The two of them walked towards the restaurant like this.
I didn't pay attention to Lu Yingjiu when we were in the haunted house just now, but now that I'm holding him, I feel that Jingxian's hands are big and have distinct joints.
A very typical male hand.
Although in the past 26 years, Lu Yingjiu had never imagined that one day he would be walking on a deserted path holding the hand of another man in such an intimate manner. But to his surprise, at this moment, he did not feel anything wrong, as if he should
Jing Xian followed him happily, and on the way back they finally stopped talking and arguing, and remained quiet for a rare time.
The night breeze is very comfortable. Listening to the laughter on the road in the distance makes people feel happy.
The path was not very long, but Lu Yingjiu felt that time passed very slowly, even the wind and her heartbeat slowed down by half a beat.
A few minutes later, the road came to an end and they stood in front of the restaurant.
Lu Yingjiu loosened his hand and said, "Let's go in."
It was already past mealtime at that time, so there was no need to queue up. They just ate casually.
The food in the restaurant was excellent, with good color, aroma and taste. Even Jing Xian was very satisfied, saying that the dish was definitely not as good as his, and he would go back and make another similar dish for Lu Yingjiu to taste.
Lu Yingjiu said while eating, "Okay, okay, I never doubted your cooking skills. If you want to make it less often, just make it less often. Just don't waste it."
"It might be wasted." Jing Xian said, "Your fur ball is here, throw all your things to it."
Lu Yingjiu took a bite of the food and said helplessly, "Don't use it as a trash can anymore, especially don't feed it all the hazardous waste and kitchen waste. The same goes for a two-in-one trash can. Let me count what you have fed it: skulls, big spiders, roadside weeds and ginger."
"That's why it's nutritionally balanced." Jing Xian vowed, "I fed a lot of monsters when I was in the ghost world."
Lu Yingjiu: “…”
He was very worried about the health of those monsters.
They said they would stay overnight in the amusement park and go to the water park tomorrow, but while Lu Ying was eating, he received a call.
It was someone from the Ye family who beat him.
They said that something went wrong while investigating the Spider Mother, and they wanted Lu Yingjiu to go over there as soon as possible to verify it.
Lu Yingjiu is where I really want to go.
After going out for a long time, it is bound to be a disappointment to rush back to work.
But the other party emphasized that this matter was related to Ye Deyong.
—From Ah Mei, the Ye family learned that Ye Deyong used ashes to resurrect people.
Lu Yingjiu and Ye Feng did not mention Ye Deyong's affairs, and they also avoided the important details. But when the fragments of the matter were slowly pieced together, more clues emerged, and the Ye family still found some clues.
In other words, if Lu Yingjiu continued to hide the secret about Ye Feng, she would still have to go back and cover up the lie.
Lu Yingjiu felt a little headache. He opened his phone and saw another message from Ye Feng, saying that the Ye family would also let him go over tomorrow.
Lu Yingjiu held the phone and thought for a while, wondering how to talk to Jing Xian.
It turned out that Jing Xian had already noticed that he was wrong and asked, "What's the matter?"
"…Yes." Lu Yingjiu nodded, "About the Spider Mother and Ye Feng."
Jing Xian paused for a moment and said, "Oh, it's okay, let's go back quickly."
He added: "Anyway, I just checked and found that many facilities at the water park are under maintenance. It may be better next time."
Lu Yingjiu suddenly felt guilty, knowing that what Jing Xian said was to tell him not to care.
He said, "Well, I'll definitely spend time with you next time when I have time."
So they finished their meal and went home as they felt they didn't want to waste any more time.
After leaving the amusement park, the noise was gradually left behind.
After getting in the car, Lu Yingjiu continued to sleep on the seat, making up for the missing sleep time. Jing Xian stepped on the accelerator, and the sports car passed through the streets at a high speed, passing countless lights, and heading straight into the deepest night.
And the deepest part of the night is extremely cold.
The two of them returned home shoulder to shoulder, turned on the lights, and the house was brightly lit.
As soon as Lu Yingjiu got back, she called Ye Feng to discuss how to talk about it tomorrow so as to continue to conceal the next thing.
In fact, the problem should be very big. After all, there were only two of them at the scene, and the fire burned many things. Even if the Ye family felt there were doubts, they would not doubt it.
Before hanging up the phone, Ye Feng hesitated, as if he wanted to say something.
Lu Yingjiu asked, "What's wrong?"
Ye Feng was silent for a while, then smiled and said, "Nothing, I'd better go to bed first, I have to get up early tomorrow."
The phone was disconnected.
Lu Yingjiu went to heat up a cup of milk to drink.
