and looked like he wanted to say something but hesitated.
Lu Jiyi thought she was not used to it and was about to say, "Don't drink it, I'll get you some water," but Jiang Wan swallowed it and quickly drank two more sips.
"It tastes good, but it doesn't taste the same as what I used to drink." Jiang Wan stared at the bottle for a while and said, "It's because it's expired."
She said it very seriously. If Lu Jiyu hadn't just seen the expiration date in the kitchen, he might have believed it. He said indifferently: "Well, if you get sick from eating it, it's my fault. I'll pay for it."
"I thought you would believe it." Jiang Wan rested his palm on his chin and pointed at the air conditioner: "I remember the landlord said you were renting it short-term. If it's inconvenient to take the air conditioner away when you move out, you can consider me."
Lu Jiyu: Very good, so this is what you came for.
Jiang Wan saw that Lu Jiyu looked at him with a bit of coldness in his eyes, and hurriedly explained: "I'm not saying that I want to take advantage of you for nothing. I'm saying that I should buy it back at the market price. The air conditioner in our studio has been used for many years and has been having minor problems. It's time to replace it with a new one."
Lu Jiyu leaned his head back on the sofa, holding the black TV remote control in his hand, changing channels aimlessly. His face was tense, and his usually cold and pale skin was now a bit pale with fatigue.
The TV station is broadcasting the weather forecast, and there will be a new round of temperature rise next week. The fiery red temperature sign is announcing that the hot summer is really just around the corner.
"You waited at my door all afternoon just to steal my air conditioner?" Lu Jiyu's voice was even colder than his face. Jiang Wan had seen him being so careless and relaxed, and she felt that this made him closer to his true self.
Lu Jiyu seemed to be really angry and started to speak without restraint.
"I'm so sorry, I plan to keep this air conditioner. When I get married, I'll put it in my wedding room and use it for my wife."
I didn't expect that this guy would spend money lavishly on himself, but be frugal with his future wife.
"You're thinking too far ahead. Will your wife only be able to use your second-hand air conditioner in the future? Wouldn't it be a waste of money to marry you then?"
I'm not asking you to marry me, so whether it's cost-effective or not has anything to do with you?
Lu Jiyu glanced at her lazily. "Love is enough to satisfy one's hunger. Haven't you heard of this? I think you're a little unromantic."
Jiang Wan felt that what he said was both right and wrong.
"It's indeed very romantic for you to make a video to bid farewell to the teacher, but if it were me, I would definitely mobilize my classmates to donate money to him."
"Does romance and practicality have to be ranked? Everyone just takes what they need."
"Haven't you heard the saying, 'There's no pain that can't be relieved by ibuprofen, and no sadness that can't be relieved by enema?'"
Lu Jiyu was drinking lime juice and almost spit out his mouth when he heard her say this: "Can you be more tactful in your words?"
"You're planning to give your wife a second-hand air conditioner, and you're still going to ask me to be more tactful?"
Lu Jiyu leaned over and took a tissue to wipe his mouth: "Stop chasing me. I won't give you this air conditioner anyway."
"So in the final analysis, only your wife can use your air conditioner?" Jiang Wan made a closing statement for him.
Lu Jiyu turned on the TV like a slideshow and said casually, "Don't tell me you'd sell your dignity for an air conditioner."
Jiang Wan shook his head firmly: "That's not the case. Second-hand ones are not acceptable, but I can consider first-hand ones."
Lu Juyu: ...To be honest, he was a little suspicious that Jiang Wan had been deceived by a fortune teller who told her that she lacked air conditioning in her life, so that was why she was so indomitable.
On the other side, Jiang Wan was really fed up with his slide-like speed of changing channels. After he could no longer bear it, he pointed at a picture that was about to flash by on the TV and said to Lu Jiyu bluntly, "Don't change it, I want to watch this."
Then Lu Jiyu really didn't move.
He tilted his head to look at Jiang Wan, and there was a hint of helplessness in his sleepy eyes.
An advertisement for a hospital specializing in treating male infertility is being shown on TV.
Apollo Men's Hospital! Relieve your long-held secrets! Everyone who comes here says it's great!
At the end of the ad, five foreign men agreed to make a "V" sign to the camera.
