Wait for the rain to stop
3
The airport arranged buses to take passengers to their hotels.
Lin Ju was still standing in the crowd queuing, while Zhao Xingcan had already left from the VIP passage at the other end.
In the winter in Hai City, the damp and cold weather can penetrate deep into the bones.
Snowflakes fluttered beneath the streetlights. It was rare to see such heavy snow in Hai City. Even though she was shivering with cold, Lin Ju still poked her head out from under her hat and glanced up at the sky.
A snowflake landed on her eyelashes, she blinked gently, and the snowflakes slid away from the corners of her eyes.
The bus drove for ten minutes and arrived at the hotel. Lin Ju got the room card and entered the room. She found that the room the man had given her at the airport was a very luxurious suite. It had two rooms and a spacious living room. There was a fruit plate and glass bottles of water on the table.
This room is big enough for three people.
At the airport, she thanked the man for his timely help, and he looked a little surprised.
She remembered that they had met once before in Changhe City. That day, she was not wearing a hearing aid, the world was as quiet as falling snow, and someone talked to her.
She was afraid of trouble, so she simply used sign language to indicate that she was deaf and dumb.
The man was smoking nearby at the time and must have seen it.
Thinking of this, Lin Ju couldn't help but laugh. She lifted her hair and tilted her ear to reveal her hearing aid.
She raised her head, her tearful eyes sparkling, and a bright smile on her face faded her tired and sickly look. "I'm glad... I can hear you today... Thank you."
She pronounces words slowly but clearly.
Zhao Xingcan's gaze fell on the girl's small and round earlobe, then looked at her smiling eyes and raised the corners of his mouth.
The annoyance of flight delays was alleviated a lot by doing a little good deed.
Later, he left through the VIP channel and happened to see the girl walking in the crowd.
Zhao Xingcan wondered whether he should do a good deed to the end and let someone take his private car to go to the hotel together.
But he was always cautious and overly sentimental. After this idea stayed in his mind for a few seconds, he quickly dismissed it.
…
Lin Ju took a shower in the suite, dried her hair, changed her clothes, and felt a little hungry.
It was snowing at this time, and she didn't want to order takeout. When she took the bus to the hotel just now, she saw a convenience store downstairs and decided to buy some food there.
Lin Ju put on her coat, took the room card, and took the elevator to the first floor.
Passengers whose flights were delayed were still checking in in the hotel lobby. Lin Ju went out through the side door. The snow was still falling outside, but much lighter than before. The ground was very wet, and she stepped carefully over the puddles.
The convenience store was well heated. There was a seat at the door where a man in a black coat sat with his back to her.
Lin Ju took her hand out of her down jacket pocket, stood in the beverage area, and took a bottle of milk first.
There were few options left on the staple food shelf, so she picked up a box of sushi and went to check out.
She stood in front of the cashier and looked up at the cigarette rack behind the clerk.
She leaned forward slightly. "Give me a pack of cigarettes."
After paying, she came out with the bag, stood outside the door, tore open the cigarette shell, took out a cigarette, and put it between her lips. When she lit it, her finger paused in mid-air.
She felt her pocket and remembered that the lighter had been thrown into the recycling bin during airport security.
She went back to buy another lighter. The glass door of the convenience store slid open to both sides, and a man who was two heads taller than Lin Ju came out.
At the junction of light and darkness, he lowered his eyes and his gaze fell on the cigarette between Lin Ju's lips.
"Want to light a fire?"
Zhao Xing asked.
Lin Ju looked at him, never expecting to see him again.
She nodded slowly.
At this time, someone wanted to come in.
Zhao Xingcan raised his arm, gently placed it on Lin Ju's shoulder, and took her to the other side.
He took out a black and gold lighter from his pocket, raised his thumb slightly, and in the dimly lit corner, only a crisp and pleasant "ding" sound was heard, and the blue and yellow flame illuminated each other's faces.
"Look up." Zhao Xingcan reminded Lin Ju.
