37 Chapter Thirty-Six
"Zheng Miaojia, you did this on purpose."
"Pop!"
"Smack! Pop!"
After they finished eating, they walked back to the hotel from the barbecue stall in a scattered manner. Zheng Miaojia was still drunk and kept kissing Li Yingqiao's face.
Li Yingqiao had been staying with Zhao Pingnan in a suite on the top floor of the hotel for the past few days. Seeing that she was quite drunk, he simply booked a room for her next door and would send her back to Lao Zheng the next morning after she sobered up.
Gao Dian and Zhong Su were smoking at the hotel's revolving door. Yu Jinyang returned from checking in at the front desk and saw the two of them still sticking together. So he stuffed two room cards into the gap between Li Yingqiao and Zheng Miaojia's faces, stood there and looked at Li Yingqiao and said, "I ordered room service. I'll send a glass of honey water to Zheng Miaojia later. I've booked a room for you alone."
Li Yingqiao wanted to say no, as Zhao Pingnan's suite was actually big enough for the three of them. But she had already annoyed him, so she didn't want to refuse his kindness.
“It still has to be ‘Young Master’—” she said with a smile as she took off the room key and helped Zheng Miaojia.
"Alright, stop mocking me."
For Yu Jinyang, "young master" had long since become an insult.
"I really didn't," Li Yingqiao swore.
Zheng Miaojia was probably really drunk, and didn't know what they were doing, but she raised three fingers without saying a word, imitating Li Yingqiao, and said fiercely: "Yes, if you have them, may you be struck by lightning, your funds turn into chickens, and your house turn into a bare shell!"
"..."
Li Yingqiao covered her mouth and said, "But after she stays in Pingnan for a few more days, she should go back, and I should move back to Xiaohua City. Li Lianfeng approved the staff dormitory, which will make it more convenient for me to go to work. But is Uncle Yu in charge of this hotel?"
“Uncle Zhang is in charge, and there are professional managers. My dad just invested in the company,” Yu Jinyang said, his hands in his pockets. “You’ve met Uncle Zhang before; he used to be my dad’s secretary.”
Li Yingqiao nodded thoughtfully, "Okay, if I can get the travel agency to organize a separate tour for us later, can you help me make the connection?"
Zheng Miaojia murmured in her palm, "...pee."
With Li Yingqiao covering his mouth, Yu Jinyang didn't hear clearly. He bent down slightly and leaned forward to ask, "What did she say?"
“Yo yo, check it out,” Li Yingqiao said. “—Rap, everyone’s like this when they first come back from the city.”
"I'm leaving." He glanced at Zheng Miaojia one last time, then turned and left, vaguely saying, "Get some rest, don't go too crazy."
A penthouse suite is a must-have for a five-star hotel in a county town, but it's not guaranteed that anyone will stay there. The corridor was quiet and empty, and the sound of their footsteps echoed. Li Yingqiao and Zhao Pingnan carried Zheng Miaojia into the room and threw her onto the bed. She reflexively kicked off her high heels twice, sprang up from the bed, and staggered to the toilet to relieve herself.
When she came out again, Zhao Pingnan had already gone back to his room, leaving only Li Yingqiao calmly leaning against the sink in the separate wet and dry area, their eyes meeting.
Zheng Miaojia giggled, trying to avoid her attacking gaze, without even washing her hands. Li Yingqiao, however, still crossed her arms, staring at her with a deep and sinister gaze: "Zheng Miaojia, you did this on purpose."
"No way," Zheng Miaojia had no choice but to obediently wash her hands. After washing, she even leaned close to Li Yingqiao and let her smell them. "The smell of alcohol is so strong, it stinks."
Li Yingqiao dodged to the side, reached for a tissue, and slowly wiped the lipstick stain on her face, saying, "I knew I shouldn't have told you. I suspect he knows you did it on purpose."
Zheng Miaojia was indeed faking it back then. But not now; she was genuinely a little drunk, her head was spinning, and she saw double images in the mirror. Rubbing her temples, she said, "How could a cat be that smart?"