He had always been accustomed to drinking a cup of hot milk before going to bed, which helped him sleep. However, this time when he was pouring milk, he hesitated for a while and asked Jing Xian: "Would you like a cup of milk?"
Jing Xian was sitting at the table, concentrating on playing with Mao Tuanzi. Hearing this, he looked up and said, "Okay."
Lu Yingjiu heated two cups of milk for the first time.
After handing him the cup, there was still residual heat from the cup on my palm, it was warm and the heat lasted for a long time to dissipate.
He was drinking milk and reading a book in his room.
Soon the time reached 10 o'clock in the evening, the lights outside slowly went out, and the night fell into silence.
He turned off the lights.
Perhaps he was too tired from playing all day, and his sleep quality that night was unexpectedly good. He soon fell into a deep dream.
The next day, he got up early as he had agreed with Ye Feng.
Jing Xian didn't have time to sleep. He got up early as usual and made breakfast. The wontons with chopped green onions were fragrant in the bowl.
After Lu Yingjiu had breakfast, Jing Xian prepared to go out as usual and sent him to the Ye family.
Lu Yingjiu said, "I'll use you to send me off today."
"Why?" Jing Xian was stunned for a moment.
Lu Yingjiu said with a smile: "I don't think I'll bother you with everything, right? And I haven't driven myself for a long time."
Jing Xian said: "Then you drive, and I'll sit in the passenger seat."
Lu Yingjiu insisted on going by himself, but Jing Xian was unwilling to do so and went up to him to force him to agree.
Finally, Lu Yingjiu was cornered at the door, forced to cut off the money for compensation, was kissed deeply on the side of the face, and was touched several times on the waist by Jing Xian. Finally, he opened the door in a hurry, and ran out alone with burning ears.
Jing Xian was willing to let him go and gave him the car keys.
Lu Yingjiu got into the Land Rover, took the steering wheel for the first time in a long time, and drove the car out of the garage.
Unlike Jingxian's casual attitude, his driving posture was very standard. He sat upright, looked straight ahead, and drove in a very disciplined manner without making any mistakes, and then he drove to Ye Feng's house.
After picking up Ye Feng, the two of them went towards the Ye family together.
Ye Feng didn't talk much on the way, and he didn't have much interest in talking.
Lu Yingjiu felt that he was worried, so she comforted him, "As long as you admit it, no one will find out."
"... Yeah." Ye Feng was still uneasy.
When we got there, there was indeed another series of complicated procedures.
The Ye family attached great importance to this matter and asked them to explain all the details in detail.
Lu Yingjiu was calm and composed, and answered without any hesitation, which would have made anyone suspicious. He only brought up the part involving Ye Feng, answered the rest truthfully, and also helped analyze the talisman paper used by Ye Deyong.
Ye Feng's little one.
But he was in a bad mood, and the Ye family knew it all along. They just thought that he was sad because of Ye Deyong and didn't pay much attention to it.
So, in the end, just as Lu Yingjiu said, the Ye family didn't find anything unusual. After thanking Lu Yingjiu for coming all the way, they even wanted to keep him for dinner.
Lu Yingjiu refused, put her arm around Ye Feng and said with a smile that they could just go out for a meal.
After getting in the car, Lu Yingjiu randomly looked for a nearby restaurant with a high rating and asked, "How about hot pot or barbecue? Or do you want to eat something lighter?"
Ye Feng still insisted.
After a long while, he said, "It's all right. Just make your decision."
Seeing that he was still in a low mood, Lu Yingjiu patted his shoulder and said, "Don't worry, you see, they didn't notice it either."
Ye Feng stared out the window for a while before saying, "Do you still remember two months ago when your company was just established?"
"Well, what's wrong?" Lu Yingjiu asked.
Ye Feng took several days off at that time, and ran around every day, helping him move or arrange things, and did a lot of help.
It had been a long time since the incident happened, and he didn't know why Ye Feng brought it up again.
Ye Feng paused for a moment before saying, "I was very angry at the time. Chen Zheng and his gang of idiots actually forced you into this situation. But at the same time, I was a little worried that you would ask me to join your affairs. The Qingdeng Society has always been the most stringent ghost-exorcising organization in the underworld, with good treatment and high benefits, and a lot of entrusted resources. Anyone would want to join."
He continued, "Like you, my talent for exorcism is average, and I am lucky to be able to get to this position today. If I were to change to another place, and I were not made of gold, I might not have any chance of development."
"Of course I know that with your reputation, you will definitely have a lot of commissions. So, later I thought about it again and felt that the key reason was that I was worried about the future. I have always been a very timid person. I dare not challenge the unknown and seek stability. I dare not take any risks, even if the consequences are completely acceptable to me."
