Chapter 30: Gossip

Lu Qingjiu drove his transformed minivan onto the road, and after more than ten hours of bumps and bruises, he finally returned to the city he had chosen to leave. After half a year, the city had not changed much, still full of tall buildings and noisy roads.

Used to the quiet countryside, Lu Qingjiu is a little uncomfortable back here and the minivan is much better behaved, not sure if he is frightened by the unfamiliar scene.

"Sake, sake this way" Zhu Miaomiao arrives early at his appointment with Lu Qingjiu, waving at him.

Lu Qingjiu saw her and drove the car over.

Zhu Miaomiao said, "How long have you been awake?" Lu Qingjiu left early in the morning and arrived at night.

"No need." Lu Qingjiu said, "I'm not that tired." In fact he hadn't driven for long, the minivan had taken the wheel and the speed, and he had slept with the steering wheel

"Oh, all right." Zhu Miaomiao said, "Let's go to my house first."

Lu Qingjiu nods his head.

Although she has been in the city for many years, Lu Qingjiu has not bought a house here, and the house she lived in before was rented. This time Lu Qingjiu wanted to stay in a hotel, but Zhu Miaomiao refused to do so, saying that she had a room at her house, so why should Lu Qingjiu go to a hotel when he could stay at home?

Lu Qingjiu couldn't resist her and agreed.

After parking the car in the garage, Zhu Miaomiao took Lu Qingjiu out for dinner in front of the neighbourhood, and the difference was noticeable when Lu Qingjiu tried the food outside after being used to his own home cooking.

"I think the food is better where you are." Zhu Miaomiao echoed this sentiment, "The food in the city always tastes a little bit different."

Lu Qingjiu smiled, "I've brought you some sultanas we got there, they're delicious, try them first."

Zhu Miaomiao grabbed a handful and stuffed it into her mouth with a look of amazement, "It's delicious, these grapes are so sweet."

"Yeah." Lu Qingjiu said, "You can come back to our place when you're free."

Zhu Miaomiao smiles and nods.

After a long day of driving, Zhu Miaomiao was afraid that Lu Qingjiu would get tired, so he took him home to his guest room early.

Zhu Miaomiao is located on the twentieth floor of the city centre, not far from the bustling shopping street, and when you look up, you can see a sea of lights, and the cars on the side of the road look like streams of light. This is the night view of the city, which is completely different from that of Shuifu Village, but also beautiful in its own way.

Lu Qingjiu watched for a while and then went back to bed to get ready for an early start in the morning.

The next day, the alarm clock woke Lu Qingjiu from his dream and when he woke up and saw Zhu Miaomiao still sleeping, he gingerly washed up and left the house alone.

Lu Qingjiu went to the garage and took out the minivan, and the two of them went in the direction of the cemetery.

The cemetery is on the outskirts and the drive to it takes about an hour or so.

When we arrived at the cemetery, Lu Qingjiu bought joss sticks, paper money and a bunch of fresh chrysanthemums. As it was not a holiday or a day of rest, the cemetery was quiet, with tall pine trees standing neatly on both sides of the road in a solemn atmosphere. The dew droplets from the mist still hung on the leaves of the low wandering pine trees, leaving wet traces on the legs of Lu Qingjiu's trousers as he passed through them.

He soon found his target, a gravestone placed in the corner.

Because both parents were buried together at the same time, their names are outlined in gold lines on the headstone, and above them are two black and white photographs. The man is handsome and the woman is feminine, making people want to say "what a beautiful couple" when they look at them.

Lu Qingjiu put down the flowers in his hand, put incense and candles in front of the tombstone, then half crouched down and started to burn the paper money in his hand. The paper money turned into grey ashes in the flames and disappeared into the air with the wind, Lu Qingjiu said, "Mum and Dad, I've come back to see you."

Naturally there will be no answer.

Lu Qingjiu continued to murmur, "I'm back home now, I'm doing well, don't worry, if there's anything you need down there remember to send me a dream, I haven't dreamt of you for a long time."

He paused for a moment, his voice a little lowered, "I wonder if there's any chance of getting you back."

Lu Qingjiu's parents were buried in a landslide near Shuifu Village, and their bodies were not even found. Lu Qingjiu could not accept this and rushed back to Shuifu Village overnight to recover his parents' remains, but when he saw the collapsed mountain, he realised that this was almost impossible.

Man is too weak in the face of the power of nature, so weak that he is like a mantis and loses his life without even a chance to resist.

Lu Qingjiu burned the paper money while reciting some details of his life. After the paper money was burnt and he had finished what he wanted to say, he reached out his hand to touch the tombstone and said gently, "Mom and Dad, I'll leave now and come back next year at Ching Ming time.

