At the airport, Zeng Li came out pushing her luggage and saw Ai Jingchu waiting for her from afar. It was obvious that he had noticed her a long time ago and he smiled slightly.
She returned to her residence, unpacked her luggage, and sorted out the souvenirs she brought for everyone. Then she called Ma Yiyi and the others to have dinner together, and formally introduced Ai Jingchu to her bestie.
Zeng Li got in the car and said to Ai Jingchu, "By the way, I have a gift for you." She took out a box, inside was a pendant of bodhi seeds with pink tassels at the bottom, "I got it from the temple, you can hang it in the car."
"I have it too?"
"Of course." Zeng Li nodded.
He gladly accepted it.
"I used to move and change schools frequently, so I didn't have many classmates to interact with. Ma Yiyi and Wu Ying are my very good friends," said Zeng Li.
"Yeah." Ai Jingchu understood.
There were five people at the dinner table. Wu Ying brought Ning Feng, while Ma Yiyi went alone.
Ma Yiyi glanced at Zeng Li and Ai Jingchu, then at Wu Ying and Ning Feng, "Look at these couples, they are deliberately trying to make things difficult for me. If I had known earlier, I should have brought Dou Dou with me."
Wu Ying glanced at her, "Are you jealous? You should have brought Pan Siyu with you. Isn't he a nice guy?"
"What's so good about him? He's younger than me. When I'm old, he'll still be glamorous. It's too risky. Look, Dr. Ai and Zeng Li are a good match in age."
"Zeng Li has to hold on to it tightly and don't let Ma Yiyi snatch it away." Wu Ying teased.
"Pah, pah, pah, even rabbits don't eat grass near their burrows."
"If you want to eat, you have to get people to approve of it." Wu Ying looked Ma Yiyi up and down while speaking, then shook her head.
"What's wrong with me?" Ma Yiyi asked, "Zeng Li, you tell me, no, Doctor Ai, you tell me!"
Ai Jingchu looked at Zeng Li, then at Ma Yiyi, and was about to open his mouth to answer, but Zeng Li immediately interrupted him to prevent him from saying anything shocking.
"Don't pay attention to them. They have been like this since they were young." Zeng Li said, "They bicker all the time, just like enemies."
Ning Feng agreed with a smile: "But their relationship is so good that it makes people jealous."
Speaking of this, several people talked about interesting things in college. Ma Yiyi said: "The time when I was scared the most, the culprit was Zeng Li!"
"I know, I know." Wu Ying shouted.
"Don't say it." Zeng Li wanted to stop Ma Yiyi.
"It's not something that would damage our image. Jingchu-jun would definitely want to know too." Halfway through their meal, they realized that he was just not good at talking and was not difficult to get along with, so they became more and more casual.
Ai Jingchu smiled, looking as if he was listening attentively.
"One night, I was dreaming, and suddenly I heard a loud crash, and then mosquito nets, wall dust, and small stones fell all over my face. I was so scared that I thought it was an earthquake. Wu Ying turned on the light and found Zeng Li had fallen from the upper bunk. She was wrapped in a mosquito net, and her body was dragged in the air and did not fall to the ground. But my mosquito net was connected to hers, and the two ends were nailed to the same wall, so they were pulled down together."
"Also, and," Wu Ying added, "Zeng Li would buy Uni-President 100 instant noodles the day before every final exam and eat them in the dormitory."
The dinner ended with Ma Yiyi and Wu Ying enthusiastically confessing Zeng Li’s embarrassing experiences in college.
Ai Jingchu had a smile on his face from the middle to the end.
After dinner, their old rule is to either play cards or sing karaoke.
Finally, the five people went to the singing city to sing.
The three girls held the microphone and sang loudly. Ning Feng and Ai Jingchu ordered a dozen beers and drank while chatting.
"The cleft lip kid you were looking for last time is called Ma Xiaobing. I have already found out. I went to the house his parents rented but couldn't find him." Ning Feng and Ai Jingchu talked about that incident. "If you are in a hurry, we can find some time to go there again."
"Thank you." Ai Jingchu said.
"If you can't find them, you can go to their hometown. I know the address." Ning Feng said.
The music was so loud that their conversation could hardly continue. Afterwards, Ning Feng was also pulled to sing a love song duet with Wu Ying.
Ai Jingchu went to the bathroom and met Zeng Li at the door when he came back.
The first thing he said when he saw her was: "You will definitely pass the exam with a score of 100."
"Hateful!" She raised her fist and wanted to hit him. It was all Wu Ying and Ma Yiyi's fault. They brought up everything. It was so embarrassing.
As soon as they returned to the private room, Ma Yiyi handed the microphone to Zeng Li and Ai Jingchu, "Time is reserved for you two, you must sing."
Ai Jingchu looked at Zeng Li helplessly. He had always said that he would not come and made excuses, and even hid in the bathroom.
"Doctor Ai, if you keep making excuses, we won't agree." Ma Yiyi said.
Zeng Li pulled him aside and whispered, "Why don't you just sing a few lines? Otherwise they won't let you go."
"What will happen if you don't let me go?" Ai Jingchu asked.
"I'll get you drunk." Zeng Li said.
"Then get me drunk." Ai Jingchu looked like he had given up hope.
"You think too simply. They're going to get you drunk and then torture you. And don't you know that you'll talk nonsense when you're drunk?"
