Chapter 26. He really only looked at her.
Chapter Twenty-Six: He truly only looked at her.
Seeing his boss holding Lin Su's hand, Xu Yaodong, confused, stopped in his tracks and instinctively turned to leave. Zhou Yunqi asked impatiently, "What is it now?"
Lin Su pulled her hand away and squeezed her fingers, which had been gripped so tightly. Her cheeks flushed, she returned to the table and took a large gulp of water.
Hearing Xu Yaodong say, "It's nothing serious, I just wanted to ask if we'd be going home early today."
Zhou Yunqi said, "If you want to go back, take a ride back and check on the farm while you're there. I'm not going back this early."
Xu Yaodong nodded, feeling increasingly superfluous, and said, "Then I'll take the delivery truck back; there's one waiting for me."
Upon hearing this, Lin Su said, "I also want to go back as soon as possible."
Zhou Yunqi immediately rejected this suggestion: "You stay here first. We still need to discuss buying tickets and see what your childhood friend says."
Xu Yaodong couldn't be happier, and ran off in a flash.
Lin Su was left in the office, looking at Zhou Yunqi with great confusion: "But, after what you just said, are there any discounts or not? And why are you going back to Beijing? Even with discounts, buying two plane tickets would be too expensive."
Zhou Yunqi smiled at her: "How ambitious! Why are you always so concerned about money?"
"Of course I care about money even though I don't have any," Lin Su said anxiously. "I've already spent a lot of your money, and I don't know when I'll be able to pay it all back."
Zhou Yunqi suddenly called her name seriously: "Susu".
Lin Su looked up and stared at his solemn face. Realizing she had said too much, she had no choice but to shut her mouth.
Talking about money with him seems destined to be a vulgar thing, as if it would drag their relationship down into vulgarity.
But is their relationship really just that of innocent fellow villagers? Does he really only see her as a vulnerable person he needs to take care of?
Lin Su sighed inwardly and stared at him in a daze.
Zhou Yunqi then revealed that he had returned to the capital because of his father's matter.
There was definitely a reason. That old fox had been keeping quiet and only teasing her, making her almost think he was just trying to send her back to the capital. That would have been too costly.
Lin Su nodded and said, "In that case, let's go back."
He also regained his usual serious expression: "We'll wait for my friend's phone call to confirm the details, and then we'll head back to Beijing."
Lin Su obediently replied, "Okay."
The office suddenly fell silent. Zhou Yunqi sat opposite him, reading the newspaper, and said in a light tone, "From now on, don't always worry about money. Even if you don't have it now, you will in the future. Always talking about money, really, you have no ambition at all."
Lin Su muttered under her breath, "That's because you're rich."
"Who told you I'm rich?" His gaze was fixed on the newspaper, his tone leisurely. "Just supporting you and sending you to college, how much money could that cost?"
Lin Su looked up at him intently: "Send me to university?"
Zhou Yunqi looked over and raised the corners of his mouth: "What, do you have money to go to college? Or are you hoping your stepmother will pay for it?"
Lin Su was annoyed. She sat up straighter and said confidently, "After I graduate from university, I will work and earn money."
He looked at me with a smile: "Sure, I'm waiting for you to earn money to support me in the future."
Feeling that the conversation was getting out of hand, Lin Su got up and said she was going out for a bit.
Just as he stepped out the door, the phone rang again, and Zhou Yunqi answered it.
Jin Yucheng said, "I mentioned your situation to my uncle, and he said that since you are his partner, you are considered half a family member, so he will approve it in the same way."
"My boyfriend?" Zhou Yunqi laughed. "You actually got it wrong?"
Jin Yucheng said casually, "I just went with the flow and saved you some money. When you come back, you'll have to treat me to a nice meal."
They are scheduled to return to Beijing on the third day of the Lunar New Year, at which time Xu Yaodong will drive them to the provincial capital airport to catch their flight.
Lin Su had no objection to these arrangements, and at four o'clock in the afternoon, they returned to the farm.
Just as Lin Su had imagined, the atmosphere on the farm was filled with joy. The thing they had been looking forward to day and night had finally come true, and as educated youth, no one was not happy.
However, they didn't go home immediately. Firstly, tickets home were hard to buy, and secondly, they were tied up with the party.
The female educated youths did not go back to work, and continued to practice their program with Lin Su the next day.
On the morning of New Year's Eve, all the educated youth rested and were busy setting up the stage.
The stage was located on one side of the courtyard, one meter higher than the ground. A wall was built using the terrain, covered with cement, and two pillars were erected. In the past, when movies were shown, the screen was also hung on these two pillars.
They brought over electrical wires, moved the farm's sound equipment, and strung up two wires to hang a screen and a banner that read "Happy Chinese New Year."
Knowing that this was his last Spring Festival as an educated youth, one of the male educated youths, who was good at calligraphy, thought for a moment and added four more words: "Celebrating the return to the city."
Everyone put up the couplets, hung up the banners, and even hung up a few lanterns...
Lin Su stood below the stage, looking at the banner that read "Happy Chinese New Year, Celebrating Returning to the City," and heard them joke, "Now it really feels like the New Year is coming. Before, we didn't know when we would be able to go back, so we didn't really feel anything about the New Year."
Some people also said, "It feels like a dream."
Xu Yaodong ran over to get the rice cereal, intending to go to the farm manager's office to put up couplets.
As soon as he left, a male educated youth who was pulling electrical wires asked, "The farm manager shouldn't be going back to the city so soon, right?"
