Home/ The Selfish Gene/ Chapter 39
Making an appointment with Gu Ying at a Japanese restaurant with a good environment, I took out the box and showed her the engagement ring that Sang Zhengbai gave me.
She looked at it for a while and took it in her hand: “My parents were also asking about it a few days ago. It seems that they have communicated privately.” With a sigh, she put the ring box back on the table and slowly pushed it back to my side.
“What are you planning on doing?” I asked.
Gu Ying tapped her fingertips on the table in turn and thought for a moment: “Let’s get engaged first, and then cancel the engagement after a year and a half, what do you think?”
“Well then, it will be up to you to cancel the engagement at that time.” In this way, Sang Zhengbai won’t be able to blame me. I can also use this excuse of unrequited love to refuse the blind dates he may arrange for me in the future.
Gu Ying nodded: “OK, it’s settled then.”
After the matter was finalized, she didn’t take the ring, saying that it was of great significance and represented the undying love between my parents. She couldn’t profane it and hoped that I would give it to someone who was truly worthy.
The one who’s truly worthy?
The figure of Ji Chenfeng flashed through my mind. Strictly speaking, he should be the real heir of these rings. I am just an impostor and a cunning thief.
“Then let’s find some time to choose the rings together.” I suggested it after putting the ring box back in my pocket.
When Gu Ying heard this, a sarcastic smile appeared on her face, and she raised her drink glass and toasted me: “Thank you for your hard work.”
Silently touching her cup, I didn’t say much and drank the slightly astringent tea in one gulp.
When I drove to Ji Chenfeng’s house, I didn’t want to climb the stairs and was afraid that the car window would be smashed again, so I called Ji Chenfeng to come down.
With my hands in my coat pockets and my back against the car door, I patiently waited on the roadside for his arrival. The breath I exhaled turned into white mist in an instant. The weather seems to be getting colder and colder. I wonder if it will snow this year.
Looking up at the tangled wires above Fly City as well as the sky that seems to have been cut into fragments, the moon was nowhere to be found, the stars were dim, and it seems that the weather tomorrow will be bad again.
I heard footsteps in my ear, and my gaze fell towards the top of the steps. Ji Chenfeng stepped out of the dim night and walked into the faint street lamp that was better than nothing. In an instant, it seemed that even the dark path was brightened by him.
There are people who don’t need to work hard to show their existence. They can just stand there casually and grab everyone’s attention. There was some sourness in my heart, which couldn’t be said to be jealousy or envy. If he hadn’t been replaced, he would have done much better than me.
“Why didn’t you wait in the car?” Ji Chenfeng slowly walked towards me, and put his warm palm on the side of my face.
It’s so warm.
I had been numb for a long time and didn’t feel anything, but once I was touched by him, I finally realized that I was so cold.
“I wanted to see you sooner.” Pulling off his hand gently, I snuggled up to him and hugged him by the car.
“What’s wrong?” Ji Chenfeng keenly sensed my abnormal emotions.
“I just feel… a bit tired.” I buried my face in his neck and said in a muffled voice.
The cold air diluted the scent on Ji Chenfeng’s body, and it took a lot of effort in order to smell a hint of soap that seemed to be non-existent. I used to think it was cheap and tacky, but now I’m used to it.
Just like now, he should have just taken a shower, and if I get close to his skin, I can even smell something like sunshine…
“Have you just finished socializing with people?”
My eyes were slightly closed, and I lazily let out a long “hmm”, leaning on him and refusing to get up.
“Sang Nian, what’s wrong with you…” His arms tightened around me little by little, and Ji Chenfeng was only halfway through his words when he was interrupted by a loud growling sound from my stomach.
I suddenly opened my eyes and cursed inwardly, holding onto my abdomen, not daring to look up at Ji Chenfeng’s expression.
Japanese cuisine is not very focused on satiety, and Gu Ying and I are not in a relationship where we can sit and have a happy meal together. After discussing the cooperation, we ate a few bites in a hurry and then went our separate ways. In addition, we ate a box of quinoa salad for lunch, so it is inevitable to be hungry now.
“Are you hungry?” Ji Chenfeng retreated a bit.
I lowered my head and my face was a bit hot: “I didn’t eat much at night, it’s okay. I can just go back and order takeout myself.”
