Chapter 12 He Yanzhou: "So you pretended not to recognize me just now..."
He Yanzhou raised an eyebrow, his gaze shifting from her face to her exposed arm. He couldn't make out what the tattoo was for a moment, but after a while, his gaze returned to her face.
Zhu Xu suddenly remembered that it was no wonder the girl looked so familiar. It turned out that when he accompanied Jiang Rao to "catch her in the act," she had asked He Yanzhou for money in the lobby of the office building.
She remembered her vividly because of her flamboyant and unique clothing and her outstanding features.
Jiang Rao even sent her a message asking her to guess the relationship between the two.
Seeing that he remained silent, Zhu Xu did not speak for a moment either.
"Why are you here?" the girl asked, sounding rather unwelcoming.
"Can't you come?"
"Yes, please make yourself at home." The girl dared not express her anger, and gestured with her chin, "Please sit down."
He Yanzhou remained standing at the door, neither coming in to sit down nor making any immediate plans to leave.
The room was quiet, with only the sound of the tattoo pen and a faint hum.
This person had such a strong presence; their tall figure blocked the only exit to the outside, making it seem like the air wasn't circulating much.
Zhu Xu felt even hotter, and his forehead was covered with fine beads of sweat.
After a while, the girl couldn't help but look up and peer outside: "Did you come all by yourself?"
Who else do you want to see?
"Are you out of your mind? Can't you just talk properly?"
He Yanzhou composed himself, then finally lifted his foot and sat down on the small sofa in the corner.
He unbuttoned his coat, pulled the sides of the blouse back, rested his elbows on his lap, picked up a magazine and started flipping through it casually: "Going back to Lincheng for New Year's Day."
“…Okay.” She asked, “What about you?”
"uncertain."
Silence fell again, broken only by the sounds of the machines running and the rustling of paper.
The girl found it strange; he usually wouldn't deign to stay in the store for even a second longer, but today he was refusing to leave.
In the most intricate part of the flower stamen, the dividing lines are extremely dense.
She didn't have time to ask questions, so she sat down with him and focused on her work.
At the same time, the pain intensified infinitely.
Zhu Xu bit her lower lip, too embarrassed to utter a sound, but her breathing was somewhat disordered.
She closed her eyes and heard him ask, "Does it hurt a lot?"
Zhu Xu propped his head up. He was sitting to his right, with a magazine on his lap, leaning against the back of the sofa, looking at her calmly.
She opened her mouth, only to hear the girl next to her lazily explain, "It varies from person to person. Some people are not sensitive to it, while others find it unbearable. The liner pen is a round needle made up of many fine needles, so the contact area is sharper. It will be easier to apply color later."
After hearing her finish speaking, He Yanzhou shifted his gaze back to Zhu Xu and asked her, "Why not finish it over two days?"
The girl spoke first: "I say a short pain is worse than a long one."
He Yanzhou subtly tugged at the corner of his lips.
A few minutes later, the line was cut, and Zhu Xu was finally able to straighten up and catch his breath.
The girl handed her a tissue to wipe her sweat and cleaned the stains around the pattern. She then took out a round mirror from the drawer and showed it to her so she could check if she was satisfied.
While the two were talking, He Yanzhou lifted the curtain and went out. After a short while, he came back in carrying two paper cups filled with warm water. He handed one cup to Zhu Xu, held the other cup in his hand, and sat back down in his original seat.
Zhu Xu: "Thank you."
"You're welcome." He smiled slightly.
The girl looked at the two of them, and for a moment she seemed to be slow to react, as if the sun had risen in the west today. He was finally less resistant to the career she loved and was even taking the initiative to serve the customers.
She chuckled and said, "I'm thirsty too."
He Yanzhou pulled another magazine from the bookshelf next to him, slowly drank his water, and didn't even look up.
The girl rolled her eyes at him.
I changed the colored needles and finished the rest.
