Chapter 49. My Good Brother (Two in One)
Ruan Tang spent the last weekend night before moving packing her luggage. When she had sealed the last cardboard box, Coco came back in the moonlight.
Looking at Ruan Tang standing in a daze in the mess, she rushed over, reeking of alcohol, hugged her, and said aggrievedly: I didn't expect you to move out so soon.
"ah!"
Ruan Tang screamed and jumped away. Coco instinctively picked up her slippers and searched around: Where is it? Where is the cockroach?
"Who told you there were cockroaches?" Ruan Tang straightened her sweat-soaked hair and said, "I'm covered in sweat. I don't want to leave you with the impression that I'm covered in sweat before I move out."
As she spoke, she stretched out her hands to her face and fanned herself, complaining coquettishly: Why is it still so hot in autumn? This house is amazing.
Coco took the trouble to come closer to her again, put her arms around her neck, hung on her, sighed and said: Hey, I hope my new roommate is not a weirdo, otherwise I will harass you and complain to you late at night.
"Are you thinking about new roommates so soon? What if we don't get along? You might move back in soon."
"Stop it!" Coco pinched her face and ordered seriously. She didn't let go until Ruan Tang had no choice but to do as she asked. She continued to lean her face on her shoulder and said: I think your elder brother is still quite reliable, different from before.
"You haven't seen the man I dated before. Oh, and you probably haven't seen the one I'm dating now either, right?" Ruan Tang laughed.
Coco shook her head and said: I mean you, it’s different from before. Whether a man is really sincere or not can be seen from the state of the woman.
Got to come out.
"What's my status?"
"It's just... women in love always look like they just had a hydrating injection. Look at you, you weren't like this before, even when you were riding around in luxury cars. But now that you've found a guy who runs a small restaurant, you're suddenly thriving again. It's amazing."
"You made me feel so discouraged before."
"No no no, you used to be covered in jewels, but now you are radiant, from the inside out."
Ruan Tang was feeling proud, but at the same time, she grasped the point of her previous words and defended herself in a bad mood: What small restaurant? It's just a pub. Besides, a small boss is still a boss. How can a fly leg not be meat?
"Okay, okay, you've said it countless times. It's a potential stock." Coco waved her hand and turned to go back to her room.
Ruan Tang turned around and saw her cheeks, which were red from the alcohol. Suddenly, he felt something and reached out to poke her waist and asked, "Hey, do you want to order some crayfish and have a drink to keep the party going?"
While waiting for the takeaway, Ruan Tang was curled up on the sofa and browsing Weibo. Suddenly, she saw an entry that was gaining popularity: Platform producer Fu Bei was transferred to the public security organs.
She took a deep breath, clicked on the entry, and saw that the first content was officially released: the group issued an anti-fraud notice, and the platform producer Fu Bei took advantage of his position to ask for and collect huge benefits from partners. At the same time, Fu Bei has been transferred to the public security organs for handling.
The content published by other entertainment accounts was similar, with basically no details of the relevant events. Ruan Tang flipped through them and suddenly remembered that day in the hospital, Jia Yingjun said that their company had sponsored the new program prepared by Fu Bei, so she immediately took a screenshot of the news and sent it to Xu Wei.
She originally wanted to ask: Is this matter related to Jia Yingjun?
As a result, as soon as she finished typing "this matter", Xu Wei replied to her with a hands-spreading emoticon and sent a voice message: He said I was irrational, but I think he is the crazy one.
Although Xu Wei did not give too many details, Ruan Tang almost pieced together the whole process from her complaints. It was nothing more than Xu Wei's plan to go deep into the tiger's school again. On the one hand, she took on the work of recording the program and negotiated with Fu Bei to collect evidence. On the other hand, she contacted the artists and guests who had worked with him in the past to ask them to come out and testify. However, Jia Yingjun was unwilling to let her take risks again, so he simply took the naming rights of the program and then blew himself up.
In fact, the operation of a project is always accompanied by these dirty tricks. The phenomenological name of this kind of thing is the industry's unwritten rules. The producers make profits from it, rub their fingers with the sponsors in private, and promise that they can get good rebates if the brands in some programs are exposed. The attitude of the platform towards these "private goods" in the program is also ambiguous. This time, Fu Bei was suddenly exposed in the scandal, and the matter became so big that Jia Yingjun, the "sponsor who was asked for bribes", should be involved.
"Tsk, tsk, tsk," Ruan Tang sighed, making a voice call. "You're still complaining about spoiled wife literature, but yours is clearly even more extreme domineering CEO literature. I've already imagined a thousand lines from Jia Yingjun, like him snorting coldly at that old man Fu Bei and saying, 'Because, you, messed with my woman.' Isn't that exciting?"
