The sound of firecrackers gradually stopped. It was late at night, and the room was surprisingly quiet. Qu Yanting lay on his side with his back facing Lu Wen.
The back of his left hand was resting on the pillow, the pinched fingers did not leave traces, but there was an itchiness of being bitten by ants, Qu Yanting raised the quilt, trying to hide like an ostrich.
Besides, the quilt that no one had warmed up turned out to be really cold.
Qu Yanting's attention was immediately attracted by the flick of the mattress behind him, and he listened with pricked ears, followed by the sound of footsteps pulling slippers. The lights had already been turned off, and he could vaguely make out the outline of the figure.
Lu Wen opened the door and went out, and went downstairs, probably to the bathroom.
It took a little longer than usual, and when I went upstairs, I took three steps, and the stairs didn't even make a sound. Lu Wen entered the room, not sure if Qu Yanting was asleep, so he walked softly to the end of the bed.
Lifting the corner of the quilt, Lu Wen stuffed a warm water bag behind Qu Yanting's feet. It was a little hot, and Qu Yanting curled up her legs quickly.
Lu Wen froze for a moment and snapped his fingers, as if a clever Yixiu had figured out a solution. He went to the suitcase to pull a cashmere sweater, wrapped the warm water bag, and stuffed it back into Qu Yanting's bed.
The heat spread rapidly, like Qu Yanting's face buried on the pillow.
Lu Wen lay back on the bed, facing the back of Qu Yanting's head, clenched his hands into fists, otherwise he might touch it if he couldn't control it. He stared at it for a while, then said, "Teacher Qu, it's not cold."
Qu Yanting was silent.
Lu Wen said again: "Then I won't hug you tonight."
Qu Yanting shrank her shoulders reflexively.
As expected, Lu Wen remained motionless, probing, questioning, and hinting step by step by the window, and now he could only stay obediently, letting Qu Yanting relax the nerves stimulated by him.
The bed was not big, and there was a palm-width distance between the two of them. Lu Wen closed his eyes and fell asleep. After he fell asleep, he unconsciously let go of his fists, touching Qu Yanting's slippery pajamas.
Keeping the posture facing outwards, Qu Yanting stayed up almost all night, and fell asleep exhaustedly at dawn.
Lu Wen kicked out with one leg, hanging off the edge of the bed, and soon woke up from the cold. Qu Yanting's face came into view, which made him get up and gulp down his stomach.
Lu Wen tucked the quilt tightly for Qu Yanting, and carefully got out of bed to change clothes. Today is New Year's Eve, and there is another filming, so he dressed up carefully from shirt to coat.
When they went downstairs, there was movement in the kitchen. Lu Wen grabbed the door frame eagerly, and asked, "Master Cao, what are you cooking?"
Cao Lanxu said: "Tangyuan. For your height, take twenty."
"I'll go, pull it down." Lu Wen rolled up his cuffs, "I don't want to eat, hurry up and make a ring."
Lu Wen plunged into the workshop, put on his apron and started working. The camera was running, and the ring had already attracted much attention. He thought that an explanation should be given to the audience of the show.
"It's almost finished." He murmured, "I'm not skilled at doing it for the first time, and I'm clumsy. I couldn't draw newspapers by hand when I was a child. This ring is a gift. I hope the recipient will not be disgusted. As for the audience Feel free to comment on it.”
Lu Wen worked hard, during which Cao Lanxu came in to give some guidance. After polishing, the silver ring was shiny and white, and it was packed in a small red velvet bag.
With his mobile phone next to him, Sun Xiaojian sent a WeChat message, saying that "Wan Nian Qiu" will officially start broadcasting tonight, and the crew official posted a teaser on Weibo.
Lu Wen took off his apron, brushed off the silver shavings on his knees, and then logged into Weibo without any haste. When he went online, he was stunned by the number of reposts and comments in "News". "Explosive growth after the first episode aired.
He was a little puzzled: "What am I doing... Isn't my charm too great?"
Lu Wenxian reposted the crew's Weibo, and within a few minutes, there were a lot of sweet words in the comments, calling him "brother", calling him "boyfriend", calling him "husband", and even calling him "son" "of
Sun Xiaojian sent another message: Today's New Year's Eve, a new year's greetings to fans.
Lu Wen replied excitedly: I have a lot more fans!
Sun Xiaojian: You only know! Look at the trending searches!
Lu Wen returned to Weibo. The promotional hot searches bought by the program group were at the top of the list. There was a piece of "Lu Wen Taste" that rose in real time last night, and now it has fallen back to the middle of the list.
The most popular one came from a humanities and art blogger, who posted nine screenshots of the program, all of which were pictures of Lu Wen visiting the villa with a camera. The blogger gave an introduction, background and price popularization of paintings to handicrafts, and praised Lu Wen's taste.
Sun Xiaojian sent: I also read the popular science to know, are the bottles on the shoe cabinet so expensive
Lu Wen: My dad did it all.
Sun Xiaojian: Reincarnation, you are the best.
Lu Wen: Hehe.
