Chapter 21 Chapter 21 Staying overnight will not make my insomnia go away,…

Qiao Zhuo pressed his back teeth, adjusted his facial expression, and walked on: "This time it's not green light."

"Are you scared again?" Tan Du said with a smile.

Where did it come from? Qiao Zhuo said coldly, "Did you say that?"

"Okay, no. Did Mr. Qiao wake up from the heat?" Tan Du pointed at the candle. "The whole town has a power outage."

"Come down and have a drink of water." Qiao Zhuo saw that there was still a dozen beers on the table, and several bottles were empty. "You haven't slept yet?"

Tan Du smiled and handed him the cup of water.

"Oh, I forgot. Boss Tan is out...can't sleep. I have some melatonin," Qiao Zhuoyi said, taking a few sips of water and raising his voice, "but you can't eat it now."

"It's okay," Tan Du said, "Just think of it as extending your life bar by sleeping less."

"He talks about the boss with great eloquence."

"Boss Qiao, you're so kind," Tan Du said, changing the subject immediately. "How are Yueyue and Lele?"

"Sleep like a pig."

As soon as Qiao Zhuo opened the door and walked under the eaves, a cool breeze blew on his face and he stretched comfortably.

Tan Du walked up to him and said, "It's still quite cool outside. Is Boss Qiao afraid of the heat?"

Qiao Zhuo nodded, then was silent for a moment before suddenly saying, "There's no surveillance at all."

Tan Du's brain was slow at the moment, and after a moment's pause, he replied, "Well, the time was calculated based on the surveillance footage on the first floor. That guy was well-protected, and if he wasn't guilty, he wouldn't have been able to trick you."

Qiao Zhuo looked at him. He was not wearing glasses. His prominent brow bones cast a light shadow, making his eyes look even deeper, like a deep lake high in the mountains. It looked calm and clear, but no one knew what was hidden in its depths.

"Is there something stuck on my face?" Tan Du touched his face in confusion.

"No." Qiao Zhuo took a sip of water. "Did you also call Sister Sun?"

"Boss Qiao thinks very highly of me," Tan Du smiled. "Sister Sun saw the news in the group chat first, so she called me. She can hold Uncle Qiang, so she asked me to hold him off first, and she'll come over after she turns off the stove."

"The two of them?" Qiao Zhuoyi was a little curious. They didn't seem to have any interactions with each other normally.

"Sister Sun is completely focused on her daughter. She said she doesn't want anything else until she gets married." Tan Du rested his right elbow on the back of his left hand and pressed the wine can against his face, trying to cool his burning skin. "Uncle Qiang... said he's waited all these years, so a few more years won't make a difference."

After drinking, the man spoke slower and more slowly, with a rustling sound, which was pleasant to the ear. When the wind blew, the smell of coffee on his body became stronger, covering up the smell of alcohol.

Come to think of it, he didn't seem to smell any cigarette smoke on him.

Someone who is so particular about his image...

Qiao Zhuo glanced at him and said, "There are cups in the glass cabinet."

"Why would I need a cup for this?" Tan Du laughed. "Boss Qiao, don't you think I need to sip it through a straw?"

"Isn't it?" Qiao Zhuoyi also smiled.

"That's disappointing, Mr. Qiao." Tan Du clinked glasses with him, tilted his head back, and his Adam's apple rolled. He drank too fast, and a few drops of liquid ran down his neck and disappeared into his collar.

Qiao Zhuo tightened his fingers and dried up the remaining water. He saw that Tan Du was unsteady on his feet and reached out to help him. However, Tan Du staggered and steadied himself by holding onto the pillar. He said slowly, "Don't hurt yourself again."

Qiao Zhuo withdrew his hand behind his back, and his fingers trembled almost imperceptibly.

The dark clouds pressing on the sky slowly dispersed, the rain gradually stopped, and the light strips along the river were like falling stars, twinkling on both sides.

Before I could think, there was a sudden flash behind me and the floor lamp dimly lit up.

"There's a phone call." Qiao Zhuo clapped his hands to wake up the voice-controlled light above his head.

"Hmm." Tan Du seemed a little uncomfortable, with the back of his hand resting on his forehead.

"Talk about Boss?" Qiao Zhuo gave him a light kick. "Which room do you want to sleep in? Let me help you up there."

After a while, Tan pointed to the living room. The red rope on his wrist swayed, forming a strong color contrast with the raised blue veins on the back of his hand, making his skin look even colder and whiter.

Qiao Zhuoyi took the beer and the cup from his hand and put them on the windowsill. Then he pulled one of his arms around his neck and put it on his shoulder, almost dragging him forward.

When he reached the stairs, Tan Du refused to lift his foot.

"sofa."

Warm breath sprayed on the side of his ear. Qiao Zhuo turned his head, touched his back teeth with his tongue, paused for two seconds, and walked towards the sofa with him.

The person lying under the light pursed his lips tightly, his bangs fell to one side, and his brows were slightly furrowed.

I didn’t think the sofa was small before, but why does this person feel so cramped when lying on it?

Qiao Zhuo reached out and grabbed the pull cord switch.

"Don't turn it off."

Almost a breath.

"Huh?" Qiao Zhuo glanced over, only to see that Tan Du didn't move. He thought he was hallucinating, so he exerted force and pulled the rope to the bottom when his wrist tightened.

"Don't turn it off."

There was a hint of request wrapped in the hot palm.

Click——

The hall darkened and then lit up again.

Tan Du loosened his hand and let it fall back to his forehead.

Qiao Zhuoyi grabbed the long pillow next to him and placed it on top of his head, blocking out some of the light. The shadow seemed to have cut a crack in the mask on his face.

After a while, the breathing sound became long and deep.

Qiao Zhuo raised his eyebrows and said, "I can't fall asleep now."

He returned to his room and two hours later came to a conclusion - insomnia would not disappear, but would transfer.

He slept very soundly. When the sunlight hit his face, Tan Du was reluctant to wake up. Someone was walking around in the living room and stopped beside him after a while, blocking the light.

With a click, the floor lamp went out.

He opened his eyes.

Qiao Zhuoyi seemed particularly refreshed today. He wore a baseball cap and bent over to look him up and down.

"Good morning," Tan Du cleared his throat, "Boss Qiao."

"Good morning," the man said, "Uncle Tan."

The author has something to say:

----------------------