Chapter 46 "It's all your fault."

The hasty ending melted into the sound of wind and snow.

Seeing Duan Zhuxian suddenly standing still, as if indifferent, Jiang Yao felt a gust of biting wind suddenly rush into his chest.

He subconsciously raised his hand, wanting to grab Duan Zhuxian's collar, but stopped halfway. The moment his hand drooped, it was tightly grasped by a hand.

The next second, Duan Zhuxian pulled him into his arms, and the moment their chests collided, the gap that allowed air to leak into his heart was completely blocked.

This hug was different from any previous hugs. It even lost all the ease that Duan Zhuxian was best at. It was so urgent that it seemed as if if he was a step later, he would disappear along with the wind and snow.

Duan Zhuxian tightened his arms inch by inch. Jiang Yao didn't push him away, nor did he obey. He just stood there straight and tense.

"Actually, I came back that night, but you were gone." Duan Zhuxian put the corner of his lips against Jiang Yao's ear and said softly, "I'm sorry, I was a step too slow."

Obviously, Duan Zhuxian felt the stubborn body in his arms tremble slightly, and suddenly softened half way.

"I won't abandon you again, Jiang Yao." He clasped Jiang Yao's neck with one hand and spoke in a slow and serious tone, "From now on, whenever you need me, I will be there."

As soon as he finished speaking, the remaining coldness and determination of the person in his arms softened.

In a direction that Jiang Yao couldn't see, Duan Zhuxian smiled helplessly, feeling a little sad in his heart.

Jiang Yao was so easy to coax, without any picky or arrogant appearance. He let down his guard after hearing just a few words of promise.

The person he likes has always been so nice, with a soft heart that makes him fall for her. As long as he receives a little kindness from others, he can't wait to give it back with all his heart.

How could he bear to lose such a good person?

But he also hoped that Jiang Yao would not be too good.

At least don't be so easy to coax.

Otherwise, it would appear that he, the one who made the mistake, is particularly worthless, making him unable to resist being greedy for more.

It was getting late, and some pedestrians were passing by. While on their way, they glanced at the figures hugging under the street light. Seeing that both of them were wearing school uniforms, they couldn't help but sigh in their hearts, are high school students so blatant in their premature love nowadays?

At this moment, the lips pressed against Duan Zhuxian's shoulder moved: "How long are you going to hold me?"

He seemed to have recovered, and his tone was stiff and awkward, as if he was pretending to be indifferent.

Duan Zhuxian said, "Until he's done with me."

Jiang Yao was stunned. He didn't expect Duan Zhuxian to say such a naughty thing.

If I remember correctly, this was the first time that the pretentious Duan Zhuxian gave in to him.

It was like walking barefoot across a frozen river for a long, long time, until his feet and heart became numb. Suddenly, a hole appeared in the ice that was so cold and hard that it hurt, and white hot steam came out of it. He accidentally stepped on empty air and fell straight down into an incredible warmth.

The person in front of him is so sweet-mouthed, he doesn't look like Duan Zhuxian at all. It's good enough that Duan Zhuxian doesn't argue with him.

Jiang Yao snorted coldly: "Don't set your goals too high. I'm afraid you can only do this one thing in your life."

Duan Zhuxian chuckled, then let him go and turned to walk towards the car.

Jiang Yao: "..."

The body that had just been warmed up was instantly surrounded by the cold wind without any time to defend itself.

Jiang Yao's forehead twitched a few times, and he stared expressionlessly at Duan Zhuxian's back as he left without even saying hello. He saw him open the door of the back seat, take something out of the car and hold it in his arms, then stride back to him against the wind and snow.

"Two more hours left, Happy New Year."

Jiang Yao lowered his eyes in a daze, and a bouquet of roses was handed to him.

The delicate yet tenacious red blooms breathtakingly in the windy and snowy night. The rich fragrance makes people feel dazed, concealing two abnormally beating hearts.

Another voice fell beside my ear: "Please accept them before they get frozen."

"Stop pushing me." After a while, Jiang Yao muttered fiercely, "I've never seen anyone give gifts and then resort to moral blackmail."

But he still reached out and took the rose.

Just for the sake of the flowers.

During the time they delayed, a thin layer of snow had accumulated on the ground.

