Gentle to the Bone - Chapter 25

After leaving the airport, Lu Jingce took Shen Yansheng to the city for lunch first.

However, because it was around nine o’clock, Shen Yansheng had just eaten a bowl of noodles at the airport, and when it was time for lunch, he was not too hungry.

Lu Jingce gave her some vegetables and said, “Eat a little more, and I won’t be able to eat if I want to eat it in the next few days.”

“Why?” Shen Yansheng raised his head and looked at Lu Jingce curiously.

Lu Jingce said, “I will live in the village in the next few days. There is not much to eat in the village.”

Shen Yansheng was stunned when she heard the words, looked at Lu Jingce, and asked, “Do you live in your hometown?”

Lu Jingce said “En”, put the peeled bowl of shrimp in front of Shen Yansheng, and said, “So eat more now, it will be troublesome to enter the city later.”

Shen Yansheng said, “If we can’t finish eating, we can pack it back.”

Lu Jingce leaned back in his chair to look at her, smiled, and said, “There is no refrigerator at home.”

Shen Yansheng heard the words “Oh”, picked up the chopsticks and ate a little more.

However, the interval between the two meals was too short. In the end, she barely ate the shrimp that Lu Jingce had peeled for her, and couldn’t eat any more.

Lu Jingce didn’t force her anymore, he asked the waiter to come in to check out, and by the way, he ordered a few more of the store’s signature dishes to pack.

Seeing that Lu Jingce was still ordering alone, Shen Yansheng couldn’t help but ask, “Didn’t you say that there is no refrigerator at home? Why do you order it back?”

Lu Jingce said, “Bring it for the neighbors, they rarely make a trip to the city.”

Shen Yansheng smiled and said, “When are you so enthusiastic, you actually brought food to the neighbors.”

Lu Jingce raised his eyebrows and asked with a smile, “In your eyes, what do I look like?”

Shen Yansheng supported his chin and thought for a while, and said, “A ruthless capitalist?”

Lu Jingce laughed softly, looked at Shen Yansheng, and asked her, “When did I become ruthless towards you?”

Shen Yansheng said: “You are okay with me, I mean you are with others.”

Lu Jingce said, “I don’t do charity, so how can I have so much spare time to be good to everyone.”

Shen Yansheng looked at Lu Jingce, and when she heard these words, she felt a little happy for some reason. For Lu Jingce’s preference for her.

By the time the meal was packed and came out of the restaurant, it was less than one point.

After getting in the car, Lu Jingce asked, “Have you brought all these daily necessities?”

Shen Yansheng nodded and said, “I brought it all.”

Lu Jingce thought about it, afraid that Shen Yansheng would not be used to living in the village, so he drove to the supermarket before going back and bought a lot of snacks and drinks for Shen Yansheng.

Seeing that Lu Jingce bought her so much food, Shen Yansheng asked with a smile, “Is there really nothing in the village?”

“right.”

Shen Yansheng was suspicious, thinking that Lu Jingce lied to her. However, two hours later, when the car drove into the village, she looked at the desolate small mountain village and realized that Lu Jingce’s hometown was actually in such a remote place.

The village was very small, and after entering the village, it took a few minutes to arrive at the door of Lu Jingce’s house.

Shen Yansheng looked out through the car window and saw a very dilapidated old house.

She didn’t know how to describe this old house. In her childhood memory, she never seemed to have seen such a dilapidated house.

She stared out the window in a daze, Lu Jingce parked the car and said, “The outside of the house is a bit broken, but the inside is clean and can be lived in.”

Shen Yansheng regained his senses and looked at Lu Jingce.

Lu Jingce pulled out the car keys and said, “Get down first.”

With that said, open the door first and get out of the car.

Shen Yansheng unfastened his seat belt and got out of the car.

In February, the temperature in the mountains was colder than that in the city. After getting out of the car, Shen Yansheng shivered from the freezing cold wind in the air.

Lu Jingce helped her remove the suitcase from the trunk and came to lead her, “Is it cold?”

Shen Yansheng unconsciously clasped Lu Jingce’s hand, nodded lightly, and said, “It’s a little cold.”

