Chapter 13
That night, the unlucky Ji Ruan angrily sent a 500-word text message to Mr. Gu. The entire text consisted of the seven words "You are the unlucky one!" plus an exclamation mark.
At 5:30 the next morning, Mr. Gu got up at the time he replied:
[.]
The unlucky little guy was so angry that he had no appetite for the whole day and only ate an extra plate of cherries.
In the days that followed, Mr. Gu went back to work and was not seen all day or all night.
Ji Ruan first completely indulged himself and lay on the bed when he had nothing to do. It was not that he suddenly became so lazy, but that the crying scene consumed too much of his energy.
It is said that tears can detoxify, but after Ji Ruan cried, he just felt that his body was drained. He had no energy for two whole days, and it was not until the third day that he felt refreshed.
People's laziness and social phobia seem to be intermittent. At first, they will feel very happy when they just stay at home and play, but they will start to get bored after a long time.
That day, after lunch, Ji Ruan was lying on the bed eating cherries out of boredom. He was hesitating whether to ask Han Xiaolin out to play when his cell phone rang at the right moment.
"Hello?" Ji Ruan quickly picked up the phone.
"Hey bro!" Han Xiaolin's signature voice rang out: "Come out and have fun!"
There was a lot of noise over there, so Ji Ruan grabbed the teddy bear's ear and asked, "Why are you so happy? Where are you?"
"We're on a graduation team building! There are so many people!" Han Xiaolin said loudly, "There's a party at the Central Plaza Arcade in the evening. Do you want to come?"
"Come on." Ji Ruan stood up and opened the closet: "Wait for me, I'm going out now."
"Okay, I just got here too, and everyone isn't here yet, so you can take your time packing."
"good."
After hanging up the phone, Ji Ruan changed into a T-shirt and shorts and went to the kitchen to find Aunt Zhao.
Aunt Zhao had just finished washing the dishes. When she looked up, she saw a furry head popping out from the wall. Ji Ruan blinked her big round eyes at her.
Auntie Xiao Zhao, who was already quite old, was immediately moved by the cuteness and waved her hand repeatedly: "What are you hiding there for, Ruan Ruan? Come here!"
Ji Ruan then dimples and runs over to hug Aunt Zhao's arm, and starts to act coquettishly: "Aunt Zhao, um... do you know why Mr. Gu is coming back?"
Aunt Zhao felt dizzy when being hugged by the fair and tender child. She pinched Ji Ruan's face and said, "Oh, it's hard to say. He has been working all the time. I don't know if he will come back this week."
"Is that so..." Ji Ruan rolled his eyes, "Then Aunt Zhao, I want to go out and play."
Aunt Zhao smiled and said, "So that's what you're talking about. You're so smart. If you want to play, go ahead and play. But what are you going to play? You have to be safe!"
Ji Ruan said seriously: "Our graduation team building is in the central square. Isn't there an arcade there? It's very close."
Aunt Zhao thought for a moment and said, "It seems so... I remember that there were lots of young kids gathering there... Come on, let Uncle Zhang go..."
"No need," Ji Ruan picked up the phone and walked to the entrance: "I can just take a taxi, it's not far. By the way, Aunt Zhao, I won't be back for dinner, we will play later."
“Okay, okay, okay,” Aunt Zhao smiled and waved her hand, “Go quickly, don’t keep your classmates waiting for too long.”
Ji Ruan was about to change his shoes, but he ran over with a smile and gave Aunt Zhao a bear hug before leaving, leaving behind a fluffy head and a waving back:
"Bye Aunt Zhao!"
Aunt Zhao was so happy about the hug that she felt dizzy. After watching Ji Ruan leave, she couldn't stop smiling and hurriedly packed up and washed up to take a nap.
Mr. Gu came back at this time.
Half an hour after Ji Ruan left, Gu Xiuyi, who had been away from home for three days, finally opened the door of the villa again.
But the room was different than usual. There was no loud laughter from Aunt Zhao, nor Ji Ruan's wrinkled face from laughing. It was unusually quiet.
It seemed like we had returned to the cold days before Ji Ruan was around.
Gu Xiuyi suppressed the discomfort in his heart and walked up and down the room.
He went to Ji Ruan's room first, but no one answered when he knocked on the door. He was afraid that Ji Ruan might have turned off her cochlear implant and didn't hear him, so he pushed the door open a little, but there was no one there.
Gu Xiuyi opened the door and went in. He checked the bathroom and cloakroom and found that Ji Ruan was indeed not there.
Next, he walked around every floor of the villa, even the swimming pool in the backyard, but still couldn't find any sign of anyone.
He took out his cell phone and wanted to call Ji Ruan, but when his finger on the dial button suddenly he didn't know what to say. After hesitating for a while, he walked to the door of Ji Ruan's room as if possessed by a ghost.
"Hey, Xiao Gu!" Aunt Zhao's voice came from somewhere: "Why are you back?"
Gu Xiuyi put away his phone and looked around before he looked over the railing and saw Aunt Zhao standing on the first floor. She had changed into pajamas and was holding a towel, and it looked like she had just taken a shower and was getting ready for a nap.
"Nothing," Gu Xiuyi coughed and went downstairs: "Lingzhou's project is over, I'm going to take a few days off."
"Wow, this is rare. It's rare to see you taking a vacation in so many years." Aunt Zhao raised her eyebrows, looking shocked.
Gu Xiuyi skipped the topic of vacation and pointed to Ji Ruan's room: "Where are the others?"
Aunt Zhao couldn't help but smile when she mentioned Ji Ruan: "She went out to play with her classmates."
