Xia Xiqing discovered that the restaurant at Zhou Ziheng’s house was very large, but the dining table was very small in comparison. It could only seat six people at most. In the middle is a dark brown vase like a jar, with a bouquet of white preserved flowers in it.

No, Xia Xiqing took out one and found that it was not an ordinary eternal flower, but a white rose folded from specially treated crepe paper.

The tip of the nose is close to the edge of the petals, smelling a scent of roses. Xia Xiqing always felt that this flower was familiar, so he frowned and thought for a while.

He seemed to be able to fold this thing when he was a child.

Zhou Ziheng, who brought up the last salad, saw Xia Xiqing holding a paper rose in a daze. This picture looked quite pleasing to the eye.

"The online comments are right, you are indeed beautiful." Zhou Ziheng put the salad on the dining table and sat down opposite Xia Xiqing, "Just don't talk."

"Get out." The word "beautiful" is almost a forbidden word for Xia Xiqing. Zhou Ziheng didn't understand. In his eyes, Xia Xiqing's facial features could only be described as beautiful, and beautiful is not a special word for girls.

"I praise you sincerely, but you don't like to hear it."

He gave Zhou Ziheng a lazy look, and threw the paper flowers into the vase, "Praise me for being pretty when you're on the bed." With a smirk, he said harshly, "At that time, I loved to listen to whatever you said."

Zhou Ziheng, who was feeding him fish soup, chuckled, "I remember."

"Your dining table is so small." Xia Xiqing stretched out his arms and could almost touch the sides, "But I like the decoration, and the aesthetics are not bad."

"It used to be a big long table, but I lived alone, and most of the time I was on the set, so eating was very casual." Zhou Ziheng put the tomato fish soup in a small white porcelain bowl with a paper towel Handed the bottom of the bowl to Xia Xiqing, "I thought it would be a waste to use such a big table for one person, so I changed it to a smaller one."

"But it's a waste to live alone in such a big house." Xia Xiqing didn't understand his logic.

"Then you live with me?" Zhou Ziheng was actually just joking along with his words. The moment he said it, he felt a little bit regretful. He felt that he had acted too much. Every moment he was with Xia Xiqing, he was controlling himself size. I want to be nice to him, but I am afraid that these kindnesses will push him away.

Xia Xiqing's first reaction when he heard it was also stunned. Before he had time to respond, Zhou Ziheng turned around and said, "I'm just kidding. A house is different from a dining table. How should I put it? In my heart, a dining table is very special. It's for eating alone. Time is the loneliest, if one or two dishes are laid out on a big table, and one sits and eats quietly, I always feel very pitiful.”

Xia Xiqing suddenly didn't know what to say. Zhou Ziheng's description just now seemed to be about his life for so many years.

So he likes to go to Xu Qichen for dinner. In those chaotic love stories before, he has always had a strange habit, he doesn't like to sleep with people after the event, but he likes to eat with people before the event.

It doesn't seem so lonely that way.

Thinking of this, Xia Xiqing looked down at the fish soup in the bowl. The color of the soup was a beautiful tomato red. Under the warm yellow light, the noodles in the soup shimmered. Mixed with the sweetness of the yellow bone fish, the mouth is smooth and fragrant, and the stomach will be warmed up after a sip.

Zhou Ziheng seemed very nervous, "How is it, is it good?"

Xia Xiqing didn't speak, he drank the small bowl in one go, and passed the empty bowl, "I want another bowl, scoop me a piece of fish."

Seeing Zhou Ziheng happily serving him soup, scooping out a large piece of fish from the ceramic soup pot, and picking out the obvious thorns with chopsticks, Xia Xiqing's nose was a little sore, he rubbed it, and took a bite of sugar Vinegar spare ribs stuffed into the mouth.

"Don't drink it all at once, you won't be able to eat later."

"I'm not a little girl." Xia Xiqing chewed the ribs, "This ribs are delicious, crunchy, and different from the one made by Xu Qichen."

"Fried." Zhou Ziheng changed a bowl to serve him rice, but Xia Xiqing took the rice and soaked it in the fish soup.

"Eating like this is bad for your stomach."

