【Zhou Ye】The Foot of Time

The Time Lords exchanged glances and then left one by one. Su Mucheng was the last to leave. She looked back at them sadly, then turned to look forward and held her head high.The already empty parliamentary court was now even more silent, like a mourning memorial service, leaving only the two of them.

Ye Xiu sat on Lord Grim's doorframe with the door open, and then patted on the empty seat next to him.

Zhou Zekai sat down silently.

They often sit like this at the door of the TARDIS.This seat is very comfortable for one person, but two big men seem crowded. They have to put their legs against their legs, shoulder to shoulder, and they have to cooperate carefully even when turning around to pick up something.But this kind of intimacy of being close to each other made them always enjoy it, even if sometimes they would bump their heads when they turned their heads.

"...I just said, why do you keep telling me that the universe is so big, you can go anywhere, just don't go to Gallifrey." After a long silence, Ye Xiu opened his mouth, "What else did you say that I will let all the TARDIS on the planet Runaway, in fact, you don’t want me to come here today, you know that this is the first day I came to Califary. But even if you say so, it’s useless, I’m destined to come here today, then I will definitely come .”

His palm lightly attached Zhou Zekai's fist on his thigh.

"It's been 2 years... I only dreamed that one day I could still hold your hand."

Zhou Zekai's throat rolled.

"Don't be sad. You didn't tell me that today is a good day. I don't want to count how many days I have left to live. At least in the past 2 years, I still have a thought, knowing that we will be fine. If I know One day, even if you tell me that meeting after that is farewell, let alone 2 years, I’m afraid I can’t help but come here ahead of time in more than ten years. So now, at least I accompany my family to finish their journey lifetime."

"...My parents left long ago, and so did Ye Qiu. In the end, my brother asked my nephew and niece to go out, leaving me alone in the ward. Do you know what? He told me not to pretend, He and his parents already knew something was wrong with me, but they never exposed it. "How can family members not see that you look the same every other day, as if you haven't seen it for decades, especially after hundreds of years It's like I haven't seen each other in years' - he told me so."

Ye Xiu let out a long sigh.

"I kept calling him stupid brother, and I was wrong. He was right, I am indeed a jerk brother."

"He said he wanted to see my real face. I didn't want to agree to it at first. It would probably only make him sad. But he said, who can have a chance to see his young face before he dies of old age?"

He suddenly chuckled and pointed to his own face.

"That guy actually told me that he was really handsome when he was young - I don't know who he is praising."

He was silent for a few more seconds.

"...my brother said that the biggest regret before my parents left was that I hadn't seen you Xiao Zhou for many years. Although they didn't know what happened, they all knew that you didn't come on purpose. Ye Qiu said, In the end, he didn't see you, and he didn't even have the chance to complete the task of "Family Sacrifice, Never Forget to Tell Nai Weng". But I think we are already very good. Even if we are far apart, we still love each other, not because of us There is no relationship between them, and sometimes I look up at the stars—you must be on a certain one, and you are being your cosmic police again."

"After sending Ye Qiu off, I really don't know where to go. I listened to the recording over and over again, thinking carefully about when I could secretly watch you, but basically I went to every place several times, and even went to I’ve seen you with me so many times... so I told Xiaoxiao, just pick a place for me... So she fulfilled my wish and sent me to the place I most want to go in the whole universe -"

Ye Xiu turned his head and looked deeply at Zhou Zekai.

"Come to see you."

Zhou Zekai tried his best to open his lips, but still couldn't utter a single syllable.

"It's pretty good, at least we can see each other before we leave, and you will see me off." Ye Xiu gently opened Zhou Zekai's tightly clenched fist, and inserted his fingers into the gap between his five fingers, "Thank you for your hard work." .”

"...I'll accompany you." Zhou Zekai suddenly tightened his five fingers, and firmly grasped Ye Xiu's hand, as if Ye Xiu would turn into bubbles in front of his eyes as soon as he let go.

"Accompany me into the storm of time? You are still just a child now, why are you so stupid—have you forgotten, the young me is still waiting for you. I am still waiting for you to give me an old cup, and I am still waiting for you." I’m waiting to propose to you, I’m still waiting for us to save the earth together, I’m still waiting for you to teach me the algorithm of time coordinates, I’m still waiting for you to give me the key to Cloud Piercer... How can you throw that away at me? On Earth?"

