Solstice Secrets

Ling Dongzhi's ears instantly fell silent, only a vague rustling sound remained.The fragments buried deep in the memory suddenly became alive: the drizzle in the summer afternoon, the velvet curtains blown by the breeze in the studio, the strong smell of oil paint mixed with the wet smell of rain, And the suffocating heart palpitations when the soft lips are pressed together...

Ling Dongzhi closed his eyes, and when he opened them again, his eyes were cold.

Zhuang Zhou was keenly aware of some kind of change quietly happening in him, he grabbed Ling Dongzhi's wrist, and frowned slightly, "What's wrong?"

"It's nothing." Ling Dongzhi adjusted the angle of his body, trying his best to keep his face away from the direction of the door, "I just don't want to stay here any longer. I'm...afraid of noise."

Zhuang Zhou looked at him for a moment, then looked away with heavy eyes, "Then let's go."

Seeing his posture, Ling Dongzhi was a little surprised, "You are..."

Zhuang Zhou glanced in the direction of the gate, and said lightly, "You are my guest, so I can't let you go alone. There just happened to be some people who don't want to see, and I am too lazy to deal with them here."

Ling Dongzhi restrained his urge to look past, and stared at Zhuang Zhou stiffly.If you want to go, you must go through the gate, and if you want to pass the gate, you must meet that person face to face.He didn't want to stage a scene where old friends meet unexpectedly after many years in this place full of suspicious eyes.

But how would he tell Zhuang Zhou?

"This way." Zhuang Zhou put his arms around his shoulders, and whispered in his ear, "Go to the kitchen through the small door where the food is served, and then go out through the back door. It just so happens that you don't need to say hello to Lao He's bastard."

"Are you okay?" Ling Dongzhi asked him, "Just leave, your friend..."

"It's okay." Zhuang Zhou smiled slightly, and said indifferently, "My main task tonight is to take you to dinner."

Ling Dongzhi looked away from his face, and suddenly felt a little uncomfortable in his heart.In the past two days, I have been thinking about how to maintain a polite and distant distance with Zhuangzhou, and not owe each other favors.

But this man obviously didn't think so.

No one can refuse the feeling of being valued, even if it is just a gesture, it is enough to make Ling Dongzhi feel grateful at this juncture.Ling Dongzhi felt that maybe he could change his thinking, if he could be friends with this person, it seemed good.

The winter night falls early, and the narrow street from the back kitchen is even more deserted.

The car was parked outside the main entrance of the restaurant. Zhuang Zhou was thinking of taking a detour to pick up the car, but when he turned around, he saw Ling Dongzhi standing by the side of the street, with his hands in his trouser pockets, his head slightly raised, looking at the cloudy sky above him. The sky is in a trance.

"What's the matter?" Zhuang Zhou felt that there was something wrong with Ling Dongzhi's expression since just now, and he didn't look energetic.He carefully recalled the situation in the restaurant, and vaguely felt that it might be related to the few people who just came in.

Ling Dongzhi came back to his senses, turned his head to look at him and said without thinking: "Hey, there is a song that is very nice, have you heard it?"

Zhuang Zhou froze for a moment, and was about to ask him how he got into the song.Ling Dongzhi pouted his mouth slightly, and whistled a melody.It's a very melodious tune, with a bit of inexplicable exoticism, and a faint taste of desolation.

A businessman in Zhuangzhou, he has no research on piano, chess, calligraphy and painting.At best, he would go to the gym in his spare time, and talking to him about it was purely playing the piano.

Seeing Ling Dongzhi looking at him expectantly, Zhuang Zhou felt a little embarrassed, "This... I really haven't heard of it."

Ling Dongzhi pursed his lips and smiled, "If you haven't heard of it, then you haven't heard of it. I just felt a little bit suddenly."

With his smile, the gloomy aura that enveloped this person before disappeared.Those eyes seemed to be wiped by something, and they brightened up again.

Zhuang Zhou also breathed a sigh of relief, he knew that Ling Dongzhi was an artist, but if he kept talking about music and art with him, he really couldn't stand it.

"I'm hungry." Ling Dongzhi rubbed his stomach pitifully, "Hey, I know there's a hot pot restaurant near the art museum, and every time I pass by there, it's always full. Shall we try it?"

Zhuang Zhou naturally had no objections.Originally, I wanted to invite him to dinner, so of course we had to choose a place that he was satisfied with.He also had some concerns before, worried that Ling Dongzhi would not want to come out alone with him, so he purposely talked about He Kuan.Now Ling Dongzhi doesn't seem to care so much about his taking the liberty to ask him out...

