Chapter 32

The cicadas chirp continuously at night, hidden in the thick darkness, the sound sometimes small, sometimes loud.

Xia Lanzheng realized later that Chu Linchuan gave her a very tight hug, so tight that she could clearly feel his heartbeat.

Plop, plop.

Each sound is louder than the last, drowning out the chirping of cicadas and the rustling of the wind, becoming a string of silent comfort.

Xia Lanzheng recalled the dream that had accompanied him for more than twenty years.

When it was late at night and everyone was asleep, a monster would always crawl out of the closet opposite the bed. Xia Lanzheng once tried to call it a "nightmare".

But he didn't do that—

Because every time the monster stood at the head of the bed, a hand would touch his back, like now, patting it to comfort him.

The owner of the hand always hummed something, using his voice, which had just been changed by a voice changer, to drive away the gloom for him.

It wasn't really a nightmare.

At this moment, the voice became real and wrapped around the ear like a veil.

"When you're angry, you look like Bao Bao," but the words were not pleasant to hear, and there was a smile in her voice, "Where did you hide the sheep horns?"

Xia Lanzheng burst out laughing. He pushed Chu Linchuan aside and leaned over. "Here, do you see it?"

Chu Linchuan pretended to be disgusted: "Xia Lanzheng, you spit on my clothes."

Xia Lanzheng crouched down, pretending to be a sheep that would nudge people: "Where is it? Let me see."

He was being strangled by a hand. Chu Linchuan stroked the non-existent goat horns on his forehead and said, "Wow, they're quite pointy."

As he said this, he bent his fingers and with a "ding" sound, flicked them on Xia Lanzheng's forehead.

"Chu Linchuan!" Xia Lanzheng stood up straight, holding her forehead. "You're done!"

The man who was dejected half an hour ago now became lively, his eyes wide open, and the glitter on his eyelids looked like stars in the sky.

Chu Linchuan stared into his eyes for a few seconds, waved his hand, and said seriously: "Don't move."

"What's wrong?" Xia Lanzheng asked.

Chu Linchuan took two steps back: "I'm afraid you'll hit me with your head. That's what Bao Bao does when she's angry."

The corners of his lips curved up as he stood with his arms folded beneath a lamp beside the cobblestone road. The light illuminated his tall figure, lengthening his shadow on the road.

In Xia Lanzheng's eyes, the shadow grew into a swaying fox tail. The distance between them had clearly widened, yet Xia Lanzheng felt closer.

The feeling of "it should be like this" made him dazed, so much so that he was stunned for a while, and it took him a long time to utter a word.

"Have I ever told you before that you are a really bad person—"

"I've said it more than once," Chu Linchuan interrupted, his tail stopped wagging, and his tone sank, "Bad, nosy, annoying..."

Xia Lanzheng's heart sank along with Chu Linchuan's tone.

The unknown person who occupied his body had been acting arrogantly and speaking without restraint for more than ten years.

This made Xia Lanzheng furious, because just like he had said to Lu Yanqing not long ago, every move in the game left a trace, and without corrections, there was no way to continue.

He said those nonsense, but he didn't say them either. However, they left a mark on Chu Linchuan's heart anyway.

Xia Lanzheng tried to read some emotions from Chu Linchuan's face.

What is he thinking?

It was clearly a phenomenon that science could not explain, so how could he be so sure and convince himself so easily?

Will Chu Linchuan give him a chance to correct himself?

A series of questions weighed on Xia Lanzheng's head, making it difficult for her to even breathe.

The chirping of cicadas turns into the singing of birds, and the birds are flapping their wings, about to fly away in the next second.

Xia Lanzheng turned her head eagerly, only to see a series of shadows among the trees.

But the person standing in front of him did not change. Chu Linchuan was as quiet as a silent street lamp, with a warm glow all around him.

At this moment, Xia Lanzheng suddenly wanted to grasp something: "I'm sorry."

Actually, there are so many things I want to say, but they all seem pale and powerless.

"Don't apologize," Chu Linchuan called his name, "Xia Lanzheng, you don't need to apologize."

There was another brief silence, and Xia Lanzheng clenched her hands.

"That's what he said." Chu Linchuan took a step forward, stopped when he was one step away from Xia Lanzheng, and pulled his arm, leading him to the light. "That's not you, right?"

