It was already half past eight when we arrived at Uncle Zhong's house.
Seeing Shen Mi, Aunt Zhong smiled warmly: "When did you come back?" She took her hand and said, "Come in and sit down! Oh, I haven't seen you for many years. The last time I saw you was when you were in junior high school, right?"
Shen Mi: "Yes, Aunt Chen, are you and Uncle Zhong in good health?"
"Old people all have some minor problems." Aunt Zhong smiled and looked at the handsome man next to Shen Mi, sizing him up and down: "Is this your boyfriend? What did he eat to grow up? How come he is so tall and so handsome?"
Shen Mi looked at Xie Rongzhuo. Needless to say, his aura was so great that even Uncle Zhong, who she thought was tall and strong when she was a child, was a head shorter than him. However, Xie Rongzhuo was only 1.89 meters tall, which was very tall.
Seeing that he had no intention of speaking, Shen Mi smiled with eyes bent, and introduced ambiguously: "You are my boss at present, but it may not be the case in the future."
Xie Rongzhuo lowered his eyes and glanced at her, his eyes were ambiguous.
Shen Mi pretended not to notice that he was looking at her. She stared at the door in front of her, blinked, and had a serious expression.
His face seemed to say, "I mean I might change jobs in the future."
Aunt Zhong looked at Xie Rongzhuo, then at Shen Mi, with a hint of understanding on her face: "It looks like it will be soon." She turned her head and looked at Xie Rongzhuo with admiration: "No wonder he has such an outstanding temperament, it turns out he is the boss of a bank!"
Xie Rongzhuo followed Shen Mi and shouted, "Aunt Chen, thank you for the compliment. My name is Xie Rongzhuo."
Ignoring his natural arrogance, Xie Rongzhuo's first impression is that he is gentle and elegant, and the elders all like him for this kind of person.
Aunt Zhong smiled brightly: "Hello, hello, you are so beautiful."
Xie Rongzhuo picked up the gift bag with both hands: "This is the gift Shen Mi brought to the two elders."
Aunt Zhong quickly helped carry the bags: "Hey, you guys, just come and bring whatever you want! Come in quickly, come in quickly."
Shen Mi was deeply surprised by Xie Rongzhuo's attitude.
He is a very proud man. When doing business with many older partners, he never gives them face simply because of their age. Uncle Zhong and Aunt Zhong are just strangers and older people to him, yet he would humble himself and show a certain degree of humility.
The cushions of the chairs in Uncle Zhong's house were a bit old and looked like they had not been cleaned often. Worried that Xie Rongzhuo might have a mysophobia, Shen Mi remained calm and picked a cleaner seat to lead him to sit down.
"Boss, please sit down."
Uncle Zhong came out with some fruit: "Xiao Xie, these are the tangerines I grew myself. They're very sweet. Please try them." He picked up a piece and handed it to Xie Rongzhuo enthusiastically.
Shen Mi glanced at Uncle Zhong's fingernails, which were obviously covered in dirt. She quickly took it and said with a smile, "Let me try it for you first." After saying that, she took a bite and her eyes lit up, "Mm, so sweet!"
She took another piece from the fruit plate and handed it to Xie Rongzhuo naturally: "Boss, here you go."
Xie Rongzhuo took it, lowered his head and took a sip.
“Very sweet.”
"Really?" Uncle Zhong was very happy: "My wife is most afraid of sour food, she likes to eat it."
Xie Rongzhuo was a quiet person to begin with, and fearing that he would be bored if he had nothing to say, Shen Mi led the conversation to a place where he could join in: "When Uncle Zhong was young, he had an orchard, and the oranges he grew were very sweet. During the winter vacation, a group of us went to his orchard to steal oranges. When Uncle Zhong roared, it was no less than a gangster hearing a police siren, and a bunch of naughty kids rolled and scrambled away."
"Hahaha, yes, yes, you still remember? Speaking of my orchard, it was your father who paid for me to open it." Uncle Zhong said with emotion: "Your father is a business genius."
Speaking of his father, Shen Mi quieted down and listened carefully to Uncle Zhong's talk about the past.
"He opened the first hotel in our town. Everyone in the town knows his name. But unfortunately, he was too generous and lent all his working capital to his brother. He should not be too selfless. Who would have thought that his brother would not pay back the money he borrowed? With your father's money, he became a billionaire and immigrated to a foreign country to live a good life more than ten years ago."
Shen Mi was a little surprised: "Why haven't I heard of this?"
