Zhou Rin reached out and took Zhou's mobile phone stored on the coffee table, pressed the screen to black and then pressed it back on again, repeating this several times.
The picture of the screen saver has not changed, it is still a short-lived watercolor painting, this is not a randomly sliced screen saver, but a special setting by Zhou Cun.
He didn't say a word, put the phone back where it was, the boy poured him a glass of water, turned back, and handed the glass to him: "I'll pick it up for you if it's not enough."
"Thank you." Zhou Rin took the water cup, took a few sips, and asked casually, "The screen of your mobile phone turned on just now, and I saw that the screen saver is a very beautiful flower. What kind is that?"
The young man was slightly startled, then shook his head and said with a smile: "I don't know either, it just looks good and I set it up casually. Don't you know?"
"do not know."
Zhou Rin lowered his eyes and shook his head, drank the water in the glass, put down the water glass gently, got up and went upstairs into his bedroom.
The light in the room was a little dark. He didn't turn on the light. He leaned against the wall, took out his phone, and clicked on the chat bar between him and Ji Ning.
They have been together for the past few days, and the last conversation record was still when he just went to find Ji Ning. After sending the message, he waited downstairs for Ji Ning to come out of the small building.
The light of the screen reflected in his eyes, but his expression was very silent, his fingers rubbed the screen, and after a while, he typed out a sentence.
"I am home."
After a while, Ji Ning replied, "Okay." A small smiley face was added to the end.
"… "
There was no smile on Zhou Rin's face, as he flipped up the news records of him and Ji Ning, filled with an indescribable feeling in his heart.
Before he left the school, Ji Ning's words originally made him ecstatic, but after seeing the short-lived flower in the watercolor painting, his joy disappeared instantly, and now he can't say anything. Out.
"have a good rest."
In the end, he just sent this sentence. The urgency and excitement in his heart were like a burning fire, and only the ashes were gradually cooled. He seemed to fall on the bed tiredly, raised his hand to cover his eyes, and threw the phone on the aside.
Ji Ning had a good impression of him.
This was something that could only happen in his dreams, but now it has come true.
When he heard Ji Ning say that he didn't want them to be just friends, his heart was filled with great joy. At this moment, he thought everything had changed. It was different from before. This time, he met Ji first. Ning, and made Ji Ning fall in love with him.
But when he saw the Epiphyllum, he suddenly seemed to have touched the taboo buried in the deepest part of his heart, reminding him of some facts that he had deliberately ignored—
It was not his destiny.
The person who was supposed to be with Ji Ning was his brother.
From the first time he met Ji Ning, he showed in front of his brother that he had a crush on Ji Ning, in order to prevent his brother from falling in love with Ji Ning as well.
If brother doesn't like Ji Ning, he can still convince himself that since this time he met Ji Ning first, it is fate that gave him a chance to start over. In this case, he must take good care of it and not put Ji Ning on the line. Rather let it go to anyone.
But now he realized that his brother might have fallen in love with Ji Ning again.
Everything is gradually overlapping with the past, with great irony.
Before that, he hadn't noticed any sign that his brother liked Ji Ning at all. Maybe it was because his brother was covering up too well, or maybe he just put his heart on Ji Ning and didn't know anything about it, but he Knowing that he had already revealed that he liked Ji Ning, his brother would definitely not express his feelings.
But the goodwill that Ji Ning had towards him was nothing more than something he stole from his brother.
He should not belong to him.
When it was time for dinner, Zhou Rin walked downstairs and sat at the dining table with the boy. He saw the boy's mobile phone screensaver again and found that he had replaced the short-lived painting with another pattern.
At that time, he just asked calmly and didn't show any emotion. If his brother really didn't know it was a flash in the pan, and he didn't have any hidden thoughts, he wouldn't immediately change the screensaver.
It couldn't have been more obvious.
Zhou Rin sat quietly at the dining table with his eyes down. The light was warm, but his face was extremely pale.
…
After that, Zhou Rin didn't contact Ji Ning again. When Sunday's regular class time came, he went to the company early and didn't stay at home for the first time.
He had been out of town for several days before. Although he had the help of his parents and sister, he still had a lot of work and had a lot of things to do. But if he wanted to see Ji Ning, he didn't have time. He just escaped. The company didn't want to see Ji Ning.