Lu Yingjiu paused for a while.
Then he said: "I still say that: everyone has his own life. You don't have to give anything for me. If you are willing to come and join me, I will certainly be happy. Even if not, you have helped me a lot, and I will definitely not feel disappointed or sad - or rather, this level is just right now."
"If you had said that, I wouldn't have thought that way at all, and there's no need to hold myself to such high standards."
Ye Feng smiled bitterly: "Yes, yes, I understand what you mean."
"It's just that I've been thinking carefully about my resurrection for a few days."
Ye Feng took a deep breath: "I actually had several times when I mustered up the courage to tell my family. My hand was on the dial button, but I just pressed it, and in the end I turned off the phone in a cowardly manner."
"No matter what, I am still me. There has not been any fundamental change. I am too cowardly to always like an easy life, too cowardly to dare to change, and too cowardly to dare to speak the truth."
Lu Yingjiu said, "Then just tell it to others. If you really feel like you've gotten over it, then wait for a while. If it works in a few months, then wait a year. If it works in a few years, then wait ten years, until the day you are ready."
"... Yeah." Ye Feng nodded lightly, "That's what I think too. But before that, I think I should try to change myself, or I might say it until I die."
He pointed to his phone and said, "Just before I met you, I called the Green Lantern Society and prepared to resign."
Looking back, Lu Yingjiu was stunned.
Ye Feng said: "My condition is very bad. I don't want to touch the exorcism for a while. Every time I see the talisman paper, I always think of my second grandfather, that village, the sanatorium and those spiders..."
"I have already found a psychiatrist and am ready to slowly adjust. The pace of the Green Lantern Society is too fast, and I thought at this moment, I might as well muster up the courage to resign and take a break for a while - this may be my best chance."
He smiled and said, "You mean the bar is short of a bartender? I learned how to make drinks a while ago. How about it, Boss Lu, you want to hire me as a cheap bartender?"
Lu Yingjiu was stunned for several seconds.
Then he smiled: "Since you have thought about it - of course. You have to work hard and don't drive away all my single-digit customers."
"Of course, my cooking skills are pretty good." Ye Feng finally showed his first smile of the day, which could be said to be from the heart. "And I also want to meet Ah Mei. No matter what, I still want to tell her the truth and apologize to her."
"...Okay, she's in the bar, you can see her when you go over there." Lu Yingjiu said, pointing at Zhihang, "So, new employee, what would you like to eat for lunch today?"
"Hotpot, hotpot!" Ye Feng leaned back in his chair comfortably, finally letting go of his heavy worries, "I haven't eaten like this for a long time!"
So they found a hot pot restaurant nearby.
The slices of meat were neatly spread out, the meatballs and shrimps were placed together, and a circle of lettuce was placed next to them. The red oil base tasted spicy and numbing, and the spicy taste went down well, mixed with the aroma of meat and oil, and it was as refreshing as a ray of fresh air. Paired with the sweet jelly, it was absolutely delicious.
Both of them ate very satisfyingly.
Ye Feng said that he was a new employee hired through the backdoor, and he would definitely treat the boss to a meal, so he insisted on paying the bill.
After dinner, Lu Yingjiu went to the bar with Ye Feng as expected.
As soon as they entered the door, they saw Ah Mei's eyes light up and she looked up and said, "Welcome... Oh, it's you."
She was visibly disappointed.
Lu Yingjiu said with a smile: "Why are you so disappointed?"
Ah Mei said, "I have been looking forward to seeing customers for several days, but in the end, there was no one. I thought you were the customers."
Lu Yingjiu said: "If we do some more publicity later, there will definitely be people interested."
"That's not possible." Ah Mei complained, "You're the boss, why are you so anxious? I'm anxious too. Well, I'll help you plan how to promote it."
Lu Yingjiu laughed and said, "You are still the best."
After saying a few words like this, he turned around and looked at Ye Feng.
Ye Feng was still very nervous in front of A-Mei, and anxiety was almost written on his face.
After all, Ah Mei was the only survivor in the village. If it was the Spider Mother's fault, she would have gone to college long ago and would have become a ghost. Half of her life was ruined by the Spider Mother, and she had a lot of regrets and resentment hidden in her.
Ah Mei looked at the two of them, and finally realized that the atmosphere was right. She asked in confusion, "What's wrong? Is there anything going on?"
Lu Yingjiu pointed at Ye Feng, and under Ah Mei's understanding gaze, she said to her, "He has something to tell you."
