After checking on Gu Xiuyuan, seeing that the time was about right, Ji Nian went to the airport to pick up Shen Qingtang and He Xiang.
He Xiang had gone abroad for further studies with the scholarship from the school and happened to be in the same city as Shen Qingtang. So they made an appointment to return to China together.
"Isn't the 'little imperial grandson' coming back?" Shen Qingtang asked, linking her arm with Ji Nian's.
Ji Nian nodded. "Yeah, he's quite busy."
Lu Jinghuai had started to return to Country O frequently last year. As he grew older, there were many things for him to learn, and he also had to take care of his studies here. Sometimes when they talked on the phone, she could often hear his tired voice saying that he wanted to abandon everything and come back to find Ji Nian.
"How's Uncle Gu doing?" He Xiang, who only carried a bag without much luggage, walked on Ji Nian's left.
"They said his condition has stabilized," Ji Nian replied.
Hearing this, He Xiang nodded.
"I brought a gift for Uncle Gu. I'll ask Gu Xiuyuan to take it to him later."
Hearing that He Xiang had brought a gift, Ji Nian looked at him curiously. "What did you buy?"
Shen Qingtang beside them suppressed the smile on her lips.
Then He Xiang took out a bag from his carry - on bag, on which was written -
'Hu Dayu's Hemorrhoid Ointment, W Country's Collectible Edition'
Ji Nian: "…"
"My hemorrhoid ointment developed with Wei Junze can't compare with it?" Ji Nian said.
Shen Qingtang smiled and said, "Maybe Uncle Gu doesn't really want a pink buttocks."
Ji Nian: "…"
Speaking of this hemorrhoid ointment, Ji Nian had complaints.
Although its sales were better than expected and it had even become the company's star product, no one bought it for the function of treating hemorrhoids.
Some bloggers somehow discovered that applying it on the lips could make the lip color turn pink. As a result, many people bought it for this effect. Later, people developed new uses.
Are your knees very dark? Use the Big Wild Wolf brand hemorrhoid ointment, and it will give you smooth and pink knees.
Some people even applied it on their faces, saying that it had a very good effect on removing dark spots. Some beauty salons also bought it in large quantities because they found that applying a thick layer of hemorrhoid ointment on customers after medical cosmetology had an extremely good repair effect.
Anyway, people bought it for all sorts of purposes...
In the evening, they made an appointment at the hot - pot restaurant they often went to in high school.
When Gu Xiuyuan arrived, he was still wearing a suit, which was very eye - catching as soon as he entered the door.
Before he walked towards their usual table, the three of them stood up at the same time and walked over with serious expressions.
"Mr. Gu, you're here," Ji Nian said, shaking hands with Gu Xiuyuan while he looked at her in complete confusion.
Shen Qingtang followed closely. "Mr. Gu, you've finally come."
Then He Xiang: "Mr. Gu, nice to meet you."
The other customers looked at them curiously.
Hey, why are they discussing business in a hot - pot restaurant? They're wearing such expensive suits and the watches they're wearing are also very valuable.
Facing the curious looks around him, Gu Xiuyuan said, "… Are you guys crazy?"
The three of them exchanged glances.
Obviously, they felt great.
"Don't you worry about your clothes getting the smell of hot - pot? Come on, the tripe you like is already cooked for you," Ji Nian said, pushing Gu Xiuyuan towards the table. The four of them talked and laughed.
This hot - pot restaurant was quite close to S High School. While they were eating, they looked up and saw several teenagers and girls in familiar school uniforms walking in.
They were discussing the upcoming lecture a few days later.
"I wonder who will come. It would be so nice if I could go back to the school to give a speech in the future. You guys have to come and support me then," one of them said.
"Sure, I'll definitely go," another replied.
"I know who will come. There's a senior who was the former student council president," said one.
"Oh, I know him. There's still his photo on the wall of the student council. He's so handsome. A lot of people went there to take pictures with his photo before," another added.
"I wonder if there will be anyone from our former tennis club. There was a senior named Shen who was really good at playing tennis. Several trophies of our club were won by her. I wonder if she's still playing now," said one.
