"Liang Yi has too many thoughts on the third floor, so he has to be practical." Cheng Ke walked up the stairs.
After discussing with Liang Yi in the store for a long time, after Liang Yi left, he and Xu Ding continued to watch back and forth in the store.
"Think about it again," Xu Ding said, "I still don't want to be completely open to the public. It's relatively private and can be a salon, so that the lounge will not be disturbed on the third floor."
This store is much bigger than Cheng Ke thought, with three floors, each of which is quite large, and the view from the floor-to-ceiling windows that circle around is also good, quite open, and facing a large green space on one side.
But now it's all white everywhere.
Cheng Ke doesn't like snow very much. Even if he is basking in the sun and watching the snow scene in a warm room, he will be lonely and tired after a long time.
He pushed open the door of the lounge, walked in and stood by the window. He hadn't come in for a while.
"Now that people can live there, it's all done, but it will be noisy during the day, and the decoration is not finished," Xu Ding said, "and the air is not good either."
Cheng Ke turned his head and glanced at him, then smiled: "Did you stare at me and study it today?"
"You don't look right at first glance today," Xu Ding also smiled. "Just say you want to move or find a place to live for a while."
"It is estimated that we have to move after the year, so let's make do with it for a while." Cheng Ke said.
"The third child's house is not rented anymore?" Xu Ding asked.
"...Well," Cheng Ke replied in a low voice, "but the contract time hasn't come yet, so let's retire when it's time."
"Continue to pay the rent?" Xu Ding laughed.
"Yeah." Cheng Ke turned his head, unable to smile.
"Okay," Xu Ding didn't ask any more, "If you can't find a suitable one, I'll help you ask."
"Thank you." Cheng Ke said.
After eating with Xu Ding and returning home, the security guard greeted him when he entered the building: "Mr. Cheng is back."
"Ah." Cheng Ke responded.
"Mr. Jiang came over today and took the cat away," the security guard said.
"Well, I know." Cheng Ke nodded.
"That cat seems to have gained weight after only two or three days," the security guard said. "When you hugged him that day, I saw that its head was not as big as my fist. Today it is as big as my fist."
"It's quite edible." Cheng Ke smiled and pressed the elevator, hoping that the elevator would come down soon.
"This way!" The security guard pointed to the elevator door next to him.
Only then did Cheng Ke realize that the door next to him had been opened, and quickly walked in.
Opening the door and entering the house is basically the same, except for Meow's things and the bag where Jiang Yuduo put his clothes on.
After Cheng Ke took a shower, he sat on the sofa with his notebook in his arms.
It's been a long time since he worked at night like this, and he felt a little uncomfortable when he opened his laptop, a state that reminded him of the months before he was kicked out of the house.
After returning home every day, he would stay in his own room, slowly studying the piles of documents and forms, and finally ended up as a waste.
He sighed softly and opened a document.
I fell asleep halfway through.
I don't know why, but it seems like when he first came to this place these days, he was very sleepy every day, and he could sleep like a pig in various positions, and he seemed to be able to sleep forever without any unexpected movement.
The school is on holiday, and it's almost New Year's Eve, and now every day I can hear the sound of children laughing and setting off fireworks downstairs.
This year's New Year's feeling is more obvious than in previous years.
In the past, he didn't pay much attention to the New Year's Eve, and he didn't need to participate in the preparations for the New Year at home. Usually, he either went out with friends or stayed in the house, and even the sound of firecrackers could not be heard until thirty children.
Sometimes he would stand by the window and look down, and a group of big and small children ran wild, making people dizzy.
Occasionally he would look around, in the corner of the wall, behind the car, in the small garden, but he had never seen Jiang Yuduo.
While he felt relieved, he really didn't want his existence to allow Jiang Yuduo to continue in that state, but he was also somewhat lost for no reason.
The phone rang on the coffee table for a long time before he went over to answer the call.
