Chapter 40

When Chu Linyu returned to the room, he happened to come out of Yang Yuxiao's room. He sat down on the sofa and watched Chu Linchuan carry Xia Lanzheng into the room.

The relationship between the two brothers seemed to be better than expected. There was something vaguely wrong, but Chu Linyu didn't think much about it. He asked loudly: "What's wrong with Zheng Zheng? Is she drunk?"

Chu Linchuan's voice came through the door: "Well, you keep an eye on him from now on. Don't let him drink outside. He can't drink much."

Chu Linyu sat in the living room and smiled. He met Li Pingan who had just returned from the night market and said, "Pingan, turn on the TV for me."

Li Pingan smelled like barbecue, and he was holding a box in his hand. "Okay, what are you looking at? I just happened to bring barbecue and beer. Second Young Master and Young Master, would you like to have some?"

"I'm still coming. I can't afford to come." Chu Linyu picked a horror movie, turned off the lights, glanced towards the room, turned back and whispered, "Zheng Zheng was drunk, so Chu Linchuan brought her back."

Li Pingan had grasped the key point. His eyes lit up in the darkness, and he quickly sat next to him. "Hug? Are you sure you want to hug?"

Chu Linyu opened his arms, made a hugging gesture, and spoke vividly: "I'm not drunk, of course I'm sure. Isn't it amazing? Hey, it really is a hug!"

"They... uh," Li Pingan couldn't help but look over there, but unfortunately the door blocked their view. "Why are they so close? Mr. Chu, do you have any idea?"

Chu Linyu opened a bottle of beer with a "click" sound, took a sip, looked far away, stretched out his voice, and pretended to wipe away a tear: "The children at home have grown up. It's not easy, it's really not easy."

Li Pingan followed up with a howl: "It's not easy, it really isn't easy."

Chu Linyu nodded and swallowed a mouthful of barbecue: "That's good. I hope they can maintain this kind of relationship... I remember when we were little, I often shared a bed with Chu Linchuan."

A symposium reminiscing about childhood was held in the living room, and inside the house, Chu Linchuan looked at the scene in front of him and seemed to be pulled back to his childhood.

Xia Lanzheng jumped into the bathtub with her clothes on, like a slippery fish. Chu Linchuan couldn't catch her, so he struggled to get her out and shoved her against the wall.

He had to use a stern tone and said, "Stand still and don't move."

Xia Lanzheng rolled her eyes to look at him, a column of water fell from the sky, and her eyes suddenly closed again.

"Murder," he muttered as he stood there, "Chu Linchuan, this is blatant murder, help—"

Chu Linchuan wanted to laugh when he heard this, and snorted: "Then who do you want to call to save you?"

Xia Lanzheng shook her head, and the water in her long hair splashed all over Chu Linchuan.

Chu Linchuan didn't intend to let him go. While applying shampoo to his head, he continued to ask, "Cheng Lan, Lu Yanqing?"

"Don't go with the dark-skinned one," Xia Lanzheng said with a ball of foam on her head, "He also committed murder."

Xia Lanzheng's face was full of seriousness, and the foam on his head made him look particularly silly.

Chu Linchuan's mouth twitched: "What about Lu Yanqing?"

"Don't wear leather shoes," Xia Lanzheng said. "If you run too slowly, you can't be saved."

Chu Linchuan stopped what he was doing, bent over and smiled.

"Hmm, Su Cheng..." Xia Lanzheng rubbed the foam and thought.

Chu Linchuan raised his eyelids to look at him. Xia Lanzheng's hands were covered with bubbles, which she couldn't shake off no matter what she did. "Chu Linchuan Chu Linchuan Chu Linchuan, I need to wash my hands!"

Chu Linchuan directed the water at Xia Lanzheng's hand, washing away the foam on his fingertips: "How is Su Cheng?"

Xia Lanzheng reached forward, trying to get more water, but Chu Linchuan grabbed his wrist and refused to let go.

"I'm asking you, Zheng Zheng." Chu Linchuan coaxed in a low voice.

