Chapter 30
"Why did the weather suddenly become cold?" Holding on to the beige cardigan sweater, Yang Ye muttered while entering the password to the door.
The moment she raised her hand, the cold wind took the opportunity to sneak into her collar, causing her to wince. She walked into the house and closed the door behind her, blocking out the sudden chill.
In her hands were a few small bundles of vegetables she had just bought from the market, some fresh and tender pork tenderloin, and two crucian carps the size of her palms in a black plastic bag filled with air.
"Why has the sky become so strange?" Yang Ye muttered.
"Yeah, the temperature dropped all of a sudden." Xiao Xiao's voice came from the living room. With the laziness of just getting up, she wrapped herself in a coral fleece blanket, curled up in the corner of the sofa, holding a cup of steaming coffee in both hands.
The lid of the kettle was open on the coffee table, and the rich aroma of coffee filled the air. She took a small sip, the bitter taste spreading in her mouth, and then slowly drank a little more, and her body felt warm.
Yang Ye put the things on the kitchen counter, and the plastic bag made a rustling sound. "I bought two fish. The boss said he just caught them from the fish pond this morning."
As she spoke, she found a larger basin and carefully poured the fish and the water in it in. The two fish immediately became lively when exposed to the larger space, slapping the water with their tails and splashing a few drops of water.
"Just leave it there, I'll clean it up later." Xiao Xiao put down the cup and picked up the phone next to him.
She saw the temperature displayed on her phone and said, "This temperature is too outrageous. It was 18 or 19 degrees at noon, but it was only 4 or 5 degrees in the morning. It's like riding a roller coaster."
Her finger slid back and forth across the weather page a few times. Before she turned off her phone, she saw the calendar on the screen. She clicked on it and her eyes suddenly widened, and her voice rose a few degrees. "Next week is the beginning of winter."
Yang Ye had just put the vegetables into the basket when he heard Xiao Xiao's voice. He shook the water droplets off his hands and came over, "Isn't it just autumn? It's already the beginning of winter so soon?"
"Look at this," Xiao Xiao pointed at the reminder on the calendar, "It's next week, right?"
"The days are passing by without any feeling at all," Yang Ye sighed. She returned to the kitchen and put away everything that needed to be sorted. "The dishes for lunch are all here."
"Yeah," Xiao Xiao agreed, "How do you plan to eat the fish, braised or stewed?"
"I'm fine with anything." After changing into another pair of slippers, Yang Ye walked to the floor-to-ceiling window, opened all the curtains, pushed the door open and stood in the yard.
The leaves of the camphor tree are still green, but the color of the leaves has become a little darker in the past summer.
Under the sun, there's a palpable warmth, perhaps because autumn still lingers. But once the sun disappears, or if you stand slightly in the shade, you can clearly feel the chill of winter. Winter in the south always arrives early and leaves late. The damp chill of the morning arrives suddenly, along with a changing cool breeze and a drizzling rain. Mornings are bitterly cold, and evenings are even more so.
Zhou Yiheng rubbed the backs of his hands back and forth. He had woken up a little late today and missed the bus. He looked for a small red bike at the entrance of the residential complex. Usually, riding a bike was quite pleasant, taking in the scenery along the way, listening to music. But today, the cold wind blew past him and stung his face. Although his body was warm, his face and hands were still a little stiff.
"Good morning," he greeted as he came in.
He walked to his desk, the backpack sliding off his shoulders as he moved, and then he placed it on the chair with his backhand. He picked up the glass on the table and went into the kitchen to add some hot water. The temperature in the glass gradually rose, and the wall of the glass turned from transparent to hazy. Where his fingertips touched, he felt a warm sensation.
He leaned over the cup's rim and blew gently to stir the steam rising from it. The rising white mist was stirred by the airflow, tumbling and spreading around, then gathering again in his breath. The hot steam blew on his face, bringing a moist warmth.
"The weather forecast is never accurate. It will get colder the moment it says it will," he also complained.
"I just made a pot of coffee. Have a cup to warm yourself up." Xiao Xiao wrapped herself tightly in the blanket and didn't want to move.
After pouring out the remaining water in the cup, he walked over to pick up the kettle for making coffee and saw the empty cup on the table. "Is the boss still not up?"
"Up, in the yard."
"What is she doing in the yard in such cold weather?"
"I don't know. Call her in." Xiao Xiao took a few more sips of hot coffee with both hands. "Have you had breakfast?"
"Not yet." Zhou Yiheng picked up the empty cup and poured the dark brown coffee liquid into the cup. The aroma quickly spread.
The sun has come out now, and its warm rays are shining brightly in the yard.
When I was cleaning the house, I also tidied up the yard. I moved away all the unimportant things that took up space, took out a few small wooden stools that I had bought before but had been thrown in the warehouse. They had quite unique shapes, and even found a barbecue grill that had not been used for a long time.
