As the day dawned, the rustling sound of cleaners sweeping the floor could be heard on the street.
Lu Jiuqiu, who always liked to sleep in, had already gotten up and was sitting in front of the mirror, carefully applying primer on his face.
The day before yesterday, she submitted five resumes in one go, and yesterday she received three phone calls notifying her to go for interviews. In order to give a good impression to the interviewing companies, she changed into a professional suit and put on a refreshing light makeup.
She went to the interview with great expectations, but the result was a huge disappointment!
In the park, Jiuqiu sat on a bench, chewing on the hamburger bought by Jiang Han, her high heels hanging loosely on her feet, swinging back and forth.
"My monthly salary is only 2,000 yuan! 2,000 yuan is fine, but you still tell me to do so many things. Am I stupid?"
"Oh, the second company is the funniest. There are only 32 people in the whole company, and he still has the audacity to question my ability! Who gave him the courage? The last company is even more outrageous! It stipulates that I cannot get married and have children within ten years. What does it have to do with him if I get married and have children?"
Jiuqiu complained while chewing on a hamburger, and almost choked in excitement.
Jiang Han unscrewed the cap of the mineral water bottle and handed the water to her. Jiu Qiu took it and continued to say vaguely: "I don't want to go to work anymore. I want to buy a lottery ticket and win 500 million yuan, and then I can be a useless person who doesn't have to do anything."
"Then you will really become a useless person." Jiang Han said.
"Can you please stop making fun of me?" Jiuqiu glared at him. She was already pitiful enough, and Jiang Han still said this. How could a rich man like him understand the suffering of the poor?
Jiang Han changed the subject: "What should we do next?"
"What else can I do? I'll stay at Liang Xia's place and continue looking for a job."
"Let me help you take a look too."
"Stop." Jiu Qiu raised his hand and glanced at Jiang Han, "I don't need your help, I can do it on my own."
"Sometimes relying on others is not a bad thing," Jiang Han said.
Jiuqiu snorted and said, "I have my pride."
Jiang Han turned his head, looked at Jiu Qiu steadily, and said: "In this competitive era where the strong prey on the weak, what's the point of being blindly proud?"
"Do I have to squeeze into this food chain of the survival of the fittest?" Jiuqiu asked back, "Can't I just stay out of this era? Fame and fortune are important, but not everyone thinks so. This world is noisy enough, and everyone is rushing into the world of fame and fortune like headless flies. I am no exception!" As he spoke, Jiuqiu lowered his head, with an expression of dissatisfaction with these phenomena on his face.
Jiang Han slowly withdrew his gaze from Jiu Qiu and said nothing.
He had known Jiuqiu for so many years and knew what kind of person she was. He understood what she said.
Jiang Han sat quietly, clasping his hands together. He said, "Call me if you need anything. You know, I support every decision you make."
"It's been so long, you really don't mind the trouble." Jiuqiu muttered and took a sip of water, but a trace of unintentional emotion flashed in his eyes.
It's really been many years.
If Jiang Han hadn't confessed to her, she would never have thought that he had cared about her since the slap in high school.
It turns out that for all these years, there has been someone who has been silently protecting her, caring for her, and growing up with her.
Jiuqiu was touched. But no matter how touched she was, she couldn't get over the hurdle in her heart and accept Jiang Han's feelings. Although she was used to Jiang Han being by her side, if Jiang Han left one day, she really didn't know what to do.
As for Jiang Han, he understood what Jiu Qiu was afraid of and what she was avoiding. He was willing to give himself time to wait for her and also to give her time to accept himself. He believed that he could do it.
I am about to leave the house where I have lived for half a year.
Liangxia was a little reluctant, so she stood in front of the window, carefully wiping the dust off the succulents with a faint smile on her lips.
Jiuqiu opened the door and came in, hanging his head: "Liangxia, my interview result is not good."
Liang Xia's answer was irrelevant: "The food is in the pot."
"Liangxia, my interview result is very bad!" Jiuqiu stood in the middle of the living room and emphasized it again. She pouted unhappily, looking like she needed comfort.