The phone was called from the front desk of the hotel, telling him that the room he had reserved was available for check-in today.
"Thank you." He hung up the phone.
today
He opened the notepad on his mobile phone, glanced at the time, it was really booked today... but he still hadn't packed his things.
After holding the phone for a long time, he sighed and slowly entered the bedroom.
Fortunately, he didn't buy too many things, just put clothes and daily necessities in the box and bring them there, other home appliances and the like... I'll talk about it later.
"Third brother," Dabin came over after answering the phone, "Jaeger-LeCoultre went out, two suitcases, and called a car."
"Well." Jiang Yuduo nodded.
"Do you want to follow him to see where he goes?" Dabin asked.
"No." Jiang Yuduo said.
"Then I let them go?" Dabin asked again.
Jiang Yuduo nodded.
After Da Bin walked away, Chen Qing squatted on the edge of the flower bed and rubbed against him: "He's not trying to hide the rent, is he? Is he going bankrupt again?"
"He hasn't lived in full this month," Jiang Yuduo glanced at him, "Hide your ass."
"Then he didn't quit the lease?" Chen Qing asked in a low voice.
"No," Jiang Yuduo said, "when the time comes this month, you can call and ask him when he will retire."
"Okay." Chen Qing took out his phone and looked at the calendar, thinking about it and leaning into his ear, "Third brother."
"No reason." Jiang Yuduo said.
"Fuck." Chen Qing sighed, "Forget it, don't ask, anyway, these people are not the same as us, and they are not the first, I also think that he is different from others, and he is not holding it, nor is it the first. Looking down on us, the result is still... "
"Shut up." Jiang Yuduo said in a calm voice.
Chen Qing was stunned, glanced at him, and said nothing.
Jiang Yuduo pulled his hat and looked at a group of little brothers who were laughing and chatting while shrugging their necks. He didn't know what to do with them. For several Chinese New Years, they didn't even have money to buy clothes. Everyone who can be shameless is waiting to take the New Year's money and squander it.
"Third brother." Chen Qing finished smoking a cigarette and came over again.
Jiang Yuduo looked at him.
"Is it better to come to my house this year?" Chen Qing asked, "My mother asked me yesterday that we should go shopping for New Year's goods."
Lu Qian goes home to accompany the old lady every New Year, and Jiang Yuduo usually goes to Chen Qing's house for the New Year.
But this year...
"No," Jiang Yuduo said, "I have to go out in two days."
"... What?" Chen Qing was stunned, "Where are you going?"
"Recuperate." Jiang Yuduo said.
"No," Chen Qing looked confused, "I didn't go to therapy during the Chinese New Year before, why did you choose such a time this time?"
"You can go if you want, I didn't choose the time." Jiang Yuduo said.
"Fuck, then you can change the time. Who is free to treat you during the Chinese New Year." Chen Qing frowned.
Jiang Yuduo didn't continue the topic: "Tomorrow, I will ask a few people to go downstairs to the rental house and watch for a while. It's going to be New Year's Eve soon. If you don't go home, leave it alone. Don't let those who owe the rent run away."
"Okay," Chen Qing said, "I'll have to call a few more. Last year, I almost got into a fucking fight."
"Look at the arrangement," Jiang Yuduo said, "If you can't do it, don't do it, the year will pass."
"Don't worry," Chen Qing said, "I may not be able to do it if I can."
Jiang Yu was overjoyed, stood up and patted under his head: "I'm going back first, I'm sleepy."
"Yeah." Chen Qing nodded.
Jiang Yu took a few steps away, and he chased after him: "Is the cat going to leave my house?"
"No, I'll take it with me," Jiang Yuduo said, thinking about it and walking back, "Did you come by car?"
"Yeah." Chen Qing took out the car keys, "It's just the parking space at the intersection, the third car."
"I'll drive you back to the store tomorrow night." Jiang Yuduo took the key.
The one that Chen Qing drove out today was the one that was about to buy a New Year's card in violation of regulations, and the third one was parked on the side of the road.
