Every moment is the prologue.
The new home has a room that both of them are very happy with: a spacious and bright study with a floor-to-ceiling window.
Lin Jingshang spotted the best spot by the window: "I need good lighting to draw the design!"
Xie Dang believes that location is suitable for his office: "That location receives a lot of sunlight, which may cause glare in the afternoon, making it unsuitable for long hours of screen work. The north-facing area has stable lighting, which is more suitable for your work."
The two held their own opinions and refused to give in.
"I picked out the one first!" Lin Jingshang said, clutching his monitor tightly.
“My analysis is more in line with visual health,” Xie Dang said, holding up the light data chart and refusing to budge.
The debate lasted for three days, and the study remained empty.
Finally, Lin Jingshang gave in first, angrily moving his things to the north side: "Fine, fine, you get it! Xie Gong is the boss!"
Xie Dang looked at his aggrieved expression and said nothing.
The next day, Lin Jingshang found a comfortable single sofa and a small side table next to his new desk.
Xie Dang explained: "Reading corner."
A few days later, the custom-made bookcase was installed.
Lin Jingshang was surprised to find that his comics, novels, and design magazines were mixed together with Xie Dang's thick foreign language monographs, scientific journals, and data analysis reports, according to categories and themes.
His "Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy" is right next to Xie Dang's "A Brief History of Time," and his architectural design atlas is next to Xie Dang's "Urban Traffic Flow Optimization Model."
"Why are these all together?" Lin Jingshang asked, pointing to the bookshelf.
"It's more efficient to find books," Xie Dang replied.
Now, Xie Dang is working by the window, while Lin Jingshang is nestled on the sofa next to him, reading or drawing sketches. They can see each other just by looking up, and they only need to turn around or take a few steps to get together when they want to discuss something.
Their cohabitation officially began, and Lin Jingshang volunteered to take over the cooking. After producing burnt and bland dishes for three consecutive days, he was politely asked by Xie Dang to step out of the pot and demoted to a vegetable washing and chopping assistant.
Lin Jingshang suddenly noticed Xie Dang's method of drying clothes: the spacing between each garment had to be exactly equal, all hangers had to face the same direction, and socks had to be arranged in pairs according to their color shade.
"Xie Dang! You're making a big fuss about hanging up clothes like you're holding a military parade, is it really necessary?"
"Standardized operation improves efficiency and facilitates ventilation and retrieval." Xie Dang adjusted the angle of a clothes hanger without changing his expression.
What left Lin Jingshang speechless was the robot vacuum cleaner.
Xie Dang drew up a map of the entire house, set the optimal cleaning path, and strictly stipulated that it should start at 3 pm every day.
"It's just a robot vacuum cleaner! Just let it run around on its own!" Lin Jingshang looked at the complex cleaning route map on the tablet.
"Disorderly cleaning creates blind spots."
Lin Jingshang likes to leave books, snacks, and game controllers on the ground, which often causes the robot vacuum cleaner to get stuck and send out distress signals.
Whenever this happened, Xie Dang would look at Lin Jingshang.
Lin Jingshang sheepishly rescued the robot and put away the roadblocks.
After a few times, he couldn't help but complain: "I feel like we're the ones serving it, not the robots!"
Xie Dang thought for a moment and nodded: "Agreed. This model is not smart enough. We should consider upgrading it."
Although Xie Dang's management sometimes made Lin Jingshang both amused and exasperated, he had to admit that the house had indeed become neat and orderly, with things always in their fixed places, greatly improving the convenience of life.
Now he puts things back where they belong after taking them, and he will pick up any litter he sees on the ground.
At 6:50 a.m. sharp, Xie Dang's biological clock woke him up in his new home.
He tiptoed out of bed to avoid waking Lin Jingshang, who was fast asleep next to him, went to the balcony to check on Lin Jingshang's plants, and then washed up.
At seven o'clock sharp, Xie Dang began preparing breakfast, having learned more variations. Sometimes it was oatmeal porridge with pan-fried cod, sometimes it was steamed eggs with shrimp, and occasionally he would try the hometown snacks that Lin Jingshang had mentioned.
Although his first attempt at making rice noodle rolls ended in failure, Lin Jingshang still ate the whole plate of the mushy stuff and gave it a high rating of "perfect sincerity".
At 7:30, Xie Dang would go to the bedroom to wake Lin Jingshang.
This is a difficult process.
"Just five more minutes of sleep..." Lin Jingshang buried his head in the blanket.
Xie Dang remained unmoved, standing by the bed and beginning the countdown: "Start the countdown, three hundred, two hundred and ninety-nine, two hundred and ninety-eight..."
This method of mental torture is often very effective.
Lin Jingshang would get up in a fit of grief and indignation when he counted to around 250.
Then the two of them would wash up side by side in the bathroom, having a minor argument over the tap, nothing serious. Afterwards, they would sit at the dining table, enjoy the breakfast prepared by Xie Dang, and browse the day's news.
"It looks like it's going to get colder today," Lin Jingshang said, looking at the weather forecast.
"Yes, the thick coat on the left side of your wardrobe has been taken out and hung up."
Weekend afternoons are their time to relax.
In the study, Xie Dang was probably dealing with some non-urgent work emails or researching new data models. Lin Jingshang was nestled on the sofa next to him, sometimes sketching designs, sometimes reading novels, and sometimes playing games with headphones on.
Sometimes, Lin Jingshang would look up at Xie Dang's focused profile, a serene sight that was captivating. He might quietly take out his phone, snap a picture of the moment, and save it as a private record.
Sometimes, Xie Dang would look up from the screen and gaze at the curled-up figure on the sofa, and he would feel a lot of the fatigue from work dissipate.
