Absinthe

Hao Ai drove Zhong Xiu to his community, and parked the car at an intersection near the community.

Zhong Xiu unbuckled his seat belt and looked at Hao Ai.

"Then see you tomorrow?" Hao Ai asked tentatively when he saw him looking at him.

"Okay," Zhong Xiu said after a pause, "See you tomorrow."

Zhong Xiu twisted the doorknob, but the door was not locked. He opened it and walked into the familiar home.

"Dad, mom."

Zhong's father and Zhong's mother were both at home. Originally, Yang Yingqiong planned to ask the driver to pick up Zhong Xiu at the airport, but he refused.

"I'm back." Yang Yingqiong stood up from the sofa.

"Why don't you let the driver pick you up with so many things?"

Zhong Xiu bought a lot of miscellaneous gifts and souvenirs at the airport.

"Someone pick me up." Zhong Xiu put all the gift and souvenir bags in his hand on the table.

"Who is it?" Yang Yingqiong asked curiously.

"Hao Ai." Zhong Xiu said.

"Yo." Yang Yingqiong stopped pouring tea in her hand and looked at him inexplicably.

Zhong Xiu looked at her calmly: "Hao Ai and I are together again."

"You can be with whoever you like," Yang Yingqiong paused, then continued pouring tea, "Anyway, I can't control you."

"It's better if you don't care," Zhong Xiu said, "I just want to inform you."

"They sent you back, why didn't you let him come in and have a sit down?" Father Zhong at the side saw that the two hadn't spoken a few words and were starting to quarrel, so he smoothed things over, "It's New Year's Eve, when will you bring him to see him?" Parents, just to get to know him, I haven't seen that child yet."

Zhong Xiu was stunned for a moment, and said, "Then let me ask him."

Zhong Xiu didn't know whether Hao Ai would like to come, so he couldn't make decisions for him without authorization, and Hao Ai probably wasn't very happy to see Yang Yingqiong.

*

Hao Ai stayed in Zhengchuan for almost a week. When he cleaned up his mobile phone album and saw the photos of the red-footed tortoise he had taken before, he belatedly remembered that there was a tortoise that he had forgotten in Nanchuan City.

He came in such a hurry that he hadn't fed the turtle for several days.

Shouldn't you be starving to death?

Hao Ai picked up his mobile phone and checked on Baidu whether the pet turtle would die if it was not fed for a week. The answer he got was no, so he felt relieved.

So he called Shen Jin and asked him to go to the property to get the key, and then go to his house to help feed the turtle.

After hanging up the phone, Hao Ai saw someone yelling in the high school class group to ask the students who returned to Zhengchuan during the Chinese New Year to have a meeting when they were free, and asked who was free tomorrow night.

Ji Wen: Those who go, give a 1 in the group, and anyone who can come will come.

After a while, people replied one after another below, and someone Ait Hao Ai told him to come.

Hao Ai ignored him, he went to ask Zhong Xiu: Are you going?

Zhong Xiuhui: If you go, I will go.

After the transfer, Zhong Xiu never left the original class group. He liked the atmosphere of this class more than the key class.

So Hao Ai deducted 1.

Zhong Xiu also followed behind: 1

Ji Wen:! ! ! !Is Zhong Xiu coming too?

Zhong Xiu: Yes.

Ning Yue: 1

Lu Fayan: Fuck me? ? ? ! ! !Are Zhong Xiu and Ning Yue coming?This will be a class reunion that will be recorded in history.

The last time the class was so lively was when the study committee member said he was going to get married.

Their class has always had a good relationship, even after graduation for so many years, the group is still very active during festivals or major events, and the students are blown up by the news to chat a few words.

Major events are nothing more than a group of people going to the school to visit teachers, No. [-] Middle School was demolished and moved to a new campus, and then so and so got married, so and so had children, treated guests to dinner, and spent money.For so many years, there is one thing that is an exception.

The year Zhong Xiu won the award abroad, the class that had been silent for a long time exploded.This was due to a news feed forwarded by Ning Yue in Moments.

Hao Ai went over the wall to look for the awards video on the Internet after seeing the tweet he reposted.

