rose ashes

The sudden voice made Ye Gu get down from his chair at once. He looked at Xi Jinzhou who was leisurely sitting opposite him and laughed out of anger.
"Okay, you're such a dog." After saying that, Ye Gu stood up and was about to leave.

Xi Jinzhou did not stop him. He just looked at the door with a smile on his face, muttering to himself and counting.
"3,"
"2,"
He put down the cup in his hand and walked over slowly.
"1."

Luo Yang was wearing a halter dress, standing at the door, looking at Ye Gu who wanted to escape with calm eyes.

Ye Gu's breathing stagnated for a moment, and he turned around and stared at Xi Jinzhou silently.
However, now he couldn't leave even if he wanted to. Xi Jinzhou just turned sideways with a smile in his tone.
"Now that you are here, come in and sit down."

In the living room, after Xi Jinzhou put down two glasses of water, he went to the study very consciously. Ye Gu and Luo Yang sat opposite each other. Luo Yang put the bag beside her on the sofa and looked up at Ye Gu.

Ye Gu pondered, still thinking about the awkward conversation on the phone just now.

“No contact.”

Ye Gu raised his eyes, with a suspicious look in his eyes: "Hmm?"

Luo Yang took a deep breath and continued, "I haven't had any contact with anyone in the UK. I only met Shen Fan by chance in the mall last time."

For a long time, Ye Gu did not respond.
Is she explaining to him? Ye Gu clasped his hands together and stared at the glass of clear water on the table.

"Then rent a house..."

Luo Yang understood and raised her eyebrows slightly: "I'm just helping out. It just so happens that Dr. Xi has an empty house here. It's not easy for him to be a fresh graduate. He can be considered a proud student of Ms. Yang."

Ye Gu curled his lips, and his joints made slight sounds.
"Oh."

Tsk, it’s still annoying. It seems that no matter what, Shen Fan and Luo Yang have an unbreakable relationship.

Luo Yang drank some water, looked around carelessly, and asked casually, "How many square meters is this house?"

"One hundred and sixty." Ye Gu naturally took over the question.

Luo Yang's eyes deepened, and he nodded, vaguely, as if regretful: "If he hadn't already found a house, then this would really be a good choice."

Ye Gu sneered, obviously still hostile to Shen Fan. Without even thinking, he said, "Is it because I rented the house to Shen Fan that I just fulfilled your wish?"

After saying this, Ye Gu always felt that something was not right.
! ! Damn! This house belongs to Xi Jinzhou now, why do you habitually say "I"!
There was a tsunami in his heart, but his face remained calm. He hoped that Luo Yang didn't hear it clearly, so he could gloss over it.

He didn't even dare to look up at her eyes. He just held the water and pretended to be calm, his eyes wandering around to hide the panic in his heart.

A minute later, Luo Yang said nothing. Ye Gu breathed a sigh of relief, feeling that he had escaped a disaster.

He shook the glass and said, "I'll go get some water."
Just as he walked past Luo Yang, he heard the sound of a water cup hitting the table behind him. A clear voice with a hint of emptiness said, "Are you finally willing to admit it?"

Ye Gu was stunned, closed his eyes in despair, took a deep breath through his nose, and sat back on the sofa.

Ye Gu guessed that Luo Yang didn't seem angry, but for some reason, he always felt something was weird, as if the aura around him was not right.
-
"So these two apartments have always been yours, right?"
-"yes."
-"Then why do you say it belongs to Xi Jinzhou?"
-"He was indeed living here at the time, so, well."
-"Then, on the day I was locked out of the Luo family, it was you who asked Xi Jinzhou to let me live here, right?"
There was silence for a moment, then the person on the other end nodded lightly, saying nothing in silent agreement.

Ye Gu thought, it's over, she must be angry, and just when he was about to explain and apologize, Luo Yang suddenly stood up.
The voice trembled barely perceptibly: "I'm going to the bathroom."

Ye Gu looked at her back in confusion, making random guesses alone in the living room.

When Xi Jinzhou came out, he saw Ye Gu sitting alone in the living room, and Luo Yang was nowhere to be found.

"Where are the people?" Xi Jinzhou pointed across.
Ye Gu looked towards the bathroom and shook his head.

"Did you make her angry?" Xi Jinzhou sat down next to him.
It would have been fine if he hadn't said it. As soon as Ye Gu said it, he wanted to beat him up. "It's all because of you. Now she knows that this house is mine. She also knows that I let her live here under your name. She must be mad at me for deceiving her."
If looks could materialize, Xi Jinzhou would have died by now with thousands of arrows piercing his heart.

Xi Jinzhou shrugged, "Sometimes I'm really curious about how you were the first one among us to get married."
Ye Gu's face darkened, "You scolded me, I can still hear it."
Xi Jinzhou nodded without commenting: "It's good that you know. I won't disturb you. I have something to do in the hospital. I'll leave first. You should think about how to solve the problem."
After saying that, he patted Ye Gu on the shoulder.

