I Just Want to Freeload on Your Luck - Chapter 66
Fu Yangxi spent a lot of effort before he finally managed to get Zhao Mingxi to lie on his back. Then, he walked back along the beach with one foot dragging the other.
Was there anyone who was more miserable than him? He even had to beg and coax Zhao Mingxi to calm down and hook her around his neck to prevent her from falling.
He walked for ten minutes before they reached the hotel.
Sweat was already oozing from Fu Yangxi’s forehead, but Zhao Mingxi was still completely cool and refreshed.
He took out their room card and entered the room. The floor lamp turned on in response.
Schools of colorful fish swim around behind the floor-to-ceiling glass.
Fu Yangxi wiped his forehead, turned his back to the sofa and gently placed Zhao Mingxi on the sofa.
“Are you going to abandon me here?” Zhao Mingxi asked pitifully.
She was still holding his neck with both her arms. Her face was flushed and she was staring at the back of his head.
Fu Yangxi tilted his head slightly and coaxed softly, “No, I’m just letting you go for a while.”
“No,” Mingxi flatly refused. “A man’s mouth is deceiving. How long is ‘temporarily’? Three seconds? Five seconds?”
“Three, two, one.”
She let go of both hands from Fu Yangxi’s neck for three seconds and hugged him again in a hurry, her legs clamped around his waist. “Three seconds are up.”
God, why is Little Mask so clingy when she is drunk??
Fu Yangxi found her so cute that his heart trembled.
He licked his lips, complacent and happy, and said, “Little Mask, you really can’t leave me, huh?”
“Yes.” Zhao Mingxi wouldn’t let go even if she was to be beaten to death. She almost strangled Fu Yangxi to death.
Fu Yangxi couldn’t help but chuckle. “Then you can change your name to Little Sticky Rice Cake.”
“Hmm.” Mingxi still didn’t let go.
Fu Yangxi had no choice but to turn around and face her. He supported himself with both hands on the back of the sofa, and she was trapped in it, her long hair disheveled as she looked at him with twinkling eyes.
Fu Yangxi couldn’t restrain himself anymore. He lowered his head and lightly pecked the corner of her lips.
Mingxi was very comfortable being kissed by him. She obediently let him kiss her. She even voluntarily wrapped her hands around his neck and got him to lower down a little.
Between the lips and teeth was the scorching sweet smell of beer.
But Fu Yangxi’s damned “honest man” thought came up again. He felt that she was extremely drunk, so even though he only kissed her, he was taking advantage of her.
No, I still have to hold back and stop kissing her.
So Fu Yangxi raised his head and said to Mingxi with a straight face, “Hurry up and let go of me. Go take a shower before going to sleep.”
Mingxi stared at him blankly before she suddenly cried with a wail. Of course, she was just howling with no tears. She complained, full of acting skills, “You scolded me.”
Fu Yangxi: “…”
He felt more wronged than Dou E!
“If you don’t let me go, I’ll wash you,” Fu Yangxi threatened.
Mingxi’s cheeks were hot. She leaned over to breathe next to his ear, “It’s not, it’s not as if it’s not allowed.”
“…” Fu Yangxi looked at Zhao Mingxi who was below him in disbelief.
He was about to lose control. What kind of annoying little fairy is Little Mask when she is drunk?! She must never be allowed to drink with others outside in the future!
Fu Yangxi suddenly doubted whether Zhao Mingxi recognized him as Fu Yangxi now.
—Her coquettish behavior can’t be an indiscriminate attack on everyone, right?
Fu Yangxi raised his head and pulled Zhao Mingxi’s hand off his neck. He made Zhao Mingxi look directly at him and asked seriously, “Zhao Mingxi, stop moving around. Let me ask you a question, do you know who I am?”
Zhao Mingxi giggled, broke away from Fu Yangxi’s hands and continued to touch Fu Yangxi’s chest restlessly.
His shirt was about to be torn by her.
She looked at Fu Yangxi frivolously and continued to blow into his ear. “You are my heart.”
“…”
Fu Yangxi: I’m dead.
He held back the redness on his face and deliberately turned his face cold. He put on an expressionless look and said to Zhao Mingxi, “Look carefully, I am Shen Liyao.”
“…” Although Mingxi was quite drunk to the point where looking at the moon was like looking at a mooncake and she felt as if Fu Yangxi had grown a layer of fur.
