pedestrian

For various reasons that could or could not be stated on the table, Chang Zheng and Tao Ran silently reached a consensus, that is, the shorter the residency time on this project of Xu Yuan's company, the better.For this purpose, they can only work overtime continuously.

For the next week, as long as Chang Zheng went out on business and didn't have a working lunch with Tao Ran, he would bring him coffee when he came back.After dinner on Friday, Tao Ran opened the door and entered the small conference room assigned to them. He saw the third cup of the week on the table at first glance, and then turned his head to see Chang Zheng's innocent face buried in his work. He suddenly felt a little helpless.

"Boss, what on earth do you mean?"

It was rare for him to call out boss honestly, but Chang Zheng really didn't dare to answer.

"Isn't it just a cup of coffee? It's worth asking."

Tao Ran didn't intend to let him go around: "It's not a cup, this is the third cup. It's only three things, do you have something to say to me?"

Chang Zheng pushed the notebook forward, leaned back, looked up at him, and turned his sore cervical spine: "I have several projects on the agenda, I want to find someone to take care of your Set a time to do it with me."

"Then you just look for it, I'll just listen to your arrangements."

This is as shameless, hypocritical, and frank as asking a suitor why he proposed. Chang Zheng gave him a supercilious look in his heart, but he had to maintain a particularly peaceful sincerity on his face: "In this way, you won't be able to compete with other partners." You showed your face in front of me. During the probationary period, everyone cooperated with me, and the evaluation can only refer to my own opinion, and you can only stand on my team in the future."

The atmosphere was as if a knight was conferred, Tao Ran enjoyed it for a while, and suddenly realized that it was his role, so he quickly said seriously: "Thanks to the boss, let's do it this way."

Chang Zheng said these two words quite awkwardly, and when he looked up, he saw that Tao Ran was smiling a bit mischievously, but he was really taken aback for a moment: "I really didn't realize that you are still a drama lover."

The connotation in his smile was so real and vivid that even though Chang Zheng subconsciously insulted him, he almost eliminated the sarcasm in the words unconsciously, and folded them into a light joke.

This smile only lasted for a moment like a meteor passing through the border. Chang Zheng faced him in silence, knowing in his heart that this was probably the first time he knew Tao Ran.

This is the last day of the residency. I worked hard all afternoon. I ran out of coffee and took it to the tea room to refill it several times. In the evening, the last email was sent out, and the rest can be handled remotely. something happened.Chang Zheng entered the elevator with Tao Ran, and he pressed B2 first, but Tao Ran then pressed the first floor.

"Why, didn't you drive?"

"I have an appointment nearby."

Chang Zheng wished him a happy weekend, went to the garage to drive the car out, and when he reached the second turn on the ground, he happened to see Tao Ran walking into the restaurant with a good-looking man.

Xu Yuan, the one at his home last time, plus this, life is simply a kaleidoscope.

Fifty steps laugh at a hundred steps, and the present report will come immediately.Before the next red light came, Du Liangheng's call arrived.Since we spent that unplanned weekend together last time, every time the three words Du Liangheng appeared on the screen of the mobile phone, it was indescribably shocking.The line in Chang Zheng's heart has its own alarm, and the last time we rolled happily in the hotel together, it didn't let him forget it for a while.

In the final analysis, the essence of that line is actually "I don't like you, I don't like you that much".

The golden rule, but that's all.This guiding ideology covers Chang Zheng safely through the ups and downs of his personal life as an adult, keeping him in style until today.

He didn't know whether he would encounter exceptions in his life, and who would become his exception.

Anyway, Du Liangheng was not.

After graduation, or to be more precise, after Tao Ran pointed at his nose and told Zhou Zhe to fuck, this was the first time they saw each other.

Whether it is a scalpel or a pig-killing knife, time is really a knife, and no one can stop its sharpness wherever it goes.Just as Tao Ran didn't expect Zhou Zhe to call his cell phone to ask him out after asking around, Zhou Zhe didn't expect Tao Ran to just agree.

The person in front of him is clearly an old friend, but he is no longer an old friend.

Looking through the menu and ordering, the two of them were so quiet that they didn't seem to know each other.The waitress who was standing aside and waiting said nothing, but gradually showed embarrassment on her face.Tao Ran has always been soft-hearted towards strangers, and couldn't bear to hurt Chi Yu, so he quickly ordered a few decent dishes.

There are fish and meat, vegetables and soup, the quantity is enough but not too much, Tao Ran always has this ability to make a good face.

It's not a solution to always stand in a stalemate, Zhou Zhe opened his mouth after deliberation: "These years..."

Tao Ran looked into Zhou Zhe's eyes, and saw that he had to swallow the remaining half of the polite words, and then he answered slowly: "We won't talk about this. Zhou Zhe, don't talk nonsense to me."

It's still like this, I let the wind from east to west, north and south, and my temper can be whatever I want, it hasn't changed at all.From this straightforwardness, Zhou Zhe found a little bit of rare confidence.

"Then what is not nonsense?"

Tao Ran didn't want to go around in circles at all: "What's your business with me?"

"I... just want to see how you are doing after not seeing you for several years."

Tao Ran couldn't hold back his sneer from the bottom of his heart.Fortunately, the estrangement he hadn't seen for many years was enough for him to see himself and the person opposite him clearly. He no longer cared whether the sneer was in his heart or on his face.

