Chapter 25
Chu Linyu was the only one at home tonight. When Xia Lanzheng brought Cheng Lan into the house, Chu Linyu was watching the movie that he hadn't finished watching last time.
It’s quite interesting to say that except for Chu Linchuan, everyone else in the Chu family loves watching TV.
After dinner, Yang Yuxiao would watch the evening TV series. Chu Lang would usually sit on the sofa and work, but Xia Lanzheng had seen him stealing glances at her several times.
Chu Linyu and Cheng Lan obviously knew each other. He was stunned for a moment, then said inexplicably happily, "Oh, Cheng Lan is here? How long has it been since you came to our house for dinner?"
This is the truth. The Cheng family lives not close to here, but I often came here when I was a child.
Whenever Xia Lanzheng bought some new toys or games, she would always use Chu Linyu's phone to call Cheng Lan.
The two kids were bickering while on hands-free mode, and Chu Linyu wanted to laugh when he heard it.
"Xia Lanzheng, you are so childish. I have stopped playing that game for a long time."
"Are you coming? If not, I'm going to look for my brother."
"Tsk, then I have to go to piano lesson first."
Chu Linyu said he would play with Xia Lanzheng for a while, but Cheng Lan arrived within two hours every time.
Later, I heard Uncle Cheng say with a mixed feeling that Cheng Lan was throwing a tantrum at home and refused to take the piano lesson anymore, and asked the driver to take him over immediately.
After that, the two of them suddenly broke up. No one knew what happened and they refused to tell anyone who asked them, so Chu Linyu was quite surprised to see Cheng Lan.
Cheng Lan nodded and called out "Brother Chu", then asked why his uncle and aunt were not at home.
Chu Linyu explained a few words to him, and then continued with the same routine as when they were little: "Zheng Zheng, why don't you take Cheng Lan to his room to play for a while? I'll call you for dinner."
Xia Lanzheng really didn't want to be alone in a room with Cheng Lan, but Cheng Lan had already walked upstairs, and he walked quite fast. When he reached the second floor, he looked back at Xia Lanzheng.
Chu Linyu winked at Xia Lanzheng, who opened the door reluctantly. Cheng Lan entered the room and closed the door behind him.
"You just got back?" Xia Lanzheng asked, "Why are you following me instead of going back to rest?"
Cheng Lan hadn't spoken to Xia Lanzheng since leaving Lu Yanqing's house. He hesitated at the door, neither standing nor sitting, and only sat down after Xia Lanzheng slid a stool over to him.
"How did you know I just got back?"
Xia Lanzheng drew aside the curtains in the room, opened the window and took a breath. "From what Song Xinghuai said, I think you're in the same boat."
There was a "click" sound behind him, and Cheng Lan scratched the armrest of the chair: "How did you know Song Xinghuai? Are you familiar with him?"
Xia Lanzheng couldn't tell what his tone was, but this was the second time he asked the question.
"What about you?" Xia Lanzheng threw the question back, "Are you familiar with Song Xinghuai?"
Cheng Lan looked over and lifted his back from the chair: "I'm not familiar with him. I've never had any private contact with him!"
Xia Lanzheng didn't expect to get this answer. Cheng Lan, this straight man is hopeless. Why can't he come to his senses?
Cheng Lan saw that his expression was not right, so he stood up and explained: "Really, I didn't lie to you."
Xia Lanzheng saw his masseter muscles move and was particularly confused.
Every time Cheng Lan mentions Song Xinghuai, he always grits his teeth and makes faces. Does he like him or not?
"Okay, got it." Xia Lanzheng folded her hands and looked around. "Why don't you go downstairs and watch TV with Chu Linyu? There's nothing interesting in my room."
Cheng Lan stood up and walked to the projector. He squatted down and felt around the bottom shelf of the cabinet, pulling something out. "You still have it here, do you want to play with it?"
Xia Lanzheng took a look at his hand. It was a box of dusty games that looked quite old.
At this moment, he suddenly felt a chill on his back and remembered a lot of things.
When he was a child, Cheng Lan always came to play with him, and this game was given to him by Cheng Lan.
This feeling of déjà vu wasn't new. Xia Lanzheng paused for a long moment, then, as if possessed, sat over and said, "Let's play. Do you know how to play?"
Cheng Lan's answer was pretty much the same as he remembered: "I'm really good at playing games, how could you not know that?"
Xia Lanzheng and Cheng Lan each held a handle. It was too bright outside, so he got up and pulled the curtains.
