Chapter 112 - It's time to leave!
After finishing their meal, Zhou Wei finally had time to fix his bicycle. Luo Hong also had work to do, so the two of them squatted down, occupying a small corner of the shop.
Luo Yan had no classes in the evening, so she studied for her final exams at her brother's shop.
When she reads, she is completely oblivious to everything else, and she can sit in deep meditation for a long time.
As he looked at her, Luo Hong reminded her, "Raise your head, don't look at yourself. Get up and walk around a bit. Look at you, you're so young and your back is bad."
It was rare for her older brother to lecture her, and his tone was particularly high-pitched and self-righteous. Luo Yan got up with an "oh," shook her hands and feet, and strolled to the middle of the two of them, looking left and right. Suddenly, she felt like she was looking down on all the mountains. She reached out and pressed her brother's head.
Luo Hong tapped the wrench on the ground twice: "Are you looking for a beating?"
Luo Yancai wasn't afraid of him. Behind her brother, she raised her eyebrows defiantly, put her hands behind her back, and proudly raised her chin. A quick glance revealed that Zhou Weifang was looking up at her.
Perhaps it was this up-and-down posture that made him look a little pitiful; if he had a tail, it would probably be drooping on the ground, just short of letting out a whimper.
Nobody bullied him, so why does he look so aggrieved?
Luo Yan stared at him for a moment, blinking twice, hesitating whether to ask or not.
Zhou Weifang seized the opportunity and tapped his finger on the top of his head.
What does that mean? Luo Yan seemed to understand: Wangcai and Laifu are the same way; when they're being affectionate, they rub against each other and insist on being patted on the head.
You can pet a puppy if you want, but if a person touches it, they'll probably become clingy. Besides, she just hit her brother's head like a watermelon rind; does he want to get hit too?
What's wrong with him? Although Luo Yan didn't quite understand, she didn't want to indulge him, so she shook her head without saying anything and glared at him.
If Zhou Weifang were to assign a specific score to his relationship with Luo Yan, he would rate it around 80 points—it seems high, but upon closer inspection, it's not much, especially considering that each additional point at this stage is as difficult as going from 0 to 60.
Therefore, he was not surprised to be rejected. He lowered his head, tightened the screws, and said, "I have to go, I have something to do."
Luo Hong, who was working, asked, "What's the matter?"
Zhou Weifang: "Go get a haircut."
He's about to leave, so he needs to be neat and tidy.
Luo Hong said "oh" to indicate that he understood, but didn't say anything to tell him to take care.
Luo Yan, however, felt a pang of sympathy for him because he looked dejected, and waved goodbye to him.
Zhou Weifang washed his hands: "What do you want to eat tomorrow?"
Luo Yan did not answer as usual, but sat down, opened a book, and placed both hands on the table.
The table leg suddenly broke due to the force applied, and she leaned forward due to inertia. She tried to stop herself but couldn't, and cried out in pain.
Zhou Weifang was only two steps away from her. He quickly grabbed her arm and pulled her towards him. He couldn't stop in time, and Luo Yan's forehead hit his ribs.
He gasped and asked first, "Does it hurt?"
Luo Yan covered her forehead, her face scrunched up: "What do you think?"
Zhou Weifang apologized to her and then asked, "Was there anywhere else you were hurt?"
Luo Yan said no, then tilted her head slightly to look at her brother behind her, and scolded, "Why don't you care about me!"
Luo Hong stood up as soon as he heard the noise. He saw that his sister hadn't fallen, and after a burp, he remembered the three donkey meat sandwiches they had that night. Out of conscience, he gave his childhood friend a chance to curry favor.
He said, "What I'm more concerned about now is that the table is gone."
This is outrageous! To express her anger, Luo Yan slapped her thigh: "I'm much more valuable than this broken table of yours!!"
You could tell how much force she was using just by the sound. Zhou Weifang coaxed her, "Yes, yes, be gentle with yourself."
Luo Yan also realized that she had hit him too hard, and rubbed her hands together while still glaring angrily at her brother.
Luo Hong came over, picked up the broken table leg, ruffled his sister's hair with his other hand, and said, "It can still be used if we nail it back together."