Sun Xiaojian: Remember to post on Weibo, I will find you at ten o'clock, and I will record it with other guests today.
After replying, Lu Wen came out of the house and poked under the eaves to think about what pictures to post on Weibo. He doesn't like taking selfies, and this broken yard can't take any good pictures.
Glancing at the big yellow dog in the corner, Lu Wen had an idea.
At this time, the door of the bedroom on the second floor opened, and Qu Yanting went downstairs in a daze, holding a toothbrush cup, her slightly messy hair trembling with each step. When we met Lu Wen in the courtyard, he woke up and said "Morning" cautiously.
Lu Wen saw that Qu Yanting was uncomfortable, so he didn't mention anything, but said, "Teacher Qu, please take a photo for me later."
Qu Yanting nodded, took his own camera after washing up, and asked, "How to take pictures?"
Lu Wen sat on the bench, and the big yellow dog lay beside his legs, wagging its tail. After thinking for a while, he shouted to the kitchen, "Master Cao, come and take a picture with me!"
Cao Lanxu heard the sound, his hands were still stained with glutinous rice flour, he kicked Lu Wen aside to occupy the bench, exposed all the silver bracelets pretentiously, and asked, "Can you do a close-up?"
Qu Yanting smiled and said, "Okay, take two more pictures."
Lu Wen was squatting and stroking the big yellow dog, Cao Lanxu was sitting upright, and the old and the young took a group photo under the quaint roof. If it weren't for this program, maybe they would never meet in their lifetime.
After filming, Qu Yanting handed it to Cao Lanxu for inspection: "What do you think?"
Cao Lanxu caught it and said, "It's a really good shot."
Having studied as a director, what he knows best is the language of the camera. Lu Wen thought of the scene when Qu Yanting took over as director of the play. With the camera still on, he seized the opportunity and said, "Teacher Qu, can we take a picture too?"
Qu Yanting couldn't remember the last time he took a picture, so he stood beside Lu Wen, facing the camera with a dry expression, Cao Lanxu said dissatisfiedly, "Screenwriter, please smile."
Qu Yanting raised the corners of his mouth.
"Smile more naturally." Cao Lanxu was quite strict, "Think about something happy."
Qu Yanting's mind went blank, and even the corners of his raised mouth lost their curvature. Suddenly, Lu Wen grabbed his shoulders, tilted his head and whispered in his ear, "The ring is ready."
"Ok… "
Lu Wen said again: "Little Swallow is super cute."
Qu Yanting pursed his lips, his mouth smelled like mint after brushing his teeth, but he had the illusion that his throat was sweet with wedding candy. He wasn't sure if he was laughing, but only heard a "click", and the shutter stopped the moment.
In the photo, Lu Wen's hand was still on Qu Yanting's shoulder, his smile was like spring.
Qu Yanting said, "Don't post this one."
"Of course." Lu Wen said, "I want to keep this one privately."
Qu Yanting didn't say a word, his appearance was exactly the same as when he was hiding last night. Lu Wen tried to play hard to get, looked at his watch, and said, "I'm recording in town today, I should go."
Qu Yanting said: "Don't you want to eat a bowl of glutinous rice balls?"
"No, I don't like to eat." Lu Wen smacked his lips, "I really want to eat the dumplings made by Sister Lingling herself."
There was the sound of brakes outside the gate. Sun Xiaojian and the camera crew arrived. Lu Wen walked out without further delay. Qu Yanting stood where he was, and called Lu Wen to stop when he was about to cross the threshold.
Anyway, it was New Year's Eve, so he asked, "When will you be back?"
Lu Wen was also unsure, waved his hand, and strode away.
Disappointed for no reason, Qu Yanting brushed back the hair that had fallen from her forehead, washed her hands, and went into the kitchen to ask Cao Lanxu if he wanted to help. The old man was quite rude and ordered a lot of work.
Qu Yanting also became a handyman, sweeping the yard, pasting Spring Festival couplets, serving Cao Lanxu inside and out, sneaking into the workshop and wandering around, looking for a ring made by Lu Wen, but was caught by the old man.
"I see you are acting weird today." Cao Lanxu said.
Qu Yanting explained: "I just feel bored."
"Are you bored once Big Hui leaves?" Cao Lanxu said, "But he's here, and you don't pay much attention to him."
Qu Yanting felt guilty.
Cao Lanxu boldly hypothesized: "Why, he kicked you in bed last night when you were sleeping?"
No wonder Lu Wen said that he was old and unprincipled, Qu Yanting couldn't stand it anymore, and said, "Do you still have work? If not, I will occupy the kitchen, and I will probably need you to order some meat."
Cao Lanxu asked: "What are you going to do?"
Qu Yanting rolled up his sleeves and said, "Make dumplings."
There is not much meat in the house, so Qu Yanting mixed pork and beef together, kneaded noodles, chopped stuffing, kneaded and rolled the skin, and sweated from the heat with only a sweater on.
It was wrapped in the afternoon and hung on the chopping board. It can be eaten when Lu Wen comes back and cooked. Qu Yanting sat in the yard reading a book, waiting, and occasionally checked the news on Weibo.
