Date with the Spring River Moon Night Blowing the Plum Rain and Orchid Wind
"Hey, Yiyi, I...how's the store? Oh, oh, ahem, I'll tell him to stop playing with his phone in the kitchen and focus more on the store. I'll be back later, I don't know, maybe..."
Xue Jiuyue wasn't particularly fond of shopping, but the temptation to change her look and refresh her mood had been brewing in her heart for some time, and today was the perfect time. Not long after hanging up the phone, Xue Jiuyue, dressed in a dark blue sportswear, appeared at the door of a high-end dress store.
"Welcome."
Xue Jiuyue nodded politely as the salesgirl smiled professionally, then walked into the store. She said nothing more than casually responding to the salesgirl behind her whispering recommendations, while she casually scanned the rows of exquisite dresses. Occasionally, she lazily flipped through one or two pieces, but when the salesgirl approached for explanations, she quietly walked away.
At the end of her walk around the venue, Xue Jiuyue stopped at the door of the fitting room and pointed at a crimson evening dress in the distance. "Please, find me a size for that one." Then she thought for a moment and pointed in another direction. "Please find me the red one, too. Oh, and those shoes, and the one next to them. Do you have a size 36?"
The door of the fitting room opened.
A bright moon appeared, its shimmering light spreading freely across the darkness. The starry sky was eclipsed, and the Milky Way, stretching across the horizon, also quietly faded. Only the breathtaking and solitary moon remained, playing the climax of a symphony on the black curtain, which made people hold their breath.
The shopping guide was stunned for a long time before coming over and whispering, "Miss, you are so beautiful. This dress finally looks good on you."
Xue Jiuyue didn't say anything, but just blossomed in front of the mirror as if no one was around.
The shopping guide tactfully stepped aside.
Xue Jiuyue tried on another outfit, comparing it repeatedly with the image in the mirror and the photos on her phone. Finally, she walked out wearing the newly bought crimson purple dress.
She seemed to be thirsty and was stopped by a beverage store.
"What would you like to drink, miss?"
"Papaya milk, um, or maybe a glass of grapefruit juice."
"Okay miss, grapefruit juice, please wait."
"No, no, let's have papaya milk."
Xue Jiuyue, dressed in an evening gown, quietly savored her own drink on a sofa by the window. As she sipped, she stole glances at a corner of the drink shop, where a love affair was blossoming unnoticed. It wasn't until a sliver of sky peeked through the layers of buildings, painted a gray-black palette by the multicolored lights, that Xue Jiuyue realized it was time to leave.
Mei Rugu had an appointment with Li Jingzi that afternoon. She was wearing a black business suit, which made her curvy figure even more outstanding.
Seeing her walk into the yard, Li Jingzi hurried out of the house and smiled at Mei Rugu, "Sister Mei, you're here."
"Hey, I haven't come to you to complain for a few days. I always feel depressed."
"What's wrong? Are you having a quarrel with Mr. Qian again?" Li Jingzi said as she let Mei Rugu into the house and closed the door gently.
"That's right." Mei Rugu sat heavily on a toffee chair against the wall.
Li Jingzi took a bottle of mineral water, unscrewed it, poured it into a glass along the wall, and gently placed it on the coffee table in front of Mei Rugu.
"Lan, why has our Lao Qian become more and more mysterious recently..." Mei Rugu picked up the cup and took a sip, then couldn't wait to start talking.
Li Jingzi seemed to be listening very carefully and nodded from time to time, but her thoughts were uncontrollably drawn to the tip of the "iceberg" by the word "mysterious" that the other party said.
In fact, Liu Che is also very mysterious to her.
Li Jingzi still vividly remembers the morning she first met Liu Che. It must have been earlier than it is now. The spring morning sun had just begun to filter in through the bottom corner of the window when Director Gao, accompanied by a young man, pushed open the conference room door. Instantly, the morning sun, streaming from behind them, filled the entire room with vibrant light.
"Good morning everyone, let me introduce you, this is your new colleague."
"Hello everyone, my name is Liu Che, also known as Wen Dao Liu, Che as in clear." The young man said little, his voice was gentle and clear, like a college graduate.
Li Jingzi seemed to wake up from her deep spring sleepiness after hearing this voice, and slowly raised her head to look at this new colleague. He was wearing black carved brogues, a straight black formal suit, and a snow-white shirt underneath. He was not wearing a tie, so the first button was undone. The upright collar set off the young man's fair face. His facial features were soft, and his nose was tall, with the wings of his nose slightly reddened by the coldness of the first month of spring. Li Jingzi keenly noticed that his eyes were dark but seemed different from the norm. In the lively sunlight of this early morning, those black eyes looked desolate and silent. This was the first impression Liu Che left on Li Jingzi.
In the following days, neither Director Gao nor Liu Che himself elaborated on his past. Even on the clinic's official website, Liu Che's resume was limited to a few dry and concise entries. This, in turn, gave some of the surrounding chatter room to vent.
"Lan, do you think he might have someone else outside?" Mei Rugu didn't know how long she had been talking. Suddenly, she stopped her chatter and asked, staring into Li Jingzi's eyes.
Li Jingzi was pulled back by this sudden question. After quickly analyzing the information she had received, she met Mei Rugu's gaze and asked with a smile, "Do you want to hear me say yes or no?"
Hearing this playful and slightly tricky question, Mei Rugu was stunned at first, and then her nervous expression was replaced by a shy smile that didn't match her temperament. "Of course I don't want him to have someone else outside."
