The wedding venue was chosen in the Wang family's private villas, with a lawn as large as the TV screen, beautiful white fountains and perfectly trimmed vegetation sculptures, all the things that Xu Ran had seen but never dared to think about. appeared before his eyes.
There are quite a few guests today, most of whom are friends, who are more intimate than ordinary colleagues or partners. This is just a wedding, and there will be several large or small banquets afterwards, which are based on ordinary relationships in terms of favor and face. Xu Ran knew that the one who could get the invitation letter for today's banquet was the real core of interest in dealing with the Wang family on official business.
Like He Cheng, who was called by the groom's officer directly with a phone call, there was no invitation letter or wedding card, but everyone present would not stop him. The waiters hired by the Wang's family are very winky, and they can tell who is a big man who walks with style just by looking at them.
Xu Ran followed He Cheng, as quiet as a puppet.
He has always been out of tune with everything around him, whether he says he is not good enough, or the atmosphere is not suitable, in short, Xu Ran doesn't want to, and doesn't like to come to this kind of banquet. There are calculations between the cups and cups, and he can't get along with any aspect of the transaction of money, power and sex.
Maybe it was because He Cheng's aura was too strong, no one looked at him more, as if they didn't bother to give this outsider even the slightest bit of attention.
Fortunately, he's used to being ignored, so it suits him now.
But the leisurely time didn't take long, and as soon as he walked around the cocktail bar, he ran into a familiar female face.
"He Cheng?"
The speaker's voice was extremely deliberately surprised, as if he was afraid that others would not know that she knew He Cheng. Xu Ran habitually looked at He Cheng's face first, and found that his brow furrowed inconspicuously for a moment, and then quickly relaxed, revealing a polite smile of working nature.
Xu Ran is too familiar with this smile, on the surface he looks like a spring breeze, but in his heart, he is already very angry.
Being so angry early in the morning will affect the mood of the whole day. Xu Ran wanted to persuade him, but he couldn't lift the hand next to He Cheng's arm.
He can't take the initiative to touch this person. If he does, things will become troublesome.
He Cheng took two glasses of champagne from the passing waiter, took a sip of one, and the other circled in the air, slipped past the woman, and handed it to Xu Ran.
Xu Ran took the glass of golden champagne obediently, took a sip following He Cheng's example, then smiled distressedly, and said softly, "This is not good."
He knew the reason why He Cheng brought him here. The best way to avoid an unwanted affair is to keep a lover with you who is enough to stop the rotten love. He Cheng was too lazy to find someone he didn't know to act in, so he simply brought him here.
Since He Cheng needs to act, let's do the full set.
He Cheng gave him a reproachful look, but in the eyes of outsiders, he only saw helplessness and doting on his lover. The champagne glass was passed to He Cheng's hand naturally, and he asked the waiter to get a glass of Coke prepared for children, and stuffed it into Xu Ran's hand, "This is sweet, is it good?"
Xu Ran took two sips, smiled and nodded.
In fact, it's not good at all. Coke is sugar-free, with enough carbon dioxide added. After drinking it, the air will be stuck in his chest, making him uncomfortable.
He Cheng sipped the champagne from Xu Ran's used glass without hesitation, and after a while, he seemed to think of the woman who was left aside, and said apologetically, "Sorry, don't mind, my family only likes sweets."
The woman's name is Zhong Yanyan, but this is her name in high school. Now she is Zhong Xiaoru, a distant cousin of the groom Wang Li. She was in the same class as He Cheng back then. generation.
Xu Ran was sure that a girl like Zhong Xiaoru with eyes on the top of her head would not remember that there was a character like him in the next class back then. Sure enough, after seeing that he was indeed a man, Zhong Xiaoru pretended to be calm and smiled and said, "Really? I didn't expect you to be so fond of your lover."
"Ah," she suddenly covered her mouth, blinking her eyes like a poor little girl who said something wrong, and said to Xu Ran, "You don't seem to be the one you were before, you changed? Sorry, I can't remember clearly, don't worry about it. "
Xu Ran shook his head. He was already starting to feel tired, but he still said calmly, "It's okay, I know everything."
He Cheng hugged his shoulder gratefully.
