The car headed north. Jia He randomly turned on the radio, and someone had requested Jay Chou’s “Heading North”. What a coincidence…
When they arrived at the entrance of the residential compound, the security guard stuck out his hand to stop them and walked over to the front of the car. Yi Wenze was just about to roll down the window to speak when Jia He suddenly lunged over to press down his arm. “Let me talk.” In the era where everyone was on Weibo, it was still safer to keep the idol’s face hidden.
She finished speaking without waiting for Yi Wenze’s reaction, then got out of the car to greet the security guard.
“Jia He ah,” the uncle grinned smugly. “Your family took up two parking spots today. How come there’s still a car?”
Jia He forced out a smile. “Today’s my birthday…”
“Oh, I see.” Uncle patted his forehead. “Wait a moment, I happen to have a bag of wife cakes my wife brought back from Guangzhou in my room.”
Jia He was silent. She could only wait for the enthusiastic uncle to take out the wife cakes. In the meantime, she glanced at the car window twice to make sure Yi Wenze’s face couldn’t be seen, finally letting out a small sigh of relief.
When she got back into the car, Yi Wenze glanced at the things in her arms. “What did he give you?”
“Wife cakes.” Jia He reported honestly. “Do you like eating them?”
Yi Wenze’s gaze slid from her face to the wife cakes in her arms. “They’re alright. If you like them, I can bring you back to Hong Kong another time to eat them.”
Jia He oh-ed. She felt that “another time” held some profound meaning.
“Which way next?”
Only then did Jia He react. She pointed to the left. “Keep going along the left road until the end, then make a right turn. The third building is mine.” After speaking, she suddenly realized a huge problem. “How do you know my home address?”
Even if Qiao Qiao gossiped a lot, she wouldn’t tell every tiny detail right…
“I asked Qiao Qiao beforehand,” Yi Wenze casually replied. “I’m not very familiar with Beijing’s roads, afraid I wouldn’t be able to find it if I came suddenly.”
Jia He oh-ed again. Her heart shook nonstop and she felt she was getting drunk.
He turned the steering wheel and the car kept going straight along the left road. There weren’t many streetlights in the residential area so visibility was only limited to the area around the car. After passing two to three buildings, a car approached from the opposite direction. Because the road was narrow, Yi Wenze edged slightly more toward the inside to make way. After that car passed by them, Jia He saw Gu Yu inside.
He seemed to have spotted Jia He as well and quickly stopped.
Jia He’s heart thudded. Just as she was about to say something, the car had already smoothly come to a halt.
“Can I get off for a bit to speak with him?” Jia He asked uncomfortably.
Yi Wenze smiled. “Need me to get off too?”
“Ah…” Jia He hesitated.
She actually just wanted to get off to clarify things clearly with Gu Yu, in case there were any misunderstandings in the future.
“Want to hear my thoughts?”
“Tell me.” Jia He pricked up her ears.
“Wait here for me. One minute.”
He unbuckled his seatbelt and glanced at Jia He, seemingly seeking her opinion. Jia He was stunned by his gaze, her mind instantly going blank. Following his line of sight, she nodded hesitantly after some struggle.
It wasn’t until the car door slammed shut that she heard her own heart pounding heavily.
Back when she was devastated over Gu Yu, she had sworn to find someone better than him. She had even fantasized countless times about linking arms with a new boyfriend, walking proudly past Gu Yu, angering him until he vomited blood three liters worth. Of course those were just fantasies, but now, right below her building, her wild imaginings had wondrously come true. Except the anticipated confrontation she designed seemed to have changed into…a duel.
Jia He, calm down, calm down…
After settling herself for a few seconds, she hurriedly turned sideways, leaning over the gap between the two seats, struggling to see the situation behind the car clearly. From this angle, she could see Yi Wenze’s back. He quickly walked over to Gu Yu’s car and lowered his head to say something inside. It was too dark to discern his expression. Jia He only felt regretful, afraid Gu Yu had said something that led to misunderstanding and anger.
