Chapter Twenty (1)

  To some extent, a parking lot is actually a good place for encounters. You can imagine a couple meeting in a parking lot, with the woman immediately judging the man's wealth by the car he drives, and thus starting a romantic relationship. If the man drives a 300,000 to 400,000 yuan Peugeot 307, it's just an ordinary romance; if he drives a 700,000 to 800,000 yuan Lotus, it's a general romance; if he drives a more than one million yuan Porsche Cayenne, it's very romantic; and if he drives a four million yuan Ferrari 612, that's extremely romantic. But if he drives a Chery QQ, it's not even worth considering.

  The car He Dajun was driving was a Porsche Cayenne. In the face of such a luxury car, Zhou Yueyue could still speak lightly about breaking up with him, which already showed that she was destined to be the female lead in this life. The female leads from ancient times to the present are all rich and noble, cannot be intimidated by wealth or power, and do not accept cash or checks. Even literary works that take courtesans as their main characters cannot be an exception. Even if the male lead comes to visit you, you cannot accept money; if you do, you are not a qualified female lead and will become a cannon fodder female supporting character. He Dajun is unable to let go of Zhou Yueyue probably because he thinks she is not materialistic. But I suspect that Zhou Yueyue actually has no idea what price range this car is in. I can already imagine that if one day she and He Dajun have a conversation about this Porsche, she will definitely ask: "This car isn't bad, right? It shouldn't cost more than 200,000 to 300,000 RMB, should it?"

  I gave Zhou Yue a look, which in Chinese means: "How did you end up with He Dashi again?" But she didn't receive the signal and continued to lean on her chin, lost in thought. Qin Mo let go of me without making a sound and wrapped his right arm around my waist, turning to nod at them as a greeting. He Dashi's expression suddenly became vivid, and his eyes emitted a light similar to that of a dying person's final glow.

  I think it's all over; yesterday's performance was in vain.

  I had intended to take rescue measures, but if Qin Mo was present, it would be impossible. Thinking of this, I quickly pushed him into the car, fastened his seatbelt and closed the door, a smooth and swift motion. He rolled down the window and looked at me inquiringly, I lowered my head and said: "Drive carefully."

  He raised an eyebrow: "I'm always very careful when I drive."

  I said: "Obviously last time also hit the guardrail..."

  "He said: 'Isn't it because you're causing trouble on the side?'"

  I clenched my fist and gestured to his face, he burst out laughing: "Alright, remember to buy dumpling wrappers tonight." After that, he started the car and drove out of our sight in a minute.

  He Dashi said: "Yan Song, you...you and Yueyue..."

  Zhou Yueyue finally reacted, after her loud cry, the play we had yesterday was on the verge of collapse, and she was stunned there for a moment without saying a word.

  I hastily rushed over in a flustered state and said: "Yueyue, don't misunderstand, I have nothing to do with him, it's just that he likes me on his own accord, I basically don't like him, really, there's nothing between us."

  Zhou Yue quickly fell into character and turned her head away, ignoring me.

  I originally wanted to grab her pant leg, but she was wearing an ultra-mini skirt today, and there was nothing to grab. I didn't know where to start for a moment.

  Zhou Yueyue has already put on a dreamy expression, turned his head and said: "Liking you makes me feel so much pressure, not only do I have to guard against women, but also men. Do you know that every day I live in fear?"

  "I was wondering why she said 'protect women' before saying 'protect men', when my throat automatically spoke out: "Baby, don't be afraid, I'm yours in life and your lucky charm in death.""

  He Daishao finally couldn't hold on anymore, took a step back and bumped into the car's headlight, and smiled wryly with a heart of death: "I'll leave first."

  Zhou Yueyue watched as He Dasao's Porsche disappeared into the distance. On TV, this kind of scene would always be shot in slow motion with a sentimental song playing in the background, something like "You said you'd marry me but ended up marrying someone else". The male lead would appear on screen with a melancholic expression, while the female lead would gaze longingly at the spot where he disappeared, and scenes from their past would flash before their eyes - them frolicking by the sea, eating street food together, sharing their first kiss... it was enough to move every viewer in the audience to tears. But reality is always cruel, He Dasao's Porsche was just too fast, disappearing over the horizon in under thirty seconds, leaving Zhou Yueyue's wistful gaze cut short, unable to build up any atmosphere at all. I said: "What's the point of this?" Zhou Yueyue looked up at the top of the parking garage, sighed, and after a moment, spoke with deep feeling: "You don't understand, it's just that he has this air about him...".

  Zhou Yueyue had to go to the library, and we parted ways at the East District Teaching Building. She said she was shortlisted for a university student architectural design competition this year and needed to find some supplementary materials at the library.

