42
The four-second voice message quickly played to the end, and Meng Shuyu blinked slowly while holding the phone.
Before clicking on this voice message, she thought of many of the things that her former flirts had said when she rejected them.
The temptation of “You might change your mind when you’re hungry”.
The threat of "wait until you are willing to come down".
"If I really can't wait, I'll go alone."
So when she saw the words "I'll wait and see", she walked into the house without looking back, wondering what was the difference between Zhou Jun's behavior of driving the car downstairs to wait for her without even saying hello and Lou Wenhong's.
Meng Shuyu curled up on the sofa with his legs crossed, his chin resting on his knees, and clicked on Zhou Jun's voice message to listen again.
She spent four more seconds of her precious life on him.
Well, there is a slight difference.
Meng Shuyu stared at the screen of his mobile phone, his eyes went from out of focus to focus, and then out of focus again.
Although they were in the same office in the afternoon, she clearly lowered her voice when teaching Cai Yuanyi to do his homework.
Zhou Jun was chatting and laughing with Cai Zhenlin, answering questions fluently throughout the whole process, while he was actually listening attentively to her reciting poetry with his ears perked up.
Another vibration sounded in the palm of my hand.
Meng Shuyu came back to his senses and saw that this time it was a message from home.
Here are some freshly-made food photos of her parents enjoying mutton hotpot and wontons during the Beginning of Winter.
Looking at the photos one by one, I feel a little homesick.
If Mr. Cai hadn't come to visit this week, she would have spent the beginning of winter at home.
Heavy rain in a foreign land.
Hot pot on the beginning of winter.
Yu Guangzhong's Swiss watch.
Zhou Jun, you are so lucky to have hit the bull's eye today.
Meng Shuyu looked back out the window and saw the white rain.
It’s not even seven o’clock anyway…
Meng Shuyu: Let’s make a bet with the sky. If the rain stops before seven o’clock, I lose.
Zhou Jun said straightforwardly: Okay.
When in doubt, ask God for his will; a 50% chance is fair to everyone.
Meng Shuyu put away his cell phone, walked around the room humming a song, and found that he had nothing to do, so he sat down at the desk, turned on the desk lamp, and picked up a book from the bookcase to read.
After reading a few lines, I suddenly heard the violent rain outside the window subside, as if someone was strangling my throat, and it suddenly became weaker.
Meng Shuyu raised his head and stared at the mottled glass window for a while.
After waiting quietly for a few minutes, the rain seemed to be injected with vitality and began to fall all over the sky again.
Meng Shuyu tilted his head to glance at the clock on the wall, then lowered his head again.
It's like living by the sea, with the sound of waves coming and going in your ears, taking you up and down.
The neat Song font in front of me also became deformed and swayed with the waves.
After the cycle of heavy to light rain had gone on for who knows how many times, Meng Shuyu felt that the sound of rain had disappeared.
Having been fooled so many times, she even suspected that she was hallucinating. This time she did not look up immediately, but sat and waited for a while.
But the sound of rain really didn't come again.
Meng Shuyu tilted his head to check the time again.
It's only five minutes to seven.
Meng Shuyu hesitantly stood up from the desk, walked to the balcony, opened the window, and stretched out his hand with his palm open.
At the same time, the door of the black car at the bottom of the building was opened, Zhou Jun got out of the car and looked up at her.
When Meng Shuyu walked out of the apartment building, he saw Zhou Jun already waiting by the car.
The back seat and passenger doors were both open, as if it was her choice.
Meng Shuyu walked up to him and glanced at him: "Are you addicted to gambling?"
Zhou Jun thought for a moment and said, "If you don't want to choose, then gamble again."
"I want to see how lucky you are today," Meng Shuyu looked at him expressionlessly, "Right now, check the time on your phone. If the last digit is an even number, you win."
Zhou Jun picked up his phone and turned on the screen to show her.
Meng Shuyu saw Zhou Jun's lock screen background at a glance and thought the scenery photo looked very familiar. Just as he was distracted, he suddenly saw the number on the screen jump from 19:01 to 19:02.
"Hey, you..." Meng Shuyu pointed at his phone, vividly expressing what "outrageous" meant, "Your phone is quite shameless!"
Zhou Jun was afraid that she would think he was cheating, so he raised his phone to show her. He didn't even glance at it himself. Now, when he flipped the screen, he roughly understood what had just happened.
"What should we do then?" Zhou Jun laughed.
Meng Shuyu didn't really care where he sat.
Why bother about such hypocritical details now that it’s out
She just felt that Zhou Jun was really lucky today.
Could it be that his birthday wish is to win every bet in the future
"It's not a big deal, just accept the defeat." Meng Shuyu leaned over and got on the passenger seat.
Zhou Jun closed the passenger door for her, then closed the back door and returned to the driver's seat.
Glancing at the smile on his face, Meng Shuyu said coldly while fastening her seat belt: "Don't be too happy too soon. Your luck won't always be this good."
