Chapter 5
Tomorrow and tomorrow, how many tomorrows there are.
The tomorrow that Mr. Gu talks about is never the real tomorrow.
Ji Ruan went home and fell asleep immediately. When he woke up, it was already evening. The sky was covered with light clouds. Only Aunt Zhao was busy in the kitchen in the villa.
She stewed a pot of pork ribs soup, and Ji Ruan could smell the rich aroma without even opening the lid.
Xiao An was taking a nap by the stairs in the basement. When he saw Ji Ruan, he immediately perked up, shook his big fluffy tail and wanted to pounce on him, but he braked just before hitting Ji Ruan and just rubbed Ji Ruan's calf with his head.
Not like a Maine Coon cat, but more like a big silly dog.
"Why are you suddenly sensible today?" Ji Ruan was surprised, smiled with eyes curved and reached out to pet the cat.
The floor-to-ceiling windows behind them were filled with the sunset and the green trees outside the building, like a framed painting. The Maine Coon cat's light and soft fur was dotted with golden light, and the boy's white fingers were also perfectly integrated into the painting.
Aunt Zhao was arranging the dishes on the plates. When she saw this scene, she wiped her hands and took a secret photo without thinking.
"Xiao Gu gave it a good scolding before leaving, and now it's very well behaved." She said with a smile.
"Really?" Ji Ruan walked to the kitchen counter and helped Aunt Zhao get the bowls. "How did you scold him? Mr. Gu is so powerful."
"Oh, don't tell me, Xiao Gu is really good at training cats. I didn't understand what he did, but Xiao An was completely obedient after two or three moves."
Aunt Zhao speaks quickly and in a high voice, and always with a smile on her face. She is a middle-aged woman who is happy in everything she does.
Ji Ruan actually didn't care much about what Gu Xiuyi did, but every time he was with Aunt Zhao, it was as if the air was infected by her happy factor and became full of vitality. Ji Ruan liked to stick with such elders.
Whenever Ji Ruan showed interest in what Aunt Zhao said, she would talk more with a beaming smile.
For example, now, Ji Ruan had a faint smile on his face and praised "Mr. Gu is awesome", and Aunt Zhao laughed brightly as if she was proud of it:
"That's right. Xiao Gu was determined to teach you a lesson just because he saw that stupid cat had bruises all over your body. He would have been reluctant to do so before."
Ji Ruan carried the plate of food and walked towards the restaurant with Aunt Zhao.
"But Xiao An has loved jumping on people since he was little. I could let him do whatever he wanted when he was small, but now he has grown so big. I should take good care of him. Otherwise, when I take him out for a walk in the future, people will think I am walking the dog."
Ji Ruan was amused by Aunt Zhao's talk. He pulled out a chair and sat down, then took out chopsticks and handed them to Aunt Zhao.
When Gu Xiuyi was not at home, they all sat together to eat.
"Eh," Ji Ruan's long reflex arc turned a big circle, and then he remembered: "Is Mr. Gu gone?"
"Yes, I went to work again - oh! Look at me," Aunt Zhao said, slapping her forehead, "I was so busy talking to you that I forgot about the business. Xiao Gu asked me to tell you that he is going on a business trip tomorrow. When we can get the certificate depends on when he comes back."
"Is that so..." Ji Ruan nodded.
It turns out that Mr. Gu’s tomorrow refers to the day when he is free.
·
In the next two days, Ji Ruan lived a life of eating and sleeping again. He played with Xiao An when he had nothing to do. When he accompanied Aunt Zhao to buy vegetables, he also brought back a pot of spider plant to raise.
There was nothing else, but my complexion did improve.
On the third day of Gu Xiuyi's business trip, Ji Ruan received a WeChat message while having breakfast. It was sent by a man named Han Xiaolin.
Ji Ruan held the phone in confusion for a second, and a spark flashed through his mind, and a face with single eyelids, pointed chin and big white teeth appeared in his mind.
Then, all the memories about this person were activated.
He should be Ji Ruan's only friend in this world. I have the impression that in the later part of the original book, when he and Gu Xiuyi were being tortured to death, he was able to survive only by relying on this friend for help.
