Joy at the Tip of the Eyebrows (Part 3)
"Woof! Woof woof!" Milk Tea rushed out and barked at the unfamiliar woman in front of her.
Milk Tea was very timid; it hid behind An Yi and barked a few times before stopping.
Kong Yue looked at the unexpected little guy in surprise.
An said calmly, "You mean this male puppy?"
Kong Yue has a very sensitive nose.
She could tell whether An Yi's shampoo smelled like sweet orange or tangerine.
When An was little, she often heard Kongque complain that her father always smelled like car exhaust.
She felt dizzy after smelling it.
An had already asked Kong Yue, "Then why did you still marry your father who smelled like car exhaust?"
Kong Yue said her father didn't taste like this before.
Before, the smell on me was the wind carried by cars rushing by.
An Yi did not understand Kong Yue's description.
She attributed this change in taste to the fact that love can change.
Therefore, she does not believe in lasting love.
An had already picked up the milk tea and moved aside to let people through the door.
Kong Yue came in and asked curiously, "When did you buy this puppy? Its barking is so annoying!"
An has already put the milk tea in the cage.
Milk Tea seemed to understand that Kong Yue was talking about him, and called out to Kong Yue a few more times.
An touched the milk tea to comfort him.
"I didn't buy it, I found it on the street."
Kong Yue looked at the room with disbelief in his eyes, then opened the bedroom door and scanned the surroundings.
His gaze fell on the bed. "You little dog, can you even sleep on the bed with me?"
An paused, then said, "Hmm."
She walked to Kong Yue's side, placed her hand on the doorknob that Kong Yue was leaning on, and then— *thump*.
She closed the bedroom door, a hint of displeasure on her face.
Kong Yue said, "Let me take a look at your bedroom and see if you need me to clean it."
An has not responded.
She awkwardly took two steps back. "By the way, you saw the trending topic, right? What happened?" She didn't question An Yi as soon as she came in, still believing that her daughter wouldn't do anything immoral.
An leaned against the doorframe. "I don't know, they probably weren't talking about me."
Peacock tilted her head and asked suspiciously, "Are you sure it's not you? There are more photos of you below, and the comments say you interfered in the relationship between the second young master of Zheyun, Ji Qingzhou."
“I don’t know him,” An said, lowering her eyes. “You don’t need to worry about anything that’s not true.”
She walked over to the sofa and sat down, inviting An to sit down as well.
An had already sat down, two meters away from her.
"Your aunt has introduced you to a blind date. Go meet him tomorrow."
Although she's called my aunt, she's the one who introduced me to everyone.
An had already glanced at the bedroom door.
"I don't want to go on blind dates for now."
Kong Yue sighed and began to recall her father, who smelled of car exhaust fumes. She then talked about the difficulties of her work and how it wasn't easy for her to raise her little girl alone.
An Yi interrupted her, saying, "I don't have time tomorrow."
Kong Yue's expression relaxed. "Tomorrow at noon will be fine. I'll set aside an hour for you downstairs at your company."
Before An could speak, she pointed to her handbag and said, "I brought you some food."
Kong Yue went to the kitchen and took out the contents of her handbag. "I passed by a very famous restaurant on a business trip. This is some sweet fermented rice balls I packed for you from there."
An sat down and looked at the people in the kitchen through the sliding glass door. "Mom, I haven't liked sweet fermented rice balls for a long time."
There was a hint of melancholy in his words.
He had said before that he loved eating sweet fermented rice balls, but no one paid attention to it back then.
Kong Yue said to herself, "I can eat this for breakfast tomorrow."
She opened the refrigerator and put it in.
After asking about what happened today and putting her things away, she had nothing more to say.
She told An Yi to eat well and then left.
Kong Yue remained silent for half a minute before leaving.
She believed in her nose.
An Yi opened the bedroom door.
Ji Qingzhou was leaning against the bed reading a professional book that he had brought with him at some point.
"Where were you just now?" An asked, puzzled.
Ji Qingzhou gestured with her chin toward the bathroom.
An pursed her lips. "What if my mom opens the bathroom door?"
Ji Qingzhou's brows relaxed. "You can see me."
"..."
An already knew he was in the wrong, and heard Ji Qingzhou turn a page of his book.
"sorry."
Ji Qingzhou's gaze was ambiguous.
"It's okay, I'm your boyfriend."
The room fell silent once again.
