The next morning, Xiaoya accompanied Jia Yi to the store, and as soon as she pushed the door open, Jia Yi sniffed the surroundings vigorously, and then turned her face and asked Xiao Ya, "Do you think the smell of this paint is very strong?" ”

Xiaoya rubbed her nose: "No, aren't you empty?" ”

But she was still vaguely worried about Mark's rhinitis.

She walked towards the outside of the store and looked around, "The supermarket is not open, I don't know where to buy masks?" She said to herself very quietly, and the little girl on the side didn't care at all. She went back to the house, opened the window and the door hard, as if she was afraid that the air in the room would not go, and waved her broom into the air, busy driving away something, but she was worried that her movements were too large and ruined all the clothes she had carefully dressed this morning, so her series of actions seemed extremely timid.

Xiaoya noticed something, so she inquired and asked, "Hey, sister, is that Mark very handsome?" ”

Jia Yi suddenly blushed, and said, "Why do you ask like that?" ”

"Curious, just ask."

Jia Yi didn't realize that the two red clouds floating on her face had betrayed her a long time ago.

The little girl squeezed her eyebrows and teased Jia Yi and said, "Very handsome, right?" ”

Jia Yi didn't refute, but just used the excuse of going upstairs to have a look, eager to escape from Xiaoya's questioning.

Xiaoya looked at Jia Yi with a default face, and her heart was more certain, and she laughed presumptuously downstairs: "Hahaha, then I have eyes today!" ”

Mark was more punctual than last time, he arrived with Jiang Yuan.

As soon as she entered, Jia Yi was restrained like a shy little girl, but Xiaoya, a girl in her early 20s, greeted her like the proprietress of this shop, and of course her eyes were mainly on Mark.

Indeed, the last time Mark came alone, he just felt that the man in front of him was clean and delicate, and quite elegant. But this time, he came in with Jiang Yuan, who had a thick gold chain around his neck, which made people feel that the sense of disobedience in the picture was too strong. Jiang Yuan, who has a beard and a round head, makes Mark look more delicate and charming. Obviously, Xiaoya's girl's heart has been attacked!

Mark only wore a gray-black crewneck knit sweater and a pair of jeans underneath this time, which was neat and neat, but it looked more amiable than last time.

He carried a backpack on his shoulders and trouser pockets in his hands as he walked around. He said with a smile that the technology of Jiang Yuan's team has been continuously improved, and he has not forgotten to praise this good friend who is not good-looking but has already lost his wealth in front of Jia Yi.

Xiaoya listened to it on the side, but she couldn't help but interject: "Wow, so you designed the Guowan Sea Road, it's amazing!" She gave a thumbs up, but her eyes were just on Mark, as if the decoration was Mark's work.

Jiang Yuan smiled modestly: "Don't dare to be, I didn't expect you to notice the Guowan Sea Road." That's a very early work.

"Of course, I used to hold events with my friends to make them much more interesting with that unique design." After she finished speaking, she winked at Mark with her big watery eyes, and Jiang Yuan knew that "the drunkard didn't mean to drink", but he also didn't care about it, just smiled.

Jia Yi looked at this little girl and suddenly felt as if she was like an old witch living in the Paleolithic Age, and she was dressed so hard in vain, and then looked at Mark and Jiang Yuan next to her, they were happy with the little girl, and suddenly felt a little lost, and only laughed quietly.

Mark suddenly remembered that the backpack on his shoulder was coming, and turned to Jia Yi and said, "I forgot everything in my bag, let you see it first." He quickly pulled out a stack of photographs from his bag, as well as a few framed models, and some slightly larger posters.

Those photos, Jia Yi is very familiar, the flower garden in the Nanbin District, the small park and a few big banyan trees that originally stand, the old appearance of the Nanbin District is pieced together and restored little by little in this pile of photos.

No one can forget this small urban village, which was like a baby sleeping peacefully on the riverside, but now it is already a young man who has ventured into the new world.

