In the past few years, Zhu Xingyao had difficulty falling asleep after waking up from nightmares in the middle of the night.
Tonight was an exception. After she hung up the phone, she lay back on the bed and fell asleep soon after. When she woke up the next morning, she sat on the bed and was dazed for a while. She still regretted making that call in the middle of the night. She didn't know what Jiang Tu would think...
Zhu Xingyao sat at the head of the bed and sighed. She got up, washed, changed her clothes and went downstairs.
Today is Saturday. Zhu Yunping and Ding Yu are both at home. They are sitting at the dining table eating breakfast. Ding Yu looks up at her and asks: "Why did you get up so early today?"
It was only 7:30. When Zhu Xingyao didn't sleep well at night, she would sometimes go to bed late. And since the band was on break today, she would usually sleep until 9 o'clock. Zhu Xingyao walked over and said, "Get up when you wake up."
Zhu Yunping stood up and said with a smile: "I'll fry an egg for you, sit down first."
Zhu Xingyao said: "Thank you, Dad."
After a while, the family of three sat at the dining table and enjoyed breakfast together. After eating, Zhu Yunping leaned back in his chair and read the news on his phone. He turned to look at his daughter and said, "It's your birthday in a few days. How do you want to celebrate? Dad may have to go on a business trip next week."
Zhu Xingyao's birthdays have been simple in recent years, because she is abroad, or performing with the orchestra in various places, and the days she can get together with Li Xixi and her parents are relatively rare, and it may not coincide with her birthday, so she just simply celebrates it. Moreover, she has grown up and is not looking forward to her birthday as much as she did when she was a child.
This year seems a little different.
She is in Jiangcheng.
Jiang Tu is back, Lin Jiayu is here too, Ding Xiang is here too, and Li Xixi said a few days ago that she had time to fly back to spend her birthday with her. It was like I was suddenly back in high school, and everyone was here.
Zhu Xingyao inevitably thought of the stars that Jiang Tu gave her. She thought for a moment and said, "Xixi said she would come back when she has time. You guys go about your business. I'll spend the time with my friends then."
Ding Yu came over and ruffled her hair, then looked at Zhu Yunping and sighed: "Look at our daughter, she is so beautiful, she is about to turn 26, and she doesn't even have a boyfriend..." She always felt that her daughter had not been in a relationship in recent years because of the Chen Yi incident a few years ago, and she became worried whenever she thought about it.
Who would have thought that the goddess in everyone's eyes would also be urged by her parents to find a boyfriend. Zhu Xingyao looked up at Ding Yu and said dissatisfiedly: "26 years old is not old, I just need to get married before I turn 30."
Zhu Yunping cleaned up the dishes and shook his head with a smile.
In the morning, Zhu Xingyao practiced the piano for two hours.
I took a nap at noon, and when I got up I started picking clothes. Several messages popped up on WeChat.
Lin Jiayu: "Jiang Tu just returned to China not long ago, Jiangcheng has changed a lot, and he doesn't know which restaurant is good, so he asked me to help choose. Let me ask you quietly, do you want to eat out or at home? We can go to Jiang Tu's new home!"
Lin Jiayu: "He just moved into a new home, it's cold and lonely, so we're just going to warm it up for him."
Lin Jiayu: "What do you think?"
Zhu Xingyao hesitated for a moment while holding the phone. Lin Jiayu probably didn't know that Jiang Tu liked her in high school, right? Nor did she know about the Xingxing Lantern? She probably just thought of her as Jiang Tu's deskmate, a close classmate.
Zhu Xingyao was aroused by Lin Jiayu, and suddenly wanted to go see what Jiang Tu's home looked like. She replied to Lin Jiayu: "Okay."
Jiang Tu calculated the time and prepared to go out to pick up Zhu Xingyao at five o'clock. At three o'clock, he received a WeChat message from Lin Jiayu: "Zhu Xingyao and I have agreed that we will not go out for dinner tonight. We will eat at your house. Just think of it as a warm home for you. How about it? [Yeah]"
Come to his house
Lin Jiayu is really... taking the initiative.
Jiang Tu felt a little helpless, but soon he felt that this was a good decision. In the past, he always wanted Zhu Xing to stay away from all the bad environment around him, but now it was different. Letting her get close to his life and be close to him was his original purpose.
He replied to Lin Jiayu: "Okay."
Jiang Tu left home half an hour earlier and arrived at Xingyuan Villa at around five o'clock. He called Zhu Xingyao and said, "I'll wait for you outside."
Soon, Zhu Xingyao came out wearing a white long dress.
Jiang Tu got out of the car, walked around the front of the car, opened the passenger door, and looked down at her: "Sit in the front."
Zhu Xingyao looked up at him, lifted her skirt and got into the passenger seat. She put her bag on her knees and fastened her seat belt. Jiang Tu got in the car and drove out. He looked ahead and asked her, "Do you want to listen to music?"
"Okay, let me turn it on." Zhu Xingyao looked up and turned on the music himself.
