【Zhou Ye】The Foot of Time

The third time Zhou Zekai met Ye Xiu was in Beijing in the winter evening of 2022.Even though he made up his mind and invested a lot of manpower and material resources to diagnose and treat the smog problem, after so many years, the situation has only slightly improved, and the capital of this country is still covered by a layer of smog.Today, however, this layer of haze cannot cover people's hearts.

The girl in volunteer clothes at the intersection smiled enthusiastically and explained the way to the venue in fluent English for foreigners who asked for directions.Pedestrians on the street are in a hurry, as if they are rushing to their homes, just to wait in front of the TV.The glass doors of the stores are all pasted with naive mascots holding five rings, so that people can understand the theme at a glance.

The opening ceremony of the Beijing Winter Olympics is tonight.Although this city has already hosted a grand and successful Olympic Games, people are still excited about the upcoming Winter Olympics, and the whole city is more alive.

No matter when, the fact that human beings love to be lively will not change in the slightest.

Standing on the sidewalk, Zhou Zekai glanced at his watch.

There are still two and a half hours, and he is early.

He decided to buy a bottle of drink.

There was a supermarket across the street, but the overpass was too far away, so although there were fewer choices, Zhou Zekai chose a vending machine in the corner more than ten meters away.The green lights of the drinks were all on. Zhou Zekai looked back and forth, took out a banknote from his pocket and stuffed it in, and then ordered a can of Wanglaoji—the words supporting the Beijing Winter Olympics were printed on the can, and it was red again. The packaging looks very pleasing.

The expected "bang bang" and "ping bang bang" did not sound, Zhou Zekai bent down and pushed the movable board, but there was nothing there.He straightened up and pressed the Wanglaoji button again, but the machine was still dead silent.Zhou Zekai patted it, and was about to reach into his windbreaker pocket to take out a sonic screwdriver, when he finally heard a "clang".

He reached into the cargo opening and fumbled back and forth, grabbed a small object, and took it out to have a look——

It was a small key, about the size of a newspaper box key.

Zhou Zekai took a step back, looked carefully at the products displayed on this machine, and suddenly understood, and went around to have a look - this machine is not close to the wall, on the contrary, there are quite a lot of empty space for a An adult walked in easily, just using the blind spot of vision to make people ignore this small passage.He got into the gap without much hesitation.

The position of the keyhole on the back of the vending machine was too eye-catching, Zhou Zekai pinched the key with two fingers, inserted it, and twisted half a turn.Before he reached out to push it, the board on the back slid in like a door.Only halfway through opening, a bottle of Wang Lao Ji flew towards his face, Zhou Zekai raised his hand to catch it, and heard a series of crisp sounds of coins colliding.

Ye Xiu, who was leaning on the driver's seat, tossed a coin, raised his eyebrows at the man at the door with a cigarette in his mouth, "Do you want some change?"

Zhou Zekai smiled and closed the door with a hook on his ankle: "Tip."

Ye Xiu shoved the money into his pocket from Shanruliu, looked Zhou Zekai up and down, and immediately asked sharply: "The change is not small, how long has it been since we last met?"

"Two years." After speaking, he pulled the tab and took a sip.

Time Lords calculate age entirely by elapsed time, and for them the calendar is no more than providing coordinates.It's been 730 days since Zhou Zekai's own bell last time he met Ye Xiu. During this time, he not only led his troops to save three third-level civilization planets from the attack of the Santars, but also visited several A well-known historical node, and lived in Diamond Star for a month.

Ye Xiu shrugged his shoulders exaggeratedly: "It's only been five minutes since I said 'goodbye' to you, you're so miserable, you're going to miss me."

Zhou Zekai smiled.

Ye Xiu didn't want to kill Ye Xiu, but it was true what Ye Xiu said when they met for the first time, there must always be some surprises in life - after knowing that he has a future lover with a chaotic timeline, Zhou Zekai really looked forward to it .Looking forward to knowing when, where, this mysterious man will appear again, talking with this lazy voice, and then kissing him when he is unprepared.

