smoke like fire

My father stayed in the hospital for a total of three days. He had all the big and small checks done, and he was generally fine, except for a little high blood pressure.The doctor prescribed medicine and told me to pay more attention to my daily diet.

Mother remembered one by one, and told Sister Xu to cook less oil and salt after returning home.

She is always like this, knowing that now that she has given in and cared for her in many ways, her father no longer cares about her, so why bother to pretend to be a happy husband and wife.

That lady appeared generously in the ward that day. How to keep her ignorant must have been another compromise. Perhaps because her father fell ill suddenly, she panicked for a while and let the other party walk in front of her, and met her unexpectedly.

Still, a mother is a mother, and I am me.

I have never understood them, so how can I compromise.

Not to mention fighting for it - even if I could, I have no intention of doing so.

This time, as a son, she still didn’t share a common enemy with her mother. Her resentment seemed to be very deep in her heart. It was unusual for her to hesitate to speak when she saw me. It was true that she had nothing to say to me for nearly half a month. speak.

At the beginning, I was a little uneasy, but after two or three days, after thinking about it, it would be good if the roots of the ears were clean.

At the beginning of April, Ms. Zhao, whom I hadn't contacted for a while, called.

She flew to Switzerland before the Chinese New Year, then transferred to several countries in southern Europe, and returned to Taiwan after nearly a month of fun.After she came back, she was not lonely either. It was spring, and she was indispensable for all kinds of friendships.

In the past, Ms. Zhao and I have not been in touch every day. There are too many people who want to date her. Today I look for this, tomorrow is that, and the day after tomorrow—it depends on my mood.

Now it's easy to think of me.

Seeing the name flashing on the phone, I hesitated.

In the past, Zhao Kuanyi and I were estranged in various ways, and Ms. Zhao was always involved. To a certain extent, she chose to side with me, but mother and child nature, no matter how she complains, she will always be Zhao Kuanyi's mother.

Which mother can accept her son's friend becoming his son's love object, even Ms. Zhao, I can't imagine that she can bear it calmly.

I struggled several times and was mentally prepared before answering the phone.

Miss Zhao was a little dissatisfied with the delay, so she said a few words and gave me a chance to drink coffee with her.

It was a weekday afternoon, and I still had to work—but those things were not that important, so I was disrespectful and drove to her private studio.

As usual, Ms. Zhao holds an art exhibition every year until mid-April, and now it is the busiest period for preparations. There are people inside and outside the studio, moving around or talking about things, and there is never a moment of silence.

I found the assistant Xiao Lin at a glance. She was a young girl among a group of experienced social people, and she was unstoppable in dealing with advances and retreats.

Who would have thought that she only graduated from the Art University last year.

Normally, graduates like her would go abroad, but she entered the workplace in the opposite way. After being introduced, she went to work in Ms. Zhao's studio.

At this moment, Kobayashi also saw me, and came to greet me.

"Mr. Cheng."

I saw the rare dark circles under her eyes, and said, "You must be tired after a while, right?"

Kobayashi looked as if he was content, "It's good to be busy." Pointing to the office room behind, he said, "Claire is worrying about choosing the last painting for the exhibition, and you just came to help make a decision."

I put one hand in my trouser pocket and smiled.

"It can't be my turn to help decide. Art is a very advanced subject, and I don't understand it."

Xiao Lin smiled slightly, "You are too modest, and art is everywhere, and everyone can easily appreciate it."

I couldn't help but smile, didn't talk to her any more, waved my hand, and walked to the office room she directed.

The door of the office room was only half closed, so I knocked and pushed it open.

Sure enough, Ms. Zhao was inside. She was dressed lightly today, with a beige soft top and wide trousers of the same color, and her hair was slanted around her neck, looking energetic. She stood at the table, meditating on the two paintings. It seems to come back to my senses, it seems to me.

"Here we come."

I smiled, walked forward, and looked at the two paintings, both of which were roses in vases, one red rose, in full bloom, and the other white rose, delicate and charming.

Ms. Zhao asked: "Which one do you think is better?"

I took a step forward, crossed my arms and looked at it carefully, and then pointed at the red rose in a pretended manner, "This one."

Miss Zhao raised her eyebrows.

"Oh why?"

In fact, there is no reason, but seeing the red color is happy, but this kind of reason cannot be said, I thought about it, and smiled: "Red represents enthusiasm, just like you."

Ms. Zhao glanced at me and hummed, but her expression was joyful.

"Okay, just this one." She said, took the phone to dial the extension, and called Xiao Lin to find someone to come in and move the painting.

Kobayashi was efficient and brought two people with him in one click.

They moved the painting carefully, while Ms. Zhao held out her coat and purse and said to me, "Let's go and drink coffee."

I smiled and took her hand, "I'm so happy."

There is a coffee shop near the studio. It is open in an alley without any eye-catching signboard. The green leafy potted plants at the entrance are so lush that they almost cover the facade. If you pass by, you will miss it if you don’t pay attention.

