In the end, Wu Runzhi watched his friends get on the bus.
The sun was shining brightly, and the blue-green bus set off. They waved goodbye from the bus, opened the window to wave at him, and four or five heads were squeezed against the rear window glass, all looking back at him, smiling and saying goodbye.
In the distance was a bridge spanning the azure ocean, grand and beautiful, with perfect lines like a work of art, and the white body of the bridge was glowing.
When the bus left the campus, Wu Runzhi went up to the rooftop and watched the bus leave all the way. The wind blew up his clothes, and he stared intently until the bus completely left his sight, leaving only a ripple of sea.
When everything was over, all the bright illusions were stripped away.
The walls became damaged again, and the tiles cracked one by one. The windows were dirty and broken, the neat tables and chairs disappeared. Spider webs were reattached to the corners of the walls, covered with dust, the basketball hoop fell to the ground, the deflated basketball was nestled in the corner, and the entire playground was gray and defeated.
Wu Runzhi finally looked around the campus, looked at the scenes that had lingered in his dreams countless times, as if to brand them into his soul.
Then he returned to the school gate and met up with Lu Yingjiu and the others.
Lu Yingjiu asked him, “Ready to go?”
“Yes,” Wu Runzhi nodded, “I will come back with flowers to see them next year.”
Lu Yingjiu said again, “About your mental state, it’s not something I can solve. I suggest you contact a psychologist. Although this has been said many times, life really only happens once.” He looked at the large old campus, “You being able to live peacefully is the greatest comfort to them.”
“I know,” Wu Runzhi nodded again, his tone tearful but firm, “I will try. I’ve been in this memory for too long, it’s time to move on.”
He rubbed his face and sighed, “I’m really living backwards, I’m not even as good as they were in high school.”
“I will try to find a new way out, like a new job, or make new friends. If possible, I want to go back and take the college entrance exam again.”
He laughed, “I used to study hard for a long time to chase Jiang Ruoyun, got several top grades in the year, not for any future, just to leave her a good impression – this reason is simple and ridiculous enough, completely the thinking of a teenager in puberty.”
“But thinking about it carefully, I haven’t done anything so purely for a long, long time.”
“I want to love and like some things as purely as I did before, and then live openly.”
Lu Yingjiu nodded.
At this time, no more words were needed. He nodded and said, “Good luck, I’m waiting for your good news.”
Wu Runzhi said goodbye to them, carrying his backpack, disappearing at the end of the road, disappearing under the brilliant sunshine.
The flowers he placed at the school gate were fluttering in the wind, covered with dewdrops.
Flowers would wither and decay, beauty would always be exhausted, but at this moment, the wasted years and the many hardships to come couldn’t erase their beauty that was blooming to the extreme. Living in the present was the deepest and most sincere mourning for the deceased.
****
After a short rest in Xiaoguang City, Lu Yingjiu and his group took a plane back to Lujiang City.
Yao Gou hinted all the way, asking if Lu Yingjiu’s office was short of people. Lu Yingjiu just told him directly, ‘if you want to come, I would definitely be willing’.
So Yao Gou happily followed.
As soon as they got off the plane, Chu Banyang was picked up by a driver. Before leaving, he seemed to want to say something to Lu Yingjiu, his face full of pride wanting to say “I really want to talk to you”, but in the end, he didn’t speak up.
Jing Xian came to pick them up again.
The luxury sports car was parked outside, and Yao Gou was surprised, “Your office is really rich, there are luxury cars everywhere, is the funding so sufficient?”
“Don’t misunderstand.” Lu Yingjiu coughed lightly, “These are all private property of the employees, and they have nothing to do with me, the boss. My car is a second-hand Honda.”
Yao Gou was stunned, then looked at Jing Xian, “The young man is so rich and still willing to continue his studies, it’s not easy. What the rich lack most now is this kind of spirit. I admire it, I really admire it!”
Jing Xian smiled and hugged Lu Yingjiu, “The boss has a good eye, he saw such an excellent employee like me.”
Lu Yingjiu glanced at him, “What are the three most commonly used talismans by exorcists?”