Sometimes, they would find something to do together.
Lin Jingshang suddenly had the idea to bake cookies, almost setting the kitchen on fire. In the end, Xie Dang stepped in to clean up the mess and successfully baked a plate of fragrant cookies.
As Lin Jingshang ate his cookie, he couldn't help but exclaim, "Xie Dang, is there anything you can't do?"
Xie Dang thought about it seriously for a moment and replied, "Not at the moment."
One evening, as usual, the two chatted idly by the headboard before going to bed.
Lin Jingshang was flipping through old photos on his phone when he suddenly saw a candid shot taken at the company's annual party when they had just met, showing them gazing deeply into each other's eyes.
He looked embarrassed in the photo, while Xie Dang remained expressionless.
“Look at this,” Lin Jingshang handed over the phone, unable to help but laugh, “I thought this broken system was really annoying back then, but looking at it now, it’s quite funny.”
Xie Dang looked at the photo and nodded: "It has some historical value."
Lin Jingshang smiled and leaned on his shoulder: "Do you think that if there were no system, we would be like two parallel lines, never intersecting?"
Xie Dang thought for a moment and replied, "A low probability event is not the same as a zero probability event. Considering the degree of overlap in our work and the frequency with which you appear in my field of vision, even without a system, the probability of intersection still exists."
Lin Jingshang: "...Couldn't you be a little more romantic and say it was fate that brought us together?"
"Lacks scientific basis."
Lin Jingshang punched him lightly, then couldn't help but laugh.
Okay, this is his Xie Dang, unique and irreplaceable.
He put down his phone, took Xie Dang's hand, and gently interlocked his fingers with Xie Dang's: "However, I am still quite grateful for that messy experience. Although the way it happened was bizarre, the result was not bad."
Xie Danghui grasped his hand, his grip firm and steady.
"Mm," he replied.
Looking at the distant starlight outside the window, Lin Jingshang suddenly said, "Next year, when the tomatoes on the balcony ripen, shall we try making our own tomato wine?"
"Yes, we need to study the brewing process."
"Then in the fall, shall we go to that place you mentioned that's great for seeing maple leaves?"
"Okay, we can start planning the itinerary now."
"besides……"
Lin Jingshang rambled on about his vision for the future.
Xie Dang listened quietly, occasionally offering a technical suggestion.
Before they knew it, they had welcomed their second autumn in this house. The mint on the balcony had been pruned several times and was growing ever more lush; the tomato seedlings had completed their mission and were replaced by new strawberry plants; the two pots of string of pearls had grown too wildly and were divided into several pots, scattered in various corners of the house.
One Friday evening, Xie Dang picked up Lin Jingshang from work. While waiting at a red light, he suddenly said, "My parents are returning to China next week and would like to meet you."
Lin Jingshang was playing on his phone when he heard this and almost dropped it.
"Huh? You want to see me?"
"Yes, they heard about you and want to have a meal together."
Lin Jingshang immediately tensed up: "Are they easy to get along with? Is there anything I should be careful about? What should I wear? Should I prepare a gift? What do they like?"
Seeing his alarmed expression, Xie Dang tilted his head slightly and said, "No special preparations are needed; they are quite ordinary."
"How could someone who can raise someone like you be ordinary!"
Over the weekend, Lin Jingshang dragged Xie Dang around the mall, carefully selecting gifts and repeatedly practicing their greetings.
Xie Dang let him do as he pleased, offering advice on overly extravagant choices: "The colors are too bright, which may not suit their aesthetic."
The day of their meeting finally arrived. At the restaurant, when Lin Jingshang saw the gentle, smiling couple, half his anxiety subsided. Xie Dang's mother warmly engaged him in conversation, and the atmosphere was much more relaxed than he had imagined.
During the meal, Xie's mother quietly said to Lin Jingshang, "Xiaoshang, thank you. Xiaodang used to be always alone, but seeing him like this now, we feel very relieved."
Lin Jingshang suddenly understood the significance of this meal.
On the way home, it was already late at night. Lin Jingshang looked at the lights flowing outside the window and said softly, "Your mother is such a kind person."
"Mm," Xie Dang replied.
Lin Jingshang turned his head to look at Xie Dang's profile: "She thanked me, but I'm the one who should be thanking her."
Thank you for that imperfect system, thank you for all the twists and turns, and thank you for this seemingly cold but actually more reliable person who gave him such a warm journey home.
Xie Dang did not answer, but gently took his hand.
The night was quiet. In the study, Xie Dang replied to his last email. Lin Jingshang was nestled on the sofa next to him, a picture book spread out on his lap. It was a gift he had prepared for his little niece, and he was previewing it.
The balcony door was open, and the evening breeze brought the cool scent of mint.
Xie Dang finished his work, closed his laptop, and looked at the sofa. Lin Jingshang was already asleep, his picture book lying to the side, his head leaning against the back of the sofa.
He watched Lin Jingshang quietly for a while.
He stood up, walked over, and, as he had done many times before, carefully picked up Lin Jingshang.
Lin Jingshang woke up groggily, feeling the familiar scent and embrace, snuggled closer to him, and mumbled, "...Are you done with work?"
"Mmm," Xie Dang responded softly, "Go to sleep."
He carried Lin Jingshang steadily toward the bedroom.
In this space, every inch of air is permeated with the shared breath of the two people. Those days, crushed and reassembled by time, have transformed this square space into a home.
Outside the window, a bright moon slowly climbed across the horizon.
Stories never need a period.
When two heartbeats with different frequencies resonate in the same space, when two independent souls recognize each other's destination, every moment is the prologue.
(End of text)
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