During rush hour, what should have been a 20-30 minute bus ride turned into a 40-50 minute journey, making Bai Jingyuan extremely irritable, and the scallion pancake in his hand had long since gone cold.
After getting off the car, Bai Jingyuan felt a little dizzy. He stood there for a while, feeling like someone was watching him. But when he looked around, he didn't see anyone. He smiled to himself, wondering if he really thought Qiu would come to this remote and impoverished place.
As darkness fell, Bai Jingyuan's lonely and frail figure disappeared at the bus stop.
In the coffee shop across from the bus stop, there was a woman wearing high heels, sunglasses, and with big wavy hair. The handbag next to her seat looked expensive. Her designer clothes seemed out of place in the small-town coffee shop. The coffee shop owner was even afraid that the waitress might accidentally spill coffee on her, which he certainly couldn't afford to pay for.
However, this boss was very generous. She immediately ordered the most expensive coffee and dessert in the store, gave a tip of several hundred yuan, and asked the staff not to bother her.
What bad intentions could Gu Qingqiu possibly have? She just wanted to take a look at her Jingzai from afar first.
He looks much better in person than in the photos, but he's too thin! Gu Qingqiu felt very sorry for him. The pattern on Bai Jingyuan's T-shirt had faded a bit from washing, and his pants were loose-fitting and also old and wrinkled.
At the same time, Gu Qingqiu noticed what Bai Jingyuan was carrying and angrily opened WeChat.
Gu: Why are you only eating scallion pancakes again?
Bai Jingyuan had already entered the stairwell and was walking in the dim light when he suddenly heard a notification. He opened it and saw that the scallion pancake in his hand had slipped and fallen to the ground.
His heart was pounding, and he uncontrollably turned and ran a few steps outside before regaining some composure.
Abyss Mirror: How did you know?
Gu: I saw it.
Bai Jingyuan's palms were sweating with nervousness as he scanned the suspicious people coming and going around him. However, apart from a few hunched old ladies and Aunt Li who sold vegetables next door, he didn't see any other women, let alone anyone who looked like Autumn. He couldn't help but suspect that Autumn was deliberately bluffing him.
Thinking of this possibility, Bai Jingyuan felt like a clown again.
Abyss Mirror: Sister, please don't joke with me like that, okay?
Abyss Mirror: I will really take it seriously, and I will be very sad.
Gu: I'm not kidding you, sweetie, come out and greet your sister.
AbyssMirror: What do you mean? Where are you?
Gu: It means exactly what it says. I see some people aren't being honest; they sent me addresses like bus stops. What? Are you sleeping on the side of the road?
Bai Jingyuan's heart was pounding with excitement, like a pot of water about to boil.
He ran as fast as the wind until the familiar bus stop appeared before him.
Bai Jingyuan saw an elegant and beautiful figure from behind. He hesitated, not daring to recognize her. He looked down at his phone and then looked up again. Finally, he tentatively made a WeChat voice call to Autumn. When he saw that the woman actually took out her phone to answer, he froze and remained motionless.
Gu Qingqiu answered the phone: "Hello?"
The sound of rapid breathing came from the other end of the phone.
Gu Qingqiu laughed and said, "What? Do you believe me now? Slow down."
The breathing on the phone sounded more tense, accompanied by the sounds of cars driving. Gu Qingqiu felt that the voice on the phone was somewhat similar to the ones around her. She turned her head in confusion and saw Bai Jingyuan looking a little dazed. She burst out laughing.
"Come here." Gu Qingqiu put her sunglasses back into her bag and beckoned to Bai Jingyuan with her finger.
Bai Jingyuan took two steps awkwardly, his eyes darting around, unsure where to look, and he even stammered, "You...you really...you really came..."
When Gu Qingqiu met such an innocent and shy male lead for the first time, she felt her heart almost melt.
"Yes," Gu Qingqiu laughed, "You're just going to leave me standing here bewildered? Aren't you going to invite me to your place?"
Bai Jingyuan felt a bit oxygen-deprived in his brain, and his reactions became unusually sluggish. He stiffly turned around and began to lead the way, but the sound of high heels following closely behind told him that Autumn had caught up, which reassured him somewhat.
Noticing the other person's gaze on him, Bai Jingyuan was so nervous that he didn't know what to do with his hands.
The moment Bai Jingyuan took out his keys at the front door, he suddenly felt incredibly inferior and ashamed. He inserted the key into the lock but didn't turn it, and didn't even dare to turn around. "Sister... my house is a bit small, there's no place for you to sit. Did you book a hotel? Otherwise, I'll go to a hotel with you."
Gu Qingqiu raised an eyebrow. "Since I'm already here, are you going to turn me away?"
Bai Jingyuan closed his eyes and simply opened the door. "Look, it's really small!"
Gu Qingqiu looked around and saw that it was indeed just enough space for one person to live in, and even for an adult male, it was a bit cramped.
Hearing no words of disdain, Bai Jingyuan turned around and saw only a look of heartache on his face, which moved him deeply. "You..."
"Let's go," Gu Qingqiu said. "Weren't you going to take me to the hotel?"
"Oh..." So you still dislike this place? Bai Jingyuan was a little disappointed and picked up the key he had just placed on the table.
Gu Qingqiu asked, "Where's your ID card? Did you bring it?"
"I brought it..." Bai Jingyuan replied somewhat blankly. He needed to use his ID card to go to internet cafes, so he always carried it with him.
"Alright, let's go." Gu Qingqiu raised an eyebrow, gesturing for Bai Jingyuan to lead the way.
Bai Jingyuan locked the door again, looking dazed. "Where are we going? To a hotel?"
“Yeah.” Gu Qingqiu looked Bai Jingyuan up and down. Had this kid gotten so nervous his brain had dropped? “How are you going to check into a hotel without your ID?”
"A hotel room?" Bai Jingyuan exclaimed, his face immediately turning red. He nervously clutched the hem of his clothes. "Sister, you...I..."
"Alright, I'm not teasing you anymore." Gu Qingqiu ruffled the tuft of hair on Bai Jingyuan's head. "I'm hungry, come eat with me."
"Oh..." Bai Jingyuan felt the warm touch on his head, and his expression was still somewhat lingering after Gu Qingqiu's hand was removed.
In the end, Gu Qingqiu dragged Bai Jingyuan into a home-style restaurant that looked decent enough.
Bai Jingyuan remained dazed throughout, like a human follower, following Gu Qingqiu wherever she went without saying a word. Gu Qingqiu even seemed more like a local.
Gu Qingqiu was afraid of wasting food, so she only ordered three dishes, but they tasted very good and were very appetizing. Bai Jingyuan ate three bowls of rice in a row.
But when it came time to pay the bill, he finally realized what was going on and forcefully stopped Gu Qingqiu from paying, saying, "Sister, you've come all this way to see me. I haven't been a good host. How can I let you treat me to a meal?"
Gu Qingqiu glanced at the amount on the bill and did not refuse, "Then thank you very much for your hospitality, Jingzai."
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