Solstice Secrets

As soon as Ling Dongzhi entered the door, he saw Xiaomianer and his servants scrambling for something on the balcony, jumping up and down as if they were practicing the skills of catching mice in a limited space.Xiao Hui dragged his unhealed forelegs and lay on the blanket basking in the sun, his round head resting on the edge of the flower pot, almost crushing the slender phoenix bamboo.

Ling Dongzhi felt that the thing that the servant was snatching from Xiaomai looked a little familiar, and when he changed his shoes and came in, he realized that the toy that the two cats were happily tearing back and forth was...his underwear.

Ling Dongzhi looked up at the clothes-drying pole above the balcony, and introspected sadly, didn't he fix it with clips when he hung it up?

"It's too much!" Ling Dongzhi opened the balcony door angrily, and pulled out the panties covered with cat hair and saliva from under the servant's belly, "It's too much! This is the second pair of this month ! Although this thing is not expensive, it can’t stand up to all your fuss.” The most important thing is that this thing is a very private thing, and it was torn up and played by two little guys on the balcony in a grand manner, in case someone passed by downstairs Neighbors saw...

Ling Dongzhi felt embarrassing when he thought about it.

The servant lay on the carpet wagging the tip of his tail, as if he still didn't understand what happened.But the little man had already reacted, sat down obediently beside the servant, squinted his eyes, and made a smiley expression, "Oh, winter solstice, you're back?"

Ling Dongzhi raised the torn underwear in his hand and shook, "Give me an explanation."

"Explain..." Xiao Mian'er's eyes fluttered, "My servant and I came to see Xiao Hui. Xiao Hui was sleeping, and we slept next to it. When we were about to fall asleep, something suddenly It floated down and landed on the servant, which shocked us a lot."

The servant nodded hastily, "My eyes are covered, I'm scared to death!"

Ling Dongzhi couldn't laugh or cry.He felt that Xiaomai and his servant must think that only the things hanging on the clothesline belong to the midwinter solstice, and they own what falls off.

Ling Dongzhi threw the torn and shapeless underpants into the trash can, checked Xiao Hui's injuries, and then began to think about the fact that there would be guests coming to the door later.

Ling Dongzhi knows that he has some quirks, for example, he likes to be quiet to such an extent that his family members can hardly accept it, or he is lazy by nature, but he has a bit of obsessive-compulsive disorder, and he doesn't want his room to be messy.This caused him to be very annoyed every time a guest came to the door, because it meant that he would have a lot of work: the items used by the guest had to be cleaned, and the sanitation had to be re-done...

But why did he agree to let Zhuang Zhou come to his door?

Ling Dongzhi himself had some doubts.Because you don't hate this person?And he can cook, and the taste is quite good?These seem to be reasons, and they seem not to be.

Ling Dongzhi decided to observe carefully after Zhuang Zhou came to his door, trying to find a reasonable explanation.

When Zhuang Zhou heard Ling Dongzhi asked him to buy a small fish on the phone, he knew it must be for the injured wild cat.But he didn't expect that there would be three wild cats on the balcony of Ling Dongzhi, and one of them, a wild cat with emerald green eyes and a tabby pattern, still looked so... familiar.

Zhuang Zhou felt as if he had touched the truth.

He decided not to ask any questions.

From Zhuang Zhou's point of view, there is no need to get to the bottom of this matter. If the cats are very familiar with Ling Dongzhi, it is almost logical that Ling Dongzhi will try to get them back after seeing the stolen goods brought back by the cats. .

Zhuang Zhou didn't think deeply about why the cats would listen to Ling Dongzhi's words.A person who can take good care of injured wild cats, it seems natural that wild cats will like him.He is a dog owner, so he naturally knows that sometimes animals are more emotional and conscientious than humans.

Zhuang Zhou put on the slippers that Ling Dongzhi handed over with a calm expression, and handed Ling Dongzhi the big and small bags in his hand, "There are two kinds of small fish. There are also sliced ​​meat and vegetables. By the way, do you have hot pot here?"

Ling Dongzhi nodded, "Yes."

Zhuang Zhou breathed a sigh of relief, "Let's eat hot pot. Didn't you say you like spicy food? I just went to He Kuan's shop, and the bottom ingredients are fried by him. He Kuan is very particular about food. You can try his best to cook the food he makes. You can rest assured."

It was only then that Ling Dongzhi noticed that there was actually a lunch box that was warm to the touch in one of the bags, "Why is this so embarrassing?"

Zhuang Zhou said with a smile: "The meat is also taken from Hekuan store. His store airlifts mutton from Inner Mongolia every week, which should be more reliable. I bought vegetables and fish at the vegetable market. I don't know about you. Buy whatever you like to eat."

He said he bought it casually, but he also bought it according to the types of dishes he ordered at the hot pot restaurant last time at Lingdong Solstice.Ling Dongzhi naturally noticed it too.He had long thought that Zhuang Zhou was a careful person, and now it seems that he is indeed.

