26 "Tao Wanjia, are you being a hooligan?"
After Tao Wanjia moved into his house, He Yu finally breathed a sigh of relief.
At the beginning of the year, there were a lot of backlogs in the company. In addition to the construction of the health care center, there were many projects, large and small, that required his personal attention.
He was too busy to handle everything, and had been leaving home early and coming back late for half a month. If it weren't for her at home, he would probably have to work day and night at the company.
But since that day, he never mentioned anything about their relationship to her again. Tao Wanjia also tacitly kept the matter under wraps. She continued to spend time with him as usual, but secretly she was still planning to leave.
At the end of February, He Yu accompanied her to the hospital for a follow-up examination.
Except for some hyperplasia of the abdominal scar, all other body functions have returned to normal.
When the nurse helped Tao Wanjia change the dressing, he looked down and saw that the uneven pink mark looked like a centipede coiled there.
The nurse noticed she was distracted and said softly, "I guess you have a scar-prone constitution. There are ways to intervene now. After treatment, the scar will look less obvious."
Tao Wanjia shook her head. She didn't think it was ugly, although it did look shocking. But she thought it would be something she would remember forever.
She pulled down her clothes and walked out of the dressing room. He Yu was standing at the window in the corridor with his back to her, making a phone call. His profile was angular under the faint halo.
Tao Wanjia was distracted for a moment, then he hung up the phone and looked back at her.
"Have you finished changing the medicine? Does it still hurt?"
He Yu handed over the coat that was draped over his arm, his eyes full of concern.
Tao Wanjia didn't say anything. Rather than wanting to waste his time, she felt uncomfortable being alone with him.
The two of them were like the two ends of a rubber band that had been stretched to the extreme. No matter how light or heavy the stretch was, it would break and they could only remain as they were.
It was already three in the afternoon when we left the hospital. The sun was hidden by clouds and a strong wind was blowing in the foggy and gloomy air.
Tao Wanjia hasn't gone out for nearly a month. Freedom is so precious that she is reluctant to go out even on cloudy days. She stands on the steps and looks up, trying to feel a little warmth in the thin sunlight.
But the winter in Rongcheng is long, and it is still very cold even after the rainy season.
He Yu slowed down his pace after noticing her mood, "I'm not busy today, do you want to go shopping together?"
After hesitating for a moment, Tao Wanjia nodded in agreement.
Anyway, she was unfamiliar with Rongcheng, so she might as well let him take her to familiarize herself with it again. However, He Yu said that he was just taking a stroll, but he had his own plans in mind.
Twenty minutes later, the car drove into a newly built theater in the city center.
Tao Wanjia was puzzled. Looking at the promotional poster swaying in the cold wind, he asked, "Are you going to show me this?"
She had no appreciation for the song and dance troupe's touring performances and classical dance repertoires, and this was not a place she should go for a stroll.
He Yu didn't give her a chance to refuse. He took out two tickets from somewhere, pulled her hand and followed the crowd into the venue.
Tao Wanjia was forced to sit in the front row with him, and his hands at his sides tried to break free but remained motionless.
She glared at him.
He doesn't let go.
The surroundings turned black and the curtain slowly opened. The scene was like when he and her watched a movie together when they were children. Seeing that she was getting angry, He Yu leaned over to her ear and whispered an explanation.
"It won't take long. Let's have dinner together when it's over."
Tao Wanjia just thought he was having a fit and didn't pay any more attention to it. He just enjoyed the graceful dancing on the stage accompanied by the soft music. Although he didn't understand it, it was not boring either.
It was not until the end when everyone came to the stage to take their bows that she saw Yu Li in the crowd and realized why he had brought her there.
Yu Li is a national-level dancer. She put her career on hold for her family when she was young. She officially returned to the industry after He Yu graduated from high school. Now she is the director of a song and dance troupe in Beijing.
The audience in the hall began to leave in an orderly manner. Tao Wanjia wanted to leave, but his hand was still held tightly by him.
"What on earth are you going to do?"
She spoke in an unhappy tone, with a hint of anger in her voice.
It wasn't because he didn't tell her the real reason, but because it came from her.
But even at this moment, He Yu was completely unaware of her panic and asked her with a faint smile.
"Why are you so nervous about meeting my parents?"
