Extra 4

They sat in the shop for a long time that day, but neither of them was in a hurry to refill their tea. Li Rong listened to Xue Heng's words and compared the information he had told him with what he remembered.

He really didn't know what to say. Xue Heng sat in front of him, sipping tea and relaxing. He couldn't even think clearly himself, so how could he judge Xue Heng?

So he just picked up his teacup and refilled it, looking out the window quietly. Imperial power and common people, princes and nobles are ants, even if Xue Heng explained it clearly, he would find it difficult to understand.

Li Rong thought that he still did not belong to that era, so he could not understand the specific party struggles, and it was difficult for him to agree that the world was just a chess game casually set up by the superiors.

But thankfully, they weren't in a rush to confess or argue. They just sat quietly in the shop, the sunset painting the sky with wine-dregs-colored clouds, and gradually more people filled the shop.

Amidst the chaotic clamor of the world, they all remained silent. At least Li Rong gradually grew accustomed to this quietness, feeling that there was barely room to breathe.

He was not willing to sort out everything, was not willing to face the future, and was not willing to ask Xue Heng what he was thinking at the moment.

No matter what happened in the past, Xue Heng eventually reached that unattainable high position, the same high position as Ji Chi.

But he didn't seem that willing. In his memory, it was hard to see Xue Heng looking truly happy afterwards.

Li Rong poured himself another cup of tea. If he were to continue discussing, he should be Li Ziqu, or perhaps Shen Zixing.

Whether Xue Heng is drunk or not has nothing to do with Li Rong in the present world. At least, there should be no connection.

After all, there are a thousand years between them. If it weren't for this experiment, he wouldn't know so clearly what Xue Heng had experienced, and Xue Heng wouldn't be sitting in front of him at this moment.

It was a ridiculous thing, but he realized it belatedly. But he had no other choice. He couldn't stay there for another six months.

Li Rong was well aware of the consequences of staying there any longer. The medicine that originally violated human rights could become the antidote he longed for when he collapsed, and the experiment that should have succeeded long ago was delayed again and again.

I don't have the right to know everything, and they don't want to tell me everything, even Xue Heng is the same as them.

It seemed different, but he was still hesitant and let Xue Heng take him to the accommodation arranged by the research center.

In his impression, Xue Heng would not break his promise. He said they would go see places they had been to before, and there would be no other trouble in the next six months.

Li Rong relaxed his tense muscles and moved from his wheelchair to his bed. He felt at ease in the unfamiliar room, lying in his new bedding and recalling what he had heard today.

The lights in the room were always on, and he didn't bother to turn off the glaring chandelier. Xue Heng was probably studying the small things in the room at this moment. To him, the decorations and daily necessities here would only be more unfamiliar.

Even Xue Heng couldn't avoid making some noise. Li Rong felt a little sleepy, but he didn't think the noise would disturb him.

On the contrary, he felt his heartbeat was unusually steady, and even some strange thoughts came to his mind - as long as Xue Heng was still there, he could continue to hesitate, and the pain could be isolated by such peace.

Those pains cannot touch him, he does not have to say the result in person, and he can choose not to get out of it.

It’s not a bad idea to stay where you are for the rest of your life.

After that, they no longer mentioned any topics related to experiments or research centers. Usually, Li Rong would introduce Xue Heng to the current technology, and Xue Heng would talk about those lost classics and stories.

They did not stay in Chang'an for too long. One reason was that Chang'an easily brought back not-so-pleasant memories, whether they were about the post-Shang Dynasty or the experiments.

Secondly, seeing Chang'an today inevitably brings back memories of the bustling streets of a thousand years ago. The vegetation has changed so much, and even the underground mausoleums have multiplied layer upon layer over the past millennia. Chang'an today may not seem as prosperous as it was then, yet at some point, it seems not much different from the city of a thousand years ago.

The north wind blew more and more fiercely. After two or three weeks of recuperation and rehabilitation, Li Rong was able to stand up from his wheelchair. He didn't care much about the pain in his legs that sometimes arose after walking for a long time.

He just didn't want Xue Heng to continue pushing the wheelchair. Even though he could see him by turning around, he still wanted to stand up and walk with Xue Heng.

Xue Heng was actually a quick learner, so he didn't need to explain so much every time. He had originally thought Xue Heng would be interested in those things, but he hadn't expected that he would be more like his pre-adoption personality now.

He felt free from desires and ambitions, as if he would be back in the mountains and forests in the next moment. He turned to look at the scenery outside the window. It only took a few hours to get from Chang'an to Longxi.

The tall poplar trees dropped their yellow leaves, and a thousand years later, the north was no longer covered in sand and dust.

