-48- Telephone
"Wait, wait a minute." Zhao Jinghuan rubbed her aching temples. "Sister Zou, the person you like is Tomato?" Sister Zou was a little confused: "I told you that." Zhao Jinghuan said: "No...you clearly said at the time..." Ji Anya added: "Zhao Jinghuan always thought that you and Lu Kai were a couple before." Several people at the table stared at Zhao Jinghuan with wide eyes. It was obvious that they all felt that Zhao Jinghuan's brain circuit was not normal. Lu Kai on the side suddenly realized: "Ah, so you were scared like that when I kissed you that night!" "Ah!!!" The exclamation point on Dorasi's head suddenly stood up. "Kiss!! You two kissed?" "Ah..." Lu Kai finally realized that he had let the cat out of the bag. He waved his hand and said, "It's okay, it's okay. I didn't say anything. Tomato, you guys keep arguing, keep arguing, don't delay the business." He turned sideways to push Dorasi, who smelled the gossip and came up to him, away. "You, you have some sense and be serious. Tomato and the other one are still arguing." Sister Zou and Tomato, seemingly exhausted, sat down again, staring at the mess on the table in silent reverie. After a long pause, Tomato suddenly spoke up, "What if, what if my Dragon Palace Elementary Student succeeds this time? What if I can stand firm this time?" Clearly, he still didn't understand what Sister Zou cared about. Sister Zou gave a wry smile, "If that happens, I'd be happy for you." As expected, Sister Zou didn't return to work in Waikiki the next day. Fortunately, she'd finished all the work she could handle before leaving. With the end of the year approaching, there wasn't much new work coming up. Lu Kai handled the administrative tasks he could, and asked Zhao Jinghuan for remote assistance for any he couldn't. Plus, there were only a dozen days left before Spring Festival when Sister Zou left, so at least for now, the studio's operations hadn't been significantly impacted. A few days before Spring Festival, Lu Kai, for the first time in his life, collected the company's funds and distributed generous year-end bonuses to everyone, including Zhao Jinghuan. On the day they received their year-end bonuses, Fanqie and Evening Breeze were shocked, thinking Lu Kai had been provoked into shutting down his studio, leading him to act like a piggy, dividing up his belongings and luggage. Zhao Jinghuan was also a bit surprised. After seeing Lu Kai's transfer, she ran over to ask him, "Everyone got some, right... You didn't just give it to me, did you?" Lu Kai replied, "Yes, everyone got some... Oh, you're all acting like this is some earth-shattering event. Dorasi even asked me if I had a terminal illness." Speaking of which...
"Wait, wait a minute." Zhao Jinghuan rubbed her aching temples. "Sister Zou, the person you like is Tomato?"
Sister Zou was a little confused: "I told you so."
Zhao Jinghuan said: "No...you clearly said..."
Ji Anya added: "Zhao Jinghuan always thought you and Lu Kai were a couple."
The people at the table stared at Zhao Jinghuan with wide eyes, obviously thinking that Zhao Jinghuan's brain circuit was not normal. Lu Kai at the side suddenly realized:
"Ah, so that's why you got so scared when I kissed you that night!"
"Ah!!!" The exclamation point on Dorasi's head suddenly stood up, "Kiss!! You two kissed?"
"Ah..." Lu Kai finally realized he had let something slip. He waved his hand and said, "It's okay, it's okay. I didn't say anything. Tomato, you guys keep arguing. Don't let it get in the way of our business." He leaned over and pushed Dorasi, who had come closer after smelling the gossip, away. "You, you better be more sensible and be serious. Tomato and the other one are still arguing."
Sister Zou and Tomato seemed to have finally exhausted all their strength. They sat down again, staring at the mess on the table in a daze. After a long pause, Tomato suddenly spoke up, "What if, what if my Dragon Palace Elementary School student can succeed this time? What if I can also stand firm this time?"
Obviously he still didn't understand what Sister Zou cared about.
Sister Zou smiled bitterly: "In that case, I will be happy for you."
…………
As expected, Sister Zou did not go to work in Waikiki the next day. Fortunately, she had finished all the work she could handle before she left. As it was nearing the end of the year, there was no new work. Lu Kai did some administrative work that he could do, and asked Zhao Jinghuan for remote help for what he could not do. In addition, when Sister Zou left, there were only a dozen days left before the Spring Festival, so at least so far, the operation of the studio had not been greatly affected.
With a few days left before the Spring Festival, Lu Kai collected the money from the company's account for the first time in his life and gave everyone, including Zhao Jinghuan, a generous year-end bonus.
On the day they received their year-end bonuses, Fanqie and Wanfeng were shocked. They thought Lu Kai had been provoked into shutting down his studio, and that was why he acted like a piggy. Zhao Jinghuan was also a little surprised. After seeing Lu Kai's transfer, he went to ask him:
"Everyone has it, right...it wasn't just given to me, right?"
Lu Kai said, "Yes, they all... Oh, you all acted like this was some earth-shattering event. Dorasi even asked me if I had a terminal illness."
Lu Kai's year-end bonus had indeed solved Zhao Jinghuan's pressing needs. While Hu Mingyuan's salary was enough to support Zhao Jinghuan, in the two years since graduation, Zhao Jinghuan had given his father a large red envelope at the end of each year, claiming it was a show of respect, but more like a debt repayment.