There was silence, and the man and woman on the headstone still wore gentle smiles.

Lu Qingjiu packed up his things and left the cemetery. He got into his car, but his mobile phone suddenly rang and when he picked it up, it was Zhu Miaomiao's number.

"Sake." Zhu Miaomiao said, "Do you want to have dinner with us tonight ah unit gathering, Yun and the others are also there."

Lu Qingjiu said, "I don't think it's a good idea for me to go to the unit dinner."

Zhu Miaomiao said, "It's okay, the guy you hate isn't coming, I told them you were back and they were all happy."

Lu Qingjiu thought about it, "Okay." He actually liked his colleagues in the unit, and they got along very well, and he had not resigned of his own accord, but had been dismissed. Since the person he hated most was not there, it was no big deal to go for a meal, so Lu Qingjiu readily agreed to Zhu Miaomiao's invitation.

Lu Qingjiu had nothing better to do than to walk around the city and buy some snacks for Yin Xun and Bai Yuehu.

The town of Shuifu Village is still too small and many things are not available, for example, the jelly-covered candies that Lu Qingjiu likes so much are not available in the town. Although you can buy them online, you have to go to the town every time to get them delivered, which is a bit of a hassle.

Lu Qingjiu bought several large packets of soft candy and suddenly remembered something when he put them in his car.

The minivan's lights came on, fanned out, then blared again.

"Eat then where is your mouth?" Lu Qingjiu asked.

Lu Qingjiu looked inside and saw that where the engine should have been was empty, the front hood was even cleaner than the rear compartment. Lu Qingjiu was about to ask the minivan if it liked it when he saw the colourful flashing of the original black car, similar to the colour of fudge.

What does this mean delicious to the point of discolouration Lu Qingjiu hurriedly greeted the minivan and told it to take it easy, it would be finished if people saw it.

The van calmed down, but I don't know if it was Lu Qingjiu's fault, but he felt that the van was running a little happier than usual after eating the fudge

At around 6pm, Lu Qingjiu arrived at the address Zhu Miaomiao had given him and saw a number of familiar faces already sitting in the restaurant.

"Sake, you're back."

"Sake, you've finally come back to see us."

"Brother Lu, come and sit over here"

When Lu Qingjiu was seen, they all greeted him warmly. Lu Qingjiu was a gentle man, steady and responsible, and he was very well liked in the unit.

Lu Qingjiu sat down next to Zhu Miaomiao and smiled, "Hello everyone, it's been a long time."

Yun, the old-timer from before, was also at the table and when he saw Lu Qingjiu sitting down, he slapped the table and said.

"You kid, you left without a word and you dare to come back, see if I don't dunk you"

Lu Qingjiu laughed, "Show some mercy, Brother Yun."

Zhu Miaomiao poured the wine next to him: "Stop it, you won't get away with it today."

As Lu Qingjiu drank more, his cheeks flushed lightly and a thin layer of water swirled in his eyes, and Zhu Miaomiao joked that Lu Qingjiu was so cute when he was drunk.

Lu Qingjiu said, "There's no such thing as a cute man." He was about to continue pouring wine into his glass when he felt the crowd, which had been buzzing, suddenly fall silent. Lu Qingjiu felt something and looked up to see a man coming through the door.

"Why is he here?" Zhu Miaomiao, who was still slightly inebriated, sobered up at the sight of this man and said, "Didn't you say you weren't coming today?"

"How should I know." Yun had a bit of a headache too, "but he did say he wouldn't come"

Zhu Miaomiao glanced nervously at Lu Qingjiu, but saw that Lu Qingjiu's face had not changed much, only his eyes were slightly colder.

The man is tall and good looking, except that everyone in the company knows that he and Lu Qingjiu don't get along.

Lu Qingjiu said, "I'm going to the toilet." Zhu Miaomiao looked at his back, showing a worried look.

The man's name is Wu Xiao and he is Lu Qingjiu's boss, but his personality is the opposite of Lu Qingjiu's. Although he is capable, his temper is particularly foul. When Lu Qingjiu first joined the company, he treated Lu Qingjiu well, but for some reason, he became worse and worse, and even began to target Lu Qingjiu, to the point that Zhu Miaomiao and the others all guessed that Lu Qingjiu's resignation was related to Wu Xiao.

Lu Qingjiu, of course, did not give a definite answer to this speculation.

Lu Qingjiu had finished going to the toilet and was washing his hands with his head down when he heard a cold sentence mixed with disgust coming from next to him, "Why have you come back, didn't I tell you to stay out of my sight?"

Lu Qingjiu turned his head and saw Wu Xiao, "Mr. Wu."

