Sunset Boulevard

Zhang Jue heard some very small voices, and the people around him were gone, so he opened his eyes.

He saw the unlit crystal chandelier on the ceiling, saw the sharp corners of the European-style ceiling.

Then he sat up.

There was a little sunlight shining through the heavy curtains in the living room, and the circular floor lamp under the cabinet on the left turned on in a circle. He looked to the left and saw the man wearing a new suit and tie facing the floor-to-ceiling mirror .

Before Zhang Jue could speak, Chen Boqiao's eyes moved over. "Are you awake?" he asked Zhang Jue.Zhang Jue let out a "hmm", and Chen Boqiao turned his gaze back to the floor-standing mirror to confirm that he was fully dressed, then turned and walked towards Zhang Jue.

He walked unhurriedly to the side of the bed, looked down at Zhang Jue, paused slightly, bent down, and kissed Zhang Jue's forehead lightly.

The warm lips stayed on Zhang Jue's forehead for three seconds, and then moved away.

At this time, the grandfather clock struck untimely, Zhang Jue was a little startled, thinking that it was nine o'clock, and Chen Boqiao should leave.

But Chen Boqiao didn't move, as if he didn't hear the bell, he put his hands on Zhang Jue's bare shoulders, at a distance of three to five centimeters, stared at Zhang Jue, and gently rubbed Zhang Jue's skin with his slightly rough thumb .

The dark room and the well-dressed silent lover, the breath of love that has not completely dissipated in the air, is like Yaner's newly married.

Maybe it was because he slept in his arms all night, Zhang Jue's pheromone smell seemed to be mixed into Chen Boqiao's body, together with the light cologne fragrance that was not the same as yesterday, and Chen Boqiao's own smell, showing some secrets ambiguous.

"Sleep a little longer," Chen Boqiao said, "tell me when you get home tonight."

Zhang Jue looked at Chen Boqiao's face and nodded. Chen Boqiao stood up straight, said goodbye to him in a low voice, returned to the mirror, picked up a suitcase that was delivered at some time, and walked towards the entrance.

Sitting on the bed, he couldn't see the door. Zhang Jue hugged the quilt and listened carefully. He heard the sound of Chen Boqiao's leather shoes walking on the marble surface. After a few seconds, he heard a very soft "click" "Voice.

Zhang Jue was stunned for a while, then lifted the quilt, walked to the entrance, and found that Chen Boqiao was really gone.

He raised his hand hesitantly, and touched the doorknob that Chen Boqiao had pressed, remembering that when Chen Boqiao opened the door after answering the phone last night, Chen Boqiao put his hand on the doorbell with a smile in his eyes, and opened his palm again, Hold the door, but don't press it down.

After all, there was no one waiting outside the door.

Less than 10 minutes after Chen Boqiao left, Zhang Jue's mother called him.

"Xiaojue," his mother asked him, "if you're up, would you like to have brunch with us later?"

She said that Mr. Zhu's family and another family can wear casual clothes, just eat and chat in the hotel's garden restaurant.

Zhang Jue promised his mother to see her downstairs in half an hour. After washing up, he walked to the dressing room, opened the suitcase, changed into casual clothes, and suddenly remembered something: this was the suitcase he took when he returned to North America from Thailand. The shielding box containing the gun and knife is still placed in the interlayer.

Suddenly, Zhang Jue squatted down again and found the hidden button of the mezzanine.

He couldn't tell what he wanted to do, but he just opened the first hidden button.

The concealed buckle popped open, as if something thick had been pressed on it, and there was a great outward force pushing it away with a "bang" sound.

Zhang was taken aback and felt a little strange, because the thickness of the shielding box and the interlayer were consistent, so the interlayer would not be topped like this, and there seemed to be something else in the interlayer.He opened another concealed button, and the mezzanine was immediately slanted open, with one corner tilted up.

Something soft slid out from the corner edge of the interlayer.

Zhang Jue stared at the crumpled silk bag for a few seconds, raised his hand to grab it, pulled off the ribbon, and took out a gift that had been well placed in the closet of the safe house in Thailand.

The doll cat he gave to Chen Boqiao.

