Chapter 47
Xia Lanzheng called Cheng Lan's confession a farce. The reason for this was that as one of the parties involved, he was "under house arrest" at home for nearly half a month, and the Chu family even did not allow him to access the Internet.
With nothing to do, Xia Lanzheng would walk the sheep in the yard all day. One day, Chu Linyu took a closer look and said, "Why do I feel that Baobao has become thinner? Hey, Zhengzheng, you seem to have lost some weight too."
At this point, Xia Lanzheng's only entertainment activity was stopped. Yang Yuxiao had no classes for a week and dragged him to watch TV all day long.
You know what? This TV show is actually pretty good. Xia Lanzheng watched it for a few days and realized that the story, which could have been told in 10 episodes, had been dragged out to 56 episodes.
The TV series in this crappy melodramatic novel is actually so melodramatic.
So, when the TV series was about to air in episode 11, Xia Lanzheng resisted the temptation of milk tea and snacks on a sunny afternoon: "Mom, you watch it yourself. I'll find something else to do."
Li Pingan heard about it and would run home every day after sending Chu Linchuan off, finding all sorts of ways to entertain Xia Lanzheng. One day he'd bring comics, the next day he'd bring games, and a few days later he'd bring a "message" from Chu Linchuan.
"Mr. Chu said that the puzzle in the study is not finished, and asked you to help, young master."
"Xiao Chu always says that the flowers in the yard need to be watered, but not too much, or they will be fragile and die easily."
Xia Lanzheng thought Chu Linchuan was a traveling frog, not at home lately, but never missing a word. Suddenly one day, Chu Linchuan stopped talking and brought snacks instead.
Li Pingan secretly stuffed the starch sausage into Xia Lanzheng's hand: "Eat it quietly, don't let them see."
"Where are the others?"
"who?"
"Chu Linchuan."
Li Pingan squatted in the yard to water the flowers. "I seem to be very busy recently. I come home late at night. I'm on shift at that time, so I don't know the exact time... How much water should I use? Is it enough?"
"I don't know. Just wait and see." Xia Lanzheng glanced at the stems. "Brother Li, I want to have barbecue tomorrow, is that okay?"
"Okay, I'll ask tomorrow morning," Li Pingan clicked his tongue, "Young Master, take a look, is that enough now?"
Xia Lanzheng licked the chili pepper on her lips and said, "If there were too much, I'd probably drown."
Li Pingan quickly ran to close the sluice gate: "Why didn't you tell me earlier!"
Yang Yuxiao and Chu Linyu stood by the window and called Xia Lanzheng's name. Xia Lanzheng handed the garbage bag to Li Pingan and asked him to help hide it. "Just kidding, I checked, this Hua Xishui can't die at all."
While Li Ping'an was stunned, Xia Lanzheng wiped her mouth and ran away.
He thought about it and felt that something was wrong. Why did the young master look more and more like Mr. Chu?
*
"Are you going to celebrate your birthday with Chu Linchuan this year?" Yang Yuxiao asked.
Only then did Xia Lanzheng remember that he and Chu Linchuan had the same birthday, just like in their previous life.
"You can do it the same way as before," Chu Linyu said. "I asked Chu Linchuan what he thought, and he said it's up to you."
"What was it like before?" Xia Lanzheng had no recollection of this.
"Let's stagger it by one day. You can come earlier and be alone with your friends..." Chu Linyu was poked by Yang Yuxiao and coughed. "Anyway, everyone is up to you."
Xia Lanzheng didn't hesitate for a second: "I'll go with my brother."
"Okay, then we're only preparing for Chu Linchuan..." Yang Yuxiao paused and exchanged a glance with Chu Linyu, "Are we really going together this year?"
"Really, do you want to prepare anything?"
What's this about spending time alone with friends? Isn't that just being a sucker and paying for Yu Yang and his gang's bill? Get the hell out of here! Xia Lanzheng has long since given up on serving these idiots.
"No need, we'll just have a party and Zhengzheng, just come," Chu Linyu said mysteriously, "Wait, I have a surprise for you this time."
Xia Lanzheng choked: "How about telling me first?"
Chu Linyu loves to create inexplicable surprises, and eight out of ten times they end up as scares.
"Don't worry about me doing things," Chu Linyu patted his chest, "You will definitely like it."
Seeing how happy he was, Xia Lanzheng stopped asking and changed the subject: "Where's my phone? It's been half a month. I really want to surf the Internet."
