This Damned Sweetness

Respecting Xu Xun's wishes, Xu Qiao and Cheng Lang did not personally accompany him to Nancheng. They took him to the hospital for a full-body examination. After confirming that his injuries were OK, they were sent to the plane to Nancheng.

The two managed everything in Nancheng remotely, leaving him enough time and space to accept a new life. Xu Qiao also officially launched his jewelry business in Beicheng.

The fact that Yan Lizhen sold her drawings without authorization gave her the opportunity to cooperate with Pan De's personal fashion show "a blessing in disguise". After the two parties formally signed the contract, the entire jewelry studio was put into a busy working state.

There are countless types and series of jewelry and accessories involved in a fashion show, and carrying the next show alone is a big challenge.

Xu Qiao continued to produce the draft in three days, the refined manuscript in five days, and the electronic drawing manuscript in seven days. At first, he felt comfortable for a month. By the end of March, his inspiration gradually dried up behind closed doors and suddenly fell into a bottleneck.

A draft was drawn for a week and was still dissatisfied. Xu Qiao cried out to Cheng Lang when he got off work, "Am I not Xu Lang's talent?" Cheng Lang vowed to comfort her and said that the inspiration will come in early April, let her first Rest for a few days.

She didn't believe this lie too much, she stopped, every day she read the magazine with her legs crossed in the studio, but she was dejected and worried.

Tomb-sweeping Ming is approaching, and other employees in the studio are off from get off work on time. Xu Qiao stayed in the studio to ponder the manuscript after a work meal, because Cheng Lang said he would work overtime tonight.

Used to him coming to pick her up after get off work every day, she felt like a broken leg and felt that she could not go home alone.

Sitting in the studio until nearly ten o'clock, a bunch of car lights came up, Xu Qiao's mobile phone vibrated and received a message from Cheng Lang: "Baby, I'm home."

She was like a school-weary child, and finally waited for her parents to pick her up from school and ran down alive.

As usual, Cheng Lang got out of the car and opened the back seat door for her, as if he would always treat her as meticulously and tenderly as before, no matter how long it has been.

Xu Qiao got into the back seat after giving him a kiss.

Cheng Lang got into the car from the other side and asked her how is today.

"Still no inspiration..." Xu Qiao took his arm and made trouble. "Mr. Pan's person who followed up on the project sent an email today to ask me about my progress."

"Will you take you to find inspiration tomorrow?" Cheng Lang smiled.

"Where to go?"

"How about Nancheng?"

"Huh?" Xu Qiao was taken aback.

"The theme of the fashion show is related to the sea. The inspiration for your early works also benefited from the life at the seaside in your hometown when you were young. I think Nancheng might help you clear your mind."

"So you said that the inspiration will come in early April. What do you mean?" Xu Qiao squeezed his arm, "It's mysterious again! I've planned it a long time ago, why don't you tell me?"

"Originally, there was a bad trip during the Ching Ming Festival, but today it is confirmed that the itinerary can be delayed until after the holiday."

Xu Qiao's eyes lit up: "It means you can stay with me in Nancheng for two more days?"

Cheng Lang nodded.

"Then I can go and take a look..." Xu Qiao stopped here suddenly.

This is not an incidental issue. Going to the beach for inspiration, why bother to go all the way to Nancheng, and why bother to pick the Ching Ming Festival, Cheng Lang had planned everything.

Seeing her in a daze, Cheng Lang stretched out her index finger and flicked her forehead: "Girlfriend, take me to a parent?"

——

Tomb sweeping was mostly in the morning. In order to catch up on the trip, the two set out from Beicheng before dawn the next day. When they landed in Nancheng, it was early nine o'clock.

The weather in Nancheng is overcast. At this time, the sky is still gray, like sleeping in the night.

On the way to the cemetery, there was rain in the sky. Xu Qiao sat in the back seat of the car, glanced outside, and exclaimed: "It rains every year on this day."

"Did you come here every year before?" Cheng Lang took her in his arms and lowered his head to ask.

"The Ching Ming holiday will come, but it doesn't have to be the day of Ching Ming. Sometimes it's hard to make time."

"Whose time to gather?"

"My dad, although I'm relatively idle, he is busy. For a few years, he couldn't get away and let the assistant come with me. We had the idea of ​​moving the tomb before, but after thinking about it, my mother was born and raised in Nancheng. She has never been to Beicheng before her death, so she will not be used to moving her to such a strange place."

Cheng Lang nodded thoughtfully.

"Do you think my dad treats my mom as being kind and righteous?"

"Yes, but it should be."

"Your requirements of my dad seem to be higher than mine." Xu Qiao looked at him.

Cheng Lang smiled and said nothing.

Perhaps because he grew up in a happy family, he felt that this was justified.

Xu Qiao couldn't think so.

She must let herself look down on these things early in order to live less cocooned.

Xu Qiao suddenly remembered something: "Before New Year's Day and New Year's Eve, you didn't ask me, do you have any opinions about my dad marrying my stepmother?"

Cheng Lang nodded and listened quietly to her.

"What I told you was almost the truth. I really didn't mind this. Although I had complaints at the beginning, I just received Beicheng and learned that I had an extra stepmother and younger brother. I really hate it. My dad, I cried and quarreled with my dad for a long time. Later that year, on my birthday, I opened the letter my mom wrote to me." She said halfway through, adding, "It was my dad who entrusted you to Those letters were left by my mother when she was alive and addressed to me for my birthday every year."

