【Steel Refining Flame Steel】How to make the person I like also like me

When they left the airport, it was the first spring rain in Berkeley.The rain is like a bath, as fine as needles, and the water drops slide from the rock wall of this west coast city, and even the air is filled with the sweetness from the seaside and the fragrance from the woods.

Both Ed and Roy didn't bother to hold up umbrellas, and walked along the eaves by the roadside to the depths of the city under the drizzle of the morning.It was just dawn, and the city showed the cool gray of rock.The boy yawned and turned his head to the side, with one hand in his pocket and the other hand dragging the suitcase, lazily looking at the downhill slope on the other side of the road, where the low and heavy stone railings transitioned from layers of gravel Looking at the boundary between the road and the end of the road, from Ed's point of view, the blue ocean is held in the palm of the hand by the morning mist, and the sunrise at the other end is like a flame that can't be contained, and the bright orange red seeps out behind the white.

"That's the morning sun I know." Roy's plain voice was crushed by the sound of the trunk wheel axle, and it was very clear on the quiet street.He strolled in front of Ed, with drizzle on his shoulders, holding the suitcase in one hand and the pet box in the other—a listless little flame was lying in it.

"Sunrise on the sea, nights when I couldn't sleep in the past, I would jump out of the window and run here, sit on the railing over there and wait for the night to pass and the sun to rise... just like the starry night on the heap of grain in your mind Same."

Hearing this, Ed could hardly prevent himself from turning his eyes to the sea around him again, watching the magnificent orange-red light trembling, almost bursting, surging out, and spraying on his body.

It is pure chance that they will witness this scene here and now, and it even involves the metaphysics that Ed was thinking yesterday: if he hadn't seen Gracia and her unborn child last evening, perhaps Ed would not have made up his mind to follow Mustangu come over here; if they hadn't been so late for that video call, maybe their plane would have taken off safely and on time, instead of being delayed so long for the check-in process for the little flame; if it wasn't for the midnight flight Unreasonable delay, they will not arrive at the sleeping city at such a time when traffic is inconvenient, and they will not wait for so long for a taxi to arrive at this place at this time.They will not come to this place at this moment, they will not witness the scenery in front of them, and Roy will not say to him, "That is the morning sun I know, just like the starry night on the heap of valleys in your mind." ".

They seemed to be going in the wrong direction.Turning around the street full of sunrise and seeing the sea, the corner is the old and weird slender crack inlaid next to the city center.It was getting dark, and Ed followed Mustangu, looking around curiously, but there was no one on the street.Mustangu said that he would put his luggage in his old residence first, but the place they are heading to now is not at all like a local residential area, but closer to the downtown area of ​​the old city—a bit like driving out of Ed's hometown. The narrow night market full of small bars that can be seen in about an hour is also brightly lit and full of people at night, but it is quiet and sleepy during the day—but there seems to be a subtle difference.

"Is this really where you live? 』

Roy stopped with his back turned to Edward, lowered his head and looked at the phone with the hand that was not holding the little flame.He probably still finds something funny in Ed's way of communicating, so that when he looks back at Ed, there is still a smile on the corner of his mouth.

"Yeah, it will be there soon. This is the road I take every day to and from school."

"Bar Street? 』

Roy paused, stopped and waited for Ed to come to him, looked at Ed with a mocking expression, Little Flame stared at unpleasant round eyes.Ed walked forward without thinking, and he didn't expect to bump into the other's raised eyebrows and smiling eyes as soon as he raised his eyes.

I was taken aback.Ed's heart pounded against his throat.

"What are you doing!If there is something wrong, just say it! (｀へ′) Convex” Ed gritted his teeth and pressed the phone: “This is not a bar street, what is it? 』

Roy blinked, looked down at Edward through the thin rain curtain, paused and then smiled.

"This is the red light district." Seeing Ed's dumbfounded expression and his suddenly flushed face, the other party couldn't help smiling even more.He chuckled and continued walking forward.

"Huh? Didn't I tell you?"

Mustangu's tone was relaxed, as if what he stated was the most natural thing in the world.But Eddie was struck by lightning, with a face like "Scream". He stood there and looked at Mustangu's back as if nothing had happened. He couldn't digest the fact that he stepped into the red light district for no reason.

