In the Same Boat

Before going out, Qu Yiheng stood in front of the mirror and looked at it repeatedly for a long time. He is usually not such an image-conscious person, but today's situation is special.

He looked at his hair in the mirror and felt a little regretful. If he had known that Yao Zhan was coming, he should have gone to the barber shop to have a good cut.

He went out and rarely took a taxi.

Turning on the navigation on the mobile phone, I watched myself getting closer to that place.

Probably because he has been single for a long time and lives too alone, Qu Yiheng is not used to meeting people in this way. The shorter the distance, the more nervous he is. Even with the air-conditioning in the car, he is still full of palms sweat.

If the scene last time was to make up for the regrets of youth, then what the hell are you doing now?

It took a total of 43 minutes from home to the restaurant.

Qu Yiheng paid the money, got out of the car, and looked at the restaurant's number to confirm it twice before feeling at ease.

He sent a message to Yao Zhan: I'm here, how about you?

Yao Zhan replied quickly: I'm already inside, table 13.

Qu Yiheng pushed the door open and went in, and a waiter came up immediately.

Waiter: "Hi sir, how many people?"

Qu Yiheng raised his hand and rubbed the tip of his nose: "I'm looking for someone, table 13."

"Sir, please."

He followed the waiter, pretending not to look for him on purpose, and pretending to take every step very calmly.

"This way!"

Someone raised their hand and spoke.

Qu Yiheng looked over and saw that it was Yao Zhan at table 13. He was no longer all in black, and his light-colored T-shirt made him look much clearer.

He thanked the waiter, squeezed out an awkward smile and walked to Yao Zhan's side. He opened the chair and sat opposite Yao Zhan.

Yao Zhan kept looking at him with a smile, and asked, "I came here suddenly, didn't I disturb you?"

"No." Qu Yiheng picked up the cup and took a sip of water, his heart beating so fast that he wanted to take a deep breath.

Although there has been no contact in the past 15 years, Yao Zhan can tell that Qu Yiheng is still the person who is not good at words. Since the other party came in, he didn't dare to look directly at him. He sat here and kept drinking water, as if he had strayed into the forest by mistake. Xiaolu can only use this method to cover up his panic.

"Let's order." Yao Zhan handed the menu in front of Qu Yiheng, "I don't know what you like to eat, so I'm thinking of ordering when you come."

When Qu Yiheng reached out to pick up the menu, he accidentally touched Yao Zhan's hand. Logically speaking, this was perfectly normal, but at that moment, he seemed to be suddenly electrified, and the electric current spread from the touching fingertips to his heart instantly. The electricity made him go limp.

So, when certain people meet certain people, they will really have a wonderful reaction.

But this reaction may be two-way or one-way. Qu Yiheng feels that there is a one-way reaction between them.

Before coming here, Qu Yiheng deliberately checked the signature dishes of this restaurant. When he ordered, he acted like a regular customer. Yao Zhan leaned on the back of his chair and looked at him with a smile, as if watching a classic movie that was re-screened many years later. .

"See if there is anything you want to add." Qu Yiheng sent the menu to Yao Zhan, and Yao Zhan said, "No, that's it."

The waiter took the menu and left, leaving the two of them relatively speechless.

In fact, to say that they are relatively silent is only on the surface, and the hearts of these two people have long been undercurrents.

Qu Yiheng has been thinking about finding something to talk about so that the two of them don't seem so awkward, but Yao Zhan is thinking that seeing Qu Yiheng this time seems a little different from the last time.

The last time we met, the two reunited unpreparedly after 15 years of separation. After drinking, we went straight to the topic and had a good time. After the good time, we hardly talked about anything, and we separated without taking a serious look at each other. Now Yao Zhan looked at Qu Yiheng sitting here, and felt that even if he was in the crowd, he felt that he was out of place in this world.

"Uh... I see that you often say in the group that you are very busy with work..." Qu Yiheng didn't intend to inquire too much about Yao Zhan's personal affairs. He felt that the two of them seemed to have a tacit understanding, that is, they didn't ask each other too much, but he thought about it For a long time, I really couldn't find any topic to talk about, so I had to pull this out.

Yao Zhan smiled helplessly: "Yes, when I was in school, I heard that there were doctors who died of exhaustion at work every year. At that time, I thought it was just alarmist talk, but who knew it was true."

"Are you a doctor?" Qu Yiheng was a little surprised. He remembered that Yao Zhan said he wanted to study bioengineering in high school, but he didn't expect to study medicine.

"Is there such a surprise?" Yao Zhan laughed out loud. He found it interesting to see Qu Yiheng's surprised expression, "I am not only a doctor, but also a pediatrician."

Qu Yiheng was even more surprised, he couldn't imagine Yao Zhan getting along with children at all.

In his memory, Yao Zhan was a person with no patience. At that time, Shao Wei took Yao Zhan to tutor him in mathematics. Every time he couldn't understand, Yao Zhan would impatiently smoke while changing Shao Wei to explain it again. .

Such a person now has to see a doctor for children every day. That scene is probably quite interesting.

"What are you thinking?" Yao Zhan asked, "Do you think it's a little weird?"