Liang Xia came over, hugged Jiu Qiu, then held her face with both hands and said, "I'm going to tell you something later. It will probably be a big blow to you. You have to be mentally prepared."
"You don't love me anymore?" Jiuqiu pretended to be aggrieved.
The smile on Liang Xia's face deepened, and she said directly: "I'm going to live with Xu Qingyan."
Jiuqiu looked at Liangxia in shock. Liangxia then comforted her, "But I paid three extra months' rent for this house, and you can still live here for free for three months. You should be able to find a job in three months, right?"
Jiuqiu felt weak all over. She walked to the sofa and collapsed on it. She said as if she had seen through the mundane world: "Why do people try so hard to live in this world? Won't they all turn into dust in the end?"
"It seems like you've been hit really hard." Liang Xia smiled and sat down next to her and poured her a glass of water.
"Forget it, I don't care." Jiuqiu waved her hand and said boldly. In a moment, she got up, picked up the tea and drank it down, then rushed to Liangxia and asked curiously: "You want to live with Xu Qingyan. Was it you who proposed it, or was it him?"
"He proposed it. He said it would be easier for two people to take care of each other."
Jiu Qiu curled his lips and said, "Is it really just for the convenience of taking care of me?"
"What are you thinking about?" Liang Xia poked Jiuqiu's forehead and said helplessly.
"I didn't think about anything." Jiuqiu lay on the sofa and smiled at Liangxia, "Now that you and your boyfriend are going to live together, your life will soon be complete, right?"
"What's the point of living together? It's not even the beginning, let alone perfection." Liang Xia smiled and spoke in a deep voice.
Jiuqiu understood what she meant. Living together is the beginning of testing the relationship between two people. When a couple lives together, their shortcomings will be magnified. If they can still maintain the same relationship as before, then they can be considered to have truly passed the test of their relationship.
Xu Qingyan's pursuit of Liang Xia was too smooth, Jiuqiu was a little afraid that Xu Qingyan would not cherish Liang Xia. This time they lived together, which was a good way to test the relationship between the two of them.
A few days later, Liangxia moved out and the one-bedroom rental apartment became empty.
Jiuqiu went to get another key. When she handed the new key to Jiang Han, she was like a lazy and charming queen: "Here is the key. If I, who is as beautiful as a flower, encounter a burglary or suddenly faint at home, at least I have a man to help me."
Jiang Han took the key silently and held it in his hand as if he was holding a treasure.
Liang Xia once said to Jiang Han in private: "I always feel that Jiuqiu has accepted you subconsciously. It's just that she is a very unstable person now. Her heart is unstable, her work is unstable, her life is unstable, and she is not even sure about what she wants to do. It must be difficult for such a person who is drifting in the wind and rain to convince herself to give you a clear answer."
At that time, Jiang Han put down the coffee in his hand and looked up at the scenery outside the window. Outside the window was a green plant and a blue sky, with two birds occasionally flying by. With a faint smile on his lips, he said, "It's okay, I'm willing to wait."
He has waited for seven years, so what is there to be afraid of? He is still young, isn't he?
Jiang Han firmly believed that he would wait until Jiuqiu.
Everyone in the world can see Jiang Han's true feelings for Jiuqiu, but Jiuqiu is the only one who is stuck in a dead end and refuses to come out.
"So now, Jiuqiu lives there alone, and Jiang Han will go to see her occasionally?" asked Xu Qingyan who was helping Liangxia knead the flour.
"You know, when I lived there before, Jiang Han often came to see me and Jiuqiu. Oh, no, it should be just to see Jiuqiu, but because I was there, he always bought two things. Oh, I was right to leave them some space." Liang Xia couldn't help but smile, and stretched out her hand and said, "My sleeves have slipped down, help me roll them up."
Xu Qingyan held Liang Xia's arm with one hand and pushed up her sleeve with the other hand - his hands were covered with white flour, and this was the only way he could help her.
It has been a week since Liang Xia moved to Xu Qingyan's place. The two of them live like an old couple. Liang Xia likes this gentle time.
The rent for Xu Qingyan's house was two thousand yuan, and he didn't let Liang Xia pay a penny.