Cheng Lang pinned her hair behind her ears and touched her cheek: "You said last time that your mother left a letter saying that if your father marries again, let you not blame him."

"Yes. Actually, I read these words and didn't necessarily understand my dad, but the time to open this letter happened to be when I was most sad about this matter. I was wondering if my mother was actually in the sky all the time. Look at me, otherwise, how could it be so coincidental? I thought I could no longer cry with my dad, my mother would be worried when I saw it. And my mother knew me so well, I just pretended to accept my stepmother on the surface, It's useless to pretend to be nonchalant. I have to look at it from the bottom of my heart. After thinking about it, slowly, I really figured it out."

Xu Qiao blinked and said, "Speaking of it, it seems like my mother is enlightening me. Otherwise, I don't know what piercing and non-mainstream painful girl in the second half of China will grow into!"

Cheng Lang lowered his head to look at her.

When she said these things, she was completely flat and straightforward, and she even thought about joking, and it seemed that she was not sad anymore.

On the contrary, he felt sour and wanted to do something for her.

He held her tighter and kissed her lightly on the forehead.

Xu Qiao smiled and glanced at him: "Do you feel bad for your baby?"

"Yeah." Cheng Lang nodded and admitted.

"Then see your parents behave well later!" Xu Qiao poked his shirt.

——

After an hour's drive, Xu Qiao and Cheng Lang arrived at the cemetery.

The facilities of the cemetery built twenty years ago are all old. Although the steps up the mountain were rebuilt a few years ago, there are still some pits and bumps on rainy days.

The two wore black, Cheng Lang in a suit, and Xu Qiao in a long windbreaker. After walking several steps, the clothes were splashed with muddy spots.

Xu Qiao knew that Cheng Lang must have never been to such a simple cemetery before, so he was familiar with and guided him to go here and there, avoiding the uneven brick surface.

Cheng Lang held the long-handled umbrella with one hand and her arm with the other. He said amusedly: "I can watch the road. You can take care of your feet. If you are like this, your mother should be angry."

"What are you angry about," Xu Qiao was amused by him, "My mother has a very good temper!"

Because Cheng Lang has been facing this grave sweeping with the attitude of seeing his parents, Xu Qiao’s usual gray mood on this day of the year seems to have become relaxed. It happened to be halfway through the rain and she said, “Look, My mother is very satisfied with you."

Cheng Lang put away the umbrella, handed it to the assistant behind him, and said with a smile: "That's really lucky."

When they arrived at the place, the two took the cleaning tools from the assistant, knelt down and wiped the tombstone with their own hands, brushing off the rain and mud stains on it, and then solemnly placed the bouquet in front of the monument.

When Xu Qiao stood up, Cheng Lang helped her at the right time, fearing that she would be dizzy after squatting for a long time.

Xu Qiao pointed to Cheng Lang and said to the tombstone: "Mom, you see, this is my boyfriend."

"Hello, Auntie." Cheng Lang bowed to the tombstone.

"He remembers that I have low blood sugar. He knows that I need a hand when I stand up. Isn't it decent?"

"Why don't you usually praise me so much?" Cheng Lang turned his head and smiled.

"What's so nasty in normal times. Isn't this a critical moment for you to get some impression points?" Xu Qiao looked at him, "Don't pull it down!"

"Yes," Cheng Lang rubbed her head, "you can say a few more words for me."

Xu Qiao thought for a while and said, "Mom, you know that I'm very squeamish. I thought that my dad started a business abroad and I can't live as much as before. But I didn't expect this person. It’s more exaggerated than my dad!” She poked Cheng Lang’s waist, “I’ve been working hard recently. He doesn’t care if I have three meals a day plus afternoon tea. In the evening, he prepares midnight snacks for me. I eat five meals a day. Pause, I gained four pounds in two months, and my weight was almost over a hundred! And he didn’t allow me to walk at home and hug me wherever I go. Do you think he wants to raise me into a pig so that there will be no one Stealing a girlfriend from him?"

Cheng Lang cooperated and said: "Auntie, you gave birth to your daughter too good, which really troubled me. But you can rest assured that I will make her fat very healthy."

"Give you some sunshine and you thought the sun would not set anymore! I am not fat, whoever loves to get fat will get fat!" Xu Qiao cursed.

The two quarreled, laughed and cursed at the same time. Somehow, Xu Qiao really felt that this scene was like the first time she took her boyfriend home to meet his parents, even if her mother didn’t say anything. .

When the parting came, Xu Qiao waved to the tombstone: "Mom, we are going. Take care of yourself. We will come to see you again next year."

Cheng Lang seemed to have some feelings for the word "together", he was silent, and bowed again to the tombstone: "Goodbye, Auntie, I hope that three people will come to see you next year."

Xu Qiao nodded with a smile, followed Cheng Lang along the original road down the mountain, halfway through, suddenly felt something was wrong.

"Wait a minute, you just said the last sentence. Are the three people referring to me and you, and my dad?" Xu Qiao expressed his understanding when he defaulted to these words.

"Why is the third person your father?" Cheng Lang did not mean that.

"Who else could it be?" Xu Qiao looked at him warily.

Cheng Lang wrapped her hand around her waist to her lower abdomen and gently stroked: "What do you mean?"