Everyone in the class said that I can brag to others in the future that my high school classmate won one of the most famous prizes in chemistry, comparable to the Nobel Prize in Chemistry.

At that time, there was also Aite Hao Ai in the group, but Hao Ai didn't say a word.

Not long after the summer vacation, Ji Wen organized a class reunion.

At that reunion, many students from Zheng Chuan's school came, and the content of the chat at the reunion was not only to talk about the current situation, but also to reminisce about the past.

Naturally, the topic couldn't get around Zhong Xiu who had just won the award.

Someone asked Hao Ai when Zhong Xiu would return to China.

Hao Ai was taken aback, and said, I don't know.

Someone asked again, what direction did Zhong Xiu's award specifically focus on?

I do not know.Hao Ai said with a smile.

How could you not know?

You used to have such a good relationship with Zhong Xiu, why didn't you even know about this?

Long time no contact.Hao Ai smiled on the surface, but not to mention how sad he was.

Hao Ai remembered that in the awards video, the camera swept across a handsome man with blue eyes and blond hair, who was wearing an expensive suit like Zhong Xiu, and looked very eye-catching.When the host read Zhong Xiu's name, he first stood up and bent over to talk to the handsome foreigner beside him, and then the man stood up, he was taller than Zhong Xiu.Zhong Xiu hugged him, both of them were very happy.

At that moment, Hao Ai thought of a word: soul mate.In every sense, they are very congenial.

Unlike himself, he looked up the words in the dictionary one by one in the literature he didn't understand, but even if he knew those words, it was useless. He couldn't understand those chemical symbols and formulas that were so wonderful in Zhong Xiu's eyes.

They are too far apart, and they will only get further and further apart in the future.

It's not that no one has pursued Hao Ai in college, there are men and women, but he looks down on everyone except Zhong Xiu.

The best person he met when he was young has taken root in his heart. In these years, not only did the branches and leaves not wither, but instead grew wantonly, growing into a towering tree with intertwined roots, so tall that it covered everything. Against the background, they have become mediocre wild flowers and weeds.

He even thought that it would not be a big deal to live alone like this for the rest of his life.

Despite his infinite inferiority complex and sadness, Hao Ai still feels very proud that the person he likes has always been so outstanding.

In the evening of the next day, it was still Hao Ai who drove to pick up Zhong Xiu, and the two went to the evening class reunion together.

"Let me drive it." Zhong Xiu said.

"Okay." So Hao Ai got out of the car and went to the passenger seat.

Zhong Xiu starts the car.

"What do you think of me now?" Hao Ai asked such a question suddenly, and then he answered by himself: "Anyway, I think it's pretty good."

Although Zhong Xiu didn't know why he said that suddenly, he still nodded decisively: "Of course."

"You have been fine." Zhong Xiu said again.

Since Zhong Xiu replied in the class group yesterday, Lu Fayan has been bombarding Hao Ai on WeChat, asking him if he knows that Zhong Xiu is coming too.

Hao Ai pretended to be stupid and said he didn't know, we haven't contacted for a long time.He said that for no other reason than to tease Lu Fayan, and then to see his surprised expression at the class reunion.

Lu Fayan sent Hao Ai a private chat voice again, and Hao Ai played it directly.

Lu Fayan's familiar voice came from the receiver: "How can I compare with you? You have a rich and colorful emotional life in college, which is really incomparable to ordinary people."

"Sentiment, love, life, live, rich, rich, colorful?" Although Zhong Xiu asked with a smile, Hao Ai seemed to feel that the storm was coming.

In college, Lu Fayan got off the list, and his partner was Li Wei, a high school classmate. He often showed affection with Hao Ai, so Hao Ai said that his love life was very colorful.

Of course it was all nonsense, and Lu Fayan could guess it, but he still gave Hao Ai a face to go along with him blindly.

Hao Ai yelled at Lu Fayan eight hundred times in his heart, then quickly shook his head and said, "You heard me wrong, what he said is that college life is rich and colorful, but emotional experience is blank."

Before Hao Ai finished speaking, the phone rang again, and it was from Shen Jin.

Hao Ai picked it up.

"..."