The light suddenly dimmed, and when he sat back down, Cheng Lan was controlling two characters by himself, shouting "quick, quick, quick" and stuffed the handle back to him.
The flickering light shone on Cheng Lan's face. His eyes were focused, different from when he was acting. It was a very childish seriousness.
Xia Lanzheng was so lost in thought that the little figure on the screen suddenly fell into the lake. Cheng Lan scratched his hair and said with a smile, "Zhengzheng, you always die in this lake."
He turned around and saw Xia Lanzheng looking at him. He cleared his throat and asked, "What's wrong?"
Xia Lanzheng shook her head without saying anything and pressed the "Try Again" button.
Cheng Lan was so engrossed in this game that he suddenly realized that they were the only two people in the room.
He and Xia Lanzheng sat side by side. The sofa, which was the perfect size for them when they were children, now required them to curl up their legs to feel comfortable.
It is indeed different.
The dim light immediately reminded him of that night in the hotel. In fact, he could have gone to find Yang Pengfei, but in a fit of anger, he knocked on Xia Lanzheng's door.
Xia Lanzheng accepted it quickly and remained rational from beginning to end, even leaving the film and television base without telling him.
Cheng Lan felt bad.
He had just closed his eyes when he was slapped hard on the arm.
"I jumped over, why didn't you move?" Xia Lanzheng was so engrossed in the fun that she kept tugging at his arm. "Hurry, hurry, hurry, start the next one."
Cheng Lan felt a little hot, so he moved to the side, but not by much.
Xia Lanzheng didn't notice his little movements. He was thinking that if he had really played this game when he was a child, Cheng Lan would probably be very angry.
I jumped back and forth several times at the lake location, but I couldn't jump over it.
"Xia Lanzheng," Cheng Lan couldn't bear to watch any longer, "Your villain is just as dumb as you are."
Xia Lanzheng turned around and was about to refute, but Cheng Lan's hand passed through from behind him and half-huggled him.
"You have to press both buttons at the same time to jump." Cheng Lan bumped his chest against his shoulder, pinched his finger and pressed it down. The little man on the screen moved. "See? That's it."
Cheng Lan took off his coat because he felt too hot. He was only wearing a tank top, and the muscles in his arms were tense.
"After you jump over here, press it again quickly."
"Then step back a little and continue the previous action..."
Xia Lanzheng interrupted, "Cheng Lan."
Cheng Lan looked down at him: "What's wrong?"
When his left cheek rubbed against Xia Lanzheng's hair, Cheng Lan's arms tightened immediately, and his facial expression finally changed.
Only then did he realize that he was too close to Xia Lanzheng, so close that he could smell the shampoo again.
Xia Lanzheng turned her face to the side, raised her thin eyelids, slightly opened her lips, and looked like she wanted to say something but hesitated.
Cheng Lan's head buzzed.
Too close too close too close.
He could see every eyelash of Xia Lanzheng.
Cheng Lan pretended to be calm. Xia Lanzheng moved her fingers and the little man fell into the lake again with a plop.
The sound of someone falling into the water was particularly clear in the quiet room. Cheng Lan heard Xia Lanzheng hesitantly ask, "Are you straight?"
Xia Lanzheng had wanted to ask this question for a long time. After all, only straight men would get so close to their good brothers.
Cheng Lan was stunned for a long time. Is he straight? He is straight... maybe.
At least it was a week ago.
The little man on the screen hit the stone pillar and his head banged against the wall again and again, making a "ton ton ton" sound.
Cheng Lan's brain felt like it was being chewed by a zombie.
He could clearly hear the breathing of the person in front of him. His body temperature was gradually rising. He couldn't tell whether he was too hot or Xia Lanzheng had a high temperature.
Xia Lanzheng didn't rush him. She sat obediently in front of him and looked at him with eyes full of curiosity.
Cheng Lan lowered his head and saw his light brown eyes, then the tip of his nose and lips.
He suddenly forgot what Xia Lanzheng had asked him just now.
The boundary between friends and childhood friends became blurred, like a hazy veil, making Cheng Lan feel dizzy.
His hand on Xia Lanzheng moved, stared at the light pink lips, and then opened his mouth.
Cheng Lan lowered his head and moved closer. At that moment, he realized that it was not Xia Lanzheng who was hot, but the heat was radiating from himself.
My heart has never been beating so fast as it is now, up and down as if it is about to break through the vague boundaries.
Cheng Lan's Adam's apple slipped, but Xia Lanzheng didn't push him away, so he slowly closed his eyes.
