cherry
Ye Jia didn't expect to run into Han Lanchuan and Wang Jun on Lingfeng Island, but saying she ran into them was obviously inaccurate; the two of them must have come specifically to find her.
How did they know she was here? It must be because she changed her address in the software during her last class with Xia Anyi, and they noticed it.
Without responding to Wang Jun's words, Ye Jia's gaze fell on Han Lanchuan—the senior she had liked since her freshman year.
Han Lanchuan noticed her looking over, and a thought flashed through his mind—sure enough. After all, nothing much had happened that day, and she had already slapped him, knocking him to the ground; she must have felt better.
He didn't think Ye Jia was such a petty person.
Seeing her looking at him with an unreadable expression, Han Lanchuan felt that she must still have some lingering affection for him. After all, it was the most innocent time of her student days, a time of youth and first love.
Ye Jia turned to look at Gu Anzhou again.
Good heavens, she must have been blind before.
After being disgusted by that incident, Ye Jia thought Han Lanchuan was ugly, but deep down she knew that it was probably just her imagination. After all, she couldn't possibly like an ugly person for several years.
Now that I've compared them, I realize they're really ugly.
How many layers of filters must she have added to Han Lanchuan's image for her to keep liking him?
Ye Jia even doubted whether someone like Han Lanchuan would be noticed by Aunt Meng if he were placed in a male escort club.
Gu Anzhou also looked over, then tilted his head slightly.
Perhaps it was because they had lived together for so many days and exchanged even some trivial conversations, which deepened their understanding, that Ye Jia could still sense something even though Gu Anzhou hadn't said anything.
Which one do you like? None of them seem that great.
I'm tired.
"Xiao Jia, you're not pretending not to know us, are you?" Wang Jun said jokingly, seeing that the scene was quiet. "We're alumni and colleagues, after all."
There was a sound of a wine glass slamming onto the table.
Chu Nian, who had no connection to the business, was the first to speak: "I said, didn't you see the sign at the door that says 'Closed'?"
Wang Jun wasn't intimidated. His gaze swept over everyone and the drinks in front of them: "I see the door is open, and you're all drinking, so this is business, isn't it?"
"She's the boss's girlfriend, and we're her friends. And who are you?"
It felt like I'd accidentally wandered into someone's shop and was being bullied.
But there is a sign at the entrance saying it's closed, so this is a customer problem.
Although Bai Yu had been impatiently scolded by Chu Nian at least ten times, she had never heard Chu Nian speak to her in such a harsh tone before.
Suddenly, she felt a little angry. Why was she paying so much attention to these two strangers? Was it worth getting angry about? Immediately, Bai Yu's gaze towards the two men also became displeased.
"Girlfriend?" Han Lanchuan caught this information, looked at the man behind the bar, and asked Ye Jia in disbelief, "Is this your boyfriend?"
"Is there a problem?"
Ye Jia's tone wasn't much better than Chu Nian's; the two could be considered a formidable duo.
Before Han Lanchuan could say anything, Ye Jia continued, "Do you want to drink? Go ahead and order, but the restaurant has just been renovated and the prices have gone up. The drink menu hasn't been updated yet. A mojito is 1888 yuan a glass, and a Manhattan is 2088 yuan..."
Wang Jun was dumbfounded: "Are you robbing me?"
Ye Jia: "Drink if you want, don't drink if you don't, get lost."
Gu Anzhou, who had just acquired a new identity, was still adjusting when he heard Ye Jia seriously trying to intimidate him. She was like a little tiger, looking fierce but also very cute.
Han Lanchuan didn't find it cute at all; in fact, he unconsciously took a step back. This shocked him even more than when Ye Jia slapped him. He knew he deserved the slap, but so much time had passed, why was she still acting like this?
Wang Jun was taken aback by this, but then a smooth smile appeared on his face: "Xiao Jia, it's been so long, your temper has grown quite a bit. Chuanzi, sit down. Since this is Xiao Jia's boyfriend's shop, you have to patronize it."
