third chapter

The game room upstairs that had been making noise suddenly fell silent.

Sheng Xiaoyue, who was leaning on the sofa in the living room, was still watching the 8 o'clock soap opera with relish. She was He Qiao's mother, but she was well maintained, and there was hardly any trace of time on her smooth and beautiful face.

She loves to talk, and lively chatters about the bitter scenes that are being played on the TV screen, and doesn't care whether He Xiao, who is sitting on the other side of the sofa holding documents, is listening carefully.

"This kind of parents are really unreasonable. What's wrong with the poor family conditions? Why do you have to force two people who love each other to separate? I said, He Xiao, don't be so rigid in finding a partner in the future..."

He Xiao pushed his glasses and responded with a smile. He noticed the movement upstairs and looked up.

He is ten years older than He Qiao, and compared to his naive and young brother, he looks much more mature and stable, with a refined and elegant demeanor.

Soon, the door of the game room was opened, and there was a sound of hurried footsteps, followed by the sound of opening and closing the door.

Sheng Xiaoyue raised her face, showing surprise, she wondered, "What is this kid doing?"

After a while, He Qiao poked his head out from the railing on the second floor with two coats in his hand, and shouted downstairs, "Mom! Which one should I wear better?"

Without waiting for his mother and brother to ask questions, he took the initiative to say, showing off, "Mr. Chi asked me to have supper."

Hearing this, Sheng Xiaoyue widened her eyes and said without thinking, "The gray one!"

Watching He Qiao eagerly go back to the room to change clothes, Sheng Xiaoyue's eyes immediately fell on He Xiao, quite surprised: "When you said that you wanted to introduce He Qiao to that kid from the Chi family, I thought there would be no one.What's next."

He Xiao's tone was gentle: "I heard that Aunt Han is doing a blind date for Little Chi, and I think they are the same age and have similar hobbies, so I think I should give it a try."

Sheng Xiaoyue muttered: "I have a little impression of Little Chi, red hair, right? He looks pretty, but he seems to be the same as He Qiao, and he doesn't have a regular shape. The two of them get together, can't they go crazy?"

He Xiao smiled and shook his head: "They are still young, it's time to have fun, and they will mature naturally in the future, so don't worry too much."

"That's right, it's not sure if we can play together."

Sheng Xiaoyue quickly let go of her entanglements, said goodbye to her son who grabbed the car keys and hurried out, and then continued to watch TV in peace.

Amidst the lively noise, He Xiao also lowered his head again, flipping through the documents in his hand.

The crystal chandelier hanging in the living room sheds indistinct light, diffused over his eyes covered by the mirror frame, deepening the coldness hidden in it.

In the silent night, He Qiao, who had changed into a gray T-shirt, stepped on the accelerator of the car and drove away from the villas.

The brightly lit house in the rearview mirror is getting farther and farther away, like a warm and happy trap.

He Qiao withdrew his gaze and calmly looked at the road ahead.

He knew that He Qiao and Chi Xueyan in the story didn't have a successful blind date. They didn't have dental care and supper appointments, and the two didn't even exchange contact information.

Later, He Xiao arranged other people for him one after another, and the conditions were similar to Chi Xueyan's: a rich second generation with no intention of family business and a strong personality, but none of them succeeded, so He Qiao narrowly escaped the catastrophe.There is a greater disaster waiting for him.

He Xiao was too careful. Under his calm observation, He Qiao's every move was restrained, he couldn't show any strangeness, he couldn't suddenly act out of his past personality, and he couldn't do whatever he really wanted.do.

He needs a completely free space.

A free space that appears reasonable and will not be suspected or disturbed by He Xiao.

The noisy wind poured into the car windows, and the dim street lights illuminated the billboards standing beside the road.

In the real estate advertisement with exaggerated words, the young couple embraced each other, smiling and looking at the unique new house surrounded by mountains and rivers in the distance.

The car passed by, and the summer night was hot, and the silver-gray single column was stained with rust.

On the side of the street full of fireworks, Chi Xueyan stood under the crimson advertising signboard, waving to He Qiao who was walking towards him quickly.

On the signboard is a large pot of steaming hot pot, which is exactly the same as the signboard glimpsed in the coffee shop in the evening.

"This is a chain store." Chi Xueyan's tone was relaxed, "I didn't lie to you, the taste is really good, especially this main store."

He noticed that He Qiao had changed his clothes, and couldn't help but joked: "It's a good thing you didn't come in a suit again."

He Qiao looked a little cramped, as if he didn't expect to meet again at night, and explained: "My mother asked me to dress like that, saying it's more formal."

"This is more suitable for you." Chi Xueyan said, "Shall we go in?"

He was about to turn around and walk towards the hot pot restaurant, but he caught a glimpse of He Qiao's expression that suddenly became stiff, and he stared straight at himself, as if he saw something incredible.

Chi Xueyan was at a loss: "What's wrong?"