But she would never mistake Fu Yangxi as Shen Liyao.
Drunk Mingxi’s inner thoughts: What kind of idiot is this person in front of me?
Actually pretending to be Shen Liyao and lying to me?
Nonetheless, Mingxi pushed Fu Yangxi away very cooperatively and said fiercely, “Shen Liyao, don’t touch me.”
Fu Yangxi wanted to laugh.
How can Little Mask be so obedient?!
Fu Yangxi stared at Zhao Mingxi under him, wiped his face, changed his expression again. He said solemnly, “Then, you should take another look. I am Fu Yangxi now.”
The drunk Mingxi was unable to complain.
She went along with his act.
She opened her eyes wide, showing a surprised expression. “Fu Yangxi? You’re here? Uwu, I want a hug.”
“…”
Fu Yangxi’s heart was about to melt.
He couldn’t help but lightly pinch the face of Zhao Mingxi who threw herself on top of him.
Little Mask is so cute.
She is too f*cking cute! Is there anyone cuter than Zhao Mingxi in the world?
This night was a mess. Mingxi still had a little consciousness in her head, but her whole body was already like a puddle of mud. She couldn’t lift herself up, let alone take a bath by herself.
She had been pestering Fu Yangxi, wanting him to wash her.
Fu Yangxi had no choice but to fill the bathtub with water and test the water temperature. Then, he closed his eyes, helped her take off the dress on her body and put her in the bathtub.
The moment Fu Yangxi carried her in, his brain almost exploded. The sensation on his hands was soft and delicate. His heart almost jumped out.
Zhao Mingxi flopped around in the bathtub, thinking she was a fish. After a long time of fuss, Fu Yangxi fished her up again, wrapped her in a bath towel, put on her underwear and threw her on the bed.
After all this was done, Fu Yangxi was so exhausted that he collapsed.
Although Little Mask looked thin, she really weighed quite a bit when she was carried, not to mention that she had been making a fuss.
The schools of fish swimming around spit bubbles, as if accusing the two of being too clingy.
After Mingxi’s drunk night, the next afternoon, when she woke up, she was in a bad mood, as if she had fallen apart.
She almost thought that Fu Yangxi had done something to her.
Fu Yangxi’s face turned red. He almost jumped three feet high. “What could I have done? I changed your clothes with my eyes closed. Do you know how difficult that is? You will not be allowed to drink in the future.”
As a result, Mingxi used a kind of ‘Didn’t do anything? Are you still a man’ eyes to look at him in disappointment.
Fu Yangxi: “…”
Good times always fly by so fast.
In the next few days, seafood feasts, diving, swinging, sailing on a yacht, and New Year’s Eve arrived in the blink of an eye.
The two spent New Year’s here.
Although the modern New Year didn’t feel like a new year was here, after watching the fireworks show, the two returned to the hotel, turned on the TV, watched this year’s Spring Festival Gala, and kept watch until 12 o’clock.
In the middle of it all, Zhao Mingxi and Fu Yangxi both received some phone calls and SMS blessings. Ke Chengwen called Fu Yangxi the video in a lonely and cold manner. Fu Yangxi went to take a bath, so the person who picked up his mobile phone and answered was Mingxi, or specifically, Mingxi who was lying on the bed while eating snacks — As soon as the video was turned on, Ke Chengwen howled in despair and said “oh, my eyes” before he quickly hung up the video call.
“Happy New Ye—” Before Mingxi finished speaking, the video went black. She didn’t know whether to laugh or cry.
She called several teachers, the Dong family and He Yang’s family to send New Year greetings. She also asked about He Yang’s family situation on the phone.
Now, the potted plants were short of the last five.
As she gradually got rid of the villain’s misfortune, He Yang was no longer defined as the number one villain’s friend. The misfortune of He Yang’s family gradually disappeared completely and the fate like that in the original text should not appear anymore.
This was of great significance to Mingxi.
…
She hopes that not only her own destiny will become better, but also for the people she wants to protect, so that their fate will not repeat the mistakes of the previous life.
Fu Yangxi made a phone call on the way. When he came back, he said with a complicated expression that he was sure, after the New Year’s, his mother would be sent to a nursing home abroad for long-term treatment.
But this time, it was Yu Jiarong’s own decision.
