Office romance
On a moonlit night, Zhou Jun was often alone in the shop, taking stock of the drinks and glancing at the door from time to time.
Zhou Junchang didn't move, continuing what he was doing, but his gaze was fixed on Xu Li.
He watched Xu Li walk upstairs before reluctantly turning his gaze away.
One didn't ask, and the other didn't seem inclined to answer.
Zhou Junchang felt a little agitated. He didn't know what he was being awkward about. It was Xu Li's own business, and if she didn't want to talk about it, he couldn't force her.
He understood these principles, but the actual experience was somewhat difficult for him to accept.
Zhou Junchang wasn't like this before. He used to avoid the gossip and idle chatter from all sides.
"How did things get to this point?" Zhou Jun sighed almost imperceptibly.
Ah Feng handed Zhou Junchang an apple, and Zhou Junchang reached out, took it, and began peeling and arranging it on a plate.
Ah Feng, who was standing next to Zhou Junchang, looked at him with some disdain and couldn't help but roll his eyes: "Here's some food for you. I've noticed you haven't been thinking very well lately."
"You're the one who's not very bright."
When Ah Feng opened the door this morning, he smelled a strong odor of smoke. He wondered how much Zhou Jun had smoked in the room yesterday. Ah Feng didn't ask any questions and silently cleaned up the cigarette ash and butts on the floor.
Not long after, Xu Li came downstairs again, carrying a bag, and called Zhou Junchang out from behind the bar.
"Hey, yesterday's clothes."
Zhou Jun nodded and reached out to take the bag.
"I washed your clothes and dried them."
Perhaps this is simply a difference between genders.
The clothes had only been washed in the washing machine once, yet they already smelled of Xu Li. When they were taken out of the bag, the smell was overwhelming.
The fragrance entered my lungs, and it was exactly the same as the fragrance on Xu Li's body.
Xu Li noticed that Zhou Junchang was dressed lightly today, so she took out some clothes from the bag and said, "Do you want to put these on now?"
"Need not."
Zhou Junchang was still feeling awkward and didn't realize that he was being a bit cold. Looking into Xu Li's expectant eyes, he belatedly added, "I'm not cold."
That's right. Xu Li felt that Zhou Junchang was like a furnace, completely opposite to herself.
Xu Li's hands and feet were almost never warm throughout the winter, while Zhou Junchang was not afraid of the cold at all. Even when it snowed heavily, he would not wear more than three layers of clothing. Moreover, last night Zhou Junchang took off his coat and gave it to him, so he only wore a sweater when he went home.
Moreover, when Xu Li got close to him, she could feel a distinct heat source. Last night, whether she was behind Zhou Junchang or in his arms, Xu Li felt very warm, so warm that she didn't want to leave.
Ah Feng looked at the clothes in Xu Li's hand from a distance, and the more he looked, the more familiar they seemed.
I have a feeling that I'm watching someone walk through it.
In an instant, Ah Feng slapped his forehead, feeling a chill run down his spine.
Isn't this Zhou Junchang's clothing? And isn't it the clothes Zhou Junchang wore yesterday? He was wondering why Zhou Junchang didn't wear this last night; apparently, it was at Xu Li's place. Does that mean Zhou Junchang was with Xu Li last night…?
When this thought popped into his head, Ah Feng really refused to believe it, and at first he even thought that he was having too much of an imagination.
Ah Feng stared wide-eyed, as if he had discovered some earth-shattering secret.
Impossible, impossible! How could the two of them be together?
But if that's the case, it seems like everything makes sense.
Zhou Jun often helps Xu Li fix the water pipes, and he doesn't allow himself to drink the rock sugar pear stew that Xu Li makes. There's also someone who doesn't usually like to stay overnight at other people's houses, but he keeps coming to his house in the middle of the night. At first, A Feng wondered what was so attractive about his house, but now it seems it's because he's with Xu Li. So that's what was waiting for him here.
It's a shame that Ah Feng even went out of his way to get a key made for Zhou Junchang today, just in case Zhou Junchang started staying at his place. In the first place, he just wanted to keep Zhou Junchang from bothering him, but now, it's turned out to be a perfect opportunity for the two of them.
It turns out I was the one who was superfluous.
Ah Feng couldn't hear what they were saying. From his perspective, he could only see that after Xu Li left, Zhou Junchang was still looking at Xu Li's back for a long, long time, seemingly lost in thought.
Looking at Zhou Junchang's expression, Ah Feng guessed that it was currently only Zhou Junchang who was emotionally invested, while Xu Li didn't seem to be in a relationship, and might not even know the truth.
When Zhou Jun returned with the bag, A Feng pretended to whistle, acting as if he hadn't seen anything. He tried to keep his voice normal, even with a hint of casual laughter, but he could hear the slight lisp in the last syllable.
My gaze unconsciously locked onto the bag again.
To test his idea, Ah Feng risked being scolded to death by Zhou Jun, steeled himself, and reached into the bag to touch the clothes inside.
Before his hand even touched the bag, still a long way off, he heard Zhou Junchang's warning voice in his ear: "Want to die?"
Ah Feng scratched his head sheepishly and looked at Zhou Junchang with a wry smile: "No, no, I was just looking."
