Love and Harbor
Zhou Jianxing walked into the company gate with steps so brisk that they almost floated.
The lingering gloom and dejection that had shrouded her brow in the past were swept away, replaced by a radiant glow that radiated from within.
Her cheeks were rosy, her eyes were bright, and the corners of her mouth were unconsciously raised slightly, as if her whole body was glowing.
This change was so obvious that colleagues who passed by looked at him sideways, their eyes full of surprise and inquiry.
Even Ms. Liu, the receptionist who usually didn't pay much attention to her, couldn't help but take a second look at her. She whispered to her colleague, "Did Mr. Zhou take some magic pill today? How come he's become a completely different person?"
Huang Haifu naturally noticed it too.
He was pacing back and forth in the office with his hands behind his back. When he saw Zhou Jianxing walking briskly past the office door, his brows furrowed habitually.
This girl was as wilted as a frost-bitten eggplant a few days ago, but she is so sunny today?
Young people's emotions fluctuate too much. Don't get too carried away.
"Xiao Zhou!" Huang Haifu felt the need to pour cold water on Zhou Jianxing. "We haven't received any complaints recently, but don't let your guard down again! Work more carefully, you hear? Don't let your happiness turn into sorrow!"
Zhou Jianxing paused, and his excitement was forcibly suppressed a little.
She turned around and faced the boss's office, trying to put on a serious expression: "Got it, boss."
In my heart, I was silently complaining: "Menopausal old man, can't stand seeing people happy. So annoying."
However, this little episode did not have any substantial impact on her mood at the moment.
She turned around, the corners of her mouth curved up again, and she continued to hum the climax melody of the love song whose name she couldn't even remember, and walked towards her workstation.
When I sat down, I felt that even the messy table top became much more pleasing to the eye.
She decided to be nice to the whole world today.
Zhou Jianxing kept her word. All day long, she ran around like a happy puppy, eager to greet everyone she saw, and even took the initiative to run to the maintenance room to help pass tools or lend a hand.
That smile was as bright as a sunflower blooming in the sun. It was completely different from the lifeless look of the past few days, leaving several familiar colleagues dumbfounded.
·
In the afternoon, she and Ajie teamed up and drove to a customer's home to do an installation job that required two people to work together.
As Ajie was driving, his eyes never left Zhou Jianxing, who was obviously not in good shape in the passenger seat.
She was staring at the street scenes passing by quickly outside the window, her eyes were blank, but there was a silly smile on the corner of her mouth, and her fingers were tapping the rhythm unconsciously on her knees.
This look is completely different from the Zhou Jianxing who had a sad face every day and wanted to retreat into his shell a while ago.
Ajie started to wonder in his heart, what's wrong with this girl lately?
This isn't the right way to ride an emotional roller coaster, is it? A few days ago, I was so emo, like the sky was falling, and today I did a complete 180-degree turn, completely overwhelmed with joy.
What's even more outrageous is that when they just gathered at the door, she actually took the initiative to greet Mr. Xu, whom she had been avoiding before, and scared Mr. Xu so much that he thought the sun was rising from the west.
Seeing that Zhou Jianxing was not in good condition, Ajie talked to Chu Wei about it a few days ago.
Chu Wei said mysteriously that Zhou Jianxing had asked her a lot about marriage a few days ago, and might be thinking about marrying some strange man, which shocked Ajie.
Ajie told Chu Wei everything about the conversation he had with Zhou Jianxing on the roadside about Xu Gong's sexual orientation after Xu Gong's confession was rejected. Chu Wei gasped on the other end of the phone.
Now, this pair of gossipy friends, one suspects Zhou Jianxing is going to get married quickly, and the other suspects Zhou Jianxing is going to come out.
As for what the situation was with the person involved, both of them were extremely curious.
As childhood friends who grew up together and worked in the same company, Ajie clearly felt that something was wrong with Zhou Jianxing recently.
At first, he thought it was the two complaints and the compensation issue that was bothering her. But how long ago had her boss scolded her? Zhou Jianxing was definitely not someone so fragile as to hold a grudge for so long.
As for compensation for the losses... Ajie knew that Zhou Jianxing was embarrassed, so he didn't have the courage to ask in detail. He thought that she would naturally ask if she needed help, but he never waited for it.
But if he excluded the pressure from work, he would be even more confused.
Zhou Jianxing's life was incredibly simple, practically a straight line between the office and home. His hobbies were also quite old-fashioned. Besides taking orders for on-site repairs, his social circle consisted of a few old friends and colleagues.
