Chapter 23 Can you please come to my house now?
When she was young, driven by hormones, Tang Ke also experienced a period of being unable to sleep all night and losing her appetite for another person. She also imagined their future life together like elementary school students playing house, such as the 100-day anniversary and a date by the Daming Lake. However, the harsh reality was not something two little kids could bear while riding the bus using their student cards.
Talking about relationships is a thankless task, and romantic relationships are even more so. Hold hands with him, and he'll pull you away one day. Kiss him, and he'll avoid you one day. Chat with him for days, and you'll become distant and distant. Simply put, the higher the limit, the harder the fall.
Tang Ke has a strong desire to share. Telling others about her endless inspiration, which she is proud of, is her way of expressing intimacy. But one day, her ex-boyfriend said two words to her, which completely shattered her beautiful fantasy of love.
He said she was boring.
boring.
He didn't mean annoying or talkative, he just meant "boring".
At that time, Tang Ke was extremely angry, so angry that he wanted to peel off his skin, pull out his tendons and then erase all the multiple-choice questions on his answer sheet, but she just stood there in a daze, unable to make a sound.
At that age when every answer she wrote would be marked, she felt like she had gotten a failing grade.
So what is love really about? What's left after the hormones are released? If it's like this in youth, how much better will it be in adulthood?
Adults have their own concerns. She has a job, friends, hobbies, and specialties; she's a complete individual. Even the release of hormones can be pleasurable in otome games. While tangible connections are certainly tempting, when the hormones fade, the word "boring" becomes apparent.
Her marriage doesn't need the fog of hormones. She is down-to-earth and moving forward steadily.
For Tang Ke, she is happy as long as she can spend every ordinary day in an interesting way.
During the week that Xue Jiayin stayed at her house, she took the bus to work during the day, and her best friend waited for her at the office gate after get off work in the afternoon. Sometimes the two of them went to the food street to shop, and after eating, they joined the middle-aged and elderly square dance troupe to stir up trouble, and sometimes they ordered takeout and watched Korean dramas at home.
Although she promised Fu Yu she'd be the first to fire the first shot in a violent revolution, she hadn't actually said anything about it in the past few days. They'd only chatted twice: once, she'd said the watermelon his grandfather had given her was incredibly sweet and delicious, and once, she'd taken a picture of the assembled acrylic stand. You can't blame her for not paying attention; it's just that her real life was so full that she'd said everything she wanted to say to her bestie right then and there, forgetting there was someone on her phone who needed to be harassed.
That night, they were eating watermelon and watching a TV show on their tablet when a new message popped up on WeChat. It was from Chen Wan, the high school class monitor, and it subtly asked, "Are you there?"
Logically speaking, people who have worked wouldn't chat like this. If you have something to say, just keep it to yourself. Asking "Are you there?" is like taking off your pants to fart.
The tablet belonged to Tang Ke, so naturally she was the one the squad leader was looking for. Xue Jiayin glanced at her and said, "Chen Wan, I haven't seen this name in a while. What does he want from you?"
Tang Ke shook his head, switched to the chat window, and typed with his fingertips, replying to Xue Jiayin: "You've been studying abroad, so of course you haven't seen him in a long time. He works at XX Bank now. Life is good. His wife is pregnant, and he's going to be a father soon."
Xue Jiayin knew that Chen Wan worked in a bank. His circle of friends was filled with business advertisements. Apart from that, she knew nothing about the current situation of this helpful class monitor in high school.
"How do you know? Did you meet him when you went to the bank to do business and he told you?" Xue Jiayin made a groundless guess.
"No, it was posted by his wife on WeChat Moments," said Tang Ke.
Xue Jiayin: "How did you meet his wife?"
Tang Ke chuckled, "We met while playing mahjong."
Xue Jiayin rolled her eyes, "I'm really impressed."
It's a small world. Tang Ke occasionally plays mahjong with her colleague Jing Yi, enjoying the small, 50-yuan game. Experienced players outside the system generally don't want to participate in these small, volatile games, so it's hard for them to get together. One day, they happened upon a pair of mahjong novices willing to share a table. During their conversation, they learned that one of them was married to their high school class president. It seemed like fate. From then on, whenever Tang Ke wanted to play mahjong, he would ask her if she wanted to join.
