Chapter 118 Telephone
For the next few days, Luo Yan worked from early morning until late at night on her summer homework.
Whenever she thought of Zhou Weifang, she would recite his number. She would hesitate slightly when passing by a phone booth, but she could never make up her mind.
The sky was overcast that day, and it looked like it was about to rain heavily.
Luo Yan left home without an umbrella in the morning, fearing she would get soaked, so she quickly took the bus home, praying all the way that God would be there for her a little longer.
But the weather was very uncooperative; it started to drizzle halfway through the journey, and the rain gradually began to fall.
Luo Yan knew something was wrong. After getting off the bus, she covered her head and ran home as fast as she could. She almost couldn't stop herself once she entered the house.
Liu Yinfeng was thinking about her daughter not bringing an umbrella when she saw her daughter soaking wet and said, "Why didn't you find somewhere to hide before coming back? Hurry up and change your clothes."
Luo Yan tossed her hair as she entered the room: "I was already on the bus when I got off."
She changed her clothes and came out, drinking hot brown sugar water and drying her hair with a towel.
Even so, Liu Yinfeng was worried: "Don't let him catch a cold tomorrow."
Luo Yan wanted to sniffle, but she quickly held back for fear of being nagged, and said something else to distract her mother.
After chatting for a while, Liu Yinfeng remembered something: "I almost forgot, your brother called to ask if you wanted to come to the shop for dinner tonight."
"Eat?" Luo Yan glanced at the rain outside. "I'll go when the rain stops."
She actually wanted to go, thinking there must be delicious food, and secretly prayed in her heart.
This time, the heavens were on our side; the dark clouds soon dispersed, revealing a faint glimmer of golden light within them.
Luo Yan was organizing the information she had gathered that day in her room when her mother knocked on the door to remind her that the rain had stopped. She jumped up and shoved her homework into her bag: "Then I'm going out now."
Go ahead, go ahead, Liu Yinfeng: "The road is slippery, ride slowly."
Luo Yan was also scared, and she staggered all the way to her brother's shop.
Luo Hong was surprised that she arrived so early and said, "Wait here, the food hasn't come yet."
What does that mean? Luo Yan asked, confused, "Is anyone coming?"
Luo Hong: "Nobody wants to come, but we're in for a treat."
Luo Yan felt even more confused, then a possibility occurred to her: "He's back?"
Luo Hong put down the wrench, wiped his hands casually on his trouser leg, and said, "The person hasn't returned yet, but the food will arrive."
No, why can't you explain it clearly?
Luo Yan glared at her brother: "Speak properly."
"Alright, let's talk this out," Luo Hong said slowly, taking a sip of water. "He had Hong Yang cook a whole table of dishes for me and deliver them to my door, as a way of thanking me for watching over his shop."
When his childhood friend Zhang Hongyang, who owns a restaurant, told him about this, he said, "We're all brothers, why be so sentimental? It's the same as thanking him when you get back."
Luo Hong thought to himself that he was certainly not worthy, but said aloud, "Look how good he is at handling people. What did you thank me for last time when you asked me to help you move things?"
Zhang Hongyang swore and hung up the phone.
Luo Hong was in the phone booth, so he casually made a call home to pass on a message.
Therefore, at this moment, Luo Yan stood in her brother's shop, pretending not to know anything, and said, "They were thanking you, and I even got a free meal."
"Who's freeloading?" Luo Hong rolled his eyes at his sister, then slammed his hand on the table when all the food was served: "Now tell me, who's freeloading?"
The delivery person was an employee of Zhang Hongyang's shop. Thinking the person was talking to him, he subconsciously said, "The boss said I don't need to pay."
Luo Hong hadn't planned to give it to anyone, but after everyone left, he asked again, "Now look at this Kung Pao Chicken that only you like and tell me, who's freeloading off whom?"
Luo Yan slapped her brother's hand away, saying, "I didn't buy it, how would I know?"
That's what I said, but it didn't stop her from enjoying her meal.
Luo Hong chuckled coldly, his chopsticks moving quite quickly.
Luo Yan glanced at her brother cautiously and said casually, "Out of politeness, shouldn't you say thank you?"
Politeness? Luo Hong said deliberately, "I've never been one for manners, so that's not my thing."
Luo Yan kicked him under the table: "Speak properly."
His eyes widened in disbelief, and Luo Hong helplessly pinched the bridge of his nose: "Although I'm rude, I've decided to ask you to make a phone call for me to say thank you, okay?"
Luo Yan: "I'll do it reluctantly."
Still acting all high and mighty, Luo Hong slapped her angrily: "Pay your own phone bill."
Luo Yan should have been more assertive, but since she had changed her pants after getting soaked in the rain, she could only smile and open her palm: "I didn't bring any money."
Luo Hongcai didn't believe her, thinking she was deliberately trying to extort money from him, and said, "I don't have any money either."
The brother and sister fought over the money, but Luo Yan finally managed to "snatch" ten yuan from her brother.
Luo Hong complained, "A simple thank you costs ten yuan."
She charges 50 cents a minute for long-distance calls; how long does she plan to chat with people?
Luo Yan replied matter-of-factly, "Of course not, I want to take kickbacks."
Listen to this, listen to this, they even have the nerve to argue so confidently.
