Worried about what Qin's mother found, Ji Ran went to Qin's house in Qin Man's car.
It's really weird that two people who live together go there in two cars over the weekend. In addition, Ji Ran didn't sleep well last night, and was too lazy to drive, so after seeing Qin Manfa's sentence "I'll wait for you at the door", he didn't hesitate much, and returned a period to express that he knew.
"Did you disturb you last night?" Qin Man asked.
Ji Ran sat in the co-pilot without opening his eyes: "Well, it's so noisy."
In fact, he didn't hear a sound at all.
Qin Man opened the storage box and took out the blindfold.
"The staff recommended it to me. There is water in it, and they say it is comfortable to wear. Try it."
Ji Ran took it and put it on.
In fact, he slept fairly early last night. After sending the message to Qin Man, he lay in bed and fell asleep, only to wake up intermittently in the middle of the night.
He has the habit of kicking the quilt, and the air conditioner is running at a particularly low level. He subconsciously wants to rub the person next to him, only to find that the bed is empty.
I don't get enough sleep, and I didn't get enough sleep after dawn, which makes me even more sleepy now.
On the way, Qin Man received a phone call, which seemed to be a call from an employee. He talked to the person in a low voice, his voice was intermittent, neither hurried nor slow, which made Ji Ran drowsy.
When Ji Ran woke up, he found that the surrounding environment was dim. It took him a moment to take a closer look. It looked like a garage around him.
Looking sideways, Qin Man had a computer on his lap, and put his hand on the window to his lips, looking at the file on the screen.
His seat was adjusted to the most comfortable angle, which caused him to fall asleep so soundly that he even wanted to continue to sleep.
Sensing his gaze, Qin Man turned his head: "Wake up."
Ji Ran suddenly looked back: "How long has it been? Why didn't you call me?"
"It won't be long." Qin Man said, "Looking at how fast you are sleeping, it's not time for dinner anyway, so you'll be fine if you sleep more."
Ji Ran glanced at the time, it was almost six o'clock, he took off his blindfold: "...Go in."
Qin Man's house is not big. It was a big family a few decades ago, but now it's nothing, it's almost the same as Ji Ran's own house. The interior design is very simple and beautiful. Although it is not as gorgeous as Ji's house, it looks warm and comfortable.
"Come here?" Mother Qin was busy in the kitchen, and when she heard the movement, she only stuck her head out, "You guys sit down for a while, the dishes will take a while."
Qin Man didn't say anything nonsense, it was true that six o'clock had not yet arrived at their home for dinner.
Father Qin was sitting in the living room reading the newspaper. He raised his eyes and said, "Xiaoman, come and sit."
Ji Ran raised the bag in his hand. It was a gift he bought in the morning: "Where should I put this?"
"Just come, what else do you bring?" Mother Qin said with a smile, "Just find a place to put it, and I'll cut some fruit for you."
"Need not… "
"It's okay, I can cut the fruit very quickly, and I can also carve a pattern for you. What do you like?"
Father Qin said, "Obviously he can only carve."
Ji Ran laughed: "I really don't need it, Auntie... Just cut some fruit."
Ji Ran sat in the living room, and there was an anti-Japanese drama on the TV. Although Father Qin was not watching, he was embarrassed to change the channel.
Qin Man went into the kitchen and explained the situation of pulling black to Qin's mother, and only smiled for a moment: "Okay, next time, I will buy an extra mobile phone to answer your calls."
Ji Ran looked over there unconsciously.
He could not have imagined that Qin Man would have a different attitude towards his family. He would not be too close, nor would he feel alienated.
"Just press whatever you want, don't worry about me." Father Qin handed him the remote control.
Ji Ran took it: "Thank you."
Father Qin looked at him more, frowning slightly, his eyes full of uncertainty.
For a moment, he couldn't help but say, "Are you..."
"Ji Ran." Qin Man came out of the kitchen and interrupted the conversation between the two, "I want to go up and get something."
Like an announcement, more like an invitation.
Ji Ran felt that it was not a problem to be embarrassed face-to-face with Qin's father, so he got up and said, "I'll go up with you."
The stairs in Qin Man's house are not wide, and the two of them can barely pass, but no more than one person. When the two big men went up and down, it always seemed a little crowded.
Ji Ran has imagined Qin Man's room many times.
When he was in school, he felt that there might be nothing in this person's room except the bed, wardrobe, and desk, which was rigid and boring.
After going to bed, he felt that the walls of the room might be covered with 18 banned photos, and he might look through them carefully, and he could find some things that are not suitable for children.
