Gao Siqi said weakly, "I'll go down first. Can you wait for a while?"
Li Lan nodded and said with a smile, "Why not? I'll wait for you here."
"Thank you." Gao Siqi hesitated for a moment and then said, "My parents don't know that I work there. Sorry to trouble you …"
Li Lan didn't wait for her to finish and said, "Don't worry. I won't say anything, so you can rest assured.
"I've been working there for less than a week. I used to work as a waitress at the restaurant next door, but the boss was too disgusting. I couldn't find a job for a while, so I went to work at the bathing place." Gao Siqi didn't understand why she had to explain so much.
Li Lan smiled and said, "No wonder. I was wondering if everyone likes to spend money to suffer."
"I'm sorry." Although he was indirectly mocking her massage technique, Gao Siqi didn't take it seriously. She just smiled awkwardly, opened the door, and got out of the car. "I can't help it for the time being. The salary there is higher, so I'll deal with it for now."
A woman came out of the vegetable shed with a hose in her hand. She looked at the car at the door in surprise and asked Gao Siqi, "How did you come back? Did you stop an illegal car? "
Gao Siqi combed her temples and said with a smile, "I got a friend to drive me. You're not in good health. Where's dad? He can just water the garden. Don't move around. Don't make a big problem out of a small problem."
Her mother's face was gloomy. She threw the hose into the water tank, and Gao Siqi rushed to turn off the motor switch on the wall.
"I've never seen anyone die of exhaustion. People die of laziness if they don't move around." She glanced in Li Lan's direction again and said in a low voice, "Don't bring any riff-raff back home. Be careful."
Gao Siqi smiled and said, "Who do you think I am? I'm just an ordinary friend. He happens to have a car, so it's more convenient for us to go to the hospital. Don't worry about this. Hurry up and get your things. We'll leave right away."
Her mother said, "Oh, by the way, did your brother send his living expenses this month? You have to work a little harder. Fortunately, it's only for these two years. When he graduates, he won't have to work so hard. Who asked me to be sick now? I can't count on your father for the time being. "
Gao Siqi said, "I'll transfer 300 to him first. I'll send him more money after I get my salary. As long as he works hard, he's more powerful than anything else. Do you want to go in and change your clothes? We'll leave now. There will be a lot of people at the hospital later, and you'll have to wait in line again."
"Things are so expensive now. What's enough for three hundred?" She frowned.
"I thought that you'd have to spend money to go to the hospital later, so I left some money for you," Gao Siqi comforted him. "See if there's any money left after the follow-up. I'll transfer you some more."
Her mother said, "Your younger brother also has to use his brain to study. It's not as easy as you, so you should be more tolerant of him. The hospital will only open after nine o 'clock. There's no hurry. Let the driver come down to drink a bowl of porridge first. There's no hurry. "
After saying that, he lifted the curtains in front of the door and entered the house while groaning.
Gao Siqi turned towards Li Lan and opened his car door. "Come in and have some porridge?"
Li Lan shook his head. "I've eaten four big pancakes. My stomach isn't that empty. If you're hungry, you can eat. I won't eat anymore."
When he got out of the car, he offered her a cigarette. Seeing that she didn't take it, he lit it for himself. He looked around. It was similar to most villages. There was nothing strange, and there was nothing to look forward to.
Gao Siqi saw a cup in the car and asked, "Is this cup yours? I'll get you some water. "
Li Lan said, "The car belongs to one of my cousins. The cup is also his. You can do your own thing. I'm not thirsty."
Gao Siqi saw that he was leaning against the car and didn't move. She continued to ask, "Why don't you come in and sit? I'll get you a cup."
Li Lan smiled. "Thank you. The sun is pretty good outside. Go in and tidy up. I'll wait for you here."
He needed tea leaves to drink water. This was exactly the same as his father. If there were no tea leaves, he wouldn't touch the cup unless he was extremely thirsty.
A dog's bark came from not far away. It probably smelled the scent of a stranger. Gao Siqi immediately stood in front of Li Lan and barked at the big black dog that was baring its teeth.