Jia Yi specially picked up a photo, which was a simple gazebo, and there was unpainted fitness equipment next to it, she pointed to the photo excitedly and said: "I remember here, when I was tired from research, I still rested here." ”

Mark took the picture from her hand, looked out the window again, and motioned with his hand to look to the left front, where it had been taken, but the old scene was gone.

Xiaoya reacted eagerly next to her, and hurriedly said, "Where is it?" Hey, it's not like it at all, it looks like it's really changed. His eyes were on Mark, full of anticipation.

Mark didn't look at her, but said, "Yes, it's changed a lot, so if you hang this painting somewhere, it probably evokes a lot of memories." ”

This is clearly addressed to Jiayi.

"Mm-hmm, I was very moved even when I saw it myself. I really don't know how to thank you. Jia Yi didn't want to hide her praise and gratitude to him, and she wanted to say everything to him in the world.

But he only smiled humbly at her hospitality, and immediately turned his face and asked Jiang Yuan: "Then, in this case, Jiang Yuan, it would be better for you to put these photos on the wall?" ”

Jiang Yuan tightened his mouth, his eyebrows furrowed, and said, "Actually, it hangs casually, but there is still a certain sense of space to create." As he spoke, he grabbed a few pictures and fiddled around.

Seeing the opportunity, Xiaoya immediately seized the gap to talk to Mark and asked, "Why do you have so many of these photos?" Are you a photographer? ”

Jia Yi watched Mark chatting with Xiaoya very enthusiastically, and she was also embarrassed to stand next to her, so she walked to Jiang Yuan's side with interest.

Jiang Yuan saw her coming, and hurriedly said, "Well, what do you think of it here?" ”

Jia Yi was a little absent-minded and said, "Okay, well, good. ”

Jiang Yuan thought about going upstairs, so Jia Yi went up with him, but she still couldn't help but look down on the two chatting hotly from upstairs.

Jiang Yuan suddenly leaned over, she quickly stepped back, Jiang Yuan didn't feel surprised, only said: "Actually, the overall decoration is still good." ”

Jia Yi came back to his senses: "Well, yes, after all, it is Mr. Jiang's team." ”

Jiang Yuan was very proud in his heart, but he still said modestly: "How dare you? In fact, when Mark asked me to take this job at the beginning, I thought that he must be going to put the things that he photographed Nanbin in your store. ”

Puzzled, Jia Yi asked, "Could it be that this is something he has been planning for a long time?" ”

"Let's just say that, but it just fits the style of your store." He was afraid that Jia Yi would think that Mark's sincerity was not enough, so he deliberately rounded the scene.

Jia Yi felt very lucky, glad that she had a special affection for Nanbin, like grabbing a gossamer, she and Mark finally had a place to resonate.

Somehow, Jia Yi suddenly asked, "Is he single?" ”

Jiang Yuan was a little strange and said, "Yes...... yes, what's wrong? ”

Jia Yi also realized that she had asked abruptly, so she hurriedly turned her head and looked downstairs, and said, "Don't you see that they are chatting lively, help inquire." ”

Jiang Yuan shook his head and said, "The little girl is not the type he likes."

"That'...... What's his favorite genre? She almost couldn't wait to ask, but after asking, she was afraid that Jiang Yuan would see through her thoughts, so she had to pretend that she didn't care about answering, and picked up the photo in her hand and flipped it at will.

Jiang Yuan really didn't guess her thoughts, he thought seriously in his mind, and said, "What type...... Well, how to say it? Gentle and beautiful, it's best to have a bit of literary temperament, hey, it's a bit like you, of course, it's good to be a little bit more birdy. ”

His last few words were joking with Jia Yi, and she also realized that she responded calmly to Jiang Yuan on the surface, but her heart was already excited, and she pretended to be calm and said, "Really? Looks like he won't charge me expensive. ”

Jiang Yuan looked surprised and said, "He? Where will you be charged, it is estimated that at most you will be asked to get a membership card for him, so that he can bring afternoon tea benefits to the office. ”

She couldn't help but be suspicious, and said, "Really? He's so good?! ”

The three of them chatted about the general plan and prepared to leave. Jia Yi didn't stay long, especially when she thought that the little girl next to her almost wanted to turn Mark home directly, she still hurriedly thanked the guests and kept them for the next meeting and chat.

