Chapter 359 Pear Slices
Zhang Yueran walked quickly to the kitchen and found Liu Mama, the housekeeper, who was busy cutting fruit.
A sweet smile bloomed on her face. "Aunt Liu, I'm sorry to bother you. Comrade Lin Weila inside would like to change to a cup of Longjing tea, and Sister Sun's teacup is empty. Could you please refill it for her?"
Mrs. Liu looked up and saw the charming young girl who had come with Mrs. Gu earlier. She readily agreed, "Okay, I'll make it right away. Little girl, try this first, to fill your stomach."
As he spoke, he stuffed a small dish of fresh pear slices into Zhang Yueran's hand.
Zhang Yueran looked at the plate of fruit that had suddenly appeared in her hand and smiled, "Thank you, Aunt Liu!"
Mrs. Liu prepared tea and fruit, and seeing her standing there, she urged her, "Don't just stand here, go sit on the sofa outside and watch TV for a while."
Zhang Yueran said "Hey," and carried the plate of pear slices out of the kitchen.
Instead of going to the living room, she was drawn to the birdcage hanging under the eaves.
There are several budgies and a shiny black myna bird kept there.
Zhang Yueran walked to the corridor and watched the little guys jumping around in the cage.
Seeing that no one was around, she got playful and chirped very softly at them.
The myna bird's tiny, black-bean-like eyes darted around, and it uttered in a clear, resonant voice, "Have you eaten yet?"
Zhang Yueran chuckled, leaned closer to the birdcage, and teased it: "You can talk? What can you say? Say 'hello' for me?"
The myna bird hopped on the horizontal bar, tilting its head to look at her; it was truly adorable.
Zhang Yueran spoke first, "Hello, little bird~"
"Come on, say hello to me!"
The myna bird spoke up: "Hello!"
Zhang Yueran was overjoyed. She took a bite of the pear slice and prepared to go back inside.
As she turned around, she met Zhou Xingzhi's indifferent gaze.
He stood quietly at the living room doorway, motionless, like a painting blending into the background.
Zhang Yueran felt as if she had been thrown into boiling water, burning from head to toe.
She instinctively took two steps back, her back stiffening.
She wanted to rush into the side hall immediately to escape this suffocating gaze, but Zhou Xingzhi was standing right at the door, blocking her way.
Zhou Xingzhi realized that she wanted to escape.
He originally came out to get some fresh air because he thought Qin Fen and the others' cigarettes smelled too strong, but he didn't expect this little girl to react so strongly, as if he were some kind of monster.
He didn't mean to make anyone uncomfortable, so he lifted his foot, intending to take a few steps into the garden and completely clear the entrance.
But in Zhang Yueran's eyes, his movement was seen as him getting closer.
She panicked even more and instinctively took a sharp step back, completely forgetting that there was a low wooden fence behind her.
"careful."
Zhou Xingzhi spoke up to remind him.
A long, strong hand swiftly reached out, grabbed her upper arm, and pulled her forward. The other hand deftly caught the fruit plate that slipped from her grasp.
In a dizzying moment, Zhang Yueran was pulled back and stood firmly under the eaves.
Zhou Xingzhi quickly released his grip.
Zhang Yueran was utterly ashamed and only wanted to disappear as a wisp of smoke.
Shame, embarrassment.
She bit her lower lip, not daring to look at him. The arm he had held was stiff as a log, trembling slightly.
Zhou Xingzhi handed her the fruit plate, his gaze lingering for a moment on her ears, which were so red they looked like they were about to bleed.
"Take it, I won't eat people."
This dry humor gently punctured Zhang Yueran's forced tears, which fell onto the wooden floor of the corridor, leaving a dark dot.
Zhou Xingzhi was truly stunned. He took half a step back, his brows furrowed, completely bewildered as to why the little girl had suddenly started crying.
He believed he hadn't said anything harsh, and his actions weren't offensive.
Zhang Yueran felt both ashamed and anxious.
She knew that if she continued to be so pretentious, she would only make a bigger fool of herself.
She wiped the tears from her face with her sleeve, explaining incoherently, "Thank you, thank you... I'm fine, it's just... I suddenly got sand in my eye..."
Zhou Xingzhi gave a low "hmm" and pushed the fruit plate forward again.
Zhang Yueran hurriedly took it and murmured, "Thank you."
Perhaps the atmosphere was too awkward, or perhaps her mind was completely muddled with embarrassment, but she asked politely, "Do...do you want some?"
As soon as the words left her mouth, she wished she could bite her tongue off.
Zhou Xingzhi was clearly not expected to ask that question, and paused for a moment.
He looked at her, as if she wanted to disappear into the ground, then glanced at the plate of pears. He picked up the smallest slice of pear from the plate with two fingers, gestured to her, put it in his mouth, and ate it slowly before saying casually, "See, I'm a vegetarian."
Zhang Yueran was caught off guard and was amused by him again.
Zhou Xingzhi saw the fleeting dimple at the corner of her lips, just as he had imagined, with a touch of childlike sweetness.
You look better when you smile.
The air froze once more after he finished speaking.
Zhang Yueran felt her cheeks, which had just cooled down slightly, start burning again, and this time even her neck turned crimson.
She lowered her head, staring at the tips of her shoes, her mind buzzing, barely able to think.
What...what does he mean by that? Is it just polite talk? Or...?
She dared not think too deeply, only feeling as if all the oxygen around her had been sucked out, and that she was about to burst into smoke again.
After Zhou Xingzhi finished speaking, he was slightly taken aback. Looking at the almost ripe, furry head in front of him, he realized that he had probably said something that went beyond the scope of normal social interaction.
He looked away, gazing at the sparse winter sunlight outside the corridor, and stopped speaking, quietly standing to one side, leaving the space for her to calm down.
After a brief conversation with Zhou Xingzhi, Zhang Yueran suddenly realized that the man before her, who seemed as unattainable as the moon in a mirror or a flower in water, was not as unapproachable as she had imagined.
He stood in the winter sun, his features clear, his fingertips warm, and he could deliver dry humor with a unique logic.
A tiny, unprecedented surge of courage welled up within her.
"Comrade Zhou... Comrade Zhou..."
She felt that calling him "Comrade Zhou" was too stiff, "Mr. Zhou" was too formal, and "Brother Zhou" was even more abrupt. After circling the words around her mouth a few times, she finally chose the safest way to address him and introduced herself by name.
"My name is Zhang Yueran."
After saying this, she felt uneasy, wondering if he would find her self-introduction abrupt and ridiculous.
Zhou Xingzhi's gaze returned to her face, meeting her eyes which held a hint of nervousness and shyness.
The coldness in his phoenix eyes was softened slightly by the light from the corridor, and he softly repeated her name:
"Zhang Yueran".
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