Chapter 20 Chapter 20 We
On the day the final exams ended, Lu Yi, as usual, booked a restaurant near the school as the last gathering for everyone in the dormitory before the holiday. Li Jinglang rarely participated in dormitory activities, but he would go to this last gathering before separation.
People should have a beginning and an end. He hated leaving without saying goodbye the most, so today he received Lu Yi's message as usual.
Lu Yi: [Usual place, 7 o'clock.]
Li Jinglang: [I have something to do today, so I won’t go.]
Lu Yi: [? ]
Li Jinglang did not reply to the message because Tang Ningyue's car had already arrived at the school gate.
Tang Ningyue came to pick him up to celebrate, of course not to celebrate the end of his final exams. Tang Ningyue could not remember many days, and compared to this, he hoped that she could remember every one of his birthdays.
Of course, her new car was also worth celebrating. When Tang Ningyue drove up in her fancy new car, Li Jinglang actually smiled for the first time in a long time, two dimples forming on his cheeks. And besides, there were no annoying people around today; it was just him and her. It couldn't be better.
"Is he working overtime today?" This was the first thing Li Jinglang said when he got in the car. His tone was indifferent, not caring at all, but more like showing off.
"No," Tang Ningyue denied. She turned the corner before continuing, "We had a fight. I don't want to see him."
"Will he quarrel with you?" There is no denying it. Li Jinglang couldn't imagine why Sheng Shiyang would quarrel with Tang Ningyue. He had clearly provoked them last time... and nothing happened between them.
Li Jinglang saw her profile in the rearview mirror, and then his eyes looked down at the ornament on the center console. The fragrance in the car came from that metal ornament, on which the initials of Sheng Shiyang's name were engraved.
Li Jinglang frowned and looked away calmly.
"He said he wants to get married." Tang Ningyue said indifferently, as if she was chatting about someone else's business. In short, her attitude was that it had nothing to do with her.
"....." Li Jinglang did not respond immediately. He stared at the road ahead, his back straight without leaning on the seat, and his whole body was exhausted.
"Why would he ask for something like that?" Tang Ningyue's tone was filled with disbelief as she continued, "He actually told me he wanted to get married?"
Tang Ningyue couldn't deny that she was indeed a wanderer when she was abroad. It could be said that she was young and ignorant at the time, and she has indeed restrained herself a lot now. But she was still shocked when she heard such words. How could such words be associated with her? It was really unlucky.
"Is he the first?"
"Ah? The first? What first? The first boyfriend?" Tang Ningyue tilted her head towards him, "Of course not."
Li Jinglang pursed his lips and straightened his back. His face was always pale. He was wearing a black jacket and his eyes were narrow and sharp. He looked like the protagonist in some weird movie.
"Was he the first one to propose marriage?"
"..." Tang Ningyue didn't want to talk to Li Jinglang in depth about the story between her and Sheng Shiyang. She always felt that they shouldn't talk about such topics, but since he asked...
"Yeah." There was some helplessness in her tone.
"You like him more than your previous boyfriend, right..."
“Not really…”
Before Tang Ningyue finished speaking, she heard him say, "So you gave him more sense of security than others, so he made such a request."
“.....”
Tang Ningyue was speechless for a moment after hearing Li Jinglang's summary. In an instant, many people flashed through her mind. She had changed boyfriends too frequently, and she had even forgotten what some of them looked like. But after all, those people had never said such words. Everyone tacitly kept a certain distance, as if it was some kind of agreement.
Except Xu Qingye.
Thinking of him, Tang Ningyue frowned deeply. She regretted getting involved with him. She knew that Xu Qing was not someone who could be easily gotten rid of, but she had relied on him so much in the past.
He was very good to her, so good that when she was abroad she could always feel the comfort that she could only feel when she was with Zhou Su and Li Jinglang, the feeling that only belongs to family.
It was obvious that her grandfather and her biological mother were very good to her, and her brother was also very good to her, but she still wanted to go back home. It was obvious that she didn't like Li Jinglang's constant pestering her before, and she always felt that he was preventing her from making new friends and was like a stumbling block, but she still missed him very much.
Perhaps she really longed for that feeling, and she found it in Xu Qingye, but soon, she discovered the difference. Xu Qingye could also bring her temporary satisfaction but could never replace Li Jinglang.
Xu Qing is also a very sensible person with high emotional intelligence. He is very successful in the business world. It is especially comfortable to get along with him. He will not cling to her in a suffocating way like Li Jinglang does. She should obviously feel happy.
This purposeful contact did not last long. The two people separated decently and never mentioned it again, completely erasing that ridiculous period from their memories. But the facts are the facts, and what happened will never turn into bubbles.
Tang Ningyue became more and more annoyed the more she thought about it. She controlled her temper and glanced at Li Jinglang through the rearview mirror.
