Chapter 25 25 Fuck you, let go of your hands
There is a saying that when you are with old friends, you will unconsciously fall into the atmosphere of past scenes. Tang Ke felt that playing mahjong with this group of people was a bit like playing Gobang. It didn't matter whether you won money or not, as long as you had fun.
This was the excuse she gave herself for losing money in the end.
Chen Wan left the table halfway through his play and went out to buy groceries. He came back with bags of food and started working with a spatula for two hours. The aroma of food gradually drifted to the living room, and the fragrance filled the air, making it look white in all directions.
His cooking skills are truly impressive, worthy of being the sole heir to the Old Street Restaurant. Back then, his parents fed a group of starving high school students, often devastated by the school cafeteria. Now, influenced by their childhood, he's transformed himself into the legendary chef Xiao Fugui, serving his former classmates. Tang Ke praised his cooking, declaring it the true taste of home.
"That's easy. If it's delicious, let's get together often!" Chen Wan was as hospitable as ever.
The arc-shaped dining table allowed everyone to eat together. Tang Ke originally wanted to sit next to Xue Jiayin on the left and Chen Wan's wife on the right. However, when the meal actually started, the seats were changed. Somehow, the person sitting on her right became Shi Bohuan, and to her right behind that was Chen Wan and his wife.
Following Chen Wan's speech, Shi Bohuan looked at him and said, "It's not that easy to get together often. Look here, it's just Xue Jiayin and I, both of us without partners or families. She's still working on her doctorate, and when she gets busy, you can only find me."
His words contained regret for how things have changed and the complaints typical of a lonely person, which aroused the doubts of Potato, one of the six married people in the group. Potato was his nickname, and his English name was Po Te Tou.
"Yes, it's very strange. I can understand that Xue Jiayin went all the way to a master's and a doctorate, but what's wrong with you? Why don't you have a partner yet? Aren't your family urging you to do that?" he asked.
Shi Bohuan shrugged helplessly, "I urged her, but it was no use. I haven't found the right one yet."
"Indeed, it depends on fate. It doesn't matter. Xue Jiayin is not in a hurry, so you don't have to be in a hurry either."
Tang Ke, who was picking up the pork belly with his chopsticks, laughed out loud: "It's coming soon."
Sure enough, Xue Jiayin, who had five SCI papers under her belt, retorted like a steely rose: "Don't bring me into this. Not only am I going to get a master's and doctoral degree, I'm also going to be a professor and an academician."
Everyone laughed heartily. A great scholar had emerged from the town, so who dared not show respect? Of course, everyone raised their glasses in admiration. The village had a common understanding: studying was always the most important thing. As long as you were studying, everything else could be put aside.
There was nothing profound to talk about. Except for Xue Jiayin, the highest educational level among those present was only a bachelor's degree. As they drank and chatted, they turned back to the trivialities of family life.
Chen Wan patted Shi Bohuan on the shoulder and comforted him generously, "It's okay, brother. You'll always meet the right one. At worst, you can go on a blind date. My aunt is a matchmaker, so she's guaranteed to be reliable."
Tang Ke's body trembled when he heard the key words.
Shi Bohuan refused without a second thought: "Go away, no matter if it's reliable or not, I won't go on a blind date if there's nothing good about it."
Hello, who are you calling?
Tang Ke slammed the table and stood up——
No.
If she hadn't mentioned it, who would have known that she got married through a blind date?
"Look, you are handsome, have a good figure, and have a stable job. You must be very popular. Why not give it a try?" When Chen Wan said this, she really looked like her aunt's matchmaker.
Shi Bohuan still resisted: "I'm not that depraved, just give up on this idea."
Tang Ke: “…”
You are aloof and noble, but have you ever thought that the "Sanxi Bridge Marriage Mutual Aid Group" also has a membership system, and those who pay money are not called degenerate, they are called "very important person".
Chen Wan continued to help his brother solve his problems and offered advice. "My wife and I are colleagues. Tu Dou and his wife met in college. Xiao Yu and her boyfriend also met in college. Tang Ke..." He paused at this point. "She just got married, and no one knows about it. You can ask her how she found her partner. Maybe she can give you some inspiration."
Asking an ex-girlfriend to share her partner-hunting advice with her ex-boyfriend might seem rather cruel, but nearly a decade had passed since their past, and Tang Ke was so carefree and uninhibited. After a day together, no one seemed to think there was any lingering rift between the former couple. As an old friend, offering some advice wouldn't hurt much.
Tang Ke cleared her throat and announced her pre-prepared speech like a dignified stewardess announcing flight information:
"love at first sight."
“…”
That's it, that's all?
Shi Bohuan was at a loss for words: "How can you say love at first sight? You're too abstract."
"Love at first sight is just as the name suggests. We were having dinner in the same restaurant and he was sitting behind me. We both turned around and, hey, snap, you know, we fell in love right away." Tang Ke described it vividly.
"How long has it been? I don't usually see you posting on WeChat Moments showing off your affection. Didn't he show any affection on Valentine's Day, May 20th, or Chinese Valentine's Day?" Shi Bohuan looked at her left hand and said something that made her sweat. "Why don't you even wear a ring? Aren't you being too low-key?"
Damn, I forgot.
Tang Ke didn't even have time to develop the awareness of being a married person before he was forced to perform the love-hate relationship of an old couple in front of outsiders.
"That's true." Tang Ke took advantage of the situation and touched his left ring finger, scratching out the ring mark in a last-minute effort. He said, "Maybe I just closed my eyes after taking a shower last night and didn't care about anything else. Oh, we just got married, I'm not used to it yet."
