Chapter 5. Her Home
When they reach a certain age, the dimensionality reduction attack on young people is like their spiritual placenta. One injection relaxes their body and mind from the inside out.
At three o'clock in the afternoon on the weekend, Ruan Tang received a message from Jia Yingjun asking if he wanted to pick her up.
Ruan Tang replied with a thank you emoticon and said that she was not far away and would go there after meeting the client.
She knew that she had to know how to strike a balance when dealing with a man like this, and they were not in a relationship where she needed the other to pick her up and drop her off specially.
The client she was talking about had just returned from the restroom. Ruan Tang quickly threw her phone into her pocket and disinfected her hands.
The client was a middle-aged woman who came in regularly for projects. She had a keen eye for gossip. Before she lay down and closed her eyes, she glanced at her expression and asked if she had a date later. Ruan Tang smiled and nodded, then began applying gel to her face.
The elder sister asked if she had a boyfriend? Ruan Tang said they were just dating at the moment.
The elder sister asked about the conditions. Ruan Tang said it was just okay, that her family had introduced her and that she happened to be working here.
The older sister, with a graceful expression, like the goddess of mercy, sighed, "Not bad. I've always thought you were a down-to-earth girl. Unlike those other girls from other places who, relying on their looks, are so ambitious, plotting to marry a rich, handsome man. Isn't that just a waste of time? What's the point of being young and beautiful? Who wasn't beautiful when they were young? I even dated Jack Ma when I was young."
Ruan Tang felt the blood rushing to her head, but she still had a calm smile on her face, and occasionally echoed a few interjections.
Bragging is not exclusive to middle-aged men. For some men who have reached a certain age, their dimensionality-reducing attacks on young people are like spiritual sheep placenta. One injection relaxes their body and mind from the inside out.
The elder sister seemed to be in the mood to continue chatting, but Ruan Tang gently interrupted her: "Sister, please wait a moment. I will ask Dr. Fang to operate on you."
When they came out of the hospital, it was already dark. Because she had sprayed the most expensive perfume today, Ruan Tang gritted her teeth and called another private car.
She sat in the special car and thought about how many 12-dollar McDonald's meals she would have to eat next week to compensate for this ride, while she quickly put on her makeup.
When she arrived at the tavern, Xu Wei was already there. She wondered how Jia Yingjun had managed to invite such a great figure like her. Besides Feng Xue and Wu Jiahao, there were two other men with indistinguishable features sitting at the table.
Jia Yingjun introduced Ruan Tang to them with great enthusiasm. Ruan Tang always found it difficult to remember a person's name at the first sight. She preferred to use the most conspicuous label to record a person in her mind.
For more than a year after she met Xu Wei, she always called Xu Wei's ex-boyfriend: Doctor Brother.
The trendy brand guy who was already a little drunk had some political background in his family. He was a journalist as a main job and did talk shows as a hobby. The other man who wore a casual suit and had a beer belly, whom Ruan Tang called Brother Xiong in her heart, was an investor. He had his own small company and talked about asset allocation all the time.
During this period, their brother Xiong was the main force, and the trendy man played the supporting role. They kept making jokes about Jia Yingjun and Xu Wei, saying that Jia Yingjun rarely brought female companions to party with them.
Ruan Tang understood that in this situation, Jia Yingjun had precisely assigned the functions of each character. The two of them were the main output, and her presence was to make Xu Wei not appear abrupt. Feng Xue and Wu Jiahao were purely the atmosphere group.
During a break in playing cards, Ruan Tang suddenly picked up her phone and asked, "Do you want to order a midnight snack?"
After hearing this, Feng Xue quickly waved his hand and said, "I'll cook whatever you want to eat."
Jia Yingjun was busy counting the chips and agreed: Don't bother, just order some barbecue from the nearby place.
Ruan Tang shook her phone and said, "Let's create a group. I'll send the order link to the group later."
Xu Wei looked up at her, Ruan Tang smiled and winked at her, then scanned the QR codes of the trendy man and Brother Xiong one by one to add them as friends.
Ruan Tang knew very well that she was not a dazzling person, but over the years, she had already developed her own set of skills and could always regain the initiative at the right time.
It was already late at night when the show ended. Feng Xue was the only one who hadn't drunk alcohol. Jia Yingjun drove his SUV over early. For a moment, it was hard to say who of the two of them was more considerate.
