Tang You was completely unaware of what was happening on the racetrack.
She didn't know what Zhou Qinyao said to the people around him that made them look stunned and shocked, but he left with a faint smile.
Watching him walking towards her, Tang You felt extremely peaceful.
Because no one knew that the teacher had granted Tang You half a day off, in order not to arouse Uncle Yang's suspicion, after playing around, Zhou Qinyao sent Tang You back to school.
After waiting for a while, Uncle Yang's car arrived at the school gate. Tang You pretended to have just finished school and got in the car naturally.
Zhou Qinyao did not leave immediately, but stayed behind the platform and watched her.
The nanny car drove out slowly. When passing in front of the man, Tang You lowered the window, looked at him from a distance, and said in lip language: "Bye."
Zhou Qinyao also responded to her with the same lip language: "Bye."
One look expresses infinite reluctance.
Even as the car turned a corner, Tang You was still looking back with longing.
Uncle Yang noticed her abnormality from the rearview mirror and asked in confusion: "Miss, what are you looking at?"
Tang You sat down, and slowly formed a sweet smile that only she could understand:
"nothing."
Tang You was in a good mood when she returned home. After dinner, the foreign teacher came to give her lessons as usual. Seeing her refreshed state, the teacher praised her endlessly.
Tang You felt that his violin playing tonight was much smoother than usual.
The class ended at 8:30 in the evening. When Tang You went downstairs to see the teacher off, Aunt Rong just came in from outside the door with a small cardboard box in her hand.
Seeing Tang You, Aunt Rong handed her the carton: "Miss, someone just delivered it to me and said it was your package."
Tang You:
She didn't buy anything.
This carton did not have a formal label. Aunt Rong was already a little suspicious, and when she saw the surprise in Tang You's expression, she became even more alert.
"Don't move, miss!" Aunt Rong immediately found a pair of scissors and cut open the paper box: "Let me help you see what it is!"
Tang You opened his mouth, but before he could stop her, the box was opened.
There was a bag inside, and Aunt Rong pulled it out.
"…?"
The bag was filled with all kinds of candies, soft candies, toffee candies, marshmallows, lollipops, a big bag of colorful things.
Seeing that there was nothing unusual, Aunt Rong looked up hesitantly: "Miss, did you buy the candy?"
Tang You already had a strong premonition at this time, knowing who was sending the candy, she nodded hurriedly: "Yes, yes, I forgot, I ordered a bag of candy with my mobile phone at a small supermarket in the same city this afternoon."
After hearing what she said, Aunt Rong felt relieved and handed the bag to her.
Tang You's heart was pounding, and she waited until Aunt Rong left before quickly picking up Tang and returning to the bedroom on the second floor.
She locked the door and took out the cell phone Zhou Qinyao gave her from the inner lining of her schoolbag.
Before going home every day, Tang You would carefully turn off his cell phone, for fear that it would accidentally make a sound and be discovered by Aunt Rong. He would only take it out secretly when going to bed.
She pressed the power button, and after a few seconds, the phone screen lit up.
Along with the bright light, there is also a text message alert.
Tang You's heart began to beat nervously and excitedly.
This phone only has Zhou Qinyao's number saved in it, so if it's not a spam message, it must have been sent by him.
I opened the message box and sure enough—
24-hour service hotline: What flavor do you like
Below is a picture of various kinds of candies.
Maybe Tang You turned off her phone and didn’t respond. Zhou Qinyao sent another message after a while:
I bought a little of each and will deliver it to your house later.
After reading the text message, Tang You leaned against the door and smiled secretly.
This feeling of being cared for and loved by others, which only she knows, is so wonderful. She used to think that life was boring and dull, and she only practiced the piano and went to class every day, but now she has Zhou Qinyao.
Everything seems to become bright, lively and worth looking forward to.
She poured all the candies into the small drawer beside the bed, then took out a candy in a transparent package, opened it, and put it in her mouth.
Under the light, the little girl's dimples were lightly reflected, and she happily felt the sweetness on her tongue penetrating into her heart.
At ten o'clock, Aunt Rong brought up the bedtime milk.
Tang You was about to reply to Zhou Qinyao's text message, but when she heard a knock on the door, she quickly put her phone under her pillow.
After she finished drinking the milk, she went to the bathroom to take a shower and brush her teeth. After she had cleaned up everything, she closed the door and hid under the quilt.
