The street lights are dim, the shadows of the trees are swaying, and there are few pedestrians.
The way home is both short and long.
It only takes two bus stops to get there. If you want to walk, just turn left at the intersection and walk straight ahead and you will reach the community.
Huo Ran had always been simulating this unfamiliar route in his mind.
"I saw the gate of the community." Tao Yue was a little excited. "I got home so quickly today."
As he spoke, he raised his phone to his face. He wanted to check the system time in the right corner, but he saw the call duration displayed on the screen: 46 minutes.
He was surprised and said, "Ah, how come it took more than half an hour to walk? I thought it was only a few minutes."
Tao Yue's voice drifted away again, and Huo Ran instantly imagined him staring at the phone screen with a dazed look on his face.
It turned out that before he knew it, he had accompanied Tao Yue back home.
They talked for a long time, but Huo Ran still felt that the time was too short.
"There are so few people walking in the neighborhood today. It's so deserted." Tao Yue complained in a low voice, "The street lights are so dim."
Tao Yue doesn't talk much normally, but he becomes talkative after drinking, and likes to describe every little thing happening around him.
Huo Ran really liked listening to him say this, as if he was really around him and saw the same scenery in his eyes.
He patiently comforted the confused drunkard: "It's almost ten o'clock, and those who are taking a walk should go home."
"If you think you can't see the road clearly, turn on the flashlight on your phone."
"Okay, we're home as soon as we enter the second building in the community." Tao Yue became happy again, "It's ten o'clock, it's time to go to bed, let's go take a shower and then go to bed."
Huo Ran remembered that he talked about his daily routine, going to bed at 10:30 every day.
It seems that this habit has been deeply engraved in my memory, and I even follow this pattern after drinking.
"You just promised me that I would take a shower today." Huo Ran said with a smile.
"Oh, yeah." Tao Yue reacted, "Sorry, I forgot. I can go home and sleep now."
Tao Yue turned into the apartment building and heard footsteps coming from the receiver.
Huo Ran keenly heard the footsteps on the stairs, and stopped teasing him. He said in a serious tone: "Okay, it's time to talk. Focus on the road and talk when we get home."
The more Dao Tao felt, the more dizzy he became. In this state, he had to be very careful when walking up the stairs. It would be dangerous if he missed a step.
"I can wrestle..."
Tao Yue muttered something, then really stopped talking and concentrated on going upstairs.
A few seconds later, Huo Ran heard a very light counting sound.
"One step, two steps, three steps, five steps..."
Amid the even footsteps, Tao Yue counted quietly, and he could hardly hear her.
Huo Ran listened quietly and smiled.
When I counted to the fifty-second step, I heard the sound of a key being inserted into the door lock and turned.
When I opened the door, the lonely and cold air in the room hit me in the face.
"I'm home." Tao Yuyue emphasized a little proudly, "Nothing happened. I walked very steadily."
In an instant, the one-bedroom apartment, which had always been silent, became lively.
"Now you should... go wash your face."
Tao Yue threw his backpack on the sofa, thought for a while, and walked towards the bathroom.
As he passed the dining table, he stared at the empty wall in surprise.
"Where is my Cupid? Where did he go..."
Listening to Tao Yue muttering to himself, Huo Ran couldn't help but imagine what his room would look like.
He carefully asked his doubts: "What Cupid?"
"..." Tao Yue paused and said in embarrassment, "I'll tell you this, it's a secret."
This made Huo Ran even more curious and he felt itchy inside.
Cupid is the god of love in mythology. Why does Tao Yue have this in his house
Huo Ran started to think wildly with a calm expression.
The phone was placed on the sink, and there was the sound of splashing water, followed by the muffled sound of brushing teeth.
Until Tao Yue got out of bed and crawled into the quilt, neither of them hung up the phone, as if they had forgotten that this voice call was supposed to end with "I'll go home with you."
Listening to Tao Yue's gentle breathing, Huo Ran remembered something, "You haven't taken the medicine yet."
"I took it, and now my face is hot. What a waste of medicine."
"Are you tired now?"
