Overgrown Grassland

23. Chapter 23

23  

Whereas they didn’t find yourself discovering any inspiration, they did have enjoyable. After they’d had sufficient of strolling by way of the museum, Boss Li generously handled Zhu Yun to a meal. Full service. Underneath Li Xun’s contemptuous gaze, Zhu Yun selected a Korean restaurant. And once more, beneath his contemptuous gaze, she ordered bibimbap.

“You have got a fairly large urge for food,” Li Xun mentioned, sitting throughout from her.

Zhu Yun appeared up and requested,”You’re not consuming?”

Li Xun shook his head.

“You utilize your mind a lot. How do you not get hungry?”

He didn’t say something.

With a mouth filled with rice, she clicked her tongue. “Excessive effectivity and low consumption. Your system really defies the pure order.”

“Have some style, gained’t you? Swallow your meals after which discuss.” He glanced at her earlier than searching the window.

A scorching headed man like him was making an attempt to pretend being a civilized and cultured individual?

The 2 sat subsequent to a window. After beginning exterior a bit, Li Xun requested, “Thoughts if I smoke?”

“Go forward.” She appeared round. The varsity was on break, so the whole school city was abandoned. They have been the one two contained in the small restaurant.

Li Xun lit a cigarette and blew out a cloud of smoke. When Zhu Yun heard the sound, she all of a sudden recalled one thing she’d learn whereas researching conventional Chinese language medication: Psychological stress impacts the spleen and abdomen, impacts sleep patterns, and causes lack of urge for food.

Searching the window, Li Xun’s face was clean and uninviting, as if he have been deep in thought. Town was empty. What was there to take a look at? Everybody had already left.

Zhu Yun thought again to the scene when Gao Jianhong was leaving. He’d playfully punched Li Xun’s shoulder, and Li Xun smiled on flippantly, as at all times. All of the members who have been engaged on their undertaking went dwelling for New Yr’s, and he or she was planning on doing the identical.

No one had thought of the likelihood that their undertaking would fail, as if the thought of failing was fully unfathomable. With him there, how may they fail. However, what did he assume?

This was the primary time that she’d considered this. Had he thought of that they could fail? Had he been very careworn about it? She rapidly reasoned out that, in fact he had. As if being a genius would have have an effect on that.

“Um…” Zhu Yun swallowed the rice in her mouth, after which she began once more, “Li Xun—”

On the sound of her voice, the individual throughout from her laughed, his face loosening up. Her phrases had been lower off by his snigger. Li Xun identified the window along with his chin. “Look.”

Zhu Yun turned. It was snowing.

The primary snow that season had come reasonably late. It arrived slowly, unhurried, after everybody had already gone. Those that remained have been instantly attracted by it. The snowflakes have been small and delicate, carried by the wind, unwilling to land. The sky was bleak and overcast, however the dancing snowflakes introduced a mild calmness.

“What have been you going to say?

“Oh. I’ll go together with you.”

“The place?”

“To Languan.”

Li Xun paused. Then, quietly, he replied, “Neglect it. Hurry and get dwelling.”

“My household lives very shut,” Zhu Yun mentioned. “It’s just a few hours by prepare, so there’s no have to rush. Furthermore, a second individual brings a bit extra energy.”

Li Xun laughed. “Power? The energy to hold a bag?”

“Positive, carrying a bag remains to be one thing.”

Li Xun checked out her.

“It’s determined,” Zhu Yun mentioned, earlier than shoving her head again into her meals.

Li Xun was quiet awhile. He tapped the ash off his cigarette, after which he mentioned, “I actually admire you.”

It was afternoon after they left the restaurant. Li Xun pushed open the door, stepped out, after which shivered. “Why’s it so fucking chilly?!” He began strolling with giant steps, however not earlier than shoving Zhu Yun again inside. “Wait inside. I’ll hail down a taxi.”

My garments are thicker than yours, okay?

Getting a taxi wasn’t straightforward within the snow. Zhu Yun stood contained in the restaurant and appeared out on the tall Li Xun. She noticed his shoulders shrink inward. After 5 minutes, she went out to alleviate him. Li Xun’s lips had already turned purple.

