Chapter 17 Happy New Year.
Back in his room, Zhu Xu fell asleep without even taking off his clothes.
When she opened her eyes, the sunlight streaming through the floor-to-ceiling windows was blinding. She reached for her phone and saw it was already 10 a.m. The aches and pains in her body, along with a burning sensation in a certain spot, slowly awakened her memories. Zhu Xu closed her eyes in despair, overwhelmed with regret.
During her time in Beidao, her interactions with He Yanzhou were like the entire process of a love affair. First came the escalation of emotions, a mixture of longing and anticipation. During this phase, her will was completely controlled, to the point that she was single-minded and disregarded the consequences.
Later, when she reached the tipping point, she became increasingly lost, until she suddenly grew tired of everything after being satisfied. At this point, her boiling emotions slowly cooled down, her rationality returned, and she found herself at a loss for how to cope.
She turned over and buried herself in the blankets.
My phone vibrated twice; it was a WeChat message.
Her heart pounded when she saw He Yanzhou's name on the screen.
After hesitating for a moment, I clicked on it, and there were only three words on it.
/
After the morning meeting, He Yanzhou went back to change his clothes.
The original plan was to fly to Lincheng this morning. His assistant sent the flight information to his phone, and he forwarded it to Zheng Zhi, telling him to prepare to depart.
The snow fell all night last night; some of it melted in the sea, and some covered the beach.
The sky was murky, and the world was so dim that it seemed to consist only of gray and white.
He Yanzhou stood in front of the French windows, tying his tie, gazing unconsciously outside.
The room was quiet. He tightened his tie knot one last time, and as he turned around, he inadvertently noticed two messy, elongated marks on the glass next to him.
He stared at it for a while, then remembered what it was.
The glass cleaner wiped it so thoroughly that even the slightest fingerprint was clearly visible, especially considering how Zhu Xu had rubbed it like a lifeline last night.
He Yanzhou held his breath, recalling how she twisted her waist to meet him; her insides were warm and moist, making him lose control for a moment.
Feeling stuffy, he loosened his tie again.
He poured himself a glass of warm water, returned, and leaned back on the sofa armrest to continue admiring her masterpiece. He slowly drank the water, placed the glass casually on the coffee table, went to the bathroom, soaked a towel, and wiped away the marks.
His place wasn't completely secluded; his assistant frequently came and went, and Zheng Zhi would occasionally come up to deliver things. In addition, there were cleaning staff and cooks.
Anyone with a little life experience can easily see what it is. He doesn't care, but he doesn't want her to become the subject of gossip.
He tossed the towel aside, glanced at the time on his sleeve, and prepared to leave.
As he walked out, he stepped on something. He paused slightly, pulled his foot back, and looked down. A brown rope was sticking out from the gap under the sofa.
He Yanzhou bent down and picked it up; it was Zhu Xu's backpack. She had fled like a coward last night, not even having time to keep an eye on her belongings.
As he moved, a soft, delicate "ding-ding" sound rang out.
He Yanzhou turned the bag over and found that it was still the same one she had taken to Jidao Island, with the lucky charm he had given her still tied to the shoulder strap.
My thoughts drifted away, and I remembered that I once had one that looked similar to this one.
I met Zhu Xuchu when I was 15 years old.
He was helping someone pick hawthorns on the wall, while she sat under the tree, quietly watching him with her face in her hands.
The first thing she asked him was what was on the other side of the wall, and he said it was the sea.
She didn't say anything after that, sitting there quietly without making any extra noise.
He Yanzhou continued picking hawthorns, but he was already somewhat distracted.
Not long after, he glanced down, intentionally or unintentionally, and found that she was still looking at him; to be precise, her gaze was following the movement of his hand.
He Yanzhou roughly guessed her intention and waved the hawthorn in his hand: "Want some?"
She suddenly sat up straight: "Is it sour?"
"kind of."
He tossed it over, and the hawthorn landed quite accurately on her curled-up crotch.
Without hesitation, she picked it up, wiped off the dust, and took a bite.
"Is it sour?" he asked as well.
She shook her head and ate the hawthorn berry cleanly and politely.
