Chapter 1 I'm waiting for you
Many years later, Ye Zhenzhen often wondered if the relationship between her and Wen Baijing would be different if she hadn't made that phone call.
The story takes place on the afternoon of September 2012, 9, in the Jiangnan water town, which is famous for its small bridges and flowing water.
"boom!"
The door was suddenly closed by the draft.
Ye Zhenzhen stood outside the door in her pajamas with her hands hanging down. All her sleepiness disappeared in an instant and she subconsciously covered her chest with her hands.
A second ago, she bent down to put the garbage outside the door, and the garbage bag was not stable and fell over. She walked to the door to sort out the garbage bag, and was not paying attention when she was shut out by the wind.
Living alone in an old street-side house without any property, she only wears a white palace-style long nightgown with a deep V neckline design that makes her look pure yet sexy.
There is nothing else on the body.
No cell phone, keys, money, not even underwear to wear.
There were no relatives or friends around, and she stood outside the door in a daze, panic-stricken for a moment.
It is almost two o'clock now. She is a shopping guide in a women's clothing store on the second floor of a shopping mall. Two-thirty is the handover time between the morning and evening shifts in the mall where she works.
She truly experienced the despair of crying out to the heavens and the earth for help but no one answered.
Ye Zhenzhen stood there for a moment, but standing there stupidly wouldn't solve the problem. She carefully lifted the hem of her skirt and walked down from the third floor to the first floor in a panicked and chaotic pace.
There were a few customers standing in front of a roadside stall selling stinky tofu, and the stench and smoke were blowing in with the wind.
A few migrant workers who were off work were walking towards them. They were carrying red safety helmets and passed by Ye Zhenzhen, their eyes falling on her intentionally or unintentionally.
No one would feel offended by the beauty.
With the mentality of "if you don't take advantage of an opportunity, you're a bastard", most men don't think it's ungraceful to stare at a beautiful woman in pajamas like a hungry wolf.
Since you dare to walk on the street like this, you should accept other people's malicious gazes. I look at you a few more times just because I respect you.
This is the mentality of those men.
Perhaps it was because the autumn afternoon sun was too strong, Ye Zhenzhen's face was extremely hot. The wind was also mischievous and pulled the hem of her skirt, so she had to cover her chest with one hand and her skirt with the other.
She lowered her head and ran into the back door of the small supermarket in panic. People looked at her with strange eyes. She wanted to escape, but she had nowhere to go. She could only bite the bullet and face the gazes of the crowd. She timidly walked to the public phone and dialed Lin Xiaoxi's number.
Lin Xiaoxi was still her best friend at that time, but the two of them were gradually drifting apart and had no more books to read.
"Zhenzhen, I can't leave! Think of another way..."
After hanging up the phone with my best friend, I inadvertently saw a few small cards with blue background and yellow letters scattered on the transparent glass counter of the supermarket - Jingcheng Lock Company.
"Locksmith company? Can you come to xx Street to open the lock?"
"Sure, but you have to wait two hours..."
"What? Two hours!"
Her thin voice suddenly rose, attracting everyone's attention. Burned by the gazes of the onlookers, she was so embarrassed that she wanted to die. She lowered her head even more, and saw passers-by outside the supermarket looking at her through the glass.
Amid those malicious looks, she dialed the number hesitantly.
Every time a crisis arose, she would always subconsciously think of Wen Baijing.
They were neither lovers nor friends, and the days they spent apart had already exceeded the time they spent together. But she was absolutely certain that Wen Baijing was a reliable person who would definitely help her.
After hanging up the phone, she covered her chest tightly and huddled beside the dusty shelves in the corner of the supermarket. She buried her head between her knees, her scattered hair covering her face, revealing her fair and slender neck, and her thin butterfly bones fluttering slightly.
Time has stopped me from moving forward.
The embarrassing moment of social death is always when people are fried and burnt, and the burnt smell spreads in the wind, attracting everyone's attention and leaving them nowhere to escape.
Ye Zhenzhen's whole body was burning hot. She thought of the raisin drying room. She would be dried up in the next second. The heat waves kept coming towards her.
The crisp scent of pine and cypress, like the wind whistling off a steep cliff, gradually approached her.
A pair of black leather shoes stopped in front of me, the uppers were spotless. Looking up from the shoes, I saw the well-tailored trousers hanging smoothly without wrinkles.
She looked up and saw that familiar face, and her eyes were suddenly filled with pent-up grievances.
Wen Baijing wrapped his gray suit jacket around her, bent down and picked her up, and walked past everyone's surprised expressions towards the black Mercedes-Benz G on the side of the road.
Ye Zhenzhen sat in the passenger seat, digging her toes into the ground. She hadn't seen him for several months, and she missed him very much, but at this moment she didn't dare to look up at him.
Wen Baijing stared at her and said jokingly, "Ye Zhenzhen, you called me dressed like this, do you really think I'm a gentleman?"
The blush on Ye Zhenzhen's face extended to the back of her neck. She lowered her head, her eyes looking at her nose and her nose looking at her mouth.
Wen Baijing's eyes dimmed, and he turned to look forward, his tone a little cold, "Didn't you disappear? Why did you call me?"
Ye Zhenzhen sat obediently wrapped in her coat, her black hair half covering her face, like a primary school student who had done something wrong, lowering her head and saying nothing.
