Chapter 192: Chapter 191: I miss you
The house Shi Yang bought is located in a community opposite the entrance of the No. 1 Middle School, just across a snack street, without having to cross the road.
This community is newly constructed, with a ring of high-rise buildings on the outskirts and nine small multi-story buildings in the middle, with the highest being only six floors. Shi Yang bought an apartment on the third floor of the most central building.
Three bedrooms, two living rooms, one kitchen, and one bathroom, north-south orientation, with open ventilation from south to north. Each side has a spacious balcony. The two bedrooms are of equal size and similarly designed, featuring a spacious double bed and a built-in floor-to-ceiling wardrobe. The main color scheme of Zhao Meimei’s room is light blue, from the curtains to the wallpaper, from the wardrobe to the neatly arranged four-piece set, it looks clean and cozy at a glance.
Zhao Meimei looked at the big bed covered with thin plastic, and then belatedly realized what Shi Yang meant with his jumpy thoughts when he called before. Her heart warmed, and when she turned back to look at Shi Yang, she saw him leaning on the door frame, chatting with her father and Shi Yang’s father about the layout of the renovation. Shi Yang seemed to sense her gaze and suddenly lifted his head. As their eyes met, Shi Yang quickly pouted his lips, making a flying kiss action.
Zhao Meimei couldn’t help but smile, her eyes arching into a crescent.
After the fifth day of the Lunar New Year, when several days’ worth of garbage could finally be thrown away, Liu Xiue put on old clothes, wore rubber gloves, and began cleaning from the inside out.
Zhao Meimei and her father, being chased away, had to move from the living room to the bedroom and then from the bedroom to the kitchen as the house was turned upside down in the cleaning frenzy, leaving no place to set foot. Zhao Meimei simply put on a down jacket and ran to the balcony to chat on the phone with Shi Yang.
The sound from Shi Yang’s side seemed a bit noisy, with someone shouting randomly, "Two cakes!" "Hurry up and play!" "Wow! Showing your ace so soon! Don’t move! Don’t move! Hey! Kong!"
Zhao Meimei asked merrily, "Bro, are you playing Mahjong?"
Shi Yang, clutching the phone and playing, said, "Yeah, and you? What are you up to?"
Zhao Meimei leaned on the balcony, looking at the snow-covered ground and the occasional passerby below, "My mom is doing a thorough cleaning at home, chased my dad and me out, I’m on the balcony."
Shi Yang played a tile and asked with concern, "Are you wearing a down jacket? The balcony is cold, let’s just talk for a bit, get back inside soon."
Zhao Meimei had just come out of the room, and hadn’t started feeling cold yet, and since they hadn’t talked much, she couldn’t bear to hang up. She chatted with Shi Yang about this and that, knowing it was inconvenient for him to talk with others around, so she picked trivial topics like TV shows and her mom’s cooking.
Shi Yang multitasked, and by the time he hung up, he had already lost two games in a row.
Wang Tianyu was grinning widely as he took the winning money and piled it in front of him, joking good-naturedly, "Mr. Shi, you’re really good to Meimei, I always thought she was your biological sister."
Qu Chaozong, while shuffling, lit a cigarette and teased Shi Yang, "Biological sister? I’d say he treats Meimei like a child bridegroom from a young age. You guys haven’t seen it, he even washes her shorts, spoiling her to no end."
Shi Yang laughed and cursed, "Get lost! I pamper my own girl, so the honey doesn’t flow to outsiders."
Third Brother casually stubbed out a cigarette, jokingly, "You’re quite the visionary. What’s that saying, raise your wife from a young age, right?"
Shi Yang lowered his head with a smile, "That’s right."
Everyone else was amused.
Having played Mahjong all morning, they stayed at Qu Chaozong’s for lunch. Shi Yang handed out the year-end bonuses individually. After Third Brother and Wang Tianyu left, he pulled a bank card from his pocket and tossed it to Qu Chaozong.
Qu Chaozong took it and was stunned, "What’s this for?"
Shi Yang smiled slightly, "Dividends."
Qu Chaozong pushed the bank card back, "I don’t want it, what’s that supposed to mean?"
Shi Yang pulled him to sit side by side on the sofa, "Just take it, stop wasting words!"
Qu Chaozong’s brows knit together, "How is it wasting words? I worked and earned my money, this extra, what’s it for?"
Shi Yang raised his hand to punch him, "Are you working a job like them? This company was started by the two of us! We agreed from the get-go, work with me and you’re considered a shareholder."
Qu Chaozong rolled his eyes at Shi Yang, "Why didn’t I see you share dividends with me before?"
Shi Yang said, "Well, I had to have the money to do so before, didn’t I? What’s in here is the shareholder dividends you deserved these past few years, there’ll be some every year from now on. Just keep it, will you? If you really don’t want it, save it for now and give it directly as a gift when I get married in a couple of years. I won’t say no to more money."
Qu Chaozong chuckled, "Can you be any more shameless?"
Shi Yang laughed and patted Qu Chaozong’s shoulder, intentionally teasing, "By the time comes, you just give me the money as a gift, I’ll save it for you, and give it to you when you get married. Inside out, I’d save on the gift money, right?"
Qu Chaozong felt touched but cursed, "Get lost! You’re taking all the advantages!"
After sitting for a while more, Shi Yang left.
Qu Chaozong walked him downstairs, watching him drive away before putting his hands in his pockets and wandering back upstairs.
The community where Qu Chaozong lived was even older than the compound where Zhao Meimei’s family lived. Even though city officials painted the exterior for aesthetics in the later years, the major downside of not having reliable property management was impossible to cover up.
The greenery below the community was overgrown with weeds, and the bricks laid on the walkways were missing pieces, uneven here and there. When walking, one could easily trip if not careful.
When Shi Yang bought a house before, Qu Chaozong was somewhat tempted. The location of the community was too good, so the house prices were relatively high, which he couldn’t afford. However, if he bought a bit off the prime area, paying a down payment, he could probably scrape enough together with the money he saved over the years and selling the old place.
Qu Chaozong was pondering over his thoughts until a flash of red coming into his sight startled him back to reality as he realized he was blocking the way. He stepped aside and looked up with an apologetic smile, but his smile froze between his brows and eyes the moment it was about to open fully.
Zhang Xin was standing right in front of him, wearing a bright red short down jacket and leather trousers with boots, her purse dangling from her wrist, hands in pockets.
Ever since the last time Zhang Xin threw the lease contract at him, the two hadn’t met or contacted each other by phone.
Zhang Xin would occasionally send him texts saying something simple and crude like, today’s food was terrible, or just saw a really dumb-looking woman pass by, messages that meant absolutely nothing.