"Stop, stop, stop. I just took sleeping pills. I don't want to vomit, so I have to take them again." Xu Wei stopped her from continuing to lose her temper in time. She sneered on the other end of the phone, with a hint of anger in her voice: I originally just wanted to bring down Fu Bei, but now I am likely to lose my job. If this turns out, I guess the entire project team on the platform will have to be reset. He is not afraid because he has a big family and a big business.
Ruan Tang knew she was just being stubborn. She was more concerned about the impact this incident would have on Jia Yingjun's company. After all, the collapse of the partnership they had just invested in would undoubtedly impact their stock price. Xu Wei never wanted to owe anyone a favor, even if that person was a romantic interest.
Ruan Tang sighed and advised: To be honest, you should take less sleeping pills, and I think you should have a good talk with Jia Yingjun. Weiwei, you once told me to cherish the person in front of me, and now I will say this to you.
As soon as I hung up the phone, Coco came out of the bathroom, looking much more sober. She blinked and asked: What do you mean by cherishing the person in front of you? You've become someone else's emotional mentor so quickly?
"Those in power are confused and need to be enlightened."
The delivery guy's call came from outside the door. Ruan Tang put down her phone, humming "We ordinary people are so happy today." She ran to the door and came back with a brisk pace singing "Today is a good day, everything you want can come true..."
Coco stared at Ruan Tang, whose face was filled with joy, and suddenly felt that her complexion was redder and more lustrous than the crayfish in the lunch box. She couldn't help rubbing her eyes and asked: I know you are about to build a love nest with your good brother and live a shameless and happy life, but it shouldn't be so exaggerated, right?
Bang!
Ruan Tang opened the pull ring of the ice-cold beer, tilted his head back and took a big gulp, exclaiming: It feels so good!
It's like a bad fall, a scrape that bleeds and forms a scab. Then, day after day, you live with that ugly, bumpy wound. Then, the wound starts to itch, and you can't help but reach out to scratch. One day, the scab is suddenly peeled off. Despite the initial shock, the refreshing feeling is so overwhelming that you can't help but feel completely refreshed. Even though the new, tender, pink skin that's grown over the wound seems a little out of place, you know that part of you has finally been reborn.
Many people find it hard to believe, but although Ruan Tang has dated many men over the years, she has never actually lived with a man.
Among these men, quite a few own houses. When the love is strong, she only leaves some necessary toiletries, spare clothes and pajamas in their homes, and in most cases the other party seems to have tacitly accepted that this is a relationship with a shelf life.
She once dated a man who was an investment banker in Financial Street and owned a large apartment in the East Third Ring Road. On the third day, he put his arm around her shoulders and said, "Baby, why don't you move to my house? I don't want to see you continue to live in those old and dilapidated houses and suffer."
Fortunately, she was reserved for a moment and said she needed to think about it. We can go to your house to cook and eat first to get used to it.
When Ruan Tang recalls it now, she feels that the only word to describe her feelings at that time is breathtaking.
The house was like an empty shell with gorgeous decorations. There was an elevator leading into the house, but there was not even a bed in the bedroom. There was a mattress placed in the middle of the room, and the windows were covered with bubble paper. The investment banker said embarrassedly that he was not very particular about details in his daily life. If she moved in, she would not have to pay rent and would only be responsible for purchasing furniture including curtains. He also said that he hoped that the furniture in the house would be selected by the hostess herself, so that it would be a home for two of them.
She even suspected that this house was an asset forgotten by a wealthy man, and that the man in front of her who was planning the future with all his heart was just a parasite.
After returning home, before blocking the man, Ruan Tang found his ex-girlfriend on Weibo and learned that stealing furniture was his usual tactic. He had originally planned to buy a house and then crowdfund the furnishings through a few more relationships. However, his ex-girlfriend was ruthless and took away all the things he had bought after they broke up.
On the day of moving, Ruan Tang and Feng Xue sat side by side in the narrow seat of Huolala, and suddenly remembered that experience.
She tugged at Feng Xue's little finger and asked: Do I have a lot of things?
Feng Xue pursed her lips and was silent for a minute, then nodded and said: But she is a girl, so I can understand it.
Ruan Tang squeezed his palm with satisfaction, intertwined her fingers with his, and said: But actually, these boxes only contain some clothes, shoes, cosmetics and so on. I thought the furniture was too old, so I didn’t take it.
Feng Xue still nodded: We can buy whatever you need later.
“Who’s paying?”
"Can I still let you spend money?"
Ruan Tang pulled Feng Xue's hand forward and whispered in his ear: I think it would be sexier if you just said I'll pay the bill.
"What about when I'm being serious and reasonable?"