Zhu Xingyao was startled by the distant and deep sound of the cello. After listening for a while, he suddenly felt a little familiar. Every cellist has his own style, and the same piece of music will have different feelings when played by different people.
Zhu Xingyao was very familiar with her style, but she was a little uncertain until the end of the song, when she heard the girl's soft farewell voice: "Thank you, everyone."
This is…
Her voice.
The voice of a fifteen or sixteen year old.
Zhu Xingyao's heart was like a string that was gently plucked. She turned to look at him in surprise. The evening sunlight was no longer dazzling. It shone through the brown glass, reflecting the man's white shirt and cold outline, as if a layer of light golden light was sprinkled on him.
He was already a man of twenty-seven or twenty-eight, and she was twenty-six, but he was playing the music from her concert ten years ago in the car.
Perhaps because her gaze was too persistent, Jiang Tu stopped at the red light, turned to look at her, and said softly: "Don't you remember the song you put in my MP3 before?"
Zhu Xingyao lowered his head: "I remember, but I didn't expect you still kept it."
The green light is on.
There was a bit of a traffic jam today, so Jiang Tu drove the car out and he said, "Keep it."
Zhu Xingyao suddenly didn't know what to say. The cello music played one after another, all of which were her songs. Zhu Xingyao looked out the window, feeling very complicated, and a little... happy, but she was no longer a teenage girl. They hadn't seen or contacted each other for eight years. Even if they had been inextricably linked before, there was still a sense of distance now. She was thinking in a mess, and was interrupted by Jiang Tu's cell phone ringing.
When the car drove into the community, she came back to her senses and turned around to ask, "Don't you need to buy groceries?"
Jiang Tu turned the steering wheel, turned right, and said, "Lin Jiayu said she was responsible for buying it. She should be upstairs now." He paused, and then said, "Uncle Lin helped me before. Our two families have always had a good relationship, almost like family members."
Is this an explanation to her
Zhu Xingyao said “oh” and said nothing more.
The apartment was on the 15th floor. The two walked out of the elevator. Jiang Tu pressed the code to open the door. Zhu Xingyao followed him in. Jiang Lu and Ding Xiang, who were playing games on the sofa, turned around and looked over. Jiang Lu saw Zhu Xingyao and smiled nonchalantly, "Goddess sister, long time no see."
Zhu Xingyao stood at the entrance, stunned. She looked at the grown-up Jiang Lu and smiled a little embarrassedly: "Yeah, you are still this tall in my impression." She gestured with her hand to indicate a height, which was the height of Jiang Lu when he was twelve years old.
She knew that Jiang Lu was now a professional e-sports player, and had also watched his game videos online. The current Jiang Lu was no longer the naughty kid he used to be. He was somewhat similar to Jiang Tu when he grew up, but their temperaments were completely different.
Jiang Lu scratched his head: "That was almost ten years ago. I am almost as tall as my brother now."
Jiang Tu put a pair of pink slippers at her feet. Zhu Xingyao took off her flat shoes. Her feet in boat socks looked thin and her insteps were white. She looked down, put her feet in quickly, and glanced at Jiang Tu out of the corner of her eye.
She remembered that his height during the physical examination before the college entrance examination was 187 cm.
Lin Jiayu came out of the kitchen and looked at them with a smile: "We'll be able to eat soon."
It's six o'clock now.
Zhu Xingyao walked over quickly and saw several dishes on the table, which looked delicious. She was surprised and asked, "Are you so good?"
Lin Jiayu smiled: "It wasn't me, Aunt Shu... It was Jiang Tu's mom who made it. We brought it here after it was ready. She made the pig's trotters and spare ribs, as well as the steamed meat and crispy fish. The two cold dishes were bought ready-made, so we stewed them and blanched them. We'll stir-fry some beans and greens later and we can have dinner."
When Shu Xian heard that they were coming to warm up Jiang Tu's home, she was busy all afternoon and told the two to remember to buy home shoes, otherwise there would be no shoes to wear when there were too many people.
Zhu Xingyao thought of Aunt Shu, whom she had met once, and thought that Jiang Tu’s mother must be a very good person.
Ding Xiang's wife came out of the kitchen and greeted them with a smile.
Jiang Tu was the host, so there was no reason for him to let the guests do it. He walked to the kitchen and said calmly, "Let me do it."
Lin Jiayu said hurriedly: "You go and chat with them, I'll be fine."
"I'll do it."
Jiang Tu's tone refused to allow for rejection and he strode in.
Lin Jiayu curled her lips and pulled Ding Xiang's wife out of the kitchen. Zhu Xingyao followed Jiang Tu's tall back and looked around his apartment. The decoration style and color of the apartment were very cool, which suited him very well.
The sound of Jiang Lu and Ding Xiang playing King of Glory was very loud. Zhu Xingyao and Lin Jiayu sat on one side and chatted.
Lin Jiayu asked: "Can you play?"
“King?” Zhu Xingyao shook his head. “Xixi asked me to play a few times, but I didn’t know how to play and didn’t have much time, so I never played again.”
