Chapter 181

Chapter 181: The Door to Rebirth in the Apocalypse – Full Novel Website

Chapter 181

Although Gu Mama asked Gu Ning to take Ji Jiuzhe around the neighborhood, in Gu Ning’s eyes, every street seemed ordinary, with nothing particularly special. In the end, she could only take Ji Jiuzhe to the riverbank opposite Phoenix Mountain, not far from home.

The two walked along the river corridor, with a gentle breeze and the warm winter sun, making it quite comfortable.

“I used to come here often to fly kites,” Gu Ning said, looking at the large patch of grass on the riverbank below, feeling somewhat nostalgic.

Ji Jiuzhe looked down, as if he could see the past Gu Ning running and laughing freely on the grass, holding a kite string.

The river corridor was filled with many vendors selling small items to passing tourists or students from nearby schools. Since it wasn’t a weekend and school wasn’t out yet, there were few people around. Only a few dozen people were scattered along the path, and most of the vendors were too lazy to even招呼 customers.

Gu Ning’s eyes suddenly lit up, and she pulled Ji Jiuzhe to a stall where you could win dolls by popping balloons. Colorful small balloons were tied in six rows on a large wooden board, with various dolls of different sizes displayed in front. Ji Jiuzhe was somewhat surprised and asked, “Want to play this?”

“Mm,” Gu Ning had already paid and took the gun handed to her by the stall owner. She had played this game with friends before, trying a few times and only winning five times in total.

“Ten shots in total, you need to pop more than five to get a prize,” the stall owner said.

Gu Ning blinked at Ji Jiuzhe, then walked to the designated four-meter line, aimed the gun at the balloons.

Bang bang bang bang bang bang bang bang bang bang

In the sound of firecracker-like explosions, the first row of balloons was gone in an instant, all popped.

The stall owner had seen this before, but never someone as fast as this girl. Before he could react, the first row of balloons was already gone.

“Please give me the little yellow guy in the middle. Thank you.”

The stall owner was stunned for a moment before reluctantly handing over the nearly half-person-high little yellow guy from the middle.

Gu Ning returned the gun to the owner, hugged the little yellow guy, and smiled happily.

Ji Jiuzhe smiled and asked, “So happy?”

Gu Ning said a bit shyly, “I’ve played a few times before and never won, so I’m quite happy.”

Feeling Gu Ning’s relaxation at this moment, Ji Jiuzhe seemed to be infected by her and smiled slightly.

“Let’s go fishing and bring some back,” Gu Ning suddenly said, pointing to a few people fishing by the riverbank.

Ji Jiuzhe readily agreed.

There was a small shop below that specialized in renting fishing gear. After getting fully equipped, Gu Ning found a spot, baited the hook, and cast the line.

Gu Ning was the first to finish all this, and now all that was left was to wait.

She plopped down on the lush grass, spread her arms, and lay back on the grass, letting out a satisfied sigh with her eyes closed.

After setting up his fishing rod, Ji Jiuzhe turned to see Gu Ning lying on the grass with her arms spread out. He hesitated for a moment but then lay down beside her, mimicking her posture.

“How about a bet?” Gu Ning said with interest.

“Mm?”

Gu Ning said, “Let’s bet on who will catch the first fish.”

“What’s the stake?”

“The loser has to unconditionally agree to one thing the winner asks.”

Ji Jiuzhe twitched his lips: “Okay.”

Gu Ning immediately became alert: “Except for asking me to marry you.”

Ji Jiuzhe sighed helplessly: “But the only thing I want you to agree to is that.”

Gu Ning was speechless.

Ji Jiuzhe’s hand covered Gu Ning’s palm, fingers intertwining with hers. Gu Ning turned to look at him, but Ji Jiuzhe was just looking at the floating clouds in the blue sky, his profile nearly perfect. Gu Ning felt a slight stir in her heart. She often felt unreal when looking at Ji Jiuzhe, as if he had somehow become her boyfriend. They were originally from completely different worlds, and if not for the apocalypse, they might never have crossed paths. Even in Jinyong, their biggest交集 might have been her bus passing by Ji Jiuzhe’s car. In a way, her life had been turned upside down by the apocalypse, and most of these changes were for the better.

Without the apocalypse, she might have been working diligently at some company, still infatuated with Lu Jiazhi, and might even have married him… Thinking of this, Gu Ning suddenly felt a chill, but then felt immensely relieved.