The hard interlayer was too narrow, and the cat's ears were crushed. I don't know what kind of violent person would stuff the doll cat, gun and knife into the special interlayer of the suitcase.

Zhang Jue rubbed the fur of the cat doll, grabbed one ear of the doll, and lifted it up, trying to fluff the ear again, but found that there was a post-it note stuck to the furry belly of the doll.The paper is not too wrinkled, but it is no longer flat. The ink marks on the note look like it has been written for a while. The writing is very simple, "Handle with care, remember to return it to me", signed by Chen Boqiao.

Zhang Ruin thought that Chen Boqiao himself didn't handle it lightly at all, and he really didn't cherish it when he stuffed the doll in such a place.

But he sat in the dressing room for a long time, trying to make Chen Boqiao's doll look better, until his mother called and asked him why he didn't go down.

When Zhang Jue and his parents arrived at the garden restaurant, the rest of the people had already sat down and waited for them.

It was a sunny day, and the fragrance of flowers in the restaurant was pleasant. Ms. Zhu was wearing everyday clothes and light makeup, and greeted Zhang Jue with a smile.

Another family present was a middle-aged couple that Zhang Jue had met last night. The husband was Li Xiu, a senior official in the Ministry of Finance, a good friend of his father, and his wife and mother had a good relationship.

After being seated, the elders chatted about current affairs and news casually. Zhang Jue sat beside Ms. Zhu, a little tired and not in good spirits, so he drank water and listened quietly to them.

If you want to talk about current affairs, you will inevitably talk about the Asian League and Chen Boqiao.Zhang Jue could see that his father was not willing to participate in this topic, but he could also see that his father probably hadn't talked to his mother.

Because Mrs. Li said that Chen Boqiao is educated and has a good memory, and when she took her old classmates to take pictures together, her mother did not show any displeasure, and nodded in agreement.

Ms. Zhu has a lively personality, and she also added: "It seems that the rumor that Senior Colonel Chen's private life is simple is true. When he entered the venue, he even held hands with me, and then he stayed at least two steps away from me the whole time."

Zhang Jue thought it was a little funny, but his father glanced at him, and he lowered his head.

After returning to the newly independent country, my father became busier than before for some reason, but he never mentioned work at home, and Zhang Jue didn't know what he was busy with.

The same is true for Chen Boqiao. The time of his phone conversation with Zhang Jue has changed. It is often at five or six o'clock in the morning in the sub-union time zone. In the afternoon of the newly independent country, it seems that only when you wake up in the morning can you have a little private time. , but regardless of the points, there have been interruptions.

Fifty days after the operation was completed, Zhang decided to go back to the hospital for a reexamination. His mother accompanied him, and Dr. He was still the receptionist.

He first took off the gauze for Zhang Jue, and Zhang Jue asked his mother to pat the scar on the back of his neck for him to see.

Mother held Zhang Jue's cell phone and stood there for a long time refusing to take pictures. Zhang Jue touched it with her fingers, and when she encountered a long and winding scar, she didn't feel too dissatisfied. , and then withdrew his hand again.

The re-examination process was similar to that before hospitalization. Zhang Jue's body has not changed recently, and he feels relaxed.Dr. He took him to the ultrasound room again, and this time Zhang Jue's mother also came in, waiting outside the curtain.

Just like last time, Zhang Jue took off his pants a little, lay on the bed, and waited quietly for Dr. He to apply the gel on his lower abdomen, spread it evenly with the probe, and press down.

When it came to the lower abdomen, Dr. He stopped again.

After a pause for a few seconds, he let go of his hand, and the image on the screen disappeared. He glanced at Zhang Jue, with no expression on his face, but a little pale.

Then, he held the probe again and continued to turn his head to look at the screen.

The cold probe slowly ran over Zhang Jue's lower abdomen and turned. Dr. He stared at the screen and did not speak for a long time.

"Aren't you alright?" Mother asked softly through the curtain.

Zhang Jue's heart sank minute by minute with time.

"Doctor He?" He heard his dry voice.

Dr. He finally moved his eyes away from the screen. He glanced at the curtain that separated Zhang Jue's mother, and told Zhang Jue in an extremely soft voice: "There is a gestational sac in the genital cavity."