Chapter 15: Rainy Season in Jiangnan
The drizzle lasts for a long time, but God is still painting with ink and color.
Ye Zhenzhen held a small transparent umbrella and walked in the dark gray dusk.
The sound of raindrops hitting the umbrella continued. She was very careful along the way and soon arrived downstairs of the company.
She dodged the moving vehicles, but failed to avoid the empty floor tiles. She stepped on a depth charge and the splashing water poured into her shoes.
I climbed up to the third floor with my shoes full of water, enduring the discomfort. After clocking in, I rushed straight to the lounge, planning to pick up the shoes I left in the lounge, rinse my feet in the bathroom, and then put them on.
"Did you know? Last night, Ye Zhenzhen was carried away from the company by a customer."
"You're getting this second-hand information!"
"Is there something we don't know?"
"Last night, a customer gave her a tip of 10,000 yuan!"
"what!!!"
Ye Zhenzhen's raised leg was instantly frozen, and she stood like a crane. She subconsciously gripped the umbrella handle tightly, and the remaining raindrops on the umbrella dripped onto the ground.
Ten thousand? She stood stupidly at the door of the lounge, listening to a bunch of girls gossiping about themselves, caught in a dilemma.
The crowd exclaimed incessantly, and the sound waves came towards Ye Zhenzhen layer by layer.
"Hey! Tell me, did they spend the night together last night?"
"Ye Zhenzhen looks so innocent, she wouldn't do such a thing!"
"Only innocent-looking women would flirt with men. In private, they might be more promiscuous than anyone else!"
"Yes! That customer has been here for five days in a row. If nothing happens, who would be willing to pay 10,000!"
The buzzing discussions, pointed ridicule, malicious speculation based on one's own opinion, and the voices of the female crowd seemed to want to scatter Ye Zhenzhen.
She wanted to rush in and explain to those hundreds of people that it was not like that, I didn't do that, you misunderstood. But did these people really care about the truth? Arguing with people, or at worst pulling each other's hair and fighting? She was tongue-tied, didn't know how to argue, and had no power to fight.
It's normal for this group of people to say that about her. There are almost no girls in this place who are not greedy for money. They are lazy and like to compare with others. They are also very vain. You can get two hairs from a stingy person. They are generally not well educated, have no skills and no background, so they can only seize the opportunity to cash in their youth.
Some people book a room for two or three thousand yuan; some people want to hang on the guests to get more tips; some people fight for the guests out of jealousy; some people gamble their lives on having children for old men in order to find long-term meal tickets to maintain their extravagant consumption...
The guests who come here are either for business banquets or to relax; more often they come here to hunt for beauties and collect stamps, to show off to their friends how well they have managed to get a certain woman, and to demonstrate their strength by sleeping with a beautiful woman.
They love to flaunt beautiful women in public, such as wearing a thick gold necklace on their chests or hanging their BMW car keys on their belts, which they must show all the time. They secretly feel happy in their hearts and pretend to be calm on the surface while being praised and admired by others.
Although Ye Zhenzhen had just arrived, she had heard about those transactions that were not done in public. She came here just to make a living, and did not want to argue with others, nor did she want to tell this group of people that there were four seasons in a year.
Besides, there was no need for her to explain to this group of people, let alone to go through all the trouble to prove her innocence.
She walked into the lounge silently, and under the gaze of those delicate faces with makeup on, she picked up her spare shoes, left the smoky lounge, and walked mechanically to the bathroom.
The water kept flowing, and the cool water splashed on her feet. She looked at herself in the mirror, her face flushed. Rumors cut people more than knives, and the truth was far less exciting than the unfounded gossip.
At eight o'clock in the evening, Wen Baijing appeared in the KTV lobby as expected. This was the sixth day since they met.
Everyone was looking at Ye Zhenzhen, with doubtful, prying, gossipy, and playful eyes, and with waves of excitement. Every step Ye Zhenzhen took was like walking barefoot in the Taklimakan Desert in midsummer.
In the box, Ye Zhenzhen squatted down and, as usual, carefully mixed cocktails, poured wine, served tea and water, and cleaned the room.
Wen Baijing was dozing on the sofa with a tired look on his face, and there was a hint of black in his eye circles.
Just as she was about to get up, Wen Baijing slowly opened his eyes, "Ye Zhenzhen, are you feeling better?"
She was very grateful to Wen Baijing for saving her from danger last night. She smiled brightly, "I'm much better now. Thank you for yesterday."