"Play?" Gu Xiuyi walked towards the kitchen counter: "Where are we going? How long will we play?"
Aunt Zhao wiped her hair with a towel and said, "It's called a graduation team building. Many classmates are here. They're in the arcade. They should play for a long time. They won't be back for dinner."
"Really..." Gu Xiuyi took out a water cup and poured water slowly. Suddenly, as if remembering something, he asked, "Wasn't he feeling unwell a few days ago? Why did he run away today?"
"He wasn't uncomfortable," Aunt Zhao recalled, "he just wasn't in good spirits, looking listless. Today he seemed much better, so I let him go out to play. After all, Ruan Ruan just graduated from high school, so it's normal for him to like playing. It's better than staying stuck at home all the time, right?"
“That’s true…”
Aunt Zhao sighed happily, "Besides, he hugged me and acted like a spoiled child. How could I refuse him?"
Gu Xiuyi didn't drink the water that was brought to his mouth, and his voice became louder: "Hug you?"
"Yeah, he's such a spoiled brat..." Aunt Zhao said before she realized that Gu Xiuyi looked strange: "What's wrong, little Gu?"
"No, nothing." Gu Xiuyi smiled calmly, "You go and have a rest. I'll take a shower and take a nap."
"Oh...ok." Aunt Zhao left with a confused look on her face, while Gu Xiuyi was still standing there holding the cup of water.
Hug... act coquettishly?
Mr. Gu took a sip of water.
Still acting like a spoiled brat?
Mr. Gu took two more sips of water.
He shook his head to drive Ji Ruan's face out of his mind and started his leisurely vacation wholeheartedly.
-
At two o'clock in the afternoon, Mr. Gu took a nap.
At three o'clock in the afternoon, Mr. Gu got up.
At three thirty, Mr. Gu watched TV.
At three fifty, the TV was too difficult to watch.
Strolled into Ji Ruan's room.
Ji Ruan seemed to be quite happy living in the house which was decorated in an overly cartoonish style and looked like a child's room due to a work error.
On the small wooden table above the bed there was a lucky cat with its claws removed. It looked a bit ugly, but Ji Ruan seemed to like eating cherries with it.
Gu Xiuyi flicked his bare paws and the corners of his lips twitched unconsciously, thinking, "That's good."
There was a stack of A4 papers spread out on the desk, which Ji Ruan used to draw when he was bored. Some of them were of Aunt Zhao, and their drawings were quite nice.
Gu Xiuyi took a quick look and didn’t find his portrait in it...that’s good.
The grass that Ji Ruan brought back to the balcony has grown bigger and greener... everything is good.
Before leaving, Gu Xiuyi saw the big teddy bear on the bed again, which Ji Ruan often hugged and cuddled.
He reached out and pinched the bear's belly. It felt just so-so. Why did Ji Ruan always like to put his face on it?
At five o'clock in the afternoon, Mr. Gu walked around the entire villa, looking back every three steps, and finally it was time for dinner.
After dinner, Mr. Gu continued watching TV.
After spending ten minutes browsing all the TV stations, Gu Xiuyi threw the remote control on the coffee table, lay back on the sofa, and stared at the chandelier on the ceiling in a daze.
Gu Xiuyi had lived for nearly thirty years, and for the first time in his life he felt it was absurd, extremely absurd.
How can some people dislike going to work but enjoy taking holidays?
What is the meaning of such a boring holiday?
How did Ji Ruan manage to stay at home for half a month and still enjoy it?
This is a difficult proposition that only Ji Ruan himself can answer.
But the man who could answer Gu Xiuyi's lifelong doubts was fooling around somewhere, having so much fun that he didn't even call back.
In the evening, Gu Xiuyi took over Ji Ruan's seat and accompanied Aunt Zhao to watch a rural ethics drama.
Aunt Zhao and Xiao An were both enjoying the show, but Gu Xiuyi couldn't understand it for some reason.
Why does the elder brother of that family like the sister-in-law of this family? Why do all the people in the village dislike the sister-in-law of this family? Why does the sister-in-law of this family always cry while holding her child?
But Ji Ruan should be able to understand it, so I'll find a chance to ask him.
The clock on the wall was about to turn to twelve o'clock. Gu Xiuyi saw that it was almost time and asked Aunt Zhao casually, "Why hasn't Ji Ruan come back yet? It's a bit late."
Aunt Zhao also looked anxious. She wanted to get up and get her phone. She suddenly looked at Gu Xiuyi and changed the subject: "Why don't you give him a call, Xiao Gu?"
"Me?" Upon hearing this, the corners of Gu Xiuyi's mouth curled up slightly, but were suppressed fiercely the next second.
He raised his hand to pinch his jaw, took out his cell phone, and said calmly: "Then I'll ask for you."
The phone rang for a long time. Gu Xiuyi and Aunt Zhao sat together and waited quietly until the call was picked up just before it was about to hang up automatically.
Gu Xiuyi turned on the speakerphone, but before he could say anything, a deafening noise came from the other side.
The drum beats, noise, melody, and rhythm mixed with the roaring cheers made Gu Xiuyi frown almost immediately.
"Where are you?"
Ji Ruan's fragile voice sounded insignificant amidst the fierce sound waves, but he tried very hard to yell: "Wai——? Wai——! Gu——boss?"
Gu Xiuyi: “…”
Aunt Zhao opened her eyes wide in horror. In her impression, video game arcades didn’t look like this…
Gu Xiuyi lowered his lips, his face looked very cold, and said word by word: "You went clubbing?"
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