3. First meeting that year
The girl across from him, slightly tipsy and drowsy, lay slumped over the table, mumbling. Yu Chuanbei finally had a chance to take in her features: her pretty face, her rosy lips stubbornly tilted upwards, her jet-black ponytail tied high, her bang-free forehead accentuating her brightness and brightness. Only her drooping feathery lashes betrayed a subtle glimpse of her intricate thoughts. The window behind her spread a fiery sky, its blue less resentful, its red more thoughtful. All the emotions, brewing at just the right moment, were unleashed, and Yu Chuanbei felt a long-lost, yet inexplicable, feeling. He hadn't expected his otherwise smooth life to be met with such a fortuitous encounter today. Earlier, when they'd sat down, the girl had told him her name was Lingling and, to his reserved self, said, "Don't be embarrassed. Awkwardness comes from being in a world of acquaintances. Our lives only intersect at this meal. Let's indulge ourselves in the most civilized way." Then she announced that she'd lost her job, a serious loss that effectively cut off her only source of income. But she wasn't desperate. Whenever she encountered a hurdle she couldn't overcome, she'd think, in the grand scheme of human history, this was nothing. She said her previous situation was like someone pulled from René Magritte's "The Sky Descends": stiff, numb, lifelessly following a routine that felt like it would continue until death. It was good now; she no longer had to wear her top hat, hanging stiffly in mid-air, neither rising nor falling. And to Yu Chuanbei, their current situation was more like René's "The Lovers." The evening breeze blew, and the curtains fluttered playfully, caressing Lingling's cheeks. She shrugged lazily and opened her eyes reluctantly. "Oh, it's so late, I have to go home!" Lingling glanced at her watch and suddenly stood up, clutching her dizzy head. "Then I'll take you there," Yu Chuanbei followed her to her feet. He reached out to support her, but felt he was wrong and gave up halfway. "No, that's fine. There's a pick-up and drop-off, just like we're still going to be together. It's been a fun day, and the atmosphere is just right." Ling Ling winked at him mischievously. Yu Chuanbei tilted his head and forced a smile, revealing a dimple that couldn't be any shallower. He watched in silence as Ling Ling impulsively walked out of the restaurant. Without a word of hello, she barged into his world; without a word of goodbye, she tried to withdraw from it. Yu Chuanbei turned sideways to gaze out the window at her bright back, a figure that showed no intention of turning back, and lowered his head dejectedly. But Ling Ling did turn back, and before she turned...
The girl opposite was slightly tipsy and drowsy, lying on the table and mumbling. Yu Chuanbei finally had the opportunity to take a good look at her appearance: the rosy lips on her pretty face were stubbornly raised, her black ponytail was tied high, and her forehead without bangs made her look bright and translucent, but her drooping eyelashes more or less revealed her delicate thoughts.
Behind her, a fiery sky stretched out outside the window. The blue was less melancholic, the red more thoughtful. All the emotions were brewing at just the right moment to express themselves. Yu Chuanbei felt a long-lost, yet inexplicable, feeling. He had never expected that his smooth life would lead to such an adventure today.
When they sat down earlier, the girl told him her name was Lingling and said to him, despite his reserved attitude, "Don't feel awkward. Embarrassment comes from living in a society of acquaintances. Our lives have only intersected through this meal. Just indulge yourself in the most civilized way."
Then she said she'd lost her job today, a situation so severe it meant she'd lost her only source of income. But she wasn't desperate. Whenever she faced a difficult situation, she'd think, "In the grand scheme of human history, this is nothing." She said her previous situation was like someone cut out of René Magritte's "The Sky Falls," rigid, numb, lifelessly following a routine that felt like it could continue until death. Now it was better; she no longer had to hang stiffly in mid-air with her top hat on, neither rising nor falling.
But in Chuanbei's opinion, their current situation is more like René's painting "The Lovers".
The evening breeze blew, and the curtains fluttered mischievously, blowing on Lingling's cheeks. She twisted her shoulders lazily and opened her eyes reluctantly.
"Oh, it's so late, I have to go home!"
Ling Ling looked at her watch and stood up suddenly, covering her head which was beginning to feel dizzy as if she was losing weight.
"Then let me take you there." Yu Chuanbei also stood up with her and reached out to support her, but felt it was inappropriate and gave up halfway.
"No, that's not necessary. There are people picking me up and dropping me off, just like we still have a relationship. I'm having a great time today, and the atmosphere is just right to end here." Ling Ling winked at him mischievously.
Yu Chuanbei tilted his head and forced a smile, revealing a dimple that couldn't be any shallower. He watched in silence as Ling Ling rashly walked out of the restaurant.
——Without saying hello, she broke into his world;
Without even saying goodbye, she wanted to withdraw from his world.
Yu Chuanbei turned sideways and looked out the window at her bright back, a back that showed no intention of looking back, and lowered his head dejectedly.
But in fact, Ling Ling still turned back. Before she was about to turn a curve, she turned back to look at him. She saw him lower his head, his lips tightly closed, but it seemed that he had many words he wanted to say. His eyebrows were drooping, and the afterglow also fell with his melancholy.
Under the slate-gray sky, the small, brown restaurant was just a beach pebble in this vast setting. Standing in front of the restaurant's floor-to-ceiling windows, surrounded by greenery, he seemed like a water mark on the stone that hadn't yet been dried by the wind...
*~*~*~*~*~*~
The chance encounter with Chuanbei was originally just a sleepwalking in Lingling's life. No one else was involved. After waking up, even she herself could not remember it clearly.