Jiang Yuduo saw it as soon as he turned out of the intersection, but after taking two steps forward, he was still several meters away from the car. He stopped abruptly, and clenched his hand in his pocket.
This is the first time in such a long time that I have met these people face to face so closely.
The man was standing on the left side of the front of the car with his face turned towards him.
If it wasn't on the street, Jiang Yuduo would think he was standing in front of the mirror.
This man was wearing the same coat and hat as him, and his left hand was also in his pocket.
It's just that the brim of this man's hat is very low, and his entire face is buried in the shadows. There are cars passing by constantly, and the bright headlights can't illuminate his face.
Jiang Yuduo didn't hesitate, took the knife out of his pocket and rushed over.
When he jumped up with his hands on the front of the car, the man turned and ran across the street, and Jiang Yuduo's kick in the past fell in the air.
After landing, he heard a high-pitched horn, which was next to his ear.
When he retracted his gaze from the man, he saw the sound of a car parked beside him. The driver honked his horn angrily until his eyes met, and then he let go of his honking hand.
"Are you fucking sick!" The driver opened the door and got out of the car, pointing at him, "Don't you have eyes!"
Jiang Yuduo didn't speak, narrowed his eyes and looked at him.
The driver was very unhappy and scolded him up and down, probably judging what the chances of winning were if he did it.
Jiang Yuduo did the math for him, and it was probably 0.
When the driver's eyes fell on his hands, his mouth, which had been moving, stopped, then turned around and quickly got into the car.
When he started the car and was about to drive forward, he stuck his head out again: "Rang Rang can't do it anymore?"
Jiang Yuduo didn't speak, he raised his leg and kicked on the front of his car.
"Fuck." The driver retracted his head, fell back a bit, and the car bypassed Jiang Yu and took it away.
The person who ran across the street was gone, Jiang Yuduo looked down at his left hand.
The left hand holding the knife was covered in blood.
He turned his head and glanced again at the hood, which had a bloody handprint on it.
He opened the car door, searched in the car, took out a few sheets from a wet wipes container, squeezed two in his hand, and took two more to wipe the blood off the hood.
After wiping it carefully, he made sure that he couldn't see it at all, so he sat back in the car and rubbed the knife carefully.
I originally wanted to go directly to the station to buy tickets, but now it seems that I have to go back first and wrap my hands.
Bandaging wounds is a very simple matter for him, especially for such a not-so-deep wound today, he can't count how many times he has done it.
After tidying up his hands, he fed Meow and cleaned the cat toilet. When he went out, he glanced at the time, it was less than half an hour.
He parked the car at the corner, and as he walked over, he looked around and saw no one.
After getting in the car, I smoked another cigarette before starting the car and drove towards the station.
The station is a bus station. He rarely goes out. If he needs to go out, he chooses the most common long-distance bus. There are many stops. If there is an accident, he will not be trapped in the carriage.
When queuing up to buy tickets, he glanced at the calendar on his mobile phone. If he left the day after tomorrow, he would have more time, but in the end, he still bought tickets for tomorrow, early in the morning.
Walking out of the station, he casually entered a small grocery store: "Is there a phone?"
The boss pointed to the end of the counter, where there was a landline that was so old that it almost lost its character.
Jiang Yuduo went over to pick up the phone and dialed.
He never saved this number, and he couldn't play it once a year, but he always remembered it clearly.
There was a ringing sound in the receiver, and after a few rings, the call was connected, and a woman's voice came from there: "Hello."
Jiang Yuduo glanced at the boss, who was sitting by the door fascinatedly staring at a small TV and watching it happily, he whispered into the microphone: "Sister Luo."
"Xiao Jiang?" Sister Luo asked immediately.
"Yes." Jiang Yuduo replied.
"It's been a long time since I heard from you, it's been almost two years?" Sister Luo's voice was steady, but she could hear a little surprise, "How are you now?"