/ / /
Luo Yang in the mirror had unfathomable eyes as he stared straight at his reflection.
So the poetry collection she saw that day had Ye Gu's handwriting, so was he secretly helping her?
Why? Because of our friendship for so many years? Or is it just because he feels sorry for her?
Luo Yang's mind is very confused now, so confused that he can't stay in the same room with Ye Gu.
She was delighted but also very conflicted, conflicted about herself and about that mysterious tattoo. She didn't know when it started, but she wanted more and more, and became more and more greedy. She had clearly warned herself when she returned to China not to have extravagant expectations, because excessive expectations were the root of all pain.

But now, when it comes to his affairs, she always seems unable to maintain a sense of propriety and repeatedly makes dangerous moves that cross the line.

One lie requires countless lies to cover up, and eventually, there will be a day when she can no longer hide it.

"Luo Yang, are you okay?" Ye Gu saw that it was taking a long time, he was worried and knocked on the door.

Luo Yang took a deep breath and pushed the door open.
"I am fine."

Seeing that she didn't look fine, Ye Gu returned to the living room. Luo Yang took out two cufflinks from her bag and put them in Ye Gu's hands.
"You left it on the display cabinet in the cloakroom. I brought it to you because you should be able to use it."

Ye Gu suddenly grabbed her wrist, which was still slender.
Luo Yang raised his eyes to look at him, and Ye Gu murmured: "You don't look like you're okay at all."

Luo Yang's eyes dimmed for a moment, then quickly disappeared.
After a long pause, she said calmly, "Perhaps we should come to an agreement on how to get along with each other, to avoid conflicts like yesterday that are difficult to resolve."
Luo Yang's chestnut hair hangs down naturally, falling on her collarbone, complementing each other.

Ye Gu looked at her without any hesitation, "Okay, it's up to you."

The terms were not long and were quite routine. Ye Gu strongly requested for some time alone together for the two of them once a week. Luo Yang couldn't persuade him and had to agree. The terms ultimately stipulated that if anyone violated the rules, they would have to meet one of the other's requirements or pay a fine.

"Can the one about no reservations be deleted?" Luo Yang considered and wanted to look at Ye Gu.

"can."
Everyone has secrets. If she doesn't want to tell it now, he won't force her. He will wait until the day she wants to tell it.

Luo Yang was actually a little surprised that Ye Gu rarely asked the reason persistently. But then she thought about the tattoo and maybe it explained it. She had miscalculated. After all, no one is without secrets.

/ / /
The conflict caused by Shen Fan was over, and Luo Yang returned to his normal work routine.

But I always feel that something has changed from before.

After Luo Yang begged him to come, Sang Huai finally found some time to come. Standing in front of the villa he had never been to before, he frowned and asked, "Did you buy a house?"

Luo Yang laughed, but Tian Tian said, "How could that be? This is the birthday gift Aunt Li gave to Master Ye on his tenth birthday. But she has never been here before, so we are not very familiar with it."

Sang Huaiyu couldn't help but sigh: "This Young Master is not called for nothing."

"But how did you get the key?" Tian Tian knew that Ye Gu was the best at asking questions, and the possibility of hiding it from Ye Gu and giving him a surprise was almost zero.

Luo Yang smiled: "I didn't ask him. The key is with Aunt Li. I asked Aunt Li not to tell him."

Tian Tian suddenly realized that it was no wonder that the clingy young master did not follow her.

Although no one lives there, someone still comes to clean the house regularly, so the house is still spotless. Sang Huaiyu put the cake in Luo Yang's hand into the refrigerator.
"Ahe, don't you really feel tired?" Luo Yang turned around and looked at Sang Huaiyu who was standing in the kitchen and staring at her, her eyes moved.

She smiled lightly and jokingly, "I'm tired. There are so many balloons."

Sang Huaiyu sighed, "You know that's not what I'm talking about."
Luo Yang was silent, concentrating on playing with the balloon in his hand. Tian Tian, ​​who always spoke her mind, looked at Sang Huaiyu and shook her head.

The three of them tacitly agreed not to mention Luo Yang's concerns anymore.

Luo Yang suddenly remembered something and asked, "Did you know that Ye Gu has a tattoo?"
Tian Tian didn't even think about it, "I know, isn't it just that he has a deep scar there——"

Halfway through her speech, Tian Tian realized what she had said and suddenly shut up, but it was already too late.

Luo Yang's eyebrows were serious, "Why is there a scar?"

Tian Tian wrung her hands, hesitating whether to speak or not. She softened a little under Luo Yang's gaze and finally let go.
He sighed and said, "It's nothing, actually. It's just a herniated disc. Because I've been sitting for a long time, it's too serious and I have no choice but to have surgery."

"Aunt Li Yan said that when he first started the company, he was in meetings and working day and night, often working non-stop. Then one day he became paralyzed and couldn't stand up, so he was hospitalized."

"I also heard it when I went to their house for dinner. It seems that not many people know about it because he feels embarrassed and won't let anyone tell. If he knew that I told you, I would be finished, so Ah He, you must not tell anyone."

Sitting for a long time... How long does one have to sit for it to become that serious?
Luo Yang couldn't think of it.

Tian Tian pouted, "I guess he got the tattoo because he was afraid that the scar would be too ugly. In any case, I think it's normal for men to have some scars."