Ji Jiuzhe, unaware of Gu Ning’s thoughts, just felt that this moment was good.

Gu Ning suddenly let go of their intertwined hands, placed Ji Jiuzhe’s arm under her neck, and rolled over, ending up in Ji Jiuzhe’s arms. Ji Jiuzhe was stunned for a moment but instinctively held Gu Ning.

Gu Ning nestled in Ji Jiuzhe’s arms, closed her eyes, and said, “Ji Jiuzhe, I’m really glad I met you.”

Ji Jiuzhe was stunned for a moment, his eyes filled with a smile,闪烁着某种不知名的光芒: “Mm, I’m glad too.”

Gu Ning curled her lips, rubbed against Ji Jiuzhe, found the most comfortable position, and then lazily said, “I’m so sleepy, I’ll take a nap first.”

“Mm,” Ji Jiuzhe lowered his head and gently kissed Gu Ning’s forehead.

So, in the end, after fishing all morning, neither of them caught anything. When they returned, a middle-aged man with several large bags was waiting by the car. He greeted Ji Jiuzhe respectfully, handed over the items, and then drove away.

Gu Ning didn’t ask what it was, clearly gifts for Gu Papa and Gu Mama.

Gu Ning wasn’t worried at all about Ji Jiuzhe handling it. The two drove home.

When the car stopped downstairs, Gu Ning immediately saw several middle-aged women standing by the flower bed downstairs, cracking melon seeds. As soon as they saw the car, Aunt Wang nudged the woman next to her and whispered, “Here comes that car!” which immediately drew the others’ attention.

Ji Jiuzhe saw Gu Ning frown, not just impatiently but with disgust, which was somewhat unusual for her.

There were six middle-aged women here, besides Aunt Wang from the second floor and an unfamiliar woman from another building, the others were all from the minibus that day.

Gu Ning had asked Hong Jie about the details of that day afterward. Besides her parents and Hong Jie, there were nearly thirty people on the bus, and not one of them had spoken up for her.

Although she hadn’t held a grudge, it was hard to let go, like a thorn in her heart that usually didn’t bother her but now ached faintly. Looking at these people’s faces, she felt nothing but disgust.

“Let’s go,” Gu Ning said as she got out of the car.

Ji Jiuzhe got out and carried the things from the back, immediately attracting the women’s attention.

Someone immediately called out, “Ningning, is this your boyfriend? When did you meet?”

Thinking that she would be leaving here soon anyway, Gu Ning couldn’t even be bothered to应付. Ji Jiuzhe felt the chill emanating from Gu Ning, put his arm around her, and walked upstairs with her as if no one else was there.

Leaving the group of gossiping women面面相觑, a bit反应不过来.

Gu Ning decided to find a place to move out as soon as possible. She really didn’t want to see these people’s faces anymore.

The two reached the door, and Gu Ning knocked: “Mom, we’re back.”

The door opened immediately, and Gu Mama gave Gu Ning a look, her expression somewhat unnatural: “Ningning, Jiazhi is here.”

Gu Ning was stunned.

In the living room, Lu Jiazhi was sitting on the sofa, smiling and talking to Gu Papa. When he turned and saw Ji Jiuzhe following Gu Ning in, his smile froze on his face.

Gu Papa’s gaze immediately locked onto Ji Jiuzhe’s face, scrutinizing him from head to toe. His face remained expressionless, but he secretly admired Ji Jiuzhe’s extraordinary bearing.

“Uncle, hello, I’m Ji Jiuzhe,” Ji Jiuzhe stood at the door and greeted Gu Papa politely, then turned to Lu Jiazhi: “Hello.”

Gu Papa said, “Don’t stand at the door, come sit.”

Ji Jiuzhe gently squeezed Gu Ning’s hand and walked over: “Ningning said you like tea, so I didn’t bring anything else, just a few cans of tea. These are for Auntie.”

Gu Mama quickly took the paper bag from Ji Jiuzhe’s hand, smiling happily: “Oh, you just went out to buy these? You’re too kind!”

Ji Jiuzhe smiled slightly: “It’s the least I could do.”

Then he and Gu Ning sat down opposite Lu Jiazhi.