Li Yingqiao glanced at her: "He's very smart, but sometimes he's too lazy to bother with things."
"Really?" Zheng Miaojia leaned on the sink, watching her wipe her face. She tilted her head and thought for a moment before deliberately saying, "Anyway, all I know is that he's quite smart in his studies. As for other things, I don't know or understand. So, when you told me that you two kissed that night, it gave me quite a shock. I'm sorry, I did it on purpose just now. I just wanted to see his reaction. After all, Miao has always been a conservative in the eyes of us."
Li Yingqiao: "What was his reaction just now?"
Zheng Miaojia: "I turned my head away and didn't see her, but her ears were a little red. I don't know if it's from drinking or because she was thinking about you two."
Li Yingqiao couldn't help but swear and threw the tissue into the bin: "He probably had almost forgotten about it, but what if he remembers it now because of what you did? I'm afraid he'll remember. Lately, I've been very careful when I meet him, and I try to find topics to talk about, afraid that if things get quiet, I'll step on a landmine."
“Then you can rest assured,” Zheng Miaojia said with surprising clarity and certainty. “He definitely remembers. Who could forget something like this? You yourself remember it, and you expect someone who was forcibly kissed to forget it? What are you thinking? Qiao, I advise you not to have such wishful thinking.”
Yes, how could she forget? Li Yingqiao was actually very clear about it in her heart, but she always held onto a glimmer of hope.
After coming down the mountain that day, she couldn't sleep all night. Unable to sleep, she sent a message to Zheng Miaojia.
The two talked on the phone all night long, rambling on and on about nothing but Yu Jinyang. As the sky began to lighten with the first hint of dawn, Zheng Miaojia, who had drifted off to sleep several times, vaguely heard Li Yingqiao speaking. She forced herself to stay awake and told her, "Qiaoqiao, I'm listening."
At that moment, Li Yingqiao was certain that she liked Yu Jinyang. After leaving the ski resort, they waited listlessly for Gao Dianmiaojia to return. However, under the tangerine-colored lamplight, amidst the swaying shadows of the trees, the world was in a state of chaos.
Suddenly, a thought popped into her head—she thought, if only the world would give her a camera, she would do something daring, and many people would applaud her courage at that moment.
Even though she was Li Yingqiao, the guardian deity of Xiaohua City, it still took her courage to take that step; no one is born knowing how to confess. Unfortunately, neither of them were the protagonists of this world. She could only hide her pounding heart in the dim shadows of the trees, with the help of the raging wind, and then, mustering her courage, she trembled as she covered his lips with hers, leaving the boy stunned and speechless.
That night, she tossed and turned. Aside from that call with Zheng Miaojia, which made the battery burn, her phone remained silent. Yu Jinyang didn't even send her a message questioning her; he acted nonchalantly, as if nothing had happened, like he'd only been bitten by a dog.
Zheng Miaojia knew all of this, and even after she went to university, she still asked Li Yingqiao about their recent situation. But after that night when they talked on the phone all night long, Li Yingqiao became less interested in mentioning Yu Jinyang.
She asked why, but Li Yingqiao didn't tell her. Miaojia wasn't the type to pry, and she didn't want to rub salt in Li Yingqiao's wounds. Since she didn't want to talk about it, Zheng Miaojia later lost contact with Yu Jinyang when she went to university, only running into him a few times during winter and summer vacations back in Fengtan.
What infuriated her was that, as Yu Jinyang grew taller and taller, he became more and more of Li Yingqiao's type.
Later, everyone got busy with work, and she and Li Yingqiao gradually lost contact. These youthful, ambiguous feelings had long since become a mineral deposit buried in the Hengge Mountains, covered by new snow year after year, a magnificent burial.
Besides, the outside world is wonderful and colorful, and adult games are never short of the warmth of strangers. Even though we both have two legs, shared bikes are more sought after than men; these days, nobody really goes to the street to steal a two-legged man.
"And now?" Zheng Miaojia squatted by the toilet vomiting, then looked up and asked her, "How was your trip back? Do you still like him?"