Jing Xian was stunned for a moment, he couldn’t answer at all.
“So this is an excellent employee, you don’t know anything.” Lu Yingjiu laughed and poked him, “You can only be put out as a mascot, and rely on this face to fool a few people every day.”
Jing Xian was teased by him for being ignorant, but he was also praised for being handsome, and he was quite happy.
Listening to the two of them pretending to be sarcastic, but actually flirting, Yao Gou looked at Jing Xian and then at Lu Yingjiu, suddenly realizing something, hesitated to ask, “Hey, I’ve been wanting to ask since that wedding, are you two really a couple?”
Jing Xian didn’t know how to answer, he was afraid that Lu Yingjiu would get angry if he said it directly, so he subconsciously looked at him.
Lu Yingjiu, however, didn’t hesitate for half a second and directly admitted, “Yes.”
Yao Gou: “Oh, oh, oh, I was wondering why you two are always looking at each other with sly eyes every day.”
Lu Yingjiu: “…That’s called exchanging glances.”
“Right, right, that’s what I meant.” Yao Gou looked at them again and murmured, “Now I’m really the only one left alone. Lu Yingjiu, look at your good brother, can you introduce me to a few people? I only have two requirements: female, and alive.”
Lu Yingjiu held his forehead. “You’re making it difficult for me, I can’t even do this myself.”
Jing Xian was not even a woman, let alone alive.
Yao Gou was greatly disappointed and kept muttering, saying that one day his true love would come.
On the way back, he continued to show off, volunteering to drive, turning up the radio to listen to songs, humming along the way.
Jing Xian was happy to sit in the back row with Lu Yingjiu, talking in whispers with their heads together.
Lu Yingjiu whispered to Jing Xian, “Why didn’t you admit it just now?”
“Admit what?”
“That we’re together.”
Jing Xian said, “Didn’t you not want others to know before? If I said it and made you angry, wouldn’t I be kneeling on durians every day?”
Lu Yingjiu: “…Don’t make me sound so vicious.”
“Even if I don’t kneel on durians,” Jing Xian said, “if you get angry and don’t let me kiss or touch you, I’ll be upset too.”
Not being able to kiss and hug was a big deal for a love brain.
In case Lu Yingjiu kicked him out and directly divorced him, it would be earth-shattering and thunderous.
Lu Yingjiu held his forehead. “Your statement is too Jing Xian.” He paused, holding Jing Xian’s hand, “I was wrong before, I always felt a bit embarrassed in front of friends, so I hid it. Now I’ve told Ye Feng and the others, and my mentality has slowly changed, you can admit it directly in the future.”
Jing Xian suddenly got permission, his eyes lit up.
If it weren’t for Yao Gou still humming in front, he would have pressed Lu Yingjiu down in the back seat and kissed him.
Lu Yingjiu saw his eyes and knew what he was thinking. He laughed softly and said, “If you want to make a fuss, wait until we get home.”
When the group arrived at the office, Lu Yingjiu found that the exterior of the bar had been completely renovated. From a distance, the lights were bright, and there were even a few customers sitting in the shop, drinking small drinks.
The bar outside was decorated with colorful lights and flower pots. A small blackboard was placed outside, and the drink menu was written on it with colored chalk. Next to “Today’s Special”, there was a cute chibi cat drawn.
At first glance, it was obviously carefully arranged by Ah Mei.
Yao Gou praised, “You said this bar was quite shabby before, doesn’t it look pretty good now, it’s very delicately arranged.”
“It’s all done by the employees, they are capable.” Lu Yingjiu pushed the door in, and the bell on the door made a series of crisp sounds.
“Welcome to——” Ye Feng raised his head from behind the bar, paused when he saw them, “You’re finally back!”
There were other customers present, so he couldn’t ask about the exorcism commission, and simply looked at Yao Gou, “Who is this?”
“I’m Yao Gou.” Yao Gou took the initiative to come forward and extended his hand to Ye Feng, “You can call me Big Dog.”
Ye Feng was originally making a cocktail, and quickly wiped his hands to shake hands with him, “Oh, oh, I heard from Lu Yingjiu that you knew each other when you were kids, right?”