Wen Baijing stared at her in fascination and said jokingly:
"So, how are you going to thank me?"
Her face suddenly changed, and she became alert. How should she answer this question? Could it be that it was just as those people said... Ye Zhenzhen suddenly became like a clay sculpture.
Seeing her expression changing from bright to dark, Wen Baijing smiled softly, "What are you thinking about? Just treat me to a movie as a thank you!"
Ye Zhenzhen came back to her senses and realized that she had some petty thoughts. She blushed and smiled, "Okay!"
She picked up the empty cup and prepared to toast Wen Baijing. Wen Baijing reached out and pressed the wine pot, "You are not well yet, don't drink. Why are you trying to show off? You don't have to be so polite and reserved in front of me."
She lowered her eyes to look at Wen Baijing's slender fingers and smiled knowingly, "Okay. I won't drink."
She didn't dare to continue to be stubborn as her body had not recovered yet. She had been busy all day and had been caught in the rain, and she was still feeling weak.
Walking to the computer desk, she carefully wrote a work report including the box number, waiter number, guest information, work summary, etc.
Wen Baijing tilted his head and stared at her not far away, "What story are you going to tell me today? Have you thought about it?"
She didn't have the energy to squat and tell the story, nor did she dare to sit on the sofa. Ye Zhenzhen could only move a small stool and sit on the armrest of the sofa again.
There were stars in her eyes, and she had an intoxicated smile on her face. She said slowly, "I was born in the desolate northwest. Since I was a child, I have longed for the water towns in the south of the Yangtze River, the small bridges and flowing water, and the elegant ancient towns. I wanted to see the sunrise over the river flowers, the blue lotus reaching the sky, and the black-sailed boats floating on the green waves, so I came here."
The light and dark overlapped on her face, her eyes were like two warm lamps in the darkness of the night, and a gentle female voice was singing softly in the speakers, singing about the water town in her dreams at dusk in spring.
Wen Baijing watched her and listened to her little wish. The girl chasing her dream was shining at this moment. People born on this land may be yearning for the desert smoke and the vastness of foreign lands.
Wen Baijing was drowned in her eyes, with a faint smile on his face, and asked gently, "Will you stay in Yuncheng?"
Ye Zhenzhen's eyes suddenly became dim and the world became dark as well, and the music became a little noisy.
She was stunned for a few seconds, looking directly into Wen Baijing's deep eyes, "Some people like Beijing, but they can't stay there in the end, but once you've been there, you own it."
Wen Baijing stared at her, not knowing how to answer. His fingers were a little stiff and his eyelashes drooped. "But if you leave Beijing, how lost will it be to search for your past dreams in your memories every day?"
The ancient ballads are singing in my ears, singing about the faint longing and the heavy separation, singing about why I can't be your bride...
Ye Zhenzhen smiled lightly, her tone calm, and she said in a leisurely tone: "Many things have no solution, there is nothing you can do, you can't get what you want, and things don't go as you wish... All these things piled up together, the pain is shared, the sadness is dispersed, and the disappointment is diluted. Once you get used to it and become numb, you won't hold on to something anymore."
Wen Baijing stared at her for a long time. He did not expect that these words could come out of her mouth, and said it so calmly.
He was ready to listen, and after a few seconds of silence, he asked, "Do you have many sad and unhappy things? Tell me about it."
Ye Zhenzhen's expression froze little by little, her smile slowly solidified, she just shook her head and said nothing.
When Wen Baijing paid the bill and left, he asked with concern: "Do you need a ride home? It's been raining and I'm afraid it'll be hard to get a taxi."
Ye Zhenzhen responded with a polite smile and shook her head to refuse.
Wen Baijing stood up from the sofa, walked slowly to her, and said softly, "Why are you trying to be so stubborn and reject me?"
Ye Zhenzhen took two steps back without making a sound, with a smile still on her face. But her voice was as cold and clear as the raindrops on a spring night in Jiangnan. "The rainy season in Jiangnan is long. Who can always stay by whose side?"
Wen Baijing lowered his eyes to look at her, and asked meaningfully: "How do you know that I won't always be by your side?"
She thought he was just joking on a whim and didn't take it seriously. The ripples in her heart were like the breeze on a spring night, gently rippling.
After a long while, she slowly spoke: "Thank you so much, you have done enough for me, I don't want to owe you too much."
Accepting other people's kindness is a heavy burden for her.
He smiled mischievously, and the helplessness in his voice overflowed, "When you really like the misty rain in Jiangnan, you will never leave Jiangnan."