Li Yingqiao patted her back, handed her a tissue, and waited for her to finish vomiting before asking, "Do you still like that basketball captain you liked in high school?"
"Ugh—" Zheng Miaojia vomited even more violently, finally managing to suppress the churning sensation in her stomach. She turned back to her and rolled her eyes, "Thank you so much."
“That’s fine then,” Li Yingqiao chuckled, handing over a tissue and frankly admitting, “But I’m okay, I don’t dislike Miao. At least he hasn’t grown up ugly, I even think he’s more handsome now than before.”
The moment they met at the barbershop that day, even though his haircut was a disaster, she recognized him immediately; he was actually much more handsome than before. Yu Jinyang had fully matured; he was a typical mature man, with classic sword-like eyebrows and bright eyes, deep-set eyes, and his pupils were actually lighter in color than before. When you didn't look into his eyes, you could sense a cold, aloof air about him, but once you met his gaze, you could see the gentleness and restraint of his youth. Even with that uneven hairstyle, he stood out from the crowd.
She was actually a little tempted at first sight, and wanted to ask if his Shanghai residency was useful. If not, she could take advantage of him. Since things were already so awkward, she might as well just go for it. But later, Li Yingqiao was so angry at Li Boqing's dinner party that she almost lost her mind. After calming down for a few days, she thought more and more that someone like Miao would be a great friend.
“Actually, it was quite awkward at first,” Li Yingqiao can now be frank. “To get rid of any misunderstandings, I kept imitating my old self when I talked to him, but he saw right through me. He spoke in a sarcastic tone. I was also afraid he would bring up the past. To be honest, it’s been so many years. Even if I liked him back then, it’s faded now. It’s also hard to recapture that feeling of chatting with you all night back then. When I think back on it now, it seems absurd. What did we talk about back then? We could talk about a man all night long.”
“I remember,” Zheng Miaojia stood up from the ground, took the tissue, glanced at her, and solemnly repeated, “You know, Yu Jinyang’s lips are so soft. How can his lips be so soft? Could his lower part be soft too? —”
"Zheng Miaojia!!! Goodbye!!!"
Without saying a word, Li Yingqiao picked up her things, slammed the door shut, and left.
Zheng Miaojia laughed so hard she fell onto the bed, but then she stopped laughing and stared blankly at the ceiling.
The next second, the door was suddenly kicked open, and Li Yingqiao's head popped in, staring at her intently, as if he wanted to say something but couldn't.
Zheng Miaojia looked at her suspiciously: "What's wrong?"
"You—" Li Yingqiao's head was stuck in the crack of the door, "You didn't run into anything outside, did you?"
Zheng Miaojia propped her elbows up, rested her head on her palms, turned to look at her, and struck a lazy yet ostentatious pose, showing her everything from head to toe: "What could possibly happen to a rich and beautiful woman like me?"
Li Yingqiao closed the door again.
Three seconds later, it drove back in, and the head was wedged perfectly into the crack in the door. "Are you really alright?"
Zheng Miaojia, growing impatient, threw a pillow at him: "Really? No way! Li Yingqiao, if you open the door again, I'll tell Yu Jinyang that he's all talk and no action!"
Li Yingqiao practically knelt down before her: "...Zheng Miaojia, this is Fengtan! Watch your mouth! Can you please not speak so recklessly? This is a hotel owned by Brother Siyi, be careful, the walls may be overheard! Please shut up, I beg you."
Zheng Miaojia chuckled and sat up: "Looks like your mental state isn't as good as mine."
"You've become a wild man out there! So you're the one who's already taken advantage of. Enough said, come to work at the scenic area tomorrow," Li Yingqiao said, slamming the door shut.
“You two are too reserved. What era are we living in?” Zheng Miaojia clicked her tongue and sighed, not caring whether she was still there or not. She muttered to herself, “I’ve drawn so many men’s nudes. What’s this? It’s just an organ.”
[Author's Note]
See you on Wednesday. [Laughing and crying emoji][Laughing and crying emoji]
Two hundred red envelopes.
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