He couldn't face it.
The same was true for the next two weeks. He specially asked his secretary to arrange a business trip schedule for him. He listened to work reports in various branches for half a month, forcing himself to be busy, so that he had no time to be distracted by other things.
In the past half month, he has also had occasional contact with Ji Ning. Ji Ning did not mention anything about his previous school, but only cared about his physical condition. He thoughtfully told him to pay attention to rest, not to work too hard, and recommended him a This new work of reasoning allows him to pass the time when he is free.
Zhou Rin ordered this book online. After getting it, he would read it word by word when he had time, but every time he couldn't read a few words, he would think of Ji Ning, so that he couldn't read it at all, and finally he would forward the book at any time. given to others.
Originally, he wasn't interested in mystery novels, he only read it to suit Ji Ning's preferences.
Unlike his brother, he really had something in common with Ji Ning.
After finishing his work in the branch, Zhou Rin took the afternoon flight back home. It was already evening when he got home, and his family was waiting for him to come back for dinner, but Zhou Rin had no appetite. He just took two bites and went upstairs to take a shower , when he came out of the bathroom, he heard someone knocking on the door outside.
"Brother, can I come in?"
Zhou Cun's voice came from outside the door.
"..." Zhou Rin wiped her hair with her hand and responded in a low voice, "Come in."
After getting the answer, the young man walked into the house, holding a plate of fruit in his hand, and said, "Seeing that you have no appetite, I brought you some fruit, do you want to eat it?"
"thanks."
Zhou Rin's eyes became more and more complicated. Although he was the elder brother this time, the boy still cared about him everywhere as before. In comparison, he was still not careful enough.
"How are you feeling lately? Not bad?" he asked. "How about your parents?"
"We're all fine, and I told you when we called."
The boy smiled, but soon his smile faded a little, and he said, "But Teacher Ji seems to be a little..."
"What's up with him?"
Zhou Rin couldn't sit still, and immediately stood up.
Could it be that something happened to Ji Ning, why didn't he hear him mention it while chatting
"He's not in an accident, and the family is fine, but I think he's in a bad mood." The boy said, "Every time he comes to teach me a lesson and sees that you're not at home, although he doesn't say anything, I can see that he's a little bit uncomfortable. Disappointed, and asked if you are really that busy, and I have less contact with him recently."
The young man looked at Zhou Rin calmly and said softly, "He told me not to mention anything to you, but I think it is necessary to ask you, brother, are you avoiding Teacher Ji?"
"...No, I didn't hide from him."
After the silence, Zhou Rin took off the towel from his head and put it on the back of the chair: "I'm a little tired, I want to rest early, you can sleep too."
"Did you already know?" However, instead of leaving, the young man asked him suddenly.
"I don't know what you're talking about." Zhou Rin didn't look back.
"You know it's a short-lived, right?"
The young man walked up to Zhou Rin, looked him in the eyes, and said to him, "I know it's a short-lived flower, and you know it too, don't you?"
"Zhou Cun." Zhou Rin called his name heavily, "Don't say it."
"I apologize to you, I'm sorry, I like him, but this is all my problem, it's me who is unrequited, don't blame him, there's nothing wrong with him, it's me."
The always calm young man showed a rare expression of urgency at this moment, eager to clarify with Zhou Rin.
"He doesn't know what I'm thinking at all, and I won't tell him anything. It's my fault to put on that painting, I've reflected on it, and I won't do it again in the future. You can get mad at me, but Don't blame him, okay?"
"If you're worried, cancel the tutoring in the future. I promise I won't meet him privately, and I can delete all the contact information. I won't let him know that I like him, brother, please, don't treat him like this. …”
Speaking of this, his voice became a little choked, and he lowered his head deeply.
"I'm sorry, brother, I know you like Ji Ning, but I'm still thinking that I shouldn't, but I really won't do anything, you like him, he also likes you, and he's the only one you don't. Omega who will feel resistance, you are a natural couple, how could there be a misunderstanding because of me... "
"...It's not your problem, it's me."
Hearing what the young man said, Zhou Rin's heart tingled more and more, every word the young man said seemed to be sarcastic at him, making him breathless: "I did it wrong."
He slowly closed his eyes.
Maybe it's time to stop here.
Before mistakes are irreversible.