Red light district ah!The young man screamed heart-piercingly, isn't that a place where men and women get together and do things like dogs and dogs!Ed's mind quickly flashed through the pornographic books he read at the same table when he was in school, the shaking scenes in the TV series "No Lower Limit", and when he learned that Al was going to study in Paris alone, what he felt for his brother Worry secretly searched for "Paris Red Light District" on Gudi's screen, and unfolded illogical and crazy imaginations.The streets that used to be deserted at the moment are all places where strange brothers and sisters get together to conduct strange PY transactions at night!In the seemingly quiet house next to it, maybe it’s... Fuck, Fuck, they are all adults, and it’s not that there’s anything wrong with it, after all, it’s personal freedom, and I seem to have had similar Because of the idea of ​​being willing to spend money to whore Mustangu? ?Wait, if the mother in heaven knows about this...

Edward slapped himself on the forehead, and even forgot to get angry at him because Mustangu carried his bag privately.

At this time, a soft meow broke the sleeping silence.

Eh?Ed opened his eyes in surprise, and looked through the gaps between his fingers, only to see that at some time, Mustangu had already stood in front of him and put down the boxes in both hands.Little Flame was circling in the transparent box in horror, but he had already slumped down, picking up a large lump of soft gray cotton wool with blue eyes and meowing from the ground.

"Good morning, Isaac," the cat unfolded obediently, allowing the soft-spoken person in front of him to gently rub his waist, abdomen and back.Roy said gently, "It's so rare that you came out in the rain."

"Isaac?"

"Huh?" The cat's soft pad patted Roy's chin.

Ed quickly silenced and took out his phone.

"You actually named a cat after Newton! ”Ed bowed his head angrily and typed: “Do you dare to be more inappropriate? 』

"The inappropriate person is you, Dr. Edward." Roy turned his head, raised his eyebrows and smiled softly, with raindrops on his eyelashes, "so lightly contemptuous of a 17-year-old gentleman—you haven't seen him yet Amazing place."

"It's comparable to the time I've lived on Earth (｀へ′)"

"How could the time he experienced be the same as that of you and me?"

As he spoke, Ed blinked his eyes and raised his head, just in time to meet the calm dark blue eyes of Isaac who was leaning on Gentle Country.The young man couldn't move for a moment, that was really the condescending and old-fashioned look that a profound and shrewd gentleman would have. The so-called peers could only watch eagerly at the silent sight it examined and the swaying eyes lying on Mustangu's arm from time to time. tail, and then watched it leap down lightly, stepping on the wet stone steps with silent steps, and walked towards a small door not far away.

That's the home of Roy and Isaac.

Ever since meeting Isaac, Little Flame has been terrified.In the pet box, she sometimes hugged a branch and froze in place dumbfounded, and sometimes jumped up like an electric shock, and frantically whirled around in the box nervously like her tail was on fire.Ed hid behind Mustangu and observed secretly, staring intently at the orange figure of the salamander, only heard the door creak, and the cat with shiny fur slipped through the gap with its tail curled up and disappeared into the darkness.

The light in the house is dim, and the darkness settles on the soles of the feet, only the sound of continuous rain hitting the glass windows lingers around.Ed tried his best to pick up the wet suitcase, put his chin on the suitcase and looked around curiously, but the previous crazy brainstorming turned into silly useless work.What caught the eye was just an ordinary looking old-fashioned bar. The cramped space was filled with the choking smell of alcohol, smoke and the scent of incense trying to cover up these smells. Filled, half-empty or The wine bottle was completely empty, so that Ed had to concentrate on his steps in the dark, but he still staggered and staggered with the box in his arms, kicking out the sound of ping-pong-pong from time to time.Roy, on the other hand, knows the way. He brushed his damp bangs behind his ears, carried his luggage and Little Flame, and walked with ease. Without looking at his feet, he could accurately step on the few sparse places that were not filled with wine bottles. , didn't even make a sound of footsteps on the old wooden floor, leading Edward down the narrow wooden stairs to the second floor.