Anyway, my apartment is not far from Ji Chenfeng’s place, and it only takes about ten minutes to drive back.
“It will take too long.” Ji Chenfeng held my hand, looked around, and finally chose a direction, “There is a noodle shop nearby. It should still be open. Let’s go eat there.”
The noodle shop in Fly City, you don’t need to think about it too much to know that it’s one of those fly restaurants. The chef throws the noodles into the pot with bare hands, cooks it while speaking loudly, and once cooked, he adds various blurry toppings and inserts his thumb into the noodle soup to serve. I was already starting to feel uncomfortable without eating, so I might as well go back and eat instant noodles.
However, before I could politely refuse, Ji Chenfeng had already pulled me forward along the path.
The wind rushed towards my face and gave me a headache. He grabbed my hand, stuffed it into his coat pocket, and focused on the road below, slowly trudging on the slightly inclined slope.
I followed him step by step, always about a step away from him, staring at his broad shoulders, his cold red earlobes, and the white breath exhaling between his lips and teeth. I unconsciously swallowed back my words of rejection.
“Taotie Noodle Shop”, the name was big, but the actual space was very small. There were only five seats inside, and they’re all in the front, and there’s not even a decent table. The environment is not dirty, but it’s very messy.
There was no menu in the store, everything was written on a blackboard that can be seen directly in front when you look up. Since the spicy pork noodles were labeled as the “signature” dish, I ordered the spicy pork noodles. The coat was hung on the wall behind, and there was a small TV in the store, playing a TV drama from an unknown year.
There was only an elderly couple in the store, seemingly around sixty or seventy years old. Their hair had turned gray and their backs were no longer straight.
“Xiao Ji, I haven’t seen you for a long time.” The old woman served hot tea with a kind face, as if she was familiar with Ji Chenfeng and Yan Shanhua, “How is your mother lately? I heard she is very ill, is she okay?”
Ji Chenfeng shook his head and didn’t say much. He just told them that it was under control and there was no need to worry for the time being.
“It’s good if it’s in control. Your mother has suffered too much. A woman has to take care of her paralyzed husband and such a young child. Although there are many people here who are suffering, there are really not many who can persist in such hardships like her.”
This woman seems to be well-informed about everything in the Fly City, and nothing could escape her eyes and ears.
She sighed, “If you want me to say it, just look at Cheng Tao’s mother, who couldn’t take care of her family for even a year. She ran away with someone else without worrying about her husband and children…”
In the eyes of outsiders, Yan Shanhua is tenacious and hard-working, who never abandoned her husband and raised her children well. She can be awarded the medal of “Top Ten Glorious Women of Fly City”. However, no one knew how dirty her inner self lies under her bright and great appearance, let alone doubt that the child she raised with such care was not her own at all.
If Cheng Tao’s mother should be condemned, then Yan Shanhua should be bound to thorns, wail in pain and suffer from the contempt of thousands of people to pay back the debt she owes.
“Alright, stop talking about all this. Bring me the bowl.” The old man couldn’t listen to his wife’s gossip and interrupted rudely, “You keep telling people about others’ gossip. Don’t you have anything else to do?”
The old woman curled her lips, muttered something, and turned back to get a bowl from the cupboard.
After a while, the noodles were served. I don’t know whether it’s because there were a lot of ingredients available in the store, or because it’s Ji Chenfeng who brought me here, but the bowl of noodles was full of ingredients, and a braised egg was specially added.
Ji Chenfeng took the chopsticks and handed them to me: “My grandmother’s noodles are rolled out by herself every morning. They are different from those made by machines. Try it and see.”
Under the eager gazes of three pairs of eyes, I hesitantly took my first bite.
The noodles were chewy, the soup was delicious, and the spicy meat was neither salty nor too bland, paired perfectly with the noodles. After the first bite, my empty stomach tasted the sweetness and became even more hungry. The chopsticks never stopped, and after a while, I even picked up the bowl and drank all the soup.
“Let me just say that my noodles are very delicious.” The old woman smiled happily and said, “Xiao Ji, bring your friends here more often in the future.”
Ji Chenfeng smiled and took out a tissue in his hand. He was about to press it against my lips, but when he met my stunned eyes, he suddenly stopped, seemingly remembering that this is outside and we were just “friends”.