The big black dog stuck out its tongue and began to circle around her.
Gao Siqi said, "Sorry, this dog barks randomly. It doesn't bite."
"Whose car is this?" A loud man's voice came from outside before he could see the person inside.
The man walked out from the back of the car. He was in his fifties and of medium height. His cheeks were sunken and his black eyebrows moved up and down with his coarse voice.
He threw off the rubber shoes on his feet and placed the shovel on his shoulder under his chin. Pressing it with both hands, he sized up Li Lan.
Gao Siqi quickly introduced him. "This is my friend."
It was only then that she realized awkwardly that she didn't know Li Lan's name.
Therefore, the word 'friend' was so soft that it was almost inaudible.
Li Lan extended his hand to the man. "Hello, uncle. My name is Li Lan."
"Where do you live?" the man asked warily.
Li Lan said, "North of Anhui."
The man said, "South."
To them, the land outside of the border belonged to the south.
Li Lan said, "Yes."
The man continued to ask, "What does your family do?"
This question put Li Lan in a difficult position. If he answered that he did business, it would seem a little perfunctory. He wouldn't be able to answer the specifics because his father had too many businesses and he couldn't tell which one was his main business.
Therefore, he said, "Mainly in the scrap industry."
The man looked at the license plate again and raised his head to ask, "This license plate looks familiar. It looks like He Anwen's car. "
"Are you talking about He Anwen?" Li Lan remembered that his uncle had a nickname of 'Big Eyeball'.
The man said, "It's him. You can drive his car. What's your relationship with him?"
Li Lan said, "He's my uncle."
"Uncle?" The man scratched his head and muttered to himself. Then, he asked, "What's your mother's name?"
Gao Siqi quickly interrupted, "Dad, are you checking my background or something? We're just ordinary friends. "
The man didn't harp on this and only asked, "Where did you meet?"
"He was eating at our hotel and we happened to know each other. When he saw that I couldn't get a taxi, he enthusiastically gave me a ride. What are you thinking?" Gao Siqi quickly interrupted.
The man said, "That's really enthusiastic. What's Fang Lian's relationship with your family? "
Li Lan thought about it and felt that there was nothing to hide. "He's my uncle. Fang Quan and Fang Li are my uncles."
"Oh, that's what I was thinking." The man came to a realization. "He Anwen is the eldest and there are only two brothers. Is your mother He Fang?"
Li Lan didn't expect the other party to be so roundabout and still find out about his family background. He nodded straightforwardly.
Gao Siqi asked curiously, "Dad, you know them?"
The man said happily, "Come to think of it, they were high school classmates. There aren't many people in our county who graduated from high school. Coincidentally, his mother is the most outstanding one. The three new buildings in the county's No.1 Middle School were donated by her. I even contracted one of the buildings. "
Gao Siqi glanced at Li Lan.
Her mother came out of the house with a plastic bag of CT scans. She went up and took it from her.
Her father asked, "What are you going to do?"
Gao Siqi said, "The doctor said that he needs regular check-ups."
Her father said, "Wait here then. I'll go with you."
Under Gao Siqi's astonished gaze, her father went back to the house to shave, change into a new set of clothes, and put on a pair of shiny leather shoes.
"What are you standing there for? Get in the car and go," he urged his daughter.
"Oh." Gao Siqi was about to get into the passenger seat when she realized that her father had already gotten in the car. She could only sit in the back with her mother and cast an apologetic look at Li Lan.
Li Lan turned the car around in the narrow yard. After some effort, he finally drove the car out of the yard.
Gao Siqi's father sat in the passenger seat. He was unwilling to sit still. He rolled down the window and smiled. "It's a 12-cylinder car. I almost bought one back then. Unfortunately, I was one move behind and lost the game."
Li Lan smiled. He was a professional in Go.
One move behind might not mean that he would lose.
He couldn't compete with an amateur in such a professional issue. He smiled and asked, "Uncle Gao, did you work in construction before?"
