As they walked out of the school gate, Zhou Yuan hooked his arm around Xu Xiangyang's shoulder and said in a low voice, "You idiot, why did you call Jiang Tu? With his personality, the air pressure drops a bit when he sits there. Aren't you asking for trouble?"
Xu Xiangyang was speechless: "How can it be that serious?"
Behind them, Zhu Xingyao and Li Xixi walked hand in hand with Lu Ji. Lu Ji turned around and asked, "What do you want to eat?"
Zhu Xingyao glanced at him and said, "Today is your birthday, so I should ask you what you want to eat, right?"
Lu Ji smiled: "Then let's go to the city as planned. I have booked a private room in the restaurant. There is a KTV upstairs where we can go sing after dinner." With this arrangement, they can stay together for a long time tonight.
"You just won a prize. Don't you have to celebrate your birthday with your family?" Li Xixi was a little curious.
Lu Ji said: "I celebrated with my family last night, so I can do whatever I want tonight."
Jiang Tu and Lin Jiayu were walking at the end. Lin Jiayu turned to look at him with mixed feelings.
Zhou Yuan wanted to take a taxi, but Lin Jiayu whispered, "There's a direct bus at the door," so they got on the bus together and took up the last two rows of seats. Lin Jiayu sat in the same row with Jiang Tu. While no one was paying attention, she leaned close to Jiang Tu and sighed softly, "Why are you doing this?"
Isn't this asking for trouble
Jiang Tu turned his head and said coldly: "Shut up."
Lin Jiayu snorted and turned to look out the window. He had never celebrated his birthday since junior high school, let alone celebrating birthdays with others. This time, he was going to celebrate Lu Ji's birthday with everyone.
Did he want to pursue Zhu Xingyao? But it didn't seem like that. His attitude towards Zhu Xingyao in public was not as intimate as her. Only a ghost could tell that he liked Zhu Xingyao.
The restaurant was on the third floor of the mall. After the seven people walked into the private room, Zhu Xingyao discovered that there were two more people, a man and a woman. Lu Ji introduced them as his childhood friends who were from the foreign language high school next door. The boy looked at Zhu Xingyao, raised his eyebrows and smiled: "I've heard of you for a long time, but I've never met you. This time Lu Ji finally asked you out."
The girl also mocked: "That's right, it took so long to get an appointment, can you do it?"
Lu Ji kicked the boy and looked at the girl: "Shut up."
This was the first time that Zhu Xingyao experienced the feeling of being teased and joked by the other party's friends as if she were her girlfriend. She smiled a little embarrassedly, turned to look at Li Xixi, and her eyes met Jiang Tu, who was sitting next to Lin Jiayu.
He looked at her silently, then lowered his eyes calmly.
"Zhu Xingyao." Lu Ji called out and placed the exquisite and heavy menu in front of her, "You girls, please order the food."
Zhu Xingyao came back to his senses, turned around and smiled: "Okay."
The three girls sat together, putting their heads together to order food. Lin Jiayu felt like a country bumpkin. She had never eaten at such an expensive place before. When she saw the prices, she couldn't help but smack her lips and only ordered a serving of cold cucumber salad.
Lu Ji turned around and looked over, unable to help but laughing: "Lin Jiayu, are you a vegetarian?"
Lin Jiayu: “…”
Zhu Xingyao probably guessed what Lin Jiayu was worried about, so she turned around and asked, "What do you like to eat?"
"Then order some fish." Lin Jiayu curled her lips, trying to appear more generous.
Lu Ji smiled.
Lin Jiayu thought for a moment and said, "Jiang Tu also likes to eat fish."
Zhu Xingyao was startled and looked up at Jiang Tu. Jiang Tu picked up the kettle and poured a few cups of water without saying a word. He placed three cups in front of them and leaned back in his chair to look at her: "Don't worry about me, just order."
Lu Ji looked at Jiang Tu. He had not expected Jiang Tu to follow him. He recalled the rumors about him and Lin Jiayu. Was it really because of Lin Jiayu? In any case, with such a cold person here, the atmosphere was really a bit strange.
