Episode 42 Vanity
Lin Ying had previously promised to buy Ruxing the same thermos cup. Seeing the cup again today, after explaining the reason, she also thanked Xu Yiwei for his help.
"Thank you for the warm water that time."
"You're welcome. I've experienced ovarian cysts before and know how painful it is."
Her casual remark made Lin Ying sigh: I didn't expect Xu Yiwei, so young, to have suffered from this problem. However, given their current relationship, she couldn't take the initiative to inquire about his condition and expose his private affairs.
The two officially exchanged WeChat accounts. Xu Yiwei opened the shopping app and searched for order records. Faced with the empty results interface, she seemed to realize something and felt quite embarrassed.
"Um... I just bought this thermos at the supermarket, nothing fancy. How about you try... identifying the object by looking at the picture?"
After hearing her suggestion, Lin Ying slapped his forehead. He had forgotten that there was such a method.
Over the years, her time, space, and even her brain capacity have been uncontrollably squeezed by life, work, and children. Every day she rushes around for different things, but while busy, she is quietly pushed to the edge by the pace of the times...
People seem to live in the present and also in the future, but there is too much information in the present and there is no time to read it all, and there are too many things to do in the future and it is impossible to plan them one by one.
Looking at the various similar recommendations popping up on the screen, she temporarily saved and added a few of them to her cart.
"I'll go back and ask her which one she likes. Why don't you go back and wait for the news?"
After saying goodbye to Lin Ying, Xu Yiwei just came out of the gallery. The long-lost smell of roast meat once again entered her nose, and she was so greedy that she almost drooled... Although the interview results had not yet come out, standing in front of the glass again at this moment, Xu Yiwei couldn't help but feel more confident than half an hour ago.
Even though it's some false confidence.
I'm really hungry.
She walked to the hollowed-out semicircular glass window, and the proprietress asked her again in a soft voice what she wanted. She blurted out:
"A serving of barbecued pork rice."
After saying that, she felt something was wrong, so she turned on her phone and dialed a number. After the other party answered, she asked in a calm tone, "Do you want to eat barbecued pork rice?"
The other party mumbled something, and after hanging up, she changed her tone: "Two servings."
"Okay, two servings of barbecued pork, husband!"
While she was singing dishes to her husband behind her and helping Xu Yiwei enter the account, she kept gossiping: "The little girl just had an interview," and then instructed her to scan the code...
Seeing the number on the bill, Xu Yiwei hesitated for two seconds, then suddenly had an idea and approached the lady boss:
"Yes, Auntie. Actually, I was fascinated when I passed by your stall this morning. I just went to the interview and Mr. Lin praised your barbecued pork and said that I must try it if I have the chance. So I wanted to buy some as soon as I came out to satisfy my craving."
"Oh, let me tell you, Miss Lin has always been kind and nice. She has always taken care of our business. So, for her sake, I'll give you a discount on this order."
As she spoke, the three-digit number in front of Xu Yiwei dropped to two digits. She was secretly happy and expressed her gratitude in a coquettish voice:
"Thank you, Auntie. If I can come here to work in the future, I will come to take care of your business every day!"
beep--
The code was scanned successfully, and her account balance dropped by three digits.
She took the packed lunch box and smiled at the proprietress with dimples, until she turned around completely and the smile stopped abruptly.
The scorching setting sun filtered through the branches and leaves of the sycamore trees, but it still felt scorching when it hit people. Xu Yiwei was carrying a backpack and two boxes of barbecued pork rice, which felt like they were carrying scalding roasted sweet potatoes. From time to time, it scratched the skin on her legs, making her feel very uncomfortable.
She turned into an alley that was almost impossible for even a tricycle to pass through, counted the numbers on the low buildings, and slipped into the narrow stairwell. The light in the corridor was dim, and the public areas on each floor were filled with common items that looked like waste, shoes, paper bags, and even children's bicycles... until she reached the top floor and stopped at the door of a resident's house where the corridor was slightly better.