Lu Jingce led her to the door, took out the key to open the door, and said, “It will be better to enter the house, there is an electric oven.”

When the door opened, the environment in the house was not much better than the outside, a small room with only a small dining table and two benches.

The walls are mottled, with a row of yellowed awards on the walls.

Shen Yansheng walked into the room, stood in front of the row of awards, looked at each one, and found that from the first grade of elementary school to the graduation of junior high school, Lu Jingce was the first in the school almost every semester.

She turned her head and said with a smile, “Lu Jingce, I can’t see that you are still a scholar.”

Lu Jingce glanced at the row of awards on the wall, his expression was flat, and said, “You can’t eat even if you study well.”

After speaking, he looked away and carried Shen Yansheng’s suitcase to the next bedroom.

Shen Yansheng also went in, and found that the bedroom was even smaller, with only a small single bed.

The size of the bed looked like that of a junior high school student. Shen Yansheng looked at Lu Jingce and couldn’t help but ask, “Lu Jingce, is this your room?”

Lu Jingce let out an “um” and put Shen Yansheng’s suitcase against the wall. When he looked back and saw that she was standing by the door and didn’t come in, he said, “Come in. Although the bed is a little small, it should be enough for you to sleep.”

Shen Yansheng originally thought that this should be the hometown of Lu Jingce’s parents. After all, Lu Jingce didn’t look like he grew up in such an environment.

But in this room, the certificate on the wall and the small single bed were telling her that Lu Jingce grew up here.

She suddenly remembered what Uncle Chen said to her last time. Uncle Chen said that Lu Jingce grew up with his grandmother when both his parents died. He has no background, he got to where he is today on his own.

It is not easy for a rich second-generation to have what Lu Jingce has achieved today. It is difficult for her to imagine that Lu Jingce came out of this environment.

Going out from such a small mountain village by myself, I don’t know how much hardship I have suffered behind.

Shen Yansheng looked at Lu Jingce and felt a little sour in her heart. She was afraid that she would cry, so she smiled and walked into the room with her hands behind her back, posing for a visit.

Lu Jingce sat by the bed, took a cigarette from the cigarette case by the bed, and said with a smile, “It’s just such a room, what’s there to visit.”

There is really nothing to visit, you can see it all at a glance. Shen Yansheng turned around and sat next to the bed. She measured the size of the bed with her eyes, and then looked at Lu Jingce’s tall man with long arms and legs, and couldn’t help asking, “Lu Jingce, did you live here until you graduated from junior high school? Don’t live here anymore?”

Lu Jingce bit the cigarette between his lips, felt the lighter lit, took a sip, put it between his fingers, then looked sideways at Shen Yansheng and asked, “How do you know?”

Shen Yansheng smiled and said, “The certificate of award on the outside wall will disappear after the third year of junior high school. Did you live in the school when you were in high school?”

Lu Jingce smiled and didn’t answer.

Shen Yansheng subconsciously lay down on the bed, the bed was hard, and it was harder to sleep than a university bed. Looking at Lu Jingce’s back, she suddenly felt a little distressed, reached out to hold Lu Jingce’s finger, and asked, “Lu Jingce, how tall were you when you were in junior high school?”

Lu Jingce said, “About one meter eight.”

Shen Yansheng felt distressed again, and said, “Then you can’t sleep in this bed.”

Lu Jingce held Shen Yansheng’s fingers instead, looked back at her, and said with a smile, “Just curl up and sleep, just get used to it.”

Shen Yansheng looked at Lu Jingce with distress, and suddenly felt that her living conditions were too good when she was a child. Even when she went to college, she was still very squeamish. She thought the bed in the dormitory was too hard, so her father applied for her to go home and let the driver pick her up every day.

She stared at Lu Jingce for a while, then sat up and kissed him proactively.

Lu Jingce paused slightly, then put the palm of his hand that wasn’t holding the cigarette on the back of her neck, and closed his eyes to deepen the kiss.

The two kissed lingeringly for a long time before they separated. Lu Jingce shoved the cigarette butts that were almost burning in his hand into the ashtray and said, “I’ll send the packaged things to the neighbors, you can sleep for a while.”

