Endless Fall

  Chapter 2 I hate people who like to compare

   She didn't care about arguing with them, carrying the shopping bag handed by the clerk, and walked away in despair.

   "Why so long?" He Qi, who was waiting for her in the smoking area, saw her coming and got up impatiently: "Everyone is urging her over there."

   "Encountered two annoying spirits."

   "You quarreled with someone else?"

   "No." He Jia recounted what happened, without mentioning her own fault: "I just said a few words to them."

  He Qi frowned: "This is Lincheng, you do things carefully, don't offend me outside."

   "Well, I know it."

   "Better."

  He Jia followed him out, and by coincidence, he saw Lin Jiao and the two who were riding on the escalator.

   She stopped, not wanting to meet them.

  He Qi noticed her strangeness and followed her line of sight with a confused expression: "Are they the ones who rob you?"

"you recognize?"

   "The one on the left is my buddy's girlfriend."

  He Jia's eyes widened and her tone was sour: "Is her family rich? I think she's very generous, so I'd better buy it for a friend."

   "What kind of money can she have? It's all about men."

   "Relying on a man to be so arrogant? I knew that I would go back just now, and I am not used to her."

  He Qi withdrew his gaze and rolled his eyes: "Wait, brother help you out."

   "How?" He Jia covered the excitement in his eyes and worried: "Don't overdo it, after all you know each other."

   "Don't worry, it's done with a phone call."

  Although he despised He Jia, a vain cousin, but in contrast, the hypocritical Lin Jiao disgusted him even more.

  Since she can't hide her tail, he must pull it out and let Gu Quan take a good look at it.

  *

   It was almost ten o'clock, and the lights in the mall were half off.

  The off-duty employees walked together in twos and threes, dragging their tired bodies and saying goodbye at the door.

   Seeing that they were all gone, Pei Yilan pulled Lin Jiao back to the side: "Is Gu Quan coming? I'll take you back if you don't come."

   "He's on his way."

   "Agreed to pick you up at eight o'clock, but it took two hours abruptly, so you have a good temper. I was mad at him long ago."

   "He just took on a project recently and is very busy." Lin Jiao looked at the WeChat frame on the screen, and the smile on the corner of her mouth could not reach the bottom of her eyes.

   Pei Yilan wiped the public chairs and stools: "So busy, why are you still in love? Just work with me."

  Lin Jiao did not speak.

   She excused Gu Quan too many times, to the extent that she was tired of making excuses.

   "Sit down for a while." Pei Yilan pulled her and changed the subject: "Are you free tomorrow? Let's go have two drinks."

  Lin Jiao shook her head: "I'm going to a birthday party tomorrow."

   "Who's birthday?"

   "Song Zhen."

   Hearing that he was from Gu Quan's circle, Pei Yilan lost interest and said, "I thought it was some handsome guy."

   "You want to fall in love?"

   "No, I just want to find a man to play with."

  Lin Jiao's brain jumped: "What kind of painter you said last time, what is the name of Ze, no contact?"

   "Well, he's too straight." When Pei Yilan remembered those death conversations, she felt uncomfortable: "We can't talk together at all."

"That…"

   "姣姣." A BMW came into view, and Gu Quan's soft call came from the half-open window.

   "It's finally here." Pei Yilan rolled her eyes and took out the car keys from her bag: "Jiaojiao, I won't accompany you there."

   "Okay, message me when you get home."

"Know."

  Lin Jiao watched her walk away before getting on the bus.

   She put the shopping bag in her hand in the back row, and found that Gu Quan was in a daze, she couldn't help but be stunned.

   "Gu Quan?" She waved her hand in front of him, and the shattered light and shadow stroked the bridge of his tall nose: "What are you thinking?"

   "Nothing." Gu Quan's thoughts returned to the cage, but He Qi's words were still echoing in his ears.

   He looked back: "Did you have a good time shopping today?"

"not bad."

   "Did you run into trouble?"

   "No." Lin Jiao didn't hear his temptation and thought he was caring about herself.

   She leaned over and looked at him softly: "With you here, who would dare to trouble me?"

   As everyone knows, this joke indirectly 'settled' her robbing other people's dresses.

  Gu Quan's face became more and more ugly.

   He stepped on the accelerator with one foot. Lin Jiao, who had not yet fastened her seat belt, fell backward uncontrollably, hitting the back of her head against the car window.

   A numb pain arose, she knitted her brows tightly, and a light snort overflowed from her lips, which was submerged in the evening wind pouring in from the window.

   "Jiaojiao, I hate people who like to compare." Gu Quan's annoyed and disgusted tone made Lin Jiao, who was covering the back of his head, bewildered.

  She closed her eyes dazedly, and didn't have time to figure out what he meant: "Who offended you?"

   "He..." Seeing that her state was not right, Gu Quan's anger suddenly dissipated: "What's wrong with you?"

   "Bumped the head."

  “呲—”

   He braked suddenly, and the unprepared Lin Jiao leaned forward again. Fortunately, he hugged her waist to prevent her from hitting her again.

   "I'll take a look." He leaned down, brushed away her soft hair, and lightly touched the place where he was hit: "Does it hurt too much?"

   "It's okay." Lin Jiao motioned him to continue driving.

   She fastened her seat belt with a long memory, and when the car drove into Lufu Bay, the pain disappeared: "Did you quarrel with He Qi?"

  Gu Quan paused: "Well." He opened the door of the bungalow and didn't want to mention it again: "It's not a big deal, don't think about it."

  Lin Jiao nodded and pressed the switch of the ceiling light.

   She put on her slippers and was about to talk to him for a while, but she saw him go upstairs without looking back: "Jiaojiao, help me cook a bowl of noodles."

   "What kind of noodles would you like to eat?"

  “…”

  The environment so quiet that you could hear the needle drop magnifies Lin Jiao's loneliness. She, who could not get a response, walked into the kitchen wearily.

   Ten minutes later, she stood in front of Gu Quan's door with a tray and knocked twice.

   "Help me put it on the table." The sound of rushing water was mixed with his voice.

  Lin Jiao pushed open the door, her eyes fell on the slightly messy sofa full of documents, and as soon as she put down the tableware, she was busy helping him clean up.

   She seldom enters Gu Quan's bedroom. The ambiguous cohabitation that outsiders say, coming to them is just a roommate relationship.

   Except for something, the two do not interfere with each other, always maintain a pure love, and each other never thought of crossing that line.

   "姣姣?" Gu Quan didn't hear the footsteps, and a trace of doubt flashed in his eyes: "Are you still there?"

   "What's wrong?" Lin Jiao turned her head, and a yellowed photo fell to the ground from the A4 paper.

   She narrowed her eyes, and a young girl filled with youthful breath suddenly entered her line of sight.

  Gu Quan wiped the water droplets from his forehead and said warmly, "It's very late, you should rest early."

   "Okay." Lin Jiao picked up the photo of the three of them, patted it lightly, and clipped it back without thinking too much.

   She glanced at the blurred outline reflected on the frosted door, took the mist overflowing from the crack of the door, and got up and left.

   (end of this chapter)