Xia Zhi hung up the phone and hesitated for ten minutes between staying there waiting for Jiang Zhixia and secretly taking a taxi to the hotel before Jiang Zhixia arrived. In the end, she had no choice but to choose the former.
The relationship between him and Jiang Zhixia is not that close, but it is far from that. Since she has already driven to pick him up, if he insists on staying in a hotel, it will seem deliberate. He does not want to make their relationship too awkward.
Xia Zhi stood at the gate of the community and waited for half an hour, and Jiang Zhixia arrived.
"Have you been waiting for a long time?" Jiang Zhixia got out of the car, took Xia Zhi's suitcase and put it on the back seat.
"Not bad." Xia Zhi put his hands behind his back and tried to keep his tone calm. "Thank you for your help."
"No trouble." Jiang Zhixia put away the suitcase and opened the passenger door, then said to Xia Zhi, "Get in the car."
"good."
The two got into the car one after another, Jiang Zhixia started the car and drove home.
Although their relationship seems to be quite harmonious now, when they are alone together, the atmosphere is always filled with an inexplicable awkwardness and there is nothing much to say.
The quiet atmosphere lasted for about ten minutes, and Xia Zhi was the first to break the silence.
"Xiao Han seems to be in trouble."
He didn't mean to gossip about Xiao Han, but he couldn't think of any new topics other than Xiao Han.
Few people can resist gossip, especially gossip about acquaintances. Jiang Zhixia was indeed interested: "What's going on?"
Xia Zhi told Jiang Zhixia about what happened to the boy she met at Xiao Han's house just now, and asked for his opinion after that.
"What do you think is going on between them?"
Jiang Zhixia raised her eyebrows frivolously, and asked instead of answering: "What do you think?"
Xia Zhi couldn't tell what was going on between the two of them. Xiao Han was slow to react to anything except music. But the boy obviously had some feelings for Xiao Han, otherwise he wouldn't have treated her like an enemy after seeing her, almost treating her as a love rival.
Xia Zhi pondered for a while before commenting, "They're quite subtle. I've known Xiao Han for so many years, but I've never seen anyone other than us willing to give up half of his bed."
Jiang Zhixia glanced at the rearview mirror and said hesitantly: "There is only one bed in my house."
“…” Xia Zhi’s smile froze on her face instantly.
Jiang Zhixia glanced at the rearview mirror again and asked with some concern: "Do you mind?"
Xia Zhi leaned his elbow against the car window and held his forehead weakly: "Why didn't you tell me before getting in the car?"
"Tell me before you get in the car, will you still go home with me?" Jiang Zhixia was not worried at the moment, and her words revealed a desperate meaning of "I've already been tricked into bed, you can't run away even if you want to."
Xia Zhi turned his head and looked out the window with a gloomy expression.
Half an hour later, Xia Zhi followed Jiang Zhixia into the house with mixed feelings. He had prepared himself mentally along the way - just sleep for one night, and go to the hotel tomorrow no matter what!
It was Xia Zhi's first time to come to Jiang Zhixia's house, but he had heard them mention it a few times when he had a party with Sang Luo and the others before.
Jiang Zhixia bought her house three years ago. It is a bit far from the city center, but the environment is very good and the surroundings are quiet. The one-floor-per-unit layout also provides good privacy, which is very suitable for a public figure like Jiang Zhixia.
The first thing Xia Zhi thought when he saw the house was that it was deserted and unpopular.
Compared with the wealth and grandeur of Sang Luo's family, the happiness and warmth of Cheng Yun'an's family, and the freedom and comfort of Xiao Han's family, Jiang Zhixia's home can hardly be called a home. It is like just a temporary residence. There is no ingenious design, nor any furniture that can enhance the sense of happiness. It only restores the most original function of a house - to shelter from wind and rain and to be able to accommodate people.
Perhaps seeing what he was thinking, Jiang Zhixia came over and explained, "I've been busy filming since I bought the house and haven't had time to properly renovate it. Besides, I usually stay in a hotel when I'm on the set, so I don't have many opportunities to live at home."
Xia Zhi nodded in understanding and said comfortingly that it was actually quite good.
"I'll help you put your luggage in the bedroom. Do you want to take a shower first?"
