It was completely dark. Zhou Ziheng held his hand tightly and walked out of the mint-colored aquarium that once belonged to them.
The world outside the culvert seemed like a different place, with people coming and going, jostling each other. Both of them put on masks and hid in the busy crowd.
"Ask a question." Zhou Ziheng raised his hand and smiled like a child. Xia Xiqing turned to look at him, "What?"
Zhou Ziheng's eyes were illuminated by the lights on the roadside, flickering like fireflies, "What can I do during the probation period?"
The roadside began to become bustling. Xia Xiqing broke free from his hand and half lowered his head to look at his completely wet shoes. "I haven't thought about it yet."
Just as I finished speaking, I was gently bumped into, "It's okay to hold hands, right?"
Xia Xiqing placed his left hand on his right wrist and rubbed the palm of his hand that had turned red from his grip. He spoke slowly, wanting to say something but not wanting to, "...Okay."
Just as he finished speaking, he was hit again.
Xia Xiqing frowned and raised his head, looking into Zhou Ziheng's deep eyes, the same eyes that would turn into a crescent moon when he smiled.
"What about kissing?"
His voice was half warm and soft, as if tempting people to walk into his heart step by step.
"Kissing is okay."
Xia Xiqing stood a little further away and deliberately said in a disdainful tone, "I see you really want to be on the gossip headlines."
"Yes." Zhou Ziheng took two quick steps to the front of Xia Xiqing, turned around and walked backwards to face him, his eyes not looking anywhere else but at Xia Xiqing's beautiful peach blossom eyes, "I wish I could let the whole world know that I finally talked about..."
"careful."
An older woman who was pushing a cart to go to the night market passed by from behind and almost bumped into Zhou Ziheng's lower back. Xia Xiqing was quick-witted and grabbed Zhou Ziheng's arm and pulled him towards her.
The two men's chests were pressed together. Xia Xiqing raised his head and rubbed his nose against Zhou Ziheng's chin. Fearing that he would lose his balance, he put his arms around his waist.
“… In love.” Zhou Ziheng said the last three words blankly and looked at him with lowered eyebrows.
The lights around them gradually lit up, and the moment when the two people were close to each other was like a slow motion, with each frame outlining the shape of a hug.
"I want to kiss you." Zhou Ziheng whispered in front of him. The elder sister who was almost bumped into by him before was not going to give up easily and he had to satisfy his desire with words.
"Oh my, can't you watch your own business? You're such a grown-up and you're still walking backwards. What if you knock over my car?"
The elder sister pushed the cart away cursing, and Xia Xiqing came to his senses, loosened his hand and pushed him away again, pulling him to his left side, "Watch the road."
"I want to kiss you." Zhou Ziheng came over and repeated it again with a smile in his voice.
here we go again.
As soon as he got a little bit of success, he started to show off without restraint. This is totally Zhou Ziheng's style.
If you don't teach him a lesson, he will really be regarded as some innocent little angel.
Xia Xiqing raised her eyes, moving her gaze downward from his pupils, staring at the lips under the black mask for a while with a sticky look, then raised her eyes again, staring fixedly at Zhou Ziheng's deep pupils, her trembling eyelashes full of charm.
After the teasing, Xia Xiqing chuckled, put his hands in his trouser pockets and walked forward, leaving Zhou Ziheng, who was half lost in his soul, standing there.
These eyes are so alluring.
Zhou Ziheng sighed that even ten thousand times was not enough.
Coming back to his senses, Zhou Ziheng hurried a few steps, "Hey, wait for me."
"No wait, what do you do with such long legs?"
"To chase you."
"nerve."
Zhou Ziheng sent a message to Xiao Luo, asking him to deal with Director Kun and Jiang Yin, and then he turned off the phone neatly.
The two of them avoided the wrap-up banquet, but they had to eat, so Xia Xiqing took Zhou Ziheng to a nearby raw hot beef noodle restaurant. Zhou Ziheng grew up in Beijing and had rarely eaten authentic rice noodles, let alone this special raw hot beef noodle.
"Boss, two bowls of wide noodles, one bowl without spicy." Xia Xiqing turned his head and looked at Zhou Ziheng, "What do you want, beef? Kidney?"
"Beef." Zhou Ziheng looked at the plate of beautifully cut meat, touched Xia Xiqing's elbow, and asked in a low voice, "What is kidney?"
Xia Xiqing glanced at him with a wicked smile and said, "You don't even know this, Young Master Zhou." Then he poked Zhou Ziheng's side with his finger, leaned close to his ear, and said grimly, "Kidney."
Zhou Ziheng immediately covered his waist.
Xia Xiqing even deliberately described it vividly, "Take out the fresh kidney, cut it in half, remove the white tendons in the middle, use a sharp knife to cut it into thin slices, put it in boiling soup for a few times, it will be crispy and tender, and especially delicious."