"That's all my memory, and it's the reason why I have the courage to walk into the storm of time today—you must let them happen, let alone once, a day, an hour and a minute, even if there is a second missing."

Ye Xiu smiled and pressed his forehead against Zhou Zekai's.

"It's these things that make up who I am now. If they hadn't happened, I wouldn't have existed before the Time Rift started. Don't let me die a second time."

He stroked Zhou Zekai's face, showing an extremely gentle smile, as if he had seen through thousands of years in Zhou Zekai's body.

"How wonderful...I can still touch your face—you haven't changed at all in all these years. You were the same face when I first saw you. You are so beautiful in the whole street. Man, I saw you at the first sight, only you. You saw me walking towards you and wanted to avoid it, but I stopped you and asked you to borrow a fire. At that time, you looked so sad, Like a melancholy prince... Before we left, you said that you would give me a present when we met next time - I even laughed at you afterwards, and gave someone the key to the TARDIS when we met for the second time. It was really big. As a result, For you, I also gave you the key when we met for the third time, this is really..."

"do not talk!"

Zhou Zekai never knew that a kiss with his lover could be so bitter.He kissed so messily, without any rhythm at all, as if Ye Xiu's lips were the only piece of driftwood, if he didn't struggle to hold on tightly in the huge waves, the salty sea water would rush into his lungs.If this piece of driftwood can't bear his weight at all, then it's better to confine it in your arms and sink together to the bottom of the sea that never sees light.

Those time rifts all over the universe are not anywhere, they are all tightly packed together, entrenched in his heart.

But a kiss can't last forever.

Those complicated instruments were moved into Lord Grim one by one, Ye Xiu listened carefully to how to use them, and then connected himself with this old guy who has been with him for many years.One by one the Time Lords bid him farewell, even though a few hours ago they didn't even know the humans on this distant planet, but he was worthy of their eternal memory.

The chairman of the council took out the time lock. This is the most crucial moment in the universe, and no one can interfere.

"and many more."

Before the time lock was completely closed, Ye Xiu called to the chairman of the council, walked to Lord Grim's bridge, and did a thorough scan of Lord Grim's interior - he was the only one in the entire TARDIS people.

"It's okay, you're not stupid enough to hide in Xiaoxiao for tens of thousands of years, just to die with me just for this day." Ye Xiu smiled relaxedly, cutting off Zhou Zekai's last possibility, "It's a pity , there is no way to say that old rule this time.”

"You and me, save the world..." Zhou Zekai gently read out what Ye Xiu said when they met for the second time, but it was only a few hundred years ago, but it was like a lifetime away.

Ye Xiu waved to him: "There is another time."

——Yes, it’s just that it’s with the past you.

The time lock is completely closed.

Ye Xiu's hand was already on Lord Grim's door.

"and many more!"

Once again, Zhou Zekai called out these two words.Under Ye Xiu's hard-to-distinguish gaze and everyone's fixed gaze, Zhou Zekai took off the top hat on his head and threw it aside.

He moved his hands, slowly bent his elbows, crossed his forearms in front of his chest, pressed his right palm against his left chest, and his left palm against his right chest, and then tightened them together into fists, as if grasping something .

The time lords present all instantly understood what he was going to do. For a moment, some people let out a small exclamation in surprise, some couldn't bear to look away, and some looked at Zhou Zekai's continuing actions with teary eyes——

He clenched his hands into fists, raised his arms horizontally, and handed the two tightly clenched fists to Ye Xiu's eyes.The tireless time seems to slow down at this moment, everything in front of me has become a slow motion in silence, every frame is so clear that it seems to be cut into wallpaper, and turned into an eternal sight in the eyes theme background.

Ye Xiu was unable to speak for a while.This is the second time he has lost control of his emotions since he came here today.The man who was smiling and talking about his death looked so happy at this moment, as if he was the happiest person in the universe, the kind that no one else could compare to.

He smiled and wrapped the two fists with his palms - the physiological structure of time lords and humans is roughly the same, and the size of the fists is equivalent to the size of their hearts.

"I promise you."

Ye Xiu nodded heavily.

"I'm probably the only person in the universe who can marry the same guy twice without getting a divorce—once to each of us, and we're even."

He kissed Zhou Zekai's lips for the last time, and suddenly stretched out his hand to gently pinch his face.

