Huo Ran almost dropped his phone.
His hands trembled, and he barely managed to grasp the smooth body of the machine. The theater manager who was watching him nervously at the side also trembled, fearing that he would see the crisp and melodious sound of the machine breaking.
Huo Ran took a deep breath, closed his eyes, then opened them again and looked at the screen impatiently, but there was no change.
It really happened, not an illusion.
Tao Zhiyue invited him to eat hotpot.
Tao Zhiyue asked him to go out and eat hotpot together face to face.
Tao Zhiyue took the initiative to ask him out.
At this moment, Huo Ran really wanted to change into some light clothes, rush to the basketball court, pick up the ball and slam it into the basket, because in this way he could jump very high with confidence and vent all his burning emotions to the strong basketball hoop.
However, conditions did not allow it. The managers of several cinema chains in the city were sitting around him, reporting to him about the distribution of flowers today. Most of them belonged to the cinema brands under the Huo family. To round it off, these were all his employees.
You cannot lose your composure in front of your employees.
Although he was about to jump out of his chair.
Huo Ran clenched his fists, balled them into a ball and pressed them against the side of his face, trying to hide the corners of his mouth that were trying to rise.
Because he was exerting too much force, his whole body was shaking slightly.
While he was dealing with his emotions, several middle-aged men kept exchanging glances, and the atmosphere was uneasy and anxious.
Finally, one of the theater managers spoke nervously: "Mr. Huo, is there something wrong?"
Huo Ran said reflexively: "No."
A group of people breathed a sigh of relief and were about to relax when they heard him ask, "Which hot pot restaurant here is the best?"
Upon hearing this, their eyes widened, confusion written all over their faces.
Huo Ran thought that this question should be asked to the locals, and he began to describe it seriously: "The red oil base should be fragrant and not too spicy. The bone soup must be made from bones, and it should be very fragrant and mellow with a thick white color. The vegetables and meat should be fresh, and the beef and mutton should be airlifted from the northwest. The vegetables should be organic and pollution-free, and it would be best if there were local specialties."
Having said that, Huo Ran immediately flipped through the memo on his phone and found the notes he had written that night. He selected a few snacks that he thought Tao Zhiyue would like based on the recommendation levels that had been marked previously.
"I want glutinous rice jelly, hand-made with bubbles, the best taste. Hmm... Jinsha red rice rolls, which are rice rolls wrapped with shrimp meat and golden crispy, the taste is very special, plus crab roe dumplings filled with soup, and the popular milk tea here, which has cream and chopped nuts on top, very delicious."
It was almost dinner time, and as he described in great detail, someone's stomach made a soft groan.
A clever cinema manager swallowed his saliva, connected sending flowers and hotpot together, and found a way.
"The most popular hot pot restaurant here is called Lao Yueliang. It tastes great and is very popular among young couples. The milk tea sold in the restaurant is very famous, but the only dish they serve is hot pot. For other dishes, you can ask someone to buy them and send them to us, or you can directly ask the chef to come to the store and make them according to your taste."
He turned his head and looked at the sky, a little worried: "It's already past six o'clock, the moon fishing must be full, and it may be too late to prepare."
Huo Ran was shocked by the sentence "very popular among young couples" and was a little confused for a moment.
After a long while, he pretended to be calm, coughed a few times, lowered his head, and calmly praised: "You make a lot of sense. Let's set it for tomorrow night."
His eyes swept across the phone screen and he remembered that he hadn't replied to the message yet, so he quickly made up for it.
[hr: I just asked someone, the best hotpot here is called Lao Yue Liang.]
[hr: But it’s too late today, there won’t be any seats. ]
[hr: How about tomorrow night at six?]
He held his breath and stared at the "Type in progress" icon at the top of the chat box.
[Tao: Good^-^]
[Tao: Little Bear Spinning.gif]
So for the next 24 hours, Huo Ran's mood was just like this little bear that kept spinning in circles, he was so excited that he was almost dizzy.
After returning to the hotel, he wanted to go to bed early and rest up, but he was so excited that he couldn't fall asleep while lying in bed, which was very similar to the night before a spring outing in elementary school.
He stared at the ceiling for ten minutes, and it felt like ten hours.
Every second seemed like an eternity, and Huo Ran could only pick up the phone he had just put down.
He and Tao Zhiyue only had a brief chat in the evening. Although they were separated by the Internet, he could still feel the other person's shyness.
Because he is the same.
When I thought about the upcoming meeting, I was so nervous that I didn't know what to say. The calm and peaceful atmosphere of the chat in the past was swept away. Every word today could trigger thousands of emotions. I did countless reading comprehension exercises in my mind, but couldn't find the standard answer.