Jiang Wan hadn't remembered it at first, but when he saw these five skinny white men, his sense of familiarity suddenly increased.
"I have an uncle who has been infertile for many years after marriage. He went to this hospital for treatment after seeing this advertisement. Do you know what the result was?" Jiang Wan's face was full of interest after watching the advertisement.
Lu Jiyu had actually been very cautious about the offbeat topic Jiang Wan had brought up, but in this situation, he couldn't ignore her either. He could only reluctantly agree with her, "It's definitely not that great."
"You know that too." Jiang Wan nodded. "That uncle went to their hospital for an ultrasound, and the ultrasound report showed that he was four months pregnant. They even found out the sex of the baby, and it was a boy."
Lu Jiyu grabbed the pillow from the sofa and hugged it in his arms. He pulled the corners of his mouth together as if trying to smile, and said flatteringly, "Isn't this a miracle doctor? He cured it in no time."
Jiang Wan looked at his right hand distractedly again: "Yeah, that's what I advised him at the time, but ended up getting scolded by my dad."
Lu Jiyu nodded, "Hmm," then, as if he'd thought of something, he picked up his phone and fiddled with it for a while. Soon, the screen of Jiang Wan's phone, which was on the coffee table, lit up. She picked it up, glanced at it, then tilted her head to look at Lu Jiyu: "Is the video finished?"
Lu Jiyu gave her a look that meant very clearly: Why, isn't this why you came here?
He had been outside the police station yesterday, exposed to the cold wind for a while, and hadn't slept well when he got home. Now, he began to feel a headache. He handed the remote control to Jiang Wan, his voice a little hoarse: "Turn it up if you want to watch it."
He planned to go to the kitchen and cook something hot to cool himself down.
"And." Lu Jiyu stood up, but he couldn't help but look down at Jiang Wan: "Why do you keep staring at my right hand today?"
He went on to talk to himself: "Is it because I blocked you yesterday that you feel guilty?"
"Not really. I'm a very charitable person. Anyone who knows me knows that." Lu Jiyu's tone was flat, and no emotion could be heard. If Zhou Zifang were here, he would definitely say two words to him: loading.
Jiang Wan wanted to remind him that "helping others" should be more appropriate than "being kind and generous," after all, the latter sounded like sending alms to beggars. But before she could open her mouth, a new message came in on her phone. Lu Jiyu was waiting for her to speak, but she lowered her head and started chatting with someone on WeChat, completely ignoring him. Lu Jiyu hadn't intended to check her chat box, but the person's WeChat font was the old-fashioned one, and the three words above the chat box were so large that Lu Jiyu couldn't ignore them.
It’s Chen Wulin.
Lu Jiyu has always been a person who is good at seeking benefits and avoiding risks. For example, when he was a child, he would easily get a lump in his throat when eating fish, and once he was even sent to the hospital. So no matter how much he likes eating fish, he basically won't touch it again.
But when it comes to Jiang Wan, he always remembers the food but not the beating.
No matter how much others whisper in his ears, Chen Wulin and Jiang Wan are just ordinary friends, but how ordinary can they be when they grew up together?
Jiang Wan was halfway through her WeChat reply when she realized Lu Jiyu was still standing next to her. Seeing him with a sullen expression as if he was about to leave, she explained while typing, "This is a message from Chen Wulin, the guy who had barbecue with me yesterday. He's from the same school as Zhou Zifang."
"He came home late yesterday, and his mom was a little angry. She was worried that he was out fooling around, so he came to me and asked me to explain to his mom."
Why are you telling me so much? Are you worried that I will misunderstand?
Lu Jiyu took his leg back after taking it forward.
He also heard some clues here. Lu Jiyu rolled his Adam's apple and asked in a nonchalant tone, "Is their family so strict?"
Then he thought of another thing. When the police arrived yesterday, Jiang Wan's first reaction was to let him go first.
Jiang Wan nodded without even looking up: "Yes, that's why I asked him to leave yesterday. Otherwise, if he really went to the police station with us, his mother would have torn down the police station if she knew about it."
Of course, Jiang Wan was exaggerating.
But given Chen Hong's personality, it's not impossible for her to do so. Although she looks normal most of the time, when she becomes hysterical, perhaps only Li Wan can fight her.