Xia Zhi touched his earlobe, which was a little hot, and agreed with a stammer: "Okay, okay."
Jiang Zhixia went into the house to put down her luggage, and Xia Zhi followed to take a look.
The master bedroom is probably the one that is used the most, so it has been decorated with some care. Compared with the cold and empty living room, the master bedroom is much cozier. The overall color of the room is warm, and the beige bed and beige curtains complement each other.
Xia Zhi was quite surprised, because this style didn't seem to match Jiang Zhixia's personality, but he didn't ask any more questions.
He paid special attention to the bed in the middle of the room. Fortunately, the bed was big enough that even if two grown men slept together, they would not feel restricted. He breathed a sigh of relief without making a sound.
Jiang Zhixia put the luggage against the wall, then took him to the bathroom and took out a set of clean bath towels from the top cabinet on the sink: "You can use this, it's clean. Shampoo and shower gel are all in it, just use them directly. You should be used to it."
"Okay." Xia Zhi thought Jiang Zhixia's last sentence was a little strange, and he didn't understand the meaning of it until he walked into the shower room. Because Jiang Zhixia's shampoo and shower gel were both brands he used frequently before.
Xia Zhi is quite particular about daily necessities. He doesn't like things with strong fragrances, so he has always had a fixed brand. When he was in Victoria, he always used this bath product. At that time, he and Jiang Zhixia had a good relationship, and these things were basically mixed. Jiang Zhixia originally had no particular preference for bath products, but after using them for a long time with Xia Zhi, he gradually got used to choosing this one first.
Jiang Zhixia said he should be used to it because he had used this brand before, but what he didn't know was that he had not used this brand since four years ago.
There is no special reason. It's just that when I was studying in Germany, this brand of toiletries was hard to buy, so I had to switch to other brands. Later, I got used to it, and the next time I bought them, I would unconsciously buy the new brand.
Compared to Jiang Zhixia, he was probably not a particularly loyal person. From childhood to adulthood, he rarely showed excessive obsession with something or someone. The so-called "loyalty" was actually just a habit.
Although habits are difficult to change, they are not impossible to change.
During this period of time, he understood Jiang Zhixia's actions and thoughts. He did not reject it, but he did not accept it either. Because he was not sure whether his feelings for him were out of love or out of habit over the years.
If it was just out of habit, it would be too unfair to him to accept Jiang Zhixia's feelings.
The cold water rushed down his head, and Xia Zhi shuddered, pulling back his thoughts that were drifting further and further away. He slapped his cheeks hard twice, forcing himself not to think about these messy things.
He is not sure what the future holds for his relationship with Jiang Zhixia, but right now he is very satisfied with his current life and does not want to make any changes for the time being.
Xia Zhi stayed in the bathroom for a long time. During that time, Jiang Zhixia came over and knocked on the door worriedly, asking him if he was okay.
Xia Zhi felt a little embarrassed, but he didn't dare to think about it anymore. He quickly rinsed off the foam on his body, wiped himself with water, and changed his clothes.
It was half an hour later when I came out of the bathroom.
Xia Zhi first went to the bedroom, and found that Jiang Zhixia was not there, so he went to the living room.
Jiang Zhixia was standing on the balcony of the living room looking at the night view.
There are two bathrooms in his house. At this time, Jiang Zhixia had changed her clothes and her hair was wet. It was obvious that she had taken a shower in the other bathroom.
He was dressed casually at home, with a black tank top on his upper body and thin home pants underneath. His hands were folded and placed on the railing. The muscle lines of his arms were smooth and even. Although the muscles were not exaggerated, obvious signs of fitness could be seen.
He hunched his back with his head slightly lowered, his back was calm yet seemed to carry a hint of loneliness.
Xia Zhi actually discovered a long time ago that Jiang Zhixia seemed to like lying on the balcony railing at night and thinking about his own things. Logically speaking, the family affairs have been successfully resolved, and he is now successful in his career, with both fame and fortune, so there should be nothing that can worry him.
Xia Zhi was a little concerned and couldn't help but walk over with light steps. When he passed the sofa, he saw a pillow and a thin blanket on it and was a little confused.
Although he tried to walk as lightly as possible, the person on the balcony seemed to sense something as soon as he reached the door.
"Have you finished your shower?" Jiang Zhixia turned around with a can of beer in his hand.
