rose ashes

In the kitchen, a figure with broad shoulders and narrow waist, with head lowered, can be seen under the warm yellow light. The rustling sound of plastic bags can be vaguely heard.

Luo Yang walked slowly and stuck his head out. Ye Gu heard the noise and turned his head.

The two looked at each other, and the scene froze for a moment.

"Are you...cooking noodles?" Luo Yang was a little suspicious if there was something wrong with his eyesight.

Ye Gu looked at the instant noodles in his hand and the kettle beside him, and nodded as a matter of course: "What else?"
He felt that there was nothing wrong with it, pointed at the things on the table, and said slowly: "Water, noodles, cook noodles."

Luo Yang: “…”
She probably really forgot that Ye Gu before couldn't do anything except make instant noodles, so she shouldn't have had too high expectations.

Luo Yang sighed, stood beside Ye Gu naturally, took the instant noodles from his hand, and his fingertips accidentally touched Ye Gu's wrist bone.
He was startled, his eyes shrank for a moment, then quickly recovered.

"I originally wanted to cook dried noodles, but the package has been opened, so I don't want to waste it."
As Luo Yang spoke, he poured some water into the small pot, waited until the water boiled, and then put in the noodles and seasoning packets. His work was much smoother than Ye Gu's.

Ye Gu suddenly sneered for no reason and raised his eyes slightly to look at Luo Yang.
"But don't worry, the kitchen won't explode now."

Luo Yang was suddenly startled, then lowered his eyes with a slight smile on his lips.

——15 years old
At that time, Yang Yue had passed away for two years. Luo Yang was always silent in the Luo family and tried to reduce his presence at school.

Although Ye Gu was a straightforward person, he was not unaware of it. Later, he would deliberately hold a party or ask Li Yan to invite Luo Yang to his home for dinner.
The reason is simple, just to reduce Luo Yang's time at the Luo family as much as possible, and indirectly reduce the time she spends with Zhang Peilan and her daughter and Luo Jiancheng.

However, due to the nature of Li Yan's work, she often needs to attend meetings, and Mr. Ye has also adhered to the health-preserving methods for many years, and both he and Ji Yin go to bed early every day.

At that time, Ye Gu had a property that Li Yan gave him when he was ten years old. He had never lived in it, but there was always an aunt who cleaned it regularly, so it was still as clean as new.

That night, Luo Yang was so hungry that she was just venting her emotions at the banquet but didn't eat anything.

Just when she was extremely hungry, someone knocked on the door. It was the dead of night, so Luo Yang couldn't help but be alert, but soon, a voice came from the door, so low that it touched people's hearts.
"Are you hungry? I'm a little hungry, want to eat something?"

At that time, Ye Gu was very cheerful, not as mature as he is now, and had the appearance of a successful person.

Although Luo Yang didn't want to admit that he was very hungry, his stomach told Ye Gu the answer very honestly.

That day, Ye Gu took Luo Yang to the house that Li Yan gave him.

The boy was a little proud, and said in a haughty tone, "You are the first person I brought here. Do you feel honored?"
Luo Yang sneered, put his hands in front of him, and said calmly: "Just so so."

Ye Gu didn't pursue the matter. He just shrugged, got her slippers, and took her to the kitchen.

The pair of slippers were aqua blue, Luo Yang's favorite color, and the size was just right for Luo Yang's feet.

The kitchen is simply decorated and fully equipped, but since no one lives there, there is nothing here.

Luo Yang sighed, "It's useless to come here if you don't have anything."

Ye Gu smiled and took out two packets of noodles from his clothes as if performing magic.

"This is the tomato pasta I stole from the kitchen cabinet. Don't you like tomatoes the most? I will reluctantly cook for you next time today."
Ye Gu had never cooked for anyone before. This was his first time cooking. To be honest, he was unsure. To be exact, he simply didn't know how to cook.

But facing Luo Yang's slightly expectant eyes, he gritted his teeth and made the noodles.

However, the kitchen experienced a minor incident.

The ketchup was spread everywhere, and the place was instantly in a mess. Luo Yang looked at Ye Gu in silence. It seemed that it was not appropriate to say anything or not to say anything in the current situation.

Ye Gu put his hands behind his back, lowered his head, and did not dare to speak, much like a child who had made a mistake and was about to receive a lesson.

Under the incandescent light, Luo Yang finally said nothing. He just hugged Ye Gu and whispered in his ear: "Thank you."
Thank you for stepping into the kitchen so that I wouldn't be hungry, thank you for throwing a party to make me unhappy so that I could spend less time at the Luo family, and thank you for seeing through me.

This is what Luo Yang wanted to say to Ye Gu at that time, but until now, she still hasn't been able to tell Ye Gu.

The warm yellow light fell on the backs of the two people without exception, like gods covered in dust.

The kitchen fell into silence for a long time. Luo Yang pulled himself out of his memories and smiled lazily for the first time since returning to China. "Yes, after all, Mr. Ye has now progressed from tomato pasta to instant noodles."

There wasn't the slightest hint of sarcasm in his words, and Ye Gu also smiled. He was taller than Luo Yang, and from this angle, in the dim warm light, he could see Luo Yang's collarbone, which was sculpted like an exquisite sculpture.

It was as if it was moistened with thick milk and as flawless as jade, making people feel distracted for a moment.

Before he knew it, Ye Gu's ears were burning. He tried to hide it, leaning back on the sofa some distance away from the center island, and looking at Luo Yang from afar.