That's why Jiang Wan occasionally sympathized with Chen Wulin. She felt that his weakness, his retreat, and even his inherent suspicion were all due to his mother. But everyone has their own karma, and intervening in others' affairs is equivalent to destroying yourself.
After sending the message, Jiang Wan also stood up from the sofa. She lowered her head and took out a small glass bottle from her black backpack. It was filled with a light brown thick liquid that looked a bit creepy.
"I researched online for a long time yesterday." She handed the item to Lu Jiyu. "It says there are two possible outcomes for a condition like yours: a fracture or a hematoma."
"But I see you can move your hand, so there's no fracture. This traumatic oil is what my dad uses all the time. His hands are always injured for unknown reasons. He's used it a lot, and this one works the best. It's pretty hard to buy, though. I found a master craftsman who painstakingly mixed it. He always kept it hidden and didn't want to use it. Luckily, he was traveling recently, so I turned his bedroom upside down yesterday and finally found it."
Lu Jiyu watched Jiang Wan carefully and methodically introduce the usage and efficacy of the medicine to him. From last night until just now, the small, nameless but annoying flame that had been flickering in his heart suddenly went out.
Jiang Wan spoke carefully for a long time, and at the end he added: "By the way, don't throw away the rest of yours."
Lu Jiyi thought she wanted him to return it to her if he couldn't use it all: "I'll send it back to you then?"
But in fact, Jiang Wan had another idea in mind.
"No, no, no." Jiang Wan shook his head: "You don't have to return it to me. When the time comes, you can put it on the second-hand trading platform, and I'll ask my dad to buy it. I'll give you a share of the commission. How about it?"
Lu Jiyu: Did anyone say that?
＊
The kitchen in this house was a bit small, barely enough for one person to maneuver around in. Lu Jiyu dug out a bag of frozen glutinous rice balls from the refrigerator and checked them carefully before cooking to make sure they weren't Longjing flavored.
Jiang Wan leaned against the kitchen door frame, holding a phone, watching the video he had edited. "You made all those dozens of cat photos I took into footers and put them on every scene of the video?"
Even though she knew Lu Jiyu was incredibly thoughtful, she still admired his ingenuity. She had always thought it didn't matter if he wasn't romantic. After all, when she was in fourth grade, she had once spent all her money to buy Li Wan a silk scarf from a boutique across the street as a Mother's Day gift, but she hadn't shown the slightest bit of joy or emotion.
Jiang Wan could still recall the indignant look in Li Wan's eyes when he looked at her. "This polyester stuff can be bought for a hundred yuan a dozen at the wholesale market. Tell me how much you spent on it, five hundred? Jiang Wan, are you crazy? Can you use it for something useful?"
So romance is useless.
This is a concept that has been deeply rooted in her since childhood.
Lu Jiyu slowly stirred the dozens of white glutinous rice balls in the pot with a spatula. White steam rose up and surrounded him, casting a very foggy filter: "Didn't you say this is your senior sister? You can neglect anyone but not your senior sister."
This filter made Jiang Wan feel that there was an indescribable gentleness in his words.
It was quite troublesome to shrink each cat photo and then add some cute elements, but Lu Jiyu thought Jiang Wan must like this cat very much. She took more than 80 photos of the cat but didn't take any photos of herself.
Jiang Wan put down his phone and asked the same question he had asked before through a thin layer of steam: "Lu Jiyu, which school do you plan to go to after the college entrance examination?"
Chen Meiyu had told her before that the undergraduate admission rate of German Middle School was very low. Most of the rich kids in the school went abroad to study in some shabby schools. After returning to China with a seemingly respectable reputation, they would ask their families to arrange a job for them and everything would be fine.
Therefore, Chen Meiyu guessed that Lu Ji would definitely go abroad in the future.
Jiang Wan asked her why she was so sure.
"Look, it's almost the college entrance exam, and he's still not going to school every other day. There are only two reasons. One is that he's crazy, studying like crazy. But Lu Jiyu looks quite normal, so he's probably not crazy. So he must be the second one, that is, he already has a place to stay."
"It seems that many people in your school will choose to go abroad."
"What about you? Do you have any plans in this regard?"
…
Lu Jiyu thought that it was impossible to go abroad.
But his dumplings will be out of the pot soon.
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