"Roy—"

As soon as he went up to the second floor, a soft and smooth female voice broke the silence.Ed raised his head in astonishment. Before he could figure out what was happening right now, he felt the roar of people coming from the stairs at the end of the corridor, followed by the loud sound of the curtain being pulled open, and the darkness above his head suddenly It was lit up by the still unclear morning light, the box in his hand was pulled down forcefully and dragged on the ground, and unreal voices came from his ears.

"Can we do it ourselves?"

"Hey, don't talk nonsense!"

"Where's mom?"

"She's still on vacation in Atami with her little boyfriend."

"The little Dutch freckle?"

"That was thrown away a long time ago, and now I'm a Japanese girl with thick eyebrows."

Pulling Ed's box was a woman with thick brown hair, wearing simple and elegant makeup, and wearing ordinary T-shirt and jeans.Edward watched in bewilderment as she swiftly took his and Roy's suitcases, and led them to the end of the corridor. In the morning light, her fair complexion and light freckles appeared, unlike any of Ed's crazy delusions. The parts didn't overlap at all, only the way her hazel eyes glanced playfully at the boy made him vaguely think of Mustangu beside him.

"Ah, this is the friend you said you would bring back~ah~"

Only then did Ed notice several women walking towards them one after another.The silent house just now was filled with the sound of women's footsteps and voices. They screamed, talked and laughed, scrambling to grab Roy's neck or kiss his cheek, while Ed stood there stupidly. , looking at Roy's enthusiastic greeting, his face was red and blue - he couldn't even understand where they came out of the dark, so that when one of them smiled and put his arm on his When it was on the shoulder, the boy almost jumped up until he was pushed down by Roy.

"This is Ed." Ed stared at Mustang in astonishment, while the other party looked at him with a smile on his lips.Another hand stretched out, marveling at the blond hair on Ed's shoulder; out of nowhere, he stretched out his finger again, and pinched Ed's cheek with a bright laugh; the next second, a huge piece suddenly fell from the sky. A dry towel slapped onto Edward's wet hair, and was picked up and rubbed happily by a stranger's hand... Edward felt like he had turned into a bronze standing clock.Roy smiled and said, "Don't shoot him."

The laughter that Ed couldn't understand broke out among the women, and the girl who put Ed's shoulders even bent over laughing.

"What? Is it because he's still underage?" She said coquettishly.

Ed shuddered and screamed, "I'm an adult!"

"It's because of my personal wish." Roy hooked Ed into his arms, causing another burst of laughter from the crowd.And Ed was ashamed and angry, he didn't have time to push him away, he hurriedly took out his cell phone, with a blank brain, surging questions and stiff and trembling fingers, he pressed it randomly for a long time but nothing came out.

Who will explain to him the situation in front of him? ?

However, not only did Mustangu not intend to explain, he even refused to give the young man much time to digest.Ed was still in a stalemate of disbelief and extreme resentment, but Roy took the suitcase regardless and dragged him upstairs, leaving behind the continuous laughter and inquiries from the women .

"Where are you going next?"

"Put the suitcase away, and Ed and I will go to the school's biology lab," Roy turned his head, "put Little Flame down first, she seems very nervous going to the new place."

"That's because of your 17-year-old Isaac Newton =_="

"Hey, wait, we just came here?" ?leave now? 』

Ed raised his eyebrows to his hairline, and watched eagerly as Mustangu pushed the suitcase that had been wiped dry by the girls into the small room on the third floor, wondering if the person in front of him was really sane.At this time, a red-haired girl leaned on the railing and shouted from downstairs:

"Are you coming back for lunch?" she said loudly, "Is the barbecue takeaway from the uncle's deli next door?"

"Is that okay?" Roy asked Ed.

Now, finally there is information that Edward can understand and answer.The boy broke free from Roy's creaking nest, struggled to lean out from the railing, and shouted: "Okay! I'm 5% familiar with it!"

Since last night, except for the two hours on the plane, Ed has not had time to close his eyes at all. The freshness of the arrival and the new information that comes one after another are like the sweet seaside air, which surprised him so much that he couldn't feel it at all. How sleepy.

