Chapter 35 Chapter 35 Good Night
That night, Tang Ningyue and Xu Qing did not go home. Several juniors accompanied Zhou Su to watch the Spring Festival Gala until twelve o'clock. Finally, they could not bear it anymore. They could usually stay up until dawn, but this time they could not stay for even a second.
The guest room had been cleaned up in advance, and Tang Ningyue slept in her usual room. Zhou Su had already replaced the bedding and other items; while simple, everything was present. The guest bedroom next door was where Xu Qing would stay every New Year.
Only on this day is the house the most lively.
Including Li Jinglang, the three younger generations all lived in the long corridor on the left side of the living room. Zhou Su's room was in the short corridor on the right side of the living room, a bedroom and her study, and no one would disturb them.
Originally, Zhou Su's room was prepared for Li Jinglang. He liked quietness and it was the most suitable place for him. But later Zhou Su found a feng shui master, who said that the place was bad for Li Jinglang's luck. Li Jinglang certainly didn't believe it, but Zhou Su was a businessman and she always respected these things. Li Jinglang didn't refute her but just listened to the arrangements. He was too lazy to talk and didn't care.
That night, Tang Ningyue was the first to go back to her room to rest. Later, Xu Qing also ran to Tang Ningyue's room and talked about something. He didn't come out for a long time. Li Jinglang sat in the living room pretending to watch the Spring Festival Gala. His eyes turned uncontrollably to other places from time to time. He didn't pay attention to what was happening on TV.
He was absent-minded, but he didn't say a word, asked no questions, and paid no attention. He was determined to draw a clear line between himself and Tang Ningyue.
But it is really difficult to live under the same roof and go your own way.
Zhou Su cooked some glutinous rice balls for midnight snack on a whim. Li Jinglang didn't want to eat them, so Zhou Su asked him to take them to Tang Ningyue's room.
He thought of eight hundred excuses to tell Zhou Su that he would not go, but he didn't say the last one.
It was too deliberate. He himself felt uncomfortable listening to it. He didn't want the situation to get worse. This was a matter between him and Tang Ningyue, and he didn't want to cause any more trouble.
Li Jinglang went to the kitchen and brought two bowls of glutinous rice balls, each with only three in it. Zhou Su said that eating too much of these would make one's stomach bloated at night, so two or three would be enough.
One bowl with peanut filling and one bowl with black sesame filling.
The door of Tang Ningyue's room was not closed tightly, leaving a small opening. Li Jinglang could see Tang Ningyue with her back to him and Xu Qingye sitting on the dressing chair. The two were talking and laughing. The content was very boring and had no value at all, but Tang Ningyue was laughing very happily, and he could tell it just by looking at her back.
The two of them were in a very relaxed state. Li Jinglang couldn't describe the feeling. It was like they were friends who had known each other for many years, or like family who had lived together for a long time. In short, everything was so natural. It was neither like the sticky ambiguity between her and Sheng Shiyang, nor like the harmonious warmth of a real family.
It was very strange, just like when he and Tang Ningyue were alone together. Li Jinglang didn't dare to think about it anymore.
It was Xu Qing who discovered Li Jinglang first. He was holding two bowls in each hand and had no time to knock on the door.
The two people in the room didn't seem to care. Tang Ningyue was sitting on the bay window, fiddling with Xu Qingye's phone, as if looking for some photos. She didn't even raise her head. Only Xu Qingye nodded at Li Jinglang and asked him to come in.
Li Jinglang lowered his head, and the strange feeling in his heart became stronger and stronger.
In fact, when she was a child, Xu Qingye was not Tang Ningyue's closest friend. There were many people around her, and Xu Qingye's parents knew Zhou Su, so their relationship was closer than others, but... in Tang Ningyue's eyes, he was definitely not the first.
But later Xu Qing also went to Canada, and Li Jinglang had no idea what happened afterwards.
Xu Qing also returned to China first. He has been back for several years and has never mentioned Tang Ningyue's name.
Maybe he was overthinking it... He shouldn't have thought too much. What do they have to do with him?
Yes, it’s okay.
"Jinglang, come in and sit down."
Xu Qing also took the two bowls from him and beckoned him to sit down, as if this wasn't Tang Ningyue's room, nor was it Li Jinglang's home, but a place where he, Xu Qing, was the host...
Li Jinglang stared at him, and suddenly noticed Tang Ningyue's gaze who was sitting on the bay window. He turned his head, looked at her, and quickly retracted his unnatural gaze.
Sometimes he hated his own sensitivity. Even though the other person had done nothing wrong, he had already labeled him a criminal. Especially since the person was too close to Tang Ningyue, he wanted to sentence him to death.
It seems that this has become a subconscious behavior and a conditioned reflex, which requires deliberate control to stop.
Xu Qingye placed two bowls on the table. Li Jinglang turned around and wanted to leave, but Xu Qingye pulled him to sit down on the high stool not far from Tang Ningyue, which was against her legs.
"Have you cooked the dumplings?"
Tang Ningyue took the spoon first and stood up before Li Jinglang sat down, creating a gap between them.
Li Jinglang's gray eyes followed her back for a while, until she sat down in the seat Xu Qing had just taken. He then lowered his eyelids to cover his bloodshot eyes. Zhou Su was not around, and she didn't pretend to be a considerate sister. She turned her back to Li Jinglang and ignored him.
"Is it hot?" Xu Qing also stood beside and looked at Tang Ningyue, telling her not to be anxious.
"Peanut..." Tang Ningyue took a bite and stopped eating. She handed the spoon to Xu Qingye, "I don't need it. I'll give it to you."
"This bowl has black sesame, you eat this." Xu Qing also took the spoon and put the remaining half of the glutinous rice ball into his mouth, then put the spoon back into the black sesame bowl, blew on it and then handed it to her.