It’s not that Mingxi’s last outburst woke her up, or in other words, Mingxi only played a small part of the fuse.
Yu Jiarong herself had been struggling between reality and the past, making herself inhuman and ghostless, exhausted. And when she realized that she had indeed caused harm to Fu Yangxi, her rational part finally defeated her crazy part.
She realized that perhaps she was really sick because she couldn’t control herself. And if left untreated, she will cause even greater irreparable scars to her only remaining child in the future.
So, what else can be done?
Yu Jiarong never admitted that her husband and son were dead.
But at least, she couldn’t let her younger son disappear from this world.
The old man made an appointment for Yu Jiarong on the seventh day of the Lunar New Year, just before Fu Yangxi went back.
As Yu Jiarong said, she didn’t want to see Fu Yangxi again until she was cured.
And Fu Yangxi respected her decision.
Mingxi didn’t know if everything was going in a good direction.
But all in all, it didn’t seem to be getting any worse.
…
She had already gone through the worst times with Fu Yangxi.
On the Zhao family’s side, this New Year was deserted.
Zhao Mo didn’t come home this year,so there were only four people in the whole family: Mr. Zhao, Madam Zhao, Zhao Zhanhuai and Zhao Yuning. There were three empty seats at the dining table for seven people— Of course, Zhao Yuan’s dining chair and room had been removed and would never be placed again.
Zhao Mo called home, and after saying a few words of blessing, he hung up. His career had been affected and he was still busy, so he couldn’t come back in the New Year.
The whole family was sitting in the living room. The TV was on and there were various fruits and snacks on the coffee table, but no one moved. They were all looking at their phones absently. In fact, from the bottom of their hearts, they were still expecting Mingxi to call.
However, on this day, they did not receive a call from Zhao Mingxi even until after midnight.
Mingxi didn’t know how the Zhao family was doing now. She didn’t leave any room for them in her heart.
When 12 o’clock struck for the final time this year, she and Fu Yangxi went to the beach.
There were lively bonfires and crowds.
Mingxi looked at the waves lapping on the shore and heard the cheers of the crowd. Tears even welled up in her eyes.
She has achieved a completely different life from her previous life.
Under the moonlight, she and Fu Yangxi hugged among the lively crowd until the arrival of the new year.
*
On the day of the return trip, the morning sun rose and Mingxi and Fu Yangxi finished their buffet before Fu Yangxi went to a fruit shop not far away to buy some oranges. He was planning to give them to Mingxi to be brought on the plane.
Mingxi was wearing a floral dress, waiting on the spot with her luggage, the corners of her skirt and her long hair were all messed up by the wind.
She was in a hurry to put on the straw hat when a photographer not far away suddenly took a picture of her.
Before Mingxi had time to react, Fu Yangxi, who was digging out money to buy fruit diagonally across the street, had already strode towards the photographer, negotiating with an ugly face as he asked the other party to delete the photo.
Mingxi: “…”
It was at this moment that Mingxi received a call from Mr. Lu.
Mr. Lu chattered a lot excitedly on the phone, but Mingxi couldn’t hear anything except a few words. When she hung up the phone, her mind was blank and blood was rushing to her head.
…
Everything was like a dream.
The negative luck disappeared little by little.
…
She could finally test her true grades with her own true strength.
She was no longer the supporting actress Zhao Mingxi. She was finally just herself.
“Fu Yangxi.” The first thing Mingxi did when she hung up the phone was to turn to Fu Yangxi.
She wanted to share all the ecstatic things with him.
She didn’t know when this person was carved into her life.
Fu Yangxi was returning to the fruit shop to pick up the oranges and bought a bunch of daisies along the way. When he heard her calling him excitedly, he still hadn’t reacted.
He turned his head subconsciously, only to see Mingxi running toward him.
The edge of Mingxi’s dress was flying in the air.
She left all her luggage on the spot, rushed into his arms like a happy little bomb and said to him out of breath, “Just now, I just—”
Fu Yangxi took the flowers, patted her on the back and said, “Talk slowly, don’t rush.”
In fact, Fu Yangxi had already guessed it, and the corners of his mouth twitched for her.
Mingxi took a deep breath and then said excitedly, “In the finals, I am number one in the province.”
“…” Fu Yangxi gasped slightly. Although he knew that the fact that she showed this expression means that she must have done very well in the exam, he never expected her to be number one in the province.
