43

After waiting for a long time, Duan Baiting did not reply to the message, so Song Wanyue reluctantly initiated a video invitation.

This time it still took a while before the call was connected.

And the camera was not facing him, the screen was pitch black, probably because it was placed directly on the table.

"Why are you like this? You don't reply when I message you,"

she said in a reproachful tone, with her face close to the phone.

She had just taken a shower and was wearing no makeup. Her hair was tied up in a bun. Her pajamas were still pulled down when she took the photo, and the shoulder straps were loose.

Although only most of her shoulders were exposed, her whiteness and softness could be seen through the video.

The whole person seems to have a sweet scent.

Because he was angry, he glared and puffed his cheeks.

"I'm a petty person. If I don't get over this, I'm going to be so angry that I won't be able to sleep today."

Duan Baiting was very quiet, as if he was blocking the camera and covering the receiver at the same time.

After a long time, his slightly low voice slowly sounded: "I don't know what to reply."

Song Wanyue was very satisfied with this answer.

It means that my teasing worked.

She would find it abnormal if an old-fashioned man like Duan Baiting could be so adept at this.

"Then let me see you." she urged.

There was another moment of silence.

He turned the camera around and pointed it at him.

Judging from the situation behind him, he is not at home, but somewhere else.

It's a bit old and has a strong sense of age. The wardrobe behind it is made of sandalwood.

Duan Baiting was only wearing a thin black sweater, and he looked a little out of place in this quaint house.

He drank some water and swallowed the white pills in the box.

When Song Wanyue saw it, she immediately became alert: "Are you taking a cold?"

He swallowed his saliva and said: "Sleeping pills."

Song Wanyue blinked: "Why are you taking sleeping pills? Can't you sleep?"

"Well, I've been busy lately." He answered calmly.

Except for a period of insomnia during her senior year of high school due to excessive stress, insomnia has never happened in her life.

In the words of my grandmother, only those who have something on their mind will suffer from insomnia.

Considering how busy he has been recently, Song Wanyue seemed to finally realize something: "Has something happened at home recently?"

"Nothing, you should go to bed early." He gently turned the lid over.

Although Song Wanyue was easy to fool, she was not that easy to fool: "Don't treat me as a fool."

She looked dissatisfied and looked at him through the phone screen.

Duan Baiting had just taken sleeping pills, so the effect didn't take effect so quickly.

And now there is some drug resistance, and the effect is minimal.

But it's better to eat it than not to eat it.

"My grandmother passed away and she has always been in poor health. I didn't tell you because I was afraid you would think too much."

Duan Baiting originally thought that she would be angry, and he was indeed thinking seriously about how to coax her.

After all, she had asked several times before if anything had happened.

He kept it a secret.

But during the time he was thinking, she didn't get angry at all.

Even the coquettish expression from before was gone.

The corners of his eyes drooped, and his expression was filled with worry and distress: "No wonder you need to take sleeping pills, you must be very sad. I'm not with you at this time."

Duan Baiting paused, his eyes fixed on the screen of a mobile phone that was not even the size of his palm.

I could only see half of her face because it was so close that I could even make out each eyelash.

A crystal clear tear rolled down from the corner of her eye.

That night, the sleeping pills still didn't work.

After taking it for a period of time, his body has become accustomed to it due to drug resistance.

Song Wanyue said she would live broadcast ASMR for him.

She also specifically explained to him that it was a way to help him sleep.

Perhaps he felt that someone like Duan Baiting, who lived a very rigid life, would not understand much about such things that could relax and relieve stress.

But she still underestimated his knowledge.

He hadn't really paid attention to it, but he knew what it was.

From a professional perspective, the full name of ASMR is autonomous sensory meridian response.

Based on his understanding of Song Wanyue, it was probably just a childish game like playing house.

The cold and arrogant leader of the group, at this moment, was patiently cooperating with his wife in playing this childish game.

At her repeated urging, I found the headphones and put them on.

Sure enough, the ASMR she mentioned is just shaking the water bottle a few times.

Occasionally she would accidentally hit her fingers and scare herself.

Don't even mention helping you sleep, it's just noise.

Duan Baiting took off one of his headphones and took out a bottle of red wine from the wine cabinet.

He gently turned the bottle and saw the alcohol content and year on it, then took out the decanter and wine glass.

Back in England, he would drink when he couldn't sleep.

When you are drunk, you will naturally fall asleep.

But gradually, he became less and less likely to get drunk.

Sometimes he would drink two bottles without looking drunk, and at the worst times, he simply gave up sleeping.

The body has a threshold. When it is tired to the limit, it will naturally fall asleep.