Xia Lanzheng was dazzled by the light, the streaks of light making his eyes sore. He blinked, and his eyelashes were immediately wet.

Xia Lanzheng asked, "Don't you find it strange?"

Chu Linchuan pinched his neck and said indifferently, "There are so many strange things in the world."

He didn't intend to ask any more questions, but Xia Lanzheng had a lot of questions in her mind: "How did you know? Um... I mean, how did you find out?"

Chu Linchuan suddenly looked at him and smiled: "With the look in your eyes now, you look exactly like Bao Bao, it's hard not to recognize you."

Xia Lanzheng was stunned for a few seconds, then rustled around and pulled something out. Chu Linchuan watched him move, then saw him pull out his phone and take a picture of the screen.

He muttered softly: "Is it obvious? Are you kidding me..."

I accidentally pressed the screen open and looked at the bag on the screensaver in the eyes.

Isn't this exactly the same? It couldn't be more obvious.

Weirdly stupid.

Chu Linchuan laughed: "Hand."

Xia Lanzheng reached out: "What's wrong?"

"I wasn't sure at first," Chu Linchuan stopped teasing him, "but you have a mole on your hand and he doesn't."

Xia Lanzheng looked down and saw that the mole had become more obvious, and even the surrounding outlines were much clearer.

No wonder he always felt that this mole was not right and even thought about going to the hospital for a checkup...

Suddenly, a phone call came in. As soon as I picked up the phone, Chu Linyu's voice came from the other end: "What are you two doing? Standing in the yard feeding mosquitoes?"

Not far away, Chu Linyu half-peeked out of the window. Xia Lanzheng quickly waved towards him: "Nothing, we'll be back soon."

"Did you have a fight with Chu Linchuan?" Chu Linyu asked, "Do you need me to go out and deal with him?"

Seeing Chu Linchuan raise his eyebrows, Xia Lanzheng quickly replied, "No! Brother, don't come out. Let's go back."

He hung up the phone and dragged Chu Linchuan into the house.

The night sky is low, and the moon tonight is very round, like a glowing button.

The light in the house was getting closer and closer. Chu Linchuan slowed down his pace and asked, "Xia Lanzheng, are you still going?"

These words were like a wrongly struck note, hitting Xia Lanzheng's forehead with a clang.

When people are at a loss, they will always unconsciously repeat the previous actions.

Xia Lanzheng's hand had loosened, her fingers curled up, and when she reached the door she realized Chu Linchuan hadn't followed her.

He avoided Chu Linchuan's gaze, not knowing how to answer.

To be honest, he didn't know the answer to this question. He had returned here because of his death in his previous life, so the way to end this life was destined to be death as well.

The door opened from the inside, and Chu Linyu was already waiting at the porch. He carefully looked at the expressions of the two people, and the atmosphere was different from what he had imagined.

Chu Linchuan stood in the yard with his eyelids drooping, as if waiting for an answer.

Chu Linyu had never seen him show this expression before. He suddenly realized something and looked at Xia Lanzheng fiercely.

The light in the corridor fell on Xia Lanzheng's face. Perhaps because of the long hours of work today, his face was slightly pale, and there was an imperceptible fatigue between his brows.

Xia Lanzheng's eyelashes were wet, and Chu Linyu couldn't help but look outside.

The ground was dry and there was no rain.

Looking back, I saw Xia Lanzheng wiping her eyes, her gaze focused, all the fragility and contradiction gone.

"What's wrong?" Chu Linyu softened his voice and winked at Chu Linchuan.

Chu Linchuan sighed softly and walked forward, standing shoulder to shoulder with Xia Lanzheng: "Are mom and dad asleep?"

"I'm asleep," Chu Linyu said, "I was waiting for Zheng Zheng, but you two didn't come in for a long time."

Xia Lanzheng smiled at Chu Linyu and asked Chu Linchuan, "We are chatting, right?"

"Yes," Chu Linchuan took off his coat, "We are chatting."

Xia Lanzheng stood next to the shoe cabinet, then turned around and her eyes fell on Chu Linchuan's face.

The wind blew up Xia Lanzheng's hair, and a resolute expression appeared on his face. At that moment, Chu Linchuan stopped all movement, his pupils froze for a moment, and he heard Xia Lanzheng say to him.

"Brother, I'm back."