"It's not good to eat like this every day. One meal is fine." Xia Xiqing scooped up a spoonful of rice and stuffed it into his mouth, his eyes narrowed in satisfaction, "I haven't eaten like this for many years. Soup and rice are so delicious. .”

Zhou Ziheng asked tentatively, "I used to eat it when I was young? Your mother..."

"My mother doesn't cook, and her hands are only used to appreciate famous paintings." Xia Xiqing's tone cooled down, "She is a collector of oil paintings. Of course, I mean before she got sick here." He smiled and pointed with his index finger. Pointing to his temple.

Regarding this topic, Zhou Ziheng knew it was a minefield, so he didn't continue to ask even if he was curious, but he was willing to speak, which was already a great surprise for Zhou Ziheng.

Xia Xiqing turned the topic back by himself, "When I was in elementary school, the aunt who cooked at home was very good at simmering fish soup, because my hometown is in Wuhan, by the Yangtze River, and I ate fish every day. But when I was a child, I was a very picky eater. Then she will wash rice with fish soup for me to eat, and then sit next to me to pick out all the bones of the fish and put them on the rice."

"Then what?"

"There is no more." Xia Xiqing bowed his head and took a few mouthfuls of food, "She gave birth to a child later and quit her job."

Zhou Ziheng stretched out his hand and rubbed Xia Xiqing's hair, "Whenever you want to eat, I'll cook it for you." Xia Xiqing didn't like being treated like a child, so he grabbed Zhou Ziheng's wrist and warned with an unhappy expression, " Don't act like you're taking care of the kids."

"No, I think," Zhou Ziheng touched Xia Xiqing's side face with the hand held by him, "Since I don't like eating alone, and you don't like it, we can also get together occasionally like this."

He said things against his will, but he didn't want to be too eager to scare the kitten away.

Xia Xiqing let go of his wrist, and he wanted to refuse directly. This kind of immediate feeling of living with a partner made him feel boring and weird. But Zhou Ziheng's cooking is so delicious and suits his taste, if he refuses directly, he may regret it in two days, so it's better not to say anything for now, to give himself some leeway.

The meal was eaten slowly, and Xia Xiqing offered to wash the dishes after finishing the work. After all, eating and drinking for nothing, although he has never done this kind of work, compared to cooking, washing dishes is more difficult. dropped by several orders of magnitude.

But Zhou Ziheng directly rejected his application, "There is a dishwasher. Besides," he put the packed dishes and stood up, and said lightly.

"A painter's hands should not be used to wash dishes, it is wasteful."

Xia Xiqing tried his best to restrain the corners of his mouth from curling up. He was really convinced, Zhou Ziheng was obviously a pure and innocent little virgin, how could he be so good at it. If this is a low-level person who has been hit by him so many times, he would have been so determined that he could not hold on to himself.

Unfortunately he is not.

But it's only interesting when people of high rank get together, otherwise the story would end a little too simply, and it wouldn't be a fairy tale to coax children.

Isn't the emotional world of adults just a provocation of you coming and going.

It was already late after dinner, Xia Xiqing excused himself to take a shower and went back to the opposite door. Just after taking a shower, he found a series of messages on his phone.

[Moral Model: Have you finished your bath? Do you want to watch a movie? ]

[Moral Model: I bought a projector before, and it has been idle for a long time. I just installed it and found that it is not bad. ]

Xia Xiqing wiped his hair casually, threw the towel aside, and sat on the sofa to reply him. Unexpectedly, a call came in. It was from his uncle who hadn't contacted him for eight hundred years. After thinking about it, Xia Xiqing still answered it.

"Is there something wrong?" Xia Xiqing's uncle, Xi Hui, has never had any friendship with him, and no friendship means no conflicts. In addition, he is still a gentle and refined person, so Xia Xiqing is willing to say a few words to him.

"Xi Qing, long time no see. I know you don't like fake courtesies, so this process will be skipped. I have two things with you this time. They are actually related to your mother. She is not doing well recently. I think you have If you have time, go and see her, of course it all depends on what you think."

"Let's talk about the second thing directly." Xia Xiqing suddenly wanted to smoke, and after touching it for a long time, he realized that he was wearing pajamas.

