Qiuqiu once seriously explained to Lu Shizhen that data is just a pure flow and cannot feel or convey any emotions.
But when this text message arrived, Lu Shizhen seemed to see the tenderness of Xu Shiyue, who was thousands of miles away.
Unlike online chat tools, text messages cannot be recalled.
It was laid out in black and white on Lu Shizhen's phone, directly expressing a person's thoughts.
She was thinking about herself.
Nothing happened, I was just thinking about myself.
Such simplicity and directness were like an arrow wrapped in red silk, soft yet straight, embedding itself into Lu Shizhen's heart.
A single, decisive blow.
Over the years, Lu Shizhen has finally come to understand what it means to be flustered and overwhelmed.
In the past, when she watched those shows, she couldn't help but criticize the female lead when she was flustered. Even though her best friend had criticized her many times, she still couldn't empathize with her.
Now she understands that when you like someone, you really want to show them your best side.
It's not about whether I'm good or bad, but about wanting to become better.
After accepting Xu Shiyue's friend request, Lu Shizhen quickly tidied up the living room.
Before Xu Shiyue's video call came in, she stepped over Qiuqiu, who was still eating starch sausage, and moved to the sofa.
The simple profile picture popped up on the phone screen. Lu Shizhen straightened her somewhat disheveled hair again before answering the call.
I wonder if Xu Shiyue had tidied up her room just like I had, because her background was also very clean.
Lu Shizhen recognized the layout of Xu Shiyue's room at a glance. Xu Shiyue looked like she had just washed up. Her long, black hair was casually tied back, her face was clean, and her eyebrows were light.
This kind of image wouldn't make Lu Shizhen feel that she wasn't serious about their video.
On the contrary, it gave Lu Shizhen a sense of home and nature, leisure and freedom.
No matter how aloof, arrogant, and domineering this person may appear to the outside world, she is always gentle to him.
Lu Shizhen stared at the familiar face on the screen, unusually reserved, and said, "Good evening."
"Good evening," Xu Shiyue replied. "Did I disturb your rest?"
"No." Lu Shizhen shook her head. "I slept until the afternoon this morning, and I'm not sleepy at all now."
Xu Shiyue looked at the person on the other end of the video who looked much better than this morning, and smiled slightly: "I can tell."
Feeling the gaze of the person opposite her, Lu Shizhen felt a little embarrassed.
She wasn't very good at socializing, but she didn't want the atmosphere to become awkward, so after thinking for a moment, she asked, "How's it going on your end? Is it progressing smoothly?"
Xu Shiyue nodded: "It went relatively smoothly, no need to worry."
Lu Shizhen nodded: "That's good."
After exchanging two sentences, the screen seemed to freeze, and the two suddenly didn't know what to say, staring at each other.
Actually, it's not that there's nothing to talk about. Lu Shizhen felt that she had a lot to say to Xu Shiyue, but when she asked her about the details of her work, she worried that it might tire her out since she rarely gets to rest. When she asked her about what she ate for dinner, she was afraid that Xu Shiyue would think she was being long-winded.
Xu Shiyue, however, was different.
She simply wanted to watch over her.
Look at this person.
Seeing that she had finally regained what she had lost, she no longer rejected her precious child.
Xu Shiyue had planned it all out. If Lu Shien hadn't ruined her plans today, she thought she would have stayed at Lu Shizhen's house for a very long time.
I can't help but get close to her, hug her, and kiss her.
She wanted to use this time to slowly fill in the blank space of the past, so that Lu Shizhen would never leave her again.
She disliked parting and finally began to understand a little about the mentality of those tyrannical rulers in ancient times.
As Xu Shiyue was thinking this, the person in her line of sight suddenly turned into a cat with its back to the camera, eating a starch sausage.
Lu Shizhen's voice, leaping and brimming, rang out from behind the screen, unseen in the video: "I'll show you a cat eating livestream!"
Almost imperceptibly, the cat on the other end of the video chat tensed up slightly upon hearing Lu Shizhen's words.
Qiuqiu wanted to protest Lu Shizhen's behavior of betraying her system partner in order to please the person she liked, but she could only keep her small, nibbling rhythm and try her best to play the role of a real cat in front of the camera.
Qiuqiu's performance pleased Xu Shiyue, whose eyes crinkled into a smile, her cool voice tinged with amusement: "Cute."
“Right!” Lu Shizhen echoed, turning the video camera around.
As if she had finally discovered a topic that wasn't boring or tedious, she shared it with Xu Shiyue with great interest: "Qiuqiu is a very strange cat. It loves to eat starch sausages. Starch sausages are practically the most important thing in its cat life..."
As Xu Shiyue listened to the continuous chatter on the other side of the screen, a deep smile spread across her earnest eyes.
