Chapter 31
Tao Xi felt that Lin Qinhe seemed to be angry again, and it seemed to have started with the topic of Huang Qing.
Although Lin Qinhe had a sullen face and didn't say anything, he was still peeling crabs for him. He only ate some light porridge and side dishes from beginning to end.
Tao Xi ate the crab meat prepared by Lin Qinhe in silence. Sour and sweet bubbles rose in his chest, but he did not dare to try to burst them.
The ambiguity is sweet, yet also frightening.
He wanted to close his eyes and immerse himself in it for a while, even if it was just wishful thinking.
After eating, Tao Xi followed Lin Qinhe out of the restaurant. He walked slowly on purpose because he would soon be sent back to Wenhua No. 1 Middle School and back to his empty dormitory.
He couldn't bear to leave Lin Qinhe.
Lin Qinhe also seemed to slow down his pace.
In the winding corridor, the lake is dotted with lotus lanterns, and voices can be heard faintly in the pavilion not far away. The night sky is as clear and soft as the lake water, soaking up a crescent moon.
But this space on the lake was very quiet, with only the creaking sound of feet on the corridor floor.
Tao Xi followed behind Lin Qinhe, lowered his head and quietly stepped on Lin Qinhe's shadow.
It would be great if I could keep the person here by stepping on the shadow.
He was lost in thought and accidentally bumped into the back of Lin Qinhe who suddenly stopped.
"I'm sorry." Tao Xi touched his nose and said to Lin Qinhe in a muffled voice, feeling nervous.
You won’t get caught, right?
But stepping on shadows is not illegal.
Lin Qinhe turned slightly and suddenly reached out to hold his left wrist. Tao Xi's left hand trembled violently. He took a light breath and tilted his head to look at Lin Qinhe. The light in the corridor was dim. Lin Qinhe looked at him with her long eyelashes lowered, and the light of the lake and the moon were swaying in her dark eyes.
The swaying sound is heart-pounding.
Lin Qinhe pulled him to his side and whispered, "Walk beside me."
Don't always look at me behind my back.
Tao Xi's eyelashes trembled suddenly, and Lin Qinhe quickly let go of his wrist, but the warm touch remained there, running along his arm all the way to his heart, beating violently.
He suddenly couldn't tell whether he was reluctant to leave Lin Qinhe or the gentle moonlight tonight.
The two walked side by side in silence and tacit understanding in the night and the lake light. When they crossed the corridor on the lake and came to the bright and spacious hall, Tao Xi was still a little uncomfortable and raised his hand to cover his eyes.
This is a very famous crab restaurant. Although it is already late, there are still many customers queuing up for seats in the lounge area at the edge of the hall.
Tao Xi suddenly thought, Lin Qinhe could take him directly to the private room to eat, so didn’t he need to reserve a seat in advance?
However, Lin Qinhe clearly met him at Qiao's house by chance tonight and brought him along for dinner.
A guess emerged from deep in his heart. He just thought about it for a moment, and it was as if fireworks exploded above his head, dazzling him.
But maybe it was just a false alarm.
Tao Xi turned his head to look at Lin Qinhe beside him again. His beating heart kept urging him to try again. He opened his mouth and wanted to ask something when he suddenly heard a familiar voice.
"Brother Qinhe, why are you here? Hey, and Taoxi?"
Not far away, Yang Duole was holding a cup of milk tea, and Yang Zhengming, who was dressed in a suit, was following him. Yang Zhengming was holding a few dolls that he had picked up from the claw machine in the lobby lounge. It was obvious that he had just accompanied Yang Duole to catch dolls.
The father and son came over. Yang Zhengming smiled at Lin Qinhe first, then looked at Tao Xi beside him. He was stunned for a moment, smiled politely at him, and then asked Lin Qinhe:
"Qin He, are you coming to eat with your classmates?"
Lin Qinhe almost instantly felt the mood of the people around him drop. He turned his head to glance at Tao Xi who had his eyelashes drooping, slightly shielded him behind him, nodded to Yang Zhengming and called him "Uncle Yang".
