Mask

Chapter 15 The Stubborn Red Rabbit (1)
1
Thankfully, when we got home, the door was unlocked.

The door opened with a "squeak", the lights were turned on, and everything was quiet as usual.

Masako changed her slippers and walked through the living room with her bag. The lights were bright, and a shadow appeared from the corner of the sofa in the corner of her eyes.

She was almost frightened, and she breathed a sigh of relief when she saw it clearly: "Mom, it's you..."

The woman curled up on the sofa motionless, holding a photo frame tightly with both hands, and muttering to herself.

Masako approached subconsciously, and was startled when she saw the person in the photo, squatted down and pulled out the photo frame with the back facing up: "Mom!"

Now it was a woman who was taken aback.

"Mom, don't dig out the old things you've sorted out." Masako said, hastily stuffed the photo frame into her bag, and quickly walked towards the stairs.

"Masako, there's no you on it..."

A woman's voice sounded behind her.

She stomped heavily on the steps, very fast.

"Masako, you are not in the photo..." The sighing voice still echoed behind her, and with the sound of closing the door with a "bang", she was cut off from the outside.

The surroundings became quieter.

"Wow——" She opened the drawer, put the photo frame at the bottom of the dictionary, then closed the drawer and locked it with a click.

After finishing all this, Masako closed her eyes and took a deep breath, then put on a coat, sat down at the desk, turned on the lamp, and picked up a pen——

"Yazi!" Xu Yitian's voice came from behind him on the school's boulevard early the next morning.

Lu Jian'er paused and looked back, Masako hugged the book in her arms tightly, her long hair lay softly on her shoulders, and coughed softly.

The students around walked slowly, the first morning self-study bell rang, and the light fragrance of sweet-scented osmanthus floated in the air.

"Masako, are you feeling better?" Xu Yitian stopped three steps away from her and asked with a smile.

"Senior Xu Yitian." Jian'er looked at him suspiciously, "Why do you keep your distance deliberately?"

"Uh... Masako." Xu Yitian was a little embarrassed, abruptly skipped over Jian'er's topic, and asked with a forced smile, "I called you yesterday, and then someone..."

"Where were you yesterday, why was your phone turned off?"

After Xu Yitian's voice overlapped with An Qiyan's questioning voice from afar, it was difficult to engrave it into Masako's mind, she could only hear the approaching footsteps and that person's breath.

"Sleep." He was answering.

"Sleep? Are you tired?"

A trace of concern was added to An Qiyan's questioning.

He should have nodded without answering.

Masako held the book in her arms tightly, Xu Yitian's mouth opened and closed in front of her.She lowered her head, and the breeze gently brushed her skirt.

"How about I accompany you tonight?" An Qiyan's voice became a little more cheerful.

"So, I thought you were free at that time... Masako? Masako!" Xu Yitian's voice was too abrupt, and Masako missed Duan Yousi's answer when she quickly pulled her thoughts back, but Xu Yitian still looked at her with an expression on her face. puzzled.

"It's a neighbor." Masako vaguely remembered the last question, and continued without a trace.

"what?"

"The neighbor who answered your call yesterday happened to come to my house for dinner, so..."

When she said this, Duan Yousi happened to walk behind her.They didn't meet, but the small air flow passed between them gently, and with his low cough, the hair on Masako's shoulders fluttered.

"Are you really caught a cold?" An Qiyan held his arms tightly with both hands. When walking, she bent down to look at his face from the bottom up, and then suddenly leaned over when he kept bowing his head and coughing.

He tilted his head and avoided it.

"What are you doing? Give me a kiss." She smiled and shook his hand.

He said something, but it was too far away for Masako to hear.

"It's okay to catch a cold together." An Qiyan was still smiling, "I'll accompany you!"

Masako coughed again.

Jian'er tilted her head thinking about something, looked at Masako, and then at Duan Yousi who had already gone away, suddenly something flashed in her mind, and she suddenly covered her mouth.

"What's wrong?" Xu Yitian asked.

Jian'er immediately put down her hands, looked at Masako, and smiled embarrassingly: "It's nothing, I was just thinking, this cold spreads quite quickly..."

"Let's go to class first, Senior Yitian." After Masako said goodbye to Xu Yitian, she walked towards the teaching building, and Jian Er immediately followed her.

"Yazi! I'll go with you for the self-study assessment later!" Xu Yitian shouted from behind.

"boom--"

The half-open classroom door was pushed, Wan Ye jumped out, hooked Duan Yousi by the shoulder before he entered the classroom, and dragged him towards the corridor.

"Hey Wanye! Yousi has a cold!" An Qiyan shouted angrily.

"We don't kiss!" Wan Ye waved back.

It wasn't until he got rid of An Qiyan that Wan Ye put his hands in his trouser pockets, and looked around the quiet place a few times to make sure there was no one there.