"It's not that far. A few years ago, I didn't have a lot, but I had a few million yuan. Many of the buildings in our county were built by me." Gao Siqi's father was called Gao Jiahao. He was originally a lumberyard worker. It was a little late for the market economy to reach a small town like theirs. Fortunately, he managed to catch up and started working as a small contractor. He built houses in the countryside and accumulated his first pot of gold. Later on, he got bigger and bigger and started to contract commercial projects.
However, he only floated for a few days before he fell to the ground. It was a painful and miserable fall.
Li Lan said, "It's all fate. Luck can't be determined."
Gao Jiahao said, "I like what you said. Sometimes, a person's ability is one thing, but the main thing is luck. It's just that I've been too unlucky these few years. Back then, I was still doing well. It's not like now. A man without money is worse than a ghost, and soup without salt is worse than water … "
Gao Siqi didn't want to embarrass her father in front of him, so she turned around and asked Li Lan, "Do you know the way to the hospital?"
Li Lan said, "Don't worry, I know it."
The county was not big to begin with. They could finish driving in ten minutes. Therefore, they didn't need to memorize many roads. They just needed to know the directions.
The phone on the dashboard rang. He slowed down the car and looked at the screen. It was He Anwen.
"Uncle, you're up."
He Anwen said, "I asked the service desk. They said that you drove out early in the morning. Do you need any help? If there's anything, just let me know. "
Li Lan said, "I'm just taking a stroll. You're not in a hurry to use the car, are you?"
He Anwen said, "I have plenty of cars. Just drive. Come back for lunch when you're free."
"Okay, I'll call you later." Li Lan turned off the phone.
They drove all the way to the entrance of the hospital and parked the car. Gao Siqi said, "Thank you. Sorry to trouble you. If you're busy, go ahead."
Gao Jiahao also said politely, "Yeah, you're busy people. I can't waste your time."
Li Lan got out of the car and said with a smile, "It's fine. You can go in first. I'll wait for you outside. I have nothing to do anyway."
Gao Siqi was stunned. She didn't expect Li Lan to be so polite. She thought for a moment and said, "Then can you wait for us for a while? We'll go in and take an X-ray."
Seeing that his father was reluctant to leave at the door, she dragged him away by force.
Only Li Lan was left standing at the entrance of the hospital, bored out of his mind.
He couldn't understand. What was he after?
Gao Siqi's family came out very quickly. They came out in about an hour.
Li Lan sent them back the way they came. Gao Jiahao enthusiastically asked him to stay for lunch, but he rejected him.
After going out, he called He Anwen and asked where they were.
He Anwen and the others were barbecuing by the river. There were two grills under the shade of a tree. Seven or eight people were working around it, grilling lamb and fish they caught from the river.
The sun rose high in the sky. The sunlight was like a needle that pierced through people's bodies. He couldn't stand the heat, so he went into the river and swam around.
When he reached the shore, he put on the shirt that he had taken off so that he wouldn't peel off a layer of skin later.
After they were done grilling, they found a boat and moved the barbecue and beer onto it. They ate and drank as they enjoyed the scenery on both sides of the river. It was a lively and bustling day.
At night, He Long treated everyone to dinner at the hotel. Everyone drank until they were dizzy. Li Lan drank quite a bit too. He didn't go back to the Fang's but went straight to the hotel to sleep.
When he woke up in the morning, he was still groggy.
He took a shower and brewed a cup of tea. He stood on the balcony and leaned on the railing. He looked down at the small buildings of different heights in the small town and the endless pedestrians and cars on the road.
He received a text from Gao Siqi, saying that she wanted to treat him to a meal.
He thought about it for a while and finally agreed.
After setting a time, he went out on the dot.
This time, he didn't drive. He walked there. It wasn't far.
The front of the restaurant wasn't big, but it was still clean. When Gao Siqi saw him come in, she used a napkin to wipe the front of his table.
Li Lan laughed, "You don't have to be so dramatic. It's fine as long as it's passable. You're up so early again today? "
Gao Siqi said, "I went in the first half of last night and went back to the dormitory in the second half. I didn't meet such a good customer like you. They all like to get physical."
