smoke like fire

At the end of September, Zhao Kuanyi and I traveled to Paris again.

It was afternoon, the hotel was booked early, in the Montparnasse neighborhood.After checking in, a friend who had agreed to meet later suddenly called to apologize, and had to reschedule due to something urgent.Because of this, there is an extra day of space for nothing.

Seeing that the weather was fine and I was not too tired, I proposed to go out for a walk.

Outside the hotel is Avenue Montparnasse, which is spacious and straight, with many cafes and cinemas on both sides.There were not many people at this time, so we walked along the road.

Passing the newsstand, I bought a copy of Pariscop to watch the movie information, but no matter which movie, the nearby movie theaters have already started showing, and I have to wait for two hours for the next one.

However, if we could go to another place and still catch a game, I asked, "Do you want to watch it this way?"

Zhao Kuanyi said, "Nothing that's shown now is particularly interesting."

From his tone, I knew he wasn't interested in watching the movie, so I just gave up.There is the Montparnasse Cemetery nearby, which I have visited before, so I revisited it again.

In the past, when I saw the co-burial tomb of Saudi Arabia and Simone de Beauvoir, my mood was not touched, but now I feel a little emotional.When I left, I told Zhao Kuanyi: "No matter how the comments doubt their love, they will always be together until the end."

Zhao Kuanyi took a look and asked, "You mean Saudi Arabia and Bowa?"

I nodded, "Yeah."

Zhao Kuanyi was silent, before saying: "Do you believe there is love between them?"

I smiled and replied, "Of course I believe—at least. But it doesn't matter. It seems that it doesn't matter what the world thinks at that time. For them, as long as they believe in each other, that's enough."

Zhao Kuanyi said: "I believe it may be derived from an agreement, or the understanding between the two that is not about love."

Saudi Arabia introduced Beauvoir as a confidant, and when they were together, they never stopped having relationships with others; just like Beauvoir.But these, they agreed to be frank with each other.After thinking about it, I said, "So feelings are complicated. Sometimes we can't even understand our own, let alone understand others."

Zhao Kuanyi remained silent, as if thinking deeply.After a while, he said: "You are right. In short, they are together until the end."

I smiled and didn't continue this topic later.After leaving the cemetery, we walked to the opposite street, where old and new apartments were mixed, and it was quite stylish. It is said that many artists lived there in the early days.

Vehicles are parked on both sides of the street, closely arranged, leaving no gaps.Passers-by pass by here leisurely, and in the open-air seats in front of the small coffee shop, customers serve coffee and enjoy the tranquility of the afternoon.

This street is actually famous. It was used as a scene in a movie. The hero was shot by the police.I mentioned that movie to Zhao Kuanyi, and we talked about the director, the French New Wave, artistic creation and investment.I have only recently begun to touch this area, he has been working on it for many years.

For my work, Zhao Kuanyi never points out, even if there is cooperation with his company, all opinions are clarified in public meetings.I have long been used to talking to him when encountering situations, in fact expressing, not asking for answers.Before I came, I had a favorite work, but I couldn't make up my mind, so I told Zhao Kuanyi.He was listening to the past, today or the atmosphere, so it was rare for him to express his thoughts.

While talking, we have walked out of this street.

There are more people on the road outside, and so are the businesses, but the atmosphere is still cozy.Suddenly the phone rang, it was Zhao Kuanyi's, he stopped to pick it up, and stood in front of the shop to talk.I stood by, casually looking at the shop window, turned my head, and he was still on the phone.

I stared at Zhao Kuanyi.He is a little used to it, if he frowns when talking on the phone, it must be business, but it seems that there is a slight smile on the corner of his mouth at the moment, so he must be very close to the person on the phone.He was speaking English, and I turned a few names in my mind and was still not sure, so I stopped guessing.

I looked up, and there were thick clouds floating in the sky, but the weather was fine, and the setting sun spread across the street in a golden orange color.I suddenly wanted to take a picture of this scene, but unfortunately I didn't bring it to the camera.After thinking about it, I took out my phone, and after framing the scene, I managed to take a good photo.

I looked at Zhao Kuanyi through the lens of my mobile phone.His hair and half of his body were covered with gilt light, reflecting the flawless golden side of his face.His expression on the phone seemed gentle.I don't know what kind of expression he will have when he talks to me on the phone?My mind was hazy, I tapped my phone and took a photo.