The lights in the room were off, with only the faint shadows from the street lights outside casting light in.
It’s light, but inexplicably warm tonight.
Tang You held the phone and thought for a long time before sending a message:
Thanks, got it, very sweet.
After waiting for less than a minute, Zhou Qinyao replied:
You're welcome. Good night.
Looking at the few short words on the screen, the little girl smiled shyly and contentedly.
She put down her phone and tried to fall asleep while feeling a little sleepy after taking a shower, but—
As soon as I close my eyes, I see the scene of Zhou Qinyao and I racing on the racetrack.
Scene after scene, frame after frame, all of them showed his clear and cold face.
Tang You tossed and turned, unable to calm down.
I couldn’t sleep before because I was too stressed, but today I probably indulged myself too much. I was clearly sleepy, but I was so excited that I couldn’t fall asleep.
He took out his cell phone from under the pillow, hesitated for a long time over the number, and finally dialed it.
With a beep, the call was connected.
Tang You's heart was beating wildly until a deep voice came from the other end: "What's wrong?"
She was so nervous that she suddenly didn't know what to say, "I..."
Silence for three seconds.
Zhou Qinyao suddenly smiled and said, "Can't sleep?"
Tang You was a little embarrassed: "Well, maybe I was too excited..."
Suddenly, a child's voice came from the other side of the phone, "Brother Yao, please tell me!"
Tang You thought she had disturbed Zhou Qinyao, "Are you busy? I'm sorry."
"It's okay. Xiaoyang is sleeping and is clamoring for me to tell him a story."
Tang You apologized and prepared to hang up: "Then go ahead, good night."
"Don't hang up." Zhou Qinyao called her and paused: "Why don't you listen together?"
Tang You: “…”
She turned over and listened quietly to the story Zhou Qinyao was telling Song Xiaoyang on the other end of the phone.
His voice is very soothing, especially at night, it is like being filtered through a hazy moonlight filter, deep and magnetic.
Every word is bewitching and hypnotic.
“… Later, the prince found the real Princess and the Pea, and they lived happily together.”
By the time Zhou Qinyao finished speaking, Tang You's eyelids had become so heavy that she couldn't open them.
At this moment, she heard Song Xiaoyang muttering on the other end of the phone: "Brother Yao, I still like the princess who eats rain. Why hasn't that princess been with Brother Frog yet?"
Tang You suddenly became a little more awake, and then heard Zhou Qinyao lower his voice on the phone and tell Song Xiaoyang to shut up and go to sleep.
She asked dazedly, "Who are you talking about?"
Zhou Qinyao paused for a few seconds and said calmly: "No, are you sleepy?"
Tang You was indeed sleepy.
She was so hypnotized by Zhou Qinyao's voice that she couldn't even keep her eyelids open. She barely said good night and fell into a deep sleep.
The dream was so sweet, and I dreamed of many happy things.
The next day I slept until I woke up naturally and felt more energetic than any previous day.
After breakfast, Uncle Yang sent Tang You to school on time at 7 o'clock. As soon as she sat down in the classroom, someone called her name outside the window.
Tang You looked up and found that it was Xie Cheng, the monitor of the International Class B next door.
When he first transferred to the school, he pursued Tang You madly, writing a love letter every day to express his love publicly, which made Li Shiyu in his class unhappy for a long time.
Later, perhaps because he didn't get a response for a long time and he had the monthly exam, Xie Cheng was quiet for a while. Tang Youman thought he had given up, but she didn't expect him to come again today.
Several classmates in the class started to make a fuss, and Tang You had no choice but to pretend not to see it, so he had to walk out.
"What do you want from me?"
Xie Cheng held an exquisite bag in his hand and handed it to Tang You:
"I heard that you fainted due to low blood sugar yesterday. I bought you some snacks. If you are hungry during class, you can eat some."
Tang You glanced down and pushed it away coldly: "No, I'm fine."
Xie Cheng stuffed it into her hands enthusiastically: "Please take it."
After saying that, he didn't give anyone a chance to refuse and turned around and ran back to his class.
Tang You: “…”
When I sat back down, a nosy classmate came over and asked, "Tang You, what's going on between you and Xie Cheng?"
"Are you two secretly... ? Hehe."