Luo Yang didn't hear clearly what Tian Tian said next. He just sat on the sofa in a daze with his phone in his hand.

Her conversation with Ye Gu was still stuck on the topic of the day they had the argument.

Luo Yang: Are you busy tonight?
The reply was very fast, with almost no time interval.
Ye Gu: Not busy, what’s wrong?
Luo Yang: [Location] Can you come here at 7 o'clock in the evening?
Ye Gu took a look. Isn’t this the villa where the two of them burned down the kitchen when they were little? He curled the corners of his lips and replied: Okay, wait for me.

On the other side, Liu Min called several times: "Boss Ye, Boss Ye, is there anything else that needs to be improved in this plan?"
There was no response. Ye Gu was just seen with his head down, not knowing what he was doing.

There was silence in the conference room, and all eyes were focused on Ye Gu.

Liu Min swallowed awkwardly, "Mr. Ye, Mr. Ye?"
Ye Gu finally came back to his senses. When he looked up, his eyes were still gentle, which scared everyone in the meeting room and made them dare not speak.

After a long while, he just snapped his fingers and said, "Passed, let's do it."
He turned to look at Liu Min, "Tell Uncle Liu to come over, take the ring I bought last time, and go back home."

Ye Gu stood up from his chair, without even turning his head, and walked out of the meeting room, leaving a group of people looking at each other in bewilderment.

Liu Min was already used to it, and said very skillfully: "Everyone, let's adjourn the meeting. Just do as Mr. Ye asked just now. Mr. Ye is going back to see his wife now, so you don't have to work overtime."

Everyone: "..."
It's not a big problem, it's basic operation and can be understood.

/ / /
Ye Gu returned home, changed his clothes, and started heading towards the location.

In the car——
Uncle Liu saw Ye Gu’s clothes in the rearview mirror and laughed heartily.
"Young Master, this outfit is really youthful! It's a bit like the time when I sent you to school."

A white sweatshirt and black casual pants were what Ye Gu often wore during his school days. Uncle Liu was more familiar with his daily routine than anyone else.

Ye Gu chuckled, "I haven't worn this in a long time."
Now, apart from a suit and tie, he must wear a shirt and trousers, and he is required to dress like this in almost all occasions.

Uncle Liu smiled meaningfully: "The young lady will definitely like it, but does the young master remember what day it is today?"

Ye Gu pondered for a moment, "What day? Ah He's birthday isn't in June."

Uncle Liu didn't say anything, just shook his head, "Nothing, it's just that the weather is very good today, suitable for gathering with friends."

When the light turned red, Ye Gu opened the velvet black box, and the perfectly cut yellow diamond inside appeared in his eyes.
He gently stroked the edge of the box with his fingertips, and the corners of his mouth rose slightly.

/ / /
"Is this true? So he really wasn't scratched by a cat?"
"So did you really get him a rabies vaccine?" Bian Yao was so excited when he heard the gossip.
Xi Jinzhou pushed his face away and said, "What do you think? It's just a show. The young master said that Luo Yang must not know."

Li Huai didn't understand. "No, why not just say that she scratched you? Why do you have to say that it was a cat scratching you? Why do you have to go to the hospital every time?"

Mo Chen rarely spoke, and his words were sharp: "It's not your fault that you are single. Doctor Xi has already said that Luo Yang is worried and accompanies me every time. Why do you think so?"
Li Huai suddenly realized and admitted defeat: "Okay, he is still the coolest."

Everyone in the room was chatting happily and no one noticed the figure that quickly disappeared outside the door.

When Ye Gu arrived, it was still two minutes before seven o'clock. When he got off the bus, he didn't see anyone and even the lights were not on.
He stared for a moment and got out of the car.

I pushed open the door at the front yard fence and called Luo Yang's name as I walked, but no one responded.

Just as he reached the door and was about to push it open, several people suddenly appeared and stopped him.
"Hi Master, long time no see, I missed you so much!"

Ye Gu glanced at Tian Tian with disdain, "But I don't miss you, let me in."

Although Bian Yao and Tian Tian don't get along, they are now a united front after all, and their goal is to delay Ye Gu.

"Master, please wait a moment. Let's chat for a while. Don't be in a hurry."

Ye Gu pushed away his hand on her shoulder and brushed her shoulder, "Stop it, where did you hide her?"

Bian Yao waved his hand, "How dare we? Master, just wait a little longer."

Ye Gu was about to break in when suddenly all the lights in the yard lit up in an instant. In the dark night, the star-like lights twinkled, colorful and dazzling.

Ye Gu was stunned and unable to react.

A soft and clear voice came from the room, singing Happy Birthday.

Ye Gu just looked at Luo Yang holding a not-so-big cake, on which were most of the residents of the Hundred Acre Forest.
In the candlelight, her face seemed to be covered with soft light. The mole on the tip of her nose was captivating. When her thin lips moved, Ye Gu was mesmerized.

I never noticed before, but Luo Yang's lips are so beautiful.

Her moist eyes blinked gently, her eyelashes fluttered like butterflies, and she smiled brightly and said to him, "Agu, happy birthday!"

(End of this chapter)