Ai Jingchu smiled without saying anything and slowly put down his chopsticks.
Zeng Li saw that he seemed to have eaten enough, so he asked as the host: "What else do you want to order? Do you like it?"
Ai Jingchu asked her back: "How about you? Are you full? Do you want more food?"
Zeng Li gestured to the dish next to him and said, "I'm the one working hard, and if you don't help, it will probably be hard to finish it."
As soon as he finished speaking, Ai Jingchu's phone rang. He stood up from his seat and went to the other side to answer the call.
Zeng Li turned his attention back to the food boiling in the soup pot.
Just now, in order to prove her sincerity in treating everyone to a meal, she ordered a lot of dishes. Now, sitting alone at the table looking at the remaining dishes, she still felt a little distressed.
A large part of her salary was used for rent, and the other part was spent on clothes, cosmetics, bags, and electronic products, just like most single young people. The capital for opening a cafe with her best friend was the dowry that her grandmother secretly saved for her.
After a while, Ai Jingchu returned to his seat.
Seeing that he seemed to be busy, Zeng Li quickly put down his chopsticks and prepared to finish his work.
But he said to Zeng Li: "Eat slowly, don't be in a hurry."
Zeng Li was too embarrassed to pay, so he called the waiter next to him to pay the bill, but the waiter said, "This gentleman has already paid the bill."
Now Zeng Li finally understood why he had to walk so far to answer the phone. He was just taking the opportunity to pay the bill before her without making a sound.
"It was agreed that I would treat you," said Zeng Li.
"It's mine this time, and it's yours next time." Ai Jingchu explained.
Zeng Li had no choice but to say something like "I'm sorry" or "You're too polite".
When they came out of the hot pot restaurant, they were still a little way from where Ai Jingchu parked his car, so they walked slowly side by side. After walking a short distance, Zeng Li remembered what Ai Jingchu said, "It's yours next time," and thought about it slowly. Didn't he mean that she still owed him a meal
Zeng Li suddenly wailed in his heart.
She always felt that it was extremely awkward to eat alone with a young person of the opposite sex. This problem was not about the person, but about the matter, and had nothing to do with whether she hated the other person or not.
When he reached the zebra crossing, Zeng Li was so focused on how to get his next meal that he didn't pay attention to the traffic lights and just kept walking forward with his head down.
But Ai Jingchu pulled her back in time.
She was wearing the sportswear she wore for her bike trip, but because the temperature in the hotpot restaurant was high, she kept her sleeves rolled up, exposing her elbows to the cool spring breeze in the evening. Ai Jingchu stood beside her, and when he saw her trying to cross the line, he stopped her with a slight click without saying a word.
His fingers gently touched the skin of her wrist. There were only five points of contact left by his fingertips, so little that Zeng Li could hardly feel any warmth from the other party, but it was extremely ambiguous.
Ai Jingchu stood at the side, a fist away. His right hand held her left wrist, just to stop her from running a red light, but it was like a couple holding hands and mistakenly holding each other's wrists.
This was not the first time she and him had this kind of physical contact.
But, somehow, this time it was a little different.
Zeng Li turned to look at him.
The spring dusk came so early that the sky was dark. She could only use the neon lights and car lights on the street to see Ai Jingchu who was looking straight ahead.
His facial features and lip line are so beautiful.
Unfortunately, she is no longer the kind of girl who is tenacious and ignorant of the immensity of the world.
Her hand twisted stiffly, and Ai Jingchu loosened his fingers and said to her calmly, "Come back later."
At this moment, a few children suddenly jumped out in front of Zeng Li, handed a few wilted red roses under her nose and said, "Sister, buy a bunch of flowers."
Then, the leading child suddenly felt that he had chosen the wrong person, so he turned around and handed the flowers to Ai Jingchu again: "Uncle, my sister is so beautiful, why don't you buy a bouquet of flowers for her?"
Zeng Li was amused by the child's inappropriate name. He couldn't help laughing while waving his hands to refuse on behalf of Ai Jingchu.
Ai Jingchu neither refused nor laughed. After seeing the group of children, he seemed to suddenly remember something and turned his head to look elsewhere. After searching several corners, he finally identified the target and walked over with big strides.
Zeng Li followed in confusion.
I saw a skinny little child squatting on the street corner playing with stones, and Ai Jingchu went over and grabbed him.
The child screamed.
"Do you still recognize your uncle?" Ai Jingchu asked him.
But the child only stopped for a second or two to look at him, and then started to twist again. But he was already tightly held by Ai Jingchu and could not escape.
Zeng Li didn't know what was going on and could only stand there.
Ai Jingchu was afraid that the child would bump into the ground or get scratched, so he picked him up, held him in his arms and said, "Just listen to your uncle. I will buy you food, candy, drinks, fried chicken, take you to the slide, and go to the zoo to see pandas..."
Zeng Li stood there and smiled slightly. She guessed that Ai Jingchu had already used all the words in his mind to coax a child.
