Mystery. Mistake. Love

The three-month voyage did not start smoothly for Zhan Zhao and Bai Yutang, especially for Bai Wuye, it was a bit miserable.The illness at the beginning of the year made him unable to adapt to the bumpy life at sea, so during the first two weeks on board, he spent most of the time on the bed in the first-class deluxe cabin that Bai Jintang had reserved for him and Zhan Zhao of.Zhan Zhao saw that he vomited pitifully all day long and moaned sickly on the bed, so he took care of him every day.After begging the captain for a long time, and finally being allowed to use the galley of the cruise ship, he made some porridge and light side dishes for Bai Yutang in different ways every day, and Bai Yutang said weakly to Zhan Zhao who was feeding him ,

"Mao'er, you are becoming more and more virtuous and virtuous now. Why don't I marry you? You can go to the hall and enter the kitchen!"

Zhan Zhao was taken aback when he heard this, but he didn't speak to him, nor was he angry.On the second day when Bai Yutang thought to himself that Zhan Zhao was really good-tempered, he found that the side dishes made that day could kill people, so he grinned and shouted,

"Cat, how do you cook this dish, why is it so salty!"

Zhan Zhao sat on the side drinking coffee leisurely and replied,

"If fifth master Bai is not satisfied, he can also enter the kitchen himself! I'm too lazy to serve you, a person who pretends to be sick and has no virtue!"

When Bai Yutang heard it, he knew that he was lying on the bed and pretending to be sick. At the same time, he also knew that Zhan Zhao was angry because of his bad mouth yesterday, so he quickly laughed and said,

"Cat, I'm really sick, but I've gotten better in the past two days!"

Zhan Zhao ignored him, turned around and picked up the French "Absolute Spirit" on the bedside table, and began to read.Unwilling, Bai Yutang walked up to him and sat down, pushed Zhan Zhao's arm with his hands, and asked flatteringly,

"Cat, are you angry? Don't ignore me, I won't do it next time. Cat~, cat~"

Zhan Zhao finally smiled and said,

"Okay, don't squeeze me, sit over there."

Then, he began to read to Bai Yutang as usual.In the beautiful and smooth voice of French, Bai Yutang looked at the way his beloved was studying seriously, and felt that love flowed into his heart. He even hoped that this ship would continue sailing in the sea like this forever, never Arrive.

During their time on board, they also met two special people.One is a Japanese named Ozu Kenjiro, from Tokyo, who is about their age.Because his mother is Chinese, his Chinese is exceptionally fluent.It is said that his father was a fur dealer, and he himself was very interested in medicine, so he applied for the preparatory student of Harvard Medical School. Unfortunately, he was not accepted, so he had to go to Princeton to study mechanical manufacturing.Once during a meal, I chatted with Zhan Zhao occasionally. He heard that Zhan Zhao was admitted to the mathematics department of Harvard University. Go to the luxury suite on the third floor to find them for a drink and chat.Bai Yutang was originally a slow person, but because he was handsome and unrestrained, with an extraordinary temperament, coupled with his profound knowledge, he often spoke with a strong aura and was very attractive, so Kenjiro admired him a lot.Bai Yutang didn't want to get too close to him, but Zhan Zhao didn't want to refute others' face. Every time Kenjiro came to see them, he would warmly welcome them.During the conversation, Zhan Zhao was very concerned about Japan's current situation and economic development trends. Bai Yutang was puzzled and asked him before going to bed at night,

"Cat, I think you are quite enthusiastic about that little Japanese."

Zhan Zhao closed the book he was about to finish, rubbed his eyes and said,

"Huh? You mean Kenjiro? Doesn't he come to you all the time? Your expressionless face embarrasses others. Why don't I be more enthusiastic for you?"

Bai Yutang's heart warmed, and he felt that his picky eye was quite accurate, how could this caring and sensible cat be "caught" by him!But after thinking about it, I felt wrong again.I have a strong love for Zhan Zhao, but on the other hand, Zhan Zhao seems to be ignorant, his attitude towards him is at best a good brother and close friend, and he never thinks about it in a wrong way.He also thought of Zhan Zhao's decision to die alone when Mrs. Ding celebrated her birthday last year. Bai Yutang immediately felt extremely discouraged. Thinking about Zhan Zhao, he didn't even intend to love women, let alone this appalling homosexual love up.

Bai Yutang originally wanted to find an opportunity to have a showdown with Zhan Zhao, but he gave up after a few times, because he was really afraid that if the time did not come, he would scare Zhan Zhao away. There is no need to do it, which is really not worth the candle.

