Global Film Emperor

Chapter 550 Returning Home
"Quick, quick, just pull over to the side of the road, don't go into the parking lot!"

"Hurry up! The traffic police are standing there, hurry up!"

"Damn it! You're getting all worked up now. What were you thinking about earlier? I told you to take the main road, but you wouldn't listen!"

A black Range Rover slowly pulled up beside the square in front of the train station. Lu Ze got out of the passenger seat and hurriedly opened the trunk to pull out his luggage. Old Song, that bastard, insisted on taking a shortcut, saying that the main roads would be heavily congested at this time and he didn't want to drive. As a result, he got into an accident on the side road, which kept the two of them stuck for more than half an hour, completely ruining Lu Ze's well-planned advance preparation. They didn't even bother with the parking lot and pulled over to the side of the road. The two of them quickly got out of the car and unloaded their luggage.

"This is for my uncle and aunt, and this is for Xiaonan."

There were already quite a few things in the trunk. Lu Ze hadn't paid attention to them when he put his luggage in, until Song Guiyuan handed them to him. When Lu Ze picked them up, he suddenly felt a weight in his hands. They were quite heavy, weighing more than ten kilograms. Some of them were wrapped in large gift boxes, but most of them were odds and ends. Lu Ze was surprised and looked up to ask.

"Is this a surprise for me?"

"Surprise my foot! There's no chance for you. I just didn't want to send it by express delivery, but I was afraid you'd find it too heavy to carry. If you don't take it with you after I buy it, it'll be a waste. So I had to wait until now, when you have no choice but to take it. You have to grit your teeth and take it with you to be on the safe side."

"I really don't want to take it. Just leave it here. You're just sending a package; don't you have my address?"

"During holidays... it's only meaningful to take the gifts back in person."

Song Guiyuan didn't give Lu Ze a chance. Seeing Lu Ze put the things on the ground, he didn't care. He quickly closed the trunk, leaned against the car door, and shrugged his shoulders in a nonchalant manner while smoking a cigarette.

Lu Ze was bending down to pick up his things when he heard this. He turned his head and stared at him, then chuckled with a hint of helplessness before picking up all the items.

"Holy crap~ This is really heavy. Fine, I'll carry it back. I'm not going to waste any more time with you. I'm off."

"Go on, and give them my regards."

He left with large and small bags, looking like an ordinary traveler on the Spring Festival travel rush, moving quickly through the huge crowds before the holiday. Old Song didn't leave, but took out his phone and, while he could still see Lu Ze, quickly filmed a short video, reciting it in his highly emotional tone, which is a must-have for a national-level actor, as if reciting a poem.

"Ah~ I feel the youthful energy I haven't felt in so long!"

His response was to walk backwards and raise the middle finger high.

……

There were too many loose bags, which took up a lot of time at security. Luckily, he was a VIP and went through the business class aisle, otherwise he might not have made it in time. He followed the old smokers into the carriage and, with the help of the train attendants, finally managed to put away the items he needed. He finally had time to see what Lao Song had brought him. After sorting it all out, he couldn't help but feel annoyed.

It's probably a non-woven bag that was given away as a flyer by a tutoring institution many years ago. It still has the words "English and Math Tutoring Content" and contact number printed on it. Looking at the black stains on it and the handle that is about to break, it's hard to tell how many times it's been used or what it's contained. Now it's worth a fortune, containing two bottles of old Moutai. No one would believe that Song Guiyuan didn't do it on purpose.

The same practice was still evident on the other bags. Lu Ze wondered where he had found so many tattered bags, as he was not the kind of person who would collect old bags.

Oh, Lu Ze remembered, his deceased mother would...

The train started moving and had already left the platform. These items were now placed at the back of the carriage. Lu Ze glanced at the door and saw that the outside world was already full of greenery. He reached out and patted the two bottles of wine before getting up to check his phone and find out his seat.

After adjusting the seat angle and charging his phone, Lu Ze immediately texted his mother to inform her of his return home schedule. He scrolled through his contacts, hesitated for only a moment, and then sent her a voice message with a smile.

"I'll be at Lühua at 9:30 tonight."

A message quickly replied, the tone filled with undisguised joy: "You're back?"

"Well, it's too late. You should rest tonight. I'll leave tomorrow afternoon."

After a brief chat, he put down his phone, turned on his computer, and started working. Since his promotion, his workload had increased, especially in the early days of his tenure. Due to the previous department head's retirement due to illness, the department had accumulated a lot of materials, so he wanted to finish them as soon as possible during his spare time.

Busy with work, time flies by. In the blink of an eye, the arrival notice has been given. He put away his luggage, rubbed his slightly sore eyes, and looked out the window. In the distance, there were only scattered lights on the buildings, and only the deep yellow streetlights were lit up side by side. Only a few vehicles were passing by on the road they illuminated. The red taillights of the cars that braked from time to time caught Lu Ze's eye. Unlike the bright lights of big cities, this small town, which he had thought was already bustling in his childhood, revealed a sense of loneliness from the inside out.