"Well, you know, the Pulito Art Center that your mom used to run has been renovated last month and is ready to reopen. I received an invitation to an art dinner two days ago, and I think you are the owner of this art center, You are more suitable than me. There will be many big names in the art world participating in this dinner, and of course businessmen will also be involved, which will also help the art center to restart."

These words are impeccable, which is Xi Hui's consistent style of handling affairs, but Xia Xiqing knows better than anyone that these reasons are not real reasons. The most important thing is that he is now well-known, and he has saved even publicity. Xia Xiqing hated being used by others, but he had complicated feelings about his mother's career, or his mother, he hated her and pitied her at the same time.

"You also know that Pulito was built by your mother after she had you, just to commemorate your birth."

Yes, it seems to be the case, even the name is "Qing" in Italian. But in the end, this art center was also destroyed by her alone, and it felt a bit like fate.

"Xi Qing?"

"I know. I will go, but I won't do anything else." Xia Xiqing said lightly, "People who study art are the most incompetent, don't count on me."

The person on the opposite side seemed relieved, "I'll give you the address later. Take care of yourself outside." Xi Hui paused, but still instructed, "The entertainment industry is quite chaotic, so be careful."

"Compared to the circle I grew up in, the entertainment circle is really childish."

After hanging up the phone, Xia Xiqing forgot to reply to Zhou Ziheng's matter. He wondered if he should just take the paintings there if Pulito really reopened. But this is completely hooliganism. How can a boss put his own paintings in his own gallery? It sounds like a drop in price.

People have always had a weird idea that art is only valuable if it is tied to poverty. Who would believe that the rich second generation can draw any good pictures?

This is why Xia Xiqing never talks about his profession when playing with others, and never mentions his family background when creating with others. Once the two are mixed together, there will be a subtle sense of cheapness.

After searching for a long time, he found a box of Marlboro Peach Double Bursts in the gap of the sofa cushion. He stared at the cigarette box for a long time, and then remembered that he took it from Xia Zhixu last time. Quit smoking, I can't smoke the ones I bought before.

Xia Xiqing didn't like popping cigarettes very much all along. He thought they were too boring, but he didn't have to pick them up if he was addicted to cigarettes. It was also suitable as a dessert after a meal. a mouthful. The phone rang suddenly, thinking that Xi Hui had something to say, but when he saw it was Zhou Ziheng, he remembered that he hadn't finished talking to him just now.

There are two popping beads in the double blast, one is a blue mint bead, and the one near the cigarette holder is a peach popping bead. Xia Xiqing took a sip, crushed the blue beads, and the cold mint aroma wrapped in a smooth tobacco smell rushed straight to the sky. His hair was not completely dry, and his brain was agitated, as if a certain nerve had been pulled tight. It loosened quickly again, and the pores all over the body were opened.

"Hello?"

For some reason, Zhou Ziheng listened to Xia Xiqing's lazy voice on the other end of the phone, as if he was floating. He coughed, "Did you take a shower? What are you doing?"

"Drugs."

"..."

"I lied to you." Xia Xiqing laughed lazily twice, most of the coolness dissipated, and he leaned comfortably on the armrest of the sofa. Only then did he remember Zhou Ziheng's invitation before. He is not interested in movies, but he really wants to watch them. look at something else.

"I don't want to watch movies. Do you have TV shows you acted in when you were a kid? I want to watch them."

Zhou Ziheng was choked by him and coughed a few times, "What's so interesting about that..."

"I just want to see it." Xia Xiqing exhaled a shallow smoke ring, stretched out his slender hand to grab a handful, and the smoke escaped between his fingers.

The avatar on the phone seemed to have been silent for a century, and he didn't urge him to smoke quietly. After smoking almost a third of a cigarette, Zhou Ziheng ended the game, reluctantly making a compromise.

Until Xia Xiqing stepped on Zhou Ziheng's slippers and appeared at his door with a white cigarette in his mouth, the expression on Zhou Ziheng's face was still ugly. Xia Xiqing smiled happily, took off the cigarette and clamped it on his finger, and rubbed Zhou Ziheng's ear with his hand.

"It depends on little friend Zhou Ziheng."

"Shut up."

