Thinking of this, Xieyi's heart started pounding so hard that it almost jumped out.
"Xieyi, you're blushing." Xiao Huang said.
"How could I!" Xieyi immediately argued guiltily.
"You can't be so pure, you blush when we talk about these things, have you never been in love?"
"No, I only sold myself."
"Selling yourself? Selling what?"
"Selling myself to bury my father."
After dinner, Xiao Dong gave Xieyi a piece of chocolate.
"I can't eat sweets." Xieyi smiled.
"It's okay. You're not fat. Eat something to replenish your energy. Who knows? Old Demon Peng might come looking for you again."
"No way?" Xie Yi wailed.
After get off work, Xieyi went back to her old place to pack some things. She felt a slight toothache. She shouldn't have eaten those chocolates, she thought.
It was rush hour after get off work and it was inconvenient for her to take the bus with some luggage, so she waited for a long time before she got a taxi.
After the driver pressed the empty car light, he asked, "Miss, where are you going?"
Xieyi was stunned. Oops, she forgot to ask for the address.
Fortunately, she had a strong sense of direction. She asked the driver to drive to the downstairs of Li's building, and then reconstructed the route that Ji Yingsong took to pick her up to go to Li's house yesterday in her mind. She walked along the route and when she reached the end, she found that it was really that place.
She admired herself a little.
When she arrived, it was already dark and past dinner time, but no one called to urge her. When she arrived at Li's house, she didn't see anyone waiting for her to eat, which made her feel awkward. These two trivial things added up, and she gave Li Zeliang a little extra points in her heart, and decided to forgive his mistake in the morning.
As soon as she walked in, she found Li Zeliang reading a newspaper on the sofa.
He looked up and saw her, and suddenly said, "You are always late for work and late for home from get off work. Can you be more efficient in doing things in the future? We have already eaten. If you want to eat, you can cook it yourself."
Xie Yi was stunned when she heard this, and then she was furious. She had always been the only one who complained about others' slowness, and no one had ever complained about her being clumsy. What kind of person is she? Deduct points, deduct points. Deduct all the points that were added just now, and deduct 10,000 points!
"I'll make instant noodles myself." Xieyi was so angry that his teeth were itching.
"We don't have instant noodles at home," he said casually.
"Then I won't eat, that's okay." Xie Yi said angrily, and moved the luggage to the room upstairs in one breath.
The sky outside was very gloomy and it looked like it was going to rain.
Li Zeliang's eyes fell on the place where her back disappeared, and he slowly put down the newspaper. His mood calmed down, just a little bit, he thought she would never come back, and he was almost in despair.
In fact, Xieyi didn’t know that Li Zeliang came back early today and gave everyone in the old house a holiday, even Lao Tan was forced to leave.
“But dinner…” said Lao Tan.
"What materials do I have at home? I can make it myself."
"Then I'll prepare the seasoning for you."
"No need, it's not like I don't know how to do it."
"I wanted to save you from trouble." Old Tan smiled.
Li Zeliang put away the newspaper, walked slowly to the kitchen, and checked the rice in the rice cooker. Then he picked up the knife and prepared to cut the vegetables and put them in the pot. He had lived alone abroad before, and now he lived alone in that small apartment most of the time. A few home-cooked dishes were not difficult for him.
After Xieyi upstairs finished packing up his things, he began to feel hungry. He was so hungry that his stomach was sticking to his back. He couldn't bear it any longer, so he wanted to sneak downstairs to find some leftovers to eat.
When she tiptoed downstairs, she heard some noise in the kitchen. She carefully peeked in and saw him inside.
She had never seen such a virtuous Li Zeliang. She was wearing a gray apron around her chest, with her sleeves rolled up, and was cooking.
He noticed her head sticking out, took the plate in one hand and shoveled the food with the other and said, "Wait in the dining room, we'll eat soon."
He made the fragrant shredded pork with fish flavor and sweet and sour spare ribs and placed them on the dining table.