"I don't think you don't want him to have someone else outside. You see, you associate everything that Mr. Qian does with infidelity. If someone who doesn't know the truth, they might think you are cheating and are looking for an excuse to divorce Mr. Qian." Li Jingzi quickly came back to her senses, and there was no sign that her thoughts had just been "cheating."
Mei Rugu slowly picked up the cup, took a sip, and gently put it down, as if carefully protecting the little spark that had just been born in her mind. After a long pause, she said lightly, "What you said makes sense." She paused and added, "It's just that men become bad when they have money. I've seen too many such examples around me."
"You're just preconceived that money always leads to bad behavior, so you see all his behavior as mysterious, as if he's having a mistress. Isn't this just like 'suspecting your neighbor of stealing your axe'? Do you have any clear evidence?"
"Not yet..." Mei Rugu was about to give in, but then she argued again, "But wouldn't it be too late to wait until the evidence is solid? Shouldn't we take precautions before it happens?"
"Sister Mei, you're taking precautions, but have you ever thought about Mr. Qian? Just because of an unfounded suspicion, you gave him a cold shoulder, then a cold war, and then a conflict erupted. How aggrieved must Mr. Qian be? A man working hard outside is hard enough, but what awaits him at home isn't delicious meals, a warm and comfortable environment, or a gentle and lovely wife, but a battlefield filled with smoke. If you were in his shoes, would you be willing to return to this home?"
Li Jingzi's words ended with a question, leaving the lingering sound lingering in her heart.
Mei Rugu leaned forward.
Li Jingzi controlled her temper and concluded with a gentle word of persuasion, "Sister, if you continue to be so subjective and emotional, you will end up giving your money away. When the time comes, don't say I didn't warn you!"
A light sentence was like a passing breeze, blowing away the clouds, fog and rain... Both of them laughed.
For the next few minutes, the two women chatted about family matters and fashion... Bursts of laughter drifted from the house, melting into the gentle breeze and drifting away... until finally, Mei Rugu, along with the laughter, drifted away through the setting sun. Standing at the courtyard gate, watching her elongated shadow fade from sight, Li Jingzi turned around, her smile fading, her eyebrows furrowed slightly, and she sighed softly.
Outside the window, night was beginning to unfold. Car lights streaked past, their tails of light and shadow swaying, gathering into a trickle on the wide road outside the flowerbed, like a surging spring tide. "The spring river tide reaches the sea level, the bright moon on the sea rises with the tide..." Xue Jiuyue recited silently.
"Ahem..." Two gentle coughs brought her back from the Tang Dynasty, her gaze shimmering under the orange light. Ke Yike, the one who had made the noise, sat upright across from her. His soft, fine hair fell neatly at his brows, and his narrow, narrow eyes gleamed brightly behind his lensless white glasses. The wings of his nose twitched slightly beneath his handsome, upright nose, and the orange light effectively concealed the slightest blush on his fair face.
"Sister Yue, the coffee is getting cold." Ke Yike pursed her textured lips and said softly.
Xue Jiuyue quickly picked up the coffee on the table, took a small sip, and seemed to lightly touch her lips - she didn't dare to drink coffee at night - then put down the cup and closed her eyes with great enjoyment.
"Hmm, it tastes good, very unique. Did you make it?"
"Yes," Ke Yike was greatly encouraged. "I made it myself. It's called..." His voice lowered as he spoke. "It's called Date."
"Sister Yue, you are so beautiful tonight!" Ke Yike quickly changed the subject, his voice as low as a whisper.
"Oh? Really?"
In truth, Xue Jiuyue also felt that she looked truly beautiful tonight. Whether it was the long string of diamond earrings cascading down her earlobes, the platinum necklace and unique diamond pendant wrapped around her collarbone, or the faint golden shimmer on her crimson evening gown, everything seemed incredibly mysterious under the changing lights indoors and outdoors, like clouds of mist holding Xue Jiuyue above the heavens.
"This is for a 'date', so we need to dress up." Xue Jiuyue joked.
Ke Yike's face suddenly turned red, and he looked down at the white and slender fingers under the table that were constantly crossing each other.
Xue Jiuyue spoke up to ease the awkwardness, "Tell me, why is this coffee called a date?"
Ke Yike looked up at the sound, looking at Xue Jiuyue intently, then clenched his right fist and placed it over his lips. "Ahem..." He cleared his throat twice before beginning, "It's a date. It's intoxicating, so I added rum; it's soft, so I used more than two-thirds of the milk foam; it's sweet, so I added vanilla chocolate; or it's sour, so I squeezed in a little lemon juice."
"Haha, you little brat, you know how to date." Looking at Ke Yike's mature demeanor, Xue Jiuyue's sudden laughter was like accidentally popping a soap bubble. However, when she saw Ke Yike looking down at a loss, she couldn't help but stop smiling and took another sip of her coffee.
"Well, it does have some flavor," Xue Jiuyue nodded in praise.
A slightly smug smile appeared on Ke Yike's face. Although it was only a slight arc and fleeting, Xue Jiuyue still caught it. "Tell me, why did you have to treat me to coffee today? Do you want me to give you a raise, or...?"
"I, I, uh, uh... cough... cough..." Ke Yike, who had just seemed "mature beyond his years", was suddenly dumbfounded.
Xue Jiuyue, like a mischievous child, smiled from her stern face. "Tell me, considering this 'date', it's not impossible to give her a raise."
Faced with this fluctuating attitude, Ke Yike, standing opposite him, was even more bewildered. But in the end, he mustered up the courage to raise his slightly gentle face, took off his white glasses, stared directly at Xue Jiuyue, and with slightly trembling lips, he slowly uttered a sentence that shocked Xue Jiuyue greatly...
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