Attempted first love

Move to the tea table after the meal. The weak tea is served in a green Jun porcelain cup. After the entrance, it is slightly bitter at first, and then sweet.

The technical director of this visit is Li Yuan, who has been friends with Ji Qilin for more than 20 years. Xia Yan met him when he visited the VR exhibition.

The tea table was filled with all kinds of fruits and a pile of milky white pumpkin seeds. Ji Qilin and Li Yuan chatted about the trivial matters of life while nibbling.How are you?At our age, we need to have physical examinations on time. I found out that there is something wrong with my cervical spine last time, so you should pay more attention.

Later, they learned that an old friend had come to have a son, and the two immediately discussed when to visit.Li Yuan said that he didn't have time during the day, and Ji Qilin said that it was too abrupt at night, and we kept arguing when you came and went.

It wasn't really arguing, Xia Yan was inconvenient to intervene to persuade him to make peace, so he started to feel sleepy after listening to it, the temperature suddenly dropped last night, he had a bit of a cold.In order to divert attention, I sat aside and concentrated on peeling the tangerines.

Wrap it with the palm of your hand, knead and press it slowly, and wait until you feel the peel and the fruit are slightly separated, and then peel it lightly, and the skin will fall off.After eating three in a row, his palm was covered with a sweet and sour fruity smell. He got up and went to the bathroom to wash his hands. When he came back, he noticed that Ji Qilin and Li Yuan stopped talking at the same time, and their eyes moved to him.

"I heard that you are very interested in "Echo"?" Li Yuan spoke first.

"Yes," Xia Yan sat back on his seat again, "I read the article you posted in Moments."

"Echo" is a new project that Li Yuan's team is preparing. Through speech synthesis technology, the voice of the deceased can be restored, so that the living relatives can have a dialogue with them in different time and space, and reconnect with each other.

This project is recruiting participants across the country. Li Yuan asked: "Do you want to participate in the solicitation, or do you want to learn technology? If you want to learn technology, I have to ask Teacher Ji if he will let you go."

"Are there any conditions for participating in the solicitation?" Xia Yan picked up another citrus, and the rough but warm touch of the peel spread to the skin, "For example, the identity story of the participant."

"You want to participate?" Before Li Yuan could speak, Ji Qilin asked in disbelief. He knew that Xia Yan's relatives were still alive, so there was no reason to participate in this event.

"It's a friend," Xia Yan was uncomfortable seeing him, he lowered his head and took a sip of tea and said vaguely, "His mother passed away a long time ago."

friend.

Ji Qilin's eyes suddenly became unpredictable, as if he was asking, a friend, which friend, who is dating you?

The more he looked, the more guilty Xia Yan felt. Before the meal, his head got hot. After telling him that he was going on a date, Ji Qilin kept asking him. Xia Yan didn't intend to hide him, but he didn't know where to start. clearly clarified.

Now is not a good time to confess, he bites the bullet, "Yes...friend."

"No conditions." Li Yuan didn't catch the clue, and listed the cases they had done to Xia Yan, "This time "Echo" will be further improved on the basis of the previous ones. According to the owner's preferences and living habits, Mantras and other intensive training, so that the dialogue can be presented more realistically."

Xia Yan nodded, he knew that Lu Zhouyu's mother was Zhou Man, who liked to play the cello, and lived in the municipal family's courtyard, where the backyard was full of flowers.But he has no plans or qualifications to sign up for Lu Zhouyu, but when he saw the news of "Echo", he couldn't help but think of the night when he was watching a movie at home, Lu Zhouyu asked him why the protagonist couldn't travel through time and space, and went back to see his mother one side.

He must have been thinking about his mother at that time.

With the development and popularization of science and technology, it is no longer out of reach to reproduce a person's voice and smile.Li Yuan said that he could try, but——

"In the last one, a pair of parents who had lost their only child also participated. Their daughter died in a car accident a few years ago, and when it came time to rebuild the face, the two asked to quit, saying nothing to let us continue."

"It's because..." Xia Yan couldn't find the right words, and Li Yuan stopped answering.

They all understand that it is because they dare not face it, can't bear to face it, and worry that it will be difficult to distinguish between virtuality and reality. Once they are addicted to fantasy, they will never be able to get out.

"This is the only point," Li Yuan said in a calm tone, with a generous smile, like a kind elder, and patted him on the shoulder, "I need to explain to your friend."

On the way back, Ji Qilin repeatedly inquired whether the friend he was talking about was the same person as the date, but Xia Yan was vague about it.

After eating too many tangerines, there was even a faint orange smell in the car. Xia Yan felt that his cold symptoms seemed to be getting worse. When he drove all the way outside Ji Qilin's community, his nose could no longer smell anything.

