Time Passed Us By - Chapter 13

The neighborhood was ablaze with lights. The orange glow, the incandescent lamps’ brightness, and the television’s ever-changing colorful lights reflected on every household’s windows.

Song Jianan sat on the sofa and called her aunt, “Song Rui is at my house. Alas, it is normal for children to be in a bad mood. Think about it. She gets up at 5:30 every morning and doesn’t go home until 12:00 noon. She has to go to class before 2:30. She doesn’t come back until 11:00 from the evening self-study. How many hours is that? Not to mention that the child is in a bad mood, even if we adults have to work overtime for a while, even when we have so many complaints in our hearts, you still have to understand her.”

The other side sighed, “Jianan, I’m just a little anxious. Song Rui is already a little sly girl, and now she has a lot of crooked ideas in her belly. How can she be as obedient and sensible as you were back then? Now she is in the second year of high school and will soon be in the third!”

She hurriedly explained, “Children are always a little playful, I was too at that time. Don’t worry, I will have a good talk with Song Rui this time, I am an experienced person, and I can understand her feelings better. “

“Okay, by the way, Jianan, your grandfather’s birthday banquet will be held tomorrow, did you know?”

Song Jianan was at a loss, “I didn’t know, my parents didn’t tell me.”

“Look at your parents’ memory, the two of them are in important positions now, and the nobles forget things easily. Tomorrow night at 7 o’clock, Jinbitang, don’t forget it, your uncle and I will leave straight away and let Song Rui take the bus.”

The nobles indeed forget things easily, even Xi Luoyu’s matter was completely forgotten, she hurriedly found a notebook to write it down, so as not to be infected with familial amnesia, “Okay, I’m off tomorrow, I can pick up Song Rui then.”

She put down the phone, pushed the door open, and saw the little girl lying on the desk indifferently and dazed. She coughed twice, “Song Rui, come back to your senses, stop mourning your dead love.”

Song Rui took two deep breaths, her voice hoarse, “I really met the wrong person.”

Song Jianan wanted to laugh, but she forced herself to hold it in for the sake of the child’s dignity, “Okay, that boy has no taste. Do you know the things you must do after a breakup? Wash your face after crying, eat big, play big, and then be determined to work hard. When one day you step on the man who dumped you, you win.”

“Really? I would feel so satisfied to step on the man who rejected me. By the way, sister, I thought of you first when I was heartbroken. In exchange, you have to tell me something. “

She made a  “Yeah” sound, “What is it?”

Song Rui sighed, “Do you have a boy you like? When you were my age, did you have a premature love?”

The bright and gentle lights of the desk lamp and computer melted into the air and were disrupted into irregular dots by tiny dust particles, like strands of fine sand, spreading a halo in front of her eyes. She smiled, “I actually also liked a boy in high school, who was about the same age as you, in the second year of high school.”

“Then what?” Song Rui asked impatiently.

“It’s ridiculous to tell others. He was not in the same class as me. I noticed him unconsciously by many coincidences. I felt happy when I saw him every day. One day, I saw him with another girl. I felt very uncomfortable and decided to distance myself from him slowly. Then, my feelings gradually faded.” She thought for a while and continued, “I understand your feelings. First love is usually the most beautiful because you give the other person the most perfect ideal in your mind. But when you grow up and meet all kinds of people, you will understand the meaning of that relationship to you.”

Song Rui’s hand gently grasped the corner of her clothes and asked softly, “What? What’s the meaning?”

“It seems like it’s just a ridiculous dream. There’s nothing after waking up. It may also be a lifetime of nostalgia.”

Song Rui nodded, not quite understanding, “It seems like I’m starting to think it’s a ridiculous dream now. It’s really strange.”

Song Jianan understood, “Little friend, so you’re still very young. Let’s talk about love later.”

Song Rui washed her face and sat obediently at the desk to read. Song Jianan hugged the computer and lay on the sofa. MSN and QQ both showed busy status. Originally, she wanted to ask Fang Yanyan about how Zhou Yu tortured him today, but he was not there either, so she had to type drafts in a depressed mood.