*

After that night, Xia Lanzheng didn't go out for two days. One reason was that he had no work to do, and the other was that he remembered something extremely important.

He had previously forgotten about this matter, but not long after the filming of the variety show ended, the name "Xia Lanzheng" became a hot search.

【Xia Lanzheng's black face】

[Xia Lanzheng rolls her eyes]

"How come netizens these days believe everything?" Yu Jiawei called, laughing and crying. "Don't even mention it, that background music and slow motion are really scary."

The hot search video was shot in an abandoned factory. Xia Lanzheng was wearing a flamboyant vampire suit. It was unknown what she was doing at the time. She glanced at the front left and was captured like this.

The video still uses the same old routine. The publisher used a gloomy background music, zoomed in on Xia Lanzheng's eyes, and then "snap" slowed down the entire video.

There are internet trolls under the entry to stir up trouble, implicitly involving another person.

Ning Xiyuan.

"Why would I roll my eyes at him?" Xia Lanzheng said with mixed feelings. "I was just blinded by the sequins and lifted my eyelids."

Ning Xiyuan had a deep grudge against him, and this matter would never end.

It was at this moment that Xia Lanzheng remembered the plot of the original book——

Ning Xiyuan originally targeted Song Xinghuai, but this cannon fodder wasn't very smart, so Cheng Lan easily caught him and he was offline in a few jumps.

"Forget it, let him be," Yu Jiawei took a puff of his cigarette on the other end of the phone, obviously not taking it seriously. "Don't worry, I've been in the industry for 20 years, and retribution in the entertainment industry comes quickly."

Xia Lanzheng nodded and hung up the phone. After thinking for a moment, she searched for the ID she remembered on Weibo.

He didn't take Ning Xiyuan seriously, but this man later had a big fall and left a mess for Xingpai.

Xing Pai wanted to protect him at first, but unfortunately the truth could not be hidden. By the time the news reached Chu Linchuan, the best public relations period had passed, and Chu Linchuan had to deal with it personally.

Xia Lanzheng found Ning Xiyuan's trumpet. This man had an immoral private life and couldn't hide it. He used self-proclaimed clever methods to show his affection, which was extremely stupid.

After sorting out the information, Xia Lanzheng didn't realize that she was a little angry. After packing it up, she sent it to Chu Linchuan's email anonymously.

It would be better for this kind of person to log off early to save Chu Linchuan from having to work overtime.

After doing all this, Xia Lanzheng felt a little tired. She didn't make things difficult for herself and just lay down on the bed and closed her eyes.

However, career ambition suddenly surged up - a qualified artist should catch this wave of popularity!

Yu Jiawei was still whispering these words in his ear a few days ago.

Xia Lanzheng sat up straight, pulled up a chair, and leaned over to the desk. He picked up a random book, set up his phone, and started live streaming.

[AAA wool wholesaler: Please sleep well.]

"The host is here to help me sleep again?"

"What are you reading today?"

"Let me take a look," Xia Lanzheng glanced at the book cover. "Plant Awards."

Yu Jiawei received the reminder of the broadcast and rushed over without stopping.

Yu Jiawei: Are you crazy? It premiered right at the height of the controversy.

【X: I have nothing to fear from something I haven't done.】

Yu Jiawei: My ancestors, I’m afraid.

【X: Brother Yu, then you go to sleep too, don't be afraid.】

Yu Jiawei: ...How about you take a look at the comments?

Xia Lanzheng raised her eyelids and took a look, and sure enough, someone was setting the pace.

"That's you, Brother White Eyes."

"No quality, bad artist, get out!"

"Take Xia Lanzheng and exit the circle."

"Don't talk nonsense," Xia Lanzheng replied lightly, "I didn't roll my eyes, that's my freedom to blink."

The comments were still cursing, and there were a lot of eye-rolling emojis.

Xia Lanzheng didn't have any special emotions. As the number of people in the live broadcast room continued to rise, he actually laughed out loud: "You can scold me, but give me money."

He moved his fingers and turned on the reward function that had been turned off.

In the live broadcast room, Ning Xiyuan's fans were silent for a moment, obviously stunned by his shamelessness.

In the past, when artists were involved in controversy, their companies would often handle it coldly. If not ten days or half a month, there would be at least two days of silence before the studio or company would finally respond with a statement or a lawyer's letter.

He personally came out to clarify the matter, and still thinks he wasn't scolded badly enough?