Ling Ling was sleeping soundly on the hard bed. Her rainbow striped home clothes were ravaged by her various weird sleeping positions until they looked like national sheets. But sleep could not prevent any annoying guy from arriving as scheduled.
She was awakened by a thud, her head pounding. It turned out to be a large leather boot inhumanely kicking against her thin bed.
"Longjia! Do you want to die?" She jumped up and stood on the bed, with disheveled hair, and yelled at the person who came.
"I'm afraid that you don't want to live! Do you think you are a bear and you don't have to eat or spend money when you hibernate?" This guy was not polite at all.
Speaking of this Long Jia, the leading male supporting character in our entire story, he has a first-class face, a height like a second-level disabled person, and a private life like a third-level movie, but his mother is stable and his father is versatile, so he has a huge fortune and a good harvest.
"Auntie, I'm unemployed, OK?"
"Oh, it seems that someone failed to lose his virginity and ended up losing his job?" Long Jia still lacks humanistic care.
"Get out!" Ling Ling picked up a pillow and threw it at him, then casually tidied up her messy hair, put on her flip-flops, and went into the bathroom to wash up.
"Why are you here today? Did you make another appointment to have sex so that I can make room?" Ling Ling brushed her teeth and spoke to him with foam at the mouth.
"Arbor Day has passed, and I plan to take a break from farming for a while. My body and hair are given by my parents, and I can't ruin my kidneys for my little darlings, can I?" Long Jia supported his waist and paced in this open space of only 30 square meters.
Ling Ling rolled her eyes at his irritating behavior, her eyeballs almost popping out.
"Have you forgotten that today is Qiuqiu's son's full moon celebration? You're his godmother after all!" Long Jia leaned against the bathroom door frame and said lazily.
Ling Ling was immediately choked to death by a mouthful of toothpaste foam, "Damn, such an important thing, why didn't you tell me earlier!"
Long Jia didn't argue with her anymore, but went to his closet to look for clothes for the party. This high-end apartment with a rooftop terrace was purely Long Jia's dressing room. Ling Ling had been struggling financially since graduation, so she had no choice but to stay at Young Master Long's place.
Ling Ling stayed for three years. Long Jia naturally never collected rent from her, and they remained close friends, capable of spontaneous exchanges of insults. This back-and-forth allowed people to transcend dignity, freeing them from the constant pretense and distance, and ultimately achieving a kind of unholy stability. She no longer felt like a dependent, and he didn't feel she owed him anything.
Ling Ling was grateful to have encountered a dragon armor like this, which had allowed her to live here for free for three years. She often thought that if it were anyone else, she wouldn't have dared to take such a big advantage. Of course, if it were anyone else, she wouldn't have let him participate in her youth for so long.
Longjia took off his sports gear and changed his clothes in the open room wearing only his underwear.
Ling Ling hurriedly washed up and didn't have time to dry her face. She ran out of the bathroom dripping with water, only to run into Long Jia changing his clothes with his upper body naked. She cursed him, "Are you a primitive person? Nudity and mating can happen anytime and anywhere, unconstrained by modern civilization, right? Can you please not lower your moral standards so low so early in the morning? How am I going to get through the rest of my day!"
"Don't you know? The reason why this world cannot achieve a terrifying balance is because people with high moral standards cannot be pulled down no matter what they suffer? So don't worry, no matter what I do, it will not disrupt your value system!" Long Jia preached to her in a sanctimonious manner.
Then an idea flashed in his mind, and he snapped his fingers and said, "Hey, this is a good joke, I have to write it on my Weibo!" Then he threw away his Versace suit, took out the latest solid gold iPhone he bought in Dubai, and wrote a Weibo post that he was proud of - he was so tacky because he was rich.
Long Jia is a relatively well-known joke teller on Weibo, posting all sorts of witty, high-brow jokes. Because his father is a high-ranking official, he's privy to a wealth of insider information. His posts on Weibo often spark countless comments and reposts, earning him numerous invitations for tea. This has also catapulted him to fame, cementing his status as a popular influencer. So, as he puts it, his daily life revolves around his girlfriend and writing.
Ling Ling looked at him sitting on the messy corner of the bed wearing only a pair of LV underwear with a classic pattern that was so common on the streets. Only one leg was covered with pants, and there was a faint kiss mark on his muscular shoulder. She suddenly felt that this scene... was too perverted!
She used her strong willpower to walk on the edge of collapse, dug out a decent coat from her handbag in the corner, and went into the bathroom to change - of course, she had to lock the door twice!
"Hey, I've sealed two red envelopes for Qiuqiu, and one is for you. I'll put it in your bag. Wait until I reply to all the valuable comments from my fans and then I'll leave!" Longjia yelled at her.
Ling Ling peered out the bathroom window at Long Jia, who was absorbed in scrolling through Weibo. He buttoned his shirt with one hand, the other awkwardly typing on his phone. The morning sun shone on his curly bangs, gilding the irreverent smile that occasionally crossed his face.
She thought, this is the Dragon Armor he has known for seven years.
And Longjia still seems to be the same Longjia he was seven years ago. He would tell her when they first met, "Your tough personality really doesn't match your impressive measurements"; after his father had an affair, he would say sadly, "If I pry that woman away, will he be able to reconcile with my mother"; after losing a fight, he would jump up and down and say, "I really shouldn't have scolded his mother, I should have mentioned my father"... Of course, he would also calmly help her save enough money for his friend's son's full moon celebration when she was in trouble.
Author's Note
Liu Qiu
author
03-11
No comments, no feedback, no recognition, the author is really lonely... Pay attention to me, pay attention to me, pay attention to me.
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