"What nonsense did I say
"I'll record it for you next time."
Wu Ying asked: "Have you two finished whispering your love words? If you keep on wasting time, I will order "The Love of the Boatman" for you."
“Or Uncle Pan’s “Crossing the River” is also good. The brothers and sisters are so caring.” Ma Yiyi suggested.
Ai Jingchu obviously had no idea what songs these were. He looked confused and still refused.
"If you don't sing, we won't agree to Zeng Li being with you. She has always listened to us since she was young." Ma Yiyi threatened him bravely.
Zeng Li had never seen Ai Jingchu so helpless and helpless, so he said, "Forget it, let's sing an English song. You are so good at English, and they are both idiots in English. They don't even know if they sang it wrong. When it's your turn, I'll sing for you and you just hum along."
In the end, Ai Jingchu had no choice but to force him to do something. As soon as he started to sing, the other four realized that he really couldn't sing. Every word was on the beat, but the tune sounded so strange. If there was no accompaniment, people outside would never be able to guess which song he was singing.
After the song was over, no one spoke, and the box suddenly became quiet. It was Ning Feng who broke the deadlock and said, "Zeng Li's singing is still so beautiful."
On the way home, Zeng Li was driving and was laughing the whole time.
"Is it so funny?" Ai Jingchu asked.
"Well, I finally found someone's weakness. I'm so happy." Zeng Li replied.
She had always thought that his voice would be even more charming when he sang love songs. A few days ago, she didn't tell the truth on the phone. In fact, the bar singer she was fascinated by when she was traveling was a man, and his voice was somewhat similar to Ai Jingchu, so she also imagined what he would sound like when he sang. When Ma Yiyi and the others started to make trouble, she also had her own selfish thoughts.
"Shall I take you home?" she asked.
"Let's go to your house first," he said.
"What?"
He was silent for a moment and did not answer immediately. After a while, he looked out the window and said slowly, "Nothing, I just want to stay with you for a while longer."
"Oh." She responded stiffly, but her heart felt as happy as if she had eaten honey.
After a while, he said again: "I like the song you sang." He didn't expect that Zeng Li could sing so well.
"What song is it?"
"I didn't notice the name, but there's 'my grandma' in the lyrics."
"You like me to sing for you." Zeng Li said.
"Um."
"Now?"
"Um."
"A cappella?"
"Um."
"I am driving."
"The traffic rules don't say you can't sing while driving," he said confidently.
Zeng Li also liked this song very much. After going over the lyrics in his mind, he began to sing softly:
When I was a kid, I was noisy and willful.
My grandma always sings to me
On summer afternoons, old songs comfort me...
There is no accompaniment, no reverberation, but in the small space of the carriage, there is a slight echo, which makes the singing even more moving.
I fall in love with someone who makes me desperate
I thought this was the world I was looking for.
However, he was misunderstood and deceived.
Is there always something incomplete behind the adult world
His face was always facing the side window, listening silently. Even after Zeng Li finished singing, he did not say anything, so Zeng Li thought he was asleep.
"Hypnotized?"
"No," he said.
Zeng Li glanced at him and only saw the back of the man's head.
"Pull your car over to the side," he said, turning around.
"What?"
"Pull over," he said.
Zeng Li turned on the right turn signal and slowly slowed down on the side of the road. As soon as she stopped, he reached out and held her chin, leaned to the left, and kissed her lightly.
"Someone will see it." Zeng Li struggled.
"See what's wrong, I'm not breaking the law."
"Yes, yes, there is no such rule in the traffic regulations."
He looked at her mouth and suddenly remembered something. He said, "Remember to tell Zhou Wen during your next visit that the braces are scratching your lips a little on your upper front teeth. Ask her to fix it."
Zeng Li knew what he was referring to, and her face turned red again, "You tell her yourself."
"Then she'll wonder why I know so much," he answered seriously.
Zeng Li puffed up his cheeks, wishing he could strangle him.
After returning to Zeng Li's residence, Ai Jingchu picked up a magazine and started flipping through it on the sofa. Zeng Li found a note on the table. It was left by Zeng's mother: "I couldn't get through when I called you. The soup I made for you is in the refrigerator. Remember to drink it." The date was yesterday.
Zeng's mother didn't know that Zeng Li was traveling, so she just assumed that she went out with her friends.
Zeng Li opened the refrigerator and found a bowl of pork rib soup. She poured it into a pot, boiled it, and took it out.
Zeng Li said: "My mother made it. Her food is delicious. You should try it."
Ai Jingchu refused to drink it at first, but after hearing what Zeng Li said, he stood in front of the table and quietly served himself a bowl.
Zeng Li first picked up a few pieces of ribs with chopsticks and started to chew them. The ribs were originally for making soup, so they had been stewed to be extremely soft and glutinous, almost melting in the mouth with a sip. When she had almost finished eating the meat and the soup that had been left aside had reached a suitable temperature, she drank the soup in one breath, and a layer of sweat broke out on her forehead.
Ai Jingchu, on the other hand, sipped his bowl of soup slowly and leisurely. The pork ribs were mixed with yam, and the soup was very delicious, with a hint of sweetness in the meaty aroma. He sat there and drank very carefully, as if he was afraid of spilling a drop. He remained silent, and no one knew what he was thinking.