The mountains still stretched out in the distance, dotted with white, covered with years of accumulated snow, most of which had frozen into ice, covered with layer after layer of new snow.

Xue Heng had trouble accustomed to high-speed transportation, and would occasionally press his brows to relieve his dizziness. Li Rong opened his palm and poured a few motion sickness pills from a white bottle, instructing him to take them with warm water.

After seeing Xue Heng finish taking the medicine, he turned his head to look out the window again, without even noticing when Xue Heng leaned on his shoulder.

Xue Heng had already closed his eyes when he felt the weight on his shoulders. Li Rong maintained the same posture as before, raised his free hand, and sketched Xue Heng's face.

In his memory, although he could always see Xue Heng, he rarely had the chance to look at him closely. This scene now was much closer than he remembered.

Xue Heng always smiled when he opened his eyes, but with them closed, he had a certain coldness to him. His eyebrows and eyes were like jade carved by a skilled craftsman, his slightly long black hair just past his eyebrows, and below that were his pale lips.

To be fair, Xue Heng was the most handsome man he had ever seen. With that pair of eyes, if his life had been smooth, he would probably be able to shock everyone at the banquet every time he talked and laughed.

The wastelands of Longxi have been replaced by skyscrapers, or at least by villages. In autumn and winter, some homes still emit smoke from their cooking stoves, which, carried by the wind, drift across the sky like light gray clouds.

However, when the north wind blew, the biting coldness did not change much. In reality, this was Li Rong's first time here.

They settled down in a small town in Longxi, according to the research center's arrangement. Although they no longer needed a wheelchair, they still had to continue their daily rehabilitation.

The sun set earlier and earlier, and the only time they went west was to the horse farm.

Li Rong had no idea how to race horses, and he originally thought he was just accompanying Xue Heng.

But when he saw him jump on the horse and disappear from his sight, Li Rong seemed to catch the north wind from his memory, as if he was sitting on the horse's back holding the reins, and everything around him became a road.

The west wind mixed with sand and gravel blew into his eyes. He sat down and wiped the blood from his eyes with a tissue to relieve the astringency.

Li Rong continued to look into the distance until he could no longer see Xue Heng.

If it weren't for this experiment, I don't know when I would have the chance to read about things that happened thousands of years ago. I would probably just quickly turn the page, and if something happened to make me pause reading, I would put in a piece of paper to mark the place I was reading.

He didn't know how the book would write about Xue Heng, and he couldn't even guess whether Xue Congzhi would be mentioned in it.

For myself, when I pick up the book and read it again, I will probably just glance over it quickly, thinking that the name and these things seem familiar, and that it is the place I had read halfway before.

This is the right track for everything. All things are subject to the passage of time. Things in the past are written in the book, and things in the present are inserted in the book as marks.

Li Rong was lost in thought, and when he looked up after hearing the sound of horse hooves, it was too late. Xue Heng had already stretched out his hand, ready to pull him onto the horse.

He naturally declined the offer, "I don't know how to ride, and my legs aren't fully healed yet. It's rare for me to get out. You can run a couple more laps to see what it looks like from a distance."

Xue Heng seemed to have noticed that he was not good at riding, so he pulled him up. "It's okay, I can hold you." He smiled. "You promised us to go see these places together."

"If it's just because of your leg problems, I should have been more considerate and just ridden it once."

He grabbed the reins tightly to control the somewhat excited horse, "Come up slowly, I'll teach you the rest."

Li Rong reached out and held his hand tightly, feeling somewhat helpless about Xue Heng's persistence today. It was not until he was pulled to sit on the saddle that he understood a little.

As soon as he was firmly seated, he took the reins from Xue Heng's loose grip, and the horse under him galloped away again at the command. The rushing wind left a sound in his ears, blowing away much of the depression he had been feeling for the past few days.

However, when going faster or encountering bumps, he could only subconsciously hold onto the somewhat rough horsehair, using his fingers to hold onto the coolness to maintain his posture, but his legs were powerless and he couldn't control the direction.

"Xue Heng--" Li Rong called out loudly for the first time. Xue Heng held his hand to pull the reins, and then pulled him into his arms.

After a long neigh, the horse finally settled down and began to walk slowly. Li Rong hadn't recovered completely when his pounding heartbeat rang in his ears. The wind, which had been blowing fiercely just a moment ago, had slowed down considerably.

The warm touch on the back of his hand was still there. He wanted to move forward, but then he realized that he was very close to Xue Heng.

After the close call just now, he didn't dare to move too violently, but subconsciously curled up his fingertips and leaned against Xue Heng.

The fallen leaves fell to the ground with the north wind, and made a hoarse and crisp sound when the horse's hooves stepped on them.

Li Rong realized a little later that he and Xue Heng were too close.