You must be calm, don't rush for success, first 'cultivate' the relationship and then talk about other things, this is the 'cat-catching' plan that Bai Yutang made for himself.

Bai Yutang felt as if he had grown up suddenly, he was no longer the same as before, he was stunned, and if things went wrong, there would always be brothers and sisters-in-law to clean up the mess.He knew that there was only one chance for his relationship with Zhan Zhao, and whether he succeeded would depend on whether he could bear his temper.

After thinking about the countermeasure, Bai Yutang was relieved all of a sudden. All he needs to do now is to love that silly cat wholeheartedly, and then wait until Zhan Zhao finally understands his love, finally accepts this taboo love, and finally cannot do without it. When you are in love, go and confess affectionately.

Bai Yutang continued to ask while thinking about his 'big event in life',

"You don't have to force yourself so much. If you find him annoying, you don't have to worry about other things, just cut back. I'm not interested in Japanese people. I just worry about things on other people's sites all day long, and I don't care about myself. A few taels. Look at Kenjiro, when he talks about himself, he’s not ashamed to say what’s wrong with our Great Japanese Empire, heck, Japan’s bigger fart is still bigger than the Great Japanese Empire!”

Zhan Zhao smiled, turned off the lamp beside the bed, and said quietly in the sudden darkness,

"You're right. Japan is a tiny place, so there's nothing wrong with it. But since the Meiji Restoration, their national strength and military strength have been greatly enhanced. On the other hand, our own government is corrupt and incompetent, and our military strength is weak. Since the Westernization Movement, the diehards have obstructed us in all aspects. Now, the country is on the verge of being torn apart, and warlords from all over the country are fighting among each other. If we really want to start a war, we may not win.”

In the darkness, Bai Yutang could hear the worry in Zhan Zhao's voice, and his heart tightened.

"Cat, you said that this little Japan is always provoking, and I think they really can't wait. You see, at the beginning of the year, they dared to issue an ultimatum to China on the Shandong issue. It was really beyond their control. But just like you That being said, I am not confident that China will win completely."

"En," Zhan Zhao replied softly, then seemed to be thinking about something, but there was no sound for a long time.Bai Yutang thought he was tired, so he stopped talking.Just when he was in a daze, he heard Zhan Zhao say,

"I chatted with Kenjiro a few days ago. I can hear that he is proud of his country, but he can also vaguely feel that the military power in Japan is extremely fanatical, that is, the Bushido spirit that Kenjiro admires very much. Sheng, this is very dangerous. Since the Sino-Japanese War of [-]-[-], they have launched a war to the outside world every five years, and China, as a close neighbor, North Korea is their direct target."

"Well, the two of us thought of something. Cat, sometimes I think, why don't we study basic science, and we should just study military affairs like Ouyang, and if we really fight in the future , it will come in handy.”

Bai Yutang sat up suddenly, turned on the floor lamp in front of him, and looked excitedly at Zhan Zhao on the opposite bed.

Zhan Zhao's eyes were dazzled by the sudden light, and he quickly covered his own eyes. When Bai Yutang saw it, he jumped out of bed and covered Zhan Zhao's eyes with both hands, muttering,

"Oh, sorry cat, did you shake you?"

Bai Yutang himself was only wearing silk pajamas, and the Atlantic sea was still extremely cold in March. Zhan Zhao quickly opened his eyes, pushed him with his hands,

"What are you going crazy about, go back and lie down, you'll feel better, don't you want to be sick for three months before you'll be happy!"

Bai Yutang sat on the edge of his bed, and said with an aggrieved face,

"Aren't I worried about you?"

Zhan Zhao had nothing to do with him, so he also sat up,

"Okay, Bai Wuye, go back to sleep quickly! I won't talk, okay?"

"Cat, you know I didn't mean that, and you wronged me." Bai Yutang lay still on Zhan Zhao's bed, and then asked,

"Cat, what do you think of my proposal just now?"

Zhan Zhao saw that he had no intention of leaving, so he lifted a corner of his quilt, let Bai Yutang lie on the bed, and asked,

"What did you propose just now?"

Bai Yutang crawled into the warm blanket, and still gave Zhan Zhao a glare, then raised the corners of his mouth and said flatteredly,

"It's still warming up with two people. He also said that this is some kind of first-class cabin, and it's still freezing to death at night. Cat, go a little further in, I don't have enough room here."