"You are sick!"
Tao Wanjia spoke without thinking, and he knew too well where his abnormality came from.
As soon as he finished scolding him, a familiar voice came to his ears.
"Why don't you go backstage and just sit here?"
Yu Li walked down the stairs and saw the person standing next to He Yu. She was curious and asked, "Who is this..."
Tao Wanjia turned his head and was caught off guard by that gaze.
"Aunt Yu, it's me. Long time no see."
Her smile was frozen, and her whole body seemed to be nailed to the spot.
Facing this face, the most profound memory in Tao Wanjia's mind is still that year in the hospital, when she took a tissue to wipe her rain-soaked face, and said softly but helplessly -
"You two are both good children, but being good doesn't mean you have to be together. Love is about what you two gain together, not about sacrificing each other. He's willing to sacrifice his life for you. You understand my motherly love, don't you?"
Tao Wanjia suddenly came back to her senses and saw Yu Li looking at her.
She still looks young, and her light makeup cannot hide her delicate features.
"It's Wanjia, it's been a long time since I last saw you, auntie."
Yu Li smiled softly, and someone put an arm around her shoulders as she spoke. Qi Yuan, who had just finished taking a photo, trotted over and extended her hand to He Yu with a sweet smile.
"I spent a long time guessing with my master whether you would come. It seems my intuition is still very accurate~"
The woman spoke in a playful voice, her eyes still lively even with stage makeup, and her tone was soft and light, like the melodious singing of a yellow oriole in the mountains.
Tao Wanjia raised his eyes as the scent of perfume gradually approached, his gaze fixed on the slender white arm in front of him. The saying that a dancer's entire body is a work of art is true.
"Long time no see, He Yu. Are you planning to treat Master to a celebration banquet? Can I join you?"
Tao Wanjia was still admiring it when the sudden force from He Yu's fingertips brought her back to her senses.
He declined apologetically, "Maybe it's not convenient—"
"No problem, it's more lively when we eat together."
Yu Li interrupted He Yu's unfinished refusal, and after a brief introduction to Tao Wanjia, she pulled her beloved disciple to her side.
A very weird dinner.
Tao Wanjia didn't expect that he would end up meeting his mother after just agreeing to go for a stroll. He also didn't expect that there would be other people involved in this dinner that was originally intended to be a reunion.
"Where is Miss Tao from and what's her favorite food?"
Qi Yuan was very outgoing and acted like the host after sitting down in the restaurant.
He Yu frowned and didn't even bother to show basic courtesy without waiting for Tao Wanjia to answer.
He said in a deep voice: "Just order what you like, and I'll order her portion."
The smile on the woman's lips froze, and she nodded and said yes.
Qi Yuan, also from Nancheng, had been with Yu Li since she joined the dance troupe. She first met He Yu when he came to visit Yu Li on set, and she'd been in love with him ever since. She came from a well-off family, and dancing was just a hobby. Over the years, she'd had countless suitors, but none quite like He Yu.
He has an indescribable desire to conquer, which is out of instinctive curiosity. She wants to know what it's like for him to be deeply in love. But now it seems that he is not as cold as he has been for decades, he just doesn't have any feelings for her.
After the awkward atmosphere, the table returned to silence. Yu Li noticed the silence and picked up the topic first, looking at He Yu.
"Your dad called me a few days ago and told me that it was quiet at home. Can you tell me how many years it has been since you went back home for the New Year?"
"There's a lot to do. Let's go back when we're not busy."
He Yu answered while picking up some food for Tao Wanjia. He felt a little regretful. He originally wanted to take her to meet Yu Li, but ended up making things worse.
Tao Wanjia also felt puzzled. He glared at him and signaled that he could do it, but he had to keep smiling in front of Yu Li and answer her aunt's occasional questions of concern.
In the middle of the conversation, He Yu went to answer the phone, and Tao Wanjia made up an excuse to slip away. After coming back from the bathroom, he said goodbye to Yu Li with an apologetic look on his face, and turned around and left while He Yu was not noticing.
However, just as she walked out of the restaurant, the man who ran up behind her quickly grabbed her.
"We agreed to go back together."
"Who told you this?" Tao Wanji frowned, and finally returned to normal in the space where only the two of them were.
