As soon as she finished speaking, her phone rang. Looking at the video sent by her best friend Yang Ruoan, she remembered that they had made an appointment to have hot pot tonight. She had forgotten about it before.
As soon as Lin Zhixia got through, Yang Ruoan's harsh voice came, "Lin Zhixia, you let me off again."
Lin Zhixia looked at her best friend who had distorted facial features, turned around quickly, turned down the volume, and said without changing her face, "I'm already in the car, there's a bit of a traffic jam."
Yang Ruo'an looked at Lin Zhixia, who was obviously lying, without saying anything, and gave him a look that said, "Do you believe me?"
Lin Zhixia looked at Li Ci who was still standing next to her, said into the phone: "Really, I'll be there soon," and hung up the video.
"I send you."
"ah……"
Li Ci looked at the teacher in front of him who had not yet reacted, and explained again: "You were delayed because you were accompanying Hengheng and other parents. I happened to drive and take you there."
Lin Zhixia looked at the cold-eyed, domineering man in front of her, and subconsciously wanted to refuse, but she just glanced at her phone and saw that twenty minutes had passed since she had made an appointment with her best friend Yang Ruo'an, so she didn't refuse anymore. "That's troublesome."
So Lin Zhixia followed Li Ci towards the military-branded off-road vehicle parked at the door. The man in front of her was tall and moved so swiftly that she could barely catch up with him at a trot.
Li Ci hugged Xie Jiaheng and put him in the back seat of the car. He wanted to go around the front of the car and open the passenger door for the teacher, but he didn't expect that she had already sat in the back seat and moved quickly and smoothly.
The corners of Li Ci's mouth raised slightly. He was so scary. As soon as he saw him, the teacher was stunned for a while. It was obvious that he was avoiding him.
Li Cigang had just fastened his seat belt after getting into the car, when a gentle voice came from behind, "The address is Wanda Plaza on Minshan Road. We're sorry."
Li Ci raised his head and looked in the rearview mirror, "That's right," then turned to Xie Jiaheng and said, "I'll see you teacher off first, and then I'll take you home later, okay?"
"Okay, send Teacher Lin off first, and then send me back, so that I can stay with Dad Li for a while longer."
Li Ci raised his hand and rubbed Xiao Jiaheng's hair, turned around, started the car and drove towards the destination.
Only then did Lin Zhixia realize that Xie Jiaheng called "Dad Li," not "Dad." She lowered her head and asked in a low voice: "Xiao Jiaheng, isn't he your father? Why do you call him Dad Li?"
"I've told you, he is my father, Teacher Lin, why are you so stupid!" Xie Jiaheng said to Lin Zhixia in a high tone.
For a moment, the air in the car seemed to be frozen, and endless embarrassment spread. Lin Zhixia couldn't help but glance at the man driving in the row in front of her, but she didn't expect to meet his eyes in the rearview mirror. He was an upright person. He looked at her, but Lin Zhixia felt embarrassed that he had caught her on the spot.
"Teacher Lin, if you have anything to ask, you can ask me directly," Li Ci said.
"Ah..." Lin Zhixia didn't expect him to be so direct, and she forgot to react for a moment. She was not the kind of person who liked to pry into other people's privacy, but what should she say in front of her to avoid the misunderstanding of the person in front of her.
Li Ci looked at Teacher Lin who was still a little confused behind him, and explained on his own, "Jiaheng is the child of my comrade in arms. He usually likes to call me Dad Li. His mother asked me to pick him up today."
Lin Zhixia listened to the sincere explanation of the man in front of her. Before she could speak, she heard again: "Is there anything else you're worried about, Teacher Lin?"
Lin Zhixia smiled guiltily, "No, Mr. Li, I've never seen you before, and I heard Xiao Jiaheng calling you Dad Li, so I wanted to ask more."
"It doesn't matter, you are very respectful!" Li Ci said calmly.
The two of them stopped talking to each other along the way. Lin Zhixia turned to look out the window. At about 6 o'clock, T City was already brightly lit. Rows of street lamps were instantly lit. The early winter night was like being immersed in a sea of light. .
The only child in the car fell asleep not long after the car drove out. In order to make her sleep more comfortable, Lin Zhixia turned sideways and laid the child flat on the seat.