Accountant Li said, "No, I overheard the old factory director saying the other day that the factory director can only leave after paying off all those debts."
"What debt?"
“He borrowed money from the bank to expand the sugar factory’s production scale,” Accountant Li said. “The agreement he signed with the bank stipulated that he had to pay it off during his tenure. In other words, if he didn’t pay it off, he couldn’t leave.”
"How much longer will it take to pay it back?"
"I don't know, it will take at least three to five years, depending on the sugar factory's performance."
Lin Su froze. Was that really the case? So he really couldn't return to the capital.
Feeling a chill run down their spines, they called out, "Manager."
Lin Su turned her head and looked over. Zhou Yunqi strolled over, glanced at the banner hanging there, then looked at Lin Su's face and laughed, "What's wrong? You look like you've swallowed a fly."
Lin Su awkwardly called out, "Manager."
"Hmm," he said softly, "Is the dance all ready?"
Lin Su suppressed her sadness and nodded.
"It's up to you tonight."
Lin Su forced a smile, her heart aching even more. She always felt that even if he couldn't let go here for the time being, he would eventually go back. She just hadn't expected that this wasn't a voluntary choice, but rather a forced bondage here.
The results may seem the same, but the feelings and the nature of the experience are different.
He boasted back then, saying he didn't want the sugar factory anymore and could just give it up, but he knew he couldn't actually give it up.
_
At 5 p.m., everyone ate New Year's Eve dinner together, and the farm manager and deputy farm manager gave everyone a red envelope.
After finishing their meal, Lin Su and her teammates changed into their costumes and did some simple makeup. Lin Su bought all the cosmetics herself. According to the program schedule, Lin Su's solo dance was scheduled for the opening, so she would wear Dai ethnic costume first, while the other teammates would change into Bai ethnic costumes first.
She wasn't used to people watching her change clothes, so she kicked everyone else out of the dormitory.
As soon as the door opened, all the girls screamed "Wow!"
This is so beautiful!
Lin Su said, "Help me fix my hair and put it up in a bun."
When Sun Xiaoqing finished styling her hair, she asked, "Do you want to wear a flower in your hair? I've noticed that Dai girls like to wear flowers in their hair."
Lin Su shook her head: "No need, simple is best."
She hummed in agreement: "Anyway, you're pretty enough, so you don't need to wear flowers in your hair. What's that poem again? Something about hibiscus?"
Lin Su: "Like a lotus emerging from clear water, naturally beautiful without any artifice?"
"Yes! You're the smartest one."
Wang Ping came over to urge her, and upon seeing Lin Su, she exclaimed repeatedly, "Oh my god, she's so beautiful! She'll be stunning on stage!"
He grabbed her hand rudely and said, "Hurry up and go, it's about to start. The tables, chairs, benches, melon seeds, and peanuts are all set up. People from other production teams and some villagers have also come. There are so many people, it's so lively. You need to lock the door."
In the dim light of the night, a large crowd gathered, and Lin Su was led backstage. The curtain rose, the lights came on, and the host, Wang Ping, and her husband, Accountant Li, appeared on stage, microphones in hand, to begin their presentation.
After a series of opening remarks, Wang Ping said, "Next, please enjoy the first program, the Dai ethnic dance 'There is a Beautiful Place,' performed by Lin Su."
The lights went out, and the person in charge of pulling the curtain closed it. Lin Su stood in the middle of the stage and struck a pose.
As the curtain was drawn back, the audience could vaguely see a soft, curved figure.
With a snap, the lights came on.
The audience erupted in uproar.
A beautiful dress, graceful movements, and a bright face... All eyes were drawn to the beautiful and elegant girl on the stage, and those who didn't know her inquired about her background.
Accompanied by melodious music, Lin Su was completely absorbed in the dance. Her body had become increasingly flexible recently, and she tried her best to perform the movements.
As the music ended, her beautiful figure remained frozen on the stage, the lights went out, and thunderous applause erupted from the audience.
The curtain did not close again, and Lin Su's gaze swept across the audience, immediately spotting the man.
He didn't sit at the table, but stood quietly in the crowd, his eyes gentle as he looked back.
Lin Su smiled slightly, averted her gaze, and stepped off the stage.
Back in the dormitory, with their help, I changed my clothes and then returned to the scene.
At that moment, the deputy director was singing, going off-key several times, but the audience was still listening with great interest. Several other teammates waved to them, saying, "Come sit here."
She sat in the audience watching the show, and also searched for him in the dim crowd, but she couldn't find him.
Until the very last performance, Lin Su and the other female educated youths stood on the stage, preparing to perform the dance "By the Butterfly Spring." As soon as the curtain was drawn back, Lin Su spotted him again at a glance.
Tall and imposing, with handsome features, he stood out even amidst the crowd, radiating attention and brilliance.
It seems he only wants to see her.
He really only looked at her.
As the music ended and the audience dispersed, an era seemed to have come to a close.
When Lin Su came off the stage, he came over to her and said, "You danced very well, no less than a professional actor."
Lin Su pursed her lips, looked at him, and murmured, "Director."
A strange sadness suddenly welled up in my heart.
People were coming and going all around. Zhou Yunqi looked down at him and smiled gently: "What's wrong?"
Lin Su opened her mouth to speak, but found that she had so much to say, yet she couldn't bring herself to say it.
But it's alright.
It's not over yet. They'll go back to Beijing together, and there's still a chance!
Lin Su took a deep breath and finally said, "Happy New Year."
The man clicked his tongue. Sure enough, don't expect her to say anything nice.
...
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