Luo Yan was so angry that she yelled, "You didn't wash your hands!"
Luo Hong laughed and said, "It's okay, you'll be washing your hair tonight anyway."
It was outrageous! Luo Yan raised her foot to kick him, but he dodged it.
However, Luo Hong could only hide for a moment before his childhood friend caught him in the next second.
He asked incredulously, "You think this is something a guy would do?"
Zhou Weifang said earnestly, "You are duty-bound to go to great lengths for your brothers."
With an air of nonchalance that it didn't matter if the knife didn't stab him: "Go ahead and hit me, it's all on me."
Luo Yan finished kicking, and for some reason, she laughed so hard she was bent over.
Okay, she's happy now.
Luo Hong elbowed his childhood friend: "Now you're finished."
The two started fighting, and for a moment, sand and stones flew everywhere. Luo Yan retreated to a corner and hid, leisurely taking a handful of melon seeds from the shelf to eat while watching the excitement.
Luo Hongdu felt like he was being made a fool of, and stopped first to straighten his collar: "I think you two are quite alike. Luo Yan, come and fix the table."
He has so much else to do; he doesn't have time for this.
Luo Yan doesn't know how to fix tables, but she can help hold them up a bit.
Zhou Weifang would tap the hammer once and then look up at her. Luo Yan, worried that he might hurt his hand, said, "Be careful and do your job well."
With her in front of me, it seems difficult to concentrate on anything.
Perhaps because they were so close, Zhou Weifang thought he could smell a faint scent of face cream.
He said, "Yan Yan."
"Huh?" Luo Yan looked at him: "What's wrong?"
Zhou Weifang: "You can let go now."
So fast! Luo Yan pressed the table twice, but being a bit timid, she didn't dare to press too hard and wasn't sure if it was done or not.
Zhou Weifang wasn't afraid at all; he braced himself against the ground and sat down, saying, "It's definitely stable."
"Steady? What do you mean 'steady'?" Luo Yan lacked trust in things that had been broken before. In a hurry, she pulled him down: "Haven't you fallen enough today? Let's press him down a bit."
Her palms were hot, hotter than the dog days of summer, so hot that Zhou Weifang felt goosebumps rising on his skin as he stared at her intently.
Luo Yan had already withdrawn her hand and hidden it behind her back, urging him, "If you don't leave now, the barbershop will close."
Zhou Weifang suddenly felt reluctant to leave.
But he was about to leave on a long trip and had a lot of things to arrange and handle tomorrow, so he nodded and said, "Okay, I'm off."
As soon as he left, Luo Yan inexplicably breathed a long sigh of relief and moved to squat down next to her brother.
Luo Hong sighed helplessly, "Step back a bit, or I'll smash it again."
Luo Yan obediently stepped back, looking at her brother with pleading eyes.
Luo Hong had no choice but to stop and asked, "What is it?"
Luo Yan was also confused: "I don't know."
Luo Hong didn't really understand matters of the heart, but observing coldly, he felt that his sister's dislike for Zhou Weifang wasn't necessarily absolute, so he simply asked, "Are you happy now?"
This single emotion is easy to judge, Luo Yan nodded emphatically.
Luo Hong: "That's good then, go read your book."
Regardless of who it is, he only has one standard, and whether his childhood friend accepts the status quo is not within his consideration.
After being reminded by him, Luo Yan realized that she hadn't reviewed many pages that night, so she didn't have time to think about anything else. From then on, she had to immediately banish any thoughts unrelated to studying that came to mind.
She was serious, so Zhou Weifang naturally didn't dare to disturb her. He only said on the night before he was about to leave Beijing, "Yanyan, I'm going to Fujian tomorrow."
Luo Yan actually remembered the date, thinking that even if she just treated him as someone she knew, she could say a few words like "be careful out there".
She said something and Zhou Weifang nodded. For some reason, Luo Hong felt that this small shop could not accommodate him at this moment. After weighing the options, he picked up the broom that was placed aside and went to the shop entrance to clean.
Zhou Weifang knew this was giving him a chance, so he said, "I don't know when I'll be back. When I get there, leave your phone number with Luo Hong. Call me if you want to find me."
"That's wishful thinking," Luo Yan said, clutching her books. "I wasn't looking for you."