This undisguised action finally attracted the attention of the people around, but most of them just turned their heads and turned back, pretending that they didn't see anything. Only a few people had a private conversation and walked this way together.
"He Cheng, Xu Ran."
Xu Ran was stunned for a moment, there was only one person who would call him by his name on such an occasion—Bai Jinming.
As the second generation rich, Bai Jinming's worth and status are equal to He Chengping's, but his courage is much less than He Chengping's. His lifelong wish is to be a leisurely second-generation ancestor, so there are not many friends around him except those who want to curry favor with his father.
Bai Jinming was tall, wearing a dark blue suit and a dark red tie, and walked in front of the three of them with a careless look.
When Xu Ran looked behind him, his heart skipped a beat. Today is equivalent to He Cheng's high school reunion, those who can't be named are basically there.
Bai Jinming shook the red wine glass in front of He Cheng, with a naughty smile on his handsome face, "Long time no see."
He Cheng toasted to meet him, his expression was indifferent, he didn't show too much intimacy, but Xu Ran knew that the two had a very good relationship in private, they were both competitors and friends.
Bai Jinming turned his attention to Xu Ran again, and said, "I borrowed from a friend last time, and I caused you trouble."
Xu Ran could only smile.
A man behind him said loudly, "Brother Cheng, isn't it good luck?" Everyone laughed loudly.
Xu Ran raised his eyes to see that a group of men and women were happy, but their eyes were full of suspicion. It's no secret that He Cheng likes men among them, but it's a new thing to bring any company. The relationship between people is the most troublesome, and He Cheng hates trouble the most.
Someone had obviously recognized him, and there was a slight discussion behind Bai Jinming, but it didn't expand, probably because he was afraid of He Cheng's temper. Xu Ran didn't know what to do, whether to admit it voluntarily or wait for them to ask, he stood there for a while, unable to respond.
He Cheng glanced at him, and suddenly pinched his stiff shoulders hard, causing him to be so painful that he couldn't stand still, and fell sideways in He Cheng's arms.
"greet."
There was a chill in the warmth of the breath falling on his ear, He Cheng leaned close to his ear, and said indifferent words with a gentle expression.
Xu Ran felt a chill spreading from his toes all over his body.
He had no choice but to hold up the Coke and smile dryly at those people, "Long time no see."
"Is it really him?" someone whispered.
But Xu Ran's mind was boiling, and he couldn't tell whether he knew the other party or not.
He felt countless pairs of eyes wandering wantonly on his body, as if he had been stripped naked and stood naked in the sun.
How much he wanted to hide in the shadows on the ground, but no matter how he retreated, the invisibility always dragged behind his feet, and a pair of invisible hands pushed his back, not allowing him to hide.
He Cheng's hands on his shoulders used all his strength, pinching his bones so painfully.
"I'm going to the bathroom." Xu Ran whispered.
He left He Cheng's stiff embrace as if fleeing, and walked away from the venue with all his strength. The eyes behind him were like thorns on the back, the right knee seemed to be twisted, and every step around the meniscus felt like needles.
When the wind blew, Xu Ran realized that his back was covered with cold sweat at some point.
The bathroom is in the small villa on the west side. When Xu Ran came to the door, he realized that he was still holding half a glass of Coke. The drink was out of gas, so he handed the cup to the waiter who came up and said thank you softly.
The spacious space was as clean as if no one had ever used it, and the mirrors on the three walls reflected a pale and thin face. Xu Ran loosened his collar and let out a long breath.
He was very tired, exhausted as if his spirit was being crushed in all directions, but these legs made him unable to escape.
Besides, besides He Cheng, where else could he go
Xu Ran lowered his head. It took him a while to figure out how to turn on the retro-style faucet, and the hot water flowed down the back of his hand in an instant, and splashed to the edge of the white porcelain pool, creating a small splash.
He stared blankly at his suddenly reddened skin, and it took him a while to wake up and turn the water temperature down.
Voices were faintly heard from the door.
An environment that was too quiet inevitably amplified the sound. Xu Ran stood by the pool closest to the door, and the sound outside the door slipped into his ears as if he had grown legs.
"Miao Miao is really good, isn't this going to happen soon?"
"There are still three months. Once the banquet is held, you can raise it at home."
