Re-engraving the Spring - Chapter 58

On the other hand, Lu Ming arrived at about the same time as the designated driver.

Lu Ming got out of the car, wearing a suit for working, with a straight posture, looking very eye-catching under the street lights. Obviously, Chi Qiu was not at home today to wait for him to have dinner, so he stayed at the company to work overtime. The current appearance should be that after receiving a call from Chi Lanyan, he came directly from the company to pick up a certain someone.

After hearing his voice, Chi Qiu raised his head in surprise: “Lu Ming?”

Chi Lanyan squeezed Chi Qiu’s hand and said reassuringly, “I called him to come. I’m a little drunk today, so I won’t send you home.” Her attitude towards Lu Ming was much gentler, and for the first time she had the meaning of being close: “Lu Ming, you take care of Xiao Qiu, I’ll go first.”

She stepped on her heels and got into the car, leaving the overwhelmed Chi Qiu and the expressionless Lu Ming to get along.

Lu Ming stepped forward and held Chi Qiu’s hand.

Chi Qiu’s palm was warm, and he said apologetically, “You’re busy today, right? Sorry, my mother was drunk and called you here…The next time this happens you just refuse her. We can call for a designated driver, or I can take a taxi back.”

“Not too busy. There is still time to pick you up.”

Lu Ming didn’t say much before leading Chi Qiu into the car.

As usual, after Lu Ming fastened the belt, he sat in the driver’s seat.

Not long after the car started, Chi Qiu opened his lips hesitantly, as if he had a lot to say. But he didn’t want to disturb Lu Ming’s driving, and was considering whether to put it off until some time later.

It was Lu Ming who noticed his small movements and was the first to ask, “How was your chat with Dr. Luo?”

“We had a good time chatting. Auntie Luo is as funny as ever.” Chi Qiu said excitedly, “By the way, do you know who was the person who accompanied Auntie Luo at ‘Quyuan Nanfeng’ last time?”

“I don’t know.”

“It’s a big star named Luo Xu.”

Lu Ming raised his eyebrows subconsciously, not understanding why the people around him were talking about Luo Xu recently. In the company today, too, during the meeting, everyone agreed that Luo Xu was the most suitable spokesperson. Xu Ling tried his best to persuade him and even gave him an analysis of the pros and cons.

“…” Lu Ming didn’t answer.

Chi Qiu kept talking about the experience just now: “He is actually Auntie Luo’s nephew. Luo Xu’s partner is also a man, just like us. His partner’s name is Bai Yan, he was also a star before, then retired from the circle…”

Lu Ming drove the car, listening to Chi Qiu chatter for a long time.

It could be seen that Chi Qiu’s mood was high now and he was very excited.

Lu Ming thought he was chasing stars and asked, “Do you like them?”

“No.” Speaking of this, Chi Qiu was a little hesitant. He was afraid that Lu Ming would laugh at him, so he twisted for a while and said with a blushing face, “Because both Bai Yan and Luo Xu greeted me.”

Lu Ming glanced at his blushing cheeks, with a puzzled expression: “So?”

Chi Qiu laughed at himself and said embarrassingly: “Because I can’t see, many people who don’t know well won’t greet me alone. But Bai Yan called me just now and talked to me a lot. He was very warm to me! Although Luo Xu didn’t talk to me, he waved at me, I think they are very good people.”

Because he was too excited, Chi Qiu made a slip of the tongue.

He immediately fell silent, but fortunately Lu Ming didn’t notice his slip of the tongue. Chi Qiu took the initiative to explain with lingering fears, “It was my mother who told me that Luo Xu waved to me.”

No one liked to be ignored, and the word ‘ignore’ was a normal existence in Chi Qiu’s life.

Maybe it was a pretty good night at the moment, so Chi Qiu felt very beautiful looking at everything.

A dinner when he learned of old things, a sudden greeting, a companion who took him home intimately, a take-out dessert that could be shared with each other; each and every one of them leaving Chi Qiu with lingering memories.

The night breeze was cold. Chi Qiu rolled down the car window a little, letting the air pour in and blow his hair into a mess.

Even without drinking, Chi Qiu’s state seemed to be slightly drunk.

The car was driven slower by Lu Ming, trying to make the evening breeze milder.

Chi Qiu noticed Lu Ming’s actions and let out a laugh, causing Lu Ming to be confused.

“Have you been drinking tonight?” Lu Ming asked.

Chi Qiu shook his head and fell silent. He remembered what Luo Yun said about the past; thinking of how hard Lu Ming had tried to get to know himself, his whole heart became swollen, stuffing his otherwise empty body.

Chi Qiu’s visible joy in the small space gradually spread to Lu Ming.

Lu Ming thought for a while and asked him, “You really think Luo Xu is a good person?”

“En, very.”

In light of this statement from Chi Qiu, Lu Ming pondered deeply and decided to treat his project rationally and put aside his prejudice against Luo Xu.

That night, Lu Ming sent a message to Xu Ling: [The cooperation negotiation with Luo Xu, I’ll leave it to you.]

Xu Ling replied in seconds: [Okay, Mr. Lu!]

Coincidentally, Lu Ming only allowed Xu Ling to negotiate this night, and within two days, the cooperation was negotiated. The other party, as a sign of apology for the previous incident, sincerely signed a contract for an additional online live broadcast session.

