Chapter 28
Changing the tone and twisting the timbre, it never ends.
That evening, the two parted on bad terms.
Josh needed time to calm down, so he didn't wait until the end of the trip and bought a ticket home that very night.
It was already past midnight when she got home. In order not to worry Chen Zhiyu and Yao Chen, Qiao Xi explained in the group chat that she had gone on a business trip temporarily for work and had arrived home safely. After that, she did not check her phone for any more messages.
After the long journey, Josh was not sleepy at all, and even when he finally fell asleep, he couldn't sleep soundly.
She woke up very early the next day and simply canceled her leave to go to work, immersing herself in her work so that she wouldn't have so much time to overthink.
When Josh got home from get off work, he wasn't in the mood to cook, so he just made something quick and easy. He sat at the coffee table eating his appalling dinner while watching a boring comedy show on TV.
The meal was tasteless and unappetizing.
Even comedy variety shows are heartless and boring.
Amidst the noisy laughter, Josh keenly heard the sound of the front door. She panicked and looked up, and sure enough, she saw Chen Zhiyu standing outside the door.
Her mind went blank, and only now did Josh realize how foolish she had been.
If she hadn't gone home early, perhaps Yao could have been there as a third person to help her get through the situation. But once she got home, it would have just been the two of them facing each other.
The time that separated them seemed to disappear; seeing Chen Zhiyu again felt like the confession had just happened.
Josh felt as if he had returned to that alley.
Inside and outside the door, the two stared at each other silently, the air seemingly frozen. Finally, Josh shifted his gaze first, continuing to eat his dinner and watch his TV.
Chen Zhiyu breathed a sigh of relief after he went straight back to his bedroom.
The TV was filled with chattering laughter. Josh didn't know what they were laughing about, nor was she interested. She quickly finished her meal, tidied up, and hurried back to her bedroom, not going out again.
In the following days, Josh would get up and go straight to work without having breakfast, and she would eat dinner out. When she got home, she would go straight to her bedroom.
To be honest, she hadn't seen Chen Zhiyu for several days in a row, only when she came back at night and saw the light on in the entryway.
It was late at night, and everything was completely quiet.
The old town is located in a remote area, so its jurisdiction is lax.
Some idle young people like to cause trouble in the neighborhood, speeding around on their motorcycles on this street.
Round and round they went, like they were risking their lives.
The raging noise pierced Josh's ears, making it impossible for him to fall asleep, who was already wide awake.
She and Tang Ning ate dinner out at a newly opened restaurant in the center of the street.
Because it was a newly opened restaurant, I didn't know much about it. I only realized how expensive and small the portions were after I sat down and saw the menu.
The two looked down at the menu, then looked up at each other, exchanging bewildered glances. Facing the smiling waiter standing beside them, they felt too embarrassed to leave directly and could only bite the bullet and order two dishes.
Aside from being good-looking, it has no other merits.
Before nine o'clock at night, Josh got hungry and tried to sleep to get through it, but the two dishes in his stomach were like digestive pills, which accelerated his intestinal peristalsis and made him too hungry to sleep.
I was planning to watch some mukbang videos to quench my thirst, but then Tang Ning sent me a message with a picture of food attached, saying, "Extra food, I'm never going to those newly opened restaurants again and getting ripped off."
Seeing this, Josh, who was already extremely hungry, could no longer hold back.
Josh got up and walked to the bedroom door. He carefully turned the lock and peeked out through the crack. The lights in the living room were off, and it was quiet.
She crept into the kitchen in the dark.
If I remember correctly, there were a few packets of instant noodles left in the kitchen.
It's strange, even though she's in her own home, she's acting like a thief.
Once inside the kitchen, Josh didn't dare turn on the lights. Instead, he turned on his phone's flashlight and shone it on the cabinets above his head.
'Crunch'
The cabinet door made a sound like a mouse squeaking. Josh instinctively held her breath, tightened her grip on the handle, and slowly opened the cabinet door. Relying on her memory, she reached inside.
Empty.
Josh was taken aback, then tiptoed and reached further inside.
At the same time, a hand suddenly reached out from behind and gently covered her hand.
The warm touch sent a shiver down Josh's spine, and she was so startled she almost screamed. With a thud, her phone was thrown onto the table. Then, a familiar voice came from behind her, "Josh, it's me."
The flashlight beam cast a weak light on the table. As Josh turned around, Chen Zhiyu moved closer and placed his hand on Josh's hand that was reaching for her phone.
Chen Zhiyu must have just taken a shower; the scent of his shower gel lingered, a fresh lemon fragrance that filled the air, and Josh could smell his scent everywhere.
In the cramped space, Chen Zhiyu moved closer and closer, leaving Qiao Xi with nowhere to hide. Her temple throbbed, and anger burned within her. She tried to suppress her temper, turning her head to warn him, "Chen Zhiyu!"
“Hmm,” Chen Zhiyu also tilted his head, his lips brushing against her earlobe in a fleeting moment, a low laugh ringing in Qiao Xi’s ear like an electric current.
Josh felt a tingling sensation all over his body from the back of his head to his spine from the electric shock.
Unfortunately, Chen Zhiyu didn't realize this and deliberately added fuel to the fire by softly replying, "Yes, sister, I'm here."
"elder sister."
Josh took a deep breath. Since becoming an adult, Chen Zhiyu had called her "sister" very few times. Now, he called her that so affectionately and frequently.
Changing the tone and twisting the timbre, it never ends.
It was both frustrating and funny.
Josh looked up at him; in the shadows, his eyes were dark and deep.
In the silent standoff, Josh felt uneasy under his sharp gaze. She gradually became afraid. Her scalp tingled, and her back was covered in a fine layer of hot sweat, as if every pore in her body was opening up in the rising heat, almost draining all the oxygen from her body.