But Xia Xiqing didn't expect that the projector Zhou Ziheng mentioned was actually installed in his bedroom. If it was someone else, he would definitely feel that this kind of invitation had ulterior motives, but if it was Zhou Ziheng, then he must be watching a movie seriously.

His bed was facing a large blank wall. Zhou Ziheng found a very old box from a room with several hard drives inside.

"I haven't seen it myself." There was still a little resentment in Zhou Ziheng's tone, Xia Xiqing also squatted down and touched the top of his head, "Isn't that just right, let's review your cute period together."

When he raised his head, his eyes were a little scary, Xia Xiqing didn't say any more, and went to bed knowingly and easily.

"It's okay if I turn off the light." Zhou Ziheng was still a little worried when the projector was on.

Xia Xiqing's face was calm, "It's okay."

The darkness spread, and the changing light and shadow of the projector blocked the flow of dark colors. Those rays of light, like flowing water under the sun, cast beautiful colors on Zhou Ziheng's approaching body, which moved Xia Xiqing a little.

If this body can be used as a drawing paper, it should be able to draw amazing works.

A piece of the soft bed collapsed, and Zhou Ziheng sat beside him.

"Why did you ask me to watch a movie?" Xia Xiqing turned his face and saw that the light made Zhou Ziheng's eyelashes transparent, and when they flickered, they looked like faded cicada wings, which was very beautiful.

"I will join the group soon, and I don't think I will have so much free time in the future. I originally found a foreign film, and the main character is also an AIDS patient. I wanted to see how other people acted, but it was a bit strange to watch it myself. Yu." Zhou Ziheng leaned his head on the pillow, "I'll feel better if I pull you up."

Saying so much is actually nonsense. I just want to spend more time with him.

Xia Xiqing nodded, and a child appeared on the screen of the projector, wearing a small pair of overalls, with a baby voice, and he burst out laughing, "How old were you?"

Zhou Ziheng squinted his eyes and thought for a while, "Six years old, the year he debuted."

"It's so cute." Xia Xiqing stared at Zhou Ziheng, then at the children in the picture, trying to confirm the similarities between them. Zhou Ziheng felt too ashamed, and turned Xia Xiqing to look at his face, "Don't look at me while watching your TV."

"It's your TV." Xia Xiqing chuckled. Zhou Ziheng always felt that there was a fruity smell around him, not the smell from Xia Xiqing in the past. He asked suspiciously, "Did you change the shower gel?"

"No," Xia Xiqing quickly realized, "You're talking about cigarettes, right?" Although he was talking, his eyes were still fixed on the beautiful little boy on the screen. The six-year-old Zhou Ziheng played the role of the youngest in the family. The young master, there are two older sisters and one older brother, who are being put on him at the moment, while going up the stairs, calling his brother, his voice is crisp and sweet, like a little peach.

It's still good when I was a child, obedient and soft.

"Smoke? You said the scent comes from the smoke?"

I knew that this good baby had never seen the world. Xia Xiqing directly took the cigarette from his mouth and handed it to him, "You try?"

Zhou Ziheng refused, "Forget it, I don't smoke."

"Tsk." Xia Xiqing's attention finally shifted from Xiao Zhou Ziheng, he turned his face to the side and raised his eyebrows, "Five good young people."

He has had this bad taste since he was a child, and he likes to tease and spoil well-behaved children.

"I don't like this kind of addictive thing, and it's not good for my body." Zhou Ziheng explained sternly, but who knew that Xia Xiqing sat up directly with a cigarette in his mouth, spread his legs apart, pressed his shoulders and sat astride him, mouth The pink popping beads on the side were crushed by him at once, and the rich and fresh peach aroma was poured into the lungs.

Xia Xiqing took off the cigarette, blew a beautiful smoke ring, and watched the smoke spread on Zhou Ziheng's frowning face, melting with the flowing light. The fingers holding the cigarette pinched Zhou Ziheng's chin and kissed it.

The cold sweet smoke was passed over, completing a psychedelic and long handover.

Peach, mint, cigarettes.

The intertwined light and shadow, the sweet and soft voice of childhood, the sticky and intimate kiss.

"Look me in the eyes and say it again."

Soft lips rubbing desire.

"Like addictive stuff?"