"Why don't you say that he has the problem?" Tang Ningyue retorted.
"He has a problem."
"..." Tang Ningyue sneered, "You're smart."
"Are we just the two of us today?"
"You want to invite your friends?" she asked.
"I have no friends."
After two seconds of silence, he continued, "Those friends before were all your friends. Now that you're gone, they ignore me."
"It's obviously you who doesn't like to talk to others." Tang Ningyue glanced at him again, "Are you planning to ignore me too in the future?"
".....I only have you." The sudden and overly sincere answer didn't sound like it could come out of his mouth, but Tang Ningyue still heard it clearly, "You are my only..."
"friend."
-
Li Jinglang was particularly happy that night. He rarely smiled, but Tang Ningyue took a lot of photos of him that night, and he was smiling in every photo.
The two of them did not go to a big restaurant that required reservations to celebrate. Instead, they went to the old restaurant that they used to frequent after school when they were children.
This store has been open for decades. In the past, there was a constant stream of people every time the two of them passed by. However, with the emergence of various Internet celebrity stores, this small store that has not changed its dishes for ten years has become much quieter, and now only its old customers patronize it.
The boss was still the thin old man, but he seemed more haggard than before. He leaned against the wall with his spotted copper arms supporting his head, looking drowsy. The skin on his neck was squeezed together like dead tree bark. The mottled walls had not been repainted, and the whole shop was as old as him.
"Do you really want to eat this?"
Tang Ningyue looked at the two bowls of clear soup noodles and a small plate of mouth-watering chicken in front of her, and took the chopsticks handed to her by Li Jinglang with some hesitation.
Li Jinglang has always had a poor appetite. When Zhou Su was free, he would always cook for him in different ways, but he would only take a bite or two, and his appetite never improved.
He didn't say anything, but picked up a large spoonful of noodles with his wooden chopsticks and put it into his mouth. Tang Ningyue rarely saw him eat so contentedly and happily. She smiled and said nothing, then started eating her own bowl.
The noodles were still the same, but the taste seemed a little stronger than before. Tang Ningyue glanced at the boss who was dozing with his eyes closed in the corner, tilted her head and looked away, picked up the chopsticks, picked up a piece of mouth-watering chicken and put it into Li Jinglang's bowl.
The store is facing the river and has a great location. I don't know when it started to drizzle in the evening. The drizzle was mixed with the cold air. The street lights reflected the movement of the falling rain, and the street corner seemed a little deserted.
The dozing boss woke up at some point and recognized Tang Ningyue at first sight. He pointed to the photo albums of her and Li Jinglang on the wall and compared them, saying that he recognized them at first sight.
The photo booth next to the restaurant has been closed for a long time and has now been turned into a coffee shop with very gorgeous decorations. Although it is called a coffee shop, most of the people who come here are young girls. They come here to order a beautiful dessert, check in and take photos by the river, and then the two shops seem a bit out of place.
"My granddaughter gave me a new camera, called a Polaroid. I can take pictures and put them on the wall right away." The old man smiled. The loneliness he had just felt had long since disappeared. He was particularly happy at this moment. "I'll take another picture for you to put on the wall."
"OK."
Tang Ningyue answered for Li Jinglang and moved across the table to sit beside him.
"Come closer."
Li Jinglang turned his head slightly and looked down at their arms which were tightly pressed together. He didn't know how to get any closer. He was afraid that she would be disgusted, so he didn't move, but stared at her straight.
Tang Ningyue turned her head to look at him, smiled, put her arm around his, and moved a little closer to him. The fragrance from her body lingered around him aggressively, and even after she moved away, the fragrance still lingered in his nostrils.
"With the advancement of technology, the photo studio my old friend ran can no longer operate." The old man smiled bitterly when talking about his former partner. "You young people today don't understand those things, and you don't like the photos they take."
"I like this one very much." Suddenly, Li Jinglang took the Polaroid photo that the old man had just taken and put on a faint smile.
"Can you leave this one for me?"
In the photo of the two of them, she was clinging to him, looking very intimate.
"Of course." The old man smiled, "I'll take two more pictures for you."
From childhood to adulthood, there were very few photos of the two of them alone. Almost all of them were Tang Ningyue and her large group of friends, with him standing at the edge. Over time, Li Jinglang began to hate taking photos. He didn't want to take any photos, whether they were group photos or solo photos.
He has many stubborn and strange habits that others cannot understand. He cannot change them and he will not make any explanation. He does not care about any evaluation of him and does not care what others think of him.
He just became such a "culprit" but no one ever realized how these weird behaviors of his were formed, and they even joined others in hating his annoying behaviors.
He should be angry and furious, but he was still very happy to be with her tonight.
Forget it, forget it, he is still quite generous.
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