They lastly bought a taxi. After they returned to the campus, the snow was falling closely and the wind was blowing ferociously. Li Xun lastly gave up his act. He left the automobile and, like a wisp of smoke, disappeared in the direction of the undertaking base. From behind, Zhu Yun roared with laughter. Then she blew out a breath as she appeared up in the direction of the gray sky.

A kimchi-scented first snow. How great.

—

The subsequent day, Li Xun caught a chilly.

“You deserve it…” Zhu Yun scoffed as she checked out Li Xun.

After getting sick, his mood bought worse. She may see the blood in his eyes, as if he needed to devour her complete.

Zhu Yun handed him the drugs she purchased. “Take three tablets.”

Li Xun grabbed the drugs and swallowed a whole row of 5 tablets.

Shocked, Zhu Yun cried out, “What are you doing?!”

“It gained’t kill me!” Impatiently, he mentioned, “Taking a bigger first dose—don’t you even have that a lot frequent sense?”

Which planet’s frequent sense was that???

He really didn’t have the vitality to work, so the emblem design was left to Zhu Yun to deal with. Boss Li lied down throughout a makeshift mattress of 4 chairs to recuperate. The undertaking base was extraordinarily quiet. Solely the mouse, keyboard, and their respiratory interrupted the silence.

Eyes closed, he spoke up, “Simply get one thing executed roughly. It doesn’t have an effect on the precise program ultimately. I’ll have somebody re-do it later.”

Zhu Yun had thought that he’d fallen asleep. So he’d simply been resting.

With the design software program on the display screen, Zhu Yun rested her chin in her fingers as she thought. Quickly, she drifted right into a little bit of a trance till Li Xun’s sneeze pulled her again to actuality.

Since it might be modified later, she would simply toss something collectively for now. She appeared across the room, and her eyes caught on the bamboo grove exterior the window. From that picture, Zhu Yun began wanting up supplies.

She really wasn’t good at this. It took her greater than an hour to finish the emblem design. This was ten thousand instances tougher than programming.

“It’s actually fucking ugly…” Li Xun had apparently woken up sooner or later. He had his arms crossed whereas he stood behind her, critiquing. “The colours conflict and the composition is poor.”

Zhu Yun clenched her tooth.

Li Xun mentioned, “Are you actually a lady?”

She shoved apart the mouse and circled to him. “If you happen to don’t prefer it, do it your self!”

Li Xun checked out her with sleepy eyes. As if glossing over the state of affairs, he merely mentioned, “Add it in.”

He simply knew how you can discuss huge…

Whereas she added the emblem to this system, behind her, Li Xun coughed a number of instances. His coughing was getting extra critical, as if desirous to drive away the discomfort.

She’d spent 4 hours designing the emblem, and it solely took 4 minutes to get it into their program. Zhu Yun labored rapidly. When the emblem was set, she examined this system once more, after which she circled. “I’m going to exit actual fast. Anticipate me.”

“What are you doing?”

“I’ll purchase you some cough medication. If you happen to preserve coughing like this, your throat will endure.”

“There’s no want.”

Zhu Yun didn’t trouble listening to him. She grabbed her coat and mentioned, “Simply wait a bit. I’ll be proper again.”

“Hey!” As Zhu Yun ran out, she heard Li Xun calling behind her. “Come again! I’ll provide the cash!”

As if I couldn’t afford some cough medication? You’re actually wanting down on me an excessive amount of!

Zhu Yun ran over to the pharmacy. On the nurse’s advice, she purchased some cough syrup.

She genuinely prayed for Li Xun to get better rapidly. They have been going to Languan tomorrow. If he couldn’t converse then, was she going to be answerable for the presentation? No manner. She wasn’t like him. She couldn’t deal with that type of strain. Zhu Yun wished that he’d get effectively quickly, however she couldn’t assist pondering that he deserved this all the identical.

“If you happen to attempt to act cool, you’ll incur the wrath of lightening…” Zhu Yun grit her tooth.