At this time, Chen Wan and his wife beside him interlocked their fingers, showed off their wedding rings, and said proudly: "You will get used to it if you wear it more often. If you don't wear it, you will feel uncomfortable."
Shi Bohuan looked away, opened a bottle of beer, took a sip, and suddenly remembered that he came by car. After hesitating for a few seconds, he simply gave up.
Aside from Tang, Xue, and the pregnant mother, everyone else at the table had been drinking to some degree. If he couldn't send Tang Ke home, he could ask her to take him home. It had been a while since they'd last seen each other, and he wanted to chat with her alone for a while.
"By the way, don't you live with him?"
Halfway through the drinks, they turned to economic investment. When it came to making money, some were desperate, some were thriving, and some were struggling, each with their own unique perspectives. Tu Dou and Chen Wan spoke loudly, Xue Jiayin joining in the conversation, enjoying the fun. Tang Ke paused for a moment before returning to his food, his ears noisy and unable to hear clearly what Shi Bohuan had just said.
"What?" she asked.
Shi Bohuan leaned close to her ear and repeated, "I said, don't you live with him? When I went to pick you up today, it seemed like you were living with Xue Jiayin."
Tang Ke shrank her neck and moved away. The distance made her feel uncomfortable. She imagined that her alcoholic father came home from a social gathering, collapsed on the sofa, and asked her to pour water incoherently.
She put down her chopsticks and asked Xue Jiayin to help her get a napkin. While wiping her mouth, she replied, "Of course we live together. I rented this house before I got married, and the lease hasn't expired yet. Xue Jiayin rarely comes back to visit me during the summer vacation, so we've been staying there for the past few days."
Her answer was flawless, so Shi Bohuan lowered his head and asked no more questions.
After eating and drinking to their heart's content, it was time to go to the ancient road outside Changting. Chen Wan tearfully saw off two old friends whose families had come to pick them up, and tacitly agreed that Tang Ke's husband would also come to pick her up. Xue Jiayin reportedly had an emergency in her hometown, so she received a call half an hour ago and left early. As for Shi Bohuan, he originally wanted to call an online car-hailing service to take him home, but heard him suggest that Tang Ke drive his car instead.
"This..." Chen Wan was embarrassed and asked Tang Ke: "Do you think it's feasible?"
Tang Ke pointed at himself in confusion: "Ah, me?"
"Has your husband come to pick you up? If he has, don't worry about him."
“…”
Little did she know that Tang Ke’s husband had not received any notice at all.
However, Tang Ke didn't want to see him off at all. She didn't know how to get to Shi Bohuan's house, and she was not good at driving at night, so she didn't want to see him off.
So, she lied without blinking and said, "He's here."
To avoid being caught, she took her bag and excused herself, "I'm going down first. He'll be at the intersection soon."
Little did she know that Tang Ke’s husband still had not received the notice.
Tang Ke thought he could just call a taxi at the intersection to cover up his lie. Standing next to a telephone pole, he was about to place an order when Shi Bohuan unexpectedly appeared from behind him.
"How long until he arrives?"
The sudden question startled her. She quickly covered the phone screen, turned around, smiled awkwardly, and said, "I don't know, maybe there was a traffic jam."
Damn it, how can I justify this lie?
She took a small step to the side without leaving any trace.
Finally, Tang Ke’s husband received the notice.
Tank: "Come pick me up here, quick! The sooner the better!"
"position"
ForU: "?"
"Do you need cash?"
The current situation is no different from kidnapping, Tang Ke thought.
She put away her phone, crossed her arms over her chest, and stamped her feet back and forth, as if she had ADHD. She casually changed the subject and asked, "What about you? Are you taking a taxi back?"
"Yeah." Shi Bohuan stood side by side with her, also counting the cars passing by. After a long moment, he said, "I didn't notice anything while sitting during the day, but now I see you've grown taller, haven't you?"
He gestured with his palm, extending from the top of her head to just reach his lips.
Tang Ke lifted his heels and said with a smile, "Nothing natural, pure technology."
Shi Bohuan raised his lips, feeling alive. What he missed was her jokes.
"You used to say that you couldn't wear high heels because they hurt your feet." He took the opportunity to talk about the past.
"These aren't high heels, they're loafers."
“What are loafers?”
"Just search Baidu and you'll know."
Shi Bohuan's thirst for knowledge wasn't that strong; he just wanted to chat with her for a while. Of all his exes, none had been more interesting than Tang Ke, and none had remained so amicable and friendly with him after their breakup. So much so that simply hearing Tang Ke's name brought back memories of their happy times together.
The evening breeze blew past the intersection, ruffling Tang Ke's hair. She tried to push aside the loose hair that was blocking her view, but was repeatedly blocked by the wind.
......
After receiving the location, Fu Yu set off immediately. This time he was not as anxious as he was the night of the Xiaoqiang battle. This time he tightened his pants, put on his shoes, and dressed quite presentably.
He drove according to the navigation and remembered that Tang Ke had mentioned that there was a class reunion at the weekend, so this place should be her classmate's house.
Are all her classmates here? She must have introduced him to them. Thinking of this, Fu Yu straightened up. He could give up other titles, but he had to hold on to the plaque of "Tang Ke's Husband."
After passing a traffic light, the car turned right, its turn signal flashing like the lights before a cabaret show. Coincidentally, it shone on a flirting couple at the intersection. The boy brushed the girl's hair away from her face, leaning in close...
?
Fu Yu braked and honked the horn.
Long press.
Press and hold noisily.
Let go of your—fuck—hands—off
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The author has something to say: Fu Yu: It’s warm, very warm. It would be even warmer if that wasn’t my wife.
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