Then he looked at Yang Duole who was looking at him and Tao Xi, frowned and said, "Why are you going out right after you were discharged from the hospital?"
The minimally invasive surgery Yang Duole underwent was not serious, and he would be able to be discharged from the hospital in less than a week. However, given Luo Zhengyin and his grandparents' attentive attitude towards his care, they would never allow Yang Duole to leave the house without having recovered well.
Yang Duole glanced at Tao Xi again and complained to Lin Qinhe, "I can't eat anything in the hospital. I'm almost suffocated. I finally got home and have to eat light food. I've been holding it in for a long time and finally found a chance to escape and eat hairy crabs today."
Yang Zhengming smiled helplessly and said, "Normally he ignores me when I look for him. It's only at times like this that he thinks of me as his father. He's so heartless."
Although he was talking about his son, his tone was somewhat doting.
Yang Duole glared at Yang Zhengming and cursed, "Who can be as heartless as you!"
He and Yang Zhengming had a distant relationship since childhood. In recent years, Yang Zhengming suddenly wanted to ease the relationship with him, and the two of them had more contact.
Yang Zhengming still had a smile on his face and was not angry at his son's disrespect.
Lin Qinhe was absent-minded. He had a vague feeling that he had to take Tao Xi away from here as soon as possible. When he was about to say goodbye to the father and son in front of him, Yang Zhengming suddenly said to Tao Xi, who had been silent all the time:
"Taoxi, thank you for helping me bring a gift to Lele last time."
Tao Xi raised his eyelashes and looked at the colorful dolls in Yang Zhengming's arms that didn't match the suit he was wearing. Those dolls were beautiful and exquisite, and they were the toys that every child would like and would fight with their parents for.
He looked at Yang Zhengming, who was smiling politely, raised the corner of his mouth and smiled, and said politely: "You're welcome, Uncle Yang."
Yang Duole looked at Tao Xi, then at Yang Zhengming. The vague feeling of discomfort became stronger and stronger. He pursed his lips and asked Lin Qinhe, "Brother Qinhe, aren't you allergic to crabs? Why are you here?"
There was doubt in his tone, but more of a complaint.
He has always loved eating crabs. Since he was a child, he would pester Lin Qinhe to take him to the Crab House when the season came. Although eating with Lin Qinhe was boring because the Lin family members did not talk while eating, he knew that Lin Qinhe was very good at peeling crabs.
However, no matter how he acted coquettishly, Lin Qinhe would not agree.
But why did Lin Qinhe appear here? Still with Tao Xi?
Lin Qinhe said calmly: "I just wanted to invite Tao Xi to dinner, so I brought him here."
Yang Duole frowned, revealing an unhappy look.
Yang Zhengming smiled and asked Lin Qinhe: "It's hard to grab a private room here. You booked it a long time in advance, right? When did you book it?"
Lin Qinhe replied: "Last Sunday."
Tao Xi's eyelashes trembled, and she suddenly looked at Lin Qinhe, looking at his cold profile, and listening to him speak indifferently to Yang Duole and Yang Zhengming:
"It's getting late. I have to take Tao Xi back, so I'll leave first."
Yang Zhengming knew that the young master of the Lin family disliked him as much as his mother did, so he nodded and said, "Our movie is about to start. I'll treat you and your mother to dinner next time I have the chance."
Lin Qinhe responded perfunctorily.
Before Tao Xi had the time to say goodbye to the two of them politely, Lin Qinhe grabbed the arm and led him quickly out of the door.
He thought Lin Qinhe was going back, and he also wanted to escape from here quickly, so he followed Lin Qinhe outside in silence.
The moonlight was bright, but Tao Xi discovered that Lin Qinhe was not walking towards the parking lot where he came from. Instead, he was taken to a lamppost not far away. The bright yellow light shone through the frosted glass with furry circles of light.
Tao Xi looked at Lin Qinhe in confusion. Lin Qinhe stood in front of him, lowered his head and looked into his eyes, his eyes focused and serious.
