Chapter 59 “A man who works hard is the most attractive!!!”
Zhou Ai stared at the motionless mobile phone screen and felt that those five minutes were as long as a century.
He considered countless possibilities: Did Chu Yi think his new hairstyle was ugly? Was he too lazy to reply? Or... had something really happened? Had his foot injury worsened? Was it inconvenient for him to be home alone?
Anxiety wrapped around me like a vine, tightening more and more.
All his playing hard to get tactics and so-called calmness completely crumbled at this moment. Almost instinctively, his fingers trembling, he pressed the video call request.
Every beep while the call was being connected felt like it was beating against his heart.
Meanwhile, Chu Yi, on the other side, sat there holding his phone for a full five minutes. He stared at the selfie of the black-haired man, his mind a tangle.
Praising him for being handsome? Too frivolous.
Ignore? That seems too deliberate.
At this moment, Chu Yi realized more clearly that he was always at a loss when faced with Zhou Ai's undisguised and hot approach. All his calmness and sense of propriety seemed to have met their nemesis.
Just as he was having a fierce inner struggle, Zhou Ai's video request suddenly popped up, scaring him so much that he almost threw his phone away.
The heartbeat suddenly became disordered.
Chu Yi quickly adjusted the angle of his phone's camera almost as a conditioned reflex, making sure it was only aimed at the gray sofa pillow next to him and a corner of the ceiling. Then he took a deep breath and pressed the answer button.
The screen lit up, and Zhou Ai's anxious and worried face instantly filled the screen.
However, the face of Chu Yi that he expected did not appear, and there was only a monotonous gray fabric in the camera.
Zhou Ai's heart sank suddenly, and a strong sense of disappointment surged up, but at least... the call was connected, and he could hear the voice.
"You... why don't you reply to the message?" Zhou Ai's voice came through the receiver, with a hint of imperceptible grievance and lingering anxiety, "I thought something happened to you." His tone was direct, and he did not hide his worry at all.
Chu Yi looked at Zhou Ai's enlarged, worried face on the screen, his Adam's apple rolled, and he tried to make his voice sound steady: "No, I'm packing." To increase credibility, he deliberately shook the camera slightly, sweeping across the suitcase spread out on the ground not far away.
Both ends of the video fell into a subtle silence.
Each of them could see a portion of the other's surroundings through the screen, but they couldn't see each other's expressions, only the faint sound of each other's breathing. An invisible tension spread in the quiet air.
Zhou Ai looked at the gray sofa cover, his heart still beating fast. He knew Chu Yi was behind the camera, and this feeling of being so close yet untouchable was even more tiring.
Just as Zhou Ai was racking his brains to find the next topic, Chu Yi suddenly said softly:
"The new hairstyle... looks pretty cool."
Zhou Ai seemed to have the pause button pressed. He was stunned for a second, and then the next second, the phone slipped out of his hand and hit the floor with a "bang". The camera spun around twice and finally stopped on the chandelier on the ceiling.
Chu Yi listened to the camera roll, watching Zhou Ai frantically lean over to retrieve her phone before re-entering the frame. Her cheeks and ears flushed visibly, and even her breathing quickened.
Zhou Ai's hands were shaking so much that he could barely hold the phone. He finally managed to refocus the camera on himself. He looked flustered in the picture, and then he stammered, "What are you talking about?"
"Then...then can I see you?"
When Zhou Ai asked with a trembling voice and great anticipation, "Then...can I see you?", his heart almost jumped into his throat. He held his breath and stared at the screen without blinking, afraid to miss any changes.
There was silence on the other side of the screen for a few seconds.
But after a few seconds, Zhou Ai looked at the camera opposite and moved slowly and hesitantly.
The gray sofa cushions and ceiling gradually disappeared from the screen, and in their place, Chu Yi's handsome face appeared clearly in the center of the screen.
He seemed to have just taken a shower, with moisture still on the ends of his hair. A few strands of black hair lay softly on his smooth forehead and temples, making him lose his usual aloofness and rigor, and gain a bit of homely softness and... an inadvertent lazy temptation.
The moisture seemed to have also permeated his skin, and his cheeks were a light, healthy pink, which was more lively than the usual cold white.
