Absinthe

After Zhong Xiu returned to China, he went to the Research Institute of University H to learn about the progress of the scientific research here. By the way, he got acquainted with the colleagues in the laboratory, and the work handover went smoothly.

It was after nine o'clock in the evening when I left the laboratory today, which is relatively early.He packed up the experimental equipment and recorder, and was about to go out, when a clear voice called to him: "Teacher, I will go with you."

On Zhong Xiu's first day in the laboratory, before the school started, a boy with a tender face approached him and introduced himself: "Hello, Professor Zhong, my name is Jian Zhao."

The boy named Jian Zhao in front of him is the youngest person in the laboratory. He is only 17 years old this year. He used to be in the junior class of H University and is currently studying in graduate school.His father also works at H University and is a very prestigious professor in the school.Because of Jian Zhao's young age and his father, everyone in the laboratory took good care of him.

He has been used to being praised by the people around him since he was a child, he is pretentious and has a very proud personality.

When Zhong Xiu first came to the laboratory, Jian Zhao was not too convinced. He felt that Zhong Xiu and his team won the Wolf Prize in Chemistry because of the credit of the foreign research team, and Zhong Xiu just got the honor of the team.He always asks some tricky questions that are not related to Zhong Xiu's research field, but Zhong Xiu can answer them very well every time, and then derive a lot of relevant knowledge, whether it is in the professional field or other fields. The fields are broad and broad.

It was only after this that Jian Zhao changed his original thinking, and the way he looked at Zhong Xiu changed from questioning and disdain to admiration and admiration.He used to call Zhong Xiu "Professor Zhong", but after knowing Zhong Xiu's age, he changed his name to Teacher.

"Teacher, what apartment number do you live in?" Jian Zhao asked.

He knew that the school allocated a classroom apartment to him in order to keep him working here.

"Number three." Zhong Xiu said.

"My home is in Building No. [-], it's very close," Jian Zhao asked again, "Then can I go to your home and ask you if I don't understand anything?"

"If you have any questions, you can ask them in the laboratory," Zhong Xiu said lightly, and then added: "You can also send emails."

"Is it okay to send WeChat messages?" Jian Zhao looked at him expectantly, his eyes sparkling.

Zhong Xiu was silent for a while, and said, "Yes."

Jian Zhao happily added him on WeChat.

When the two walked near the basketball court, Zhong Xiu stopped and said, "I won't go back with you."

"Aren't you going home?" Jian Zhao was a little surprised.

"There is something, you go first." Zhong Xiu said.

"Okay." Jian Zhao said in frustration.Then he left without asking any more questions.

There were dazzling white lights on the basketball court, and many boys were playing basketball. The "bang bang" sound of the basketball landing and the "bang bang" sound of the ball hitting the basket followed one after another.Behind the court is the activity venue of the skateboarding club. This place has appeared several times in Hao Ai's videos, and Zhong Xiu easily recognized it.

After Zhong Xiu came out of the laboratory in the past few nights, he would take a long detour and pass by here, but unfortunately, he didn't see a familiar figure every time he came.

He habitually looked towards the field again, and this time he saw Hao Ai at a glance.

The distance between the two was not too far, Zhong Xiu stood there watching for a while, then lit a cigarette and took a puff quietly.Despite the smog surrounding him, he could clearly see Hao Ai's movements.

Hao Ai was practicing moves in a small corner. It could be seen from his movements that he was quite casual, and this move was not difficult for him at all.He made a beautiful somersault and landed smoothly with a high degree of completion.

A boy who had been sitting and watching got up, picked up his skateboard, and walked over.Standing on the skateboard with both feet, Hao Ai said something to the boy seriously, probably explaining the technique to him.Sure enough, after the lecture, the boy also started to pick up the skateboard and practice some flips.

Hao Ai casually turned his head to glance at Zhong Xiu, and then turned back, probably not seeing Zhong Xiu.

But in the next second, Hao Ai stepped on the skateboard and turned around to come to him. The speed was very fast, bringing a gust of cool wind.

Zhong Xiu just stood there, waiting for him to come over.

Hao Ai stared straight at his eyes recklessly, without any evasion.

After a while, he lowered his head, and his eyes fell on the cigarette held between the two fingers of Zhong Xiu's right hand again.

Zhong Xiu didn't put out the smoke, the smoke kept circling and entangled between the two of them, as if to surround them together.

"Why are you here?" Hao Ai stepped on the skateboard with one foot and grounded the other.

"Passing by." Zhong Xiu looked at the skateboard in his hand and said.

"That's a coincidence." Hao Ai jumped off the board, lightly stepped on the end of the slide with his toes, and easily caught it with one hand, a handsome closing action.

"Are you a lecturer at H University now?" Hao Ai asked again.

It is not unusual for Zhong Xiu to be a lecturer at H University, after all, he is a talented student who returned from a famous foreign school.

"Visiting professor." Zhong Xiu said flatly.

"Oh..." sounded powerful.

Hao Ai remembered that when he was in college, the professors in the college were either old people or middle-aged academic experts who had failed. Unexpectedly, Zhong Xiu became a professor in his 20s.

A few years ago, he knew that Zhong Xiu and his team had won the award when he was abroad. He watched the award ceremony on foreign websites and knew that the award was very valuable.

"Did you come back after finishing your Ph.D abroad?"

