Returning Swallows (Part 3)
The chair wheels made a slight rolling sound.
Cod nimbly slid to An's side, placing one hand on her shoulder. "Miss An, are you free the day after tomorrow?"
"I'm free."
An Yi's gaze was still on the computer screen; it was almost time to leave work, and she was finishing up her tasks.
"Then I'll send you on a business trip to Yun City. There's an exchange meeting there!"
An nodded, her mind still racing, and she didn't hear the codfish asking her several times, "Has your boyfriend come back yet?"
"Which one of you is Miss Cod?" the deliveryman's voice interrupted the two.
The cod waved towards the door, "That's me!"
The deliveryman said, "Here's a bouquet of flowers. Please sign for it."
As soon as the deliveryman left, several people in the office gathered around Cod and asked who had delivered it.
"Sister Codfish, could it be that big star?" A little girl asked with a gossipy look on her face.
Cod was exasperated by the bouquet of flowers. She waved her hand, put on her boss-like demeanor, and said, "Focus on your work and don't ask questions you shouldn't."
The little girl stuck out her tongue, her eyes still glancing this way.
Cod placed the bouquet on An Yi's desk and asked, "Do you like it? If you do, I'll offer it to you as a gift!"
A large bunch of tulips, pink and blue tulips arranged in a mixed pattern, is both fresh and vibrant.
It's the type of flower cod likes; the person who sent it put thought into it.
An shook her head and said, "I don't like flowers."
She bought flowers only a handful of times, and only chose those with simple colors.
The last time I bought flowers was a year ago; I bought a bunch of crabapple blossoms and gave them to Ji Qingzhou.
Codfish then asked, "Does your boyfriend like them? Take them home and give them to him! These flowers are quite expensive, don't waste them!"
Cod secretly praised herself; cleverly, she had steered the conversation back to An's boyfriend, who was incredibly curious.
Apart from her mother, Ann had no secrets from anyone else.
People in the department office also know that An already has a boyfriend who is pursuing a doctorate.
However, he only appeared once or twice in An Yi's words, which made him seem extremely mysterious.
Does Ji Qingzhou like this kind of flower?
An was unsure, so she simply said, "I don't know."
"You didn't know that?" Cod raised its voice slightly in surprise, startling everyone else into perking up their ears even more.
They've been dating for a year. How could they not know whether the other likes flowers or what kind of flowers they like? These are things that don't require in-depth understanding to know.
Ann looked at the cod innocently, as if she had no idea how serious the crime was.
Cod pressed An's head down and spoke in her ear.
Two small heads peeked out from above the partition of the workstation, as if they were plotting something big.
The cod asked, "You two fell in love on your own, right?"
“Yes,” An was amused by Cod’s unfounded idea and said with a slight pursing of her lips, “I was the one who confessed to him back then.”
What An said is true.
A year ago, on the night before Ji Qingzhou left the country, he sent her a few messages to say goodbye.
She naturally wished him a bright future and chose "see you again someday" as her farewell phrase.
The moonlight was very bright that day. She didn't draw the curtains and stared at the moon for a long time. Memories in her mind seemed to be drawn to the surface of the sea by the moonlight.
Since they met, she and Ji Qingzhou had met a few times on and off. There were walks that sparked their feelings and greetings that remained polite, but in the end, neither of them took the initiative to take that step.
Ji Qingzhou's major is physics, and An already knows that he likes this major and hopes to continue doing scientific research.
Given the different domestic and international environments, he is more inclined to go abroad, and may even stay overseas.
She felt that Ji Qingzhou was indifferent to her existence; he would occasionally take the initiative to send her messages, but there would also be a month without any contact.
They don't meet very often.
They never really talked about feelings.
Strangely enough, despite this way of interacting, the two stayed in touch for a year.
That year she was a senior in college, and Ji Qingzhou was a third-year master's student.
She felt a vague sadness and reluctance.
An was also puzzled, as she couldn't even pinpoint the source of this emotion.
She rarely had moments that disturbed her emotions like this; even on the day her parents divorced, she only shed two tears.
Even her father said that An was like a heartless person.
At two o'clock that morning, she sent a message to Ji Qingzhou.
She tentatively categorized this feeling as liking someone and frankly told others about it.
"Senior brother, I may have liked you."
After a moment of silence, he added, "I just wanted to tell you that you don't need to respond to anything."
She admitted that she had moments when she felt a spark of attraction towards Ji Qingzhou.
I stumbled upon a gathering at GetApp, where stones were piled up on the beach...
But that's all; it's just a minor pain or itch, far from enough to warrant a plea for me to stay or a "I'll wait for you" message.
She has always been like this, her emotions are flat, so flat that it seems like she has no feelings at all.
If she truly had feelings for him, it was a rare emotion for Yu An, and she simply wanted the other person to know.
Her feelings are very important.
Ji Qingzhou didn't reply. He sent another message two months later.
The cod's pupils dilated in shock, as if it had heard some earth-shattering secret.
She couldn't believe that the usually aloof An would take the initiative to confess her feelings to a man.
The cod became interested and wanted to know more.
An felt it was unnecessary and didn't want to say anything more.
The cod was dissatisfied with the limited information he had gathered.