On the other end of the chat box, Chen Wan finally got to the point:
"Are you free on Saturday? Do you want to come to my house and play mahjong? /grin"
"Is xjy back? Come with me/let me see."
"It's been ages since we last met, so I'll call everyone over, just like we did in high school. You can come over to my house and have dinner there tonight, and I'll cook."
"Uh..." Xue Jiayin had a bad feeling and said hesitantly, "This 'others' doesn't include..."
"Of course." Tang Ke shrugged nonchalantly. "Shi Bohuan has such a good relationship with him, he must be there. Do you want to go?"
"I can do anything."
In high school, Chen Wan served as class monitor, Shi Bohuan as the sports committee member, Tang Ke as the entertainment officer, Xue Jiayin as the study committee member, and two other class officials, one male and one female, met frequently to discuss school activities. Over time, their relationship grew closer. While planning a cultural gala, Tang Ke and her ex-boyfriend developed a secret crush. At the gala, he confessed his feelings for her, and the two began a reckless, premature romance.
Chen Wan's family was well-off, and whenever they invited them home, they would always prepare a large, sumptuous meal. His parents were very open-minded, with a family karaoke bar and the latest game consoles installed in the living room. A group of children had a blast at his house, and his parents happily welcomed them.
After graduating from high school, the six members went their separate ways and their relationship gradually faded. Only Chen Wan and Shi Bohuan were admitted to the same university and have been brothers ever since.
A few more years passed, and the six people had started their own families and careers. After their lives settled down, they inevitably had the idea of reconnecting with each other. Because they had Chenwan, a reliable transportation hub, they would not be unable to contact anyone.
To be on the safe side, Tang Ke first asked about the others' situation. Chen Wan replied, "Everyone, come. You two are the only ones missing!"
Seeing her hesitation, Xue Jiayin said, "If you feel embarrassed, just refuse. If you don't want to go, I won't go either. To be honest, I haven't seen them for at least seven or eight years. I'm more embarrassed than you."
"It's not embarrassing..." Tang Ke pointed at his fingers, "I'm afraid they'll ask me about my marriage. Well, I know they'll ask me either now or later, but I'm not ready yet."
She was not worried about meeting her ex-boyfriend at all. She was only worried that she would not be able to make up a reasonable marriage story, which would make her lose face in front of her former friends. The fact that she did not hold a wedding and did not notify anyone left a big doubt.
If she didn't go, the words "only you two are missing" put pressure on her again. She didn't want to be the one who spoiled the fun. The six-member group hadn't seen each other for many years, and it was not easy for Chen Wan to organize this trip. The words revealed sincerity. If she didn't go this time, she would not have the confidence to play mahjong with his wife in the future.
Tank: "Okay, xjy and I will be there on time/grin"
Tang Ke agreed reluctantly and asked Xue Jiayin to practice with her overnight on how to answer if the topic of marriage came up.
First, don't lie completely; mix truth with lies, using phrases like "people are like that" and "life is like that" to blur the lines. Second, change the subject appropriately and focus on the situation. And, most importantly, maintain your composure and never reveal the fact that she'd hastily married a man she'd known for less than six months just to appease her elders.
"Is it all right? I think it's perfect. Not only them, but anyone who comes now, I can handle it!" Tang Ke boasted. Turning around, she saw Xue Jiayin's tired eyelids suddenly widen. The positive feedback made her more confident. "I told you, nothing is impossible in this world."
"Yes..." Xue Jiayin stared at the ceiling in horror.
"No."
“There are cockroaches…”
"Fuck!"
The two of them huddled together at the head of the bed, neither daring to move. Damn it, it was the size of two 2B rubbers strung together, shining down on the two 2Bs on the bed, who dared not breathe.
The two antennae on the cockroach's head move quickly, giving people goose bumps.