Shen Yansheng put her legs on Lu Jingce’s legs, her lips were a little red and swollen from the kiss just now, looked at Lu Jingce, and said, “I’ll go with you.”

Lu Jingce looked at her and said, “It’s cold outside.”

“It’s okay.” Shen Yansheng said while turning around to get the scarf, and said, “I just need to wear thicker clothes. I don’t want to be at home alone.”

Lu Jingce smiled and said, “Okay, change into a down jacket.”

Shen Yansheng said while tying the scarf, “In the suitcase, please help me with it.”

After changing into a down jacket, it was not as cold as before when I came out of the house. But because the village is at the foot of the mountain, the wind is cold, and people are still a little frozen.

When Lu Jingce took down the packaged food from the car, Shen Yansheng subconsciously hugged Lu Jingce’s arm tightly.

Lu Jingce looked down at her and said with a smile, “Didn’t you just say you’re not afraid of the cold?”

Shen Yansheng shrank his shoulders coldly and said, “Let’s go quickly, we’ll be back after we’ve delivered our things.”

Lu Jingce smiled and reached out to help Shen Yansheng put on the down jacket and hat.

Fortunately, the neighbor’s house is not far, and it takes five minutes to walk there.

An old man in the yard was burning a charcoal cage. When he looked up and saw Lu Jingce coming, a smile appeared on his face, and he shouted, “Little Lu is here.”

Lu Jingce gave a rare smile, carried his things over, and asked, “Are you at home alone?”

The old lady said: “Your grandpa Xia went to play cards next door, I’ll go and call him back.”

When he said that, he was about to put down what he was holding and call someone.

Lu Jingce stepped forward to grab the old man and said, “Don’t go, I’ll bring something for you, and I’ll be back in a while.”

Only then did Mrs. Xia notice that Lu Jingce was carrying something, and repeatedly refused, “You kid, you brought us so many things when you came back a few days ago, why did you bring something here?”

Lu Jingce said, “I just packed something to eat at the restaurant. I remember that you like roast duck. The roast duck in this restaurant tastes pretty good. You can steam it in a pot later and you can eat it.”

Saying that, he helped carry things into the house.

Madam Xia hurriedly followed, pulling Lu Jingce and saying, “Then you can stay here for dinner tonight, and I’ll go and call you Grandpa Xia back.”

Lu Jingce said, “Don’t bother, I have food at home.”

The old lady Xia said: “Why is this troublesome, it’s a matter of having a light meal. And what’s the point of you going back alone, why don’t you be more lively here. By the way, Xiaoyue will come back later, she was talking about you a while ago. Woolen cloth.”

As he spoke, he was ready to go out and call the old man back home. When he turned around, he noticed Shen Yansheng standing by the door.

The old lady was stunned for a while and asked, “This is…”

Lu Jingce said, “It’s my girlfriend.”

Then he came out of the room, took Shen Yansheng’s hand, introduced her, and said, “Shengsheng, this is Grandma Xia.”

Shen Yansheng smiled, her brows and eyes curved, and she called out sweetly, “Hello, Grandma Xia.”

“Hey.” The grandmother also laughed, with kind eyes and a kind purpose, and said, “The little girl is so good-looking.”

Looking at Lu Jingce again, he said, “Little Lu, it’s your blessing.”

Lu Jingce smiled and said, “Thank you.”

Old Mrs. Xia came out of the room, took Lu Jingce’s hand, and said seriously, “Don’t leave, I’ll find you Grandpa Xia and come back. This is the first time you bring your girlfriend home, so you have to be together. Have a meal.”

After speaking, he said to Shen Yansheng, “Girl, just stay here for dinner. It’s a big New Year’s Eve, and the two of you will come back with a cold pot and a cold stove, so deserted.”

Shen Yansheng smiled and looked up at Lu Jingce.

Lu Jingce thought that there was really nothing to eat at home, so he didn’t push back and said, “Well, then we’ll disturb you here tonight.”

Old Mrs. Xia said with a smile: “Why bother, I grew up watching you, why are you still polite to grandma now?”

