Chapter 64
Through the falling snow, Xu Qingzhou could clearly see that Chi Jun was smiling at her.
Because she had been living in a daze for some time, her first thought was that she was imagining things.
However, he reached out and touched his head.
Where Chi Jun's hand landed, it was clearly gentle and soft, yet it carried an undeniable warmth in the cold wind and snow.
She stared at Chi Jun without moving, barely daring to blink.
I'm afraid that in the blink of an eye, this scene, which I can't even tell if it's an illusion, will disappear.
Until Chi Jun tilted his head and stared at her, frowned as if dissatisfied with her reaction, and then reached out and pinched her face twice without any mercy.
"Don't you really miss me?"
A mild pain spread from my skin, and I finally felt it.
Xu Qingzhou blinked her eyelashes, her eyes stinging, and quickly shook her head in denial.
Coming to his senses, he nodded hastily.
Unsure whether to nod or shake her head, she simply stared helplessly at Chi Jun.
Chi Jun chuckled, bent down, placed his hands on his knees, and leaned closer to look at her:
"It seems she misses me so much that she's a little out of it."
"..."
It has to be said that Chi Jun's joke hit the nail on the head.
Xu Qingzhou pursed her lips, unable to stop herself from blushing slightly.
But Chi Jun, who should have been in Haicheng, suddenly returned to this small town. Xu Qingzhou wasn't sure if he had just finished signing the contract and was only back for a short visit, or if the contract had never been signed in the first place...
With reason returning, Xu Qingzhou suppressed the joy of their reunion and still took out paper and pen from his pocket.
Xu Qingzhou: [Why are you back?]
Chi Jun straightened up and looked at her with a half-smile: "I missed you."
"..."
Even though he knew it was just one of Chi Jun's usual jokes, Xu Qingzhou still couldn't help feeling a strange sensation in his heart.
She took a deep breath, tried to control herself, and decided to make the question even clearer.
[Is the contract signed? Is it finished?]
"without."
Chi Jun adjusted the bag on his shoulder with one hand and said casually, "I have a scandal, I can't be a star."
Xu Qingzhou: "?"
Seeing her bewildered expression, Chi Jun raised an eyebrow and began to explain in a serious tone:
"I've been living off a woman for so long, and as soon as I have a chance to rise to the top, I immediately abandon her. If I get exposed one day, I'll be cursed to death. Rather than being cyberbullied and forced to leave the industry in a sorry state, I'd rather not have entered the industry in the first place. At least I won't have to be cursed."
Is that so...?
She was probably shocked by the fact that Chi Jun had suddenly returned.
Xu Qingzhou nodded slowly, and surprisingly, he felt that there was some truth to that statement.
Moreover, it seems that netizens these days are indeed quite sharp-tongued. I heard from classmates gossiping that quite a few celebrities have been driven to depression or even suicide by being verbally abused...
Just thinking about how Chi Jun was scolded to that extent one day, Xu Qingzhou already felt like she was having a heart attack.
But then, her focus shifted slightly again—
Um?
wrong……
Although she understood what Chi Jun meant, was the phrase "starting a relationship and then abandoning it" a bit inappropriate?
This term seems to be generally used between "husband and wife" or "boyfriend and girlfriend"...
Chi Jun bent down to observe her. The little girl's eyebrows were furrowed and her eyes were darting around. He didn't know what she was thinking. Suddenly, he reached out and flicked the little girl's head.
Xu Qingzhou felt a sharp pain and instinctively covered her head, taking a half-step back. She then saw Chi Jun standing in front of her, looking at her with displeasure.
"Hey, I traveled all the way back, I'm starving, and you're just going to leave me standing here starving?"
Xu Qingzhou: "..."
What would you like to eat?
Chi Jun blurted out, "Beef noodles."
*
The beef noodles that Chi Jun wanted to eat were from a beef noodle shop not far from the courtyard where he rented a house.
As the two headed that way, Xu Qingzhou seemed a little incredulous that Chi Jun had really returned.
Along the way, she would glance at Chi Jun from time to time. When Chi Jun caught her gaze, she would quickly look away, but after a couple of seconds, her eyes would uncontrollably drift back to his face.
After being caught by Chi Jun's gaze for the nth time, he simply met her gaze and chuckled without any hesitation:
"Silly boy."
Xu Qingzhou: "..."
The two were at a crossroads. Although the main road was bustling with traffic, they were the only two people on the sidewalk, which was quite unusual.
Xu Qingzhou was almost certain that Chi Jun was cursing at her.
But why did she become stupid?
Xu Qingzhou felt a little wronged.
She almost got a perfect score on her math test yesterday, the first day of school...
However, when Chi Jun looked at her pitiful face with her head down, he thought of what he had overheard through a crack in the door of the boss's office in the company building yesterday afternoon, before the signing of the contract.
Perhaps to curry favor, Rolly praised him to the big boss as if he were the best in the world.
The big boss was clearly a very calm person. He listened quietly the whole time, and finally chuckled very well and asked, "So, according to you, this Xu Jun should be very arrogant. How did you manage to bring him down?"
"Sigh," Sister Rolly leaned over and poured a cup of tea for the big boss, saying, "This matter has really worn me out, but fortunately Chen Mi is clever. She struck at the heart of the matter and found Xu Jun's little sister and said a few words to her."