She thought there were things in the world cuter than cats.
"Teacher Sixteen, would you be interested in coming to S City for the new product launch on Saturday?"
As Lu Shizhen was sharing, she suddenly heard Xu Shiyue offer her an olive branch.
She subconsciously glanced at the date on the top of her phone.
Today is Thursday, which is the day after tomorrow.
Those dark eyes circled the screen once, and then Lu Shizhen deliberately hesitated before saying, "Well... we could consider it."
Xu Shiyue was exceptionally cooperative and pressed on, "Then what would it take for Teacher Sixteen to agree without hesitation?"
Lu Shizhen tapped her chin thoughtfully and said, "I would be greatly honored if Miss Xu could personally pick me up at the airport, and I would gladly go."
Xu Shiyue smiled slightly when she heard Lu Shizhen's words.
This usually serious Miss Xu laughed many times during the video call that night. Her calm voice rose and fell gently as she asked, "Why did Teacher Sixteen think I definitely wouldn't pick you up?"
Lu Shizhen was somewhat surprised, but mostly happy.
Actually, when she said those words, she was a little nervous, afraid of seeing Xu Shiyue's reluctance and afraid of being rejected.
No, there isn't.
Xu Shiyue would never let her live in fear; her expectations would always be met.
This was a feeling Lu Shizhen had never experienced before—being cherished and treated well.
Expectations filled her heart, like a spring breeze that brought forth lush green grass on the land.
Barrenness is no longer barren; the fertile soil is full of the hope of life.
In protest against Lu Shizhen showing Xu Shiyue how she ate starch sausage, Qiuqiu plunged into the main system to steal the algorithm.
The fake Qiuqiu cat, which was just an empty shell, was left alone at home and fed by Xiaoning on time when Lu Shizhen went to S City.
Is this a return to familiar territory, or a visit to a foreign land?
Layers of white clouds drifted past the wide wings of the plane as it gradually rose into the air. Lu Shizhen carried her luggage as she disembarked from the plane. Looking at this city she was visiting for the second time, a mixture of familiarity and unfamiliarity made her feel uncertain for a moment.
But none of that matters.
The only thing she was certain of, and the most important thing, was that there was someone in this city she desperately wanted to see.
—Xu Shiyue.
This time coincides with the peak period for airport arrivals, and the road outside the parking lot is jammed into a long, winding dragon, stretching out from the airport.
The setting sun painted the sky with a brilliant red, flowing brilliantly, and the slow-moving traffic was like its reflection on the land.
The scenery is reserved for those who are in the mood to appreciate it; for those who are not, it is just an ordinary sunset.
This was the third time Xu Shiyue had looked out the car window. The rose bush, swaying in the evening breeze, was still dancing and blooming by the window.
Her expression was far from pleasant; the phone vibrated against her palm: [Shi Liu: I'm out.]
It's news from Lu Shizhen.
Xu Shiyue's brow relaxed slightly, and her fingers deftly tapped on the screen: [The parking lot is congested, wait a moment.]
Then, after a pause, she raised her hand and took a picture of the beautiful, swaying rose outside the window, sending it to Lu Shizhen: [Image]
Lu Shizhen looked at the roses that came with the news; in the live picture, the swaying roses were against a backdrop of still traffic.
She had experienced airport traffic jams before, and that long wait felt especially tedious now, so she simply offered, "I'll find you in the parking lot, it'll be quick."
As the traffic continued to move forward, fifteen minutes later Xu Shiyue's car finally arrived at a place not far from the entrance of the underground parking garage.
Although it's still congested, at least there's hope.
It was at this moment that Xu Shiyue received a location image.
The next second, the driver heard the sound of a door opening from behind the car.
Xu Shiyue got out of the car without any warning.
The restless wind ruffled her long, neatly styled hair, making it flutter and swirl around her in the twilight.
Xu Shiyue didn't care at all. She just told the driver, "Send me your location after you park the car," and then turned and walked towards the parking lot.
Over the years, the driver has taken Xu Shiyue to various occasions. No matter the occasion, he is always calm and composed, which is frightening.
This was the first time he had seen Xu Shiyue in such a hurry, as if there was something she didn't want to delay waiting for her in the parking lot.
The crisp sound of high heels clicking on the concrete road was swallowed up by the constant noise of passing cars.
Following the location map sent by Lu Shizhen, Xu Shiyue headed towards the somewhat remote F district, the increasingly dim lights barely guiding her way.
Suddenly, Xu Shiyue felt her wrist being grabbed and then pulled away by that force.
Before she could react, she was caught off guard and fell into someone's arms, the ordinary soapberry pressing down on the surrounding dampness.
"I've found you."
Lu Shizhen's voice was close to her ear, warm and gentle in the dim and desolate parking lot.
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