islands
He probably wanted to clear his head.
After all, the ongoing controversy, even if he has minimized the risks, still has some impact on him.
Zhou Ji'an thought for a moment and said, "I don't have any time off recently. Let me check the work schedule first, and then I'll tell you."
The two entered the elevator at the same time.
In the cramped space, Zhou Ji'an, fearing that Deng Yi would notice his hesitation, kept his eyes fixed on the bottom of the elevator door.
Before Deng Yi stepped out of the elevator, he said, "Anyway, you haven't decided what gift to give me yet. If you come on this trip with me, I'll consider it as a gift."
Zhou Ji'an still thought he really believed that she had prepared a gift.
She lied to him again and was caught.
Zhou Ji'an felt that his hesitation just now made him look embarrassed.
"When do you want to go?" Zhou Ji'an asked.
"Today." Deng Yi turned slightly to observe her expression.
"Isn't today too rushed?" Zhou Ji'an became anxious at his answer. "Today is Sunday, I can't ask for leave, and it's not easy to hand over the work."
"I just want to go today, it's not that I have to go today." Deng Yi couldn't see the excitement that had once appeared on her face. "You should ask for leave and hand over your work first. Let me know when you're ready to leave."
Zhou Ji'an breathed a sigh of relief.
"However, it's best to have it ready within two days."
Why?
Zhou Ji'an didn't have time to ask why, because Deng Yi walked away and quickly went upstairs, probably to the gym.
He may have simply told her to be ready within two days, without giving her any room to ask why.
Since that's the case, we might as well set off today to avoid any unforeseen complications.
The moment the idea popped into his head, Zhou Ji'an went back to his study to check his work schedule, which seemed to offer room for taking leave.
She hesitated for a moment, then sent a message to her direct supervisor to test the waters.
The other party was as straightforward as ever, "Sure, we'll contact you if anything urgent comes up, as long as you promise we can reach you."
After receiving this reply, Zhou Ji'an climbed up to the second floor, stood at the entrance of the gym for a while, and peered inside through the door.
Deng Yi is wearing a white T-shirt and working out his back muscles.
"Should we leave today?" Zhou Ji'an slowly moved into the gym. "I don't have much work next week, so I can just bring my spare laptop and do some exercises occasionally."
Deng Yi put down his equipment, wiped his sweat, approached her, and asked earnestly, "Do you feel like I'm pressuring you?"
At this moment, Zhou Ji'an suddenly recalled the scene of him asking her to wipe his neck. He took a step back and said, "Of course I don't think so. I just thought that since you insist on going, it would be better to go sooner and finish sooner."
"It's better to end it sooner," Deng Yi repeated her last sentence.
Zhou Ji'an, without any suspicion, affirmed, "Yes, to avoid creating more trouble the longer it drags on."
Deng Yi gave a slight twitch of his lips and walked towards the door. "You really have changed inside and out. You're actually afraid of trouble now."
Zhou Ji'an, who was immediately following behind him, added, "Isn't that how people are? As they get older, everything seems troublesome."
Deng Yi chose to take the elevator downstairs.
Zhou Ji'an thought he seemed different; he wasn't afraid of trouble at all and insisted on taking the elevator.
However, after a moment's thought, I realized that he might be trying to protect his knees, since going down stairs is indeed bad for the knees.
Deng Yi asked, "So you didn't want to prepare a birthday present for me because you thought it was too much trouble?"
Zhou Ji'an held his head high and replied, "It's not that I don't want to prepare a birthday present for you."
Deng Yi clearly did not believe her explanation. He said calmly, "These kinds of things are judged by actions, not intentions."
Zhou Ji'an thought about it and realized he was right; she couldn't refute him.
She followed him into the bedroom, and heard him say before going into the bathroom, "You pack your luggage, and we'll leave after I take a shower."
Does he expect her to pack his luggage too?
He didn't tell her where he was going or how many days he would be gone, so how was she supposed to pack her luggage!
The bathroom door was reopened, and Deng Yi, who was shirtless, poked his head out and said, "When you go to Zhoushan, bring some warm clothes, and help me pack my clothes too."
After he finished speaking, he turned around and went to wash up, leaving Zhou Ji'an standing there stunned.
They broke up not long after their last trip to Zhoushan, and for Zhou Ji'an, the word "Zhoushan" seemed like an ominous sign.
It was in Zhoushan that she first realized she and Deng Yi might lead completely different lives.
Why would he go to Zhoushan again when there are so many islands to visit?
"Didn't you help me pack?" Deng Yi came out with slightly damp hair and didn't see his suitcase.
Zhou Ji'an knelt on the ground, feeling a little more at ease. She looked up at him and said, "I don't know what you're going to bring."
Deng Yi's eyes also welled up with tears. "If you don't know, you can ask me."
"You won't even ask me?" Deng Yi took out his suitcase and put it down next to hers. "That's the same as before."
It's completely different now. Before, she wasn't afraid to ask him, she was just embarrassed to ask, she wanted to hide her ignorance, and she was afraid of revealing her weakness. Now, she's the one who's afraid to ask him. She's afraid that she won't be able to accept the ending in a short time and won't be able to end their agreement gracefully.
