Chapter 10
As soon as the words came out, both of them were silent for a moment.
Cen Zhao felt that his words were a bit abrupt. After all, he had just mentioned pursuing her today, and brought her home in the evening. Now it seemed that the word "pursuit" had become a bit hypocritical.
So he coughed dryly and tried to make amends: "I have a folding bed in my study. It's 1.2 meters wide when opened. You don't have to worry about me having no place to sleep."
Chen Liuchi had no intention of taking Qiao, but after hearing him arrange for him to be in the study in just a few words, he couldn't help but laugh and pretended to be reserved: "Isn't it too disturbing?"
Cen Zhao heard the smile in his tone and opened the car door, got out, and walked to the driver's side with an umbrella. He tapped lightly on the glass. His face and voice, blurred by the rain, were reflected on the window. "Please do me a favor, Boss Shen."
Cen Zhao's house is a simple two-bedroom apartment, but he lives alone, so the smaller room has been converted into a study.
When he opened the door, Cen Zhao remembered that he had not had time to repair or oil the door hinge, so he had to bite the bullet and face the creaking sound. He thought that things should be done day by day, and if he was lazy, he would be laughed at.
But Chen Liuchi didn't notice any of this. The moment he entered, he was startled by the lifelike skeleton model directly opposite the study door. It wasn't a full-scale replica of a human figure, but rather half a human-sized figure, perched on a shelf facing the entrance. Its large head was particularly conspicuous, with dark eye sockets that would startle anyone who caught sight of it.
"Excuse me,"
Cen Zhao naturally noticed Chen Liuchi's surprise, and even felt that the other person's hair stood up for a moment, like a puppy with its fur standing on end.
"I'll cover it with a cloth," he said.
"fine."
Chen Liuchi came to his senses and felt a little embarrassed. It was embarrassing that a grown man could be frightened by a toy model. "It's just that I just came in unprepared. I'm not afraid of this."
Cen Zhao turned on the lights, and the warm yellow color made the skull look less cold. "I bought this in Europe during my first year of graduate school. It was in a small antique shop. The owner said it was a circus magic trick prop made of sheep bones. I thought it was interesting, so I bought it."
The focus of the sinking pool was naturally not on the skeleton. He looked at Cen Zhao and asked, "Do you want to go abroad for exchange?" It was rare to hear of forensic doctors studying abroad.
Cen Zhao hummed, then walked into the study, bent down, and pulled out the sofa bed. "I originally studied clinical medicine, but later passed the exam and got a job as a forensic doctor at the Municipal Bureau."
Chen Liuchi was quite curious. To have been selected by the municipal bureau, he must have a very good academic background and overall quality. Why did he choose to work as a forensic doctor? Chen Liuchi believed that with Cen Zhao's ability, if he was admitted to the hospital and evaluated for a professional title, he would definitely be promoted to associate senior by his thirties.
However, Cen Zhao did not continue to speak, and Chen Liuchi did not ask any further. He would know sooner or later, and there was no need to rush for that day.
"Take a shower first. Go straight into the bathroom and turn left. There are disposable toothbrushes, towels, and a mouthwash cup under the sink. Feel free to use the toiletries. I'll find you some clothes that fit you."
As Cen Zhao spoke, he made up his sofa bed, raised his eyes and met Chen Liuchi's gaze, staring blankly, a bit like a dull puppy.
He couldn't help but reach out and wipe the puppy's head: "Did you hear that? Isn't it uncomfortable to be wet? Take off your coat first."
The rain was so heavy that a small flower umbrella was obviously not enough to protect two grown men from the wind and rain. Even though Cen Zhao kept tilting the umbrella towards the sinking pool, the raindrops still found their way in. The short distance of just a hundred meters from the temporary parking lot to the apartment building was enough to soak the two men.
Most of Chenliuchi's shoulders were wet, but he didn't move. He let Cen Zhao rub his head for a while before speaking: "You wash first. I have nothing to do tomorrow, so there's no rush to go to bed."
Cen Zhao smiled and gently pressed his palm on his forehead: "If you are here, I will definitely not be able to sleep early tonight."
The implication was self-evident. Chen Liuchi seemed to have only just realized the ambiguous atmosphere. He lowered his eyes and hummed, then walked into the bathroom with red ears.
It was not until the sound of water was heard in the bathroom that Cen Zhao breathed a sigh of relief and laughed for no reason. However, he did not expect that his laughter was a little loud. He quickly covered up the sound and glanced towards the bathroom. Seeing that the sound of water in the bathroom had not stopped, he dared to continue the smile in his eyes.
What a loser, Cen Zhao, he thought to himself.
