The subscription ratio is insufficient. This is to prevent | theft | Chapter 8 o'clock in the evening, almost dusk.

The twilight gradually spreads, but the glow is gathering, and the lush woods are shrouded in silence, so the church bells become clearer, jingling, and echoing continuously.

Lu Mingyuan was sketching in the corner of the park with his back to the church. It was still a bit cold in London in April. He was wearing a dark coat with the collar half open, and his shadow fell on the mottled stone wall.

He paints very well, with skillful techniques and professional techniques.

How to describe him?

——Both handsome and talented.

These are the seven words that Su Qiao first thought of.

He himself is more like a work of art than the sketches in his hands.

Su Qiao watched for a while, then naturally struck up a conversation with him: "Hey? Excuse me, how long have you been standing here alone?"

She heard a "pop" sound, which was the sound of the easel closing.

Su Qiao raised her head and smiled deeper.

The cool breeze blew past her ears, creating a silent boundary. She stood there dutifully, raised her finger and pointed at the sky: "The sun is going down, have you finished painting?"

Have you finished the painting? Of course not.

Lu Mingyuan felt that she knew what she was asking.

While packing up the easel, he said perfunctorily: "This is a semi-finished product." He held the brush behind his back, poked the white paper, and asked: "Can't you see it?"

With the soft light of a street lamp a few meters away, he turned back and looked at Su Qiao's face.

Su Qiao raised her eyebrows slightly.

She was finally able to look him in the eye.

The lights seemed to be swaying in the wind, playing a grand evening prayer.

"I know you are painting a distant view," Su Qiao bypassed the topic and introduced herself to him, "Mr. Lu, let's make a long story short. I am from Jinhe Law Firm. You should have guessed who I am. Your father, Lu Chen,

He entrusted us..."

As if to prove his words, Su Qiao took out a stack of documents from her bag.

The official seal, signature, and contract terms are all complete. Even if Lu Mingyuan studied it carefully, he couldn't find any flaws.

Su Qiao didn't expect that Lu Mingyuan picked up the easel without even looking at her things.

He picked up a satchel with one hand and fumbled inside it for a while. Su Qiao thought that Lu Mingyuan was looking for some token. After all, the matter was so important that he could not remain indifferent.

However, Lu Mingyuan once again exceeded her expectations.

He found a bottle of canned drink, pulled open the aluminum alloy ring, and took a few sips without intending to continue talking.

No wonder, Su Qiao thought.

Lu Mingyuan has been attending boarding school in the UK since he was a child. Su Qiao was surprised that he could communicate with her in Chinese. In order to dig out Lu Mingyuan's private information, Su Qiao spent a lot of effort.

She continued: "Mr. Lu, if you have any questions, how about taking a look at the contract first? Lawyer Chen He from Jinhe Firm is my teacher and your father's personal lawyer. He has been feeling unwell recently and has undergone surgery.

An operation, so let me go abroad to find you."

"Didn't you agree to meet me on the 17th?" Lu Mingyuan looked sideways and suddenly replied, "Why is it two days earlier? Did I remember the wrong date?"

He shook the drink can, carried the satchel, and walked forward as if no one was around.

Passing through the green park, we approached the church in the night. Not far away was a graveyard. The cross stood upright in the moonlight, its shadow falling in vain, deep and deserted.

Su Qiao did not follow Lu Mingyuan closely.

She stood in front of a tombstone and examined the words carved on it. The capital letters were eroded by wind and frost, and only a few words could be made out.

Although the church is sacred, it is inseparable from death and new life. It is not only a place for weddings, but also a place for burying deceased friends.

Both memories and reality made Su Qiao calmer.

She held her bag with both hands and asked, "Mr. Lu, we can't contact your father. Is there any other way besides leaving early?"

there is none left.

At least Lu Mingyuan couldn't answer.

He drank up the bottle of drink, held the empty can, and leaned against an iron fence. The rose branches stretched over the low wall and fell in front of him to compete for their beauty.

At night, the moonlight shines brightly, giving people unlimited reverie.

Love and beauty are both original sins that induce evil thoughts.

Su Qiao thought she was used to seeing all kinds of beauties. But she couldn't help but stare at Lu Mingyuan's face in a daze - she studied his hair, nose bridge, lip shape, and lamented that he was favored by God.

About a few seconds later, Lu Mingyuan suddenly asked: "You knew I was in the park, who told you?"