"Well," Xia Zhi stared at the beer in his hand, a little surprised, "Why are you drinking?"
"Nothing," Jiang Zhixia explained calmly, "I just suddenly felt like drinking."
"How much did you drink?"
"Half a can." Jiang Zhixia shook the bottle and could still hear the sound of liquid sloshing in the bottle.
Xia Zhi walked over, got closer and smelled it, but didn't smell any particularly strong smell of alcohol.
"Don't drink too much at night," he reminded.
"Yeah, I know, just drink one can."
"By the way, the pillows and blanket on the sofa are..."
"I'll sleep in the living room tonight, and you can sleep in the master bedroom." Jiang Zhixia explained calmly, "You probably didn't sleep well in the past few days, so get a good night's sleep tonight."
Xia Zhi thought for a moment and said, "Then I'll sleep in the living room. You're taller than me, and you can't even stretch your legs if you sleep on the sofa. You go sleep on the bed."
"No need." Jiang Zhixia insisted, "I'll sleep on the sofa and you sleep on the bed. The bed is more comfortable."
Xia Zhi couldn't argue any further, so he had to give up: "Then I'll let you suffer for one night. I'll go to the hotel to sleep tomorrow."
"It's okay, you can stay as long as you want." He didn't look at him and his voice was very soft.
Xia Zhi did not answer and calmly changed the subject: "When will you join the group?"
"The day after tomorrow." Jiang Zhixia said, "But the flight is tomorrow night."
"Then you probably don't have time to record the show?"
“I’ll try to make time for it.”
"If you really don't have time, you don't have to force yourself." Xia Zhi lowered her voice, as if she was talking to Jiang Zhixia, or as if she was talking to herself, "We agreed to this in order to help Chuanxing. Now that Chuanxing's crisis has been resolved, you don't have to worry so much. No matter how popular the show is, Victoria will never be reunited."
"I'm not doing this for the sake of spreading the word." Jiang Zhixia said, "Victoria really can't reunite, so I want to cherish every opportunity to be with you guys."
Xia Zhi remained silent.
Jiang Zhixia spoke again, her tone cautious and tentative: "The show is over, can we still meet?"
Xia Zhi was stunned. He opened his mouth but didn't know how to answer. He looked down and saw the beer in Jiang Zhixia's hand. He asked abruptly, "Any more beer?"
"You want to drink too?"
"Yeah, I'm a little thirsty."
"I'll get it for you." Jiang Zhixia walked into the living room and quickly came out with another can of beer.
"Thank you." Xia Zhi took the beer, pulled the ring of the can, tilted his head back and took a big sip.
Cold liquid can best calm an anxious heart. As soon as Xia Zhi took a sip of wine, he felt refreshed all over, so he took a second sip.
The two of them leaned on the balcony railing, drinking and quietly enjoying the night view, no one spoke.
Jiang Zhixia's home is on the 30th floor, which is the best height for enjoying the night view. Looking up, you can see the stars hanging in the night sky, and looking down, you can see the endless neon lights of the city. The boundary between natural light and shadow and modern times disappears here, combining the two spaces into one.
Xia Zhi's house is not as high as Jiang Zhixia's, and the starry sky is too far away to be reached; it is too close to the ground, and although the smell of fireworks is strong, it will make people feel upset if they hear it too much. It is far inferior to here, where even the wind passing by the tip of the nose can easily take away all negative emotions.
Xia Zhi put his hands on the railing, closed his eyes, and felt the cool breeze brushing against his cheeks. There seemed to be moist water vapor in the air. His mood slowly calmed down, and the corners of his mouth slowly rose.
He had his eyes closed, so he didn't see that Jiang Zhixia beside him turned her head to the side and just stared at his profile quietly for a long time without blinking. Tender love filled her eyes bit by bit, but disappeared the moment he opened his eyes.
Xia Zhi took a deep breath. He didn't know whether it was because of the lack of oxygen due to the 30-story building or because of the alcohol, but he felt dizzy. He shook his head vigorously and seemed to regain clarity. He unconsciously remembered what Xiao Han and the others had said about Jiang Zhixia and QB's Xu Yuan.
He has always been concerned about this matter. Although Jiang Zhixia is usually dull, he is not an impulsive person. It is not easy to provoke him to take action, so he is inevitably curious about what happened between them.