A true friend in need.
Messages kept popping up on the phone screen.
[Hey bro! ! E on! ! Look at my acceptance letter! ! ]
[front view.jpg]
[Back view.jpg]
[Unboxing video.mp4]
[I actually got the admission letter from Kyoto University. We are alumni again! ! ]
[Come out and play! Let me show you the real thing in person, come on!! I’ll wait for you at the usual place!!]
Ji Ruan looked at this series of messages and burst out laughing. He inexplicably felt a sense of familiarity, as if the other party was really a good friend he had known for a long time, and not just a cold NPC in the book.
Even when I saw the "old place" in the news, I could directly think of a small noodle restaurant outside the gate of No. 14 Middle School.
This middle school and this noodle shop do not exist in his original world, but they do appear in his mind and become a clear memory.
Ji Ruan put down his phone and looked at Aunt Zhao who was picking vegetables. He couldn't suppress the smile on his face: "Aunt Zhao, I want to go out later."
Aunt Zhao was delighted when she saw Ji Ruan's curved eyes, and she coaxed her like a child, "Oh? Where are you going?"
Ji Ruan took a bite of the bun and said, "My classmate wants to play with me."
The last time Aunt Zhao was asked out by her classmates to play was thirty or forty years ago. At her age now, hearing the word "classmate" is like watching TV. No matter how she looked at Ji Ruan, she felt soft in her heart and smiled:
"Then let Uncle Zhang take you there. It's too hot outside."
Uncle Zhang is an old driver who has worked in Gu Xiuyi's company for his entire life. He will retire in two years. Recently, a grandson was born in his family, so Gu Xiuyi sent him to Ji Ruan. He no longer has to go to meetings everywhere. It is a leisurely job and he can be at home playing with his grandson most of the time.
As soon as Ji Ruan got into the car and saw Uncle Zhang's rosy face, he could feel the joy of his family having a new baby.
Ji Ruan had lived his entire life, and during the best years of his life, all he saw were the gray walls and gray beds of the hospital. But after just a few days here, he saw so many colorful little worlds.
Ji Ruan leaned against the car window, his heart feeling slightly warm, as if a new vitality was surging.
No. 14 Middle School is a national key, old and famous school. The campus is not large and is built in a downtown area. The small noodle restaurant opposite has also been rooted there for decades.
When Ji Ruan went in, Han Xiaolin, who said he would wait for him here, had not arrived. He sent a message saying that he met an idiot from the science class on the road who wanted to challenge him, and that he was fighting in the Internet cafe next door, so he asked for ten minutes.
Ji Ruan was amused by these vivid words. He found a small table to sit down and ordered a bowl of cold cake for himself.
When Han Xiaolin arrived, Ji Ruan had just eaten half of the lianggao. The boy in front of him was the same as he remembered, with thin arms and legs and not very tall, but full of energy.
"Oh, let's eat now." Han Xiaolin sat down opposite Ji Ruan, looked at Ji Ruan for a while, and suddenly said "Huh", then reached out to grab Ji Ruan's hair: "Have you been taking care of your hair recently?"
Ji Ruan hid back and said, "Why do you need to maintain yourself? You are not a little girl."
"But your hair has improved. It was so dry and yellow before, but now it's strong and resilient!" Han Xiaolin said in amazement. He looked at Ji Ruan more carefully and exclaimed "wow" several times in succession: "No, how come your complexion has improved too? What good news are you hiding?"
"Something happened." Ji Ruan held his chin and stirred the jelly with a spoon.
Different from Han Xiaolin who was always noisy, Ji Ruan did everything slowly, including speaking. His slightly hoarse voice drew out the ending of the words, as if the air around him was cooler than anywhere else.
“I can’t tell if it’s a good thing or not.”
"What do you mean?" Han Xiaolin didn't understand Ji Ruan's unclear words.
Ji Ruan thought about it secretly. Gu Xiuyi had repeatedly stated that their marriage was completely open to the public. Ji Ruan even had a vague feeling that Gu Xiuyi wanted to publicize it in a high-profile manner. So, there shouldn't be any problem in telling Han Xiaolin.
