Chapter 35 "She'll only behave when you hold her..."
Chapter Thirty-Five: "They'll only behave if you hold them."
Looking closely at the man in front of me, I realized that although it had only been half a year since I last saw him, he seemed to have lost a lot of weight.
Zhou Yunqi was even faster than her, looking at her with bright eyes and saying in a low voice, "You've lost weight. Looks like you've been studying very hard."
It's not just that she's lost weight; it's more like she's grown up. Even when she was thinner before, after he took care of her for half a year, her cheeks were still round, and her baby fat hadn't completely disappeared. Now, it's as if she's fully grown up, and her facial features are more delicate and beautiful.
Lin Su smiled and said, "This is called 'I grow thinner and thinner for her sake, yet I have no regrets,' the highest realm of reading."
Zhou Yunqi laughed: "It seems the exam results will be very good."
Just as Lin Su was about to answer, someone called out to her from behind: "Lin Su!"
Looking back, she saw her deskmate, Zhang Wenqiu.
Zhang Wenqiu is a little nearsighted and doesn't usually wear glasses. She first saw Lin Su, and only noticed the man next to her when she got closer. After seeing his appearance clearly, she gasped and was amazed by his beauty.
Lin Su stared at him for a long time before asking, "Didn't you discuss with your classmates where to celebrate after the exams?"
Zhang Wenqiu then came to his senses: "We've already discussed it. We're going to ride our bikes to Nancheng to see the lotus flowers tomorrow. There's a pond there that's full of lotus flowers. The squad leader and the others even asked me to go to your place to find you. I didn't expect to find you here."
Lin Su once took Zhang Wenqiu to her residence.
At the time, Zhang Wenqiu said enviously, "You actually live in such a nice dormitory all by yourself."
Lin Su smiled and replied, "My relatives and friends gave me this place to stay."
Now, Zhang Wenqiu couldn't help but keep looking at this man. She had to admit, he was incredibly handsome. Unlike the group of immature boys in her class, he was tall and mature, with features that looked like they had been sculpted. He was even more handsome than movie actors.
Seeing this, Lin Su coughed lightly and introduced, "This is one of my..."
"I'm her friend." As if afraid she'd mention her cousin, Zhou Yunqi spoke up first, "Are you going to Nancheng to see the lotus flowers tomorrow?"
Zhang Wenqiu's heart pounded under the man's gaze, and she couldn't utter a word.
Lin Su interrupted, "They're going, but I have something to do and I won't go."
“Why not go? There are lots of people from our class going together. If you don’t have a bicycle, you can find someone to give you a ride,” Zhang Wenqiu said.
Lin Su wasn't interested in the celebration, especially since he was back. She just smiled and said, "I have to go home."
Zhang Wenqiu then asked, "So, will you be living at home from now on?"
Lin Su: "...Not necessarily."
"I mainly want to hang out with you, but I don't know where you live or if you have a phone number to contact me."
Seeing this, Zhou Yunqi said, "She still lives nearby most of the time."
"Really? That's great!" Zhang Wenqiu looked at the dazzlingly handsome man and felt embarrassed, her cheeks involuntarily turning red. "I have to go home now, I'll come see you again when I have time."
Watching Zhang Wenqiu leave, Zhou Yunqi said, "Let's go."
The afternoon sun was still blazing. Lin Su followed behind him and soon arrived at the residential area. The gatekeeper smiled and said to Lin Su, "Finally finished the exam!"
Lin Su replied, "Yes."
Zhou Yunqi took out a cigarette case from his pocket and handed one to the old man.
The old man said, "You're too kind. I've been smoking quite a bit of your Hongtashan cigarettes these past few days."
Lin Su was stunned for a moment, then looked at Zhou Yunqi: "What? You've been here these past few days?"
The old man tucked a cigarette behind his ear and said frankly, "Of course. He comes over every time to ask if you've gone out yet, worried that you might miss your exam if you haven't gotten up. I was just curious why he didn't just go into the house to call you. He said you wouldn't know he was back yet, and he was afraid it would affect you."
Lin Su frowned as she looked at him, while Zhou Yunqi shrugged and said, "I did as you instructed."
After saying goodbye to the old man, Lin Su became even more silent.
Zhou Yunqi opened the door and turned to her, saying, "Hurry up and go back inside to eat watermelon."
Lin Su: "Eat watermelon?"
Walking inside, you'll find watermelons soaking in cold water, snacks and pastries on the table, a few pears, and some vegetables on the kitchen counter.
He scooped the watermelon directly out of the water and prepared to cut it.
A moment later, Lin Su, while eating the sweet watermelon, remembered the question from earlier and looked up at him: "Do I still live here?"
"Where would you like to live otherwise?" he asked. "Would you like to live with your stepmother and the others?"
“Of course I don’t want to,” Lin Su replied. “But you’re back now, and this is your dorm.”
He sat across from me and said with a smile, "It's my dorm room, but it's for you to stay in."
"So where do you live?"
He looked straight at him and asked helplessly, "Aren't you going to invite me to stay and sleep on the sofa?"
Lin Su opened her mouth and took a small bite of watermelon: "The main problem is that there are mosquitoes in the summer, and we can't hang a mosquito net on the sofa."
"Why not just use mosquito coils?"
Lin Su did not answer.
The man clicked his tongue: "It's only been half a year since we last met, why are you treating me like a stranger? Are you shy around me?"
"I'm not shy, I'm not shy with strangers," Lin Su denied.
She had asked him to stay before because she knew it was only for two nights, and she was very reluctant to part with him. But now, he could stay for at least ten or twenty days. If the two of them lived together, what would be the difference between that and cohabitation?
The thought of living together made Lin Su's face flush slightly.
She doesn't mind, but there are some things he doesn't know.
