Chapter 67: Frankly Speaking
Zhou Ai gently placed the carefully arranged pasta and steak on the table in front of Chu Yi, moving very carefully, fearing that the sound of the cutlery colliding would disturb the other person's thoughts immersed in the literature.
He was like a child waiting for praise. He pulled out the chair opposite and sat down, holding his chin with both hands, staring at Chu Yi's focused profile without blinking.
He just watched quietly, without saying a word or urging anyone, as if just watching Chu Yi working diligently was a kind of enjoyment.
Chu Yi finished writing the last line of comments, put down his pen, and breathed a sigh of relief. Only then did he feel hungry.
When he looked up, he saw the plate of steaming pasta next to him. The steak next to it was also fried to perfection. Someone even put some green broccoli as decoration. It looked really good.
"You did it?" Chu Yi looked at Zhou Ai with some surprise.
Zhou Ai raised his eyebrows proudly, his chin slightly raised: "Could it be that there is a third person here?"
Chu Yi was amused by him and shook his head. He quickly sorted out the documents and phone on the table and pushed them aside to make room for his meal. He picked up his fork, rolled up a handful of noodles, and carefully put them into his mouth to taste.
"How is it?" Zhou Ai immediately moved closer, her peach blossom eyes sparkling and full of anticipation, just like a large dog waiting to be fed and praised.
Chu Yi chewed slowly, then met the eyes in front of him, gave a sincere thumbs-up, and commented simply, "Delicious."
These two words seemed to have magic power. Zhou Ai's heart instantly blossomed with joy, and he felt relieved. Then he happily took his plate.
Halfway through the meal, Zhou Ai's cell phone on the table rang at an inopportune time, and the name "Xu Yang" appeared on the screen.
Zhou Ai frowned and reluctantly picked up the phone and answered: "Hello, Brother Yang?"
Xu Yang's frantic, almost crackling voice came from the other end of the line: "Oh my God! Were you really filmed?! And it's recorded in such high definition! Are you going to die or do you not want me to live?!"
Zhou Ai paused in his attempt to pick up the noodles, and subconsciously raised his eyes to look at Chu Yi across from him. Chu Yi was also looking at him with a questioning look in his eyes.
Zhou Ai mouthed "It's okay" to him, then raised her hand to cover the microphone of the mobile phone, stood up and walked quickly towards the balcony.
After closing the balcony's glass door to block out the sounds from inside, Zhou Ai lowered her voice and asked, "Did the paparazzi come directly to you to ask for money?"
"Money is nothing!" Xu Yang's tone was still anxious. "The key is that we captured a picture of you and Teacher Chu together! Although Teacher Chu's face was blocked and the picture wasn't clear, anyone familiar with him would recognize his figure and temperament at a glance! How is this different from direct exposure?"
Zhou Ai was silent for a moment, but her tone calmed down: "I didn't capture her face, so what are you worried about?"
"What am I worried about?" Xu Yang was practically going crazy. "What if... Mr. Chu doesn't want to be open with you? Think about his family background and the nature of his profession! Can this be handled the same way as a relationship between people in our industry?"
This sentence was like a fine needle, gently piercing Zhou Ai's heart. Both ends of the phone fell into a brief silence.
Zhou Ai didn't hang up. He held the phone in his hand and slowly turned from the balcony. His eyes passed through the glass door and met Chu Yi, who was looking over at him from the dining table.
Chu Yi looked at the rare serious expression on Zhou Ai's face and thought that he had encountered some difficult problem at work.
He put down his fork and silently mouthed "What's wrong?", then pointed to the plate of noodles in front of Zhou Ai that had barely been touched, indicating that he should finish his business first before eating.
Zhou Ai looked at Chu Yi's clear eyes, feeling a mixture of emotions. He said solemnly to the person on the other end of the line, "...I understand. I'll ask his opinion first."
After hanging up the phone, Zhou Ai took a deep breath, opened the balcony door, and walked back to the dining room. He sat down again, but his appetite was gone. He picked up his fork and mechanically stirred the noodles on the plate, looking a little worried.
"What's the problem?" Chu Yi was keenly aware of his mood change and even carefully cut the untouched half of the steak in his bowl with his knife and fork, and placed it naturally on Zhou Ai's plate. "Don't you like it?"
Zhou Ai looked at the extra steak on the plate and shook his head: "No, it's just... I'm not very hungry."
He paused, raised his head, looked straight at Chu Yi, and decided to get straight to the point.
He needs to know Chu Yi's true thoughts.
Zhou Ai's voice was calm, yet with a subtle hint of nervousness. "Last night, we... were photographed by paparazzi."
Upon hearing this, Chu Yi's face did not show the panic or worry that Zhou Ai had expected. Instead, he remained calm. He only frowned slightly and asked softly, "Does it affect you?"
