CH 103

The park near the office is usually crowded in the afternoon. There are women dancing in the park square, mothers pushing their children to play in the park, the occasional student with a drawing board, and in general the whole park is very busy.

Lu Qingjiu and Bai Yuehu went over to the old tree and sat down on the flower bed next to it, but it was too hot today and there were not many people in the park.

Lu Qingjiu reached out and touched the trunk of the old tree, calling out his friend's name as the hot sunlight filtered through its luxuriant branches and leaves, casting dappled light on the ground.

The old tree never responded, and when Lu Qingjiu was getting anxious, Bai Yuehu stood up and said he would go elsewhere first, giving Lu Qingjiu time and space.

Lu Qingjiu was bewildered, not knowing why Bai Yuehu was doing this, and Bai Yuehu explained, "It probably sensed my scent and didn't dare to speak."

Lu Qingjiu: "Ah," he hadn't thought of that at all.

"It's okay, you guys talk." Bai Yuehu said, "I'll wait for you in front of the park."

With that he turned and left.

After Bai Yuehu had left, about five or six minutes later, Old Shu's voice really sounded behind Lu Qingjiu, only it had a trembling quality to it: "Wine, are you, are you all right?"

Lu Qingjiu said, "I'm fine."

The old tree said, "Why did you come back with the head dragon, such a horrible creature"

Lu Qingjiu said to himself, "Not only have I come back with the dragon, I've fallen in love with the dragon, but of course he didn't dare to provoke Lao Shu, he just explained that Bai Yuehu was not quite like ordinary dragons, he had a very good temper and had never done anything to hurt him.

The old tree, however, did not dispute Lu Qingjiu's claim, but simply stated that dragons were dangerous creatures, and that from memory, no human who befriended a dragon would end up in a good place.

Lu Qingjiu just smiled and listened. The old tree also tasted a certain determination in his silence, and after a long sigh, he did not continue the subject and talked about something else.

A year is just a snap of the fingers for a long-lived man like Old Tree, but unlike the previous years, Old Tree has a companion, and life seems to have become more interesting and less boring than before. Lu Qingjiu had been a little worried about Old Tree and Wu Xiao, but now they seem to be getting along well, so he lets go of his worries.

When it comes to Wu Xiao, the old tree seems to open up, saying that he is a knife's mouth and a tofu's heart. Although he talks badly, he is actually very understanding and spends a lot of time talking with himself, and he is very happy to have such a companion. The downside, however, is that after Wu Xiao can hear him, he can also hear some other non-human creatures talking and even see them occasionally, a situation that can add to Wu Xiao's problems.

Lu Qingjiu listened quietly to Lao Shu's ramblings, and felt as if he had gone back to the most difficult time of those years, when he had just joined the company and did not know other colleagues well, but by chance he met Lao Shu, who was particularly fond of chattering, telling Lu Qingjiu to bring an umbrella on rainy days and to put on extra clothes on cold days, helping Lu Qingjiu through those worst years.

At this moment the old tree's old problem was back, reciting for a long time before he realized that he seemed to be talking too much, and said a little unkindly, "Gee, you didn't even remind me, I've been talking for almost an hour."

Lu Qingjiu smiled, "It's okay, you tell me, I'm happy to listen."

The old tree whispered, "No, don't make that dragon wait."

Lu Qingjiu said, "It's alright." It was not easy for him to come back, and I believe Bai Yuehu could understand his occasional capriciousness.

The old tree said, "You really don't want to come back."

"Not coming back." Lu Qingjiu's tone was certain, "But I will come over every year to visit the grave, so we can see each other once a year."

The old tree gave a regretful oh.

Lu Qingjiu looked at his mobile phone and saw that it was almost time for Zhu Miaomiao's dinner appointment, so he got up and said goodbye to Lao Shu, saying that he would come back after dinner to chat with him for a while.

The old tree, however, mumbled half-heartedly, as if there was something it wanted to say.