Li Lan said, "Then let's not do it."
The corner of Gao Siqi's mouth was pressed against the teacup. She smiled bitterly and didn't say anything else. She pushed the menu in front of Li Lan.
Li Lan never knew how to order. Seeing that she insisted on letting him order, he simply wrote down two dishes.
Gao Siqi looked at the dishes on the menu. "These dishes are really tough."
Then, she added two more dishes according to the menu.
"Do you want to drink?"
"Can you drink?" Li Lan asked.
Gao Siqi nodded. "Two bottles of beer per person?"
Li Lan could only smell a delicate fragrance from her body that could soften his soul and bones. Still calm, he said, "Two bottles then."
When the dishes were served, she first poured a glass for him and then filled the glass in front of her. Then, she raised it and said, "I'll drink this glass first as an apology to you."
Li Lan covered the mouth of her glass and asked with a smile, "Why are you apologizing to me out of nowhere? Why don't you give me a reason? "
Gao Siqi said, "My dad was a little rude yesterday."
Li Lan said, "Uncle is a very passionate person. Let's have a toast."
The two finished their glasses together.
Gao Siqi said, "Are you going back?"
Li Lan was stunned. "How did you know?"
Gao Siqi said, "Wasn't I there when you were talking to your family on the phone that night?"
Li Lan said, "I'll probably have to wait for another five or six days."
Gao Siqi supported her chin with one hand and held her glass with the other. She smiled and asked, "Then will we have a chance to meet again in the future?"
Li Lan said, "Nowadays, communication is so advanced. We can contact each other no matter what. If you have time to go to the capital, I can also receive you and be your tour guide."
"Really?" Her eyes lit up.
Li Lan said, "I'm just an idle person. I have plenty of time."
At present, his father didn't have high expectations of him. Hence, he wasn't restricted in terms of time and movements. He was truly a free and unfettered person.
Gao Siqi said, "Can I believe the words of rich heirs like you?"
Li Lan said, "If people can be simply categorized and labeled, then you naturally don't have to believe me."
He had always suspected that the Gao Siqi he saw at night was a completely different person from the one he saw during the day.
Gao Siqi raised her glass. "Then I wish you a safe journey."
"Thank you." Li Lan finished his drink and poured himself another glass. Then, he picked up a piece of braised pork.
After Gao Siqi finished her drink, she took a deep breath as if she needed to muster up the courage to speak.
"I'm not an idiot. You're just dealing with me. Maybe you're pitying me, or maybe you're using me to kill time." She paused and said, "I can feel it. Do you think I'm not a good girl?"
Li Lan wanted to reply heartlessly. What did it have to do with him whether she was good or not?
He wasn't that unkind.
"You're thinking too much. This is how I deal with friends. If I can get along with them, I'll make friends with them. If I can't, I'll never bother with them. What you said is purely overthinking."
Gao Siqi gritted her teeth and said in a low voice, "Would you believe me if I told you that I've never had friends before?"
Li Lan said, "What's there to not believe?"
He himself had never had friends before either.
Seeing him like this, Gao Siqi didn't expect him to understand what she meant. She sighed and said, "My biggest mistake was meeting you in this kind of situation. It's quite tragic, isn't it?"
Li Lan laughed. He would be an idiot if he still didn't understand what she meant.
He raised his glass and drank first. "I apologize to you."
Gao Siqi smiled and asked, "Why are you apologizing to me? You don't owe me anything. "
Li Lan said, "Eat something. Don't just talk."
Gao Siqi filled Li Lan's glass and said very seriously, "Will you look down on me?"
Li Lan said, "That's even more ridiculous."
Gao Siqi said, "Don't you think I'm deliberately trying to get close to you?"
Li Lan didn't know if he should praise her for her intelligence or admire her honesty.
There were many people who deliberately tried to get close to him, but the one in front of him was the only one who didn't make him hate her.
Li Lan smiled and said, "I'm just an ordinary person."
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