Amid the sizzling sound of hot oil, the stall owner quickly served a portion of fried milk and handed it to Huo Ran.
When Huo Ran took it, he paused in front of Jin Shaoyuan deliberately, and then handed it to Tao Zhiyue very naturally.
"Be careful, it's hot, eat slowly."
Tao Zhiyue was trying so hard to hold back his laughter that he was about to get hurt. He really didn't know how to react, so he simply picked up a piece of fried milk and concentrated on eating.
He blew on the hot air and took a bite. Under the golden skin, the tender and smooth milk paste was revealed, which melted in his mouth.
Tao Zhiyue couldn't help but narrow his eyes, "It's delicious and very sweet."
Huo Ran also nodded as if he had tasted it himself, smiling: "That's good."
The purpose of showing affection was successfully achieved. He pulled Tao Zhiyue to the side, leaving Jin Shaoyuan with a very handsome back view.
There is also a heartfelt teaching.
"It's your turn to buy it. Remember to eat it in time and don't waste it. See you the day after tomorrow, Mr. Jin..." He paused deliberately, "far away."
Jin Shaoyuan's expression at this moment matched the black earrings on his ears.
He stood there in a daze for a long time, then came to his senses and wanted to turn around and leave.
After hesitating for a while, Jin Shaoyuan whispered to the stall owner: "One serving of fried milk."
Because it looks delicious.
On the other side, Tao Zhiyue tried very hard to restrain his desire to look back and watch the excitement.
"What expression do you think he has now?"
"He must have a very stinky expression." Huo Ran thought without hesitation, "He has been annoying me for so long, and finally when he is in trouble, I want to take a photo as a souvenir."
"You are so mean."
"By the way, speaking of taking pictures, we haven't taken any pictures together yet. Shouldn't we take a selfie? Then I'll post it on social media. I've seen many people post pictures like this after they get together."
"No, I never take selfies. It's weird." Tao Zhiyue shook his head immediately. "Don't post any comments. I'll get embarrassed."
"Then why are you laughing at my nesting dolls!"
"Let me teach you a new trick. Human nature is double-standard." Tao Zhiyue tried to get away with it. "Where are you going to play tomorrow?"
"I have some things to deal with tomorrow morning, so you can sleep in." Huo Ran pondered, "What should I do in the afternoon? Is it somewhere you want?"
"It seems there are no fun places left." Tao Zhiyue thought for a while, "I don't like shopping, I've played enough games today, and there are no good movies. Do you want to go to a scenic spot?"
"There will be a lot of people, and it will be tiring." Huo Ran said with a little regret, "I want to watch a movie with you. We haven't watched it together before."
Tao Zhiyue came up with an idea, "Why don't we watch a horror movie at home? I won't ask weird questions this time."
"In your house?"
"Well, you can watch it on the TV in the living room. What do you like to eat? I'll go shopping in the morning, and I'll make dinner after the movie. I can teach you how to season food. I promised to teach you how to season food last time."
Tao Zhiyue felt that this arrangement was perfect. Before, Huo Ran was the one who planned everything, and it was rare for him to take the lead.
"How is it? Is it okay?"
Huo Ran didn't respond for a long time. Tao Zhiyue turned his head to look at him, and finally found that he was blushing suspiciously.
So Tao Zhiyue blushed suspiciously, "Why do you have that expression?"
"I'm going to visit your house. I feel it's a bit sudden... and a bit nervous." He added slowly, "I'm also looking forward to it."
"Just watch a movie and eat, don't think too much."
"I didn't think much about it. What were you thinking about?"
"I don't have any!!"
…
That night, Huo Ran, who was in a luxurious suite in a five-star hotel, and Tao Zhiyue, who was in a small bedroom in an old residential building, suffered from insomnia in unison once again.
Tao Zhiyue tossed and turned on the bed, making pancakes.