"Is it Senior Shen Qingtang? I heard that the cats behind the cafeteria were all picked up by her back then," said another.
The group happily discussed as they walked past Ji Nian's table, completely unaware that the people they were talking about were right across from them.
Ji Nian propped her chin up and looked at the two across the table. "How do you feel, Senior Shen and Senior Gu?"
Shen Qingtang said with a smile, "I didn't expect there are still people in school who remember me."
Gu Xiuyuan didn't say anything, but he seemed quite satisfied.
Just then, the S High School students who had walked to the other side suddenly shouted, "The youth fears not the severe winter, looking up, there is the blazing sun!"
"The youth fears not the dark night, looking up, there is the moonlight!"
Ji Nian: "…"
Suddenly, a soft laugh came from the phone screen beside her.
Ji Nian looked at the phone standing beside the tissue box with a sullen look.
On the screen, a man with light blond hair was propping his head with one arm, tilting his head towards the camera. There was still a faint smile lingering in his silver - gray eyes.
"They sang well," he said softly.
Ji Nian mumbled, "You can even hear this."
Thinking of the past, she couldn't help but look at the two people across the table who were arguing about the ownership of a piece of meat.
Who would have thought that before they knew He Xiang, these two didn't even know that houses could be bought one by one. In their world, houses were bought by the whole building.
Ji Nian laughed in her heart at the male and female leads who now looked so decent but were arguing over a piece of meat.
He Xiang beside her was turning his head to look at the students over there. It seemed that through those figures, he saw themselves wearing school uniforms and chatting and laughing as they came to eat hot - pot back then.
"What are you laughing at?" Gu Xiuyuan felt a bit creeped out when he saw He Xiang's smile.
Don't be fooled by He Xiang's quiet appearance. He was actually quite mischievous.
But this time, He Xiang didn't say anything shocking.
He just said, "I hope they can always be together in the future."
The others who understood what he meant exchanged glances.
In the misty steam rising from the hot - pot, Ji Nian picked up her cup and looked at her friends whose faces were blurred. For a moment, she saw their youthful appearances and also seemed to catch a glimpse of their more mature but unchanged figures in the future.
Ji Nian curled up her lips.
"Here's to us always being together."
Since Lu Jinghuai didn't have a cup there, when they raised their cups and clinked them, he made a circle with one hand and 'clinked' it against the camera, just like they had done countless times before.
To the years.
And to us.
After the hot - pot, they went to Lu Jinghuai's house to drink and play games.
He Xiang took off his coat and threw it into Gu Xiuyuan's arms. His more mature body was as flexible as a monkey as he climbed up a nearby tree and skillfully found the key to activate the smart lock of the gate from the abandoned bird's nest.
After the smart lock was activated, He Xiang entered the password, and the iron gate slid open automatically. The group swaggered into the villa where the owner was not at home.
Lu Jinghuai, who was on the video call, thought to himself that luckily he had filled up the food before leaving, otherwise, it wouldn't be enough for these 'bandits' to waste.
As soon as Gu Xiuyuan entered the door, he tugged at his tie. Shen Qingtang, who had also kicked off her high heels beside him, looked over at him.
"We didn't have enough time last time. You're definitely going to lose this time."
After saying that, the two of them simultaneously marched menacingly in the direction of the game room.
Ji Nian and He Xiang went to rummage through the snack basket and the refrigerator.
At the same time, Ji Nian also ordered takeout so that they could eat while watching Gu Xiuyuan and Shen Qingtang go at it.
Lu Jinghuai said gently, "Don't eat too much tonight."
They had just finished eating hot pot.
But he was used to this already. After all, these people seemed to have different appetites for hot pot and midnight snacks.
Ji Nian nodded to show that she understood, and at the same time, she used her eyes to signal He Xiang to go to the cellar to get the good wine that Lu Jinghuai had collected.
He Xiang received the hint and went there with one hand in his pocket.
Apparently, this wasn't the first time they had done this.
...
Fortunately, it was Friday today. Even if the four of them went on a crazy spree, it wouldn't have any impact on the next day.