Speaking of which... there is a thousand-year-old senior who has a messy timeline with his lover, which causes them to check each other's diaries every time they meet to judge how long the lover they met this time has gone point.Even if you often have a mouthful of old blood in your chest, such a chaotic and worrying life can still be a kind of romance of a time lord. Zhou Zekai felt that he would emulate it, and giving Ye Xiu this diary would be a good choice. (Note 1)

"Are you also here to watch the meteor shower?" Ye Xiu dragged out an astronomical telescope from the bridge. It was too big, and Ye Xiu's movement was a bit difficult.

Zhou Zekai was stunned for a moment: "... Meteor?"

"Yeah, the meteor shower comes once every 500 years, will you follow me to the Temple of Heaven?"

Zhou Zekai suddenly realized: "Last year?"

Ye Xiu, who was still humming, froze, let go of his hands, put his face on the monitor for self-study, and was instantly discouraged: "It's really last year, and I stopped at the wrong time again." He angrily displayed He tapped directly on the frame of the screen with his index finger, "Hey Comrade Jun Moxiao, you can't do this. Every time I'm going, you have to give me something wrong. The time is wrong. Last time I went Watching Hamlet, you have to send me to the cinema to watch Harry Potter. Tired of toffee? What kind of candy do you want this time? Nougat?"

Zhou Zekai: "..." It feels like there will be a sweet and salty battle between the two TARDIS.

The Tadis didn't respond, and Ye Xiu could only move flexibly: "Okay Xiao Zhou, I'll go to the Winter Olympics with you. Is today the opening ceremony?"

Zhou Zekai nodded.

"Then I'll go change my clothes. I need to support the sports cause of my motherland, and I need to dress more formally!" Ye Xiu walked inside.

"...the key?" Zhou Zekai hesitated for a moment, still holding the small key.

Ye Xiu turned his head, took a deep look at Zhou Zekai, and then smiled meaningfully: "They are all my boyfriends, so why ask?"

Zhou Zekai thought for a second, and finally hung this key on his TARDIS key.Two keys, one large and one small, of different formats.The car key with a sense of technology and the traditional simple spring lock, they are gently knocked together with the swing of the fingers, but they look extremely harmonious.The key to the TARDIS is not easy to give, but they exchanged keys with each other, which is like... a token of love.

Zhou Zekai inexplicably felt a small drum beating in his heart. He didn't use much force, but he couldn't ignore it.

Entering Ye Xiu's Tadis for the first time, he changed from a guest to a host. Zhou Zekai was not shy about it. After finishing his drink, he immediately looked at the Tadis, which Ye Xiu called "Lord Grim".Some time lords would nickname their beloved Tardis, but serious names like "Lord Lord" were rare.Speaking of which, last time Ye Xiu also called Zhou Zekai's TARDIS "One Shot Cloud Piercer".

Compared to Zhou Zekai's latest model, this...well, Lord Grim's model is at least five generations older, and the operation method is more primitive and more difficult to control.The old model of TARDIS required up to six people to drive together. If you travel alone, you will inevitably be in a hurry, and it is not surprising that you will fly to the wrong place.

This kind of "primitive" TARDIS made Zhou Zekai feel very fresh. He couldn't help but walk around the bridge twice, carefully looking at the strange-shaped buttons and wrenches on it.Although he had never flown it, Zhou Zekai instinctively knew how to steer it. For the Time Lord, it was like learning how to ride a horse, no matter what breed of horse, he could step on it and wave the reins with ease.

There were still a few peeled candy wrappers on the bridge, which were the taffy that Ye Xiu had just mentioned. Zhou Zekai stuffed them into the empty jar in his hand, intending to throw them together later.Before getting to know Ye Xiu, Zhou Zekai never knew that Tardis could actually eat, and he also had favorite tastes.Perhaps, only the Tardis carrying Ye Xiu would need such extra reassurance?Thinking of the Tardis where Ye Xiu would eat salt every time he got together, it made him feel that the Tardis was alive. Zhou Zekai couldn't help being kinder to Lord Grim, and couldn't help reaching out to touch the console, typing Say hello.

"Hello."

"Ah."

The sudden answer startled Zhou Zekai, he reacted for a while before realizing that it was Ye Xiu's voice, but it was actually coming from the loudspeaker on the bridge in front of him.Before Zhou Zekai could guess, Ye Xiu's voice continued to ring out.

"At that time, I was there."

This is... a recording?

"For me, although I felt pain and anger, it was an unreachable history after all."

Zhou Zekai observed the console to see if the recording had been turned on by himself inadvertently.

