Chapter 17
At 7 o'clock in the evening, Zhou Zhenyue returned to the hotel with Mu Xueyi.
There is only one shower room in the hotel. Zhou Zhenyue knew that Mu Xueyi was used to taking a bath at 8 o'clock every night, so she went out early.
After leaving the hotel, Zhou Zhenyue called Xiao Ai to go shopping in the nearby supermarket.
Originally there was no purpose to wander, but after walking, Zhou Zhenyue walked slowly to the infant area, and suddenly stood in front of a wall of milk powder.
Xiao Ai asked cautiously: "Zhou, do you...want or want to drink?"
Zhou Zhenyue raised her hand to take out a can of milk powder, and pinched the gift toy next to her to take a closer look. In the net bag included are a large rubber duck and four small rubber ducks, the yellow and orange ones are the most common on the market.
She smiled softly and asked Xiao Ai: "Put two in the bath, do you think it's okay?"
Xiao Ai's mouth twitched: "You are past this age, right..."
Zhou Zhenyue stared at the five rubber ducks, "Not for me."
Xiao Ai prolonged the ending sound "Oh-", and immediately understood.
"I just think," Zhou Zhenyue put the rubber duck and the can of milk powder into the shopping basket in Xiao Ai's hand. "She likes those two live ones so much, and she should like this too."
Xiao Ai couldn't help saying, "Mr. Zhou, don't blame me for talking too much. Since you still like Miss Er so much, why do you have to be awkward? Miss Er also has your own difficulties. You can't go on like this, only She will slowly open her heart to you when she is truly together."
Zhou Zhenyue was silent for a long time.
When he spoke again, he did not resolutely deny it as usual: "...maybe."
She thought that she would not be able to get through the obstruction in her heart anyway, but the events of the past two days made her understand that there is actually nothing more important than Mu Xueyi being able to stay peacefully beside her.
She still didn't know if Mu Xueyi came back this time with sincerity.
But Mu Xueyi said yes, why should she believe it again?
Xiao Ai grinned and said, "Aren't you noisy?"
Zhou Zhenyue did not speak. Although he still didn't show his attitude, it was the first time he didn't deny it.
After returning to the hotel, Zhou Zhenyue put the things he bought on the coffee table. When I was bending down, I saw Mu Xueyi's phone on the desktop vibrating on the bright screen.
Mu Xueyi still didn't come out of the bathroom, so she definitely couldn't pick it up. The name of the caller ID was Zhong Wan. Zhou Zhenyue knew this person. He was Mu Ruqing's assistant and Mu Xueyi's only friend since childhood.
So she didn't think too much, and said to the inside through the door: "You have a phone."
In the door, Mu Xueyi's voice came dimly: "...help me pick it up."
What kind of trust it is to be able to allow a person to answer calls from someone who does not know who is coming from.
At the very least, Mu Xueyi, who was ill-informed before, had never asked herself to answer any calls for her.
Zhou Zhenyue smiled very lightly, bent over to pick up the phone, and put it next to her ear after it was connected.
Before there was time to say "Hello?", Mu Ruqing's voice came through the receiver.
"I don’t know if it’s inconvenient on your side. Let me make a long story short. Within three days, get the latest quotation sheet drawn up by Zhou Zhenyue. This time this partner is very important. M Moser must win over. You should be able to understand. Don’t stay at Zhou’s house for a long time and forget what you are going to do.... You know my mailbox, I'll wait for your mail."
"beep--"
The phone has been hung up, but the fingers holding the phone are still frozen in the air.
Zhou Zhenyue forgot to breathe for a long time.
After a long while, she breathed out gently, only to feel her fingertips numb with ice.
She didn't seem to know what expression she should make, and the corners of her mouth twitched.
The warmth that I applied to my heart a minute ago, like mud, softness is just a momentary illusion. Before it can solidify, it will crack with muscles and flesh.
Zhou Zhenyue sat on the sofa holding the phone until Mu Xueyi came out of the shower.