"Is there something you want to tell me?" Lu Qingjiu asked, "Go ahead, I'm listening."

The old tree said, "It is."

Lu Qingjiu said, "Yes."

The old tree said, "Do you remember the trigrams I read for your parents?"

Lu Qingjiu said, "Naturally, I remember." Coincidentally, he would not have returned to Shuifu Village, let alone met Bai Yuehu, if Old Tree had not read his parents' fortune.

Old Tree said, "Do you think this trigram is accurate?"

"Quite accurate." Lu Qingjiu said, "My parents, indeed, did not die in an accident."

The old tree was silent for a moment, but his voice was a little lower as he said, "In fact, a few days before you came back, I also did a fortune reading for you."

Lu Qingjiu said, "What about it?"

The old tree said, "Not very well."

Lu Qingjiu sighed: "It's bad."

The old tree said, "I don't quite understand," he rambled on, "The trigram says that you should stay away from the water, but then it says that the life is in the water, isn't that a contradiction?"

Lu Qingjiu said, "What does the trigram really say?"

The old tree read out the trigram: "When water is inherent in a poor mountain, it is difficult to keep the flowers bright in a village where the willow is dark; if you do not enter the water, it is difficult to avoid the circumstance, and it is difficult to restore the mountain and the water." This trigram was different from the normal trigrams, it was a verse calculated using a method unique to their people, the trigram was hidden within the verse, this method would normally take a lot of their life force, so Old Tree would rarely calculate the trigrams. He has only done so three times so far, twice for Lu Qingjiu and once for Wu Xiao.

After the previous trigram was finished, but after this one, Lao Shu felt a sense of fear, a sense of crisis that he had almost been discovered by spying on the Heavenly Path. The old tree did not understand why Lu Qingjiu was involved with the Heavenly Dao until he saw Bai Yuehu, who had returned with Lu Qingjiu, and understood the reason.

The dragons were born in response to the Heavenly Dao, and to be precise, they are the race that upholds the Heavenly Dao, and Lu Qingjiu, who is associated with dragons, is naturally inextricably linked to the Heavenly Dao, so this is probably the last time he will tell Lu Qingjiu's fortune.

Lu Qingjiu read his own trigram once, and felt that it too had an air of foreboding, but after reading it carefully, he felt a little puzzled. The first part of the trigram seems to say that the road ahead is very difficult, but the next few lines suggest that there is life.

Lu Qingjiu savoured it for a moment and said, "I know, I'll be careful afterwards."

"Hmm." The old tree chanted, "You have a good nature, you must be good people and nothing will happen to you."

Lu Qingjiu smiled and hmmed.

Seeing that it was about time, he said goodbye to Lao Shu and went to pick up Bai Yuehu at the park entrance.

When Bai Yuehu asked what they had talked about, Lu Qingjiu told Bai Yuehu what the old tree had told him, and Bai Yuehu frowned and fell into silence.

The two of them walked downstairs to the office in this strange atmosphere and met Zhu Miaomiao who was coming downstairs.

Zhu Miaomiao saw that neither of them said anything and wondered, "What's wrong with you two, why aren't you talking?"

Lu Qingjiu said, "It's okay, I was wondering what you could treat me to."

Zhu Miaomiao said, "Ha, you don't have to come, I've already thought about it, with Bai Yuehu around, we have to go to the buffet."

Lu Qingjiu: ""It seems to make sense.

Zhu Miaomiao rolled up her sleeves and said that she had made all the enquiries about the famous buffet in the city a few days ago and had chosen one with the right price and good taste, just waiting for them to come, and Lu Qingjiu said she accepted the challenge.

This buffet is not quite the same as the Japanese food we had at Tai Feng last time, it's hot pot and grilled meat, with a steaming hot pot in the middle and a plate of grilled meat on the side. The food here is fresh, both cooked and raw, and you get it all yourself. After they were seated, they soon had all kinds of food piled up in front of them, so much that the waiter passing by looked stunned, probably worried that they were wasting it.

