At this moment, neither of them spoke, only their eyes met with each other, as if they wanted to see clearly into each other's heart.
After a long while, Cao Ze showed a puzzled expression. He looked at Xie Qi standing in front of him, frowned, and asked, "Why did you choose me? What do you want?"
Xie Qi slowly walked up to Cao Ze, his lips curled up slightly, revealing a sly smile. Then he blinked and said softly, "Marshal, I can help you get any information you want. But... I have a small condition, that is, you have to be with me, how about it?"
Hearing this, Cao Ze looked Xie Qi up and down and said coldly, "You are a man."
When Xie Qi heard this, his heart sank and the smile on his face froze instantly.
How could he have forgotten such an important thing? This was the Republic of China era, and people's thinking was still very conservative, especially for same-sex love, which was even more difficult for the public to accept.
Thinking of this, Xie Qi couldn't help but start to worry. What if his wife in this life is a straight woman who cannot accept homosexuality?
Could it be that... my wholehearted love is going to go to waste like this?
With an uneasy mood, Xie Qi asked cautiously: "Marshal, you... don't like men?"
However, Cao Ze just glanced at him indifferently and replied expressionlessly: "I don't like it."
In fact, Cao Ze himself knew that he had never truly liked anyone, so naturally he had no idea what it felt like to like someone.
Moreover, in today's society, it's all about one man and one woman, which led Cao Ze to think that he would be the same as them in the future.
But this answer was like a bucket of cold water, ruthlessly poured on Xie Qi's heart.
Xie Qi immediately became anxious and pressed on, "You like me, don't you? I'm not bad looking, and my figure is okay too."
Cao Ze: "I'm not bad looking either, and I have a better figure than you."
This one sentence made Xie Qi break down again. How could he forget that his body shape was now like the boiled chicken of the original owner?
Although the opera performance is beautiful, it is indeed not as good as Cao Ze's.
Then, Xie Qi sighed and said again: "Don't you like listening to music? I can sing for you every day."
Cao Ze: "I can come to the teahouse to listen."
Xie Qi: "You have to pay to come to the teahouse, I will sing for you for free."
Cao Ze: "No, I have money."
Xie Qi: "I can help you!"
Cao Ze: “No need.”
Xie Qi: "You really don't want to consider liking men?"
Cao Ze: “Not considering it.”
Seeing this, Xie Qi felt a little disappointed, but he quickly gave in and cautiously tried to probe, "Since being lovers doesn't work, then we can be friends, right?"
At this moment, Cao Ze quietly stared at the anxious and sincere expression on Xie Qi's face, and the last trace of doubt in his heart about him gradually disappeared.
Cao Ze smiled slightly and said slowly, "It is an honor to be friends with Mr. Qi."
After hearing this, Xie Qi's tense heartstrings finally relaxed and he breathed a long sigh of relief.
After all, Cao Ze was willing to make friends with him, which meant that he had begun to trust him. Thinking of this, Xie Qi walked to the table with joy, opened the drawer, and took out the map.
Afterwards, Xie Qi handed the map to Cao Ze and said with a smile, "This map is our friendship gift."
Cao Ze opened the drawing with curiosity, and when his eyes fell on the paper, a look of astonishment appeared on his face.
It turns out that this drawing is not an ordinary print or machine-drawn product, but a hand-drawn map.
Cao Ze's eyes widened, and he looked at Xie Qi beside him in disbelief, and asked, "This... did you draw this?"
Xie Qi's lips curled up slightly, and he nodded with a smug smile, saying, "The security there is very tight, and maps are even harder to come by. I can only draw them. What do you think? It's worth being my friend, right?"
Cao Ze was even more shocked after hearing this. You know, this hand-drawn map not only has smooth lines and accurate proportions, but also has clear annotations and detailed details. It is definitely not something that an ordinary person can complete.
He couldn't help but reassess the seemingly ordinary man before him, and asked doubtfully, "Who are you? How could you draw such a detailed map by hand? Does that mean you can come and go freely there?"
Although Cao Ze was filled with surprise, he did not harbor any doubts about Xie Qi. After all, from the very beginning until now, Xie Qi had always impressed him as a friendly and trustworthy person.
Facing Cao Ze's barrage of questions, Xie Qi remained calm and composed. He smiled, gazed into Cao Ze's eyes, and slowly said, "As you guessed, I do have the ability to come and go freely."
Hearing this answer, Cao Ze took a deep breath. It was difficult for ordinary people to even get close to such a confidential place, let alone come and go as freely as Xie Qi.
Cao Ze: "Who are you? I don't think they would let an ordinary person in."
Xie Qi: "You don't need to care who I am. You just need to know that I have great power there and can help you pass on information."
Hearing his words, Cao Ze hadn't recovered from his shock when a new question came to his mind. So, Cao Ze immediately asked, "Then... then why did you help me?"
Xie Qi smiled again, and this time his smile seemed particularly kind and warm.
He replied softly, "Because we are all the same. I am Chinese too."
This simple sentence was like a warm current flowing into Cao Ze's heart, making him understand everything immediately.
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