“And this is?” Ji Jiuzhe asked as soon as he sat down. He seemed to be asking Gu Ning or Gu Papa, but his gaze was fixed on Lu Jiazhi across from him. His tone was neither light nor heavy, seemingly casual, his expression calm, but his eyes carried a sharp cold light. Gu Ning felt as if she could see the silent clash of swords.

Lu Jiazhi敏锐地感觉到季九泽的敌意，更何况季九泽的敌意那样的明显，似乎根本就不屑于掩饰，而这种敌意也给了他很大的危机感和压迫感，他下意识的滚动了一下喉结，强自镇定下来，不愿意在顾宁面前示弱，脸上露出了他最擅长的自信的微笑：“我是陆家梓。我们曾经在清平的酒店大厅里见过面。”

“哦”季九泽连嘴角带起的那抹笑都是凉的：“我倒是不记得了。”

陆家梓还能保持脸上的微笑：“是么。”顿了顿，他忽然看了一眼顾宁，再看向季九泽的时候脸上带着一抹微妙的笑，似是不经意提起：“不知道你有没有吃过宁宁做的菜她的厨艺很好，我的胃都被她养刁了，大学的时候几乎吃不下食堂的饭菜。”这话听起来似乎是在称赞顾宁，其实却是在炫耀他和顾宁过去的关系。

就连路爸爸都忍不住皱起了眉头，顾宁依旧冷冷的看着他。

陆家梓亮出了他的剑，季九泽却依旧从容不迫，淡淡的说道：“宁宁做的菜的确很好。只是遗憾的是，陆先生以后都吃不到了。”

陆家梓的脸色一下就变了，好像被人一拳大力的捶在胸口，闷痛的说不出话来。

气氛忽然变得十分的尴尬。

顾妈妈从陆家梓进门，就已经把心脏提起来了，等到顾宁和季九泽回来，更是倍感煎熬，此时更是闻到了满屋子的火药味，急忙给那边的顾爸爸打眼色。

顾爸爸也看的差不多了，便轻咳了一声打破了这尴尬的沉默，然后说道：“家梓你不是有事要找顾宁吗”

陆家梓脸色稍稍和缓了一点，对着顾宁说道：“宁宁，我有事情想跟你说，需要跟你单独谈。”

顾宁也决心要跟陆家梓一次性解决，不想再让他在自己的生活里打转了。她伸手握了一下季九泽的手：“我出去一下。”

季九泽回握她一下，并未阻拦：“嗯。快去快回。”

顾宁站起身来冷冷的对着陆家梓说道：“走吧。”

陆家梓被他们刚才交握的手刺痛了眼睛，然后也跟着站起来往外面走去，甚至连招呼都忘了打。

顾宁进了电梯，按了顶楼的数字。

陆家梓跟着进了电梯。

两人在电梯里都没有说话，一直出了电梯，又上了天台。

陆家梓心中微微一动，想起当年还只有十六岁的顾宁就是把自己叫到这里来然后对自己表白的。

顾宁站在离他三米远的地方，他想走过去，却被她叫住了：“就站在那里说吧。”

陆家梓站在了那里，脸上难掩落寞：“你就是因为这个人才离开的我吗”

“我从来都没有跟你在一起过，又怎么能说离开”顾宁说道：“陆家梓，我喜欢过你，但是也仅仅到喜欢为止了。”

陆家梓皱起眉头，正想说话，却被顾宁打断：“就算是对我那么多年为你做的那些事情的报答，陆家梓，请你以后都不要再出现在我的眼前了。不要妄想着挽回什么，不要破坏我的幸福。”

陆家梓痛苦的说道：“宁宁，以前是我错了，我一直看不清自己的内心，但是我是真的喜欢你。”

“那你愿意为我而死吗”顾宁突然说道。

陆家梓愣住了。

顾宁说道：“你或许是真的有那么一点喜欢我，可是这喜欢跟你的生命来比，太过微不足道。微不足道到如果有一天我威胁到了你的生命，你会毫不犹豫的舍弃我。”

陆家梓反驳道：“你为什么要胡乱猜测一些根本就不可能发生的事情而且，难道你就以为你家里坐着的那个男人他就那么喜欢你吗他就愿意为你而死”

“当然”顾宁毫不犹豫的说道：“不要以为你做不到的事情别人也做不到，更不要用自己的卑劣来揣度别人也跟你一样的卑劣。”

“陆家梓，在我的眼里季九泽比你好一千倍一万倍。”