"I wanted to sleep just now, but after washing my face I felt sleepy again." Tao Yue said frustratedly.
Huo Ran couldn't help laughing and said, "Then I'll chat with you. I'll be sleepy soon."
By now, Huo Ran had almost figured out Tao's state when he was drunk. He would not go crazy like some people, nor would he be completely drunk and unconscious. Instead, he would be more open-hearted and relaxed than usual, and would frankly refuse things that he really didn't want to say.
Other than that, I would randomly forget some people and things.
This state is very cute.
And... it's very suitable for Huo Ran to get to know him better.
His interactions with Tao Yue were limited to the Internet, and there was one offline encounter that was considered a face-to-face meeting.
As his feelings grew, Huo Ran gradually felt an irresistible desire to explore.
He wanted to know more about Tao Yue, his interests, his likes, his dislikes, whatever.
Unfortunately, the information that Tao Yue revealed on the Internet was almost blank. He could not obtain any information from the spatial dynamics that ordinary people usually see, and what he glimpsed in the game was only one-sided.
Huo Ran didn't want to miss this rare opportunity.
After silently condemning himself in his heart, Huo Ran sat back at his desk very solemnly, took out a dark brown leather notebook, and then shamelessly began to ask questions.
"What do you like?"
Tao Yu nestled more and more comfortably in the quilt. Xiao Wei was almost in a trance. He answered honestly whatever he heard.
“I like to code.”
Beautiful and neat handwriting immediately appeared on the off-white paper.
As Huo Ran took notes, he recalled yesterday's conversation, in which Tao Yue said that he was a programmer.
No wonder he loves his work so much, it turns out it's because he is doing something he really likes.
Huo Ran knew everything about this field and asked with interest: "Why?"
"Because... coding is like building a building. I like to see ordinary bricks become magnificent high-rise buildings." Tao Yuyue's voice was tinged with a hint of joy. "The building made up of symbols and numbers is very beautiful, and I only need one person to complete it."
The black and gold fountain pen trembled rapidly, and the tip of the pen made a rustling sound.
"What else do you like?"
"I also like... eating hot pot." The topic suddenly jumped, and Tao Yue happily imagined, "I have to make my own soup, thick white, and then cook mushrooms, shabu-shabu meat, and blanch the vegetables. I will take a big bowl to drink the soup, it's very fragrant."
Huo Ran suddenly felt that he had eaten too hastily for dinner and was hungry.
"I like spicy hotpot." He couldn't help but interrupt.
"Ah, the red oil soup base is very fragrant. Just looking at the color makes me hungry." Tao Yue agreed, "But it's troublesome to wash the pot. It's all oily. It's so tiring to wash."
Huo Ran blurted out: "I'll wash it."
"Hey, you like washing dishes, so special." Tao Yue was surprised, "Then next time I want to eat spicy hot pot, I'll invite you to my house. I'll prepare the dishes and you wash the dishes."
The sharp pen tip poked a heavy dot on the paper, and the ink spread deeply.
Huo Ran took a deep breath and whispered, "Okay... I will definitely come."
As long as he sobered up, Tao Yue would still remember it.
Huo Ran was in a delicate mood. He didn't want his attempt to trick people into revealing information to be discovered, but he also hoped that he could really eat the hotpot he had casually promised himself.
"So what do you hate?"
Huo Ran felt that clarifying this question was the most urgent task.
Tao Yue's tone was a little melancholy, "I hate people and things that are not nice, and I hate food that tastes very bitter, but..."
Huo Ran felt nervous when hearing the long-lasting “but”.
"But I hate one person the most."
"who?"
Even though he knew that this person was most likely himself, Huo Ran was still very nervous.
"You will get to know him. Few people know him." Tao Yue said confidently.
"Then why do you hate him?"
Huo Ran gripped the pen tightly, ready to record the key points at any time.
"Because... well, it's complicated." Tao Yue's voice was distressed.
"If you want to talk, please speak slowly. I will always listen."
Hearing this, Tao Yue remained silent for a long time, so long that Huo Ran glanced at the screen several times to confirm that the call was not disconnected.