Ning Xiyuan's fans were so angry that they couldn't hold back and continued to curse.

Xia Lanzheng frowned, and then other voices came from the barrage.

"Don't you like looking out? Don't you understand what people say?"

"No eye roll, hello, you hear me? No eye roll."

A series of messages quickly overshadowed the voices of abuse, and upon closer inspection, they were all from Xia Lanzheng's fans.

Coincidentally, although Xia Lanzheng doesn't have many fans, they all have the same personality as him. They don't make trouble and don't suffer injustice. They say whatever they want.

"Brother Yu, Brother Yu, are you there?" Xia Lanzheng shouted at the screen, "Kick out all the unreasonable ones... Forget it, just block them, okay? That way they won't come back next time."

Yu Jiawei, who was peeking at the screen, broke out in a cold sweat, but to be honest, he felt quite happy.

The barrage cleared, and Xia Lanzheng finally opened the book in her hand. "Don't be angry, it's not worth it. I'll read to you... Oh, gardenias, it happens to be the season for gardenias to bloom now."

The window was half open, and the fragrance of midsummer gardenias slowly drifted into the house.

Xia Lanzheng's voice is like the fragrance of gardenia, not aggressive, but with a strong presence, as if it can make time flow slower.

It was just past seven in the evening and not yet time to go to bed, but the audience in the live broadcast room were drowsy and the barrage of comments was particularly clear.

Suddenly, a visitor named "L" asked him if he liked flowers. Xia Lanzheng nodded and said yes, then answered softly, "I don't think I have a favorite variety, but I do like them."

He slid the screen, and a line of large characters suddenly appeared above him.

"Cheng Lan entered the live broadcast room."

【？ 】

【who? 】

[Cheng Lan!!! Is that me?!?]

[Holy crap! I just clicked in and took a look. It's really him.]

[Ahhhhhh, what's going on? Is this a promotion for a movie or variety show?!]

[No way, Brother Lan never goes to other people's live broadcast rooms. He even rarely broadcasts himself. The last time was last year...]

Xia Lanzheng was stunned, her surprise no less than the comments. After all, Cheng Lan was a top artist, so why was he in his livestream?

The unpleasant parting from last time was still fresh in her mind, and she couldn't continue reading. Amidst the screen full of exclamation marks, Xia Lanzheng hesitated and said, "Teacher Cheng, good evening."

Cheng Lanren was still in the live broadcast room, but there was no movement on the other end.

Xia Lanzheng scratched her nose, waited for a minute, and opened the book again.

Just as I lowered my head, the phone screen lit up——

"Oh, no," Xia Lanzheng said anxiously, "Don't give me gifts, Teacher Cheng. Why are you giving me so many?"

Cheng Lan acted as if he didn't hear anything, and the gift special effects kept flashing.

Xia Lanzheng called him a few more times, and the barrage of comments was filled with question marks and exclamation marks. Some people even guessed that Cheng Lan was recording a program and had his phone on silent mode.

The book hit the ground, but Xia Lanzheng didn't have time to pay attention. After a few seconds, Cheng Lan's voice finally quieted down, but then another ID popped up.

The gift name is followed by the letters "sc".

Who? Su Cheng?

Xia Lanzheng frantically touched the screen, hastily turning off the tipping function. As he did so, he touched trivial buttons, and various filters popped up in his face.

The comments were filled with laughter, but no one noticed that among the dense "Hahahahahahaha", there was a small question mark from "L".

"No more sending off," Xia Lanzheng said, wearing cat ears, sounding a little angry. "Cheng Lan, did you hear that?"

Cheng Lan: Oh.

After Cheng Lan sent this message, he left the live broadcast room with gorgeous golden special effects.

What are you doing? So childish.

Xia Lanzheng turned off the messy filters, picked up the book on the ground and continued reading as if trying to cover up her mistake.

No one was listening in the live broadcast room anymore. Everyone started talking about the farce that had just happened and asked what was going on with Xia Lanzheng and Cheng Lan.

[Zheng Zheng, are you and Cheng Lan close?]

Which one is better? How good is it?

[Cheng Lan seems to be the one who gives whatever gift he wants with whatever face he has.]

[Did he see the trending search? I remember Cheng Lan also helped retweet it last time.]