Qu Yiheng nodded and smiled slightly: "Yeah, I didn't expect that."

"What about you? You went to art college, what are you doing now?"

The smile on Qu Yiheng's face suddenly faded, he lowered his head and blinked several times, and finally said with little confidence: "It's just drawing, for the publishing house or something, to draw some manuscripts."

"That's great." When Yao Zhan said this, the waiter just brought up the food.

Seeing that the food was served, Qu Yiheng finally didn't have to force himself to talk, he said, "Let's eat first."

When the two were eating, Yao Zhan said, "I heard that this basement is a bar?"

"Well, we can go and have a look later."

Yao Zhan was waiting for his words.

In fact, judging from the current situation of the two of them, even if they don't drink, going to bed is inevitable. Since Qu Yiheng agreed to meet, he agreed to do that. This is a tacit understanding between adults.

But Yao Zhan felt that Qu Yiheng, who had drunk some wine, was more relaxed. He could tell that from the time the other party came in until now, he had always been tense and cautious in everything he did. He was tired just looking at it.

The two of them didn't eat much. Firstly, they were not hungry, and secondly, they did not meet to eat. It was purely heartless to eat so much on this occasion.

Qu Yiheng took the initiative to pay the bill, and Yao Zhan stood behind him and said, "You can buy the meal, but I have to come for the wine later."

There is also a tacit understanding among adults that you come and go with each other in terms of treats, and you don’t owe each other. Although no one is short of that little money, it’s not the same thing.

The two went downstairs, and before reaching the bar, Qu Yiheng regretted it a little. This place is not as quiet and elegant as Dou Yucong said, and vulgar is definitely not vulgar, but it's only a few o'clock, and there are already drunks haunting it.

They met a man at the top of the stairs. The man stared at Qu Yiheng, from top to bottom.

Qu Yiheng was already afraid of causing trouble, so he frowned and walked in, and the man turned and followed.

Yao Zhan didn't pay attention at first, but immediately blocked the opponent after he found out.

The man glared at him angrily, and Yao Zhan said, "Sorry, he has a companion."

Hearing the voice, Qu Yiheng turned his head back, but he didn't see the scene just now, he was walked in by Yao Zhan with his arms around his waist as soon as he turned his head.

Yao Zhan pressed his ear and asked, "Is this gay?"

Qu Yiheng didn't know, he never came.

Yao Zhan took him to find an inconspicuous place, and after the two sat down, Qu Yiheng breathed a sigh of relief.

"You are really welcome." Yao Zhan looked at him with a smile, and then beckoned the waiter to come over.

Qu Yiheng didn't speak, feeling a little annoyed by what happened just now.

He hated being stared at by unfamiliar people so much, it felt as if there was something strange about him, or he was an alien in this world, otherwise, why would those people look at him?

He wasn't used to it, he wasn't used to it, and he felt distraught.

"What to drink?" Yao Zhan put the drink list brought by the waiter in front of Qu Yiheng, and found that his complexion was not very good, so he asked worriedly, "What's wrong?"

"It's okay." Qu Yiheng looked at the hard card, and ordered a wine marked "hot" on the back.

"Me too, thank you." Yao Zhan returned the drink list to the waiter, and after the waiter left, he asked again: "Are you really okay? You don't look very good."

"It's really fine." Qu Yiheng didn't want to continue this topic, so he raised his hand and rubbed his ears uncomfortably.

It was only then that Yao Zhan realized that he was actually wearing earrings today.

Three on the left and five on the right.

Yao Zhan said: "When did you get your ears pierced? I remember when you were in high school, you were very afraid of pain."

Qu Yiheng paused when he rubbed his ears, then put down his hands and said, "When I was in college, every time I didn't feel inspired, I went to get my ears pierced."

"Is it finished after the fight?"

"At least you'll feel better."

Yao Zhan smiled: "You are masochistic."

"Probably." Qu Yiheng has always known that he has some psychological problems, but it is not serious, harmless and does not affect life. In modern society, who does not have some psychological problems.

"Then that's how the tattoos on your body came about?" Yao Zhan recalled the tattoos he saw last time, and he really wanted to point them out one by one to ask their meanings.

"Almost." Qu Yiheng said lightly, "When you have no inspiration, you have to stimulate your nerves."

"It's not easy for you to engage in art." Yao Zhan looked at the person in front of him while drinking.

Qu Yiheng was silent for a moment, and then said: "Who is it easy? It's not easy for everyone to live."

Yao Zhan smiled. He is really not used to chatting with Qu Yiheng like this. In his memory, Qu Yiheng should be that clumsy young boy who is not good at talking, and most of the time he keeps silent and lets him make all kinds of demands. .

That boy has really grown up, 15 years later, and is no longer the guy who asked if it was okay and offered to kneel down to make him comfortable.

But this is good, Yao Zhan thought, at least think more, so that he won't be bullied.

"By the way," Yao Zhan said, "Are you busy recently? If not, you can accompany me these few days. I heard that you have a lot of delicious food here."

Of course Qu Yiheng was not busy, he said "OK" and then said: "Where do you want to go, I will take you there."

As soon as he said this, he went home and dragged Dou Yucong to do his homework in advance.