Chapter 48
Zhou Yiheng, carrying the bottle of mineral water and lunch snacks he had just bought, spotted Yang Ye standing next to the car from a distance at the entrance of the shop. He saw her chatting and laughing with Li Cheng. Despite the significant age difference between the two, standing together, they exuded an inexplicable harmony, a tacit understanding that only exists between people of the same age.
Zhou Yiheng's smile suddenly froze, and an indescribable feeling welled up in his heart. He subconsciously slowed down his pace, but soon he adjusted himself and continued walking towards Yang Ye.
Coming to Yang Ye, he held up the things in his hands and said, "Since you didn't come to eat, I wanted to buy you something to eat in the car later. I didn't expect Professor Li had already bought it. So, these..."
After saying that, he looked down at his hands.
"Let's eat on the way." Yang Ye took the thing in his hand, looked up and saw Zhou Yiheng, and found that his eyes had been on his face since just now.
Yang Ye asked curiously, "Did something get rubbed on my face?"
"No." Zhou Yiheng avoided his sight. His eyes unconsciously glanced to the side and he raised his hand to touch the back of his head.
Ever since that New Year's Eve celebration, the relationship between her and Zhou Yiheng seemed to have grown more strained. While their closeness before was natural, burdensome but incapable of affecting Yang Ye, now, whenever Zhou Yiheng tried to get closer, Yang Ye would want to retreat. Perhaps she understood that, deep down, she wasn't resisting Zhou Yiheng's approach, but the inexplicable tension and fear that drove her to instinctively flee.
The body reacts before the mind does, and that is the choice made for you by your subconscious mind.
Yang Ye changed the subject and asked, "Is there any place you want to go when you come to Beijing this time?"
"Aren't we going to work?" Zhou Yiheng asked.
"Work is only a small part. It's rare to drive such a long way to Beijing, so I have to go shopping." Yang Ye smiled. As she spoke, she opened the car door and put the things in her hands on the back seat.
"Just tell me, Professor Li will reimburse you anyway."
Li Cheng, who was standing nearby, suddenly heard this and asked, "Hey, why is there something about me here?"
Zhou Yiheng stood by the car and thought for a while, "I want to go to Tiananmen Square to watch the flag-raising ceremony, the Forbidden City, the Summer Palace, the Old Summer Palace, as well as Nanluoguxiang, the old Beijing hutongs, and the Great Wall."
"Why did you say the same thing as Xiao Xiao?" Yang Ye smiled. When he talked about this with Xiao Xiao a few days ago, he also asked her where she wanted to go. Xiao Xiao also mentioned these places.
"Aren't these the places you go to in Beijing?"
"Is this your first time?" Li Cheng asked.
"Yeah," Zhou Yiheng nodded, "I wanted to go with my friends when I was in college, but I never found a suitable opportunity."
Li Cheng put his hand on Zhou Yi's shoulder and said, "That's right. It's your first time in Beijing. Go visit these places first to learn about Beijing's history and broaden your horizons."
Yang Ye said: "Remember to bring Li Cheng with you when you go shopping. He knows all the places you just mentioned."
"Aren't you going?" Zhou Yiheng asked back.
"I have other things to do," Yang Ye replied.
"Work?"
"no"
Zhou Yiheng asked again: "Do you need my help?"
"Don't worry about her," Li Cheng patted Zhou Yi's shoulder, a faint smile on his lips, "She's in Beijing, it's like home, she knows everything there is to know, and it's not good to ask too much about some things."
"Huh?" Zhou Yiheng was puzzled. He turned to Li Cheng and asked, his eyes searching Li Cheng's face, trying to find the meaning behind his words, "What do you mean?"
Li Cheng smiled and didn't respond.
"Don't worry about him." Yang Ye glanced at him with a warning in his eyes. "He is always like this, speaking half of his words and trying to be mysterious."
Xiao Xiao came out of the service area while drinking a drink and saw several people standing next to the car chatting. She trotted over and asked, "What are you talking about?"
Yang Ye took the lead and said, "Professor Li will take you around Beijing, and he will pay for all the expenses."
