Chapter 499: Becoming a mother, thinking more simply
She is always like this, even when she greets someone she seems to be nonchalant and distant, but her eyes seem to contain hooks that can easily make people feel nervous.
"What a coincidence."
The woman spoke first, her voice a little dispersed by the wind, but her eyes passed over Xu Fangye and fell on Fang Li behind him.
"Ye...Ran?"
Xu Fangye's tone faded a little, and a hint of unnaturalness flashed across his face. He subconsciously glanced at Fang Li before taking half a step forward.
In fact, Ye Ran's eyes were not probing, but more like measuring something. He slowly swept across Fang Li's red nose, and then fell back on Xu Fangye's hand that was holding his sister's arm.
"Who is this?"
"Why are you here?"
They both spoke at the same time, their voices colliding and feeling a bit awkward.
Xu Fangye frowned slightly, but Ye Ran kept smiling, his eyes moving between the osmanthus cake in Fang Li's hand and the two of them who were only half a foot apart.
"I came here with a friend to look at some old things. I didn't expect to see you here. Would you like to introduce yourself?"
Ye Ran's gaze finally fixed on Fang Li's face, with a kind of scrutinizing curiosity.
Fang Li tightened her grip on the oil-paper bag, and her eyes looked at it with a hint of interest. Suddenly, a subtle tension filled the air.
Xu Fangye's hand loosened almost imperceptibly, and his tone was flawless: "My sister, Fang Li."
After a pause, he raised his chin to Ye Ran and said, "Ye Ran, friend."
As soon as the word "friend" came out, the smile on Ye Ran's lips became more genuine.
She nodded at Fang Li, the snow flakes clinging to her eyelashes falling off. "Hello, Fang Li. I've always heard that Xu Fangye has a younger sister, but he's so protective of her that few people have seen her in recent years. I didn't expect such a coincidence today."
Fang Li smiled and nodded: "Ms. Ye."
"I heard you work in Beijing. Are you back for the New Year?"
I heard...
Fang Li looked at Xu Fangye beside her with interest and pursed her lips, "Miss Ye, who told you that? I've only been back for two or three days. It seems your friend is well-informed."
Ye Ran pursed her lips and smiled.
Xu Fangye touched his nose and looked away with an unnatural look.
"They say Xu Fangye is a flower of high mountains, and he never feels pity for any woman. Now it seems that it is not all true. It can be seen that he loves you very much. At least in all these years, it is rare to see him protect a girl like this."
"......" This sounds a bit strange.
Fang Li followed Ye Ran's gaze and looked at Xu Fangye, but for a moment she didn't know how to answer.
And Xu Fangye certainly knew what Ye Ran was talking about.
Last winter, he once saw her arguing with someone in a shopping mall and subconsciously protected her behind him. Later, she hugged her knees and laughed all night in bed, saying that the way Mr. Xu protected others seemed like he really took the person seriously.
At that time, he was rubbing her frozen hands. Hearing this, he just pinched her fingertips and didn't respond.
"Really? Actually, my brother is a very sentimental person and he protects his friends."
Fang Li pulled the scarf around her neck that was a little tight because of Xu Fangye, put some distance between herself and Xu Fangye, and smiled at Ye Ran with a friendly look.
She could see the familiarity that could not be concealed in Ye Ran's eyes when he looked at her brother, and she could also see Xu Fangye's unnatural expression.
Thought.
This guy usually acts like a bull in the Xu family, but now he looks like a child with a candy wrapper punctured, even his eyes are wandering.
Fang Li secretly pursed her lips and simply moved half a step to the side, pretending to be enjoying the show.
She wanted to see what kind of ability the person who could make her brother hide so well had.
"The wind is so strong, why don't we find a place to talk?"
Xu Fangye finally broke the silence, avoiding Ye Ran's eyes and glancing at the teahouse that was still open at the entrance of the alley.
Ye Ran shook the bag of snacks in his hand and said, "No, we've almost finished shopping. We'll go back after they come out."
"they?"
"Oh, some of my friends went to the craft store next door to buy some things. There were too many people and I didn't want to squeeze in."
"There are indeed a lot of people these days, maybe it's because it's close to the end of the year."
After hearing what Xu Fangye said, Ye Ran paused, then suddenly lowered his head and kicked the ice chips under his feet. "Yeah, the New Year is coming soon."
After she finished speaking, she suddenly looked up and said with a smile: "It's almost New Year's Day, and there are many people in the old street. You should go back early."
Xu Fangye's Adam's apple moved again.
He recalled the New Year's Eve of the year they first met. He used the excuse of working overtime at the company and brought the New Year's Eve dinner to her cramped rental house.
At that time, Ye Ran was still an employee of Xu Corporation. As the team leader of the planning department, he received a good salary every month but he lay in an old sofa with a leisurely look on his face.
When he came in, she was watching the Spring Festival Gala. The volume of the TV was turned up very loud, but it couldn't cover the sound of firecrackers outside the window.
He asked her why she didn't go home. She was stuffing dumplings into her mouth and said vaguely, "My home is here."
Later he found out that she was an orphan.
The New Year’s Eve dinner at the welfare home is always bland cabbage and tofu. It’s better to stay alone in peace and quiet.
It was after this time that he gradually became curious about this girl who was always calm and gentle in front of others, and approached her step by step.
"This year..." Xu Fangye just started to speak when he was interrupted by Ye Ran.
“This year is pretty good too.”
She raised her head, her eyes bright astonishingly, as if they were filled with crushed snow. "I made an appointment with some friends to play cards. It was lively."
As she said this, her fingertips unconsciously twisted the strap of her bag. It was this little action that made Xu Fangye raise his eyebrows and instantly understand.
She let the cat out of the bag.
She always behaves like this when she lies, like a hedgehog with its spikes erected but afraid of being pricked.
The indescribable feeling in Xu Fangye's heart surged up again.
He knew she was lying to him, but he didn't expose her.
It had always been like this between them. She shielded him from those dark nights, and he pretended not to see the loneliness in her eyes. It was like an unspoken deal, but at some point, it was thrown into chaos by some inexplicable emotions.
"Okay, then you..."
He wanted to say "Be careful," but felt that was too hypocritical, so the words on the tip of his tongue became, "Go home early."
Ye Ran smiled, said nothing more, turned around and walked to the end of the alley.
The slender figure swayed in the halo of red lanterns and was soon swallowed up by the moving crowd.
Xu Fangye looked in that direction until Fang Li poked him on the arm, and then he suddenly came back to his senses.
"Brother, everyone has left."
Fang Li tilted her head to look at him, unable to hide the teasing in her eyes. "Friend? I think it's a 'special' friend."
Xu Fangye frowned and tapped her forehead: "Pay attention to your own status and stop gossiping!"
"What kind of gossip is this? Besides, even if I gossip, so what?"
Xu Fangye lowered his eyes and glanced at her belly wrapped in a down jacket. "Now that you're a mother, think more simply and don't teach my nephew bad things."
“…”
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