But none of what he thought was wrong.
Gray sheets, neatly arranged bookcases, Kobe posters from many years ago on the wall, a landscape painting on the other wall, and a basketball in the corner of the room.
The curtains were wide open, the windows were open for ventilation, and the warm light of the dusk came in, adding a warm filter to the room.
Very ordinary men's room.
"This painting..." Ji Ran walked to the landscape painting.
It was the painting he saw in the house that Qin Man 'rented' when he had just taken care of Qin Man.
He hasn't returned to full height for a long time, and the author's use of color is exaggerated, so he couldn't recognize it for a while. Now, if you look closely, it looks like the scenery from the back door of the school to the back mountain.
"Did you draw it?"
"Well, when I was in the third year of high school..." Qin Man paused, "It's not that I'm being dishonest, I just forgot."
For the sake of good painting, Ji Ran didn't care about him.
He looked at the other wall: "Do you like Kobe?"
"Who doesn't like Kobe?" Qin Man asked back.
Ji Ran was silent.
Indeed, when they go to school, they will mention basketball, and it must be Kobe. At that time, he was often drunk because he couldn't get a visa and couldn't go abroad to watch the finals.
This topic was about to be exposed, but Qin Man suddenly said: "Actually, I didn't have any favorite stars at first."
Qin Man likes to play basketball, but he seldom watches games. He only watches the last few games in the finals.
Once, when he was in the second year of high school, he was stopped by a teacher when he was passing by the first year of high school. He said that the teachers were going to hold a group meeting and hoped that Qin Man could help him supervise the quiz in the class this time.
Qin Manyuan wanted to refuse, but after a glance, he saw Ji Ran lying on the table sleeping.
Two minutes later, Qin Man took the small sack given to him by the teacher, and under the nervous eyes of the classmates, knocked on the desk of the number one bad guy in the class.
After several times, Ji Ran raised his head: "What are you doing... why the fuck is you."
"Classmates, take the exam, turn in the mobile phone." Qin Manyan was concise.
"No, go away."
"I can see the shape of it in your pocket." Qin Man's expression remained unchanged, "If you don't hand it in, I can only ask the grade leader to collect it."
"I do what I say."
Ji Ran had just been verbally warned at the time, and if he committed something else, he had to remember it. He glared at Qin Man a few times, and reluctantly threw the phone into the small sack.
When the keyboard of the mobile phone touched the bag, the screen suddenly lit up, and the screen saver was Kobe's photo.
…
After Qin Man finished speaking, he raised his eyebrows and said, "So strictly speaking, I don't like Kobe, I just like..."
"Who wants to listen to your story?" Ji Ran interrupted him with a red neck, "If you don't like it, you have to put pictures of people on the wall, it's really hypocritical."
Qin Man suddenly fell silent.
Ji Ran walked by rubbing his shoulders, and just as he was about to go to the balcony to take a look, someone grabbed his wrist.
"I posted it." Qin Man said.
Ji Ran paused: "What?"
"The photo of the person you like." Qin Man looked at him, "I posted it."
Ji Ran looked back at him, only a few seconds back his eyes: "What photo... where is it posted?"
"Behind Kobe, do you dare to look?"
Ji Ran's heartbeat suddenly accelerated.
He turned his head and looked at the Kobe poster.
What does this man mean
Ji Ran: "...I don't dare."
Qin Man released him and smiled loosely: "Then look at it."
Ji Ran walked to the poster, hesitated for a few seconds, then stretched out his hand and began to tear the old transparent glue.
He knew exactly what he was thinking - not only did he dare to see it, he also wanted to see it.
After tearing open a corner, the poster finally showed signs of loosening. Ji Ran continued to pull along the opening, and finally reluctantly opened some.
Those secrets hidden under the posters that have never been spied on are scrambling to leak out—
There are several photos posted on the back, and the protagonists of the photos are all the same person.
Most of the posters were covered, Ji Ran couldn't see it all, only one of them could be seen clearly. With the playground full of heights in the background, he leaps with ease and is shooting a nice 2-pointer.
Ji Ran was shocked and opened his mouth slightly in surprise.
He still vaguely remembered that it was a basketball game, and the photos should have been taken by the school magazine at that time.
"I specially found friends from the magazine. I have all the photos of you participating in basketball games, singing competitions, and sports games."
Ji Ran was tired of talking about the word pervert.
Qin Man chuckled lightly: "I don't see how I usually attend classes, but I obediently participated in these activities."
"...Why are you talking so much nonsense?" Ji Ran said.
