【Zhou Xiang】The Tropic

1.

December in Tokyo was wet and cold. On the day of landing, Sun Xiang unfortunately caught a bad cold.

During work breaks, Ye Mingkang originally planned to encourage Sun Xiang to go shopping in the electrical street together, but seeing his miserable appearance, he couldn't bear the invitation just after he said it: "You should rest in the hotel. What do you want to bring?"

As a result, Sun Xiang immediately became more energetic, and said decisively, "No, I'll go with you."

It was only later that Ye Mingkang found out that Sun Xiang had already done his homework and was going to buy a pair of Zhou Zekai's favorite headphones.

"It turned out that I borrowed that pair, and it had a lot of problems. He said several times that he was reluctant to change it, and he must still like the feeling of wearing it." In the store, Sun Xiang explained to Ye Mingkang while interviewing, "The old model is discontinued and out of stock, and the new model has just been released. Not long after, I heard that only those who participated in the lottery at designated stores could win, so I asked a few Japanese friends to help me draw a week in advance, and I was lucky enough to win one.”

After finishing speaking, he continued to check the headset, and from time to time communicated details with the shop assistant in English with difficulty.Ye Mingkang could tell that for this "souvenir", Sun Xiangfei had put in an extraordinary amount of thought, and he might have started preparing for this itinerary since he knew about it.

Ye Mingkang waited for a while, and noticed that the part of Sun Xiang's mask that was not covered was full of seriousness and earnestness.His mood was a little complicated, and he looked away wordlessly.

Almost uncontrollable, he thought of that day again, of the affirmative answer he received shortly after sending out the temptation, and of himself who couldn't organize any new news for a long time, and only pursed his lips irritably.

2.

How would you describe your mood at that moment?

Shock?Rather than being shocked, it is better to say that after the sound of "It really is so" sounded from the bottom of my heart, I was suddenly overwhelmed by unexpected loss and anger.

He thought that he would call Zhou Zekai regardless, and question him sternly and as an elder first.

But in fact, he didn't do anything, just sat on the seat emptyly, and then exhaled very slowly.

His intuition has always been accurate, and he could clearly feel that at some point, the relationship between Zhou Zekai and Sun Xiang had undergone a qualitative change—since the incident didn't happen suddenly, theoretically, he shouldn't be excited.

So, why the loss and anger?Probably because of "guilty heart".

Regarding Zhou Zekai's study at noon at the birthday party, the old man cared about his face and kept his secrets. He let the people around him inquire, but he insisted on not uttering a single word.

But the reason is unknown, and it is obvious that it will not affect the result—Zhou Zekai moved out of the old house in a flash, and Ye Mingkang's "inheritance" can be regarded as completely secure.

As a person with vested interests, he is very clear that Zhou Zekai will become more and more "rebellious", and it will definitely be influenced by his secret support.It is true that he and Zhou Zekai are not very close, but he has to admit that if Zhou Zekai hadn't confessed to him immediately after returning to Ye's house, saying that he had no intention of fighting, maybe from then on, his attitude towards Zhou Zekai would not have been the same as that of Zhou Zekai. So intimate now.

Looking back, he used to be secretly proud for a long time, proud that he was smart enough to make full use of his status advantages in this big family with turbulent tides. He not only firmly kept the right of inheritance, but also never lost "the only nephew with the best affection" .To be more frank, at the dinner table that day, when Zhou Zekai just got up, a gleam of joy indeed slipped through his heart.

And then... After many days, Zhou Zekai's reply gave him a slap that was neither light nor heavy——

He could imagine that if the two of them were standing face to face, Zhou Zekai would definitely say in that calm tone as if describing "the weather is nice", "Yes. I like Sun Xiang."

Heh, he should have known earlier that Zhou Zekai had already seen through his plan, so he just kept silent and didn't break it down.To put it beautifully, they are helping each other.To be realistic and straightforward, it is to use each other.

No, Ye Mingkang shook his head secretly, this is not mutual use - from the beginning to the end, Zhou Zekai never had the right to choose.Those decisions are all based on the best feedback from the environment and situation.

Thinking about it differently, in these years, Zhou Zekai may never have been really happy.I thought that being satisfied with the various preferential treatment of him and my brothers was fulfilling the obligation of "treating him as my own family".But actually, Zhou Zekai had planned to leave from the very beginning—Sun Xiang's appearance was just an accelerator.That's why he "does not discuss with himself immediately", because such discussions are meaningless.

Emotions surged, Ye Mingkang closed his eyes and pressed his temples.

The most painful thing for human beings is not to realize that when they make an important choice, they are not as noble and perfect as imagined, but to realize that if they do it all over again, they will still make the same choice.

"...Peoplearedumb, panickyanddangerousanimals." He said to himself.

"MIB? Watching the sunset and chatting about life?" Sun Xiang had finished shopping at some point, and came over with a bag, raising his eyebrows at him.

"Ha, you remember all of this." Ye Mingkang was stunned and smiled.

"A classic episode," Sun Xiang generously accepted the compliment, "Don't mention this one, I can memorize the whole episode."

"Oh?" Ye Mingkang raised his eyebrows, "For example?"

"Choose there at the fork in the future, J asked K, is it worth it, K replied, it's worth it you're strongenough."

After finishing speaking, Sun Xiang seemed to be picky about the inaccurate pronunciation, so Sun Xiang repeated it.I don't know what this sentence reminded him of, but his eyes were particularly bright and serious.

Ye Mingkang opened his mouth, a flash of shock flashed in his eyes, but then he immediately lowered his head indistinctly, pretending to be looking for the phone, to rationalize his sudden reaction.