"Made it for me?" Xie Yi was a little flattered.
"I ate it myself, but you can eat it if you want."
Xieyi looked at him with a smile. This man has a sharp tongue but a soft heart.
"Put out the chopsticks," he said.
"Yes." Xieyi was so obedient for the first time and went to get it happily.
At this moment, there was a peaceful atmosphere in the dining room.
The man took off his apron and sat down. The woman went back to the kitchen to get the dishes and chopsticks. Even the naughty cat squatted there obediently, eating the white rice and shredded pork with relish.
She sat down and took the first bite of the shredded pork with fish-flavored sauce with sacred chopsticks. But before she put it into her mouth, she saw the emerald green chopped green onion on it.
“Uh, why the green onions?”
Li Zeliang's eyes darkened.
Then the second chopstick reached for the sweet and sour pork ribs.
"Ugh... it's hot."
His eyes darkened even further.
With the third chopsticks, Xieyi picked up some more shredded meat and cried out before he even put it in his mouth.
"Oh my god, they even put cucumber shreds in it. I've always..."
Before she could finish her words, Li Zeliang, who could no longer bear it, glanced at her with an icy gaze, raised his voice and said "hmm", his face gloomy, and a storm was gathering in his eyes.
“Uh…” He immediately changed his words when he realized something was wrong with his opinion. “Actually, I’ve always liked eating cucumbers. It’s simply the love of my life. It’s so fitting to put them here.” Then he frowned and ate it with great reluctance.
"You should change your picky eating habits," he said.
It didn't rain at night, but the wind was blowing hard. She and Li Zeliang were the only two people in the house, and the wind blew, making a rustling sound, which sounded eerie in the middle of the night. She didn't know which window in the living room downstairs was not closed properly, and it kept swinging back and forth, making it even harder for Xieyi to sleep. She wanted to go out of the room to close it, but she was timid and hesitated for a long time before making up her mind.
She had just gone downstairs and turned a corner when she went out. She didn't notice Li Zeliang standing in the dark and fumbled to turn on the light.
But he noticed her, and before the light came, he felt at a loss for the first time in his life. He just came downstairs to take some medicine because it was going to rain and his legs hurt badly, but he ran into her.
Xieyi finally found the switch.
The lights suddenly came on, dazzling her eyes, and the living room seemed as bright as day. She turned around and suddenly saw Li Zeliang under the light, and her body was obviously shocked. He was wearing pajamas and holding a cane in his hand. The right leg of his pants was obviously empty, and he was not wearing a prosthesis. Seeing him like this, Xieyi felt a little embarrassed.
"I came down to close the window," she explained.
But he said nothing, his face as cold as ice.
Xieyi knew that he would feel awkward if someone saw him in this situation, so she went to close the window and prepared to stay in her room and never come out again. Halfway through her walk, she saw him holding a medicine bottle, and suddenly remembered what Dr. He said last time. He must have come down to take medicine because of leg pain.
Xie Yi's chest tightened, and he couldn't help but stop and say, "They are not here today, do you need my help?"
"No."
"Do you want me to get you a cup?"
"unnecessary."
He started to become stubborn again.
"Actually..." She decided to take drastic measures against his stubbornness, "Actually, I saw your legs that day, so you don't have to avoid them. Since I want to live with you until you get tired of me, how could I not let you see them?"
After that, Xieyi quietly waited for the hurricane to come. At worst, the cane could be thrown over to hit her again. But even if it killed her, she didn't want to see him like that. He was so concerned about the mention of his legs. Being angry was better than being cold and mean.
The more you try to hide it, the more you care about it; the more you care about it, the more you still can't get over that hurdle in your heart.
It was actually a relief to talk it all out in one go. For him, this kind of thing was better to suffer a short pain than a long one. Not only did he need to face her, he also had to face the eyes of other people outside.