Her breathing became labored, and even the surrounding air seemed thin. Her fingertips trembled with tension, making her numb.
In the end, she was nothing but a coward who was all bark and no bite, maintaining a tough facade on the surface.
She tried to open her mouth as if to say something, but the lemon scent suddenly disappeared the next second.
Josh felt a sense of relief, but his body was still trembling.
Taking a deep breath, she placed her trembling hands on the table to try and steady herself, the sweat on her palms glistening under the light.
Chen Zhiyu turned around and turned on the kitchen light. He looked back and saw Qiao Xi leaning against the wall, not moving.
"Hungry?" Chen Zhiyu spoke first, waving the two bags of instant noodles in his hand at her. "Want some?"
Hunger forced her to submit. Josh turned her head away from him and reluctantly replied, "Eat."
Seeing Chen Zhiyu tear open two packets of instant noodles, Qiao Xi quickly said, "I can't eat that many, one packet is enough."
"I'll eat too." Chen Zhiyu glanced back at her. "You go wait outside first, it'll be ready in a bit."
Josh felt relieved and returned to the living room, where he sat at the dining table and picked up his phone to kill time.
Chen Zhiyu moved quickly, and a few minutes later, he brought two bowls of noodles and placed them on the dining table, with an egg poached in each bowl.
Josh was starving. When he saw the noodles in front of him, he threw down his phone without a second thought, picked up his chopsticks, and started eating.
Chen Zhiyu sat opposite her, watching her eat with relish, before slowly starting to eat as well.
This was the first time in many days that the two of them had eaten together at the table.
After Chen Zhiyu confessed his feelings, his emotions suddenly erupted like a long-dormant volcano; once it erupted, it could no longer be controlled.
Once he's said something, he never intends to take it back.
Previously, the two always maintained the same sibling-like relationship. Without breaking the mold, without speaking out, and without confronting the issue, the two of them would never be able to change the status quo.
Chen Zhiyu wasn't actually hungry, but he stayed with her anyway, picked at his noodles and ate a few bites, then told her, "I'm going to Liu Weifeng's company for an internship tomorrow."
Josh hummed in agreement and buried his head in his noodles to continue eating.
He suddenly spoke again, "Have you been avoiding me these past few days?"
Josh stubbornly insisted, "How could that be?"
But as soon as she finished speaking, she regretted it. Looking at the leftover soup in the bowl, Josh wondered if it was because her stomach was full of food that her brain had become sluggish.
If she wasn't hiding from Chen Zhiyu, why did she come back early? If she wasn't hiding from Chen Zhiyu, why has she been nowhere to be seen these past few days?
Josh's acting was so bad that neither the audience nor the performers could bear to watch it.
Chen Zhiyu put down his chopsticks and looked at her. "Qiao Xi, do you believe me when you say you're not avoiding me?" He didn't want things to continue like this, so he decided to get to the bottom of it. "But then again, why are you avoiding me?"
Do you really know it yourself?
Upon hearing this, Josh felt completely bewildered, and all his previous doubts began to surface at this moment.
"But then again, why are you avoiding me?" In the days that followed, this question kept swirling in Josh's mind.
The next day, Chen Zhiyu went to Liu Weifeng's company for an internship.
Since Josh himself has denied it, it's inevitable that the two of them will run into each other in the morning.
However, Chen Zhiyu's schedule is very full. In addition to going to work on time every day, he sometimes needs to work overtime. During his rest time, he also has to take time to learn to drive.
Even though she didn't see Chen Zhiyu often, after a few days, Qiao Xi could still clearly see that he had lost weight and gotten a bit darker.
Does this mean that interns at Liu Weifeng's company don't get holidays?
It was Saturday. Josh found out that Chen Zhiyu was on a business trip to a neighboring city, and then went straight to the home of the wicked exploiter Liu Weifeng.
"My people have all lost weight while they're with you. How can you be so heartless, exploiting a child like this?" Josh slammed his hand on the table angrily, expressing his dissatisfaction.
Unexpectedly, Liu Weifeng, sitting opposite him, innocently shrugged and said, "Heaven and earth bear witness, our company cafeteria is famous for its delicious food, so you can't blame me for this."
But Josh wasn't one to be easily persuaded, and he wouldn't let it go: "If it's not your fault, who is? No matter how good the food is, you still have to make time for him to eat it."
Liu Weifeng: "Which eye of yours saw that I didn't give him food or time to eat?"
Josh argued logically, "Look at the time you've arranged, it's so tight. A recent high school graduate has lost so much weight after just a few days here. Isn't that exploitation?"
"Feeling sorry for him?" Liu Weifeng asked with a mocking expression.
“Nonsense, he’s my brother.” Josh was caught off guard by his words, but she quickly retorted with reason and evidence.
“No matter how much you exploit someone, you’re not as ruthless as I am.” Liu Weifeng squinted at her.
"you!"
"Don't think I can't tell."
“If he knew you came to me about this, he’d be ecstatic.” Liu Weifeng waved his hand. “He arranged most of the work himself. I also felt it was too stressful. He said he wanted to take advantage of his free time to study more.”
“I bet you’re more than happy about it,” Josh retorted.
Liu Weifeng didn't care at all, stood up, and said, "Are you still here? If not, I'm leaving."
Josh asked suspiciously, "You're going too?"
"How novel! How can such a large company operate without me watching over it?"
"So you didn't go with them?"
“What do you know? This is called strategy. This project is tough to crack. If I rush in like this, people will look down on me.” Liu Weifeng calmly smoothed out the wrinkles in his shirt and gestured with his chin at her. “Are you coming or not? I’ll give you a ride?”
"No, I'll take the bus; it's energy-saving and emission-reducing."
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