It seemed as if I wanted to see his mood through his eyes.
Tao Xi's heart tightened, he obediently raised his chin slightly, curled the corners of his mouth, and curved his eyes. The bright yellow light cast two shadows under his eyelashes, revealing a smile.
He naturally asked Lin Qinhe: "What's wrong?"
Lin Qinhe just looked into his eyes silently. They were very close, surrounded by warm lights, so close that Tao Xi had to breathe lightly, so close that it was difficult for him to maintain the smile on his face.
Tao Xi blinked, reached out and touched his face, and asked jokingly: "Is there something on my face?"
Lin Qinhe asked in a low voice: "Why did you suddenly feel so sad after seeing Yang Duole?" His voice was softer than the moonlight, as if he was trying to coax the person in front of him to say something.
He discovered that Tao Xi's several inexplicable depressions seemed to be related to Yang Duole.
Tao Xi paused as she was touching her face. Her eyelashes trembled violently, and her chest felt sore that tears were coming out of her chest.
At that moment, he suddenly felt that he was not at all able to be as strong and optimistic as he had promised. He wanted to hug Lin Qinhe again, cry on his shoulder, and tell him everything without any hesitation.
But Tao Xi finally remained silent for a while, and said calmly: "I just suddenly remembered my sister, her name is also Lele, she is also sick, and I miss her very much."
He smiled at Lin Qinhe again and said in a relaxed tone: "But fortunately the school gave me a lot of money. I sent the money back, and she can buy medicine to treat her illness."
He didn't know that his eyelashes were trembling slightly, as if he was trying hard to suppress something from flowing out of his eyes.
Lin Qinhe frowned, knowing that Tao Xi was not telling the truth. He looked at the smile of the person in front of him and felt as if his heart was pierced by an invisible needle.
This subtle feeling of pain was unfamiliar to him, but he knew it was heartache.
Just because of an insincere smile.
At that time, he didn't know how much pain and resentment was hidden behind this smile, and how much his heart would ache after he found out.
Tao Xi seemed unable to bear Lin Qinhe's gaze. He turned his face slightly and pretended to urge him anxiously: "Didn't you say you wanted to go back? It's getting late, and I still have a lot of homework to do."
He obviously wanted to stay with Lin Qinhe forever, but he had no choice now.
"Copy mine when you go back." Lin Qinhe said confidently, and suddenly held his wrist again, leading him into the room.
Tao Xi didn't understand what Lin Qinhe was going to do, but he obediently didn't resist and was taken all the way back to the hall.
It was not until he was brought to a row of claw machines that he could no longer hold back his surprise. He looked at Lin Qinhe with wide eyes, not knowing what to say.
Lin Qinhe seemed a little embarrassed by the row of pink and green claw machines. He said, "Wait for me here." He immediately turned around and walked quickly to the front desk opposite, apparently to exchange game coins.
Tao Xi stared at Lin Qinhe's back motionlessly, clenching her fingers.
Lin Qinhe quickly came back with a bunch of game coins in his hands. He had a cold face and looked very uncomfortable because the cashier at the front desk played a joke on him.
Tao Xi looked at the silver metal game coin in Lin Qinhe's hand. The silver coin was shining like a star under the bright light. He asked Lin Qinhe: "Why do you suddenly want to play this? This is for children, right?"
The claw machine is totally inconsistent with Lin Qinhe’s character.
Lin Qinhe was stunned when he heard this. He was silent for a while and then said in a low voice: "I saw you looking at the doll that Uncle Yang was holding just now, and I thought you liked it."
Tao Xi was also stunned. He looked at the game coins that Lin Qinhe was holding carefully in his hand, and then looked at Lin Qinhe's uncomfortable face that was slightly turned away.
There were many young couples and parents with children who were playing the doll-catching game nearby. They were all looking at Lin Qinhe, laughing and whispering about how such a tall and handsome guy could also play the doll-catching game.