When the child heard these words, his struggling gradually slowed down and finally stopped.
Zeng Li finally saw the child's face clearly. She was stunned for a moment, and an indescribable emotion welled up in her heart.
At this time of year, spring had already arrived for a long time and everyone was wearing light clothes, but this child was still wrapped in a small cotton jacket, which was torn and dirty. Her hair was not long, but was cut unevenly. And that face - a similar face, which she had seen on TV and in pictures, but this was the first time she had seen it in real life. It was exactly the cleft lip and palate that Ai Jingchu had talked to her about before.
She took a few steps closer, and the child noticed her staring at him and quickly turned his head away.
The struggle and resistance between Ai Jingchu and the child had already attracted the attention of the people around, and the child's unusual appearance made the passers-by stop.
Just then, Zeng Li heard someone calling her: "Zeng Li!"
She looked up and saw that the person standing a few meters away from her was none other than Zeng's mother.
Zeng's mother walked in front, and Zeng Li followed slowly behind. Zeng's mother had the key to Zeng Li's house. She took out the key without saying a word, opened the door, and changed her shoes without saying a word. Then, Zeng's mother put the key in her bag, put the bag on the coffee table, sat on the sofa, looked up and asked coldly: "Who is that man?"
"my friend."
"What I'm asking is, who is he?"
Zeng Li knew what she was going to get angry about, so he just kept silent.
"Is it your doctor?" Zeng's mother sneered.
"I heard Qin Lihua say this a long time ago. I didn't believe it when she first told me. I said my daughter is not the kind of person who flirts with others casually. I have been taking care of her since she was a child. No male classmate dared to call our house.
"What did Qin Lihua say? She said Xiao Gu accompanied you to the hospital and sat in the waiting room for more than an hour. She even took a leave of absence to accompany you because she was afraid that you would be bored. But you forgot your last name as soon as you saw the male doctor and ran off with someone else.
"You know, how can I put my face when people talk about my daughter's ill-mannered behavior in front of so many people during dinner
"I really didn't believe it at the time. I thought you were just like before, and you just couldn't forget Yu Yi and did it on purpose, so I never mentioned it to you. Today, I told you that we haven't seen each other for more than a month, so I came to see you, and I saw you and that guy being so intimate.
"You've really changed your mind. If you want to find someone, you should find a good one. The little Gu that Qin Lihua introduced to you, his father is very successful in the Municipal Party Committee. His family has six or seven houses within the Third Ring Road. The wedding house was prepared for him in the first two months. What else are you dissatisfied with?"
"Don't mention love to me in your heart, ugh, do you think of it as food or house for your whole life?"
Zeng's mother was speaking excitedly, and probably because Zeng Li was standing and she was sitting, and they were very close to each other, she simply stood up as well.
During the whole process, Zeng Li had a blank expression on his face and said nothing.
"what is his name?"
Zeng Li did not answer.
"What do your parents do at home?"
Zeng Li still didn't say anything.
"Is there a house?"
Zeng Li still stood there, looking away, motionless.
After a moment's stalemate, Zeng's mother seemed to calm down a little. She walked up to Zeng Li and pulled her to sit down.
Zeng's mother changed her tone and said earnestly, "I am doing this for your own good. I am afraid that you will suffer in the future. I have also been through hard times, and I know how hard it is. Besides, Gu Haidong's father and your father are now working in the same building. They see each other every day. It would be bad if you ruined their relationship like this."
Zeng Li turned around, looked at Zeng's mother, and suddenly asked, "I have three fathers, which one are you referring to?"
This sentence was like a spell, immediately angering Zeng's mother. She got angry, raised her hand and slapped Zeng Li. Zeng Li did not dodge, but just endured it.
In the past, when Wu Ying was beaten by her father, she would flee to school or Ma Yiyi's house, or even go to her grandmother's house to complain. But Zeng Li never dared to slam the door and run away or stay out all night after being beaten, because she couldn't and didn't dare.
Because of her excitement, Zeng Li's palm was slightly off-center, not on the side of her face, but on her mouth and nose. Zeng Li only felt a burning sensation, and her skin was numb, so she didn't feel any pain. She had never been afraid of being beaten since she was a child, not because she was not afraid of pain, but because she felt that if she made a mistake, it would be better to have a good beating than to be scolded by her mother every day.
Zeng's mother stood up suddenly, pointed at her nose and started scolding her again, "Okay, now you're strong enough to talk back. Who did you learn this from? Tell me!
"You hang out with Wu Ying and Ma Yiyi all day long. You don't learn your lesson and just learn how to go against me!
"In the past ten years, I have never despised you for being a burden, but now you despise me
"Don't think I don't know what you're thinking!
"You just dislike that Gu Haidong doesn't look as good as you like! Don't I know you? You've always liked pretty boys since you were little, Yu Yi is one, and there's another one on the street. What's the point of a good-looking man? Does Yu Yi want you?"
