Sure enough, not long after, the first rain of early autumn fell in City C.
This autumn rain drizzled for several days and only stopped for a while on the weekend evening. The weather was gloomy and the autumn chill was gradually getting colder.
After school, Cheng Xuan waited for Tang You to come out downstairs of the international class and asked her if she was free in the evening.
Tang You: "What's the matter?"
Cheng Xuan said casually: "It's okay, I want to treat you to grilled fish tonight."
The little sister next to her jumped out and broke the news: "Hyun sister is having a birthday today!"
“…” Tang You was stunned for a moment, then opened his eyes wide: “Really? It’s your birthday?!”
Her eyes sparkled and she looked inexplicably excited.
Cheng Xuan glared at the little sister, blaming her for being nosy. Then he asked Tang You, "Can you come out?"
Tang You lowered his eyes and thought for a few seconds, then answered firmly, "Yes."
"Okay, actually the place to eat is not far from your house, it's Tony's Grilled Fish at the corner of the street, at 7:30 in the evening."
"good."
Although he agreed to Cheng Xuan, to be honest, Tang You was not completely sure that he could come out.
Today is the weekend. She has private cello lessons every Monday, Wednesday and Friday evening. The private teacher is a foreign teacher invited by Fang Lai from the music conservatory, and the tuition fee is quite expensive.
And even though there is a time difference, Fang Lai will always call her via video at 8 o'clock every night to ask about her homework and then listen to her play the cello. Usually, a video call takes at least half an hour.
Fang Lai has always been very capable, and even demonstrated this ability to the fullest in the education and management of Tang You. Tang You has been the top student in the class since he was a child, and won the gold medal in an international cello competition when he was less than ten years old.
In the eyes of others, she is a genius.
But only she herself knew that her spiritual world was terribly blank and desolate.
So now, Cheng Xuan’s birthday party is like a tempting, long-desired spiritual cake, which Tang You wants to get and taste at all costs.
so-
She must find a way out.
Uncle Yang sent Tang You home. Aunt Rong prepared dinner. Tang You ate a few bites quickly and went back to the second floor.
At seven o'clock, the private tutor will arrive in half an hour, and Cheng Xuan's birthday party will also start at that time.
Pushing open the window, Tang You lay on the balcony overlooking the street. The air was very humid, and the sycamore trees were rustling in the wind. The temperature suddenly dropped within a few days.
As the seasons change, several students in the class have caught a cold.
Tang You was staring at the passing vehicles while thinking about countermeasures. Suddenly, a bold idea flashed through his mind.
Then, she stood up straight, her heartbeat quickened, and her thoughts spread and diverged uncontrollably.
As if afraid that this courage would be fleeting, Tang You immediately took out his cell phone, his hands trembling slightly, perhaps from nervousness, excitement, or excitement.
She found the private teacher's phone number and called him:
"Teacher, I have a cold. Can the class be changed to tomorrow night?"
After a few seconds, the teacher casually replied: "OK, take care."
…it went incredibly smoothly.
As if encouraged, after hanging up the phone, Tang You immediately tore a piece of tissue and stuffed it into his nose, then pinched the tip of his nose hard until it turned red.
Then, he calmly called Fang Lai via video.
Hearing his daughter's nasal voice on the screen, Fang Lai didn't care about anything else and quickly asked her what was wrong.
Tang You coughed repeatedly: "I have a cold, and I just asked the teacher for leave. The small class will be changed to tomorrow night."
After a pause, he cautiously asked, "Mom... I want to sleep, is that ok?"
Fang Lai didn't have any doubts at all.
Yes, Tang You is such a well-behaved child, how could he lie
This daughter has been very obedient since she was a child and has never gone against her wishes.
After reminding him to drink more hot water, go to bed early, and asking Aunt Rong to buy some medicine, Fang Lai hung up the video.
I didn’t expect freedom would come so quickly. It took less than ten minutes from planning to implementation.
Tang You was very nervous and her heart was pounding. Lying was wrong after all, and she felt a little guilty when Fang Lai looked worried.
But soon, the excitement of being able to attend Cheng Xuan's birthday party overshadowed everything.
It was 7:15, and Tang You didn't even have time to change her clothes, so she was ready to leave in her school uniform. Before leaving, she remembered that she hadn't prepared a gift for Cheng Xuan, so she went back and opened her drawer and took out a small purple square box.
Aunt Rong was cleaning up the dishes in the kitchen. Tang You tiptoed across the hall, opened the door, and ran towards the grilled fish restaurant at the corner of the street.
The wind outside was a little chilly, and there were tiny raindrops falling. The cold weather did not affect Tang You's cheerful mood at all. She was like a bird trying hard to break free from a cage, happily absorbing all the newness in the air that she had never smelled before.
Tony's Grilled Fish at the corner of the street used to be a hair salon. Later, it went bankrupt because the haircuts were too ugly. A hairdresser named Tony took over and turned it into a grilled fish restaurant. Because of this silly name, the grilled fish restaurant business is very good.
Because of the long wait time, Tony converted part of the first floor into a waiting area, where men can play darts and billiards while waiting, and women can get free manicures, etc.
At this time, Zhou Qinyao was playing table tennis with Wei Kai and others on the first floor.