But I soon thought, when pursuing someone, what's the point of talking about future prospects?
While he was showering in the sink, Cen Zhao placed clean pajamas by the bathroom door and tidied up the house briefly. It wasn't a mess, except for a thin layer of dust from being gone three days. The vegetable leaves in the kitchen refrigerator were wilting. Cen Zhao had originally wanted to make a simple midnight snack, but seeing the situation, he had to deal with the kitchen waste first. Finally, he settled for the next best thing and cut up some still-dry ginger and made a pot of brown sugar ginger tea.
Spicy steam rose from the pot, tinged with a faint sweetness. Chen Liuchi, fresh from his shower and drying his hair, felt his stomach burn at the smell. He glanced forward and saw ginger tea already on the table. He couldn't deny it, so he bit the bullet and asked, "Have you made ginger tea?"
Cen Zhao responded, and when he looked up, he saw the other person's expression of being ready to die, and he couldn't help but laugh: "Don't you like drinking?"
It's more than just dislike, I really, really dislike it!
Chen Liuchi never ate ginger since he was a child. Even when stir-fried potatoes with ginger shreds, he would patiently pick out the ginger strands one by one. When he was a child, Shen Maoyuan would pinch his nose and force him to drink ginger soup to ward off the cold after getting caught in the rain. Later, when he grew up and dared to battle with his brother, he never drank ginger tea again.
But now they definitely couldn't make a scene over a bowl of ginger tea like they did when they were children. What's more, Chenliuchi also had the courtesy and awareness of a guest. He replied dryly with "no", his fingers already touching the white porcelain bowl.
"The kettle is in the kitchen."
Cen Zhao pushed his hand away, put the ginger tea bowl back on the tea tray, and motioned for Chen Liuchi to follow him: "Or would you like a cup of hot milk?"
Chenliuchi was a little surprised: "I can drink ginger tea."
Cen Zhao just shook his head and poured a cup of hot water into the sinking pool.
Chen Liuchi was stuffed with hot water without explanation. Holding the cup, he sighed: "If this were my brother, he would have grabbed the back of my neck and forced me to drink it."
Cen Zhao smiled when he heard this, and said leisurely: "There's nothing I can do. Boss Shen is the boss now, and I have to have more points when I'm pursuing someone."
Chen Liuchi took a sip of hot water and whispered, "You don't have to chase after me."
If it's something that both of you are willing to do, it's okay to have fewer steps in the process.
Perhaps because he had just taken a shower, the redness on Chenliuchi's ears was more obvious than before, with a hint of moist heat and the scent of shower gel. The fragrance was not strong, but it was enough to overwhelm people.
Cen Zhao didn't speak immediately. He only felt a trace of indescribable emotions slowly spreading upwards, like some kind of tiny electric current, hitting his pulse again and again.
After a while, he smiled slightly and said, "I want to chase her."
"I'll catch up slowly, and you can respond slowly. There's no rush."
Chenliuchi is not a patient person, but sometimes he has to admit that a slower process is indeed more valuable than getting a result directly.
At night, Chen Liuchi slept in the master bedroom. Cen Zhao changed his bed sheets and quilt covers, and even his pillow was a brand new soybean pillow. When he lay down on it, he could hear a rustling sound. He didn't know if it was the beans rolling or his heart beating, but it was so noisy that Chen Liuchi didn't fall asleep until the second half of the night.
When I woke up the next day, the bedroom was gloomy and the thick dark curtains were still drawn, so I couldn't see the sky outside.
Chen Liuchi fumbled for his phone to check the time, then sat up in bed. It was almost ten o'clock! It was really outrageous to sleep in at this time in someone else's house.
But Cen Zhao seemed to have predicted it, and the phone called him as soon as he woke up.
"Arise?"
It was very quiet over there on Cen Zhao's side, making his voice particularly clear.
Chen Liuchi hummed, feeling strangely embarrassed. Although he couldn't see the person, the other person's voice was as clear as if it was right in front of him. "Sorry," he said, "I overslept."
"No." Cen Zhao smiled. "You can sleep as long as you want. I won't chase you away."
Chen Liuchi's spine collapsed when he heard this. He held on for less than two minutes before lying back on the bed and asking a nonsense question: "Did you go to work?"
Cen Zhao didn't think it was nonsense and replied: "Well, I'll be back to write the report. If everything goes well, I'll be off work on time at six o'clock."
Chenliuchi perked up a little: "Then I'll pick you up."
Cen Zhao agreed and asked him to go to the port to drive his car back. "The car keys are on the rack at the door. The parking lot is located at 203, Area C, through the east gate of the complex."