His first reaction was still to worry about whether this would cause trouble to Zhou Ai's career.
Zhou Ai's heart felt like it was hit gently by something, and it felt very sore and weak.
He shook his head and said firmly, "No. My career is not that fragile."
He took a deep breath and asked the most crucial question, his gaze locked onto Chu Yi's, not missing any subtle changes in his expression:
"But, I want to ask you a question."
"If...we choose to make our relationship public, would you be willing?"
Chu Yi's hand holding the fork paused slightly, and his fingertips left a brief indentation on the metal.
He raised his eyes and calmly met Zhou Ai's nervous and inquiring gaze. The soft light in the restaurant reflected tiny spots of light in his clear eyes.
Chu Yi did not answer immediately. Instead, he gently put down his fork, placed his hands neatly on his knees, and thought about the question seriously.
In the brief silence, only the faint city noise outside the window filled the air.
"Publicly," Chu Yi began, his voice steady as always, yet slower than usual, each word weighing heavily. "It means your fans, the media, and even... my family and colleagues at the hospital will all know."
He stated the facts without panic or excitement, more like he was calmly listing all the variables.
But Zhou Ai's heart tightened slightly after hearing Chu Yi's words.
"I know," Zhou Ai nodded, leaning forward unconsciously, her tone urgent but trying to remain calm, "I've considered all of this. There may be pressure and discussion, but we can face it together. I just... need to know what you think. Are you willing? Are you willing to let our relationship stand in the light of day?"
Chu Yi looked at the undisguised expectation and cautious nervousness in his eyes, as if he was looking at a large animal exposing its most vulnerable belly to him.
He suddenly remembered Zhou Ai's hot tears last night, his clumsy but serious back in the kitchen today, and his eyes that dimmed in an instant because he was worried about his own wishes.
Those emotions that were suppressed by careful rationality quietly overflowed the dam.
Chu Yi lowered his eyelids slightly, and his long eyelashes cast a faint shadow under his eyes. When he raised his eyes again, there was a hint of a light but firm smile in his eyes.
"Zhou Ai," he called his name, his voice gentle and clear, "When I chose to be with you, I had already made all the preparations."
He didn't say "yes" directly, but this sentence was more powerful than any affirmative answer.
It means that from the moment of falling in love, Chu Yi has calmly accepted all consequences, including everything that may come with disclosure.
Zhou Ai was stunned for a moment, and then, huge joy exploded in his chest like fireworks, instantly dispelling all the gloom and uneasiness.
He almost wanted to jump up from his chair, but he forced himself to restrain himself. However, the corners of his mouth could not help but rise up, revealing an extremely brilliant smile, and his eyes even began to feel warm again.
"Really?" He couldn't help but confirm, with a trembling of excitement in his voice.
Chu Yi looked at Zhou Ai's undisguised ecstasy and couldn't help laughing himself, and said "hmm" softly.
"What if... your fans don't like me?"
Zhou Ai was just about to put a piece of broccoli into his mouth when he paused after hearing Chu Yi's words. Then, as if he had heard a funny joke, his mouth curled up into a bold and confident arc.
He put down the fork in his hand, leaned forward, and rested his elbows on the table. His peach blossom eyes looked at Chu Yi with a determined and slightly arrogant light in them.
"Don't like you?" Zhou Ai dragged out the words, her tone full of disbelief. "Impossible! Absolutely impossible!"
He extended his finger and tapped Chu Yi in the air, his eyes filled with the implication of "You have no idea how good you are." "Doctor Chu, Teacher Chu, my dear...you have to have some faith in my fans' judgment. What does it mean that they like me?"
Zhou Ai even paused deliberately, keeping the audience in suspense, before raising his chin and proudly announcing, "This proves that their aesthetic standards have been rigorously tested by the market and are top-notch! After all, an idol's taste is the ceiling for their fans!"
This is indeed in line with Zhou Ai's style. He first praised himself, and in the end did not forget to take the credit for himself. The logic is so self-consistent that it makes people laugh.
Seeing Chu Yi stunned by his twisted logic, Zhou Ai's smile deepened, and his tone slowed down a bit, with a bit of seriousness and comfort, "Don't worry. They like the real me, and the real me now loves you the most. They will feel it, just like..."
He blinked, lowering his voice with a touch of mysterious intimacy. "Just like 'π' back then, didn't it accurately discover me, a pearl, across a sea of people? This proves that people with true vision will ultimately point to the same correct answer."
Chu Yi listened to his domineering yet childish words of comfort, and looked at the trust and pride in his eyes without any cloud. He had only wanted to tease him on a whim, but he didn't expect that Zhou Ai's few words would instantly soothe his heart.
After hearing the end, Chu Yi couldn't help laughing. He shook his head, and a gentle smile appeared in his eyes.
"Heresy."