Wu Xiao walked up to Lu Qingjiu and said, "What, you think in jest you went out and did something to make Zhang Chuyang actually change his mind about you Lu Qingjiu, if I were you, I'd be smart and stay away from this company."

Lu Qingjiu had already drunk a lot of wine but felt his mind was clearer than usual, he looked at Wu Xiao and smiled lightly, "Mr. Wu, aren't you curious about where I know those things from?"

Wu Xiao looked warily at Lu Qingjiu.

"I'll tell you what," Lu Qingjiu laughed, the alcohol had taken away his gentle aura and made him a little sharp, his cold and mocking gaze was so cold that Wu Xiao found it impossible to look straight at him.

"Don't you just fucking love gossip," Wu Xiao said, "what else can you tell me?"

Lu Qingjiu sneered and pointed at him, "You come with me."

Wu Xiao didn't expect Lu Qingjiu to be so arrogant, so he got angry with him and the two of them walked towards the outside of the restaurant, startling Zhu Miaomiao who had been worried.

"They're going out now, what are they going to do?" Zhu Miaomiao said in horror. Zhu Miaomiao panicked, "I'll go with them, what if Sake gets beaten up, Wu Xiao is bigger than him."

Yunguo stopped Zhu Miaomiao: "No, don't go and get involved, in fact, Wu is not bad, but his temper is not good, the two will not fight."

Zhu Miaomiao said, "Why do you think Mr. Wu is so uncomfortable with sake?"

Yun said, "I don't know how."

Wu Xiao is their top boss, and it's not easy to be targeted by him, but they still can't figure out why Wu Xiao doesn't like Lu Qingjiu and targets him at every turn.

Lu Qingjiu got into his car, which was parked outside, when Wu Xiao grabbed his hand and told him to get down.

"What for" Lu Qingjiu was getting a little impatient, "I said I'll take you somewhere."

Wu Xiao said, "You want to go in for a fucking DUI, don't you?"

Lu Qingjiu: ""He had forgotten about it. He was so used to the minivan opening the back door for him that many of his driving habits had become bad, and he would have to change them in the future.

Wu Xiao grimaced and sat down in the cab and said, "Address"

Lu Qingjiu said, "In front of the company."

Wu Xiao: "" He wanted to say something but finally held back, only his eyes were getting worse and worse, looking at Lu Qingjiu as if he was looking at a psychopath.

Lu Qingjiu didn't bother to explain to him, he had been drinking and now his whole body was dizzy and he didn't think so much about what he said, he said, "Mr. Wu, have you ever seen a ghost before"

Wu Xiao was driving when he heard Lu Qingjiu's comment and sneered, "Why do you want to blame this on ghosts?

Lu Qingjiu caught the gist of Wu Xiao's words: "So you've seen it."

Wu Xiao was silent for a moment, then nodded somewhat perfunctorily and said, "I saw it when I was a child." He had indeed seen those dirty things, and he had seen them often when he was a child, and every time he saw them he had to get sick, and his family had gone to see someone about it, who said that he was too young and would get better when he grew up. That was a pretty solid statement too, because he hadn't seen those things since he was older.

"No wonder." Lu Qingjiu said.

Wu Xiao said, "What do you want to say?"

Lu Qingjiu didn't say anything, leaning lazily against the passenger side: "You won't believe me even if I say more, you'll know what I want to say when we get there."

In his eyes, Lu Qingjiu was a person who liked to gossip about other people, and his apparent breeziness and gentleness was all an act. The most recent one even involved the company's most confidential project. Because of this, Wu Xiao asked Lu Qingjiu to resign and said forcefully that if he did not resign, he would be fired.

Lu Qingjiu did not question Wu Xiao's decision, but walked away cleanly. This made Wu Xiao sure he was right, Lu Qingjiu was indeed a villain disguised as a gentleman, a man Wu Xiao hated most, so he did not give Lu Qingjiu a good look when he saw him.

When Lu Qingjiu didn't have any intention to explain until he reached his destination, Wu Xiao stopped the car and asked, "What are you trying to say?"

Lu Qingjiu said, "Come here." He entered the building, walked to the lift door and pressed it.

Wu Xiao frowned as he followed Lu Qingjiu, wanting to see what kind of tricks Lu Qingjiu could play.

The lift went all the way up and reached their company's floor. Because of the gathering today, most of the employees were already off work, leaving a small number who couldn't leave still working overtime.

The security guard at the entrance of the company looked surprised when he saw Lu Qingjiu and Wu Xiao and called out hello to Mr. Wu.

Wu Xiao nodded and said, "What the hell do you want?" He was getting a little impatient.

