"What are you looking at?" Gu Ke shot a glance at Zhang Heng, he had already guessed that Zhang Heng was up to no good. After all, during every swimming lesson seven years ago, Gu Yu would always feel this kind of gaze. In the past, he didn't feel anything unusual about it, but now, it was different — he felt like Zhang Ergong wanted to eat him.
"I'm keeping watch for you."
Gu Ke was at a loss for words: "..." "No need."
Zhang Huan could only say, "No, you need it."
Zhang Heng stood at the side, watching. Although his back was turned towards Gu Qishao, he had the feeling that Zhang Heng was secretly looking behind him. This was because there was a faint chill coming from his back.
"Can you keep watch?" Gu Ke couldn't help but ask, but he didn't explain why Zhang Heng had to walk so far away. He couldn't say it because he cared so much about Zhang Heng's gaze, so much that he almost peed his pants.
Of course, Zhang Heng would not miss this chance to make fun of him, so he asked, "Why?"
"Because... Because... "If you are here, I won't be able to find you …"
Zhang Heng laughed out loud, "Hahahahaha! Gu Yue, you like me too much, don't you? If you like me, why do you care so much? "
Gu Ke slapped Zhang Heng with his palm to shut him up. "None of your business!" Thus, Zhang Ergong shut his mouth obediently, because he knew what Gu Yin was angry about – just like how someone suddenly opened up his homework while he was doing homework. He was clearly just one step away from figuring out the correct answer, yet his anger was interrupted midway – yes, the one who did the homework was Zhang Ergong.
Zhang Heng finally walked away obediently, then turned his back obediently on Gu Zhen and went to stand guard. However, in such a secluded countryside, the sound of his urination could naturally be heard by Zhang Heng. Zhang Heng could not help but think that Zhang Heng had heard it and felt even more embarrassed. But he couldn't retreat halfway, could he?
Zhang Heng was very happy and very embarrassed. He quickly resolved this matter of urination.
Gu Ke and Zhang Heng sat back in the car and drove deeper into the countryside. Even though it was night, Gu Ke seemed to be familiar with the scenery outside the car window. He seemed to have seen it somewhere before, but he just didn't know where it was … All they knew was that this was a valley. The car drove up a little further before finally reaching the mountainside. They were currently walking on a winding mountain road.
Maybe if he drove up again, the car wouldn't be able to go on.
In the car, Zhang Heng asked Gu Ji: "You, how is it now?" Zhang Heng wanted to ask how Gu Zhen was feeling right now. Excited? Or did she regret having promised him to visit her father?
Gu Ke lowered his head to feel his own heartbeat. It was indeed very fast. He had the excitement of puncturing a soap bubble, but also the fear of about to burst a balloon.
"…" Although Gu Ke was very afraid of what would happen after he saw his father, he only said, "You said that you would take care of everything."
Zhang Heng smiled with relief. "That's right. With me here, I'm not afraid of anything."
Gu Ke nodded.
For the rest of the journey, both of them were silent. Because it was a night train on the mountain highway, Gu Ke, who sat in the first passenger seat, didn't dare to close his eyes. He was afraid that if he fell silent and no one accompanied Zhang Heng to chat, he would doze off. It was dangerous.
However, Gu Ke had very little to say …
So he turned on the radio, which was playing Tan Weiwei's song -- the melodious holiday melody -- "Wait for the bird to fly back..."
Gu Ke started to hum along with the melody. Zhang Heng, who was sitting in the driver's seat, slowed down his car and quietly listened to Gu Zhen's singing. I wish it would last longer and longer.
"The most romantic thing I can think of is to grow old with you."
Right? Gu Ke.
Yes, Zhang Heng.
After a night of driving, they rested in a gas station. By the morning of the next day, the caravan had already left the mountainous area and was pulling onto the highway.
"Have we arrived?" Gu Ke rubbed his sleepy eyes and got up to look around.
The morning sun shone down on the caravan, shining in on the quilt that covered them.
"Did you cover me?" Gu Ke looked down at the blanket that had been pulled over him at some point. It was obvious that he had not brought his quilt to the front seat to keep Zhang Heng company at night. Could it be that he had unwittingly fallen asleep in the middle of the night, and Zhang Heng had helped him build it?
Zhang Heng nodded to show that he was. Then they got off the van. Gu Zhen also got off the van. The two of them went into the bedroom space of the van and took out some dry rations from the storage box inside — a few fluffy buns. Tomorrow was the guarantee date, so it was better to finish them as soon as possible.
Zhang Heng took the milk to Gu Que and took it. Zhang Heng raised the bread and took a bite. "The bread is a little dry. Drink some milk and grow taller."
"..." "I won't be able to."
"Don't give up on yourself."
The two of them chatted nonchalantly. After having their fill for breakfast and taking a rest, the two set off once again.
Finally, they arrived at Gu Ke's hometown at noon – it was indeed quite far away from the city. On the way to Gu's ancestral home, he also passed by the small house where the Gu family lived in the small town.
