Chapter 103
Autumn in the South is always fleeting. By December, the weather has turned completely cold, and with the damp air, people take off their autumn coats and put on heavy cotton-padded clothes and down jackets.
Xu Qingzhou woke up a little late that morning, and with Li Rui driving her through some traffic, she almost arrived at the company on time.
The sky outside was overcast, and a light drizzle was falling. Xu Qingzhou walked to his workstation while brushing the moisture off his clothes. As he sat down, his female colleague, with whom he had a good relationship, came over.
"Hey, has the sun risen in the west? Someone who's usually so diligent about work almost got late today?"
Xu Qingzhou smiled.
I overslept this morning.
The female colleague picked up her mug and took a sip of hot water.
"That's normal. It's probably because it's getting colder and colder, and I've been finding it harder and harder to get out of bed in the mornings lately."
Xu Qingzhou lowered his eyes, tugged at the corner of his mouth, and said nothing.
When she turned on the computer, her female colleague looked her up and down for a few more seconds.
"Hey, you haven't been sleeping well lately, have you? You have a few dark circles under your eyes."
My female colleague picked up her phone and said, "Oh, by the way, I recently discovered an eye cream that seems to really work on reducing eye bags and dark circles. I'll recommend it to you..."
Xu Qingzhou hasn't been sleeping well lately.
Because she keeps dreaming.
Actually, dreaming every time she sleeps is a long-standing problem Xu Qingzhou has had since junior high school, and it doesn't usually affect her sleep much. However, recently, her dreams have been different—
They're all Chi Jun.
Perhaps it's because I've returned to Lincheng and feel a sense of trepidation about being so close to home, but Chi Jun appears in my dreams more and more frequently.
Recently, Xu Qingzhou has been dreaming that he has returned.
It's impossible for such a dream not to stir up emotions. Often, when she wakes up in the early morning, she stares at the dark ceiling, her thoughts racing, and she finds it hard to fall back asleep.
She longed for this kind of dream.
Yet, I fear this kind of dream more than anyone else.
"I've shared it with you, Qingzhou, Qingzhou?"
Xu Qingzhou snapped out of his reverie and gave his female colleague a slight smile.
【Thanks】
"Don't mention it."
After a brief chat, Xu Qingzhou and his colleagues continued working on their computers.
The office was warmly heated, and time always flies by when you're busy. At noon, Xu Qingzhou went to the cafeteria for lunch with a female colleague.
When I returned, my colleagues gathered in twos and threes, chatting over coffee or eating fruit and playing on their phones.
When Xu Qingzhou came in, one of her female colleagues, who was eating fruit, burst out laughing.
"Qingzhou, your suitor has come to deliver flowers again."
Xu Qingzhou stared intently.
Sure enough, a large bouquet of bright red roses stood out on the desk.
Without a doubt, it was sent by Chen Binglie again.
"Your suitor is quite the charmer; he even gave each of us a cup of coffee and a dessert."
As she spoke, the female colleague raised the coffee and dessert in her hand, and the others smiled and gestured to Xu Qingzhou as well.
Thanks.
"Qingzhou was being chased, and we even got caught in the crossfire."
Xu Qingzhou: "..."
If Xu Qingzhou could ignore Chen Binglie's occasional appearances before, now that her colleague was involved, she could no longer remain silent—she had a strong feeling of being coerced and kidnapped.
Before returning to her seat, Xu Qingzhou initially intended to throw the flowers into the trash can.
After thinking for a moment, he patted the arm of the female colleague next to him.
Do you want it?
"Are you giving me some more?" My female colleague said with a grin. "I've already taken so many flowers from you, I don't need to buy any more."
Xu Qingzhou was unsure how to react.
Just as I was feeling a bit worried, Li Rui sent me a message.
I had some urgent business in City A and I've already told Wang Shuai to pick you up.
Xu Qingzhou: [Okay]
During this period, Li Rui personally picked Xu Qingzhou up and dropped him off every night after get off work, for no other reason than that Chen Binglie was too persistent.
Actually, if it were just an ordinary suitor, Li Rui wouldn't be too worried. However, the second time he met Chen Binglie, this guy proudly announced that he had found out that Li Rui was not Xu Qingzhou's boyfriend.
This action led Li Rui to conclude that Chen Binglie was a pervert.
Xu Qingzhou couldn't dissuade Li Rui from her concerns, and besides, Chen Binglie's persistent pursuit since university was indeed a bit abnormal compared to ordinary suitors. She also thought about herself, a girl living alone...
Xu Qingzhou agreed.
For over a month, Li Rui drove her around like this. That evening, as he personally escorted Xu Qingzhou to the door, he watched her go inside and suddenly called out.
"Qing Zhou."
Xu Qingzhou turned around.
Li Rui stood there, hands in his pockets, looking at her and smiling:
"How about I just become your boyfriend?"
Xu Qingzhou was stunned.
Li Rui grinned:
"Uh... I mean, a fake boyfriend, a fake one—"
"Hey, I know your relationship status. This is just to help you get rid of that guy surnamed Chen. Anyway, if we just say he's your boyfriend, who else but the two of us will know it's a fake relationship?"
In the silent air, the corridor lights flickered on and off, then flickered on and off again.
Xu Qingzhou looked at him without saying a word.
Actually, the time spent thinking wasn't long, but Li Rui couldn't hold on any longer.
He scratched his head:
"Forget it, just pretend I farted."
"Let's go."
He waved and turned to head towards the elevator.
In the afternoon, the colleagues in the office all had the habit of taking a lunch break. They ate and chatted for a while before everyone went back to their places to prepare for a nap. The curtains were lightly drawn, and even the office lights were adjusted to a warm orange hue.