Zhou Weifang: "I'll keep one. Who knows, maybe one day when it rains blood, you'll come looking for me."
Luo Yan actually looked outside and said, "No way, that's not scientific."
Not knowing whether she meant making a phone call or the red rain, Zhou Weifang preferred to think it was the latter and suggested to her, "Why don't you make a call? I'll bring you something delicious when I come back."
After saying that, he laughed and said, "That doesn't count. I'll definitely bring it for you whether we fight or not."
Since he said that, Luo Yan replied in a pretentious tone, "I'll get to eat whether I fight or not, why should I fight?"
"That's right," Zhou Weifang said. "Then let's change it. You name your terms."
"What do you mean? Can't we bring it up if we don't fight?" Luo Yan asked, a little annoyed.
Zhou Weifang: "Yes, of course I can. I'll definitely try my best to do whatever you say. I just don't know how long it will take, and I'd like to hear what you have to say."
Luo Yan lowered her head and flipped through the book with a rustling sound, seemingly sulking at someone: "I have everything, I don't need you."
After she finished speaking, she didn't hear the other person speak for a long time. She thought she might have gone a bit too far, so she bit her lip nervously and peeked up at the other person. Then she realized she hadn't said anything wrong and suddenly became righteous: "Besides, you're the one who wants to contact me, so why should I call you?"
Zhou Weifang was indeed stung for a moment, because he couldn't offer her anything good right now. He said, "If I fight my way into the alley, Grandpa Zhang will definitely recognize my voice."
That being said, Luo Yan closed the book again: "Just because you're right doesn't mean you're correct."
Yes, yes, yes, Zhou Weifang: "I have no reason to speak, what you say is the only reason."
Luo Yan was also dissatisfied with this: "Are you saying I'm being unreasonable?"
Zhou Weifang felt like nothing he said was right, and even his quick wit was rendered speechless. He stared blankly at her, truly unable to utter a word.
Luo Yan was actually pleased: "Serves you right for always winning arguments with me when we were kids."
Actually, it wasn't really an argument. All she could do was cry, sobbing and choking with anger, and she couldn't say a word.
He deserved it, Zhou Weifang said with regret: "I keep thinking lately that I should have treated you better before."
Actually, there are still many good times; Luo Yan can easily come up with several examples.
Out of this childhood friendship, she asked, "Are you sure the long-distance call will go through?"
These days, making a cross-province call is no easy feat; getting a transfer after half a day is considered lucky. Even in Beijing, the capital, long-distance calls from phone booths in the hutongs only became possible in the last couple of years; before that, you had to go to a dedicated call center.
Zhou Weifang: "Sure, Brother Hong said he reports his safety to Jianhong every day."
Zhu Tianhong had been to that place several times, so he knew the way very well.
The words "report that you are safe" made Luo Yan's heart skip a beat: "Is it that dangerous?"
There are always dangers when you're out and about, and Zhou Weifang didn't want to scare her, so he said, "They're getting married soon, and their relationship is going very well. They must talk to each other every day."
That's as if making a phone call is a sign of a very close relationship.
Luo Yan was about to agree, but then thought it was inappropriate. However, she didn't rule it out: "I have a lot of summer homework. Let's see if I have time."
Summer homework was definitely a priority for her, and Zhou Weifang felt there wasn't much hope. She just hoped that she could go and come back quickly this time. Seeing her hands fiddling with the books, she said, "I won't bother you to study. My train leaves early tomorrow morning. I'll go back and pack my things."
When he's here, he can't help but want to talk to her.
Luo Yan hummed in agreement, then grabbed his sleeve as he stood up before letting go. Unsure where to look, she said, "Have a safe journey, goodbye."
At least she still wants to see him again, which is good news.
Zhou Weifang leaned down and, unusually presumptuously, reached out and lightly stroked the top of her head.
Luo Yan subconsciously closed her eyes, only to find that there seemed to be nothing above her head. She opened one eye to look.
Her expression was so adorable that Zhou Weifang wanted to pinch her cheeks, but he managed to resist: "See you when you get back."
He didn't know that even if he had pinched her, Luo Yan would have felt it was okay.
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Author's note: Good night!
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