"These are your clothes, right?" Although he was afraid of bothering Zhou Jun, he couldn't resist his gossipy nature and decided to take the plunge. "How did your clothes end up in Xu Li's hands?"
Zhou Junchang knew exactly what Ah Feng was up to, so he ignored him.
Ah Feng thought to himself, "Even if you didn't tell me, I would have known. But you're lying to me now. If it weren't for my amazing observation skills, I don't know how long I would have been kept in the dark."
He wouldn't tell me before, but it turns out he was having an office romance.
Ah Feng was both shocked and angry. For someone like him, discovering such a shocking secret and keeping it to himself with no one to share it with was practically the same as being dead. But Ah Feng also knew that even if someone shared it with him, Zhou Junchang would not give him a good time if he told others about it.
I wonder if the boss knows about this, and if he does, will he fire Junchang...?
I never would have guessed that Jun Chang liked this kind of style...
——
**
Since that incident, Zhou Junchang has been in a bad mood for the past few days.
He didn't know how to convince himself. Several times when he ran into Xu Li, he almost asked her the question. The words were on the tip of his tongue, but he swallowed them back. He was afraid that it would be a sad thing for Xu Li, and that she would cry again if he brought up the past.
More than feeling sad himself, Zhou Junchang was afraid that Xu Li would cry.
But he desperately wanted to know the reason, as if only by knowing the cause and effect of the matter could he help Xu Li.
It turns out that when you have feelings for someone, you have a desire to explore. You want to know about her past, whether she was in pain, angry, or happy times, and whether anyone comforted her, told her not to cry, or laughed with her.
In those times when he wasn't a part of it, Zhou Jun often wondered how she got through it all, how she gradually became the person standing before him now.
Zhou Junchang has overstepped his bounds. He shouldn't have these desires, and he doesn't even have a proper identity to justify their existence.
They had seen snow, visited flower shops, and celebrated birthdays together. Standing on an empty street, gazing at the boundless darkness, did their hearts ever resonate briefly during those moments?
Feli, strength? Li? Li? ...
Zhou Junchang had never heard of this name before. Among the people related to Xu Li, he only knew Duan Ruiming.
Yes, Duan Ruiming. Zhou Jun often thought of the phone call he received from Duan Ruiming some time ago.
It was on that occasion that Duan Ruiming mentioned Xu Li on the phone, and it was also on that occasion that he missed Zhou Ji's call with Xu Li.
Because it was related to Xu Li, Zhou Junchang did not hang up the phone.
After hanging up the phone, Zhou Jun was preoccupied. He was confused by what he heard and couldn't fully understand many things. However, when he went upstairs to find Xu Li, he was angered by the note on the phone and for a moment he actually forgot about the call.
Looking back now, it feels like something from the last century, and I have absolutely no clue about it.
Zhou Junchang never understood why Duan Ruiming was so insistent. Why did he want Xu Li to return to Linpu? Why was Xu Li avoiding him?
As his thoughts drifted back, Zhou Junchang recalled the very first time he delivered a recording pen and a letter to Xu Li on behalf of Duan Ruiming. What exactly was inside? Zhou Junchang was filled with doubt once again.
Zhou Junchang became increasingly agitated as he thought about it, his brows furrowing into a knot.
When the bar closed for the night, Zhou Jun found a clean, empty spot. He sat there, his fingertips gently stroking his knees, again and again, the rhythm so slow it was almost impossible to discern his emotions. His eyelids drooped, concealing the turmoil in his eyes; only the occasional taut jawline betrayed something.
He responded to the people around him, his voice neither loud nor soft, devoid of anger but also devoid of warmth. His glass filled and emptied repeatedly, the soft thud of the bottom touching the table standing out clearly in the silence.
The wind outside lifted a corner of the curtain, but he didn't move. He just sat there, like a sculpture with the pause button pressed, only the invisible, tense aura around him made people feel that if they got any closer, they would be poked by something.
A pair of red high heels came into view.
Looking further up, a red dress and red lips.
Zhou Junchang felt as if he had returned to that night, the night when Xu Li was drunk. Xu Li was dressed like this, only now the two of them had switched places, and it was no longer Xu Li who was drinking but Zhou Junchang.
Xu Li snatched the cup from Zhou Junchang's hand and drank it all in one gulp.
Xu Li asked, "What are you doing drinking alone here all by yourself?"
Zhou Jun often drinks without getting flushed, but he's definitely not drunk. He knows what he can and cannot say.
I shook my head. I couldn't very well tell Xu Li that I was thinking about things from before.
Zhou Jun's eyes were somewhat unfocused, sometimes glancing at Xu Li and sometimes looking down at the wine.
Xu Li was standing, so he was half a shoulder taller than Zhou Junchang, who was sitting. Therefore, Zhou Junchang looked like a loyal dog waiting to be patted on the head and comforted by his master.
Xu Li didn't offer any comfort, but her tone was similarly gentle as she advised, "Don't drink anymore, go home."
Zhou Junchang watched as Xu Li shakily got up, her eyes seemingly hiding something, but in the end she only said she agreed.
"good."
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