Chapter 2 Chapter 2 Can't Sister Play with You?
Tang Ningyue sobered up quickly. She woke up early in the morning, took a shower, and was even in a good mood to hum a song while cooking in the kitchen. She completely treated this place as her own home.
Li Jinglang has always had poor sleep quality. He stood drowsily at the bedroom door and just opened the door halfway when he saw Tang Ningyue's back and quickly closed the door. His mind tensed up for a moment, his pupils seemed to stand up, and he watched her happily making breakfast in the kitchen like a cat hunting.
She had already tidied up the sofa in the living room, taking away the blanket as well. The heavy curtains in front of the floor-to-ceiling windows were wide open, revealing the bright white skylight outside.
"Jinglang...."
Tang Ningyue saw him stretching out half of his foot outside at some point and called out to him.
When she called him, her tone was always very intimate, as if they had known each other in their previous life. Li Jinglang hated that kind of sticky and wet voice the most, like honey hanging on the top of a glass, which could not be wiped clean no matter how hard you tried. Even if it was wiped off and washed, a very strong fragrance would remain. If you smelled it too much, you would dream about this smell in the middle of the night.
He was so worried that he couldn't sleep well.
"Jinglang, come over for breakfast when you wake up. I made your favorite soup dumpling wrappers. Come and try them."
Tang Ningyue greeted him warmly, as if this house belonged to her and he was the guest.
If he was discovered, he would have nowhere to escape, so Li Jinglang had to open the door and walk out. Opposite his room was the room Zhou Su had prepared for Tang Ningyue. There were photos of her childhood in it, and even the bed sheets were selected by Zhou Su himself.
The door of Tang Ningyue's room was not closed, but wide open. On the chair of the dressing table was the blanket she had covered herself with last night.
Li Jinglang subconsciously took a look inside. The blanket was dragged to the ground, and inside the long plush was Tang Ningyue's changed pink and black lace underwear. It suddenly caught his eye. Before his mind was clear, his body reacted first. His cheeks began to turn red and quickly climbed to his earlobes. The emotion that had just subsided last night came to his mind again.
"Jinglang, what's wrong?"
Seeing him stop in the corridor, Tang Ningyue called him again.
Li Jinglang turned around and looked at Tang Ningyue, who was smiling, and was speechless for a moment.
Never mind, he doesn't want it anymore.
From the time he walked out of the bedroom to the time he sat on the dining table chair, Li Jinglang didn't say a word. His hair hung down smoothly, and he wore plain pajamas. He sat quietly on the chair arranged by Tang Ningyue, which clearly belonged to Zhou Su.
Zhou Su is a woman who knows how to live well. Most of the things in her house are decorated, and even the dining chairs are decorated with peripherals belonging to the owner.
Tang Ningyue sat down on the dining chair with Li Jinglang's name printed on the back cover.
He took a look and then looked away. It didn't matter at all. It was just that there were few guests in his house and no one had ever invaded his territory.
"Try it quickly." Tang Ningyue put the spoon in his hand. "I remember you like this the most, right?"
He pursed his lips, staring at the watery noodles in the bowl, his appetite instantly diminished.
Because Tang Ningyue was sitting opposite him, Li Jinglang had nowhere to hide from her burning gaze and had to take a bite under her gaze.
Just as he expected, it was tasteless.
"How is it?" she asked.
Li Jinglang nodded slightly, and he was a little surprised at his subconscious action, as if listening to her words ten years ago had been engraved in his bones and became a brand that could never be washed away.
But it turns out that listening to her won't keep her, and she will be treated as a burden and despised.
But now she has forgotten that even if he showed her the evidence, Tang Ningyue would never admit it. After all, when she got rid of him, she would never have thought that she would be sitting with him so intimately and having dinner together today.
"There's also banana soup. I'll get it for you to try."
She stood up and left excitedly. Li Jinglang stared at the bowl of soup in front of him in silence for a while, and finally chose to get the bottle of chili peppers between wasting and enduring.
As soon as he grabbed the glass bottle, his hand was caught. Without even looking up, he heard Tang Ningyue's voice floating above his head.
"Auntie Zhou said you can't eat spicy food."
Before Tang Ningyue came, Zhou Su told her that Li Jinglang was not in good health and his mental state was very poor due to years of hospitalization. Unless it was a matter of principle, try not to argue with him.
Tang Ningyue had no intention of arguing with the child. Even if Zhou Su didn't say anything, she knew what to do.
However, she didn't know much about Li Jinglang's condition, and she didn't know what the sequelae would be. Seeing him let go and sit back, she frowned and sat next to him, looking at him carefully.
He hasn't said a word since she met him. He was a talkative and chubby kid when he was young, but now he looks like a stick, thin and silent.
"Would you like anything else to eat?"
Tang Ningyue stared at him for a while. Seeing that he didn't move, she kindly took out her phone and placed it in front of him, "Type something for me."
"..." Li Jinglang's movements finally changed. In the dim light of early morning, he fluttered his eyelids slightly, sensing her thoughts, and replied, "I can speak."
.....
