Gentle to the Bone - Chapter 2

It was New Year’s Eve, just half a month had passed since the night they first met.

That day, Shen Yansheng took care of her mother in the hospital as usual. She bought a bunch of flowers and placed them on the cabinet beside the hospital bed, hoping to make her mother feel better when she saw the flowers.

Mom understands her intentions, but she also feels sorry for her hard work to make money, so she shouldn’t waste it like this. She sat by the bed, held her mother’s hand, and said with a smile, “It’s New Year’s Eve. Buy a bunch of vibrant flowers, which indicates that everything will be fine in the new year.”

When Mother Shen heard her daughter’s words, she couldn’t help but feel sad. She looked at the cold winter outside the window, she shed tears, and murmured, “I don’t know if your father is living well in it. .”

Shen Yansheng’s eyes reddened when she thought of her father, but she didn’t dare to cry in front of her mother, for fear that her mother would feel more sad when she saw her crying.

She held her mother’s hand tightly and said with a smile, “I went to see my father a few days ago and gave him a winter coat. Dad is in good health, he is just worried about you.”

She looked at the tears on her mother’s face, and gradually couldn’t smile anymore. She raised her hand and wiped her mother’s tears while saying distressedly: “Mom, you have to take good care of your body. Let your father know that you are so sick, I don’t know how distressed you should be. “You know, Dad loves you the most.”

Thinking of her husband, Zhou Xiuyun couldn’t help crying even more fiercely.

Shen Yansheng hugged her mother distressedly, caressed her mother’s back lightly, and comforted: “Mom, don’t worry, there will be a way, and things will definitely be resolved.”

Although Shen Yansheng at this time did not know how the matter would be resolved in the end.

It was after seven o’clock in the evening when she received a call from Lu Jingce. She was sitting by the bed, preparing to watch the New Year’s Eve party with her mother.

The phone vibrated beside the bed, she picked it up and saw a strange call, and answered it without thinking too much.

There was some noise on the other end of the phone, but it became quiet after a while, followed by a slightly low male voice, “Do you have time tonight?”

Shen Yansheng was stunned when she heard the words. She didn’t hear whose voice for a while, and asked subconsciously, “Who are you?”

There was silence on the other end of the phone for a few seconds, and then there was a low sneer, saying, “Miss Shen is really a noble person who forgets things a lot. Didn’t you say you want to invite me to dinner half a month ago?”

Shen Yansheng suddenly reacted when she heard the words, and hurriedly said: “No no no, I remember, I didn’t hear your voice for a while.”

Lu Jingce laughed softly, but he didn’t care about her, he just asked, “So do you have time tonight? Have a meal with me?”

Shen Yansheng was a little embarrassed when she heard the words, she hesitated, “Now?”

Lu Jingce asked, “What? Inconvenient?”

It’s not inconvenient, but it’s New Year’s Eve tonight, if she goes out to eat with Lu Jingce, her mother will be alone in the hospital.

But Lu Jingce helped her out of the siege before, she owed him a favor, and she couldn’t say anything to refuse at this moment.

Zhou Xiuyun saw her daughter’s expression of embarrassment, and asked in a low voice, “What’s the matter? Did a friend ask you to go out to dinner? Go ahead, anyway, I can’t watch TV for too long, and I fell asleep after a while.”

Shen Yansheng hesitated for a while, but finally agreed to Lu Jingce and asked him, “Where to meet?”

Lu Jingce said, “Wait for me at the hospital, I’ll come and pick you up.”

After hanging up the phone, Zhou Xiuyun asked curiously, “Is it Shi Yu?”

Shen Yansheng smiled and said, “No. It’s another friend, and you don’t know him either.”

As she spoke, she got up and packed her things, and said to her mother, “Mom, then I’ll go have a meal, and I’ll be back in a while. If you’re sleepy, go to sleep, you don’t have to wait for me.”

Zhou Xiuyun nodded and said, “I know, go ahead, celebrate the New Year today, and have fun.”

Shen Yansheng tried her best to smile at her mother, and nodded “um”.

But how could she be so happy? The family matter has not been resolved, her father is still in the detention center, and her mother is sick again. The medical bills and foreign debts weighed on her almost out of breath.

She herself doesn’t know how long she can hold on, when the string in her heart will be completely broken.

When I came out of the hospital, there was a lively scene outside.

Shen Yansheng was standing on the side of the road carrying her bag, and the night sky above her head kept bursting with colorful fireworks.

She looked up at the sky, and for the first time she felt so small, so small that a huge wave hit her and she couldn’t get up again.