"Just cold dates and numbers, and that—"

Zhou Zekai stretched out his hand and pressed the button that was constantly flashing red, and heaved a sigh of relief.Although he didn't open it on purpose, Zhou Zekai had no intention of exploring this kind of privacy issue.If it's written material or something, he can look away and avoid it.But facing the recording, he couldn't completely close his hearing.Zhou Zekai naturally felt relieved that it could be turned off smoothly.

Ye Xiu changed his clothes very quickly, and he came out looking like a dog after a while.Zhou Zekai had seen him in a T-shirt and jeans, and he had seen him in a European-style dress. Now he saw Ye Xiu in a casual suit. Although he felt that Ye Xiu's lazy look was more suitable for him in a T-shirt and shorts, he It doesn't look obtrusive, and it's quite handsome.

Seeing Zhou Zekai looking at him without blinking, Ye Xiu straightened his cuffs, raised his eyebrows and asked, "Why, I'm so handsome, are you dumbfounded?"

"clothing……"

"Ok?"

The words twirled around on the tip of Zhou Zekai's tongue, but the way he spit out changed: "There are so many."

Ye Xiu's meaningful expression appeared again: "Then you have to tell the person who bought me clothes, I like to play around in all time and space in casual clothes, he insisted on ordering a bunch for me, alone in Jun Mo Xiaoli built a whole cloakroom for me and came out."

Zhou Zekai asked reflexively, "Who?"

The smile on Ye Xiu's face deepened: "What do you think?"

Zhou Zekai's eyes faltered for a moment—what's with this feeling of taking the blame for something he hasn't done yet?

"It's still early, let's eat first? There's a good restaurant nearby." Ye Xiu suggested, picking up the coat on the armrest.

Seeing that the other party changed the subject on his own initiative, Zhou Zekai was of course willing to follow the steps Ye Xiu gave him, and quickly nodded in agreement.But when he was on the way to the restaurant, Zhou Zekai suddenly regretted his nod because——

The atmosphere is not quite right.

The previous two meetings, whether it was being chased after stealing the jade seal, or facing the crying angel who had "plastic surgery", the pace was too fast, so Zhou Zekai had no chance to think about how to get along with Ye Xiu.Right now there wasn't a topic, and Ye Xiu was talking intermittently, and Zhou Zekai could only respond with a few "hmm".Of course, this is not the key point. Zhou Zekai felt that the atmosphere was not right because he vaguely sensed that the other party was not very happy.

Mingming was still smiling, and still said some witty words, but Zhou Zekai could sense a little disharmony inside.It seems that the recorded song is mixed with the sound of electricity, which can't suppress the main theme, but makes people instinctively uncomfortable.

It made him a little overwhelmed.

— Could it be that Ye Xiu had a fight with his future self when we met last time?How did the future self get along with Ye Xiu?How old was he at that time?It should be more mature...

Zhou Zekai was still distracted, and suddenly realized that someone was looking at him, and it was not the kind of curious look at strangers, with a pertinence that cannot be ignored.Long-term participation in the battle made him very sensitive to sight, and he immediately focused his eyes to lock on to the target, but found that Ye Xiu had already stood in front of him, his whole body tensed, with the posture of a protector.But not a second later, Zhou Zekai saw Ye Xiu's body relaxed again, and he muttered randomly: "I forgot that this is already Big Eye's territory now, tsk tsk..."

The source of the line of sight is two teenagers wearing dark green army coats. Their faces are very immature. They are about seventeen or eighteen years old. As soon as they touched the ground, they straightened their waists and saluted the military, and shouted in unison: "Senior Ye Xiu! Senior Zhou Zekai!"

Zhou Zekai looked at the boy on the left, he looked familiar.

To Zhou Zekai's surprise, Ye Xiu's military salute was also very standard and neat.But when he put down his hand, he showed Shi Shiran again: "Yifan Xiaogao, don't tell me about this, what else is there to deal with, you shouldn't have surrounded the imperial capital long ago Have you bought an iron bucket? Also, if I remember correctly, you haven't officially joined yet, have you?"

Hearing Ye Xiu's yell, Zhou Zekai remembered - the boy on the left is Qiao Yifan, the guy from the Hangzhou Glory branch, but he is still young in front of him, he hasn't grown up in stature, and hasn't honed his confidence yet and calm.