After two knocks, the familiar face suddenly appeared, but the look in his eyes when he looked at her was filled with strange and complicated disappointment.
"Change your shoes. I just called the cleaning staff yesterday."
Cen Shuo used his eyes to signal her to look at the slippers on the shoe rack at the door, then opened the door and went back inside...
He had just moved in less than a week ago. He had come here originally for work and Lin Ying, but after arriving, he found that all his efforts were in vain. His work and relationship were gone. Not only that, his first love also came to him and asked him to take her in no matter what. She played her sympathy to him and told him about her miserable experiences during this period. At the end, she said as a matter of course -
"I just want you to help me find a place to live. I don't mean to get back together with you. Don't be so sentimental."
Fortunately, he was familiar with the agent, who helped him cut the price down to one-third and waived half of the agency fee. With someone else sharing the rent with him, he didn't lose out.
The only loss was that his private space was invaded, but whenever he thought of the scene where Lin Ying rejected him, he secretly felt that at least there were other people around him who could replace him.
Xu Yiwei casually placed the barbecued pork rice on the desk opposite his bed, and the atmosphere became a little awkward.
"If you don't eat now, you'll have to wait until lunch. One portion is 58. Remember to give me the money, otherwise I won't have anything to eat next time."
Cen Shuo took his portion of the meal and put it in the refrigerator's fresh-keeping compartment, and couldn't help but sneer:
"It seems your last sponsor was quite cruel to you. He didn't even give you money for food."
Xu Yiwei took a bite of the barbecued pork and felt her stomach come alive again. The rich and mellow aroma of lard was truly satisfying, but coupled with this sarcastic remark, it obviously reduced her satisfaction.
"Don't worry, I'll have a job soon. If nothing else, at least when I get paid, I'll give you every penny of rent."
"What kind of job are you looking for? A marginal anchor? Or a drinking companion?"
Xu Yiwei once again endured his sarcasm and said calmly, "A proper job, nine to five, with five social insurances and one housing fund."
"Can such a job satisfy your vanity?"
Snap——
She put down her chopsticks, looked up and glared at Cen Shuo fiercely.
"No need to be so sarcastic. Even though we live together, my life has nothing to do with you. I won't lose anything that's yours."
But after saying this, Xu Yiwei felt a sudden tightness in his chest, and the meat in his mouth became more and more bland the more he chewed it. He closed the lid of the unfinished lunch box, put it back in place, and then took out a box of cigarettes from his backpack with ease.
Seeing this, Cen Shuo reminded him in a stern tone:
"I need to smoke outside. The landlord doesn't allow smoking in the room."
But the popping beads in her mouth had been bitten open, and now every stitch and thread on her body was an "asset". She glanced at the windowsill and trash can outside the room, stood up, picked up a used coffee cup for reuse, opened the window wide, and almost leaned her entire upper body out of the windowsill, and began to enjoy the aftertaste of nicotine.
It was windy today, and the smoke quickly dispersed. Halfway through her cigarette, Cen Shuo leaned over and stood shoulder to shoulder with her, saying, half seriously, half mockingly:
"I'm out of work now. I'm submitting resumes and interviewing every day. If I don't have any income next quarter, you'll have to support this house on your own. You'll have to take care of yourself."
This made Xu Yiwei regain some confidence, and he hit back bluntly:
"Remember two weeks ago when I asked you to borrow my room, you said you were in a relationship and that he would often contact you. How long has it been since then, and you're both heartbroken and unemployed? How could such a top student be so miserable?"
"They're two different things. Don't act like everyone is like you and think anything can be considered a 'job'."
"Then at least I'm honest. If I'm after profit, I'm after profit. Unlike you, you clearly want fame and fortune, but you insist on calling it love. Do you still think you were that popular person back then?"
"Be more polite when you speak, or I'll kick you out at any time."
Hearing this, Xu Yiwei exhaled the last puff of cigarette from his nose, extinguished the cigarette butt in the coffee cup, and squinted at him with sarcasm.