Aunt Zhou always spoils children even though they can talk. Tang Ningyue was amazed.
"You can talk, why didn't you call me?" Tang Ningyue was unwilling to suffer any loss. In her memory, this boy always ignored her and made a face when he was unhappy or angry, and he was still like this when he grew up.
She is obviously very popular with other children, but the guy in front of her is obviously always very clingy to her, but sometimes he inexplicably refuses to give her a kiss, and he will cry loudly if she touches him. He still hasn't changed his bad habits.
Li Jinglang would rather lower his head and eat the bowl of noodle soup that was now sticky and tasteless than continue talking to her.
At that time in the past, she should have been furious, but now she is maintaining the image of the gentle and kind sister next door, so she can only forgive him.
She stared at him, seeing the thin layer of skin on his cheeks that had shrunk to the point of clinging to his jawbone, and a stubborn look on his face.
Tang Ningyue was not angry, but stared at him with interest. There were so many obedient men around her over the years that she felt bored. Suddenly, she changed her taste and thought it was not bad.
"Finish your meal." She knocked on the table. "Don't waste it."
-
Tang Ningyue came back this time because she invested in the entertainment company of her senior brother Xu Qingye. She had followed Xu Lin in business in her early years and learned a lot of business skills. Even though she had never studied such related majors in school, she was more adept at it by learning from him.
In his early years, Xu Qingye's startup fund was the money raised by Tang Ningyue. Now that the company has expanded, Tang Ningyue had a big fight with Xu Lin. After two months of cold war, she returned to China in anger and contacted Xu Qingye as soon as possible.
Xu Qing is also three years older than her. When they met before, Tang Ningyue had not graduated yet. He always liked to tease her like a child. Tang Ningyue was very angry about this and felt that he did not observe the etiquette between adults.
Now that she met Li Jinglang, who was three years younger than her, she began to understand how Xu Qingye felt back then. She had already been working in society for several years, while he was still a little kid who would be turning 20 next month and even had homework to do. She couldn't have any serious conversation with him.
Xu Qing also had a meeting to attend, so Wen Xi was the company's receptionist in the afternoon.
The company's supporting facilities are very complete. Wen Xi took her from the office area to the rest area, and even introduced the company's swimming pool and gym one by one, as enthusiastically as if he was welcoming the client's financial sponsor.
"You've come back at a good time for the company. Just wait for a good harvest." Wen Xi smiled and handed her a caramel macchiato.
"I told you he's awesome. I wouldn't have misjudged him." Tang Ningyue stared at the various trophies in the display case, her smile rising subconsciously before she put it away calmly.
"Who else but you would dare empty their savings to help a fresh graduate with an uncertain future?" Wen Xi curled his lips. "He should go to Canada every year with gifts and kowtow to you, but he's always meddling in your affairs..."
"What's the matter?" Tang Ningyue turned around and looked at her, raised her hand and pinched her pouting lips.
Wen Xi always liked to quarrel with her eldest cousin and had opinions about him from top to bottom. He didn't inherit the family business, but dragged Tang Ningyue into the mess. Now he always wanted to meddle in her affairs. It was so annoying.
"It's Xiao En. Last night I told him to come see you when he has time, so you wouldn't be bored back home. But the old man got mad. What right does he have? He wants to be an old monk and won't let others..."
"Not allowing what?"
Suddenly, a male voice came from behind the door.
Xu Qing also pushed the door open and adjusted the gold-rimmed glasses on his nose. He seemed to be the same as when we parted five years ago, without changing at all.
Wen Xi immediately fell silent and hid behind Tang Ningyue.
Xu Qing also chuckled at her actions and asked, "Why aren't you going to work yet? You were late when you were a student, and you haven't changed now that you're a teacher?"
After being reminded by him, Wen Xi screamed repeatedly, saying in panic that he was going to be late. He grabbed the coat on the table and ran out. Before leaving, he did not forget to remind Tang Ningyue of her weekend date.
As soon as Wen Xi left, the office instantly became quiet. Tang Ningyue gathered her skirt and sat on the dark green sofa chair opposite Xu Qingye.
"How is it? Is it different from what you expected?" Xu Qing also had his back to the light and smiled faintly.
Tang Ningyue held her chin up in her hand, pretending to think, and replied, "A little."
He raised an eyebrow, placed his hands on the armrests, leaned back, and waited for her answer.
"The company's artists are all traffic stars, relying on topics and public opinion to hype themselves up." She laughed, "I thought you would hate this kind of entertainment culture."
In Tang Ningyue's impression, Xu Qing was also a romantic and literati at heart. When he wrote film reviews, he was sharp and harsh, as if he was someone who would never sink into the mundane world.
“Spiritual freedom without material support is madness.”
The two of them looked at each other, put on a smile, and then tacitly restrained their smiles, maintaining the necessary politeness and courtesy.
"Will you have a place to live when you return? I have an apartment in the city, and you can move in anytime."
Xu Qing said this very naturally, without any politeness. After all, Tang Ningyue had come to him many times before, but there were some things that no one had mentioned first, so there was no need to mention them again.