Outside the gate are two rows of tall sycamore trees, with withered and yellow leaves falling all over the ground. Occasionally, someone walks by and steps on them, making the sound of leaves breaking.Xia Yan held the steering wheel, thought for a while, and told Ji Qilin before getting off the car: "Teacher, I'm in a relationship, but it's not stable yet, wait... I'll bring him to see you again."

What are you waiting for, he can't tell himself.

The hand pushing the door stopped, Ji Qilin turned his head to look over, and said with a smile: "What are you afraid of, I don't know how to beat mandarin ducks."

"I know."

"Did you catch a cold?" Ji Qilin stopped asking, "Go home and take some medicine to rest, don't affect your date."

During the few years of working and living in Haicheng, Ji Qilin was more like his father than his father, and helped Xia Yan a lot. His body was filled with emotion and a little guilt. He said to Ji Qilin, "Thank you."

"This kid," Ji Qilin raised his hand, as if he wanted to touch his head, and finally put his palm on his arm and patted it twice, "Are your parents going to retire, don't just talk about dating, contact them more connect."

"it is good."

After returning home, Xia Yan dug out the cold medicine from the drawer, fell asleep after taking it, woke up again, it was already dark, and there was an unread message on the phone, Lu Zhouyu said that he had arrived at his destination.

Tapping his fingers on the keyboard, Xia Yan wanted to ask him if he was willing to participate in the "Echo" project, but separated by a layer of screen, no matter how the text was arranged, it seemed to be out of bounds, so he held back after thinking about it.

It's not too late to talk when you come back.

Until Friday, the cold still didn't get better, and he woke up from a nap feeling chilly all over. Xia Yan pulled out the thermometer, and his body temperature had already exceeded 38 degrees.

When he was hesitating whether to go to the hospital or not, there were two knocks on the door.

Came back early?

Stuffing all kinds of medicines and thermometers into the drawer and opening the door, it was Shen Qi who came.

"It is you."

"Are you waiting for someone?" Shen Qi glanced behind him.

"No, come in." Xia Yan only wore short sleeves when sleeping, and when he opened the door, his whole body was swept by the cold wind, and he trembled with his arms in his arms. "Why are you here today? Didn't you agree that I will see you off the day after tomorrow?"

After Shen Qi changed his shoes, he walked into the room, probably seeing Xia Yan's complexion, he reached out to touch his forehead, "Are you sick?"

Xia Yan took a step back to avoid it, sat on the sofa, wrapped himself tightly with a blanket, "I have a small cold, it's fine."

Shen Qi was dazed by his evasive movements. He had never been neglected like this since he met him. He stood there for a few seconds before sitting on the other side of the sofa and explaining his purpose: "You have something to do tomorrow, so I will come to you today. Birthday." After speaking, he took out a chain from his pocket, and shyly said for the first time: "A gift for you."

A fine silver chain dangles from between the fingers, and at the bottom is a hexagonal metal plate.Xia Yan was so burned that his eyes were dizzy, and he couldn't see the lettering on the sign clearly, but it didn't prevent him from recognizing the valuable trademark, "Thank you, I won't accept the gift."

"Why?" Shen Qi raised his voice abruptly, protesting: "I haven't done anything wrong recently!"

"No." Xia Yan got up and poured hot water for himself, took out a bottle of juice from the refrigerator and threw it to Shen Qi, and sat back on the sofa again, "I don't wear a necklace, it's too wasteful for me, this style is very suitable for you. "

"But this is..." Shen Qi rubbed the lettering on the metal plate with his fingertips.

Eyebrows drooping, movements are gentle, as if stroking a life.

"The plane the day after tomorrow, have you packed all your things?" Xia Yan interrupted him.

"It's ready." Shen Qi nodded reluctantly.

"Are you hungry?" Xia Yan took out his mobile phone, clicked on the takeaway app and handed it to him, "It is reasonable to say that it is my birthday, so I should treat you to dinner, but today is not very comfortable, you can see what you want to eat, order whatever you want."

The topic was interrupted many times, and Shen Qi's complexion became worse and worse, but the mobile phone was handed to him, so he had no choice but to take it.When their fingers touched, they felt that Xia Yan's fingertips had no warmth, "Are you suffering from a cold? Otherwise, you should go to the hospital."

"It's okay, I've already taken the medicine." Xia Yan smiled at him relaxedly.

"Okay," Shen Qi flipped the page up and down, finally clicked into a private bakery, and said deliberately: "I want to eat every flavor, and I can't eat it when I go abroad."

"Then order all."

Unwilling to be compromised so easily, he said, "But the two of us can't finish eating, what should we do?"

"Take it home, and you can save it for tomorrow."

"You..." Shen Qi clenched his fists, as if he wanted to say something, but held back, lowered his head to operate on the phone interface, and said after a long time: "You just want to drive me away."