He said again: “Okay, you two go to the house to rest, I’ll go and call you Grandpa Xia back, this old man, playing cards, doesn’t know he’s going home.”

While talking, the old lady walked outside.

As soon as Grandma Xia left, only Shen Yansheng and Lu Jingce were left in the room.

Lu Jingce led Shen Yansheng into the room and said, “It’s cold outside, let’s sit inside.”

Shen Yansheng said: “The owner is not at home, is it appropriate for us to go in like this?”

Lu Jingce smiled and said, “It’s okay, I used to come here a lot when I was a kid.”

It can be seen that the conditions of Grandma Xia’s house are much better than that of Lu Jingce’s house. The house looks newly built, with three floors and a spacious house.

Sitting on the sofa, Lu Jingce skillfully turned on the electric stove, then took Shen Yansheng’s hand close to the electric stove, looked up at her, “Are you warm?”

Shen Yansheng’s heart was sweet, she couldn’t help laughing and nodded.

Thinking that Grandma Xia was so enthusiastic about Lu Jingce just now, she couldn’t help but say, “This Grandma Xia seems to like you very much.”

Lu Jingce said with an “um”, “I grew up here. After my parents passed away, my grandmother and I were left in the family. Grandma Xia and Grandpa Xia saw that our grandparents were old and young, and they often took care of us.”

When Shen Yansheng heard the words, it was no wonder that Lu Jingce had such a temper that he thought about packing more when he went out to eat.

Shen Yansheng looked at Lu Jingce and wanted to ask about his parents, but he was afraid that it would make him sad, so he couldn’t bear to ask. She subconsciously turned her palm toward her hand, and put her five fingers between Lu Jingce’s fingers, making her ten fingers intertwined.

Lu Jingce paused slightly, then looked up at Shen Yansheng.

Shen Yansheng smiled and was about to speak when a woman’s voice suddenly came from outside the door, “Grandpa, grandma, I’m back!”

Shen Yansheng heard the voice and looked at the door subconsciously. Lu Jingce heard who the voice was. He got up and walked to the door. With a smile in his voice, he said, “Your grandfather went to Grandpa Hu’s house to play cards. Your grandma called and she will be back in a while.”

When Xia Xiaoyue saw Lu Jingce, her eyes lit up, and she ran to him with a smile on her face, “Little Brother Lu!”

He ran to Lu Jingce and took his hand excitedly, “When did you come back? I thought you wouldn’t come back this year.”

Lu Jingce smiled, put his hand into his trouser pocket calmly, and said, “I didn’t come back last year, so I will definitely come back this year.”

Xia Xiaoyue smiled and said, “I knew you were coming back, I came back a few days ago.”

Lu Jingce smiled, looked at her, and asked, “How are uncle and aunt?”

Xia Xiaoyue nodded, “It’s all good, but I’m busy, so I can’t leave the store, and I haven’t had a break this year.”

Lu Jingce said, “Your health is important, no matter how busy you are, don’t forget to rest.”

“Yeah, I told them the same way, but they didn’t listen. You know my mother’s temperament, like a spinning top, and there’s no time to stop. By the way, you…” Xia Xiaoyue said here , suddenly stopped.

She stared blankly at the woman who came out of the room, her lips parted, “You are…”

Lu Jingce turned his head and found that Shen Yansheng had also come out. He reached out to hold her with a smile on his lips, and said, “Let me introduce you, this is Xiaoyue, granddaughter of Grandma Xia.”

He said to Xia Xiaoyue, “This is Sheng Sheng, my girlfriend.”

Xia Xiaoyue was a little stunned, looking at Shen Yansheng, she didn’t speak for a long time.

Shen Yansheng was a woman, and a woman’s intuition made her see at a glance that the girl in front of her liked Lu Jingce. She smiled and greeted politely, “Hello, I’m Shen Yansheng.”

Xia Xiaoyue finally recovered, but she just smiled reluctantly, instead of saying hello to Shen Yansheng, she turned her head and said to Lu Jingce: “By the way, little brother Lu, I’ll be back on the first day of the new year to help your grandma and dad. Mom has swept the tomb, and grandma’s grave has grown a lot of weeds, so I’ll clean it up for you.”