Yang Ye sat in the yard, the sunlight casting a delicate, warm edge on her off-white sweater. She tilted her head slightly, her gaze vacantly gazing into the distance, seemingly focused on the sycamore tree ahead, or perhaps peering through the leaves to something even further away.
The "boss" Zhou Yi walked over and gave her the coffee in his hand. "What are you looking at?"
"Nothing," Yang Ye said. She looked back from a distance, raised her hand to take the coffee, and caught a glimpse of Zhou Yiheng's short-sleeved shirt and thin plaid jacket. She asked, "Are you cold?"
"I had a little bit when I was riding my bike this morning, but now I'm fine after recovering from it."
"Young people are in good health," Yang Ye nodded and sighed. Grabbing the cardigan she was wearing, she reminded him, "The temperature has dropped significantly with the change of seasons recently. Be careful not to catch a cold."
"It's okay. I'm in good health and don't cough much throughout the year." He sat down next to Yang Ye, the chair scraping against the floor. Sipping the still-warm coffee, Zhou Yiheng glanced across the yard, then up at the sky, but in the end, he couldn't help but look at Yang Ye.
Yang Ye took a sip of coffee and said, "Don't brag. You always say you can't do this or that, but in fact you can do this or that."
Zhou Yiheng joked, "Don't worry, even if I have a cold, I will still come to work and ensure I complete my work."
Yang Ye glanced at him and said, "If you really have a cold, just rest at home and don't come over and infect me."
"Boss, you're so cruel," Zhou Yiheng said. "My mind and eyes are all focused on work, and you actually despise me for giving you a cold."
“These are two different things.”
He said: "But the target is me."
With a slight smile on his lips, Yang Ye put down the empty cup of coffee in his hand and said, "Stop pretending here. You played games with Xiao Xiao all afternoon yesterday and argued for a long time."
He suddenly felt guilty, "Boss, you heard everything"
Yang Ye said: "You two are so loud, I can't hear you"
"Weren't you listening to music and sleeping in the house?" Zhou Yiheng asked. In order not to disturb Yang Ye's rest, they moved to the yard to play.
"How dare you say that? Just think about how loud the noise was back then."
"Really?" He deliberately dragged out the tone.
"Very," Yang Ye said firmly.
He smiled sheepishly.
When they were going through the boss level yesterday, they were really excited. Xiao Xiao jumped up from her chair, and he exclaimed several times. When I realized what was happening, I wanted to remind Xiao Xiao that the boss was still resting in the living room, but Xiao Xiao said that if the boss really thought we were noisy, she would go upstairs to rest. The fact that she was still here meant that we hadn't really bothered her.
Xiao Xiao asked: "Don't you think the boss has changed a lot now?"
"Where?"
Xiao Xiao replied bluntly, "She has become more like a human being."
"Isn't the boss just a person?" Zhou Yiheng muttered. He turned his head, his gaze unconsciously drawn to the figure sleeping on the living room sofa. She lay on her side, her face obscured by some hair. A thin layer of sunlight bathed her, softening her contours.
As they were talking, Liu Guoxing and Li Cheng came over and greeted Xiao Xiao who was sitting on the sofa. They were arguing for Yang Ye's position. Standing at the door, Liu Guoxing waved to the two people in the yard, "Sunbathing, what are you talking about? You are so engrossed."
As he spoke, he strode over, pulled over the empty chair and sat down.
"Let's talk about him and Xiao Xiao playing games at work," Yang Ye said. "With employees like this, do you think I should deduct their wages?"
"Why are you deducting points? Isn't it normal for young people to play games?" Li Cheng also came over. There were no empty chairs, so he could only stand. "Are you guys playing that adventure game?"
"Yeah," Zhou Yiheng nodded, "Do you want to play too?"
"Let's play, but I can't get any higher scores. Remember to call me next time you play," Li Cheng said, pushing Liu Guoxing who was sitting next to him, "Get up, let me sit for a while."
Liu Guoxing staggered after being pushed by him. "If you want to sit, go move it yourself. This big room still needs a chair from you."
"Respect the old and love the young, don't you understand? Give me the chair and bring another one from inside the house."
"Oh, what are you saying? Do you have any shame?" Liu Guoxing retorted, "You still respect the old and love the young, but who is older between the two of you? Just move in by yourself. It's not like you don't have legs."
"You go, I don't want to move." Li Cheng stood beside Liu Guoxing like a spoiled child.
"Then just stand there." Liu Guoxing didn't tolerate him either.
"You're not going to get up, are you?" Li Cheng saw that he had no intention of getting up, so he said, "If you don't get up, I'll take it away."
"Still robbing? Who's afraid of you?" Liu Guoxing said, grabbing both sides of the chair, not giving Li Cheng any chance to snatch it away, and raised his chin provocatively, "If you can snatch this chair away today, I'll take your surname."