This atmosphere became even more bizarre when they got to the KTV private room. Li Xixi was fighting with a few boys for the microphone, and Zhu Xingyao was being dragged by Lu Ji and his two childhood friends to chat and play cards. Lu Ji blocked his hand that was about to give Zhu Xingyao a beer: "What are you doing? She doesn't drink."
Zhou Yuan walked down from the song requesting platform and said with a sigh: "You are so protective of me."
Zhu Xingyao was still not used to this kind of teasing, and she said awkwardly: "Actually, you can drink a little." Usually, when Zhu Yunping and Ding Yu took her to banquets or parties, they would give her a little red wine, not much, just half a glass.
Suddenly, she felt a pair of eyes looking at her from the corner. She looked up and saw Jiang Tu sitting in the corner of the sofa. It was a little dark there and she couldn't see his expression clearly, but she knew he was looking at her. She was stunned for a moment.
They were all still wearing their school uniforms, and a few boys took off their blue and white jackets when they entered the box.
Jiang Tu was wearing a black sweatshirt and was the only boy present who wore glasses. He had a reserved and calm temperament, completely different from the sunny and flamboyant demeanor of the others.
For some reason, Zhu Xingyao felt that he was out of place here. He didn't seem happy and couldn't blend into the atmosphere here. So why did he come? She couldn't figure it out. Zhou Yuan brought a deck of cards and said, "Can you really drink it? Then I'll pour it, one cup for each person."
Zhu Xingyao just nodded when he saw Jiang Tu move and lean forward. The spotlight above his head fell on his shoulders, making him look even more desolate. He said in a neutral tone, "We are all minors. Is it appropriate for us to drink?"
Zhu Xingyao: “…”
Lu Ji turned to look at him, was silent for a moment, and suddenly kicked Zhou Yuan in annoyance: "I already said I don't want to drink anymore. If you want to drink, drink by yourself. Girls don't drink."
Zhou Yuan felt wronged after being kicked: "We were all drinking before..."
Xu Xiangyang tried to smooth things over: "That's right, girls shouldn't drink anymore. It won't be good if your parents find out when you get home."
To be honest, he also regretted asking Jiang Tu to come.
Anyway, he didn't have a problem with Jiang Tu, but the atmosphere tonight was indeed a bit strange. He was afraid of ruining Lu Ji's mood. After all, it was Lu Ji's birthday. He poured the wine and said, "Boys drink, girls can eat some fruits and snacks and sing some songs."
The music starts.
It's a song called "I'm Not Worthy" from Jay Chou's new album.
Li Xixi sat on a high chair and started singing.
Everyone was stunned.
Look at Li Xixi.
Xu Xiangyang couldn't help but laugh: "Li Xixi's singing is quite nice, no wonder she wanted to participate in the talent show before, but it's a pity that they only selected men."
Zhu Xingyao: “…”
Li Xixi was singing with such devotion that I couldn't hear anything at all. If I had heard it, it would have been another bloody storm.
After a while, Li Xixi pulled Zhu Xingyao up and pressed her on a high chair: "I ordered two songs for you." Zhu Xingyao played the cello and her singing was not as good as Li Xixi, but she had a nice voice and her temperament was there. With the light above her head, she was the most dazzling.
It was the first time that Jiang Tu heard her sing. He leaned back on the sofa, raised his hand to push his glasses, and looked at her intently.
Because Zhu Xingyao said she had to go home before 12 o'clock, the waiter pushed the birthday cake in before 11 o'clock. They ordered a happy birthday song and after cutting the cake, Xu Xiangyang took the lead in giving gifts and gave Lu Ji a set of physics competition questions.
Lu Ji was speechless and laughed, "Get lost."
Originally, Zhu Xingyao wanted to give an album, but Li Xixi felt that it would be inappropriate for her to not prepare a gift, so Zhu Xingyao took a Parker pen from Zhu Yunping's collection. She gave the pen and Li Xixi gave Jay Chou's album.
It can be considered as a return of the gift of the cello pendant last time.
She handed the pen case to Lu Ji and smiled: "Happy birthday, I wish you get first place in the winter camp in the country."