What kind of trouble could she have gotten into that made her depressed and heartbroken for so long?
Today's situation is even weirder.
While drinking water in the tea room, he clearly heard Zhou Jianxing humming a song, and he was humming quite happily, and his little mood was so happy that he seemed to be in heaven.
"Hey, sister!" Ajie finally couldn't help himself and pretended to speak casually, stealing glances at Zhou Jianxing out of the corner of his eye while driving. "Did you pick up a gold ingot? Or did you win the lottery? Why are you smiling so happily?"
Zhou Jianxing was brought back to reality by his voice. He turned around, the smile on his face still on his face, his eyes curved: "Hmm? About the same!" There was a hint of pride in his tone.
Meeting Wen Lingyi, and Wen Lingyi liking her, for her, isn't this a hundred times a thousand times luckier than winning the lottery?
"What? Is this true?" Ajie gave her a suspicious look. "Is it true? Then we can split it in half! Money's tight lately!"
Zhou Jianxing looked at his exaggerated expression, chuckled, and nodded at him very seriously: "Yeah, really! There is everything in the dream, I'll give you half!"
Well, we can still joke around, it seems like nothing serious.
Ajie felt a little relieved, but his curiosity grew even stronger.
Could it be that this girl is secretly in a relationship without telling them?
But what's there to hide about being in a relationship? Could it be... that he's really dating a woman? What kind of woman is she?
Countless possibilities flashed through his mind in an instant, but looking at Zhou Jianxing's defensive look, which seemed to say "I won't tell you even if you kill me", he tactfully swallowed the question.
Never mind, you'll know when you're supposed to know.
·
After finishing a day of enjoyable work, Zhou Jianxing still felt full of energy.
Before leaving get off work, she was in a good mood and even ran to water the pots of half-dead green ivy in the company's public area.
Zhou Jianxing returned home humming a song, and with brisk steps he quickly greeted Zhou Jianjun and Zhou Shufen, who were sitting in the living room and looked a little unnatural: "Dad, Mom, I'm back!" Before he finished speaking, he was already blown to the balcony like a gust of wind.
She has more important things to do now.
Zhou Jianxing pulled out his phone, carefully finding the right angle and adjusting the lighting, before snapping away at the plants. The green of the pothos was lush and juicy, the succulents were plump and lovely, and the white jasmine flowers nestled among the green leaves, like a few stars suddenly leaking from the night sky...
She carefully selected nine photos that best showed the vitality of life and put them together to form a nine-square grid.
What text should I use? Zhou Jianxing bit his lower lip, his finger hovering over the screen for a moment.
Finally, she typed out the following line:
You are my sunshine after the rain, and my life blooms for you.
After editing the text, she tapped "Partially Visible" on the "Who can view" option, and then accurately checked the unique name in the friend list.
Click send. Zhou Jianxing looked at the successful notification and his heartbeat quickened slightly.
She knew Wen Lingyi would check her Moments, and she hoped she could see it.
This update, visible only to Wen Lingyi, reflects her clumsy and secret desire to share. She wants the other person to see the vitality in her world, and wants her to know that her world is colorful because of her existence.
Putting down his phone, Zhou Jianxing squatted in the small balcony garden and took a deep breath of the air filled with the fragrance of plants.
The warm setting sun shone on her body and seemed to shine into her heart.
It is no longer desolate and gloomy, but just like the small world in front of us, small flowers are blooming one after another.
·
She returned to the living room from the balcony with satisfaction and just passed by her mother Zhou Shufen.
When Zhou Shufen saw her, she obviously quickened her pace, her eyes became a little evasive, and she hurried into the bathroom.
Zhou Jianxing was stunned for a moment. Why were her parents acting so strangely today? She scratched her head, a little puzzled.
Now she probably understands how her parents felt when she was not in good condition a few days ago.
It's weird, but I can't tell what's weird about it.
She shook her head, didn't think much about it, and prepared to go back to her room.
It was not until Zhou Jianxing returned to her bedroom that she knew where the strange feeling came from. There was something placed abruptly on the desk - two boxes of brand new, eye-catchingly packaged condoms.
"Huh?" Zhou Jianxing blushed. The problem was that she and Wen Lingyi couldn't use it either.
She walked over quickly, swept the two boxes into the deepest part of the desk drawer, and closed the drawer with a "snap", as if this could lock away the embarrassment as well.
After doing all this, she leaned back against the desk. The heat on her cheeks had not completely subsided, but a warm current surged deep in her heart.
