Chapter 58
After returning home, the two of them had dinner together. Just after finishing the meal, Li's mother called. Li Qingzhu walked to the sofa and sat down, pressing the answer button.
"Qingzhu, are you and Qingxiu free tomorrow?"
Li Qingzhu glanced at the man sitting next to her and said, "I'm free, but he's not. He has a business trip tomorrow."
Leng Qingxiu heard that it was about him, and asked her quietly: "Who's calling?"
"Fuck it." Li Qingzhu also replied in a low voice.
Leng Qingxiu nodded to indicate that he understood.
Over there, Mother Li heard someone beside her daughter and asked her, "Qing Xiu is with you?"
"Um."
After hearing this, Mother Li felt relieved. She added, "Come home for dinner tomorrow. Your father and I will be waiting for you at home."
"good."
Leng Qingxiu listened to the conversation and felt that the relationship between the mother and daughter was a little distant.
He wondered, "Is this how you and your mother get along?"
Li Qingzhu held a pillow against her waist.
Li Qingzhu and her mother had always had a cold relationship. Whether they were on the phone or at home, their conversations lasted only a few minutes. They only talked about things when they had something to say, and rarely spoke unless there was something else.
"It seems that it wasn't like this when I was little, but it gradually became like this as I grew up. We can hardly talk to each other."
When Li Qingzhu was little, her mother was very strict with her, making arrangements for almost every detail. As she grew older, Li Qingzhu considered rebelling, but when she saw the disappointment on her mother's face, she felt an inexplicable pain in her heart, yet she still obeyed her mother's wishes.
Li Qingzhu had been very well-behaved since she was little, beautiful, well-educated, and could play the piano. Leng Qingxiu had learned all this from her mother, who must have been the one who told her.
Leng Qingxiu felt Li Qingzhu's loneliness at this moment, and he suddenly resonated with her in his heart.
Actually, what she said before was right. They are so similar.
"Don't think too much, come and help me pack my things." Leng Qingxiu stood up and called Li Qingzhu to go upstairs with him.
Li Qingzhu ignored him. She didn't understand and asked him, "Why don't you clean up yourself?"
Because of the phone call just now, Li Qingzhu was thinking about the past with Li's mother and was in a low mood. She had been walking around all day today and her feet were exhausted. She didn't want to move at all. She just wanted to have a good sleep.
Seeing that Li Qingzhu didn't move, Leng Qingxiu went upstairs and said nonchalantly, "I originally wanted to invest some money in someone's business, but just now I realized that she doesn't seem to need it anymore."
Li Qingzhu had almost forgotten about this matter. Seeing that Leng Qingxiu still remembered and was about to deny his debt, she hurriedly followed him, "Boss Leng, what else do you want me to do now? I'm suddenly full of energy now! I'm sure I can exceed my expectations!"
Hearing the footsteps behind him, Leng Qingxiu smiled, knowing that Li Qingzhu was following him.
"I have a meeting later, just help me pack my luggage."
The two of them arrived at the room. Leng Qingxiu took out a suitcase and placed it in front of Li Qingzhu. "You just need to help me pack some formal clothes and ties. I can pack the rest myself."
Li Qingzhu looked at the black suitcase in front of her and nodded to indicate that she understood. Then she thought of something and looked up and asked, "Do you want me to help you pack your underwear too?"
The tone was normal, and Leng Qingxiu didn't hear any other meaning. But it was this normal tone that made him gasp, and he replied with a hint of shame and anger: "No, I can do this myself."
"You just need to help me fold the clothes and sort them into the suitcase. I will pack the rest myself after the meeting."
Leng Qingxiu regretted asking her to pack. He didn't know what was wrong with his brain. Was it because he couldn't bear to see her depressed that he wanted her to do something to distract her?
"Okay, Boss Leng!" Li Qingzhu rarely saw Leng Qingxiu embarrassed, and her previous gloomy mood was swept away. She smiled at the unnatural expression on Leng Qingxiu's face, finding it very amusing.
