honest
Gu Anzhou didn't know what those two hands wanted to do to him, but he leaned closer and his ears were rubbed, as if he were being rewarded like a puppy.
"Thank you so much. I wouldn't have thought of that if you hadn't reminded me." Ye Jia felt sorry for Gu Anzhou. Besides his gentle nature, it must also be related to his own hearing.
He must have considered seeking treatment actively. He's not short of money and doesn't need to delay, but it still ended up in a state where there's no way to recover. This means that the actual situation that happened in that godforsaken place was definitely worse than what he told her.
Gu Anzhou looked at her and said, "I can recommend a doctor to you. He is very professional and a very nice person."
Upon hearing this, Ye Jia knew his guess was correct. He really wanted to go for treatment, but it was already too late.
Seeing tears suddenly welling up in her eyes, Gu Anzhou was taken aback: "What's wrong?"
"Nothing much!" Ye Jia said loudly.
Gu Anzhou shrank back slightly, then laughed, "It's so noisy."
Ye Jia would be heartbroken if others said that, but Gu Anzhou said she knew it was just a joke, and was happy that he still had the mind to joke with her, so she laughed and lightly punched him.
Without mentioning his painful past, Ye Jia asked, "Which city is this doctor in?"
"In the northern part of the city."
"That would be perfect for my act, to pretend I'm still working in Beicheng. I'll say I took leave and can take them for a trip to Beicheng, even though I haven't really had a proper time to enjoy it."
Gu Anzhou then realized something: "So you need to leave for a while."
"yes."
Yes, he was slow to react again. He was a little reluctant for her to leave, but her father's ear treatment was a big deal.
"I'll go too."
"No need, your shop just reopened and you're going to close it again?"
"It doesn't matter. I wanted to go with you, but besides that, it would be more polite for me to go in person; it just wouldn't be appropriate to make a phone call." This was just an excuse to persuade Ye Jia; in reality, a phone call would have been enough.
But Ye Jia thought it made a lot of sense, and she also secretly wanted Gu Anzhou to go with her. She didn't know if the examination would be effective, and she wanted to take her parents to Beicheng for a comprehensive physical examination. She was a little unsure, and she would feel much more at ease if Gu Anzhou was there.
“Well…” Ye Jia wiped his eyebrows with her fingers, “Alright, then thank you for your hard work.”
Gu Anzhou laughed: "What hardship have I endured?"
How are your family members?
As soon as Ye Jia finished asking the question, she noticed his expression stiffen for a moment, and she immediately realized that she had said the wrong thing.
But Gu Anzhou recovered quickly. He simply pulled her hand away, stood up straight, and continued preparing the ingredients, saying, "My parents are both gone. They were both police officers. My father sacrificed his life, and my mother got sick a couple of years ago."
Ye Jia suddenly felt a sharp pain in her heart. Why did it hurt so much? Why was her fate like this?
Moreover, those three words, "the previous two years," which he mentioned so casually, suggest that he was on a mission at that time.
Yes, Gu Anzhou was unable to see his mother one last time. He didn't even receive a notification; he was only told after he returned that his mother had fallen ill recently and her condition had deteriorated rapidly, leading to her death.
It's time to open for business.
Because the news spread online, interested customers immediately noticed it. Seeing that the owner seemed to be planning to start business, they even helped by posting some promotional material.
As soon as the shop opened, a lot of customers came.
The store suddenly went from being eerily quiet to bustling with noise.
Gu Anzhou turned on the stereo and started playing music.
Regular customers know that the store hadn't closed for a single day in the past year, and they were curious why the owner had taken such a long break, as they hadn't seen any changes in the store. It seems that something must have happened in his personal life.
Indeed, you could sense something different in the boss's expression.
It seems to have softened a little?
But he didn't say a word to anyone all night, just mixed drinks as usual, and his expression was blank, making everyone feel that this gentleness was just an illusion.
Orders stopped being placed at 10:30, and people gradually left. The store closed around 11:00.
When the last table of customers left, I only saw a girl sitting at the bar, a familiar face.
-
A few days later, the bar closed down again.
The guests were all very sad. Many of them regarded this place as a stable beacon, where they could see handsome men and drink good wine. Now it opens and closes frequently, and they don't know when it will reopen or whether it will ever close again.
But when Gu Anzhou stepped onto the boat to the island, he felt a sense of relief.
Previously, every time he took a boat there, Director Li would bring him things; otherwise, he wouldn't have wanted to leave Lingfeng Island on his own initiative. But now he has a destination, and it's heading in a positive direction.
However, he could see the trepidation in Ye Jia's steps.
Gu Anzhou walked behind her, placed his hand on her shoulder, and squeezed it.
Ye Jia turned to look at him, smiled, and then Chun Jie appeared in her line of sight. She greeted someone, "Chun Jie, going to buy a dress again?"
"Yes, we're tired of them and want to buy something new." Sister Chun looked at the two of them and their rather large suitcases. "What are you doing here...?"
"I have something to take care of."