Li Shiyu, who was passing by, rolled her eyes to her forehead, but because of Cheng Xuan's previous warning, she didn't dare to say anything unpleasant.
After that day, Xie Cheng seemed to be energized and began a new round of crazy pursuit of Tang You.
He would block Tang You during breaks at school and give her love letters, food, and all kinds of weird gifts. Even if Tang You refused to accept them, he would persist and never give up.
Tang You had no way to deal with him. Even though he had rejected him a thousand times, he still believed that he had a chance. It was just that the iron rod had not been ground into a needle.
After class on Sunday afternoon, Xie Cheng stopped Tang You at the door again.
Perhaps he was already used to Tang You's attitude, so Xie Cheng was not in a hurry and stuffed the day's snacks into Tang You's hands as usual.
"See you tomorrow!"
Tang You: “…”
Tang You had distributed all the things he had sent before to his classmates, but now it was the Sunday afternoon holiday and all the classmates had left.
She had no choice but to accept the snacks and make other plans.
When they were almost at the school gate, Tang You's cell phone in her schoolbag rang.
The only contact on this phone was Zhou Qinyao. She quickly took it out and asked, "Hello?"
"Is school over?"
"Um."
"I'll continue to take you out to relieve stress in the afternoon?"
"… "
Tang You felt sweet inside: "Going racing again?"
"No, go somewhere new."
Tang You had no resistance to Zhou Qinyao's suggestions, and she also knew that this man could always bring her surprises.
But she was not sure she could get out, so she said, "I'll go back and think of a way."
After hanging up the phone, Tang You started thinking about how to get out of this situation.
On the way back, Fang Lai called Uncle Yang to ask about Tang You's recent daily life. Tang You listened to their conversation, staring at the snacks sent by Xie Cheng in a daze, and suddenly an idea flashed through his mind.
"Uncle Yang, I have something to say to mom."
"Okay, wait a moment." Uncle Yang handed the phone over from the front.
"Mom." Tang You quickly called out in a cute way.
The mother and daughter chatted for a while, and Fang Lai was even more pleased when she learned that Tang You ranked in the top ten in the grade in the most recent exam.
While she was in a good mood, Tang You asked tentatively: "Mom, I want to go out for a walk every Sunday afternoon to exercise, is that okay?"
Fang Lai was obviously surprised. "You are already a senior in high school. Time is money. The requirements of those foreign music schools that Mom showed you are very high. You can't slack off."
Tang You knew she would say that, and immediately replied calmly: "But I fainted at school a few days ago."
"What?!!"
"The teacher said that my physical fitness was too poor and I lacked exercise."
"… "
Fang Lai was stunned for a long time on the other end of the phone: "Lack of exercise?"
When I think about it carefully, it seems that my daughter really doesn't do much exercise every day.
Tang You tried to keep his tone calm: "I just want to go to the nearby gym every Sunday afternoon to do some aerobic exercise."
As he said this, Tang You could hear the sound of his heart pounding.
This was the third time she lied to Fang Lai.
Fang Lai was silent for a long time on the other end of the phone, as if he was considering the pros and cons.
After a long wait, she finally gave in:
"Okay, but you have to go home before five o'clock. Let Uncle Yang pick you up. Be careful."
"But-"
Tang You wanted to argue for something more, but Fang Lai said hastily, "Mom's phone call came in, so let's not talk about it for now. Be good."
The phone was hung up helplessly.
Can come out, but cannot come out freely.
Tang You was still thinking quickly about countermeasures, and suddenly remembered that there was a gym next to Tony's Grilled Fish Restaurant where Cheng Xuan held his birthday party last time.
She vaguely remembered that several shops on that street were interconnected and shared a public toilet in the back alley.
Tang You quietly took out her phone and sent a message to Zhou Qinyao where Uncle Yang couldn't see:
"Wait for me in the bathroom behind the grilled fish restaurant at 1:30."
Zhou Qinyao: “…”
After having lunch at home, Tang You changed into sportswear in a formal manner. Before leaving, she took the bag of snacks that Xie Cheng gave her with her, hoping to find an opportunity to bribe Uncle Yang.
When the car arrived at the gym entrance, Tang You took out some snacks and smiled sweetly:
"Uncle Yang, here's something to eat for you."
Uncle Yang was somewhat flattered and extended his hand: "Thank you, Miss."
Before he got the item, Tang You immediately said:
"I can just walk home by myself later, okay."