Luo Hong: "If you were to join a lucrative department, you'd be a corrupt official too, and you'd take every last penny from me."
Luo Yan said, "I only pulled it out because it was right here."
Luo Hong laughed angrily: "So you mean it's my honor?"
Luo Yan nodded emphatically, stacked the empty bowls in the basin, and said, "I'll wash them when I get back."
She had a perfectly plausible reason for making the call, and she strolled over to the phone booth at the entrance of Jiaotong University with an air of nonchalance.
The operator, an older woman, asked, "Number, where to call, who are you looking for?"
The problem with phone booths in Beijing is that many don't allow long-distance calls because of difficulties in transferring calls and limited lines. Sometimes you have to wait up to an hour, and the operators complain that it's a waste of time.
Luo Yan's heart skipped a beat when she saw her attitude, but she still answered truthfully first.
Fortunately, they didn't say no. After the call connected, they handed her the receiver and said, "Just wait."
Luo Yan waited for half an hour, rubbing her legs in boredom, thinking: If Zhou Weifang isn't at the guesthouse, all this time has been wasted.
Fortunately, Zhou Weifang had already returned to the guesthouse by this time.
When he heard the receptionist call out, "Zhou Weifang, there's a phone call," he jumped out of bed. In his haste, he didn't even put on his shoes and ran downstairs barefoot. He was a little out of breath when he answered the phone and said, "It's me."
As if everyone should know him, Luo Yan deliberately asked, "Who are you?"
Zhou Weifang had initially harbored the worst-case scenario that "it might not be her," but upon hearing the voice, he was certain. He said his own name and laughed out loud: "Why does it feel so strange to say my own name?"
Is it strange? Luo Yan didn't think so, glancing at the ticking second hand on her watch out of the corner of her eye: "We've finished eating, and my brother said thank you."
Zhou Weifang: "You're welcome. Are you full?"
Luo Yan said yes, her speech suddenly quickening: "Is Fujian fun?"
Zhou Weifang was busy with important matters this time, and honestly said, "I didn't go anywhere, I just saw the sea."
"The ocean is nice too," Luo Yan said. "I've never seen it before."
Zhou Weifang then said, "I'll bring you next time, but Fujian is too far away. We could go to Qinhuangdao instead."
The signal was bad when he said that, and his voice came out intermittently.
Luo Yan didn't ask him to repeat himself. She noticed that the operator was listening intently and seemed unable to continue the conversation. After almost a minute had passed, she said, "You're busy, I'm hanging up."
Zhou Weifang wanted to say that he wasn't busy at all, but the signal was really unreliable. He called out twice but his voice didn't get through, and the call was cut off before he could even say goodbye.
He held the receiver helplessly, and the receptionist rudely reminded him, "Sir, there are other people who need to make calls."
Luo Yan, on the other hand, was quite pleased with herself for timing the kick-off perfectly. Back at the shop, she even told her brother, "It's a 9.5 yuan rebate."
So it's only supposed to be a one-minute talk, but it takes so long.
Luo Hong: "Making a long-distance call is quite a hassle."
"That's right," Luo Yan said, scratching the mosquito bite on her hand and applying some mosquito repellent. "I forgot to ask him when he's coming back."
Luo Hong lit a mosquito coil: "Are you very concerned?"
Luo Yan firmly stated, "It's social interaction, etiquette, and small talk."
Luo Hong knew her perfectly well, and shook his head: "I think this is a case of trying to hide something obvious."
"No way!" Luo Yan tidied the table and relayed to her brother, "I forgot to mention, Huifang told me that day..."
Luo Hong had been busy these past few days and hadn't had much time to talk to his sister. Only now did he hear this story about Wu's third cousin. After a moment of silence, he said, "It makes a lot of sense."
He felt the same way, but he just felt he had let his childhood friend down.
But when it comes to principles, too many people know them, and too few can truly put them into practice. Luo Yan used to think that following the majority's correct understanding was the right thing to do, but for the first time she felt somewhat unconvinced and thought: Why is that the right thing to do?
However, this idea went against her past and was ruthlessly driven away after only a moment, as if neither viewpoint could convince the other for the time being.
Luo Hong could see his sister's dilemma, but he couldn't make a decision for her. However, he could help her distract herself: "Where are you in your homework?"
Speaking of this, Luo Yan said with a sigh, "The teacher said we also need to collect passenger opinions. I had made a list of several questions I wanted to ask, thinking that the elderly people would be the most enthusiastic and have the most time, and that if I asked them properly, they would be willing to help me. But they are too enthusiastic. Their sentences are as long as 800 words, and not a single word is on the point. I haven't collected many useful opinions yet."
Communicating with people has never been the younger sister's strong suit. Although Luo Hong also felt that this assignment was too difficult for her, he thought it was a good opportunity and said, "Take it slow, there's still a month before school starts."
Luo Yan: "There isn't that much time. I still have to write reports. These are just preliminary preparations."
She got annoyed just talking about it, and didn't have time to think about Zhou Weifang anymore. She sat down and continued to huff and puff as she sorted out today's materials.
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Author's note: I'm so sad. I finished writing it before midnight, but the more I looked at it, the less I liked it, so I deleted it.
That's not enough for 10,000 words, but I'm about to close my eyes now. I'll continue when I wake up!
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