One winter, it was very cold in England, so he moved.

It was not long since my grandfather passed away at that time.

His sleep began to improve.

After all, giving a lecture to someone is even more tiring than staying up all night for ten nights.

This is the first time I have met someone with such a short attention span. No matter what I say, he always ends up changing the subject.

He went over the same question over and over again, and at the same time had to try to get her attention back.

The time difference between the two countries is eight hours. It is morning there, but early morning in the UK.

Often they won't be serious for more than half an hour before they start talking about things that have nothing to do with studying.

"I didn't call you yesterday because I had a fever. I kept sneezing during the day, and I thought someone was scolding me. Later, my mother took my temperature and found that my fever was 39 degrees. My mother said that I was talking in my sleep during the infusion, and she wanted to find out who scolded me."

"I bought a set of very beautiful stickers, very beautiful, limited edition."

"Do you eat dumplings during the holidays over there?"

"I heard them say that girls abroad are very beautiful, with three-dimensional facial features and long legs. Is it true?"

Duan Baiting seldom answered her questions that were not related to study, and usually just brushed them off with two simple words.

"It's okay."

She insisted: "What's the meaning of okay? Good is good, bad is bad, how can it be okay?"

"That's okay." He didn't want to waste time on this topic and gave a casual answer.

The original intention was to shut her up.

I seldom interact with others on weekdays, let alone pay attention to the opposite sex around me.

Whether she is beautiful or not has nothing to do with him.

He moved on to the next question.

He had compiled them the day before, and they were the wrong questions from her last mock exam.

"Tell me your idea for solving the problem."

But there was no sound from the other end.

He raised his eyes slightly: "Hmm?"

A long busy tone came from the computer.

The phone was hung up.

Duan Baiting looked at the interface showing the end of the call in silence for a moment, and did not call back.

That's all for today's class.

He slowly closed his notebook and put the textbooks beside him back on the bookshelf one by one.

He bought these specifically on a domestic shopping website.

Textbooks for all courses from grade one to grade three of high school.

He grew up in the UK and received education here, which is somewhat different from that in China.

In order to avoid deviations and misunderstandings, he took the time to self-study all the courses in China.

After all the things were neatly packed up, he saw a red dot under her portrait.

After pondering for a moment, he clicked on her profile picture.

Just updated the status and some photos.

A close-up selfie of her without makeup, and a full-body photo of her.

There was some baby fat on her face, which was full of collagen. She tilted her face deliberately to the side, revealing her delicate and tall nose.

Her pupils are as clear as water, and her face is as white as an apricot and her cheeks are as rosy as peach.

The full-body photo shows a very casual T-shirt and pleated skirt, which should have been taken recently.

The hem of her skirt was above her knees, revealing a pair of long, white and well-proportioned legs.

Apricot-colored lambskin shoes and socks with a small lace border.

The whole person is pink and tender, full of youth.

——Humph, you short-sighted bastard.

There was also an expression of grievance and tears at the end.

Duan Baiting slid the two photos back and forth, finally stopping at the first one.

For a long time, that photo was his phone screensaver.

At eight o'clock in the afternoon, he was awakened by the news.

I opened my eyes, turned on the light, and took my phone from the sofa.

She sent it to herself.

They are all pictures of her, from various angles and parts of her body.

Finally, I have to say something superfluous: I sent it to the wrong person.

He doesn't sleep until noon because he has classes.

It's very late in China at this time. Normally, she should be asleep.

——Are you still awake?

Her message came back quickly.

——Hmph, it's none of your business!

Duan Baiting was silent.

--good evening.

——Go to bed early.

He was no longer sleepy, so he got up and washed up. As soon as he walked out of the room, he stopped in his tracks, not knowing what he was thinking about.

Finally, he turned back and took the phone to the bathroom.

Sure enough, her message came again soon.

——I can't sleep, it's all your fault. I'm a petty person.

——I am the most beautiful person in the world.

He held a toothbrush with toothpaste squeezed on it in his hand and looked at the two lines of words on the screen.

He shook his head helplessly, the smile in his eyes clearly full of doting.

-----

The sounds by my ears gradually quieted down. She must have fallen asleep, with long breaths and occasional teeth grinding sounds.

The cell phone was next to the pillow and the call was not hung up.

The sound of her teeth grinding seemed to be more powerful than the sleeping pills and alcohol.

When Song Wanyue woke up, her phone had run out of battery and turned off automatically.

She didn't even know when she fell asleep.

Mom was making dumplings with her aunt in the living room, preparing for New Year's Eve.

She yawned and came down slowly.

The weather is nice today, it is the only sunny day in recent times. According to the weather forecast, there has been snow in the north city these days.