Zhou Jun nodded: "It's okay."
He wasn't laughing at his good luck.
He was just smiling. The premise of his good luck was that Meng Shuyu gave him the opportunity to gamble.
The car started, turned out of the small road and drove out of the community.
Meng Shuyu was just about to ask Zhou Jun to play some music when the silence in the car was interrupted by the ringing of a phone.
It was a voice call from her father.
Meng Shuyu suddenly remembered what he had done wrong. As soon as he answered the phone, he opened his mouth and spoke first: "Hey, Dad, I'm replying to your message, and I'm only halfway through typing it!"
Zhou Jun tilted his head to look at her, as if to express his appreciation for her ability to tell lies without thinking.
Meng Shuyu made a hushing gesture to him.
The question of "Why didn't you reply to the message?" was blocked by the other end of the phone. Meng Zhouping said unhappily: "Why haven't you sent any message for so long?"
"I was just busy, Dad."
"What are you busy with at this time on Sunday?"
Busy watching whether the rain will stop.
Meng Shuyu sighed: "It's not just work for me, I also have to do housework."
"Have you had dinner yet?"
"Not yet. I was just about to go eat."
"You haven't eaten yet so late? What kind of life do you live every day?"
"Hey, Dad, don't compare me to your school's five o'clock dinner schedule. It's normal for us urban beauties to have dinner at seven or eight o'clock."
"So you're going out to eat? Size is also a solar term, alone or with friends?"
Meng Shuyu got angry again when he heard this and glanced at Zhou Jun: "Dad, if you are trying to find out whether I have any contact with Lou Wenhong, then you'd better not think about it. I have already made it clear to him."
There was silence in the receiver for a while: "… No contact, right? That's good."
"What do you mean?" This time it was Meng Shuyu who was stunned.
"Alas, your mother and I heard something was wrong so we went to inquire about it. That family was ridiculous. They arranged three girls for their son one after another. They thought they were selecting concubines. What do you think of this? It's better that you didn't get along with them. It would save you trouble later."
"… "
She said that Lou Wenhong was pursuing her without being open and honest, and he didn't explain things clearly. He would do something to cause trouble once, and then stop when he found it was useless. After a while, he would remember her and do something to cause trouble again.
Meng Shuyu shook his head: "Fortunately, I am not interested in her. Dad, do you think you can say goodbye to arranging blind dates for me?"
"How good is your own vision?"
"How can I have good taste..." Meng Shuyu paused, thinking that she had no confidence. She tugged at the sweater skirt under her tweed coat with her fingers and whispered, "Well, my taste is not that good either."
Zhou Jun slowly tightened his grip on the steering wheel.
Meng Shuyu lowered his head and continued, "But it's my own judgment, and I'm responsible for my own gains and losses. You and my mother really shouldn't have any ideas about your friend's son. Look, the last lesson wasn't enough, and now we're going to lose another friend!"
Meng Zhouping was so angry at her that he hung up the phone cursing.
The car became quiet.
This kind of silence was a little different from the natural silence when he just got in the car. Meng Shuyu keenly noticed that the atmosphere in the car was a little solemn.
She felt like she and Zhou Jun were sitting on a boat, crossing the river peacefully when the wind was calm. But as soon as the slightest wind blew, the boat would start to shake, which always reminded people of the turbulent waters hidden under the water.
However, even if she was the one who created the atmosphere like this, she didn't want to be responsible for it...
Meng Shuyu lowered her head and stroked the hem of her skirt with her index finger.
Suddenly she heard Zhou Jun call her, "Meng Shuyu."
Hearing his serious tone, Meng Shuyu straightened his back unconsciously: "What?"
"Today, President Cai asked me that with less than two months left in the year, Moridai's performance is still in serious deficit so far, and asked me how much I plan to control the deficit to."
Why are we suddenly talking about work
She just said that it was her own vision and she was responsible for her own profits and losses, and he also associated it with the company's performance.
The change of subject was too abrupt.
But since it was already turning, Meng Shuyu had no choice but to pretend nothing had happened: "Oh, then what do you say?"
"I said, my goal is to eliminate the deficit." Zhou Jun tilted his head and looked at her, "This year is not over yet, I will find a way to turn losses into profits."
Because Meng Shuyu has a special liking for Cantonese hotpot, and the one with the best reputation nearby is the one she, Zhou Jun and Lou Wenhong have eaten at respectively, so after some wandering around, the two of them decided to revisit the old place.
As soon as she arrived at the store, Meng Shuyu remembered the last time she and Lou Wenhong were captured by Zhou Jun after having dinner here.
What a happy night it was.
Happy as a fool.
Today is Sunday, the beginning of winter, and there are many people in the restaurant.
When the two arrived, there were only seats left that were not by the window.
But Meng Shuyu didn't complain about these things, because she was betting on the time of rain today.