The cooperation between each other went very smoothly. During Luo Xu’s filming of the promotional materials, Lu Ming pretended to visit the class under Xu Ling’s reminder.

Luo Xu, who had a very good memory, recognized Lu Ming at a glance.

Luo Xu never thought that Lu Ming, the president of this company that worked with him, would have the same identity as Lu Ming the Chi Qiu’s partner. At first, Luo Xu thought it was the same name…Now, he took the first step to reach out and greet: “Hello, Mr. Lu, we met last time.”

Lu Ming held Luo Xu’s hand without smiling: “Yes, in ‘Quyuan Nanfeng’. Mr. Luo, it’s a pleasure to cooperate.”

Luo Xu’s agent had information from all over the world. He had heard about Lu Ming as a person and had long known about the relationship between Lu Ming and Elder Lu. He saw that the two knew each other, and in line with his professional habits, after getting Lu Ming’s permission, he happily took a group photo of them, ready to be released in Luo Xu’s business updates afterwards.

Lu Ming regarded this unnecessary group photo as part of his work and did not object. He didn’t speak much, and there was no superfluous expression on his face.

But after a long time, Lu Ming ended the conversation with Luo Xu in a few words. Like going through a process, Lu Ming quickly left the shooting scene.

The agent stood beside Luo Xu and said in a low voice, “Why does he look like he has facial paralysis…Look at this photo, those who don’t know will think he was forced.”

Luo Xu cleared his throat: “Don’t talk nonsense, work.”

The agent had been with Luo Xu for many years and had already figured out Luo Xu’s temperament, so he didn’t joke at work knowingly.

Luo Xu’s shooting place was not inside the company, Lu Ming came out and got into a company’s car with Xu Ling.

Xu Ling sat on the passenger side and Lu Ming sat in the back seat.

In the sweltering heat, the driver turned down the temperature of the air conditioner. Lu Ming closed his eyes and rested. The inside of the car was so quiet that you could only hear the sound of the car driving, as well as the road and the occasional sound of a few honks.

On a summer afternoon, there were not many vehicles traveling. Lu Ming took a deep breath, picked up his phone and glanced at it before taking a nap, and found there was a missed call. Generally speaking, as long as the mobile phone was around, Lu Ming would not miss the call. He glanced at the number carefully, but he didn’t remember it, probably the wrong number.

Unfortunately, this number was not from a stranger. Within a minute, Lu Ming received a text message from this very number: [Long time no see, this is Xia Zhiyan].

In an instant, the cicadas from the past rang in Lu Ming’s ears.

Lu Ming stared at the screen for some time, and then, surprisingly, he lightly locked the phone screen, with no intention to reply.

So, ten minutes later, Xia Zhiyan’s text message came again: [I’m afraid you’re busy, so it’s not good to call you during working hours. Can you reply to me when you are free? I’m back home too. I want to meet you. ]

Lu Ming looked at Xia Zhiyan’s words and replied bluntly: [How did you get my number?]

Xia Zhiyan replied: [I am now working as a fashion designer, and one of my customers knows you. He gave me your business card. A while ago, I also met your uncle and realized that you didn’t tell them about the wrong things I did. Lu Ming, I am very grateful to you and I am sorry for the wrong things I did back then. I want to see you once, is it okay?]

Lu Ming did not forget Xia Zhiyan. Even after many years, he could still think of Xia Zhiyan’s pair of eyes.

Very similar to Chi Qiu’s.

Suddenly, Lu Ming’s heart startled, and his brain was aching.

In the memory, Xia Zhiyan’s eyes and Chi Qiu’s eyes overlapped.

Lu Ming blurted out, “Chi Qiu?”

Xu Ling, who was sitting in the passenger seat, didn’t hear clearly. Thinking that Lu Ming said something important, he hurriedly turned around: “Mr. Lu, what did you say?”

Lu Ming didn’t answer, he was already prepared for his headache symptoms. He immediately took out the regular medicine from the storage box in the car, peeled off the tin foil, and swallowed it.

Xu Ling had been with Lu Ming for a while and he was no stranger to this situation, so he handed over a bottle of water. Lu Ming raised his head and took two sips. He lowered his head and saw the prompt on his phone; they were still a series of messages from Xia Zhiyan: [Are you still blaming me? Lu Ming, I was young and ignorant at that time, I want to apologize to you.]

[I really know it was wrong, I have something to say to you.]

[Lu Ming, give me one more chance. You used to be so good to me…]

This was the last text message.

Lu Ming finally remembered that Xia Zhiyan’s eyes were indeed very similar to Chi Qiu’s. From the first time he saw Xia Zhiyan abroad, this person overlapped with Chi Qiu, whom he remembered deeply.

The only difference was that there was sincerity hidden in Chi Qiu’s eyes, and the long eyelashes were very beautiful, like the stars shaking down in the spring night, bringing people infinite tenderness.

And what Xia Zhiyan hid in his eyes was the ambition behind the spring day. He fascinated people’s eyes with flowers, but when the other party was not aware of it, the dagger was inserted into the heart of others, turning it into an irritable chirping sound.

He once stole a design draft that Lu Ming kept in the attic. It was Lu You’s drawing before her death, and it was also Lu Ming’s biggest taboo.

The author has something to say: Not a stand-in, don’t get me wrong.