Maybe taking after Ji Tingzhou, Ji Nian had a pretty good tolerance for alcohol.
She didn't hang up the call with Lu Jinghuai.
Looking up at the unusually bright moon tonight, Ji Nian whispered into the headset, "Come to the Ji family for dinner after you come back."
It was like a murmur to herself, but the other side still heard it.
Lu Jinghuai's voice sounded a bit hoarse. He paused for a moment before responding.
"...Okay."
When the gathering was over, Chen Mo, who had just finished a business banquet, gave Ji Nian a ride on his way.
Ji Nian climbed into the car and said, "You smell like alcohol. How much did you drink, Mo Mo?"
Chen Mo looked at her drunkenly and lovingly, and made a gesture, saying, "Just about the amount that Ji Tingzhou can drink."
[Good, this guy is drunk.]
Shaking her head, Ji Nian leaned over to help her uncle untie his tie so that he could breathe more easily.
She called home in advance and asked someone to prepare the sobering soup, planning to let Chen Mo stay at the Ji family to sleep.
Looking at Ji Nian, who was instructing the servant beside him, Chen Mo thought of the vague figure in his memory, the one who always had a cold face and seemed to be carrying a heavy burden of worries all the time.
Once, he could only look up at her with his small body.
But now, Chen Mo could raise his arm and gently stroke her head.
Ji Nian, whose head was being stroked, glanced at Chen Mo and patted him casually, saying, "Be a good boy, Uncle. We'll be home soon."
...
After Ji Nian got home and settled Chen Mo down, the servant told her that Ding Ding had run off somewhere, and the family head had also gone to help look for it.
When the servant mentioned that Ji Tingzhou was helping to look for the cat, there was a strange tone in her voice, as if she was surprised that such a thing would trouble him.
But Ji Nian knew.
Her father was just bored.
Following the servant's directions, Ji Nian went to look for Ji Tingzhou, who was looking for the cat.
Unexpectedly.
Ji Nian found Ji Tingzhou in a place that was both familiar and strange.
[Sure enough, I knew this guy wasn't really looking for the cat.]
She looked up at the big tree not far away.
A figure was sitting on it, and it was unclear what he was looking at.
The reason why she said this place was both familiar and strange was that this was originally the small house where Ji Nian had lived before she was five years old.
Later, Ji Tingzhou had the house demolished, and the father - daughter duo planted a tree at the original location of the house together.
Over the years, the originally quite tall tree had grown so tall that Ji Nian had to strain her neck to see the treetop.
After looking under the tree trunk for a while, Ji Nian found the right position and climbed up like a monkey.
As she climbed, she complained about the smell of disinfectant.
It smelled like the kind that was specially made for plants and was harmless.
Who in the world would have disinfectant specially for plants?
Answer: Ji Tingzhou.
When she was almost at the top, Ji Nian looked up.
Even sitting on the tree, Ji Tingzhou still sat upright with his eyes closed, as if he was asleep. The leaves blending with the ink - colored night swayed gently behind him. His face, which resembled Ji Nian's, looked extremely three - dimensional in the shadow, quiet and peaceful.
This made Ji Nian think of their first encounter many years ago. He was also pretending to sleep with his eyes closed at that time.
It was as if time had pressed the pause button just for him. He still looked the same as he did back then. The only difference was his aura.
When Ji Tingzhou, who was woken up, opened his eyes and saw Ji Nian sitting down beside him with a thump, there was no longer any trace of tyranny and madness in his dark green eyes.
There was only the gentle and loving look that came with the passage of time.
Ji Nian's heart skipped a beat. Looking at her father's face, she said with a smile, "Brother, you're so handsome."
It only took Ji Tingzhou one second to realize what she was up to. A flash of helplessness crossed his eyes, and he cooperated by asking, "Oh? How handsome?"
Straightening her back, Ji Nian said forcefully, "So handsome that even my dad would be envious!"
As soon as the words fell, both father and daughter's eyes showed a nostalgic smile.
Indeed, it had been so many years since their first encounter.
Time never stopped its pace, and the story of love continued.