“If I put the wrong things in, or if I put them in too messy, you’ll have to rearrange them all over again, which is a lot of trouble.” Zhou Ji’an lowered his head to hide his emotions.
"I've already bought the plane tickets in advance, so I have plenty of time. I can repack ten times over." Deng Yi put his clothes and personal belongings into his suitcase one after another.
"Didn't we just decide to go today?" Zhou Ji'an asked, confused.
How did he know her ID number? Did he memorize it when they got their marriage certificate? Or did he already know it before?
"I decided to go a long time ago." Deng Yi quickly packed his suitcase. "Originally, I planned to go there to celebrate your birthday, but then my job changed, so I changed it to go there to celebrate my birthday."
It means they will stay in Zhoushan for a week.
Zhou Ji'an's first reaction was that her work might be delayed, but she comforted herself by saying that she could find another job if she lost it. With her work experience, she was not worried about not finding a job she liked, and besides, she was not starving.
But once the opportunity to revisit Deng Yi's old haunts is missed, it may never come again.
Moreover, aside from her own sadness, which she kept hidden in her heart and which everyone would consider insignificant if she told others, her last trip to Zhoushan with Deng Yi actually left her with many beautiful memories.
“But the sea isn’t very blue this time of year.” Zhou Ji’an picked up his suitcase. “The sea breeze is also very cold.”
Deng Yi straightened up and stared intently at her. "I don't care about those things."
For some reason, his eyes suddenly became very affectionate, and Zhou Ji'an once again succumbed to his charms. He said with a dry mouth, "Anyway, it's your birthday. As long as you don't care, then it's fine."
I took Deng Yi's nanny car directly to the airport, went through a special security checkpoint, entered the VIP lounge, rested for a short while, and then boarded the plane through a special channel to the spacious and comfortable business class.
When Zhou Ji'an experienced these things for the first time, it felt like playing a game, without any sense of reality.
Deng Yi already had countless experiences like this; it was just a tiny part of his daily life.
The last time he was forced to fly economy class because of her, it was perhaps the greatest material hardship he had ever experienced in his life.
That time, when Deng Yi told Zhou Ji'an about his travel plans, Zhou Ji'an immediately started calculating in her head. Before she could finish, Deng Yi said, "It's my trip, I'll pay for it."
Zhou Ji'an's pride wouldn't allow her to accept his logic: "We'll each pay half."
Whether Deng Yi noticed her stubbornness or wanted to protect her fragile self-esteem, he agreed to her suggestion.
However, Zhou Ji'an accidentally discovered that Deng Yi had canceled the business class reservation she had already made and instead booked an economy class reservation, just to save her some money.
Later, Deng Yi gave her a bonus for doing a good job at her part-time job and cooking delicious meals, and returned all the money she had contributed.
Sometimes, Zhou Ji'an takes a joking view of her life, believing that all the hardships and suffering she had endured were arranged by God so that she could meet Deng Yi.
So it's okay if Deng Yi married her to take advantage of her; he can use her however he wants.
She just couldn't accept that he was thinking of using her while preparing to dump her at any moment.
If it weren't for the divorce agreement he kept in the drawer, she would have already asked him about the notebook.
Zhou Ji'an stretched her fingers into the air and gently touched the back of Deng Yi's head. She only touched his hair, and he didn't notice.
Zhou Ji'an felt that economy class was better, at least when she was in economy class she could sit with Deng Yi.
"Take a nap, or you won't have any energy later," Deng Yi suddenly said, turning around.
Zhou Ji'an almost didn't have time to withdraw his hand, and frantically waved his hand as if shooing away flying insects, saying in a panic, "Okay."
After getting off the plane and transferring to another flight, Zhou Ji'an was led by Deng Yi through various procedures. Although he didn't have to use his brain, he was physically exhausted.
Zhou Ji'an wanted to ask him why he didn't just take a car, which wouldn't require a transfer and wouldn't take long.
Suddenly, Deng Yi looked down at her and asked, "Are you hungry? Are you sleepy?"
Some memories flashed back in a frenzy.
Last time, Zhou Ji'an asked Deng Yi why he didn't just take a car, and Deng Yi's answer at the time was that he wanted to go to another place with her.
Is this the same reason this time? But we could have transferred in other cities, right? There's no need to completely replicate the route from last time.
And last time, he always asked her if she was hungry or sleepy.
He would also ask her if she needed to use the restroom, if she wanted to drink water, and...
Are you tired?
The past and present were intertwined, making Zhou Ji'an dizzy and his willpower gradually weaken. She pressed herself against him and asked, "How about you? Are you tired? Do you want to lean on me and rest for a while?"
Deng Yi's eyes sparkled like fireflies as he lowered his head to kiss her, but she tiptoed closer to him first, asking with concern, "Are you dizzy?"
Deng Yi breathed a sigh of relief, touched her forehead with satisfaction, and nodded, saying, "Okay, let's go to the lounge. Let me lean on you and rest for a while."
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