Finally got rid of the heavy suitcase, this time Ed and Roy finally had the leisure to bring an umbrella—the transparent umbrella usually lent to bar customers.They climbed the wooded hillside by the more secluded path behind the house, and the bare branches of the young buds surrounded their path on all sides, and they screeched under their feet on twigs and young grass. , The birdsong is tactful and sweet in the spring rain, lingering around like an invisible river.Little Huo Miao, who had tossed and tossed for a long time, finally felt tired, lying lazily on the branches and leaves at the bottom of the box, swaying gently with their steps.

"Is this what you mean by "cutting corners"?" Ed pursed his lips, "In my impression, the shortcuts are places that can be reached by stepping on a potato field and crossing a bridge. Why climb a mountain?" ?What kind of ravine do you want to turn into? 』

"Sold you?" Roy smiled. "It's a pity that my mother is not at home, otherwise I might be able to do a business."

『=Dish=Convex! ? 』

Mustangu raised his neck and laughed, and Ed continued to type unwillingly: "And you will not have the opportunity to shirk your distorted personality to your own growth environment in the future. I think the big sisters in your shop are obviously very personal." So enthusiastic! 』

"Hmm, did I ever shirk it?" The other party said boldly, "I was born with such a personality, and the so-called acquired distortion was also before coming here. Those sisters are indeed very good people. The one who carried the suitcase for you Brown hair, who almost grew up with me, is like a big sister to me."

As he said that, Roy suddenly thought of something and laughed out loud. He turned around and waited for Ed to stride forward, "That red-haired sister, Mas had a crush on her, back in junior high."

Ed burst into laughter, and Little Flame was terrified.

"He has been to your house, too?" ”Ed laughed so hard that his typing hands were shaking: “Wait, junior high school students go to the red-light district?” ? ? 』

"He seems to be running for a by-election in the House of Representatives in the second half of a few years. You can sell this news to his competitors."

"Wow, this kind of despicable deed of betraying relatives and friends is more suitable for people like you to do it?" ? 』

"Don't let my words go through competitors, just insert them in the morning news." Roy smiled, "Go and blackmail him tomorrow. I'll make a bad face and you a bad face. The real estate certificate belongs to you."

『I don’t care that Mad isn’t from the city center! 』

Ed tried his best to bite his lower lip to hold back his laughter. Unknowingly, a row of dark green iron fences emerged from the mottled shadows of trees, and the grass close to the fences was blurred by sneaking steps. trampled flat.Roy walked forward in a fuss, leaned on the iron net and looked down at the footprints on the grass, then raised his head to look at Edward with a look of dissatisfaction and grievance.

"It must have been stepped on by the Boy Scouts," Mustang said angrily and funnyly, "I was the only one who knew this shortcut before."

"Is this the baseball field you were talking about? 』

Ed moved closer to the fence, and saw behind the fine and hazy rain curtain, a large old sports field surrounded by green iron nets.The sand and mud on the ground was washed by the rain into a fresh dark earth color. At the other end of the field, there was a wooden rest area, and rows of shelves were still stacked with three pairs of baseball mitts and towels.The boy blinked his big eyes with great interest as he leaned against the wire mesh, and his golden eyelashes brushed against the wire mesh.

"Is this where you got hit by the ball? 』

Roy curled his lips, "You remember such details very clearly. It's not here, but a little further past, where there was no barbed wire at that time." As he spoke, he pulled up the blue barbed wire not far away. Lifting his chin, the paint color there is indeed newer than the current area, "This is where they scold me loudly."

"Ouch~ What are you scolding you for? 』

Roy snorted, looked at the court indifferently, and wrote lightly, "It's mainly about my mother and the sister in the store. I don't care."

Ed was suddenly speechless, and some uncomfortable feeling came up all of a sudden.Those words suddenly became unnecessary... clear and specific, like a sharp knife.He thought of those classmates who deliberately asked where his father was, and those sluts who laughed at his small stature.

The boy blinked his eyes vigorously, coughed twice, and stretched out his fingers to the side of the baseball team's rest area.

"Why does that piece of land look like it has been pried open?" 』

The boy said and turned to look at Roy.A sour expression suddenly appeared on the face of the other party who was still calm just now. Seeing this, Ed immediately beamed with joy:

"Say, talk, didn't you bring me here just to blow up black history? Hahahaha? (???)"