However, Liang Xia thought that since they were not married yet, they could not use all of Xu Qingyan's money. Therefore, Liang Xia was responsible for the water, electricity and daily living expenses, while Xu Qingyan and Liang Xia shared the housework.
Xu Qingyan understood Liang Xia's thoughts and was willing to live with her in this way, because the reason why he wanted to be with Liang Xia was to share every moment of the rest of his life with her, as well as every joy, anger, sorrow, and happiness, as well as the ups and downs of life.
During this week of living together, Liang Xia felt that she was lucky to meet Xu Qingyan.
On the fifteenth day of living with Xu Qingyan, Jiuqiu called Liangxia and cried.
At that time, Liang Xia was making dinner for Xu Qingyan, and Jiu Qiu roared on the other end of the phone: "I don't want to look for a job anymore! I'm so annoyed!"
"What's wrong again?" Liang Xia turned off the fire, walked to the window in the living room and asked.
Jiuqiu said worriedly, "Why are you all so lucky? You can find a job right after graduation, but I have hit a wall so many times and still haven't succeeded?"
"Didn't you say last time that you had found a job?"
Thinking of this, Jiu Qiu gnashed his teeth in anger and said, "Don't mention it! Originally, our team leader wanted to hand over a pretty good project to me and asked me to complete the follow-up work, but the woman who joined the company with me used tricks to take my project away! I was so angry that I slapped her, and then I quit my job."
Liang Xia didn't know what to say. Xu Qingyan just came home from get off work. Liang Xia pointed to the phone in her hand and pointed to the direction of the kitchen. Xu Qingyan understood, nodded, took off his coat and went into the kitchen.
"Jiuqiu, if you don't like it, just don't do it there. Don't hit people next time. Look at you, you scolded people last time and hit people this time. With your temper, how can you deal with others?" Liangxia said helplessly.
"I know hitting someone is wrong, and I have to pay for the medical expenses. I will restrain myself next time."
Liang Xia stroked his forehead and asked, "You paid for the medical expenses, so you don't have much money left, right? I'll transfer some money to you right after I hang up the phone."
"Oh, so that's why I can't live without you, you always love me so much." Jiuqiu's voice was full of joy, Liangxia couldn't help but laugh. However, Jiuqiu on the other end of the phone quickly said, "But, it's not necessary this time. After all, you live with Xu Qingyan, I can't keep bothering you. You have already paid for my rent, and Jiang Han has already lent me the money for medical expenses."
"you two……"
"We are still the same. I have made up my mind. It would be best if I can accept Jiang Han. If I cannot accept Jiang Han in the end, I will definitely help him find a 'white, rich and beautiful' who is loyal to him and will be at his beck and call for the rest of his life! Consider it my compensation for letting him down." Jiu Qiu said confidently.
"Okay, okay, you should stop thinking about this for now and think carefully about your own survival." Liang Xia brought the topic back to the point in time.
"Yes, Miss Lin is right! I will go find a new job right now and not disturb Miss Lin and Mr. Xu's world of two." Jiuqiu hung up the phone without waiting for Liangxia to answer.
Liang Xia couldn't help but sigh when she saw the phone screen exiting the call interface.
"Is it Jiuqiu?" Xu Qingyan brought out the first dish.
"Yeah." Liang Xia walked over to help, not knowing whether to laugh or get angry, "She resigned because she was dissatisfied with someone else using tricks to steal her project."
After placing the chopsticks and serving the rice, Xu Qingyan and Liang Xia sat down.
Xu Qingyan said while eating: "Jiuqiu is really a wild horse that has run away from its reins. Perhaps, her personality is not suitable for this society."
"According to what she is saying now, she doesn't like this impetuous world, and she doesn't have the courage to live the life she wants. She still needs time." Liang Xia curled her lips and shook her head.
Xu Qingyan looked at Liang Xia and said with a smile: "I have always felt that you don't like and are not suitable for this impetuous world."
"Oh? What do you mean?" Liang Xia puffed her cheeks and looked at Xu Qingyan curiously.