She just felt a little upset. Those past events, told from her mouth in another posture, not only did she not feel relieved, but even heavier. She did not tell Song Rui the whole story. That story was only the first part, an insignificant part.

Suddenly, the sound of “beep beep” from QQ pulled her out of her memories. The unfamiliar avatar jumped. She clicked it and saw that it was the “July Field” account that had not been deleted. A line of words popped up, “Didn’t you say you were on duty at the newspaper office? You actually have the leisure to go online.”

Heh, he must have mistaken her for that kid Fang Yanyan. She quickly replied, “Sorry, Fang Yanyan doesn’t use this account now. He gave me this QQ.”

The other party quickly responded, “Hehe, sorry to bother you. I’d like to ask, who are you?”

Song Jianan thought about it and replied with a conservative identity, “I am his colleague in the newspaper. He lent me his QQ number temporarily for the convenience of contact.”

There was silence for a long time, and then a smiley face popped up, “So that’s how it is. Sorry to bother you.”

Song Jianan smiled, but couldn’t think of anything to reply, so she closed the dialog box and continued to write. Then she thought about it and changed her account signature to, “The country has changed, the QQ number has changed. If you want to contact me, please use GPRS positioning.”

She wrote four words in her personal description, “Shallow love, deep love”, she didn’t know why, it just came to her mind in an instant.

In the morning, she sent Song Rui out, and then fell asleep. She was awakened by the ringing of her cell phone before nine o’clock. She was dizzy and struggled for a long time before getting out of bed. “Hello, this is Song Jianan. Who are you looking for?”

A steady middle-aged male voice came out, “Looking for Song Jianan.”

“Oh, wait a minute–” She answered in a daze, and then unconsciously looked at the caller ID. There were three big words on it–Director Zhang. Song Jianan woke up immediately, and her voice became crisp and pleasant. “Director, it’s me.”

The director of the entertainment section is a very intellectual literary worker in his forties. He doesn’t talk much at ordinary times, but he is very knowledgeable when talking about the policies and guidelines of literary and artistic publishing. He is a typical large newspaper group, the mouthpiece of the party, and the leader of social public opinion. Therefore, the entertainment section is much higher in grade and taste than those gossip magazines, but it is also relatively boring.

The director on the other side spoke slowly, “Xiao Song, are you used to our department after just being transferred?”

In the broad daylight, on a day off, he called just to ask her how she felt about coming to the new department. Song Jianan didn’t believe it and verbally agreed, “Director, you are worried for nothing. The entertainment section is pretty active. I feel very used to it. It’s not bad.”

“Oh, feeling not bad is great. Haha, let me tell you something about work. There will be an international book exhibition in Guangzhou the day after tomorrow. Many famous people from home and abroad will be there. Last time, Mr. Liu Xinwu did not arrange an interview time with us, so it was changed to this time. I just looked at it and asked Editor-in-Chief Zhang to go with you. “

Song Jianan blinked, not daring to imagine such a good thing falling on her head, and quickly agreed, “No problem, Director, I will go to the newspaper office in the afternoon to prepare the necessary materials.”

After hanging up the phone, she immediately wanted to call her college friend Xu Yan, but when she looked at the time, she was probably recording a program, so she sent her a message, saying that she was going to Guangzhou for an interview, and Xu Yan would take care of her food, clothing, housing, and transportation.

It was not until noon that she received the call. The two laughed at each other and chatted until the afternoon. Song Jianan went to the newspaper office to get the information, looked at the itinerary with Editor-in-Chief Zhang, and went to the social news to gossip with her former colleagues for a long time. Finally, she went to the school and took Song Rui to the hotel. Only then did she feel that her life was extremely busy and fulfilling.

The Song family is a family of scholars, so even though they don’t have much power, they are still very prestigious. Grandpa Song is a university professor, director of the Economic Law Research Office, and director of the Competition Law and Intellectual Property Law Research Center. All of the people he brought up are top lawyers in the fields of economic law and corporate law, including Xi Luoyu, of course.

The so-called elites are those who can laugh and talk at any time. Xi Luoyu smiled calmly in the midst of the resentment and anger of the crowd, and was not surprised by praise or criticism. “Nine strips, I won by myself, Song Rui, put another strip on your face.”