“Yes, when we were very young.” Yao Gou was quite familiar, and sat down directly in front of the bar, “Hey, you continue to be busy, I just want to see how to make cocktails, I’ve wanted to learn for a long time.”
The two of them were chatting well, so Lu Yingjiu left them alone.
Looking around, he didn’t see Ah Mei.
He asked Ye Feng, “Where’s Ah Mei? Has she gone home after work?”
“Oh,” Ye Feng shook the cocktail glass in his hand, hesitated for a moment, and looked a bit strange, “She, she’s organizing things inside.”
Lu Yingjiu then pushed the door into the inner room.
The inner room was only lit by a lamp, a bit dark, and stored the things that the bar had just bought recently, such as high-footed wine glasses, various wines, and a freezer for ice cubes. The bar was really booming, the two of them had made a lot of preparations for the future, all of them were dedicated.
Ye Feng bought a few new shelves, piled up a lot of cardboard boxes, and there was a rustling sound behind one of the shelves.
It should be Ah Mei tidying up.
Lu Yingjiu then shouted, “Ah Mei, are you there?”
No one answered him, only the rustling sound slowly approached.
Then Ah Mei crawled out from behind the shelf on all fours.
Lu Yingjiu: “…”
No wonder Ye Feng’s expression was so strange just now, it turned out that Ah Mei was having an episode again. He wanted to go up and help Ah Mei up, but Ah Mei didn’t want to, she crawled quickly on the ground to avoid him.
Just like that, she responded fluently, “You’re finally back. I’m just tidying up the shelves.”
Lu Yingjiu supported his forehead. “I can see that. If you’re tired, go home and rest early.”
“I’m not tired.” Ah Mei was quite happy, “I’m not tired at all.” After saying that, she climbed even faster.
Lu Yingjiu had no choice but to say, “Then you tidy up slowly, I’ll go out first.”
“Okay.” Ah Mei started to rummage through the boxes, organizing the bottles and jars.
Today they had been out of town for a while, took a flight, and were quite tired. Lu Yingjiu took a quick tour of the bar, looked at the new decorations Ah Mei had put up, had a small cocktail mixed by Ye Feng, and prepared to go home to rest.
He sent a message to Chen Xiaoling, asking her to help check if there had been any movement from the Zhang family recently.
The Zhang family had been in decline for many years, and recently there had been no activity at all, even making people doubt whether there were still people in the family. The investigation must be difficult.
But no matter what, the act of offering babies to the Heavenly Way began with the Zhang family. Some people in the Zhang family might still be watching Lu Yingjiu, ready to return him, the only survivor, to the Heavenly Way in exchange for peace.
Lu Yingjiu thought to himself, there will always be a time to face each other.
He and that ancient family, and that unkind and greedy Heavenly Way, must draw a full stop.
Chu Qianju and the Peacock God suffered in countless reincarnations.
He didn’t want himself and Jing Xian to have such an ending.
Jing Xian had already paid a lot for him, he deserved a perfect ending.
Lu Yingjiu thought a lot in his heart, but his face remained calm, maintaining his usual indifference.
Jing Xian drove, the car silently cut through the night, passed the lights of thousands of homes, and finally stopped in front of that old building.
The building was really quite old, the exterior wall hadn’t been painted for many years, and it hadn’t been cleaned, it looked gray. The room was indeed not big, one person could live comfortably, two people could live just right, three people would be a bit crowded. Even in the soaring housing prices now, it probably wouldn’t sell for much money.
When parking, Lu Yingjiu leaned against the seat half asleep, and heard Jing Xian say, “Should we change our place to live in the future?”
He was sleepy and only let out a vague hum.
After returning home and finishing his wash, he seemed to be a little more sober.
Jing Xian helped him heat up some milk and placed it on the table.
Lu Yingju picked up the milk and took a sip, feeling the rich aroma explode on his tongue.
He lowered his gaze slightly and brought up the topic from earlier. “Why did you suddenly mention changing houses? Do you think this place is too crowded?”
“No,” Jing Xian immediately became alert. “I absolutely do not have any dislike for your home! All of your things are the best, including your real estate!”