Xu Qingyan lowered his head and poked the rice in the bowl with chopsticks, saying, "I have always felt that someone like you with such clean eyes and innocent looks does not belong to this impetuous world. You have always been a person who has not entered the world. As for Jiuqiu, you should be a person who wants to leave the world after entering it."
Liang Xia listened with a smile on her face, and couldn't help teasing Xu Qingyan: "I thought you were not a person who liked to say nice things, but I didn't expect that you would say something that I like so much."
Xu Qingyan smiled shyly and changed the subject: "Let's eat."
Liang Xia quickly ate a few mouthfuls of white rice, using the action of eating to hide her inner joy. Liang Xia enjoyed the meal very much.
Liangxia's life was back on track, but Jiuqiu's was still a mess. So messy that she was beginning to doubt her life.
After being rejected by a company again, Jiuqiu stayed in her room for three days, like a crazy woman, without taking a shower or washing her hair. If Jiang Han hadn't been unable to contact Jiuqiu for three days and had come to take a look, he would have thought Jiuqiu had been kidnapped.
Jiang Han picked out a set of clothes from the closet, threw them on Jiu Qiu, and said expressionlessly: "Go take a shower and change clothes, I'll take you out."
“I don’t want to go out…” Jiuqiu turned over and pressed on the clothes.
Jiang Han said patiently: "I'll take you out to eat something and relax. It's better than staying at home alone. What if you get sick?"
"I'm not going out!" Jiuqiu said stubbornly. For the first time, she doubted that she was an extremely useless person.
"Lu Jiuqiu, you are really becoming more and more incompetent." Jiang Han said coldly.
Jiu Qiu sat up suddenly, with an extremely sharp look in his eyes, and said, "What did you say? Say it again?"
"They say you are incompetent, useless and good for nothing." Jiang Han said sarcastically without any hesitation.
"You are useless! What do you know?" Jiu Qiu was furious. He approached Jiang Han and stared at him with wide eyes.
Jiang Han looked into her eyes and said, "Nonsense, I have one thing in common."
"Oh? Tell me about it." Jiuqiu crossed his arms across his chest, full of mockery.
Jiang Han's mouth curled up slightly, revealing a hint of sneer. Suddenly, he reached out, held Jiu Qiu's head with one hand, and kissed her without saying anything.
At least he had one good thing, which was to kiss her. As long as he wanted to kiss her, he would never care about the time or the occasion.
When the kiss fell, Lu Jiuqiu was so shocked that he pushed Jiang Han away, stepped back repeatedly, pointed at him and said incoherently: "You...you...you..."
"I...I...I..." Jiang Han imitated her indifferently, "I'll wait for you outside, hurry up and wash up and come out. I'll only give you an hour. If you're not ready within an hour, I'll come in and kiss you again."
"Jiang Han!" Jiuqiu's face turned red.
Jiang Han turned around calmly and closed the bedroom door when he went out.
Jiuqiu felt as if all her strength had been drained away, and she stood blankly in the bedroom. After a long while, she quickly changed her clothes and rushed into the bathroom to wash up.
Jiang Han was sitting on the sofa in the living room, calmly looking at the magazine in his hand. When Jiu Qiu rushed into the bathroom, he just looked up lazily, with a vague smile on the corner of his mouth.
Under Jiang Han's threat, Jiuqiu only took a dozen minutes to get himself ready.
Seeing the brand new Jiuqiu appear before him, Jiang Han closed the book in his hand and said, "Very good." After that, he stood up and said as he walked out, "Let's go."
"Jiang Han, you are very proud and great, right? You stinky hooligan!" Jiu Qiu walked behind him, cursing.
However, Jiang Han did not refute a word, and the smile on his face deepened.
Jiang Han took Jiuqiu out, but they didn't actually go anywhere. They just went shopping in the largest shopping mall in South City, had something to eat, and also let Jiuqiu see how glamorous the people here live.
Jiuqiu walked with Jiang Han and looked at the dazzling display windows. Suddenly, an idea came to his mind.
Jiuqiu suddenly grabbed Jiang Han's arm, his eyes shining.
"Jiang Han, since I can't find a job, I'll start my own business!"