Realizing that he still remembered what they said that night together, she was happy but didn't want to show it. She bit her lip and thought for a moment, then said: There's no comparison, let's just tie for first place for now.
Ruan Tang noticed that the driver kept looking at the two of them through the rearview mirror, so she became playful and remembered the recent popular meme on the Internet. Without thinking, she cleared her throat and moved closer to Feng Xue. She lowered her voice loud enough for the driver to hear and asked: "Brother, does your wife know that we are having so much fun?"
She clearly felt that Feng Xue was stunned and her whole body froze. The harmonious atmosphere surrounding the two of them instantly became awkward.
Ruan Tang also realized that something was wrong. She loosened her grip and whispered, "I'm sorry... I forgot..."
As he spoke, he turned to look out the window at the street scene rustling past behind him, and his heart instantly became filled with mixed feelings.
"How come you love acting even more than Jiang Li, that acting student?" He chuckled and ruffled her hair, intending to ease the atmosphere, but Ruan Tang just looked out the window and said nothing.
He wrapped Ruan Tang's hand in his palm with his backhand, and gently patted the back of her hand with his other hand, as if to comfort her, or as a silent promise.
Feng Xue followed the movers upstairs to carry the things. He asked Ruan Tang to stay in the living room with the air conditioner on to check if anything was missing.
The kitten seemed to have regarded this house as its own territory. It patrolled the cardboard boxes left and right, sniffing and rubbing against them to mark its scent. After finishing, it ran to Ruan Tang's feet and rubbed against them.
By the time the move was complete, it was already getting dark.
The two of them leaned on the sofa and looked at the cardboard boxes on the floor. The room was so quiet that the only sounds were each other's breathing and the rustling sound of the kitten walking around.
Feng Xue suddenly reached out and shook her hand, and asked: Do you know what the most important thing is right now?
"I don't know. I've never been married and I've never lived with anyone." She suddenly remembered what happened in the car just now. Her tone was soft, but it sounded sarcastic.
Feng Xue reached out and pulled her into his arms, and said in a hoarse voice: If I hadn't been ready to move on, I wouldn't have gotten close to you, let alone been with you. Actually, there's nothing you can't say, but there were outsiders in the car just now. If you want to joke, you can say anything behind closed doors.
"You don't understand. The essence of a prank is the presence of strangers." Ruan Tang's eyes finally warmed up. She leaned on his chest and asked: So what is the most important thing now?
Feng Xue withdrew his hand from her shoulders, leaned over and held the kitten on his lap, and touched his chin. The kitten squinted comfortably, and raised its head slightly in coordination with his fingers as if to signal him not to stop.
"Just give this kitten a name, and our family will be basically established."
Ruan Tang was secretly surprised. Was this really something a man in his thirties should say? Or was it really the eternal truth that men remain young until they die?
"What are you thinking about?" Feng Xueting stretched out a hand and waved it in front of her eyes.
She came back to her senses, stretched out a hand to lift the kitten's chin to look at it, and said: I heard that stray cats are good for bringing wealth, otherwise they would be called "Zhaocai"?
"It's too vulgar." Feng Xue shook his head and rejected her proposal.
"Treasure? Millions? Rich?..."
Ruan Tang said countless auspicious words in succession, but all she got was Feng Xue's unsatisfactory rejection. Finally, she leaned back on the sofa in a huff and asked him: Then you decide, I'm fine with anything, even calling you Goudan is fine.
"Then call her Tiantian." Feng Xue proposed this plan solemnly with a serious expression.
The kitten lay on Feng Xue's legs with a comfortable look on its face. When it heard him call it Tiantian, it turned over and snored, and seemed to be very satisfied with the name.
"Are you okay?" Ruan Tang's forehead was filled with questions. "Isn't this a male cat? How will he save face if he takes him out in the future?"
Feng Xue smiled innocently and said, "This way we can have both a son and a daughter, the best of both worlds." As he spoke, he supported the kitten on its front paws and stood up, then approached Ruan Tang and said, "Come, Tiantian, look at your mother."
Perhaps the word "mother" was too heavy, Ruan Tang did not feel warm, the hairs on her body stood up and she subconsciously hid backwards. She forced a smile and refused: His mother should still be in the grass somewhere in our community.
"You don't like being called like that?" Feng Xue's slightly lost eyes were like a big golden retriever that excitedly brought a toy to invite someone but was rejected by its owner. Her heart softened and she began to wonder if she was overreacting.
Ruan Tang reached out and patted the kitten's head, then said, in a slightly more gentle tone, "I'm just not used to it for the moment." She paused and asked, "It seems you like children?"
She originally wanted to change the subject by asking the question in the second half of the sentence, but she unexpectedly pushed the atmosphere into an even more awkward situation for her.
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