All of a sudden, her cellphone rang. Her mom was calling. She stopped strolling and answered, “Hey?”

In a involved tone, her mom requested, “Zhu Yun, how are issues going with the category consultant?”

“We’ll be executed in two days.”

“Neglect it. Hurry dwelling. Simply assist a bit and be executed with it. If you happen to put this a lot work into it, are you even going to have a good time the brand new yr?”

“I—”

“Your Auntie Jiang is right here. We’re having dinner collectively tonight.”

“Dinner?” Had she misheard? “Tonight?”

“Sure.” Her mom laughed. “Auntie Jiang’s son has come again from overseas too. Do you bear in mind him? Actually a scholar at a well-known faculty. It’s completely different from a faculty in our nation. Whenever you get again, you must discuss to him, soak up a few of his expertise and put together in your future.”

“Tomorrow. I can’t make it again tonight irrespective of how a lot I rush. I haven’t even purchased a prepare ticket but.” Zhu Yun began calculating in her head. “I’ll be dwelling earlier than tomorrow night time, for certain.”

“Don’t fear,” her mom replied, calm and composed. “Your dad’s over that manner. He’s bought a gathering as we speak, however he’ll be executed afterwards. I advised him to choose you up on the best way dwelling. Be sure you clarify to your class consultant. The work was very sudden anyway. It took so much to ask Auntie Jiang over. And your (older) cousin could be very busy with faculty as effectively. He made day trip of his busy schedule to come back see you. See how nice your repute is? Pack your issues rapidly. Your dad can be there quickly, so don’t make him wait.” After saying all she needed to say, Zhu Yun’s mom hung up.

Zhu Yun kicked on the floor.

Someday. Off by simply someday. Wang Yuxuan, why couldn’t your airplane have crashed?!

Half an hour later, Zhu Yun bought one other name. Unhappily, Li Xun requested, “The place did you go? How does it take this lengthy to purchase medication?”

She dropped her third cigarette to the bottom and stomped it out. “I’ll be proper there.”

After she hung up, her father, Zhu Guangyi, referred to as. Zhu Yun actually needed to smash her telephone. With out answering the decision, she ran again to the undertaking base. As a minimum, she needed to ship the cough medication.

Li Xun was sitting on the desk, testing this system. Gasping for breath, she ran over to him and put the cough syrup down in entrance of him.

Targeted on the pc display screen, Li Xun spoke like a grand younger grasp, “Get me a cup of water.”

Zhu Yun didn’t transfer.

Li Xun appeared over at her suspiciously. “Are you telling me to take this with out water?” His voice was hoarse. His ordinarily lovely voice had grow to be so tough.

“What’s it?” He rapidly sensed one thing was flawed.

“Li Xun, at dwelling…” Zhu Yun’s voice trailed off and Li Xun’s brows jumped up.

“At dwelling… It’s a bit pressing… I’ve to move again first.”

The bamboo bushes exterior have been nonetheless. After a second, Li Xun mentioned, “It’s nothing critical, is it?”

Don’t ask with such concern. I’m simply going dwelling to have dinner with a pupil finding out overseas.

She shook her head.

Li Xun relaxed. “That’s positive. There’s nothing a lot left to do. Go dwelling and have a good time,” he replied quietly as he grabbed a cigarette. She needed to advise him to not smoke, however the phrases wouldn’t come out of her mouth.

Her telephone was ringing once more. Li Xun signaled to her, “Your telephone. Why are you zoning out?”

Zhu Yun answered her telephone. It was her father. “Zhu Yun, why didn’t you reply my name earlier?”

“The ringer was on silent.”

Li Xun reached for his coat.

“Your mother already advised you, proper? I’ll be there quickly. Meet me on the faculty gate in half an hour.”

“Mmh.”

When she hung up, Li Xun had already placed on his coat. “Let’s go. I’ll ship you to the prepare station.”

“That’s okay, there’s no want,” Zhu Yun replied. He checked out her, however she didn’t return his gaze.

Li Xun rapidly took off his coat. “Watch out in your manner dwelling.” He sat down and continued pounding on the keyboard, endlessly.