Fortunately, he only said that one line before straightening up and casually patting the car roof.
Jia He’s heart instantly jumped to her throat as she stared fixedly without blinking, waiting… All sorts of scenarios rapidly flashed through her mind. If Gu Yu got out of the car, she would definitely rush out to stand in front of her idol and explain things clearly. What exactly should she say?
That was an issue…but not the biggest issue. First priority was to rush out before anything else happened.
No matter what, she absolutely could not just sit here waiting idly.
Just as this thought fell, the car suddenly shook and then…drove away?!
With both hands in his pockets, Yi Wenze very calmly walked back, got into the car, and started driving. His demeanor and actions seemed as if he had merely gotten out to pay gas money. There wasn’t the slightest strangeness. It was only that pair of eyes hidden under the brim of his hat appeared even more unrealistic.
“What did he say to you?” She nervously asked him.
“Nothing much.” His focus was on driving.
Crap! He must have said something he shouldn’t have.
Jia He watched him anxiously. “No matter what he said, don’t take it seriously. Really, we broke up long ago.”
Yi Wenze glanced at her, his expression indifferent.
“Really,” she only felt muddleheaded, wanting to explain many things but ultimately not knowing what Gu Yu had said, and even more unclear on what exactly she should explain… Seeing Yi Wenze remain silent, she became more anxious. “Although we haven’t been together long, I extremely detest those fickle people who gaze into another’s bowl while eating from their own. You know, moral baseline is very important…”
The car halted abruptly. Jia He grew even more nervous as she stared fixedly at him.
The edges of his lips curved up slightly. “We’ve arrived.”
Huh?!
Only then did Jia He turn her head sideways to take a look. They truly had reached the building.
She whipped her head back, continuing to watch Yi Wenze. “Are you still angry?”
Yi Wenze finally couldn’t resist smiling amusedly. “He really didn’t say anything.”
“Didn’t say a single thing then just left?” She still didn’t dare believe it.
If she didn’t see wrongly just now, Yi Wenze seemed to have only lowered his head to say one line before Gu Yu’s car drove away.
Seeing Yi Wenze nod, only two scarlet words bounced around her mind—instant kill!
Yi Wenze smiled while shaking his head. “Let’s go.”
After speaking, he directly opened the door and exited the car.
Jia He stared blankly for three seconds before immediately bouncing out of the car, circling around to the front, and standing in his way. “I’ll go up myself.” If Mom saw him right at their home door, she would have a 120% chance of getting heart disease…
Yi Wenze lowered his head to look at her. “What’s wrong?”
The old streetlights provided dim lighting akin to moonlight.
Her entire face was shrouded in the soft glow. Both eyes watched him closely as if she had something to say yet also seemed to be weighing the pros and cons. Their surroundings were very quiet and faint sounds of cooking from a first floor residence could be heard, discussing the rising prices of vegetables. The atmosphere was infused with the mood of real life everywhere, only the person before her appeared too unrealistic.
After all that struggling yet she still uttered, “I should go up myself.”
His voice lowered. “What exactly is going on?”
“We’ve just started recently,” she finally mustered her courage all at once to voice her thoughts. “I feel we shouldn’t let my mom see you too quickly… I’ll just go up myself and grab my things this time?”
Yi Wenze was torn between laughter and tears. “I can’t show my face?”
Jia He quickly explained, “It’s not that… I feel it’s too fast given your special status and all.”
She sized him up, watching him closely and carefully.
Yi Wenze finally nodded in agreement and signaled for her to head upstairs.
Only then did Jia He heave a long sigh of relief. She had just taken two steps after turning around when she cautiously peeked back at him again, “Go wait in the car okay?” A person so eye-catching standing below, who knew if her mom or even the entire residential compound would know once she headed back down.