Sure enough, as soon as the person left. Xiaoya begged Jia Yi to give her the WeChat account given to Mark.

Of course, she didn't agree, and deliberately dragged the chair around, making a shrill noise, and shouted loudly to herself: "Oops, I can't hear it, I can't hear it." ”

She wouldn't tolerate this young girl competing with her, an old virgin who was nearly thirty years old, although she might not have the capital to win, but when she thought of Jiang Yuan's words, especially the adjectives he said at the end, they pointed to such an obvious "soft" character, and she couldn't help but feel cold, she was naturally difficult to meet with the consistently strong one.

But today, on the night back to her apartment, she suddenly made up her mind that she wanted to make softness her label, recognizable to Mark at a glance. She belongs to him.

Even though she had only seen Mark twice, she had completely sunk in.

Fortunately, Yuanyuan's phone call made Jia Yi temporarily float up, and she invited Jia Yi to come out, saying that she wanted to discuss big things.

They met at a Chongqing noodle restaurant. Where is the rhythm of things to be discussed, Yuanyuan ordered two bowls of noodles and a few snacks as soon as she came up. Jia Yi looked at her with an inexplicable expression, and said, "Miss Chen, what you want to discuss with me is ...... Eat noodles? ”

Yuanyuan took a big mouthful of noodles into her mouth, but she didn't have time to swallow it, she had noodles in her mouth, and said a lot vaguely, but Jia Yi only heard the key words clearly: "Qiao Le, birthday, gift." She instantly realized that she was so busy that she even forgot about Qiao Le's birthday in two weeks.

Yuan Yuan finally swallowed the noodles and asked with a smile, "What gift should I discuss with you?" ”

Jia Yi was still puzzled: "Why are you talking to me?" ”

"This year is different from the past, you're back, you're definitely going to have a dinner party, in addition, you're back, the gift must be given in person, what if we don't add up to what if it goes wrong."

She knew what Yuanyuan was thinking, when she was in college, Qiao Le would receive gifts from the two of them in person on her birthday, but Qiao Le, a brainless person, always opened the gift in person, even if she opened it, she liked to compare the two gifts, and poor Yuanyuan always became the one who was disliked without accident, but she didn't expect this to leave a psychological shadow on her.

Yuanyuan asked tentatively, "What are you sending?" At what price? ”

Jia Yi pursed his lips and said: "I'm poor now, what price can I give, at most a belt of a few hundred yuan, now it's really not as happy as back then, when you wanted to send a basketball for dozens of yuan." ”

"I also don't have any money, I help my sister take care of the children all day long, how can I have the money to collect it, the salary in the past has been reimbursed hundreds of years ago." Yuanyuan laughed at herself, and then continued: "However, he has a girlfriend now, and what the two of us give is not as good as a fragrant kiss from someone's girlfriend." ”

"That's right. What is it for a person who is nourished by love to celebrate his birthday, but it is just a change of tricks to show affection. When Jia Yi said this, the things that had made her heart flutter for a day suddenly came to her mouth, and she eagerly took Yuanyuan's hand and said, "Yuanyuan, I have a secret to tell you." I...... I'm falling in love with someone. ”

Yuanyuan reacted merely, and asked lightly: "Who?" Which handsome guy? ”

Jia Yi was a little dissatisfied with the expressionless Yuanyuan, and said, "No matter who you give a reaction, it's not easy for people to be tempted." ”

Yuanyuan looked at Jia Yi and couldn't help but laugh: "Are you less motivated in college?" It's all tempting, you said you're your age, your love record is zero, and you're like a little girl all day long, tempting?! Do you think you still have time to think about it all day? ”

