Chapter 26
26
Zhao Xingcan curled up lazily in the chair, holding a cigarette in his mouth, which was stuffed with wormwood and mint leaves. After lighting it, he took a slow puff and became more and more relaxed.
He almost didn't sleep last night. At around four or five o'clock, while Lin Ju was asleep, he tiptoed up and went to the study to finish reading the remaining documents.
After finishing his homework, taking a shower and changing his clothes, he drove to the company for a meeting.
The meeting was going to last a whole day, and it was time for a break. Zhao Xingcan smoked a cigarette and looked up, thinking about last night. He wondered for a moment if he was really old. How could he be so exhausted after just one night?
He didn't care about age issues before, but after being with the little girl, he had to be a little careful.
He would be thirty next year, and Lin Ju, having just graduated, would be only twenty-three, a seven-year age difference between them. Actually, this age difference wasn't a big deal, but Zhao Xingcan was unusually anxious.
Thinking of this, he took out his cell phone and made a video call to Lin Ju.
As soon as I dialed, the video call was connected. On the screen, Lin Ju was sitting at the coffee table in the living room. She was wearing a loose gray long-sleeved shirt, her face was white and without makeup, and her long hair was tied up behind her head. She leaned her face towards the phone with a smile on her face, "Are you finished with the meeting?"
When she woke up this morning and didn't see Zhao Xingcan, she thought of the meeting he told her about last night, so she consciously didn't disturb him.
After that she took another nap and now she just woke up.
Zhao Xingcan noticed that she had just woken up and asked her what she wanted to eat for lunch.
Lin Ju smiled at him and said, "I'm going out to eat with Xu Gaoyou at noon."
Zhao Xingcan tilted his head slightly, recalling the name.
Lin Ju guessed that he probably didn't remember these insignificant people very well. Just as she was about to explain this to him, she heard him slowly say, "It's rare for you to come back to Beijing. It's really time for you to get together with your brother."
Lin Ju didn't expect him to remember, so she nodded and said, "Yeah, I thought so too."
Afterwards, Zhao Xingcan asked her about the time and place for lunch, and then asked the driver to take her there. Lin Ju was unfamiliar with the place and was too lazy to go out and take a taxi, so she agreed.
Zhao Xingcan's lips curled slightly, and he seemed very satisfied with this answer. Afterwards, they chatted for a few more words, which was not really casual.
Zhao Xingcan picked out some sweet words that he would never say on a normal day and told them to Lin Ju, which made the girl blush and her palms sweat as she held the phone.
It was not until the secretary knocked on the door that Zhao Xingcan hung up the video call with Lin Ju, put away his smile, and returned to his usual reserved and cold demeanor.
Since she was going to meet Xu Gaoyou, Lin Ju didn't dress up much and didn't even put on makeup. She changed into a black sweatshirt and slim jeans and went out.
As she walked downstairs, she saw a black car slowly approaching and stopping in front of her. The driver came out from the front door and trotted over to her. "Ms. Lin, Mr. Zhao asked me to pick you up." The driver opened the door for her. Lin Ju had been with Zhao Xingcan for a long time and was generally used to these things, but she still nodded and politely thanked him.
The place where Xu Gaoyou asked her to have dinner was in a nearby shopping mall. There were several office buildings next to it. At noon, white-collar workers from nearby would come to eat. The car stopped in the underground garage. After getting out of the car, the driver showed no intention of leaving. Lin Ju felt a little embarrassed and said to him, "You go back first. I'll take a taxi after I finish my meal."
"How can that be? Mr. Zhao has already given instructions."
"It's okay, I'll just talk to him." Lin Ju's eyebrows were indifferent, and his expression was somewhat similar to Zhao Xingcan's.
The driver had no choice but to nod and drive away.
The restaurant is on the fourth floor and they serve copper pot lamb.
Lin Ju remembered that this was what she and Xu Gaoyou ate last time.