Roy gave Ed an angry look, turned around and pretended to leave, and quickly walked in the direction of the school in the footsteps of the boy scouts.Ed was willing to let go of the opportunity to put on a show, so he hurried to catch up. The man couldn't help but rolled his eyes, and finally he couldn't help but burst out laughing.

"That's where the school punishes the students who make trouble. Once someone breaks something, they will be forced to dig a hole in that field. The people watching the jokes will squat by the hole and watch him dig, and from time to time they will dump the soil. Kick it down a little bit."

『Hahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahaha, looking at you, you probably went in there too? 』

"...More than just going in, I was almost buried alive there."

Ed lay on the iron fence and couldn't breathe from laughing.

"Don't laugh, I know the whole dark history of your student days," Roy shook his head with his arms crossed, and Little Flame swayed with his movements, "If your school is as strict as mine, I'm afraid You're also part of the Committee of Lonely Nights at the Bottom of the Pit."

"Ahahahahaha what kind of committee is that, help! !And besides skipping class and reading in the library, I have never done anything wrong! 』

"Huh? Pour the seaweed extract on the back of the classmate who joked that you were a dwarf, tricked him into saying that he wet his pants, and then used an alcohol lamp to burn other people's pants while he was changing his pants. Is it? Your younger brother has already gone to apologize to others."

"Holy crap, how the hell do you know all this shit?Can't you use your limited brain capacity to understand my glorious deeds? 』

"I think it's pretty glorious."

After walking all the way, the feeling of hunger could not help rising from the body.Ed bought a bag of potato wedges and sausages at the canteen at the end of the playground, and followed Roy to the school.

Mustangu's school looks heavily guarded, and it does seem like a place with strict rules and no one else.Ed took a picture of himself against the glass on the door. His clothes were disheveled, his hair was disheveled, and he was still chewing potato wedges. At first glance, he would be thrown by the sharp-eyed uncle at the door with his bare hands. , I thought that it would be impossible to enter smoothly this time.Unexpectedly, as soon as Mustang put away the umbrella at the school gate, it was as if his body changed suddenly, and the whole person suddenly changed in front of Edward's eyes: it didn't mean that his appearance changed or his clothes changed, but his entire aura was updated in a second." "Life winner" mode, facing the uncle who came to stop the inquiry with elegant demeanor, a pleasant smile, and radiant brilliance, as if he was going to be on TV in a few minutes-the other party immediately let him go after his tried and tested routine, Ed stared dumbfounded. Following behind him, eating snacks all the way unimpeded, pedaling to the underground biology laboratory.

The footsteps trailed down, as if no matter which school's underground biological laboratory was cold and damp, the dark corridors and classrooms were all painted with cold tiles, and the footsteps in the early morning school were particularly strange.Ed frowned, and looked around while chewing, so that when someone suddenly appeared from the side door, he was still in a state of surprise, and almost choked to death on the potato wedges in his mouth .

Pushing the door open was a young man in a white coat with a friendly expression on his face.He spoke as if he knew Roy, but his expression when he turned to Ed was also exaggerated and enthusiastic, so that people suspected that he had always treated everyone with such an eager attitude.Ed was almost ashamed and stretched out his greasy five fingers to shake hands with him - the other party enthusiastically grabbed Ed's paw and shook it vigorously, as if trying to remove the boy's arm completely like.

"I saw you from there," the man pointed to the glass window in front, and reached out to catch the little flame that Roy handed over. "Is this the child you mentioned last time?"

"Yes, trouble you."

"Where is it, Roy, it's rare for you to ask me anything."

As soon as the man ran away with the little flame, Ed couldn't help asking:

"Wow, you watery guy, you take advantage of others for your own gain, even the biology teacher in a serious school! 』

As he continued walking along the corridor, Mustang took out his mobile phone and looked at it with a smile, "This is really a judgment full of prejudice. Although he is now the biology teacher entrusted by me to help, he was not only my teacher in the past. Old classmate, return me as a subordinate when I was the chairman of the student union. How can I take advantage of him if he does something for me. "

"Wow = mouth =!You said you were the chairman of the student union, so you didn't lie to me? ? 』

"Don't think that if you can't be good, others can't be good."