He Qiao was still looking at him, with an indescribable complex emotion in his eyes: "The neckline of your clothes..."

Chi Xueyan reached out to touch the neckline of the black T-shirt according to his words, and instantly felt a sticky wetness.

Looking down, his fingertips were already stained with bright red thick liquid.

Chi Xueyan: ...

In this chaotic night of emotional ups and downs, the fake blood from the bar revelry was completely ignored by him.

Staring at the shocking blood on her finger, Chi Xueyan was silent for a while, and then said slowly, "Would you believe me if I said it was fake blood made of corn syrup?"

He Qiao's answer was half a beat too late: "...Yes."

Chi Xueyan heard the insincere words behind this word, and remembered the vicious villain He Qiao had described before, who had done all kinds of bad things, and subconsciously wanted to explain that he was not that kind of person.

But a pack of tissues was handed to him first.

He Qiao pointed to his collarbone as a signal, "There are some on this part of your body."

So Chi Xueyan didn't speak again.

After a moment of trance, he took the tissue and walked towards the hot pot restaurant with a smile.

Beside the steaming dining table, the "blood-stained" balls of paper exuded a sweet smell and were swept into the trash can one after another.

Chi Xueyan looked as usual, ordering food, shabu-shabu, and chatting with He Qiao, as if enjoying an ordinary supper casually chatting with friends.

Surrounded by noisy voices, the fresh-cut beef rolls fell into the spicy hot pot, which quickly changed color and curled up; the square dry tofu skin fell into the hot soup, changing its shape little by little, melting into a completely different shape.soft.

In an ordinary moment, Chi Xueyan stared at the hot pot with ingredients constantly ups and downs, and suddenly said calmly: "I met Lu Siyi, just tonight."

He Qiao paused in picking up vegetables.

He put down his chopsticks and looked over through the fuzzy heat: "Are you okay?"

To Chi Xueyan, the world was obviously turned upside down in an instant.

"I don't know." Chi Xueyan said honestly, "I need more evidence."

I was told that the story of transmigrated a book was too close to the time when met Lu Siyi. If someone is very familiar with his character, it is not difficult to guess that he would be interested in a stranger who is obsessed with calculating formulas on that occasion.

Although he didn't know the point of doing so.

But the self in the story was too unfamiliar, so he couldn't just trust He Qiao's one-sided words like this.

"Are there any more details about me in the stories you know?" He asked He Qiao, "Especially what happened that only I know."

What hasn't happened can't be proven, and what isn't secret has no value.

After hearing what he said, He Qiao seemed to be lost in thought, and after a while he whispered: "I don't know if there is anything that no one else knows except you, and there are not many details about your past life..."

"I can only think of one thing." There was obvious uncertainty in his expression. "A very small thing."

Chi Xueyan waited patiently for him to speak.

"On the night of your fifth birthday, sitting on the sofa and eating a cake, you accidentally fell asleep with a fork in your hand. When you were half asleep and half awake, you vaguely saw that the mother opposite was taking the camera brought by your father, holding back a smile.Taking a picture of you, your dad took the opportunity to kiss her on the cheek, the camera shook, so you appeared on the edge of the frame, and your appearance was a little blurry, but you liked this photo very much."

After He Qiao finished speaking earnestly, he hesitated again: "I don't know if this is the detail you want, maybe you have mentioned it to other people—"

His words came to an abrupt end in the air.

Because he saw an almost frozen disbelief on Chi Xueyan's face.

Everything seemed to be still, and the face that was originally reddened by the heat suddenly turned pale, and the blood faded away.

He Qiao clearly saw sweat slipping from his cheeks, climbing over his collarbone, and seeping silently into the dark red collar that still remained.

It took Chi Xueyan a long time to find his voice.

"Did I tell Lu Siyi this?" He asked slowly, "One day in the future, did I tell him this personally?"

He Qiao remained silent and lowered his head silently.

Chi Xueyan gradually recovered his usual tone, he spoke softly, as if talking to himself: "If this is the case, the future me will definitely like him very much."

Not just liking, but loving.

The story behind the fifth birthday photo is his first and deepest memory of love.

So far, he has never mentioned it to anyone, but he has seriously imagined that on an ordinary afternoon in the future, he will laugh and talk about this small past event with his lover who is lying side by side on the sofa and chatting lazily, and talk about it in the photo.The little boy covered in cream, and the kiss that was stored in memory outside the photo.

Everything He Qiao told him was true.

Chi Xueyan closed her eyes, took a deep breath, and when she opened them again, the restless pallor on her face was gone.

He looked directly at the man with a complex expression on the opposite side calmly, and said in a cautious tone, "Can I trouble you with one more thing?"

He Qiao replied quickly: "Okay."

next morning.

In the VIP area of the medical examination center, there were not many customers.

The inspector dedicatedly guided the physical examination process, and Chi Xueyan, who was leaning against the door, flipped through the physical examination process sheet in his hand, waiting for He Qiao to come out of the EKG room.