When she arrived at the restaurant door, Xu Gaoyou had already arrived and was sitting on a stool at the door playing games. He didn't notice when Lin Ju approached.
Lin Ju patted him lightly on the shoulder. He raised his head, his frowning brows instantly relaxed, and he gestured.
Lin Ju said, "Let's go in."
Xu Gaoyou was stunned for a moment, then nodded casually. He stood up, seemingly having grown taller recently, and followed behind Lin Ju, almost completely covering her.
Lin Ju was not used to it and kept some distance.
There were quite a lot of people eating hot pot in the restaurant. Xu Gaoyou lowered his head slightly and whispered in Lin Ju's ear: "Sister, the food in this restaurant is pretty good. It's a chain of the one we ate at last time."
Lin Ju smiled, "You really like to eat this."
"I remember when you were little you always said you wanted to come and eat copper pot mutton, and your dad wouldn't take you with him, and you even cried."
"Ah? Really? I forgot." Surprise flashed in Lin Ju's eyes.
"It doesn't matter, I remember everything." Xu Gaoyou smiled.
Lin Ju smiled without saying anything. The copper pot was brought over, along with several plates of mutton. The soup was boiling, and Xu Gaoyou poured the mutton into the copper pot. The steaming heat blurred his expression.
Old songs from the 1980s were playing in the store. Lin Ju picked up her phone and took a picture of the mutton dipped in sesame paste in the bowl.
She sent the photo to Zhao Xingcan with a smile attached.
I put a lot of sesame paste on it.
It didn't take long before Lin Ju put down her phone and Zhao Xingcan replied.
Zhao Xingcan supported his chin and lazily listened to the reports of several managers. Then he slowly picked up his mobile phone and sat down in the crowded meeting.
A photo popped up in the chat box.
[I envy your brother, he can have dinner with beautiful women, but I can only...]
Lin Ju stared at the information and photos and laughed out loud.
The store was playing decadent music from the 1980s. Xu Gaoyou picked up a piece of mutton and put it into Lin Ju's bowl. He caught a glimpse of the affectionate look on her face when she was looking at the phone. He was stunned and his eyes dimmed.
He pretended to be indifferent and asked, "Sister, are you still with that Zhao Xingcan?"
Lin Ju was typing. Her fingers paused on the screen, and she opened her eyes to look. "What's wrong?"
Xu Gaoyou uttered an "eh," scratched his head, and then said, "I don't mean anything special, it's just... I heard from people in the circle that his girlfriend's surname is Qiao, and she is the daughter of shipping magnate Qiao Zhengrong."
"Qiao?" Lin Ju was stunned. She thought of the word "Qiao" that appeared on Zhao Xingcan's cell phone call that night.
Xu Gaoyou's eyes were fixed on her face. He pursed his lips and spoke in a voice like a scalpel slowly cutting open a wound. "Sister, that Miss Qiao is his girlfriend. This matter is spread throughout the circle, and you are the only one who doesn't know."
At some point, the charming female singer's voice stopped, and only the noisy voices remained in the store. The mutton in the pot had been cooked for who knows how long. Milky white fat floated on the shiny soup, mixed with a few boiled green onion leaves.
Lin Ju suddenly felt nauseous. She covered her mouth, stood up, and ran to the bathroom.
Xu Gaoyou also stood up immediately and followed her. Lin Ju ran into the women's restroom. Xu Gaoyou paused and hesitated at the door.
He shouted towards the door: "Lin Ju, are you okay?"
Lin Ju did not answer. She opened the door of the compartment, lowered her head, and vomited out all the food she had just eaten. She felt a dull pain in her abdomen and chest as well.
She vomited until jaundiced water came out, and her mouth felt bitter. It took her a long time to recover. She leaned against the door panel and breathed slowly.
Female customers were coming in and out of the women's restroom. When they saw Xu Gaoyou standing there, they couldn't help but take a few more glances.
Xu Gaoyou looked embarrassed and was hesitating whether to go in when Lin Ju came out.