Feng Xue drove everyone to the gate of the community, and Ruan Tang was the last stop.
She leaned forward towards the driver's seat, looked at Feng Xue's smooth, full forehead and calm eyes in the rearview mirror, and suddenly felt an inexplicable sense of security.
She asked for the sake of conversation: Have you guys known each other for a long time?
Feng Xue raised his eyes and glanced at her through the rearview mirror, said "hmm" softly, and said, Yingjun, Jiahao and I have known each other since childhood. We were in the same grade as them in high school and went to study in the UK together, so we are quite familiar with each other.
So which of them do you think is more suitable for me? she asked with a smile.
Feng Xue turned the steering wheel and answered calmly: It depends on what kind you are looking for.
I thought you knew what I was looking for.
When he blurted out these words, perhaps it was because from the moment he knew Feng Xue's true identity, he had never included him in his hunting range again, or perhaps it was because his image had collapsed too many times in front of him, so he was able to be honest with him.
The feeling is magical and exciting at the same time.
Feng Xue remained silent for a long time. When she spoke again, her tone was filled with a sense of indifference and distance. "Whether it's about relationships or other conditions, I can't give you much advice. But I think the invisible sunk costs of relationships and marriage are very high. I can only advise you to be cautious. But I don't think you will listen, just like when I advised you not to get close to Yingjun, right?"
Ruan Tang felt that his words were like a bucket of cold water poured over her head. When every word was broken down, there was only one central idea: You can't do it.
Unlike the client sister's condescending pity and suppression, this is a cold scrutiny and judgment.
Ruan Tang smiled and asked him from what standpoint he was giving her advice.
Feng Xue pondered for a moment and replied that he was not a stranger's friend.
It was the first time a man wanted to be friends with her.
In Ruan Tang's cognition, men were originally divided into only two categories: those who had emotional ties with her, and those who looked down on her and were despised by the world as gold diggers.
As we were about to get off the bus, Ruan Tang asked, "You have such a negative view on love and marriage. Have you ever been hurt? Isn't that a bit unconventional?"
Feng Xue stopped the car, chuckled and said, "I'm sorry for them."
Ruan Tang had already gotten out of the car, and waved to Feng Xue to roll down the window. She put one hand on the window and supported her chin and asked, "Do you want to find a place to have a couple of more drinks?"
I still have to deliver the car to Yingjun, he shook his head.
Ruan Tang reached out to open the car door for him, pulled him out without saying anything, and said: You can call a designated driver. Besides, he has more than one car.
It was already late at night, and the two of them wandered around the street for a while. In the end, Feng Xue drove her back to the tavern.
When Feng Xue first opened this tavern, he usually looked deep and detached. Ruan Tang thought he had some underworld background like the male protagonist in the Japanese version of Midnight Diner.
But his story is actually not complicated.
Feng Xue was with his ex-wife when he was in college and they got married smoothly after graduation. Because he was a little smart, he was noticed by a big boss. As a result, the boss illegally manipulated the stock price for profit and gave him a large sum of money to make him a scapegoat. In order to let his ex-wife get away with it, he made up a lame excuse and left the house before the incident.
After three rounds of drinks, Feng Xue said with red eyes, "I wanted to make it up to her after I got out, but I haven't found any news for more than a year. It's as if she has disappeared from the face of the earth."
Ruan Tang slammed her wine glass down and said, "That's right! You've given her so much money, what's there for her to be dissatisfied with?!"
Feng Xue suddenly grabbed Ruan Tang's wrist and warned: Don't talk to her like that.
Do you know how to protect her now? I didn't ask you to push her away in the first place. Ruan Tang shook off his hand and rolled her eyes.
Feng Xue was stunned for two seconds, turned around and lowered his eyes: It's really my fault, I'm sorry, I shouldn't say that.
Ruan Tang must have been a bit drunk. She tugged at Feng Xue's arm relentlessly, "Stop pretending to be affectionate, man. I hate hindsight! You think pushing her away is good for her, but have you ever asked her what she wants? Now that she's gone, not letting you find her means she doesn't want to see you again..."
Both of them drank a lot, and their balance was unstable, so they both rolled to the ground.
At this moment, the sound of a door opening seemed to be heard not far away, and a gust of night wind blew in. Both of them became much more sober, looked at each other with embarrassment, and quickly looked away, and each of them got up in a hurry.
"What are you doing?" Wu Jiahao stood at the door and looked at the two of them calmly.
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