As soon as Mingxi finished speaking, Fu Yangxi stuffed the bouquet of daisies into her hands, picked her up and twirled her wildly several times. “That’s great, wife! You are my pride!!”
Mingxi was dizzy from being turned around. She was both shy and excited when she heard how he addressed her. She held a pink and yellow daisy bouquet and covered her face on top of Fu Yangxi’s head.
At this moment, she clearly saw that the potted plant she had raised for so long slowly grew the last one—
In the end, it became a neat ten trees.
Mingxi: ???
!!!
Mingxi wanted to grab the system out and shake its shoulders crazily. “What does this mean? I’ve accumulated 500 trees?”
The system exclaimed sincerely, “Yes. Congratulations, Happy New Year.”
Mingxi: “Happy New Year, sob.”
The system encouraged, “You can continue to freeload. After 500 points of luck, you will have the halo of the heroine. With the halo of the heroine, your future life will be completely smooth.”
Mingxi suddenly said to Fu Yangxi, “I love you.”
Fu Yangxi: ? Wh-Why so suddenly—
Fu Yangxi’s ears turned red. He tried his best to appear like a dominating boss and say some famous words, but at this moment his mind was blank. In the end, he could only reply dumbly, “Me too.”
Fu Yangxi may not know that he gave Mingxi the most unique and important New Year’s gift over the years.
He saved Zhao Mingxi’s life.
He gave Zhao Mingxi a new life.
Mingxi was so happy that she was going crazy.
The photographer who had been taught a lesson by Fu Yangxi couldn’t help but take a picture when he saw this scene.
…
Excited tall and handsome young man, weeping with joy, a long-haired girl with slightly red eyes, the corners of her floral dress twirling and daisies flying high. A few white birds flew by the seaside and the yacht made white waves on the sea.
The flower shop next to it had a sign saying “A New Day Has Come”.
Under the sun, it was so beautiful.
The moment the shutter was pressed, time seemed to be frozen at the moment when they were 18.
*
Maybe it was because they had such a good time at the seaside that when they came back, both Mingxi and Fu Yangxi felt a little lost. But as soon as they came back, it was the eighth day of the New Year. Winter vacation was over and the atmosphere of the start of school instantly diluted the atmosphere of the New Year.
Xiao Li drove the two of them to school.
When the two stepped into the class, everyone in the International Class stared at the test papers on the table and wailed.
It’s the last semester of high school. Even those from good families in the International Class, most of whom are planning to go abroad, could feel that the pressure had doubled.
Zhao Mingxi was wrapped in a scarf. She shrank her neck from the cold. As soon as she stepped into the class, Fu Yangxi winked at Ke Chengwen.
Immediately, a group led by Ke Chengwen aimed at the door of the classroom with colorful cannons, and a spray of colorful stripes shot at Zhao Mingxi and Fu Yangxi.
A group of followers began to cheer, “Wow, the number one in the province is here!”
“Genius, when are you going to Oxford?!”
“Hahahaha.” Some people mixed in and shouted deliberately, “We wish you a hundred years of harmonious union, boss.”
The class was filled with a joyful atmosphere. Mingxi was almost ashamed of all the praise.
And the current hot topic in the school was of course that Zhao Mingxi surpassed Shen Liyao in the final and became number one in the province.
The last time Zhao Mingxi ranked 35th in the province in the preliminary competition, it was only the people in this building that paid attention to her.
But this time, it obviously became the concern of the whole school.
After all, Shen Liyao was very well-known in A High and even in the whole city. Even the first and second graders in senior high school knew that he had been winning gold medals year after year without fail. But this time, Shen Liyao made fatal mistakes in the finals and only got third place in the province. He was three thirds away from Zhao Mingxi and became the second place in the school!
Everyone knew that this was probably the first defeat in Shen Liyao’s smooth life.
It was also strange.
Why did this happen?
Discussions appeared in every corner of the school.
“Zhao Mingxi is so awesome! We can be regarded as witnesses to how she stumbled and grew all the way, from the middle of the Normal Class to the first in the province. She has become very outstanding.”
“Indeed, it’s the first time in three years that someone has ranked ahead of Shen Liyao. It’s shocking! But is it because the School Beauty has improved quickly or is it just that Shen Liyao didn’t do well in the exam this time?”
