Chapter 2 Chapter two

After coming and going, I don't know when, Ruan Zhengdong no longer took her to play cards, and there were always only the two of them for dinner, and occasionally even drove downstairs to wait for her in the company himself. Jiaqi gradually felt uneasy, and finally said: "We Don't meet again in the future." Ruan Zhengdong was stunned for a moment, and said: "Okay." After a pause, he said, "Then I'll give you a gift today." He drove her to the jewelry store, and saw that the young lady showed her the bright and glittering crystals for her to see. It's not that she is not vain, and she also likes this kind of scene. The big diamonds are wrapped in black velvet, shining and clear like teardrops. Cheap thin platinum chain.She is used to not being greedy, because she can't keep things that are too good.

Back in the car Ruan Zhengdong was silent, he was driving very fast, there was an old song on the CD, it was "Scarborough Fair", and he ran through a red light without paying attention, and the white glare flashed, she was baffled Some scared.Sure enough, Ruan Zhengdong stepped on the brake, turned her face, and kissed her hard. With such a great strength, he was holding her tightly, as if trying to swallow her alive.He has never been like this. For so long, he has hardly even touched her hand. The female companions around him are like a revolving lantern, changing and changing, and he doesn't really hide it from her.He put her not far away, like a vase, more like a new dress, he had too many new clothes, so he didn't care about it, anyway, it was hung there, and he didn't remember to take it out for a long time.One time when he was drunk, he called her in the middle of the night and talked to her nonchalantly. Later, he heard a delicate voice from a woman in the distance on the other end of the phone: "Zhengdong, do you want to take a bath?" He said: " Just come." She hung up the phone with a click, leaving her dumbfounded.

She struggled desperately, and finally cried in anxiety.Ruan Zhengdong finally let go of his hand and looked at her in a daze. The cars behind were all honking their horns impatiently. Amidst the loud noise, he murmured, "How could it be you?" She didn't understand the nonsensical words, and the tears were still in the corners of her eyes, which were about to fall down when she touched them. He refused to let her get out of the car and let her take a taxi, and finally insisted on taking her back to the apartment downstairs. After that, for a long time, he never appeared in front of Jiaqi again.

Zhou Jing'an was very disappointed with this ending, and severely criticized her: "You Jiaqi, you pighead, even rich people won't firmly grasp it." Jiaji is obedient, saying: "Next time, definitely, next time." Jiaqi's life quickly returned to calm, the only exception being the extra box of matches.Occasionally at dusk she sat at the table, took out a match, struck a light, and watched it burn to ashes bit by bit.She hasn't seen this special match for many years since she broke up with Meng Heping.Thin and long, it can be burned for a long time, but there are not many sticks in a box, so she cherishes it very much. More often than not, she just holds up the matchbox and shakes it gently by her ear, rustling like torrential rain. Hearing this sound, she feels happy.

The business was still complicated and tense. She and her boss went to run a big client. After nearly half a month with no results, her patience was almost exhausted. As a result, when she came out of the reception room that day, she met a very familiar person, and Jia Qi could not help but slightly Startled. It was Ruan Zhengdong's friend, they always played cards together at first, that is, the person she said was "unprecedented", and Jiaqi seemed to remember his surname Rong.Sure enough, the boss was already smiling all over his face: "Ah, Mr. Rong, nice to meet, nice to meet." After introducing Jiaqi, the other party also recognized her. It turned out that the company was under his name. When he learned of their purpose, he turned around and told the secretary A few words and a few words, suddenly the willows are dark and the flowers are bright.The boss was overjoyed and exuberant, and praised her quietly: "Okay, when I recognized Rong Shao, I didn't say anything, I'm so calm." Immediately struck while the iron was hot, asking her to stay and discuss the details with the other party.

After talking about business, Mr. Rong asked, "Why didn't I see you go to the hospital to see Zhengdong?" Jia Qi was taken aback, and before she could make a sound, President Rong had already sighed and said, "Go and see him." Jiaqi hesitated for two full days before going to the hospital. Unexpectedly, the hospital was also very lively. Half of the corridors were piled with flowers. When the nurse asked Ruan Zhengdong which ward was in, his eyes suddenly changed: "1708 is the fourth room on the left." The door is half open, the ward is a suite, the layout is not worse than that of a hotel, flowers and fruits are everywhere, the carpet is soft and silent when stepped on, and someone in the room is chuckling, the voice is cute and sweet.She remained silent for a few seconds, and was about to knock on the door, but finally turned and walked away.