"I almost forgot, I said that I will pinch you next time I see you, so it's finally complete."

He smiled and said goodbye.

"Goodbye, my little Zhou."

Su Mucheng covered her mouth and rushed back into Mu Yucheng's wind, they could hear suppressed sobbing through the door.Zhou Zekai knew that to her, Ye Xiu was another brother, and now her two brothers are gone.He avoided those sympathetic stares and walked into his TARDIS too.At a time like this, he was able to separate his mind to think that Huang Shaotian was so mean, he didn't say anything, and he didn't show that kind of pity, maybe he was the one who saw it most clearly in the entire council.

As soon as the door closed, he sat down against it, looking straight ahead.The TARDIS bridge, which made him feel at ease all the time, was so empty at the moment, swallowing him like a giant beast's mouth.

He thought he should get out of here, he couldn't stay here for a second.

But where should he go?

"Wherever you want..."

He murmured, and then his voice rose sharply.

"Just get out of here--right away! Right away!"

The TARDIS was silent for a few seconds, and then the sound of the engine starting automatically rang out. After the choking sound ended, Zhou Zekai opened the door almost like avoiding a scourge, and then stumbled out.

Earth.

—Obviously, would the TARDIS have sent him somewhere else?

The street was full of excitement, Zhou Zekai walked down the street silently, he couldn't see the smiles on the faces of every passerby - they were all so happy, and they would never know how good a person was in the storm of time to save them. The center struggles...

He turned the corner—

"..."

"..."

Two men with different clothes and the same face stood at the corner and stared blankly at each other.

"you--"

The two spoke at the same time, and then both fell silent for a moment.

This was the first time Zhou Zekai saw himself in the past, he was really too young, and the other person's eyes were still so clear, like Moyu with fine water color.This self still knows nothing, has lost nothing, and knows almost nothing about the future.Only then did he come to his senses, and looked around, the street was so familiar, the windows of the shops were all pasted with Olympic mascots——

"...2022?"

That young self frowned, Zhou Zekai knew that he was thinking in his heart how he looked like he didn't know when and where.

--I see.

Zhou Zekai told himself softly in his heart.

--I see……

He looked at his young self, that ignorant self, and slowly opened his mouth, and read out the names of those dishes, one by one, so clearly that he was afraid that he in the past would forget even a single word.Oh, by the way, he still didn't say a word.

"He likes to eat."

—and then you freeze.

Zhou Zekai was thinking this in his heart, and as expected, he saw the stunned expression on the other side.He nodded, quickly bypassed the other party, and walked towards the curb.

—and then you'll stop me.

"and many more!"

——You will ask me when you and Ye Xiu met for the first time, and that was what you were looking forward to.

"Ye Xiu, time?"

—I didn't look back, and then I'll tell you that answer.

"Wait."

—Look, the light is green, it's time to go.

"Wait for you to turn around."

He crossed the crosswalk with pedestrians, walked into the six-story building across the street, climbed up the stairs, and came to the rooftop.He stood on the edge of the roof, under the cover of the billboard, looking down at the other side of the street without being noticed by anyone.After nearly half an hour, Zhou Zekai finally saw Ye Xiu who hurriedly walked towards the restaurant after Gao Yingjie and Qiao Yifan finished talking.

Not being with his past self, Ye Xiu's face can no longer find the slightest disguise, he looks so sad, and Zhou Zekai knows that when he walks into the restaurant box and sees the table dishes, all these worries will be swept away As for Kong, he would think that the two of them still have a lot of time, and then when they met for the last two times, they would show a carefree smile, tease him, and take the initiative to put his lips together.

- I can't change anything.

"We call ourselves Time Lords, and we want to be masters of time. But in the end, we're just prisoners walking in chains of time."

This passage appeared in front of his eyes, as clear as if every word was carved with the tip of a knife, and written one after another on his heart.

"Our life seems to have been written before we were born. It is just a cutscene from beginning to end, but we need to devote all our joys, sorrows, sorrows and joys to perform it well. Those who try to control time will eventually be controlled by time —Maybe this is the innate curse we get when we touch this forbidden power."

In 2022 AD, on this blue planet, on the streets of Beijing in winter, this 440-year-old time lord finally cried like a child on the empty rooftop as Ye Xiu described.

- Yes, I can't change anything.