Zhou Ziheng couldn't help but shudder when he heard this. "I want beef. Beef."
"Okay." The boss skillfully scooped out the soft white rice noodles from the broth and put them in a bowl, then scooped in beef broth, marinade, chopped green onions and diced radish, blanched fresh beef slices and placed them on the noodles, then handed them to Zhou Ziheng. He made another serving in the same way, pouring a large spoonful of spicy marinade on it for Xia Xiqing.
The air conditioner was on in the shop. Two people sat opposite each other, each with a bowl of noodles, and enjoyed the meal very comfortably.
"When I was in school, my favorite breakfast was beef noodles, either raw or braised." Xia Xiqing felt it wasn't spicy enough, so he scooped another spoonful of chili oil into the bowl and stirred it. The whole bowl was red, which made Zhou Ziheng feel scared.
"Don't you feel uncomfortable in your stomach after eating such spicy food so early in the morning?" Zhou Ziheng picked up a handful of noodles with chopsticks and put it into his mouth. It was tender and smooth and delicious.
"It's not bad," Xia Xiqing scooped a spoonful of sour cowpea and put it in Zhou Ziheng's bowl, "We have a lot of breakfast here, and it's different every thirty days of the month. There are hot dry noodles, three-fresh bean curd, roasted plums, noodle nests, eggnog, and so many more."
"Then you have to treat them all." Zhou Ziheng picked up the bowl and took a sip of soup, then smiled at him, just like a large dog, clingy and obedient, "Otherwise I will stay in Wuhan and not leave."
"Then don't leave, just stay here."
After leaving the noodle shop, the two of them ate snacks along the way at the night market. Both of them turned off their cell phones and ignored each other, walking quietly on the road.
Xia Xiqing had never really been in love with anyone before, although she couldn't say it...
He glanced at Zhou Ziheng beside him.
But he was indeed his first love.
"I don't want to go back to the hotel." Zhou Ziheng held a bunch of water chestnuts in his hand and bit off one with a crisp sound.
Xia Xiqing thought of the previous scandal, "There should be a lot of reporters waiting outside the hotel entrance right now."
Zhou Ziheng didn't understand, so he turned his head to look at him, "Why?"
"You don't know?" Xia Xi gave him a blank look. "The scandal between you and Song Nian is all over the internet right now, and you don't know?"
"I was filming the whole afternoon, and I didn't have my phone with me. Later, when I got the phone, I kept calling you and trying to contact you." Zhou Ziheng ate the last water chestnut and continued vaguely, "Then the phone was turned off. How would I know about the gossip?"
Xia Xiqing glanced at him unhappily, "So you know now? This is Zhou Ziheng's first scandal since his debut."
Zhou Ziheng threw the stick in his hand into a nearby trash can and shamelessly pressed against Xia Xiqing's arm, "Wasn't my first scandal with you?"
"Get lost."
"No." Zhou Ziheng put an arm around Xia Xiqing's shoulders, "All the girls studying in the country have to testify for me that the person I'm having an affair with is only Xia Xiqing."
Clingy. Xia Xiqing glared at him and said nothing. Zhou Ziheng touched the side of Xia Xiqing's face and sighed, "I don't want to go back. I don't want to mess with those people."
The alley is almost at the end.
Zhou Ziheng quietly took his hand and said, "I have been in this circle since I was a child. I have acted in many dramas over the years. People always say that I became famous at a young age and saved a lot of time compared to others."
"You've also lost a lot of time." Xia Xiqing's voice softened unconsciously, and he thought of the projector in Zhou Ziheng's bedroom. He thought of the obedient and soft Zhou Ziheng, who was so cute. Such a young child played all kinds of roles in the entertainment industry. Fortunately, he didn't lose himself.
And it is purer and more beautiful than anyone else.
"Time is very precious. It is one-dimensional and one-way. Once it passes, it will never come back." Zhou Ziheng inserted his fingers into Xia Xiqing's fingers and held them tightly. "But if you were here."
"I just want to waste time with you."
Xia Xiqing's heart was beating wildly.
"No." Zhou Ziheng suddenly turned and looked at Xia Xiqing.
"I want to waste everything with you."
The dim, old street lights shone on the ground, illuminating the long shadows of the two people, entangled together, leaning on each other. Xia Xiqing lowered his head and was silent for a long time, as if hesitating about something.
Zhou Ziheng spoke first, "Are you going back? You must be tired."
"I'll take you somewhere." Xia Xiqing grabbed him and suddenly spoke.
Zhou Ziheng didn't ask any more questions. He just followed Xia Xiqing back to the empty studio to get the car. There was almost no one in the crew. They were probably still eating. Xia Xiqing opened the car door and got into the driver's seat. "Get in."