Uncle Zhong laughed and said, "Silly boy, you were only two or three years old at that time, what could you know?"
Shen Mi: "Then, didn't my father go to him to ask for it?"
Uncle Zhong shook his head: "At the beginning, your father trusted him and didn't even ask for an IOU. Without any evidence, what can he use to collect the debt?"
Shen Mi suddenly understood the root cause of his parents' quarrel.
"Your father saw that he was in such a bad situation. His wife and two children tried to jump off the building, but they were saved by the police. Your father felt sorry for his two children, so he directly took out the money and sent it to him." Uncle Zhong shook his head and said sadly, "It's a pity that not everyone knows how to be grateful. Your father saved others, but he caused his wife and children to be separated and his family to be destroyed."
Xie Rongzhuo looked at Shen Mi and did not interrupt.
Uncle Zhong said, "Hundreds of thousands of dollars was a lot of money in that era. If your father had listened to your mother and asked that person to write an IOU, your parents wouldn't have divorced, and your father wouldn't have had to go down the mine to pay off the debt, and eventually even risk his life..."
"Why are you bringing this up?" Aunt Zhong interrupted her husband: "Why don't you talk about something happy?"
Uncle Zhong: "Oh, look at me, I talk a lot when I get older. I won't talk about the past anymore."
…
*
On the way back to his residence, Shen Mi remained silent.
The grievances between his parents that had troubled Shen Mi for many years seemed to have been explained.
But she still couldn't accept her mother venting her resentment towards her father on her.
"When I have a daughter, even if her father lends out all his money or cheats on her, I won't take my anger out on her."
Xie Rongzhuo glanced at her.
"Your daughter's father should not be short of money, and he won't cheat on you."
"I hope so." Shen Mi raised his head and looked at him: "Master, do you think my father did something wrong?"
Xie Rongzhuo asked her back: "Do you think I did something wrong?"
When Shen Mi borrowed money, Xie Rongzhuo did not accept her IOU.
He said slowly, "The theory that there are no eternal friends in the business world is a disguised admission that trust is a luxury in the face of interests. Someone gave away this rare trust, but it was betrayed and trampled upon. In the end, everyone turned around and blamed the person who gave his true heart to the wrong person. Do you think it is reasonable?"
Shen Mi said angrily: "It's unreasonable!"
Xie Rongzhuo added: "But in business, you don't need to learn this quality." He lowered his head and looked at Shen Mi's angry face: "Knowing what happened to Dad, don't be stupid."
He said this, but wasn't he being stupid himself
"I'll give you a new IOU." Shen Mi insisted, "If you don't accept it, I won't lend you the money."
"I'm not worried that you won't pay back the money you borrowed." Xie Rongzhuo raised his hand and patted Shen Mi's head: "Your father is an upright and righteous man. You are like him."
Shen Mi looked up: "Are you comforting me?"
"Don't want to be comforted?" Xie Rongzhuo raised his eyebrows slightly: "That's the truth."
Perhaps beauty can heal all worries. When Shen Mi saw Xie Rongzhuo's face, his originally heavy mood became relaxed.
She said in self-loathing, "How can I be honest? I am being cunning just to survive."
Xie Rongzhuo didn't know what he was thinking about, and suddenly laughed.
"You are upright everywhere."
Are you calling her a steely straight woman
Although she didn't want to be labeled a "straight woman", Shen Mi gave up defending herself.
She really didn't put her energy and thoughts into relationships, and was indeed a little slow in responding to advances from the opposite sex.
Otherwise, he wouldn't have been pursued by Ke Zhan for half a year and mistakenly believed that he was helping the poor one-on-one.
There are not many people on this street.
Xie Rongzhuo might have felt bored, so he moved his hand away from Shen Mi's head and rolled her hair between his fingers to play with it.
"Why don't you speak?"
Shen Mi tilted his head and "rescued" the tuft of hair from his fingers.
"I think you're right." She pulled out a camera from her bag. "As a reward, let me take a picture for you."
She ran a few steps, raised her camera, and shouted to Xie Rongzhuo, "Master, give me a thumbs up!"
Xie Rongzhuo put his hands in his pockets and said with disdain: "No."
Shen Mi: "Then you said eggplant!"
Xie Rongzhuo: "Childish."
"Then I can take pictures casually! Don't blame me if the pictures are ugly." Shen Mi half-knelt down to focus and counted down: "Three, two..."