"What did you say! ! ? Ed was so angry that he almost spat out the last bit of mashed potatoes in his mouth: "You are a guy who was punished for digging holes every day, and you have the right to criticize others!" 』

Roy laughed and said, "Just because I dig a hole doesn't mean I'm not respected. I have good grades and high abilities. Except for my poor personality, there is nothing to be picky about. If it wasn't because I was respected, why should I Every time he slipped away, he would finish my part silently, and then didn't say anything?"

"...you have the nerve to say it! ! 』

The boy lowered his head with a paper bag in his mouth, and was about to press more vicious words on the phone with his greasy fingers. Unexpectedly, the person in front of him suddenly braked suddenly, and the boy bumped into the person who suddenly stopped in front of him, and was exhausted. The paper bag fell to the ground with a bang.Edward cursed for a while, and quickly went down to pick it up. When he got up, he found that Roy had stopped at the door of a classroom.

The classroom Roy was looking at was behind the glass window in front of him.Although the corridors in the basement are dimly lit, the classrooms are bright and spacious, with rows of desks and chairs surrounding low lecterns.It was an ordinary classroom that could be found in any school, with identical desks and windows, identical transparent plastic biological boxes, plant seedlings with slender roots, and cabinets full of exercise papers. The students who come here to take classes may be all the same: the top student who sits in the first row taking notes, the godly student who looks out of the window in a daze, the scumbag who lies on the desk to catch up on sleep, reads novels and plays games, A lover who writes love letters on draft paper—as if everyone in the world is sharing the same past, what Roy has experienced, Ed has also experienced, even though they have different ages, personalities, and pasts ...However, through some invisible ropes, Ed felt that he could indeed trace the outline of the other party, and ponder his past time through the scenery in front of him.

The hillside that Roy walked to and from school, the small bridge that Ed walked along the wide railing when he was leaving school; the baseball and foul language that fell on Roy, and the ridicule and sarcastic remarks that fell on Ed; The hole that Roy was forced to dig because he caused a riot; Ed was forced to run to the bastard's house with Al to apologize for burning his classmate's pants; the meeting that Roy skipped when he was the president of the student union, Ed was studying in the library until he forgot the class time... and Roy was sitting on the stone steps overlooking the morning sun on the sea, and Ed was lying in the heap of grain and looking at the summer night starry sky.

Ed thought, I used to sit in the first row, second from the right, and where was that idiot Mustangu sitting?

Then he heard Roy's gentle voice in his ear:

"The last row, second from the left, is where I used to go to class."

By the time the two of them got home, the rain had stopped, and the red light district at noon was sparsely populated.Although most of the shops have not yet opened for business, none of the young ladies whom Ed imagined to be chatting with on the street have come out (except for a sister with heavy makeup and suspenders, which Roy later told him was actually "brother", And he sees is believing).

The women in the store were as enthusiastic as ever, and before giving Edward a chance to digest his full stomach of potato wedges, they served a large portion of half-cooked street barbecue and the dark childhood history that Roy tried his best to deny.It wasn't really childhood, Roy was 5 when he moved here.But Roy's avoidance of the bloody piece of meat gave the people he oppressed an excellent opportunity to fight back, so that Edward used vicious words such as "sissy" and "weak" to ridicule him bitterly. He couldn't get enough of it several times, so anxious that Roy hurriedly dragged Ed to the attic on the third floor, not wanting to give the boy more opportunities to expose his scandals with women.

It was a narrow and cramped hut. After the suitcases of the two were piled in, there was almost no place for people to stand. As far as the eye could see, the shelves on the table on the ground were full of books and afternoon oranges. sunshine.A single bed that is not wide is wrapped in the middle of the carpet and placed in the center of the room. It is filled with thick and soft velvet mattresses and blankets, as if trying to compensate for the bed with the abundance of extras. The same thinness itself.

