Neither Zhou Lin nor Xu Xiaoai are particularly extroverted and active.
Mengmeng's departure turned this villa, which was always full of children's songs and laughter, into a hell that could swallow the living at any time overnight, it was so dull that it was breathless.
Zhou Lin left the villa the next day and didn't come back for several days.
Xu Xiaoai, on the other hand, fell ill the day after Mengmeng left.
In a daze, she could also vaguely feel that someone was taking care of her—sometimes it was Aunt Zhao, the nanny of the villa, and sometimes it was a middle-aged female nurse...
And Xu Xiaoai's condition is actually simple, that is, he has a cold.
Fever, cough, loss of appetite.
But such a small problem, actually repeated over and over again, it took more than half a month to get better.
That day, when Zhou Lin came back, looking at Xu Xiaoai who was sitting in the yard in a shapeless form, she couldn't say a word for a long time.
He stood quietly and watched her for a long time.
Xu Xiaoai's eyes were always erratic, never falling into place, and he couldn't see him.
Zhou Lin stood still for a long time, then sighed.
He put down his briefcase and walked towards her, took off his coat, and gently covered Xu Xiaoai's body with the coat.
Xu Xiaoai was startled and stared at him with big eyes.
She originally had a pair of almond eyes, but now she is skinny and skinny, and her eyes are even bigger. From Zhou Lin's point of view, she is no different from those big-eyed girls in Japanese manga.
He sighed again.
Like him, Xu Xiaoai is a person who doesn't talk much. With Mengmeng in the past, the communication between the two is much more than it is now... Talking a lot, it seems that it is easier to communicate with each other.
But now...
Zhou Lin's words came to her lips several times, but she didn't know what to say to her.
It was Xu Xiaoai who spoke first.
"haven't seen you for a long time… "
As soon as she finished speaking, she froze for a moment.
In fact, she just felt that it was really embarrassing for the two of them to stand one by one and sit by the other, so she just had nothing to say...
But this sentence seems to contain too many special meanings
Xu Xiaoai murmured in her heart that it was not good, but for a while, she couldn't decide whether to change the subject or explain "Long time no see".
Zhou Lin smiled slightly.
"Well, I'm almost too busy, and then... there's nothing else to do, so I can celebrate the New Year with peace of mind." He whispered.
Xu Xiaoai was dumbfounded.
Chinese New Year
"How time flies!" she said heartily.
Zhou Lin let out an "um" and sat down beside her.
"This year's Chinese New Year... shall we spend it here? Or go to the hot spring villa on the mountain?" He chatted casually.
Xu Xiaoai was dumbfounded again.
What does he mean... He wants to stay and celebrate the New Year with her? Why didn't he go back to the old house? According to the tradition of people in country Z, most people go out to work or work, no matter how busy they are usually, they basically have to go back to their hometown during the Chinese New Year holidays and the birthdays of the elders in the family.
She suddenly remembered his bad childhood...
If she were him, she wouldn't want to go back to that kind of home.
Xu Xiaoai suddenly felt relieved.
"I don't want to go anywhere, just stay here," she said softly, "... I'm just sick, so I don't want to bother."
Zhou Lin let out another "hmm".
The two fell silent.
After a while, Zhou Lin suddenly said in a low voice, "...Xue Weilun went bankrupt and broke a leg. Now he is being detained by the police for the money owed to Han Guang and the crime of intentional injury, and he is being treated in the hospital. You... want Don't go see him?"
Xu Xiaoai froze.
"Intentional injury? Who did he hurt?"
As soon as she finished speaking, she stayed for a while, then suddenly understood, and hurriedly asked, "He, he... How is Mi Ru?"
"Don't worry, Miru's problem is not serious," the man said softly, "...she was also hospitalized—she was pushed down the stairs by Xue Weilun, and her arm was broken, but in order to treat Xue Weilun, So I have to exaggerate her injuries..."
Xu Xiaoai said anxiously, "Has her arm been broken? Does she...does it matter? Which hospital? I, I'll go and see her... Now that Xue Weilun is bankrupt, Miru has to support herself. She studied painting And the piano, if you want to survive in the future, I am afraid you can only rely on these two... "
As she spoke, she stood up, anxious and regretful in her heart.
"I, I... how could I have forgotten at that time, and let her stay by Xue Weilun's side..." Xu Xiaoai murmured.
She suddenly walked outside.
However, she stopped after walking two steps, turned around and asked Zhou Lin, "... Which hospital is Miru in now?"
The man looked at her and sighed helplessly.
"Xiaoai, it's not convenient for you to see her now."
Xu Xiaoai asked, "Why is it inconvenient for me to see her? Between my mother and Xue Weilun... she is not a third party. Besides, she was at fault for what happened back then, but she and Xue Weilun After staying together for so many years, she is not happy, this is already retribution... Why can't I go to see her?"
Zhou Lin looked at her and suddenly smiled slightly.
Xu Xiaoai frowned and looked at him, not knowing why.
The man laughed.
After thinking about it, he still felt that it would be better to explain the ins and outs to her clearly... Otherwise, this woman's ideas are too big, even if he has a way to prevent her from seeing Miru, she will probably think of other ways to see Miru.
