CH 21

When Alex finished playing, he ate with the male university students, said goodbye to them, and planned to return home on the subway.

In the gap when he waited for the subway, his phone vibrated. He took it out, saw that it was his father’s number, and hurriedly picked up.

The sound of a crying woman was transmitted through the phone: “Come back quickly! Your dad is dying!”

Alex was stunned: “What happened?”

“Your dad got drunk and grabbed the wrong bottle when he was going to get another bottle of wine! That other bottle contained pesticide for flowers!”

Alex panicked: “Then? How is he now?”

“He needs to get a gastric lavage and then do a blood exchange transfusion! I don’t have that much money -sob sob-…” the woman cried, “do you still have money in your hands? Send it fast! It must be fast!”

“How much do you need?” Alex asked anxiously.

“Thirty thousand!”

“I don’t have that much!”

“Then send whatever you have! Sent it to your dad’s card! Be fast, okay? We are talking about a life here!” When the woman finished talking, she hung up rapidly.

The subway Alex was waiting for came. He did not get in and turned to go up the stairs. An ATM was placed next to the ticket machine. His dad and that woman did not know mobile transfer, so he could only send it to them through the ATM.

He inserted his car, and it had around thirteen thousand. He left the small change that rounded to the hundreds and sent thirteen thousand to them.

Then, he called his dad’s phone again, and it was still the woman who picked it.

He was very anxious: “That’s all the money I have. Find a way to get the rest! I’ll buy a ticket to return now.”

His stepmother though, seemed to have calmed down a lot: “Even if you return, you won’t be on time, don’t come back. They’re doing the gastric lavage right now. The doctor said that it isn’t life threatening… wait for my call… they’re calling, I’ll hang up.”

Alex held his phone confusedly.

He thought for a moment and called his mom.

“Mom, did you know that something happened to dad?” He asked.

His mom was confused and asked: “What happened?”

Alex told her about the matter regarding his dad accidentally drinking pesticide. When she heard everything, she asked him angrily and anxiously: “That shameless bitch asked you for money again?”

Alex was slightly stunned and said: “Yeah, dad has to do a gastric lavage and also…”

“You’re so stupid!” His mom criticized him and said: “How do you know if what she said is the truth! Ah! Maybe she was lying to you!”

Alex was silent and then said: “It shouldn’t be…”

“Sigh!” His mom was so angry that she became lost for words. “Be more careful and don’t believe whatever they say! You! Think more for your benefit!”

After hanging up, Alex sat on a bench of the subway, feeling confused.

He was not willing to believe that his blood-related dad would come up with such a scheme to get money from his hands.

When his parents divorced, he was already eight years old and could remember things. That was why, he could still remember that before his parent’s divorce, he had lived a happy life and was treated as their treasure.

Even in the first two years after his dad had married his mistress, he had treated him well. He remembered.

But slowly, his four-year-old half-brother ate up the little good that his dad had for him. He slowly, very slowly, lost everything…

Sitting in the subways train, a little girl was sneakily taking photos of him. He was indifferent.

Normally when he encountered people who took sneak photos of him, he would professionally direct a faint smile at them. When he was in a good mood, he would even do a pose to make them happy. However, right now he did not feel like it.

He sat on the chair, hearing the friction between the subway train and the air, and feeling the constant vibration. His gaze dazedly looked at the floor.

He thought about things that happened in his childhood. The initial memories were full of color and wonderful, but later, they started losing color.

The girl that was taking sneak photos saw in her screen that the boy lowered his head to wipe his eyes, and that after that his lips were closed tightly.

The girl lowered her phone and stared at him. Coincidentally, the boy raised his head and took a glance at her. She felt embarrassed and put away her phone. At that moment, the train reached the station. The boy stood up, waited for the door to open, and then left without turning his head.

The girl reluctantly watched as his back disappeared. She opened her phone wanting to see the picture, but it was blurred because her hand had trembled while taking it.

She upsettingly opened Weibo and wrote: [Discovered a handsome brother in the subway! He was crying for an unknow reason. It almost made my heart break! It’s a pity that the photo is blurred and can’t let you see him. He was very handsome! Very tall, and his legs were especially long! As if he was a model!]

Guo Zhi was commanded by Her Majesty Mom to stay in the capital and wait for the date call. She waited until Friday, and when she started doubting if her mom had gotten it wrong, that call finally came.

This time, the meeting place was not McDonald’s but Kentucky. The agreed date was Saturday at three in the afternoon.

Guo Zhi laughed coldly after hanging up.

On Saturday, she followed her routine and showed up the same as she would have done if she went to work. Casual, but comfortable.

The man asked her what she wanted to drink. This time, she learned from her previous mistake and asked for a cup of cola. According to her experience from last time, she had to wait until the man finished talking, so the middle cup would not be enough.

The man was still talkative, smart, and there were not awkward moments during the conversation. He worked for a foreign company in the communications industry. He talked about how the foreign-funded companies were successful in the past, but later fell catastrophically, mentioning the way they acquired each other interchangeably. Many companies that were well known before were now connected, becoming a long name. The fights at that time finally ending with a single merged company.

