There were bursts of thunder and rain outside the window. The air conditioner was blowing cold wind.
Two people were squeezed on the small bed, and the woman was curled up in the man's arms. She was not honest in her sleeping posture. After a while, she turned over and wrapped all the blankets on the man.
Chen Ziang was awakened by the cold. He was only wearing a pair of sports shorts, and his upper body was naked. He yawned and reached for his mobile phone on the floor, looked at the time, and then jumped up: "It's already 12 o'clock?!"
Qiu Zining was also awakened, and asked him with sleepy eyes: "What time is it."
Chen Ziang threw his mobile phone away, came over, put his chin on her shoulder, hugged her waist, and muttered: "It's noon."
She hummed, turned around, and the two hugged each other face to face, and asked again: "Is it raining?"
Chen Ziang didn't say anything, his mouth went to her lips, and his hands became dishonest.
The two of them stayed up until late last night. At 5 a.m., Qiu Zining got up to go to the bathroom, browsed Weibo for a while, and then lay down and slept until now.
Qiu Zining pulled his hair and pulled him away, saying, "Be quiet."
He started to be shameless: "I have good physical strength."
"That's perfect..." She kicked him, "Do housework."
Young people have their own advantages. In addition to strong physical strength, they are also obedient.
Qiu Zining's majesty was there, and Chen Ziang really got out of bed and did the housework honestly. The sky was clear at this time. Qiu Zining was sitting on the dining table with her feet up, spreading avocado jam on bagels. Looking at Chen Ziang who was busy cleaning the house, she said, "You are so virtuous."
Chen Ziang was silent.
Qiu Zi'ning continued to provoke: "Whoever marries you will be blessed."
Chen Zi'ang turned around and looked at her unhappily: "Do you want this blessing?"
Qiu Zi'ning laughed, thinking of something, and suddenly asked him: "But why?"
"Why?"
"You liked me as soon as you saw me? No, you liked me before you even met me... You obviously know nothing about me, it's not love at first sight, right?"
Chen Zi'ang curved his lips, but retorted, "Who said I like you?"
Qiu Zi'ning raised her eyebrows and said lightly: "Then don't like me."
This really forced him to hurry, "No! How can I not like you?" Touching her cunning eyes, he paused and said again: "Secret."
The rain was lighter.
The cleaned apartment became fresh, Chen Zi'ang opened the window, and the fresh air after the rain seeped into every corner. The man working in front of him had a pleasing figure - nourishing her body last night and nourishing her eyes during the day. She took a bite of the bagel covered with avocado jam, the soft and crunchy texture was extremely satisfying.
It was also at that moment that Qiu Zining suddenly understood why men were eager to get married when they reached a certain age - who would not want to get married if there was a young, good-looking, hardworking person at home who could clean the house at any time?
The reason why she hated marriage was because she imagined herself to be the "wife" who had lost her career, had nothing, and could only bury her head in housework.
But when one day, she found that she could become a "husband", the word marriage was no longer so hateful, and even became kind and lovely.
"Chen Ziang..." She suddenly called him.
The man who was sitting in the pile of express packages and sorting them for her looked up: "What?"
"What kind of wife do you want to marry?"
"Me? How old am I!" He looked incredible, then thought of something and teased her: "If I were looking for a wife, I would definitely not look for someone like you."
"Oh?" Qiu Zining paused with a half-bitten bagel and looked at Chen Ziang, wanting to know more.
"Look at you, you are not virtuous at all, you can't do housework, the house is a mess, and you can't cook. If I marry such a wife home, I will be exhausted to death. I tell you, if my mother comes and sees your house like this..."
"Pah." The sound of a fork falling to the ground.
Chen Ziang didn't realize anything, looked up at her, and said carelessly: "Look at you, right? You can't even hold the fork steadily, and you have to rely on me..."
As he said this, he stood up to help her get the fork.
"No need." Qiu Zining stood up and looked at him coldly: "How long will it take you to finish cleaning?"
Chen Ziang was stunned, feeling the chill in his words, "It's almost done..."
"Then go home. I can do the rest myself." She put the bagel down.
