Wound
The car drove out of the city.
The morning fog was thick in winter, making the trees on both sides of the road look as if they had been filtered through a retro lens.
Zhou Ji'an really wanted to ask Deng Yi why his grandparents lived in the countryside.
But upon closer reflection, I realized that I, a country bumpkin, might not be suited to ask such a question.
Moreover, Deng Yi had been tense since yesterday, and now he looked serious and had no intention of chatting with her.
Zhou Ji'an glanced at the houses that were vaguely visible in the thick fog, then looked down to reply to someone else's message.
Lu Jianni: You're not coming to my house anymore?
She also posted a shrug emoji and added: "Deng Yi won't let you associate with us?"
Zhou Ji'an frowned and replied: "It has nothing to do with Deng Yi; it's just that I didn't have the time. Do you think I have no independent will?"
Lu Jianni: I'm just reminding you not to let your social circle shrink, or you might end up getting stuck on something trivial.
Zhou Ji'an is not worried that he will get stuck on trivial matters because his social circle is shrinking.
First, she's not a sociable person; she only participated in the seminars organized by Lu Jianni to absorb new knowledge and perspectives. Second, she's always been prone to overthinking, and even with a larger social circle, she'll still tend to get stuck on minor details.
However, she understood Lu Jiani's concerns.
Lu Jianni still believes that her marriage with Deng Yi will not last long, and that she will be "devastated" just like she was after breaking up with Deng Yi.
Zhou Ji'an wanted to tell Lu Jiani that she wasn't going to the symposium because of Qin Xirang, but once she said it, she would have to explain why.
Zhou Ji'an felt it was troublesome and unnecessary, and besides, what good would it do to say it? She couldn't very well ask Lu Jianni to ask Qin Xirang to withdraw.
Before putting his phone away, Zhou Ji'an glanced at the messages from Xu Zhiyan and Wei Jinglin, but did not reply.
Xu Zhiyan: You won't hang out with us anymore after you get married?
Wei Jinglin: How about we have a competition to see who gets divorced first? I bet you and Deng Yi will divorce before me.
Zhou Ji'an turned to look at Deng Yi, who remained silent.
What would we get divorced over? Because you fell in love with someone else?
"Tired?" Deng Yi glanced at her and asked.
Zhou Ji'an shook his head in a panic, "I'm not tired, I can sit in a car for a long time and I don't get tired."
Deng Yi smiled and said, "Then we can travel in a motorhome in the future."
The future is too far away.
Almost none of Zhou Ji'an's past "future" dreams have come true, and now she strongly rejects such unrealistic talk.
“I don’t have that many lies,” Zhou Ji’an stated the reality.
"Do you like going to work? If you don't, you can quit and do what you like." Deng Yi turned the steering wheel, and the car turned onto a cement road on the left.
Zhou Ji'an blurted out, "Are you going to pay for it?"
Realizing he had misspoke, he tried his best to make amends: "I was just kidding."
The car stopped in front of a three-story farmhouse.
"I was just kidding, don't be angry." Seeing that Deng Yi was staring straight ahead and didn't respond to her immediately, Zhou Ji'an was afraid that their relationship would become unbalanced, so she reiterated that she was just kidding, "I didn't mean anything by it."
Deng Yi's heart sank, and his face turned pale. "Why do you think I'd be angry?"
Zhou Ji'an said urgently, "We have an agreement..."
“Even now, you still think we’re a fake couple,” Deng Yi said as he opened the car door.
He used a definitive tone, leaving Zhou Ji'an speechless and unsure of what to say. He only knew that Zhou Ji'an was angry again.
In the past, Deng Yi rarely got angry when he was with her, but these past few days, he seemed to get angry with her for no reason.
Noises were coming from inside the house, as if there were already many guests.
Zhou Ji'an tugged at Deng Yi's coat sleeve and whispered, "There seem to be a lot of people inside. You can be angry after we get home."
Deng Yi, who had been pulled by her, stopped and seemed to sigh.
Zhou Ji'an gripped his sleeve tightly, wanting to go around to the front of him and tease him, at least to calm him down first, otherwise she wouldn't be able to pretend to be a loving couple with him in front of so many people later.
"I think I've been to this village before when I was cycling. I'll be there in a bit..."
"Why are you only coming today?" Wei Jinglin said loudly, then lowered his head slightly to speak to the old woman beside him, "Grandma, do you think Deng Yi is as filial to you as I am?"
The old man leaned on his cane and glanced over, his cloudy eyes revealing an unreadable indifference and detachment.
She didn't greet Deng Yi and Zhou Ji'an, patted Wei Jinglin's hand, and went into the house with her cane.
“The humidity seems even higher in the village,” Zhou Ji’an said, stealthily moving his hand and slowly slipping his fingers between Deng Yi’s. “Let’s stay a while and then go home.”
Deng Yi lifted his hand that was being held, his mood improving slightly. He tilted his head and asked, "Is this all you can do?"
Upon hearing the sound of the iceberg melting, Zhou Ji'an immediately replied, "You're a better actor. You guide me, and I'll try my best to keep up with your pace."
Then her hand was pinched hard.
Hmm... this person seems to be angry again.
Without being told what to do, the two approached the noisy crowd.
The living room was large, with two long sofas full of people and chairs scattered on the floor.
