My ex-boyfriend is looking forward to my bankruptcy

Who is this person and what is his purpose?

Qu Tao immediately sent a message while Xi Mozhou was taking photos of Han Feng and Pei Zechen.

"who are you?"

The other party did not reply. Qu Tao waited for a moment, put away his phone, calmed his expression, and snatched the phone from Xi Mozhou's hand.

"Your photography skills are not good, let me do it."

Qu Tao took several pictures in a row, horizontally, vertically, from a distance and close up, and then handed the phone back to Han Feng.

"Alright, let's hurry up, we've fallen a long way behind Brother Shen and the others."

"Why are you in such a hurry? Let me take a few pictures of you two."

"No, let's go to the top of the mountain and take pictures."

"Okay, take a better-looking picture of my Taotao."

Qu Tao and Xi Mozhou spoke at the same time, one looking up and the other looking down. As they looked at each other, the sunlight filtered through the branches and hit their hair. Han Feng made an OK gesture and focused instantly.

"Not bad, looks good, another one."

Han Feng looked at the photo he had taken, nodded with satisfaction, and refocused.

This time, Xi Mozhou held her in his arms and kissed Qu Tao's cheek at the moment he pressed the shutter.

"Brother Xi is really good. I didn't realize he's quite good at posing."

"That depends on who you're taking the photo with."

When Han Feng sent the photos to Qu Tao one by one, he looked up again and found that Shen Yichen and Qiu Mingxuan were no longer in front of him.

"Okay, let's go. Don't keep them waiting up there for too long."

Going up again, the plank road that was wide enough for two people to walk side by side at first became narrower and narrower, and finally could only accommodate one person.

Qu Tao walked behind Xi Mozhou, staring at his back, and after thinking for a moment, he seemed indifferent.

"Mozhou, how old were you when your aunt passed away?"

Xi Mozhou's body stiffened noticeably, and then he slowly turned his head.

"Why did you suddenly think of asking this?"

"Nothing, just asking." Qu Tao smiled at him. Seeing Xi Mozhou's discomfort, he suddenly felt regretful. "Did I bring up your sad memories?"

Xi Mozhou didn't answer, but stared at him with his deep eyes, as if trying to see into his heart.

Time froze for a few seconds. Qu Tao looked behind him, chuckled and patted his butt.

"Hurry up, the people behind are catching up, don't block the road."

Xi Mozhou turned around and continued walking forward. After walking for a long distance, he suddenly spoke.

"fifteen."

"what?"

Qu Tao didn't react for a moment, and Xi Mozhou didn't even turn his head. He continued to move forward and repeated it.

"I was fifteen when the car accident happened."

"Oh..."

Could it really be the same car accident? Qu Tao didn't ask any further. The occasion and timing were wrong.

There is a lookout tower halfway up the mountain, a rare flat piece of land with a rest pavilion and a small shop selling water and bread.

As soon as Qu Tao and Xi Mozhou appeared from the foot of the mountain, Qiu Mingxuan seemed to have been waiting for a long time and immediately waved to them.

"You're so slow. I've been waiting for you for half an hour."

Ever since Qu Tao asked that question, Xi Mozhou became taciturn along the way. At this moment, he glanced at Qiu Mingxuan lightly without saying a word.

"What's wrong with him?"

As they got closer, Qiu Mingxuan quietly asked Qu Tao. Qu Tao was admiring the scenery around him and downplayed it.

"I guess we're tired. Let's rest here for a while. You guys go ahead."

"Not a quarrel?"

"How is that possible?" Qu Tao retracted his gaze, glanced at Xi Mozhou, and teased himself, "We never quarrel, we only fight."

Qu Tao deliberately left some space for himself and Xi Mozhou to be alone, so when Qiu Mingxuan and the others set out again, Qu Tao also drove Han Feng and the others away.

There were many people sitting and standing in the pavilion. Qu Tao stayed away from them, looked down at the mountain, and sat down on a rock.