Many passengers in the business class carriage had disembarked at previous stations, leaving the available seats empty. The only passenger heading to Lü Hua was him. The carriage was quiet except for the sound of the train on the tracks. Listening to this quiet atmosphere soon induces drowsiness, a sense of lonely yet languid weariness—the only kindness this city can offer to travelers who may never set foot here, merely passing through. This is the shared gentleness of these small towns, whether you've heard of them or not.

The sound of brakes rang out, and he was already standing at the door with his luggage, waiting. When he got off the train, he glanced at the other carriages and saw that there were very few people getting off. He walked at the front. This station, which was older than his father, still did not have a platform sunshade or even an exit tunnel. You could just walk straight to the far end of the platform, swipe your ID card, and leave.

Therefore, when his feet touched the wet cement ground, and the fine rain slanted down on his face, and his gaze focused on the lamplight, he immediately realized it.

It's raining.

Upon exiting the station, I waved away the few unlicensed taxi drivers lurking around the exit. I walked a little further and hailed a taxi, making a point of saying before getting in: "No sharing rides."

With the driver's nod of approval, he got into the car. The driver was very talkative and asked where he was going. Knowing that he was coming back from the capital, he surprisingly didn't discuss the people and things in the capital anymore, but instead talked about the rain that had just fallen.

Lu Ze noticed the puddles and asked, "Was it raining heavily just now?"

"It's not small, but it doesn't last long. It's just a few minutes of heavy rain, probably less than five minutes. I don't know what's wrong with these recent rains. They're always like this, sometimes heavy and sometimes light. Sometimes it's like a downpour, but it quickly subsides. There's never a proper time for it to rain. It feels like God was holding back a huge amount of rain, and it just burst out in bits and pieces."

"Don't hold it in any longer. If it really comes big, it's already this month, and the corn in the field will have to be soaked."

"Oh right, is there any land left at home?"

"After we pay, Mom and Dad will tidy up the vegetable garden behind the house."

During the conversation, the rain gradually intensified, though it wasn't as heavy as before, at most a moderate rain. The car windows slowly fogged up, making the view even more hazy. When they arrived at their destination, they discovered that guardrails had been placed in the middle of the road, and U-shaped posts had been added to the zebra crossing, preventing U-turns. The driver had already stopped the meter, but was still willing to leave an extra streetlight on to take Lu Ze to the other side, which Lu Ze declined. So, he parked on the side of the road and scanned the streetlights.

There was already standing water on the roadside, so he had to jump and step on the curb to avoid getting his shoes wet. The driver also had to help him with some luggage. After the car left, when the light turned green for the other side, he still had to step on the curb to get to the other side. There was standing water on the left and grass on the right. He held his luggage in both hands, looking like someone practicing on a balance beam.

After a lot of effort, he finally landed safely. The rain had gotten heavier, so Lu Ze had no choice but to cover his head with his wool coat and tiptoe across the puddles like a gorilla. He couldn't help but sigh to himself that this city, which had once been quite glorious, had become even more historically rich after so long.

Of course, this is a statement of high emotional intelligence.

Occasionally glancing at other shops, mostly restaurants, I noticed that despite the rain, there were far fewer customers than before when it rained. It seemed that the railing had significantly hampered their business.

When I arrived at my shop, although my signboard was closed, the two shops next door were still open, so it wasn't too dark. I easily spotted the person standing in front of my shop.

She was carrying a transparent umbrella, wearing a plain gray pullover hoodie and matching gray sweatpants, and gray sneakers on her feet.

She always wore gray shoes.

Standing under the streetlight, the signboard of the "Handsome Little Spicy Revolving Hot Pot" next door was incredibly bright. Lu Ze could clearly see the splashing raindrops hitting the transparent umbrella fabric with a pattering sound. The rainwater gathered at the end of the umbrella, and the water droplets kept dripping down. She closed her eyes, as if listening to the sounds of nature in the quiet street. Her fair hands gripped the umbrella handle tightly, as if afraid that a sudden gust of wind would blow the umbrella away. Her jet-black hair was incredibly smooth, almost reflecting the words on the signboard. It was draped over her shoulders, also covering her thin face. Lu Ze stood to the side of her and could only see a bit of her upturned nose.

Seemingly hearing footsteps, she turned her head.

Just then, a gust of wind blew by, and before she knew it, her arm swayed downwards with the force of the umbrella, her hair fluttering like a bridge reflected on the water. The puddle in front of her then turned the arched bridge right, and the full moon, nearing the Mid-Autumn Festival, made a dazzling appearance from behind the curtain of the sky, imprinting itself on the arched bridge, only to be inappropriately squeezed into the center by the words "Handsome Little Spicy Revolving Hot Pot".

A man carrying a lot of luggage, with his coat draped over his head and his hands wrapped so tightly they resembled a Libra zodiac sign, looked just like a gorilla.

I stepped onto the bridge.

"..."

Hahaha, damn it, I tested positive for mycoplasma pneumonia again!

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(End of this chapter)