rose ashes

The continuous spring rain covered the sky above the South City, falling in a fine and dense manner without being crisp, and the damp and sticky air has lasted for a week.
The tender sprouts are gracefully showing off their bodies on the branches.

There were shadowy figures moving in the charming box.
The man in the corner of the sofa had sharp eagle eyes, staring at the woman at the karaoke table whom he had never met before in a trance.

"Do you know him?" Xi Jinzhou had just finished his doctor's duty and came over immediately after receiving Ye Gu's call.
The man next to him stroked his chin, smiling in an unclear manner and shaking his head.

After a moment, he calmly pressed the half-smoked cigarette in his hand into the ashtray. The red bracelet on his bony white wrist was particularly bright. He tilted his eyes and said nonchalantly, "What do you think it would look like if that person was on top?"

Xi Jinzhou looked at Ye Gu's unsafe eyes, and was slightly shocked. He still looked calm and asked, "Who are you talking about?"

The man suddenly laughed clearly in his throat, and in less than half a second, he gathered all the distraction in his body and looked directly at Xi Jinzhou.
"She's coming back."

Xi Jinzhou was suddenly speechless and gestured with his fingers as if he wanted to say something.

"Xi Jinzhou, you shouldn't have hidden this from me."

Before I could try to stop him, the man disappeared into the lighted door, shrouded in a gust of cold wind.

Xi Jinzhou looked at the door and sighed. Someone around him didn't know what happened and came up to gossip: "What happened to Doctor Xi? Did he have a fight with Master Ye?"

Xi Jinzhou did not speak. He and Ye Gu were childhood friends and he understood Ye Gu's character best. When Ye Gu called out his full name just now, he knew that Ye Gu was undoubtedly angry.

People who have been immersed in the business world for many years are the best at hiding and pretending their emotions. Ye Gu rarely gets angry, especially towards friends.

Xi Jinzhou really didn't expect that after so many years, Ye Gu still had no restraint when talking about that person.

/ / /
At that time, on the other side of the Atlantic Ocean, a plane returning to China was crossing the sky.

Luo Yang has very little luggage. Over the years, she has always carried a light suitcase wherever she goes, and at most a luggage bag occasionally, and she is always alone.

This time returning home is no different from any other time I leave.

Looking at the red braided bracelet given by her friend, she was lost in thought. The stable plane vibrated slightly when it encountered a small air current. She put away the bracelet and closed her eyes to rest.

After an eleven-hour flight, it was already ten o'clock in the morning in China when they arrived at their destination. The time was too long and there was nothing good to do, so Luo Yang would usually choose to sleep.
Just like it is now.

Luo Yang doesn't like jet lag, so he sleeps for a long time on the plane.

Perhaps she was too tired the night before, and she soon fell into a deep dream in a daze. She heard many people blaming her, and all kinds of gossip filled her ears and could not be dispelled. All the voices were trampling on her, pushing her into the boundary of being worthless, and she couldn't lift her head.

There was only one person whose face could not be seen clearly, but he stretched out his hand, with a plain red string on his wrist, and said in a ruffian voice: "Don't bow your head, come here, I will help you."
His voice wasn't pleasant, and even a little hoarse, but Luo Yang never heard a voice that moved her heart more than this one.

But just when she was about to reach out to grab him, the picture disappeared completely, leaving only ashes and a blazing wilderness, with only her.

Fine beads of sweat oozed from Luo Yang's forehead. She woke up with a start as usual, her face remained unchanged, she just gasped for breath, and gradually regained her composure. She looked out the window at the night that was already soaked in ink, and recalled her dream -

Nine years ago, she didn't say a word, didn't tell anyone, and came to a foreign country alone with the acceptance letter. The girl carried the heavy schoolbag on her weak shoulders.
Father Luo Jiancheng was furious, and the relationship between father and daughter instantly reached freezing point.
I also cut off contact with all my friends, including Ye Gu.
Her father was angry, but her stepmother and stepsister were pleased with what they had wanted and they wished she would never go back.

In nine years, she never returned home, nor had a phone call with anyone. It was as if she had evaporated from the face of the earth and disappeared from everyone's life.