"What do you want to say?" Duan Yousi lowered his head and opened the Coke can.

"Oh, I'm asking you." Wan Ye turned his head to look at him, and touched his shoulder with his shoulder, "How do you have Mo Yazi's cell phone number?"

"His-"

The cola bubbles rose, he took a sip, squinted and looked ahead: "We are dating."

"Haha!" Wan Ye raised his head and laughed a few times, tilted his body and pointed at him, "Master Duan, you told me a joke."

He turned to leave, but Wan Ye held him back again: "Hey! Seriously, Mo Yazi is really good, phone number, phone number, phone number..."

While repeating, he stretched out his hand to Duan Yousi, pursed his mouth, and smiled.

"You like it so much?"

"That's right, she's super pure! She's still a mixed race, it's a pity not to chase after her, her phone number, phone number, phone number..."

"You can see her in 5 minutes." He walked back to the classroom.

"Morning self-study in 5 minutes!" Wan Ye shouted in disappointment.

Five minutes later, the bell for morning self-study rang.

When Masako walked into this noisy third-grade corridor again, her heart was itchy and she was a little nervous.

"Actually, I don't understand why you are interested in this project..." Xu Yitian shrugged while sorting out the evaluation booklet.

"Shouldn't checking morning self-study be a project of the life department?" Masako changed the topic, "Why did the study department take over later?"

"Uh..." Xu Yitian raised his head, "The members of the life department are generally first-year juniors. A few came at the beginning, but they were all scared back, so Wei Ru took it. Anyway, she has Relaxed and well-connected."

"Wei Ru and An Qiyan have a good relationship?"

"Not only Wei Ru, but also other ministers of the student union have a good relationship with An Qiyan. An Qiyan is the principal's daughter, and she plays very well with these cadre-level people."

"Yeah." Masako nodded.

The noise was getting closer and closer, and Xu Yitian's footsteps paused.

Masako continued to walk forward, and when she turned around the corner, she saw Wan Ye half lying on the window sill.And Wan Ye also saw her when he turned his head boredly, his eyes lit up, he pushed away the boy beside him, and jumped out of the window: "Mo Yazi!"

This loud shout startled Xu Yitian who was following behind.

"You Si is really a fortune teller!" Wan Ye murmured loudly to himself, and strode excitedly.

"I'm here to keep score." When Wan Ye's hand was about to touch Masako's shoulder, she turned sideways, letting his hand drop.

"Oh, I remember, it was mentioned in the last call." Instead of restraining himself, Wan Ye hugged her.

Masako took another step forward, pulling away from him.

"Masako, your hair is so slippery." Wan Ye said with a smile, still in high spirits.

"Wan Ye!" Xu Yitian shouted.

This time, Wan Ye finally noticed him: "Why are you here again?"

Xu Yitian's arrogance immediately descended.While the two were talking, Masako walked to the front window of Class [-], and slowly turned her gaze to that direction while keeping score.

he is.

The classroom was very noisy, An Qiyan was sitting on his desk, and the girls surrounded An Qiyan, chatting and laughing.He sat quietly on the seat, and his profile briefly appeared as the girls walked around.

An Qiyan was very engrossed in speaking, and when she got off the table, she couldn't stand firmly, so she staggered and sat on him.Only then did he come back to his senses and hold her waist, then An Qiyan rubbed his chest and laughed with lingering fear, then leaned against his neck, the girls laughed knowingly.

Masako lowered her head and put an A in the column of "An Qiyan".

When she raised her head again, An Qiyan hugged his neck and wanted to kiss him.

This should be the second time she tried to kiss him, but he turned his head sideways and refused again.

An Qiyan shook his neck coquettishly, his expression was always calm, a little tired, he said something, and then patted her on the back.

An Qiyan just got up and sat back on his desk, not very happy.

2
There were two self-study classes in a row in the morning, so Masako asked the class teacher for leave, saying that she would be back at noon if she had something to do at home.The homeroom teacher who knew Masako's family background gave her a leave of absence without hesitation and told her to be careful on the road.

On the way home, Masako was in a hurry and passed by the vegetable market to buy some lean meat, candied dates and almonds.

At home, the woman is taking a nap.

She closed the kitchen door lightly, put all the ingredients on the table, turned on the fire and put the pot on, and skillfully washed the almonds and cut the lean meat into pieces.

Time passed by tick-tock, and the smell of soup gradually overflowed in the kitchen.

Can you meet me at noon today, in the student conference room at 12 o'clock.

Masako sent this text message to Duan Yousi when she left the house with a thermos, locked the door, and looked at the time in the upper right corner of the phone screen——11:30
11 points.

When Masako walked up the stairs of the teaching building with her vacuum flask in her arms, she ran into Wei Ru who was about to hand in the test papers.