He had also asked Sang Luo and the other three, but they were not at the scene when Jiang Zhixia and Xu Yuan had an argument. They rushed over when they heard the noise of their fight. The scene was in chaos at the time, and they were busy helping Jiang Zhixia fight, so they didn't have time to ask. When they asked again afterwards, Jiang Zhixia refused to reveal a word.
However, according to Sang Luo's recollection, when the group fight was happening, he seemed to hear Xu Yuan mention Xia Zhi's name in the chaos, and said to Jiang Zhixia something like "Why are you so angry when it was just a joke?" So Xia Zhi guessed that the fight between Jiang Zhixia and Xu Yuan might have something to do with him.
Seeing that he cared so much, Sang Luo suggested that he ask Jiang Zhixia in person, and said that if he wanted to know, he would not hide it from him. However, Xia Zhi hesitated and could not muster up the courage to ask. Perhaps because of the wine he drank tonight, his mind kept thinking about this matter uncontrollably, and the more he thought about it, the more crazy he became to know the truth.
Xia Zhi tightened his palms, and the can in his hand was slightly deformed. He hesitated and asked the people around him: "Why did you fight with Xu Yuan back then?"
As soon as he asked the question, he saw a few shallow wrinkles appearing between Jiang Zhixia's brows.
"So many years have passed, there's no need to talk about it." Jiang Zhixia's tone lowered slightly, but it was not as indifferent as those words.
Xia Zhi turned around and looked at him with dissatisfaction: "If you don't want to tell me, then I'll guess it myself? Is it related to me?"
The wrinkles between the brows of the person next to him deepened, and his expression became gloomy.
Xia Zhi felt more certain, and then asked: "Did Xu Yuan mention me? What did he say that made you so angry?"
Jiang Zhixia's expression was as gloomy as water, and even his eyes were filled with a chilling coldness, but this anger was not directed at Xia Zhi. When facing Xia Zhi, he forcibly suppressed the anger that filled his chest, and tried his best to say in a calm tone: "Don't ask, anyway, you just need to know that Xu Yuan deserves a beating."
Xia Zhi was surprised. If Jiang Zhixia said someone deserved a beating, then he must really deserve a beating. It seemed that Xu Yuan deserved it. He was not wronged to be beaten by Jiang Zhixia.
Jiang Zhixia didn't want him to know that Xu Yuan probably didn't say anything nice at the beginning, so he didn't ask any more questions.
Xia Zhi drank the last sip of beer, threw the empty can into the trash can, rubbed his slightly hot cheeks twice, and said to Jiang Zhixia: "It's getting late, go to bed early, you have to accompany Uncle Hua to the hospital early tomorrow morning."
"Yeah." Jiang Zhixia also drank the last sip of wine, followed Xia Zhi into the living room, and sat down on the sofa. "Good night."
"Good night..." Xia Zhi looked at the cramped sofa and opened his mouth several times but failed to utter the words to invite him to sleep in the master bedroom.
Watching Jiang Zhixia spread out the thin blanket and lie down on the sofa, he scratched his head in annoyance and returned to the bedroom with a depressed look on his face.
Xia Zhi lay down on Jiang Zhixia's bed. The quilt on his body and the pillow under his head were all his exclusive belongings, making him feel surrounded by Jiang Zhixia's aura. As soon as he closed his eyes, his mind was filled with Jiang Zhixia's figure. He tossed and turned on the two-meter-large bed for more than half an hour before he could barely fall asleep.
While half asleep, Xia Zhi vaguely heard some noise coming from outside. The noise seemed to come from the bathroom. She thought it was Jiang Zhixia getting up to go to the bathroom, so she didn't pay much attention to it and closed her eyes to continue sleeping.
However, just as he closed his eyes, the door opened and he woke up again. He propped himself up and looked towards the door, and saw a figure staggering in. Without turning on the light, he walked towards the bed in the dark, feeling his way familiarly.
"Why did you come in? Are you uncomfortable sleeping on the sofa?"
Xia Zhi felt a little dissatisfied that Jiang Zhixia came in without saying hello, but this was his bedroom and she seemed to have no right to be angry. She could only use a tactful way to remind him that he had come to the wrong place.
