Chapter 14 He was looking at her. Zhu Liushuang was both surprised and delighted; he might very well be...
Teacher He?
Zhu Liushuang stood there stunned, the name He Ming flashing through her mind. Then, she shook her head with a wry smile, thinking it couldn't be such a coincidence.
However, she ended up delivering the contract to Zhonghe today in a rather haphazard way. Guo Yang would have handled this himself, but since he was in a hurry to catch the high-speed train to a neighboring city for a business trip, he casually handed the errand over to her.
Zhu Liushuang slapped her forehead, regretting that she should have asked the person in charge first, instead of grabbing the contract and running away.
It wouldn't be so awkward as to stand at someone's office door, unable to even say who you're looking for.
Why don't we ask Jiang Shuting and the others about Teacher He's name? Zhu Liushuang stopped what she was doing, thought for a few seconds, and immediately rejected the idea.
The contract was already signed, but she didn't even know the project manager's name. This makes her seem incredibly unprofessional. On a larger scale, it shows that Ruixin has been negligent in its work.
According to Guo Yang's original words, the firm didn't normally take on small projects like this, which involved assisting companies with their financial statements. They only offered this extra service as a favor because Zhonghe handles all the auditing work for the head office.
Let's wait until President Guo returns from his business trip and get to the bottom of things before we discuss it further. Zhu Liushuang stopped dwelling on the matter, hopped on her electric scooter, and set off back to the company.
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When she got off work in the evening, she ran into Lü Feng, who was also returning home, at the stairwell.
“Xiao Shuang, you…” Lu Feng called out to her, stammering and unable to speak.
Zhu Liushuang subtly moved her hand away and slipped to the side against the wall, without slowing down her ascent: "What's wrong?" she asked as she walked.
"I heard... you went on a blind date recently?" Lu Feng cautiously followed behind, his gaze falling on Zhu Liushuang's fair neck.
News travels fast. Sure enough, there are no secrets between neighbors, whether they live upstairs or downstairs, across the hall. Zhu Liushuang thought to herself, then casually said, "Yeah, just responding to the elders' kindness."
"I ran into Aunt Qiu last time, and she said you went on a blind date too." Zhu Liushuang didn't turn around to look at Lü Feng, but intentionally or unintentionally steered the conversation towards him. "From what Aunt Qiu said, she seemed quite satisfied."
"I...I was forced into this situation. I've already explained it to that girl," Lü Feng said urgently.
Zhu Liushuang clearly understood the implication in his words, but still remained oblivious to romance, saying, "Brother Lü Feng, the girl Aunt Qiu introduced to you must be a good one. Get to know her better, and maybe you'll make it work."
The iron gate creaked as it turned a few times, then she turned around and called out, "I'm going home to cook. I hope you find your ideal girlfriend soon."
The smile on her face seemed deliberately forced, sickeningly sweet. But to Lü Feng, it looked incredibly awkward. He opened his mouth, but ultimately said nothing, simply standing quietly at his doorway until the door behind him closed before lowering his head.
Their birthdays are only three months apart, and she never called herself "Brother Lü Feng" during elementary and middle school. Ever since that incident, whenever she wanted to distance herself from him, she used that nickname as a shield, leaving him with no way out.
After closing the door, Zhu Liushuang felt rather heartless; she could see Lü Feng's disappointment and hesitation. But she had to play the cold-hearted one.
Firstly, she only had friendly feelings for Lü Feng and didn't want to hold him back. Secondly, Qiu Yan couldn't stand her getting close to Lü Feng, and she didn't want people to gossip about her behind her back.
"It was so dark outside, I thought it was going to rain again today. I'm so glad you're back..." Gu Chunling said to her daughter as she chopped vegetables in the kitchen and heard the door close.
Zhu Liushuang put her backpack down in the entryway, changed into a pair of plastic slippers, and shuffled into the kitchen. She took the kitchen knife from her mother and said, "Let me do it. This knife is quite heavy; your wrist can't handle heavy things."
Gu Chunling had no choice but to let her daughter do as she pleased, but she couldn't stay idle, so she started helping to pick vegetables.
Zhu Liushuang glanced at her mother, who was busy at the pool, and asked in a muffled voice, "Mom, did you tell Lü Feng about my blind date?"
Gu Chunling was taken aback, and slowly said, "It's your Aunt Qiu. The day before yesterday, I went out to take out the trash and we happened to be talking about Xiao Feng's blind date, so I mentioned it."
"Oh," Zhu Liushuang replied indifferently, then focused on chopping vegetables.
