Chapter 17
The lights in the stairwell flickered, as if trying to break the mysterious atmosphere between the two people.
But before Wei Ge could turn on the voice-controlled light with a cough, hurried footsteps were heard upstairs.
Originally, Wei Ge wanted to give way to the person coming down the stairs, but as he got closer, he realized that the person coming down from upstairs was very familiar to him.
"Mom?" Wei Ge looked at Jiang Lin who was coming down the stairs.
Jiang Lin was stunned for a moment when she heard her son's voice. She subconsciously put the things in her hand behind her, raised her head and looked at Wei Ge. She moved her eyes to the right and saw that there was someone following her son.
"Where are you going?" Wei Ge was not the careless kind of person, so he could see Jiang Lin's little movements clearly, but he didn't directly ask Jiang Lin what she was hiding in her hands.
"I'm going out for a while. Something happened." Jiang Lin's expression relaxed a little. She was no longer as panicked as when she first saw Wei Ge. It seemed that she had already thought of what to say next.
"Is this your friend? Why did you come back today? The school is closed." Jiang Lin spoke first, with her hands still behind her back, and turned to look at Xing Zhao beside her.
Xing Zhao is young. Although he doesn't look like a college student, he is definitely not Jiang Lin's age.
Not only Wei Ge saw Jiang Lin's little movement, Xing Zhao had also been staring at Jiang Lin's hands behind her back. He was tall, and from his angle he could see that it was a cloth bag, and from the outline it looked like a lunch box.
What's so good about hiding in a lunch box?
However, Xing Zhao did not speak, but smiled at Jiang Lin: "Hello sister-in-law, I was Brother Wei's junior when he was in college. Wei Ge is back today, so I stopped by to see you."
"It's Xing Zhao, right? I always hear your senior brother mention you. You look so young, I didn't recognize you." Jiang Lin's smile deepened, but for some reason, Xing Zhao still felt the tension in her body.
Especially when mentioning Senior Brother Wei, Jiang Lin's face showed obvious panic.
Wei Ge was much more sensitive than him. He felt that Wei Ge should have noticed something was wrong, but since the kid didn't expose it, he, as an outsider, naturally wouldn't say anything.
"Thanks to you for taking care of Weiwei in Lushui. Your senior brother hasn't come back yet, so you two go home first. I'll go out to buy some food and we'll eat together in the evening." Jiang Lin winked at Wei Ge, indicating that Wei Ge should take Xing Zhao home first.
"Mom, do you want me to accompany you?" Wei Ge looked up at Jiang Lin who was about to leave in a hurry.
"No need, just take good care of Xiao Xing. Wash the fruits at home." Jiang Lin lowered her voice and reached out a hand to pat Wei Ge.
Wei Ge didn't say anything else, just nodded, watched Jiang Lin pull her hand back, hurriedly moved the lunch box behind her, and quickly walked downstairs.
"Go home, or..." Xing Zhao placed his hand on the back of Wei Ge's head and gently rubbed the fine hair at the roots, without saying the rest of the words.
"Go home." Wei Ge turned and smiled at Xing Zhao, reaching out to grab Xing Zhao's arm. "Didn't my mom say that she would come back to eat with me later?"
The combination lock clicked twice, and the green light at the door came on. The room was dark, and there was a faint scent of sandalwood in the air, but the smell was not too strong.
Wei Mingzhe likes to sleep with the scent of sandalwood on his head, but Jiang Lin always feels that the smell is too pungent. Her husband feels uneasy and cannot sleep well without the smell, so Jiang Lin can only compromise and light the sandalwood in the living room.
The two of them didn't like to close the door of the master bedroom when they went to sleep, so the scent of sandalwood blew in through the door.
Wei Ge felt that Wei Mingzhe had not been home for a long time. After all, when he was at home, the smell would make people's eyes wet, but now he just felt that it smelled fresh.
He changed into slippers, took the bag from Xing Zhao's hand and put it on the coffee table in front of the sofa, then turned to look for shoes in the shoe cabinet.
"Here's a new pair for you." Wei Ge handed a new pair of slippers to Xing Zhao. Xing Zhao looked down and saw that they were the same style as the one on Wei Ge's feet, but a different color.
Maybe Xing Zhao's gaze on Wei Ge's slippers was too obvious, but Wei Ge instinctively pulled back his feet. "The second pair is half price."
"Yeah." Xing Zhao nodded in response, then asked a somewhat nonsensical question: "Is yours the second pair, or is mine the second pair?"
"Mine is the second pair." Wei Ge blurted out, feeling that he couldn't use the second pair to entertain guests.
"Okay." Xing Zhao nodded. "Then buy something else next time and give me the second one."
Fair, so fair.
But what does it mean to buy something else next time? Xing Zhao and I are addicted to the same product and want to use it again.
"Um...you sit on the sofa for a while, I'll go wash the fruit for you." Wei Ge fled the scene before Xing Zhao could say anything else.
Xing Zhao, this "straight guy", always manages to tease him unintentionally. It is fatal to get along with such a person.
Wei Ge turned and walked quickly towards the kitchen. Xing Zhao walked aside and called the housekeeper: "It seems that the water cups at home need to be replaced. You can buy them. The second one is half price. Yes, the second one is half price. Buy two."
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The refrigerator is filled with fruits and vegetables. Jiang Lin has taken good care of Wei Ge and Wei Mingzhe over the years, and they rely on her for everything at home.
Without Jiang Lin, the father and son would have some trouble in their lives.