Mu Xueyi wiped her hair and walked over, her drooping eyelashes still wet, "Ayue, who was looking for me just now?"
Zhou Zhenyue did not answer her question, but handed the phone to Mu Xueyi, without any emotion in her tone, "...your phone."
The half of her face was expressionless, without sorrow or joy, as if she had returned to how they were when they were strangers in the first place.
Mu Xueyi felt Zhou Zhenyue's strangeness, and asked her hurriedly: "What's wrong with you?"
Zhou Zhenyue tried to suppress the waves in her eyes and glanced at Mu Xueyi lightly.
She had just finished the shower, her hair ends and neck were stained with small drops of water, and her skin was still pale from the freezing rain. Like a sickly deer, with clear and weak eyes.
Mu Xueyi seems to always be like this.
Every inch of bone is fragile.
In the end, Zhou Zhenyue still did not choose to question anything, she said very lightly, "I still have to socialize," then turned and left the house.
She can still see her clenched fists even when the door is closed.
Mu Xueyi stood on the spot at a loss, watching Zhou Zhenyue's leaving back, she was as immobile as if she had been soaked in an ice bucket.
She clearly felt something was wrong.
She thought of the call just now, so she hurriedly turned on the phone to check it. Seeing that it was Zhong Wan's call, she dialed it without thinking.
After a short wait, the call was connected.
Mu Xueyi: "Wanwan, did you call me just now?"
There was a long silence in the receiver before answering: "Yes."
Mu Xueyi hurriedly asked, "What did you just say?"
Zhong Wan took a breath, and when he was about to speak, there was another faint sound of body rubbing. Her breath paused, and for several seconds she was hesitant to speak.
In the end, Zhong Wan just said: "...It's nothing, you don't speak, I just hang up."
Mu Xueyi believed Zhong Wan very much, and they were the least secret friends when they were young. Even those few seconds of silence did not make her suspect that Zhong Wan would lie to her.
It seems that it is not the reason for this call.
What could be the reason?
Mu Xueyi was suddenly very scared, for fear that Zhou Zhenyue suddenly wanted to open it at a certain point in time just now, completely letting go of all the fetters between them.
What did she do wrong to make Zhou Zhenyue suddenly look like this? Obviously a few hours ago, she also gave her two little ducks, she thought that their relationship finally opened a gap.
Mu Xueyi crawled through the memory like crazy, looking for possible mistakes in every move and every action she made. She was already so cautious, walking on thin ice, but she still did something wrong. What did she do wrong? What can she do wrong?
In the cardboard box by the wall, two fluffy ducklings were quacking quacking, raising their little wings, and staring at Mu Xueyi stupidly.
Mu Xueyi looked at them, her eyelashes trembling uncontrollably, and she couldn't hide the tears in her eyes.
Obviously...
Obviously on the way back, Zhou Zhenyue also helped them name them with her.
.
Zhou Zhenyue did have an entertainment in the evening.
She was a little tired of this wine bureau and wanted to ask Xiao Ai to push it away. But right now, she was beginning to feel a little grateful that there was a wine bureau that could prevent her from facing Mu Xueyi for the time being.
It was a party organized by the subordinates of the branch, and they packed a large private room to celebrate the preliminary completion of the project. Lu Yan, vice president and director of operations of the branch, is the host.
Lu Yan is Zhou Zhenyue's university classmate in the United States. Because of her talent, she was hired by Zhou Zhenyue to be the manager of the branch after returning to China.
The two have known each other for more than ten years, and Lu Yan is also one of the few classmates Zhou Zhenyue can keep in touch.
After Zhou Zhenyue entered the private room, she sat alone in the corner and had a drink, Xiao Ai stood by and stopped as long as anyone wanted to come to toast.
Lu Yan walked over with her wine glass, and Xiao Ai immediately greeted her: "Director Lu, Zhou always wants to be alone, sorry."