He Yanzhou looked at her unfazed expression, his mouth watering. He couldn't understand why anyone would prefer sour flavors. Even Wei Zan would take it back and ask Grandma Yuan to add a lot of sugar to make canned goods.
He picked some larger ones from the tree and threw them down; some landed on her lap, and some rolled to her feet.
She bent down to pick them up, eating the second one as she did so, and then put the rest into her backpack.
On the steps of the main hall not far away, a man shouted something in this direction.
He Yanzhou was at a high vantage point, with a wide field of vision.
The man was wearing a brown striped polo shirt and jeans. He wasn't extremely overweight, but his beer belly, cinched by a belt, was slightly protruding. His hair was neatly combed back.
It's autumn now, the weather is crisp and clear, but this person smells greasy.
He Yanzhou looked back at the girl under the tree; she was picking up the last hawthorn berry hidden in the grass, unresponsive to the calls.
When she finally finished picking them up, she straightened up, covered her forehead with her hands, and looked up at He Yanzhou. "There's too much. Thank you."
"It's nothing." He Yanzhou raised his chin.
"We can eat for a long time when we get back."
He Yanzhou nodded.
The man in the distance shouted a few more times, and before anyone knew it, a woman in a long dress and white high heels appeared next to him, standing close by, almost the same height as him.
He Yanzhou reminded him, "They're calling you, aren't they?"
"Mmm," she replied, still not looking in that direction.
She buried her face almost entirely in her backpack, intently searching for something.
Wei kept urging them on from the other side of the wall.
He Yanzhou glanced at the girl again, speechless for a moment, and then planned to jump off the wall.
"Wait a minute," she suddenly called out to him.
He Yanzhou turned around.
She tossed something upwards with great effort.
The wall was at least three meters high. Her toes lifted slightly off the ground with her movements, but she lacked strength and her throws were inaccurate.
Fortunately, He Yanzhou was quick enough to instinctively bend down and grab a red string hooked on his finger. Looking down slightly, he saw a velvet pouch containing a good luck charm hanging below.
He Yanzhou frowned, puzzled, and looked at him questioningly.
She slung the backpack back over her shoulder: "I just got this, it's yours."
"Give it to me?"
She nodded.
He Yanzhou wanted to refuse: "Something so meaningful..."
"May you be well."
Before He Yanzhou could say anything, she had already run towards the main hall.
Her hair moved like an open fan, gleaming with a dark, glossy sheen in the sunlight.
She ran a long way, then turned back again, raised her arm high and waved at him, her hopping and skipping movements lively and agile.
The autumn wind, carrying the salty smell of the sea, blew by, and the little bell under the amulet rang a few times.
At that time, He Yanzhou did not understand the weight of the four words "I wish you peace".
When I looked up again, she had already disappeared from sight.
That year, He Yanzhou was 15 years old, and it was his last summer vacation before entering high school.
He is about to leave Jidao Island to study in Lincheng.
What was originally an ordinary morning, when recalled many years later, still contains certain vivid details.
He Yanzhou couldn't help but snort coldly. It was as if some people had lost their memory and didn't remember anything at all.
He picked up his bag, opened the door, and texted Zhu Xu as he walked.
/
He only sent three words: Come pick up the bag.
Zhu Xu then remembered that she had come back empty-handed last night, and her phone was tucked into the side pocket of her skirt. When he lifted it up last night, it slammed onto the floor with a "thud".
She found it while she was getting dressed.
Zhu Xu turned off the screen and turned over.
For the entire day, except for going to the toilet, she was buried under the covers, half-dead. Sometimes she understood, sometimes she couldn't reconcile her thoughts, and her emotions were in severe turmoil.
It wasn't until evening that she suddenly had an epiphany.
It's like that feeling of worrying to the extreme, but then letting things take their course and not caring at all.
It was a mutually agreeable arrangement, and neither party suffered a loss, so there's no need for her to feel guilty. She neither wants to change her plans nor can she afford the compensation for breach of contract, so why create unnecessary conflict?
We'll inevitably run into each other in the future, so we might as well greet each other openly and honestly.
Zhu Xu finally got out of bed and went to take a shower first.