"Oh, I was so scared! I thought you were leaving. Are you coming back?"
"Of course." Ye Jia didn't want to leave Lingfeng Island yet. She didn't know where to go if she left, and there was nowhere she wanted to go.
Chun Jie was a little confused about their relationship, so she tentatively asked, "Is there anything you two need to do together?"
Honestly, she was terrified that Ye Jia might suddenly decide to marry Gu Anzhou.
"He was helping with things in my family."
If Chun Jie wants to pinch someone's philtrum, then she really is not far from getting married.
Sister Chun raised her hand and patted Gu Anzhou's shoulder: "Little Gu, when you associate with the Ye family, do you know what the most important thing is?"
"What?" Gu Anzhou asked humbly.
Sister Chun: "It's about honesty."
After saying that, Sister Chun noticed his expression stiffened slightly, patted him on the shoulder, smiled at Ye Jia, and went to the other side.
The cruise ship started moving, the engine roaring. Ye Jia sat in the seat closest to the edge, watching the water splashing below.
Once the ride became smoother, Ye Jia felt someone nudge her arm. She looked over and asked, "What's wrong?"
"I'm thinking about what Sister Chun just said."
Ye Jia smiled, just as she was about to tell him not to worry, when she saw him take her hand.
Gu Anzhou said, "Can you not tell your parents about the fact that I can't hear?"
"...Why?" It turned out he really wanted to be "dishonest," but Ye Jia didn't understand why.
Gu Anzhou lowered his head, his eyes also drooping. After a moment of silence, he said, "They won't like me, they'll worry about you."
Ye Jia raised her hand and tapped him on the head.
"Do you really know them?" Ye Jia's face turned serious. "You know they won't like you?"
"I think I know."
“You’re quite stubborn,” Ye Jia said. “You have no idea, you’re just overthinking things. But it’s okay, I won’t say anything. Why would I say this? If you want to pretend, then pretend.”
Hearing her say that, Gu Anzhou felt a little relieved. The flaw that he couldn't change made it hard for him not to care, especially when facing Ye Jia's family.
"But if your parents find out, I won't pretend; I'll be honest."
Ye Jia couldn't help but laugh when she heard how much he cared about the name "Sister Chun": "There's something I'm not sure if I should tell you, but never mind, go ahead."
She leaned close to his ear and said, "Sister Chun said that because she always thought you came out of prison, and she probably wanted you to confess about it."
Gu Anzhou smiled wryly after hearing this: "But it's pretty much true, these are all things that can't be said. Don't tell anyone else what I'm telling you."
"Yes, I know." Actually, Ye Jia didn't know much either, but she knew that was all he could tell her. "Silence" was not just a task, but an instinct ingrained in her bones.
Ye Jia asked him, "What should I say when my parents ask about you?"
"The bar owner."
"What about before?" Ye Jia played with his fingers. "How about we make up a big story? Let's say you... were an artist who had been wandering around, writing poetry and painting. You opened a bar because you wanted to settle down."
A wonderful premise that masks all traces of danger and violence in him.
"But your parents will worry that these kinds of people will end up homeless again."
Ye Jia let go of his finger and crossed her arms: "Are they the ones who are worried or are you the one who is worried? Why are you so worried?"
Gu Anzhou quickly grabbed her hand, preventing her from adopting such a defensive posture towards him, and cupped it in his palm, nodding: "I understand, then it's the artist."
"By the way, are you sure you want to meet my parents as my boyfriend? Isn't that a bit too fast?"
Gu Anzhou hadn't really thought of this. He lowered his head again, this time out of embarrassment: "It's up to you."
"Me?" Ye Jia hadn't decided yet either. "We'll see when the time comes."
So she wasn't sure.
Gu Anzhou tightened his grip on her hand, but since he had said he would give her the choice, she could introduce herself however she wanted.
The flight they were on was bound for Qianzhou.
Ye Jia's parents had never been on a plane before and didn't know how to fly, so Ye Jia decided to go back first and take them with her.
"Would you feel uncomfortable if you came to my place?"
Gu Anzhou shook his head. Actually, it wouldn't be accurate to say he wasn't upset at all, but he knew very well that this destination had nothing to do with the past. It was only about Ye Jiahe's future, so he felt at ease.
“There’s something that’s been bothering me,” Ye Jia asked softly. “Before I went to your bar, I heard something that you kicked everyone out one night…”
Auntie's exact words were that she was like a madwoman, but Ye Jia naturally didn't say it aloud.
"What happened?"
She had actually heard about this.
"It was just an accident. A tourist came by with a very large duffel bag, and I heard a ticking sound coming from inside."
It's amazing how he could still detect those subtle sounds, even though the shop was clearly not quiet, with customers talking and music playing, and he couldn't hear them with one ear.
He immediately became a little stressed and frantically evacuated everyone. He carefully opened the bag and found that there was only a very retro alarm clock inside.
"Who would think that someone would bring an old-fashioned, ticking alarm clock on a trip?"
But probably only he, and people like him, would immediately associate that ticking sound with a bomb.
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