On the way back, Xu Keyu said nothing at first.
What happened at night surprised Tang Zhi. He neither understood the complicated relationships of the Xu family nor what Xu Sheng's status was in the Xu family. The only thing that was certain was that Xu Sheng saw Xu Sheng for the first time. When he was talking to him, the words he told him "ignoring his care for Ke Yu" were definitely not modesty.
Tang Zhi was very suspicious. Xu Sheng had no idea that Xu Keyu would be inexplicably wronged whenever he met certain relatives.
When he saw the light of the house in the distance, Tang Zhi called Xu Keyu's name.
Xu Keyu turned his head to look at him, his eyes bright.
"Does your brother know that Xu Yanlu did this to you?" Tang Zhi asked her.
He noticed that the driver in the rearview mirror looked up at them, but he ignored it and asked Xu Keyu intently: "Does he not know?"
Xu Keyu said "Yeah" very softly, and suddenly told Tang Zhi calmly: "He didn't go home before, and he lived with his grandpa."
The car stopped at the door of the room. Tang Zhi opened the door for Xu Keyu. Xu Keyu walked in. The housekeeper was waiting at the door.
That night, Xu Keyu was a little lost. He didn't insist on going to Tang Zhi's room as before, so he walked back to the room by himself.
After a long time, when Tang Zhi was about to fall asleep, Xu Keyu suddenly knocked on Tang Zhi's door.
Tang Zhi didn't open the door and asked her through the door: "What's wrong?"
Xu Keyu said "thank you" to him very softly outside, and then left. It was a rare opportunity for Tang Zhi to remember the taciturn Xu Keyu at the beginning.
His introverted, harmless, shy and kind high school classmate.
I can’t explain why. Maybe I was simply idle, or I took too much money from others, so I showed little care. The next day, Tang Zhi got up early, stood by the stairs, and watched. Xu Sheng got out of bed and went downstairs.
Xu Sheng was well-dressed, and Tang Zhi was still wearing pajamas. He stood in front of Xu Sheng sleepily. He couldn't help but yawned and said to him: "Mr. Xu, good morning."
Xu Sheng asked Tang Zhi not very patiently: "Are you okay?" He looked like he didn't want to hear Tang Zhi say something was wrong.
Although he had drafted the manuscript, Tang Zhi hesitated again when he actually came face to face with Xu Sheng.
In the final analysis, what he wanted to say to Xu Sheng was Xu Sheng's family matter, and he was just an actor hired by Xu Sheng to stabilize Xu Keyu's mood.
How Xu Sheng and Xu Keyu communicate has nothing to do with him.
It's just that the thank you Xu Keyu said at the door of Tang Zhi's room last night as if he was sleepwalking always echoed in Tang Zhi's ears, urging Tang Zhi to bite the bullet and say to Xu Sheng: "Miss Xu seems to need your care very much, especially with relatives. When we’re together.”
He originally wanted to continue telling Xu Sheng the details of how Xu Keyu met the Xu Mingwu brothers twice, but Xu Sheng's eyes stopped him.
Xu Sheng looked at Tang Zhi and said nothing at first, but his expression made Tang Zhi feel that he was suggesting that he go back to his room immediately.
Tang Zhi stood still, and after a few seconds, Xu Sheng spoke.
"I know." Xu Sheng said.
But then, he told Tang Zhi like a reminder: "But you don't have to really think of her as your wife."
Tang Zhi was stunned for a moment, looked at Xu Sheng, opened his mouth and said, "That's not true."
Xu Sheng lowered his eyes, looked at Tang Zhi for a moment, and suddenly said: "When you hugged her last night, wasn't it normal?"
"Why were you so scared on the day you tried on the suit?" He said implicitly, but not in a polite way, as if he was expressing too deliberately the way Tang Zhi lost his composure when Xu Keyu hugged him tightly in the living room a few evenings ago. He thinks it's fake.
Tang Zhi felt like a lump in his throat and wanted to argue with Xu Sheng, but when he comforted Xu Keyu at the dinner last night, he kept hugging her, so there was really no way to refute Xu Sheng's words.
He and Xu Sheng looked at each other for a long time, feeling like he was smiling, then turned around and returned to his room.