But soon the puzzled looks turn to dismay as the plates of food piled next to them begin to dwindle at a rapid rate.

"Oh my god, Bai Yuehu's food intake is too big." Zhu Miaomiao wondered, "There are so many big eaters nowadays. Zhu Miaomiao said, "Nowadays, there are so many big appetites, I think it's a way out for him to become a food broadcaster." Bai Yuehu's looks and huge appetite make him a new favourite in the food broadcasting world.

Lu Qingjiu laughed: "If you want to be a food broadcaster, you have to find something to eat first."

Zhu Miaomiao says: "Isn't this self-help?"

Lu Qingjiu said, "One meal is not enough, but if you come here every day, you'll be eating the buffet owner to death."

Zhu Miaomiao looked at the way Bai Yuehu was eating and thought it made sense. To be honest, the way Bai Yuehu was eating, she really doubted he would be blacklisted by the restaurant owner next time.

As the plates next to Bai Yuehu piled up, the stares of the people around him grew more and more surprised, and some even picked up their mobile phones and were ready to take pictures.

When the three of them left, they were as vain as thieves who had stolen something, and they didn't even dare to look around much as they hurriedly left the restaurant.

When we arrived outside, Lu Qingjiu asked Zhu Miaomiao if he wanted to eat a cone to cool off, and Zhu Miaomiao happily agreed. Lu Qingjiu cheekily went over and touched his belly, which still didn't feel like a bulge, and his abs were clearly shaped under his t-shirt.

Lu Qingjiu touched his stomach again and felt his stomach bulge in a small way, and the slightest pressure on it made him feel like throwing up, so he hurriedly withdrew his hand.

"Let's find a place to sit and relax," Zhu Miaomiao suggests, "there are some great new bars opening around here."

Lu Qingjiu said, "You still go to play a lot"

Zhu Miaomiao used to be stressed at work, so when she had a break, she liked to go to bars, drink and bounce around, and if she was lucky, she would meet some cute guys who would talk to her. Sometimes when she got drunk, Lu Qingjiu would take her home, and because of this, Lu Qingjiu would always tell Zhu Miaomiao to be safe when she went out alone.

"No." Zhu Miaomiao shook his head, "I'm too old to dance, now I have to add goji berries to my beer, by the way, I remembered there is a bar that has a superb red date and goji berry beer, want to go?"

Lu Qingjiu thought it was still early and there was nothing to do back at the hotel, so he agreed.

Zhu Miaomiao answered a phone call while munching on a cone and hung up half a day later to say, "Mr. Wu knows you're here and wants to come over for a drink, do you mind?"

Lu Qingjiu 道：" Wu Xiao "

Zhu Miaomiao said, "Yes."

Lu Qingjiu said, "Yeah, that's fine." He also wanted to talk to Wu Xiao about his latest situation. When he talked to Lao Shu in the afternoon, he learned from him that Wu Xiao had not been well lately and seemed to be troubled by nightmares. Lu Qingjiu thought that since Bai Yuehu was here anyway, he might as well ask Bai Yuehu to help Wu Xiao to find out the cause.

Zhu Miaomiao said of Wu Xiao that his temper had improved since Lu Qingjiu's departure, and that he had become a kinder person and the atmosphere in the team was much better.

Lu Qingjiu thought it might be a happy occasion.

This time she chose a quiet bar with a quiet atmosphere. A singer with a guitar was sitting in the middle of the stage singing a niche song that few people had heard of. Lu Qingjiu drank Zhu Miaomiao's goji berry and red date beer, which he didn't expect to taste much better than he thought it would, and it always tasted warm in his mouth.

Zhu Miaomiao ate his crisps and said, " Wu Xiao is here."

Lu Qingjiu followed Zhu Miaomiao's line of sight and saw Wu Xiao, who had changed out of his formal clothes and was wearing a white shirt and denim, attracting a lot of attention as soon as he entered the bar.

"Long time no see." Wu Xiao greeted warmly as he sat down next to Lu Qingjiu.