Her parents are just very ordinary parents. They may not know how to express themselves well, and their ways may even be a little clumsy and embarrassing, but they really love her, care about her, and try to protect her in the way they can understand, in a clumsy but serious way.
She was deeply moved by this heavy and somewhat clumsy love.
·
During dinner, the atmosphere was subtly awkward. The only sound on the table was the gentle clinking of dishes and chopsticks. The three of them tacitly avoided mentioning Zhou Jianxing's absence the previous night, nor did they mention the condoms that had appeared out of nowhere on his desk.
Zhou Jianxing buried his head in his food and felt his cheeks getting hot again.
She secretly looked up at her parents who were eating in silence. Her father Zhou Jianjun had a frown on his face, while her mother Zhou Shufen glanced at her from time to time, her eyes filled with worry that she wanted to say but couldn't.
An impulse surged in my heart.
Zhou Jianxing stopped eating, took a deep breath, but his eyes were still fixed on the rice in the bowl, as if courage was engraved on the rice grains.
Her voice was not loud, but it clearly broke the silence at the table.
"Dad, Mom." She paused, mustering all her strength before speaking the rest of the words, "Well, don't worry, I will... protect myself."
"Cough cough cough!" As soon as he finished speaking, Zhou Jianjun, who was drinking soup, was suddenly choked and started coughing violently, his face turning red.
Zhou Shufen was startled and quickly put down her bowl and chopsticks, stood up and patted his back gently to help him calm down.
While coughing, Zhou Jianjun secretly raised his hand that was covering his mouth to block Zhou Jianxing's sight, and quickly winked at Zhou Shufen next to him.
Zhou Shufen understood and waited until Zhou Jianjun's cough subsided a little before turning to Zhou Jianxing, trying to make her expression look calm and gentle.
She looked at her daughter's lowered head and red ears, feeling a mixture of emotions.
Their daughter eventually grew up, had her own thoughts, and might even have had an intimate relationship.
This made them, as parents, both relieved and worried. They had no other expectations for Zhou Jianxing, they just hoped that she could live a safe and healthy life.
Fortunately, Zhou Jianxing has hardly ever caused them any worries since he was a child.
Such a good child.
"It's okay, Xingxing," Zhou Shufen's voice was soothing. She sat up straight and looked at Zhou Jianxing softly, "We believe in you."
Zhou Jianjun finally caught his breath. He cleared his throat and folded his hands on the table. His expression was serious and earnest. He looked directly into Zhou Jianxing's eyes and said, "Xingxing, your mother is right. No matter what happens, your parents believe in you and support you."
His voice was deep and powerful. "But, remember, if... I mean if, you encounter a problem you can't solve, or if you feel particularly difficult or aggrieved, you must tell us. Don't try to handle it all on your own. Your parents may not be very capable, but they will always be your last resort."
Zhou Jianxing kept his head down, listening to his parents' words, his eyes uncontrollably getting hot and sore.
Without warning, a drop of warm liquid dripped into the rice in the bowl.
She was afraid of being seen by her parents, so she quickly picked up the bowl and pretended to eat rice with big mouthfuls, letting the edge of the bowl tightly cover her instantly red eyes and tears.
Her throat seemed to be blocked by something, and she could only utter one muffled syllable: "Hmm."
But she felt her parents' concerns, trust, unconditional love and support, and she kept them firmly in her heart.
Zhou Jianxing thought, she is the happiest child in the world.
"You will always be your father's and mine most beloved daughter." Zhou Shufen's voice was choked with emotion.
She has been really worried these days.
She stood up, slowly walked behind Zhou Jianxing, stretched out her dry and warm palm, and gently stroked the top of Zhou Jianxing's head: "Don't let us lose you."
Zhou Jianxing couldn't hold back any longer, and his tears fell into the bowl and mixed with the rice grains.
She wanted to bury her whole face in the bowl.
She knew that her condition some time ago must have made her parents very worried.
Zhou Jianxing sniffed quietly, lifted his face slightly from the bowl, and spoke in a nasal voice, trying to sound relaxed and resolute: "Dad, Mom, don't worry! I'm really fine, I'm doing great!"
The youngest daughter that Zhou's parents care about the most has grown up and can stand on her own feet. She will face her life bravely, she will pay for the mistakes she made during her growth, and no matter how many setbacks she experiences, she will regain the courage to start again.
Because she knows that her little home will always be her lighthouse and harbor.
No matter what grievances she suffered outside, in this family, she would always be her parents' precious daughter.
There will always be a place for her tears to flow.
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