Xia Lanzheng didn't say anything and started arguing with Shui.

Chu Linchuan helped him wash off some more: "Su Cheng can't do that either."

Xia Lanzheng rubbed her palms calmly and said "oh" softly.

Chu Linchuan said: "Su Cheng is not allowed either, do you hear me?"

Xia Lanzheng could not hear any special tone in his voice, but it was low and slow, and the tail tone blended into the water bit by bit, flowing down along his fingertips, seeping into his palms and between his fingers.

When he came to his senses, he was already being pulled to answer, "I know."

Chu Linchuan seemed to laugh again and was no longer stingy. The water flowed down and Xia Lanzheng became a drowned lamb.

The foam was about to flow into her eyes, so Chu Linchuan blocked it with his hand. He covered Xia Lanzheng's eyes, and her eyelashes trembled in his palm, and her eyelids were warm, like the blinking of an ignorant little animal.

Chu Linchuan subconsciously slowed down his movements.

Xia Lanzheng is not a small animal. She is an independent adult, he corrected her righteously.

But this person is a little slow, and every time he blinks and thinks, people can't help but observe his expression.

"What are you laughing at?" the person in front of him suddenly spoke.

Chu Linchuan denied: "I didn't laugh."

Xia Lanzheng pulled his hand away, squinting one eye and glancing at him with the other: "You're still pretending, I heard everything."

He leaned over, pressed the corner of Chu Linchuan's lips, and outlined the shape of his lips with his fingertips.

Chu Linchuan was unable to move for a moment. With his lips slightly opened, he could feel the warmth of Xia Lanzheng's fingers, so he asked in a whisper, "What are you doing?"

Both of them were soaked, and their white clothes stuck to their bodies, entangled like a conjoined sculpture.

"Chu Linchuan, I felt it," Xia Lanzheng smiled up at him, "I felt your smile."

*

There are no more dreams at night, and my thoughts are connected into the night sky.

It was hard to tell whether it was the sea or the sky. The sound of the waves was intermittent. Until Xia Lanzheng opened her eyes and tilted her head slightly, she saw the vast blue sea.

The feeling at this moment is not unfamiliar, the drowsiness of being awake, the memories drifting away with the evaporating alcohol, and then being forcibly pulled back.

"It's over."

Xia Lanzheng sighed in a deep voice.

The voice was not hoarse, but inexplicably low, coming from the lower part of the throat.

He was stupid again last night.

This time, not only in front of Chu Linchuan, but also with all the protagonists gathered together, he also gave constructive suggestions.

You can tell without looking that his shirt has been taken off again. Chu Linchuan is the same as before. He doesn't even bother to put pajamas on the drunkard.

Chu Linchuan put the dirty clothes in the most conspicuous place and had to wait until he woke up, which was like a silent mockery.

Xia Lanzheng was angry.

Murder! This is murder of his dignity!

Five minutes later, in the bathroom.

"Hold."

Xia Lanzheng was amazed again.

He just glanced at the shower head in the corner, why did his face turn so red!

I rinsed my face with cold water, but it still wasn't enough, so I ran to the shower room for another shower. I changed my clothes and walked out of the room. There were one, two, three, four heads outside.

Memories came flooding back, and I suddenly wanted to curse inwardly again.

Chu Linchuan seemed to see through him and didn't give him a chance to slip away: "Come and have breakfast... Chu Linyu, give me the money."

The table was filled with breakfast, and the contents of each small steamer were different, mostly light.

"Tsk," Chu Linyu said, sitting on one side. "Give it to me if you want. I'll accept the loss."

Chu Linchuan kept looking at Xia Lanzheng. Xia Lanzheng looked at him, and then saw Cheng Lan beside Chu Linyu.

I forgot to ask Cheng Lan why he was here last night, and the same thing happened this morning. What was he doing here?

Cheng Lan didn't say anything either. He just ate silently and scooped up air twice with his spoon.

"What are you betting on?" Xia Lanzheng didn't take the initiative to greet Cheng Lan, but chose to sit next to Chu Linchuan.