The mother naturally noticed her daughter's emotions, realized she had spoken out of turn, and said, "Mom won't talk to them about you next time. I won't tell them the truth if they ask."
Zhu Liushuang casually mentioned, "Yeah. Ever since Lu Feng got into a fight for me in the third year of junior high and got a major demerit from the school, Aunt Qiu has never liked me very much."
"Then wasn't the major demerit revoked before graduating from junior high school?" Gu Chunling asked in surprise.
"It was withdrawn, but Aunt Qiu still blames me. If it weren't for me, Lü Feng wouldn't have gotten into a fight, and he wouldn't have almost ended up in jail."
"But haven't you been tutoring him all along? From elementary school to junior high, Lü Feng's grades in several subjects have improved a lot."
“One thing at a time, these are different,” Zhu Liushuang explained calmly. Her mother, Gu Chunling, was different; she was less worldly and less perceptive in matters of human relationships, and therefore couldn’t see through so many intricacies.
“It’s definitely different… I heard from Qiu Yan that their rural area is going to be demolished, and soon they’ll be buying big apartments in the city center.” Gu Chunling muttered to herself, “It’s a pity that Mom can’t buy you a small apartment. A young woman like you should have a house of your own as premarital property.”
Zhu Liushuang picked up a piece of chopped tomato and threw it into her mouth, mumbling, "I can earn the money myself, there's no rush."
Gu Chunling concealed the self-reproach in her eyes and continued washing vegetables without responding.
After dinner, the mother and daughter sat in the living room and watched TV for a while. Zhu Liushuang massaged her mother's legs while casually listening to the news broadcast.
The local news broadcast happened to be showing the housing market situation in Gucheng this year, and Gu Chunling couldn't help but feel regretful: "Houses are cheap now. If Mom were still working, she might have been able to save up for your down payment."
Zhu Liushuang didn't seem to care much: "Housing prices in smaller cities will continue to decline in the future."
She paused what she was doing and continued, "A few days ago, community workers called me and said that the government will install elevators in our building free of charge next year. Then we won't need to climb stairs anymore..."
Gu Chunling asked in surprise, "Didn't each household in the surrounding old residential areas pay 80,000 yuan to install elevators? Why is our community getting such a good deal?"
"It's supposedly a 'smart shared elevator,' with the government and businesses funding its installation and maintenance, and subsequent usage is charged per floor or per use. Each use only costs a few cents..." Zhu Liushuang relayed the information mentioned by the community worker to her mother, a relieved expression appearing on her face.
She had originally wanted to buy an apartment with an elevator as soon as possible to make it easier for her mother, who had difficulty walking, to go up and down the stairs. The installation of the "shared elevator" relieved her of the anxiety about buying a house. The thought of changing her mother's treatment plan became even stronger.
That night, the torrential rain arrived as expected.
Zhu Liushuang listened to the sound of rain and opened Yueyin FM, only to find the message bar empty. She couldn't help but feel a little disappointed.
She realized she had left He Ming a message over twenty days ago, but still hadn't received a reply. Just as she was feeling down, a notification popped up on her phone reminding her to update her software.
Zhu Liushuang subconsciously clicked "Update Now." The home internet speed wasn't slow, and the small software update only took a few dozen seconds. However, the updated interface had undergone significant changes.
With only a bedside lamp lit in the room, she stared at the increasingly flashy interface and suddenly felt an urge to uninstall the software. Her eyes stung, and she pinched the bridge of her nose with her index finger and thumb, but still couldn't resist clicking into the "Human World" radio station's homepage.
With her sharp eyes, she immediately noticed the difference: the updated radio station homepage had an additional line of information showing the other party's last login time.
Zhu Liushuang was both surprised and delighted. She was surprised because He Ming's last login time was last night, but delighted because the login time was only a few minutes different from the time she left the message.
In other words, he most likely checks her comments every day. Thinking of this, Zhu Liushuang excitedly threw her phone onto the bed and covered her face with her hands.
If she were to go to the bathroom and look in the mirror right now, she would see a flushed face. Like the morning clouds, radiant and beautiful.
But soon, her joy was replaced by distress.
Since He Ming saw her comment, why didn't he respond with a single word? If he initially treated her as a passerby who had accidentally stumbled upon the site and didn't pay any attention, then after more than twenty days, her daily, unwavering comments should have caught his attention by now, right?
But surprisingly, not even the most basic "thank you" was said.
Zhu Liushuang suddenly remembered He Ming from high school, and she began to let go of her resentment.
Yes, he was a man of few words. She had almost never seen him talk warmly with any girl, and he had very few male friends.