Lu Yingju smiled silently. “Don’t be so nervous. I’m asking seriously. I want to know what you think, and your thoughts are important to me too.”
After hesitating for a while, Jing Xian finally spoke up. “I don’t mind living anywhere. I just think that if we move to a bigger place, you can live more comfortably. Just last month, the elevator here broke down twice, and the management is quite chaotic. It’s noisy downstairs, and the neighbors are often renovating. Your sleep is already not good, and these things are even more relevant.”
Lu Yingju swirled his glass, leaving a few white circles on the rim. “With my income and savings, it’s more than enough to get a bigger house in the city center. I didn’t tell you before, but I’ve been staying here because it was my mother’s house. I haven’t moved out since she passed away.”
“Oh,” Jing Xian was stunned. “I understand now. It’s my fault. Please forget what I said.”
Luyingju leaned against the table and continued to drink his milk slowly.
When almost the bottom of the cup could be seen, he spoke again. “But Wu Runzhi had the courage to move on from his memories, so it’s only natural for me to have the courage to change. People can’t always be tied to the past. We always have to take steps towards the future.”
He looked at Jing Xian, his beautiful eyes shining. “Like I said, your thoughts are very important to me. I live here to remember the deceased, but people cannot live for the deceased.”
Jing Xian’s eyes lit up. “So?”
“So, when we have some free time, we can go see other houses,” Lu Yingju said with a smile. “Maybe there’s a layout that we both like, and then you’ll be responsible for the decoration.”
Jing Xian was overjoyed and hugged Luyingju tightly, starting to kiss him.
As they kissed, Lu Yingju’s shirt was lifted up, revealing his fair skin and waist.
The atmosphere was both ambiguous and intimate, and both of them were moved by strong emotions. Jing Xian held onto his waist with one hand and whispered in his ear, “Tonight, can I……?”
Lu Yingju was taken aback.
Then his ears and cheeks almost felt like they were burning.
But Jing Xian’s hands didn’t stop. Without waiting for his response, he picked him up and headed towards the bedroom.
Lu Yingju was suddenly placed on the bed, barely managing to sit up against the headboard, pressing Jingxian’s shoulder. “You, you…”
“Really,” Jing Xian reassured again, nuzzling against his neck. “I promise not to go all the way.”
Lu Yingju pushed him away with all his strength, trying to maintain a safe distance, although it was futile. “Do you think you can deceive me with such words? Do you think I don’t understand what a man means when he says ‘I’ll just nuzzle’?”
“I’ve always been trustworthy.” Jing Xian kissed Lu Yingju’s cheek, almost lifting his shirt halfway, revealing the graceful curve of his waist on the soft bed, like a piece of art. “Give it a try, we must give it a try. Let’s take it step by step.”
Lu Yingju’s ears were burning, but the room was dimly lit, Jing Xian’s body was warm, and his deep, low voice in his ear was simply irresistible.
He struggled briefly, then completely lost his shirt.
–As it turned out, Jing Xian did keep his word, he really didn’t go all the way.
He kissed and nuzzled, did everything but the last step, and was very friendly in helping each other.
Despite his efforts to restrain himself, Lu Yingju was forced to make sounds, and was kissed deeply, leaving only muffled groans.
His voice was pleasant, and when he was usually calm and composed, many people already found it memorable. Now, with a slightly hoarse voice due to embarrassment, deliberately suppressed, it was even more enticing. Finally, his hands trembled slightly, his consciousness exploded like a firework, feeling nothing but Jing Xian’s body temperature.
As the temperature rose, the kisses became passionate.
The two of them continued like this until late into the night, and Lu Yingju fell into a drowsy sleep in Jing Xian’s embrace.
“…” He murmured silently in his sleep.
In the quiet of the night, only the most intimate would embrace and sleep through the long night.
Jing Xian gazed unwaveringly at the person in his arms, gently kissing his forehead.
He said, “Hmm, I also like you the most.”
(￣▽￣)o∠※POP!=.:*:’☆.:*:’★’:*
Yay! Progress! Progress! Honeymoon! Honeymoon!