"Of course it's Lin Hao," Su Qiao explained patiently, "You usually don't use your mobile phone, and your email replies are very slow... We can only ask Lin Hao."

The Lin Hao Su Qiao mentioned was Lu Mingyuan's old friend and his current neighbor.

Lu Mingyuan lowered his head and thought for a while, then asked to himself: "Can you contact Lin Hao? I have known him for ten years and rarely talk about him with others."

He opened the back door of the yard and walked out to the street with Su Qiao.

The two of them waited silently at the bus stop. It wasn't until the double-decker bus arrived that Lu Mingyuan waved to Su Qiao: "I'm leaving, see you tomorrow."

He actually said goodbye like this?!

Su Qiao felt incredible.

But then, she gave him another reason - an artist is calm and unconventional, and is completely different from a fussy layman like her.

She quickly followed Lu Mingyuan and stepped into the bus.

"Lu Mingyuan, can I go home with you?" Su Qiao said straight to the point, "I can only return home after completing the tasks in the contract."

The scenery outside the window changes rapidly, and blurry human figures are reflected in the glass. Since the current time is nine o'clock in the evening, most shops have already closed, and only bars and restaurants are still standing.

Su Qiao has always been a heavy drinker, but she can't get out of the car.

She also wanted to follow Lu Mingyuan.

Lu Mingyuan's attitude was unclear. He didn't say he agreed or disagreed.

Half an hour later, the double-decker bus arrived at the stop, and dim street lights illuminated the long street. The stars faded into the night, and there were no pedestrians in the streets. Only a burly drunkard who had drunk too much walked toward Su Qiao and Lu Mingyuan.

.

He was slurring his words, talking nonsense, and was kicking a wine bottle at his feet.

Soon, the wine bottle rolled to Lu Mingyuan's side and was kicked back by him. In addition, Su Qiao also heard Lu Mingyuan curse an even more dirty word in English.

Su Qiao turned her head and glanced at him. Lu Mingyuan said frankly: "The public security near my home is not good."

He and Su Qiao walked side by side on the bumpy stone road of unknown age. In a normal tone, he said scary words: "It's too late for you to regret it now. What did my dad do in the company? What's your business?"

Did the old lawyer at the firm tell you? They didn’t want to cause trouble, so they appointed you..."

At this point, Lu Mingyuan stopped.

He asked: "What's your name?"

The drunkard had already gone away, and there were only two of them on the whole long street.

The alleys were criss-crossed, like a maze of stacked houses. Su Qiao stood next to Lu Mingyuan and showed her passport. The water droplets rubbed against her fingertips, and she thought there was a leak somewhere.

When I looked up, I realized it was raining.

Rain in London usually comes without warning. The lights are as dense as mist in the rain. Lu Mingyuan was familiar with the road and held up a black umbrella, covering half of Su Qiao's head. He still kept a distance from her.

Su Qiao joked: "You have a lot of things in your bag, including umbrellas, paintbrushes, drink bottles..."

On this stormy night, the streets were painted with damp ink, and Lu Mingyuan's expression was unclear. He asked intentionally or unintentionally: "Do you only have the contract documents in your bag?"

The rain was cold and long, and Su Qiao shivered.

She is about to go home with a man she has met for the first time.

In her twenty-three years of life, such a thing had never happened.

But if she just gave up and returned to her country, she would have nothing.

Su Qiao's heart was spinning a thousand times, but she smiled frankly on the surface: "I left in a hurry and didn't make any preparations."

"Oh," Lu Mingyuan asked again, "How many days do you want to stay at my house?"

He held the handle of the umbrella and turned it around a few times, causing water droplets to splash - this move was very similar to that of a child. Su Qiao also liked to play with umbrellas like this when she was a child, and Lu Mingyuan's casual behavior made her look sideways.

She straightened her wet long hair and answered truthfully: "I don't know either. It depends on the overall progress."

Next, Su Qiao talked about the rent and food expenses, as well as the benefits that Lu Mingyuan could get after fulfilling the contract. She spoke reasonably and logically, but unfortunately Lu Mingyuan looked uninterested from beginning to end.

Their communication was not smooth.

At eleven o'clock at night, they arrived at their destination.

Lu Mingyuan's house is a single-family house, next to another house. The owner of that house also held a long-handled umbrella and stood at the door smoking.

He was tall and thin, with fair complexion. When he saw Lu Mingyuan approaching, he smiled with a cigarette in his mouth: "What a coincidence, I can meet you when I come out to smoke."
To be continued...