Ji Qingzhou spoke first: "I just called Aunt Lin, she'll be over in a bit. She went to the supermarket this afternoon and bought chicken wings."
After getting off work at noon, An Yi rushed to the restaurant she had booked.
An was slightly surprised to see the person waiting for her.
"Hello, my name is Huai Chuan."
An Yi gently shook the boy's outstretched hand. "Hello, my name is An Yi."
Huai Chuan laughed heartily a few times, "I never imagined that we would meet like this after so many years!"
An smiled slightly.
Kong Yue had told her that her blind date today was someone she knew from before, but she didn't expect it to be Huai Chuan. She was her classmate in their senior year of high school.
When the senior year of high school started, a new student transferred to the class, and the teacher arranged for him to sit behind her.
I sat there for a whole year.
Huaiqian said happily, "It's been four or five years since we graduated from high school, and I haven't heard from you at all."
An Yi nodded, referring to the building outside the glass, "I work there."
"That company is great! It's one of the top foreign trade companies in China."
He took the menu and let An order.
The waiter approached An Yi from a slightly behind and behind. "Sir, what would you like to order?"
Ji Qingzhou slowly withdrew his gaze, unwilling to admit that he was in a bad mood.
From his seat, he could see Huai Chuan's face and An Yi's back.
Huai Chuan's voice came through intermittently; he didn't know what they were talking about, yet they seemed to be having such a good time.
Ji Qingzhou said, "I'm sorry, I won't need it for now."
He got up and walked to An Yi's table.
Realizing someone was beside her, An looked up.
Ji Qingzhou looked at Cheng An and said, "What a coincidence, you're having lunch here?"
An nodded slightly, glancing at her company outside the glass. It must have been her who asked that question.
What are you doing here?
"Just passing by."
Ji Qingzhou gestured to the waiter to bring a chair.
"Would you mind sitting with me?" he said to Huai Chuan.
Huai Chuan was actually a little unwilling.
He didn't show it on his face, but simply said, "Please go ahead."
He asked, "Are you An Yi's..."
Huai Chuan looked at Ji Qingzhou, who then looked at An Yi and posed the question to her.
An finally felt a little embarrassed and forced herself to say, "...friend."
Men are more likely to sense hostility between men.
At the dinner table, Huaiqian kept asking if I remembered anything from the past.
Ji Qingzhou, however, always drags the conversation into the present moment.
The strange atmosphere lasted for twenty minutes, then An Yi called.
She answered the phone and said, "I'll be right back."
She apologized to the two of them, saying, "I'm sorry, there's an urgent matter at the company, and I have to go back now."
Ji Qingzhou and Huai Chuan stood up and said, "I'll see you off."
She dared not let them see her off, and hurriedly saw the two off one after the other.
Throughout the afternoon, the scene at the dinner table would occasionally pop into An's mind.
Yesterday, that dark green Porsche was parked in front of the company.
An had already gotten into the passenger seat. "Why are you picking me up again?"
Ji Qingzhou tapped a few times on the dial pad of his phone. "I said I'd take you somewhere yesterday."
In fact, An had been waiting in his car all afternoon after returning to the company at noon.
After thinking for a while, An said what she had been preparing for an hour before leaving get off work, "How about we break up..."
After the call connected, Ji Qingzhou instructed, "Have all the oil-paper umbrellas for the craftsmen been delivered? Bring them to the office."
He took a paper bag from the drawer and put it in An Yi's arms, saying, "Have some cake to tide you over first."
As the car entered the main road, Ji Qingzhou said, "What did you just say?"
An hesitated for a moment, then shook her head.
She unwrapped the small cake, attached a spoon, and ate it in small bites.
When Ji Qingzhou returned, he contacted oil paper umbrella makers from various places and schools, asking them to make one of their representative works or one that represented their highest level of skill.
Craftsmen have a desire to inherit and carry forward the art of oiled paper umbrella making. When Ji Qingzhou explained his purpose for learning, and with his grandmother's support, most would not refuse.
The car was parked in front of a building.
The skyscraper stands out from the surrounding reinforced concrete with its unique streamlined design, its rooftop resembling an umbrella about to open, and its glass curtain wall reflecting a black and gold luster in the sunlight.
A huge "Zheyun" (meaning "cloud-covering") sign hangs above the building, combining elements of clouds and oil-paper umbrellas, making it stand out as particularly rustic among the modern buildings.
An had already tidied up the cake she'd only eaten a few bites of, while Ji Qingzhou opened the car door first.