"Yes, we're still in the training camp and we're on vacation today. We just received a notice from the minister, so let's give you a word for senior." The boy surnamed Gao next to Qiao Yifan said nervously, and subconsciously glanced at the camera.

"He can contact me directly."

Qiao Yifan replied with a little embarrassment: "Uh...Senior doesn't have a mobile phone."

"Blame me?" Ye Xiu shrugged, "I really don't know the time lord's technology that can communicate regardless of space and time."

The two teenagers looked at Zhou Zekai with tangled expressions.

Zhou Zekai: "..." Could it be me?

"Xiao Zhou, the shop is right in front, the third one after turning left. You go to book a private room and order food. Remember to order my favorite food."

Zhou Zekai was not surprised at being dismissed, although Glory respected him... Well, it should be his future self, but he is not human anyway.

It's just...he really doesn't know what Ye Xiu likes to eat.

Zhou Zekai, who was frowning and thinking about the flavors Ye Xiu might like, never thought before turning the corner at the intersection that the answer would be delivered directly to his door, and in such a simple and rude way——

"..."

"..."

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 his future self.The future self that every Time Lord imagines.So consistent, yet... so different.

That face has not changed at all, and even the figure is the same as the current self, as if the fine data has been set by the instrument, and it can only run according to this mode forever.Only with those eyes can Zhou Zekai clearly understand the passage of time - those eyes are filled with the river water of the years, instantly overturning him, depriving him of all channels to obtain oxygen.

Zhou Zekai naturally had a lot to ask in his mind, but it was the other party who spoke first.

After the older man spotted Zhou Zekai, he was stunned for a moment, then looked around, and asked, "...2022?"

Zhou Zekai frowned lightly, and nodded—the other party seemed to have no idea when and where he was.

After receiving Zhou Zekai's reply, the other party bowed his head and began to think.Zhou Zekai found himself ignorant of the future -- he didn't know how old he was, but only knew that he hadn't been reborn yet.He couldn't see the emotion in the other person's eyes at all, but he knew that the other person could see through his own at a glance, because the next moment, the pensive man opened his mouth, slowly and clearly, as if he was afraid that he would not be able to remember it once, and read a dozen times. a dish name.In the end, as if he was worried that Zhou Zekai would not understand, he paused, and deliberately added: "He likes to eat."

Zhou Zekai was stunned.

Meeting Zhou Zekai's young eyes, the emotion in this man's eyes is still unexplorable.He nodded towards Zhou Zekai, as if he was escaping from something, he took a step to bypass Zhou Zekai, wanting to get away quickly.

"Wait!" Zhou Zekai turned around and stopped him, without hesitation at the beginning, he asked, "Ye Xiu, time?"

The man stopped and stood on the edge of the sidewalk without looking back.

"Wait."

Stepping forward again, his figure disappeared into the crowd on the crosswalk, but the words clearly penetrated into Zhou Zekai's ears——

"Wait for you to turn around."

Zhou Zekai stood where he was, until he could no longer see the other party, then walked towards the restaurant Ye Xiu mentioned.

When Ye Xiu came late and saw the table of dishes, Zhou Zekai noticed that the weak flames in his eyes seemed to jump suddenly, and instantly came alive.The indistinct smog lingering around Ye Xiu at the beginning was swept away. Inexplicably, Zhou Zekai had a complex emotion rising in his heart. Even though he knew it was too irrational, he still couldn't extinguish it.

——Ye Xiu knows me very well, but I know nothing about him.

——It's not fair.

Zhou Zekai, who originally wanted to let the flow take its course and get to know Ye Xiu, or really waited for an unknown year and month to look back according to what his future self said, suddenly had the desire to know Ye Xiu better.If there must be a reason, it's probably... He likes to see Ye Xiu in high spirits, with the sparkle in his eyes, right?

It's just that Zhou Zekai didn't know at this time that the rekindled flame in Ye Xiu's eyes actually had a very long name, it was sour and painful, it was a file that went back and forth on the apex of his heart——

I thought I still had time with you.

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Note 1: There is a lover with a chaotic timeline, alluding to the 11th Doctor and River.

I remember seeing someone mention it, so I would like to say that Lao Ye is definitely not equal to River, but borrowed the opposite timeline setting of River and 11... In fact, 11 and River are not completely opposite, but a mess =L=