The corridor was quiet and empty, echoing with her own footsteps. This is a dedicated ward. Jiaqi came here once to accompany Meng Heping.Later, Meng Heping's mother said that she wanted to eat hazelnut cake, so Meng Heping went downstairs to buy it. Then, Meng Heping's mother said to her unhurriedly: "You are not worthy of Heping, so please don't drag him down." How flustered and embarrassed I was at that time. She vaguely thought that a figure appeared at the other end of the corridor, tall and familiar, with distinct features that she missed day and night. She thought in a trance that the hallucinations of daydreaming were so real.

The other party gradually approached, she raised her face slightly, and stared almost greedily, even every eyebrow was so clear and true—as if imprinted on her heart, he had changed a lot, but it seemed that he hadn't changed at all, he It was Meng Heping, the Meng Heping she would always remember. She suddenly jumped up in shock, Meng Heping! He stood there, looking at her like an alien, she was dumbfounded, and he was also stunned. Both sides of the corridor are full of the fragrance of flowers, roses and lilies, forget-me-nots and jasmines, valentines and calla lilies... There are huge bunches of beautifully packaged bouquets and flower baskets, and they stand in the middle of the river of flowers, staring at each other like fools. Looking at each other.

Jiaqi suddenly had cold hands and feet. It was Meng Heping, it was really Meng Heping, and she would meet Meng Heping in her lifetime. Meet on a narrow road. In the first few years after the breakup, she imagined a reunion with Meng Heping, from scenes to lines, over and over again.It may be ten years, or it may be eighteen years, just like Zhang Ailing's novel, desolate and beautiful, in a word, we will never go back.Or maybe it's just three or five years, and when we meet again, in the occasion of singing and dancing, it's as beautiful and heartbreaking as a Korean drama.It was only later that she gradually became disheartened and realized that fate was out of reach.

But she saw him again—and it turned out that things were much easier than she had imagined. Her voice was smooth and clear, neither trembling nor stuttering: "Meng Heping, is that you?" She used to like to call him by name, Meng Heping, Meng Heping, Meng Heping... At the most heart-piercing moment, she just burst into tears and tried her best not to make any sound: " Meng Heping! Meng Heping..." It seemed that as long as he shouted desperately in his heart, he would return to her side. After a while, he said: "It's me." After a slight pause, he asked again: "Jiaqi, where have you been all these years?"