But it's not that she can't do it at all. Any housework is shared by the three of them, but only Jiang Lin knows where everything is in the house, and only Jiang Lin knows how much the things she bought cost and what she bought.
Jiang Lin has never worked since Wei Ge was born, not because Wei Mingzhe doesn't want his wife to be an independent woman.
It's because their lives are really too good. No one likes to go to work, and they have money to spend even if they don't work, so they naturally rest at home.
Although Wei Mingzhe's academic performance is not good, he has some talents in other areas.
When he was in college, he made his first fortune by running errands and bringing meals to his family, and even opened his own fast-track business.
Wei Mingzhe studied for so many years, firstly because he lost a year due to World War II, and secondly because he was studying medicine, which gave him two more years than others.
Although he hadn't learned much in his studies over the years, he had been doing very well in various part-time jobs. Jiang Lin had never had to worry about food and drink since she started dating him.
Wei Mingzhe has accumulated a lot of connections. When he graduated, he was afraid that his medical skills were not good enough and would delay the patients' treatment. After all, not all master's students are capable of operating a knife.
He didn't force it and used the resources at hand to join a medical device company. He had connections in all major hospitals.
Why not be a boss? Because being a boss is too tiring. Wei Mingzhe doesn’t want to take so much responsibility. The money he earns is already enough.
Later, when Wei Ge grew up and Jiang Lin had rested enough at home, Wei Mingzhe paid for her to open a small supermarket.
Jiang Lin is pretty and loves to dress up. Her supermarket business is doing well, and she lives a comfortable life.
Wei Ge washed the fruit, but didn't see a knife for peeling apples on the counter. He stood on tiptoe and looked through the cabinet above. The space where the insulated lunch box was originally placed was empty.
That lunch box was bought by Jiang Lin, a senior in high school, to bring him lunch.
Before Wei Ge could think, the breath of a man blew over from behind him, "What's wrong? What are you looking for?"
Xing Zhao stood behind Wei Ge, a little taller than Wei Ge, so his arms could naturally reach a little further than Wei Ge's. Xing Zhao's entire arm covered Wei Ge, and the posture of the two at this moment looked a little ambiguous to others.
Fortunately, there is no one else around now.
"I want to find a fruit knife to peel an apple for you." Wei Ge's hands were shaking a little. At first, he thought that Jiang Lin might be hiding something from him, maybe something about the supermarket, or maybe she and Wei Mingzhe had a fight, or there was some problem in their relationship.
Wei Mingzhe and Jiang Lin have had arguments over the years. No one's life will always be happy. It is normal for couples to have little quarrels. Anyway, these two people quarrel at the head of the bed and make up at the foot of the bed. He doesn't care, and he has no power to control it.
But now it doesn’t feel like that. There is a dish of food in the refrigerator. Wei Ge just touched it and it was still warm.
Jiang Lin had just put it in and was in a hurry to go out without eating. She lied about going out to buy groceries, and she might also have lied about saying she would come back.
Or maybe she really would come back, but Wei Mingzhe probably wouldn't come back tonight.
Wei Mingzhe hadn't been home for so many days, so Jiang Lin went out with a lunch box and carried Wei Ge on her back.
Is Wei Mingzhe sick?
"Why are your hands shaking so much?" Xing Zhao reached out and held Wei Ge's hand. He had no other intention, he just wanted to steady Wei Ge's trembling hand.
"You don't need to peel the apples, I like to eat the skin." Xing Zhao pressed down Wei Ge's outstretched arm, picked up an apple from the plate and took a bite. He didn't like to eat the skin, but the child was in no mood to look for a fruit knife.
He wanted to use this method to eliminate Wei Ge's panic at the moment.
"Sorry, I need to go out for a while. You can eat some fruit and watch TV. I have puzzles and Legos in my room." Wei Ge looked at Xing Zhao and spoke as if he was taking care of a child who came to visit his home.
Xing Zhao narrowed his eyes and looked at Wei Ge, "Is this right?"
"I'm sorry, I really shouldn't have kept a guest like you in my house." Wei Ge realized that his behavior was inappropriate, and there was a hint of hesitation in his voice.
"Yeah, you leave a stranger in your house, aren't you afraid that I will run away with your things?" Xing Zhao reached out and rubbed Wei Ge's head. Sometimes he really wanted to lift up the child's hair to see what the structure of his brain was.
He trusted strangers so much, trusted his senior roommate whom he had only met twice, and also trusted Liu Qi, the manager of Cutino who obviously looked malicious.
Sooner or later you will be deceived.
But Wei Ge's words pulled Xing Zhao back, and even made him feel somewhat relieved and happy. He heard Wei Ge speak in a gentle but firm tone, "But you are not an outsider, Uncle Xing. We have lived together for so long, you are my family."
Family, that sounds warm.
But Xing Zhao has hardly ever felt warmth from his family in his life. The world of rich people is full of interests and calculations.
Even when raising children, we only care about whether the children are successful and whether they can create value for themselves.
Wei Ge would not have any expectations of him, nor would she desire him. There was no interest relationship between them, but a bond was formed because of it.
After all he said he was his family.
Xing Zhao was happy to hear such a name, and it would be nice to be a family member of this child.
"Okay." Xing Zhao looked at Wei Ge and said cheerfully, "Since we're family, I have an obligation to accompany you."
Wei Ge was a little dazed and turned to look at Xing Zhao in front of him. He seemed very gentle at this moment. He didn't know which of his words touched him, but his gentleness was a little uncharacteristic.
Then, Xing Zhao took out his car keys from his pocket and shook them: "Where are you going? I'll take you there."
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