"Feed it some vegetables and buy some fish," Hao Ai said, "Oh yes, you can also buy some fruit, it likes to eat apples..."

"..."

"Of course, it's my sweetheart." Hao Ai said again.

Hearing this sentence, Zhong Xiu, who was concentrating on driving, glanced at him from the corner of his eye.

Hao Ai gave a few more instructions before hanging up the phone.

"Who is your sweetheart?" Zhong Xiu asked abruptly.

"Uh..." Hao Ai reacted and said, "Guess."

"It's not me anyway." Zhong Xiu had a cold expression.

Hao Ai fell back on the back of the chair, unable to stop laughing: "Why are you competing with a turtle for favor?"

"Turtle? It can't be..." Zhong Xiu was puzzled at first, and then surprised: "Why are you still alive?"

"What are you talking about! People are living a good life."

"I thought...you threw it away."

"At first I really wanted to throw it away, but then I felt..." Hao Ai lowered his voice, "I can't bear it."

As a result, Zhong Xiu's mood became better again. He has been in good and bad mood recently, and his mood always fluctuates because of Hao Ai's words.

When they walked into the hotel box, there were not many people inside, but the most familiar people had already arrived.

"Ai Ai, Zhong Xiu, sit here!" Lu Fayan waved to them from the corner.

At a large round table, Hao Ai sat down next to Lu Fayan, and Zhong Xiu sat next to Hao Ai.

"Why did you come together? Are you reconciled?" Lu Fayan looked at the two who had just sat down in surprise.

"No, just, I met on the road." Hao Ai whispered to him.

Zhong Xiu looked at Hao Ai nonsense coldly, saw that he had taken the wine bottle, so he leaned into his ear and said, "Don't drink too much."

Hao Ai nodded, and obediently said: "Got it, I'll just drink a little." He poured himself a glass as he spoke.

Lu Fayan looked at the two people next to him and thought to himself, when they were not together before, they were even more crooked than young couples, but now they haven't reconciled, and it seems that they are no different from reconciliation.

"Hey," Hao Ai lightly bumped Lu Fayan's shoulder and asked, "I heard that you and Li Wei are getting married?"

"Who did you hear it from? I haven't told anyone yet!" Lu Fa said anxiously.

"Listen to what Li Wei said..."

"I'm convinced, why does she tell you everything? Get your money ready." Lu Fayan rolled his eyes and told him to get out.

From time to time, someone on the table started talking to Zhong Xiu. While Zhong Xiu was talking, most of his attention was still on Hao Ai.

Hao Ai was still chatting with Lu Fayan, they got very close.Hao Ai is wearing an apricot low-necked sweater today. This man never wears high-necked clothes in winter, because he thinks it strangles his neck.Hao Ai arched his waist slightly, revealing a piece of fair skin at the neckline.

Zhong Xiu couldn't stand it any longer, so he grabbed Hao Ai, tugged at his collar, and told him to sit down.

Hao Ai blushed, and whispered: "Why, so many people are watching."

He was a little shy in front of so many people.

"I remember that after Zhong Xiu changed classes, he often came to see Ai Ai, and then... the next semester, it seems that he has never been here." Someone said.

"Well," Zhong Xiu nodded, "...the study was busy at that time."

Hao Ai didn't know how much he drank just now, but now he was talking a little bit loudly: "Excuse, it's not because of this!"

"Then why?" Someone asked again.

"Because, he and I are separated..." Hao Ai spoke slowly, sounding vague.

Before he finished speaking, Lu Fayan yanked his sleeves hard.

"What?" The person who asked the question didn't hear clearly, and the people next to him also looked at him with interest.

Lu Fayan, who knew the inside story, quickly said: "We parted ways! At that time, they had a little conflict."

Zhong Xiu: "..."

"It's been several years, should we make up now?" Lu Fayan asked loudly again on purpose.

"Well, we're reconciled." Zhong Xiu glanced at Hao Ai and said softly.

Hearing this, Hao Ai glanced at Zhong Xiu in confusion, his eyes seemed to be filled with damp water vapor.

"Reconciled?" he asked lip-syncing.