He has made up his mind to start the process from greeting each other.After all, we are old classmates, so we can eat food slowly, have a drink or two together, express some emotions about things that have gone through the years, and then wait for the opportunity to say a few sour words that are plausible, and see how things will develop tonight .

I don't know where this man's self-confidence comes from, but he always feels that every time he looks back, Tao Ran has to cooperate with him to pick up the scenes that were interrupted in the early years.

"How I live has nothing to do with you."

"If it really didn't matter, you wouldn't be here today."

If the young acquaintance does not have a happy ending, there will be such embarrassment.Tao Ran looked at it carefully again, finally gave up his impulsive guess, collected his emotions and began to deal with it properly.

"If you just want to know how I'm doing, so many of my classmates are still here, it's enough for you to ask."

Zhou Zhe smiled just right, showing a little bit of gentleness of "I really can't do anything with you": "Don't be like this, I haven't thought about the last time we met, you were yelling at me in front of so many people, why are you so upset now? You are the one who is angry."

——How fresh, don't say why, just talk about the result.Tao Ran asked himself that he was not an extreme person, but he still has no regrets about that act of tearing his face up to this day.

Tao Ran didn't bother to talk to him about these things, and Zhou Zhe was shameless, but it didn't mean he didn't want him either.

"Friday night is very precious. Since you came and sat down to order food, why can't you talk to me about the past calmly."

The word "reminiscing about the past" got into the bottom of Tao Ran's heart somehow, like a stubborn seed that quickly grew out of an indistinct vine.

Yes, apart from everything else, Zhou Zhe was indeed one of Tao Ran's closest friends.

They have always been friends, until Zhou Zhe pierced the window paper of mutual admiration, and seriously said that they want to be together.A few months later, they took advantage of the summer vacation to travel together and ran into Zhou Zhe's family on the way.The elders didn't think much of it at all, but Zhou Zhe overreacted in fright. It didn't take long to confess to Tao Ran, saying that he didn't want to bear the social pressure brought about by choosing the same sex, and breaking up would be good for everyone.

Things have come to this point, in fact, parting ways can be regarded as a timely stop loss.But Tao Ran and Zhou Zhe were too young at that time, they underestimated each other and overestimated themselves, so they still maintained their friendship after all these twists and turns.Tao Ran deeply hated him for using himself as a test subject, but out of respect, he insisted on not saying how painful it was.

Tao Ran always seems to be unlucky when it comes to breaking up.After many years, he has also reflected on it many times. Maybe the breakup the other party said was not what he thought.

What Zhou Zhe wants may be that he continue to play the role of boyfriend, but he cannot have a corresponding identity.

So this drama of indifferent, one party repeatedly wanting to turn back and the other party never clearly refusing, so they tried again and again and fled cowardly, from affectionate to disheartened.In the end, Tao Ran almost counted the days to graduate.

It's true that Zhou Zhe loves him, and it's also true that Zhou Zhe is a double and never knows whether to be with him or not.Tao Ran had had enough of Zhou Zhe, and he had had enough of himself too, until that point, he just wanted to never see him again.

Unexpectedly, at the breakup meal, Zhou Zhe ran to say, can you give me one last chance.The only time Tao Ran lost his temper in public was dedicated to this utterly selfish nonsense.

Then Tao Ran went to work, and Zhou Zhe went abroad.

And then, there is the indescribable dinner right now.

"Oh, reminiscing about the past..." Tao Ran suddenly sighed, the previous ice-coldness seemed to lose its support, and shattered silently: "Okay, reminiscing about the past. How are you doing, what did you learn when you went out, and when you come back, you can find a job." Are you ready."

Zhou Zhe seemed to be pardoned, so he cheered up and answered one by one.

Seeing his undisguised nervousness and guilt, just like back then, Tao Ran couldn't get angry anymore.In fact, why bother, in front of Zhou Zhe, Tao Ran thought he had nothing.

I gave all that I could.

Tao Ran would probably soften his heart when he saw these tensions and guilt.

Zhou Zhe's whole person left an untimely imprint in his life.Now that times have changed, he came to the appointment with the last bit of regret. He really didn't expect Zhou Zhe to want to tell him so much.

"...What's the matter with you, are you tired from work?"

Still being caught distracted, Tao Ran smiled apologetically, and followed his words: "No, I'm just listening to you. It's really hard to find a job in the direction of lean. It just so happens that the boss of your PhD has this school. It's not easy to take the opportunity to get you in for a project of enterprise cooperation."

"Yes, the teacher helped me a lot."

Teacher, not boss.Tao Ran raised his head and glanced at him thoughtfully, only to find that Zhou Zhe had indeed avoided his gaze.

I don't plan to keep in touch with you in the future, so we should talk less and ask less about personal matters.Tao Ran told himself to forget about this weird episode and change the topic.

Amidst all kinds of intentional or unintentional taboos, the long-lost conversation stumbled, and finally reached the point where the food was exhausted and the cups and plates were messed up.

The hope in Zhou Zhe's eyes can no longer be hidden at this moment.

"Tonight, do you want to..."

Tao Ran resolutely stood up one step ahead of him, with a nonchalant expression on his face: "No."

Seeing the blood on the opponent's face fade away little by little, he himself suddenly realized that he finally found the real meaning of tonight.

He really needed such an opportunity, when he finally had the confidence to reject Zhou Zhe again.

Only by refusing, can I be worthy of his unresolved love at the beginning and the unforgettable obsession today.

This full stop can only be drawn into a circle with the pen handed over by Zhou Zhe himself.