Paper Lover At Old Town Bookstore Chapter 34

lost passerby

The opening ceremony of the branch in a neighboring city came to a successful conclusion, and when I saw off the last batch of guests, I just wanted to escape.

On the way back to the city, the street scene outside the window was rapidly regressing, like an out-of-control plot in a book. I couldn’t catch it and couldn’t stop it.

The moment I opened the door to the apartment, I was greeted by a vast, dead silence.

Lin Zhiqing’s things have been emptied out. The game consoles originally piled in the corner of the living room, the comic books on the bookshelf, and the clothes hanging to dry on the balcony have all disappeared, leaving only a faint mark on the wall, reminding him that another person once lived here.

I kicked off my shoes and sat down on the sofa. Looking at the huge apartment, I suddenly felt very strange.In the past, I always thought Lin Zhiqing was noisy, but now this quietness is overwhelming.

Scenes of Song Zhili’s coercion, Xu Xingruo’s temptation, Yang Changwen’s entanglement, and Lin Zhiqing’s helplessness in being driven away were all swirling in my mind, making me so exhausted that I didn’t even have the strength to raise my hand to turn on the light.

As the night wore on, the apartment was always dark.I sat like that until the sky turned white and the first ray of morning light shone through the cracks in the curtains, then I slowly realized that I had not slept all night.

My phone was filled with messages from my colleagues in the company, asking me why I didn’t come to work, and about the follow-up work arrangements for the opening. There were also several missed calls, one of which was from Song Zhili.I looked at the name dancing on the screen, my fingertips hovering above it, but after all, I still didn’t call back.

I don’t want to go to the company, I don’t want to face those probing eyes, and I don’t want to bump into Song Zhili again.I just want to escape everything for a while in this empty apartment, even if it’s just a moment of peace.

I got up and walked to the balcony, opened the window, and felt the cold morning breeze blowing in my face, bringing with it a hint of coolness.The street downstairs gradually became lively, with hurried pedestrians and vehicles. Everyone had their own trajectory. Only I, like a lost passerby, was trapped in this collapsed novel world and could not find an exit.

Before the cold wind from the balcony woke up my chaotic thoughts, there was a gentle knock on the apartment door – it didn’t sound like a reminder, but it had a certain penetrating power that made my heart sink instantly.

I almost didn’t have to guess who it was.

He walked to the door slowly and looked through the peephole. As expected, Song Zhili was standing outside the door.

He was wearing a well-tailored dark gray suit. He had obviously come from the company. He was holding two exquisite breakfast bags in his hands, and his fingertips were still stained with some moisture from morning dew.

The sun fell on him, outlining his tall figure, but it couldn’t dispel the lingering paranoia in his eyes.

The moment he opened the door, his eyes immediately locked on mine, with a trace of imperceptible tension, as if he was afraid that I would disappear again.”I know you didn’t go to the company.” His voice was low and gentle, different from his usual strong tone. He raised his hand and handed over the breakfast, “You didn’t have breakfast? You just bought it and it’s still hot.”

I didn’t answer, I just turned sideways to let him in, and my eyes fell on his hands holding breakfast – those hands had once held me tightly and clumsily wiped my tears, but now they seemed a little at a loss.

The emptiness in the apartment was broken by his figure. He walked to the dining room naturally, put breakfast on the table, and took out soy milk, steamed buns, and the glutinous rice and shaomai that I mentioned casually before.”You didn’t eat well after Lin Zhiqing moved away, right?” He turned to look at me, with concern in his eyes, “I saw you didn’t eat much when I was in the neighboring city yesterday.”

I stood there without moving, watching him arrange the tableware skillfully, with mixed feelings in my heart.

He is always like this, controlling everything in the most domineering way, but in these details, he reveals a gentleness that cannot be ignored.

But this tenderness, to me, is more like a sweet yoke.

“How did you know I was in the apartment?” I finally said, my voice hoarse from a sleepless night.

“I’m not withdrawing from your position.” He didn’t hide anything, his tone was calm and even a little matter-of-fact, “I’m afraid you’ll run away again.”

I clenched my palms tightly, feeling a sense of powerlessness welling up in my heart again.This man never understood the word “respect”, but he clumsily guarded his so-called “heart” in his own way.

He walked up to me and raised his hand to touch my cheek. When he saw me subconsciously retreating, he paused and finally withdrew his hand.”Eat first.” His voice softened, “I have already arranged the company’s affairs, so you don’t need to go today. You have a good rest. If anything happens, we will talk slowly.”

The aroma of breakfast filled the empty apartment, carrying the smell of fireworks, but it couldn’t warm my cold heart.

I looked at the persistence in his eyes and knew that this entanglement was not over after all.

I didn’t refuse anymore and silently walked to the dining table and sat down.The soy milk in the porcelain bowl was steaming, and the sweet aroma of glutinous rice and simmered wheat entered my nose. It was a taste I really liked before – I didn’t expect that he would remember it for so long.

The hand that picked up the chopsticks was a little stiff. I lowered my head and sipped the soy milk, not daring to look at Song Zhili opposite.He didn’t move his chopsticks, he just sat there and looked at me quietly, his gaze so focused that it made me feel uncomfortable, as if I was some rare treasure, afraid that it would disappear in the blink of an eye.

There was only the soft sound of clinking dishes and chopsticks in the apartment, and his undisguised gaze, and the air was so dull that it was suffocating.

After swallowing the Shaomai in my mouth, I finally couldn’t help but look up, met his gaze, and asked in a hoarse voice: “How are Yang Changwen and Xu Xingruo… how are they?”

Song Zhili’s eyes moved, his fingertips tapped lightly on the table, and his tone was calm but with unquestionable control: “Yang Changwen has been sent abroad and will not come back in the short term.” He paused and added, “I gave him two choices, either to work in a foreign branch, or to leave the industry completely. He chose the former.”

My hand holding the chopsticks tightened. I didn’t expect him to move so quickly.

“As for Xu Xingruo.” Song Zhili’s voice became colder, and a trace of sarcasm flashed in his eyes, “She is actually smart. Seeing that Yang Changwen left, she took the initiative to come to me to admit her mistake, saying that she just wanted to watch a show on a whim before, and there was no malice.”

He looked at me and said with a hint of comfort in his tone, “I have already warned her. She is not allowed to come near you again, and she is not allowed to interfere in our affairs again.”