Walked to the door, opened it, raised her chin to him, and said with her eyes: "Get lost."
Chi Wei's car drove to the bottom of Guangde International Apartment. It was only more than a thousand meters away from his home. He could see this building when he opened the window. It was half commercial and half residential, with a complex population and not too quiet.
He parked the car on the side of the road and sent a message to Lin Shan, "I'm downstairs."
A few minutes later, the phone vibrated, and the caller ID was Lin Shan. Chi Wei's heart beat wildly, and Lin Shan's voice of reunion after a long absence rang in his ears. Her voice was clear and clear, calling him: "Wei."
The surroundings were noisy, and cars drove by from time to time, but Chi Wei's world was quiet the moment he heard her voice.
He was silent for a moment before answering: "Where do you live? I'll come find you."
"I'm by the window. Get out of the car and go downstairs. I can see you."
He was helpless, "Don't you want to see me?"
He paused and said, "I was supposed to be on vacation today. I ran from home to the airport, waited at the airport for three hours, and ran here again. I didn't even have a meal..."
The other end interrupted him: "Wei, you never complained about me before."
Chi Wei shut up.
He sighed and got out of the car regardless of the rain outside the window. He walked to the bottom of Guangde International Apartment and said to the other end of the phone: "Can you see me?"
"My floor is very low, you can see it by opening the curtains - huh? Chi Wei, you look better. Someone is matching clothes for you, right?"
Chi Wei paused for a few seconds, "I'm married."
"Oh -" she answered with a long tone. Lin Shan hid behind the curtains, half of her head was exposed. There was a musty smell in the apartment, and the air conditioner was very low. She complained to the phone in a low voice: "I got engaged once, but the man was a jerk. He said he loved me and wanted to give me an American identity, but when we were about to get married, he changed his mind. His mother looked down on me and asked me to leave him. She used all kinds of means to force us to break up. At first, he was determined, but later, he stood on his mother's side. We lived together for a year, and finally he ordered me to move out. I I moved out of the apartment overnight and lived in the cheapest hotel in Chinatown. He didn't leave me any money, nor did he allow me to go back to the apartment. I called him to send me my things. He stuffed all my shoes, bags and cosmetics in a sack. When I received the goods, the cosmetics were broken, the foundation and essence were mixed together, and they were all over my bags and clothes. The mud on the soles of my shoes was also printed on every piece of clothing..."
The rain didn't stop completely. The raindrops were like dense little bugs, flying on his face and drilling into his collar.
The splashing rain soaked Chi Wei's trouser legs. There happened to be a puddle of water where he was standing. Over time, the water soaked his sheepskin soles. The wet and cold touch was like a crushed water snake, seeping in from the socks and sticking to the soles of his feet.
He listened to her very quietly, and she sobbed as she spoke. In the end, she burst into tears.
Her voice was intermittent: "It's too embarrassing, isn't it? The last thing I should do is to tell you. But I don't want to tell anyone. I can only tell you, because I know that you are the only person in the world who tolerates me and treats me well. I'm sorry, I didn't mean to bother you today. I was thinking, if you are willing to pick me up and come to me, then it proves that you are still you. As long as you are still you, I can show you my most embarrassing and ugly side... I'm sorry, Wei... I'm sorry... But it's great to have you..."
The rain gradually stopped, Chi Wei sighed, and only said: "I'm here. Don't worry, I won't laugh at you."
He had been waiting for her quietly downstairs. Passers-by passed by from time to time. There was a gilded revolving door under Guangde International Apartment. After a while, a young man came out, probably a college student. He seemed to have quarreled with his girlfriend, and he was dejected, and his expression was actually a little aggrieved.
The aggrieved male college student glanced at Chi Wei, didn't care, and walked towards the subway station with his head down.
Chi Wei continued to stand downstairs devoutly.
After a while, another woman with loose hair came out, wearing a suspender skirt, with hair as lush as seaweed and very white skin. She looked familiar? - He took another look. Soon, the woman with loose hair also noticed him. The two looked at each other, and Chi Wei remembered that it was the lady he almost bumped into yesterday.