Xi Mozhou followed after a while, spread his suit on the grass beside him, and sat down.

The breeze caressed his cheeks, rustling the leaves. After a long time, Xi Mozhou looked into the distance and spoke slowly.

"Taotao, I'm sorry."

Qu Tao looked at him with a questioning look in his eyes. Xi Mozhou looked at him and then looked forward again.

"I saw you at the scene of the car accident that year."

Helpless, shocked, terrified, desperate, Xi Mozhou thought of how he looked at that time, and pain filled his eyes.

"If it weren't for my dad..." His throat was extremely dry, Xi Mozhou swallowed his saliva and continued with difficulty, "If it weren't for my dad overtaking on the wrong side of the road, perhaps the accident wouldn't have happened."

"Taotao, I'm sorry."

After he finished speaking, Xi Mozhou let out a long sigh. He had been holding the words of apology in his heart for many years.

From the first time he found Qu Tao, he wanted to say sorry to him, but when he fell in love with him, he became timid and even carefully hid it for fear of being discovered.

"So, my aunt also died in that car accident?"

When talking about his lost loved ones, Xi Mozhou suppressed the sadness that was welling up in his heart and nodded slightly.

"Well, I injured my leg when the truck hit me, so I was carried to the isolation belt. I was standing opposite you at the time."

The scene at that time resurfaced in his mind. Qu Tao was silent for a moment, and Xi Mozhou's voice was trembling.

"Taotao, I'm really sorry. You can punish me however you want, but can you please not leave me?"

Perhaps because the responsibility for the accident was clearly divided at the time, Qu Tao never thought about the responsibility for overtaking in the wrong direction.

However, Xi Mozhou never expected that he would bear the guilt for so many years, and even hesitated for someone to make a fuss about it.

The voice was full of self-blame, begging, and cowardice. Qu Tao wanted to hold his hand and say a few words of comfort, but after hearing the second half of his sentence, he stretched out half of his hand and then pulled it back.

"Really any punishment is acceptable?"

"Yes."

"Okay." Qu Tao stood up from the stone, patted his butt, and looked very happy. "Then I'll punish you: don't touch me again until your arm injury is healed."

This punishment...Xi Mozhou's head was buzzing. He was obviously relieved, but he felt a little uncomfortable in his heart.

"What? You don't agree?"

Qu Tao raised his eyebrows slightly, crossed his arms across his chest, and looked down at him. Seeing that he remained silent for a long time, he waved at him in frustration.

"Forget it, I shouldn't have forgiven you so easily."

"From now on, we'll pretend we don't know each other. You go your way, I go mine. From now on, we'll keep our distance..."

"No, I promise you." Before Qu Tao finished speaking, Xi Mozhou stood up and held his hand, interlocking their fingers, and solemnly promised, "As long as you don't leave me, I will promise you anything."

As they looked at each other, Qu Tao pulled his hand away, coughed heavily a few times, and patted his shoulder as if he was helpless.

"Okay, I forgive you then."

After saying that, Qu Tao walked forward and muttered to himself: "So, when he confessed to Shen Yichen before, he really recognized the wrong person."

Qu Tao easily comforted himself.

"Well, after meeting him so many years ago, it's true that I could mistake him for someone else. After all, Shen Yichen's features look so similar to his."

If you are easily forgiven, you will always become more demanding.

After the two of them walked for a while, Xi Mozhou walked behind him, seemingly talking to himself, but also as if he was deliberately speaking to him.

"If that's what you want, and I'm kind enough to help you cool down, does that count as me touching you?"

Qu Tao stopped, turned around with a sly smile, and touched his cheek with the tip of his tongue.

"Xi Mozhou, what did you say? Do you dare to say it again?"

"Don't dare..."

"You're smart, hurry up and get going."

Qu Tao took two steps and suddenly thought of something. He took out his cell phone, found the message from the unfamiliar number, and handed it to Xi Mozhou behind him.

"By the way, look at this."