Those firework scars were necrotic tissue, hard and uneven, requiring repeated punctures and treatments.
The girl asked curiously, "These overlapped; it must have hurt a lot back then, right?"
Zhu Xu: "...It's alright."
"More painful than a tattoo?"
"……fine."
The girl wiped away the excess paint with a tissue: "Sis, you're really ruthless. You've got a story to tell..."
"The school has taken care of it for you."
She was interrupted before she could finish gossiping.
Looking up, He Yanzhou was still flipping through the mindless magazine: "Finish this after the New Year, and go to school obediently."
The girl's face turned cold, not understanding why he would suddenly bring up such a spoilsport. "I'm not going."
He Yanzhou didn't speak, only gave her a cold glance.
The girl was a little annoyed, and her hands were moving a lot: "I just don't understand why you insist on forcing me to go to school. I don't like it! What's wrong with me opening a shop? I earn my own living, abide by the law, and make money with my skills. Why is that so disagreeable to you?"
"Watch your pen," He Yanzhou reminded him, lifting his chin as he closed the magazine. "Your shabby shop requires a lot of investment but yields little return. It lacks any unique features, and the skills are mediocre. You hardly see a customer all day long. And now that you've finally found someone with low expectations, you're just trying to make a living?"
Zhu Xu: "..."
Zhu Xu felt utterly innocent.
The girl coughed lightly and winked at him to shut up.
He Yanzhou glanced at Zhu Xu; her dazed expression was different from usual.
It seems that even the most aloof person has a cute side.
He gave a barely perceptible laugh.
The girl retorted, "Whether the technique is good or not, why don't you try getting one yourself?"
"Don't even think about it in this lifetime."
"Don't make any promises you can't keep. Who knows, there might be a day when you'll be begging me for help?" she said confidently.
He Yanzhou didn't want to say anything more, lest it affect her mood and cause her to make any more mistakes if she wasn't sure what she was doing.
He pulled up his sleeve to check the time: "I have an appointment at six, so pay attention."
The girl rolled her eyes at him again, not quite understanding why he was rushing her if he had something to do.
Soon, no one spoke.
The electrical noise kept stopping and starting, and as time slowly passed, the pattern was actually quite well completed.
Finally, the girl applied Vaseline to Zhu Xu and wrapped her in plastic wrap. She then instructed her to avoid getting the scabs wet before they formed to prevent infection, and to eat a light diet, avoiding raw, cold, spicy foods and seafood, which could trigger allergies.
Zhu Xu was actually quite satisfied. He thanked them, paid the bill, put on his coat, and prepared to leave.
He Yanzhou had somehow gotten to the door first, held it open for her, and then followed her out.
The two walked one after the other, about half a step apart, and stopped at the zebra crossing. They finally stood side by side, leaned closer, and started talking.
The girl leaned against the window, watching their backs as they walked away. Suddenly, she let out a soft "Wow!" The two of them knew each other.
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He Yanzhou first turned his head to look at Zhu Xu.
Zhu Xu also subconsciously turned his head and had to say, "President He, what a coincidence."
He Yanzhou smiled and checked the time again: "5:57. We're still two blocks away from the Japanese restaurant we agreed to meet. You're probably going to be late."
He smiled slightly, his expression relaxed, and made a joke to her in a very slow and gentle tone.
Zhu Xu adjusted himself slightly and smiled, "Then you're late too."
He Yanzhou nodded: "Let's move."
"It shouldn't be too far in the past."
"A light diet, avoid seafood," He Yanzhou said. "That's what she said just now."
Zhu Xu was taken aback, not expecting him to notice such things, and quickly said, "I'm fine, I can eat anything."
The red light turned green.
As He Yanzhou took a step, he signaled to Zhu Xu that they could leave.
The two blended into the flow of people.
Night had just fallen, the sky was a deep, dark blue, and the streetlights on both sides were just starting to turn on, their warm yellow light gradually growing larger and replacing the sky's presence.