In the next two weeks, Tang Zhi continued to play the role Xu Sheng asked him to play with all his heart, accompanying Xu Keyu to do this and that, but he never spoke to Xu Sheng again.
Of course, Xu Sheng obviously didn't care.
Xu Keyu increased his exercise. He went to a group dance gym in the city center almost every afternoon and came back in the evening. Tang Zhi was not required to follow him.
Tang Zhi and Xu Keyu spent less time together, gradually relaxed their vigilance, took off their guard, and waited attentively for the lawyer's visit and the arrival of the wedding.
On the eve of the wedding, Tang Zhi inevitably suffered from slight insomnia.
Bingang is hot and humid all year round, but the room is very dry.
Tang Zhi returned to the room very early, turned on the air conditioner at 23 degrees, lay down on the bed, closed his eyes, and pressed his arms on the soft quilt.
He tried to fall asleep for too long, closing his eyes until he thought he was asleep. He couldn't help but tentatively opened his eyes and found that he was not asleep at all.
Tang Zhi sat up and looked at the electronic clock beside the bed. It read one o'clock in the morning.
He sat up without any sleep, looked at the dark room, and stayed in a daze for a while. He no longer forced himself to fall asleep, got out of bed and walked to the window.
The lake at night made people dare not look at it for long. Tang Zhi felt thirsty and finished drinking the water in the room, so he quietly opened the door, walked downstairs, turned on a small spotlight next to the bar, and poured himself a glass of water. Drink a glass of water.
After only a few sips, a voice suddenly called him. When he turned around, it was Xu Keyu in pajamas.
Xu Keyu's hair was draped over his shoulders and his skin was pale. He was holding a freshly taken off facial mask and threw it into the trash can.
"You can't sleep either?" she asked Tang Zhi.
Tang Zhi said "hmm", and Xu Keyu added: "I have been looking at the lake downstairs for a long time."
"I used to look at the lake and always miss you." She took a step closer to Tang Zhi, and Tang Zhi realized that they were closer than she thought. She asked Tang Zhi, "Do you want to work with my brother?"
In the dim warm light, Xu Keyu's face still had the bright reflection of the wet essence. She looked directly at Tang Zhi, which made Tang Zhi have the urge to run away.
But Tang Zhi couldn't. He was getting married to Xu Keyu tomorrow. He wanted Xu Keyu to keep calm, so he hesitated and thought about the topic: "I can do it. What about you, what are you thinking about now?"
Xu Keyu smiled: "I'm thinking about tomorrow's wedding and my childhood."
"I like that little garden very much. I can always think about it for a long time there." She pointed to the glass door leading to the garden.
She had left the door open when she walked in, and the wind happened to blow, blowing the thin curtains.
The hot and humid lake breeze passed through the dry air, pressed against Tang Zhi's body, and blended into his skin and the room.
Tang Zhi responded a few words and wanted to go back to the room. Xu Keyu said, "Come sit with me."
After that, she walked to the sofa, sat down, and waved to Tang Zhi. Tang Zhi walked over, sat on another single sofa, and stared at Xu Keyu.
Fortunately, Xu Keyu did not force him to sit next to her. He just said to himself: "When I was a child, I always sat here alone because they didn't go home. Do you still remember that at that time, my mother objected to us being together and took me away?" I sent you abroad to study in college, but she doesn’t know that I will never forget you. I remember every day of our high school love very deeply.”
In a dark, empty room, a high school classmate whispers unfounded memories.
Tang Zhi felt a chill running down his spine, and he felt a rare sense of fear.
"By the way, I don't know why," Xu Keyu suddenly smiled at Tang Zhi, "We've already registered for marriage, but my brother won't let us sleep together."
She raised her hand and placed it on the first button of her pajamas: "What do you think? Is he very conservative?"
Tang Zhi watched her unbutton the button with her index finger and thumb. He subconsciously turned his face and looked in another direction. He ignored Xu Keyu's indecent behavior and tried his best to think of words to persuade: "Keyu... don't..."
His movement was a bit big, his arms and body were moved, and his elbow hit the marble edge of the coffee table beside him, making a muffled sound.