"Hey, Mo Yazi!" She called out suddenly, and Masako stopped on the stairs and looked back at her.

Wei Ru stood on the next step of her ladder, paused every time she spoke, took a step forward and stood side by side with her, and glanced at the thermos in her arms: "What is this?"

"Soup." Masako replied simply, "I have a cold."

"I didn't expect you to be so careless." Wei Ru said while holding the test paper tightly in her arms, her tone was not kind, "I heard about the examination in the morning, but I didn't expect that being good-looking is really useful. Why didn't I expect Wan Ye to be there? What about the amulet?"

"You think too much." Masako continued to go upstairs.

"Hey Mo Yazi!" Wei Ru called her from below, "Test in the afternoon!"

"I know."

"It's good that you know!" Wei Ru emphasized her tone, staring at her back as she disappeared around the corner.

Delayed by Wei Ruyi, it is already 12:5.

At the door of the meeting room, Masako slowed down her panting when she came all the way, put her hand on the doorknob, and opened the door.

As always, when there is no activity, the curtains here are all drawn, and there is no popularity. Duan Yousi sits on the leather chair at the end of the conference table.

It is early autumn and the weather is a bit cooler.

He was wearing a big mask, his feet were on the edge of the table, and the second hand was ticking—he fell asleep while waiting for her.

Masako gently closed the door, locked it, put the thermos on the table, looked at his peaceful sleeping face, leaned over and whispered in his ear, "I'm sorry..."

Duan Yousi woke up.

Masako didn't notice when he woke up, but when he turned to leave, his wrist was suddenly grabbed by him.

Masako was slightly taken aback, the meeting room was quiet and dark, she was pulled like this, and fell into his arms, her left hand grabbed the edge of the table unexpectedly, while her right hand was held in his hand.

He looked into her eyes casually, and she looked at him with a strange expression.

He took off his mask, and slowly wrapped his arms around her waist: "Tell me, when will you be able to secure the position of the head of the study department?"

This sudden problem is like cold water suddenly poured in when it is extremely warm.

"Two weeks."

Masako looked away, and gently clenched her right hand on the skirt.

"it is good."

He let go, and Masako's waist felt relaxed.

She closed her eyes to adjust her breathing, and when she was about to get up, he pulled her down again, and she sat back in his arms again: "You..."

He looked at her, stretched out his index finger and pointed at his face.

After seeing this little action, I suddenly understood, and was extremely embarrassed, Masako was at a loss in his arms.

A faint smile appeared on the corner of his mouth, and he put some force on her waist. She moved closer to him, then quickly touched his cheek lightly, and then got up.

The gray space is full of depressing stimuli.

"Kah..." He coughed.

Masako sat on the chair next to her and opened the thermos, and poured the soup into the small bowl she brought, the almond aroma in the broth wafted out.

"It stands to reason that it's not easy to drink soup when you have a cold." She finally managed to speak, and she pushed the bowl in front of him, "But your appetite is definitely not much better now, so I just made this lean meat for you Make candied date soup."

"Are you here to eat this?" He didn't move.

He can always achieve such a state of sweetness in the first moment and a calm state in the next moment.

"Yes."

So he sat upright slowly, with his arm on the edge of the table, looking at the soup.

"Where did you do it?"

"Home."

He glanced at her, didn't ask any more questions, picked up a spoon and took a spoonful to taste.

"How about it?"

He chewed carefully for a long time before slowly nodding his head.

Yazi smiled lightly.

"What else are you going to do?" He asked after taking a second sip.

"Anyone who has seen it once should be fine."

"Push away the evening self-study at night."

"Ok?"

"Go to my house."

"Dong dong!"

Before he could answer this somewhat sensitive question, the knock on the door sounded at this moment.Masako's fingertips trembled, and when she got up, the chair legs rubbed against the floor and made a screeching sound.She looked back at Duan Yousi, he was still drinking his soup, as if he hadn't heard the knock on the door at all.

Or maybe he just doesn't care.

"Boom boom boom!"

Drawn back to the door by the constant knocking, she took a breath, walked there, and opened the door a little.

"Mo Yazi?" Luckily among the misfortunes, it was Yu Qi who came.

Her heart relaxed a little: "Is there any temporary activity in the student union?"

"No, I'll check the doors and windows." Yu Qi looked at her, "Didn't you go home?"

"The doors and windows are closed."

Yu Qi suddenly stood still, his expression frozen for a long time, and he suddenly said, "Xiang."

Masako's hands clenched.

"Tang Xiang." Yu Qi said, poking his head over, "You are..."

Masako quickly blocked him: "It's from the cafeteria."

"It's in the conference room."

"Not a conference room!"

"Yes."

"Cha-"

There was the sound of the cowhide chair turning, and she looked back in a daze. Duan Yousi put down the spoon, pulled out a few tissues and stood up. He had already finished his soup, and he seemed... ready to come out.