Lu Ji took the gift and opened it in front of him. He raised his eyebrows and smiled: "I will use this pen for the next exam."
"Use this pen when you write a love letter next time." Zhou Yuan bumped his shoulder against his. "I promise your handwriting will look better."
Zhu Xingyao was stunned for a moment and lowered his head.
Li Xixi pursed her lips and smiled secretly.
At this time, Jiang Tu brought two glasses of wine and looked at Lu Ji calmly: "Lin Jiayu and I didn't prepare any gifts, so let's have two glasses of wine instead." He tilted his head back and drank the two glasses of wine. His neck looked long and beautiful, and his sharp Adam's apple rolled up and down. Soon he put down the glass.
Lu Ji was stunned for a moment. He looked at Lin Jiayu and suddenly smiled: "Can you represent Lin Jiayu?"
Lin Jiayu was silent for a moment, looked at him, and whispered, "Happy birthday, I'll give you the gift next time."
Lu Ji: “…”
He wasn't asking for a gift, was he? He glanced at Jiang Tu, he just wanted to know who Jiang Tu liked.
The cake was cut and the gifts were given.
Jiang Tu held up the school uniform and glanced at Zhu Xingyao: "Lin Jiayu and I are taking a taxi. We are going the same way. How are you going to get home?"
Lin Jiayu quickly said, "Yes, we're on the way. Will your driver come to pick you up? If not, let's go back together."
Lu Ji paused and looked at the two men.
Zhu Xingyao nodded without hesitation: "I didn't ask the driver to pick me up, I just wanted to take a taxi back."
The group went downstairs, and Lu Ji asked Zhu Xingyao: "Aren't you going to hold a concert this year? I'm still waiting for your ticket."
Zhu Xingyao apologized and said, "I'm too busy this year and don't have time to prepare. I'll wait until I pass the TestDAF next year. I'll need to send a performance video to the school by then, so I'll need to prepare that as well."
Lu Ji raised his eyebrows: "Okay, then I'll wait, don't forget it."
There are several empty cars parked downstairs.
Everyone took a taxi home. Zhu Xingyao and Lin Jiayu sat in the back seat, while Jiang Tu leaned on the front passenger seat. Zhu Xingyao felt right. His height had reached 185cm, 2cm taller than last year. He had nowhere to put his long legs. He said to the driver, "Let's go to Xingyuan Villa."
Zhu Xingyao was puzzled: "Shouldn't we go to Hexi Lane first?"
Jiang Tu: "I'll take you first."
The boy's voice was dull, but Zhu Xingyao felt warm in her heart. Brother Tu was always like this, very kind to the people around him, but hard on the outside but soft on the inside. She curved her lips and said, "Okay."
The taxi stopped in front of Zhu Xingyao's house. She got out and waved to Jiang Tu and Lin Jiayu: "See you at school on Monday."
In the dim and narrow alley of Hexi Lane.
Jiang Tu walked a little faster, and Lin Jiayu trotted behind him, "Jiang Tu."
Without even turning his head, he said, "You'd better not ask anything."
Lin Jiayu: “…”
She held her breath and said, "If you don't want to ask, then don't ask! Anyway, I know you like Zhu Xingyao."
As soon as Jiang Tu stepped into the house, he knew that Chen Yi had been there tonight. The living room was a mess. Jiang Jinhui was sitting on the sofa smoking. He looked up at him, then pretended not to see him and lowered his head to take a puff.
The relationship between father and son has fallen into an icy valley, and they don't even need to say hello when they meet at home.
Late at night, even a place like Hexi Lane, where all kinds of people gathered, fell into silence. What was rare was that the moonlight was good tonight, with a few stars sparsely hanging near the crescent moon. Jiang Tu leaned against the rooftop railing, and the cold wind of late autumn blew the black hair in front of his forehead.
Occasionally, he also heard some rumors about Lu Ji and Zhu Xingyao - "One of them is as beautiful as the moon and the other is as bright as the stars in the sky. They are a perfect match!"
He raised his head and looked at the stars, and an absurd thought flashed through his mind.