He was holding a long pole in his hand and was leaning over to judge the distance and aiming at the angle to hit the ball when a familiar figure suddenly appeared in his field of vision.
He shifted his gaze, fixed it, and looked out calmly.
Outside the glass window, the little girl's chest was heaving, and she was still gasping for breath. There were tiny raindrops on her thick eyelashes, which sparkled and trembled when she blinked.
Standing there, like a lovely luminous body.
Zhou Qinyao thought of her when she was following him, thought of her sitting in the back of the car facing the breeze that night, thought of her figure under the window, thought of that dreamy sound, and thought of many things.
Until the last moment when I remembered Cheng Xuan’s words - a boyfriend from the entertainment industry, a subtle emotion quickly surged through my heart.
The girl picked up the phone and called someone, but after a few minutes, Cheng Xuan came down from the second floor.
After picking her up, they went to the second floor happily.
The men on the first floor paid no attention to what was happening over there.
Wei Kai walked from behind the table to the front, and then from the front to the back. After carefully observing Zhou Qinyao's motionless posture for three minutes, he came to a conclusion to his brothers -
"Just wait and see, Brother Yao's shot is absolutely beautiful."
He is Zhou Qinyao's colleague at AS and also lives in Huaishu Hutong. The two have a good relationship. His praise was quickly echoed by others:
"Yeah, I'm waiting. I still remember the time when Brother Yao cleared the table with one shot and taught me a lesson."
However, when everyone was waiting for Zhou Qinyao to use his ultimate move, he suddenly stood up and lazily threw the pole:
"No more playing, let's eat."
Everyone: “???”
The grilled fish is on the second floor. Cheng Xuan invited ten friends today, and the boss arranged two tables for her.
When Zhou Qinyao, Wei Kai and several other men came up, almost everyone was there.
"I was just about to go downstairs and call you. Come here quickly and I'll introduce you." Cheng Xuan pulled Tang You hurriedly: "This is my new sister, Tang You, you can just call her Youyou."
Wei Kai took a quick glance and was shocked: "Fuck."
He immediately flattered and extended his hand: "Hello, sister!!"
Although Tang You felt that the young man was a little too enthusiastic, she was too embarrassed to offend him, so she also extended her hand, ready to respond politely.
Zhou Qinyao suddenly walked slowly between the two of them and broke the handshake with his body.
"… "
"… "
The last time Tang You came to the shop to repair his bicycle, Wei Kai happened to be on vacation. I wonder if these two people know each other.
He knew that Zhou Qinyao had never been interested in women, so he apologized to Tang You and laughed it off, then followed him to sit down. While the waiter came to turn the grilled fish over, he quietly asked Zhou Qinyao:
"Brother Yao, how about this one? She has fair skin, beautiful face and a sweet voice. She's so pretty."
Zhou Qinyao was about to speak when Cheng Xuan took out a bottle opener and swiftly opened twenty bottles of beer, saying to everyone: "Listen carefully, drink as much as you can today, don't save for me!"
This group of friends are all acquaintances in Huaishu Hutong. They are like family and have a lot of fun when they play together.
Tang You laughed stiffly.
She originally wanted to tell Cheng Xuan that she actually couldn't drink, but looking around the room, everyone had a beer glass in front of them. If she opened her mouth, she would definitely become the different, out-of-place, spoiled young lady.
Tang You longed to join them, so she suppressed the thought and remained silent.
The grilled fish restaurant was bustling and lively. It was her first time in such a place. She was about to look around quietly, but when she raised her eyes, she saw Zhou Qinyao sitting opposite her.
A black coat, a silver chain, cold eyes and an expression that reveals no emotion.
He was talking to the person next to him with his head tilted to the side, and when he finished speaking, his eyes casually swept over and fell on himself.
The two people's eyes met lightly in the air, but in an instant, Zhou Qinyao turned his face away and was the first to retract his eyes.
Tang You also looked away, his eyes flickering, with a hint of panic that came out of nowhere.
Zhou Qinyao's attitude towards him was a little strange today.
When Cheng Xuan introduced them to each other just now, he was indifferent and didn't even say hello to him.
Not sure if it was an illusion, Tang You felt that Zhou Qinyao seemed to be deliberately keeping a distance from him.
While the girl was thinking about something, Zhou Qinyao put out his cigarette and answered Wei Kai's question nonchalantly:
"Not very good."
“Too tender.”
"Oh, your requirements are too high." Wei Kai hissed and fell into his daydream: "I don't mind her tenderness, I like her, hehe, I want to pinch her little face and let her call me Brother Kai."
Zhou Qinyao paused, turned his head and looked at him.
Wei Kai: “?”
Wei Kai: “…”
Zhou Qinyao has a special ability: even without saying anything, he can scare people with his eyes. The key is that in the end, you still have no idea how you have offended him.
Wei Kai felt frightened and uncomfortable when he was seen.
Guessing that maybe he was too vulgar and caused others to feel strongly uncomfortable, he took a bottle of beer from the table and put it in front of Zhou Qinyao to apologize: "Drink, drink."
Zhou Qinyao: “Take it away.”
Wei Kai was stunned: "Ah?"
"I don't want to drink today." The man glanced at the figure in school uniform opposite him and calmly pushed away the beer bottle in front of him:
"Let the boss make fresh juice."