Maybe because of the angle, his eyes appeared particularly clear in the camera, and his long and thin eyelashes trembled slightly as he blinked.
Chu Yi's eyes dropped slightly, unconsciously glancing at the camera. But this fresh-out-of-the-bath, defenseless, even slightly soft and naive look was an unexpected and absolutely stunning sight for Zhou Ai!
Zhou Ai only felt a "boom" in his head, and the blood rushed to his head instantly, making his cheeks and ears frighteningly hot.
He averted his eyes almost instinctively, not daring to look directly at the overly impactful face on the screen. His heart was beating so fast that it seemed like it was about to explode.
"Uh... um, that..." Zhou Ai began to speak incoherently, her eyes randomly glancing around other corners of the room, not daring to look at the phone screen, her tongue tied. "Just... the past two days since I came back... the weather seems to be okay, huh?... Oh yeah, my agent got me a few activities... so I might... be quite busy..."
He spoke a bunch of unrelated words, jumping from the weather to work, and then changed direction without warning: "...your...foot...plaster...don't let it touch water...although...although I know you are a doctor...but, but still be careful..."
Chu Yi quietly looked at Zhou Ai on the other side of the screen, whose eyes were wandering, cheeks were flushed, and he was obviously nervous and at a loss, and did not interrupt him.
He has always been known for his patience, and at this moment he showed even more patience, carefully trying to capture the useful content from Zhou Ai's incoherent and illogical fragmented information.
Listening to Zhou Ai's halting words about his plans for returning, his busy work schedule, and his instructions for his injuries... although it was confusing, Chu Yi managed to piece together the core information:
Zhou Ai has a lot of schedules recently and will be very busy.
He was reminding himself to take good care of his injured foot.
And... the sentence he wanted to express the most, but said it most vaguely and cautiously -
"...Just...wait for me...when I'm free..."
Zhou Ai's voice gradually became quieter, almost turning into a mumble. He glanced at the screen quickly and then quickly looked away. His ears were red as blood. "...Can I...come to see you?"
He said the last sentence with great difficulty, his voice so soft that it could be heard through the subtle sound of electricity, and Chu Yi felt that he didn't hear it clearly for a moment.
Chu Yi looked straight up at the screen. He didn't answer immediately, but instead quietly stared at the man on the screen, whose hair was tinged with nervousness. He waited a few seconds before speaking slowly, "If you're free, I'll treat you to a meal. You saved my life in the mountains, and I haven't thanked you properly yet."
His tone was calm and serious, even a bit businesslike and polite, as if he was fulfilling a necessary social etiquette.
But to Zhou Ai, it was like the sound of nature! This wasn't just a meal; it was a clear permission and agreement to meet again!
He suddenly turned his gaze back to look at Chu Yi on the screen. His peach blossom eyes suddenly lit up surprisingly, and all the tension and panic in them were replaced by huge surprise. The corners of his mouth couldn't help but rise up, revealing a row of white teeth, and he smiled like a child who suddenly got the sweetest candy in the world.
"Okay! Okay!" He nodded hurriedly, his voice brightening several degrees of joy. "Then I'll send you a message when I'm done! It's a deal!"
Chu Yi looked at Zhou Ai on the other side of the screen, whose expression suddenly turned from gloomy to cheerful, whose eyes and brows curved into a smile, as if there was an invisible tail shaking wildly behind him. Without realizing it, the corners of his lips also slightly pulled up into a very faint but real arc.
Like a child, it shines brightly with a little sunshine.
Kind of... cute.
This thought flashed through Chu Yi's mind, making his heart feel like it was being gently scratched by a feather.
"Yeah." He responded softly, his tone still calm, but seemed a little softer. "Then you should go to bed early. Good night."
"Good night!" Zhou Ai's voice was still filled with irrepressible excitement, and her eyes were shining as she looked at Chu Yi until the screen went dark and the video call ended.
As soon as the phone was hung up, Zhou Ai could no longer suppress his inner ecstasy. He suddenly jumped up from the sofa, not caring about the injury on his back, and performed a set of "Tai Chi" in a random manner on the spacious carpet in the living room. His movements were exaggerated and funny. Finally, he fell back heavily on the sofa, buried his face in the soft cushions, and let out a muffled but silly laugh, his shoulders shaking with laughter.