Hearing this, his face became extremely gloomy, and horror was already gathering in his eyes. However, he spoke calmly: "You have seen it, it's just a broken leg, there's nothing to hide." Even though he said it calmly, his tone was as cold and biting as ten thousand years of ice. After he finished speaking, he sat down on the sofa, leaning on his cane.
"If you can't even look at your own leg calmly, how can you let others look at it? No matter how realistic the prosthesis is, it's still a prosthesis, and you can't wear it forever. You can't hide yourself under that kind of illusory surface, and Doctor He said that you are forced to wear it for a long time..."
"That's enough!" He interrupted her rudely, "Shen Xieyi, you are so self-righteous again. Don't act like you are standing on a high ground and pitying me and lecturing me. Why do you have to interfere in my affairs? Who do you think you are, pointing fingers in front of me? Now I am missing a leg, and if I want to cripple the other one someday, it's none of your business!"
He was extremely angry and mocked and ridiculed freehand painting.
Xie Yi suddenly felt a little tired, and lowered his eyelids, not wanting to talk back to him. Yes, who did she think she was to him? That was right, she overestimated herself, and actually thought that she could free him from the shadow by giving him a few words of advice, but she got herself into trouble. From beginning to end, he didn't take her seriously. He would tease her when he was in a good mood, and let her go aside when he was in a bad mood. How could he care about her at all? In the company, no matter how people pointed fingers at her behind her back, he would not say a word for her. He treated everyone a hundred times better than he treated her. But she was arrogant in front of him just because of his gentleness last night.
When she thought about this, she couldn't help but feel a tightness in her nose and burst into tears when she saw his legs. Xieyi turned her face away very unnaturally. She almost never cried in front of others, but at this moment, for some reason, her eyes were filled with tears and she couldn't control them.
"I'm sorry, Mr. Li, I was so arrogant and said too much to you." She didn't dare to wipe her tears after she said this. She turned around and left, fearing that the other party would notice her gaffe.
Li Zeliang was left sitting there alone, bending and stretching his fingers, but he said nothing and did nothing before she left. He heard her door close gently, as if it also closed the door between the two of them.
He sat alone on the sofa, lost in silence in the howling wind. He was so frustrated that he couldn't find anything to vent his anger on, so he clenched his fists tighter and tighter, and finally couldn't help but throw his cane hard. Before it hit the ground, it knocked over the ashtray and fruit plate on the coffee table. Then, they fell one after another on the floor tiles, making two consecutive clangs, which seemed particularly abrupt in such a dark night.
Xieyi didn't wipe the tears from her face until she entered the house and closed the door. She had been threatened by the other party many times when solving cases in the past, but she ignored them. She even sneered at Zhu Anhuai's repeated harassment. However, she was actually made to cry by his simple words. How shameful. Xieyi lay on the bed and covered her head. The tears stopped flowing, but the breath from her nose became turbid. Moreover, she was suffocating under the quilt after covering her head for too long, so she had to lift it up again. She had rhinitis, and she would get sick when she cried, and when the weather changed suddenly, she would get sick, and then her nose would run non-stop.
She had been tolerant enough of him. In this world, who else had she, Shen Xieyi, ever accommodated or obeyed besides him? But he was still so mean to her. Suddenly, Xieyi heard two clangs downstairs and sat up abruptly. She was afraid that he had accidentally fallen down the stairs, so she didn't think much about it. She sniffed her nose and hurried downstairs to see what was going on. She saw Li Zeliang sitting there in good condition, but he had smashed things into a mess. She was self-indulgent again and wanted to retreat, but she was already seen by Li Zeliang.
"Xie Yi." He called her a little stiffly. When she heard those two words, her body stiffened. He called her that last night, and it hit her heart. But why did he call her that now? Wasn't what he did just now enough to vent his anger, and he wanted to call her back and ridicule her again
"I'm going to bed." She said with a straight face and was about to turn and leave.
"Xie Yi," although his tone was still stiff and unnatural, his voice was slower than before, "Come here."
I don't!