Huo Ran held the quilt and read the chat history again and again, when suddenly a dynamic reminder popped up on pp.
[Your special friend "Tao" has published a new space dynamic.]
Huo Ran immediately straightened up, leaned against the head of the bed, turned on the light, and made full preparations as if he was going to take an important exam before clicking into the space.
[Dynamic] Tao: Summer is coming [Picture]
The accompanying picture was the one he had sent to Huo Ran: a transparent glass vase, flaming roses, and the setting dusk in the distant sky.
Huo Ran subconsciously entered the reading comprehension mode.
Unfortunately, the caption is too short, with only four simple words, and it is impossible to read any deeper meaning.
But this is the first space update released by Tao Zhiyue, which has important commemorative significance.
However, the comment section below the post was empty.
Huo Ran began to hate the feature that only friends can see the comments on PP messages.
Facing the blank status bar, Huo Ran unwillingly imagined what Tao Zhiyue's friends would comment and how he would respond.
The more he thought about it, the more energetic he became. He simply didn't want to sleep, clicked a like, then got up and turned on the computer.
After arriving at the Animal Island, Huo Ran took a boat to the neighboring Hedgehog Island as usual, trying to determine whether Tao Zhiyue was online.
Maybe if they switch to the game, they can chat less shyly.
The night was bright on the island, the sound of summer cicadas could be heard from the bushes, and very light snoring could be heard from the small cabin in the center.
The big brown bear tiptoed through the window of the hut and saw the hedgehog curled up in a ball, sleeping on the small wooden bed.
Huo Ran felt as if someone had gently poked his heart.
He quietly left again, returned to his island, took out a hoe and flower seeds from the warehouse, went to the place where he had planned to build a garden that day, and began to work hard.
I was busy until midnight, and finally planted all the seeds, arranged the tables, chairs and decorations that should be in the garden, and used a little money to continuously water the fertilizer that can accelerate growth.
After the task was completed, Huo Ran pressed the screenshot button with satisfaction as he looked at the screen full of beautiful roses.
[Dynamic]hr: My garden [picture]
Huo Xihan, who surfed online day and night, made comments at the speed of light.
[Comment] I can’t do this again, woooo:
[Comment] I can’t do it again, woooo: You have changed, you have really changed, ahhh!
[Comment] I can’t do this again, woohoo: The island fence that hasn’t been damaged for a long time said it missed you.
[Comment] hr replied to me that I can’t do it again woohoo woohoo:/ cute
[Comment] HR replied to me that it’s not allowed again: Go to bed quickly, you have to help me tomorrow.
Temporarily blocking other people's updates, Huo Ran took a screenshot of the two updates of himself and Tao Zhiyue next to each other, and specially clicked a red heart in the album and put it in [Personal Favorites].
Summer is coming, my garden.
The air in the hotel room tonight seems to be filled with sweetness.
After a long and difficult night, he only had eight hours left before he would meet the other person.
After waking up in the morning, Huo Ran took a bath that lasted half an hour, scrubbing his hair three times.
He carefully dried his hair in front of the mirror, picked up a piece of clothing and put it on, and asked Jiang Nansheng to confirm the reservation and the chef for the evening.
Then Huo Ran went straight to the clothing store and started the first exciting and tangled shopping trip in his life.
No matter what he wore, the blushing clerk would say it looked very handsome and suitable. Huo Ran, who had expected this, immediately called the sister who worked as a tool.
[hr: Are you awake? Help me pick out clothes.]
Then he sent a series of photos, all of which were standard straight male photos taken in front of the fitting mirror.
[I can’t do this again, sob sob: I’m not awake, I’m dead, sob sob.]
[hr: You are not dead, you are awake, choose quickly.]
[I can’t do this again, sob sob: Damn it, are you going on a date!!!]
[hr: Yes^-^]
[hr: We are going to have hotpot tonight.]
Huo Ran used exclamation marks for emphasis.
[hr: A couple's restaurant! ]
[I can’t do this anymore, wow wow: Why do I have to endure this sour pain!!!]
[I can’t do this again, wuwuwu: Ahhhh, damn it, damn it, damn it!]
[I can’t do this again, sob: The white top looks good, change the pants to the one that goes with the blue top.]
[I can’t do this again, woohoo: Although, you guys are progressing too fast! ! ! ]
Huo Ran immediately went into the fitting room, changed into the clothes his sister mentioned, and came out again to ask the clerk to take pictures of him from several angles.
[hr: Is that so?]
[hr: Only today, I allow you to find fault with me and tell me where I am not handsome enough.]
[I can’t do this again, woooo: … ]
[I can’t do this again, woohoo: Would you be so cocky in front of the person you like?!]