Luo Yang held her chin up and stared at the pot, her eyes fixed on it. The mist in the water rose up happily, and a thin white mist like gauze gradually lingered around her, vaguely dreamy, sticky and light.

Ye Gu calmly raised his cell phone beside him.

/ / /
This night was the most peaceful night that Luo Yang slept.

In her dream, she met Yang Yue, who smiled and stroked her hair, saying congratulations, baby, on finding happiness, and she was happy for her.
However, Luo Yang didn't have the courage to tell Yang Yue that she had used some tricks to get all this, it was a deal.

Since it was a deal, it was fragile and could not withstand the test. She didn't know when it would be exposed and made public. She was trembling with fear and treading on thin ice, but she was unwilling to let go of the last light she could see. She asked Yang Yue if what she did was right.

But the Yang Yue in the dream said nothing. He just pointed at her heart, shook his head and disappeared into her dream like a gust of wind. No matter how she stood on tiptoe, jumped up and tried hard to catch him, she could not catch any trace of him.

Is it the heart? She doesn’t know.

Ye Gu didn't sleep well. He kept tossing and turning. The bright moonlight was ruthlessly blocked by the curtains in the cold night sky.

In the half-lit room, there was nothing else except the sound of steady breathing beside me.

He looked at the pillow in the middle, speechless.

The warmth around him is real. Although he still can't touch it due to the distance, this is enough.

He didn't like the bowl of noodles today, but for some reason, it seemed that the noodles had an addictive magic.
Ye Gu turned his head and looked at the profile hidden in the darkness.

The two lips were moist and gentle, and it seemed hard to imagine that this was the gentleness that could be possessed by someone who left so decisively back then.
But that tenderness was not only engraved in her bones, but also lingered throughout her body.

Like a moth to a flame or stuck in a quagmire, his reason reminded him so, but his emotions ruthlessly swallowed him up.

If it could turn into ashes and be piled on the roots of roses and become fertilizer, that would be fine too.

He reached out and tucked the hair that fell in front of Luo Yang's forehead behind her ears. The shadow covered Luo Yang's forehead and quickly left.

/ / /
The next day, Luo Yang woke up and when he saw the people around him, his body froze and he took a minute to relax.

Accepting the fact that Ye Gu had overslept, she calmly went into the bathroom.

Just when he had picked up the toothbrush and was halfway through brushing, Luo Yang took the toothbrush covered with white foam out of his mouth.
Then, unwilling to accept the fact, he closed his eyes in pain, his eyelashes trembling slightly.

Get out your toothbrush, done.

Ye Gu just came in, with sleepy eyes, and saw Luo Yang with his head lowered, as if he was performing some ritual.

He naturally picked up another toothbrush on the sink, but before Luo Yang could stop him, Ye Gu had already put it in his mouth.

He frowned slightly and spoke incoherently: "What are you talking about?"

There was no way to remedy the situation. Luo Yang accepted his fate and pointed at the toothbrush in his hand with a look of despair, then looked at the toothbrush in Ye Gu's mouth.
His tone was heavy: "We took the wrong toothbrush."

Half a second later, Ye Gu took out the toothbrush in disbelief and rinsed his mouth very quickly. Luo Yang just looked at him quietly and rinsed his mouth many times.

She just looked at him leisurely, then smiled leisurely, "Boss Ye is so disgusted."

Ye Gu subconsciously wanted to nod, but when he realized something, he stopped abruptly and looked at her slowly. He wanted to say something, but Luo Yang left in a cool manner.

Ye Gu: “…”
He didn't mean it like that, it was just a knee-jerk reaction.

Because of this incident, when Ye Gu left, he couldn't find Luo Yang, but he saw the toothbrush again on the sink.

Then he saw a spectacular scene——
All toiletries, including towels and skin care products, were classified according to the names of the two people and placed in two boxes. Two printed name tags were attached to the front of the boxes: Ye Gu and Luo Yang.

There is even a smaller size label on the handle of the toothbrush.

The only thing missing is to draw a line in the mirror to divide it into two.

Cointreau International——
Xi Jinzhou couldn't stop laughing. After he finally recovered from his laughter, he looked at Ye Gu, who had a dejected look on his face, and felt resentful.

"So why did you mess with her? All women are like that."

Ye Gu insisted on his own opinion, "Humph, Luo Yang has never been like this before, don't use your tricks to speculate what happened to us today."

Xi Jinzhou didn't care much and nodded, "Okay, but Mr. Ye, if it were me, I would also think that you are showing disdain for me."

Ye Gu was amused and had something to say, "This is human nature. Isn't this what happens if you take someone else's toothbrush by mistake? This is a basic hygiene issue. You should stop misaligning the toothbrush."

Xi Jinzhou didn't say anything. After a while, he murmured, "But you are husband and wife now, not someone else."

It’s not someone else, it’s a couple.

Ye Gu was stunned and his hands curled up unconsciously, with veins on the back of his hands clearly visible.

Seeing that he was still stubborn, Xi Jinzhou stood up and patted his clothes, "Okay, then Mr. Ye, I'll leave first. After all, my crooked ways are not suitable for a decent person like you."

Before he could take a step, Ye Gu pinched the hem of Xi Jinzhou's shirt with two fingers.

His eyes were deep, and he said, "It's not a bad idea to do something unorthodox occasionally."

(End of this chapter)