Lin Jiayu smiled and said, "That's right. You have to practice the piano and prepare for the concert. How can you find the time?"
Jiang Tu came out of the kitchen and put the vegetables on the table. Zhu Xingyao sat on the sofa facing the kitchen. She looked up and met his eyes. Jiang Tu was wearing a gray shirt, broad shoulders, gold-rimmed glasses, cold white skin, and a handsome face.
But his temperament is not very gentle. He suffered too much when he was young, and the temperament that the years have deposited in him is deep, ascetic, and a little indifferent.
Zhu Xingyao felt that what Li Xixi said was right. Jiang Tu was much more attractive now than when he was young.
She lowered her head in panic.
Lin Jiayu turned around and asked her, "Do you think Jiang Tu has changed a lot?"
Zhu Xingyao nodded: "Yeah." She thought for a moment and added, "It doesn't seem to be much, it's just that we all grow up, our appearances change a bit, we become more mature, and it feels like... our personalities shouldn't have changed much."
"He has always been like this." Lin Jiayu smiled, "Jiang Tu is very stubborn, and it's hard for him to change his mind about what he likes."
Zhu Xingyao pursed her lips: "Really?"
Lin Jiayu blinked: "Yes!"
You don’t know how much he likes you, he has liked you for many years.
Ten minutes later, several people sat at the dining table and started eating.
Ding Xiang brought two bottles of red wine. He poured a glass for everyone and said happily, "Come on, we must have a few drinks today. There were too many people at the last wedding, and I didn't have time to talk to you."
Lin Jiayu whispered, "You didn't even invite me to your wedding."
Ding Xiang scratched his head embarrassedly and told the truth: "I just feel a little embarrassed. We were not in the same class before... I was worried that you would spend money. I brought you wedding candy and I will punish myself with a glass of wine." He raised his head and drank the glass of wine in one breath.
Lin Jiayu laughed: "I was just kidding."
Everyone raised their glasses and clinked them, creating a cheerful atmosphere.
Zhu Xingyao noticed the wine glass next to Jiang Tu but didn't touch a drop.
After dinner, Jiang Lu was about to leave before eight o'clock. He waved to Zhu Xingyao, "Goddess sister, I have to go back to training. See you next time." He walked to the door and turned back and smiled, "I heard that you are going to have a concert. I will buy tickets and invite the team members to watch it."
Lin Jiayu said: "The tickets are sold out."
Jiang Lu: “…”
He said awkwardly: "Then next time I compete, please come and watch."
At ten o'clock, Ding Xiang and his wife also wanted to go back. Lin Jiayu called two designated drivers over. After they left, Jiang Tu turned to look at Zhu Xingyao beside him and whispered, "Let's go. I'll take you home."
Zhu Xingyao looked up at him and asked in a low voice: "You didn't drink just now, just to send me home?"
Jiang Tu lowered his eyes: "Yeah."
Zhu Xingyao lowered his head, turned around and walked towards where he had parked his car before: "Let's go."
Jiang Tu walked to her side in two big strides. He put his hand in his trouser pocket and took out the car keys. After the two got in the car, Jiang Tu turned his head and looked at Zhu Xingyao who was slowly fastening her seat belt. The light in the car was dim, and her face was white and rosy, which was very clear. His eyes fell on the small mole on the wing of her nose, "Have you passed the driving test?"
Zhu Xingyao turned around and said, "I passed the test, but I'm not very happy..."
Jiang Tu drove the car out and asked in a low voice: "Don't you dare to drive?"
Zhu Xingyao got her driver's license abroad in 2013. After returning to China, she seldom drove. She lowered her head and said, "No, I just don't want to drive. I'm lazy."
He looked ahead and smiled.
More than half an hour later, the car stopped under the shadow of a tree on the roadside of Xingyuan Villa. Zhu Xingyao lowered her head to unbuckle her seat belt. Jiang Tu slightly turned sideways and looked at her: "Can you add me on WeChat?"
Snap—
After unbuckling the seat belt, Zhu Xingyao paused and looked up at him: "Did you add me?"
Jiang Tu stared at her intently, not knowing whether she really didn't guess it was him or if she did it on purpose. He picked up his phone from the center console, opened WeChat, and turned to look at her: "Then add me now."
Zhu Xingyao clutched the strap of her bag and drooped her eyelashes.
Her eyelashes were very long, casting a shadow, and she looked a little lonely. She raised her eyes again and looked straight at him: "Add WeChat, will you send me a message? Or, if I send you a message, will you reply?"
In fact, she also wanted to ask why he ignored her before.
But sometimes she understood his self-esteem and pride that was deep in his bones, his forbearance and restraint, his clarity and rationality.
However, when I think about it, I still feel wronged and resentful towards him.
Jiang Tu's Adam's apple rolled, as if he had swallowed some emotion, and he said softly, "Yes."
The author has something to say: Brother Tu is seducing! I finally added Xingxing's WeChat. It takes some time for the two of us to get used to each other after we just met. It won't be long before we get together, because this article will be about after marriage~