"Now that you're the only one willing to take me in, how do you expect me to be polite to you? Act like a spoiled child to you? Do you want me to oblige you?... Or do you want me to sleep with you? It's not impossible, it's not like we haven't slept together before!"
Embarrassed and angry, the volume of his voice also increased, attracting the elderly people walking downstairs to watch. Cen Shuo felt that something was wrong and, in a rage, dragged Xu Yiwei back into the room and slammed the window shut.
"You're used to being a chicken! You just open your mouth and say..."
"Shut up, Cen Shuo! From the moment I walked in until now, every word you said has been a roundabout way of humiliating me. You said I was a prostitute? Fine, then I'm going to settle the score with you. If I really count it all, you're the one who slept with me the most! Do you still have to pay me back?!"
Cen Shuo's anger had already reached a boiling point. He'd been feeling down lately. First, he'd been inexplicably bullied by his boss, and then Lin Ying had broken up with him. He'd lost his job, his relationship was over, and his rent was going out in a flash. He didn't know when he'd be able to fill this hole...
At this moment, his first love suddenly came to him and tried to persuade him. He had refused before because he wanted to invite Lin Ying to his home so that he could cook with her, but now everything has become empty.
It was all an illusion, nothing was left, and yet she, as a vested interest holder, still clamored like this.
"Don't blame Xu Yiwei. I'm different from those men! I couldn't give you what you wanted back then, but I don't owe you anything. It's you who can't accept the status quo and insists on pursuing vanity and comfort. I never forced you to do anything. You chose what you have today, you deserve it!"
"I deserve it, so what right do you have to criticize me? You're just a stinky Phoenix man from outside the city. Don't think I don't know what you're up to. Haven't you been fishing for big fish these past few years? Counting on a local to help you settle down and let you fly to the branches and become a Phoenix!
I was blind to fall for your prestigious school image. To rent an apartment with you, I got up early and worked late every day, making milk tea and serving dishes. I even accompanied your parents to visit the Oriental Pearl Tower on the day your grandmother passed away! But how did your parents treat me back then? And how did you treat me later?!
"Shut up!"
"You said I was skirting the rules and sleeping with my money man, but that's all you saw! But what does that have to do with you? We had already broken up by then. Anyone could humiliate me, but you didn't..."
As if someone had forcibly opened the valve of her emotions, she threw all the accumulated hatred in front of him like rotten fish and shrimp, glaring at him and roaring. But Cen Shuo had already grown tired of it. He pulled her to him, leaned over and pressed his lips against her chin, blocking her angry mouth with his lips...
He hated Xu Yiwei and her transformation back then, but he couldn't help but feel sorry for her. He didn't understand why the girl who was so bright and high-spirited back then had become like that. She looked down on him, saying that he couldn't give her what she wanted and would only drag her down...
He hated that she could say such despicable words, hated that she could face the desires in her heart so resolutely.
She went back and forth to the beds of several rich men, but came back crying to beg for his mercy. Even though she had come back, she still looked down on him, just like she did in the past.
She was unscrupulous and came back to share the house with him, but there was only one bed in his house. In such a small space, even putting an extra sleeping bag would seem crowded.
So her purpose was obvious. She just wanted to sleep with him, and she didn't care about this kind of thing at all, just like she said just now -
"It's not like I haven't slept before!"
In that case, don't blame him for being mean.
Anyway, she was the one who brought it up first, anyway, she was the one who wanted to provoke me, anyway, she didn't care.
He followed the other person's appearance in his memory and found the switch in her body. The moment he tried to turn it on, thousands of thoughts twisted into a ball and gathered between his eyebrows.
He suddenly thought of the time after the art festival ended, when the two of them walked into the first subway car. The rumbling sound of the machines all the way drowned out the confession that only they could hear. She was always very direct at that time, and seemed to be ignorant of the immensity of the world. Even when she was testing him, she was so straightforward.
I quietly curled my fingers around his, and the direct confession was filtered out by the roar, and only penetrated his eardrums—
"Cen Shuo, can I ask you out alone sometime in the future? I...want to date you."
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