The snow tonight was brighter than ever before. The dark red petals of the roses seemed to be emitting a silvery white light of snow from the inside out, as if a soul carrying a secret message was about to come out.

There is a small "Whisper" logo printed on the black wrapping paper.

That year, they broke up in front of this flower shop.

*

Jiang Yao took Duan Zhuxian's car onto the main road, holding the flowers, and her mood calmed down.

Recalling the scenes just now, his face turned red and he felt that he was being so pretentious.

But he didn't ask another question.

He had to be a little hypocritical one last time.

Looking ahead, Jiang Yao pretended to be casual and spoke slowly, "That night, when you left and came back, could I take it that you actually wanted to be friends with me?"

Duan Zhuxian paused when he heard this.

He really didn't want to be friends with Jiang Yao at that time. He wanted to be Jiang Yao's boyfriend. He was jealous of Chen Tang.

Duan Zhuxian said calmly: "I am not denying our friendship, I just don't agree with what you said."

Jiang Yao glared at Duan Zhuxian and said, "I said we have a good relationship, could you at least give me some leniency? Which word did I say wrong?"

It happened that students were finishing their evening self-study and there was a slight traffic jam near the school. The light ahead turned red and the car slowly stopped in the traffic.

Duan Zhuxian said, "What you said back then wasn't 'friendship', but 'a little friendship'."

"Is there any difference?"

Jiang Yao was puzzled. He looked at Duan Zhuxian's eyes as he looked at him. Under that calm gaze, it seemed as if he was suppressing the waves from ten years ago.

An idea suddenly occurred to him.

Wait, there seems to be a difference.

Gradually realizing some incredible possibility, Jiang Yao's thoughts suddenly became confused again, and he almost didn't dare to think about it any further.

Jiang Yao's eyes widened as he asked word by word, "Are you fucking blaming me for not saying enough about our friendship, for not prioritizing you in my heart, so you walked away like a jerk without even looking back?"

Duan Zhuxian said "hmm".

This time he admitted it quite quickly.

Jiang Yao was completely dumbfounded. He said anxiously, "That was just a euphemism. What's our relationship like on the surface? Don't you have any idea? I treat you as my only rival, picking on you all the time, and want to win over you in everything. What if you're just aloof, arrogant, or emotionally indifferent, or you have a problem with me, think I'm always trying to steal your limelight, and think I'm just being sentimental?"

Duan Zhuxian suddenly clenched his hands that were resting on the steering wheel.

"Besides, when I called you, you were so cold and indifferent, not showing any affection at all. I'm also a person who cares about face, and I'm afraid... Shit..."

Jiang Yao's throat choked and he suddenly couldn't continue.

He avoided Duan Zhuxian's increasingly astonished gaze and turned to look out the passenger window.

In the outside world, snow is flying all over the sky and everyone is trying to avoid the cold wave, but the snow that has accumulated in a corner of the heart for ten years melts at this moment.

"Duan Zhuxian, we should have been brothers, it's all your fault." Jiang Yao stared at two boys in school uniforms walking on the sidewalk with their arms around each other, and spoke a little angrily.

"Well, blame me." Duan Zhuxian accepted it all.

Jiang Yao was silent for a moment, then said sullenly, "It's my fault, too."

In fact, Duan Zhuxian is quite considerate. Even though they have become his love rivals, he still wants to be friends with him, even though he is such a proud person.

Duan Zhuxian said gently: "I don't blame you."

The moment the green light appeared, Duan Zhuxian started the car again, his heart was also shaken. He thought that being able to marry Jiang Yao had used up all his luck, but it turned out that God's favor on him was far more than he imagined.

It turns out that he was not the only one who was cautiously testing the other party back then.

He always holds on to things from his childhood and blames everyone for it, appearing to be particularly petty and lacking the courage of an adult.

Jiang Yao decided to stop arguing.

He touched the tip of his nose, and before the air fell into dead silence, he quickly changed the subject, pointing to the flowers in his arms and asking, "Is this a New Year's gift?"

Duan Zhuxian said, "I guess so."

Jiang Yao curled his lips: "Why send roses? The flower shop has no other flowers?"

Duan Zhuxian said, "When we were picking out cufflinks for your wedding dress that day, you said you liked red the best."

Jiang Yao reminisced a little and vaguely remembered this incident. He was quite impatient at the time and just wanted it to be over quickly. He didn't care about the wedding style at all. It was basically his mother and Duan Zhuxian who made the decisions.