"En." Zhong Xiu nodded.

"Well, you have the final say." Hao Ai smiled.

Lu Fayan watched the two people flirt and felt very melancholy. He had eaten dog food six years ago, and he still eats it now.When is this day?

In the middle of the chat, the door of the box was pushed open.Ning Yue came late.

Ning Yue took off the light brown scarf around his neck and hung it on the clothes rack, "Sorry, the road is a bit congested." He apologized as soon as he came over.

"The dishes are not served yet, they are all waiting for you!"

"Wine fine, fine wine!"

The crowd cheered.

Ning Yue smiled, and readily took the wine poured for him by the person next to him.He raised his head, rolled his Adam's apple, and drank the wine in the glass in one gulp.

"Okay! It's better than before." Someone said.

"It's not bad," Ning Yue smiled at the man again: "It's worked out."

Zhong Xiu pulled away the empty chair next to him, and Hao Ai also smiled at Ning Yue: "Come and sit!"

Ning Yue sat next to Zhong Xiu, looked at Zhong Xiu, then at Hao Ai who turned to chat with Lu Fayan after saying hello, and asked in a low voice, "What's going on now?"

"He's still mine." Zhong Xiu said with a light smile.

"It's reconciled," Ning Yue said with envy, "I knew you would reconcile."

"What about you?" Zhong Xiu asked.

Ning Yue seemed to have heard some interesting question, and he suddenly laughed: "At most, it's a relationship with friends in sex."

Zhong Xiu sighed.

Ning Yue has a baby face, and when he smiles, he looks even more childish, "Why are you sighing? I'm happy."

Compared with before, Ning Yue has more mature temperament that has settled down, and he doesn't look so small, but it is still the same as before, blushing when he drinks alcohol.

"Am I blushing right now?" Ning Yue pressed the back of his cold hand to his face to cool down, and then asked Zhong Xiu beside him.

Zhong Xiu nodded.

"I wouldn't drink it if I knew it earlier." Ning Yue said to himself.

After twelve o'clock in the evening, the party didn't end.Those who were still sober called surrogate drivers or taxis, and the drunk ones were sent to the car one by one.

In the end, Zhong Xiu, Hao Ai, Lu Fayan and Ning Yue were left.

Lu Fayan's house is very close, and he can go back by walking.So Hao Ai said that he would stay in the hotel with Lu Fayan and chat for a while.

Ning Yue is going back now.Seeing that the two were chatting happily, Zhong Xiu sent Ning Yue outside the hotel first.

"How do you go back?" Standing outside the hotel, Zhong Xiu asked Ning Yue.

"Wait for someone to pick you up." Ning Yue said.

"When will people come?"

"I don't know, I'll wait," Ning Yue said, "You go in first, it's quite cold outside."

"fine."

Zhong Xiu waited with him in the cold wind for a while, Ning Yue held the phone in his hand, the screen was always on, stopped on the chat interface, and turned off automatically after a while.Ning Yue stubbornly turned on the screen again, waiting for it to go dark again.He did not know how many times he repeated this action, but no new message was displayed on the chat interface.

Zhong Xiu probably guessed who Ning Yue was waiting for, he frowned and said, "Let's call a car."

"...OK." Ning Yue finally agreed.

Hao Ai and Lu Fayan also came out of the hotel, and the two brothers put their arms around each other's shoulders.

"Zhong Xiu, let's go home too!"

Zhong Xiu turned around and saw that the person who called his name hugged others very unconsciously, his brows twitched, and he restrained the urge to pull the pair of good brothers apart.

Sensing Zhong Xiu's dangerous gaze, Lu Fayan shuddered, "See you, everyone!" He said hello hastily and hurried away.

The car called by Ning Yue came and saw him off, and Zhong Xiu walked over, trying to settle the score with Hao Ai.

"Oh, I'm a little dizzy." Seeing him walking towards him, Hao Ai suddenly squatted down covering his head.

"What's the matter? Is it important?" Zhong Xiu bent down, touched his head, and said anxiously: "Did you drink too much? Or was it blown by the cold wind? Take it easy, if you still feel uncomfortable, we will Go to the hospital."