He even sat down at the bar.
Han Lanchuan asked in a low voice, "Are you sure you want to drink it? Isn't it too expensive?"
Wang Jun replied in a low voice, "Don't worry, drink it. I don't believe Ye Jia's boyfriend would dare to take this money. I'll report him to the Industry and Commerce Bureau and he'll be fine."
The other three didn't hear them speak, but Gu Anzhou on the other side did.
He calmly asked, "The Industry and Commerce Bureau, is that right? Do you need me to make the call for you?"
Wang Jun was startled, not knowing how he had heard it. Moreover, the man's aura was so strong that even though he was worldly-wise and shrewd, he was stunned and speechless for a long time.
Gu Anzhou picked up his phone and, while operating something, said, "Or, would you like to contact Deputy Director Xu of the Municipal Bureau directly? Do you need me to contact him so you can verify whether my pricing is compliant?"
Wang Jun understood. This wasn't just an ordinary bar owner; this was a local tyrant.
He immediately put on a smile again: "Just kidding, bro."
"Sorry, my girlfriend welcomes you, but I don't. Please leave." Gu Anzhou put down his phone and looked at the two of them expressionlessly.
He had barely finished speaking when Wang Jun swiftly pulled Han Lanchuan away, not lingering for even a second longer.
But once outside, as Wang Jun breathed in the fresh air, he still checked the local business registration information online.
The boss seemed to be telling the truth, but what if he was just making things up to scare people? But when he checked, the deputy director's surname really was Xu.
However, this was the only information Gu Anzhou knew. Apart from that, he knew nothing about this Deputy Director Xu, but that was enough.
Bai Yu suddenly looked at him with admiration again: "Brother Zhou! You're such a good actor! You're such a convincing actor!"
"Thank you." Gu Anzhou finished speaking and looked at Ye Jia, "Is it the tall one?"
"..."
It seems that what she just imagined actually matched perfectly.
Ye Jia nodded.
“Jiajia, you…” Chu Nian hesitated, “You really haven’t eaten anything good, but it’s okay. I’m glad you’ve eaten now, I’m very relieved.”
Ye Jia was stunned and said anxiously, "What are you going to eat? We haven't eaten yet!"
After saying that, she noticed the gaze that Gu Anzhou was casting at her, and she felt even more uneasy.
Bai Yu felt excluded from the conversation and paced anxiously, asking, "What? What are you talking about? Who are those two guys?"
"No, can you stop interrupting?" Chu Nian said impatiently to him again.
-
Chu Nian met Ye Jia and learned about the current state of her relationship with Gu Anzhou, then left satisfied.
Ye Jia wanted to follow, but Bai Yu was pleading with her to give them some time, and Gu Anzhou was pulling her back from behind, preventing her from leaving.
"Upstairs?"
"I'd like another drink." Ye Jia sat down again, looking at Gu Anzhou who was preparing to mix a drink without saying anything. "But if you see me drinking, will you want to drink too?"
“My willpower isn’t that weak.”
"Oh." Ye Jia noticed that he was a bit obsessed with this matter. He said he would quit drinking and immediately started not touching a drop of alcohol. Isn't it usually a gradual process? It was as if he was proving that he had the ability not to be controlled by these things.
Ye Jia tentatively asked, "Have you ever quit anything else?"
"Anything else?" Gu Anzhou thought for a moment, "Nothing."
"You guessed wrong," Ye Jia continued, "But your previous work environment involved dealing with that kind of thing, right? It's the kind that's very addictive."
Gu Anzhou knew why she asked if there was anything else; she thought he had also used it. He sighed helplessly, "Then why don't you run away quickly?"
"This..." Ye Jia knew from his reaction that he hadn't, but she thought about it. What if he really had? Should she run away? But she couldn't think of an answer. She hesitated.