Yang Yuxiao and Chu Linyu's expressions changed, and both seemed to want to say something but stopped themselves.
Xia Lanzheng was happy. The Chu family protected him very closely. There was someone watching him at home 24 hours a day, as if they were afraid that he would do something bad.
In fact, he knew that they were simply afraid that he would see bad comments online. After all, the original owner had a very extreme personality, and when he was in a bad mood, he would do some incredible things.
"I'm really fine," Xia Lanzheng said calmly, repeating what she had said to Chu Linchuan. "I'm an independent adult, and so is Cheng Lan. There's really nothing special about me."
Hearing him mention Cheng Lan, Chu Linyu turned his head and cursed, and was slapped by Yang Yuxiao again.
Yang Yuxiao didn't show any anger on his face, and even smiled a little: "Young people's affairs, Chu Linyu, what do you know? Don't meddle in so much."
Chu Linyu rubbed his arm: "I'm young too, why don't I understand?"
Yang Yuxiao ignored him and opened the cabinet under the coffee table: "The phone has been left here all the time. I don't think Zhengzheng has come to look for it... Chu Linyu, when you were at this age, you were addicted to the internet. Your dad and I even discussed whether we should disconnect you from the internet to help you quit..."
A wonderful debate immediately broke out across the coffee table. Chu Linyu recalled his childhood, and Yang Yuxiao recalled the past. One was dissatisfied, and the other sighed.
It's completely irrelevant.
Xia Lanzheng wanted to laugh when she heard this. She secretly exchanged a glance with Yang Yuxiao and left this place of trouble.
He returned to the yard. The soil in the small plot of land where Chu Linchuan planted flowers was moist, and he didn't know how many rounds of water it had been given. Li Ping'an had already left.
I hadn't touched my phone for nearly half a month. As soon as I turned it on, a bunch of messages came in, and it kept ringing for half a minute.
Cheng Lan, Su Cheng, and Yu Jiawei all sent a lot of messages, Chu Linchuan and Lu Yanqing didn't move, and the rest were not important.
Su Cheng heard about his recent situation from somewhere else and knew that he was resting at home, so he simply shared some of his life.
Organize exhibitions, paint, occasionally go to the sea, and send some videos.
Another traveling frog.
Cheng Lan's voice was louder than usual, and Xia Lanzheng could almost hear him through the screen. Aside from the initial "I'm sorry" voice message, the rest was just videos.
Xia Lanzheng clicked it and took a look. She put her hand close to the receiver and almost threw the phone away.
"Cheng Lan, look at what you've done!" The man's voice was full of energy, and he was obviously very angry. "When we met that day, Chu Lang gave your father a cold look! Do you know what that means? He's your Uncle Chu! Shame on you!"
"Do you know how much trouble you've caused others? Have you apologized?"
The camera moved downwards, aiming at Cheng Lan's thigh. Cheng Lan was blocked by the desk. While receiving training, he stretched out two fingers, bent his knuckles, and the little man knelt down.
"I apologize. I'm sorry."
These words were spoken to Xia Lanzheng with all her heart, and her fingers were trembling.
Finally, Xia Lanzheng opened the conversation with Yu Jiawei. Yu Jiawei was sending a voice message, still very decisive. It was unclear whether he was driving or walking. The wind made the receiver rustle.
"It's okay, it's okay. Netizens are just watching the fun. The one who will be socially ruined is Teacher Cheng." Yu Jiawei was laughing when he said this.
Someone honked their horn on the side of the road, and Yu Jiawei exclaimed, "Fuck!" After a few seconds, he added, "You should take a break. You don't have much to do lately anyway. Oh, you don't know, but I'm really worried about that new artist I've taken on... Forget it."
Xia Lanzheng opened the voice messages one by one. When she heard the last one, Yu Jiawei howled, "Boss Chu told me, Xiaoxia, have you really thought it through? You're a rising star in the industry with a promising future!"
"Brother Yu, I've thought it through," Xia Lanzheng called him and got straight to the point. "I've really thought it through."
Yu Jiawei's reaction was different from what he expected: "Oh? That's fine, I've thought it through, too. Your brother has done some ideological work for me."
Xia Lanzheng was surprised: "What did he say to you?"
"Young people have a lot of ideas. Life is long, so go do whatever you want," Yu Jiawei said, lowering his voice like a thief. "Your brother promised me a promotion and a raise, so I won't be taking care of that young artist anymore."
Xia Lanzheng was at a loss whether to laugh or cry when someone called him from outside the yard again.