You can't say you only thought of him because you had no other choice. If you get thrown out dressed like this, not only will you be fined for skipping work, but it will also be on the local gossip? To be on the safe side, you'd better shut up!
Seeing that she remained silent, Wen Baijing sighed softly and did not continue speaking.
A song was playing repeatedly in the car - "Three Inches of Sunlight".
"…I don't want to tell you about my third wish yet. Think about it yourself and ask the smiling moonlight…"
Ye Zhenzhen turned her head to look out the window, her chaotic thoughts overwhelming her, stubbornly blocking her throat and almost suffocating her.
The vehicle drove through the messy streets towards the bustling downtown and stopped in the underground garage of an upscale community in the city center.
Standing in the simple and low-key living room of the large flat in Guanlanju, you can have a panoramic view of the Yuncheng scenery through the floor-to-ceiling windows, and the small bridges, flowing water, pavilions and towers in the south of the Yangtze River are all crawling at your feet.
She still stood there timidly, refusing to move an inch.
Wen Baijing carried her to the sofa and squatted in front of her, "Ye Zhenzhen, where have you been in the past few months? Do you know that I'm looking for you?"
"I checked all your ticket purchase information, including air tickets, trains, and buses. Unfortunately, there is no record of your purchase. I even searched for places where you might work..."
Ye Zhenzhen raised her head and met Wen Baijing's puzzled look. She didn't know what to do, and her palms were sweating.
"If you feel wronged, you can tell me. You still have me. You don't have to handle many things by yourself..."
"Do you know... why did you suddenly disappear, Ye Zhenzhen, do you know how much I missed your smile?"
Faced with Wen Baijing's affectionate look, Ye Zhenzhen was stunned and panicked. She clenched her hands again and again, and many questions arose in her mind.
Wen Baijing squatted in front of her in the sunshine and expressed his longing for her. Ye Zhenzhen's heartbeat shattered her eardrums. She avoided Wen Baijing's burning gaze. The clock on the wall pointed to two o'clock.
Obviously, now is not a good time to chat about the night rain in Bashan Mountain under the candlelight in the west window.
Ye Zhenzhen immediately became flustered because she had to hand over her shift before 2:30 in the afternoon.
She tentatively spoke up sheepishly: "Well, can we... talk about this later? I'm going to be too late for work."
When Wen Baijing heard her words, a chill flashed across his eyes, "Ye Zhenzhen, am I less important to you than a job?"
Ye Zhenzhen was disappointed for a moment. Even though Wen Baijing was squatting in front of her and seemed inferior to her, his words were full of "Why not eat meat?"
People like him never understand the hardships of ants, and they are not from the same world as her.
"I didn't ask for leave in advance and the store is short-staffed. What should my colleagues do?"
Wen Baijing stood up suddenly, his gentle eyes turned gloomy in an instant, and it was not difficult to hear the coldness in his words, "Then go ahead! Go to work in your pajamas!"
He had completely changed his face, becoming cold, ruthless and extremely strange.
Ye Zhenzhen then remembered that she was not wearing anything under her pajamas, and now she could hardly move.
"What should I do then..." Ye Zhenzhen felt a little aggrieved. She wanted to cry but had to hold it back. She shook Wen Baijing's sleeve weakly.
Wen Baijing couldn't bear to see her looking so pitiful, so he softened his heart.
Finally unable to persuade her, Wen Baijing silently handed her the phone and asked her to leave her phone number and WeChat.
The mobile phone screen shows: September 2012, 9, 13:14.
In the underground parking lot of Wuyue Plaza, Wen Baijing hurriedly opened the car door and brought back several paper bags in a short while.
"Um... I don't know your bra size, I'm just estimating, I don't know if it will fit..."
He spoke hesitantly, and Ye Zhenzhen blushed immediately. They were not boyfriend and girlfriend, and they had never been intimate. When Wen Baijing said this, she really didn't know how to respond.
Visual inspection? How to visual inspection? Is it possible to use a ruler as eyes?
Being criticized and fined for skipping work is more unbearable than wearing underwear that is the wrong size and not washed.
"Then you..." Ye Zhenzhen took the paper bag, but before she could finish her words, Wen Baijing slammed the car door shut with a tactful look, stood outside the car and turned to look away.
Ye Zhenzhen huddled behind the car seat and hurriedly changed her clothes. As soon as she opened the car door, Wen Baijing asked with concern:
"Does it fit?"
She adjusted her clothes, tucked her hair behind her ears, and nodded shyly.
Wen Baijing's voice softened, and he asked considerately and gently: "Um...what time do you get off work? I'll pick you up after get off work. You are penniless and homeless."
Ye Zhenzhen didn't pretend to refuse. Her face was slightly red, and her voice was still sweet and serious: "I get off work at 9:30..."
Wen Baijing seemed to have thought of something, "Which brand do you work for?"
Vehicles kept passing by, and the sound of horns filled the underground parking lot from time to time.
Ye Zhenzhen's eyes were clear, and she answered without thinking:
"Women's clothing on the second floor."
Wen Baijing's pupils suddenly dilated, and he said in surprise:
"What! You work at xx?"
She didn't know what part of Wen Baijing's back was touched, so she had to smile carefully and said, "I have to go to work first, we'll talk later!"
Wen Baijing shouted at her thin and receding figure:
"Ye Zhenzhen, I'll wait for you!"
The echoes of expectation and joy spread in the underground parking lot, just like the warm and gentle spring day in March, when the vibrant love is about to take root and grow tall and tall.