She groaned and said, "I've been here all the time." She briefly introduced her career in the past few years to him, and he raised his eyebrows: "Aren't you majoring in Spanish? Why are you advertising now?" ?” How difficult it is to find a job in a small language... Especially a third-rate student like her who graduated from a first-rate university with a second-rate major. She is stupid and will never pass the qualification test for translation. What's more, he has a master's degree in microelectronics, so he has become an unscrupulous real estate developer. It's really frustrating that the reunion of an old love that should be heart-wrenching is talking about such boring and boring side effects.I can't remember a single word that is important, so many words have always been her last pillar in the most miserable days of her life.No matter how difficult or painful it was, she also endured it, just thinking that if she could see Meng Heping again, if she could see him again—but she knew that she would not, fate would not give her such a chance, today really gave her a miracle , but she forgot all of them—because he had already forgotten, frankly, calmly, and forgot. He looked her in the face and smiled. And until this second, she still didn't dare to look into his eyes. For a long time, she hid under the quilt in the dark night and cried. The only remaining obsession was that she could still see him in her lifetime. Then she cried loudly and told him all the pain bit by bit. I just realized how childish it is today.Even if I saw him again, he was no longer her Meng Heping. Everything from the past has been turned into ashes, blown away by the wind in time, leaving nothing behind. He remembered: "What are you doing here?" "Come and see a friend," she said. He suddenly raised his eyebrows: "Are you coming to see Dongzi?" It turned out that there was only one patient, Ruan Zhengdong, living in the entire ward on the seventeenth floor. It turned out to be so funny that Meng Heping, like her, came to see Ruan Zhengdong. In fact, she had heard him mention Dongzi back then, and even heard him tell the reason. Because of Pan Dongzi in "Sparkling Red Star", Dongzi's grandfather gave his grandson such a nickname.It is said that the two have been as close as glue since they were young, and they love each other like brothers.Later, Dongzi stayed abroad for two more years, and the revolutionary friendship temporarily disappeared. And she just filled in the blank. In fact, she has always been dull. Meng Heping always called her a silly girl in the past, calling her so affectionately, but when she thought about it later, she felt empty and sour. She is stupid, really stupid. Sister Xianglin's words should be used here. In fact, she should have thought a long time ago that when she saw the box of matches, this kind of special match would not be circulated outside. Meng Heping's cell phone rang. He checked the number, but he didn't answer it.I don't know if it's his girlfriend calling, or his wife.She tried her best to recall the reports in the magazine, but the standard financial magazine didn't mention a word of gossip, and didn't even say whether he was married or not.She suddenly felt ashamed. Whether she has a wife or not is none of her business. There is a saying that Xiao Lang is a passerby from now on. "Peace!" Ruan Zhengdong suddenly appeared at some point, "I said why didn't you answer the phone, so you have already arrived." Meng Heping looked him up and down: "You look so good, why should you stay in a hospital? Why don't you go home and take care of him?" Ruan Zhengdong smiled and narrowed his eyes slightly: "I really want to, but the doctor won't do it." It's rare in the world for someone to wear a nightgown so gracefully, standing in the hospital corridor, as suave as standing in his own bedroom.But maybe it was because Xi Shi was in the eyes of her old lover, she thought Meng Heping was better looking, well-dressed and imposing.The two men only cared about the old days and didn't care about her. She felt guilty in her heart. It would be good if she took this opportunity to escape. Before he could step out, someone suddenly poked his head out in the ward: "Brother, is peace here?" The voice was delicate and sweet, it was the one she heard just now, but she didn't expect it to be even sweeter, it looked very familiar.Like Ruan Zhengdong, he has a pair of bright eyes. When he saw Meng Heping, his eyes flashed, and he was angry and charming: "Didn't I tell you to pick me up at seven o'clock, why did you come so early?" He didn't make a sound, just looked at her with a smile. It was then that Ruan Zhengdong seemed to have seen her: "Are you here, Jiaqi?" He introduced to her: "This is my sister Ruan Jiangxi. This is my friend, Meng Heping." Then he pointed vaguely at the couple. Pointing to her: "This is Yujiaqi." In her more than 20 years of life, Yujiaqi has never been so lively. Old lovers and new acquaintances all appeared on the stage, and there was also a rival in love-but who was the rival in love, she really didn't know who it was. As a result, everyone went to the ward to drink tea, and Ruan Jiangxi was so curious about her that he poured tea for her himself.It was unexpected to be able to drink such sweet eight-treasure tea in the hospital.Ruan Jiangxi said: "This tea is not bad. I called Lao Sanyuan to bring it." It is small, with limited seats. It is said that many celebrities have to make an appointment to drink tea, and they are willing to deliver food to the hospital. This kind of face is second to none. Ruan Zhengdong couldn't drink tea, so he brought a cup of boiled water to accompany him. He drank too much alcohol and suddenly had stomach bleeding and was sent to the hospital.Ruan Jiangxi described the scene when he fainted, vividly, and when he talked about the important points, he was startled and flickered, and his cadence was frustrating.Rao was an irrelevant person like Jiaqi, and he held his breath tightly when he heard that.Ruan Zhengdong smiled: "Don't listen to Xizi's horror, she is a journalist and has occupational diseases." It was only then