After saying that, he took two steps back, patted Ye Feng on the shoulder, and whispered, "I'll step aside for a moment."
Ye Feng nodded, took a deep breath, and mustered up the courage to go upstairs.
Lu Yingjiu left the bar.
He leaned against the railing of the porch, waiting for the two people in the house to finish their conversation.
The sky was azure blue, and he squinted his eyes to watch the white birds flying in the sky, the warm sunlight falling on his body.
A few minutes later, his cell phone rang.
He opened the letter and saw it was from Jing Xian: Why have you been out for so long
It's obvious that he's just anxious, even though he's only been out for five hours.
Lu Yingjiu smiled unconsciously, briefly explained the situation to him, and said: I will be back soon.
How long did it take you to get back
I don't know, maybe two or three hours.
It's been so long, I've been looking for you
Lu Yingjiu replied: Don’t be so anxious, have you watered the flowers at home
Watered
Have you fed the cat
Hello, I swept and mopped the floor, wiped the windowsill, and opened the package, but you haven't replied yet.
Even through the screen, Lu Yingjiu could almost feel Jing Xian's resentment.
He curled the corners of his mouth and simply opened the phone to call.
Jing Xian picked up the phone immediately and urged him to reply as soon as he opened his mouth.
Lu Yingjiu said, "Don't worry, don't worry, I'll be back soon. I'm waiting for Ye Feng now. Did I come to chat with you?"
Jing Xian was satisfied and told him that the cow cat and Mao Tuanzi at home had started fighting again because Mao Tuanzi was stealing its cat food. The result of this war was that the hair flew all over the house, and he had just cleaned the floor.
The road to the wine shop made me feel depressed.
He had only been at home for half a day when the two naughty kids started fighting, and the other parent was obviously very concerned - he even suspected that Jing Xian played a role in fanning the flames.
The two of them chatted like this, talking about some irrelevant topics, fast and slow, and even if there were brief silences, they didn't feel awkward at all.
Lu Yingjiu looked up at the sky.
It's still a blue sky.
As blue as the sky seen from the roller coaster, he thought.
I didn't know how long it had passed before I heard the sound of a door opening behind me.
Ye Feng is out.
Lu Ying drank some wine and then said goodbye to Jing Xian and hung up the phone.
As soon as he put down his phone, he saw the text message.
It was sent by Chu Banyang.
He stared at it for a few seconds before raising his eyes and asking Ye Feng: "How is it?"
Ye Feng let out a long sigh: "She didn't say anything."
Surprisingly, Ah Mei did not break down and curse him.
She wasn't even angry. After listening to Ye Feng's true story, she just sat on the sofa in a daze for a long time.
After a long silence, she finally spoke: "It's okay. Ye Feng, it's okay."
"I will hate you, and I will dislike you. Although I may never let go of my hatred for Ye Deyong in my lifetime, this is all your fault."
"I would really like to see you hold your head high like me, live uprightly, and embrace a new life."
She smiled at Ye Feng.
The sunlight from outside the window shone in, making her braids shiny black and her hair glow golden in the light.
At this moment, Ye Feng stood in front of Lu Yingjiu and closed his eyes: "When she said that, I almost cried."
He sniffed.
The road greets the wine and smiles.
It really couldn't be better to have such a result.
He asked Ye Feng again: "Do you want to stay here or go home?"
"... I'll stay for a while." Ye Feng rubbed his face and said, "Count what kind of wine you have. I'll buy more if there's enough. I can show you my cooking skills tonight. What about you? Have you gone home yet?"
"Well, let me go to Chu Banyang's place." Lu Yingjiu said.
Ye Feng was a little surprised: "Chu Banyang? He is a rare visitor. What does he want from you?"
"I don't know either," Lu Yingjiu shook his head, "Anyway, he just said he wanted to discuss something with me."
Ye Feng muttered: "I didn't expect you two to get along harmoniously. I hope you won't fight..."
"It's okay," Lu Yingjiu said with a smile, "He has beaten me before anyway, so I won't suffer any loss."
…
Forty minutes later, Lu Yingjiu appeared at Chu Banyang's home.
Chu Banyang opened the door for him.
Knowing that Chu Banyang seldom invited people to his home, especially those who were unfamiliar to him, he seemed a little reserved.
He said: "My home is very small, and the layout is a bit shabby. I usually just go there casually and live here permanently."
Lu Yingjiu looked at the single-family villa in the center of the city, which was extremely luxurious, and said, "You are too Versailles."
Chu Banyang obviously didn't surf the Internet often and didn't understand, but his arrogance allowed him to ask.
They entered the house.