Xu Qingzhou also wanted to sleep.
However, as I lay on my workstation, my mind was in turmoil, and I couldn't calm down.
After struggling for a while, she suddenly sat up, picked up her phone, and found Chen Binglie's unfamiliar number. Just as she was about to compose a text message, a new message came in first.
Chen Binglie: [Qingzhou, are you free the day after tomorrow, Christmas? Shall we go to XX amusement park together?]
Xu Qingzhou pursed her lips, her eyes turning cold.
No, I've made plans with my boyfriend.
Chen Binglie clearly didn't believe him and sent several more messages, mocking Xu Qingzhou for lying to him, saying that the man named Li Rui wasn't her boyfriend at all.
Xu Qingzhou found it annoying, and even his writing took on a rare aggressive tone.
Believe it or not
Also, don't send me anything, my boyfriend doesn't like it.
Chen Binglie then sent another message.
Xu Qingzhou simply chose to block and ignore him.
*
To be honest, when Xu Qingzhou rejected Chen Binglie's Christmas invitation that day, a surge of anger burned within her. For a moment, she almost agreed to Li Rui's suggestion of a "fake boyfriend".
But after calming down, Xu Qingzhou still didn't mention a word about it to Li Rui.
Firstly, it's unfair to drag Li Rui into this matter for my own convenience.
Secondly, for Xu Qingzhou, the word "boyfriend" is not just a nickname, but something that can be equated with "Chi Jun".
Xu Qingzhou was unwilling to let any boy other than himself have even the slightest connection with the word "boyfriend".
Christmas Day falls on a Saturday.
Xu Qingzhou naturally had no appointments. He slept in late that morning and didn't get up until after 10 a.m. He washed up and made himself a bowl of oatmeal.
While I was eating, I could hear the rabbit scratching at its cage restlessly.
Xu Qingzhou stepped forward with the bowl in his hand, squatted down in front of it, and tilted his head to examine it.
The rabbit seems to be even more agitated than before.
Xu Qingzhou frowned, deciding to finish the bowl of cereal and then take it to a larger veterinary hospital to find out the cause.
The wind is strong today, and the sky is overcast, as if it's about to press down.
Before leaving, Xu Qingzhou opened the window to ventilate the room and remembered that his colleagues in the office had been discussing a few days ago that the weather forecast said there was a certain chance of snow this Christmas.
When Xu Qingzhou heard this news, he thought it was a bit outrageous.
It rarely snows in the south, and even when it does, it's usually during the coldest days of the Lunar New Year. How could it snow during Christmas?
Xu Qingzhou looked up at the sky and rubbed his hands, which were a little red from the cold wind.
It might drizzle a little at most.
She changed into a thick, fitted down jacket, put on snow boots, and then pulled a woolen hat out of the closet and put it on.
After unlocking the fingerprint door lock in advance, Xu Qingzhou put on gloves, walked to the cage, squatted down, and took the rabbit out.
Over the years, Li Rui has raised the rabbits to be quite plump and heavy.
As Xu Qingzhou stood up while holding it, her phone accidentally fell to the ground from her pocket.
She gripped the rabbit with some difficulty with her left hand and reached out with her right.
Unexpectedly, the gloves I was wearing were too thick, and I couldn't pick it up after several attempts. Instead, the phone rang.
Worried about work-related matters, Xu Qingzhou had no choice but to temporarily put the rabbit on the ground, take off her gloves, and pick up her phone from the ground.
As I picked it up, I caught a glimpse of the rabbit's white figure darting out from beside my feet and nimbly squeezing through the slightly ajar door.
"!"
Xu Qingzhou was startled. He quickly glanced at his phone screen, pressed the answer button with his thumb, and then ran after the caller.
However, the next second, she suddenly realized something, her eyes widened, and she stopped in her tracks.
Xu Qingzhou looked down.
The call has been connected.
The timer numbers on the screen jumped steadily.
The profile picture at the top is Chi Jun wearing a red tiger cat—a profile picture that hasn't appeared on the homepage for several years, both unfamiliar and somewhat familiar.
Xu Qingzhou's heart skipped a beat.
Her mind went blank; she just stared blankly at the profile picture. After what seemed like an eternity, her hand trembled as she slowly brought the phone to her ear.
In the silence, she heard that familiar male voice—
"Zhouzhou?"
Xu Qingzhou opened her eyes wide, forgot to blink, and tears fell instantly like a broken string.
The voice on the phone continued, and Xu Qingzhou listened as she rushed downstairs and out the door.
The elevator is on the 13th floor.
Xu Qingzhou pressed the elevator button several times, but finally couldn't wait any longer and ran down the stairs next to it.
The three-story staircase was clearly not long, but Xu Qingzhou felt as if he had been running for a century, and he could never reach the end. Why could he never reach the end?
Having finally stepped onto the last step, Xu Qingzhou burst out of the building entrance in one breath—
Before me lay the flowerbeds, fountains, and cobblestone paths I had seen countless times and knew all too well.
But this time, a familiar figure was crouching on the path.
As if sensing something, the man looked up, then smiled slightly, and ignoring the rabbit's squeals, stood up by the rabbit's ears.
"Zhouzhou, what delicious food did you feed the rabbit? It's gotten so fat!"
On his handsome face, a smile overlapped with memories.
Xu Qingzhou cried, her eyes red.
But as she cried, the corners of her mouth couldn't help but turn up in a smile.
She stood there, watching Chi Jun, unharmed, smiling as he carried the rabbit and walked towards her step by step.
A gust of cold wind blew by, and suddenly, specks of white dust fell before her and Chi Jun.
It really is snowflakes.
Xu Qingzhou suddenly felt that this winter was absolutely wonderful.
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