  Five minutes later, I returned to the office. The people from outside departments had basically left, leaving only members of our department, who were all huddled together discussing something in a low voice, except for Chen Ying and Jiang Tian, who hadn't joined in. Chen Ying's desk was facing the door, she quickly looked up at me and then quickly lowered her head. I walked past her to the crowd and patted Yue Lai's back: "How did everyone leave already?"

  Yue Lai almost jumped up from his chair, looking at me with a gaze as if he was staring at an extraterrestrial being: "Madam, how did you come back again?"

  "Ma'am?"

  She smiled slyly: "Don't hide it anymore, the class leader has already confessed to us that he knew you were Master Qin's girlfriend and saw you two setting off fireworks together. That night, the fireworks were set off by Master Qin, I don't know how many girls' hearts were moved. Who said it last time? A 32-year-old master, young and promising, handsome and rich, unmarried, and romantic. Song Song, you really hit the jackpot."

  The crowd echoed in agreement, even the leader couldn't help but nod his head repeatedly.

  Actually, after what Yue said, I also feel like I've struck gold. But this matter of finding a partner is just like performance art - whether others have feelings or not is secondary, the main thing is that you yourself have feelings; it can't be that everyone else has feelings but you don't, that's not art, that's prostitution. The only pity is that Qin Mo isn't made of money, so I couldn't immediately fall deeply in love with him.

  Yue Lai continued, "Just now when Master Qin came to our office to deliver medicine to you, my heart almost stopped. It's like your mother who gave birth to you over 20 years ago was just an ordinary housewife, but her true identity turned out to be Spiderman saving the earth, it's really too exciting."

  The crowd echoed again, and I was overwhelmed by her talent shown in this metaphor, speechless.

  Everyone was at a loss for words for about four minutes, and finally the conversation progressed in an unexpected direction. This unexpected direction was that everyone thought today's interview went well, and they wanted to celebrate by having a meal together. However, they felt that just going out to eat would be too ordinary, so they decided to buy ingredients and cook themselves. But since all of them except Jiang Tian and I were boarders, no one dared to go to the principal's house to show off their cooking skills. After confirming that Qin Mo and I didn't live together, they finally settled on my place as the location.

  Yue came quietly and said: "This little girl has made sure that tonight Qin Da Shi will come to your house to wrap dumplings."

  "They don't know that interfering with others' romance will get them kicked by a horse?"

  Yue Lai stretched out a trembling finger and pointed at me, saying: "Song Song, you're so vicious." Wanmei laughed and said: "Actually, I also want to take a look at the home of Qin Da Shi, but you have to keep an eye on that person in your family, or else one of our little girls from the program team will snatch him away and you'll be crying."

  "This can't be."

  Yue sighed and said, "Nowadays, young girls are so free-spirited that they have no moral bottom line. They think love is guiltless and true love is invincible. Married men are not a problem for them, let alone Qin Da Shi who is still unmarried." After finishing speaking, he patted my shoulder.

  I once read a book that compared women to commodities, but I think this metaphor is not good, it makes women seem too fond of flowing. The key is that in this world, men are more fond of flowing than women, and they can even appreciate in value while flowing, which makes them more like commodities.

  I think Qin Mo will one day flow out, or flow through many stations before flowing to me. Either way, it makes people feel insecure. And when I have this idea, I desperately find the places on him that are not likable enough, which means I am restraining myself.

  I called Qin Mo with the intention of telling him not to come, but he clearly misunderstood my meaning and only said: "There are ten people? Then you can buy a few more dumpling wrappers."

  Qin Mo returned to find that except for Kai Tou, Jiang Tian and Chen Ying, who were busy in the kitchen with their culinary skills, everyone else was sitting in the living room watching TV. Yan Lang had already become familiar with the program team and was playing Go with Yue Lai. Yue Lai had lost several games in a row and was on the verge of collapse. I said to Yan Lang, "Can't you just let up a bit? You're making Yue Lai lose face." Yan Lang replied, "People need to suffer setbacks to grow, I'm helping Yue Lai grow." Yue Lai's hand shook with rage, almost hitting Yan Lang on the neck. The colleagues watching from the sidelines burst out laughing.

  I helped Qin Mo hang up his clothes, he had already walked to Yan Lang's side, probably thinking that Yan Lang was too arrogant and wanted to suppress his momentum a bit, and said in a gentle tone: "Let's have a game of killing between the two of us."