In the bright light of the full-length mirror in the bathroom, which faced the other end of the corridor, she noticed many unidentified marks on her body, especially on her back.
My legs also felt sore, like the muscles I had strained after running a marathon.
Some fragments popped into her mind; it was undeniably an unprecedented experience, and she was very happy.
Zhu Xu couldn't help but laugh at himself, thinking how lucky he was to have gotten the hidden model.
She quickly took a shower, changed into clean clothes, applied some lipstick, and then went out to He Yanzhou's place to pick up her bag.
It's rather cold today; a chilly wind slips in as the revolving door moves.
The lobby has been stripped of its festive red decorations, and the space is rather empty with few people, giving it a sense of desolation after the holidays.
Zhu Xu stepped into the elevator. Even though she had mentally prepared herself, her hands were still shaking a little when she pressed the floor button. But the next second, she realized that the highest floor she could go was the eighth floor.
After trying to recall, it seems that He Yanzhou swiped his card to go up to the ninth floor last night.
For a moment, her mind went blank. She wanted to call him to confirm the meeting place, but as she hesitated, someone came in. The person was wearing a hotel uniform, pressed the button for the eighth floor, and asked her in a friendly manner which floor she wanted to go to.
Zhu Xu paused: "Also on the eighth floor."
The elevator is going up.
She had been here twice when signing the contract; it was an entire floor of offices, and He Yanzhou must have been in one of them. It was already after work hours, and half of the lobby lights were off, with only a few people still at their workstations.
Zhu Xu asked the receptionist directly, "Is General Manager He here?"
The young woman behind the reception desk looked up and, without being impolite, sized her up for a moment: "Are you Miss Zhu?"
Zhu Xu paused, then nodded.
The girl stood up with a smile and took a paper tote bag from the cabinet: "We've been waiting for you. Your bag is inside. Mr. He instructed that a Miss Zhu would come to pick it up."
"Thank you." She smiled and nodded, then turned and left.
It's so simple, why waste a whole day wandering around?
Before coming, she had even considered all possible ways to handle the situation, including how to smile naturally, what kind of look to give him so as not to seem ambiguous, and what to say to ease the tension...
Who would have thought that we wouldn't need to meet?
With his heart at ease, Zhu Xu concluded: Don't take things too seriously.
Next, she originally wanted to go back to Lincheng, but the decoration company was pressing her hard, meaning that with the end of the year approaching, further delays might prevent the project from being completed, or it might have to wait until after the New Year to start.
Having just paid the rent, Zhu Xu didn't want to waste too much time, so he told the renovation workers to start work immediately.
She cancelled her room upstairs and found a budget hotel nearby to stay temporarily, while keeping an eye on the renovations and looking for a new place to live.
Soon, more than a month has passed, and there's only one week left until the New Year.
The flower shop only has some finishing touches left; the workers will have to finish them after the New Year.
She rented a one-bedroom apartment in a residential area near the hotel. The surrounding area was a bit dirty and old, but the apartment itself was clean and the rent was reasonable. Most importantly, it was only a 15-minute walk to the flower shop.
With the matter essentially completed, Zhu Xu prepared to return to Lincheng.
It was an evening flight. After landing, I took the subway back to my accommodation in the western suburbs.
While waiting for the bus, Zhu Xu looked up at the row of familiar station names above him and sighed, feeling as if he had been away for much longer than he actually had.
I remember the last time I was waiting for the subway, I saw a miserable look on my face reflected in the glass.
She tossed her hair back, revealing her entire face, and felt that she looked better now. But inevitably, the memory of that experience still stirred her emotions.
She lowered her head and leaned back against the pillar. A moment later, she felt a gaze directed at her.
Zhu Xu turned her head and saw a young girl.
After being discovered, the other person quickly looked away, but not long after, she was still secretly observing her while tugging at her hair.
Zhu Xu was certain she didn't recognize the person. She looked back at him again, and the other person, instead of looking away, suddenly smiled at her.
Zhu Xu paused for a moment.
The other person walked over and said, "Sister, do you remember me?"
Zhu Xu smiled amicably and shook his head.