"Inside is..."

Before Yu Qi finished asking, Masako felt his approaching breath, and the door that she was holding tightly was pulled open by him instead.Yu Qi looked straight behind her, Duan Yousi walked around Masako next to the door frame, he wiped his hands with a tissue, and left a message: "I'm leaving."

Yu Qi stared at him with calm eyes.

"By the way." Duan Yousi stopped suddenly, turned to look at Yu Qi, "Tell your sister, I'm not free tonight."

After speaking, he continued to walk.

Masako looked at his back, and Yu Qi also looked at his back.

After a long time, when the bell rang for the end of self-study in the afternoon, Yu Qi turned his head and met Masako's eyes.

Neither of them spoke.

3
"Ding--"

With the rapid ringing of the bell, the afternoon exam is over.

Back in the classroom, the students gathered together to discuss the answers to the test questions. Lu Jianer looked like she had regained her life, and panted heavily: "Oh, I'm suffocated to death, it's so difficult, oh..."

And Yu Qi sat quietly in his seat amidst the noise, looking down at the book, with paper and pens neatly placed aside, as if nothing had happened.

He only said one word to Masako at that time, after being silent for nearly 3 minutes, he looked at her and said, "Do you think it's interesting?"

Yazi didn't answer at that time.

Then, the awkward silence between them did not ease until after school.

Five in the evening.

The hallway floor was bright and the door to the apartment was open.

The appearance of Duan Yousi when he had a bad cold was more special than usual under the dim light. He was wearing a black and red V-neck cardigan, with his hands in the pockets of gray sweatpants. The stitches of the cardigan were thick and soft, very retro the taste of.

After Masako came in with something, he closed the door with his foot, and pointed to the kitchen with his chin: "You used it, you know."

Then he walked slowly back to the bedroom alone, his slender figure was full of laziness.

This is Masako's fourth visit to his house. Jian'er is right, Duan Yousi's family is very rich.From this apartment located in the most expensive building in the city center, it can be seen that not only has money, but also status, and he lives alone.

The kitchen is as tidy as the last time she used it. There should be part-time workers to take care of it, Masako thought, or it might be girls like her.

Half an hour later, the ginger soup was boiling slightly in the pot, and she began to prepare some light side dishes. While slicing the bitter gourd, there was a sound in the living room.

It was he who woke up and turned on the TV in the living room. The TV was broadcasting medical research on the separation of conjoined twins. The volume was turned up so that Masako could hear it clearly.

After a while, he went into the kitchen to pour water.

Masako's hands were steady, she cut the bitter gourd with her back turned to him, and bowed her head in silence.

He is right behind her.

There was a vague expectation growing from the bone marrow, tickling her heart, and soon, the smell of ginger soup in the kitchen became stronger and stronger, and Duan Yousi walked behind her.

"What are you doing?" He asked this insignificant question, put the water glass in her hand, slowly wrapped his arms around her waist from behind, and rested his chin on her shoulder.

"Bitter melon is good for colds..."

"Yeah." He replied absently, brushing Masako's hair aside, and his thin, cool lips touched the delicate skin on the back of her neck.

The whole person was a little crisp, she closed her eyes, frowned slightly, and breathed carefully.

His chest was warm, and so was the kiss, from the back of his neck to his earlobe, and his waist was hugged tighter and tighter.

Masako's hair hangs on one side of her cheek, swaying slightly with his kiss, her whole body is weak and uncontrollable.

He pinched her chin with his hand, gently pulled it towards him, and kissed the corner of her lips.

"what!"

This soft cry came out just as they were about to receive a real kiss. Masako turned her head and held the finger that had been cut open by the knife painfully.

The sudden change caused Duan Yousi's interest to drop quickly. He let go of her, picked up the glass of water again, took a sip and walked out of the kitchen without saying a word.

After being interrupted, there will be no restart, no second time, and Masako deliberately cut her finger with a knife, just because a guess flashed in her mind——

Did he do that to other girls too.

06: 30.

The atmosphere of this evening has been very bad, Duan Yousi didn't talk to her, and Masako was immersed in cooking in the kitchen.She put the fresh vegetables she bought into the refrigerator, and said to him in the living room: "Next time someone comes, the vegetables in the refrigerator can be used."

He leaned against the edge of the balcony, lowered his head and threw minced meat at a water tank in the corner, turning a deaf ear.

The ginger soup cooked half an hour ago is still on the dining table in the living room, and it has long lost its heat.

Masako brought the finished meal to the table, and walked towards him with the reheated ginger soup.The window was not closed, the wind outside should be very cold, he was blown and coughed all the time.

In the water tank is a medium tortoise half the size of a washbasin, black olive in color, motionless like an old man.

"It's better to drink ginger soup after meals." She held his cold hand, "It's hot now, you can warm it up."

(End of this chapter)