Lu Qingjiu ignored him and continued on his way. The two of them walked through the long corridor of the company and soon reached the entrance of the company's toilet, where he pushed open the door and made a gesture of invitation to Wu Xiao.

Wu Xiao's expression froze for a moment as he saw Lu Qingjiu's movements and he said, "What do you mean?"

Lu Qingjiu winked, "Don't you want to know the answer, I'll give you the answer now."

Wu Xiao: "The answer is in the toilet" He looked at Lu Qingjiu suspiciously and wondered what had occurred to him. A blush inexplicably rose to his cheeks, "I don't like men."

Lu Qingjiu: "" He was so shocked by Wu Xiao's brain circuit that he simply kept quiet and walked in first.

Although Wu Xiao hesitated, he followed Lu Qingjiu to the toilet since he had already reached the door.

With a huge window with folding shutters and a small lamp overhead emitting a faint glow, the toilet is not a pleasant place to be, no matter where you are.

Wu Xiao said, "I'm in, where are the answers I want"

Lu Qingjiu took a deep breath, went to the window and shouted outside, "Lao Shu, Lao Shu, are you there yet?"

Wu Xiao :""

Lu Qingjiu said, "Wake up, old tree."

Wu Xiao looks over with horrified eyes, clearly thinking that Lu Qingjiu has gone mad.

Lu Qingjiu ignored Wu Xiao and called out a few more times, and after a minute or two, a voice identical to Lu Qingjiu's came out of one of the toilet cubicles, and the voice replied, "You're back, Wine."

At the sound of this voice, the terror in Wu Xiao's eyes almost turned into substance as his mouth opened wide and he pointed with trembling hands to Lu Qingjiu and then to the toilet cubicle where the sound was coming from, obviously asking what was going on and why there was another Lu Qingjiu talking inside.

Lu Qingjiu shrugged and walked over to the toilet cubicle, reaching out and pulling open the cubicle door, which was pulled open, but the cubicle was empty, with nothing inside, much less a second Lu Qingjiu.

"What's going on here" Wu Xiao was shocked, if he hadn't heard it with his own ears he would never have believed such a thing.

"Old tree." Lu Qingjiu sighed, "I've told you not to use my voice when you gossip, now you've done me a disservice."

"Hahahahaha," the same sound as Lu Qingjiu came out of the toilet again, only the voice was a little embarrassed, "I didn't know anyone could hear me, I wasn't paying attention when I was gossiping."

Lu Qingjiu said, "Look, you've caused me to be misunderstood, haven't you?"

The old tree doesn't say a word.

The old tree was a magical presence that Lu Qingjiu discovered shortly after he joined the company. On that occasion, Lu Qingjiu was using the toilet when he heard someone whispering some very private gossip, but Lu Qingjiu felt that something was wrong because no one else in the company had this voice. Something wasn't right the toilets were clearly deserted.

Lu Qingjiu noticed something strange and asked another colleague to come to the toilet, but the colleague came in and said he hadn't heard anything. Lu Qingjiu then realised that the voice did not belong to a human being, but after he had been at the office for a long time, he realised that the voice came from a big tree at the entrance to the office, and that the tree also realised that Lu Qingjiu could understand his own words. The tree had a strange voice before, but when it became friendly with Lu Qingjiu, it started to sound like Lu Qingjiu on purpose, which is said to be a sign of fondness for someone in their tree tribe. Lu Qingjiu didn't take it seriously at the time, but he never thought it would lead to trouble later.

Wu Xiao is obviously not as sensitive to these non-humans as Lu Qingjiu, so he can only hear Da Shu talking very occasionally. This Da Shu knows the most intimate gossip in the whole company, such as a colleague is not on leave but has gone for plastic surgery, and the president has contracted a sexually transmitted disease because of prostitution. Xiao overheard it and rightly misunderstood it.

Wu Xiao, who misunderstood Lu Qingjiu as a gossip spreader, gave him an ultimatum, giving him two options: to be sacked or to resign of his own accord to save face.

Although somewhat inexplicable, Lu Qingjiu chose the latter option and left the company. In retrospect, these things were simply unwarranted.

The look of embarrassment on Wu Xiao's face intensified as he listened to Lu Qingjiu's explanation, and he coughed dryly, "I'm sorry, I didn't think there was such a thing in the world."

Lu Qingjiu said helplessly, "Do I look like a gossip?"

Wu Xiao: "Just a little bit like"

Lu Qingjiu: ""Okay, as long as you are happy.

The author has something to say: Wu Xiao: Lu Qingjiu This man with big eyebrows is going around telling people that I have hemorrhoids

Lu Qingjiu: I'm not, I'm not