He looked at Han Xiaolin: "I'm getting married."
“…”
Han Xiaolin sat there stiffly, petrified for a few seconds, then began to touch his face, head, ears and cheeks in a cloud-like manner, and finally leaned on the table with a complicated expression:
"W-What's going on? When did you start dating? How did you get married?!"
"Have you figured it out, Ji Ruan? Don't be fooled!"
"——No, who is that person?!"
The old TV in the shop was on. Ji Ruan saw a familiar figure in it and pointed at him casually while holding a spoon: "Him."
Han Xiaolin turned back suddenly.
The local news was playing, and the female anchor's emotionless voice echoed in the store.
"Yesterday, Mr. Gu Xiuyi, the current chairman of Gu's Group, attended the Lingzhou new product launch conference and expanded the new business territory at supernatural speed. He said..."
There is no air conditioning in the store, so the boss moved a large electric fan to blow overhead.
Han Xiaolin turned back in the strong wind: "Ji Ruan, you are crazy——!"
·
Gu Group Headquarters.
Gu Xiuyi returned to the office. He felt that the sunlight coming through the row of floor-to-ceiling windows was too dazzling, so he pressed the remote control to slowly close the automatic curtains. However, the river view and ancient buildings outside the window that could be overlooked were never a scenery he enjoyed viewing.
He poured himself a glass of water and sat back on the sofa, looking a little tired.
After finishing work, Gu Xiuyi finally had a moment to relax and finally had time to plan for his marriage.
But he began to feel uncertain about Ji Ruan.
Originally, he should have obtained the marriage certificate three days ago, and then used this press conference to publicize the news so that everyone knew about it.
But he changed his plans that day.
It was the first time that Gu Xiuyi gave up his plan because of someone else.
He recalled Ji Ruan's face. He was very weak and the child looked so pitiful. Anyone would feel sympathy for a child with such appearance.
However, this kind of emotion is definitely not a good thing for Gu Xiuyi. If he relaxes the requirements and changes the plan for Ji Ruan again and again because of a little bit of compassion, the subsequent troubles will be obvious.
After calming down, reason told Gu Xiuyi that he needed to think carefully about whether he really wanted to marry Ji Ruan.
He even thought about asking Song Ling to find another candidate.
But this idea was dismissed as soon as it came up.
His secretarial team is very professional. Ji Ruan was carefully selected. He is outstanding in both character and academic qualifications. Even his family background where both parents have passed away and he has no relatives or friends is a stroke of genius. There would be no one more suitable than him.
Or taking a step back and looking at it from the most superficial perspective, after seeing Ji Ruan's face, looking at anyone else would be quite dull.
The empty office was dark and gloomy, and a glass of water was turning slowly between his slender hands.
During the days when Gu Xiuyi was on a business trip, Aunt Zhao sent him a lot of photos of Ji Ruan. Without exception, the angles and compositions were bad, but they were all very beautiful.
Aunt Zhao told me that Ji Ruan also grew a grass at home, which he placed on the small balcony in his room. Gu Xiuyi had seen the photo and it seemed to be growing well and was very green.
The grass is grown, and Xiao An likes him very much...
Gu Xiuyi tapped the wall of the cup twice with his index finger, as if he had made some decision, and called Song Ling over.
In fact, that little bit of compassion is nothing, it is just a fleeting moment.
Maybe it’s just because he has never come into contact with a child like Ji Ruan. He will get used to it over time. It’s not a big deal at all. There’s no need to worry about it.
When Song Ling arrived at the office, the curtains had been reopened, and the whole room was bright and well-lit. Gu Xiuyi was sitting at his desk reading documents. He didn't even raise his head when he heard him coming: "Go pick up Ji Ruan and bring his ID."
Song Ling said: "Aunt Zhao just sent me a message saying that he went out."
Gu Xiuyi looked up: "Where did you go?"
“…I didn’t ask.”
Gu Xiuyi stroked the pen in his hand and said, "Let Lao Zhang pick him up, and you go and bring his ID here."
