believe
"What makes it different?" This piqued Wen Xubai's interest, and he raised an eyebrow to ask.
"It's just..." Qi Zui scratched his head. He was always short of words, and after searching his mind for a long time, he couldn't think of a word to describe it.
Wen Xubai said calmly, "No need to agonize over your words, just use plain language to describe it."
Feeling a little embarrassed that his little scheme had been seen through, Qi Zui chuckled and scratched his head. After thinking for a moment, he said, "It's just... I thought someone like you, with your clothes so clean and tidy from head to toe, clearly someone who had been specially ironed and groomed, exuding an air of wealth, shouldn't be in Huaihua Lane..."
"Just because of that? You find that strange?" Wen Xubai raised an eyebrow.
"Yes and no, that's just one of the reasons." Qi Zui shrugged. "But at the time, I thought that rich people don't have to worry about making a living every day and can enjoy life without any worries. They should all be very happy. But you looked depressed and tired, so I had some doubts and curiosity."
"What are you curious about?"
He had barely finished speaking when he was interrupted by a loud voice.
"Guest, your plain noodles are here!"
The chef placed two steaming bowls of noodles in front of the two people, and billowing steam rose up, blocking their view.
The chef enthusiastically pointed to two small bottles on the table and said with a smile, "The soy sauce and vinegar are here. Please add them if you need them!"
"Thank you," Wen Xubai and Qi Zui both replied politely.
Only after the chef left did Wen Xubai turn his gaze back to Qi Zui's face. Through a layer of mist, it was as if he were looking at flowers through a fog, and he continued to ask, "What are you curious about?"
Qi thought for a moment and said, "It's just... I really want to know what's troubling you, I really want to understand your feelings and see what you've been through..."
He had a little trouble mixing noodles with his left hand, and his brows furrowed slightly as he spoke. Wen Xubai couldn't stand it anymore, so he took his bowl, mixed the noodles, and then gave it back to him.
Qi Zui had always been the one to mix noodles for Wen Xubai, so this was the first time Wen Xubai had done it for him. Qi Zui was somewhat flattered and, when he took the bowl, he wore an extremely exaggerated expression of "admiration."
Wen Xubai: "·······"
She's being dramatic again.
Ignoring his winking expression, Wen Xubai picked at the noodles in his bowl and continued, "And then?"
"And then?" Qi Zui stuffed a mouthful of noodles into his mouth and mumbled, "And then you knew everything, didn't you...? Once you started exploring, you couldn't stop."
"I can't help it, you're just too charming. I was originally trying to win you over first, but it turns out you've won me over first."
Wen Xubai listened to his rambling nonsense with a bit of helplessness, "So you treated me to noodles back then out of pity?"
"Uh...I guess so..." Qi Zui touched the tip of his nose. "But you didn't accept it back then, did you?"
He was referring to the fact that Wen Xubai had paid for two bowls of noodles back then.
“But it’s a good thing you didn’t accept…” Qi Zui poked at the noodles in his bowl, “otherwise I would have had no reason to contact you the second time we met.”
Hearing this, Wen Xubai paused in his noodle-making, a subtle feeling creeping into his heart. He pursed his lips and said casually, "Wouldn't it be better if we didn't meet a second time?"
Qi asked in shock, "What's so good about it???"
“If we hadn’t met a second time, you wouldn’t have ended up in the police station, I wouldn’t have gone to your house, I wouldn’t have met Lin Xi, I wouldn’t have discovered your true identity, and I wouldn’t have exposed you to Ruan Xing and Wen Tingyi… If none of this had happened, you wouldn’t have returned to the Wen family, wouldn’t have been dragged into the police station, and perhaps Lin Xi wouldn’t have died. You would still be living with her, even if life was poor, you would still be at peace…”
"Chen Che!" Qi Zui interrupted him, his pupils trembling. "If it weren't for all of this, we wouldn't have met, and we wouldn't have been able to fall in love!"
Wen Xubai met Qi's most wounded eyes and couldn't help but feel a jolt in his heart.
Qi looked him straight in the eye and said, word by word, "Ache, you can't control the course of fate. Even without you, Zhang Xiu would have died sooner or later, that USB drive would still have ended up in Wen Xushi's hands, and Lin Xi would have met her end too! Ache, don't blame yourself for everything, it's not your fault!"
“I know you deliberately approached me back then, wanting to use me. But if it weren’t for you, after such a devastating blow, I might have given up on life, or one day I might have been murdered without even knowing why. Do you understand?”
Wen Xubai was stunned. He had never imagined that Qi Zui would have such thoughts.
He said, "I know you want to use me, but I'm willing to do it because for me, nothing in this world is more important than you. Even myself is far less important than you in my heart! Ah Che, you didn't hurt me; on the contrary, you saved me. It's because I fell in love with you that I've been able to get to where I am today, and it's also because I fell in love with you that I'm willing to regain hope for life. So... please stop blaming yourself, okay?"