In the yard, Zhou Wenyang was playing chess with his grandfather.

There was no one at his home, and his mother felt sorry for the loneliness in his home as he had to spend the New Year alone.

Just let him come home.

Although Zhou Wenyang refused several times, his mother's attitude was firm and he had no choice but to agree.

Song Wanyue took a bottle of water out of the refrigerator and saw the calendar on the wall.

The day after tomorrow is New Year's Eve.

I don't know what she was thinking about, she looked like she was worried.

-Grandmother

's funeral has not been settled yet, and Duan Baiting doesn't want to get involved in matters related to the inheritance.

He expressed his intention in advance and donated all of his share to welfare organizations.

The Duan family ancestral hall covers a large area, located in the best location in the north city, at the foot of the imperial city.

Even during the years when the real estate industry was growing most rapidly, this place remained unchanged.

In the early years, some investors did have their eyes on this location.

Later the project was terminated and I heard that the company was acquired.

As to who acquired it, it is unknown.

In short, this place has remained the same for hundreds of years.

The last few days of ancestor worship end after the first day of the new year.

Duan Xianyu was angry but he didn't dare to show it because the elders were there.

He could only suppress his anger, not knowing what the point was in doing these nonsense things.

If we do this every year, is it possible that our dead ancestors can come back to life?

The atmosphere in the room was depressing, although it was not deserted, as there were always voices of conversation.

But they are just maintaining superficial peace.

When the candle on the table was about to go out, Duan Baiting would light a new one and replace it.

His father also came today, bringing his little daughter who just turned one year old.

He couldn't even speak, and his big black eyes looked around curiously.

The man coaxed softly.

After a moment, she found an excuse and handed the little girl in her arms to Duan Baiting: "I'm going out to make a phone call, you... hold your sister for a while."

The term 'sister' was too unfamiliar.

Duan Baiting didn't refuse and reached out to take it.

The little guy was very obedient in his arms. His white and tender round face was full of smiles, revealing a few newly grown baby teeth.

Duan Baiting lowered his head to take a look, then calmly withdrew his gaze.

Those eyes remained calm.

When Duan Jialiang entered the room, the little guy was entertaining himself in his arms.

One person is playing by counting his fingers.

Duan Baiting remained unmoved and flipped through the book on the table.

That kind of coldness and aloofness treats everyone equally.

There was no difference because she was young, because she was cute, or because she was his half-sister.

Duan Jialiang went home at eight o'clock in the evening because the children couldn't stay up late.

Duan Baiting stayed there until daytime.

After returning to the courtyard and taking a shower, the heavy fatigue in my body seemed to have been washed away.

It's very lively outside. I didn't expect there would still be people traveling here so close to the Chinese New Year.

This iconic building not far from here is a place that almost every tourist to the north city will visit.

In order to get the best viewing spot, people start queuing up at four or five o'clock.

Duan Baiting walked back to the courtyard from the ancestral hall with a cigarette in his mouth, and could even see the crowd blocking the way there.

In the early morning of winter, the cold wind is as sharp as a knife.

He smelled of incense. After taking a shower, he sat on the sofa and turned on the TV.

Just tune into a channel at random.

I didn't watch the content, I just wanted to listen to the sound so it wouldn't be too quiet.

Although most of the time he likes to be quiet.

But at this time when everything is bustling, people's emotions will inevitably seem a little empty.

What's more, it was after he had experienced the excitement.

He leaned against the sofa and closed his eyes, and a person appeared in his mind.

It wasn't like this before.

Now I seem to have gotten used to her making noise day and night.

When you are physically tired, you will also get tired of being alone.

He rubbed his brows and was about to light another cigarette when the door, which was not closed, was pushed from the outside.

He stopped reaching for the lighter on the table, still holding the unlit cigarette in his mouth.

After several attempts, the door was finally pushed open from the outside.

The man was wearing a camel-colored tweed coat with horn buttons and a wide scarf wrapped around him several times, covering half of his face.

The coat was too long, and only the ankles and half of the slender calves were visible.

There were still a few flakes of snow on his shoulders and hair, and his nose and ears were red from the wind.

In the winter when your breath turns into frost, the sky is not yet fully bright.

The quiet alley became lively, probably because the flag-raising ceremony at the nearby tourist attraction had finally begun.

Song Wanyue stepped over the threshold holding the dumplings that she had carefully brought all the way from Shanghai. Half of her face was visible behind the scarf, her eyes were clear and bright, and her smile was so bright that it was a little dazzling.

She appeared in front of him like a lively little rabbit, jumping for joy: "Clang clang, Surprise!"