"Very good," Jiang Yuduo said, "I just bought a ticket."
"Do you want to come?" Sister Luo asked.
"Well," Jiang Yuduo said, "do you have time?"
"When will you come?" Sister Luo asked again.
Jiang Yuduo paused: "When will you have time?"
Sister Luo sighed softly, then smiled and said softly: "You can come any day, give me a call in advance, and I will set aside time for you, okay?"
"Okay." Jiang Yuduo said.
"Then I'll wait for you." Sister Luo said.
Jiang Yuduo hung up the phone, pressed the call again, and deleted the number.
Back in the car, Jiang Yuduo took out the ticket and looked at it again, then put it in his wallet.
It was snowing again now, and he was fascinated by the snowflakes outside the window.
After being stunned for a long time, he took out his mobile phone and poked it a few times.
At this moment, he was a little confused and didn't want to drive, but after taking a few glances in the circle of friends, he felt even more uncomfortable.
In fact, the circle of friends is almost the same as usual. The difference is that there are a lot of new year goods. Chen Qing and his store have activities, lottery and so on, and they have sent about ten advertisements.
He scrolled down, hesitated for a moment, then backed out and called Cheng Ke's name.
Cheng Ke's circle of friends is empty, not even a punctuation.
He sighed and put the phone back in his pocket.
When he got home, he bought a big bag of food, and he had to stay in the car for almost a day tomorrow. He was not used to the food along the way.
"Tomorrow we'll go on a trip," he casually packed two pieces of clothes and packed a small package. "We'll take a long-distance bus to a very far place."
Meow jumped onto his bag and lay down.
"Don't worry, I won't let you stay in the luggage compartment," Jiang Yuduo said, "I'll sit with you in my arms, but you'd better be honest, or I'll throw you out the window. "
Meow rubbed his hand and walked away.
When Chen Qing's call came, Cheng Ke had just closed the laptop and wanted to lie down for a while. Originally, when the phone rang, he planned to pretend he was asleep and didn't hear it, but he glanced at the phone screen and saw the word Chen Qing.
"Hello?" He picked up the phone.
"I'm Chen Qing," Chen Qing's voice over there sounded a little unhappy. "Your house is still rented or not. If you don't rent it, let me know. I'll go over and refund the deposit for you."
"I'm still..." Cheng Ke didn't know what to say for a while, "Why don't I... retire next month."
"Rent another month, right?" Chen Qing asked.
"...Yes," Cheng Ke said, "I haven't finished my things yet."
"Okay, I'll find you next month." Chen Qing hung up the phone after he finished speaking.
Cheng Ke held the phone and didn't return to his senses for a long time.
Originally, I wanted to inquire about Jiang Yuduo's situation, but the Chief Protector did not leave him for even a second.
Cheng Ke sighed, threw the phone aside, and lay down on the bed.
Well, what else is there to ask
Originally, he left to prevent Jiang Yuduo from continuing to lose control in order to "protect" him. If he still asks, if Jiang Yuduo finds out, it will not only be of no benefit, but it will probably make Jiang Yuduo feel that he is hypocritical.
After lying down for two minutes, the phone rang again.
"Hey!" Cheng Ke turned over and answered the phone, "Hello?"
"Brother." A familiar voice came from the receiver.
Cheng Ke regretted very much that he answered the phone without looking at the caller ID first, and was depressed for several seconds before he said, "What's the matter."
"Brother, that's right," Cheng Yi said, "I'll pick you up in two days."
"Where to take me back?" Cheng Ke asked.
"Go home," Cheng Yi smiled, "where else can I go back."
"There are many places I can go back to," Cheng Ke frowned, "Just tell me what you mean."
"It doesn't make any sense," Cheng Yi said, "I just pick you up, don't you go home for the New Year?"
"Who asked you to take me home?" Cheng Ke asked.