The first girl sighed and said enviously, "That's great..."
The two of them whispered something again, but Xu Ran didn't listen carefully. He was hesitant to go out, when he heard a man's nice voice from outside.
"Trouble, excuse me."
The voice sounded inexplicably familiar, Xu Ran was stunned for a moment, and when he raised his head, he bumped into the beautiful black pupils of the visitor reflected in the mirror.
joan.
Cold sweat flowed from his neck to his back in an instant, and Xu Ran's red hands were cold. If his body hadn't reacted, he might have started to shiver.
Joan seemed to be surprised by his sudden change of expression, and looked at him a few more times as he walked by. Xu Ran immediately lowered his head, filled his hands with hand sanitizer, and a strong fragrance instantly filled the entire space.
Xu Ran was so embarrassed that he couldn't bear it, but Qiao An understood it and pretended not to hear it. He drew a handkerchief from his pocket, the white silk cloth stained wine red.
Maybe someone accidentally knocked over the wine glass. Joan rubbed the handkerchief vigorously, but only a little color could be washed off. The rest of the burgundy looks extra eye-catching on the otherwise clean white fabric.
Xu Ran watched from the side, and couldn't help but stare for a long time. When Qiao An raised his head, the two of them actually met eyes.
Joan laughed. He still has the same big, bright smile he had in high school.
"This is not easy to wash," he tilted his head in distress, and sighed, "I'd better throw it away."
The fine handkerchief was balled up and thrown into the golden trash can.
"Guest?" Joan asked him.
In a daze, Xu Ran nodded slowly.
Qiao An didn't care about his slow reaction, and asked with a smile, "The man's side, or the woman's side?"
Neither side, Xu Ran thought. He is from He Cheng's side.
There was no response, Joan just thought he was a weird person who didn't like to chat, washed his hands and was about to leave. I have to admit that Xu Ran breathed a sigh of relief when he saw him turn around.
But he stopped in front of the hair dryer to dry the water on his hands little by little. Xu Ran was still standing in front of the sink, he didn't want to walk in front of Joan, the only thing he didn't want Joan to see was his limping steps.
Only the whine of the hair dryer remained between the two of them, torturing Xu Ran's eardrums.
Suddenly, Joan raised his head and looked at him suspiciously, "You..."
Xu Ran's heart rose to his throat.
"Have we met before?" Joan smiled confusedly, looking up and down carefully with her big eyes, "I seem to have seen you somewhere... bidding? University? High school?"
He suddenly paused and slapped his head, "High school! You're the one in the next class..."
"Xu Ran." Xu Ran said softly.
"That's right, that's right," Qiao An smiled happily, "I almost forgot, I went abroad after graduating from high school, haven't we seen each other for almost ten years?"
Xu Ran lowered his head and hummed lightly.
Joan was laughing there. Xu Ran didn't know why he was so happy, as if he got some great news, he almost dragged him to dance around.
"How are you? I remember that you study very well. Did you go to a good university?"
Thinking of something, Xu Ran chuckled and shook his head.
After graduating from high school, he was afraid that He Cheng would play too much in college and forget himself, so he changed his choice from the number one university to the tenth, in line with He Cheng's grade line.
In fact, for ordinary students, there is not much difference between the first and tenth, but for Xu Ran, they have given up better teachers, better space for further study and qualifications for direct doctorate. He never mentioned this to He Cheng, but He Cheng probably knew about it.
The chat couldn't continue, Joan finally sensed the embarrassment, blinked his eyes, not knowing what to say.
Xu Ran raised his head, looked at his face in the mirror, and took a deep breath.
"haven't seen you for a long time."
He turned his head, smiled at Joan, took out a piece of paper from the side and wiped his hands.
Then, under Joan's surprised gaze, he limped, walked to the trash can, threw the tissue away, and walked back.
When passing by Qiao An, Xu Ran glanced at his profile from the corner of his eye, and suddenly remembered that there was still a photo of Qiao An in He Cheng's old wallet, and it was also a profile. Every time he drank, He Cheng would Take it out and watch it for half a day.
Beautiful, wonderful, promising Joan.
Let He Cheng care about Qiao An for ten years.
Really, long time no see.
The author has something to say: Thank you Mu Ci for throwing mine