Chapter 31 (1/2)
CHAPTER 31
I was fro used to the dry and cold weather of the NorthI grew to like Beijing because of Li ChuanI was given the opportunity to go to Shanghai after I graduated — Shanghai was actually my real ancestral home — but I didn’t
So was permeated with Li Chuan’s scentWe had been apart for so many years, thus, whenever I came across a Starbucks or could smell the familiar scent of coffee,that I would buain
It was time to leave WenzhouI was reluctant to leave because of ain
René said that when he took a stroll in a small town in Switzerland, the elderly would come and talk to himHe couldn’t understand, so he found a translatorIt turned out that they only wanted to shake hands and wish hiood dayWhen a pedestrian didn’t kno to read the signs at an intersection, cars would immediately stop ten feet awayIf the same situation happened in Aht ahereas people in Switzerland would slish) Swiss people are freaky nice!”
Besides Li Chuan, the only Swiss that I could recognize was the tennis player, Roger FedererI felt that Li Chuan’s sentle, kind, huerated, a bit reserved, and a bit tiht of victory, everyone went to the ant restaurant to celebrateWe drank a lotRené drank half a bottle of Wuliangye, five to six others got drunk and couldn’t get up including Director ZhangOnly Li Chuan, as under the strict supervision of Ji Chuan, did not drink a single drop
Other than the waitresses, I was the only wouysAs a result, everyone treated me like their secretaryBut I heard that Zhu Bi Xuan had to do the sa ordering the dishes and negotiating the prices for drinksI carried the coh I loved to drink, it wasn’t appropriate for et wildly drunkI restrained lass of dry red wine
After dinner, those ere unconscious fro were sent back to the hotel via a cabThose ere still sober stayed in a KTV roos outI didn’t want to be with a bunch of half-drunk guys and be their free hostessTherefore, I told Manager Jiang that I was getting tired and orried about getting air sickness, so I wanted to rest earlyI then escaped
I bumped into Li Chuan when I ca to take a walk back”I earing a short wool skirt and a shawlWinter in Wenzhou was actually not that cold
My eyes were still swollen like walnuts and looked like I would cry any minute
He didn’t persist
The front entrance of the hotel was a big revolving door that had a gold painted stainless steel fraht for a moment and believed that it would be inconvenient and hard for Li Chuan to go through those doorsHence, I said as we approached, “Wait, is there another door?I don’t like going through these doors”
“No…”
He gazed back and forth and realizedI followed and pulled the doors slightly so that they wouldn’t turn as fastHis pace was indeed a little slow inside the doors, but he got out quickly, and I also followed hiot to the open staircase, he said: “Next time, e come across the same situation, let me walk in the front, okay?I aht for me to push them”
“Isn’t it ladies first?” I asked him back
“You can’t be seriousWhat kind century is this rule fro how serious he was about it
“Speaking of convenience, I think those who are able should be helping those who are not,” I rolledand waved his arot into visit the Guan Di Temple that’s just in the front of usSince it’s on the way, come with me”
He sat in the cab confused, so he didn’t say anythingI told the driver, “Mr Driver, please stop and wait for us at the front of Guan Di Temple”
We arrived at the Guan Di Teot out of the carIt was a sThere was a row of big red lanterns in front of the doorIn the middle, a wooden statue with a broadsword in its hand stood thereHe had a serious expression, a long beard, and lookedcharacters on top of his head: “Righteous Bright Heaven Earth”
The knee high door sill made it difficult for Li ChuanHe had to lift up his prosthetic leg with his hands in order to get inWe stood before Guan GongI lit three incenses and paid my respectI then asked, “Li Chuan, have you heard of ‘Rodoether?”
“Li Chuan, I want to become sworn brothers with you”
“I, Xie Xiao Qiu, want you, wang Li Chuan, to be my sworn brother”
“You know that in our current state, being brothers is better than being colleagues”
“The reason is very siues, we can turn into lovers at any tio that route, right?”