"...Brother, don't worry about this," Cheng Yi said, "I'll pick you up, you just come back..."
"Cheng Yi," Cheng Ke interrupted him, Cheng Yi's obviously embarrassed tone made him very upset, "Let's not pretend like this in private, aren't we tired?"
"Don't I just want you to go home for a New Year!" Cheng Yi's voice sounded a little angry.
"Don't say things like that, no one wants to call me home for the New Year, my parents don't want it, and neither do you," Cheng Ke said, "You should stop using the speakerphone to bring the phone to Dad and let him listen. Listen."
Cheng Yi sighed and said nothing.
"Would you like to record it?" Cheng Ke cleared his throat and said one sentence at a time, "I won't go home for the New Year, but I won't go home even during the New Year."
After saying this, Cheng Ke hung up the phone and smashed the phone on the pillow.
The phone bounced off the pillow and fell back to his lap.
"Hey, I'll fuck you uncle!" Cheng Ke picked up the phone and slammed it on the pillow again.
The phone bounced back again, this time a little further away and landed on his feet. He kicked the phone off the bed with one foot.
Jiang Yuduo hugged Meow and sat at a table near the back door of the tea bar, staring at the people who came in at the door.
When Sister Luo got out of the car, he saw it through the window.
Nothing has changed, she has gained a little weight, her hair has been cut short, and she still looks like a dignified and calm middle-aged sister.
After Sister Luo entered the door, her eyes swept straight to the corner, and when she saw him, she smiled and waved, walked over and sat down.
"Sister Luo." Jiang Yuduo stood up.
"Sit down," Sister Luo patted him on the shoulder, pulled out the chair and sat beside him, and glanced at Meow in his arms, "Do you have a kitten?"
"Well," Jiang Yuduo sat down, "picked it up."
"It's cute," Sister Luo smiled. After the waiter came over, she ordered two cups of coffee and a plate of shortbread. "Do you still like to eat shortbread?"
"Yes." Jiang Yuduo nodded.
After all the ordered items were placed, Sister Luo looked at him: "Why come out at this time? Don't you celebrate the New Year at a friend's house?"
Sister Luo didn't know Chen Qing's name, but only knew that he had a close friend.
"I want to chat with you." Jiang Yuduo picked up a small shortbread and took a bite.
It's not delicious, and it's still salty, but he keeps telling Sister Luo that he likes shortbread.
"What are you talking about?" Sister Luo asked.
Jiang Yuduo took another bite of the shortbread and did not speak.
"Do you still see them often?" Sister Luo lowered her voice.
Jiang Yuduo paused and looked up at her: "No, I rarely see it."
"Is it less than before?" Sister Luo asked again.
"Well." Jiang Yuduo nodded.
Sister Luo was silent for a while: "Then are you willing to go to my place and do some small tests?"
Jiang Yuduo didn't speak.
"Xiao Jiang," Sister Luo patted his hand lightly, "it's okay, don't go if you don't want to go, we can just chat like this, you can set the time and place, I'll just come out."
"I'm fine now," Jiang Yuduo said, "I don't need tests and... various evaluations, I'm just here to chat with you, ordinary chat, whatever you say."
"Okay, let's chat normally." Sister Luo looked at him.
"Don't speak like a psychiatrist, pay special attention to your words, pay special attention to my reaction," Jiang Yuduo also looked at her, "I am not your patient, and I am not a patient."
"Okay," Sister Luo laughed and took a sip of coffee, "you are not a patient."
"No," Jiang Yuduo added quickly after he finished speaking, "not now."
"Xiao Jiang, if you want us to chat like ordinary people, sister, just ask?" Sister Luo looked at him.
"Well." Jiang Yuduo nodded.
"You came to me to tell me that you are all right now," Sister Luo's voice was soft, "or do you want me to see your performance and tell you that you are all right?"
Sister Luo's words were a little confusing, but Jiang Yuduo understood it immediately. He looked at Sister Luo and didn't speak.