As soon as you walk in, you can smell the coffee.The boss is making coffee quietly behind the bar. The space in the shop is small, and the tables are close to each other. However, there are few customers on weekdays, so it is quite comfortable to sit.

Ms. Zhao is used to drinking hand-made coffee, and the ratio of coffee powder and water must be certain. She said that such coffee has a refreshing taste.

I have never understood her particularity. In my opinion, no matter how the coffee is brewed or how the sugar is added, it still cannot get rid of the bitterness.

Ms. Zhao is a long-term customer of the cafe. When the boss saw her, his cold face dissipated. He greeted her cordially and delivered the brewed coffee by himself.

Ms. Zhao thanked me gracefully, raised her glass, and took two sips. After the boss walked away, she chatted with me about the paintings to be exhibited.This time, she visited southern Europe and gained a lot, especially in Italy, where three of the ten paintings on display were completed.

After talking for a while, she stopped, looked at me, rolled her eyes, and said suddenly: "You and Kuan Yi seem to be very close these days."

I wasn't prepared, and I was suddenly startled, and couldn't help but evasively said: "Well, it's just so-so."

Ms. Zhao raised her eyebrows, seemingly disapproving, "It doesn't matter to be honest, what? Do you think I will be angry?"

I made up my mind and said, "No, I didn't think so."

Ms. Zhao said with a half-smile, "Oh, then why are you nervous?"

How can I mention the reason—no matter how open-minded Ms. Zhao is, the facts are hard to explain easily.I pretended to smile, served coffee, and said, "I'm not nervous."

Miss Zhao looked at me steadily.

She said: "You really don't have to be nervous. If your relationship with Kuan Yi is as good as before, why should I be angry? There is no reason." She smiled again, "To be honest, I felt very uncomfortable watching you alienate later. "

She narrated, and I heard it in my ears, and there seemed to be balls of silk threads in my chest, which were messy and messy.I couldn't answer, so I figured out how she knew about the change in my relationship with Zhao Kuanyi.

It must not be Zhao Kuanyi who told her.As for Zhao Kuanyi, I am most certain of this - he doesn't like to talk about Miss Zhao, and he won't talk about himself to Miss Zhao.

Seeing my silence, Ms. Zhao is neither surprised nor annoyed.

She said: "You always know that Kuan Yi and I are not too close, but I am his mother anyway, and I care about his life, so I will too."

I respect her words.I must.

Basically, I still believe in mother-child nature.

I remembered one thing.Last year, at the Christmas party at Ms. Zhao's home, at the end, Zhao Kuanyi appeared, which was rare at the time, but when I think about it, it seems that I shouldn't understand it that way.

No matter what, their mother and son will eventually reconcile.

She is his mother, and if he doesn't reveal it, she always has the means and the right to know about him.

But I think she's like mothers all over the world—every mother in the world can't figure out the emotional state of their children at times; they can't figure out their own.

I thought about it: "Kuan Yi and I have indeed talked."

"I knew it!" Ms. Zhao said immediately, she looked at me, "Last weekend night, did you make an appointment to meet for dinner? You still went to his house, right? I called and vaguely felt that there was someone else, and It sounds strange to me like your voice."

Last weekend night—it was that time.

On weekends and nights together, besides eating, we can do many things.Embarrassed secretly, I drank my coffee, but I did remember that there was a phone call before that.

Zhao Kuanyi is a busy person, even on Sundays and holidays, or in the middle of the night, it is not unusual for his mobile phone to ring, but that time it was his landline that rang.

When he answered the phone, I was polite enough not to listen to what he was saying, but there was no reason to be silent, and besides, my cell phone rang.

I asked curiously, "Why don't you call his cell phone?"

As soon as the words came out of my mouth, I realized it later and sighed in my heart.

Ms. Zhao maintained her self-restraint. She served coffee with a calm expression, "You can guess the reason."

I coughed, no matter how stupid I am, I should be able to hear it.

This is a non-continuable topic, I tried to divert my attention, and looked at the jewelry watch on her exposed right wrist.

The style of the watch has an impression in my mind, but it is not all similar.

So, I didn't hold back the other words that I should have asked but never asked.

"At the end of the year, at the party at your home, you invited the one who danced with you, Xiaokai Dongfang Construction?"

Miss Zhao looked at me and raised her eyebrows: "Of course."

I don't want to ask how they met, there are too many channels, it's too easy, she is not an ordinary housewife.I knew she would be unhappy if she heard it, but she still wanted to talk too much.

"He's very young."

Ms. Zhao didn't take her eyes off my face.

There was a hint of sharpness in that pair of always bright eyes.Just when she thought she was about to lose face, unexpectedly she raised the corner of her mouth and said leisurely: "His father and I are old friends, tell me, who would I take him for?"

I was silent for a moment, and only said, "Yes."

Also - it better be so.

The topic can only go so far.No matter how deep the meaning is said, no matter how reasonable it is, it will be embarrassing or embarrassing, it is better to let it be verified by silence.

Ms. Zhao is not stupid, and she doesn't want to suffer. In the past, failure in love was accidental.There will never be and should not be a second accident.