Chapter 67 Love
"Here, this is for you." Chen Mo took out another picture frame.

"What is this?" Xu Hongdou couldn't help but ask.

"Oil painting stones, Cangshan Mountain and Erhai Lake, natural oil paintings in Dali, Yunnan, each one is unique."

This was bought by Chen Mo at a stall called "Yan Yu". According to the stall owner, this is a natural oil painting produced in the Xipo mining belt of Cangshan Mountain in Dali, Yunnan.

Because the undulating and uneven texture on each stone piece is natural, each piece is unique.

Of course, these days, no matter what it is, if you put words like "unique" or "once in a lifetime" on it, it's probably just to sell it for a good price.

But if you use it as a gift to others, especially girls, this expression can really express your thoughts.

"When did you buy it?" Xu Hongdou took it with some confusion.

"While you were looking at those crystal ornaments."

"Why do you want to buy this?" Xu Hongdou asked curiously.

"You and Nanxing have always wanted to find an opportunity to go to Yunnan, but you never had the time."

"I can't give you time, so I can only give you the 'Cangshan Mountain and Erhai Lake' in Dali."

"How do you know? I don't remember telling you." Xu Hongdou was a little surprised.

"When we first met in the restaurant, you could hear Congwen and I talking, and I could naturally hear you talking too," said Chen Mo.

"Are you eavesdropping?" Xu Hongdou widened her eyes.

"No, it was Nanxing who was reading those strange names of dishes, which caught my attention, and then I happened to hear you talking about this."

"I didn't know it was you when I heard it, so I didn't pay much attention to it."

"I just happened to see the stall owner introducing Cangshan Mountain and Erhai Lake, and I suddenly remembered it." Chen Mo explained.

"That happened so long ago. How can you remember it now just by listening to what we said?" Xu Hongdou was a little surprised.

"It wasn't long actually, just over a month."

"Mainly about you, I think of you from time to time." Chen Mo said with a smile.

"Are you trying to say that you will remember it this way in the future?" Xu Hongdou answered quickly with understanding in her mind.

"No." Chen Mo shook his head.

"No?" Xu Hongdou was a little surprised to hear this answer.

"Although I would like to promise you that I can do it, realistically speaking, I probably can't do it."

"Because we still have a long life ahead of us, I can't guarantee that I will remember everything in the future."

"But you can tell me more. I will take everything you say to heart." Chen Mo said seriously.

Xu Hongdou pursed her lips and muttered softly: "Who wants to be with you forever?"

They had just met at that time, and she didn't expect that Chen Mo could pay attention to and remember every word she said to Nanxing in casual conversation.

If Xu Hongdou said that she was not touched, that would definitely be a lie.

Many times, it is not necessary for the gift to be very precious, but the feeling of being cared for and remembered by others will make people feel cherished.

"This is for you." Xu Hongdou also handed over a bag.

"Haha, my 'token of love'?" Chen Mo teased. He thought it was the wooden sculpture of Ultraman.

"Huh? What is this?"

Chen Mo looked into the bag and found that in addition to the Ultraman that Xu Hongdou had bought before, there was also a notebook.

"The boss said that this is made of cooked rice paper and the ink will not soak up."

"I see that when you write songs, sometimes the sides of your hands will get black stains on the paper, so I wonder if this way of writing will be better." Xu Hongdou explained.

This was bought by Xu Hongdou at a stall called "Zhi Mo Liu Xiang", which mainly sells the four treasures of the study.

"Is it for me?" Chen Mo asked knowingly.

"Yeah." Xu Hongdou nodded slightly.

"Hehe, can we say that we are in sync?" Chen Mo didn't expect that Xu Hongdou was also paying attention to him.

"I just saw it suddenly and bought it. Don't think too much about it." Xu Hongdou turned her head and looked out the window.

"Well, I don't want to think too much." Chen Mo smiled happily, with a feeling of running in both directions.

"But when did you buy this? I don't even know."

Chen Mo felt that his eyes should have been on Xu Hongdou all the time, but he didn't notice it.

Speaking of this, Xu Hongdou was a little speechless, "When you watch those rock records."

"You were so engrossed in watching it at the time that you didn't hear me calling you several times."

"Well, is that so?" Chen Mo touched the back of his head a little embarrassedly, "I can't help it, I can't help it."

"You are like this, and you still say you are worried that I will get lost, but you don't even know who is lost." Xu Hongdou shook her head.

Chen Mo thought about it and suggested: "Next time if I get too absorbed in watching, just kiss me and I will definitely come back to my senses."