"Really?" Xiao Xiao was surprised and looked at Li Cheng expectantly.
"Of course," Yang Ye said. She raised her eyebrows slightly and looked straight at Li Cheng, as if she was also waiting for his answer.
Li Cheng smiled awkwardly, turned sideways and pretended to cough twice. Seeing the students gathering around, he scratched his head guiltily, "Is everyone here? If they are, we'll be ready to go."
"What happened?" Xiao Xiao wondered when she saw Li Cheng running away in panic.
Yang Ye walked past Xiao Xiao, gently pushed her back, and brought her to the driver's door. "Nothing, get in the car."
Xiao Xiao opened the car door and asked, "Boss, what happened to Professor Li?"
Seeing Li Cheng already got into the car, I don’t know if it was because he felt guilty or what, but he actually rolled up the passenger window.
Yang Ye said: "Nothing"
Xiao Xiao said: "You just said that the fees are all covered. Professor Li has been cheated by you again, right?"
"He talks a lot, so it's only natural that he spends a little money," Yang Ye said lightly. Glancing at the car next to her, she lowered her head and smiled as she got in. "But don't let him spend too much. You guys go have fun, and I'll reimburse you later."
"Thank you, boss." Xiao Xiao excitedly sat in the driving seat.
Zhou Yi walked around the front of the car to the passenger door. When he reached out to grab the door handle, he saw Yang Ye sitting in the back seat through the half-lowered window. He tightened and loosened his hand on the door handle and walked to the back seat.
Seeing Zhou Yiheng sitting next to him, Yang Ye asked, "Aren't you going to the front?"
"The sunlight in front is too harsh, I'd better sit here," said Zhou Yiheng.
Xiao Xiao heard them talking in the back seat. She turned around, looked at them with interest, and picked up the sunglasses in the armrest box.
Yang Ye noticed her movements and asked, "Why are you wearing sunglasses?"
"The sun is too bright," Xiao Xiao said, looking at Zhou Yiheng and teasing.
The car started slowly, the tires making a few slight friction sounds as they rolled over the asphalt road. It passed the shadow strip of leaves in front of the service area and drove onto the highway.
The sun shone into the car. Although it wasn't as glaring as it was at noon, there was still a lazy warmth inside. The music in the car gradually became softer. As sleepiness set in, Yang Ye's body began to sway uncontrollably from side to side. She was drowsy and her consciousness was also covered by the thick sleepiness.
Her head rested on Zhou Yiheng's shoulder, the held-down strands of hair brushing against his neck, stirring a subtle tingling sensation. Zhou Yiheng's body stiffened instantly. He turned in surprise, looking down at Yang Ye. Her eyes were closed, her eyelashes casting a small shadow across her face. Her breathing was steady, as if she were asleep.
His heartbeat quickened unconsciously. He moved his hand on the seat, wanting to lift it to brush away the scattered hair from her face, but it stopped mid-air. After a long thought, he finally let it go. He clenched his fist and placed it on his knee, his eyes fixed on Yang Ye's profile. Zhou Yiheng felt a complex mix of joy and hesitation.
"Do you think she likes me?" Zhou Yiheng sat listlessly on the sofa, staring at the ground. His eyes were dim, and he asked Gao Ran uncertainly.
Gao Ran froze as he was about to sit down, his butt hanging on the seat. He raised his eyes and scanned Zhou Yiheng from head to toe, then sat down and asked, "What are you doing?"
Zhou Yi crossed his legs and turned to face Gao Ran, expectantly asking, "Do you think Yang Ye, my boss, would like me?"
"I like it," Zhou Yiheng said perfunctorily, picking up the mobile phone on the coffee table.
"That's good," Zhou Yiheng said to himself, "This way I should be able to succeed in pursuing her."
Gao Ran paused while searching for the takeaway. He slowly raised his head, his eyes filled with suspicion. "What did you just say? Who are you going after?"
"Yang Ye, didn't you encourage me to pursue her before?" Zhou Yiheng said. He hugged the pillow in his arms tightly and began to think seriously about how to pursue her.