She had lived there for six months, leaving early and returning late most of the time. Occasionally, she would run into neighbors and politely smile at them, but none of them inquired about her background. However, one Sunday in May, Lin Su was mopping the floor at home when there was a knock on the door.
Upon opening the door, a middle-aged woman dressed with an air of elegance, her hair permed, and carrying a delicate handbag, smiled slightly at Lin Su: "Little Lin, right?"
Lin Su looked completely bewildered, assuming she was some kind of leader or dormitory area manager.
After I said hello, the other person smiled and said, "I am Yun Qi's aunt."
Aunt... Lin Su was stunned for a moment: "Oh, hello, hello, please come in."
Lin Su then learned that Zhou Yunqi's uncle was also a leader, and of a high rank. He used to work in Shanghai, but was transferred back to Beijing in recent years. His aunt's surname was Xu, and she was a native of Shanghai. She was very classy and had the demeanor of an official's wife.
Seeing that she was carrying a mop, Xu Meizhi said politely, "You're mopping the floor, huh? You're quite clean."
Lin Su put away the mop: "I usually go to school, so I only mop once a week."
"Living alone is fine."
Lin Su asked her to sit down and poured her some water.
Xu Meizhi said, "I heard from Yun Qi that his dormitory is here, but it's temporarily being used by a young educated youth who's about to take the college entrance exam, so I wanted to come and take a look."
She sat there for quite a while that day, talking about many trivial things.
Near the end, she said, "Our Yunqi is outstanding in both looks and ability, but it's a pity he's already 26 this year. His parents are gone, and as his aunt, I have to think about things for him. Last year during the Spring Festival, I introduced a girl to him. Her family background and character are good, and her family is satisfied with him. But he said he wouldn't be coming back for the next few years and wasn't considering these things. It really made me so angry."
"You're familiar with Yun Qi, is he looking for a girlfriend over there?"
Lin Su's heart sank, and she vaguely understood that her aunt's real purpose in coming here was to find out the truth.
But she was honest and shook her head, saying no.
"Then do you know why he doesn't find a partner?"
"He's probably busy with his career."
Xu Meizhi shook her head: "Being busy with your career and finding a partner are not mutually exclusive. He's almost thirty, it's time for him to find someone."
"To be honest, that girl is really great. She's perfect in looks, family background, and job. Not only does her family agree, but even that big boss agrees."
Is the big boss the one who has been helping Zhou Yunqi all along?
Lin Su felt a chill in her heart.
"This can be considered an arrangement by the organization," Xu Meizhi said with a smile.
“You don’t know, I had a very skilled fortune teller calculate his fortune. The fortune teller said that he has weak ties with his relatives and friends, and if he doesn’t find someone in the next two years, he may have difficulty getting married in the future.”
Lin Su was stunned for a moment: "Fortune telling? You can't completely believe what fortune tellers say."
“You don’t understand. That gentleman is incredibly accurate. People may not believe it outwardly these past few years, but they actually do. He does have few family ties; his parents are gone, and he has no siblings. If you have the chance, please help me persuade him. He’s taken such good care of you; you wouldn’t want him to die alone, would you?”
Lin Su had no recollection of what they said afterward; she only remembered that after seeing her aunt off, she sat on the sofa in a daze for a long time.
Was it because he had few relatives and friends that he remained single and without a partner in the original book?
My aunt's purpose in coming here was probably not just to talk about these things, but also to give her a warning?
She had never told Zhou Yunqi about these things, and now that she had the chance, she couldn't bring herself to say them when she looked at him.
Seeing that she was silently burying half of her face in the watermelon, seemingly lost in thought, Zhou Yunqi said, "I'll just tease you a bit. You're so easily amused. You stay here for now, I'm going back to my uncle's place."
Lin Su looked up: "Huh?"
Startled, Zhou Yunqi was worried, but he smiled and said, "I don't want people to gossip about you."
Lin Su pursed her lips. Sure enough, he still considered her first. She asked, "How long are you staying this time?"
He looked at her meaningfully: "You can stay until September."
"September!" Lin Su's eyes widened.
He raised an eyebrow: "Not welcome?"
"Of course not."
Should he stay at his uncle's house until September? It would be better if she left and he moved back in. Otherwise, his aunt might cause some trouble... But what if he and that woman are destined to be together?
Lin Su is so conflicted.
"Why don't you stay here and I'll go home?"
Finally, the man seemed unable to hold back any longer and coldly called out her name: "Susu".
Lin Su stared at him in a daze.
He frowned: "What's wrong with you? Did you not do well on the exam?"
"No," Lin Su replied, looking at him, but for some reason her eyes welled up with tears, her nose twitched, and a wronged expression appeared on her face.
Zhou Yunqi stood up, and Lin Su looked up to see him walk to her side, put down the half-eaten watermelon in her hand, grabbed her arm, and led her into the kitchen.
Lin Su looked bewildered: "What are you doing in the kitchen?"
"Wash your hands."
He turned on the tap, held her fingers and washed them in the water, then scooped up water himself and made her bend over to rinse the sweet watermelon juice off her mouth.
After washing, Lin Su's chin was dripping with water.
She stood there, stunned and confused, staring at him, not understanding what he was doing.
He leaned against the kitchen counter, wiping away the water droplets with his fingers, took a deep breath, and then spoke gently and patiently: "Tell me, what exactly happened?"
Lin Su pressed her lips together, her nose filled with a sour feeling, and she instinctively snuggled into his arms.
As if he had been prepared, his arms returned to embrace her just in time. He pressed her into his arms, letting her soft body press against his strong chest.
The man nuzzled his cheek against her hair and gently stroked her back.
After a long silence, he said in a low voice, "A stubborn child will only behave if you hold him."
...
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