Leng Qingxiu pretended not to notice the playful expression on her face and left the room with a slightly confused heart.
Li Qingzhu saw Leng Qingxiu leave and began to pack his luggage.
She arrived at Leng Qingxiu's closet, which was mostly filled with neatly arranged shirts and suits, with only a few T-shirts. She also found a few pairs of jeans and sweatpants in one area, and a few pairs of sneakers in the shoe cabinet. Li Qingzhu felt like these shoes had been gathering dust for ages, never being worn.
Li Qingzhu couldn't help but think that if Leng Qingxiu wore this outfit, a simple T-shirt, paired with a pair of jeans, and a pair of sneakers, he would look a lot younger, and would not be inferior to those young men in their twenties.
She stopped fantasizing and went to where the coats were, picked up two coats, a few shirts and a suit jacket, then came back to choose a few ties.
More than ten minutes later, Li Qingzhu looked at the suitcase on the ground filled with her neatly arranged clothes, and she felt a sense of satisfaction in her heart. She went into the bathroom with this joy.
Leng Qingxiu came to the room after a brief meeting. Seeing that Li Qingzhu had already packed his clothes, he squatted down to check them, then went to the wardrobe to get a few missing pieces and put them in. When he picked up the suitcase, he found that it was much heavier than his usual business trip suitcases.
He put the suitcase by the door, glanced at the bathroom, and went to get a set of pajamas to go to another bathroom.
—
When Li Qingzhu got up in the morning, she saw that the suitcase was gone, and thought that Leng Qingxiu had left.
Last night, after she showered, she saw her suitcase was still in the room, so she left the door unlocked. She didn't know whether the suitcase was taken last night or this morning. She showered, tidied, and fell asleep.
Li Qingzhu was going home today, so she went to the mall to buy some gifts to bring back.
She asked Lao Rao to take her to the mall and then let him go back, without asking him to continue taking her home.
Li Qingzhu arrived home in the afternoon. Seeing no one at home, she guessed they had gone out to buy groceries. She called Xu Li and planned to go to school to look for her tomorrow.
Xu Li received a call from Li Qingzhu and was overjoyed to learn that she had returned home. Jiang Huizhou, who was standing next to her, saw her smile so brightly for the first time and asked thoughtfully, "What's the good news? You look so happy."
Could it be some man? Jiang Huizhou calmed down, turned the dishes on the table, and stopped the steamed fish in front of Xu Li.
"My friend came to see me." Xu Li didn't pay attention to Jiang Huizhou's actions. It happened that her favorite dish was stopped in front of her. She took the public chopsticks and picked up the food and put it into the bowl.
"Then you have a good relationship with your friends." Jiang Huizhou tested silently.
"That's right, she's my best friend. If she hadn't resigned, you would still be able to see her."
Because Jiang Huizhou is younger than her, Xu Li treats him as her younger brother and doesn't pay attention to her emotional ups and downs when speaking to him as she would when talking to an elder.
"What did he teach before? Why did he resign?" Jiang Huizhou continued to ask.
"She taught politics. She didn't like being a teacher anyway, so she quit."
The history teacher next door heard Xu Li talking about Li Qingzhu, and he also stammered to Jiang Huizhou, "Teacher Li is married and has settled all her lifelong affairs, but you two don't even have a partner."
"Teacher Li?" Jiang Huizhou grasped the key point. He was married.
He couldn't help but feel relaxed.
Seeing that Teacher An was about to start again, Xu Li quickly pushed Jiang Huizhou out.
"Teacher An, I think there must be a lot of people over there who like Teacher Jiang, who has good conditions."
When Jiang Huizhou heard himself, he turned to look at Xu Li, only to see her looking at him with a teasing smile on her face.
Jiang Huizhou is rational and steady at work, and to outsiders he seems like a calm young man. But after meeting Xu Li, he becomes like a young man who has just fallen in love.
Now seeing Xu Li smiling at him, the smile had some bad intentions, but he thought Xu Li was extremely beautiful, and his heart was flustered.