"I didn't mean that, I'm sorry." Xia Yan held the water glass, the hot air surged upwards, his lips and the tip of his nose were red, making him no longer look so bloodless, "It's just that I'm sleepy after taking the medicine, and I don't have the strength to speak. Wait. The cake is here, you can go back first after eating, I will go to you early on Sunday, and I will take you to the airport after eating, I promise to keep my word."

After saying this, he seemed to be exhausted, and sank back into the sofa, like a reed shrouded in clouds, thin and fragile.

"Okay then, you rest first." Shen Qi probably never saw Xia Yan's sickly appearance, and it was rare for him to compromise, and handed back the phone, "I'll eat the cake on Sunday, but this—"

There was only one cream cake on the order page, and Xia Yan blamed himself for his concession, so he filled in the address and placed the order, and said to Shen Qi: "Let's go after eating, I just didn't have lunch."

"Okay." The necklace was held in Shen Qi's palm again, and he carefully handed it out like a handful of water, "But this, you can accept it."

"I can't take it." Xia Yan said.

"Why?! It's just a gift. After we met, I don't give you a gift every year. What's the difference?" Shen Qi frowned, "Is it because it's too ugly? Too expensive? I have money , isn’t money just for spending?”

The window curtain was blown high by the wind, inflated like a balloon, then deflated again, and was tightly attached to the screen window.

The sky seemed cloudy, and an autumn rain was brewing.

And amidst Xia Yan's silence, Shen Qi's expression also shrank, "Okay." He flipped over the metal plate on the necklace in his palm, facing upwards, revealing a few specially arranged letters and a hollowed-out heart shape. .

It's not that he didn't think of a more romantic and grander way of confession. He has a lot of money, a lot of time, and a lot of creativity. "Aren't you willing to accept just a necklace?"

Shen Qi took a step forward, his voice almost choked, "I know I have a bad temper, but I can change it for you. It only takes two years to study abroad, and I will come back. And, moreover, I don't want you to get angry right now. answer……"

After all, he still couldn't escape. From the first time Shen Qi took out the necklace, Xia Yan had vaguely felt something, so he changed the topic again and again.Shen Qi grew up spoiled, he is flamboyant, reckless, has a clear distinction between likes and hates, and never considers the consequences of doing things.

But at this moment, the completely lowered posture made Xia Yan feel stuck in his throat, "I want to change it, but it's not for me."

"It's for you."

Xia Yan closed his eyes and felt a fire burning in his body, but it was still very cold, and every inch of his exposed skin was numb. He also retracted his legs and feet into the blanket, and said softly, "I'm sorry."

For many years, Xia Yan felt that Shen Qi was just like his other younger brother, so it has become habitual to treat all kinds of overtures and temptations as jokes, but only now did he realize that such intentional or unintentional avoidance is to give people hope and hurt at the same time. People are invisible.

It cannot be delayed any longer, and the answer must be given now.

"I have a boyfriend," he said.

Shen Qi looked up at him suddenly, with a surprised expression, and said after a long time: "Liar."

"it is true."

The silence spread, and Xia Yan moved his stiff limbs under the blanket, feeling that he was going to fall asleep or faint from fever in the next second. Before that, he stretched out an arm, wanting to pat the silent shoulder in front of him, but was caught. Get up and dodge.

A tear fell on the back of his cold hand, it was very hot.

"Is that the one surnamed Lu?" Shen Qi turned his back to the sofa, his voice was extremely puzzled, "Why, obviously I met you first, didn't I?"

I don't know if he was stupid, Xia Yan's thinking turned into a single thread, and he stated: "This kind of thing doesn't come first, but I did know him earlier."

The tear on the back of the hand dried quickly without leaving a trace, and they stopped talking.

A knock on the door broke the silence in the room, and the takeaway arrived.

Seeing that Shen Qi was still stubbornly standing on the spot, with his back straight, Xia Yan got out of the blanket, opened the door trembling all over, and took back the cake, "Come and eat, I have the strength to talk when I'm full."

After a while, Shen Qi turned around, "Then you are actually going to celebrate his birthday with him tomorrow, aren't you?"

"Yes, sorry."

After receiving an affirmative answer, Shen Qi lowered his eyes and mechanically tore off the outer packaging bag of the tableware.

There was a muffled sound outside the house, "Boom—" It was going to rain.

Like a magician waking up the audience with a snap of his fingers, Shen Qi woke up like a dream, "But I heard that he returned to England a few days ago."

It was probably because Xia Yan's complexion suddenly became very pale - the only trace of blood faded away.Shen Qi caught the clue, and after only a second, he put on that haughty face again, "Didn't he tell you?"

"Who did you hear that from?"

"My aunt, the main curator of the Biennale, Shen Ru." Shen Qi fiddled with the fresh strawberries on the cream, "Is he making an island exhibit? The team went to the island yesterday, but he was not here."

Xia Yan's hand for cutting the cake was a little unsteady.

"Don't you believe me?" Shen Qi said, "You can go to the island and have a look."