Chu Linchuan said, "Let's bet on whether you will sleep until the afternoon or get up for breakfast."

There was a bowl of pumpkin porridge in front of Xia Lanzheng. Chu Linyu and Chu Linchuan moved several untouched small steamers in front of him, and then a spoon was stuffed into his hand.

Everyone tacitly agreed not to mention what happened last night. Li Ping'an and Chu Linyu chattered about which dish was the most delicious.

In fact, what made Xia Lanzheng uncomfortable was not the abnormal Cheng Lan, but Chu Linchuan beside her.

In the past, he and Chu Linchuan were very comfortable together, even without talking, and the air was full of casualness.

Something had changed since last night. Xia Lanzheng straightened her back and combed her hair, fearing that the invisible parts would be messy.

Just then Cheng Lan took action. He put down the spoon, wiped his lips, and looked at Chu Linyu and Chu Linchuan.

His Adam's apple slid, and he looked straight at Xia Lanzheng, finally deciding to say the first words of the morning: "Zhengzheng..."

"Xiao Li, please bring me the vinegar," Chu Linchuan stretched out his hand to block the middle of the table, "Thank you."

Li Pingan just laughed foolishly: "The vinegar here is different from ours. Try it, Second Young Master. It's quite fragrant."

Xia Lanzheng took the plate and asked for some: "Cheng Lan, what do you want to say?"

Chu Linchuan's scrutinizing gaze fell on Cheng Lan's face. Cheng Lan felt a chill on his back. He took a deep breath and continued, "Zheng Zheng, actually, I..."

"This is cold," Chu Linchuan took the osmanthus cake from Xia Lanzheng's bowl, "Don't eat it, it's hard to digest."

After two interruptions, any discerning person could tell something was wrong.

People picking up food, chewing, speaking in the middle of a sentence... all the actions at the table stopped at the same time.

Under the table, Cheng Lan moved his legs nervously, and the tip of his shoe accidentally kicked something. Xia Lanzheng exclaimed, "You kicked me."

After the topic was revealed, Chu Linyu and Li Pingan came to their senses and talked about other things.

Cheng Lan looked at Xia Lanzheng, and it was still a familiar feeling, like when they were children and played and fought with each other, and she treated him as a friend with whom she was both close and distant.

The words to confess suddenly became unspeakable.

The timing is wrong.

"Sorry," Cheng Lan scratched his nose, "I didn't mean to. Do you want to eat spareribs with fermented black beans?"

Xia Lanzheng said eat, and took the steamed bun handed to her by Cheng Lan.

Chu Linchuan didn't say anything else. There were shrimps on the table. He picked up a few, peeled them and put them into Xia Lanzheng's bowl.

Afterwards, they chatted about other things at the dinner table, mostly Chu Linchuan asking questions and Cheng Lan answering them. The topics were incredibly boring, like how the variety show was going and whether the last movie interview went well.

Xia Lanzheng pretended not to hear, fearing that the boss would ask her.

When the bowl of porridge was almost empty, a familiar voice came from the corridor. Li Pingan ran to open the door. Chu Lang and Yang Yuxiao were standing at the door, hesitating for some reason and not entering.

Xia Lanzheng looked over and saw Yang Yuxiao staring at him. He picked up a bunch of bright yellow sunflowers from the ground and said, "Zhengzheng, it looks like this is for you."

Chu Lang's eyebrows were already furrowed. He wanted to see the card on it, but was afraid that it would involve Xia Lanzheng's privacy, so he didn't know which way to turn his eyes.

Xia Lanzheng stood up, looking puzzled: "Is it for me?"

Chu Linchuan and Cheng Lan looked over at the same time. Chu Linyu excitedly brought the flowers in and put them in Xia Lanzheng's arms.

Chu Linyu and Yang Yuxiao came closer together, their faces full of gossip: "Who sent it?"

Xia Lanzheng smelled a refreshing scent of green leaves. She looked down and saw a card hidden in the flower. It read:

Be happy forever.

——L