People started inviting Deng Yi and Zhou Ji'an to sit down. When Zhou Ji'an saw that they were all unfamiliar faces and were all staring at her with wide eyes, trying to see something out of her, she couldn't help but feel a little scared and stayed close to Deng Yi.
The old man sitting in the middle of the sofa directly opposite the TV had a full head of white hair. Zhou Ji'an had seen him a few times in Wei Jinglin's WeChat Moments.
The old man only glanced at Deng Yi and Zhou Ji'an before continuing to chat with the people on both sides.
Zhou Ji'an secretly glanced at Deng Yi, and seeing no sign of disappointment on Deng Yi's face, he felt relieved. He treated everyone in the room as Deng Yi's enemies and seized the opportunity to firmly occupy him.
Her hands rested on his knees, sometimes she looked up to talk to him, sometimes she touched and rubbed his watch, listening to him politely answer questions from the onlookers.
Suddenly, someone with a local accent asked Zhou Ji'an, "What do you do for a living?"
Zhou Ji'an's hand stopped on Deng Yi's thigh. She thought the question was too formal, like an interrogation. She imitated Deng Yi's calm tone and answered, "Programmer."
Before the man could ask any further questions, Wei Jinglin, who appeared out of nowhere, mocked, "You work such a hard job, and I've never seen your husband feel sorry for you or make you quit."
Zhou Ji'an glanced at Wei Jinglin, then, holding Deng Yi's arm, replied, "I like my work."
Deng Yi tilted his head, gently brushing his lips against the head of the person who had been clinging to him, and said with relief, "She has the ability to work, why should she waste it just because she married me?"
"Of course she's capable of working. After all, we went to the same university. We're not like art students like you, who can only do jobs that require public exposure and don't require intelligence," Wei Jinglin said with his usual sharp tongue.
Wei Jinglin started acting strangely again, which Zhou Ji'an was already used to, but she found it odd that the people around her seemed to agree with what Wei Jinglin was saying.
She turned to look at Deng Yi, who returned her an indifferent smile.
Zhou Ji'an felt it mattered, so he decided to retort sarcastically: "That's because Deng Yi is good-looking enough and talented enough, possessing the capital to show his face in public, while you..."
Zhou Ji'an deliberately stopped and looked Wei Jinglin up and down. He saw Wei Jinglin's face turn cold and he had a victorious smile on his face. Then he turned to look at Deng Yi and met Deng Yi's eyes.
She raised an eyebrow at Deng Yi, who laughed out loud, lowered his head, and placed a kiss on her forehead.
The distance between her face and Deng Yi's face was very short, so short that Deng Yi's kiss came very quickly, so quickly that she didn't even have time to feel it before it was over.
"Don't bring your theatrical persona into real life," Wei Jinglin said, standing up and looking at the two people in front of him with disdain. "It's disgusting."
Upon hearing this, Zhou Ji'an wanted to take a look at Wei Jinglin, who had lost his composure, but Deng Yi pressed down on the back of his head.
Her chin rested against Deng Yi's chest as she looked up at him with a strange expression. Deng Yi shook his head slightly at her, so slightly that she was probably the only one among those present who noticed.
Having broken down, Wei Jinglin sneaked into the kitchen.
This person seems to be easily broken down, as fragile as a paper tiger.
However, Zhou Ji'an thought to herself that it was fortunate that Deng Yi stopped her, otherwise she might have had to argue with Wei Jinglin for several more rounds.
People chatting around them would occasionally throw questions at Deng Yi and Zhou Ji'an, most of which were answered by Deng Yi.
Zhou Ji'an was initially puzzled by the absence of Deng Yi's mother and father, but upon considering the attitude of Deng Yi's grandparents towards him, he found it unsurprising.
Just as she was thinking this, Deng Yi's father, Deng Wencheng, pushed open the door and entered. He glanced at her and asked, just like he had at Deng Yi's mother's house that day, "When did you arrive?"
“Just now.” Zhou Ji’an sat up straight and stopped leaning against Deng Yi.
After asking her the question, Deng Wencheng, just like that day, ignored Deng Yi and went straight to sit down next to Deng Yi's grandfather.
Wei Jinglin's laughter and voice echoed through the rooms, as if he were the child of this family.
Zhou Ji'an felt that this family relationship was too abnormal and somewhat unacceptable. He leaned his cheek against Deng Yi's shoulder and whispered, "Why don't we go home?"
Deng Yi touched her forehead and asked with a smile, "Didn't you say you were coming to see if I needed anything?"
Why does he seem completely unconcerned about his family's indifference and disregard for him? Has he simply gotten used to it over the years?
What about when he was a child? Was he as indifferent as he is now?
She suggested visiting the places he had lived to see what he lacked, and he agreed. But after agreeing, he became tense and sensitive.
Is it because what she actually wants to see is his wound?
Zhou Ji'an regretted it and said, "I don't want to watch anymore, let's go back."
Deng Yi asked, "Have you decided what birthday present you're going to give me?"
"Mmm." Zhou Ji'an's nose tingled, and his chest felt tight. He made a sincere promise without thinking, "Whatever you want, I'll give you."
"Okay." Deng Yi felt a huge weight lifted from his chest and helped her up.
The old man, leaning back in the corner recliner, called out, "Xiaoyu, are you leaving again?"
The old man's voice interrupted the chatter of those around him, and the clatter of mahjong tiles abruptly stopped.
"The old lady actually recognized people!"
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