He Yanzhou took large steps, but his pace was slow. He turned his head to look at her and asked, "Is Beidao colder than Lincheng?"
“Yes,” Zhu Xu said.
It wouldn't be an exaggeration to say that she wore a down jacket that covered her knees today, along with a scarf and thick boots.
"It's very windy," He Yanzhou said.
Zhu Xu nodded and casually accepted a menu handed out at the restaurant entrance.
The buildings on both sides are mostly European-style small buildings with low shop windows and tasteful interior decorations, and there are many Western-style restaurants.
Zhu Xu folded the menu twice and put it in his pocket.
He was holding a set of car keys, but he didn't mention driving.
Walking along the street, not knowing his destination, Zhu Xu didn't ask any further questions.
The awkwardness of being alone with him hadn't lessened. My eyes casually drifted through the oncoming crowd, but I could see the white mist he exhaled out of the corner of my eye.
After a short silence, the monotonous ringing of the telephone came from his end.
He Yanzhou answered the phone, but barely spoke a word, listening to the report from the other end.
At the intersection, he gestured for Zhu Xu to turn left, and only after ending the call did he explain: "Luckily, I just remembered that there's a Cantonese restaurant up ahead that's pretty good and very close by, so it's convenient to walk there."
Zhu Xu said, "Actually, I can eat anything."
"Do you like Cantonese food?"
"Sure." Zhu Xu hesitated for a moment, feeling that chatting casually wouldn't be abrupt: "The girl at the tattoo shop just now was..."
He Yanzhou said, "My younger sister."
"My own sister?" Zhu Xu blurted out. A hint of doubt unconsciously crept into his rising intonation.
He Yanzhou paused, turned his head, and looked at her with a half-smile: "What do you think?"
“…Maybe one of you looks like your father and the other like your mother.” Actually, Zhu Xu had already guessed the relationship from their conversation, but in this society, the term “younger sister” is very broad and cannot be used solely for blood relations.
He chuckled softly, seemingly in a good mood: "So what were you afraid of when you pretended not to know me?"
Zhu Xu pulled his scarf tighter, somewhat regretting his impudence.
Before she could speak, He Yanzhou explained for her: "What do you think she is to me? Would she misunderstand our relationship?"
That's roughly how it is.
Upon entering, He Yanzhou did not speak, and Zhu Xu assumed he had reservations, so he did not greet him either.
Later, I roughly guessed the reason behind it, but it was still strange that he took the initiative to speak again in the middle of the process.
I might as well remain silent.
Zhu Xu was silently weighing the situation in his mind when he heard him ask, "Do you think that you and I have the kind of relationship that would lead to misunderstandings?"
Zhu Xu pursed his lips, raised his head, his eyes slightly lowered, his gaze fixed on his own face.
Her heart skipped a beat for no apparent reason, and she looked away somewhat awkwardly.
From being almost complete strangers at a class reunion to several chance encounters later on, he helped her time and time again.
Zhu Xu knew that someone like him must be very strict with his time management. He would rather use his time for charity than waste it on a nobody like her.
For a moment, my mind was racing, but I felt ashamed of my lack of talent and appearance. What made others think they were superior?
But when we met again two months later, I felt that the atmosphere between us was more subtle. Even though we had only met a few times and spent little time alone, I don't know when this change had occurred.
Afraid that he would realize her thoughts were elsewhere, she smiled generously and replied with the same words he had just used, "What do you think?"
How would you like me to answer you?
Zhu Xuyi remained silent.
A group of young people walked towards them, their laughter and playful chatter breaking the atmosphere.
Zhu Xu stepped aside, creating some distance between himself and He Yanzhou.
Looking up, I was fortunate to see a restaurant called "Guang Shun Xing" across the street. The signboard was yellow with red characters, and it looked very Cantonese at first glance.
Zhu Xu quickly asked, "Is it that one?"
He Yanzhou remained calm and glanced in the direction she pointed: "Yes."
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