The house was as luxurious as the outside, with chandeliers, paintings of women, and busts, full of glittering and showy atmosphere. Lu Yingjiu sat on the sofa, listening to Chopin's nocturne echoing in the living room.
In short, it looks like a normal person's home.
Except for the bedroom on the first floor.
That was probably the place where Chu Banyang often lived when he was a child.
The bedroom door was open, and Lu Yingjiu saw that it was full of children's things, a small bed, a children's desk, a short bookshelf... It looked like no one had lived there for many years. There were award certificates on the wall and trophies on the table, of various types, from kindergarten sports meets to junior high school chemistry competitions, all with Chu Banyang's name on them, all of them were the first daughter.
Chu Banyang noticed his gaze and was stunned for a few seconds.
Then he walked over quickly, closed the door, and coughed: "It was all my dad's fault."
"Very good." Lu Yingjiu said, "I didn't expect you to have won the kindergarten's big eater championship."
Chu Banyang almost fell down.
Lu Yingjiu smiled and said, "So, what exactly do you want to tell me?"
Speaking of this matter, Chu Banyang breathed a sigh of relief.
He sat on the sofa opposite him, then looked at Lu Yingjiu and asked seriously, "Do you know the name of 'Chu You'?"
The name seemed familiar, but Lu Yingjiu had no idea who it was.
He shook his head: "I understand."
Chu Banyang said, "Chu You used to be the head of the Chu family and had a very good relationship with my father. Later, he got Alzheimer's disease, and his family has been treating him for more than ten years. They let him go anywhere."
He continued, "He suddenly became seriously ill in the first half of this year and was bedridden. He kept talking incoherently every day, talking nonsense that no one could understand. Even his own son could not recognize him when he went to see him."
"Half a month later, his health failed and he passed away. When he was about to die, his son happened to be there, and I stayed at his bedside with his family."
Lu Yingjiu listened carefully.
Chu Banyang said: "He suddenly regained consciousness for a moment."
"He may have thought I was his son and asked me about it. I knew Lu Yingjiu."
Lu Yingjiu was stunned.
A cold feeling ran up his spine like a poisonous snake.
Chu Banyang said, "Then he said, if you know Lu Yingjiu, you must tell him that his time has come." He looked at Lu Yingjiu, "So I thought I would find a chance to tell you. But Chu You has had Alzheimer's disease for more than ten years and has never left home. How did he know you?"
Lu Yingjiu: “…”
Seeing his puzzled expression, Chu Banyang realized something: "Are you also clear about the situation?"
"...Yes," Lu Yingjiu said, "I know that too."
Chu Banyang was surprised.
But Lu Yingjiu had no intention of explaining anything to him.
Seeing that he was at ease, Chu Banyang realized that something was wrong and said, "Wait a minute. Let me find something."
Lu Yingjiu stayed in the living room while Chu Banyang went upstairs and moved a lot of things around, but no one knew what he was looking for.
Ten minutes later, he came downstairs holding a rectangular box.
The black box was huge and looked very heavy, and it was difficult for him to hold it with his arms.
Lu Yingjiu had forced herself to calm down, and said with her head propped up, "Okay, can I help you lift it to the side?"
“No.” Chu Banyang rejected him flatly.
Lu Yingjiu followed him and saw that he insisted on carrying the things by himself, walking down the stairs one by one and then going up to the hall one by one.
Unlike the magnificent decoration above, the basement they went to was dimly lit, and the walls were covered with talismans - all of which were the Chu family's secret talismans.
Lu Yingjiu was a little surprised.
Although he might be able to understand some of the spells after just a few glances, Chu Banyang trusted him too much.
The structure of the basement was very strange. It was a large space, but it had seven or eight walls. The door was in the middle of the wall, also covered with talismans. There was nothing between the walls, only a narrow gap. Open one door, and then there is another door, layer upon layer.
Finally, after opening the eighth door, they arrived at a circular area.
On the top was a dark red talisman, with paths circling around it and converging in the center of the basement. Chu Banyang carefully placed the box in the middle and took a few deep breaths.
Lu Yingjiu asked: "What is this box? Is it a family heirloom or your dowry?"
Chu Banyang said: "It is the ashes of the ancestors of the Chu family."
Lu Yingjiu: “…”
Lu Yingjiu said: "No wonder you let me touch you, it turns out you were afraid that I would drop your great grandfather."
Chu Banyang corrected: "Not only Grandpa, but Grandma is also in there."
Lu Yingjiu: "... Oh, my apologies, my apologies."
It turns out it’s still a family bucket.”
For the next ten minutes or so, he watched Chu Banyang squatting next to the Chu family bucket, fiddling with something.