"Are you serious?" Gao Ran was still surprised.
"Yeah," Zhou Yiheng answered affirmatively.
He could feel that Yang Ye treated him differently, just like just now, when he appeared in front of Yang Ye with the cake, he could clearly feel the joy and excitement in Yang Ye's heart. She walked a long way forward, but stopped before taking the last step, as if trying hard to restrain something.
There was a fervor in her eyes, a thriving, searing emotion about to burst forth. A burning desire surged beneath them, like a new sprout breaking through the soil in spring, brimming with uncontrollable vitality, as if ready to pour out every last emotion in her body. Yet, in the blink of an eye, she suppressed all that emotion, her eyes turning from bright to dark, leaving behind an indescribable silence, filled with unprecedented hesitation and retreat, as well as a long-lost fear. Her fear seemed like the impenetrable barrier between them.
Xiao Xiao saw this scene in the rearview mirror. The corners of her mouth curled up, but she didn't say anything. She shifted her gaze forward again, glanced at the steering wheel with her fingers, adjusted the direction, and drove the car around the bend and onto the next section of highway.
"I advise you to give up on it," Gao Ran said, forcibly pulling Zhou Yiheng back from his wandering thoughts. "She has everything, and you have nothing. What can you use to chase her?"
"I..." He was choked by Gao Ran's words and couldn't refute anything for a long time. In the end, he could only weakly answer, "I just graduated now, and I will definitely have it in the future."
"Save it, bro. By the time you have one, she will have already been married. The extra years she has gained in age are not just about age. We should face reality." Gao Ran picked up his phone, patted Zhou Yiheng's shoulder, and walked towards his room.
The door closed, leaving Zhou Yiheng alone sitting in the living room in silence.
As night fell, tiny stars twinkled in the gathering darkness. The streetlights on the highway had already come on, and finally, before all was quiet, the car arrived at the hotel.
Yang Ye dragged her exhausted body into the room and collapsed onto the bed, her limbs feeling heavy as if they were filled with lead. She pulled the quilt from the foot of the bed and rolled back and forth several times, wrapping herself up like a ball, leaving only her head exposed. Her eyes were closed, her eyelashes fluttering slightly. In the quiet room, one could almost hear her rapid breathing.
She tried to make herself fall asleep, but the opposite happened. The more she wanted to sleep, the more awake her mind became.
Yang Ye restlessly tossed her body on the bed, ruffling the quilt she had just wrapped herself in. She opened her eyes and looked straight at the white ceiling above her head. Looking at the warm yellow light, her eyes became sore.
She sat up from the bed, her hair a little messy and falling on both sides of her cheeks, and her eyes still retained the fatigue and confusion. After sitting for a while to wake herself up, she got up, walked to the window and pushed it open.
The street lights stretched out along Chang'an Avenue, illuminating the wide lanes in the middle. The evening breeze blew past her face, bringing wisps of coolness. The early morning breeze still contained the unique atmosphere of Beijing. Perhaps it was her life in the south that had left her with thoughts deeply ingrained in her. She began to get used to calling this city Beijing, forgetting that when she left, it was still called Beiping.
Life in Peking at that time was noisy and chaotic, with a new explanation and something new happening every day.
The gray-red city walls and the long alleys are always filled with the sounds of erhu and opera singing. Under the green tiles of the courtyard, the little grandson Hu'er from the next door house snatched the candied haws from his aunt's niece. Mr. Zhao Er, who had just finished school, hurried over to attend a meeting with his briefcase in hand. The shouts from the Forbidden City were getting louder and louder, but it was no longer surprising. Mr. Zhao Er was hit by the carriage as the wheels rolled over the muddy ground. An officer got out of the carriage, pointed a gun at Mr. Zhao Er, and asked him to kowtow and apologize. Mr. Zhao Er was unwilling to give in. He threw away his briefcase and argued with the officer with his chest puffed out.
Mr. Zhao Er punched the officer, and the officer shot Mr. Zhao Er.
The noise in the Forbidden City is really loud.
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