This time, it was Yi Wenze’s turn to fall silent. He could only pull the car door open and sit inside resignedly.
Through the front windshield glass, Jia He’s figure surveying the car could still be seen. It seemed she still didn’t feel reassured about the safety. Only when Yi Wenze turned off the ignition and all the car lights went out completely did she finally nod satisfactorily and enter the stairwell.
Jia He dashed up taking two to three steps at once. By the fifth floor, she was already panting heavily. The moment she opened the door, her mom came over, ceaselessly asking if she had seen Gu Yu who had just left and whatnot. As she rambled excitedly, she actually even started suggesting calling Gu Yu to ask him to come back! Only then did Jia He feel the situation was severe. She promptly said she had run into him downstairs but he had some matters to attend to so left first. Only then did her mom give up and turned to head to the kitchen to cut fruit.
The suitcase was the one she had dragged back yesterday. Afraid of making Yi Wenze wait too long, she simply checked it briefly then brought it out to the living room, saying she had to make a business trip to Tianjin for several days before coming back. Upon hearing this, her mom immediately poked her head out from the kitchen, “Speaking of which, Gu Yu said earlier he’ll be in Beijing this whole week. Can’t you stay home for a couple days?”
Looks like if she didn’t clarify things properly, her mom would truly see Gu Yu as her prospective son-in-law…
For the sake of peaceful days ahead, she reluctantly leaned against the kitchen doorway and very cautiously told her mom, “Mom, stop bringing up Gu Yu from now on. I’ve made things clear with him just now.”
Her mom’s hands paused as she gently probed, “He’s truly not bad, much more mature than before.”
Jia He awkwardly regarded her mom. “I have a boyfriend now.”
“Ah?” The old woman nearly smacked the strawberries to mush. “Since when? Why didn’t you tell me?”
“Just started recently,” Jia He eyed that pitiful fruit platter, further affirming her earlier decision had been right. “I’ll bring him over when it’s more steady.” When that time comes, please don’t scare him away…
“What does he do?”
“Actor.”
Her mom chilled her with an icy glance, seeming to understand completely. “Showbiz is chaotic. Not a good option at all.”
Jia He was ashamed. “Aren’t I also part of this circle?”
“It’s not stable anyway,” her mom waved the fruit knife while tacking on, “You better didn’t fall for your obsessive infatuation over Yi Wenze and overlooked conduct only for his looks, did you? My girl, you need to think clearly. Do you seriously think you can marry someone like Yi Wenze?”
…
Jia He fell into an extremely awkward silence.
With just that one line about having a boyfriend, it seemed to have spurred on her mom’s hidden passion for lecturing. Seeing her mom waving that knife to slice a watermelon, clearly ready to chat for a long time, Jia He immediately grabbed her suitcase and fled out the door. When she had gone down four flights of stairs just now, calls sounded from above already, “I haven’t finished speaking yet! Gu Yu is truly not bad and already an editor-in-chief and all that…”
Jia He rushed down silently, feeling utterly awkward. Not until she handed over her luggage to Yi Wenze and both got into the car, did she finally breathe a sigh of relief. But before she could even get out half a sentence, her phone rang chasing after her.
“My mom,” she gave a wry smile at Yi Wenze then answered the call. “I’m really leaving now. Let’s talk again next week when I’m back?”
The other side chuckled nefariously, “Just now, I clearly saw… The man looked rather tall. Didn’t see his face but he seemed to resemble your male idol no matter how I looked at it. Looked pretty young too. Don’t tell me it’s a little actor from your crew?”
Jia He was torn between laughter and tears. She took a look at Yi Wenze’s outfit—it did resemble quite a bit…
“It’s not. My phone’s out of battery, out of battery.” She softly spoke then swiftly ended the call.
When she looked up again, the car had already exited the residential compound. She glanced at Yi Wenze apprehensively, struggling internally for a long time before finally thinking of a breakthrough point. “Just now, what did you say to Gu Yu?”
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