She lowered her eyes, and her pale face was flushed, which spread to the tip of her nose and under her eyelids, as if she had just cried.
Seeing this, Xu Gaoyou immediately stepped forward and stretched out his hand to hold her, but Lin Ju dodged him. He could only put his hand down and said cautiously: "Sister, I'm just a man, don't be too sad, I..."
Lin Ju interrupted him and shook her head, saying, "Those are just rumors you heard. I'll find out the details when I get back."
Xu Gaoyou was stunned, his expression a little complicated, but he couldn't say much. He sighed lightly and nodded.
Back to his seat, Lin Ju stared at the remaining mutton and lost his appetite.
Xu Gaoyou's mind was not on this either. After taking a few bites, he went to pay the bill.
It was still early when they came out of the mall, and Xu Gaoyou asked Lin Ju if she wanted to go home and take a look.
Lin Ju said she didn't want to go back. Xu Gaoyou was silent for a few seconds and then said, "Sister, you should go back and see Dad. Dad was sick some time ago. It was stomach cancer. But because it was in the early stages, he received timely treatment and is recovering well now. But this disease really affects people's spirits. He stays at home now and doesn't talk to anyone. He has lost a lot of weight."
When Lin Ju heard this, she was completely stunned. She opened her mouth and uttered a few words, "I don't know."
"He didn't let me tell you. He said he was sorry for you and didn't take good care of you. Now he doesn't have the face to let you worry about him." Xu Gaoyou stared at Lin Ju's expression and saw that her tense face relaxed, and a hint of sadness was revealed.
He took Lin Ju's wrist and said softly, "Come home with me to see Dad, okay?"
This time, Lin Ju did not refuse and agreed.
Xu Gaoyou's car was parked in the underground garage, still the black G-Class.
There was a pile of documents on the passenger seat, and Xu Gaoyou immediately picked them up and threw them into the back seat. Lin Ju sat down, fastened her seatbelt, and said nothing.
She was absent-minded all the way. Xu Gaoyou glanced at her from time to time, pursed his lips, and seemed to be hesitant to speak.
The black G-Class stopped steadily. Xu Gaoyou ran down to Lin Ju, opened the car door, and wanted to help her.
Lin Ju waved her hand, dodged the hand he extended, brushed past his shoulder and got out of the car.
When they entered the house, the aunt was cleaning up in the kitchen. Xu Gaoyou greeted her, "Auntie Xu, where is my dad?"
"The master is in the study at the back." Mrs. Xu turned around and saw Lin Ju behind Xu Gaoyou. She was stunned for a moment, then she went up to him and greeted him with a smile.
Lin Ju nodded and turned to Xu Gaoyou.
"Sister, let's go over there."
When Lin Ju arrived at the back study, his father was lying on the recliner in the study to rest.
Pushing the door open, Lin Ju felt as if she had been transported to another world when she saw Lin's father. Lin's father had lost a lot of weight, his hair was thinning, and his face, which had once been somewhat plump, had become shrunken. He looked like a withered old man.
She walked over slowly. Father Lin seemed to sense something and opened his eyes. When he saw that it was Lin Ju, his expression brightened and he supported himself to sit up.
"Jiujiu, you're here." He still remembered her nickname, as if he had remembered it just like when she was a child.
Lin Ju said nothing, just looked at his aging father silently.
She stayed in the study for half a day, and Father Lin talked to her a lot, which was a moment that had never happened before.
In this way, it was natural for them to have dinner at the Lin family.
She didn't send a message to Zhao Xingcan that night, either because she forgot or did it on purpose.
Until Zhao Xingcan called and asked her where she was.
She had finished her meal and was sitting on the sofa in the living room. Mrs. Xu brought a plate of cut fruit. Xu Gaoyou sat next to her, picked up a piece with a fork and handed it to her mouth.
Lin Ju took it and said thank you. Before she could say anything, Zhao Xingcan asked, "Are you going home?"
Lin Ju said "hmm", and then heard Zhao Xingcan say: "I'll pick you up."
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