Just like now, familiarity and politeness are the best distance, which avoids a lot of embarrassment.
"I still live with my aunt."
Tang Ningyue answered and lowered her head to take a sip of coffee. The affairs of the Xu family were known to everyone and their reputation was too bad, so the two of them tacitly put the topic aside.
"You haven't seen Aunt Zhou and Jinglang in a while, right?" Xu Qing changed the subject. "You've grown up and become much calmer now. When you were little, you had a bad temper and wouldn't let anyone hold you."
"Yes, when I was a kid, I always loved to get angry for no reason and asked people to coax me, so I was spoiled." Tang Ningyue chuckled, and there was always a smile on her face when she mentioned her childhood. At least at that time, it was the only time when she could easily get happiness without having to understand the word happiness.
"She's just a kid." Xu Qing also smiled and poured her another cup of warm water. "She's still in school after all."
Tang Ningyue nodded and was about to agree when her tone suddenly became higher and the muscles on her face tensed as she remembered something important.
"Oh, I almost forgot. I promised Aunt Zhou to pick him up from school today." Tang Ningyue said, looking at the time on her wrist. "If we hadn't talked about him, I would have forgotten."
"I'll take you there." Xu Qing said as he stood up as well.
"No, no," Tang Ningyue refused. "I'm driving. Go get busy. I'll talk to you about the company later."
"Don't be too anxious. We are all grown-up kids now. It won't matter if we're a little late."
"It's important, it's important." Tang Ningyue said as she opened the door, "You don't understand."
Tang Ningyue didn't even finish saying goodbye as she hurried towards the elevator with her coat in hand. Zhou Su had told her that Li Jinglang was a patient, the kind who needed special care.
Zhou Su was not the kind of person who liked to exaggerate. Since she said so, Tang Ningyue would definitely listen to her. Not to mention the relationship she had with Li Jinglang during the ten years they lived together, just because Zhou Su treated her as his new daughter, she shouldn't have let him wait at the door for more than an hour.
It was freezing and snowy, and the boy didn't look normal. What if he really stood there waiting for her?
Fortunately, when Tang Ningyue rushed to the school gate, she received a call from Zhou Su, saying that Li Jinglang had returned home by himself.
Tang Ningyue breathed a sigh of relief and replied, "That's good, that's good."
It seems that this child is mentally normal.
Zhou Su had just rushed back from the airport, exhausted. With his suitcase still in the living room, he hurriedly called Tang Ningyue to inform her so that she wouldn't be disappointed again.
She glanced at Li Jinglang who was sitting on the carpet fiddling with the model, sighed, and then went to the entrance to change her shoes.
The sky outside was all white, and only black dots overlapping in the distance could be seen. Even the river outside the window was covered with ice.
Li Jinglang was concentrating on testing the model in his hand. He lowered his head, not saying a word, but his ears were perked up, listening carefully to Zhou Su's call.
In fact, he didn't wait for her at all. After Zhou Su told him that Tang Ningyue would pick him up, he went home immediately. He didn't expect that Tang Ningyue would be late. She even said she was thankful and didn't seem angry at all. She really thought he was a fool.
Zhou Su hung up the phone, put the suitcase into the room and came out again, asking Li Jinglang.
"Son, how about sweet and sour spareribs and lotus root soup tonight?"
These two dishes are Tang Ningyue's favorites. Every time these two dishes are on his family's dinner table, Zhou Su always says, "This is Yue'er's favorite."
Li Jinglang didn't answer, and Zhou Su took it as his consent. He stood at the door and asked his aunt to prepare the dishes while looking for things to cook himself.
The plane on the ground had not been debugged properly and no matter how many times it tried, it could not fly. It either hit the bookshelf or the coffee table and fell to the floor in pieces.
He threw the remote control into the box, stopped, got up and went into the kitchen, leaned against the door, stared at the dish that his aunt had been cooking for half a day, and asked.
"How long will she stay?"
"Hmm?" Zhou Su, who was preparing milk jelly in the kitchen, glanced up at him and repeated, "How long will you stay?"
"Of course she always lives at home when she returns to China."
Zhou Su smiled and observed his expression.
Li Jinglang doesn't like crowds of people. The two live-in aunts at home were fired, and now this one only comes to the house for lunch and dinner every day. He is alone at home the rest of the time.
"Wouldn't it be nice for my sister to play with you?"
Zhou Su handed him a candied fruit. Li Jinglang looked down at the plum covered in syrup and honey and didn't take it. "My tooth hurts."
After saying that, he turned and left the kitchen.
"This kid." Zhou Su stared at his back and scolded him.
Li Jinglang took big strides and strode over. When he passed the balcony and saw the fluttering blanket, he stopped again. After hesitating for two seconds, he pulled it down and brought it back to his room.
He was half-lying on the bed with one leg bent, staring at the ceiling in a daze. The remote control in his hand directed the electronic dragonfly to fly around the room. Finally, it hit the floor-to-ceiling window and could no longer fly.
He looked at the wreckage on the ground with indifference and a cold expression, without any regret at all.
It finally broke.
The author has something to say:
----------------------
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com