"They knew I was coming back, so they seemed to have cleaned it beforehand." Roy looked around and took off the coat on his shoulders, while Ed had already collapsed on the thick blanket and cushion, impatiently. Sinking into the long-lost soft warmth, he closed his eyes and couldn't help but let out a satisfied sigh.This time, after the young man finally felt the satisfaction of being full of wine and food, tiredness slowly seeped out from the depths of his body.

Ed slowly opened his eyes, the ceiling of the attic first came into his sight, the inclined angle and the beams supporting the eaves made the distance in front of him unexpectedly high, the hanging chandelier was covered by blue-gray gauze paper, There was no light on.

The young man looked around. Right now, the hut is crowded and cramped, but the walls are completely occupied by towering bookshelves. It looks like five or six tall men have to stand against the wall awkwardly, standing in a dressing room less than a few square meters Same.The books are not satisfied with the shelf itself, some are thick and gold-plated, some are thin and simple, they overflow with the breath of book cover and paper, densely occupy the desk, the ground, and even stuffed in a huge , hanging inside the copper wire birdcage next to the bed; a task board similar to Ed’s vertical board was pasted up with a felt board on the wall beside it, with big and small formulas and algorithms nailed on it with thumbtacks There are old manuscript papers, a planning form with old schedules and income and expenditures, an old map that has been circled and circled many times with colored pens, and a postcard of exotic scenery on it; A woven basket of old clothes and blankets, and an antique-like FC game console placed diagonally; on the wall close to the door frame, a long row of high and low horizontal lines marked with small numbers was drawn with a pencil—obviously for The growing boy used it to measure his height... Ed suddenly felt an inexplicable warm tide rolling over his limbs, and the sleepiness of the afternoon eroded upwards.

This place is not at all the same as where Ed lived, but unexpectedly he didn't find it strange or puzzled at all, as if he had read the books here, examined the maps here, and measured the traces of height here He also looked at it, as if the people who spent their youth here were not only Roy, but also himself - for a moment he even suspected that this was his home.

Why do you feel this way?

Roy hung up his clothes, leaving him with a thin, comfortable black sweater and ash trousers rolled up at the hems.The young man lowered his brows silently, looking up at him through his slender golden eyelashes, and he also turned around, looking at Edward with his beautiful gray-black eyes.At that time, Ed was full and exhausted like an octopus that couldn't get rid of its tentacles, lying on his back in a messy posture on the bed of the owner of the house, which was disrespectful and funny.Ed tried his best to support his sleepy brows and eyes, watching Roy slowly sitting on the carpet beside the bed, leaning against his side, when he lowered his head, he could see the bruises at the corners of his eyes and the thick pimples. eyelash.Roy's clothes exude a vague and nostalgic pine fragrance, and he squinted his eyes and looked back at himself, as if he was suppressing the smile that was about to come out, and he had to let the smile appear on his crescent-colored face and bright eyes.

His heart was pounding, and he was so relieved that he couldn't help but fall asleep under the gaze of the other party.

"You have slept on the plane for two hours since last night," Roy whispered softly, "you should sleep here for a while."

Ed closed his eyes, and he didn't struggle with the sudden tiredness for a long time, so he decided to temporarily give up the struggle to use text messages instead of talking.But he still refused to admit defeat, the boy simply shook his head stubbornly, staring at him with wide eyes.Roy couldn't help laughing.

"Why don't you want to sleep? If you still want to go down, you can't make a fuss?"

Ed shook his head angrily.

"Would you like to go somewhere else?"

Ed snorted and shook his head.

"Because I'm here, you don't want to sleep?"

Ed thought for a while, then shook his head.

Roy smiled, "Are you going to keep me guessing?"

Ed didn't make a sound, he was measuring his answer to the other party's words in his heart, and he happened to catch a glimpse of an old book under the bedside table. The familiar cover made Edward tremble.

The young man pushed Roy away, leaned down exhaustedly, and pulled out the dusty torn book from the bottom of the cabinet, shook it twice, and looked at the cover of the book again with disbelieving eyes. Then he hurriedly opened the first page of the book.

Rubbish typography, rubbish printing, broken sentences.This broken book called "A How Book: to Become AScientist", which is divided into two volumes, has long been taken back by the printing factory due to poor sales. The young Ed once sold it on the market for the broken sentence