"Don't hesitate, you must run," Gu Anzhou said calmly, "but you don't need to run."
Ye Jia looked at him for a while and nodded.
“I am in management. Management doesn’t smoke. That person never touches it. He won’t even go into the room where he ‘plays.’”
"That person?"
Gu Anzhou raised his left hand, clenched it into a fist, and poked it near his ear as if he were holding something sharp. He said in a flat tone, "This person, everyone calls him Master Cha, Sang Cha."
Ye Jia finally learned about his past for the first time, but she instantly felt a sharp pain in her eardrums. Her face scrunched up, and she shrank back. Just imagining it in her mind had an impact no less than seeing a murder scene when she was a child.
Sangcha.
Ye Jia had heard of this name before. A couple of years ago, the news about it briefly went viral, and because the raided den was not too far from her hometown, her mother even called to tell her about it, which left a deep impression on her.
But of course she had never seen any information about Gu Anzhou. She even clearly remembered that the official report at the time only stated "with the cooperation of undercover police officers".
Now, those seemingly casual words felt heavy and burning in her eyes, bringing a stinging sensation.
The man who couldn't receive public recognition was standing in front of her, asking if she wanted her to help him finish off the last few cherries in the can.
"Do you want it?" Gu Anzhou asked again when she didn't answer.
Ye Jia snapped out of her daze and slowly nodded: "Yes."
The glass was stuffed with cherries, which looked rather comical, making it hard to know where to even begin drinking.
Ye Jiaxian picked up a fruit and ate it. The fruit burst open in her mouth, but she couldn't taste it. Her gaze fell on Gu Anzhou's ear: "Why?"
"You mean this?" Gu Anzhou pointed to his ear, and seeing her nod, he said calmly, "He thought I was eavesdropping on his conversation and doesn't trust me."
Gu Anzhou couldn't remember anything about what it would sound like to have an awl pierce his ear.
Sometimes, when he gets caught in the rain and the raindrops slide past his ears, he remembers how hot the blood that flowed that day was.
Even just a week ago, Gu Anzhou wouldn't have been this calm when talking about this, but now his hand didn't even tremble as he calmly wiped the liquid that had just splashed on the table.
Ye Jia, on the other hand, felt particularly pained and could barely breathe.
Seeing that she didn't speak, Gu Anzhou leaned forward, resting his body on the bar counter, very close to her, and opened his mouth to say "Ah".
Ye Jia paused for a moment, then picked up a cherry and put it in his mouth.
Just as he took a bite, the back of his head was grabbed, and his face was pressed even closer. Ye Jia couldn't taste the cherry she was eating, but she could taste the sweet and sour one in his mouth, with a hint of dark rum.
"Am I your boyfriend?" Gu Anzhou released her lips, but his hand was still on hers as he stared at her and asked.
"?" Ye Jia was still in shock. "You're asking this now?"
"If not now, when? Tomorrow? What if you pretend you don't remember?"
"I would do such a thing?!"
It's turned into a little tiger again, so cute.
Ye Jia tried to push him away, but he was like a mountain standing on the bar, impossible to move. She felt her face burning from his breath.
She cupped his face in her hands, her fingers slowly approaching his ear, but he didn't react at all, even letting her fingers slip inside.
Does it hurt?
"I don't remember."
Ye Jia looked into his eyes: "Tell me the truth, and I'll admit you're my boyfriend."
"Okay, it hurts a lot."
The pain lasted for a long, long time. Gu Anzhou didn't tell her that if he had received immediate treatment, his hearing might have been able to recover. But the police officer was like she was now, gently cupping his face with one hand while pressing his other hand firmly inward until he checked all the surveillance footage and confirmed that he was not actually there at the time, before finally letting him go.
But Ye Jia's gentleness was genuine; he saw tears welling up in her eyes.
Gu Anzhou fulfilled his duty as a boyfriend by kissing her eyes to stop her tears from falling.
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