For a moment, I felt that I was being rash and shouldn't have rashly invited someone to my home. What if Huo Ran thought the place he lived in was awful
After a while, he began to imagine the scene of them being together tomorrow. It would be a good memory to watch a movie together for the first time. Let's not watch those American bloody movies. Japanese horror movies are more refreshing... Or maybe watch something else
Unable to sleep, and wanting to stay awake, Tao Zhiyue simply got up and cleaned the house.
Although I had just inspected the place this morning and concluded that it was clean and didn't need cleaning, now that I was in a different mood, I found problems everywhere.
The books on the bookshelf could be arranged more neatly, the corners of the floor could be mopped to remove dust, the dust on the TV cover could also be wiped clean... Finally, he even took out the clothes hidden in the closet and folded them again.
After tossing and turning, the exhausted Tao Zhiyue finally fell asleep, but woke up naturally early the next day.
[Xiao Huo: Good morning! Did you sleep well last night?]
[Tao: Good morning, I slept well.]
[Xiao Huo: Me too! I have to go out and do some work now.]
[Xiao Huo: See you at 6 pm!]
People who are in love are good liars.
Tao Zhiyue thought this silently.
Although he didn't sleep for long, he was extremely energetic. He made a special trip to a large chain store 10 kilometers away, went around very efficiently, and bought a lot of things.
A pair of sky blue slippers, a hammer-patterned glass that looks very summery, a light brown checkered tablecloth, the pattern reminds me of the plastic water tray from childhood...
When he saw the sunlight coming in in the morning, he suddenly felt that everything at home had become dull.
Even the pair of gray slippers on her feet looked particularly dull.
He bought a bunch of new daily necessities, and selected fresh vegetables and meat according to the names of dishes Huo Ran had reported. When he was carrying three heavy bags out to get a taxi, he saw someone selling bouquets of flowers for ten or twenty yuan at the bus stop nearby.
Flowers of different colors are clustered together, violets, chamomiles, baby's breath, carnations, sunflowers...
The bouquet of roses that Huo Ran gave him in the cinema had withered. He picked out some petals and dried them into dried flowers. He collected them and placed them on the bookshelf, and later used them as bookmarks.
Now the vase is still on the table, but it is empty.
Tao Zhiyue returned home, hurriedly put down his things, took the sunflower to the kitchen first, trimmed the branches and leaves, and according to the method he learned on the Internet, soaked the roots in hot water to protect its wounds, and then put it in a transparent vase leaning against the window.
The settled sunflowers smiled at him warmly, their orange-yellow petals trembling in the wind.
At 6 o'clock in the afternoon, there was a knock on the door. Tao Zhiyue, who was sitting on the sofa and staring at the newly renovated living room, suddenly jumped up.
He walked to the door step by step, took a deep breath, adjusted his expression, and opened the door.
As soon as Huo Ran saw him, he raised the two bags full of goods in his hands.
"good afternoon… "
"watermelon!"
"watermelon!"
Tao Zhiyue kept answering, almost speaking in unison with him.
"..." Huo Ran was very surprised, "Why did you guess it again? This shouldn't be the case! Wasn't I speaking fast enough?"
Tao Zhiyue took the bag of watermelon and snacks from him and started to talk nonsense: "Because I'm smart."
Huo Ran changed into the sky blue slippers placed at the door, and wondered: "Why not guess the snacks?"
"I bought a lot of snacks, such as melon seeds, potato chips, squid strips, popcorn, jelly, cola... these names are obviously possible."
"If you stop calling me Guazi, I'll change your note to gas stove."
“… No, I like Xiao Huo.”
The whole watermelon was quite big, so Tao Zhiyue brought it to the kitchen and cut it into two halves skillfully.
Huo Ran followed behind him, observing his actions: "Is this melon good? I spent a long time choosing, knocking on every one on the stall... The sounds seemed to be about the same, and finally the stall owner couldn't stand it anymore and picked one for me."
Tao Zhiyue smiled and said, "It's very red and smells very sweet. I solemnly commend it."