Zhan Zhao stared at him with wide eyes, angrily said,

"I think it's a big place, go back to your own bed!" Although he said so, his body still moved in.Bai Yutang lay down comfortably, with a smug smile on his face, still asking the original question,

"I said just now that the two of us might as well go to Germany to find Ouyang. If there is a war in the future, we will be loyal to our country."

While listening, Zhan Zhao covered Bai Yutang with a quilt and said,

"I'm just a little worried about Japan, but it's not that easy to fight a war. I think the United States and Europe have their own advantages. At present, what China lacks is various technical talents, so since we have received the admission letter, Let’s learn the technology first, and it’s not too late to go to Europe to study military affairs after graduation!”

"Well, that makes sense." Bai Yutang nodded in agreement, then touched Zhan Zhao's shoulder with his shoulder, and said,

"When the time comes, let's go to Ji Yingci and the others together, travel all over Europe, and then go back to China to join the army! Cat, no matter where we go, I will accompany you!"

Zhan Zhao looked sideways at Bai Yutang, and didn't speak for a while. Bai Yutang felt a little nervous, thinking that he had said something wrong in haste, and asked,

"What's wrong with you, why are you looking at me like that?"

Zhan Zhao smiled and said sincerely,

"Yutang, thank you!"

Bai Yutang gave a disdainful 'cut', got off the ground and turned off the light, and then said cheerfully,

"Dead cat, sleep!"

While on the boat, they also met another person, a strange person.This person made Bai Yutang extremely uncomfortable, and even had the urge to beat him up, and the origin of all of this was the way that person looked at Zhan Zhao, a look of longing, admiration, and even obvious desire.Finally, in a bar in the evening, Bai Yutang was stopped by that person, who asked in a gentlemanly manner with a strong British accent,

"Can I buy you a drink?"

Bai Yutang looked at him with disdain, and replied simply,

"Need not."

The eccentric laughed dryly, and said,

"What? Don't you want to know who your rival is?"

Bai Yutang laughed when he heard this, and said sarcastically,

"That's a strange statement. I don't quite understand what you're talking about, and I'm not too interested in who you are!"

The strange man's already pale face was finally enveloped in a murderous air,

"I'll let you know who I am! That beautiful lover of yours is really nice, more polite than you, very gentleman." He raised the wine glass in front of him, drank it all in one gulp, and said provocatively ,

"He's not as arrogant as you, I hope you can catch your lover!"

Bai Yutang shrugged indifferently,

"Thank you for your compliment. He is very polite to people he is not familiar with, but he is not polite to those who are self-righteous and delusional. I hope you will not try to confirm my words."

After speaking, Bai Yutang left without looking back.Back in his room, seeing Zhan Zhao writing something at the desk, he sat down on the sofa, and looked at Zhan Zhao silently.Soon, Zhan Zhao sensed something was wrong, put down the book in his hand, looked up at him and asked,

"What's wrong with you? You don't look very happy."

"It's okay," Bai Yutang didn't know how to tell Zhan Zhao, so he didn't say anything at all.He casually picked up the book on the coffee table and flipped through it pretendingly, but he was still wondering how that strange man could see his different feelings for Zhan Zhao.

"Yutang, what's the matter with you?" Zhan Zhao walked over and sat down next to him, waiting for an answer.

Bai Yutang shook his head irritably,

"What's wrong? I'm reading a book!"

Zhan Zhao then took his book out of his hand, closed it and put it back in its original place, saying,

"I haven't turned a page after reading it for a long time. Are you sure you are reading, or are you sulking?"

"I..." Bai Yutang was taken aback by Zhan Zhao's words, and then finally admitted in annoyance,

"I just met a tall and white-faced strange man, and he said some strange things."

Zhan Zhao frowned, thought for a while and said,

"Brave? You mean Sir Spencer?"

"I don't know who he is, but I think he looks like a zombie in a folk novel. He also said that I was arrogant, but I think he is the most daring!" Bai Yutang heard Zhan Zhao say his From his name, he knew that that person had indeed found Zhan Zhao alone, and he felt extremely unhappy.

"How did you know him? Why didn't you mention it to me?"

Zhan Zhao heard that his tone was not good, but he didn't get angry, he just explained seriously,

"During afternoon tea today, I ran into him in the restaurant and had a chat with him before I learned something about him."

"Oh? What did he tell you?" Bai Yutang's tone became worse.

"Yutang, are you upset because of him? We just chatted for a while, and he asked me if I was going to America to go to school, and said he was going back to Philadelphia to visit his brother, that's all." Zhan Zhao said to Bai Yutang suddenly He already has a full understanding of the emotionality that comes, and he knows his childish temper, which comes and goes quickly, but he is not as knowledgeable as he is.