"Can it, it, it, fly..." Xue Jiayin's body was shaking like a sieve, and her voice was broken into pieces. She was particularly afraid of cockroaches and was sure to have a nightmare tonight.
Tang Ke was upset. She had been spraying insecticide regularly and it had just run out last month. In addition, she had a lot of things to do this month and had been distracted by the fun. She had become careless and allowed this pitch-black, shiny and disgusting uninvited guest to take advantage of the opportunity to enter.
"Whether it can fly or not, I want to fly." She said. She was not that great, she just had a little more courage than Xue Jiayin to look it straight in the face.
"What should I do now?" Xue Jiayin was so scared that tears rose up her throat and she clutched the quilt tightly, "I don't want to die!"
Tang Ke didn't know what to do. This old house was almost twenty years old, and the property management wouldn't care. They'd even think she was being pretentious. The neighbors were surely asleep by now. Either she grabbed her slippers and fought it to the death, or she'd wait until one of them died.
You can certainly outlive cockroaches, but they have a hereditary system that has been passed down from generation to generation. If they don't eat for three days or drink water for seven days, they will starve to death or die of thirst. It won't work.
How should I put it, a fight to the death...
Tang Ke couldn't do it, her legs were weak now.
In order to give it a try, she took out her cell phone and turned on the screen.
"It's already this late and you're still playing with your phone. Don't tell me you're going to post on Douyin now, Tang Ke, I hate you!" Xue Jiayin had lost all his strength and had no choice but to make his last words.
Tang Ke raised his index finger to signal her to be quiet, dialed a call and waited for the call to be answered.
It is now 11:43 in the evening. It is understandable that no one answers the call. It is also understandable that their faces will appear in the news three days later with mosaics.
"Hello?"
Thankfully, he answered.
Tang Ke grasped at the last straw, feeling extremely aggrieved: "Fu Yu, can you please come to my house now?"
"What's wrong?"
The receiver carried the garbled sound of him sitting up suddenly in bed.
"There's something dirty in my house..." She stared at the cockroach that was moving slowly and stopping along the corners of the ceiling, afraid that it would disappear from her sight.
Fu Yu hurriedly got out of bed and put on his clothes. He leaned his shoulder against the phone and asked, "What's that dirty thing? Is there a stranger knocking at the door? Don't move."
"Can you please come soon... I can't hold on any longer." Tang Ke didn't have the courage to tell the truth. What if he also thought she was being pretentious? Then the two best friends would have to die here today.
At worst, I can just buy him some more things to make amends later. Husband and wife don't hold grudges overnight, right?
"Okay, I'll be there in ten minutes." Fu Yu rushed out the door in his slippers, and at the same time he tried to comfort her: "Is your friend with you? You guys stay somewhere safe first, I'll be there soon."
It normally takes nearly twenty minutes to drive from his home to Tang Ke's home. Fortunately, there were no cars on the road at night, giving him enough time to drive at double the speed.
Although Tang Ke was not good at fighting, he could be a qualified military advisor. While waiting for Fu Yu to arrive, she kept an eye on the cockroaches and also protected Xue Jiayin, the coward, into the safe bathroom.
The most terrifying thing is not that the cockroaches are always looking down at them, but that every time they take a step, the cockroaches follow. Who knows if the next second it will stand on two feet, show its front, side and back, and suddenly start speaking Chinese.
Boom boom boom.
It responded to the knock on the door and suddenly crawled faster!
Tang Ke's hair stood on end and he suddenly opened the door.
"Tang——" Before Fu Yu finished his anxious tone, he was quickly pulled into the house by a pair of hands as fast as the wind.
Before he could ask anything, he heard the person he cared about hiding behind him. She was wearing a My Little Pony cartoon nightgown, with her jet-black hair draped over her shoulders. She looked at him with tears in her eyes and said, "Help me kill the cockroach, please..."
ah.
It turned out that it was the temptation given by the mantis.
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The author has something to say: I really couldn't hold it back, hahahaha, it was so funny. I had intended to post it at the same time as the 43-minute mark, but I laughed so hard while reviewing it myself, hahahaha
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