Just in time, Zhao Kuanyi hung up the phone.He looked at me and walked over.

"doing what?"

I put down the phone, smiled, and said, "It's okay. I thought of buying you coffee, how about it?"

Zhao Kuanyi slightly raised his eyebrows, but said, "What's wrong?"

So I went to the cafe.

There happened to be one on the corner of the street, the door of the store was open, it was not big, and there were two open-air seats outside the store.We went in directly, and the bar counter was in sight, and the tables were placed around the bar counter.

There are guests inside, all in pairs.The old man and the old lady were sitting opposite each other, as if it had nothing to do with each other, each reading a newspaper.A couple on the other side sat next to each other, the man surrounded the woman, talking in a low voice.There are two other men who sit at the same table as us, but one is drinking coffee and the other is looking at his mobile phone, both of them have a correct expression.

I took a seat at the back.In addition to coffee, food and wine are also served here, but we each only ordered Café Crème.

The waiter brought the coffee quickly, on two silver trays with cups and saucers, and a small pot of coffee and milk.I poured the coffee and suddenly felt something.

I said, "Hey, is this the real first time we've been in a café when we come to Paris?"

Zhao Kuanyi seemed to think about it, and said, "Probably so."

I smiled and said, "If it were told, everyone would not believe it. We have been here many times, and it's not that we don't drink coffee, but we haven't even been in a Parisian café."

It's really strange to think about it. I have been to Paris several times, went to see movies, walked through those streets and alleys, and even visited places of interest like a tourist, but I never stopped in any cafe.

If you drink coffee, it is usually in the hotel, early in the morning, on the balcony with good light.

Zhao Kuanyi said: "In Paris, where to drink coffee is not to drink, those places don't talk about the price, even on weekdays there are many people, you can't sit for a long time."

I shrugged my shoulders and said, "Maybe they just don't want customers to sit for too long and ask for table turnover."

Zhao Kuanyi raised his eyebrows slightly, and said disapprovingly, "Do you think the French really want this?"

I laughed, knowing that he was still dissatisfied with the delay in customs clearance at the airport today.In fact, it would be much faster for him to get a French passport, but in order to cooperate with me, he used an American passport.

I understood his intentions, but couldn't help but tease: "I almost forgot—yes, you're a Frenchman! You must know better than me, and you're half French, oh no, it should be a quarter or so." One-third? Is that how it is calculated?”

Zhao Kuanyi glanced at me without showing any annoyance, but stopped talking and only served coffee.I smiled in a good mood, but didn't dare to go too far.Besides, he never looked French, but rather German.

I pulled out the Pariscop I had folded in my coat pocket.Flipping through the pages, I looked at my watch and said, "I don't have anything to do tonight, how about going to a Crazy Horse show?"

Zhao Kuanyi looked at it and said nothing.

I laughed and said, "Apart from the cafes and the three famous shows in France, we have only seen the Moulin Rouge, so I'm embarrassed to say it."

Zhao Kuanyi said lightly, "No matter how I look at it, you don't look embarrassed."

I couldn't help laughing and said, "You're wrong, I'm really sorry."

At this time, the couple on the other side didn't know what to say, and the woman's voice suddenly rose.

Everyone looks there.The woman didn't care, just stared at the man, and lost another sentence angrily.The man looked annoyed, and hurried to hug her.I heard the man coaxing the woman several times, and the woman's expression immediately became tender and sweet.The man spoke quickly, but they all seemed to say the same thing.Because I couldn't hear clearly, I asked Zhao Kuanyi without thinking too much.

"what did he say?"

Zhao Kuanyi put down his coffee, looked at me and said, "Oui, monchou, tuesmonpetitcoeur."

I was stunned, and immediately felt my heart beating several beats faster, and I didn't know what expression to make.

"You are really my sweetheart—it means that in Chinese."

As if afraid that I would not understand, Zhao Kuanyi explained again.Of course I don't understand.I was so overwhelmed that I tried to cover it up with coffee.

Zhao Kuanyi looked calm and breezy.He smiled, put his hand on his face, and said to me: "Well, now that you look at it, you are indeed really embarrassed."

The author has something to say:

Oui, monchou, tuesmonpetitcoeur (yes, my dear, you are my sweetheart)

It was originally turned like this, but I changed it a little bit.All of the above were found online.