Stop loss

Tolstoy's deep breath is like a long sigh.He calmed down and asked Chen Qiye to continue.

He used Chinese, so Chen Qiye also spoke Chinese.The mother tongue runs through the memory longer than the story itself.

"We watched a lot of movies." Chen Qiye pointed to the apartment in the capital city.In addition to the protagonist in "The Barber of Siberia" having the same name as Tolstoy, there is another movie that left a deep impression on him, and the bracelet on the wrist of the heroine, the Duchess of Windsor, also made him feel familiar.Chen Qiye paused to distinguish carefully, Qin Ge pressed the play button and said that the bracelet is now in Qi Miaomiao's hands.

The movie they are watching is called "Love in the Country".The story is adapted from real events. Edward VIII loves beauty but not country, and he gave up the throne only to be with his beloved woman forever, that is, the Duchess of Windsor.

"I don't remember clearly... But in my impression, there is a line in it that is 'We will be dependent on each other forever, always and always'." Chen Qiye spoke slowly, stretching the muscles of his back with his breath, and stretched out his hand to hold the table. bottle, but accidentally touched the bottle.

Fortunately, it was empty there.The sound of the glass bottle touching the wooden table was dull, and the thick surface of the bottle reflected a blurry indoor scene, then shook very slowly, and then shattered on the ground.

"Snapped--!"

The sound of glass exploding was so clear that both of them shivered.They looked at each other in astonishment, thinking that the other party would catch such a leisurely bottle, but they all watched it fall indifferently.

After a moment of silence, they stood up almost at the same time, looking around in a hurry to find something to clean up the mess.Chen Qiye swept away the large pieces of broken glass with a broom, and Tolstoy cleaned the ground with a vacuum cleaner. The whole process was only the sound of machinery working, and the silence of the two did not affect their close cooperation.

Then they face each other again.Still sitting in the original position, even the posture is similar, the only change is that there is one less empty wine bottle and 2 minutes lost.

2 minutes in life is very short, but it took them double the time to find the interruption of the story and reconnect the memory with impressive fragmented plots.

"I immediately thought of the lecture theater. When Qin Ge and I were still in Wenlin No. [-] Middle School, we were just together..."

Chen Qiye's language was also incoherent at the beginning, sounding trivial and unable to grasp the point.Tolstoy did not show any impatience. As a qualified listener, he knew that every picture still engraved in his heart was the key point for Chen Qiye, including that quiet night, the exuberant late summer to the second The greenery that is about to decline in the sky is all hidden in the night, only the lights in the lecture theater are very white and bright, the tables and chairs under the lights are log-colored, and the students sitting at the table are white shirts and school trousers. They are black, but the shoes are colorful, with all kinds of brands. One of them is wearing a clean pair of Air Force One—his school pants are also black, and his school uniform shirt is also white. He also bows his head like other students , holding a pen, circled every "always" in the English reading comprehension workbook, which meant that he missed Chen Qiye every moment of every day.

He didn't want to be separated from Chen Qiye.

He wanted Chen Qiye's company close at hand, always and always.

But Chen Qiye said: "He still respected my wishes."

"He still didn't stop me from going to Russia for an exchange, and even sent me to the airport, saying that he could contact him any time I encountered any difficulties after going abroad." Chen Qiye nodded twice to himself.This story is about to end with a very peaceful separation. After this farewell, it doesn't matter whether the two have contacted each other in a foreign country.This is just a trivial detail, and it cannot affect the ending of a lover who is not a married couple.

This is also a cookie-cutter ending.

"...It's boring." Seeing that Tolstoy was silent for a long time, staring down at the small table in front of him lost in thought, Chen Qiye spoke first.

Tolstoy didn't give him any response, so Chen Xiye raised his head and stared boredly at the boundless night outside the glass roof, which was dotted with not only the bright starry sky, but also strands of green light.The tourists who come to Murmansk come for this green light above their heads. They use the photographic equipment factory to expose for time, take photos together, add post-processing filters, color correct the pictures, upload them to the circle of friends, and then attach the words with full of emotion. The ceremony is considered complete.

Then they will never go to Murmansk again in their lifetime, and will only describe the shock and beauty of the aurora to people who have never been to Murmansk over and over again.

But Chen Qiye was not a tourist.He moved to live in Murmansk after the Arctic Circle entered the polar night, and he could see the aurora every clear and windless night.The mood has already transitioned from the initial curiosity and joy to the current calm.

"You're right, this story is too boring." Chen Qiye smiled self-deprecatingly, and looked away listlessly.He propped his hands on the armrests of the chair to help him up, with his shoulders against his cheeks, and he was startled by Tolstoy, who had pulled the chair away and returned.

Tolstoy brought another bottle of wine, opened it, filled Chen Xiye's glass, and made an invitation gesture: "Расскажитееещёраз (say it again)."

"Ч...Что?" Chen Qiye was sober and confused by Tolstoy's speech, and laughed out of nowhere, "Апочему (why)."

"Anyway, just say it again." Tolstoy's request was clear and tough, and after a second or two he added, "По-русски (in Russian this time)."

"You have to give me a reason." Chen Qiye's Russian is very good, and it is not a problem to do simultaneous interpretation at his level.Apart from Tolstoy and Dostoevsky, the great writers of the Slavic nation, with such ancestors, Chen Qiye would not be surprised by what Tolstoy said or did, he just needed to know why.

Tolstoy was indeed a typical Slav.Without beating around the bush, he said bluntly, "The first time I saw you was on that plane."

You sit by the window and I sit next to you.

You were crying.

I've never seen someone cry so devastated.I asked you what happened in my unproficient Chinese, and that was the first sentence I said to you.

