Chapter 57

Three days later.

As promised, Qiao Ruiyi put on his backpack and prepared to go out, but was stopped by the housekeeper at the door: "Ruiyi, where are you going?"

The butler stood behind him, his eyes fixed on the back of Qiao Ruiyi's head.

Recently, he always felt that the other party had changed. He stayed in the room all day long, not knowing what he was busy with, but his mood was much better than before.

Qiao Ruiyi paused, as he had expected that the other party would investigate his whereabouts so that he could report to his employer at any time.

Qiao Ruiyi pursed his lips, turned back suddenly, and explained to the other party: "I have to go to school. My tutor wants to see me for something."

He had given the other party a similar reason before, and that time he happened to meet He Lijie at school.

Therefore, Qiao Ruiyi believed that the other party would not doubt this excuse.

After hearing this, the housekeeper's expression softened. It turned out that it was about study.

He didn't suspect anything, but casually asked, "Are you busy with your graduation project again?"

"Yeah." Qiao Ruiyi answered calmly.

But the erratic rhythm of his heart was completely different from the calmness on his face.

"Go early and come back early, don't run around, so as not to make your wife worry." The housekeeper did not forget to remind him.

"good."

After Qiao Ruiyi finished speaking, he left without looking back.

The butler looked at the other person's back, and couldn't help but recall the past.

At that time, Qiao Ruiyi's brother had just met with misfortune, and he took up the post conscientiously and took care of everything related to food, clothing, housing and transportation.

When he came to his senses, he found that the young child looked at him with despair in his eyes, like a bird trapped in a cage that could never fly into the vast sky again.

After a long time, the housekeeper couldn't bear it anymore, but he kept comforting himself in his heart: this is for the other person's good.

As time passed, the little boy grew into a young man.

His cognition improved and he developed a desire for freedom in his heart.

The housekeeper saw it clearly and understood that the young boy wanted to live out his own wonderful life, but his employer always wanted to keep him in front of his eyes, fearing that the tragedy that happened to his brother would happen to his younger brother.

But there are two exceptions in a year when he will not monitor the other party's itinerary or inquire about the other party's whereabouts.

——One is my brother Qiao Ruien’s birthday, and the other is Qiao Ruien’s death anniversary.

The housekeeper took out his cell phone and sent a message to his employer on the other end, reporting Qiao Ruiyi's whereabouts today.

[Housekeeper] Boss, Ruiyi went to school to see his tutor again today. He said it was because of his graduation project.

【Li】（13s－Voice message）

The housekeeper put the phone close to his ear, clicked on the voice message, and listened carefully.

Halfway through listening, his pupils suddenly widened and the expression on his face became indescribable, as if he had heard unbelievable news.

how so?

…

After leaving home, Qiao Ruiyi rushed all the way to the subway station without stopping. Only when the refreshing air-conditioned air blew on him did he finally stop his hurried steps.

The butler shouldn't have any doubts, right?

The boy looked back vigilantly and glanced around the subway entrance, but did not find any familiar figure among the crowd.

This was the first time he lied to someone - the ups and downs of his heartbeat almost formed a chaotic melody.

I’m sorry, but today’s game means a lot to him and he doesn’t want to miss his first meeting with Yaoxing.

"Beep Dong--" the notification tone of the mobile phone just interrupted Qiao Ruiyi's anxiety.

Qiao Ruiyi took out his cell phone and found that it was a message from Yuan Xingyou.

[Yao Xing] I'm leaving now and will arrive at the competition venue in about half an hour.

【Joey】Yeah, I just happened to be out, and I expect to arrive in fifteen minutes.

[Yaoxing] It seems you have to wait for me for a while (Cat is shy.jpeg)

When Qiao Ruiyi saw the emoticons sent by the other party, the corners of his mouth curled up uncontrollably. The other party’s chatting style was completely different from his dominance in the game. Could this be... a cute contrast?

He slowly tapped the keyboard and sent a reply to the other party.

【Joey】It's okay. I'm happy to wait for you.

【Shining Star】（heart.jpeg）

[Yao Xing] I’m wearing a blue top and black pants today. Never mind… You should be able to recognize me easily by then. See you there!

Qiao Ruiyi stared at the last message sent by the other party, and for a moment he couldn't understand what the other party meant by "it's easy to recognize him"?

Is it that the other person looks extraordinary? Or does he have a special scar on his face?

For a moment, countless possibilities emerged in Qiao Ruiyi's mind one after another.

The subway was running at a very fast speed and had arrived at the destination while Qiao Rui was distracted.

A mechanical female voice echoed over the subway: "The subway has arrived at xx station. Passengers in need please arrive promptly..."

After getting off the subway, Qiao Ruiyi followed the navigation instructions to the entrance of the competition venue. The five-story competition venue was extremely eye-catching. The huge LED advertising screen on the top played the contestants and celebrity guests participating in the exhibition match in a loop.

On both sides of the road leading to the competition venue are posters of each professional player. People walking in the middle are all young people, and each of them holds a different cheering banner in their hands.

Qiao Ruiyi took a closer look when he passed by. In addition to You En and Suan Suan, whom he knew, he also saw a familiar celebrity guest - Xi Cheng.