Lu Jingce said, “Excuse me.”

Xia Xiaoyue smiled and said, “No trouble. We are so familiar, you are not at home usually, I must help you watch.”

After speaking, he said again: “By the way, I brought something for my grandparents. It’s a little heavy. Can you help me take it down?”

Lu Jingce glanced at Xia Xiaoyue’s car and asked, “Are you in the car?”

“Yes.” Xia Xiaoyue said and turned to walk in the direction of the car.

Lu Jingce glanced at Shen Yansheng subconsciously, Shen Yansheng’s eyes were a little cold, he glanced at him, turned around and went back to the room.

Lu Jingce had a headache for a while, so he walked down the steps and went over to help Xia Xiaoyue carry things.

The dinner was eaten at Xia’s house. In addition to the dishes that Lu Jingce packed, Grandma Xia also cooked a few home-cooked dishes herself. Xia Xiaoyue also brought some specialties from the city and set up a lively table.

Shen Yansheng sat down next to Lu Jingce, and Grandma Xia greeted her to eat, and said with a smile, “It’s all home-cooked food in the countryside, Miss Shen must not dislike it.”

Shen Yansheng smiled and said, “You are too polite. It’s the New Year’s Eve to disturb you and cause you trouble.”

“It’s not troublesome at all.” Grandma Xia said with a smile: “When Xiao Lu still lived here, their family was small. He and grandma were the only ones. Every year, our two families spent the New Year together.”

“Isn’t it?” Xia Xiaoyue answered and said, “I liked the New Year the most when I was a child.”

She looked at Lu Jingce and said, “Little Brother Lu, do you still remember that one year during the Spring Festival, I climbed up a tree to hang a lantern, but I fell off the tree. You were the one who carried me to the town hospital.”

Lu Jingce was stunned for a moment and asked, “Is there any?”

“Yes.” Xia Xiaoyue said, “That year you were in the second year of junior high school, and I was in the first year of junior high school.”

Lu Jingce said, “Maybe it’s been too long, I can’t remember it.”

He glanced at Shen Yansheng calmly, saw Shen Yansheng resting on his chin in a daze, picked up his chopsticks and gave her a piece of fish, and said, “Try this, this is Grandma Xia’s specialty dish, you can’t eat it anywhere else. arrive.”

Grandma Xia also seemed to sense that the atmosphere on the table was not right, she quickly smiled and said, “Yes, Miss Shen, eat more, I see that you are a little thin, if you don’t eat more, Xiao Lu will feel distressed. .”

He said to his granddaughter: “Xiaoyue, go upstairs and take down the bottle of wine your father brought back for the New Year.”

Xia Xiaoyue pursed her lips and got up angrily and went upstairs.

Grandpa Xia had a good drink, and Lu Jingce accompanied him for a few drinks. It was past ten o’clock in the evening when he got home.

The night in the village was even colder. Shen Yansheng walked in front with her pocket in her pocket, and Lu Jingce teased her behind, “Do you know the way? Just walk around.”

Shen Yansheng turned around and said, “I’m not a lunatic. I don’t know each other after so many steps?”

Lu Jingce smiled, walked over, reached out and took out Shen Yansheng’s hand in the pocket of his down jacket, held it and put it in his trousers pocket.

Shen Yansheng subconsciously wanted to pull her hand back, but Lu Jingce clenched her hand and said, “Don’t make trouble.”

“Who’s making trouble?” Although Shen Yansheng felt uncomfortable, she felt that from her point of view, she had no right to be jealous. If he really wanted to lose his temper, Lu Jingce might think she couldn’t understand clearly, and reminded her to see her identity clearly.

She took a deep breath, reminding herself not to.

When he got home, Shen Yansheng went straight to the room, took off his scarf and coat and put them on the chair.

He turned around and asked Lu Jingce, who was closing the door in the living room, “Where do I wash my face?”

Lu Jingce said, “You take a break first, and I’ll boil the water.”