He wrapped half of the watermelon in plastic wrap and put it in the refrigerator.
"It's a pity that the tap water is very hot in the summer now." Tao Zhiyue couldn't help sighing as he washed his hands. "When I was a kid, my dad would buy a watermelon and put it in a bucket and soak it in cold water. He would soak it after get off work and cut it open at nine o'clock to eat. It was also very cool."
"I've seen it, too. Once when I was climbing a mountain, I passed by a small stall set up by residents on the mountain. They used a large silver basin to collect mountain spring water and soak small watermelons, tomatoes, cucumbers... They were all very convenient to eat."
"That watermelon is very small and looks very cute." Huo Ran leaned against the sliding door of the kitchen and tried to gesture with his hands, "It's about the size of my two hands. I bought one, cut it in half, and ate it with a spoon. It was very thirst-quenching, but I finished it in less than three minutes."
"I felt dazed after eating it. I felt like I hadn't eaten anything. After hesitating for a while, I went back and bought another one."
“… and then I ate too much.”
The sweet scent of watermelon lingered in the air. Tao Zhiyue wiped the water droplets from his hands, turned back with a smile, and his hair gently brushed against his ears.
Under the sunlight shining through the kitchen window, Huo Ran, who was chattering away, looked golden.
As brilliant gold as a sunflower.
The coffee table covered with a light brown checkered tablecloth was filled with snacks. Huo Ran had very rigorously arranged them in an orderly row. In the front was a can of Coke, with fine water droplets oozing out of the cold can.
Tao Zhiyue pressed the remote control and flipped through the movies in the film and television section. He had specially become a member today and had many films to choose from.
"Would you like to watch a horror movie? There are other genres too, take your pick."
Faced with the densely packed film library, Tao Zhiyue suffered from a fear of making choices and decided to give the decision to Huo Ran.
Huo Ran stopped what he was doing, took it, looked at it carefully, and searched for reviews on his phone from time to time.
Tao Zhiyue stood up, took the ice tray, poured the freshly frozen ice cubes into the shiny glass, poured in Coke, and a large number of stimulating bubbles instantly appeared.
"I've been drinking Coke a lot lately." Tao Zhiyue took a sip and then reflected, "This is not good."
"Just exercise more. I run for an hour every morning when I get up." Huo Ran said, "It seems that there are no good horror movies here. The reviews are not good."
As he was flipping through the pages, his eyes were suddenly attracted by a movie title: "How about this? It's a European romantic art film. I think it has a high rating."
Tao Zhiyue followed his gaze and saw that the film was titled "Love in Summer".
He couldn't help but laugh: "That's it."
The story begins on the golden beach beside the blue sea. The painter heroine, who is overwhelmed by trivial matters, comes to the beach villa to relax and meets the hero who is traveling here.
After a few brief encounters, the young and handsome man became the model for the female painter. Love gradually grew in their lingering gaze and rich colors.
Huo Ran, holding a can of popcorn, commented: "It would be great if I could draw, then you can be my model."
"I can't eat it. It's very tiring." Tao Zhiyue took popcorn from his arms, "The ones sold in the cinema are better."
"I think so too. Let's eat potato chips. I bought three flavors."
"I like cucumber flavor, it's very refreshing."
“I bought it, and I love it too!”
After watching for an hour, under Huo Ran's eager gaze, Tao Zhiyue took out a watermelon from the refrigerator, gave each of them half, and provided each with a silver spoon.
The two of them sat side by side on the sofa, each holding half a cold watermelon in their arms, eating it while watching a movie.
The air conditioner blew out cold air, and the electric fan was humming at full speed to dispel the sultry summer heat. The long chirping of cicadas could be heard outside the window.
The man and woman on the screen kept talking, and they also had endless things to say outside the screen.
On this long summer afternoon, Tao Zhiyue felt as if time had stood still.
