Beijing-Hong Kong Confession

There was a pattering sound coming from the other end of the phone.

"He Lianzhou?" Zhu Xia asked in a low voice.

"Have you finished your meal?" The man's deep, magnetic voice slowly fell into her ears across the phone and more than two thousand kilometers away.

"Yeah." Zhu Xia put on the Bluetooth headset, put the phone on the table, and continued to eat honeydew melon with a fork. "Did you go back to have dinner with grandpa today?"

He Lianzhou said no, "I have a game tonight, and after it's over, I'll have a midnight snack with grandpa."

"Oh."

Zhu Xia didn't say anything else.

He Lianzhou listened to her clear voice and asked calmly, "What are you eating?"

"Honeydew melon," Zhu Xia said. "It's juicy, sweet and refreshing. Not bad."

She was silent for two seconds, then whispered, "Did you set the alarm for me this morning?"

The man uttered a single syllable from his throat: "Hmm."

Zhu Xia looked at the page on the phone screen showing that she was on a call, and was dazed for a moment, wondering: "How did you know my phone password?"

He didn't answer directly, but called her in a familiar tone: "Zhu Xia."

"What are you doing?" Zhu Xia whispered.

"Cellphone passwords are different from feelings." The man's voice was as cold as the knocking of jade, but it carried a burning deep meaning.

Her cell phone password has not changed in seven years, but her feelings towards him had changed a long time ago.

A fork is inserted into the flesh of the honeydew melon, standing upright on a blue and white porcelain plate.

Zhu Xia pursed her lips, and her long and thick eyelashes like butterfly wings drooped slightly.

After a moment of silence, she said calmly, "Thank you for your reminder. I will change the password later."

"And remember to collect the meal money. If you have a meeting, you don't have to call me, just send me a message. If you're busy, you don't have to send a message..."

He interrupted her and asked calmly, "Are you angry?"

Zhu Xia immediately denied: "No."

"Then why change the password?"

"To keep away thieves," she said.

The man's low chuckle suddenly came from the receiver, slowly lingering in her ears. Zhu Xia didn't understand his joke and just felt puzzled:

"why are you laughing?"

"I bet that by the end of this call, you'll block me." He spoke slowly.

Zhu Xia: “…”

Hiss. Could this man be a mind reader?

"What if you lose the bet?" Zhu Xia was competitive and said unconvinced.

"You continue to treat me to meals." He Lianzhou said.

"Why should I treat you to a meal if I win?" she asked.

"No need to celebrate after winning?" He handled it with ease.

It seemed to make sense. Zhu Xia was silent for a while, thinking about the word "continue" he said.

The last time she invited him to dinner... Zhu Xia suddenly understood.

He didn't mean to treat us to a meal!

There is always a danger of losing control in life.

She said calmly, "I won't bet with you."

He Lianzhou calmly replied: "So you won't block me?"

"I'm not a child. I won't play this kind of game where you get blocked or deleted," said Zhu Xia.

"You blocked me last time."

"…I already said it was a stress reaction."

"The prerequisite for a stress response is that I kiss you?" He spoke in a serious tone, as if he was delving into a scientific problem.

Zhu Xia didn't want to discuss this dangerous topic with the seemingly cold and abstinent man, so she said goodbye.

"I still have something to do, so I'll hang up."

He hung up the phone decisively and went into the phone settings, wavering between deactivating the Hong Kong area card and blacklisting and deleting He Lianzhou.

In the end, neither was chosen.

Lin Jiayue sent a new message, and Zhu Xia clicked on it to check.

Lin Jiayue: "Gossip time, one of my pretty senior sisters is dating someone, and that guy is a recognized jerk"

Lin Jiayue: "Why do many beautiful women like assholes? Weird.jpg"

Zhu Xia: "Beautiful women like assholes, probably because of all the fairy tales I've read since I was a child, such as Beauty and the Beast."

Lin Jiayue: "But I remember Beauty and the Beast. The beast never hurt Beauty. That bastard was jealous and ignored my wishes and forced me."

Zhu Xia: "A domineering president?"

Lin Jiayue: "Domineering CEO, domineering doesn't mean physical harm, right? It doesn't mean rape, right?"

Zhu Xia: "That makes sense. However, literary issues are not within my area of ​​expertise."

Lin Jiayue: "Then I don't want to do it anymore!"

"Click——"

The sound of a lighter rubbing against the ground came.

Zhu Xia took off the earphone on his right ear and turned around to look for it.

The light blue flame of the lighter jumped and licked the cigarette butt.

Across the six-meter bluestone path, Song Chengyu stood at the junction of the back garden and the corridor, leaning against the wall and lighting the cigarette between his lips.

His eyes were half bright and half dimmed by the scarlet sparks. The evening breeze blew, and the corners of his suit were slightly lifted and swayed gently.

The white mist inhaled and exhaled, gradually dissolving the thick ink on the eyebrows and eyes.

His eyes fell blatantly on her.

Zhu Xia was also looking at him.

When they were little, whenever something happened, Song Chengyu would protect her.

When people of the same generation as the Song and Wen families bullied her, he beat them up without saying a word and made them apologize to her obediently; when she fell and broke her knee, he carried her to find a doctor to treat the wound; when her grandfather and his family were out and they were the only two left in the huge old house, he came to her side and accompanied her...

As a teenager, Song Chengyu was arrogant and looked down on everyone. After he grew up, he went through hardships and took over the family business. Although he is tough and steady now, the arrogance in his bones has not diminished in the slightest.

Aunt Zhao often said that Master Cheng Yu was becoming more and more gentle and considerate towards Miss Xia Xia.

But Aunt Zhao seemed to have forgotten that before she was 18, although Song Chengyu took good care of her, he was definitely not gentle as water.

Thinking of this, Zhu Xia stood up and walked inside. When he passed by Song Chengyu, he said calmly, "Third brother, I'm going to find grandpa."

"Grandpa is playing chess with uncle in the greenhouse. Stay with me for a while."

Zhu Xia walked up to him, and Song Chengyu's expression became warm. His eyes wandered over her face for a few seconds, and he said with a half-smile, "It's been a long time since we last met. Have you become estranged from your third brother?"

"No." Zhu Xia remained calm.

The sky was thick with smoke, the moon was high in the sky, and mist was lingering around the childhood sweethearts standing in the back garden.

Song Chengyu smoked his cigarette carelessly, looking at Zhu Xia very carefully. He did not say anything for a long time, and Zhu Xia was calm and composed, not feeling awkward at all.

"You've gained a little weight since the last time we met," he said suddenly.

Zhu Xia glanced at the crabapple flowers in the garden and said, "Aunt Zhao also said that I have lost weight."

Song Chengyu curled his lips and smiled.

"It's better for the little girl to gain some weight."

Zhu Xia didn't say anything.

Song Chengyu put out his cigarette and signaled the stunned girl with his eyes: "Go to the greenhouse."

See what grandpa means.

Zhu Xia followed him quietly, her eyes aimless, as if she couldn't see anything.

The greenhouse is on the north side of the back garden. There is a glass window. Through the corridor, two figures playing chess can be vaguely seen in the window.

Zhu Xia and Song Chengyu walked to the door, and before they could say anything, the uncle who was playing with chess pieces inside looked over alertly.

"Cheng Yu and Xia Xia, you've come just in time. We are discussing your marriage."

After a pause, he continued, "August 5th, a good date. How about your engagement on Mid-Autumn Festival?"