“The coffee shop over there on the pedestrian street… where I work…” She gestured with her hands, trying to evoke her memory: “You said you might be a victim of domestic violence, and you wanted me…”
Zhu Xu's heart skipped a beat as he suddenly remembered the day he confronted Liang Haiyang, and how this girl was the cashier who helped him call the police.
She said, "I remember now, thank you so much."
The girl waved her hands repeatedly: "Really, there's no need. I'm so angry too. Men who hit women are worse than pigs and dogs. There are many similar cases in this society, but most girls just swallow their anger. You're so brave, sister. You should fight back like this and let the police and the law teach him a lesson."
Zhu Xu said, "I'm so sorry, I'm sure I caused you a lot of trouble that day."
"No, not really. You paid double for everything that was broken, and you even gave our boss a consolation payment." The girl smiled and said, "The boss eventually gave it all to us."
"I?"
She exclaimed in surprise, "You didn't know? The man in the suit who led you away at the end, he instructed his people to do it. He even told us to keep the surveillance footage safe so that the police could use it as evidence later."
It was He Yanzhou.
Zhu Xu was stunned for a long time.
She only remembered seeing his face in the last second before she lost consciousness that day, and later learned that he was the one who took her to the hospital. But he never mentioned cleaning up her messes.
Zhu Xu was at a loss for words and could only smile.
After saying goodbye to the girl, she opened her chat window with He Yanzhou, intending to express her gratitude. However, she typed a few words and then deleted them, fearing he might find it strange, or suspect she had ulterior motives or was just making conversation.
After all, the two lost contact after that incident.
Initially, whenever she passed through the hotel lobby, she would feel uneasy, afraid that he would walk out in a black suit the moment the elevator doors opened.
However, not even once.
Gradually, she forgot about that absurd night.
The train sped through the tunnel. Zhu Xu leaned against the door and scrolled up their chat history. His profile picture was still the same, and his Moments was clean with only a horizontal line.
After thinking it over, she decided against it and locked the screen.
On the third day after returning to Lincheng, Zhu Xu brought nutritional supplements and fruit back to his father's residence.
During this period, I have been in contact with my younger brother Zhu Luan, and I also transfer money to the family through him.
She knew that Zhu Zhen had been discharged from the hospital three weeks ago and was recovering fairly well, but he was left with the aftereffects of a nervous disorder. Occasionally, when he was irritable and restless, he would curse at her.
It seemed as if all his misfortunes were caused by his good-for-nothing daughter.
Zhu Luan was not home that day. Shen Jun was about to go to his neighbor's house to play cards, but when he saw her arrive, he didn't go out for the time being.
When Zhu Zhen saw her, he was first surprised, then his eyes widened, and he shouted at her as if he had beads in his mouth, but it was not very clear what he was saying.
Zhu Xu stood respectfully, waiting for him to finish his tirade before attempting to mend the relationship: "Please don't get agitated. I admit my mistake; it was my fault for making you angry and causing you to be hospitalized..."
Zhu Zhen roared, "Get out!"
"you……"
“I told you to get lost! I raised you for nothing. Why didn’t that deadbeat of a mother take you with her? She left you here just to torment me.”
Zhu Xu understood these few sentences without even thinking about them, because he often said them before he had a stroke, and she was almost numb to hearing them from childhood to adulthood.
She paused, swallowed her words, and instantly lost the will to fight. Believing that her father had no feelings for her was incredibly simple.
For some reason, she secretly breathed a sigh of relief.
He quietly left the bedroom, sat in the living room for less than five minutes, and then got up to say goodbye.
Shen Jun saw her to the door and casually asked, "When will Haiyang's case go to trial?"
Zhu Xu: "After the New Year".
Shen Jun sighed with regret, "How did things turn out like this?"
Zhu Xu remained silent, bowing his head to change his shoes.
Shen Jun coughed lightly, hesitating to speak: "You saw your father's situation today. He's been very emotionally unstable lately, especially when he thinks about the debts he owes and you... How about you don't come over for New Year's Eve in a couple of days..."
"Okay," Zhu Xu replied with a smile. She took out a pre-sealed red envelope from her pocket and handed it to her: "The New Year is coming soon, you and my dad should buy some New Year's goods. Please tell Zhu Luan that I will give him the New Year's money."