Tao Xi was silent for a few seconds, then suddenly raised the corners of his mouth to reveal a smile, a truly happy smile.
In fact, how could he like those dolls?
But he did feel happy. He took out a silver coin from Lin Qinhe's palm. The silver coin on his fingertips shone like a sixpence under the moon. His eyes also sparkled with stars. He smiled and said to Lin Qinhe:
"No, I like it very much, but I have never played it. Can you teach me?"
Lin Qinhe looked into Tao Xi's eyes, and his stern brows softened a little. He put the game coins on the small table beside him, took one out and threw it into the claw machine, showing Tao Xi how to grab the doll.
The operating table of the claw machine was set very low to take into account the height of children and girls, so Lin Qinhe had to bend down. Tao Xi, who was standing next to Lin Qinhe, also bent down. He glanced at Lin Qinhe's profile, then looked at the dazzling array of dolls in the glass window, and the corners of his mouth couldn't help but curl up.
It seemed that there was not a doll in there, but his favorite candy, emitting a sweet smell.
Lin Qinhe held the joystick and asked him, "Which one do you want?"
Tao Xi asked quietly: "Any one is fine?"
Lin Qinhe nodded.
Tao Xi pointed to a Pikachu doll at the top that was most likely to be caught, and said, "I want this one."
Lin Qinhe began to operate the clamp attentively, adjusting it for a long time, and only lowered it carefully after making sure it was correct.
But in fact, he has never even been to an amusement park, let alone played with a claw machine. The first Pikachu he picked up fell when it was near the exit.
Lin Qinhe frowned, curled his fingers, and looked a little embarrassed.
There are very few things in this world that he wants to do but cannot do well.
But unfortunately it happened today.
Tao Xi tried hard to hold back his laughter. They were both about sixteen or seventeen years old, and he was aroused by his competitive spirit. He was eager to try and said, "I'll do it!"
Lin Qinhe stepped aside.
Tao Xi threw the silver coin in, and imitated Lin Qinhe's way, carefully operating the clamp, looking left and right, up and down, and only dropped the clamp after confirming for a long time.
The clamp successfully caught the Pikachu and slowly rose up. Both of them couldn't help but hold their breath nervously, their eyes following the movement of the clamp slowly moving towards the exit.
Tao Xi thought this time there should be no problem, but the Pikachu fell down again inexplicably near the exit.
“…”
“…”
The two were silent for a few seconds.
Tao Xi said: "There must be something wrong with this clip."
Lin Qinhe said: "It must be."
The two people bent over in front of the low claw machine, spent all their game coins, and in the end they only got two dolls, a white bear and a pink bear.
Tao Xi thought Lin Qinhe didn't like pink, so she handed the white bear to Lin Qinhe and said, "This one is yours, and the pink one is mine. Do you have any objection?"
Lin Qinhe took the white bear and nodded, "No objection."
After the two men finished dividing the loot, they looked up and saw that there was almost no one in the hall. Then they looked again and saw that it was already half past ten.
Tao Xi pinched the pink bear's ears, and when she thought of her unfinished papers, she became anxious and asked Lin Qinhe, "You said you would give me the homework to copy, you didn't lie to me, did you?"
Lin Qinhe held the white bear in his hand, looked at him, and said, "I won't lie to you."
Tao Xi felt that Lin Qinhe's gaze and tone when he looked at her were a little too serious.
As serious as if he was making a vow.
Then he finally heard the heartbeat in his chest that he had tried to ignore all night, so restless and airtight.
He looked at Lin Qinhe and suddenly wanted to ask that question regardless of the consequences, but the words kept rolling around on his tongue and he couldn't say them out.
Maybe he should find a better time and make better preparations.
He thought.
Tao Xi tried to calm her heartbeat, smiled and said, "Go back quickly, you still have homework to do when you get back."
But Lin Qinhe asked him: "Are you happy now?"
Tao Xi paused as she pinched the little bear's ear.
Bang.
He heard his heartbeat again.
The author has something to say:
gkd! gkd!
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