—If Zhu Xingyao, this star, falls from the sky one day and becomes like Lin Jiayu, without a good family background and the halo of a goddess, and becomes ordinary, will he be able to get her
The sparks between his fingers burned to the end and burned his hands. He suddenly came to his senses and couldn't help spitting on himself.
One must have a very dark heart to have such thoughts.
Jiang Tu, you must be crazy tonight.
After the Monday morning reading class, Zhu Xingyao, like a competent little teacher, distributed the printed German materials to the three "students". She also placed a thick German dictionary on Jiang Tu's desk and said seriously, "Here's the dictionary. I know Xixi too well. After the three-day enthusiasm, I guess you won't study much. Ding Xiang... you don't even do your homework, let alone do it. I'm counting on you."
Li Xixi was not convinced: "I can at least hold on for a week, don't discourage me."
Ding Xiang was busy copying homework and sighed.
Jiang Tu flipped through the thick stack of information. He didn't expect her to be so serious. He curved his lips and said, "Okay."
Xu Xiangyang passed by and stopped to look at them: "You want to learn German?"
Li Xixi looked up: "Any questions, squad leader?"
Xu Xiangyang felt his scalp tingle when he heard her call him monitor: "No, no, you can learn whatever you want."
It is harder to get started with German than English. Zhu Xingyao has a natural good sense of the language and learns relatively quickly. Ding Xiang only studied for one long break and then said he wanted to give up. Li Xixi is still persisting. Jiang Tu has always been a quick learner and has a good memory, so he finds it much easier to learn than Li Xixi.
It's Friday.
Li Xixi announced that she had given up: "I don't want to learn anymore. You can just teach me a few words occasionally. I only scored over 120 points in English... and I'm learning German... Forgive me! I'm not going abroad!"
Zhu Xingyao was not surprised at all: "I knew it."
She paused and looked at Jiang Tu eagerly.
Jiang Tu seemed to know what she was going to say, and said calmly: "I rarely give up halfway through doing things."
Zhu Xingyao immediately smiled, turned to Li Xixi and Ding Xiang and said, "You should learn from Brother Tu!"
In the afternoon, it started to drizzle outside the window. Zhu Xingyao stood between the desks and looked out the window. From the corner of her eye, she saw Jiang Tu flipping through a German oral book. She sat down face to face with him and asked with a smile, "Is there anything you want to ask me?"
Jiang Tu raised his eyes and pressed his slender fingers on the book: "You haven't read these."
Zhu Xingyao said "oh" and read from top to bottom in a very low voice. Every time she read a line, she translated a sentence into Chinese and Jiang Tu wrote it next to it.
Occasionally, he would recite it.
The last sentence.
She looked at the line of German, paused, and suddenly lowered her voice: "Ich liebe dich (German: I like you)"
Jiang Tu suddenly looked up at her: "What did you say? I didn't hear clearly."
Zhu Xingyao raised her voice a little: "Ich liebe dich." She suddenly felt a little awkward and translated in a low voice, "It means I like you."
There was silence for one second.
The sound of classmates' laughter was in his ears, and the sound of rain was outside the window. Jiang Tu's Adam's apple rolled and his voice was very low: "ich liebe dich." He paused for a second, then suddenly looked into her bright and blank eyes, "I know."
Ich liebe dich.
He repeated it in his mind.
The author has something to say: Jiang Tu: ich liebe dich [German: I like you]
I will try to update more tomorrow and finish writing high school this week. Thank you everyone~
Thanks to Pitao x2, anyone likes Lanshmily, Mengfeifei, Jiayan's rocket launcher
Thanks to Huai'an Golden Eagle Psychic Li Wenjuan, someone likes blue shmily, how can you eat rabbits? Grenade
Thanks to Zhongxiao Yao x3, Changzaihebianzhao x2, Dudu, someone likes blue shmily, Zaizai Tang's baby egg, f, young and promising, kěke, vitamininch, Pitao, 29041664, Yinsang's strawberry milk, Qiuqiu, Ribuguang, ? Fallen leaves?, Suiyu Anran wsy, euphoria's mines