The day before New Year's Eve, Tong Lele successfully performed BJ.
Lao Bai went to pick up the plane. He wanted to meet Tong Lele to discuss the business first, and then tactfully pave the way for her and Dong Qiangqiang to reduce their shares. By the way, he wanted to explore her tone and listen to her attitude, and then formally meet her after the Spring Festival holiday. communicate.
Unexpectedly, less than five minutes after the two met, he saw Tong's father and Tong Lele's cousin Tong Ledan appearing at the airport in a dusty state.
Although Tong Lele invited Lao Bai to have lunch with her and her family, Tong's father showed no enthusiasm for his prospective son-in-law, and he didn't even show any politeness.
His instinct of observing words told Lao Bai: Tong's father obviously didn't want to give up the time when his daughter had just returned to China. He had no choice but to tell Tong Lele at the airport: If there was a chance, it would be best to visit Dong Qiangqiang’s parents during the Chinese New Year. After all, this was something Dong Qiangqiang had specially entrusted to him before he left. Although he contacted Dong Qiangqiang as soon as possible after returning to China, However, Dong's mother rejected his kindness on the grounds that both Dong's father and Dong's mother were in the hospital and it was inconvenient to visit. He could only pin his hopes on Tong Lele.
After getting Tong Lele's consent, Lao Bai waved goodbye to Tong Lele's family and embarked on the return journey to his parents' home.
Seven days passed by in a flash. On the morning of the eighth day of the Lunar New Year, Lao Bai received a call from Tong Lele before going out. The originally planned morning visit to the Summer Palace was temporarily rescheduled to the afternoon. Tong Lele didn't say the reason, and Lao Bai didn't ask.
There are five gates in the Summer Palace: East Palace Gate, North Palace Gate, North Ruyi Gate, South Ruyi Gate and Xinjian Palace Gate.
In the afternoon, Lao Bai arrived at Beigong Gate ten minutes early, but it was already past the appointed time and he still hadn't seen Tong Lele. He was not in a hurry. While smoking, he mentally repeated several times what he should say after meeting him. After waiting for another ten minutes, he received an inquiry call from Tong Lele, and then he realized that the place he should go to was actually Bei Ruyimen. .
Fortunately, the two doors were not far apart. After ten minutes' walk, Lao Bai saw Tong Lele wearing a long sapphire blue down jacket from a distance, waving to him.
The two met and exchanged greetings. Lao Bai paid special attention to Tong Lele because he had something on his mind.
What makes him feel strange is that during the Spring Festival holiday, people usually gain a few pounds, but Tong Lele has lost a lot of weight. Although she can't see whether she is fat through the down jacket, her cheeks are visibly deflated. The person's complexion is not good either.
Lao Bai saw it in his eyes, felt pain in his heart, and immediately gave her a bear hug. According to psychology, hugging can improve blood flow, thereby relaxing the body and mind and reducing stress. But what made him even more surprised was that although Tong Lele didn't refuse the bear hug, he didn't show any joy either.
Tong Lele, who was familiar with the Summer Palace, led Lao Bai into the garden and walked south along the promenade between the southern foot of Wanshou Mountain and the northern shore of Kunming Lake.
Perhaps because of the Spring Festival holiday, there were few tourists playing or walking in the park, and the huge park seemed particularly empty and deserted.
Although it was not Lao Bai's first visit to the Summer Palace, it had been more than ten years since his last visit. He thought that Tong Lele would do her best to be a landlord and tell him the legend of the Summer Palace, which would be regarded as not forgetting business, but Tong Lele did not Duoyan led him straight towards the Seventeen-Arch Bridge.
The sun hung obliquely in the upper left corner of the White Pagoda of Yuquan Mountain. Although there was still some time before evening, there was no warmth in the air. Because of the low temperature, the snow that fell before the Spring Festival has not yet completely melted away. The cold and biting north wind swept the scent of pines and cypresses on Wanshou Mountain and the remaining snow from the mountain to the bottom of the mountain, blowing across the mirror-like Kunming Lake and flying farther away. The seventeen-hole bridge spanning the East Embankment and Nanhu Island rushed across the river.
Just after walking halfway down the corridor, Lao Bai felt hot all over. He threw the scarf and gloves into his bag, unzipped his down jacket halfway, bent down, put his hands on his knees and gasped: "Hey, I can't keep up."
Hearing Lao Bai's complaint, Tong Lele, who was walking in front of him, couldn't help but turn around and said, half mockingly and half jokingly: "I want to tell you that this is an occupational disease of being a tour guide. Doesn't it mean that you are doing the same thing?"
"It was fine before I returned to China," Lao Bai stood up and pointed at his belly with a smile, "I have gained weight during the holidays these days."
"Sorry, I forgot about this." Tong Lele suddenly woke up, slowly returned to Lao Bai, and asked with concern, "Does your foot hurt again?"
Lao Bai wanted to hold her hand: "I'm not that squeamish."
Tong Lele smiled and walked towards the white marble fence by the lake shore. Lao Bai missed it and had no choice but to follow him.
The ice surface reflected the reflections of the Buddhist Incense Pavilion, the trees on the shore, and nearby pavilions. Lao Bai saw some staff checking the thickness of the ice in different parts of the ice rink, and others cleaning and maintaining the ice surface. .
"I heard that the most suitable place for enjoying snow in the Summer Palace is on the Xidi, where you can see the most beautiful golden light hole." Lao Bai was at a loss for words, "Would you like to take a walk (to the Xidi)? Take some photos."
The wind on the shore was very strong. Lao Bai silently stared at the girl in front of him whose hair was messed up by the wind but still stared straight ahead without saying a word. He thought about what he should talk about first so as to cause the least harm to Tong Lele. Shouldn't we start by greeting Dong Qiangqiang's parents? At this moment, Tong Lele suddenly spoke.
"I've been thinking about it for a long time. I want to reconsider getting married."
Lao Bai was stunned by what she said. Although he also planned to postpone the wedding, and this was originally the most important thing he wanted to communicate with Tong Lele today, he did not expect that these words would come out of Tong Lele's mouth first. What made him even more puzzled was that since the two of them had similar ideas, he should be able to accept the other's ideas peacefully, but unexpectedly there was an indescribable feeling in his heart.
The shock short-circuited his brain for a moment, and it took him a few seconds to realize: He had always thought that marrying Tong Lele was a certainty, but he didn't know that the other party didn't think so. In addition, Tong Lele clearly didn't mean what he wanted to express just now. Tong Lele's wording was not "I want to discuss something with you" or "I want to pause for a while", but "I want to think about it again", that is to say, she was hesitating or she had regretted it.
Lao Bai knew very well that he was not unaware of her hesitation.
He was speechless for a moment, and there was only the sound of sobbing between the two of them.