  The living room suddenly fell silent, with everyone staring at each other in shock. Qin Mo sat across from Yan Lang, calmly twirling his pen, while I rubbed my temples in distress and tried to explain: "It's not like that..." Qin Mo cut me off: "Song Song, go get some water." I ignored him and continued: "Actually..." This time, I was interrupted by Yan Lang: "Mom, can you bring over some chocolate? Quickly, quickly, I need to eat some chocolate to recharge my energy."

  When I came back with the chocolate, everyone's expression had returned to normal, and they were all focused on watching Qin Mo and Yan Lang play chess. I "actually" stood beside them for half a day, but no one paid attention to me.

  But even with the chocolate supplement, Yan Lang was defeated miserably, glaring at Qin Mo resentfully. Qin Mo educated him: "A person must suffer many setbacks to grow up, I'm helping you grow up." Yue Lai burst out laughing on the spot, and I whispered to her: "Actually, they don't have a blood relationship, don't misunderstand." Yue Lai let out a sound of surprise: "How is that possible? This aura is clearly that of biological father and son!" I was clueless about this 'aura' business, and couldn't respond for the moment.

  After finishing the chess, Qin Mo went to the dining hall to wrap dumplings. A moment later, Tou'er, Chen Ying and Liu Chuan, who was doing the text, came out of the kitchen one after another. Liu Chuan smiled and said: "Our work is done, unfortunately we can't wrap dumplings, so we can't help Qin teacher. Who knows how to wrap it? Go to the dining hall to lend a hand, only Jiang Tian and Qin teacher are probably not enough." Chen Ying glanced at her.

  "Why don't I go get the wrappers and fillings and bring them into the living room, we can watch TV while wrapping?"

  Everyone echoed in agreement.

  In the dining room, Jiang Tian was sitting across from Qin Mo, holding a dumpling wrapper and saying: "Last summer vacation, I went to France with my dad and saw the Palace of Versailles. At that time, I suddenly felt that houses are not just houses, but very beautiful art. If my dad had taken me there two years earlier, maybe I wouldn't be studying this major now, but would have switched to architecture instead."

  The conversation suddenly stopped as her gaze froze on me, but immediately burst into a smile: "Yan Xuejie, you're also here to help? Come, sit next to me."

  Qin Mo furrowed his brow and gently wiped the corner of my mouth with his flour-covered finger: "Chocolate?"

  I took a step back, warily gazing at him: "Don't touch me with that hand again, it's all flour." After finishing speaking, I went to carry the filling: "You two still don't know when you'll finish wrapping, let's just take it to the living room and get everyone involved together."

  Jiang Tian smiled: "Also." Holding the dumpling wrapper, walking in front, Qin Mo took advantage of the opportunity to rub my face with both hands, again and again. I was holding the filling in my hand and couldn't put it down, so I had to step on his foot. But the slippers were not powerful enough, he just raised an eyebrow and smiled.

  When I was in college, I often spent the Chinese New Year with my maternal grandmother, making dumplings together. After a while, she asked me, "Mom, when are we going back home to see Grandma?"

  Qin Mo said: "I'll go back after I finish what I'm busy with."

  Yan Lang's resentment at losing the chess game had yet to subside. He turned his head to one side and said, "I was asking Mom, not you."

  Qin Mo said: "Mom has to wait for me to finish my business before going back, anyway it's all the same."

  I said: "......"

  Yue Lai smiled and said with a grin: "This is a strong atmosphere!" Tou Er looked puzzled.

  The atmosphere gradually relaxed, and everyone chatted in twos and threes while wrapping dumplings. But for some reason, Jiang Tian insisted on sitting next to me and kept asking me kitchen questions that were all absurd. I reckon they were all real questions from the chef's qualification exam papers. I couldn't answer a single one, and was deeply humiliated at the time. Qin Mo said: "Looks like we need to send you to a bridal training class for some good training before getting married."

  I said: "Why don't you just marry a chef?"

  Jiang Tian asked in surprise: "You're getting married, but aren't you a lesbian, Yan Xue?" The entire living room fell silent, and she immediately covered her mouth.

  Author's note: Everyone, sorry, sorry, sorry, it took more than a week to update. Yesterday was White Day, so consider this chapter as a belated White Day gift~~~

  By the way, I recommend a novel, "Reclaiming the Light" by a fellow disciple and sister, novelid=213331. If you're interested, go take a look.

  PS: About this article, I suddenly want to say a few words. I think this article is different from the Three Lives type, so when I see many people comparing it to Three Lives or thinking it's not as good as Three Lives, I really don't know what to say. Two Lifes Flower is actually a transitional work, and the story is a very clichéd and stale one. I just wanted to use my own way to rehash old rice, write a small white text that everyone can enjoy reading. If everyone who reads this article can smile, then I think my purpose has been achieved.