"Okay, Brother Yu, I wish you happiness every day."
"Happy, of course I'm happy. Go and do your thing, young man."
Xia Lanzheng hung up the phone and saw a familiar car in the distance. She ran out in three or two steps and saw Chu Linchuan sitting in the back seat.
"Brother! You're back so early today!"
"Get in the car," Chu Linchuan opened the door, "and keep your voice down. If Ms. Yang hears you, you won't be able to go."
Xia Lanzheng jumped into the car, closed the door, and only asked after the car drove away, "Where are you going?"
After not seeing each other for a few days, Chu Linchuan's smell changed, becoming the same as Yu Jiawei's, smoky.
"Eating barbecue," Chu Linchuan laughed at him, "I've never seen you so greedy."
"Did you smoke?" Xia Lanzheng lowered her head and glanced at her large shorts. "But I'm wearing pajamas, is that okay?"
"No, my assistant is always lighting cigarettes nearby. It's none of my business," Chu Linchuan pointed at the green checkered pattern on his shorts. "It looks like it was stolen from Bao Bao's fodder."
Li Ping'an was laughing in front, hehe, and it was very interesting to listen to the two people bickering behind him.
It’s “Mee Mee BBQ Restaurant” again.
Xia Lanzheng and Chu Linchuan were already regular customers here. This time, the waiter took them to a private room and gave them two bottles of Sprite.
"Chu Linyu told me that we should celebrate our birthday together?"
"Yes, brother, can you invite more friends?"
Chu Linchuan unpacked the disposable bowls and chopsticks and rinsed them in a basin to disinfect them: "Why?"
"Aren't banquets just for a lot of people?" Xia Lanzheng handed over her bowl. "I don't have many friends, but you definitely do."
Chu Linchuan said, "The banquet wasn't fun. We just changed places to discuss business and socialize. It was like this every year. That's why he didn't like to join me before."
Xia Lanzheng knew who this "he" was referring to: "It's better than spending money on Yu Yang and the others. They're so stupid."
Chu Linchuan laughed out loud: "Why are you scolding yourself even?"
Xia Lanzheng shrugged and asked casually, "Where has Brother Lu been recently?" She hadn't heard from Lu Yanqing for a long time.
Chu Linchuan stopped what he was doing and asked, "What do you want to see him about?"
"No," Xia Lanzheng said, "Just asking."
"He's on a business trip abroad, and there's a time difference between you and him." Chu Linchuan picked up a piece of potato and stuffed it into Xia Lanzheng's mouth. "Eat it, it's getting cold."
Xia Lanzheng often comes to eat barbecue with Chu Linchuan. Yang Yuxiao doesn't allow him to eat unclean things, so Chu Linchuan helps cover for him.
He always said, "It can't be helped. Work requires it. Xia Lanzheng and I rode in the same car and got tainted."
Chu Linyu knew he was lying with his eyes open: "Those old guys turned young and went camping and picnicking with you?"
Xia Lanzheng stared at the darkening sky outside and sipped her Sprite. "Next time, let's go camping and bring a grill."
Chu Linchuan nodded and agreed: "I've never seen you so greedy."
He touched Xia Lanzheng's leg under the table. Xia Lanzheng looked up. She was used to this and raised her chin to indicate that he should talk about it.
"I saw your application for termination," Chu Linchuan said, "Have you made up your mind?"
Xia Lanzheng saw his expression change. He put on a suit and tie and sat seriously on a red plastic stool, as if this was not a food stall but Xingpai's office.
Brother Yu betrayed him a long time ago, why is he still pretending?
Xia Lanzheng couldn't help laughing and put the roasted eggplant in front of Chu Linchuan: "Think about it, brother, you eat it."
Chu Linchuan also laughed, took off his glasses and asked Xia Lanzheng to wipe them for him: "If you are tired of eating eggplant, don't order it next time. Let me eat it every time."
"Glass cloth...never mind, I'll wipe it for you with some clothes," Xia Lanzheng said, lowering her head. "I'm not tired of it, but I only want to have one bite at a time. Brother, you're so smart, I thought you hadn't noticed."
He handed the glasses back and Chu Linchuan put them on. The lenses were not wiped clean, and it seemed as if his astigmatism had worsened. Xia Lanzheng's shadow became one and a half.
Chu Linchuan, wearing blurry glasses, took a bite of the roasted eggplant left by Xia Lanzheng.
"Xia Lanzheng, I don't like eggplant. Don't order it next time."
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