After a series of actions, Tang Ningyue was coaxed into silence. Xu Qing then noticed that Li Jinglang was sitting behind him. He picked up the untouched spoon and asked, "Jinglang, want one?"
"....I don't like it." Li Jinglang shook his head and stared at the porcelain white spoon in his hand, feeling a little dazzling.
It was as if he was just like this spoon, out of tune with them.
This happened before. It was Li Jinglang’s birthday that day. Tang Ningyue had completely forgotten about it and made an appointment with her friends to watch a drama early in the morning.
She has always had more pocket money than Li Jinglang, so she seems to have more freedom than Li Jinglang, especially after Zhou Su's career gradually developed and he became more generous, and Tang Ningyue even stayed away from home on weekends.
Li Jinglang mentioned to Zhou Su that he didn't want pocket money anymore and asked her to cut off Tang Ningyue's pocket money as well. This would be fair. However, as soon as he said this, Zhou Su scolded him, saying that he was stingy, narrow-minded, and petty.
He didn't say a word in rebuttal.
But Tang Ningyue didn't accompany him on his birthday, and Zhou Su was not at home as usual. He ordered a big cake to be sent to his home and asked Li Jinglang to invite friends to eat. As a result, he was alone at home all day, and his phone was full of calls that didn't go through.
He waited for her for a long time and sent countless text messages asking her when she would come back. She ignored him but posted several messages on WeChat Moments.
Dramas, open-air parties, live houses, and her group of friends.
She did a lot of things that day and had a series of friends around her. Li Jinglang waited for her until late at night and finally couldn't wait any longer, so he threw the double-layer cake into the trash can on the street outside.
With a clang, the food entered the bucket and a group of stray dogs swarmed in.
The feast attracted groups of dirty stray dogs to eat the food, while Li Jinglang stood there in a daze.
Even stray dogs travel in groups, but he is alone.
It was a coincidence that day. Li Jinglang was wandering on the street like a wandering ghost for a long time. He threw away the cake at some intersection. When he turned around, he saw Tang Ningyue at the roadside wonton stall.
The large group of friends who were around her during the day are gone, and now there is only one person with her - Xu Qingye.
The two of us only ordered a bowl of wontons, taking turns eating, chatting and laughing happily.
Li Jinglang was standing at the traffic light at the intersection, wearing a black sweatshirt and a gray baseball cap. He hadn't eaten for a day and was in an extremely low mood. He looked distraught and looked extremely miserable. He stared at the two of them like a reincarnated ghost.
The graffiti fluorescent brooch that Tang Ningyue forced him to wear was hanging on his chest, which looked particularly funny at the moment.
It was Xu Qing who first noticed Li Jinglang that day, and it was he who asked him to come over to eat wontons together. Tang Ningyue also acted as if she didn't see him, just like today.
Playing dumb and deaf, good at acting...
Li Jinglang stopped thinking about it. His fingers that were holding onto the corner of his clothes had turned white. He let go and let out a breath.
"You guys eat, I'm going out."
"Eh?" Xu Qing also wanted to call him, but before he could, Tang Ningyue scalded her mouth again and dropped the spoon in her hand into the bowl. Xu Qing turned around hurriedly to take care of her.
"It's hot, eat slowly, give it to me, give it to me." Xu Qing also took the spoon she had dropped from the bowl, blew on it to cool it down before handing it to her mouth, "Eat slowly, is it still hot?"
"It's not hot anymore." Tang Ningyue tested the temperature before putting it in her mouth. While chewing, she instructed, "Eat another one."
"Little bites, baby."
"Can I open it for you? It will cool down faster this way. Okay, okay... No rush, no rush."
Xu Qing also coaxed her, like he was coaxing a child. Li Jinglang had never seen him like this before. He always acted like the eldest brother, but there was always some distance between him and others. He didn't have such intimacy with Wen Xi.
In fact, Xu Qing is also very nice to Li Jinglang. He is mature and steady and good at taking care of people. Zhou Su has always trusted Xu Qing. Xu Qing has accompanied Li Jinglang to follow-up visits several times before. Xu Qing is one of the few people that Li Jinglang can accept.
Xu Qing is a few years older than him and can be considered his older brother, so he also treats Xu Qing as his older brother.
But he seems to want to be a brother to many people...
Li Jinglang heard the sound of his teeth colliding in his mouth, which made his head hurt. He came to his senses and relaxed his mouth.
Forget it, why think so much, what does it have to do with him.
He dropped his arms and turned towards the door.
Li Jinglang had already stepped out of the door. The two people in the room overlapped and cast shadows on his body. The three of them overlapped and landed at the door.
Tang Ningyue's voice never stopped, sticky and wet. She kept talking and asking Xu Qing to do this and that.
As if possessed by some mysterious force, Li Jinglang turned around again, as if with good intentions.
"that...."
Xu Qing also turned around to look at him, "Huh? What's wrong Jinglang?"
Tang Ningyue still didn't say anything, just raised her eyes slightly, her head still lazily leaning on the back of the chair, holding the pillow in her hand, waiting for Xu Qing to continue feeding her.
Li Jinglang pursed his lips.
"...Don't eat too many glutinous rice balls."
"It will be uncomfortable at night."
"Okay, I understand. Thank you, Jinglang." Xu Qing also smiled gently. "Good night."
“.....”
Li Jinglang subconsciously glanced at Tang Ningyue. She didn't mean to say "good night" to him, even though she cared about him so much before.
"You should go to bed early too," he said.
“.....”
Until the door was closed, Li Jinglang still didn't hear her say "good night".
Forget it, someone else will tell her. What he said is not that important.
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The author has something to say: Tonight is another heartbroken puppy
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