He faced the wall and didn't move for a while.
Qin Man only thought that he was still shocked or angry, but he didn't know that Ji Ran was facing the wall, and his face was turning red.
Ji Ran actually remembered that quiz—he wanted to escape.
But after seeing the head teacher stop Qin Man, he stopped for a moment... and silently took it back.
I will participate in those unhealthy activities because the activities are of a school-wide nature, and I can meet many people who are usually invisible.
"Fuck you... How many photos have you stolen?" Ji Ran returned to his senses and wanted to tear off the tape on the other corner.
The door was suddenly opened, and Mother Qin came in with a plate of fruit: "Come on, eat some fruit. Today's watermelon is very sweet, I have tasted it."
Ji Ran was so frightened that he leaned forward subconsciously, with too much strength, his front chest slammed against the wall, making a heavy "dong".
"..." Mother Qin was startled, sensing the strange atmosphere between them, her eyes wandering back and forth, "Am I disturbing you?"
Qin Man said: "No, it's just that the poster is broken."
"Ah? You've been putting up this poster for many years, why it's broken." Mother Qin put down the fruit and made a gesture to walk towards Ji Ran, "What a commemorative thing. It's alright, Mom will stick it for you with glue. it is good."
Ji Ran squeezed tighter: "Don't, Auntie..."
"… I broke it by accident, I'll stick it."
Mother Qin was stunned for a while, then withdrew her hand: "Ah, that's good, it doesn't matter if it sticks or not. It's so old, it's time to change it... The meal is almost ready, let's go down to eat in ten minutes."
Door closed again.
Qin Man stepped forward and locked the door.
Ji Ran breathed a sigh of relief, took a few steps back, and was pressed by him like this, no matter how well-kept the poster was, it would be wrinkled.
He stared at the pictures for a while, then raised his hand.
Qin Man: "I have backed up all the photos, you can tear them up and I can post them again."
"… Who is going to tear it up?"
Ji Ran pressed his palm against the wall and re-spread the crumpled poster.
He could feel his own heart in the palm of his hand, thumping, thumping, tumbling non-stop.
It took the two of them ten minutes to find the glue and clear glue that had been dusty for many years at home, and re-posted the poster before going downstairs.
"Auntie isn't here today. My mother cooks by herself." Qin Man whispered on the stairs, "She has taken a few cooking classes, but she has little experience, so the taste may not be very good. If you don't like it, then Eat less, and I'll order takeout for you when you go back."
"Who asked you to help me order takeout?" When he mentioned this, what did Ji Ran think about, "Next time you write something wrong on the takeout order, I'll..."
He stopped halfway through speaking.
To the right in front of the stairs is the dining table. From their angle, they can just see the people sitting on the dining table.
It's a new guest, they hadn't seen it when they just arrived.
The woman sat at the dining table with her legs crossed. She has neatly cut short hair, delicate and three-dimensional features, and a slim and simple suit, with a slender lady's cigarette between her slender and fair fingers.
"There was a temporary problem with the project, and it was late after a long shift." After explaining to Qin's mother, the woman raised her eyes and met Ji Ran's gaze.
Both were startled.
Ji Ran didn't expect that more than ten years later, he would see Ji Guozheng's real wife here.
After a long while, Ji Ran came back to his senses. Anticipating the ensuing dispute, he couldn't help clenching his fists.
The dispute was at the wrong place, at the wrong time, and with the wrong people.
He didn't want to spoil the party at Qin Man's house at all.
Seeing the person coming, Qin Man's expression darkened slightly, and he subconsciously took a step forward, blocking Ji Ran's body half behind him.
"I've made you work less overtime. How can you take a break to make money?"
Mother Qin said, and brought the steamed fish to the table. Seeing the person standing on the stairs, she smiled and said, "Come down? Come, say hello to the guests... Xiaoman, this one, you should recognize, is the mother of your junior high school classmate Ji Wei."
After Mother Qin finished speaking, she didn't get an answer for a long time.
She frowned slightly, what happened today, wherever she went, she felt that the atmosphere was not right.
She continued to introduce, "Qian Qiong, do you still remember Xiao Man? The one at the back is Xiao Man's apprentice. He used to be Man Gao, so he might also know Ji Wei."
Chen Qianqiong and Ji Ran looked at each other for a few seconds, then calmly looked away, lightly lit the body of the cigarette with his index finger, and the ash fell into the ashtray with the movement.
She said lightly: "I know."
Her eyes were all indifferent, as if Ji Ran and her son really only had a "same school" relationship.