When Zhao Jinghuan was a freshman, his father remarried and married Aunt Zhao, who was six years younger than him. When his father introduced her to Zhao Jinghuan, he said proudly:
"Look, my daughter, your new mother's surname is also Zhao. This way, after I marry Aunt Zhao, we will still be a family."
Putting aside the illogical nature of this statement, the subsequent developments have nothing to do with the so-called "family" that my father mentioned, or perhaps quite the opposite.
Aunt Zhao became pregnant at the age of 45. Later, when Zhao Jinghuan was home for summer vacation, she found an opportunity to have a detailed conversation with her. She explained that she was already 19 years old, and that in foreign countries, children become independent after turning 18 and cannot live with their parents. This shows that Yilin and Reader's Digest not only deceived many people in those days, but also perhaps acted as accomplices to others.
Fortunately, my father did not really break off relations with Zhao Jinghuan during those two years. Although he sometimes did not have living expenses, he always paid for her university tuition. Moreover, the tuition for art majors was slightly more expensive than that for ordinary majors.
After graduating, Zhao Jinghuan couldn't find a job, which left her feeling incredibly stressed. Aunt Zhao must have also been a constant source of nagging for her father, who said all the money he'd given her wasted. Zhao Jinghuan gave her father a big red envelope during Chinese New Year to show him that he hadn't raised her in vain, and to at least give him some face in front of Aunt Zhao.
The days leading up to the Spring Festival are generally considered a waste of time. People from all walks of life are generally unmotivated and just waiting for the New Year. This year, Ji Anya wasn't planning on earning triple the salary. She packed her bags early, saying she was going home for the New Year. That day, she casually asked Zhao Jinghuan, "Oh, by the way, where are you going for the New Year this year? Are you going back to your hometown?"
Zhao Jinghuan said she hadn't made up her mind yet, and it might be that she would go home, or her father would come to see her.
But she knew in her heart that neither of these two options would probably happen.
With only one week left until New Year's Eve, Zhao Jinghuan sent the 10,000 yuan she had prepared to her father in advance. Their WeChat chat history was still stuck at last year's Chinese New Year. Zhao Jinghuan stared at the WeChat page for a while. His father received the money, but called her on WeChat more than ten minutes later.
Zhao Jinghuan answered the call. Her father on the other end spoke much more quietly than usual, as if he was afraid anyone might overhear. When he asked about Zhao Jinghuan's recent situation, he learned that she was no longer a delivery driver and had even found a job related to her major. He offered his heartfelt congratulations, but until the call ended, they didn't talk about the Lunar New Year.
Dad didn't say he would come to see her, nor did he invite her to come home.
Zhao Jinghuan had vaguely guessed this result.
She didn't feel particularly sad, at least not at the time. She simply felt it was a bit troublesome. With the New Year approaching, Ji Anya might ask again when Zhao Jinghuan would be home. If she explained it all over again, it would be too time-consuming and laborious. If she didn't explain, she was afraid Ji Anya would worry unnecessarily. So Zhao Jinghuan also took out her own suitcase, locked it, and placed it on the bedside table, just like Ji Anya was preparing to go home.
She knew that Ji Anya had bought a high-speed train ticket for the 29th, so she said that Hu Mingyuan would not give her leave, so she could only go home on New Year's Eve. Ji Anya didn't think much of it at first, but on the 29th, when she set off for the high-speed rail station, she suddenly felt something in her heart and picked up the suitcase that Zhao Jinghuan had placed on the bedside.
With just a light lift, the box was lifted up. She shook Zhao Jinghuan's box and found it was empty, with almost nothing in it.
"Hmm...what's going on."
Ji Anya suddenly remembered that when Zhao Jinghuan mentioned going home for the New Year that day, his expression was a little unnatural, and she vaguely understood what was going on.
…………
On the afternoon of the 29th, all of Mr. Hu's employees were on holiday, but Zhao Jinghuan waited until Ji Anya got on the high-speed train before leaving the company and returning to the dormitory. She was alone at home that night, and the house was indeed a bit quiet, but she didn't feel anything special. She lay in bed and scrolled through her phone until late at night, then fell asleep hugging the guy with eight-pack abs on the screen.
When she woke up the next day, it was almost noon. She opened the curtains and saw a vast expanse of white outside - it had snowed at some point. Although snow is a good sign for a good harvest, when she was alone, Zhao Jinghuan always felt like she had received the college entrance examination reading comprehension test from the sky.
White snow, cold and desolate sky—please analyze what emotion this expresses, what atmosphere it creates. Zhao Jinghuan swiped away the muscular man she had been circling all night, to avoid making her loneliness too obvious.
She tossed and turned in bed for a while, thinking that at least half an hour had passed, but when she looked at the time, it was only seven or eight minutes. Zhao Jinghuan always felt that time was passing slower and longer today than usual, although this idea obviously made no sense.
Zhao Jinghuan got up and ate the bread she bought last night. While eating, she browsed her phone. Usually, opening Douyin was like sinking into a quagmire. Today, the boys and girls in her phone were still young and beautiful, but she would switch off after watching two videos, as if she was expecting her father to contact her suddenly.
For more than an hour, her expectations were dashed countless times. Zhao Jinghuan began to feel a little annoyed and put down her phone and walked to the window.
The cell phone thrown on the bed rang at this moment. The expression on Zhao Jinghuan's face changed slightly. He turned his head and looked at the phone from a distance for a while before going over to pick it up.
Unexpectedly, it was a call from Hu Mingyuan.
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