After Zhou Cun left, Zhou Rin lay on the bed with his arms resting on his back, quietly looking at the ceiling, many images appeared alternately in his mind, some happened before, and some just happened.
The most common one was when Ji Ning stood outside the car and knocked on his window. When he pressed the window, Ji Ning showed a shy look and said that the moment he didn't want them to be just friends, his world seemed to be a blur. More dreamy and gorgeous colors.
But now this layer of false color is gradually fading, revealing the original cold and dark, that is the naked and cruel reality.
He couldn't deceive himself like this any longer.
Errors should be corrected promptly.
Just before he gave up...
He wanted to take one last look.
Zhou Rin sat up from the bed, changed clothes, grabbed the car keys and left the house quietly, and drove to Ji Ning's school.
It was too late at this moment, and it was very close to the time when the school closed. Under his repeated assurances, the guard registered him, reluctantly agreed to put him in, and told him to come out on time.
Zhou Rin nodded and thanked the guard, drove to the vicinity of Ji Ning's dormitory, parked the car, got out of the car, and stood in the dim night, looking up at the windows of the dormitory upstairs.
He knew the number of Ji Ning's dormitory. It was on the fourth floor, but he didn't know which one it was. Most of the windows above were lit and there were curtains blocking it. Naturally, Zhou Rin couldn't see anything, but he didn't call him. Ji Ning's plan to come down was to simply stand outside and take a look.
After that, he plans to apply for a company that is resident overseas, and will not return to China for at least a few years.
Even if Ji Ning has a vague affection for him, this affection will probably fade as time goes by, and his older brother will probably pursue Ji Ning by then.
But he knew he couldn't forget it.
When he buried Ji Ning's coffin at the funeral in the rain, he knew very well that his love, his longing, his pain and his longing belonged to this person.
He is obviously still alive, but it seems that he also walked into the tomb that day, and now he will choose to bury himself again.
In the dark night, he lit a menthol cigarette, and when the last light was extinguished, he finally turned and left.
"... Zhou Rin?"
However, just as he turned around, he suddenly saw Ji Ning appearing behind him without warning.
Holding a few books in his arms, he stood in the middle of several roommates, and his beautiful eyebrows showed a look of surprise.
Zhou Rin's heart skipped a beat.
"Are you here to find me...?" But the surprise on Ji Ning's face soon turned into uncertainty and caution, and said softly, "Then why didn't you send me a message? Ah, if you're here to say goodbye It's just like I didn't say anything..."
"I came to find you."
After a brief silence, the handsome Alpha looked at him and said, "Would it be convenient to talk to me?"
"Ah, yes..."
Ji Ning was stunned, but quickly responded, handing over his book to his roommate and asking them to bring it back for him.
"It's getting late, don't forget to come back before the dormitory building closes." The roommate glanced at the time on the phone and warned.
"it is good."
Ji Ning smiled, turned around and left with Zhou Rin. The two strolled on the streets of the campus, and the dim street lights made the shadows long. After a moment of silence, Zhou Rin asked in a low voice, "Why did you return to the dormitory so late?"
"It's almost time for the exam, so hurry up and review." Ji Ning said, "What about you, why did you come to me so late and didn't send me a message? What if I didn't happen to meet you?"
"It's so late, I thought you might have rested, so I didn't want to call you." Zhou Rin said.
"You said the day before yesterday that you were still busy with the company. Could it be that you just came back and stopped by to see me?"
"No, I came here specifically to find you."
Zhou Rin suddenly stood still.
He took a bigger step than Ji Ning. He was standing a step in front of Ji Ning at the moment, without turning his head. Ji Ning couldn't see the expression on his face, and he couldn't see Ji Ning either.
"I just want to tell you that the company's business is still expanding overseas, and I may have to stay abroad for a long time in the future."
He slowly closed his eyes, trying to keep his voice from expressing any emotion.
"So what you said to me the other day... I'm happy and honored, but sorry."
After he finished speaking, he fell silent, and the same silence was behind him, and there was no sound for a long time.
"Jining?"
Zhou Rin didn't know what Ji Ning was doing, why she didn't make any sound, she was really worried and turned around, but her heart suddenly ached.
Ji Ning stood there staring blankly at him, her eyes were red, and tears slowly fell down her chin.