Shen Yansheng pursed her lips, came out of the bedroom, and said, “Where is it burning? I’ll go by myself.”

Lu Jingce smiled, raised his hand and rubbed her head, “Boil it with a kettle, and soon, go back to the bedroom, wear this, and you won’t be afraid of catching a cold.”

The kettle boiled water very quickly indeed, Shen Yansheng waited for Lu Jingce to boil the water, took a brief shower, and quickly got into the bed because of the cold.

But there is no heating in the room, and the quilt is cold.

When Shen Yansheng was curled up in the bed and trembling, he suddenly thought that Lu Jingce had been here since he was a child. Thinking of this, the jealousy in her heart suddenly disappeared, replaced by a dull and uncomfortable feeling in her heart.

Lu Jingce waited for Shen Yansheng to go to bed before he remembered one thing. He went into the room and put Shen Yansheng’s down jacket over the quilt and said, “I’ll go out for a while and I’ll be back in a few minutes.”

Shen Yansheng was originally lying with his back to the window, but when he heard the words, he turned around and subconsciously grabbed Lu Jingce’s shirt sleeve and looked at him, “Where are you going?”

Lu Jingce said, “Go to Grandma Xia’s house to borrow something and come back soon.”

He leaned over and kissed Shen Yansheng’s forehead, then picked up his jacket and went out the door.

Lu Jingce said he would be back soon, and he really came back soon.

Shen Yansheng heard the door open and asked, “Lu Jingce?”

“it’s me.”

Shen Yansheng breathed a sigh of relief and continued to curl up in the bed.

Lu Jingce entered the bedroom, lifted the corner of the quilt, and put something in Shen Yansheng’s foot.

Shen Yansheng’s cold feet instantly warmed up.

She couldn’t help but startled and turned to look at Lu Jingce.

Lu Jingce squeezed her cheek with a smile, and asked, “Are you warmer?”

Shen Yansheng looked at Lu Jingce, and her eyes suddenly became warm, and she asked, “You went to Grandma Xia’s house to help me borrow a warm baby?”

Lu Jingce nodded and said, “I didn’t remember it when I was in the city during the day. Fortunately, Grandma Xia has a lot at home.”

Shen Yansheng looked at Lu Jingce and was speechless for a long time.

Lu Jingce leaned over and kissed her lips, and said, “Go to sleep.”

Shen Yansheng grabbed him subconsciously, “What about you?”

Lu Jingce said, “I’ll come after I wash up, you go to bed first.”

Shen Yansheng couldn’t sleep. When Lu Jingce washed up and entered the room, he saw her eyes still open and smiled, “Wait for me?”

Shen Yansheng let out an “um” and subconsciously lay down to make room for Lu Jingce.

Lu Jingce took off the quilt and lay down, took Shen Yansheng into his arms, and said, “If you move it again, it will fall to the ground.”

The bed is too small for two people to lie flat on their backs, so they can only hold them like this.

But Shen Yansheng didn’t feel crowded. Lying with her neck crossed like this, she had a secret happiness deep in her heart.

Reaching out and hugging Lu Jingce, he buried his face in the side of his neck.

The room was quiet, and after a while, Lu Jingce suddenly said, “You can’t be jealous of Xiaoyue, I have regarded her as my sister since I was a child.”

Mentioning this, Shen Yansheng was still a little sour in his heart, and said, “I’m not jealous. I’m a childhood sweetheart, and I’m just a woman you raised, so I don’t have the right to compete with others and be jealous.”

After hearing this, Lu Jingce couldn’t help but let out a laugh. He lowered his head and kissed Shen Yansheng’s ear, and said in a low voice, “You said you’re not jealous?”

Shen Yansheng closed his mouth and would never admit it.

After a while, Lu Jingce seemed to sigh silently in the dark, and asked softly in her ear, “Do you believe me if I say I love you?”

When Shen Yansheng heard these words, her heartbeat could not help speeding up. Her ears were hot, and she was silent for a long time before she said, “I’m going to sleep.”

Lu Jingce looked at her in the dark for a while, and then he said, “Go to sleep.”

The author says:

As usual, double update and one, see you tomorrow~