Complacency flashed through the man’s eyes, and when he ended the story, he started asking Guo Zhi about her work. Guo Zhi did not talk perfunctorily and chose some interesting stories to tell. The man asked questions from time to time, as if he was very interested in her work, and would constantly ask for details.

Guo Zhi became tired of talking and looked at her watch. Sure enough, it was almost five. Her big cup of cola was already empty. She did not say anything and looked at the man.

The man received her signal and looked at his cellphone: “Oh, it’s already so late.”

“Then let’s talk until here today?” He said smilingly, “I’ll call you next time?”

I beg you, don’t call me again!

Of course, Guo Zhi could not say that. If she said that, and her mom came to know about it… she did not dare to think about it. She could only roll her eyes in her heart and snort coldly to herself in private.

Qing Xia taught her to judge a man through the bill payment. But the man did not even give her the opportunity to do it. On the table next to them, a young pair of lovers were on a date. Even the young boy understood to buy a sundae and egg tart aside from the hamburger. They had already met two times. The first time was a sweet drink, and the second time was a cup of cola.

And he kept mentioning at every moment that his income was higher than ten thousand! Useless!

She politely, and even peacefully, said goodbyes to the man, but did not return home immediately. She did a search on her phone, and there was a famous Sichuan restaurant close by. She took a taxi— — every time she had a blind date, she called a cab because she hated that the men would snoop into her financial state through her car. But despite doing that, there were still some that endlessly asked about the matters about her car and apartment. It was very annoying!

Guo Zhi did not mistreat herself. She called a taxi and directly went to the Sichuan restaurant. She occupied a whole table by herself and said to the waiter: “Shancheng spicy chicken, Chongqing boiled fish, roasted preserved egg with pepper.”

The waiter asked: “How many people?”

“One.” Guo Zhi said expressionlessly.

The waiter: “…” side glanced at her.

She did not care. Under her mother’s pressure, she was forced to waste her life energy with a useless man. She had to recover herself!

On Sunday, Her Majesty Mom called her on time to ask her about the situation. Guo Zhi did not tell her that the man was not right. She feared that if she did, her mom would arrange another blind date partner.

That man… even though he is useless, at least it’s possible to bear talking to him. It’s better than meeting a new stranger.

“He is okay… we’ve only seen each other twice, how would I know what type of person he is… yeah, yeah, you’re right… I’ll take my time to see… okay, okay, no problem… ayyy, don’t worry… okay, okay!”

After fooling her mother, she was elated for a long time. At least in short term, she would not have to go to blind dates again.

In the blink of an eye, it was Wednesday, and the shooting for Sheng Yuan’s project started.

“Sister Guo, morning.” Alex came very early and greeted her with manners.

Guo Zhi did not even lift her head and responded with a “mm” sound.

After a while, she raised her head and looked at the big boy that was still cautiously standing in front of her. He was tall and big, but in front of her, he kept his head lowered, and it was really… contradicting cuteness!

Guo Zhi almost lost hold of herself.

Because of his relation to Liu Chan Yue, Guo Zhi had eaten poop from a candy and felt extremely disgusted. She had decided to not have any connection with Alex privately. To this day, Alex still sent her messages like ‘sister Guo, morning’, ‘sister Guo, good evening’, ‘sister Guo, keep in mind your health’, but she never acknowledged him.

There was once when it was already midnight and she still had not received ‘sister Guo, good evening’. Just as she had started to feel that it as weird, the sound of a notification came. She was thinking that, tsk, it still came. And when she grabbed her phone to look…

[Guo Zhi, I miss you.]

Guo Zhi’s body had immediately become hot.

From ‘sister Guo’ to ‘Guo Zhi’ there was only one word difference. However, Guo Zhi knew where the difference came from. Alex always called her sister, and only called her Guo Zhi on special situations.

Those special situations… cough, cough… they knew in their hearts.

Guo Zhi lied on her bed, bit her lip for a long time, and her brain was full of Alex’s chest and eight pack. In the end though, she held herself back and did not call him.

The grudges between her and Liu Chan Yue were very deep. If Liu Chan Yue came to know that she had slept with someone whom she already did, and after her even, she would become laughingstock.

She had to resist.

She was afraid of not being able to hold herself after seeing Alex, which was why she was cold to him. But now that she was really seeing him upfront and saw his appearance that resembled a kid that had done something wrong, her heart softened.

In this matter, when talking seriously, he had done nothing wrong. Their relationship did not amount for them to restrict each other, and it did not have anything to do with her whomever he slept with.

Guo Zhi watched the handsome boy with his head lowered, grinded her teeth, and could not keep up her act.

“Stand straight, what do you think you’re looking like?” She said, “There is some breakfast there, get some by yourself.”

Even though she as reprimanding, the tone and words had already surpassed ‘work’ mode. Alex eyes lit up. When the boy’s eyes lit up, his face looked especially good.