Song Ling asked: "Are you going to take him to get the marriage certificate? But there is a meeting later."
Gu Xiuyi's eyes moved, as if he had forgotten about it. He lowered his head to think for a moment, then said firmly, "Bring him over and wait here for a while."
Song Ling stopped refutation after hearing this and nodded, "Okay, I'll do it right away."
"——Song Ling."
Just after taking a few steps, he was stopped again. Song Ling turned around and asked, "What's going on?"
Gu Xiuyi looked calm: "Do you have Ji Ruan's WeChat?"
"Ah?" The topic changed so quickly that Song Ling didn't react for a moment. He was stunned for two seconds: "Yes... Of course there is."
Gu Xiuyi nodded and buried himself in the documents again:
"Push it to me."
·
Buzz——
A friend request popped up on Ji Ruan’s phone.
Han Xiaolin on the opposite side was still immersed in the death loop of "Is Ji Ruan crazy or am I crazy?"
Ji Ruan exclaimed, "Ah!" and then heard someone say, "He added me on WeChat."
Han Xiaolin: "Huh, who? Your Mr. Gu?"
Ji Ruan nodded.
Han Xiaolin rolled his eyes: "You need WeChat now that you're married? Do you guys usually communicate spiritually? Ji Ruan, are you okay?"
Ji Ruan's voice was still light and he agreed to the application. "I already said that we are getting married by agreement."
Gu Xiuyi's avatar was originally Xiao An, much smaller than it is now. Was it when he was just brought home? He looked like a cute little tiger.
Han Xiaolin: “…”
Han Xiaolin was extremely anxious: "Ji Ruan, what novels have you been reading recently? You can't be so unrestrained just because you got into college! How about we go home and read textbooks to get more socialist education?"
Ji Ruan raised his head and smiled: "Why don't you believe it?"
[Gu Xiuyi: Where?]
Ji Ruan lowered his head and typed on the keyboard.
[Playing outside with classmates, around No. 14 Middle School.]
It took a few minutes for the other side to return.
[Gu Xiuyi: Lao Zhang is nearby, he will come to pick you up soon, let’s go get the certificate.]
Ji Ruan's hands trembled, and when he saw the words "get the certificate", he suddenly had a strong feeling - they were really going to get married this time.
He rubbed his fingers and typed: [Aren’t you on a business trip?]
[Gu Xiuyi: Just got back.]
"Ji Ruan..." Han Xiaolin looked worried, "It's not a question of whether I believe it or not, it's a question of whether I need to send you to see a doctor, wake up!"
Ji Ruan was still quiet, with a pretty smile on her face, but she didn't talk to Han Xiaolin anymore.
He raised his hand to call the boss over and ordered a three-ounce bowl of beef noodles with meat and coriander.
Han Xiaolin was shocked: "You eat so much?"
"I ordered it for you. Don't you like beef noodles from this restaurant the most?" Ji Ruan said with a smile.
Han Xiaolin was suddenly flattered: "Ah? Uh, uh, what, you really want to treat me to a meal? Why?"
You have to know that Ji Ruan is a very stingy person. Usually, he would only be treated to one or two ounces of food at most, and he would never add meat!
After Ji Ruan paid the bill, he held his chin with an innocent look on his face and said, "I'm going to get the marriage certificate later. You can eat slowly. I have to go first."
Han Xiaolin's small eyes slowly expanded to the limit, and a madman was reflected in his pupils.
The next second, he watched the madman get up, walk out of the shop, and get into a top-of-the-line luxury car on the street.
It's like changing into a pair of gold-rimmed shoes from the mud and then walking into the clouds.
Han Xiaolin finally believed it...
He stood up and his hair was disheveled by the strong wind from the noodle shop's powerful fan.
·
Han Xiaolin, eighteen years old, a poor high school graduate, had a friend who became a wealthy wife on the first day she received her college admission letter!
This wealthy lady named Ji Ruan also treated him to a 300-ounce bowl of beef noodles with meat and coriander!
At this moment, in Han Xiaolin's eyes, the exhaust gas from the Mercedes-Benz car that was driving away was all golden!
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