Xie Rongzhuo raised his right hand and made a scissors gesture, his face expressionless: "Eggplant."
The picture freezes.
"Okay." Shen Mi took the camera and went back to Xie Rongzhuo to fiddle with it: "Excellent composition!"
“You also studied photography?”
"I only got photography as a sophomore class selection, and the camera was lent to me by Qingqing." Shen Mi put the camera into his bag: "But this one is not the one, this one was sponsored by A Li, and it is used exclusively for this field trip. The pictures are great, I'll send them to you when I get back."
Speaking of going back, Shen Mi suddenly realized that she and Xie Rongzhuo were returning to the same room.
She quieted down.
I started to feel nervous before I even got there.
"I'm going to do some shopping."
Xie Rongzhuo pointed to the small supermarket at the intersection.
"Then I'll go over there and take some photos. Call me when you come out." Shen Mi did not miss any time period for investigation, and the night business situation was also within the scope of investigation.
"Um."
*
Coming out of the supermarket, Xie Rongzhuo had two more shopping bags in his hands.
After returning to the B&B and registering, they went up to the second floor and Shen Mi led Xie Rongzhuo into her room.
It was late at night and Shen Mi was so nervous that she even forgot to change her shoes when she saw such a handsome guy standing next to her.
"Shen Mi."
Xie Rongzhuo handed her the white shopping bag: "Wear this when you go out tomorrow. It will make it easier to walk."
Shen Mi was stunned for a moment, then turned around, took the bag and opened it.
Xie Rongzhuo bought her a pair of white shoes.
"Try it on. If it doesn't fit, change it."
"good."
Shen Mi sat down to try them on. When he bent down to tie his shoelaces, he felt a warm current flowing through his heart, like melted and drawn chocolate, rich, sweet and sticky.
The soles are soft and very comfortable to step on. The edges of the shoes have hand-embroidered patterns of the ancient town’s iconic city walls, which are very beautiful.
"Yeah, just right." Shen Mi liked it very much: "How do you know my size?" After asking, she remembered that Xie Rongzhuo had accompanied her to buy shoes.
Thinking of the previous "even-number" shopping experience, Shen Mi subconsciously looked at the other shopping bag. Could there be more
"I only bought one pair." Xie Rongzhuo bent his index finger, pressed his knuckle against Shen Mi's forehead, and pushed her back to the sofa, "Sit down. Take this one off and show me the back of your feet."
Shen Mi took off his shoes and socks obediently.
There was not much flesh on her heels and her skin was white, so the small area that was worn out was shocking.
Xie Rongzhuo half-knelt in front of her, grabbed her ankle, and bent down to help her put a Band-Aid on it.
"Remember to tear it off after taking a shower. It will hurt if it sticks to you."
His movements were so natural that Shen Mi felt that asking one more question would be hypocritical.
"good."
She stole a glance at Xie Rongzhuo: "Do you really have an obsession with even numbers? Can this be cured?"
Xie Rongzhuo: "It can't be cured."
Shen Mi raised his foot: "Then my shoes..."
Xie Rongzhuo: "Aren't there exactly two?"
Shen Mi thought his disease was amazing: "But you bought two pairs last time."
"You still want it?" Xie Rongzhuo nodded: "I'll give it to you when I get back."
Shen Mi waved his hands hastily: "That's not what I meant! One pair is enough."
"Are you sleepy? Go take a shower."
Xie Rongzhuo turned his head and looked in the direction of the bathroom. After a few seconds, he picked up his phone and said, "I'm going to go downstairs for a walk."
Shen Mi knew that he was afraid that she would be embarrassed: "It will take me about half an hour to finish washing."
Xie Rongzhuo: "I'll be back in half an hour."
*
This homestay is good in every way except that there is no mirror in the bathroom, which Shen Mi finds inconvenient.
However, there is a custom in Yongtai Ancient Town that mirrors are not to be placed in the bathroom or bedroom, and mirrors are not placed facing the door, as it is said that money will be lost. Business people all believe this, so the boss did not leave her any reflective objects.
Without a big mirror, it would be easy to ruin your hairstyle. Shen Mi originally planned not to wash his hair, but Xie Rongzhuo came.
Fearing that he would dislike her, she lingered in the bathroom for nearly an hour.
Thinking that he would only stay for one or two nights, Shen Mi did not bring pajamas and only brought a close-fitting bath towel.
After taking a shower, Shen Mi wrapped himself in a bath towel, leaving behind a trail of water droplets.