Later, the same custom-made cufflinks were delivered to his home. He was a little puzzled when he saw the huge ruby ​​inlaid on them. Although the ruby ​​cufflinks were in line with his aesthetic, the color was a bit too flashy and did not match Duan Zhuxian's cold temperament.

After a long time, Duan Zhuxian finally accommodated his preferences.

But there are more red flowers than just roses...

Jiang Yao thoughtfully twisted the petals with water droplets with his fingertips. They felt moist and plump, not like they had been left in the car for a long time.

He turned to Duan Zhuxian and asked, "You left the class reunion early. Did you go buy flowers?"

Duan Zhuxian said: "No."

“…”

Jiang Yao said "Oh".

I secretly cursed myself for being so sentimental.

"It won't take long to buy flowers." Duan Zhuxian said and glanced at Rose.

Following Duan Zhuxian's line of sight, Jiang Yao discovered that near the edge, there were several flowers that were spread out relatively far apart.

He reached in and pulled out a flat rectangular box along the edge. Because it was black, it almost blended in with the wrapping paper and he hadn't noticed it until now.

It seems this is the real New Year's gift.

Jiang Yao didn't hesitate and opened it on the spot. His movements were a little violent, but the moment he saw the contents, he was shocked at first, then slowed down his movements, and even his expression became cautious.

Inside is a collection certificate.

He stared down at the contents of the box, opened his mouth, and took a long time to find his voice. "A while ago, my friends in the construction industry were all saying that a wealthy and foolish boss actually outbid others at an auction and spent ten million to buy a Michel painting."

Although Michel is a monumental figure in the architectural world, his paintings are not very famous and have low collection and resale value.

But at the same time, he also felt a little regretful that he didn't get the invitation, otherwise there would be a second boss with a lot of money. After all, Michel was his most admired architect, and his hobby was inspired by a documentary about Michel.

Like all avid fans, he collected a lot of things related to his idol, visited every building he designed, and asked people to find Michel's paintings, but this was the first time he actually touched the original.

Whether it was red or a painting, he found that Duan Zhuxian seemed to have been paying attention to him and responding to him.

Hearing the description of "stupid but rich", Duan Zhuxian raised an eyebrow and said, "It's me. There was a small problem with the auction item at that time. It was only officially delivered today, so I went to pick it up in person."

"Mr. Duan, you've been fooled. His paintings are not worth the price at all. You've been taken advantage of."

There was a hint of mockery in Jiang Yao's words, but he couldn't suppress the glint of joy in his eyes, and his fair cheeks were as radiant and charming as if they were illuminated by roses.

Duan Zhuxian's lips curled up slightly: "I'm not really knowledgeable, but as long as I like it, it's priceless."

Duan Zhuxian said the word "like" very softly, as if it was intentional, but it was particularly pleasing to Jiang Yao's ears.

Having a crush on someone is like playing hide-and-seek. When you hide, you hold your breath and stay motionless, for fear of revealing any clues.

However, when the other party passes by many times and still finds nothing, and finally leaves leisurely and seems not to look back, the hiding heart will uncontrollably fall into loss, hoping that the other party can try again, even if there is a chance that he or she will find oneself.

But today, Duan Zhuxian doesn't want to play hide-and-seek anymore. His searchers are too slow in this regard and are afraid that they will never find him in their lifetime.

But now is not a good time. Just resolving the misunderstanding of that year has already made him feel uneasy. With a broken heart and having been exposed to the cold wind for so long, his face, which has always been full of energy, is now full of fatigue.

If Jiang Yao knew that he had even more extreme intentions, tonight would definitely not be an easy night for him.

He felt distressed.

It’s better to wait for Jiang Yao to calm down and digest it, then go back and have a good sleep.

When they were almost home, Duan Zhuxian said, "I'll continue to owe you the reward for providing me with information. Come back to me when you've made up your mind."

Jiang Yao said: "Didn't it just pass..."

Jiang Yao felt ashamed when he thought about what happened just a few minutes ago.

He is not a child anymore and needs someone to coax him.

But at that time, his whole body was like a machine controlled by emotions, and was not influenced by reason at all.

"What happened just now doesn't count." Duan Zhuxian said softly, "It's my job to comfort you."