"Pah, you're so beautiful," Xu Hongdou spat, "I'll give you a kick."

"It's ok to give me a kick, just be gentle." Chen Mo laughed and didn't mind.

"Well, I want to go back to the market." Xu Hongdou said after thinking for a while.

"Huh? Something dropped?" Chen Mo wondered.

"No, I want to buy another painting of this 'Cangshan Erhai' oil painting stone for Nanxing."

"Actually it was Nanxing who had always wanted to go to Yunnan, but I had stood her up for two or three years."

Xu Hongdou did not say that she would give the painting that Chen Mo gave her directly to Nanxing, but chose to buy another one.

"You really haven't forgotten Nanxing at all. I'm a little jealous." Chen Mo couldn't help but say.

"Of course, Nanxing always brings me gifts when she goes on a business trip, and when Nanxing's mother sends something to Nanxing, there will always be a portion for me."

"I told you, Nanxing is the love of my life." Xu Hongdou raised her chin slightly.

"Then when can you add me to the position of the love of your life in your heart?" Chen Mo asked.

"You are still far away." Xu Hongdou snorted.

"Now, is it closer?" Chen Mo took out an oil painting stone of Cangshan Mountain and Erhai Lake from the bag like a magician.

"You bought two paintings?" Xu Hongdou was really surprised.

"I just watched you eat and saw the interesting names of the dishes, so I thought I should ask Nanxing to join us next time."

"Draw a picture. I also want to draw one with Nanxing."

"It was you two who made the appointment to go to Yunnan. Didn't I predict it in advance?" Chen Mo raised his eyebrows proudly.

"You..." Xu Hongdou didn't know what to say for a moment, "Then I'll give you the money."

"Why do you want money? Just think of it as bribing your best friend." Chen Mo waved his hand.

"If we have a fight in the future, I'm counting on Nanxing to tip me off and say a few good words for me."

"You two have such a good relationship. I'm really afraid that she will tell you, 'Let's break up if it doesn't work out.'"

"Don't talk nonsense, Nanxing is not that kind of person." Xu Hongdou said, "Besides, we are not together yet, there is no need to talk about whether we will break up or not."

"It's better to be prepared." Chen Mo shrugged.

"How about it, am I now closer to the love of your life in your heart?"

"Yes, it's much closer." Xu Hongdou stretched out her hand, leaving some space between her index finger and thumb.

"Just this much?" Chen Mo opened his eyes wide.

"My heart is not big to begin with, and can't hold many people. This is already a lot, okay?" Xu Hongdou said seriously.

"You don't have a good heart. I'll block the door after I walk in." Chen Mo said with a smile. "Block the door?"

"Well, block it for life and don't let anyone else get in."

"So domineering?" Xu Hongdou looked at Chen Mo.

"So domineering." Chen Mo nodded.

Xu Hongdou was silent for a while, then said, "If you can really get in, you don't need to block me. The space for love in my heart can only accommodate one person."

"Then it must be me." Chen Mo said confidently.

"Well, that depends on your performance."

"Then just wait and see." Chen Mo shouted, started the car randomly and stepped on the accelerator.

"Where are we going?"

"Let's find a place to eat first."

It was a little after 1:00 p.m. when they finished their visit to the market, and it took them some time longer to wait for a few paintings.

Chen Mo took Xu Hongdou to eat mutton hotpot.

"How is it? This one is okay, right?" Chen Mo felt very satisfied as he watched Xu Hongdou eating with big mouthfuls.

In fact, Chen Mo always felt comfortable when having meals with Xu Hongdou.

Firstly, Xu Hongdou is not picky about food and she won’t say that she doesn’t want to eat this or that she will get fat, and be pretentious for a long time.

Secondly, Xu Hongdou is very straightforward and will say directly what she likes and dislikes, so Chen Mo doesn't have to guess.

Eat only as much as you should, don’t pretend to have a small appetite, and don’t order a lot of dishes and then say you’re full after just two bites.

Simply put, Xu Hongdou is undoubtedly a qualified eater.

"Yes, the places you locals choose are different and authentic." Xu Hongdou gave a thumbs up.

"What's the point? There's no road in BJ, right?" Chen Mo laughed.

"Don't you locals like to brag like this?"

"I've never considered myself a Beijinger. Whenever someone asks me, I always say that my hometown is Guangdong Province." Chen Mo shook his head.

"Why, didn't you grow up in BJ?"

"Well, maybe I'm not a good person." Chen Mo said and laughed.