Li Ci looked at the teacher who had done all this from the rearview mirror, with a little smile spreading from the corners of his eyes, "He is a kind teacher who is attentive and gentle to children, but he is obviously wary and resistant to him."
The school is not far from the dining area. Even though it was a Friday, luckily there was no traffic jam and we arrived in less than 20 minutes.
Lin Zhixia got out of the car, stood on the side of the road and said to Li Ci in the cab, "Thank you," the man nodded slightly and drove away. Lin Zhixia watched the car go away, then turned and walked towards the mall.
Looking at the figure getting further and further away in the reflector, Li Ci felt inexplicably confused. He frowned slightly and raised his hand to pick up the cigarette case from the center console. He was about to shake out a cigarette when he remembered that the child was still behind him. Just lie down and give up again!
No one had mentioned the topic of Xie Jiaheng's father to him for several years. Today, Teacher Lin's unintentional inquiry brought out the turmoil hidden in his heart for no reason.
Xie Yupeng has been gone for almost four years. His child was just over half a year old when he died, and he is now in kindergarten.
Li Ci's eyes were filled with bottomless sadness. He slowly raised his eyes, and you could see that in his dark pupils, a painful and profound past was quietly hidden.
…
By the time Lin Zhixia arrived at Haidilao on the fifth floor, it was already almost forty minutes late.
As soon as he entered, he saw Yang Ruo'an sitting by the window. He was tall, with waist-length black hair pulled into a bun, and her fair skin perfectly matched her chubby face.
She has a special liking for eating.
I remember when I was in college, Lin Zhixia followed her to eat in all the snack streets near the school.
"Lin Zhixia, here," Yang Ruoan waved to her resentfully.
Lin Zhixia sat down and said to Yang Ruo'an, who had been eating for a while, "What good thing happened today? I won't even lose weight."
"Here... I'll tell you later," Yang Ruo'an said, pointing to the order code on the table, "You are choosing what you like to eat."
Lin Zhixia looked at the dishes on the table and started eating without picking up her phone to order.
Although she had eaten with the children at 4 pm, it was almost 7 pm now, and she was a little hungry.
Lin Zhixia was eating vigorously when a flattering voice came from above her head.
"I saw it."
"See, what did you see?" Lin Zhixia looked at Yang Ruo'an confused.
"The person who sent you just now," Yang Ruo'an stared at Lin Zhixia with a smile, "it seems to be a military vehicle, tell me what's going on."
Lin Zhixia said helplessly, "That's the parent of the student. There is a child whose parent came late today. I waited with him for a while."
"Then why did he give it to you?"
"It's not like he was right next to you when you were making video calls."
Lin Zhixia said to Yang Ruo'an who could no longer eat, "Okay, stop talking about me, don't you have something good to tell me?"
"I'm getting married," Yang Ruo'an's face turned unnaturally red.
Lin Zhixia was stunned for a moment, then realized what she was doing and said happily: "Congratulations, your dream has finally come true."
Tan Jie was Yang Ruo'an's crush since high school. Yang Ruo'an chased her for a long time before he caught her. She watched them come along. Their love lasted for almost ten years, and they finally got married.
"Well, I'm going to take wedding photos next week, and the wedding will be held on New Year's Day."
Lin Zhixia looked at Yang Ruo'an sitting opposite with a puzzled look, "Calculating the time, there is less than a month left, why are you in such a hurry."
Yang Ruo'an sighed and said: "We were not that anxious at first. We planned to get the certificate first and have a banquet on November 1st next year. But you also know that Tan Jie's parents are a bit superstitious. They asked someone to check the date and said it was the right time to get married next year. We are unlucky."
Then he said happily, "Anyway, it doesn't matter whether we get married early or late, as long as the groom is Tan Jie, that's fine."
Lin Zhixia said with some emotion, "I didn't expect that you would get married in a blink of an eye."
"You should hurry up and find someone to fall in love with first!" Yang Ruo'an looked at Lin Zhixia with a bit of hatred, "Don't dwell on the past."
Lin Zhixia felt a trace of sadness in her heart, "I know."
Lin Zhixia was still slightly dazed when she heard Yang Ruoan's phone ringing. She answered it happily, "Well, Xia Xia and I are together... Didn't we agree to do it tomorrow? Then you can pick me up. .”
Yang Ruo'an said a little coyly, "Xia Xia, um... I have to leave first."
"Let's go!" Lin Zhixia waved her hand.