"It's been a long time, Mr. Wu." Lu Qingjiu smiled.

Wu Xiao frowned: "Don't make fun of me, who's still your boss now that you've resigned, call me Wu Xiao."

Lu Qingjiu smiles in response.

I don't know whether it was his own psychological effect or the dim lighting, but Lu Qingjiu looked at Wu Xiao for a while and then he saw her.

Lu Qingjiu said, "Why? Haven't you had a good rest lately, why do you look so tired?"

Wu Xiao pinched the corners of his eyes and said helplessly, "Yeah, I haven't been resting too well lately." He said and looked at Zhu Miaomiao.

Lu Qingjiu understood Wu Xiao's meaning and said, "She knows everything, just say it." Wu Xiao was probably worried that Zhu Miaomiao didn't know about those inhuman things, so he gave Lu Qingjiu a look.

Wu Xiao sighed with relief as he raised his hand to unbutton his shirt and sat down on the sofa without maintaining his upright sitting posture, "I can't sleep lately, I keep hearing voices chanting in my ears."

Lu Qingjiu: "Chanting"

"Yes." Wu Xiao said, "Call it a human voice, but I can't hear what's being said, and I'm having a nervous breakdown from all the chanting."

Lu Qingjiu says: "What exactly is the fuss about?"

Wu Xiao said, "I can't really say, but it's like talking against my ear anyway."

Lu Qingjiu eats the apple Bai Yuehu feeds to his mouth: "When does this sound usually happen?"

Wu Xiao said, "It's just that before I go to sleep, I'm usually fine, but as soon as I go to sleep," he rubbed his head in annoyance, "I've asked the old tree about it too, and it says it can't figure it out."

The ability to hear what non-humans are saying has its advantages and disadvantages for him. The advantage is that he can communicate with the old tree unhindered, while the disadvantage is that he will be forced to hear a lot of voices that he doesn't want to hear and sometimes get into trouble that he shouldn't.

Lu Qingjiu said, "Is this sound only in your house, or do you have it when you sleep elsewhere?"

Wu Xiao said, "It's both, but it's a bit louder at home." There is a plea mixed with helplessness in his expression, clearly seeing Lu Qingjiu as a saviour, "Qingjiu, you have to help me, if I don't get rid of this sound, I'm going to get schizophrenic."

Lu Qingjiu said, "Bai Yuehu, do you have any ideas?"

Bai Yuehu is still struggling with his fruit plate when he hears Lu Qingjiu's question before he puts down the toothpick in his hand and looks at Wu Xiao.

It was the first time he had met Bai Yuehu and he had noticed the unusual aura of Bai Yuehu when he first sat down. He had been considering whether to greet Bai Yuehu, but seeing that Lu Qingjiu had no intention of introducing him, he simply gave up. Now that Bai Yuehu was staring at him with an unkind look, he felt a sense of crisis on his back.

"Ah, I forgot to introduce you." Lu Qingjiu said, "This is my boyfriend, Bai Yuehu."

Wu Xiao froze, seemingly taken aback by Lu Qingjiu's blunt introduction, and he was quiet for a while before he whispered, "You're gay, huh?"

Lu Qingjiu said, "I think so."

Wu Xiao: "So you used to"

Lu Qingjiu said, "It was only when I met him that I realised that men seem to be okay."

Bai Yuehu stared coldly at Wu Xiao and said, "What's the problem?"

Wu Xiao shook his head to indicate that it was no problem at all, he could also see that he needed Bai Yuehu's help in this matter, not to mention that Bai Yuehu was a man, even if Bai Yuehu was a small grass on the road, he had to say that the two of them were a very good match.

Lu Qingjiu smiled and told Bai Yuehu not to scare Wu Xiao, who then withdrew his eyes.

Wu Xiao felt his back getting wet, he didn't know what was wrong with him, he was used to seeing a lot of big scenes, but he was scared into silence by a look in front of him. It was as if his survival instincts were engraved in his bones, telling him not to move, that if he did, his head would be bitten off!