Looking back now, those nine years seem like just yesterday, like a dream, so absurd and dangerous.
Now that Luo Yang is about to enter her thirties, she even admires her eighteen-year-old self a little. The situation abroad is different from that in China, and she dared to go out and make a living on her own.

"I've already contacted my mom. I miss them so much."
"Me too. I called my dad before I got on the plane and he cried even though he was a grown man..."
……

The chattering voices of the girls around her all fell into Luo Yang's ears. She just turned her head, leaned against the back of the chair, took out a small box from her bag, and put on headphones.

Everyone would miss her, but no one in the Luo family would. Ever since her mother Yang Yue passed away, there was no one in this world who loved her wholeheartedly.
Luo Yang had already accepted this fact, but she always felt the word "home" was a little harsh.

She completed her studies successfully and graduated with a Ph.D. in psychology from the University of Cambridge in the UK. The professor originally wanted to keep her in the school, but Luo Yang finally decided to return home.
This time, she wanted to follow her heart. The professor liked Luo Yang very much, so even so, he still wished Luo Yang well and even said that he would come to China to see her if he had the chance.

Luo Yang didn't tell many people about his return to China. Only his closest friends knew about it. Judging from the time, he would be landing soon.
Luo Yang put away his headphones, put on his coat, and looked at the blue outside the window.

"Ah He, I'm at the south gate of the airport now, can you find the direction?"
Luo Yang has a very poor sense of direction, so Sang Huaiyu couldn't help but feel a little worried.

Luo Yang pulled the luggage he had just taken out and looked around. "You mentioned a landmark store, I should be able to find it."

She hadn't seen Sang Huaiyu for a long time. To be honest, their acquaintance was quite strange.
At that time, she had just arrived in the UK and was unfamiliar with the place. Apart from studying, she stayed in the dormitory. Later, during her master's and doctoral studies, she moved out to share a house.

I shared a house with a cute, gentle and smart girl, and that girl was Sang Huaiyu.

Sang Huaiyu was not a student of any school at that time, she was just staying in the UK for a while. Luo Yang and she had similar interests and got along very well, so they naturally became friends.

This time when she returned to China, she was the first to tell Sang Huaiyu. Luo Yang didn't like a huge fuss, so she didn't publicize it.
Besides, I have no plans to go home for the time being.

She walked along the road to the airport looking for the iconic store that Sang Huaiyu gave her, and finally found an exit, which was the exit of East Gate No. 1.
Just when I was about to turn around and walk in the opposite direction, a few men in black suits suddenly appeared behind me with cold expressions. "Miss, the gentleman asked us to take you home."

Luo Yang's heart skipped a beat, and she immediately realized that it was Luo Jiancheng who knew the specific information of her return to China, but she had no idea who told him.

The men were stuck in a stalemate, neither of them moving forward, and Luo Yang also did not take any action. She just watched the black nanny car outside the door from afar, its shiny body reflecting a dazzling luster in the sun.

There were many people at the airport and soon they noticed this place. Luo Yang didn't like being watched in public, so he sighed, suppressed a smile, sent a message to Sang Huaiyu, and then walked over.
"I'll go back with you."

Sitting in the car, Luo Yang felt that his breathing was not smooth, "Open the window."
"Yes."

Then, silence fell again. Luo Yang faced the wind blowing in from the window, exposing his entire cheeks to the wind, letting his hair fly around and sweep across his chin.

She liked the wind blowing like this, and every time this happened, she would concentrate all her attention on how to resist the push of the wind instead of thinking about things that would make her feel uneasy.

It’s not far from the airport to the Luo family’s home.

——Pingcheng Yanghu Bay
Large letters with gold-plated outlines are deeply engraved on the marble, which is extremely luxurious.

Luo Yang looked at the familiar scene passing by, feeling an indescribable feeling in her heart. She lowered her eyes and stared at the screen of her mobile phone in a daze. At this moment, she hoped very much that someone would send her a message, or that someone had something urgent and needed to find her to go out, so as to rescue her.