"How is this a perverse logic?"
Zhou Ai refuted confidently, picked up his fork again, and continued to enjoy his dinner in a good mood, "This is a reasonable inference based on facts. In short, put your heart back in your stomach, even if the sky falls, I will hold it up. If they dare not like you..."
He pretended to wave his fist, which looked a little funny with his handsome face. "Then I will... I will hold a few more concerts until they accept it!"
Chu Yi looked at him like this and finally laughed out loud.
Whether it is public or not, it seems no longer important.
What’s important is that they confirmed their feelings for each other and chose to face all possibilities of the future together.
The night outside the window is gentle, the lights inside the room are warm, and the tranquility and tacit understanding at this moment are better than a thousand words.
———
After packing up, Zhou Ai insisted on taking Chu Yi back to his own apartment. Chu Yi couldn't resist him, so he let him do it.
"Wait a moment, I'll drive the car over." Chu Yi nodded and stood under the street light beside the sidewalk.
The cold wind of the winter night immediately blew in his face, carrying moisture with it. He subconsciously buried half of his face in the soft cashmere scarf.
At this moment, he looked up in surprise and found that some crystal white particles were quietly falling -
It’s snowing, the first snow of this winter.
The snowflakes are small and light, falling sparsely and slowly from the dark blue sky.
Chu Yi grew up in the north and is no stranger to snow, but every time he sees it, he still feels a sense of tranquil beauty that washes away the dust.
He reached out his hand from his coat pocket, his long, white fingers half hidden by the cuff, and gently reached out to catch the falling snowflakes. The cold touch was fleeting, leaving a hint of dampness on his fingertips.
Meanwhile, Zhou Ai had already pulled out of the parking lot. He slowly approached, the car's automatic headlights lighting up, two beams of light piercing the dim night, just enough to illuminate the area under the streetlight ahead.
In the beam of light, Chu Yi was slightly raising his head, watching the falling snowflakes intently.
The black cashmere scarf made the lower half of his face look even whiter. Tiny snowflakes fell silently on his soft black hair, on his thick and long eyelashes, and even a few drops got stuck in the folds of his scarf.
The dim light from the street lamps and the bright light from the car lights intertwined, outlining a soft halo around Chu Yi. Snowflakes danced around him, making him look like an elf who had accidentally fallen into the mortal world, or like the protagonist in a carefully composed shot in a movie, pure, peaceful, and beautiful to the point of being unreal.
Zhou Ai sat in the driver's seat, momentarily forgetting what to do. He gripped the steering wheel, held his breath, and quietly watched the scene before him.
The noisy world seemed to have pressed the mute button at this moment, leaving only the silent falling snowflakes and the figure in the light and shadow that made his heart flutter.
Chu Yi seemed to notice the approach and stop of the car lights. He slowly turned his head and looked straight in the direction of the light beam.
His eyes appeared particularly clear under the light, because when he looked up at the snow just now, there was still a hint of haziness and concentration in his eyes.
Their eyes met.
Through the car window glass and the flying snowflakes, the two people's eyes met in the air.
Zhou Ai could see the slight surprise in Chu Yi's eyes, and then a faint smile appeared on his face.
Chu Yi stood there, watching the car window slowly lower, revealing Zhou Ai's smiling face. The night light cast a soft shadow on his sharply defined profile.
Before Chu Yi could speak, Zhou Ai suddenly leaned forward and quickly and accurately hooked his left hand around the back of Chu Yi's neck.
The next second, Zhou Ai raised her head, accurately captured Chu Yi's slightly cool lips, and gave her a gentle and brief kiss.
The kiss came suddenly but not hurriedly, carrying the freshness of a snowy night and the warm breath of Zhou Ai.
Snowflakes gently fell on the foreheads and noses of the two people who were close to each other, and were instantly melted by their body temperature.
Instantly separate.
Zhou Ai loosened his hand, his eyes flashing with a light of success and deep tenderness. He chuckled softly and said, "A goodnight kiss on the first snow."
Chu Yi remained slightly bent forward, his cheeks flushing softly under the streetlights and the snow. Tiny beads of snow on his eyelashes trembled as he blinked. He stared blankly at Zhou Ai, the warmth lingering on his lips more distinct than the snowflakes.
Zhou Ai looked at him like this, her heart softened, and her voice became even softer: "Hurry up and get in the car, it's cold outside."
Chu Yi then stood up, pursed his lips which seemed to still carry the other person's warmth, walked around to the passenger seat, opened the door and sat in.
The warm air in the car instantly enveloped him, quietly hiding the lingering heat in his ears.
Zhou Ai leaned over and expertly buckled his seatbelt. His fingertips brushed against his coat collar, causing a slight tingle. He looked at Chu Yi's still slightly flushed cheeks and started the car in a good mood.
"Let's go home."
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