“Haven’t you heard that Shen Liyao seems to be in a bad state recently, and the specific reason is— I don’t know.”
“He fell out of love?”
“Impossible, impossible. He never liked Zhao Mingxi, so what kind of love did he fall out of? Maybe he caught a cold during the exam?”
However, only Shen Liyao, Ye Bai and the others knew that Shen Liyao didn’t catch a cold or got sick during the final.
Zhao Mingxi surpassed him. She actually surpassed him with her own abilities.
Because of this, Ye Bai and the others were so horrified that they looked at each other in blank dismay all day, their minds buzzing.
But it’s true that Shen Liyao’s condition was not good.
He didn’t show up for the whole winter vacation, and when he appeared again, he was thinner. Wearing a black coat while carrying a robot with a broken leg, his face was pale, and he looked cold and silent.
During the winter vacation, Shen Liyao might have figured something out.
In short, when Ye Bai and the others saw him again, his gaze was no longer the same as before. He wasn’t looking at Zhao Mingxi from the International Class anymore.
When he met Zhao Mingxi again at school, he also had a blank expression on his face, as if he didn’t know her, and passed her by.
Sometimes when he heard some gossip about Zhao Mingxi and Fu Yangxi, his pen tip would of course draw an ugly, sharp and heavy mark on the book uncontrollably.
But he seemed to be trying to restrain his emotions.
When Ye Bai looked over, his emotions had already disappeared into the sea like drops of water, without leaving a trace.
Shen Liyao has always been a person who can plan his life meticulously.
Ye Bai and the others felt that it should be of no exception this time.
Although he couldn’t let go, he was trying to force himself to let go.
Then, it’s all just a matter of time.
Besides, probably because of the change in Shen Liyao, Kong Jiaze from the school next door came to pester Shen Liyao more often.
She was practically jumping over the courtyard wall twice a day.
Ye Bai and the rest: “…”
Now they dare not speak about Kong Jiaze anymore, for fear that if they chase Kong Jiaze away, she will be the next Zhao Mingxi.
*
Two weeks after the final, Mingxi went to receive an award. At the same time, she briefly appeared on the provincial TV.
In the past, Shen Liyao was interviewed by TV reporters every time. This time, the interviewee turned into a beautiful little girl, and they were also very surprised. They asked her to pick up the provincial gold medal in front of the camera, and talk about her feelings and methods to improve her studies.
It was the first time for Mingxi to enter the interview studio, so she was actually a little nervous. Although she knew that Teacher Lu, Fu Yangxi and Ke Chengwen were waiting for her outside. He Yang also slipped in, holding a makeup bag in the lounge to help her with her makeup. She touched up her makeup, but she couldn’t help but feel tense all over.
“If I have to say something about my feelings, there is a sentence that impressed me deeply: it doesn’t matter who comes first, what matters is who lasts till the end,” Mingxi held back her nervousness and continued, “Many things are difficult.”
For example, the day she left the Zhao family was a major turning point in her life. In her previous life, it was completely impossible for her to make a difficult decision.
Before she was admitted to that building from the Normal Class, she had worked hard for an unknown amount of time, and had been contending with her negative luck. She endured the diarrhea of every exam, sudden hypoglycemia and unconsciousness.
In order to break free from her own fate, she ran 30 laps on the sports field. After running, she could not lift her legs and arms and all the cells in her body seemed to have lost their senses.
But wasn’t it difficult for Fu Yangxi too? Tossing and turning every night for five years, haunted by nightmares.
But he didn’t give up on himself, and Mingxi didn’t give up on herself either.
“But no matter how difficult it is, someone will definitely do it.”
“So why can’t we be the ones who can?”
“Maybe one day, two days, three days of hard work won’t change anything, but you can’t be discouraged, and you can’t give up. As long as you are working hard and running in the direction you want, one day, something will change quietly and bring you a new life!”
Mingxi finished speaking vigorously. She had no such on-the-spot experience at all, and felt that what she said was simply too crude.
So crude that bubbles were appearing.
But the interviewing reporters were applauding.
Teacher Lu Wangwei who was not far away also looked at her with eyes full of emotion. He took off his glasses and rubbed his eyes.
Mingxi: ???
Are you guys for real?
Don’t you think what I said was too fake?