that Jiaqi remembered why she looked so familiar, because she was the anchorwoman of the news commentary, and she was much younger than she appeared on the camera. She probably always criticized current affairs with sharp words on the show, so she was very impressive.In fact, in reality, she is just a pretty young woman with a sharper tongue than ordinary people. It's really a good match with Meng Heping. Childhood sweethearts, handsome men and beautiful women, each successful in their careers, no matter who hears it, they will think that they are a natural match. Her phone rang, and she took the opportunity to walk away to answer it.It was Zhou Jingan who called, excitedly: "Come on, come on, New World is on sale, there is a dress that really suits you." She raised her voice a little and answered, "Huh? The boss has something urgent to ask me to work overtime? I'll go back right away." Zhou Jing'an was puzzled: "Hey, you're so stupid, what are you talking about?" She replied, "You deal with him first, I'll be back to the company in half an hour." Zhou Jingan was still croaking, she had already hung up the phone, walked back and told Ruan Zhengdong apologetically, "I'm so sorry, I have to go back." Meng Heping said, "I'll see you off." She couldn't hold back in the end, and said, "No need, you still have to send Miss Ruan, I'll just call." Ruan Zhengdong said: "Then wait a minute, I will change clothes for you." Before she could answer, Meng Heping had already said, "Okay, you're still in the hospital, I'll see you off, and I'll pick up Xizi later." Ruan Zhengdong didn't insist: "Thanks then." Meng Heping smiled: "It's really different. I sent this and that for you, and I didn't see you say thank you." Ruan Zhengdong also smiled: "When did I ask you to send someone off, stop talking nonsense here." Jiaqi felt a dull pain in her chest, and her internal organs were twitching, as if a deep hole had been eroded in her stomach. She was afraid that she would spit out a mouthful of blood when her throat was sweet.She felt like a gnat that had fallen into a spider's web. No matter how hard she struggled, more restraints would wrap around her. Went down the same elevator with Meng Heping, and there were only the two of them in the space close by. It was like a prison. She really didn't want to ride with him again, so she said, "I'd better take a taxi. There are many taxis in front of the hospital, which is very convenient." .” "No." He said indifferently but insisted, and added: "I promised Dongzi." So affectionate and righteous, why does she still want to shed tears. He drives a Chopster, the car is spacious and the air-conditioning is silent, only she feels cramped. He drove very slowly, as if out of habit.I haven't seen him for so long, he really looks like another person, just like in my childhood memory, I always remember that he is so beautiful and so good, but I dare not look it up, I am afraid that if I look at it, I will feel that it is not like that ——The memory she once had, but she was afraid that it would not be like that. On Saturday afternoon, the traffic on the street was slow, and the green taxis were like leaves floating in the winding river.And she seemed to be sitting on a boat, watching thousands of sails pass by on both sides, and there are many buildings. It happened to be a red light, stopped there and waited.She turned her face to look out the car window, and suddenly recognized the intersection. If you turn left and walk another five or six hundred meters, you will see a stretch of old-style residential buildings, one after another, like countless identical matchboxes, rough concrete walls, densely packed door openings and windows, more like It's a hive.She recalled those days, holding a rattan chair to bask in the sun on the narrow balcony, with her T-shirt and his shirt drying on her head, and the placket or sleeves would often brush their heads... Outside the balcony was the sound of boiling cars and people. The sound of trumpets, the sound of promotional music from small shops... the vast ocean of sound, just under the balcony, the stormy waves beat the shore.The pale golden sunlight is like an hourglass in a bottle, and it just sieves down silently. On the balcony of the house next door, sliced ​​lettuce is drying with a large sieve—she still stubbornly remembers it many years later, remembering that the breath of happiness is Drying lettuce—the unique aroma of dry goods mixed with choking dust... The balcony is very small and narrow, and only one chair can be placed. He asked, "Meng Heping, why do you want to be called this name?" "My dad wants world peace," he said. Later I learned that when he was born, his father was on the battlefield, so he was named Heping. Finally arrived at the downstairs of the company, she said: "Don't get out of the car." He said: "It's okay." He still got out of the car and opened the door for her, holding the roof of the car, acting like a polite gentleman. It turns out how lazy he is, only she knows.He took off the socks and threw them there, and he was willing to wash them only if she threatened them with force, and he sang in the cramped bathroom: "Ahhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh...give me a good wife so that I don't have to wash socks, even if I pay my wages, even if Pull my ears, and I will definitely not regret it..." "Water of Forgetting Love", which was out of tune, made her lean forward and back with laughter, and stretched out her hands to pull his ears. His hands were covered with washing powder foam. Kissing her tenderly, just like that with his foamy hands, kissing her tenderly. "I'm going up," she said. He hummed, and she walked into the depths of the hall before looking back.Through the floor-to-ceiling glass wall, I saw from a distance that he hadn't left yet, standing under the scorching sun, leaning against the car body, lowering his head with a cigarette in his mouth, striking a match, once, twice... Finally, he struck a light , Lighting a cigarette, he raised his head. She hurriedly turned around and walked forward, afraid that if there was one more second, she would cry.