She nudged An Yi's side with her elbow, making wild guesses.
"Your boyfriend didn't even go home, he booked a plane ticket straight here, how much does he miss you! Could it be that he wants to discuss marriage with you?"
An flinched slightly, tickled, and said, "No."
That's what she said, but she actually didn't know why Ji Qingzhou had come back.
He only asked when he would return to China and then asked if he could come stay with her.
It's been about a year since I last saw her after she graduated, but we're boyfriend and girlfriend after all, and she was the one who promised me that, so there's no reason for me to refuse.
She didn't ask him why he came here, nor did she ask him when he would leave.
An no longer wanted to continue her conversation with Ji Qingzhou. She turned off her computer and said to the still enthusiastic Xueyu, "It's time to go home."
When Cod saw that it was true, she was so gossipy that she forgot the time. She hurriedly grabbed her bag and said to An, "Wait for me!"
After taking a couple of steps, he quickly turned back and took the bouquet of flowers that was on the table.
While waiting for the elevator, Cod kept asking: Out of the corner of her eye, An saw a white card in the bouquet of flowers. She took the card down and read it aloud with a smile.
"Dear Miss Cod, would you have the honor of inviting me to dinner tonight?"
Cod's eyes immediately drooped, and he snatched the card and rubbed it into his palm.
"This person is like a leech, I've told them so many times I don't want to see them, and they still keep asking!"
The cod's attention was drawn to it, and An quietly breathed a sigh of relief.
When Codfish went to Hengdian a while ago, she met a male celebrity who then launched a relentless pursuit of her.
I've seen this male celebrity on TV before.
He knew how to win over people by starting with those around him, often ordering food and drinks for the office staff.
Her high-profile style even led her to ask someone to keep it a secret.
The people in the office also enthusiastically discussed their progress.
Compared to her and Ji Qingzhou, An found the situation with the cod much more interesting.
As they were talking, An and Yu went downstairs and saw the male celebrity Han Fei.
It's often said that celebrities are more attractive in person than on screen, and when An saw him, he agreed that it was true.
Codfish has always liked handsome and beautiful men. Han Fei, in terms of appearance alone, fits Codfish's taste perfectly. It's just that she doesn't know why, after pursuing him for so long, she still hasn't won him over.
Han Fei knew that Cod was very likely to refuse to admit defeat, so he came to the company to confront him.
The cod, annoyed, resigned itself to being caught.
She asked An to help her throw away the flowers, "I don't want to be surrounded like a monkey on the street with this bouquet and this flamboyant-looking man."
Han Fei grinned and laughed, "Oh, I think I heard someone praising me?"
While teasing the cod, he also winked at An as a greeting.
The cod smacked him in annoyance, "Shut up, you deaf guy!"
Cod waved goodbye to An, and Han Fei followed her out of the company building.
Ji Qingzhou wore black trousers and a white shirt with the sleeves rolled up, revealing his muscular forearms.
This outfit clearly indicates that she's going to some important occasion.
When Ji Qingzhou saw her, he slightly raised his eyes.
The two stood side by side, neither of them speaking.
Once inside the elevator, Ji Qingzhou broke the silence first, "Did you receive it today?"
He was referring to the bouquet of flowers, but what he really wanted to ask was who gave it to him.
"Yes." After saying that, An added a few words about the origin of the bouquet.
She had originally intended to throw it away, but when she walked to the trash can, she felt a little reluctant.
There were still a few flower buds in the bouquet, which might bloom for a few more days, so I brought them back.
An returned home, found a vase that had been unused for a long time, filled it with more than half a bottle of water, and then took apart the bouquet and put it in.
Ji Qingzhou glanced at the bouquet of flowers a few more times; it looked very vibrant on the dining table.
"Do you like it?" An asked.
"Hmm?" Ji Qingzhou was surprised that no one had come.
Ann repeated herself, "I'm asking if you like this kind of flower?"
Ji Qingzhou said, "It's alright."
"I prefer things to be simple."
An had gone to the kitchen to cook. Ji Qingzhou glanced at the bouquet of flowers on the table a few more times. It seemed that he had never given her flowers before.
Soon, An brought out three dishes: a plate of steamed sweet potatoes, a plate of steamed corn, and a plate of eggs, steamed in their shells.
Each dish was very simple.
An said, "Eat whatever you want."
This was the third time they had dinner together since Ji Qingzhou returned; the previous two times they had ordered takeout from the hotel.
Ji Qingzhou asked, "Is this all you usually eat?"
"Yes, sometimes I don't eat either."
The subtext is that he should take care of himself when she doesn't eat.
She was worried that Ji Qingzhou wouldn't have enough, so she specially prepared a lot, even though she originally only needed one sweet potato.
An said, "Eat quickly, it won't taste good if it gets cold."
An Yi touched the sweet potato and almost burned her hand. Ji Qingzhou grabbed her hand and said, "Be careful, it's hot!"
Ji Qingzhou went to the kitchen, got a pair of chopsticks, picked out a sweet potato, peeled it, and put it on An Yi's plate.
"Thank you," she said, thinking he had done it for her, "I can do it myself."
Ji Qingzhou paused for a moment and then said, "You're welcome."
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