When Yu Yi was mentioned, Zeng Li couldn't hold back her tears and they fell.
Yes, her mother understood her and knew where her weak spot was.
Tears flowed down the cheeks, leaving a trail of wet tear marks, and then slowly evaporated. The wind-dried skin was tightened and a little stinging.
"Can we not talk about him?" Zeng Li said.
"What? You can't even talk about it? Everyone among your relatives and friends knows about your affairs. Luckily, I have no ties with the Zeng family any longer, otherwise I would be too embarrassed to see anyone back home! My niece is in love with her cousin, and everyone will laugh at her. Yu Yi's mother even came to the city to look for me. She's so arrogant, don't you know—"
Zeng Li stood there, crying silently.
Zeng's mother was interrupted by a phone call. On the phone, Zeng Li's current stepfather asked Zeng's mother to go home, so Zeng's mother said a few more words and finally left.
But Zeng Li couldn't stop crying.
Yu Yi's mother was Zeng Li's fourth aunt. Zeng Li still remembers her coming to the provincial capital to look for Zeng's mother. At that time, Zeng's mother was completely unaware of their relationship. The fourth aunt, like countless mothers on TV, felt that this was a close relative, and there was a generation difference, and it would be a joke if she told others about it. In addition, like countless mothers on TV, she was afraid that Zeng Li, who did not seek to make progress, would delay her son's future studying abroad. What's more, Zeng Li and her mother were originally regarded as enemies of the entire Zeng family, and they would never want to have any contact with each other. But facing the other party's aggressiveness, Zeng's mother still stiffened her neck and scolded back with her temper.
As usual, he not only scolded Yu Yi, but also scolded everyone in the Zeng family.
The result is predictable. After being bullied by Zeng Mama, Fourth Aunt-in-law simply hated Zeng Li and her daughter. However, she was different from other mothers. Zeng Mama would be furious and ask Zeng Li to break off the relationship with Yu Yi, but Fourth Aunt-in-law did not. She did not even say a word. She was gentle and gentle, but in the end, even Zeng Mama turned a blind eye.
That summer vacation was the happiest summer vacation for Zeng Li.
She and Yu Yi went to Dongshan, and he said on the mountain that he would be with her forever.
forever
When everyone stopped objecting and when Zeng Li and Yu Yi could date openly, Zeng Li realized that love was not what she wanted.
She met Yu Yi when she was young and loved him so bitterly, but in the end she felt that they were not suitable.
As a result, what she understood was the Yu Yi she had imagined in her youth, not the real him.
Yu Yi is the youngest son in the family, kind-hearted but also spoiled. He has countless friends of the opposite and same sex, and can get along with anyone within three sentences. He enjoys being the center of attention at parties.
These qualities that once attracted Zeng Li like the sunshine, made her feel at a loss when they really came to her.
Wu Ying said to Zeng Li: "You didn't fall in love with Yu Yi, but the fictitious love in your mind."
Wu Ying secretly told Zeng Li the story of her boyfriend who made her run away from home and eventually broke up with her.
It was only when they were together that they realized how inappropriate they were for each other. The beautiful life they dreamed of every day when they were in different places was vulnerable in the face of reality. They were both children who grew up in the pampering of their parents, and they were very self-centered. Because they came from different places, their living habits were completely different. Whether it was eating, sleeping or daily life, there were too many things that caused disagreements, and it seemed that every one of them could become a reason for a quarrel.
So in this endless quarrel, suddenly one day, Wu Ying felt that she could not hold on any longer.
What exactly are you pursuing? Isn't it freedom? But can you really be free when you are held hostage by blind love and boring life
After listening to this, Zeng Li suddenly felt a sense of grief. The lovers who were inseparable in adversity broke up in the smooth sailing days.
She was confused and anxious, and unwilling to face her own selfish tendencies. All the anxieties accumulated made her become a little neurotic.
She was afraid of Yu Yi's friends and classmates, but at the same time she was afraid that he would not let her contact those people.
She always suspected that he was dating another girl in the United States behind her back, and at the same time she hoped that someone would take Yu Yi away from her.
Until one day, Yu Yi called from across the ocean and said, "Xiao Yu, I'm sorry. We are not suitable for each other. Let's break up."
In the end, the fourth aunt-in-law won. She did not do anything arrogant. She sneered and allowed her son to be with the girl she disdained. She just put in some effort at the right time to get what she wanted.
During the summer vacation of that year, it was the anniversary of the death of the great director Antonioni. The film club students played his movies in the school auditorium. Zeng Li had nothing to do, so he went to watch them one day. The movie played in the evening was "Days in the Clouds". This movie tells four stories about love. In the last story, the girl insisted on becoming a nun, and the boy tried to stop her by saying, "What would happen if I said I loved you?"
The girl replied: "It's like lighting a candle in a bright room."
It turns out that love is so weak, so helpless, and so insignificant.
At that time, Zeng Li, who was sitting under the big screen in the auditorium, burst into tears.