"If I had known that the price of taking me out for a walk was to use me as a blind date, I would have rather been bored to death than come out with you."
He Yu pulled her into the car. The car drove onto the road and a shadow of a road light passed by the car window.
He could tell there was nothing wrong with her tone, so he smiled and took the initiative to explain.
"Have you ever seen someone bring his ex-girlfriend to meet a blind date? And I just told her that you are my fiancée."
Tao Wanji was drinking a bottle of soda water from his storage compartment and almost spit it out when he heard this.
"Did you take the wrong medicine?"
"Let's not talk about ex-girlfriends for now. When did I become your fiancée?"
He Yu ignored her objection and said calmly, "No matter what, someone said she would marry me when she was seven years old."
"That's just playing house."
Tao Wanjia was speechless. After a moment of silence, he turned and looked at him. "He Yu, I've noticed that you've become a bit shameless lately. How old are you? Aren't you ashamed to say these things?"
"Why should I have the nerve to be in front of you? Besides, I have nothing to be ashamed of. I'm not the one who's refusing to pay."
There was a hidden meaning in these words, and they both knew it.
Tao Wanjia couldn't argue with him, so he turned away and looked out the window.
He Yu smiled, a bit like the smugness of a primary school student who had won a quarrel. He looked ahead and parked the car after finding his way to the residential complex where she lived.
Tao Wanjia turned and saw He Yu leaning over, stunned for a moment. In the darkness, his deep eyes shone brighter than the stars hanging in the night sky. When their eyes met, it felt like feathers were falling from his heart.
He Yu unbuckled his seat belt but didn't rush back. He stared at her and spoke sincerely.
"I was indeed inconsiderate for not telling you about what happened today. My mom has been touring the world these past two years and I haven't seen her much. I thought since we happened to meet in Rongcheng, I'd take you to meet her. After all, you're family, too. I didn't expect to be interrupted. Qi Yuan is my mom's apprentice, not a blind date. I'm not interested in her at all."
Tao Wanjia was silent for a moment, then waved his hand in front of him.
He Yu raised an eyebrow, "What?"
"Let me see if you've lost your mind playing house."
She deliberately softened her tone and wanted to take over the topic. She was too familiar with what was in He Yu's eyes, but as soon as she finished speaking, Tao Wanjia suddenly regretted it.
Because he took something out of his coat pocket.
A small, narrow ring.
Years later, that thing no longer glowed, but she still remembered the pain of almost hitting her hand while making it. It was placed in the innermost layer of the nesting doll, and she had always thought she had lost it.
"Tao Wanjia, I've been certain since I got this thing."
There will be no one else in his life but her.
With tears in his eyes, Tao Wanjia grabbed his tie and bit his lips.
He Yu was stunned for a moment, then reacted and slightly separated from her, "Tao Wanjia, are you being a hooligan?"
He hasn't even finished speaking yet. He can't keep being so unclear.
Tao Wanji couldn't guess what she was thinking, so he nodded frankly, with sparks flashing in his pupils.
She said righteously, "Then I'll play it, what's wrong?"
He Yu smiled, pulling off his tie to breathe more freely. He looked at her quietly for a moment, then lowered his head while she was off guard. He cupped the back of her head with his hand, pried open her teeth, and thrust forward. As they tangled, their breathing grew heavier, and a tingling sensation spread throughout their bodies.
The kiss lasted for a long time until Tao Wanji suddenly regained his senses when he was almost suffocating.
She remembered that her camera was still in the rented house, and since she was passing by, she might as well go and pick it up.
He Yu felt somewhat helpless when he pushed her away, as if shocked at how quickly she could adjust her mood. He laughed dumbly, but his heart was sweet as he held her hand and walked into the community together.
The unit door is narrow and the corridor is pitch black.
The voice-controlled light came on, and Tao Wanjia smelled a subtle familiar scent.
The door next door was closed tightly, and a faint white smoke came through the gap.
She raised her hand and knocked on the door, a little anxiously——
Mai Xiang! Mai Xiang! Are you in there? "
The door was opened, and it was Maixiang's boyfriend. The boy had a gloomy face and stood at the door with his back to the flickering fire.
Tao Wanjia looked inside and saw a black and white portrait on the wall facing the living room in the dim room.
Her heart suddenly trembled.
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