Jia Yi was blocked by this, too, although she has never been in love, but when it comes to nymphomaniac, she is a hardcore person. But Yuanyuan was wrong this time, she was not just tempted, she did a lot of things, such as dressing up carefully every time she saw Mark, such as she personally asked Jiang Yuan about Mark's situation, and then she next-

She slapped the table hard, and the green onions in the small bowl jumped in the air, so startled that Yuanyuan immediately bit off a chopstick noodle, and looked at the almost 30-year-old woman opposite in a daze and swore solemnly: "This time it's not just a matter of moving the heart." ”

Yuanyuan asked in a low voice: "So, you have to overcome your psychological barrier and go to ...... Develop an intimate relationship with him? ”

Jia Yi responded to Yuanyuan with extremely firm eyes, as if she was looking at death as if she was at home.

"Come on, come on, Chongqing noodles are coming!" The uncle in the store brought it up quickly, and the table was steaming hot and spicy, which made the high-spirited Jia Yi more inspirational for a while.

She has a strict heterosexual intimacy phobia for a long time has not had expectations for intimate relationships, from the original marriage to the current entrepreneurship, she has been pursuing a career or directly money to make up for the shortcomings, although she knows how much pressure this road will bring to herself, although this road is revolutionary for contemporary women, but she still does not know whose "life" is "reformed". She doesn't have much heroism, she just can't choose, for her, the sudden union of two strangers and the long-term attachment make her feel afraid, and even more afraid of giving the rest of her life to another person, from ** to spirit, she can't make up her mind.

This resistance makes her unable to calmly face any person of the opposite sex who tries to release intimate signals, even her father, she actively avoids it, her body is more sensitive and honest than her, when it catches any intimate physical contact signal from the opposite sex, it will tremble, escape, sweaty palms, tasteless mouth, stomach upside down, and her brain immediately turns from liking to disgust with the person in front of her, so all intimate relationships that try to sprout love are difficult to survive.

But now she is so confident and brave in the face of Mark, because of the longing to expose it, which has been neglected for a long time because of intimacy, and it is a wound after all. At the special time of entrepreneurship, as a woman, she will always have such a need, not to mention the elegant and literary temperament of Mark, which satisfies her fantasy of a certain spiritual love, the transition from spirit to **, maybe foolproof, maybe unconventional, maybe able to break the spell of her love.

Late at night, Jole Apartments.

Qiao Le always worked overtime until late during this time, because he was busy with work, he also had an excuse to get a short period of quiet from his little girlfriend, not to mention that he didn't lie completely, today the company just informed him that he would go to Beijing on a business trip next week.

As soon as he got home, he stuffed his body into the sofa, he seemed to be very addicted to this deep softness, and sat alone for a long time before taking out his mobile phone, ready to update the schedule on the mobile phone, the business trip date was November 7th to 15th, but he found that a small red dot appeared on the calendar on the 10th, click on the schedule prompt, and a line of words appeared: Dear birthday!

Birthday?! Naturally, it was his birthday, and this day was not so important since he graduated from college, and Xiao Yin also knew that he didn't take it to heart, so she set a reminder in advance when he wasn't paying attention.

But this year's birthday, he should have paid attention to it, after all, Jia Yi is back, they can celebrate their birthday together like the university, and they no longer need to receive a few blessing text messages from her from Beijing.

He should have paid attention to it, but he didn't, and fate implied that he didn't need to pay attention to it, and on his birthday, he went to Beijing on a business trip, and he just changed places with her who came back to N City.

The sorrow gathered, beating his ribcage over and over again like the tide of the sea; The taboos and counsel that had been engraved on his heart had been swept away by the tide—damp, but without traces.

Hasn't he been relieved yet?

But he couldn't remember what the two of them said last time they met at Jiayi's apartment.

He lay on the couch in a muffled voice, trying to find clues in his mind, but an equal force distorted, blurred, and severed any image that emerged from it.

You can't think about it, you shouldn't remember it, you can't study it deeply, you can't torture it.

In a daze, he let himself go and fell into a deep sleep.