Mingxi didn’t know this, but compared to Shen Liyao’s indifferent sentence of “It’s nothing, IQ is superior”, what she said was enough for reporters to collect all kinds of materials in all directions.
So the reporters’ excitement could be explained.
The photographer in front of the camera looked at Zhao Mingxi. Then, he stood up and said excitedly, “Please show us a few more poses so that we can take some more pictures for the education web page.”
Mingxi internally thought: Sob, everyone is really being too polite.
…
The news that Mingxi ranked first in the province in the finals spread widely.
The Zhao family was watching the interview broadcast on the TV right now.
Madam Zhao and Mr. Zhao were in a mixed mood, as if being pinched by a big hand, the pain was unbearable.
Under the camera, Zhao Mingxi had black hair and pale skin. She was so beautiful and outstanding that no one could take their eyes off her.
Why did they used to think that Mingxi was inferior to Zhao Yuan in every way? She was obviously a dusty pearl. As long as someone carefully brushes off the dust on her body, she will be able to bloom in admirable light.
However, they failed to fulfill their responsibilities—
They even almost stepped her into the mud.
It was she who struggled to wipe off the dust on her body bit by bit. Now she is shining brightly, but no one knew about the blood and tears she had swallowed.
At this point, Madam Zhao finally knew what she had missed. She felt sorry for Zhao Mingxi, but she also felt remorse. Her stomach was full of guilt, and tears flowed down her cheeks.
After all, being number one in the province was a big deal.
Zhao Mingxi this year received the same treatment as Shen Liyao did in previous years. Her name was written on a banner and hung at the school gate.
Anyone who entered or exited the school could see it.
E Xiaoxia, Pu Shuang and other members of the Evergreen Class saw it and felt conflicted.
But this time, everyone in the Evergreen Class was convinced. No one was making snarky remarks anymore.
Zhao Mingxi had proved her own abilities through hard work.
Zhao Yuan made a boyfriend and was still staying at the company to participate in the closed girl group training, preparing for a talent show in August this summer.
So after the start of this semester, she had not come to school for more than a month.
Everyone in the Evergreen Class speculated whether she didn’t plan to take the College Entrance Examination— maybe she wanted to switch to the Art Examination?
With Zhao Yuan’s grades, even if she didn’t come to school for half a year, it was more than enough to pass a simple exam in the College Entrance Examination.
So no one was bothered to worry about that for her.
Therefore, Zhao Yuan didn’t see the banner at the school gate until the beginning of spring in March, when she went back to school and asked the dean to sign some documents.
Bright red were the words “Zhao Mingxi” and “No. 1 in the province”. Those words ran proudly across the banner. It instantly hurt Zhao Yuan’s eyes.
She held back a student. “In last year’s final, was Zhao Mingxi ranked first?”
“That’s right, you still don’t know about this?” The student gave her a strange look and said, “It was a sensation when school just started last month. It was all on TV.”
“…”
Zhao Yuan tightly grasped the leave request report in her hand, trembling slightly all over.
She looked down at her knee which had been injured from dance training and was still not healed.
She glanced at the tiny cuts on her fingers from having to wash and cook.
She then raised her head again to look at the banner.
At that moment, hatred gushed out madly like a black colored spring.
Her own fingers became rougher and rougher, and yet Zhao Mingxi embarked on another road full of flowers.
Her biological mother had already gone to prison and her reputation had been ruined. Even if she becomes famous in the future, she still has to worry about her past being unearthed all the time. The company also prepared miserable measures in advance.
But Zhao Mingxi lived under the sun and became the real daughter who was ‘bullied’. Everyone in the Zhao family was eagerly waiting for her to go back, but she dismissed them.
—How unfair is this?
…
The art school boyfriend who accompanied her back to school urged impatiently, “Hurry up. Quickly get your dean to sign the papers, and then we’ll go play some games.”
Oh yes.
Also…
The person beside her, Fu Yangxi, was the chosen one.
Meanwhile, the person next to her was an idiot who only wanted to play games and make out with her.
Zhao Yuan pinched her fingertips into her palm, feeling so full of hatred that she almost bled from the pinching.
“What are you doing, standing there in a daze?” the art school boyfriend urged.
Then, Zhao Yuan turned her head and glanced at him.
There was a gloomy look in those eyes that he didn’t recognize.
It almost startled him.