She stood on the side of the road in a daze, and after an unknown amount of time, she heard a whistle and raised her head, only to find that Lu Jingce had parked the car in front of her.

Only then did she realize that she stepped forward and opened the passenger’s door. After getting in the car, she smiled at Lu Jingce and asked, “What do you want to eat?”

Lu Jingce glanced at her, but smiled. He merged the car into the traffic again and said, “Are you really going to invite me to dinner?”

Shen Yansheng was stunned when she heard the words, “You didn’t say that…”

Lu Jingce said, “There is a dinner party tonight, and I need a female companion.”

Shen Yansheng was a little surprised when she heard the words. She looked at Lu Jingce and couldn’t help but ask, “Why are you looking for me?”

While driving, Lu Jingce glanced at her casually and said, “Don’t you owe me a favor?”

Shen Yansheng: “…”

It is said to be a dinner party, but it is actually a gathering of friends for a new year.

Lu Jingce went last, and when he arrived, the dishes were all ready. As soon as Xie Rin saw Lu Jingce coming in, he said, “I said you should just wait until we’ve finished eating. Usually, it’s okay. .”

Lu Jingce handed the suit jacket in his hand to the waiter next to him, and said lightly, “Do you think everyone is as busy as you?”

Xie Rin choked for a moment and wanted to say something else, when she suddenly noticed Shen Yansheng who came in with Lu Jingce.

He was so surprised that his eyes almost popped out, and he almost thought he was wrong.

Brother Lu, who has never been close to women, actually has a day when women will appear around him.

Not only Xie Rin, everyone present was surprised, but when it came to Lu Jingce’s private life, no one dared to ask.

Xie Rin wanted to ask, her mouth was open, but Lu Jingce swept over with a glance, and stopped the conversation abruptly.

Xie Rin and Lu Jingce have known each other for so many years, and he has always been clear about his behavior.

Everyone saw that Lu Jingce did not intend to introduce the women around him, and naturally they would not regard Shen Yansheng as Lu Jingce’s girlfriend. After all, in this circle, it is not uncommon for a rich and powerful man to suddenly have a woman beside him.

As for the name, there is no need to inquire, it may be replaced one day.

Shen Yansheng didn’t care what others thought of her, after all, she owed Lu Jingce a favor, and he asked her to accompany him to a meal, so she came.

What’s more, from the moment she sat down, her attention fell on the man opposite.

And the reason why she noticed the man on the opposite side was not because he was handsome or for any other reason.

It was because she knew that man, and he was in charge of her father’s case.

After her father was under the control of the police, she had tried to find this man and wanted to ask him for help. The result was of course bad, the other party refused to see her at all, let alone help.

All night, Shen Yansheng stared at the man across from him as if possessed.

Her unabashed naked gaze naturally caught the attention of everyone present. Everyone looked at Lu Jingce and saw that Lu Jingce didn’t eat much all night. He was leaning lazily in the back of his chair, playing with a lighter in his hand. He didn’t smile, and no one knew what he was thinking. .

Xie Rin was the person who knew Lu Jingce best, and she thought that this woman was so courageous. In front of his brother Lu, she dared to stare at another man so blatantly.

And the most nervous person in the audience was Gu Xu, who was stared at by Shen Yansheng.

He was so nervous that cold sweat broke out on his back, wondering if this woman wanted to kill him.

He admitted that he was pretty good-looking, but sister, you are Lu Jingce’s woman, even if he had the guts to covet Lu Jingce’s woman.

Can you stop hurting him?

Gu Xu was so nervous that his forehead was sweating. He subconsciously raised his hand and wiped it. Who knew that Lu Jingce looked at him with a smile, “Would you like to help you cool off?”

Gu Xu waved his hands again and again, “No, no, what kind of air-conditioning is on in the winter.”

What’s more, he was almost frozen to death by the cold air pressure all over Lu Jingce’s body.

It was only at this time that Shen Yansheng came back to her senses and realized that she seemed to have lost her way. She lowered her head and silently poked at the contents of the bowl, thinking about how to find Gu Xu for help in a while.

She was a little lost until she put a shrimp in the bowl and heard Lu Jingce say, “Do you want to eat air?”

She couldn’t help but froze for a moment, only to notice that there was nothing in her bowl just now.

She raised her head to look at Lu Jingce, but Lu Jingce was already talking about business with the friend next to her.