Ling Dongzhi's kitchen is not big, so the two of them seem a bit crowded.Ling Dongzhi first made some cat food for the cat and took it out. When he came back, Zhuangzhou had already started to wash the vegetables, and he still had a brand new apron on his chest with Pleasant Goat and Big Big Wolf printed on it.The quality of the apron is not great, the pattern and colors are all wrong.At first glance, it looks like a bargain bought at a stall in the vegetable market.

Ling Dongzhi scratched his head, "Actually, my family has an apron."

Zhuang Zhou lowered his head and broke off the Chinese cabbage one by one, without raising his head, he said, "I saw your painting."

Ling Dongzhi raised his eyebrows, "How do you feel?"

Zhuang Zhou thought about it seriously, "It's very vivid and infectious."

Ling Dongzhi grinned, and asked him back with a bit of a naughty expression on his face, "Is it incompatible with the sunny spring and white snow around you?"

Zhuang Zhou recalled the other works in the exhibition hall. It seems that most of them are ink paintings, and there are also a few oil paintings. Landscapes and figures are all static pictures, which did not impress him deeply. The paintings are very attractive. Well, as soon as you enter, your eyes are attracted."

"I did it on purpose." Ling Dongzhi snorted triumphantly, "Last time there was an event for the Provincial Painting Association, I sent a work with a rural theme to it, but an old man in the organizing committee said that I always messed up Some rustic things to tease people, and said I have no style." Ling Dongzhi showed a look of resentment on his face, "You know, that old guy likes to put on airs the most, we treat him to hot pot, he insists Eat Western food, invite him to eat Western food, and say that the wine we ordered is wrong, maybe pretending to be B. Usually, Masaccio and Donatello are open and closed, as if no one knows."

Zhuang Zhou was a little embarrassed, because he didn't know what the two names meant.

Ling Dongzhi noticed something from Zhuang Zhou's expression, he laughed twice, and changed the subject embarrassingly, "How do you know how to cook?"

Zhuang Zhou asked him back, "I want to say that I am interested, do you believe it?"

Ling Dongzhi shook his head.He thinks that Zhuang Zhou should be the type who is not very interested in other activities except sports.Many women are quite repulsed to enter the kitchen, let alone he is a big man.

"Really smart." Zhuang Zhou praised him, and explained with a calm expression: "For a while, my mother was not in good health. To take care of the sick, she had to cook something nutritious. She didn't really trust the nanny hired by the family. My brother was not at home during that time, so I was the only one to cook. Cooking skills were developed at that time. Is it not bad?"

Ling Dongzhi nodded, finding his words difficult to understand, "I can't trust the nanny hired by my family... What do you mean?"

Zhuang Zhou was silent for a while, then shook his head indifferently, "It's okay to tell you, you should know that I have a brother above me, right?"

"Zhuang Lin said it." Ling Dongzhi nodded, "But according to what he said, the young master of your family often doesn't show up?"

"It's not like that." Zhuang Zhou smiled and shook his head, with a slightly regretful look in his eyes, "Zhuang Lin probably didn't mention it to you, the two of us—my brother and I, are of the same father and mother as Zhuang Lin Brother. My parents entered into a marriage for the purpose of family alliance. There was no emotional foundation before marriage, and there was no kinship after marriage. My mother was in a bad state of mind for a while, and she always suspected... ..." Zhuang Zhou hesitated for a moment, then said slowly: "She always suspected that my father would send someone to kill her. So..."

The winter solstice is a bit messy.Is this the living secret history of the rich?

Zhuang Zhou smiled self-deprecatingly, "Actually, she was thinking too much. My father is not so scheming."

Ling Dongzhi didn't know what to say, should he comfort him?

"Then...why did Zhuang Lin follow you?" This was what Ling Dongzhi didn't understand the most.In the stories of the wealthy families he had read, brothers would fight to the death for things like inheritance rights.How could Zhuang Lin's mother rest assured that her son would live with his ex-wife's son?

Zhuang Zhou turned his head to the side, looked at the tangled expression on Ling Dongzhi's face, and burst into a smile, "I was under ten years old when my parents divorced, and I was already in high school when my father remarried. When I grow up, I will naturally learn To understand others. In fact, I don't reject Zhuang Lin's mother, she is a very open-minded person, and she has helped me a lot," Zhuang Zhou paused, shrugged his shoulders lightly, "The two of them They are all very busy, flying all over the world. But Zhuang Lin still has to go to school and needs a stable environment, so they can only send him to me."

Ling Dongzhi swallowed, thinking to himself what a complicated family.

Zhuang Zhou put the washed vegetables into the small bamboo basket, which he found in the cabinet above the refrigerator.He found that there are many similar gadgets in Ling Dongzhi's house, which are exquisite, chic, but not so practical.Perhaps this is a common problem of artists, who cannot refuse the temptation of beauty.

"Zhuang Lin said that your parents are also in Binhai?"

"It's not far away." Ling Dongzhi pointed to the direction behind them, "But my brother and sister-in-law live with my parents, I thought it was noisy, so I moved out."

Zhuang Zhou nodded, "You look like a child who grew up in a happy family."

"Why?" Ling Dongzhi was puzzled.

Zhuang Zhou raised his eyebrows slightly, and there was an almost gentle smile on his lips, "Because seeing you will give you a warm feeling."