Chapter 9.1 - An Unlockable Past (Part 1)
Zeng Li quickly took out the phone, she remembered that she should have saved Ai Jingchu's number. Unexpectedly, she turned the address book back and forth and couldn't find it. It seemed that it really didn't exist, and then the only clue was the text message he sent her half a month ago.
Fortunately, she is not very fond of texting and does not often clean up the contents of her phone. She opened the text message inbox on her mobile phone and scrolled down one by one. Finally, she found Ai Jingchu's doctor's order in a pile of junk advertisements, work notices from her company, and text messages about the income and expenditure of her bank account. Then she quickly dialed it. The phone connected after two or three rings.
"You're gone?" Zeng Li asked anxiously.
The voice on the other side of the phone hesitated and asked uncertainly, "Zeng Li?" She didn't save his number, and neither did he.
"It's me, are you going back alone?"
"Yes."
"Are you all right?"
"I'm alright, I can drive after a short walk," he said.
"What if the car freezes?"
"It's not too far to keep going."
Hearing his answer, Zeng Li fell silent. She didn't know what to say anymore. In the end, she could only repeat that sentence again, "Thank you for sending me back."
After hanging up the phone, Zeng Li walked back to the west building. As soon as she opened the glass door, the sound of music, noisy conversations, and even mahjong came with the sultry heater, as well as several children whom her colleagues brought along. Playing back and forth, pressing the elevator door to open and close.
She didn't enter the chess and card entertainment room but sat on the sofa outside. The waiter immediately came, added a cup beside the coffee table, and poured water.
Colleagues passing by greeted her casually.
As if that night road just now was just a dream, so cold and so dark.
She only felt hot after sitting for less than two minutes, and someone next to her said, "Isn't Zeng Li here? Wu Wanxia is gone again."
Another older colleague replied, "Xiao Wu said he had a cold and headache, so he went back to sleep."
"Did he catch a cold playing outside when it snowed just now? Young people still must be careful and pay attention to this weather."
Zeng Li raised her head and looked outside, separated by a layer of glass, it seemed like two completely different worlds inside and outside.
She stood up slowly, made a decision, and went upstairs.
Ai Jingchu received a call from Zeng Li not long after he walked out of the Dongshan Hotel. Zeng Li's last sincere thanks made him pause and replied, "举手之劳”
举手之劳: lit. the exertion of lifting one's hand (idiom) = a very slight effort on his part
He left without waiting for her to come back, indeed because he was always a little overwhelmed when faced with warm gratitude.
It's really a 举手之劳.
When she said at the foot of the mountain that she was going back to the Dongshan Hotel, he estimated that the car might not reach the destination, but in a place like that, he was the only person she knew, and he couldn't leave a little girl like this. Who knew that a lengthy phone call was received halfway through, and it was delayed for another half an hour, and the situation worsen, and finally they had to come down and walk.
It was probably because he forgot to worry about his actions, walked a little fast, and had a fever, so Ai Jingchu was a little dizzy. He slowed down and walked a little further. He saw a long stone bench beside the road, so he pushed the snow aside and sat for a while.
He turned off the power of the flashlight, put it on the stool, took out the two boxes of medicines he had just bought from his jacket pocket, and after thinking a little, put them back as they were. He really didn't like eating medicine without water, such a dry feeling of swallowing pills.
Afterward, Ai Jingchu took out a cigarette and lit one.
Smoking was taught to him by Yu Yi when he was in the United States, saying that nicotine can refresh the mind, refresh the mind, relieve pain, and cure all diseases.
He took a sharp sip, making his throat uncomfortable. If it wasn't to ward off the cold and refresh his mind, smoking when he had a cold would not be a good idea.
The night was very heavy.
Sitting in the snow late at night, alone, is a strange experience.
At this time, there was a sound of scrupulousness not far away. He curiously turned on his flashlight again and saw a squirrel running up the avenue. As soon as the light hit it, the little thing jumped back to the grass and went in.
When the flashlight came back, it shone on a large branch lying in the middle of the road, which was the place where Zeng Li broke her appliance just now. Before he saw her nibbling on the snow, he wanted to remind her that the wire might break under the sudden cold, but he observed her reaction, and it seemed that it was all right, but it really broke after only a few steps.
Ai Jingchu remembered the expression after Zeng Li's appliance broke, and the corners of his lips couldn't help but lift slightly. He shook his head, snuffed out most of the cigarettes in his hand, and did not continue smoking. He rested quietly in the darkness and was about to get up and start again when he heard something else.
The sound came from the direction he had just come from. It was different from the noise made by the squirrel just now, but a rhythmic creaking sound, which seemed to be the sound of human footsteps. Then, he saw a swaying beam of light gradually approaching, probably like him, rushing home at night.
The other party walked in a hurry, almost trotting all the way, so he caught up after a while. The footsteps were getting closer and the light of the flashlight became clearer and clearer. After turning the last corner, Ai Jingchu finally caught the face of the person coming.
Taking advantage of the other party's light, when he saw that face, Ai Jingchu was stunned, and then he couldn't help but blurt out two words:
"Zeng Li!"
He was sitting there alone, without making any movement or turning on his flashlight. He suddenly made a noise in the dark, almost frightening Zeng Li, who was trotting on her way with all her heart. She screamed, instinctively threw away the flashlight in her hand, turned, and ran away.
Seeing this, Ai Jing hurried up and grabbed her.
But the more you stop her, the more she struggles.
"It's me." Ai Jingchu said.