His elbow didn't hurt, but it was a little numb. Tang Zhi hesitated for a moment before continuing: "It's too late... let's go upstairs and sleep."
"How late?" Xu Keyu smiled.
From the corner of his eye, Tang Zhi saw her half-unbuttoning her blouse, so he had to resist the urge to run away, and closed his eyes to stop looking.
But soon, he realized that his decision to close his eyes was wrong.
A very cold hand touched his shoulder.
Xu Keyu walked up to him and hugged him tightly. She was too close, and her breath brushed Tang Zhi's chin, making Tang Zhi almost unable to breathe.
Tang Zhi wanted to run, but he didn't dare.
He closed his eyes tightly, raised his hand, and held Xu Keyu's shoulders, not daring to push hard, thinking randomly in his mind: No.
"Tang Zhi..." Xu Keyu called him, scratching his chin with his hand, "Turn your face..."
Memories from his childhood that he thought he had forgotten came flooding back, and the pain and depression seemed to materialize into a pressure coming from inside his organs, squeezing his collarbone and stomach.
"Tang Zhi," a very thin and soft voice pressed against Tang Zhi's ear and asked him, "don't you want to—"
Someone interrupted her.
"—Xu Keyu."
light is on.
Tang Zhi opened his eyes and was blinded by the light.
The huge living room was as bright as the courtroom on the day Tang Zhi's mother was sentenced. The sudden daylight illuminated Tang Zhi and Xu Keyu's disgraceful postures.
But the next second, the strength pressing on Tang Zhi disappeared.
Tang Zhi still didn't turn his head. He slowly opened his eyes, avoiding paying attention to Xu Keyu who hurriedly pulled up his shirt in his peripheral vision, and looked steadily at the direction where the sound came from.
Xu Sheng was wearing a black nightgown and standing on the second staircase.
There was no extra emotion on his face, looking at Tang Zhi like a proud judge in court or God overlooking the Garden of Eden.
Tang Zhi's violently beating heart suddenly trembled, as if it had been taken away from his chest. There was no thumping beat, leaving only a void.
"Xu Keyu, put on your clothes," Xu Sheng walked downstairs slowly. He spoke to Xu Keyu, but looked at Tang Zhi, "Go upstairs and sleep."
Xu Keyu listened to Xu Sheng's words very much.
She put on her clothes and walked quickly to the stairs, like a little girl who was scolded by her parents for being naughty.
The leather soles of the satin slippers slapped against the marble stairs, making a crisp and exciting slapping sound that gradually became inaudible.
It was quiet.
Tang Zhi felt cold all over, his limbs were weak, and the chill climbed from the back of his neck to the top of his head, and then spread to his whole body. He lay on the sofa, his hands and feet spread out numbly, breathing with his mouth open, staring at the white ceiling that was so bright that it blinded him The lamp is so painful that I want to cry.
Xu Sheng walked over and looked down at him silently. After a long time, he said, "Are you okay?"
Tang Zhi wanted to say it was not good, but he couldn't say anything.
He closed his eyes. When he closed his eyes, his eyes were white because the light was too bright. He might as well open his eyes. At least when he opened his eyes, he knew where he was.
After a while, Tang Zhi found his voice and asked Xu Sheng softly: "When will I take Xu Keyu to see a doctor?"
"I can't take it anymore."
As Tang Zhi expected, Xu Sheng did not answer his question.
He got a little closer to Tang Zhi, but not too close. He looked down at Tang Zhi like he was looking at a dying patient: "If you are really uncomfortable, I will ask Jiang Yan to fetch the doctor."
Tang Zhi continued to lean on his back quietly for a long time, then said "No need" and told Xu Sheng: "I'll just rest for a while."
Xu Sheng stood silently for a while and asked Tang Zhi: "Are you really so repulsive to the opposite sex?"
Tang Zhi breathed weakly for a moment, closed his eyes again, and answered briefly: "Yes."
He fell asleep while lying on the sofa, and was woken up by the housekeeper not long after.
When he opened his eyes, Xu Sheng was not in the living room. The housekeeper was wearing pajamas and said to him: "Mr. Tang, please go upstairs and sleep."
After going upstairs to sleep for four hours, his and Xu Keyu's wedding day officially arrived.