Xia Lanzheng's breathing became lighter, and the hand held in her arms also moved slightly.
Cheng Lan quietly opened his eyes, and Xia Lanzheng's face suddenly enlarged, staring at him intently.
Suddenly, Xia Lanzheng raised her hand——
"Cheng Lan, your eyeliner isn't removed cleanly."
Her hand, slightly hot from the game controller, suddenly touched the corner of Cheng Lan's eye. Xia Lanzheng turned around and pressed her hands against his face, rubbing it back and forth.
Cheng Lan was as stiff as a sculpture, his right eye narrowed into a slit, and he smelled the scent of hand cream coming from Xia Lanzheng's palm.
Xia Lanzheng couldn't wipe it clean, and looking at the blurred eyeliner was very uncomfortable. She stood up and said, "Wait, right away!"
He ran to the bathroom, poured some makeup remover on a cotton pad, and when he came out again, Cheng Lan had already stood up from the sofa.
Cheng Lan stared at the floor, his hands hanging by his legs clenched into fists, and turned his head to glare at him.
Xia Lanzheng was stunned by his sweep and stopped far away.
It's over. Shouldn't he have asked that question?
It's a bit sensitive indeed.
He forgot that Cheng Lan had a strong sense of self-esteem, and besides, their relationship was not good to begin with.
"Uh," Xia Lanzheng raised the thing in her hand, "Are you still wiping it?"
"I'm not!"
Cheng Lan suddenly shouted.
Xia Lanzheng took a step back. He felt that Cheng Lan was furious and wanted to beat him up, his expression was very fierce.
Cheng Lan shook his head fiercely, pressed his temples and rubbed them a few times: "Xia Lanzheng, did you hear that? I'm not!"
"..." Xia Lanzheng was a little speechless. "I heard it. If it's not true, then it's not true. Why are you shouting?"
He leaned towards the sofa, Cheng Lan brushed past him and walked quickly to the door.
There was a knock on the door, and Chu Linyu shouted from outside, "It's time for dinner, stop playing."
Cheng Lan glanced at Xia Lanzheng, then quickly lowered his head and opened the door, as if bowing to Chu Linchuan: "I have something else to do, Brother Chu, I won't be staying for dinner today."
He walked away quickly, as if a ghost was chasing him.
At the door of the room, Chu Linyu and Xia Lanzheng stared at each other.
"Are you guys arguing again?" Chu Linyu looked at Cheng Lan's back and pointed. "He...what happened to him?"
Xia Lanzheng was still holding the damp cotton pad, not knowing how to explain: "We didn't have a fight, brother, don't worry about him... I'll wash my hands and go down right away."
Chu Linyu looked around suspiciously, walked into the living room, and saw Chu Linchuan coming back from outside.
"Didn't you say you were working overtime?"
"I'm tired. I won't join anymore," Chu Linchuan took off his tie. "I just ran into Cheng Lan. What's he doing here?"
Chu Linyu laughed out loud: "I came here to play with Zheng Zheng."
"Looking for Xia Lanzheng?" Chu Linchuan paused and glanced upstairs. "What are you playing?"
"I don't know. Anyway, Zheng Zheng brought them back. They're playing games in the room," Chu Linchuan lowered his voice. "It seems like they had another fight."
Chu Linchuan put his coat on the sofa and pondered for a while: "Are they alone in the room?"
Chu Linyu described it vividly: "Well, I don't know what they were arguing about. I saw Cheng Lan's face was red, and he didn't dare to look at me when he came out."
"Ah, I think I heard something. Cheng Lan is quite excited."
"Excited?" Chu Linchuan asked.
"Yeah, excited," Chu Linyu confirmed, "so excited that his hair is all messed up. Is it because of the heat? I saw him take off his coat."
Chu Linchuan:......
Chu Linyu slapped his forehead and said, "I see. Could it be that the air conditioner in Zheng Zheng's room is broken?"
There were footsteps at the stairs, and Xia Lanzheng walked downstairs while wiping her hands with a tissue.
He saw Chu Linchuan and asked him why he didn't work overtime.
Chu Linchuan saw that he had a frank face and fair cheeks. How could he look like his air conditioner was broken?
The more this happened, the more wrong something seemed to be about Cheng Lan that Chu Linyu mentioned.
Chu Linchuan took a deep breath and couldn't help but slap Chu Linyu on the back: "Chu Linyu, have you lived in vain for the past thirty years?"
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