After finally making it to the end of the dinner, Shen Yansheng wanted to find a chance to talk to Gu Xu, but when Gu Xu saw her, it was like seeing a flood of beasts and kept avoiding her. So much so that when she came to the poker game, she was unable to speak to Gu Xu.

And because it was New Year’s Eve tonight, all the men brought women with them. At the poker game, Shen Yansheng was pulled to the mahjong table by several women. She couldn’t resist playing a few laps, and saw Gu Xu go outside in the middle of the game. , She quickly got up and said, “Come on, I’ll go to the bathroom.”

Lu Jingce didn’t go to the poker table tonight, when Shen Yansheng followed Gu Xu out, he was leaning against the window smoking a cigarette. Looking at Shen Yansheng’s back through the gray smoke in front of his eyes, his expression was light, but he couldn’t tell what he was thinking.

Shen Yansheng followed Gu Xu all the way to the bathroom. She stood outside and waited anxiously until Gu Xu came out of the bathroom. She hurried forward, but before she could speak, Gu Xu took a step back in fright, “Sister, please forgive me. Okay? You’re a woman brought by Brother Lu. It’s inappropriate for you to stare at me all night, right?”

He still didn’t say the second half, you’re not afraid of death, I’m still.

Shen Yansheng was stunned for a moment when he heard the words, and then realized that the other party must have misunderstood, and explained: “You misunderstood, Gu Jian.”

She stated her intentions straight to the point and said, “Gu Jian, I’m Shen Yansheng, Shen Haihua’s daughter.”

Gu Xu couldn’t help but be startled when he heard the words, but then he reacted and asked, “So you’re staring at me all night, is it because of your father?”

Shen Yansheng nodded and said, “I asked you for help half a month ago. My father’s case…”

Speaking of this, Gu Xu suddenly remembered. Half a month ago, he took over Shen Haihua’s case. One afternoon, the gatekeeper of the community called to say that there was a lady surnamed Shen who wanted to see him. He guessed at the time that it was Shen Haihua’s daughter, and directly asked the guard to send the person away.

I didn’t expect to meet at a dinner like this tonight.

Knowing Shen Yansheng’s intention at this moment, he also regained his seriousness and said, “Miss Shen, it’s not that I won’t help you. I also act according to the law. I really can’t help you with your father’s affairs.”

“But—” Shen Yansheng wanted to say something else, when he saw Gu Xu suddenly raised his head, looked behind her, and smiled, “Brother Lu.”

Shen Yansheng turned her head back subconsciously when she heard the words, her eyes were still red, and it happened to fall into Lu Jingce’s eyes.

Seeing Lu Jingce coming, Gu Xu quickly withdrew and said, “I’ll go back first, you two will talk slowly.”

After he finished speaking, he smeared oil on the soles of his feet and quickly disappeared into the corridor.

Shen Yansheng watched Gu Xu’s figure disappear into the corridor, and for a moment only felt that the last hope was gone. The tight string in his heart was about to break, and Lu Jingce stood opposite and looked at her quietly, looking at her eyes that were red from holding back tears, after a while, he finally said, “I beg him about your father’s business. What is the use?”

There were still tears in Shen Yansheng’s eyes. She looked at Lu Jingce and asked tentatively, “Do you have a solution?”

Lu Jingce looked at her deeply, his dark eyes were like well water in a deep pool, bottomless.

After a long time, he took out a pack of cigarettes from his trousers pocket, twisted one out and bit it between his teeth, lowered his head and flicked the lighter to light the cigarette.

Shen Yansheng stood quietly in front of Lu Jingce. She watched Lu Jingce smoke for a while, but finally couldn’t help it and asked again, “Lu Jingce, do you have a solution?”

Lu Jingce raised his eyes to look at her from the gray smoke. After being silent for a while, he finally said, “Your father’s problem is debt and unfinished business. As long as he has money, it can be solved.”

Shen Yansheng’s eyes suddenly lit up when she looked at Lu Jingce. She looked at Lu Jingce with hope in her eyes, and said cautiously, “Lu Jingce, can you help me?”

The gray-white smoke between his fingers rose, and Lu Jingce looked at Shen Yansheng through the smoke. There was a faint smile in his eyes, as if joking, but also as serious, and asked her, “Help me in vain?”

Shen Yansheng couldn’t help being stunned, and his body couldn’t help but stiffen a bit.

Lu Jingce still looked at her, with a smile in his eyes, and said, “I’m not doing charity work, Shen Yansheng, if you want me to help, you always have to exchange something with me.”

The author says:

Dear babies, please help me stamp a favorite, thank you (*^▽^*)~