Speaking of this, Zhuang Zhou's feeling is a bit subtle.He could feel that Ling Dongzhi treated him differently before he entered the restaurant and after he came out.Very subtle difference.It seems that he has lost some vigilance, and Ling Dongzhi's state seems to be a little more relaxed.Although Zhuang Zhou was a little puzzled, he also knew that now was not a good time to figure this out.

Zhuang Zhou raised his eyebrows and smiled, "Okay, let's go pick up the car first."

Ling Dongzhi thought for a while, "It's not far away, let's eat first. I happened to walk here when I was full, and it was also a way to digest food."

Zhuang Zhou was naturally what he said.The two arrived at the place after a stroll, just in time for dinner, and they didn't have a reservation, so the private room was naturally gone.It just so happened that there was a table vacant in the corner of the hall, next to the window, and the location was not bad.Ling Dongzhi has been coveting this restaurant for a long time. After sitting down, he ordered a table of dishes without looking up. He couldn't wait for the pot to boil, so he took a piece of tofu and dipped it in the condiments and ate it. Annoying, the pot was obviously steaming when it was served, but it didn’t boil even after waiting.”

Zhuang Zhou couldn't help but move the tofu plate away from him, "Boil it before eating."

Ling Dongzhi knew that he was concerned about his own appetite, so he could only put down his chopsticks with a stomach full of gluttons.It was a bit boring to wait, so I simply took out my mobile phone and called home while waiting for the meal.As soon as he plugged an earphone into his ear, he felt a furry thing approaching his feet and whimpered twice.Looking down, it turned out to be a little Pekingese staring at Ling Dongzhi with a pair of bright black eyes.

Ling Dongzhi rubbed his belly and sighed at it, "Wait a little longer, the pot hasn't boiled yet, I'll cook the meat for you when it boils."

Little Jingba tilted his head, and exhaled disdainfully from his nose, "You'd better eat it yourself, I don't care."

Ling Dongzhi laughed, "Isn't meat rare?"

Little Jingba didn't realize that Ling Dongzhi was talking to it, so he groaned to himself, "I've put on make-up like this, and there are several dishes of meat left over. Who cares to eat it? It's not as clean as my dog ​​food." .”

Ling Dongzhi was taken aback, "What makeup did you put on? Is this leftover?"

Seeing that he was holding a mobile phone in his hand, Zhuang Zhou thought he was calling someone, and didn't care about his muttering.Instead, I heard the barking of the puppy, and wondered why the restaurant put a puppy in. Could it be that the restaurant raised it?

Little Jingba stared blankly at Ling Dongzhi for a while, then asked him tremblingly, "Did you hear me?"

Ling Dongzhi nodded.

Little Jingba secretly glanced in the direction of the kitchen, "I told you, don't tell anyone."

Ling Dongzhi nodded again.

Little Jingba sat down beside his lap, sighed old-fashionedly, and said, "The original owner of this store, that is, my original owner, went back to his hometown. It was just last month. They left by train. Take me and leave me to this new boss."

Ling Dongzhi was a little surprised, "It is said that this store has been open for a long time, but I haven't heard that they have changed people."

Little Jingba expressed disdain for this statement, "The new boss deliberately hid it from the big guys. How well my master manages the business in the store. If I knew that there was a change of people, many customers might not come. "

Ling Dongzhi felt that what the puppy said made sense.

Little Jingba said again: "Someone in the boss's family is engaged in wholesale, and those unsalable vegetables, meat, etc. are sent to him. The lotus root slices are all gray when they are delivered. They After cutting into slices, soak them in the potion, and after soaking for a day, they will turn white."

Ling Dongzhi looked at the snow-white and tender lotus root slices on the plate, and his face also turned pale.

"The meat slices have been soaked too," Little Jingba blinked and said in confusion, "but I don't know what to soak them in. But the smell is not good, and it's very choking."

Ling Dongzhi moved his nose to the side of the plate and smelled it. Sure enough, there was a faint smell, like the smell of medicine, but it was not very real.It is estimated that when it is rolled in boiling water, all evidence is gone.

"There is also the seasoning of red oil cooked in the pot, all of which are fished out from the soup pot left by the guests..."

Ling Dongzhi felt nauseous for a while, stood up and dragged Zhuang Zhou outside.

Little Jingba called out behind him, "Hey, hey, you wouldn't tell them that I told you, would you?"

Ling Dongzhi let go of the bewildered Zhuang Zhou, walked over and rubbed Little Jingba's head, "No, don't worry. I still have to thank you. How do people here treat you?"

"I ate and drank, and no one beat me." Little Jingba blinked his eyes, his expression was a little gloomy, "I just miss my original master."

Ling Dongzhi rubbed its head again, not knowing what to say.

Little Jingba lay down listlessly and sighed.