His handsome face rarely displayed any vivid expressions. When he smiled, the corners of his mouth would curve slightly, but his beautiful eyes remained indifferent.
When he was downcast... Zhu Liushuang had never seen He Ming look downcast. She had, however, witnessed him once when he was frightened.
The one who started that "frightened" him was none other than herself.
In the second semester of her first year of high school, Zhu Liushuang joined the school's radio station. Although her good friend Tian Xingyu did not join the radio station, she often accompanied her to participate in its activities.
She vaguely remembered that it was a spring day. The hydrangeas in the No. 1 Middle School campus were in full bloom.
Because the spring track and field meet had been held two days earlier, the campus was deserted on Saturday, with many boarding students having gone home as early as Friday night.
Zhu Liushuang stayed until Saturday because Ye Xingzhi, the head of the school's broadcasting station, said that there would be a short meeting in the morning to discuss matters related to "Red May".
Tian Xingyu excitedly took Zhu Liushuang's hand and went to the activity room, ostensibly to listen in on their activity plan and offer some advice.
But Zhu Liushuang knew that her friend only showed up at every event to get closer to her crush, Ye Xingzhi. Tian Xingyu was lively and sociable, and quickly became friends with everyone at the radio station.
She looked more like a member of the school's radio station than Zhu Liushuang.
The meeting that day was short; the group discussed for about half an hour before dispersing. Some were busy packing up their books to go home, while others rushed off-campus for tutoring.
Just as they were about to head towards the dormitory building, Tian Xingyu suddenly said that she had drunk too much water and needed to use the restroom urgently. So the two of them changed direction and headed back towards the teaching building.
The nearest restroom was in the senior high school building. Tian Xingyu jogged forward and hurried into the girls' restroom on the first floor.
Zhu Liushuang stood outside waiting for her friend, but her eyes involuntarily drifted towards the stairwell. Going up the stairs and turning right, the second classroom from the top was He Ming's class.
Thinking of this, her heart began to beat faster.
She quickly lowered her head to calm herself down, and when she looked up again, her expression was normal.
A few birds chirped from the large camphor tree in front of the corridor. Zhu Liushuang suddenly remembered that Tian Xingyu had scared her with a grasshopper she had caught yesterday when she watched the game. She couldn't help but feel playful and had the idea of scaring her friend.
She quickly walked to the stairwell from where she was standing outside the restroom, squatted down, and quietly hid in the corner.
The tap outside the toilet was turned on with a "splashing" sound; Tian Xingyu must have been washing her hands. Then the sound of water stopped, and footsteps approached from afar.
The footsteps grew heavier, and as they approached Zhu Liushuang, she suddenly jumped up in front of them. At the same time, she opened her arms wide and shouted, "Ha!"
The shout froze in the air, along with the funny "ha" and the wild, snarling smile on her face.
Zhu Liushuang stood frozen in place, completely unsure of what to do next. Her mind went blank the moment she saw that the person who approached was He Ming.
Tian Xingyu rushed up from behind He Ming and hugged Zhu Liushuang, who was too scared to move. She pulled her aside and laughed so hard she bent over.
"Wow, you're so brave, sis! You even dare to flirt with Senior He?" her friend whispered teasingly in her ear.
Zhu Liushuang was almost in tears. She squeezed out a few words through gritted teeth: "I was just trying to tease you..."
A flushed face quickly lifted from Tian Xingyu's shoulder. Zhu Liushuang secretly glanced at He Ming's expression and quickly said, "Senior, I'm sorry."
Ignoring the other person's reaction, she grabbed Tian Xingyu's hand and ran forward. They ran all the way to the small garden, hiding themselves among the clusters of white hydrangeas before they began to breathe heavily.
"I think you scared Senior He pretty badly just now. He took a big step back," Tian Xingyu said, her face flushed as she fanned herself with her hand.
Zhu Liushuang regretted it even more: "Who would have thought he would suddenly show up... I've lost so much face! Does he think I'm crazy?"
Tian Xingyu chuckled and comforted her, "Don't worry, he probably didn't even remember your face since he ran so fast."
This attempt at comforting her was worse than no comfort at all; it only made Zhu Liushuang more heartbroken.
Tian Xingyu couldn't hear her inner thoughts and continued to comfort her, "But don't let He Xue-chang's cold demeanor fool you, he has a really good temper. If it were any other guy you didn't know well, he would have sworn out after being scared like that..."
“Yes… he’s already very well-mannered. His expression didn’t even change…” Zhu Liushuang said dejectedly, tugging at the end of her hair.
A note from the author:
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Hahaha, this is a total social disaster, but they're both so cute.
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