A few minutes later, he seemed to have made up his mind and whispered, "In fact, he should have been a very good person. Everything happened because of an accident."
"Yes, it was destined. It was going to happen no matter what. But he was injured and will be confined to a wheelchair from now on."
"When he was doing well, I...his lover abandoned him, and then he became a very cold-blooded person."
"Then he found a new lover, picked himself up, and lived a better life than before. At this time, the old lover came back."
"He felt that this once beautiful relationship was hypocritical and that his ex-lover was terrible and only loved his money."
Tao Yue spoke incoherently, and Huo Ran didn't fully understand what he said, but his curiosity was still aroused: "And then?"
"Then..." Tao Yue seemed to tremble, "Then he asked someone to drive a car and hit his ex-girlfriend, causing her to be seriously injured."
"His new lover carefully exposed the past affairs, and many people insulted the old lover, and finally that person committed suicide."
Faced with this answer that was beyond his imagination, Huo Ran was speechless for a moment.
After finishing his words, Tao Yue fell into a long silence.
Huo Ran couldn't determine the character in this story. After searching for a long time, he asked cautiously, "Is this 'he' your friend?"
"Yes." Tao Yue answered quickly, "I hope to see him forever."
Hearing that the two had never met, Huo Ran felt inexplicably relieved.
Combined with the previous narration, he guessed that Tao Yue might know the old lover who had a tragic ending.
"I've never told anyone else about this." Tao Yue murmured, "I... am very afraid of him."
"If I were a bystander, maybe I should hate him. He was deeply hurt and wanted revenge... Maybe he was not wrong."
"No, that's wrong." Huo Ran affirmed, "He shouldn't hurt others because of his own pain."
"… Really?" Tao Yue asked cautiously, "I've been thinking about this question for a long time."
Huo Ran could hear his fear and anxiety, and said in a deep voice to comfort him: "If his injury has nothing to do with his past lover, he should vent his hatred on that person, even if the other person left him at the darkest time of his life, but this is the nature of human beings to seek benefits and avoid harm."
"It's ok to be materialistic or hypocritical, but that person should be punished accordingly, such as losing the money he worked so hard to get, or getting true love but losing his life for it."
Tao Yue added anxiously: "What if he was trying to protect that person and got so badly injured?"
Huo Ran answered without hesitation: "That is the nature of human beings, the nature of love. It has nothing to do with the person being loved. It is the other person who should bear the pressure."
His words were firm and powerful, and Tao Yue seemed to be stunned.
After a long while, he whispered, "It would be great if the person I...he met was you."
Before Huo Ran had time to think about the sudden change of subject in his words, he heard Tao Yue say, "You look a lot like someone. The tone of your speech is very similar."
Huo Ran quietly clenched his fists, feeling a little jealous, and muffledly asked, "Who?"
"… "
Tao Yue seemed to have buried his face in the pillow. His voice was barely audible. Huo Ran tried very hard to distinguish it clearly.
“… the one I like.”
This time, the tip of the pen uncontrollably scratched a long mark on the smooth paper.
Huo Ran felt that the side of his ear that was pressed against the phone became very hot, as if all the heat from his entire body had gathered together.
Only then did he slowly realize that the redness and heat in his ears were not caused by allergies.
With his head buzzing, Huo Ran kept trying to organize his words, but he found that he seemed to have lost the ability to speak normally and forgot the words as soon as he opened his mouth.
By the time he had finally trained his out-of-control language system, the only sound in the phone was Tao Yue's calm breathing.
He asked quietly, "Are you asleep?"
There was no response, only shallow and long breathing.
I don’t know why, Huo Ran’s mind suddenly flashed back to what Huo Xihan said a few days ago: "It’s so sweet to lie on the bed at night and talk to your boyfriend until you fall asleep."
… Maybe, possibly, perhaps, she is right.
Huo Ran just sat there and listened for a long time, with the corners of his mouth maintaining a slight smile, until his phone popped up a reminder that the battery was full.
So he woke up with a start and, as usual, said his closing words to Dr. Tao at night.
Outside the window, the night is as cool as water, and the stars and the moon shine together.
"Good night, Tao Yue."