12dz Chapter 916: Grandpa is Not Hungry
Chapter 916: Grandpa is Not Hungry
In the bedroom of the Teng family villa, the curtains were drawn tightly, letting in only a few rays of dim light.
After being sent back by the security guards, Teng Zijing had been in a coma for a day and a night. At this moment, his brows were furrowed, as if he was trapped in a long dream.
In the dream, it was the day I reported to university. The cicadas were chirping noisily and the air was filled with the scent of camphor trees.
As soon as he came out of the bathroom, he was bumped by a panicked figure and almost fell to the ground.
I looked up to see who it was, but I only caught a glimpse of a figure with a ponytail running to the men's restroom.
I was so angry that I was about to chase him into the bathroom to argue, but I was blocked at the door.
The person blocking the way was Qiu Beichen, who was half a head taller than him. There were a few boys at the door, who also looked eager to try and looked at him with some ill intentions in their eyes.
At that time, he didn't know Qiu Beichen yet, and he just felt that the other party had bad intentions.
After a brief hesitation, he decided not to confront the opponent head-on and walked away angrily.
The dream suddenly shifted to a university classroom. He dozed off on his desk, the sun shining through the window onto his back, making him feel drowsy.
Suddenly, a clear fragrance drifted over, like grass after rain mixed with a hint of woody fragrance.
He opened his eyes drowsily and followed the scent - An Yi was walking past him and sitting in a row of seats.
The fragrance was so tempting that he couldn't help but sniff a few more times, his eyes glued to her.
An Yu seemed to have noticed it. She turned around and glared at him. Without saying a word, she turned around and took out her notes and books.
He watched more intently, with a sly smile on his face, and sniffed, "What a nice smell!
There is a beauty, whom I never forget after seeing her. If I don’t see her for a day, I miss her like crazy. The phoenix flies high in the sky, and people search for her all over the world. But the beauty is not by the east wall…”
"Bang!" A thick book suddenly hit his face with great force.
Teng Zijing suddenly jumped up and looked at the book that fell on the table in a daze - it was a scientific research work with complex formulas printed on the cover.
"What are you looking at?" An Yu frowned, her tone filled with anger and annoyance, "Why don't you return it to me quickly?"
He picked up the book with both hands, suddenly grinned, and sat down again.
He took out a lipstick from his backpack. He didn't know which girl had left it there.
She unscrewed the lid, smeared it on her lips a few times, and then with a "smack", a crooked red lip print was printed on the cover of the book.
"Here, I'll give it back to you." He handed the book over, his eyes full of pride at having pulled off a successful prank.
An Yu's face flushed red, and she looked at the lip print with a look as if she had seen something dirty.
He grabbed the book and threw it into the trash can next to him. He then took a tissue from his seat and wiped his fingers carefully with disgust.
"Hey!" Teng Zijing quickly fished the book out of the trash can, wiped it with his sleeve, and held it in his arms like a treasure. "If you don't want it, I want it."
He raised his eyes to look at An Yu and kissed her gently next to the lip print again, leaving a faint overlapping lip print. "It's mine."
An Yi was so angry that she rolled up a tissue and threw it at him. He dodged it with a smile, but his heart seemed to be entangled by the fragrance, itchy and sweet.
In the bedroom, Teng Zijing's eyelashes trembled slightly, the corners of his lips curled up slightly, and a faint smile filled the corners of his eyes.
Teng Zijing's dream was like a crumpled old newspaper, with blurred words but sharp edges.
He began to miss her uncontrollably and felt restless if he couldn't see her for a class.
She would carelessly tear open the letters handed to her by her classmates, and sometimes even read them out loud in front of everyone.
Every word of her heartfelt confession drew a burst of laughter, but amid the crowd's discussions, he stared at her slightly raised chin, feeling sad and bitter in his heart.
Later it was discovered that she was always hanging out in the library, and Qiu Beichen was often by her side.
I heard that she has been supporting Qiu Beichen's tuition and even the raw materials for his research projects.
He rushed to the school leader's office in a rage, slammed the table, and took responsibility for all the funding and supply of scientific research resources - he wanted her to see that he could give much more than others.
But An Yu just glanced at him calmly and said that she had already made an appointment.
Turning around, she took Qiu Beichen's arm and walked around for the whole day. The two of them walked side by side on the tree-lined avenue.
The display of affection they showed while dining together in a restaurant and feeding each other was like a thorn in his eyes.
My memories after that became confused. I only remember that on the way back to school that night,
Several drunkards stopped them, and when fists and kicks landed on Qiu Beichen, he almost instinctively rushed forward to rescue the two.
He also brought the two back to his residence and took out a medicine box to help Qiu Beichen treat his injuries.
Qiu Beichen saw Teng Zijing's ruffian look and his cold words ignited his pent-up anger like a spark.
In the chaos, he only remembered that he was like a wild beast out of control, and did something that he would never forget.
Qiu Beichen's frustrated crying at the door of Teng Zijing's bedroom was like a sledgehammer that made his ears ring.
The next day, the wind on the rooftop of the teaching building was very strong. When he arrived,
All I saw was the glaring red downstairs, and An Yu's eyes filled with fear and despair as she fell.
In the dream, he sent everyone to search for her in Kuncheng like crazy, but all he got was "no news".
He locked himself in the room, with wine bottles piled up like a mountain, and Qiu Beichen lying in a pool of blood.
The look in An Yu's eyes before she fainted kept replaying in my mind like a kaleidoscope, and I couldn't get rid of it.
