Friday evening.

  Jie returned home as usual, it was almost seven o'clock.

  She opened the door and went in, without changing her shoes. Qi Jie's mother had already come out to greet her, saying anxiously: "Why are you back so late again? Xiao Liang called and said your phone was turned off?"

  Qijie was stunned for a moment, and her phone was still off when she went upstairs to listen to music, fearing that someone would suddenly call.

  Then she took out her mobile phone, turned it on and said: "I turned it off during class and forgot to turn it back on." And asked: "Did Lu Liang call me? Did he say anything?"

  "Didn't say, you'd better give him a call back quickly, I heard Xiaoliang is in a hurry, maybe there's something urgent!"

  Just as she finished starting up her phone, she found Lu Liang's number and dialed it.

  The phone was answered, and Lu Liang's voice was indeed urgent, "Why did you turn off your phone? Tonight, my second uncle and aunt came to our house for dinner, I wanted to inform you, but I couldn't find you!"

  Qijie was stunned for a moment, and had to explain again, saying: "That... I stayed after school to do my homework, and my phone was turned off before class. I forgot to turn it back on."

  On the other end of the phone, Lu Liang's voice was intentionally lowered, but the anger in his words was not small at all. "Using a mobile phone is to make it convenient for people to contact you, and you turn it off. What's the point of having a mobile phone then?... Alright, I won't say these things to you now. Hurry up and come over to my place!"

  Qijie opened her mouth, wanting to say that it's already seven o'clock and she wouldn't go anyway, but before she could speak, Lu Liang on the other side had already said: "By the way, dress up a bit when you come, my second aunt's husband is the deputy director of the Municipal Bureau of Personnel Affairs, at the deputy department level..."

  His voice wasn't small, and Qijie's mom stood on one side listening clearly. Seeing Qijie's displeased expression, her mom whispered beside her, "Go, go!"

  Her eyebrows furrowed slightly, her mouth opened and closed, and finally she nodded, "Oh, I see. I'll go right away."

  …………

  Lu Liang's so-called second aunt and uncle were actually distant relatives who had nothing to do with each other. However, the Lu family father and son were businessmen, and for anyone in a position of power, they would try to curry favor if possible. Moreover, after some digging, it turned out that the two families did have a very distant ancient kinship connection.

  A dinner, eaten with great relish.

  Lu Liang's second aunt's husband had a big temper and an even bigger mouth, so the Lu father and son were careful in their responses and tried to please him, and naturally they got along famously, becoming more and more affectionate as they talked.

  Before going, Qijie slightly made up with light makeup and changed into a white dress, looking bright but not showy. After arriving, it was one apology after another. Fortunately, dinner had not started yet, and Lu Liang's mother also helped to speak, plus it was in front of guests, so Lu Liang's dissatisfaction did not have the opportunity to vent out.

  Then, Qijie first followed Lu Liang's mother to busy herself in the kitchen, afterwards she was busy serving dishes, perfectly timing her toast with Lu Liang and saying a few flattering words... In short, she became a qualified supporting actress in this family gathering.

  I heard that Lu Liang and Qi Jie are getting married next year, the other party repeatedly praised them as a perfect match, also said that they will definitely send out invitations, and they want to come over for a drink at their wedding.

  The second aunt and her husband were very happy, after having enough wine and food, Qijie was responsible for brewing tea, they drank tea again for a while, then bid farewell and left, with a satisfied smile.

  Lu Liang's parents were delighted, for them, climbing up to Er Yi Fu's line meant that the road ahead would be much wider. For business people, the road is the business path.

  Lu Liang... wasn't very happy.

  Although he thought Qijie's performance today was not bad, not only did she show a clear and elegant temperament in her dressing, but also when entertaining guests, there was a sense of enthusiasm with a hint of shyness, and the way she looked at him with a timid gaze made him feel a kind of inexplicable sense of accomplishment, feeling that he had regained some face in front of Er Yi and Er Yi Fu.

  Although it was like this, Qi Jie's shutdown and tardiness still made him furious just thinking about it.

  After the guests left, Qi Jie was busy in the kitchen with Lu Liang's mother washing and cleaning. When everything was cleaned up and she took off her apron to bid farewell, Lu Liang finally couldn't help but say: "Do you know how important this meal today is? Do you know that this meal almost got ruined by you?"

  Lu Liang's mother quickly intercepted, not waiting for Qi Jie to speak, she hurriedly said: "How can you talk like that? What's wrong with Xiaojie turning off her phone during class? Who knew your dad would suddenly invite someone home for dinner?! Alright, alright, it's all in the past, don't pick on this and that anymore!"