Sitting down on the leather sofa in the middle and taking off her tweed coat, Meng Shuyu asked the waiter for a rubber band and tied her long hair casually behind her head. When she raised her eyes after doing all this, she saw Zhou Jun staring at her opposite.
Meng Shuyu frowned: "What are you looking at?"
"Why didn't you tie your hair last time?" Zhou Jun asked.
"Which last time?" Meng Shuyu was stunned.
"I will never ask about the time between you and Lou Wenhong."
Oh, that was the time when she pretended to have menstrual pain and tricked Zhou Jun into sending her home, and then she went a step further and asked for a hotpot on the way.
"Didn't I get my hair done last time?" Meng Shuyu even forgot. "That might be because I was planning to go back and wash my hair that day. I just washed my hair at noon today and I don't want to wash it again tonight."
"There is such a requirement." Zhou Jun nodded and took the menu handed to him by the waiter.
When he mentioned this, Meng Shuyu couldn't help but remember the last time he and Zhou Jun had hotpot in this restaurant.
Thinking back to when she was full of confidence in winning over Zhou Jun, but Zhou Jun had been concentrating on playing with his mobile phone across from her, she tried desperately to find topics to talk about at the dinner table.
As a result, Zhou Jun kept talking us to death every time he found a topic, and this went on for three days.
Thinking of this, an unbearable feeling came over me.
If she had recalled these details earlier, she would definitely not have said anything rude when Zhou Jun asked her "Why didn't you tie your hair last time?"
Meng Shuyu was holding the menu and regretting silently, when he suddenly heard Zhou Jun ask, "What's the soup base?"
"Last time it was your favorite drink, this time it's your turn to choose what I like." Meng Shuyu didn't wait for Zhou Jun to answer and directly placed his order to the waiter.
Zhou Jun didn't comment, but thought back: "Last time - you said Matsutake soup?"
"yes."
Zhou Jun shook his head: "I don't like to drink Matsutake soup."
"Don't question my memory. I'm professional when it comes to remembering leaders' hobbies." Meng Shuyu took the time to say this to the waiter while ordering other dishes from him.
"Yes, but I ordered the Matsutake soup not because I love it, but because Matsutake is nutritious and more suitable for menstruation than other soup bases with cold seafood."
Meng Shuyu paused slightly and stopped flipping through the menu.
How come Zhou Jun remembered that she didn't tie her hair last time and also remembered that she was on her period at that time? Was he just saying that to go along with the situation, or was it true
Meng Shuyu rolled his eyes and found an excuse: "You are quite experienced in dealing with girls."
"If I had experience, would I still be playing with my phone across from you?"
Meng Shuyu just turned over a page of the menu and paused. His heart was full of doubts and was about to overflow. He gently turned the page and said, "Oh, I still remember you were playing with your phone across from me. You have a good memory."
Zhou Jun picked up his phone and flipped through it.
Of course, the browsing history from so long ago was gone. I had no evidence to prove it, so I looked through it to no avail and had to put my phone down.
Meng Shuyu was attracted by his action and suddenly remembered that he had seen the lock screen background of his phone tonight.
"Your lock screen is..."
"What's going on?" Zhou Jun glanced at his phone and turned on the screen.
Meng Shuyu leaned over to take a look—a small mountain path in the night, a bright moon, and ash trees beside the road.
It is indeed a hot spring villa.
No wonder she said it looked so familiar.
A more unbearable past event came to Meng Shuyu's mind. He was about to faint from sadness when he suddenly noticed an inconspicuous shadow on the edge of the photo.
A long slanted figure was cast on the path, with long hair draped over the back and a long skirt reaching the ankles.
Why does it seem like she is waiting for Zhou Jun to take a walk together
Meng Shuyu was stunned and looked up at Zhou Jun.
“The shadow doesn’t infringe on the right of portrait, right?” Zhou Jun raised his eyebrows.
Is this a question of whether or not portrait rights are infringed
The point is that what he said tonight, including this photo, was too different from her memory.
Wasn't she the one chasing Zhou Jun all those times
Meng Shuyu swallowed softly: "How could you take a photo..."
The words "take a picture of me" came to her lips. Seeing that the center of the picture was the moon, as if it accidentally brought her shadow, Meng Shuyu took back the words, lowered his head and said casually: "You really like looking at the moon."
After all, she was in his hot spring pool, and he didn't look at her, only at the moon.
Take a photo, the moon is so bright, but she is just a dark shadow hidden in the corner.
Zhou Jun seemed to remember this incident as well. He thought about it and shook his head and said, "Not exactly."
Meng Shuyu raised his eyes.
"To be precise," Zhou Jun thought, "I just liked the moon that night."
The author has something to say: I will find a way to turn losses into profits. I don't love to drink Matsutake soup. I just like the moon that night.
Zhou Jun, you must be really desperate to confess three times in one chapter.