In the bedroom, the old man sat quietly beside the bed, watching the smile on his grandson's face fade away little by little, his brows twisted into a knot, and pain flooded over his face like a tide.
The next second, tears slid from the corners of her eyes and quickly soaked the pillowcase. The suppressed sobbing mixed with the sound of the wind outside the window was particularly heartbreaking.
The old man looked at his grandson's hands, which were tightly clutching the quilt with white knuckles, and reached out his hand with eyes full of heartache, gently holding it.
The rough palm, carrying the warmth accumulated over the years, slowly soothed Teng Zijing's tense fingertips.
Teng Zijing felt a hint of warmth in the chaos, and his dream suddenly turned to another place -
On New Year's Eve, he held An Yu's hand and ran out of the Grand Mercure Hotel. The wind lifted her hair and also blew the heat from his chest.
He pulled her into the car and sped all the way to the end of the track, the roar of the engine drowning out his heartbeat.
She looked into his eyes, without resentment, only a silent lake.
But in that lake, he saw the paranoia and desolation that had characterized his seven years.
"Xiaoyou, I love you." He murmured unconsciously, his voice as soft as a sigh.
The old man beside the bed heard this dream talk, his eyes became hot, and he held his hand tighter.
He called softly, "Zijing... Zijing... My dear grandson, wake up..."
But the gears of the dream are still turning. The scene switches to Yu Fei's restaurant, where An Yu is sitting opposite him.
There was no expression on his face, and his tone was flat as if he was talking about someone else: "Zijing, I don't need your help.
Three years... If there is still no improvement after three years, I will return the notarized marriage property agreement to you."
Teng Zijing sat there, feeling that all the blood in his body was rushing to his head, and then froze into ice in the next second.
He wanted to refute and roar, but his throat seemed to be blocked. He could only stand up trembling all over and move out of Yu Fei's house step by step.
The moment the door closed behind him, he seemed to hear the sound of his heart breaking.
In the bedroom, Teng Zijing's hand twitched slightly in the old man's palm, his brows furrowed even tighter, and fine beads of cold sweat oozed from his forehead.
The moonlight from outside the window shone through the gaps in the curtains, falling on his pale face, reflecting the indelible pain.
Teng Zijing suddenly opened his eyes, his chest heaving violently. He subconsciously grasped the old man's warm hand, and a quick cry escaped from his throat: "Xiaoyu!"
The moment his vision focused, he could see clearly his grandfather sitting beside the bed. The cold sweat on his forehead slid down his cheeks and soaked his temples.
The anxiety brought from the dream had not faded yet, he looked at the old man,
A trace of confusion flashed across his face, and then turned into deep disappointment. He called out softly, "Grandpa..."
The old man patted the back of his hand and said gently, "Are you having a nightmare? You haven't eaten all day. Are you hungry? I'll ask the kitchen to bring you some porridge."
Teng Zijing shook his head, propped himself up and tried to sit up, his tone a little self-deprecating: "I'm not hungry, Grandpa. I'll go wash up. I'm sorry to have embarrassed you."
"Is it Miss An Yu who is looking for you and wants you to help the An family?" The old man looked at the red bloodshot in his eyes and asked softly.
Teng Zijing's shoulders slumped, and he shook his head again, his voice filled with deep disappointment.
"No, she didn't let me get involved. Maybe the public opinion outside put too much pressure on her.
Actually, those gossips are nothing, but Xiaoyu... just can't bring herself to do it."
He paused, his Adam's apple rolling, "She said, give her three years.
If Antai still hasn't improved after three years, she will return the notarized agreement on post-marital property to me."
After listening to this, the old man was silent for a moment, then reached out and gently patted his shoulder:
"Grandpa respects your choice. But Zijing, sometimes, life doesn't have to be taken too seriously.
If you hold on to some things too tightly, you will only tire yourself out and it's not worth it."
Teng Zijing didn't say anything, he just lifted the quilt, got out of bed, walked to the window and opened the curtains.
It was already dark outside, and the lights of the city flickered in the distance, just like his chaotic mood at the moment.
He knew that his grandfather was doing this for his own good, but the obsession in his heart that refused to let go was like it had taken root and could not be pulled out.
Teng Zijing looked at the neon lights on the tall buildings in the distance. Those bright spots of light were like broken stars, flickering in the night.
He took a deep breath, and the depression in his chest seemed to be blown away by the night breeze. He turned to the old man and said:
"Grandpa, your birthday is this Sunday, right? Let me take care of it."
The old man looked at his grandson's straight back, and the depression in his eyes dissipated a lot.
He regained his usual agility, a smile suddenly spread across his face, and the wrinkles at the corners of his eyes smoothed out: "Okay, don't be too ostentatious."
He thought for a moment and added, "Come to think of it, I haven't seen Jiang Shuo for a while, and I miss him a lot.
Why don't you invite Mu Xiaoji, Jiang Chengyu and the others to come over to your house for a simple meal? It will be more lively with more people."
Teng Zijing raised the corner of his mouth with a bright arc, and responded readily:
"No problem, I'll take care of it all. I'll make sure your birthday is lively and exciting, yet low-key."
The old man smiled and nodded, and as he watched his grandson turn around and go wash up, the worry in his heart finally came to an end.
The neon lights outside the window are still flickering, but the lights in the bedroom are warm and solid, as if foreshadowing that some depression will always slowly dissipate in such a homely atmosphere.