  She said a few words that left Lu Liang speechless, and he just sat there panting, while Qi Jie, who had wanted to say something, also felt it wasn't suitable in front of Lu Liang's mother.

  So in the end it was Lu Liang's mother who dragged him away, and together they saw Qi Jie out of the door.

  Before leaving, Lu Liang's father deliberately said a sentence: "Xiao Jie, you go back and tell your dad that after we're busy with this period, I'll invite him to drink wine. We old brothers have all grown old, should gather more often, otherwise who knows which day we will enter the coffin."

  Qijie naturally smiled and agreed - she knew that Lu Liang's dad and her own grandfather had been friends since they were kids, playing naked in the mud together. They went to elementary school, junior high school, and high school together, and even attended university in the same city. This friendship was indeed very deep.

  Qijie was about to go downstairs when her mother suddenly said, "Right, tomorrow is Saturday, you two should go out and have some fun, you're young after all!" Turning around to face Lü Liang, she said, "Lü Liang, tomorrow afternoon, go pick up Qijie and take her out for a stroll. Buy her a few clothes and catch a movie or something... did you hear that?"

  Although she didn't like going shopping with Lu Liang in her heart, at this moment, Qi Jie subconsciously looked up at Lu Liang.

  A moment later, Lu Liang's face was expressionless as he said, "Got it."

  Qijie couldn't help but let out another sigh in her heart.

  At this time, Lu Liang looked at Qi Jie with a expressionless face and said: "Tomorrow afternoon at 9 o'clock, I will go pick you up."

  As Lu Liang's mother, Qi Jie smiled and said with a warm face: "Good."

  …………

  When Lu came out of the house, he was still smiling, but as soon as the car left Lu Liang's mother's line of sight, Qi Jie's shoulders immediately slumped down, feeling exhausted all over.

  At this time, she didn't want to do anything, just wanted to go home and take a bath, then throw herself on the bed and sleep until the sky was dark.

  …………

  The next day was Saturday.

  In the morning, Wang Jinglu was practicing piano when her mobile phone suddenly rang.

  He got up and picked up his phone from the coffee table.

  It is Zhao Yuemin.

  Although she didn't save his number, Wang Jinglu remembered it very clearly.

  What's wrong?

  She knew that she couldn't avoid this matter herself and had to face it. Moreover, Li Qian couldn't really help her with anything, everything could only rely on herself.

  But hurting others... is really hard.

  She hung up the phone with force.

  A moment of silence fell in the room, then her phone rang again.

  She hesitated for a moment before pressing the connect button.

  "Hello."

  "Xiao Lu, it's me, Zhao Yuemin. Hmm... how about I take you out for dinner tonight, okay?"

  Wang Jinglu slowly took a deep breath, closed her eyes and said: "Sorry, I already have a boyfriend."

  The other end of the phone fell silent for a moment, and Wang Jinglu even heard that the other party's breathing was also paused.

  Then he said: "Sorry, this is something I didn't know beforehand, um, it must have caused you a lot of trouble, right?"

  Wang Jinglu opened her eyes and didn't say a word.

  He paused for a moment, then continued: "That's right, I don't know who your boyfriend is, but I believe I won't be worse than him. I will also treat you better than him, so... give me a chance to compete with him, okay?"

  After a moment of silence, Wang Jinglu bit her teeth and said, "Sorry, I have a boyfriend."

  The other party heard this and fell silent again for a moment, then he slowly let out a sigh.

  "I understand, sorry to have troubled you. However... haha, I think at least we're not enemies, right? In the future if there's a chance to meet up... you know that our companies and your uncle's company have quite a few connections, so in the future if we do meet up, we can still chat like ordinary friends, right?"

  Wang Jinglu thought for a moment, nodded slightly and murmured a faint "uh-huh".

  But he must have heard it.

  He paused for a moment and said: "Don't worry, Uncle will definitely not get any similar news from me."

  He is really a very considerate person! And... too clever!

  "Thank you!" Wang Jinglu said.

  The other party responded with a "hmm", and it seemed like the phone call could be hung up at this point, but they didn't.

  He paused for a moment and said: "If, I mean if, if one day you're not satisfied with him, then please give me a chance, because I really like you... thank you!"

  He hung up after saying this sentence.

  Wang Jinglu suddenly felt like crying.

  My nose is itchy.

  She stood in front of the coffee table for a moment, sniffled, and dialed Wang Jingxue's phone number.

  "Hey, Xiaolu, something up?"

  "Sister, he asked me out for dinner, I rejected him, I told him I have a boyfriend now."

  Wang Jingxue fell silent for a moment before saying, "A very foolish but effective method. So... you want to tell me this?"

  "I feel like I've hurt someone else, and suddenly my heart feels so painful."