"Hmph, that Zombie King doesn't look like a good person at first sight, you'd better stay away from him." Bai Yutang knew that Zhan Zhao never hid anything from him, so it seemed that that weird Sir really didn't talk nonsense in front of Zhan Zhao Whatever, just relax.It's just that since then, he and Zhan Zhao have gotten closer.

During the time at sea, the two of them were almost inseparable. They read together, played chess, and talked about their childhood fun. They didn't feel bored, and they lived a very comfortable life.When the weather turned warm in mid-June, the cruise ship finally docked in New York Harbor one morning.Bai Xiaosan, the general manager of Bai's Trading Company in New York, who had received Bai Jintang's personal letter long ago, sent someone to wait at the pier to inquire about the news, and then drove to pick him up when the ship arrived at the port. Went to the reserved hotel.

During the banquet, Bai Yutang saw the Chinese food that he hadn't seen for a long time, and immediately moved his index finger, his appetite whetted, and he enjoyed the meal.Zhan Zhao still maintains his politeness, which makes Bai Xiaosan have a good impression of him.After eating and resting for a while, Bai Xiaosan proposed to take the two of them around New York. At that time, it was officially the golden age of rapid economic growth in the United States after World War I. There were feasting and feasting everywhere, and there was a prosperous scene of singing and dancing.Even Bai Yutang, who grew up in Shanghai, known as the ten-mile foreign market, was dazzled by all kinds of neon lights.In the evening, accompanied by Xiao San, the two of Zhanbai were taken to the largest underground casino in the area. After giving them a lot of colorful chips, Xiao San fought against the two foreign girls in front of the bar I went to move my feet, and let the two brats play by themselves.After a while, suddenly several burly men walked up to Xiao San and whispered in Xiao San's ear, and were dismissed by the latter after a few words.Zhan Zhao glanced in his direction sensitively, Xiao San, who was smoking a thick cigar, waved at him reassuringly, then pointed to the countertop, motioning him to continue playing.

After a while, Bai Yutang, whose face was full of excitement, saw that he and Zhan Zhao had won several battles in a row, but Zhan Zhao didn't show how happy he was, so he leaned into Zhan Zhao's ear and asked,

"Cat, what's the matter, isn't it fun? You see, the two of us win the most."

Zhan Zhao grabbed all the chips in front of him, piled them up in front of Bai Yutang, smiled at him, then pointed to the door and said,

"Yutang, keep playing, I'll stay outside the door for a while."

"Are you uncomfortable, cat?" Bai Yutang saw the slight tiredness on Zhan Zhao's face, and the excitement just disappeared in an instant, and now there was only worry.

"It's okay, you don't have to worry about me. There are many people here, the air is not very good, my chest is a little stuffy, just go out for a change of air, just leave me alone and play for a while."

"Really? Seriously? Cat, if you're tired, tell me and I'll accompany you back. Is your heart really okay?" Bai Yutang's heart sank when he heard that Zhan Zhao was not feeling well. , immediately looked him up and down nervously.

"I'm really fine. I'll be back in a while. Go and play! Win more for me." Zhan Zhao said, patted Bai Yutang's shoulder as if to comfort him, then turned around and walked towards the gate.

Finally smelling the fresh air, Zhan Zhao took a deep breath, and felt his chest, which had been suffocating all this time, instantly relieved a lot.

"Master Zhan, why don't you play anymore?" Bai Xiaosan's voice sounded behind him.

"Oh, Manager Bai, I'll come out to catch my breath." Zhan Zhao saw him follow, and hurriedly explained.

"What, is Master Zhan uncomfortable?" Bai Xiaosan asked with concern.

"It's not that serious," Zhan Zhao waved his hand, then quickly changed the subject,

"Manager Bai has been in America for a long time, right?"

"Well, it's been a few years. After the war, it's a good time. Our young master has good vision and courage. He made a lot of money during the prohibition period. How about America? It will definitely make people drunk and dreamy!"

"Drunk, dreaming and dying!" Zhan Zhao repeated these four words.

Yes, these four words hit Zhan Zhao's heart firmly.On the first day on the other side of the ocean, looking at the dizzyingly colorful world around him, Zhan Zhao suddenly felt that this would be a huge challenge in his life.He was wondering if he would be immersed in this dreamlike country and give up his dream of saving and strengthening the country after a few years, would he also drift with the crowd and die in dreams!