“That’s why being colleagues is not the best way to resolve the issue,” I stared into his eyes, not letting him look elsewhere, “But, it won’t be the same if we are brothersBrothers cannot beco incestNeither you nor I would want that, right?”
He looked at ure out what I was up toI didn’tback in tiiance, they used a black cow and white horse as sacrifice for the cereh they were not born on the same day, they would die for each other on the same dayEvery time I watched that part, I was especially moved by it”
Li Chuan frowned at me as if I was from outer space
Anyway, I stuffed three incenses into his hand and swore in front of the wooden man:
“The heaven above and earth beloitnesses and E Li Chuan are sworn brothers starting today and at this hourFrom now and forever, ill share our fortunes and hardshi+ps May the Gods of heaven and earth attest to what is in our hearts If we should ever do anything to betray our friendshi+p, ht, everyoneI repeated the content of a Wuxia novelI had read too many Wuxia novels, so I could not pinpoint which one it came from exactlyI felt that the problem between Li Chuan and me could not be resolved with modern methods, so I could only use ancient waysThat hy I chose this place: ancient temple, ancient statue, ancient incenses, and ancient censerWe tihtFro in their love relationshi+psI on the other hand, was acting for loveThink about how tiresome it was for me
I finished my emotional speech, but found out that Li Chuan had tilted his body and was laughing at me coldly
“I’m a man and you’re a woman, so may I ask hoe’re supposed to be brothers?” he asked as he pinched the incenses and put them into the censerHe wiped his hand with a handkerchief and was about to leave
Li Chuan was gentle on the outside, but stubborn on the insideOnce he had decided on soed onto hi as you become sworn brothers with me, I promise, from today onwards, I will only be a man and not a woman in front of youYou and I are buddies like“v” appeared between them, “Man to man?”
“I know that there are many types of relationshi+ps between two peopleLove is only one of themTo us, it can become very important or become not important at allIf we eliminate this layer of relationshi+p, ill be oes, ‘the wind and tides are cal as you can endure it, whereas your bones will shatter into pieces if you push forward,’ so why not take a step back and see the vast world, what do you think?”
I licked my lips and didn’t kno I came up with those wordsIn all honesty, I did not want to be promoted so soon
But Li Chuan was dazed and confused fro speechI continued to persuade, “If you and I become sworn brothers, I will have a ‘closure’I pro a new boyfriendAnd then I will fall in love, get married, buy a house, have a baby, be filial to my husband’s parents, buy pension, and live happily in a perfect faazed off as he listened to meAfter a while, he asked, “You promise?Can you really pro?Who did you think Grandpa Guan (Ereat dedo struck by lightning” I gave a big pat on Li Chuan’s shoulder, “Li Chuan, you Swiss have always been generous and straightforwardYou should beyour culture a bad name, okay?”
He behaved
For the sake of this old Chinese tradition, he behaved and followed me and swore in front of Grandpa Guan
“No matter whether we are brothers or not,” Li Chuan widened his eyes and said in a serious lish) You can always count on me”
Li Chuan wasn’t Christian, but he had the saners who love Chinese cultureHe loved our culture so much that it was like an obsessionFor exahly; whenever he cae, afraid that others would take hiner
He said those words from his heart, and it made my heart poundThose were not words that you could easily hear fro words came out from my mouth out of e o back to Switzerland?”
“Mm”I breathed in the cool air, and s were about to breakI decided to be more cheerful and kindly send hie for the New Year, weren’t you?”
He stood there for a second without a wordHe finally responded with “Mave him a hand at the door sillHe didn’t reject et into the car, he suddenly said, “Xiao Qiu, can you not turn race period”
I looked at hi, “Li Chuan, do you feel ood night’s sleep
We packed our belongings the next day and got on the return flightWe arrived in Beijing two hours laterFriends and fa for us at the arrival tered each other and returned to each of their hoht to return to Switzerland directlyLi Chuan said that there were still a lot of designs that he needed to follow up on since the Wenzhou developWe walked together and had planned to ride a cab together, but the ot to the exit, someone called my name