"Fate has ordained that our destinies are intertwined, our souls drawn together, and our flesh and blood bound together. So let us follow its arrangements and enjoy our time to the fullest, shall we?" Qi Zui's eyes trembled, as if pleading.
Wen Xubai's thin lips parted slightly, and he remained silent for a long while.
My heart was pounding wildly, as if some long-simmering place had finally been calmed, and in another long-dormant corner, blood was finally flowing again...
He couldn't hear anything around him except Qi Zui's words, "Souls attract each other, flesh and blood love each other," which echoed in his ears. It was a soft voice, yet it seemed deafening, filling his entire brain and making it throb...
Qi Zui whispered earnestly in his ear, "A Che, I love you. You have to believe in me, and you have to believe in yourself too."
After a long while, his heart was as calm as spring water. Even though Qi Zui had said "I love you" to him countless times before, only this sentence at this moment seemed to penetrate his soul and directly pierced Wen Xubai's heart, like a fixator, truly soothing his long-standing anxiety.
Even after the two walked out of the noodle shop and strolled through the breezy alley, Wen Xubai was still not in a state of shock.
He prided himself on his composure and clear-headedness, but only now did he realize that Qi was far more steadfast and insightful than he was when it came to the matter of "love."
Unlike me, he wouldn't hesitate and look back. Once he loves, he will love steadfastly.
Wen Xubai lowered his eyelashes and pondered for a long time.
Suddenly, he stopped in his tracks.
Qi Zui turned to look at him, seemingly puzzled, "What's wrong?"
The next second, Wen Xubai stepped forward and took Qi Zui's hand.
Qi was somewhat surprised. When he looked up, he met Wen Xubai's incredibly clear eyes. He saw that Wen Xubai's usually cold face now showed a smile, his eyes sparkling, no longer showing the turmoil of before.
Wen Xubai looked at Qi Zui very seriously and said, word by word, "Qi Zui, you used to hold my hand and walk with me. This time, let me hold your hand."
Qi Zui's thin lips parted slightly, a hint of surprise in his eyes. The next second, however, he smiled calmly and nodded, saying, "Alright, then this time, don't shake off my hand again."
Don't push me away anymore, and don't leave me anymore. Let's hold hands like this and walk together forever.
Wen Xubai smiled and said, "Okay, it won't happen again."
The path seemed unusually long today, and both of them slowed their pace, consciously or unconsciously, savoring a long-lost tranquility. With their two warm and connected hearts, they walked forward step by step.
The dim streetlights gradually lengthened the shadows of the two people, illuminating their smiling faces.
Fiery red maple leaves drifted down, carpeting the two figures in a beautiful, dazzling red carpet. Only when their tall, slender figures disappeared into the corridor did the scene, like a fleeting firework, slowly dissipate in the evening breeze.
Inside the stairwell, two slow footsteps approached, their sound clearly audible in the quiet, deserted space.
Standing in front of the familiar door, Qi felt the keys in his pants pocket with the most difficulty, and regretted putting them in his right pocket.
Wen Xubai stood to the side, watching Qi Zui, who looked like he was writhing in pain, and finally sighed, reaching out to put his hand into Qi Zui's right pocket.
Qi Zui was wearing straight-leg jeans today, which were a bit tight. When he felt Wen Xubai's hand reach in, he couldn't help but shudder.
"Where did you put it?" Men's trouser pockets are generally quite large. Wen Xubai fumbled around for a long time but couldn't find the key, so he could only ask Qi Zui.
His right hand was clearly more dexterous than his left, and in just a few seconds he had thoroughly searched the area covered by the pocket. A surge of heat rose from his lower abdomen, up his chest, and rushed to his head.
Qi Zui felt that if Wen Xubai continued to touch him, something terrible might happen, so he quickly pressed down on Wen Xubai's flailing hands, swallowed hard, and said, "In...in the interlayer!"
"A hidden compartment?" Wen Xubai looked down and discovered that there was a pocket within a pocket in Qi Zui's pants pocket, which left him speechless.
Making clothes and then incorporating this "Infernal Affairs" element?
The inner pocket was much tighter than the outer pocket fabric and had very little elasticity. Wen Xubai stuck his fingers in and fiddled with it for a long time before he finally touched the string of cold silver objects, hooked them onto the rings, and pulled them out.
Qi Zui quickly covered his nose.
Wen Xubai looked at him like he was an idiot: "What?"
"It's nothing..." Qi Zui said with an embarrassed smile.
Wen Xubai: "?"
Qi Zui's thoughts have always been very unpredictable; I wonder what he's thinking about now.
However, he was already used to it, so Wen Xubai ignored him and turned to unlock the door.
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