Luo Pingjiang took two steps towards him, getting very close, his figure looming over him, his voice hoarse: "Qingqing, don't be angry, okay?"
Ruan Qingqing suddenly felt exhausted and sad. She looked down at the road, walked around him, and walked quickly towards the hotel.
He followed closely behind, walked a few steps, and said, "The wind is strong, put on your clothes."
Ruan Qingqing said nothing and put his clothes back on.
In just a few minutes, the two of them walked downstairs to the hotel. He opened a small door, which should be the back door. There was no one there, and led her to a room in the corner of the second floor.
He opened the door but didn't go in. He said, "There's hot water in the bathroom. The door can be locked. Go take a shower. I'll ask a female employee to bring you clothes later."
The room was not big. There was a 1.5-meter bed in the corner. The quilt was the most perfect "tofu block" Ruan Qingqing had ever seen. There was also a desk and a simple wardrobe.
It looks like a temporary resting room, and also like the room of a single straight man who is making do with his life. It is completely different from the elegant and modern style of the hotel outside.
Ruan Qingqing entered the bathroom. It was not big, but very, very clean. The tiles on the floor and the walls were shiny, without a trace of dirt.
She locked the bathroom door, took off her cold, wet clothes, and took a quick hot shower. Only then did she feel alive again.
Someone knocked gently on the bathroom door. It was an elderly woman's voice: "Hello, I'm the waitress at the restaurant. I'm here to bring you new towels and clothes."
Ruan Qingqing opened the bathroom door a crack, and a stack of clothes and bath towels were handed in.
Ruan Qingqing: "Thank you!"
"You're welcome." The waiter left and closed the door again.
In front of her was a most common white long-sleeved T-shirt and linen cotton trousers, with the label still uncut. Ruan Qingqing wrote down the price, changed her clothes, and left the bathroom.
I have recovered and my mood has become much calmer. Only then did she realize that the air conditioner had been turned on in the room, and it was very warm and comfortable.
She sat down in a chair by the window. The first thing she saw was the quiet night view outside. A thought popped into her mind: So, after he retired and started his own business, he spent every night looking at this view?
She looked at the desk again. It was made of ordinary wood color without any patterns or decorations, but it was polished to a shine.
There was a black backpack on the corner of the desk, with the zipper open, revealing a bunch of glow sticks. Something flashed through Ruan Qingqing's mind, but she didn't think too much about it.
The bedside table is of the same color, small, with a black thermos, a desk lamp, and a wooden bead bracelet on it.
Ruan Qingqing stood up and walked over, picked up the bracelet, and looked at it in her palm.
After so many years, the wooden beads still exude a faint sandalwood scent. They look rounder and smoother than they did five years ago. They look so beautiful only when they are often held and stroked in people's hands.
One of them was engraved with Ruan Qingqing’s zodiac sign: Tiger. On another bead were engraved her initials: rqq.
This was when she turned 16. Her parents took her to a famous Buddhist holy place for a trip and bought her a bracelet. When they came back, her father even carved words on it with his own hands.
There should have been twenty-four bullets, but after counting, two were missing. Instead, there were two bullet shells, which did not look out of place at all. On one of the bullet casings, it was engraved: lpj.
Ruan Qingqing's bracelet had been lost five years ago. She discovered it was missing after the flood in her hometown. She didn't remember where she lost it.
It turned out that it fell on the speedboat and was picked up by him.
Ruan Qingqing stuffed the bracelet into her pocket.
Someone knocked on the door. Ruan Qingqing seemed to have been caught. She quickly ran back to the chair and sat down. She calmed herself down and said, "Come in."
Luo Pingjiang opened the door and walked in. He also took a shower and changed into a dark grey T-shirt and jeans. His hair was still wet, which made his face look whiter and his facial features clearer and brighter.
He had a piece of clothing draped over his arm, which was her coat, and he was also holding a kettle.
The atmosphere was awkward for a few seconds.
Luo Pingjiang: "Are you feeling better?"
"Much better. Thank you for today."
His eyes were very quiet. Ruan Qingqing understood the meaning instantly—she was thanking him again. Every time I meet him.
Luo Pingjiang handed her the coat: "It's already dried."
Ruan Qingqing took it and could still feel the warmth from the coat. He was so considerate that she didn't even think about her coat just now.
Ruan Qingqing: "Thank you."
He still said nothing, took two cups, poured two cups from the kettle, and said, "I asked someone to make some ginger cola, drink some before you leave."
Ruan Qingqing took it silently. It was hot, sweet and spicy. After drinking half a cup, her whole chest felt warm.
Luo Pingjiang held a cup and drank slowly.
Ruan Qingqing tried to find something to say: "That child, should he be okay?"
"I've been rescued, I'll be fine."
"Why...are you there?"
"Take a walk after dinner, how about you?"
"I... am taking a walk too."
She finished her ginger tea, put down the cup and stood up: "Then I'll go back first. I'll transfer the money for the towel and clothes to you later."
Luo Pingjiang sat there without moving.
When she walked past him, he grabbed her arm and said, "Wait, you took my things."
Ruan Qingqing was stunned for a moment, then she reacted and panicked: "I don't understand what you are talking about."
Luo Pingjiang glanced at the bedside table, his Adam's apple moved, and he said, "That string of beads."
"That's mine."
He stood up suddenly, and his tall body immediately gave Ruan Qingqing an omnipresent feeling of oppression. She subconsciously wanted to dodge, but her arm was firmly grasped by him.
“It’s been mine for five years.”
"I dropped it on the speedboat, why did you keep it?" Ruan Qingqing said this angrily before realizing that something was wrong.
Luo Pingjiang stared at her.
The night outside the window deepened and the lights were sparse. There was an orange light above their heads, and it was dim and quiet. Ruan Qingqing looked into his dark eyes and heard her own heartbeat in her chest.
He suddenly grabbed her other arm. Ruan Qingqing was startled, and every pore in her body seemed to be numb in an instant.
No one's approach had ever made her so panicked, not even Chen Muyun.
She heard him ask clearly: "Ruan Qingqing, why do you think I keep it?"
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