When the door opened and he saw He Qiao coming out of the room, and the electronic tone calling for the next guest sounded behind him as usual, his mood seemed to calm down again.

After last night's verification, Chi Xueyan completely believed the story He Qiao told him, but it was inevitable that he would suddenly feel unfamiliar with the world he had lived in for more than 20 years, so that he lacked some sense of reality that he was breathing at this moment.

Perhaps it was his instinct as a doctor that made him wonder, as an outsider, would He Qiao be different from the people in this world?

Or, as characters in the book, they are different from He Qiao outside the book.

He tried to touch that fantasy like a fantasy.

However everything works fine.

Even if the physical examination report will come out later, except for the items that need to be tested, other physical examination results can be known on the spot.

No doctor regarded He Qiao as a weirdo.

He Qiao, who walked out of the examination room, looked at the medical examination form in Chi Xueyan's hand: "What's the next item?"

The inspector on the side took the initiative to remind: "Now you can go to get blood, and you can have breakfast after the blood is drawn. The place where the blood is drawn is over there."

He Qiao followed her guidance and was about to sit down in front of the blood draw table, but was stopped by Chi Xueyan.

"I don't think there is any need to draw blood." For He Qiao's cooperation throughout the whole process, Chi Xueyan was grateful, but also somewhat apologetic, "Thank you for coming today."

He Qiao understood what he meant, but sat down anyway: "It's okay, I really should have a checkup."

Before Chi Xueyan mentioned it, this was an angle he hadn't considered.

He watched as the nurse put a tourniquet on his arm.

Chi Xueyan stood aside and looked at him, his eyes flickering slightly.

The needle tip pierced the skin, and the dark red blood flowed into the test tubes of different colors, and the illusion gradually became reality.

Chi Xueyan thought, he seems to have begun to accept the series of changes that happened yesterday.

He decided to regard the bizarre-sounding plot of the novel as a harbinger of future destiny.

One of the most complete and accurate fortune-telling.

The test tubes filled with blood were neatly arranged in the racks, the faint chirping of birds sounded outside the window, the green leaves on the treetops fluttered, the light and shadow scattered, and the flowing scenery all fell into the eyes of the red-haired young man.

He took two glasses of water from the water dispenser, handed one to He Qiao, and kept the other for himself.

The taste of the water is clear and sweet, just like in the past.

Then he slowly squeezed the disposable plastic cup and threw it into the trash can.

The first step to get rid of fate begins with refusing the simple breakfast provided by the medical examination center.

Chi Xueyan knew that there was a delicious breakfast restaurant nearby, and it was only a few minutes' walk away.

"You seem to be very familiar with the food here." He Qiao said.

"Eating is a major event in life." Chi Xueyan said casually, "Yesterday's hot pot was not bad, right?"

"Um."

The morning sun was just right, and on the way to the breakfast shop, the two chatted like ordinary friends.

"You said that I am the worst villain." Chi Xueyan asked curiously, "Are there any other villains besides me?"

"Yes, my brother." After He Qiao answered, he added rigorously, "It's He Qiao's half-brother, He Xiao."

A trace of surprise flashed across Chi Xueyan's face, he finally knew the indirect connection between He Qiao and this story: "Does he also like Lu Siyi?"

"No." He Qiao said, "He likes another protagonist in the story."

Chi Xueyan thought for a while, and commented pertinently: "Everyone has a rival in love, which is fair."

I don't know if the book walker He Qiao in front of him tried to change his brother's fate.

"How did he end up?"

This question kept He Qiao silent for a while, before he opened his mouth: "It's not too bad, he finally..."

Chi Xueyan sensitively took what he hadn't finished speaking, and joked, "Have you corrected your evil ways?"

He Qiao answered yes briefly.

This ending is indeed much better than him dying after having nothing.

In the subtly still air, Chi Xueyan's voice became more relaxed: "What about you? What role are you in the story?"

When answering this question, He Qiao avoided seeing him, looked down at the skin that had just finished drawing blood, and gently peeled off the adhesive tape covering the cotton ball.

"A minor supporting role."

The needle hole on the inside of the elbow was slightly red, and the blood had stopped.

Chi Xueyan followed his gaze, and suddenly remembered the "blood" shed from her collarbone last night.

"It was really syrup last night." He recalled the old story with a smile. "It tastes very sweet."

"En." He Qiao replied, "I smell it."

Chi Xueyan then asked, "Are you afraid of me?"

He Qiao shook his head without hesitation.

In the warm sunlight, Chi Xueyan's gaze moved up from the arm that was close at hand, until it fell on He Qiao's handsome face.

He seems to smell the smell of sincerity.

So Chi Xueyan stopped in his tracks and stared fixedly at the other party's bright and calm eyes.

A few seconds later, he smiled, as if he had met a fish tail swaying by the coral grove, lingering with the fragrance of the ocean, his voice revealed a rare softness and warmth.

He smiled and asked, "Then will you marry me?"