Not long after eating the watermelon, a person who had also suffered from insomnia for most of the night fell asleep unknowingly to the soft and soothing movie music.
When Tao Zhiyue woke up in a daze, he found himself leaning on Huo Ran's shoulder.
His neck felt sore, so he rubbed it with his hand. In a blink of an eye, he saw the sunlight dimming.
The sun is about to set outside the window, the evening glow turns the vast expanse of blue red, and a faint golden glow appears at the end of the sky.
The movie is still playing. After a sad misunderstanding and argument, the female painter sits on the beach in the morning, feeling the salty sea breeze. She hears clear footsteps behind her and sighs in a low voice: How beautiful the morning is.
Then they hugged and kissed, and their tears fell into the wet wind.
The slowly changing light and shadows fell on Huo Ran's face. The sound of his gentle breathing was close at hand. The sunflowers in his peripheral vision were immersed in the dusk, gentle and empty.
Tao Zhiyue was silent. He leaned there quietly for a long time, until night fell and the story on the screen came to an end, frozen in a romantic and poetic empty shot.
Huo Ran woke up at some point. He blinked blankly. After regaining consciousness, he calmly picked up the glass and took a sip of the flat Coke.
Tao Zhiyue quietly sat up straight and deliberately asked him: "Did you fall asleep just now?"
"No! Are you asleep?"
"Neither do I."
Huo Ran looked carefully and found that the end credits were already playing on TV, "… How come it's over? Did they quarrel after that painter friend came over?"
"We had a fight, and then we made up."
"Ah, how did you make up?"
"I won't tell you." Tao Zhiyue laughed at him, "Aren't you asleep?"
“…Maybe I fell asleep for a while. Science has proven that eating sweets can easily make you sleepy. We ate a whole watermelon.”
Huo Ran changed the subject: "I'm hungry. Shall we cook now? I'll help you."
This one-bedroom apartment is not very big, and the kitchen can just accommodate a few people.
It was said that he was helping, but in fact he just washed the vegetables. Huo Ran washed a bag of tomatoes, handed them to Tao Zhiyue one by one, and then stood in front of the sink full of water and watched him cut the vegetables.
At Huo Ran’s request, I’m making tomato fish today.
Tao Zhiyue held the kitchen knife in his slender and thin hands, gently cut a tomato, removed the stem, cut it into eight pieces, and put it into the plate along with the juice.
He couldn't help but laugh: "Tomato scrambled eggs, grilled cold noodles with tomato paste, tomato fish... You really like eating tomatoes."
"Because it's sour and sweet." Huo Ran said seriously, "My favorite dish before was tomatoes mixed with sugar, but now the tomatoes are not as strong as before, and they are not delicious enough when mixed with cold."
Tao Zhiyue looked at a large bowl of chopped tomatoes and thought: "It seems that what I bought today is not bad."
He picked up a piece, sprinkled some sugar on it, tasted it, and nodded: "Delicious."
His fingers were stained with light pink moist juice and scattered with a few grains of crystal white sugar. Tao Zhiyue sucked his fingers reflexively.
He turned his head to meet Huo Ran's gaze, and then said, "Do you want to eat some? There are a lot of tomatoes, so I can make you a small bowl."
Huo Ran stared at him intently, yet seemed distracted, with inexplicable emotions flickering in his eyes.
An ambiguous atmosphere quietly grew.
He felt the coolness of the air passing through his fingertips. Tao Zhiyue wanted to say something, but he was stunned and speechless.
In a small space, emotions have nowhere to hide.
A few seconds later, Huo Ran leaned over.
The warm yellow light above and the deep blue night sky outside the window were all covered and obscured by the tall figure.
The silt at the bottom of the pool suddenly cleared, and the water surged down like a whirlpool.
The vortex engulfs everything, the heartbeat is turbulent, and the breath is wet and hot.
There is silence beside my ears, only the soft warmth between my lips and teeth.
“I tasted it, it was sweet.”