Lin Ju raised her chin blankly, watching the man's face enlarge in front of her, and the flame lit the cigarette.
The scent of peaches rushed into Lin Ju's nose. She took a deep breath and forgot to exhale.
She choked, and the man immediately took off the cigarette and waited for Lin Ju to catch her breath.
Lin Ju tilted his head, covered his mouth, and coughed a few times before he came to his senses.
She apologized and thanked him, but when she looked at the man, he just took the cigarette she had bitten, put it to his nose and sniffed it.
"Fruit-flavored cigarettes?"
Lin Ju nodded, took the cigarette the man handed back, held it in her hand, and said awkwardly: "Thank you, my name is Lin Ju, Shuangmu Lin, the Ju of Guanguanjujiu."
"Zhao Xingcan, I can't think of any poems at the moment."
Lin Ju spread out her hands, "Write it to me."
Zhao Xingcan was stunned. He could never have imagined that one day he would be outside a convenience store filled with snow, holding a girl's hand and writing his name on her palm.
"Zhao Xingcan." Lin Ju read out the name.
Zhao Xingcan listened and corrected him: "The last character is pronounced 'can', which is the pronunciation of 'canci'."
"Sigh." Lin Ju's tongue pressed against the inside of her upper teeth.
Now I finally read it correctly.
"Do you want a cigarette, Zhao Xingcan?" Lin Ju asked softly.
Snow flakes drifted down, wetting Zhao Xingcan's shoulders. He took a cigarette from Lin Ju's hand, and with a "ding" sound, the cigarette was lit.
The flames illuminated Zhao Xingcan's face, and the man's model-like face impacted Lin Ju's retina.
She looked at him twice more, and her gaze was caught by Zhao Xingcan. The moment their eyes met, she held the cigarette, tilted her head and took a deep breath.
Zhao Xingcan had never smoked fruit-flavored cigarettes before. The smell of the cigarette was very light, and the scent of peach was pervasive. What he inhaled didn't feel like cigarettes, but a basket of peaches.
He took two puffs, pinched off the cigarette and stared at it, as if he wanted to peel it open to see if there was any fruit hidden inside.
When the cigarette was almost finished, Lin Ju asked, "Why do you still have a lighter? I handed mine in at the airport. This one doesn't look like something you just bought."
She spoke very slowly, but Zhao Xingcan showed no impatience. After listening to her, he explained, "This hotel room is where I stay most often. It contains my usual things."
Lin Ju flicked the ash and was about to throw away the cigarette butt.
"Give it to me." Zhao Xingcan put out his cigarette. Perhaps he was not used to smoking, so there was still half of his cigarette left.
Lin Ju noticed it but said nothing. She watched him throw the cigarette into the trash can and took a few steps forward. "By the way, thank you for the room. It's so big."
Zhao Xingcan turned around and said, "That's the compensation the airport gave you. You deserve it. No need to thank me."
"Thank you anyway. If it weren't for you, I would probably have to sleep in the airport all night."
…
The next day, the snow stopped.
Lin Ju boarded the plane on time.
When she was at the airport, she looked into the crowd intentionally or unintentionally, and saw only strangers passing by in a hurry.
She thought of last night's snow and peach-flavored eyes, as well as the flames leaping in the man's palm and the slightly cool temperature of his fingers.
His name is Zhao Xingcan.
After a moment of distraction, Lin Ju couldn't help laughing.
Of course, she wouldn't think that someone is interested in her just because of a snowfall, a cigarette, or a name in the palm of her hand.
The flight lasted about two hours and the plane landed at Haikou Meilan Airport.
After picking up her luggage, Lin Ju took off her down jacket and trousers in the airport changing room and changed into an indigo-colored halter dress. The thin straps were wrapped around her snow-white, round shoulders, and the skirt fell down, revealing her slender white ankles.
As I walked out of the glass door of the airport, the scorching sun hit me in the face, the damp and cold weather of the city was swept away, and the warm wind was filled with the smell of the sea.