"You know the alleys and lanes of BJ so well, how could this not be authentic?" Xu Hongdou felt surprised.

Chen Mo thought about it and said, "Let me tell you this."

"As for the locals in BJ, almost every household knows how to make it, and they all like to eat old Beijing noodles with soybean paste or noodles with gravy."

"If you ask Beijingers where the most authentic noodles with soybean sauce are, they will definitely tell you that there is no authentic noodles with soybean sauce on the street, and the most authentic ones are in their own homes."

“Although the ingredients are similar, each one has its own flavor.”

"So in the past, if Beijingers ate noodles with soybean sauce outside, they would praise it for the taste of their mother's noodles at home, which was the best compliment for a noodles restaurant."

"Before? What about now?" Xu Hongdou noticed the words Chen Mo said.

“Nowadays, I rarely brag like that.”

"why?"

"Let me learn from you what my local friends say." Chen Mo cleared his throat.

"That's a nice thing to say, but don't praise me in KFC."

"You're saying this in a chain store. Does that mean your store is everywhere on the street? You really call the world your home?"

"KFC?" Xu Hongdou couldn't help laughing when she heard Chen Mo's complaints in Beijing accent.

“Well, there was a blogger who did a review before, and he commented that the fried noodles in KFC tasted like his mother’s.” Chen Mo explained.

"Have you ever tried it? Does it taste authentic?" Xu Hongdou was a little curious.

When she orders KFC, she only orders hamburgers, fried chicken, French fries, etc., and has never ordered any noodles with soybean sauce.

"I've never eaten it, and I don't know if it's authentic or not, because my mother doesn't make noodles with soybean paste at home." Chen Mo shook his head.

"For me, the taste of home is the soup my mom makes."

"That's why I don't really feel like I'm from Beijing, because my eating habits tend to be more Cantonese."

"No wonder you are so good at making soup." Xu Hongdou suddenly realized.

When Chen Mo cooks, he often makes soups, all kinds of soups, such as lotus seed and pork tripe soup, yam and pork ribs soup, etc. Xu Hongdou has drunk quite a few of them.

"By the way, are those soups of yours really good for the stomach? I don't seem to have any stomach discomfort recently."

Although Chen Mo had asked Fang Shuyun which soup was better for the stomach, he did not take credit for it. Instead, he said:

"Although there are claims of food supplements and medicinal foods, some soups also have the effect of strengthening the spleen and stomach."

"But soup is not medicine after all. You can't expect any benefits from drinking it for a few days."

"It's mainly because you've been eating more regularly and eating less takeout."

"Eating a hot meal on time is the best way to nourish your stomach."

"Oh, I see." Xu Hongdou nodded.

This week when she was having dinner with Chen Mo, she indeed didn't order much takeout.

The two of them eat together. Xu Hongdou sometimes cooks, but Chen Mo cooks more.

Of course, Xu Hongdou had to wash more bowls.

The two of them are getting more and more in sync with each other, but there is no clear division of labor.

Xu Hongdou often helps Chen Mo, and Chen Mo often washes dishes and cleans the kitchen with Xu Hongdou.

"If you like to drink it, I can make it for you forever." Chen Mo said to Xu Hongdou.

"I noticed that you keep talking about a lifetime now." Xu Hongdou raised his eyebrows.

Chen Mo smiled and said softly:

"Because I'm pursuing you for my whole life."

"You really don't miss any opportunity or chance." Xu Hongdou shook her head helplessly.

She could hear Chen Mo say this every day now, in the car when he picked her up from get off work, or when they were having dinner together.

Sometimes, even though they had just finished their meal and separated, and she had just returned to her home next door, Chen Mo would immediately send her some sweet words to "flirt", and they were never the same every day.

Well, of course, she never gets tired of hearing it.

"I can say this for the rest of my life. Are you ready to listen to it for the rest of your life?" Chen Mo said again.

"Where did you get these sweet words from? Do you have a book? Can I learn from them?" Xu Hongdou asked seriously.

"You taught me." Chen Mo said.

"I'll teach you?" Xu Hongdou felt a little unbelievable. "I'm hearing these words for the first time myself. How can I teach you?"

"Before I met you, if you asked me to say something romantic, I would probably have to look it up online."

"But after getting to know you, you are the best love letter."

"I can feel all the heartbeats from you."

"Everything I wanted to say had its answer the moment I saw you."

There was an unconcealable tenderness and love in Chen Mo's eyes.

(End of this chapter)