The woman seemed to recognize him, and she was so angry that the dogs on the roadside wanted to kick her. When she saw Chi Wei, she frowned, took out a pack of cigarettes from her bag, lit it, took a deep puff, and said, "Stupid."
Chi Wei touched his nose.
Finally, Lin Shan's crying stopped with the sound of rain. Before leaving, Chi Wei looked upstairs and saw a thin figure sitting by the French window on the third floor. She was still dressed in white, with a slender neck, fine hair, and her head hung down, as if she had lost her strength, like a broken doll. Chi Wei looked at her for a while and thought: She has lost weight.
Qu Fanyi was wearing slippers, and the ground was full of water. With every step, cold rain mixed with grass debris would enter her feet. She didn't care too much. She left the community, turned left, and then turned right. She didn't look at the road. There were more people after the rain. There were dogs and people walking on the road. Qu Fanyi looked wooden, and her steps became faster and faster. She lowered her head and walked aimlessly.
Continue forward, and I don't know how long I walked, and finally arrived at a slightly unfamiliar but very lively place.
It was two o'clock in the afternoon, and the road was full of luxury cars. Qu Fanyi was stunned, and then she found that there was a kindergarten on the road, and the surroundings should be parents picking up their children.
She had made an appointment with Mrs. Jiang, who was pregnant, to visit it last month. The kindergarten was not big, surrounded by high railings, and under the railings were bushes, blocking part of the view. Looking through the bushes, you can see the colorful low buildings and a small playground inside.
Qu Fanyi's steps slowed down. She never said that she liked children very much.
She liked to be surrounded by children, hugged, and liked these vigorous and warm little lives. The children seemed to be still in class. A few meters away, she could hear their babbling and laughter. How wonderful children are, they are the crystallization of a happy family.
She walked around the railing step by step, hoping to heal her broken and pitiful heart through the happiness within the wall.
Then she heard the sound of the piano. A series of smooth melodies, followed by the singing of children, the tender voice, like the afternoon after the rain in late summer, clear, wet and familiar.
Qu Fanyi stopped and looked up.
Inside the railing was a low two-story building, which was covered with watercolors. After being washed by the rain, it sparkled in the sun. She was facing the window, which was open. The light yellow curtains were blown open by the wind, and fluttered with the children's singing.
So, on this summer afternoon, the soul-destroying Qu Fanyi stood under the fence, on the deserted street right behind the kindergarten, tilting her neck and listening to song after song. The melody of the children's voices and piano music flowed into her heart, and the huge hole in her heart was filled by pairs of warm and tender little hands.
Qu Fanyi covered her chest, as if her heart had resumed beating.
After an unknown amount of time, the sound stopped, followed by the laughter of the children, the sound of standing up, and the sound of lively footsteps. Then, everything returned to silence.
The teacher's curtains were still fluttering, and after a while, a pair of hands stretched out of the window, followed by a face, the face of a man with a sparse smile.
He stretched out his waist towards the window, and was about to close the window when he noticed the gaze of the downstairs. A woman looked up at him blankly.
The four eyes met.
No one looked away.
Blurred, then a little bit of clear memory came to his face. That irritable rainy afternoon, that half day wasted in the taxi, the sad woman.
And that wet, fleeting kiss.
The passionate and irresponsible romance, like the first rose blooming in the endless wheat field, like the first rain of pink petals falling from the winter sky.
A beating heart. Bang.
…
A sore throat.
"…You…" Zeng Yuqiu recognized her.
Qu Fanyi didn't say anything.
"I didn't expect it to be such a coincidence?" After a moment of stunned silence, the man smiled and waved to her generously.
She still just looked at him.
"But I won't get off work for half an hour... Uh, are you going to wait for me?"
Qu Fanyi still didn't respond. Like a fool, the world around her was roaring, and she would never have thought that he would be here.
Zeng Yuqiu was a little embarrassed, rubbed his ears, and waved his arms, "Hello?? Hello??"
The woman finally responded a little. She moved her lips but said nothing.
Then, she lowered her head and ran away.