Jiang Zhixia didn't know whether she didn't hear him or was pretending to be stupid. She didn't answer, walked straight to the end of the bed, threw off her slippers and climbed up from the end of the bed.
Xia Zhi was so shocked that she sat up straight away, and finally couldn't help getting angry: "You said you wanted to sleep in the living room, are you going back on your word now?"
Jiang Zhixia still did not explain, but paused for a moment, then changed direction and crawled towards Xia Zhi, still muttering his name.
"Xia Xia, Xia Xia, Xia Xia..."
He kept repeating the name over and over like a baby just learning to talk.
"…" Xia Zhi finally realized something was wrong, "Jiang Zhixia? Are you drunk?"
Jiang Zhixia seemed to be unable to hear him at all at this time, and kept repeating his name. When she crawled in front of Xia Zhi, she stopped and put her arms around him without warning.
"Hmm..." Because the lights were not on, Jiang Zhixia did not calculate the angle well. When Xia Zhi was held in his arms, her nose hit his shoulder hard. Her nose suddenly felt sore and she almost cried.
"What's wrong with you?" Xia Zhi reached out to push Jiang Zhixia away, but couldn't. Instead, he was pushed back onto the bed. "Are you really drunk?"
"I'm not drunk." Jiang Zhixia pressed Xia Zhi back onto the bed and didn't move. She buried her forehead in his shoulder and rubbed it lightly, mumbling, "Xia Xia, Xia Xia, Xia Xia."
Xia Zhi raised his head and looked at the ceiling in despair: "You are really drunk."
"I've told you I'm not drunk. I know what I'm doing." Jiang Zhixia tightened his hands around Xia Zhi's waist and tentatively touched her slender neck with his lips.
Xia Zhi instinctively dodged to the side, gathered all his strength in his hands, pushed hard against Jiang Zhixia's shoulders, and finally pushed him aside.
After being pushed down, Jiang Zhixia got up again and tried to continue attacking. Xia Zhi put his palm on his forehead and said in a slightly stronger tone: "Stop! Don't move!"
Jiang Zhixia really didn't move. She sat cross-legged on the bed and asked cautiously, "Xia Xia, are you angry? Do you not like me anymore?"
Xia Zhi was too weak to hold his forehead.
When they were still in the group, they often went out for dinner, and drinking was inevitable, but Jiang Zhixia never drank, and always played the role of a caregiver. Before today, Xia Zhixia always thought that he didn't drink because he didn't like drinking. Now it seems that it's not that he doesn't like it, but that he doesn't dare to drink because he can't drink!
He can drink so much that he can get drunk with just a can of beer that he wouldn't dare to drink outside.
Among Victoria's people, each of them reacts differently when drunk. For example, when Sang Luo is drunk, he acts cool, and the drunker he is, the more he acts cool; when Cheng Yunan is drunk, he talks to himself, and if no one disturbs him, he can talk until dawn; when Xiao Han is drunk, he doesn't make any noise, but just sleeps quietly; as for himself, according to Sang Luo and the others, when he is drunk, except that his eyes are a little blurry and he speaks slower, he looks no different from usual, and he can even have normal conversations with others.
Xia Zhi had been curious about what Jiang Zhixia looked like when he was drunk, and had even thought about getting him drunk. But Jiang Zhixia was too strong-willed, and he would not give in no matter how he threatened or lured him. Now he had finally seen Jiang Zhixia when he was drunk, and he finally understood why he would never drink in front of them. After all, it was better for fewer people to know that when he got drunk, he would turn from a cool and handsome man into a soft and coquettish person, which would ruin his image.
If the person Jiang Zhixia was acting coquettishly to after getting drunk wasn't her, Xia Zhi would be happy to watch him act coquettishly all night long.
In order to have a good sleep tonight, Xia Zhi decided to let Jiang Zhixia sober up first. He said to Jiang Zhixia in a coaxing tone: "Just sit here and I'll get you a glass of water."
"No!" Jiang Zhixia suddenly hugged him from behind, her tone becoming anxious, "Don't go, Xia Xia, don't go."
"Okay, okay, I won't leave." Xia Zhi had no choice but to sit back on the bed, feeling extremely complicated.