Hao Ai was fine at all. He was completely awake after being blown by the cold wind just now, but now he was just a little guilty, "It's okay, I just feel so happy, I'm so happy that I'm going to pass out."

Zhong Xiu still looked worried, he felt that Hao Ai was trying to force him not to worry, "Are you all right?"

"I'm really fine." Hao Ai said.

"I can't walk anymore, can you carry me on your back?" After Hao Ai finished speaking, he was disgusted by this coquettish tone.

"Come up." Zhong Xiu really turned his back and squatted down.

Hao Ai didn't intend to let him carry it, but seeing Zhong Xiu's generous and powerful back at the moment, he climbed up without thinking about anything.

"Sink?" He asked, lying on Zhong Xiu's back.

No matter how thin Hao Ai is, he is still an adult man with the same stature as Zhong Xiu, so it is impossible not to lose weight.He was thinking that Zhong Xiu might be embarrassed to say Shen, but suddenly he heard Zhong Xiu say, "It's a little bit."

"..." Hao Ai stopped for a moment: "Then I'd better come down."

"No need." Zhong Xiu still walked forward steadily with his back on his back, without putting it down.

On a cold winter night, the streets are empty and there are few cars. It takes a long time to hear the sound of one or two cars passing by.

"I remembered something." Hao Ai said suddenly.

"What?" Zhong Xiu asked.

"Do you still remember the time when you carried me in the corridor in the second year of high school?"

"Remember." Zhong Xiu replied softly.

"Have you ever liked me since then?"

"Yeah." Earlier than that.

"But you said later that you didn't like me that much!" Hao Ai complained.

"I've always liked you," Zhong Xiu said in a low voice, "It's my fault, it's my fault."

"No..." Hao Ai's lips brushed against his ear, and he said softly, "It's not your fault at all."

"I know you must be lying when you say you don't like me, but I still..." Hao Ai murmured, "I'm so sad."

Hao Ai pressed his lips against Zhong Xiu's neck and bit down.

"You're a dog, right?" Zhong Xiu felt a sharp pain on his neck.

In the past, Hao Ai would bite him when he was beaten hard on the bed, climbed onto his shoulders in confusion, bit his lip, chin and neck with his fangs fiercely.

Now it is biting his heart over and over again.

"I'm so sad." Hao Ai repeated again.

They are very honest with each other and rarely say anything against their will.Every time you say something against your will, it seems that the other party can easily see through it, but no one will say it through.

"I won't make you sad again," Zhong Xiu said after a moment of silence, "I promise."

"Do you still like me as much as before?" Hao Ai asked.

"I like it even more than before."

"How much do you like it?" Hao Ai asked again.

"I like it very much," Zhong Xiu replied, "I like it very much."

"I like you very much too." Hao Ai said, burying his face in Zhong Xiu's back.

When Hao Ai confessed his heart to Zhong Xiu, he would always say that I like you, I like you very much, he likes you over and over again, but he never mentioned the word "love" seriously.

Hao Ai always said I love you in a joking and casual tone. It sounds like love is not that important, and love is not taken seriously by him.

Contemporary people seem to be able to say "love" easily to anyone. If this person loves enough, they will continue to love another person.

But Hao Ai feels that love is too heavy, it is much heavier than liking.Like can be a moment, a blink of an eye, but love means responsibility, bondage and forever.

At this moment, he suddenly had unprecedented courage and wanted to seriously say love to Zhong Xiu.

"Clock Hugh."

"Ok?"

"I love you very much, I really love you," Hao Ai said, "I love you."

Hao Ai's voice was not loud, but he was very serious, a seriousness he had never had before: "Don't think I'm talking drunk or in my sleep, I'm sober now, and what I say now, I will remember tomorrow and always .”

"Zhong Xiu, I love you," Hao Ai said again, "Do you feel it?"

"Well," Zhong Xiu said in a deep voice, "I can feel it."

Zhong Xiu suddenly felt the person on his back tremble, as if he was crying again.

Why does he love to cry more than before?

Zhong Xiu sighed, "I always remember," he whispered, "I love you."

The author says:

This chapter is so long, it’s finally reunited =ω=