Lu Yan crossed Xiao Ai and shouted to Zhou Zhenyue: "Zhou Zhenyue, are you even stopping me?"
Zhou Zhenyue glanced here and waved to Xiao Ai, motioning her to let Lu Yan go.
"What's the matter with you?" Lu Yan sat next to Zhou Zhenyue and touched the rim of her cup with the wine glass in her hand. "I don't like socializing anymore, and I will accept a round of toasts."
Zhou Zhenyue pressed her eyebrows, and said lightly, "Being pregnant and drinking."
Lu Yan smiled and touched her belly: "Isn't that not pregnant yet? Only when you are pregnant."
Zhou Zhenyue only clinked glasses with her after listening.
Lu Yan took a sip of her wine and asked, "Today, the company team is building, you didn't even think about bringing your second Miss Mu here?"
Zhou Zhenyue smiled without emotion, "You also said that her surname is Mu, so how come she belongs to my family."
Lu Yan sat up a bit, as if she was interested: "We were chatting in the company a few days ago. You mentioned that she was not quite happy, and she quarreled again?"
Zhou Zhenyue lowered her head and rubbed the wine glass without speaking.
Lu Yan looked at her like this and sighed: "People have finally come back. Just be together. You can't do without her. I remember that in the years when she left, you had to see a psychologist once a month. , Sometimes looking at you, I feel that you are going to be unable to survive several times."
When Lu Yan said this, she couldn't help but ask: "Does she know you like her so much?"
Zhou Zhenyue put the wine glass on the table, but still said nothing. His eyes were half drooping, and he didn't know what he was thinking.
Lu Yan saw that she was not answering, and then sighed: "You are a dull temper, and Mu Xueyi is accustomed to low eyebrows and pleasing to the eye. It's okay for you two to be together, and it is especially easy to misunderstand if something happens. It’s better to spread it out and make it clear if there’s something. You’re so smart, don’t confuse yourself because of your feelings."
Zhou Zhenyue gently curled the corners of her lips and said, "I know. I know that what I'm worrying about may be a misunderstanding."
Lu Yan was stunned: "...Huh?"
Zhou Zhenyue raised her eyes and looked at the flickering lights in the distance.
"In fact, in those few seconds, I thought about all the possibilities. It may be a trap... It may be Mu Ruqing is deliberately provoking... Maybe Xueyi didn't know..."
She squeezed the wine glass in her hand: "But... even if the probability that she really lied to me is only one in a thousand, I still..."
"……very sad."
When she said these three words, the emotions accumulated in her eyes seemed to be overwhelming.
Lu Yan looked at her, her heart clenched.
I am afraid that Mu Xueyi will never know how much damage she did to Zhou Zhenyue three years ago. Such a person who is so proud that there is no sand in his eyes, is now willing to deceive himself and others.
Lu Yan seemed to understand this feeling.
Zhou Zhenyue was scared. I was afraid that when she asked the phrase "Did you lie to me", she would get an affirmative answer.
If you don't question or expose, then the probability that she lied to her will always be one of the many possibilities.
The private room is very dark, only the karaoke screen glows with multicolored lights. Among the noisy voices, Zhou Zhenyue received the least entertainment, but drank the most wine.
After drinking, she felt that she was getting drunk. She suddenly remembered the wine that grandpa took her to drink when she was an adult. That was the only time she was drunk.
At that time, my grandfather said to her: This time I got you drunk because I wanted you to know the bottom line of your drinking. You must always remember that you are the future chairman of the first company, anyone can get drunk in the wine bureau, you can't.
She knew where her bottom line was, but she still crossed it indulgently.
In a daze, she seemed to see Mu Xueyi sitting next to her, with her curly hair scattered, looking at herself gently and obediently.
She stared at her, couldn't help raising her hand to grab hers, and yelled very softly:
"sister."
When the fingers are closed, they only hold a piece of air.
She blinked and looked again, only to find that Mu Xueyi was not sitting there at all.
It seems that everything is an illusion.
It was as if she never returned to her side.