  It was another moment of silence, then Wang Jingxue said: "You know, I've never been good at comforting people since I was a kid. All I can do is buy you candy to eat."

  Wang Jing's mouth twitched, wanting to laugh, but couldn't laugh.

  At this time, Wang Jingxue suddenly asked: "What you said to him, were they all true?"

  Wang Jinglu was startled and didn't know how to respond.

  "Can you tell me who it is? Someone I know or someone I don't?"

  Hesitating for a moment, Wang Jingluo steeled himself and said, "You know."

  There was a long silence on the other end of the phone.

  Then, Wang Jingxue suddenly sighed, "So, it's that kid next door, right?"

  Wang Jinglu's heart was filled with anxiety and hesitation, after half a day, she said: "Sister, they will not agree, but I know you will definitely support me, right?"

  Wang Jingxue's voice suddenly had a hint of fatigue, but as always firm, "Wrong!"

  A moment later, he added another sentence, "If it were him, I would oppose it too!"

  Wang Jinglu was taken aback by his words, "Why?"

  She suddenly became agitated, as if at this moment, all sorts of pressures and entanglements that had been building up over the past period of time suddenly burst out. "Why won't you even support me? You're my sister! You've always been the one who cared about me the most and supported me the most since I was little! Is he really that bad?"

  The person on the other end of the phone didn't say a word, but quietly listened as Wang Jinglu's questioning grew louder and louder.

  "Are you going to be like Mom and Dad too? Are you also going to think that his family is poor? That he's not ambitious? Or... or what, that he's not good enough for me?"

  After saying all this, Wang Jinglu stopped.

  She rarely yelled at others in anger and hysteria from childhood to adulthood, but at this moment, she felt that she must ask, and must ask clearly why!

  Otherwise, she won't give in!

  At both ends of the phone, the breathing of two people can be heard.

  Wang Jingxue suddenly said: "I never thought that a seventeen or eighteen year old child needs to take responsibility for the family's poverty, and I don't think Li Qian is not a motivated person. Although he plays a bit crazy, but he is very smart, has been very smart since childhood. As long as one is smart enough, they won't be a failure in life. But...he really doesn't deserve you!"

  After venting out, Wang Jinglu's mood gradually calmed down a bit.

  And also, her sister's answer didn't surprise her too much.

  "Can you specifically say where it doesn't match up? I don't expect him to achieve anything great in the future, I'd rather spend a lifetime with him in plainness and dullness, can't that be okay?"

  The other party fell silent for a moment, then said: "Forget it, Xiaolu. Let's not quarrel. I don't want to argue with you, nor do I want to force you into making any choices. Maybe...I hope you can be more patient. Maybe in a few years, after a few years have passed, without anyone telling you, you will think that he is no longer worthy of you!"

  Wang Jinglu was silent.

  It's almost exactly what Mom said.

  But she refused to accept it!

  Why?

  "After a moment, the person on the other end of the phone said: 'Xiaolu, you're still young, don't think too much for now, and definitely don't decide your whole life right now, okay? For now, just focus on studying well. After the semester exams are over, I'll come back to pick you up. Hmm, I also need to practice singing. If there's nothing else, I'm going to hang up. Remember, don't think too much, leave everything to time, alright?"

  Wang Jingxue didn't say a word until the other end hung up the phone.

  Then she silently put down her phone and walked back to the piano.

  Her hand fell on the piano keys, she took a deep breath and forced herself to hold back the sour and astringent feeling of grievance that made her want to cry, then suddenly stood up and walked over to pick up her phone, entering text messages.

  "He invited me to dinner, but I declined."

  After finishing typing, she hesitated for a moment before sending it. She added another sentence at the end, "Don't put too much pressure on yourself, I can wait."

  Message sent successfully.

  She seemed to have heard a "ding-dong" sound coming from less than twenty meters away at the opposite door.

  Then she put down her phone and slowly fell onto the sofa, leaning sideways.

  Suddenly I feel so weak.

  …………

  Ding dong.

  Li Qian picked up his phone and looked at it for a moment, his fingers swiping back and forth on the screen, before finally putting it back on the table.

  On the desk in front of me is an open Russian textbook.

  Next to it is a notebook with half a page of Russian lesson copied down.

  In her left ear was a headphone, inside which was a Soviet woman's beautiful soprano, mournful and high-pitched.

  His fingers drummed aimlessly on the desktop.

  The big ceiling fan whirred and whizzed around, someone's kitchen had already started sizzling with stir-fries.

  The weather is very hot.

  There are children running, laughing, falling and getting up downstairs.

  Li Qian tapped his forehead and slowly let out a breath.

  Then he picked up his phone, typed a few words and sent them over.

  "Leave the future to me!" he said.