The black car slipped into the traffic like a fish, hiding the thoughts and secrets of the two people in the bustling city.
This was Zhou Ziheng's car, and it was Xia Xiqing's first time driving it. His palms were sticky with sweat, and while waiting for the red light, he reached into the storage box on the side of the steering wheel, trying to see if there was anything like wet wipes.
"Hey, don't pull away."
It was too late to say that. Xia Xiqing had already opened the lid, and out popped out a bunch of cutely packaged candies, so many that they overflowed, just like freshly popped popcorn.
The car was filled with candies. Both of them were stunned for a moment, then they looked at each other and laughed.
This small storage box is completely my heart. It is filled with so much sweetness that it will overflow if touched, and I can't contain it no matter how hard I try.
The scenery outside the car window changed from a remote forest to a forest of tall buildings, and then to a deep and quiet lake. The starlight was scattered on the lake, making the waves sparkle. Zhou Ziheng was tired after a day of crying and laughing, and fell asleep.
This is a villa complex built by the lake. It is very quiet. Xia Xiqing drove through the gate and was stopped by the security guard. He took off his mask to look, and saw a security guard in his forties walking out. He first squinted at Xia Xiqing in the driver's seat, then saw Xia Xiqing leaning sideways on the driver's window, and called out "Uncle Lin" with a smile. Only then did the other party recognize him.
"Isn't this Xi Qing? It's been many years since I last saw you."
Xia Xiqing smiled. Seeing that the other party let him go, he exchanged a few words of greeting and drove into the community.
In the dream, he felt someone patting his face gently. Zhou Ziheng grabbed that hand and felt the calluses left by painting on his hands along the fingers. He could recognize the person at once by the calluses every time.
Xia Xiqing watched him close his eyes, grab her hand and kiss it again and again. She pinched his chin viciously and shook it twice, "Still sleeping, if you continue sleeping, I will rape you and then kill you."
"Come on, I couldn't ask for more." Zhou Ziheng spread his hands, his eyes still closed, "It just fulfilled my dream of having sex in a car."
Xia Xiqing rolled his eyes and pushed Zhou Ziheng's face, unbuckling his own seat belt. "I thought I was shameless, but you're even better than me. Get out of the car!"
After hearing what he said, Zhou Ziheng rubbed his eyes and got out of the car. He stood by the car and stretched his body. Looking around, he saw a three-story single-family villa in front of him.
"I thought you were going to elope with me." Zhou Ziheng looked at the villa and the pale yellow walls. It didn't look new. "Did you buy a house for me? You want to support me."
"You wish." Xia Xiqing took out a bunch of keys from his pocket, looked for them under the street light, and walked towards the gate of the villa with one of them in his hand. Zhou Ziheng took it seriously at this moment. It turned out that this villa was really his. "Where is this?"
Xia Xiqing lowered his head and inserted the key into the door lock. He turned it twice and pushed the door open. It was dark inside and he could not see anything. He stopped at the edge and did not move.
"What's wrong?"
"This is my previous home." Xia Xiqing lowered his head and smiled bitterly, "No, this is where I lived when I was a child." He took a deep breath and didn't notice that his fingers were shaking.
Zhou Ziheng was stunned.
It turned out that the "place" Xia Xiqing mentioned so casually was actually his former home, the place where he once lived.
It was also the place where he had suffered so much.
He couldn't help but think of that night when Xia Xiqing cried silently in his arms after getting drunk.
"You said you didn't want to go to the hotel. This house is okay. We can stay here for one night. No one has lived here for more than ten years. I don't know if there is electricity." Xia Xiqing acted like nothing had happened. He took a half step inside, reached out to the side and felt around, found the light switch, and with a click, the crystal chandelier in the lobby lit up.
"The lights are still working, that's good." Xia Xiqing took two steps inside and found that Zhou Ziheng had not followed him. He turned back and remembered that he had never told Zhou Ziheng about his family background. Maybe he still thought he was just a small painter. Xia Xiqing smiled and explained, "I forgot to tell you that my family is in the real estate business, Media Asia Group, you should know. We made our fortune here at the beginning, and then when the business grew bigger, we went to Beijing..."
After saying a lot of words, Zhou Ziheng suddenly held his hand. Xia Xiqing was stunned and looked up at him.
"Your hands are so cold." Zhou Ziheng rubbed his stiff palms, his deep eyes full of tenderness. He took a step closer, hugged Xia Xiqing in his arms, and kissed his ear.
"Thank you."
Thanks for your trust.
The author has something to say: I have been outside all day today, so I have updated less frequently, I am sorry.
ps: Recently many readers have mentioned real people or characters from other works. I hope you will try not to mention them. If you think someone is suitable, just use your imagination. Speaking out loud may easily lead to a fight.
Neither Zhou Ziheng nor Xia Xiqing have prototypes.