But it didn't. The phone was silent from beginning to end, until she walked into the door of the house that she didn't want to step into again.
The phone remained silent.

"You don't even know how to go home when you come back. That's what I taught you."
A majestic voice came slowly from the mahogany Eight Immortals Chair facing south in the inner hall.

Luo Yang knew that they were talking about her. They were simply saying that she was unfilial, an ungrateful person raised at home, and an unfilial daughter who didn't want to come into the house.
She had heard enough of these names and didn't want to refute them.

Luo Ke was there too. Her good sister, who was very good at pleasing others, sat next to Luo Jiancheng and looked very well behaved.

Zhang Peilan came towards her with a gentle and docile face, and wanted to hold her hand, but Luo Yang dodged her with an expressionless face.
The scene was a little awkward for a moment, but Zhang Peilan was tactful and still managed to smile.
"Lolo, you didn't even tell your family in advance that you were coming so that we could pick you up. The welcoming banquet wasn't prepared in advance. It was my negligence."

Luo Yang sneered, his eyes were indeed gentle, "No need for that, I came back after eating, and I don't like to have a big banquet, now I want to be frugal."

"I also want to hear about your return from other people. I think you have wasted all those years studying abroad!"
Luo Jiancheng hated Luo Yang's indifferent look the most, and she never answered him directly, always making him lose face.

Luo Yang finally looked at Luo Jiancheng and nodded slightly, "Sorry, I forgot, it was not intentional, I will pay more attention next time."

"you!"

I don’t know how he developed this ability to make people angry without showing any emotion, but it seems that he has mastered it even more now.
Suddenly, Luo Yang felt a little satisfied, thinking that his mood was not as bad as it was at the beginning.

"Sister, Dad is worried about you too, so please don't make Dad angry."
Luo Ke's sweet smile began to appear on his hypocritical face again, and Luo Yang felt nauseous just by looking at it.

"So how did you know that?"
Luo Yang told Sang Huaiyu and a few other close friends, and no one else knew about it.

Before Luo Jiancheng could speak, Luo Ke smiled coquettishly and shyly, as if she was still savoring the memory, and said, "I asked about it when Brother Ye Gu invited me to dinner today."
Zhang Peilan also signaled Luo Ke to restrain his joy, as if good things were about to happen.

Luo Ke looked at Luo Yang provocatively like this, and Luo Yang suddenly had an idea. She saw the black suit beside the sofa. The brooch on the suit was a rose pattern that she was familiar with. Such a flashy style could only belong to Ye Gu.

She stood still, raised the corner of her mouth, stood up with a refreshed look, and the collar of her khaki windbreaker moved slightly.
"Oh, it looks like few people are treating you to a meal, eat more, I'm leaving, see you later."

She didn't care about Luo Jiancheng scolding her loudly behind her. She just wanted to quickly escape from this place full of weirdness and didn't want to stay there for even a second longer.

Dragging a heavy suitcase, wandering on the streets, it was so sad that there was no place for her to live in such a big city like Pingcheng.

Luo Yang planned to stay in the clinic he had just renovated for one night and then find a place to stay the next day. In short, he would not return to the Luo family no matter what.

Although Nancheng Fuping Road and Pingcheng are two cities, they are surprisingly close to each other. It is just on the border of Pingcheng and can be reached in half an hour by taxi.

It was noon, not yet rush hour, so it was easy to get a taxi. After Luo Yang put his luggage down at the clinic, he planned to go out for lunch.

I originally wanted to find Sang Huaiyu, but she seemed to have something to do in the afternoon, so I had to find someone else.

Walking along the bar street, there are not many bars open in the morning, but there are a few pubs open here and there, with soft melodies and rhythms playing in front of their doors.

Luo Yang wandered for a long time before pushing the door and walking into a bar. She was not very hungry now and just wanted to have something to drink.

"Ah He?"
"It's really you, Ah He!"

Luo Yang's shoulders were suddenly shaken violently. Before he could see the girl's face clearly, he heard her sobbing in grief and anger.
"Why are you still drinking here? Ye Gu is getting married soon! I'm so pissed!"

(End of this chapter)