Uncle Yang stretched out his hand halfway and then retracted it, as if nothing had happened, with a serious face:
"I'll pick you up at 4:30."
Tang You: “…”
The bribe failed.
Tang You blew softly.
I had no choice but to stuff the snacks back into my bag and go into the gym.
After asking the front desk clerk on the first floor, she quickly walked through the inner hall and saw Zhou Qinyao, who was already waiting for her in the alley at the back door.
The girl, who had just been depressed, immediately became excited again when she saw him. She ran over and patted him on the back.
"Hey."
Zhou Qinyao turned around and saw that it was her, and the corners of his lips curved slightly, "Why did you meet here?"
Tang You pointed to the gym next to them: "I said I came out to work out. I have to be out before 4:30. The driver is waiting for me at the door."
It's already half past one and they can only play for more than two hours.
Zhou Qinyao frowned and stepped on the accelerator: "Then let's go."
It took a quarter of an hour to reach the destination, and Tang You realized that the place where Zhou Qinyao took her to relieve stress this time was completely different from the last time.
The last race was full of passion, and this time...
Looking around, it’s full of childlike innocence.
Fairytale Castle
This is an indoor parent-child interactive amusement park that imitates the appearance of a fairy tale castle. It has a variety of entertainment facilities, including slides, bubble balls, swings, carousels, etc.
Most of the children bought tickets and squeezed together to play. The more people there were, the happier the children were. However, the authorities also considered other customers who needed privacy and set up three specific small castles.
When the door of the small castle is closed, it becomes your own little world where you can do whatever you want and outsiders cannot enter.
Tang You walked and looked around, full of curiosity: "Why did you bring me here? They are all children."
Zhou Qinyao looked back at her, and suddenly opened a cartoon door in front of him:
"Aren't you just a kid?"
Tang You: “…”
She looked through the open door.
A pink fairy tale world of macaron colors.
Just as I was standing at the door staring blankly, a figure jumped out from inside, "Sister Youyou!"
Tang You was stunned when he saw the little boy in front of him, "Xiao Yang?"
Zhou Qinyao turned around and called to her: "What are you standing there for? Come in and play."
As he said this, he took off his shoes, picked up Song Xiaoyang and threw him into the ocean ball, then jumped in himself.
Wu Zhiyu was wearing a flowered coat. When she saw Zhou Qinyao coming, she straightened up and said she was tired: "I can't do it anymore. You have to take care of this kid."
She stepped out of the bubble ball and said to Tang You, "Girl, you can go down and play too."
Tang You: “…”
She was a little restrained and embarrassed.
Wu Zhiyu seemed to have seen through her thoughts, and while Zhou Qinyao was accompanying Song Xiaoyang, she told her:
"In the past, Qin Yao always played outside when he brought Xiao Yang here. Today, he somehow built a small castle. I didn't know what was going on at first, but now that you're here, I understand."
The old lady pushed her meaningfully and said, "If you don't play, it would be a waste of his kindness."
Tang You's heart moved slightly.
At this time, Xiaoyang called her again: "Sister Youyou, come and play with me!"
"... Oh." Tang You took a breath quietly: "Here it comes."
She put her bag aside, took off her shoes, walked slowly to the fence, and stepped inside.
She stepped in with one foot first, and was about to follow with the other leg when the foot that entered first stepped on the ball. The ball was slippery, and she lost her balance, and her body swayed back and forth.
"Snap"
Tang You sat down in the ball, half of him was submerged in it.
Xiaoyang burst out laughing.
Hearing the noise, Zhou Qinyao turned around and found the little girl trying hard to climb out of the pile of balls, looking cute and shy.
He suppressed the smile on his lips and said to Song Xiaoyang:
"Go help your sister."
Song Xiaoyang immediately jumped up from the ball pit and dived to Tang You:
"Yes, sister!"
Tang You finally got up a little but was pushed back down by the kid again.
He came to help himself, but the more he helped, the more chaotic the situation became. They both rolled around in the ball pit, and Song Xiaoyang was giggling to himself. Slowly, Tang You was also led to relax.
The two of them threw the ball to each other and chased each other, having a lot of fun.
Song Xiaoyang slid down the slide, stepped on the ball, turned around and called Tang You: "Sister Youyou, come and chase me."