In the next few days, Xu Yang clearly felt that Zhou Ai's whole state was different.
The specific manifestations are: feeling refreshed and smiling.
Whether he was shooting an intense commercial, re-recording a song in the studio, or even on his way to a meeting, he maintained a near-hyperactive state of positivity. His occasional morning grumpiness and impatience with repetitive tasks vanished without a trace.
He would even take the initiative to greet the staff and crack some harmless little jokes, which flattered several people in the team. They would secretly come to Xu Yang and ask, "Brother Yang, is Brother Ai... in love? He looks so romantically attracted to people. Something's wrong!"
Every time, Xu Yang could only shake his head helplessly. He knew in his heart that the root of the problem must be Dr. Chu, but he didn't dare to ask how far the relationship between the two had developed.
What surprised Xu Yang most was Zhou Ai's unprecedented enthusiasm for work. Every time he efficiently completed a task, he would enthusiastically come to Xu Yang and ask, "What's the next task? When is it? It's okay to schedule it tight!"
Xu Yang was very uncomfortable with Zhou Ai's proactive and even workaholic nature, and even felt a little creepy.
He finally couldn't help it. During a break, he reached out and touched Zhou Ai's forehead, with a look of worry on his face: "You don't have a fever... You went to Guizhou. Did the signal in the mountains get bad and hurt your brain?"
Zhou Ai was studying the schedule. Upon hearing this, she slapped Xu Yang's hand away and curled her lips in disdain: "What do you know?"
He raised his chin, with an inexplicable sense of pride and longing on his face, and declared with great authority:
“A man who works hard is the most attractive!!!”
————
Chu Yi applied for extended sick leave from the hospital due to his ankle injury. Fortunately, the cast has been removed. While walking still causes some discomfort and he needs to be careful to avoid strenuous exercise, at least he has much more freedom of movement and no longer needs to rely on a wheelchair or crutches.
During the holiday, he still found time to attend two academic conferences held in the city on behalf of the director. The conferences were of high standard, and most of the attendees were industry experts and representatives from related companies.
The second meeting was held at the conference center of a hotel in the east of the city. Chu Yi, wearing a well-tailored suit, sat near the back, listening intently to the speeches, occasionally jotting down a few words in the conference manual.
He has a cold temperament and a unique sense of alienation even in a crowd, making him difficult to approach.
During the tea break in the middle of the meeting, Chu Yi was sitting by the window taking a break with a glass of water, watching the hustle and bustle of traffic downstairs when a familiar voice sounded behind him.
"Teacher Chu?"
Chu Yi turned around when he heard the voice and met a face with gold-rimmed glasses and a gentle smile.
He was stunned for a second, and his brain searched quickly before he matched this face with the name - Xie Huaiming.
The "young talent" that my mother had tried so hard to match up with.
He had almost forgotten the existence of this person.
Chu Yi quickly put on a polite and distant smile on his face and nodded slightly: "Long time no see, Mr. Xie." His tone was polite, with a clear sense of distance.
Xie Huaiming didn't seem to mind his indifference. His smile remained appropriate, and his tone was familiar and natural, as if they were old friends who saw each other frequently. "I contacted you a while ago, and you kept saying you were away on a business trip and the signal was bad. I heard from your aunt that she was quite worried about you."
Chu Yi took a sip of water calmly and said in a low voice: "I went to Guizhou, and the signal in the mountainous area is indeed unstable." He had no intention of explaining more, and even less of mentioning his injury.
Xie Huaiming looked at Chu Yi, his gaze lingering for a moment on his thinner face. He then replied readily, "Guizhou is a beautiful place, with picturesque scenery. It seems Mr. Chu gained a lot from this business trip."
He looked at his watch and then naturally extended an invitation: "It's almost lunchtime. There's a good Huaiyang restaurant nearby. Would you like to come and have some?"
Chu Yi declined without hesitation, saying, "Thank you for your kindness, Mr. Xie. However, we have lunch arranged at the venue, so I won't bother you."
This was almost a clear rejection. Xie Huaiming was such a smart man that he naturally understood the meaning behind it.
The smile on his face remained unchanged, but the eyes behind the glasses flickered almost imperceptibly, as if he was a little regretful, but he quickly regained his elegant demeanor.
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