Endless Fall

82 A Gift from Her Could Make Him Wild With Joy

“Yes. You take the left room and I’ll take the right.” Lin Jiao ran back and forth twice before finally unpacking all her clothes.

She sat on the sofa in the living room with Pei Zhi and waited for the long night to end. “Uncle, is Ven Olle a local?”

“No.” Pei Zhi crossed his legs and told her about Ven Olle.

Lin Jiao crossed her legs too. “He’s quite outstanding. He knows a lot of languages.”

“Indeed.” Pei Zhi played with the cigarette box. After getting her approval, he lit a cigarette. “How many languages do you know?”

“Two. English and Russian.”

“Russian? Did your grandfather teach you that?”

“Yes.” Lin Jiao picked up two throw pillows and placed one behind each of their backs. “He’s been there before.”

“Then he must have gone there with my father and the others.”

“The others?”

“Including Old Master Chu.”

Pei Zhi adjusted his sitting posture and said, “They taught me and Chu Yuzhou Russian too.”

“No wonder.” Lin Jiao seemed to know why he did not speak another language. “Did they stop you from learning French and German?”

“Yes.” Pei Zhi looked at her and they tacitly stopped talking about this topic.

He swiped open the screen of his phone. “It’s only six o’clock. Do you want to sleep a little longer?”

“I can’t sleep anymore.”

“Do you want me to watch a drama with you?”

Lin Jiao nodded and leaned over to get the remote control.

She turned off the light above her head and played the unfinished Korean drama on the screen.

When the first ray of sunlight poured down from the sky, the white veil was also covered with a faint golden hue.

The shops downstairs opened one after another. The sirens of Sachs and the cars started a new chapter in this warm morning.

After taking a shower, they walked to the next door and pressed the doorbell to wake up Qu Shao.

“Boss, are we going to eat Maca now?”

“It’s called Macaroon.”

“… I got it wrong.”

Qu Shao touched the tip of his nose awkwardly.

Led by Ven Olle, they walked down the street on the left to a macaroon shop.

“This thing is too sweet.”

After taking a bite, Lin Jiao also had enough of it.

She pushed the box forward and gestured for Qu Shao to try another one. “The gray one tastes like caviar. You should like it.”

Qu Shao took a bite.

He could not find any beautiful adjectives to describe it. He could only make an analogy. “This is not bad. It tastes somewhat like the pie I have in my hometown.”

Pei Zhi, who was not used to eating something too sweet, picked up a piece and brought it to his mouth to taste it.

He looked at Lin Jiao, who was wiping her fingertips. “Aren’t you going to eat?”

“I’m full.” Lin Jiao picked up her bag and looked at the shop opposite. “Uncle, let’s go to that shop to look at suits.”

“Okay.” Pei Zhi stood up.

He held Lin Jiao’s wrist, acting like he was afraid she would get lost, “Who are you buying a suit for?”

“For you.” Lin Jiao looked up at him, her smile dazzling his eyes.

Pei Zhi gulped. “Why?”

“Do I need a reason to give you a gift?”

“I’m just a little surprised.”

“You won’t be surprised once you get used to me sending you gifts.” Lin Jiao stepped on the zebra crossing and quickened her pace towards the suit shop.

She pushed open the glass door and asked Ven Olle to translate for her.

“He asked if you wanted a vest.”

“Yes.”

“Choose the style first.” Ven Olle pointed to the row of ready-to-wear clothes on the right, translating every word the shop assistant said.

Lin Jiao chose a black suit and a dark gray vest. When Pei Zhi was getting his body measured, she went to choose a tie.

She asked Ven Olle, “Which one do you think is better?”

“This is good.” Ven Olle held up a checkered tie. “This will look good on him.”

“He might not like it.”

“But you will like it.” He put it on himself and showed her. “You can pull like this and touch his abs.”

Lin Jiao was speechless. Why would she touch his abs?

She picked two ties according to her preference and walked to the fitting mirror where Pei Zhi was. “Does it fit?”

“It is a little tight on the shoulder.”

“How about the arm?”

“It’s alright.” If not for the fact that it was uncomfortable, Pei Zhi would not have taken it off. “I’ll get them to tailor it.”

He spoke to the shop assistant in English and walked to the cashier to write down the address.

“Uncle, here.” Lin Jiao handed him the tie and vest and smiled sweetly.

Pei Zhi felt a warmth in his heart. “Thank you.”

When he walked out of the shop, he held that slender hand again. Every step he took was filled with joy.

They shopped until noon when they went to LeCinq to eat.

The decoration of LeCinq was like a palace, giving off a luxurious and elegant feeling.

Surrounded by piano music and the faint fragrance of flowers, they entered and sat by the window.

As the bread, appetizers, and hors d’oeuvre were served one after another, Qu Shao started to get tired.

He asked in confusion, “Boss, do you often eat this long?”

“No.”

Pei Zhi remembered that she said she hated waiting.

He put down his knife and fork and looked sideways gently. “Jiaojiao, let’s eat at another restaurant.”

“No need.” Lin Jiao still had some patience left.

She met his gaze and said with a smile, “We’ll only come once anyway. Let’s leave after eating the main course.”

“Okay,” Pei Zhi reminded Ven Olle to choose a restaurant where they didn’t have to wait for dishes to be served next time.

Ven Olle nodded. “No problem.”

Seeing that they were not willing to wait, Qu Shao finally said, “French people are really free. They are actually willing to spend a couple hours on a meal.”

Ven Olle said with a chuckle, “They can even eat until midnight.”

“Won’t their stomachs explode?”

“I’ve never heard of such a thing happening.”

His overly serious look amused Lin Jiao.

“Try it next time.” She forked up the salmon that had just been served and chewed it slowly.

Ven Olle shook his head.

He swallowed the food in his mouth. “If I have this much time, I’ll spend it on playing and making money. It’s not worth spending it on a meal.”

Qu Shao clicked his tongue and tempted him with money. “I’ll pay you fifty euros to eat until midnight. How about that?”

“No.”

“A hundred euros?”

“No.” Ven Olle said adamantly. “If you give me a thousand euros, I’ll consider it.”

“In your dream.”

Qu Shao rolled his eyes at him.

He finished the main course and went to pay the bill at Pei Zhi’s instruction. When he got the bill, he was shocked. “What a coincidence!”

“How much?”

“A thousand euros.”

“I guessed it.” Ven Olle smiled and put his hand on his shoulder. “You have an ugly expression on your face. You look like an idiot.”