Lin Ju took a deep breath and felt that his fever was completely gone.
Lin Ju didn't eat the meal provided on the plane. It was three o'clock in the afternoon and she was too hungry. Now she didn't feel hungry anymore.
Lin Ju took a taxi to the hotel where she worked and walked to the front desk dragging her suitcase.
The receptionist looked at her with a smile and asked her if she wanted to check in.
The hotel is very large. When the car enters from the main gate, it passes through a large coconut grove. There are coconut trees planted on both sides of the road, and round and plump coconuts grow on the treetops.
At the entrance of the hotel, there is a white angel statue, and the grand splashes of water outline a rainbow in the sunlight.
Roses are blooming in the flower garden. I walk into the hotel smelling the fragrance of flowers. The lobby is like a palace, and the huge crystal chandeliers are swaying with light like broken diamonds.
There are several Roman columns evenly distributed on the four walls. On the left is the "Four Gods in Clouds" and on the right is the "School of Athens".
It really is a fusion of Chinese and Western styles. Lin Ju's eyebrows twitched a few times as she "appreciated" the completely different hotel styles.
"Excuse me, is Manager Feng here? I'm in touch with him." Lin Ju pointed to a blank white wall. "My name is Lin Ju, and I'm here to design a mural."
The receptionist was stunned for a moment, then smiled and said, "Excuse me, Ma'am. Manager Feng is not in the hotel right now. Could you please leave your phone number? I'll contact you as soon as he returns."
Lin Ju wrote down her name and phone number on the piece of paper handed to her by the front desk. "Okay, can I leave this suitcase here?"
"Yes, ma'am, you can just leave it here. We will have someone to look after it for you."
"Thanks."
Lin Ju walked out of the hotel gate and walked around the white angel fountain.
A black car with smooth lines drove in from the other side. The water from the fountain was crystal clear, white butterflies were resting on the roses, the wind smelled of the salty sea breeze, and a touch of fresh indigo blue caught the eye.
Feng Longlu whistled, "Xingcan, look at this girl, she's so beautiful."
Zhao Xingcan didn't even raise his head. He had never agreed with Feng Longlu's taste. Almost all of his female companions had pointed faces and looked like Lianlian.
Feng Longlu parked the car and entered the hotel, still sighing at the beauty he had just seen, "She is so beautiful, it's a pity you didn't see her."
Zhao Xingcan didn't bother to respond. As they walked towards the elevator, the receptionist stood up and called Feng Longlu, "Manager Feng, a lady named Lin Ju just came to see you. She said she's here to design a mural."
Feng Longlu waved his hand and said, "Just tell her I'm not here and let her wait."
Zhao Xingcan was almost at the elevator, but he paused and turned back.
He leaned against the front desk and picked up the piece of paper with his name and phone number on it. When he saw the not-so-common name on it, the corners of his mouth rose slightly.
"What's wrong?" Feng Longlu looked at him in confusion.
Zhao Xingcan held a thin piece of paper between his fingers and asked, "Why are you making us wait?"
Feng Longlu frowned. "I paid Professor Li Tai, but he sent his students over. I've seen her resume, and while she's won many awards, how capable can a young woman like her be? Isn't that just a perfunctory approach?"
Zhao Xingcan looked around the hotel's decoration and saw the two murals on the left and right. He couldn't help but hold his forehead, "But I think your hotel, a little girl is enough."
Feng Longlu was speechless. He scratched his head and said guiltily, "Is the taste really that bad?"
Zhao Xingcan raised his eyebrows. Now that the words had been delivered, he didn't say anything more.
Feng Longlu was actually a little afraid of Zhao Xingcan, who was the hotel's majority shareholder. Since Mr. Zhao had spoken, Feng Longlu said to the front desk, "Then go contact her and have her meet me on the eighth floor."
Zhao Xingcan leisurely returned the paper to the front desk, stood up and walked towards the elevator.
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