Shen Jun quickly reached out to refuse, saying, "We're family, no need to be so polite."
Zhu Xu was too lazy to argue, so he simply placed the red envelope on the shoe cabinet and turned to leave.
Zhu Xu spent New Year's Eve alone at his residence in the western suburbs.
I got up in the morning and drew back the curtains.
The weather was fine; it's rare to see such a clear blue sky and cotton-like clouds in winter.
After dinner, she went to the supermarket and bought the items she had made on the list the night before. Then she took a taxi to a dessert shop and luckily managed to buy a raspberry cake before the shopkeeper closed.
I returned home carrying large and small bags, and it was already past noon.
She wasn't very hungry yet, so she went to sleep for a while. When she opened her eyes, it was already dark. The sound of firecrackers drifted in from afar, and the lanterns on the opposite building emitted a festive red glow, finally bringing a touch of the New Year's atmosphere.
Zhu Xu also hung the lanterns he bought at noon on the balcony, plugged them in, and looked up at them for a while.
I wanted to use my phone to search for dough-making methods, but I had put the phone on silent while I was sleeping. When I checked, I found a missed call and several messages.
Zhu Xu first called Jiang Rao to wish her a Happy New Year, then checked her WeChat; it was mostly New Year's greetings as well.
She swiped her finger up a few times, then suddenly stopped, and saw He Yanzhou's name in the list.
Zhu Xu's heart suddenly tightened. Before even clicking into the chat box, she saw the three words "Happy New Year." The greeting was so simple that it was impossible to tell whether it was sent specifically to her or a mass message.
I clicked in and took a look; the posting time was around 3 PM.
She replied with "Happy New Year" as usual.
If it's just a simple blessing, then nothing more will follow.
Zhu Xu continued searching for the steps of kneading dough, but for some reason he became a little distracted, until another message popped up. He asked: "Back in Lincheng?"
After thinking for a moment, Zhu Xu typed: I came back a few days ago.
He Yanzhou: Still living in the western suburbs?
Once, he took her home and remembered roughly where she was.
She answered: Yes.
This time, the phone was completely silent.
Zhu Xu stared at the screen for a moment, lost in thought, then shook his head.
I continued kneading the dough and preparing the filling, a flurry of activity as I worked.
By eight o'clock, I had barely managed to wrap about twenty dumplings.
While waiting for the water to boil, she picked up her phone to glance at it, only to find that she had missed two incoming calls and a text message.
The call was from He Yanzhou, both calls occurring eight minutes earlier.
I opened the chat window and saw that he had sent a voice message, which was from an earlier time.
He said, "I just happened to be passing by your door. Is it convenient for you to come down now?"
Zhu Xu listened to it twice, repeatedly confirming the meaning of each word.
The sound of firecrackers outside the window rose and fell intermittently. Afraid of missing something, she held the phone directly to her ear. His voice was soft and slow, low and deep with a slight hoarseness.
Zhu Xu suddenly realized that he remembered when his lips were close to her ear on Beidao Island, and he had said something similar, a flirtatious and tender word. The room was quiet then, but his breathing was very heavy.
Zhu Xu took a deep breath, his instinctive reaction being that he shouldn't have too much to do with him anymore.
The water in the pot had already boiled. She put down her phone and put the dumplings in one by one. A dozen minutes later, the dumplings were cooked. She ladled them out onto plates and placed them on the round table in the living room.
Next to it was a half-eaten raspberry cake and a small dish of roasted peanuts.
In addition, she had prepared a bottle of fine vintage red wine, which had been decanted in advance and was now just right for drinking.
It was almost time. Zhu Xu put down his wine glass and replied to his previous message: Sorry, I've been busy and haven't checked my phone. I'll be down now, but you've already left, haven't you?
After sending the message, Zhu Xu felt relieved and even pleased with himself. He thought the reply was clever, neither offending him nor making things difficult for himself.
She picked up her chopsticks, ready to taste her own cooking.
However, with a buzzing sound, the screen lit up.
She turned her gaze, and He Yanzhou's name appeared prominently on her phone.
You can see the five words without unfolding them: He said: I haven't left, come down.
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