【Oh, oh, oh, really, you guys are a little bit that. 】

【You guys are a little bit of that. 】

[Okay, can I have it? ]

The young anchor read the comments expressionlessly, and flipped through the online list. Su Cheng was ranked first with a fan sign on his head, and second was "L", who had sent a gift last time.

"I'm not going to broadcast anymore," Xia Lanzheng felt her scalp tingling when she thought of Su Cheng still in the live broadcast room. "I'm going out for a walk. See you next time. Good night."

After the live broadcast, he didn't dare to look at the trending searches. Bao Bao seemed to understand what he said and waited obediently at the door.

Xia Lanzheng glanced at Chu Linchuan's study. A few rays of light shone through the crack in the door. He carefully put the leash on the bag and pulled it downstairs.

During this period, Chu Linchuan rarely went to the study, and the number of puzzle deliveries to his home also decreased a lot.

Did he see the email he sent?

Since it was anonymous, Chu Linchuan shouldn't have guessed it was him.

There were many people walking their dogs in the pet park. Xia Lanzheng took a look from a distance and walked towards the outer lawn with her bag in hand.

Baobao has grown a lot recently, and Xia Lanzheng is always worried that it will be just like what Su Cheng said, and will use its head to push people when it grows up.

Strangely enough, the lamb has a special liking for Chu Linchuan. He is quiet in front of other people, but he always likes to chew Chu Linchuan's trouser legs.

But she didn't use any force, instead it seemed like she was acting coquettishly and asking for a touch.

"Lan Zheng." Someone called him from the other end of the lawn.

Xia Lanzheng recognized Lu Yanqing's voice, stood up from the lawn and patted her trouser legs.

"Mr. Lu," Xia Lanzheng pulled the leash tighter, and Draco wagged his tail from a distance. "What a coincidence! Are you walking your dog here?"

Lu Yanqing raised the leash in his hand, looked down at him and smiled: "It's quite a coincidence."

He intentionally separated the Border Collie and Xia Lanzheng. The other side of the iron fence was filled with the sound of puppies running on the grass, mixed with the sound of toy balls falling to the ground.

Xia Lanzheng squatted down and placed her hands on her knees: "Draco, good evening."

The young man's long curly hair was casually draped over his chest, making him look like a furry mushroom.

"Aren't you afraid of dogs anymore?" Lu Yanqing asked.

"I'm afraid," Xia Lanzheng looked up at him, "but I'm not afraid of Draco. He's very cute."

Bao Bao walked to the side of the Border Collie, and the two little animals wagged their tails.

Xia Lanzheng and Lu Yanqing untied the ropes and let them run on the lawn.

Lu Yanqing wanted to sit down next to him, but Xia Lanzheng grabbed his arm and said, "The floor is quite dirty."

The formal suit this man is wearing is not cheap. How can he just sit on the ground? It would be such a shame if it gets dirty.

Lu Yanqing laughed and sat down without even looking at him: "Aren't you sitting down too? It doesn't matter."

He called the Border Collie's name and told it not to run too far.

The night breeze was quite comfortable, and some of the heat from the day remained, falling wetly onto the grass.

Xia Lanzheng looked at the two groups, one black and one white, in the distance, and her heart gradually calmed down. She almost forgot that there was someone sitting next to her.

Lu Yanqing sat in the back, and from this angle, he could see Xia Lanzheng's eyes opening and closing. He looked at her hand resting on the ground, her palm squashing the grass against the mole.

"I actually have a younger brother." Lu Yanqing stroked the tip of the grass.

"Hmm?" Xia Lanzheng didn't expect him to say this and paused.

Lu Yanqing said: "Then something unexpected happened. I don't know where he is now."

Xia Lanzheng seemed to be thinking, with her head slightly tilted.

"He's as afraid of dogs as you are," Lu Yanqing's voice melted into the wind. "If he were still alive, he'd be the same age as you."

Xia Lanzheng almost subconsciously wanted to ask him if he had remembered the time wrong.

Song Xinghuai is clearly two years younger than him.

But seeing the gentle look in Lu Yanqing's eyes, he didn't mention it after all, and said tactfully: "Actually..."

He wanted to mention Song Xinghuai's name, but he couldn't find a suitable reason, so his words stopped abruptly.

After a few seconds of hesitation, Lu Yanqing changed his posture and interrupted, "What happened between you and Cheng Lan?"