He took An Yi's hand very naturally, and An Yi tried to pull away but couldn't.
She roughly understood what Ji Qingzhou meant, and struggled again, but it was no use.
She didn't say anything more: Let him go.
The two entered the Zheyun Building.
The company's rush hour has passed, and the remaining staff are gradually leaving.
If they encountered someone who recognized Ji Qingzhou, they would greet him, "Hello, Mr. Ji!"
The employees saw the two holding hands tightly and, combined with the trending topics, immediately understood what was going on.
The employees whispered among themselves.
"I knew our CEO Ji wouldn't be interested in that pampered young lady."
To be honest, this one is prettier!
"Sigh, another one less person to dream about!"
...
An followed Ji Qingzhou into his office.
The huge office was filled with all kinds of oil-paper umbrellas, and An Yi's eyes were overwhelmed by the sight.
Ji Qingzhou picked up the orange-yellow six-ribbed oiled paper umbrella closest to An Yi. "This is an oilcloth umbrella from Jingxian County, Anhui Province. Jingxian oilcloth umbrellas are made with bamboo as the frame and cotton cloth as the surface."
Ji Qingzhou closed the umbrella and handed it to An Yi, saying, "Try opening it and see."
An had already opened the umbrella twice, looking on with surprise. The orange-yellow umbrella resembled a blooming golden chrysanthemum, radiant and elegant.
He picked up another dark brown oil paper umbrella. "This is a Jialu paper umbrella from Wuyuan, Jiangxi. Jialu paper umbrellas are generally simple and light in shape, with a flat surface and smooth lines. The umbrella ribs are made of high-quality bamboo and wood, which are hard and elastic."
Ji Qingzhou's well-proportioned fingers traced the landscape painting on the umbrella, depicting a river flowing down from the horizon and mountains shrouded in mist.
Even An, who doesn't understand painting, could tell that the craftsman who painted the umbrella was exceptionally skilled.
Ji Qingzhou swapped the paper umbrella from Jialu for the oilcloth umbrella in An Yi's hand.
She imitated Ji Qingzhou by stroking the surface of the umbrella with her fingers.
A moment later, An pointed to an umbrella with eight corners and asked, "What is that?"
Ji Qingzhou followed her hand and looked over, “An octagonal oil-paper umbrella. This umbrella is prized for its unique design, supported by thirty-two ribs.”
The center of the umbrella is painted with plum blossoms, orchids, bamboo, and chrysanthemums, and the eight corners of the umbrella are decorated with white flowers on a black background.
An found it very interesting.
He suddenly laughed and said, "This is a replica of an umbrella that is kept in a museum, but the painting is a bit rough. It's possible that the apprentice accidentally brought the umbrella here."
He walked a few steps inside and picked up a gray-blue oiled paper umbrella placed in the middle. "This is a feng shui oiled paper umbrella. After my grandfather passed away, the family was in dire straits, and my grandmother supported the family by making feng shui oiled paper umbrellas."
“There is a craft called ‘Full House of Flowers’ for Fenshui oil paper umbrellas. It refers to threading more than 2,500 stitches back and forth inside the umbrella to create a flower pattern. It takes a skilled craftsman an afternoon to do this.”
“Look here,” Ji Qingzhou pointed to An Yi, “the colorful threads weave back and forth between the lower ribs of the umbrella, serving both a fixing and decorative purpose.”
The intricately woven net was exquisitely beautiful, and An had already secretly sighed that this skill must not have been acquired overnight.
Ji Qingzhou folded the umbrella and handed it to An Yi.
She seemed to really enjoy the moment the oil-paper umbrella was opened.
An had already taken the umbrella he handed her. She opened it, a hint of surprise in her eyes, "It looks like a dark lotus flower!"
Ji Qingzhou had finished introducing all the oil-paper umbrellas displayed in the office to An.
Ji Qingzhou asked, "An Yi, do you know the symbolism of the oil-paper umbrella?"
An had thought for a moment, "Protection?"
“The umbrella is round, which symbolizes happiness, reunion, and peace,” he said, pulling An into his arms. “I’m sorry I didn’t protect you.”
An is no longer used to being so close to others.
Faced with this sudden action, she took a half-inch back.
She had never heard anyone say the word "protect" to her.
A pair of hands slowly landed on Ji Qingzhou's back and patted him.
"It's okay, I'm your girlfriend."
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