The two were arguing when Zhou Yiheng suddenly stood up and said, "Professor Li, please take my seat."
"Hey, why are you giving it to him?" Liu Guoxing was unhappy.
Li Cheng walked over with satisfaction and patted Zhou Yiheng on the shoulder, "Look, young people are still sensible."
"Bah!" Liu Guoxing was so angry that he almost rolled his eyes. "Zhou Yiheng, you are too honest. This guy is clearly cheating."
Zhou Yi smiled and said, "It's okay, I just want to get up and move around."
Li Cheng sat down comfortably, crossing his legs. "Some people are just jealous of my popularity, but that's understandable."
Yang Ye looked at them, still noisy after decades. She noticed the coat Li Cheng was wearing. "What month is it? Why are you wearing a cotton-padded jacket?"
“The temperature has dropped. It’s too cold in the morning.”
"Everyone else is still wearing short-sleeved jackets," Liu Guoxing joked. The short-sleeved jacket he was referring to was Zhou Yiheng.
"What will happen if I don't wrap myself up tighter now? If I don't dress properly now, my knees and joints will be frozen in winter, and even hot water won't keep them warm."
Liu Guoxing said: "I am not worried"
"What are you worried about? I'll drive out and turn on the air conditioner in the office, and my feet will be warm. I have to go outside to see the scene. The cold wind is blowing and the weather is freezing..." Li Cheng said halfway, looking at Yang Ye who was sitting next to him. She had just stretched, "I have something I need your help with next month."
"Where are we going?" Yang Ye asked.
“Not far, just Beijing”
"No," she refused decisively.
"This time it will take at most five days. My friend has something he wants someone to look at."
"If you want to look at something, go to an appraisal agency. Why are you looking for me?"
"Wouldn't it be worrying to find someone else?"
"Are you relieved to find me?" Yang Ye asked, his chin supported by his hand. "Now that you say that, I'm curious. Did that thing come here through good means?"
Li Cheng glanced at her and said, "My father left this to me. It's just that this thing is related to the past, so he doesn't want too many people to know about it."
"I understand," Yang Ye nodded, but then said, "But Beijing's winter is too cold, I don't want to go."
"You've lived there for so many years, what are you afraid of?"
"I'm afraid of the cold," Yang Ye said seriously.
"That's where you're wrong. You're forcing people to go even though they don't want to," Liu Guoxing interrupted as he was watching the fun.
"It's none of your business, don't say such sarcastic remarks." Li Cheng waved his hand and said to Yang Ye with a smile, "Just think of it as doing me a favor. I'll cover the round-trip fare, okay?"
Xiao Xiao brought out two cups of tea and said, "Professor Li, why don't you find someone to drive the car? Maybe the boss will agree."
"Driving is so tiring, why don't you take a plane?" Zhou Yiheng asked beside him. They always seemed to drive, no matter how far or near, and Yang Ye had never been seen taking a plane or other long-distance transportation.
His question confused everyone present. The three of them looked at each other, not knowing how to answer.
Yang Ye had a blank expression on his face. He picked up the teacup that Xiao Xiao had just placed on the table and answered seriously, "I'm afraid of heights."
"It's okay to be afraid of heights. You can get there in just over five hours by high-speed rail, and it's more convenient than driving."
Yang Ye added: "I get sick on high-speed trains and trains."
"Boss, you didn't react at all when you were in the car." Zhou Yiheng obviously didn't believe it. He always felt that Yang Ye had a lot of secrets, or they had many things that they hadn't told him yet.
"I was just holding it in. It was so uncomfortable," Yang Ye said seriously to Zhou Yiheng.
Li Cheng lightly kicked the leg of her stool and said, "If you don't want to sit, then don't sit. Don't disgust me."
Liu Guoxing changed the subject, "When I came here, I saw there was an open-air concert by the lake. Why don't we go and have a look?"
Li Cheng smacked his lips and jokingly said, "Young people's stuff, do you understand?"
"There's no age limit for music. I feel quite young." He stood up and shook out his jacket. "You guys say that?"
"I'm fine with it." Yang Ye had no objection. He had been staying at home recently, and only went out this morning to buy groceries. He basked in the sun in the yard, or in the lakeside park.
"Me too," Zhou Yiheng echoed.
"I'm looking at you," said Li Cheng.
"I don't even bother to say that you three have no passion at all." He pointed his fingers at each of them, looked at Xiao Xiao, and waved his hand to signal her to show some different emotions.
Xiao Xiao received Liu Guoxing's reminder, "How about we go camping by the lake?"
"It's our Xiao Xiao who has so many ideas," Liu Guoxing praised happily.
Yang Ye looked at them and said, "Then take the cake and snacks we bought yesterday. They are still unpacked. There are many people here today, so we can eat them as lunch."
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