"That little sister is actually quite pitiful. She's a very innocent girl who only wants what's best for her brother, so she agreed to help persuade him. If you ask me, she made a smart choice. After all, once Xu Jun gets better, her life as his sister won't be bad, right?"
Chi Jun's hand, which was pushing the door open, froze in mid-air.
On New Year's Eve, the little girl's various expressions appeared before his eyes, and when he heard these words, they felt like needles piercing his heart.
Therefore, Xu Qingzhou did not say those words to him on New Year's Eve because she felt he was a burden.
On the contrary, she felt that she was the burden, hindering his rapid advancement.
Therefore, in order to give him a better life, the little girl who was willing to give her life rather than let Zhang Pengfei take the fox away was now willing to say things against her will and drive him away.
After that, Chi Jun didn't listen to what Rolly and the big boss were saying.
Chi Jun didn't quite remember how he got back to the hotel. He only remembered that when Rolly woke him up with a phone call, he was already standing by the hotel bed, packing his luggage.
Prior to this, he had already sent Rolly a message saying he would no longer sign the contract.
Rolly on the phone was furious, trying to reason with him, using both gentle and forceful words. Chi Jun listened calmly, and finally replied, "Sister, you don't need to say anymore. I never wanted to be a star in the first place. I just wanted to—"
He paused, looked down at the luggage in front of him, and after two seconds continued:
"I just want to be with the people I like."
Rolly on the other end of the phone suddenly went silent.
At that moment, Chi Jun hung up the phone.
After thinking it over, I completely deleted Rolly's WeChat and all her contact information.
*
Around 6 p.m., the beef noodle shop was quite busy with customers, including many parents with elementary school children and middle-aged people who had just finished work.
This shop isn't very big, and the environment isn't exactly clean or tidy. However, the owner has won over diners with his excellent cooking skills that offer good food at reasonable prices. Even food bloggers with cameras have come here specifically to eat.
Chi Jun ordered a bowl of beef noodles.
Xu Qingzhou ordered a hot and sour soup with fried dumplings.
A little girl in a school uniform, probably the owner's granddaughter, was using the remote control to change channels under the TV. Finally, when an entertainment news program was playing on the screen, she put down the remote control.
Coincidentally, the program was showing news about Chen Mi.
Having seen Chen Mi in person, Xu Qingzhou genuinely felt that Chen Mi looked better in person than on camera.
She drank hot and sour soup while watching the news report on TV.
The host was speaking in a light and cheerful tone about Chen Mi's latest Weibo post, saying that the tourist photos she took on her recent trip reminded her of a childhood princess photo taken in front of her family's villa.
As they spoke, a childhood photo of Chen Mi appeared on the screen.
In the photo, Chen Mi is seen carrying a small basket, wearing a small headscarf and a blue tutu dress, squatting on a lawn in a garden in front of a European-style villa, surrounded by several rabbits.
She really does look like a princess, cute and innocent.
However, Xu Qingzhou's attention was drawn to the host's next words—
"As we all know, rising star Chen Mi was born into a wealthy family; her grandfather is a well-known local real estate tycoon..."
"...Recently, there have been rumors that Chen Mi will be engaged to Hua Mingqi, her childhood sweetheart and the young master of Huayu Electric Appliances..."
Xu Qingzhou suddenly felt a burn from the soup.
She frowned and put down her spoon.
Looking up, she saw Chi Jun staring at her from across the room. He seemed amused by her burn and said something.
"Why are you spacing out instead of eating properly?"
Xu Qingzhou pursed his lips, lowered his head and stirred the thick soup in the bowl, without saying a word.
A while later, when I looked up again, the TV screen was already showing the next news item: a fashion event on the red carpet, where celebrities were all dressed up and vying for attention.
The night sky was filled with twinkling stars, and flashbulbs were going off like crazy.
Perhaps she had been staring at the TV for a while, because Chi Jun glanced back at the television.
The TV is filming a male celebrity walking the red carpet.
He didn't say anything, turned around, and finished the noodles in his bowl in a few bites.
As he put down his chopsticks, he casually commented:
"The noodles here are still the best. The noodles in Haicheng are ridiculously expensive. A bowl of beef noodles costs more than 60 yuan. It's practically robbery."
The male celebrity had already walked to the front of the stage, signed his name, and was posing for photos. He was wearing a black suit that looked expensive, and his hair and facial features were clearly meticulously styled.
However, due to a lack of presence, he couldn't quite pull off the suit, and instead, he appeared somewhat petty.
Xu Qingzhou thought for a moment and realized that Chi Jun would look great in that outfit.
Realizing belatedly what Chi Jun had just said, Xu Qingzhou slightly withdrew her gaze, glanced at Chi Jun opposite her, and wrote on the paper:
Perhaps the ingredients used in their food are better.
Chi Jun: "To me, they taste about the same."
Xu Qingzhou: [That might be because the store environment is better.]
Xu Qingzhou was just saying it casually, but the next second, Chi Jun suddenly looked at her and said with a sharp tone, "I like this kind of place where the hygiene isn't very good."
Xu Qingzhou was taken aback and looked at him.
The restaurant was noisy, with sounds from the TV mixed with the conversations of diners and the occasional cry of a child.
Even amidst this noisy and bustling atmosphere, Chi Jun still stared at her with a persistent, uneasy look.
After a long silence, his eyes were deep, and in a hoarse voice, he added, word by word:
"I love it here, Zhouzhou."
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