Tang You also sat on the slide, the little girl's eyes were filled with joy: "Here I come."
The light body slid down the slide, bringing up a gust of wind.
Zhou Qinyao lowered his head and pursed his lips gently.
As he was chasing, Song Xiaoyang suddenly lay down on the side: "I can't run anymore."
Tang You, who was chasing behind, was caught off guard and tripped by his body, falling forward.
Zhou Qinyao was sitting there.
It's just such a coincidence.
He had been sitting there watching the two of them play since he came in, but Song Xiaoyang ran over and lay down next to him, and even tripped Tang You.
Not surprisingly, Tang You threw herself into Zhou Qinyao's arms.
Zhou Qinyao had not expected this accident, but at that moment, he subconsciously opened his arms to catch her.
Their eyes met, and heat burned their cheeks.
Tang You felt as if her lips had just brushed past his lips.
Her whole body stiffened, her face turned red instantly, and she wanted to stand up but couldn't.
Zhou Qinyao saw the girl's expression. He concealed his emotions calmly, supported her shoulders and helped her stand up, and said softly as if he was coaxing a child:
"Slow down."
"… "
There seemed to be his taste on her lips. Tang You stood up shamefully, her heart beating so fast that she didn't know what to do.
Fortunately, Song Xiaoyang said he was hungry at this time, which distracted from the ambiguity and awkwardness between them.
Wu Zhiyu took her wallet and prepared to go out to buy some food. Tang You remembered that she still had some snacks in her bag that Xie Cheng had given her, so she immediately said:
"No, I have food here!"
After saying that, she ran to take out the snacks from her bag and handed them to Xiaoyang:
"Xiaoyang, see if there is anything you like to eat."
Song Xiaoyang took it happily, but because he was quick with his hands, he accidentally poured out everything inside.
Snacks were scattered all over the ball pit. Song Xiaoyang picked up a piece of beef jerky, tore open the package and started to eat it.
Zhou Qinyao picked up the things that fell out and put them back into his pocket one by one.
As I was picking up the things, I found a small heart-shaped card.
I opened it casually, and it was written in black and white:
Tang You, I'm serious.
I will give you time and wait for the day you promise me.
by Xie Cheng.
Zhou Qinyao: “…”
He looked up at Tang You, who was whispering something to Song Xiaoyang with her back to him.
He looked at the card in his hand again.
Is this a fucking love letter
And from the tone of her voice, it seems like she has been chasing her for a long time.
Zhou Qinyao suddenly felt uncomfortable.
He took two steps forward and tore away the beef jerky that Song Xiaoyang was still chewing: "Don't eat it anymore."
Song Xiaoyang: “??? Why?”
Wu Zhiyu happened to notice the change in Zhou Qinyao's expression after he found the item. Although she didn't know what he saw, she still walked over and called her grandson: "Come on, grandma will buy you a hamburger, okay?"
Song Xiaoyang was delighted when he heard this and pulled Wu Zhiyu out.
After the door was closed, the small castle became quiet, with only Zhou Qinyao and Tang You left.
The two looked at each other in silence.
Holding the card, Zhou Qinyao felt inexplicably irritated.
Before he could figure out how to ask who this Xie Cheng was, Tang You suddenly blinked and asked him first:
"Who is that princess who ate rain that you told Xiaoyang about?"
"…?"
"Who is this princess who can't even ride a bicycle?"
"… "
"Who is the princess who loves to sing Thank You?"
"… "
There was silence for two minutes.
Tang You held a pink ball in her hand for a long time before raising her hand and throwing the ball to Zhou Qinyao, humming softly:
"You laugh at me."
Zhou Qinyao: “…”
My heart, which was just a little irritated, was smashed to pieces by her three soft and slightly coquettish words.
All transformed.
The author has something to say: Brother Yao, hold on!
Brother Yao: No, I can’t bear it, I exploded, I sublimated, who am I!
———
◎ The Steinmetz Pink, discovered in South Africa in 1999, weighed 132.5 carats in the rough and 59.6 carats after cutting, a rare type IIa diamond. It was valued at $25 million at the time. It was sold for $83 million in 2013, and the buyer renamed it "Pink Dream". After several changes of ownership, it was bought by Hong Kong jeweler Chow Tai Fook for $71 million in 2017 and officially renamed "CTF Pink" - Chow Tai Fook Pink Diamond.