"Also," he paused, his tone a little unnatural, "it rained so hard last night that your coat and shirt don't seem to be dry yet. If you don't mind, you can wear mine."
Chenliuchi hummed vaguely: "I don't mind."
Cen Zhao seemed to smile and said, "That's good." A vague voice came from the side. He answered briefly and then said to Shen Liuchi, "I have to go back to the meeting. Breakfast is in the kitchen. You can heat it up and eat it yourself. See you tonight."
"See you tonight," Chen Liuchi couldn't help but jump for joy the whole day. Even Chen Du, who called to gossip, heard something was wrong and immediately screamed, "Oh my god, oh my god, Chen Liuchi, you guys haven't already...?"
"Stop, can you think of something healthy and positive?" Chen Liuchi scolded while driving. "I just stayed at Cen Zhao's house last night. It was raining heavily, and he was worried about me driving back."
"Oh, I'm worried~" Chen Du said to him twice before asking, "So where are you now? Master Lu heard about our bar's difficulties and introduced me to two bands. I was thinking of opening the bar tonight and letting the bands perform to see how it goes. What do you say?"
Chenliuchi asked, "What time?"
"We'll be opening a small nightclub after seven, but the band needs to come first to test the environment and discuss salaries. The bar hasn't been cleaned up in a while, and I just hired a cleaner. You need to be there by four at the latest. The beverage manager hasn't started yet, so you'll have to work part-time for two days."
Chen Liuchi calculated the time and agreed, but put forward a condition: "I have to leave around 5:30 to pick up Cen Zhao from get off work."
Chen Du replied proudly: "I'll give you two hours of love leave then."
Since he had to go to work, he couldn't just sit there and relax. Chen Liuchi first drove Cen Zhao's car back to the community, then changed back to his own car and went home to tidy himself up.
He was still wearing Cen Zhao's clothes, a simple pair of jeans and a T-shirt. However, Cen Zhao was taller and had a bigger frame than him, so his pants were two knuckles loose and he had to pull them up from time to time.
Chen Liuchi changed into a pair of overalls, thought for a few seconds but didn't change into a T-shirt. However, he was afraid that his clothes would be stained with dust after being busy in the afternoon, so he rummaged through the drawers and found a denim blue jacket and stuffed it into his bag. Then he went downstairs and drove to the bar area. During the trip, he did not forget to send a message to Cen Zhao to report his itinerary, but the other party was probably still busy and did not reply.
It was just half past three when he arrived at the bar. At first, Chen Liuchi could still think about when Cen Zhao would reply, but as the band arrived and drinks were delivered to his door, he gradually became so busy that he had no time to rest. He put on his denim blue jacket because he was hot, and took it off because he was cold, so he had to put it on his back with the sleeves tied in front of his chest.
When he finally had time to stop and take out his cell phone to check the time, the numbers 17:20 stood out in the dim light.
"I have to go!"
Chen Liuchi hurriedly took off his gloves and threw them into Chen Du's arms: "Cen Zhao is about to get off work, and I think I'll be stuck in traffic if I go there."
"The band just went on stage!" Chen Du stopped him. "Three minutes. How about you listen? If not, you can ride my motorcycle over there. It's cool and stylish, it won't get stuck in traffic, and you can show off in front of your forensic doctor Cen."
Chen Liuchi's heart moved when he heard this. He washed his hands and followed Chen Du to the front stage: "It's agreed that it will only take three minutes. Give me the car keys."
Chen Du threw the key over, and at that moment the overhead lights went out, leaving only two floor lamps on the left and right sides of the stage. They were warm yellow, with a dim light, and the atmosphere was very different from usual.
The sinking pool was a little surprised, and this surprise gradually turned into astonishment as the band started to speak—
The band sang slow songs, and there was no noisy and lively atmosphere. The three people just stood on the stage, each doing their own job, and sang quietly.
The small lights around the dance floor lit up one by one as the singing went on. The light was not bright enough and everything was hazy. The echo of the music seemed like some kind of physical curtain under the light, creating a quiet universe.
Chen Liuchi listened quietly, and in an instant he seemed to be back to last night. In the narrow carriage, Cen Zhao's gaze seemed to have a magical brilliance, making all the rain vapor floating in the air fall into his eyes.
"Excuse me, please."
Someone suddenly touched his shoulder. Chen Liuchi turned around and suddenly saw the figure in his thoughts.
He saw Cen Zhao standing behind him, looking over with a smile. In an instant, last night's rain and the song at this moment became tangible, breathing and dancing in his eyes:
"Can I add you as a friend, Shenliuchi?"
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