Standing in front of Xi Cheng's huge poster, the male student felt the impact of the popular star's charm. How could someone sing well and look handsome? God must be too partial to the other party.

Many of Xi Cheng's female fans gathered here to check in and take photos with the big star in the poster.

Qiao Ruiyi watched the girls' laughing behavior, but his heart couldn't help but think of his preference for the popular star with the same name.

If there is a chance in the future, he also hopes to meet Preference and Paranoia.

Qiao Ruiyi, who arrived early, stood at the entrance of the competition venue. He looked at his mobile phone while keeping an eye on the people coming and going, trying to find Yuan Xingyou, who was wearing a blue top and black pants.

There were still ten minutes left before the agreed time, and there was a constant stream of people outside the venue. He kept glancing at every figure passing by, and his heartbeat became faster and faster as time went by.

"It should be... easy to recognize, right?" Qiao Ruiyi muttered softly. Thinking of what Yuan Xingyou said, "It's easy to recognize me", he couldn't help but become more curious.

Just then, a tall figure wearing a black baseball cap and a mask caught his attention.

The man was wearing a light blue sweatshirt and black casual pants. He was walking quickly towards the venue while looking around as if he was looking for someone.

Looking at the crowd, the mysterious man who wrapped himself tightly suddenly seemed a little conspicuous.

Although he couldn't see the face clearly, Qiao Ruiyi inexplicably felt that the figure seemed familiar, as if he had seen it somewhere before.

"Yaoxing?" Qiao Ruiyi called out tentatively.

The other person's attire is very easy to recognize, just like... a thief.

The figure suddenly stopped, then slowly turned around. The pair of eyes above the mask widened wide, and after seeing the appearance of the person who called him, the tips of his ears turned red at a speed visible to the naked eye.

"Dark Moon?" A familiar voice came through the mask, with some uncertainty.

Yuan Xingyou bit his lip suddenly under the protection of the mask. He never expected that he actually had a chance encounter with Qiao Ruiyi. It was in a newly opened supermarket. He was bewitched by the other's appearance at that time.

What kind of fate is this?

Not only did he live in the same place as the other person, he had also met her in advance.

Qiao Ruiyi nodded. He didn't recognize this person, but he thought the other person's eyes were beautiful. He couldn't help but look at the other person's ears that were bleeding red a few more times. Was he shy?

"Hello... hello," Yuan Xingyou's voice became lower and lower, his fingers nervously twisting the hem of his sweatshirt, and he didn't dare to look the other person in the eye.

Qiao Ruiyi suddenly felt that Yaoxing was too cute. This was completely different from the Yaoxing he imagined, who carried the whole game and was full of witty remarks.

"Since we have already met offline, why don't we tell each other our real names? My name is Qiao Ruiyi."

"Well, my name is... Yuan Xingyou." Yuan Xingyou nodded vigorously in agreement, but his hat almost slipped off, and the way he fumbled to fix it made Qiao Ruiyi almost laugh out loud.

He took the initiative to step forward: "Do you want to sign in first?"

"good."

The two walked side by side into the venue. Qiao Ruiyi noticed that Yuan Xingyou always kept a distance of half a step from him, and would steal a glance at him from time to time while walking. When he was discovered, he would immediately look away, and the blush on the tips of his ears spread all the way to his neck.

It’s really different from the Yaoxing in the game, it’s like communicating with a familiar stranger.

"That..." Qiao Ruiyi had just opened his mouth when Yuan Xingyou shook violently and almost hit the signboard next to him.

“I’m… sorry! I, I’m a little nervous…” Yuan Xingyou’s voice became smaller and smaller, “This is my first time meeting someone in person…”

Qiao Ruiyi suddenly stopped, and Yuan Xingyou also braked suddenly, looking up at him in confusion.

"Would you like to hold hands?" Qiao Ruiyi said, stretching out his hand. "There are a lot of people ahead, so we won't get separated."

Although the other person was dressed eye-catchingly, his timid personality made it easy for him to be ignored, and it would be troublesome if he accidentally got lost.

Yuan Xingyou widened his eyes and his face under the mask turned red instantly. In just one second, he thought a lot.

Yuan Xingyou stared at the extended hand for three full seconds before he carefully stretched out his own hand, his fingertips trembling slightly.

When their hands touched, Qiao Ruiyi found that Yuan Xingyou's palm was unexpectedly warm and soft.

"Let's go." Qiao Ruiyi gently held the hand and felt that Yuan Xingyou was frozen, but did not struggle against his touch.

"Uh-huh."

They walked into the venue hand in hand, and when the crowd was not so dense, Qiao Ruiyi took the initiative to let go of the other person's hand.

Yuan Xingyou's ears were as red as if they were dripping blood, and his eyes were darting around, but the corners of his mouth quietly raised a small arc.

It was the first time for Qiao Ruiyi to watch a game in such a place, and he didn't know what to prepare. When he saw many people holding drinks in their hands, he realized something.

"Xingyou, I'm going to buy some drinks. Please wait here for me."

"Um."

Yuan Xingyou blinked obediently to indicate that he understood.

Qiao Ruiyi turned around and left, and when he came back with milk tea, he found that he was surrounded by several girls.

They were talking and laughing, but I don't know what they were talking about.