“Thank you…” I naturally took the tissue from his hand and wiped my mouth.
After coming out of the Taotie Noodle Shop, we slowly walked back to the parking place. When we parted ways, he turned around and walked up the steps, while I walked towards the driver’s seat.
“Sang Nian…”
Across the car, I looked up at Ji Chenfeng, who had both of his hands in his pockets, standing at the foot of the depressing winding steps across the road, looking at me with complicated emotions in his eyes.
“You wouldn’t lie to me, would you?”
The muscles controlling the hand suddenly contracted, causing the fingers gripping the car door to twitch unnaturally.
Lowering my hand, I relaxed my fingers and then clenched them tightly. Then raising the corners of my mouth, I looked at Ji Chenfeng from across the car: “Of course not. Why are you asking this all of a sudden?”
He silently looked at me for a while and finally shook his head.
“It’s nothing.”
Although I thought it was a bit strange, I didn’t dare to ask him if he knew anything and just drove away nervously under his gaze.
On Saturday, I made an appointment with Gu Ying to choose rings at a gold store, and also modified the size of Sang Zhengbai’s pair of rings— the female rings were a little too small to fit on a man’s finger.
“I’m going on a date with my boyfriend later, so let’s just pick one casually?” Gu Ying looked at the box of rings brought by the salesperson, and ordered one of the pairs of plain silver rings, “Just take this one, it looks a bit similar to yours.”
After taking a sip of the mineral water handed over by the salesperson, I glanced at it casually and nodded, “Okay.”
After paying the bill, Gu Ying took one of the rings and left. While waiting for the other pair of rings, I unexpectedly received a call from Ayao.
She usually wouldn’t call me if there was nothing important. Feeling somewhat strange in my heart, I still pressed the answer button.
“Boss, haven’t you read the reports I sent you recently?” Ayao seemed to be on the road, and the sound of car horns could be faintly heard.
“I am too busy, there’s no time to read, what’s wrong?” Ji Chenfeng hangs around me all day long, notifying me wherever he goes. What report do I need to read?
“Just… you’d better take a look. Although you told me not to record anything when he’s with you, I think it’s still necessary to tell you about this person.”
Asking her not to hang up, I quit the call interface, clicked on my email, and found the latest observation report to read it quickly.
“Do you still remember Ji Chenfeng’s first love? I just found out not long ago that he had returned to China. Not only did he change his name and identity, he also rented a large office in a downtown business building and became a well-known psychiatrist.”
【At 12 o’clock in the afternoon, Ji Chenfeng had dinner with Zhou Jieyu.】
Under the concise text, there were two photos attached, which were taken through the glass of the restaurant. I don’t know what kind of camera Ayao used, but it was so clear that even the lemon slices in the water glass on the table could be seen clearly.
Ji Chenfeng and Zhou Jiyu were sitting next to the floor-to-ceiling windows, talking about something. The atmosphere was harmonious and sunny. One was gentle and intellectual, while the other was handsome and compelling, just like a well-matched pair.
“…Zhou Jiyu?” I heard myself pronouncing Zhou Jiyu’s name in a gloomy voice.
“Yes, it’s him.” Ayao pursed her lips and said, “Boss, outside of being a private detective, I have an immature speculation. I think… he might want to take advantage of you and snatch the person from you.”
When he asked me if I would lie to him, was it actually because he had a ghost in his heart? I’m busy on my end, but he’s not idle either. Why, after walking around for a while, does he still think that the first lollipop tastes better? If it weren’t for that 500,000 yuan, he might have rekindled his relationship with that first love long ago, right?
“Where is Ji Chenfeng now?” I asked through gritted teeth.
The date of the meal was a few days ago, but he didn’t tell me anything for so many days. He ate with other men without telling me, he ate with his ex without telling me… Damn it, what else did you do besides eating?
“At home, cough, Zhou Jiyu just left.” Ayao added, “Maybe he came to see Yan Shanhua. I see he bought a lot of fruit…”
With a loud bang, the phone crashed into the wall, instantly shattering into pieces, and all the annoying sounds disappeared. I gasped for breath, and there was only one thought in my mind— Ji Chenfeng let Zhou Jiyu into his house, and he(jc) still remembered him(zj).
Leave a Reply