She originally wanted to answer like this, if she was asked to go now, she would go, but if she was asked to leave later, she would leave? But when her eyes met his, she couldn't say the word "no" anyway.
His eyebrows were slightly furrowed, and his eyes, which usually looked brown in the sun, were now like two dots of tangled black ink, overflowing with pleading. That kind of look was impossible for anyone to refuse.
"What?" She walked up to him and muttered reluctantly.
"come over."
She followed his instructions and took two more steps forward, then stopped. "Okay..." She was immediately exclaimed before she could say a word, because he who was sitting in front of her suddenly reached out and grabbed her wrist, pulling it hard. Her body instantly lost balance and she couldn't help but sit sideways in his arms.
She tried to struggle to get up, but he held her tightly.
"I..." Xieyi's cheeks flushed.
"Shh..."
He buried his head in her hair, as if he was greedily sniffing her scent, and didn't speak for a long time. The storm outside was blowing fiercely, but after being isolated by the glass of the window, the room seemed even quieter. In the room, Xieyi could only hear his own breathing.
After a long time, I heard him say softly, "I'm sorry, I got angry at you again." But he still didn't raise his head, as if he was saying the most embarrassing thing in the world.
Xie Yi was stunned.
"I was wrong too." She was a person who would easily be persuaded by soft words. She didn't know what to say for a moment, so she had to admit her mistake as well.
"You just cried, Xieyi," Li Zeliang said, "I don't want you to cry. Even if you are always heartless and against me, I don't want you to cry."
After hearing these words, Xieyi's originally wrinkled emotions slowly relaxed like a sponge soaked with water. His nose began to feel sore again, and he felt a little touched.
"How can I be heartless? And I'm not deliberately going against you." She still didn't forget to make an excuse.
He raised his head, held out his palm, and said, "Give me your hand."
I didn't know the reason, but I just did what I was told.
But Li Zeliang leaned forward slightly and guided her hand to place it on the broken part of his right leg. Through the thin layer of cloth, she felt the sudden loss below the broken surface.
Her palm was startled.
"Are you scared?" he asked cautiously.
Xie Yi did not answer immediately, but withdrew her hand, turned around, and suddenly hugged him.
Hold me tight.
I'm a little bit scared. She said it silently in her heart, but she didn't dare to tell him. Before that moment, she had never realized that her heart would become so soft when she truly hugged someone.
"How many meals do you eat a day?" he suddenly asked.
"Three meals." She was surprised.
"Since you only eat three meals, why is it so heavy? It makes my legs numb."
"… "
It's really uninteresting for this man to say these things.
"Xie Yi." After a while he called her again.
"Hmm?" She was studying his beautiful fingers intently.
"I take back what I said about the contract that day. I have read your report in its entirety. The company will adopt it only after discussing it with Manager Xue. I said that for no other reason. I only said that because I care about you." At this point, he lowered his gaze slightly and said, "If I have hurt you, I apologize for it."
Xie Yi listened quietly and stared at him for half a minute, which made him feel very uncomfortable.
Then, suddenly, she smiled and said, "I accept, but there are conditions."
"What conditions?"
"First, you are not allowed to call me fat and complain about my slowness."
He nodded.
"Second, don't put onions in the dishes anymore. I won't eat cucumbers either."
He nodded again.
"Third, can I not say 'Good morning, Mr. Li' when I see you in the morning?"
He gladly accepted: "No problem. You don't have to say anything when you see me in the future, just bow."
“…” Xieyi was speechless.
He seemed to have smoked a cigarette while sitting there alone, and there was still the smell of tobacco between his fingers.
She examined his fingers one by one. There was a small callus on the middle finger of his right hand, which was obviously caused by writing. Looking at his left hand, there were also calluses at the base of the knuckle of the index finger and on the thumb. Strange, what kind of thing would cause calluses here
"What are you looking at?" he asked.
“There are cocoons here.”
"Oh." He raised his hand and looked at it himself. "I got it from playing billiards."