Chapter 179 These Years
Xu Jiqing looked at her for a long time before saying, "I live in a small place, not in the Boston area."
Oh, is this why I went to so much trouble to take her to a hotel?
Su Xia's heart suddenly felt like it was squeezed, and then sank limply.
"...How small can it be? Can it be smaller than me?"
"You took me to stay in the big suite yesterday. I just wanted to see how you've been living these past few years."
Su Xia's cheeks were hot, and she looked at him with watery eyes. "What's wrong with being far away? Can't we get there by car? Tell me."
She sometimes uses this imperative form.
It doesn't sound fierce at all.
It's like acting coquettishly, and also like coaxing a child who can't cry or make a fuss.
Xu Jiqing simply couldn't do anything with her, "Yes."
"Let's go."
Su Xia urged him, bringing up her other hand as well, and dragging him toward the parking lot with both hands. "My suitcase and guitar case are still in your car. They're taking up a lot of space. Let's go back and put them down first, then go to the supermarket to buy groceries."
On weekdays in October, two or three o'clock in the afternoon is when the traffic on the streets is the lightest.
Xu Jiqing was not exaggerating. The place where he lived really had nothing to do with a big city.
They drove outward from the old city with a rich historical heritage, and their journey finally approached the end long after the tall buildings were left behind.
The old apartment building faces the street, with three-story red brick walls. The golden-red maple trees rustle in the wind, and the fallen leaves are thickly spread all over the ground.
The ground hasn't dried up yet from yesterday's rain, so it's soft and damp when you step on it.
The scenery is okay, but it's too desolate——
Except for a few cars parked on the roadside, the entire block was as quiet as the background of a game, and she unconsciously lowered her voice.
"Does this place only house Frankensteins?"
Xu Jiqing stood in front of the trunk and raised his eyebrows slightly at her.
"I'm not talking about you," Su Xia closed the car door, followed in a few steps, and quickly patched it up. "I just feel like it's really suitable for scientific research. There are no people on the road, and there won't be any yelling neighbors to disrupt your thinking."
"Yes, I have."
Xu Jiqing imitated her words, "There are yelling neighbors, yelling children, yelling dogs, everything."
"He's out for a walk now and hasn't come back yet."
Su Xia frowned and moved closer to him, looking very worried. "Really?"
So how does he usually rest?
Xu Jiqing slung her cello over her shoulder, locked the car, and gripped the trunk handle with her fingers. She said softly, "It's fake."
The maple leaves absorbed water, the ground was still a little wet, and the suitcase wheels made a sizzling sound as they passed over it.
Xu Jiqing lives on the top floor.
The old house had no elevator. Su Xia followed him into the dim hallway and climbed the paint-chipped wooden steps. She didn't bother to argue with him about whether the neighbor had a dog or not. Instead, she changed the subject, "Why did you carry my piano up here?"
The stairs were very high and she was already out of breath after climbing two.
Xu Jiqing seemed to be accustomed to all this. He was carrying something heavy in his hands, but his breathing remained steady. "Your piano is more expensive than your car. The security around here is average."
"So they really will smash the car?" Su Xia gasped. "There's no glass in the trunk, so they'll smash it even if they can't see?"
Xu Jiqing walked in front, consciously taking slow steps.
Su Xia waited for a long time but didn't hear the other party's answer. After thinking about it, she glanced at him and said, "Xu Jiqing, are you deliberately trying to scare me and drive me away?"
They arrived at the third floor. Xu Jiqing stood in front of the door at the end of the corridor and looked back at her.
That sight seemed familiar.
It was as if he was seventeen years old, in a busy KFC, the boy stared at her quietly, with the sleeves of his school uniform rolled up to his elbows, revealing layers of new and old scars.
"I'm much smarter now than before and not so easy to fool."
She was a little angry. She put her hand into his coat and poked his tense side through the turtleneck sweater. "I have come all the way here today. I won't leave. Not only do I want to go into your room, I want to sleep in it..."
And I want to sleep in your bed.
She was going to say that.
But before she could say the last few words, her vision suddenly darkened. Xu Jiqing grabbed her wrist, lowered his head and bit her lips hard.
"Girls, don't talk nonsense."
Xu Jiqing whispered, opened the door with the key, and went in to turn on the electric heater first.
Rent in Boston is expensive, so he lives frugally.
Not only is it located in a town that is an hour's commute from the university town, but the room structure is also the most compact one-bedroom apartment. Once the door is opened, everything can be seen at a glance.
There was a very clean smell of laundry disinfectant in the air.
Very clean.
Apart from two shirts drying on the clothesline by the window, the room was so clean that there were almost no signs of life.
My clinical roommate went to the West Coast for an exchange this semester. Recently, Su Xia heard a lot of complaints in the small group.
My roommate has lived alone in school since he was a child. He believes that his survival ability is at the top of the human pyramid. He also resents the difficult start of staying in the American zone. What he says most is that the house is empty and having a chair is a blessing.
Xu Jiqing's current home might not be much better than what she complained about before.
There was a thick mattress in the corner, without a headboard or bed frame, covered with a dark gray fitted sheet, and a quilt and pillow of the same color neatly stacked.
Next to it is a small white table.
A desk lamp, two computer screens in different horizontal and vertical directions, a black keyboard, an electronic watch that ticks every second, and the simplest chair that doesn't even have the function of rotating or lifting.
There is nothing else besides this.
The blinds were not drawn tight, and the autumn sunlight filtered in, stretching unobstructed across the floor until it reached her feet.
The kitchen is right next to the door, with a small induction cooker and a small square refrigerator underneath.
Su Xia paused for a moment and asked, "Can I open it and take a look?"
Xu Jiqing said "hmm".
The refrigerator was also an old item, and when the door was opened, the refrigerator made a buzzing sound as if it was frightened by something.
The freezer compartment is filled with rice packed in transparent fresh-keeping boxes. There are not many fresh ingredients in the refrigerator. There are a few scattered cans of chopped pepper pickles in the bottom row, with translated labels of Yachao on them.
Su Xia closed the refrigerator door and stood up.
Too many emotions surged in her heart, and she was speechless for a moment.
I got into a good university, went to the glittering Massachusetts Institute of Technology in the eyes of others, and started a business and made money.
Has he been living the same life in the past two years as when he was a child?
Xu Jiqing stood next to the kitchen stove, his shadow cast on the wall was thin and clear.
As if he saw through her thoughts, he pursed his lips awkwardly and explained to himself in a rare way, "I haven't been back much lately. I'm not usually like this."
"...Didn't you just say you were hungry?"
He reached for his car keys and said, "There's a Chinese supermarket nearby. They should have all the ingredients for fried noodles."
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