Song Rui angrily dipped the small white paper in tea and put it on her forehead with a “bang”, without any ambiguity. Song Jianan didn’t know how to play mahjong, and was bored watching from the side, so she took a marker from Song Rui’s schoolbag. She originally planned to practice signing, and when the major media reporters had to sign in at the book exhibition, she would also learn to play like a star. But then, Xi Luoyu adjusted his glasses and pointed to the small white strips scattered on the table, “Song Jianan, here’s a place for you to show your talents.”

Song Rui reacted first, and the air from his nose “gurgled” and flipped the paper on his forehead. She gritted her teeth and shouted, “Damn it, Xiao Xi, you are too impure. How can you mess with us with your dirty thoughts? Sister Jianan, don’t wear the same pants with him.”

Song Jianan suddenly realized, “Oh, I understand, hehe.” She reached out and took the stack of small notes, weighed it, and asked Xi Luoyu, “Is this little enough? I’m afraid it won’t be enough for you.”

Xi Luoyu laughed, “Haha, how do I know, this is not a question of whether it is enough, but a question of whether it can be used.”

Another college boy at the same table with them was depressed when he heard this and angrily pushed the mahjong tiles, ” Don’t be zhuangbility, zhuangbility leads to leibility. “

Song Jianan and Song Rui were confused. Xi Luoyu smiled slightly, slowly touched the cards in her hand, and gently uttered the authentic British accent, “Many people think they are full of niubility and like to play zhuangbility, which only reflects their shability.”

This time Song Jianan understood, but she looked stunned as if struck by lightning. Others also reacted one after another and laughed. Song Rui was very curious, “Sister Jianan, what are you talking about?”

“Xi Luoyu, don’t teach bad things to children.”

“Is there? Do I have it? Song Rui, do you understand what I say?”

Song Rui shook his head, “I don’t understand, my English is very poor, don’t bully people like me, tell me what you mean.”

Xi Luoyu spread his hands and smiled at Song Jianan, “She didn’t even understand, so it does not constitute civil liability. “

Grandpa Song arrived just before the banquet started. As soon as he entered the door, he asked Song Jianan where she had been. She hurried over to please him. Grandpa Song was very happy. He asked her about her work, and then shouted exaggeratedly, “Where is Xiao Xi? Why didn’t I see him today?”

Someone called Xi Luoyu over, and Grandpa Song smiled and said, “You are not playing thirteen again today. You had a lot of fun playing with Song Rui, the little girl. By the way, this is my granddaughter, Song Jianan.”

Song Jianan interrupted him quickly, “Grandpa, I have known her for a long time, no need to introduce her.”

“It’s better to know her, haha, it’s better to know her earlier. Last time I told your dad…” Grandpa Song was about to continue, and Song Rui happened to come out, “Grandpa, someone from the Jiusan Society is looking for you.”

She watched them walk away and immediately breathed a sigh of relief, “Oh, Song Rui, you really came at the right time. “

Song Rui looked bewildered, “I was wondering what you were talking about over here, are y’all still going to play mahjong? Those adults keep talking nonsense, and who knows when they can start eating. I can still play two more rounds.”

Song Jianan didn’t know whether to laugh or cry, “You only know how to play, and you think the IOUs are not enough?”

“It’s better to make money, maybe I will be more motivated!” Song Rui’s eyes were shining, “I only know now that there are so many fun things in life, go to hell with the broken heart, I’ll go talk to the third brother and see who will be the banker.”

After saying that, she ran away, leaving Song Jianan and Xi Luoyu looking at each other, the scene was a little cold, and suddenly Xi Luoyu smiled, “Song Rui, this little girl, is really looking for trouble and ruining a good thing. In fact, it would be good to introduce us to each other.”

Song Jianan didn’t react for a while, “Huh? We know each other, and it seems that you are more familiar with Song Rui than with me. “

As if he didn’t hear Song Jianan’s voice, Xi Luoyu smiled to himself, his eyes were clear and bright, and his glasses slipped down slightly at some point, forming a helpless angle on his high nose bridge, “Official, authoritative, and legally effective.”