"Can't see any reason for it." Bai Yuehu said, "He's got a messy scent." He lifted his eyes lazily, "Went somewhere he shouldn't have gone, I guess."

Wu Xiao laughed awkwardly.

Lu Qingjiu hastily asked Wu Xiao where he had gone. Wu Xiao stammered for a while, but when he couldn't get past it, he confessed, saying that after he could understand the conversations of the non-humans, he had discovered a very interesting place where a market would be held every once in a while, and the non-humans would sell many gadgets at the market. When he found out about it, he was worried that Lao Shu wouldn't let him go, so he kept it a secret and went there a few times on his own, the first few times without incident, but when he came back last month, strange noises started coming out of his ears. Lu Qingjiu would be back in August, so he didn't go there.

Lu Qingjiu and Zhu Miaomiao both had a look on their faces when they heard this.

Zhu Miaomiao even said nonchalantly, "Mr. Wu, I didn't expect to see such a calm person with such a childish heart."

Wu Xiao coughed dryly, his expression very embarrassed, and said, "I'm not curious."

Zhu Miaomiao: "But you can't be curious with your life."

Wu Xiao Dao: " Miao Miao "

Zhu Miaomiao: "Hmmm"

Wu Xiao said, "The cleansing seaweed you asked me about earlier, I bought it from that bazaar."

Zhu Miaomiao: ""She was silent for half a minute and then whispered, "Mr. Wu, next time bring me along to have a look at it."

Wu Xiao: "Heh."

Lu Qingjiu, who was beside him, couldn't take it anymore and said, "You two are just about the same, what kind of cleansing seaweed can you trade for your lives?

Zhu Miaomiao is still whispering, saying that the seaweed cleanser is very good, after using it once, all the blackheads are gone, together with Lu Qingjiu's honey, it is a beauty miracle, all the sisters in the company are rushing to ask for it, but unfortunately there is only a small jar.

Lu Qingjiu could hear the melancholy in her tone and burst into tears.

Wu Xiao, however, was enthused and introduced several other interesting objects, such as a cushion that is very comfortable to sit on, a scented bag that makes you dream, and an apple that can never be eaten Lu Qingjiu noticed clearly that when he introduced the apple that can never be eaten, Bai Yuehu, who was sitting next to him, saw his eyes light up very clearly, with a twinkle in them called The little stars of anticipation began to shine in them.

Lu Qingjiu: "Just about right, are you here to sell Amway or to solve problems?"

Wu Xiao stopped talking quickly and said he was here to solve the problem.

"Let's go to your house and look at the gadgets," Zhu Miaomiao said, already shaking her fist, "you said the situation at home was the worst, the source must be at home."

Wu Xiao: "Shall we go?" He looks to Bai Yuehu and Lu Qingjiu.

Bai Yuehu didn't say anything, but Lu Qingjiu already knew what his vixen was thinking at the moment, and his tone had a touch of spoiled helplessness: "Fine, go and see."

Zhu Miaomiao: "Yay"

Wu Xiao: "Yeah"

Bai Yuehu haughtily didn't yay, but the glittering eyes had yayed out for his mouth.

Wu Xiao sat in the back seat and casually asked Lu Qingjiu when he had bought the car, which was quite new.

Lu Qingjiu is straightforward enough to say that the car was not bought, it was turned into an animal.

"What's that?" Zhu Miaomiao exclaimed, "is it a horse?" like the white dragon horses drawn in the comics.

Lu Qingjiu said, "No."

"What is that?" Zhu Miaomiao asks.

Lu Qingjiu said, "It's a slug."

Zhu Miaomiao and Wu Xiao were both frozen, seemingly digesting the name slug.

Lu Qingjiu, in case they didn't get it, even thoughtfully explained, "The common name is slug."

The next moment, Zhu Miaomiao's shrill scream rang out from inside the car: "Aaaaaaahhh, shut up, stop saying that, I don't want to hear it I don't want to hear it"