He really should have recorded it and shown it to Jiang Zhixia tomorrow when he sobered up. He really wanted to see his reaction then.
However, Jiang Zhixia didn't know that he was drunk at this time, and everything he did was out of instinct. The fear of losing Xia Zhi made him dare not let go, and he wanted to hold him like this and never let go for the rest of his life.
"Xia Xia, I like you. Do you not like me anymore?" Jiang Zhixia rubbed her forehead against his neck lovingly.
Xia Zhi's heart trembled when she heard that aggrieved and cautious tone. She no longer had the heart to laugh at him.
Without getting an answer from Xia Zhi, Jiang Zhixia buried her face in his neck again, and said in a muffled voice with indescribable loss: "Don't you really like me anymore? Don't you want me anymore?"
"I didn't..." The words of denial came out of his mouth subconsciously, but he stopped abruptly.
But it still couldn't escape Jiang Zhixia's ears.
"I knew Xia Xia still likes me! You won't leave me!" Jiang Zhixia was as happy as a child. She lowered her head and quickly kissed him on the cheek.
"… "
After the secret kiss, a drunk and spoiled girl started chanting Xia Zhi's name like a mantra. "Xia Xia, Xia Xia, Xia Xia..."
Sighing in his heart, Xia Zhi patted his hands on his waist helplessly: "I heard it, go to bed, I'm sleepy."
"Oh." Jiang Zhixia was probably still happy in her heart, so she let go of Xia Zhi obediently, lay down on the other half of the bed, patted the mattress again, and said, "Xia Xia, you sleep too."
“Okay…” Xia Zhi knew that if she wanted Jiang Zhixia to stop making trouble, she had to go along with him, so she just lay down without even struggling.
Anyway, the bed is big enough and we don’t have to sleep together.
But he obviously did not take Jiang Zhixia into account.
As soon as Xia Zhi lay down, Jiang Zhixia came over and touched his head with his. Her hand under the thin quilt tentatively hooked his little finger.
Xia Zhi tried his best to ignore it, closed his eyes and tried to fall asleep, thinking that he would be fine once he fell asleep.
However, Jiang Zhixia thought this was an indulgence to him, so he became bolder and directly grabbed the whole hand and held it in his palm.
Xia Zhi's eyelashes trembled violently. He forced himself not to open his eyes to look at the people around him and pretended that he was asleep. However, his slightly disordered breathing betrayed his restless heart.
Fortunately, Jiang Zhixia just held his hand and did not do anything else excessive.
Finally, I can sleep peacefully. Xia Zhi couldn't help but secretly breathe a sigh of relief.
The breathing beside his ear gradually became long and slow, and it seemed that he fell asleep after a while. Xia Zhi seemed to be infected, and sleepiness slowly came over him, and he slowly fell asleep in a daze.
Xia Zhi did not sleep very well. Half asleep and half awake, he always felt as if someone was staring at him. The scorching gaze disturbed his sleep and made him unable to sleep peacefully.
He opened his eyes dazedly, trying to see if that sight was just an illusion, but he was met with a pair of beautiful eyes as soon as he opened his eyes.
His brain, occupied by sleepiness, was still not fully awake. In a trance, Xia Zhi thought he saw the stars in the night sky. The sparkling and moist lights were the softest and most dazzling colors in the dark night.
Xia Zhi stared blankly at the pair of beautiful star-like eyes. As his consciousness became clearer, he slowly recognized that the owner of these eyes was Jiang Zhixia, but he was completely unable to look away.
"Why haven't you slept yet?" Xia Zhi asked softly, his voice inexplicably tense.
"I don't dare to sleep." Jiang Zhixia's voice was very low, "I'm afraid this is a dream, and you'll be gone when I wake up. I often have such dreams."
In an instant, Xia Zhi felt as if his heart was hit by something soft. It didn't hurt, but it was dull and sour. He didn't even have time to think about anything. He leaned forward instinctively and kissed the familiar lips accurately.
"Is it a dream?" He stepped back a little and asked in a low voice.
But the person next to him took the initiative and pushed her down on the bed, and gave her a deep and passionate kiss.
“It’s not a dream.”
Xia Zhi looked at the man leaning on her, curled her lips into a slight smile, took the initiative to climb onto his neck, tilted her face up and kissed him again.
(End of this chapter)