[I can’t do that again, sob. Although I want to say that I’m not handsome at all, today is such an important day, I won’t interfere with your lifelong event.]
[I can’t do that again, sob sob: If I must say it, I think your left face is prettier than your right.]
[I can’t do that again, sob: Maybe it’s because you always walk on my right side, and I’m used to seeing you.]
[I can’t do that again, sob: No, it’s just that my left face is prettier, are you doing that on purpose?! Scheming man! ! !]
Huo Ran paused for a moment and realized that he was indeed accustomed to walking on the right side of others, so when he reserved seats yesterday, he subconsciously reserved seat 13 on the right.
I hope Tao Zhiyue will get used to walking on the left, Huo Ran thought without blushing or beating his heart.
He skipped the topic and responded to his sister's previous exclamation.
[hr: I don’t think it’s progressing very fast.]
[hr: It’s okay to go faster.]
Huo Ran’s eyes kept appearing the little hedgehog curled up in bed and sleeping soundly last night, and he also remembered the long breathing sound that accompanied him for a long time that night.
I wonder if Tao Zhiyue will kick the quilt when he sleeps at night.
Anyway, he won't kick, so he can cover Tao Zhiyue with a blanket.
Five hours later, Huo Ran, who was standing at the door of Laoyueliang Hotpot Restaurant waiting early, still had his mind full of fragmented and boundless fantasies.
If neither of them could have children, he might have started imagining what the child would be called.
Couples holding hands walked into the hot pot restaurant. Every time Huo Ran saw a couple passing by, he felt more excited.
It was only half past five, and he didn't want to rush Tao Zhiyue, but he couldn't help but want to talk to him.
Huo Ran pondered for several minutes before finding a very tactful way to ask the question.
[hr: Today is Sunday, is the traffic congested? ]
Tao Zhiyue replied quickly.
[Tao: No traffic jam, have you arrived yet?]
[hr: Not yet, on the way.]
[Tao: Take your time. I am also on my way.]
[Tao: Cat giggles.jpg]
Huo Ran was about to reply with a cute emoticon when his eyes inadvertently swept forward and he was stunned.
A boy wearing a T-shirt and jeans and holding a mobile phone was walking towards here. At this moment, he raised his head and looked towards the bustling store entrance.
Huo Ran remembered those eyes.
Clear and bright, with only silence beyond that.
He met Tao Zhiyue.
Tao Zhiyue obviously saw him as well. They were three or four meters apart, looking at each other in astonishment, and in their hearts they were trying to eliminate this sudden encounter.
During this time, passers-by kept passing by, looking at the two people who seemed to be standing still with curiosity.
Tao Zhiyue finally reacted and gave him a faint smile.
"Aren't you on your way?"
The heartbeat floating in the air has found a home and a land to stay on.
Huo Ran heard himself unable to hide his laughter.
“Now is the time.”
The waiter came over and led them into the store, and Huo Ran walked naturally to Tao Zhiyue's side.
They were so close that they could hear each other's heartbeats.
Huo Ran held it in for a long time, his mind in a mess, and finally asked in a low voice: "Do you like to walk on the left?"
Tao Zhiyue seemed to laugh and nodded.
The laughter and joy in the entire hot pot restaurant came towards them.
As they sat down, the dishes that had been prepared were presented one after another.
The red and white douban tao soup base, the air-shipped beef and mutton emitting white cold air, the lush green bean sprouts grown in the water, the brown sugar icy jelly decorated with fruits and glutinous rice cakes, the pink and rose-red golden sand red rice sausage, the thin-skinned and large-filled crab roe soup dumplings, and two cups of milk tea topped with fluffy cream and crushed nuts.
Tao Zhiyue looked at the waiters who were serving the dishes in turn with some surprise, and then secretly glanced at the next table. He always felt that there was something wrong with the dishes on this table.
He blinked gently, his eyelashes were long and thick, like a handful of light feathers, sweeping across his heart.
The surging emotions accumulated deep inside his body, and Huo Ran was speechless for a moment, unable to find his voice.
He also followed Tao Zhiyue's gaze and saw a couple at the next table sitting face to face. The girl was picking up food with chopsticks, her loose cuffs dangling in the red soup, and the boy opposite her grabbed her wrist in time.
Then they looked at each other, and low laughter spread through the white heat.
So Huo Ran plucked up his courage and decided to make a serious self-introduction.
This way he can shake the other person's hand openly.
So Huo Ran straightened his back and nervously stretched out his hand to Tao Zhiyue, his palms oozing with sweat as fine as diamonds. Under the warm yellow light, his usually calm face turned a rare shade of red.
"I forgot to introduce myself to you. Hello, my name is Huo Ran."