"Actually, I didn't interfere with Xue Weilun's affairs...but Mengmeng's departure has something to do with Xue Weilun," he said bluntly, "... now Xue Weilun's fate is handled by the Zhou family. I just... tidy up Touch your hand, and protect Miru, that's all."
Xu Xiaoai was dumbfounded again.
During these few months, her only goal was to send Mengmeng away. So much so that after Mengmeng left, she relaxed completely and couldn't think about anything. Now that Zhou Lin reminded her like this... Thinking about it again, she is really not suitable to see Miru.
—In any case, Mengmeng's "disappearance" is based on "being lost by Xue Weilun", and Miru is Xue Weilun's woman... From the perspective of Xu Xiaoai, a poor mother who lost her daughter , from the point of view of a normal person, she should hate Miru. Firstly, she must hate Miru for intervening in her mother Mi Yun's marriage; secondly, she must hate Xue Weilun who lost Mengmeng, so she really can't visit Miru directly...
Xu Xiaoai thought about it carefully, and said directly to Zhou Lin, "...I, I still want to see her."
The man nodded, "I will arrange it."
Xu Xiaoai breathed a sigh of relief.
She couldn't help tightening her clothes.
Although the winter in S City is not cold, but she just recovered from a serious illness, and stood in this vent for a while, and couldn't help feeling a little shivering.
Zhou Lin stood up, walked to her side, hugged her and walked towards the villa.
As soon as he hugged her in his arms, the man was a little dazed.
—She is so thin
It happened that Xu Xiaoai looked up at him.
His coat has been put on her body, why... His embrace is still warm, but she is so cold
Zhou Lin took her back to the villa.
Although the living room was empty, the lights were bright, and the dining table was full of steaming meals.
Xu Xiaoai sat down and looked at the table full of medicinal meals with little interest.
During this period of time, she has been ill, and Aunt Zhao, the nanny, has been following the doctor's advice to stew and steam all kinds of medicinal food for her... It was a little fresh when she first ate it, but generally speaking, medicinal food is either steamed or stewed, not only traditional Chinese medicine The taste is strong, and the taste is still mild, after eating for more than half a month... Xu Xiaoai really lost her appetite.
Zhou Lin added a bowl of soup for her.
Xu Xiaoai was frowning, and heaved a long sigh.
"do not like to eat?"
The man raised his eyebrows.
Xu Xiaoai remained silent, lazily scooped up a spoonful of soup, and drank it slowly.
The man laughed.
He stood up and walked towards the kitchen...
Xu Xiaoai glanced at him, then turned to look at the stew in her bowl that smelled of traditional Chinese medicine bitterness, she really didn't arouse her interest and appetite.
Soon, the man came over with a bowl of steaming hot noodle soup.
It was still far away, but Xu Xiaoai could smell the familiar aroma of food.
She stared closely at the noodles in his hand, her beautiful almond eyes were clearly full of longing.
Zhou Lin put the bowl of freshly cooked noodles in front of her, and pushed it forward...
Xu Xiaoai swallowed involuntarily.
Seeing his gesture, she honestly pushed the herbal soup aside, and moved the bowl of noodles in front of her.
I don't know why...
Isn't Zhou Lin the president? Why does he know how to cook so well? This simple bowl of noodles does not show how good ingredients he used. The soup is clear and the noodles are white, and the vegetables are ordinary. How can it be so delicious
Holding the big blue and white porcelain bowl, Xu Xiaoai babbled and ate up all the noodles in the bowl including the soup and water.
After she finished eating, she still licked her lips, first looked at the bottom of the bowl with some reluctance, and finally took a small chopped green onion with chopsticks and ate it...
Zhou Lin smiled slightly.
"What do you want to eat tomorrow? I'll cook for you."
There was an easy-to-see ease in his tone.
Xu Xiaoai thought for a while, and said, "Braised pork? There is also dried beans at the bottom... I also want to eat dried fish with tempeh, and the meatballs you made last time are also delicious..." As she spoke, she was still a little dissatisfied. He licked his lips consciously.
The man gave a low "um", the corners of his mouth curled up.
He added a bowl of medicinal soup for her.
This time, Xu Xiaoai didn't refuse, she scooped up the soup with a spoon and drank it bit by bit.
She looked up at him suddenly and quietly.
I haven't seen you for half a month...
In fact, he has also lost a lot of weight, his cheeks are obviously sunken, his chin is also covered with blue beard, and there are thick dark circles under his eye sockets.
Xu Xiaoai lowered her head and silently took a sip of the soup.
These days, he has been busy with Mengmeng's disappearance, right
Mengmeng followed Xue Qing to Australia, and should have started a new life. And she... really should take care of her own affairs. After all, she is only in her twenties, and there is still a long way to go, so she shouldn't continue to be abandoned like this.
Thinking of this, Xu Xiaoai suddenly raised her head and glanced at Zhou Lin.
—What about him? A person like him should have already planned his life and future, right
Feeling her gaze, Zhou Lin couldn't help but look up at her, and then smiled.
Xu Xiaoai lowered her head again.
She suppressed the strange feeling in her heart, and told herself secretly——Xu Xiaoai, this man is so outstanding, it's really inappropriate for him and you to be separated by such a long distance between heaven and earth. You must not be tempted!
Xu Xiaoai clenched her fist tightly, then let it go again.
She was a little inexplicably lost.