There were a few wintersweets in the vase on the table, emitting bursts of faint fragrance. Jiang Se lowered her eyes to look at Feng Zhongliang's hand on her thigh. He was grabbing the blanket on his legs, holding it tightly.
Thinking of what Wang Ma said before, Jiang Se's eyes became hot:
"As soon as I got back to the capital, I came to see you right away?"
He snorted, as if he still had some anger left:
"I see you're only wearing a coat. It's four degrees below zero today, and you don't even wear a scarf!" He instinctively wanted to reach out for his cane, but found nothing.
When Jiang Se went out, Mo Anqi sent her the weather forecast. When she heard what Feng Zhongliang said, she said:
"Isn't the lowest temperature minus four degrees Celsius?"
Feng Zhongliang was a little annoyed:
"After being away for half a year, I've learned to talk back."
"No way." She laughed. "Next time I call, I will come early. As long as you don't mind me being annoying, I will come at seven o'clock and wait for you to wake up."
"That's not necessary." Feng Zhongliang got angry. In fact, he had regretted it a long time ago, but his temper had been developed over the years. He wanted to apologize but couldn't bring himself to do so. He was also afraid that she was too shy and would scold her away in anger.
Seeing that she was not angry at all and was trying to comfort him, he couldn't help but feel soft in his heart. When he heard her say that she would come earlier next time, he hesitated for a moment:
"I'm old now, no matter how much I sleep, it's useless. Young people are always sleepy. I'd better wake up before coming here next time. If I don't sleep well, how can I have energy?"
He waved his hand and softened his expression:
“Is the internship hard?”
"Fortunately, Ayi came to Anyang to see me in November."
She briefly talked to Feng Zhongliang about what happened during the internship, and a smile gradually appeared on Feng Zhongliang's face.
Jiang Se picked up the things in his hand, sat on the single sofa beside him, and took out the gift box from the bag:
"This is a piece of stone I bought. It can be used to carve a seal. Take a look and see if you like it."
She handed the box to Feng Zhongliang. Feng Zhongliang was stunned for a moment and reached out to take it.
There was a small stone in the box. The whole stone was translucent, like solidified honey, with a warm luster. It was obvious that it was worth a lot of money.
“This…” Feng Zhongliang’s face showed surprise, some joy, and some confusion.
He could naturally see that the stone must be very expensive. He was not very curious why Jiang Se gave him such an expensive gift. He was more concerned about why Jiang Se gave him such a gift.
"Why did you suddenly think of giving me this?"
Feng Zhongliang picked up the stone and held it in his palm. He played with it for a while, not hiding his joy. Jiang Se said:
"This is for carving seals. I also bought some simple tools. If you have nothing to do, you can practice with them."
Aunt Wang brought the freshly brewed fruit tea. Jiang Se thanked her and took it. Feng Zhongliang looked at the stone for a moment and shook his head.
"It's a pity to use this for training."
He was still thinking about the strange thoughts in his mind before, and asked again:
"Why did you suddenly think of giving me this?"
Jiang Se had given him gifts before, but they were nothing more than some books, supplements, opera discs and the like. This was the first time he had given him a carved object. He had learned a few skills from others in the army in his early years, and had been fascinated by it when he was young. Unfortunately, he gradually lost his skills as he struggled to make a living.
Afterwards, he did have the idea of playing again, but as Zhongnan Industrial grew bigger and bigger, there were many things he needed to worry about every day. In addition, after returning to the imperial capital, he had a lot of things to take care of.
It was impossible for him to let go of the company completely, and the flowers and plants at home still needed him to take care of them. The thoughts he had back then faded less and less. As he got older, the thought sometimes flashed through his mind, but he always found it too much trouble.
What's more, he had almost forgotten what he had learned back then. At his age, with his status already established, it was difficult for him to lower himself to learn from others. His interest in carving faded day by day.
Not many people in his family knew that he liked this, so Jiang Se gave it to Feng Zhongliang, which really piqued his interest.
"I've heard you mention it."
She simply replied, and Feng Zhongliang was stunned:
"Did I mention that?"
After Jiang Se finished speaking, he realized that he had let the cat out of the bag. He hesitated for a moment and nodded:
"I did mention it, but maybe you forgot."
Feng Zhongliang looked at her thoughtfully, with some exploration in his eyes, which made Jiang Se feel a little uncomfortable and lowered her head. She picked up the tea and took a sip as if to cover it up.
Fortunately, Feng Zhongliang did not ask any more questions. He quickly returned his gaze to the stone and explored it as if he was interested. After a while, he said happily:
"Put this stone aside for now. My craftsmanship will be ruined if I start carving it."
As soon as he got excited, he called Xiao Liu:
"Go buy me some stones later so I can practice first, and also buy some books for research."
He thought for a moment and asked Jiang Se again:
"Is Se Se free today?"
"have."
Jiang Se put down the teacup and said with a smile:
"I just came back from internship, asked for leave from school, and submitted my internship report." After she said this, Feng Zhongliang's eyes lit up a little, and Jiang Se continued:
"When I came to see you today, I wanted to have lunch before leaving, but I didn't know if Grandpa would let me stay."
Feng Zhongliang was still looking at the stones. He laughed when he heard this:
"Liuliliu, tell Aunt Wang what you like to eat."
After Feng Nan changed, he ate alone for a long time. The food on the table was hot, but the atmosphere was cold. No matter how exquisite the food was, he found it difficult to swallow. He lost a lot of weight in the past two years.
Especially after Feng Nan moved out, he was often alone at home. He had difficulty walking and didn't have many friends, so he became even more lonely and weird.
Feng Zhongliang was very happy that Jiang Se came to visit him, talk and have a meal with him.
"Then I'll be welcome."
Aunt Wang was reporting the ingredients in the kitchen today, and Jiang Se mentioned a few of his favorite foods. "You can add sugar, but not too much."
She was still turning around to talk to Wang Ma, but she didn't notice that Feng Zhongliang, who was holding a stone beside her, was stunned when he heard her talking.
The eating habits that Jiang Se mentioned were too similar to those of Feng Nan back then.
"What about dessert?"
Aunt Wang wrote down what she said and asked her another question.
"Sugar doesn't go away."
Jiang Se replied, Feng Zhongliang's hand trembled, and the Huangtian stone in his palm almost fell out. He clenched his hand tightly, his cheeks trembling slightly, and raised his head in some doubt. Jiang Se was still asking:
"May I?"
"sure."
Wang Ma responded and then laughed:
"Your habit is similar to what our young lady liked at that time."
Wang Ma said it unintentionally, but Feng Zhongliang listened to it intentionally. (To be continued)