Jiang Huizhou had fallen in love with Xu Li at first sight when they met at a flower shop. He'd been passing by the shop every time since then, but he'd never run into her. When school started, he discovered they were colleagues, sharing the same office, and he knew his chance had come.
"Yes, yes, Xiao Jiang is handsome, so there must be a lot of pretty girls who like him. I wonder if Xiao Jiang has a favorite type?"
Because he had drunk some wine, Teacher An's speech was a little unclear.
Teacher An, their history teacher, also serves as their grade director. In her free time, she enjoys matchmaking for the teachers and often organizes gatherings for single colleagues. She also occasionally organizes events and social gatherings with teachers from other schools and public institutions.
Xu Li has participated in many such events. Firstly, she also wants to find a partner, and secondly, there are some events that cannot be turned down, such as tonight's event.
"Teacher An, I'm still young and there's no need to rush. Besides, I don't have such plans at the moment." Jiang Huizhou waved his hand, as if to reject him.
When Teacher An heard Jiang Huizhou say this, he knew that saying more would only make people dislike him. He thought, "Only when you're done should you stop." Then he went to chat with another teacher.
Jiang Huizhou faced Xu Li, and when their eyes met, they both smiled embarrassedly.
Xu Li had just heard what Jiang Huizhou said and whispered to him, "Is Teacher Jiang in love with someone?"
Jiang Huizhou looked at her, thought for a moment, and replied, "No."
He knew clearly that she didn't have that kind of feelings for him at the moment, and he was afraid that if he said "yes", Xu Li wouldn't talk to him like she was now, and he was afraid that she would deliberately avoid him.
—
Li Qingzhu stayed in her room for a while, and when she heard the door open, she knew someone had returned.
Both Mrs. Li and Mr. Li are university teachers and have some free time on weekends, so they let Li Qingzhu go home on weekends.
"Oh? Xiaozhu is home?" When Mr. Li saw his daughter, he forced a smile on his face.
"Yeah." Li Qingzhu also smiled at him.
"Let's go cook. You sit here and watch TV." When Mrs. Li saw Li Qingzhu, a smile appeared on her face, and then she pulled Mr. Li into the kitchen.
"Are you happy that your daughter is back?" Dad Li teased her after entering the kitchen.
Mother Li glared at him and said, "Hurry up and wash the rice!" She didn't answer him, but waved her hand to urge Father Li to wash the rice and cook.
Li Qingzhu looked at the two people busy in the kitchen, and for some reason her nose felt sore. She turned and went to the living room to watch TV.
While watching the documentary, Li Qingzhu's phone rang. She glanced at the screen and saw it was Leng Qingxiu calling.
"Hello?"
"Are you home yet?"
"We'll arrive in the afternoon. What about you? Have you arrived at Daxin?" Li Qingzhu took the remote control and turned down the TV volume.
"We're here." Leng Qingxiu sat on the chair, looking at the documents brought by his assistant, and sighed deeply, "It's better to go home."
Li Qingzhu was confused when she heard this, "Huh?"
"I don't have to work when I get home, but I still have a lot of documents to look over."
Li Qingzhu listened to the miserable voice and felt a little aggrieved.
"That's right. There's hot food to eat." Li Qingzhu smiled as she watched the busy figures in the kitchen.
"Haven't you eaten yet?" She could tell from his voice that he was very tired, and asked with concern.
"Not yet, we'll eat later." Leng Qingxiu stood up and walked to the table to pour a glass of water.
"I haven't eaten yet either. Dinner will be served soon." Li Qingzhu listened to the noise inside. She seemed to hear a sound similar to drinking water, and then she heard someone calling him.
"Boss Leng, here is a document that I need you to take a look at."
Li Qingzhu knew he was going to be busy, so she didn't say much. She said to the person on the other end, "You go ahead and do your work. Remember to eat. I'm going to hang up first. Bye."
"Okay." Hearing the sound of the phone being hung up, Leng Qingxiu returned to the chair and continued working.
Suddenly he found that he actually felt a little pitiful.
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