The little house is now rented by an aunt to serve as a snack bar.
Zhang Heng and Gu Zhen stopped the car and walked towards the store. They ordered two quick meals and packed them away. The tables and chairs inside the shop were very low and dirty, but the customers were all seated.
While they were waiting for dinner, Zhang Heng chatted casually with his auntie like he was chatting in the neighborhood. The surrounding passersby all stopped in their tracks. Why would such a handsome man stop to chat with a middle-aged woman like an aunt?
In fact, Zhang Heng had always liked to talk nonsense.
"Aunt, how many years have you been doing business here?" While playing with his disposable chopsticks, Zhang Heng paid for the two fast food dishes.
The aunt was stir-frying the iron spoon and the pot in her hand. The chili and meat slices were churning up and down in the pot, and oil smoke was rising from all over the place. Even so, it did not stop Aunt and Zhang Heng from talking nonsense.
"I've been here for more than a decade! I had just lost my job and saved up some money, so I wanted to make some money with my cooking skills. Maybe I could help make up for my family? I just happened to pass by and saw that the rent was very cheap, so I rented it out. The landlord and the others had let me rent it at its original price for so many years, except for a rise in price in recent years. "
Zhang Heng felt that it was a bit strange. Why had the price not increased at all in the past ten years, but it had instead increased in the past few years? So he asked, "Auntie's landlord must be a kind person. Something must have happened to increase the rent in recent years?"
The auntie spread the fried food on a stainless steel dish and shouted for her child to come and fetch it — "Goudan!" Serve the dishes! That little couple's table! " Then, he turned around and said to the handsome brother Zhang Heng, who was talking nonsense to himself, "Handsome, that pair of young lovers came first. You guys wait a bit longer, I'll fire you right now."
Zhang Heng smiled and showed a forgiving expression. "It doesn't matter, we are not in a hurry."
The auntie saw that there were still customers working so leisurely during their lunch break. She didn't care about the food's slowness, so how could she neglect it? And from the looks of it, the car they drove over seemed to be very BIG.
So he shouted into the shop, "Guodan'er! Bring out the small stool and invite our esteemed guests to have a seat! "
Thus, Goudan'er obediently took two small stools for Zhang Heng and Gu Qishao to sit on. After Gu Zhen sat down, he was still alright. The only problem was that Zhang Heng's long legs were a bit stifled and he did not know where to put them.
The aunt was concentrating on cooking. Zhang Geng had pried open the history of her old family, so she started to narrate the history of her new family.
"At that time, I had just lost my job and was very disappointed, but after all, I have studied, and I understand that there is no one in this world who is afraid of having someone in their heart! Thus, I decided to start my own business based on my stubbornness and the amount of money I had saved up.
Zhang Heng, who was sitting at the side, nodded and smiled at the critical moment, indicating that he was listening to his aunt and signalling for her to go on — but that was all right.
Gu Yin followed along as they listened to the aunt's story.
"I'm just wandering the streets thinking about where to open a shop. I don't have much money, so I definitely can't open a shop in the middle of the county town. Then I came here just in time to see a man taping red paper — it said Rent House. "
Zhang Heng had heard from Gu Li that this small house was bought by her father after he had accumulated a bit of money. It was the only valuable thing in the house.
Could that man be Gu Ke's father? Gu Ke's father must be the owner of the house. At that time, Gu Ke's father had already rented out the house, so how did Gu Ke and Gu Li manage to get here over the past ten years?
Zhang Heng did not suddenly interrupt his aunt to ask Gu Zhen this question. He continued to listen.
The aunt continued.
"I was a bit tempted, because although this small house is a little small, it is still a floor and barely passable. Furthermore, it is also close to the main road, so the business would not be bad. So I went up and asked for his rent, which happened to be within my range, and I rented it. "
Zhang Heng nodded. He did not expect that this auntie would understand the principle behind all the shops near the highway.
"At that time, I woke up early in the morning and wanted to go to the wholesale market to buy some goods. In the early hours of the morning, I closed up and occasionally met a few drunkards who came to eat supper at three in the morning. I had no choice but to cook for them, otherwise, if they swung beer bottles, they would die …" And then the Great God was in Parabala, her history of bitterness.
Zhang Heng didn't care about his aunt's history of struggle and bitterness. He only cared about whether the landlord was Gu's father. Why did Kou's father rent the house to someone else after the divorce? He clearly has nothing left but a house, yet he wants to rent it to someone else …
Unless Gu Ke's father had a way out — that is, a house to live in.
Furthermore, Gu Ke's father might have been using this silly method to force Gu Li to bring Gu Ke to a faraway place, or to force Gu Li to give up her studies to work and raise her two siblings.
"Then, Auntie, when you pay the rent, are you going to pay it from the landlord's house?"
The aunt actually shook her head. "No …" I always pay rent to put it in the bank. I haven't seen my landlord since that time. Even though he and I have always had a contractual relationship, because ten years ago, we signed a contract that seemed to be 15 years old. "
"..." "That's strange …"