There are fairs and street banquets in the ancient town, and there is a bustling noise outside, and the sound of firecrackers has hardly stopped. Some naughty children ran past and threw small cannon heads at the gate hole.
Waiting until dusk, the twilight outside the two open doors, Qu Yanting's eyes were slightly sore, put down the book, got up and walked to the steps of the gate.
The phone vibrated in his pocket, and Qu Yanting took it out stiffly and procrastinatingly. It was Lu Wen. He heaved a sigh of relief, and slid the call button to put the phone to his ear.
Lu Wen's voice came: "Teacher Qu, it's me."
Qu Yanting looked at the end of the long street. He couldn't distinguish every face in the chaotic crowd, but he couldn't look back and asked, "Is the program finished?"
"The recording is over." Lu Wen said excitedly, "Everyone wants to go to the city to have a big meal!"
Qu Yanting vaguely guessed what was going on below, and replied, "Well, it's better to be more lively on New Year's Eve."
"So I agreed to the treat." Lu Wen said with a smile, "I'm afraid I won't be back until early in the morning. Master Cao doesn't have a phone at home. Tell him for me."
Qu Yanting said: "I know."
"Oh, that's right." Lu Wen added, "If it's too late to go back, I'll make do with my manager at the hotel so as not to wake you up."
Qu Yanting clenched the fuselage tightly: "Okay, have fun."
After hanging up the phone, the orange afterglow was almost gone, and the figures on the street became more and more blurred. Qu Yanting went back a few steps and sat down on the threshold with two red lanterns hanging above his head.
He put his coat pockets in his hands, put his legs together, and put his head on his knees.
The dumpling wrappers will dry out after a long time, so they should be covered; the sweaters stained with flour should be replaced and soaked in clean water; the computer is not turned off, and there is no routine check of the mailbox today.
Qu Yanting found a bunch of things to do, but stood still on the hard threshold, never moving.
Suddenly, a voice under the steps said, "Are you waiting for me?"
Qu Yanting raised his head abruptly, a few steps down, reflecting the faint light of the red lantern, Lu Wen stood there quietly, there was no excitement during the call between his brows, but an unusual calmness.
Qu Yanting was a little stunned: "Didn't you say you won't come back?"
Lu Wen directly admitted: "You are so smart, how could you not guess that I lied to you."
"why?"
Lu Wen walked up the steps: "At first, I wanted to play hard to get, but I found out that I don't have such a high morality. I wanted to buy you any gadgets I saw when I recorded the program at the market. After the recording, everyone wanted to have a carnival, but I only wanted to come back to please you." complexion."
He walked up to Qu Yanting, knelt down and said, "But I can't help but try, lie to you, and see if you... miss me a little bit."
Only then did Qu Yanting realize that Lu Wen was carrying a large red plastic bag, and the translucent bag contained bulging fireworks. He still evaded, not answering directly: "I made dumplings for you."
Lu Wen almost couldn't hold back because of this sentence, and asked, "What stuffing?"
"Pork and beef." Qu Yanting took his hand out of his pocket, "Do you like it?"
Lu Wen paused: "Two kinds of meat, also called mandarin duck stuffing."
Something overflowed from the chest cavity, and Qu Yanting didn't dare to open his mouth again. He reached out and grabbed Lu Wen's shirt collar, smoothing the slightly rolled up corners.
The plastic bag was blown crisply by the wind. Lu Wen rubbed his chin against Qu Yanting's hand and said, "Don't just watch others set off fireworks in the future."
Qu Yanting's voice was sticky: "Okay."
"Your younger brother has grown up, and he can't always rely on you like he did when he was a child, and you shouldn't look forward to the annual New Year's Eve just for him."
"it is good."
"Some people would like to eat the dumplings you made, and some people would like you to accompany you to watch the new year."
"Lu Wen..."
"Well, this person is me, and this year is the first time I will do it."
Lu Wen held Qu Yanting's hand, pulled him up, and led him down the steps. On the spacious road, he opened the bag and stacked all the fireworks.
Ignite the slender primer, and a small cluster of sparks burns quickly.
Lu Wen ran away with his coat open, ran to Qu Yanting and opened his arms, naturally and schemingly begging for a hug. Qu Yanting was shaken by the bump, staring dazedly at the spark that burned to the end.
In an instant, the entire pile of fireworks was ignited, and there was a loud explosion. The night in front of the door was as bright as day. Qu Yanting raised his head, and the complicated and colorful fireworks bloomed in the night sky, scattering fire trees and silver flowers all over the sky.
Lu Wen took out the silver ring and lightly supported Qu Yanting's left hand.
A little swallow was engraved on the smooth ring, shining in the light of fireworks, the fingertips of the ring finger were slightly cool, but Qu Yanting's heart was burning badly.
Wait for the ring to slip into the root of the finger a little bit.
Lu Wen said, "Teacher Qu, I discovered two secrets."
Qu Yanting's voice trembled: "... what?"
"I'm gay." Lu Wen looked at him and said, "Also, I like you."