It seems quite inappropriate to ask a more personal topic like an ex whom you haven't seen in several years.It was only after Hao Ai finished speaking that he suddenly realized, but it was too late to take it back.

"No." Zhong Xiu said.

"Oh……"

"Then you... just returned to China recently?" Hao Ai asked again.

"Well, I came back last week."

He was always asking, Zhong Xiu didn't seem to care about where he went to school, what he was doing after graduation, and why he lived in H University.Hao Ai felt sour in his heart. He smiled and said, "Are you free recently? You just came back. Let me treat you to a meal."

"I don't have time these days." Zhong Xiu said.

"Okay, forget it." Hao Ai was a little disappointed. He was about to say something to ease the embarrassment when he suddenly heard a cell phone ring.

It was Zhong Xiu's cell phone that rang.

Zhong Xiu didn't avoid Hao Ai, and answered directly.The person at the other end was probably inviting him to do something, and Zhong Xiu's answer was also a cold, no time.

Hao Ai listened, and suddenly felt balanced. It turned out that he really didn't have time, not that he didn't want to have dinner with him.

Zhong Xiu hung up the phone, Hao Ai really didn't know what to say, he was just about to find an excuse to leave, but suddenly heard Zhong Xiu say: "The day after tomorrow."

"What?" Hao Ai didn't respond.

"Bring me to dinner," Zhong Xiu said, "You said so."

"Oh, good." Hao Ai froze for a moment, then nodded.

Zhong Xiu pinched the cigarette in his hand and threw it into the trash can opposite.He moved his eyes down and looked at Hao Ai's legs. Hao Ai was still wearing shorts, and it was not too cold even in autumn.He seems to be a little darker than before, but he is still very thin, and there are bruises on his calf that haven't faded, probably from the last video recording.

"How did you get your legs?" Zhong Xiu asked.

"Ah?" Hao Ai was stunned for a moment, and replied, "I fell from the skateboard."

With the wind blowing, Hao Ai shrank his neck, as if he was a little cold.

Zhong Xiu paused, then asked again: "Go back?"

"Where are you going?" Hao Ai was stunned again, his brain once again stuck in a shutdown mode.

"I also live here now." Zhong Xiu said.

"Oh..." Hao Ai clamped the skateboard between his arms and waist, "Then let's go."

"Do you also live in Building No. [-]?" Hao Ai asked.

"No, I'm in Building No. [-]," Zhong Xiu explained. "The last time I met him at the elevator was because a professor I knew lived in that building. I went to ask him about something."

"That's it." Then why pretend not to know him since he saw it?Hao Ai didn't ask in the end.

Building No. [-] and Building No. [-] are also quite close, but not in the same way.

The two passed by Building No. [-] first, but Zhong Xiu didn't stop.Hao Ai knew, but didn't remind him that he wanted to spend more time with Zhong Xiu, even if he didn't say anything.

Zhong Xiu stopped in front of the building where Hao Ai lived.

"Go up and sit down?" Hao Ai asked tentatively, restraining himself from showing how much he looked forward to it.

"Don't bother me anymore." Zhong Xiu said.

"……All right."

"Then, I'm going up," Hao Ai said, "Goodbye."

"Goodbye."

Zhong Xiu watched Hao Ai's slender figure slip into the corridor and disappear in the darkness.

He lost weight, Zhong Xiu thought.

Zhong Xiu looked up until he saw a light in the window on the ninth floor.

The phone vibrated, and he took out the phone. It was two messages from Hao Ai.

"I'm home, you go back quickly, be careful on the road!"

"We will keep in touch in the future."

In the past, I deliberately did not contact, but how can I resist not contacting in the future.If there is really no news about Hao Ai in the past six years, Zhong Xiu can't imagine what he will do.

When Zhong Xiu saw Hao Ai lightly covering up the injury in the video, he really wanted to be tough and tell Hao Ai not to record dangerous videos in the future, but he has no position and qualifications now.

Zhong Xiu has been abroad for the past few years and wanted to return to China many times.In this day and age, it is not so difficult to meet the person you want to see. Even if you are separated by more than 1 kilometers, it is only a matter of a plane ticket.

But he knew that Hao Ai already had someone else by his side at that time.

I heard that he came out publicly in college because of that person, fought for that person, was almost expelled, and later came to work in Nanchuan for that person.

When Zhong Xiu heard the news, his first reaction was to go back to the country immediately. He wanted to question that person he had never met before, and ask him why.Why are you with Hao Ai?Why did Hao Ai suffer so much criticism at school for you?Why should he give up his lucrative job and go to Nanchuan?

Why do you ask him to do so much for you? I'm not willing.

But in the end, he didn't question others, he didn't question Hao Ai, he just asked himself over and over again, did he regret when he separated from Hao Ai?Why didn't he persist when he said to give up?

Zhong Xiu didn't blame Hao Ai for breaking up first, nor did he blame him for finding a boyfriend later, he only blamed himself for being too arrogant and incompetent back then, for not protecting him well, and for not persevering.All he can do is not to disturb, not to let Hao Ai know, stay far away, pay attention to silently, and refrain from missing.

The current Hao Ai still looks the same as before, but they are all cautious, no one mentions the past, for fear of touching the old scar that seems to have healed, for fear of adding a new wound on it.

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