The homestay has one bedroom and one living room. There is only a half-person-high wooden screen between the living room and the bedroom, so you can see what's going on inside from the outside.
But the person outside was Xie Rongzhuo, so Shen Mi had nothing to worry about.
Xie Rongzhuo has such a cold personality that even if she stood in front of him wearing a sexy miniskirt, he might not be moved. He might even find a coat for her to put on.
It’s impossible for a man in his twenties to not have needs. Has he been using his hands to solve all these years
Shen Mi was frightened by his own bold evil thoughts.
She shook her head to clear the waste from her mind, blew her hair dry with a hair dryer, and then went to the bathroom to change with her clothes.
After getting dressed, I came out and saw the man sitting on the sofa in the living room.
It was unknown when Xie Rongzhuo came back. He leaned against the sofa, staring at her.
Maybe it was because he had evil intentions, as Shen Mi started to blush when Xie Rongzhuo looked at him.
"Master, are you done with your shopping?" She pretended to be calm.
Xie Rongzhuo: “Yeah.”
Shen Mi's heart was beating wildly, and he pointed behind him unnaturally: "Then, do you want to take a shower?"
After saying this, she remembered that Xie Rongzhuo came empty-handed.
"Did you bring your luggage?"
She likes to use honorifics when she's nervous.
"No." Xie Rongzhuo looked at her blushing cheeks for a few more seconds, raised his chin towards the shopping bag and said, "I bought it."
"That's fine."
Shen Mi sat next to him, and her meaning was very clear: she wanted to occupy this place and prepare to sleep.
But Xie Rongzhuo didn't seem to understand.
He tilted his head slightly and stared at her blatantly.
Shen Mi saw his own figure in the reflection of his glasses.
The atmosphere is a bit weird.
Shen Mi couldn't stand being in a cold atmosphere. She looked back at Xie Rongzhuo and asked, "Why are you looking at me?"
Xie Rongzhuo did not look away.
"you guess."
"I guess—" Shen Mi leaned over and used his glasses as a mirror: "Is there something dirty on my face?"
She had just finished taking a shower, her pupils were covered with a layer of mist, her skin was white and sparkling, her face seemed to be covered by a layer of filter, her curled eyelashes covered her face obediently, making her face look a little milky. She suddenly leaned close to him, and Xie Rongzhuo was stunned for a moment.
He lowered his eyelids and his gaze moved down inch by inch to her lips.
I don’t know what he was thinking about, he was a little dazed.
After a few seconds, Xie Rongzhuo's Adam's apple moved and he slowly turned his face away.
Shen Mi looked at Xie Rongzhuo's delicate profile, his eyes moved downwards to his clean Adam's apple, and wondered why he had never noticed that a man's Adam's apple was so sexy before
The living room was so quiet that you could hear a pin drop.
The sound of swallowing was not known, but Shen Mi was so frightened that he suddenly looked away, not even daring to swallow his saliva.
Another dull moment.
Shen Mi said in a dry voice: "Are you thirsty? Do you want some water? I'll pour it for you."
"No." Xie Rongzhuo said in a low voice: "I'm going to take a shower."
"good."
Shen Mi cleared his throat which seemed to be blocked, walked to the small table on the windowsill, poured himself a glass of water, and gulped it down.
It was really weird. The food she had tonight wasn't salty at all. Just now when she looked at Xie Rongzhuo, she felt inexplicably dry in the mouth.
After drinking two glasses of water, Shen Mi sat back. Hearing the sound of water dripping in the bathroom, he turned his head and took a casual look.
Seeing the clear figure on the bathroom glass, Shen Mi took a deep breath.
She stared at the perky curve without blinking, thinking, Xie Rongzhuo has a great figure.
The folk customs and habits of the small town are indeed open and not hidden at all.
The next second, Shen Mi froze.
—Then Xie Rongzhuo must have seen everything clearly when she was taking a shower just now! ! !
No, no, no, Xie Rongzhuo is a gentleman.
Shen Mi comforted himself that he wouldn't see it.
But, he is a gentleman, not a blind man!
Shen Mi turned his head suddenly and looked over: With this angle, that position, and that door, it's hard not to see it, right
So Xie Rongzhuo was planning to exchange gifts with her
Shen Mi lowered his head resignedly, unzipped his collar, and observed himself for a few seconds.
There is strength, and it is not false.
The author has something to say:
Xie Rongzhuo: …
Xie Rongzhuo: What are you competing with me
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