Then we met again in the teaching building of Moda.Your Russian is no better than my Chinese, but you are out of the safe zone of international students, and actively communicate with local students without being timid.You like to record your life by taking photos. The daily life of you and us has become one vlog after another, and the number of clicks on social media has been increasing.

You have completed the original accumulation of traffic. At the same time, your purchasing agent business and my father's relationship in customs complement each other and earn us a lot of pocket money.Up to this moment, every step you have taken can be found in the past exchange students, but you have not returned to your country. You believe that you will have more possibilities abroad, so you continue to exchange for one semester, one year, two years …When you get your graduation certificate from Moda, you have almost tasted the streets of Russia and traveled all over Europe. Your people can see new experiences and experiences through live broadcast every day. The contract dispute between you and the original platform Take almost everything you get.

"But you are not defeated. You retreated behind the scenes, formed a team to enter the overseas market, developed short video software, and once again stood at the very center of the Internet..."

There was a twinkle in Tolstoy's blue-green eyes.Chen Qiye is also very grateful. The fighting nation is rich in top hackers. If Tolstoy had not been a lobbyist to recruit those talents, this short video software with exquisite algorithms would not have been surpassed by a multinational technology company three months ago. Price negotiation for acquisition.

"...then you hid here and refused all interviews and reports."

You now possess endless wealth, and the way you now have nothing at all convinces Tolstoy that you have been defeated by another human being.

You remain silent and drink the wine that Tolstoy has poured.

You close your eyes and pretend you are a tourist in this world, automatically beautifying the arctic night in your memory.More than one person asked you whether the aurora is worth seeing. You never tire of describing the beauty of the aurora. The changing and flowing aurora becomes more and more beautiful as you narrate it over and over again, as eternal as love.

You are undoubtedly a good storyteller.If a shrewd creator wants to sing the praises of love, he will end the story at the moment when the hormones climb to the top, and end with "the prince and princess live happily together from now on", or let the protagonist part ways, and the life-and-death love that ends abruptly becomes legend.

But you, Chen Xiye, want to be a real narrator.

Chen Qiye opened his eyes and looked up.The color of the aurora in the sky is dim, just like love from enthusiasm to trivialities of life.

In order to avoid self-deception, Chen Qiye used another language.The completely different narrative structure reconstructs the story eight years ago, and he can no longer escape the reality of pros and cons.

He and Qin Ge were still watching the "Love of the Country", in another narrative line, the protagonist read the letter from the Duchess of Windsor.The letter revealed the reality and filth behind this romantic love.The love with the duchess is more like an excuse for Edward VIII to escape the confinement of the royal family. The abdicated king will always be the protagonist of this story, and the duchess not only lost her reputation and sacrificed her personality for this relationship, but also became misunderstood by the world. with the object of resentment.

She wrote in the letter: You can't imagine how difficult it is to live the greatest love story of this century.And now, I want to make a life-and-death promise with him, always and always (can't abandon, have nowhere to escape).

Chen Qiye lay motionless in Qin Ge's arms, and the light from the screen enveloped him and Qin Ge.He asked: What is the name of the Duchess of Windsor?

Qin Ge couldn't answer. "Love in a Country" is about the romance of a king, not the life of an ordinary woman.

Chen Qiye didn't ask any further questions.When he spoke again, he clearly said "no" to Qin Ge, he didn't want to do it.

Without making any more excuses, he refused Qin Ge's approach.Qin Ge's temperament was more than a little bit more serious than before. Acting like a baby was something he did in his previous life. He said "OK" lightly, and lay on the other side without turning over the whole night.

They both knew that the other party would definitely not be able to fall asleep, but neither of them said a word until the sky became white.

The same bed, different dreams came so fast.Chen Qiye felt strange that in the face of such a bleak life, he did not have the passion and urge to change.

Chen Qiye sent Qin Ge to the airport again.Since Qin Ge excluded himself from the decision-making, he didn't need to talk too much in vain to put the inequality between the two on the table.

But he was still a little worried about Qin Ge's financial situation, and suggested tactfully: "I still have a lot of exams in the second half of the semester."

What Chen Qiye meant was that Qin Ge didn't need to come so often.Qin Ge looked at another place sideways, nodded, looked back at him and answered the question: "Remember to cut your hair."

Chen Qiye didn't dodge the opponent's hand passing through his hair.Two weeks later, I received Qin Ge at the same exit. His hair was a little longer than the last time we met, and the slightly longer part was combed into a ponytail not very carefully, which made the original quiet and restrained temperament much better. Very casual confidence.

The way of getting along is not as aggrieved as last time.The two were chatting and laughing, and after returning home, they were still fighting over some jokes. Qin Ge took advantage of his size to ride on Chen Qiye's waist and hips, and pressed him on the sofa.

Chen Qiye gave up resisting, his chest heaved after the strenuous exercise.His hair rope had also been untied at some point, and his black and soft fine hair spread out. Coupled with his fading smile and slightly closed eyes, he looked like a sea monster slowly sinking into the water.

——Chen Qiye then surfaced and gave Qin Ge a kiss.

Oh, the fire of their love was not extinguished.Chen Qiye no longer found it strange that there were always people who would compromise and sacrifice in life. As long as Qin Ge was always the young master he needed to look up to, he would rather be the one to serve as a foil, rather than let Qin Ge bow his head.

He thought he had found a more suitable way to get along, but he was rejected by Qin Ge that night.The two clearly get along day and night face to face, and the distance between their hearts hasn't gotten any closer.

So it was Chen Xiye's turn to take the initiative.

In the last week of 2016, Chen Qiye asked for leave from school, used the money he earned from his part-time job to buy air tickets and birthday presents, and came to Hangzhou without telling Qin Ge.

He was full of joy, thinking that Qin Ge would like the surprise he brought.He forgot that he once said that the two of them didn't have a good birthday.