He wouldn't tell Sun Xiang that at that moment just now, he almost thought he had returned to a long time ago in a trance - Sun Xiang's demeanor almost coincided with the Zhou Zekai at a certain moment in his memory.

"It seems that you like this sentence better." After finding the phone, he and Sun Xiang walked out together, "strongenough, don't you think this description is too vague?"

"why?"

"No one can predict the future, right? So I usually choose to put eggs in more than two baskets."

For example, after receiving Zhou Zekai's "Certificate of Promise", he half-believed, and until the dust settled, he would always be on guard against the other party.Ye Mingkang added with a self-mockery in his heart.

Sun Xiang knew nothing about the world in his mind, and his attention had already shifted to his favorite movie, and he was a little emotional for a while: "That's right. But, the more you think about it beforehand, objectively, right The more fears you have about the future, the more hesitant you are to do things, and the more likely you are to fail. Besides, where is the second food basket in life sometimes?"

Ye Mingkang was silent and did not refute him immediately.

In all fairness, he doesn't agree with Sun Xiang's point of view—it's too idealistic, and it's not an exaggeration to say that he has Don Quixote's innocence.In other situations, he would definitely argue with Sun Xiang - he was a member of the debate team at Cambridge back then.If it is serious, he is completely confident that every word of his mouth is right by his side.

But he didn't say anything.

A great exhaustion swept over him, causing him to suddenly lose his will to fight.

Finally, he said casually: "Your point of view is really special."

"Is there?" Sun Xiang glanced at him, "There are so many people in the world, there must be some who think the same as me."

"...Of course, like Zhou Zekai." Ye Mingkang suddenly answered.

"Zhou Zekai—?" Sun Xiang slightly widened his eyes.

"Didn't you think so?" Ye Mingkang smiled complicatedly, "I don't have a bad memory. Well, on the third day he came to Ye's house, we watched the MIB series together."

"Haha, what a coincidence." Sun Xiang didn't see Ye Mingkang's expression.

This topic was almost over, but Ye Mingkang continued: "I didn't understand it at the time. I understand it now."

Taking Sun Xiang's words as a note, combined with the various pressures that Zhou Zekai faced at the time, it seems to have been explained why he likes "it'sworthitifyyou'restrongenough." Obviously Zhou Zekai and I have known each other for a longer time, but you two had such a good understanding before you met." The jealousy that arose.

"Hehe. Funny." He lowered his voice.

"What did you say?" Sun Xiang heard him muttering.

"It's nothing." Ye Mingkang's expression and tone had returned to normal, "Now that we've talked, do you want to hear about Zhou Zekai's childhood?"

3.

Of course Sun Xiang was curious, but it would be awkward and strange for him to say "I'm really curious".Fortunately, Ye Mingkang's consultation was just a formality. Before Sun Xiang could respond, he had already opened up the chatterbox and talked freely.

So on the way back to the hotel, Sun Xiang heard about Zhou Zekai's various "deeds" before. Of course, who knows whether it was intentional or not, Ye Mingkang's memories obviously focused on Zhou Zekai's going to Ye's house.

And during those days, there were mainly a few key points.

——Ye Wanyi's illness, discovered and cured.

——Zhou Zekai and his family proposed to "delay retirement".

——And after officially retiring, how did this guy enter Hongyuan for a high-intensity "internship" under the premise of taking into account his studies.

Sun Xiang had heard about these things before, fragment after fragment, enough for him to piece together a vague framework, and even Zhou Zekai told him "she threatened me with her own life" in an understatement tone, but the above is far from It is not as clear and specific as Ye Mingkang's version.

From the perspective of a recent bystander, he told Sun Xiang how Zhou Zekai was so smart that it made people feel distressed to live, and how tenacious and forbearing he never gave up his love.

"That's right, he is such a person." Sun Xiang didn't feel that Ye Mingkang was exaggerating at all. Enduring the slight pain in his heart, he emphasized reflexively and proudly, "Very powerful. I admire him very much." .”

"Yeah." Ye Ming glanced at him suddenly, "Sometimes I think my nephew is so perfect that people can tolerate any shortcomings."

"Shortcomings?" Sun Xiang frowned on his keen intuition, "For example?"

"Hehe," Ye Mingkang laughed softly, his voice was as lazy as if he had just taken a sip of wine, but the content he threw out was full of sharp temptations, "I suspect he likes men."

"Where's the evidence?" Sun Xiang's first reaction was calmer than Ye Mingkang imagined.And there was no trace of disgust on his face.

Ye Mingkang almost knew the answer in his heart, but he was still trying to struggle: "Several times, I saw him flipping through books about that kind of topic...."

"So what?" Sun Xiang frowned, his seriousness was beyond Ye Mingkang's imagination, "You call this a shortcoming? Let's not say that this kind of evidence is not enough to deduce that Zhou Zekai is gay. Even if he is..."

"If he is, will you move out immediately?" Ye Mingkang interrupted him coldly.

"How is it possible? Even if he is, will this affect my relationship with him?"

...Of course it affects!God!Ye Mingkang almost wanted to help his forehead.Of course, he would ask this question not on a whim—he has asked many straight boyfriends, "If you suddenly found out that your cohabitant may be gay, and you don't know whether you are single or not, what would you do?", without exception, the first reaction was "Find an excuse to move out!" "Of course avoid suspicion first!"

Only Sun Xiang... did not follow the usual path at all.The meaning of maintenance in the words almost made Ye Mingkang hold the torch high.

"Don't be so excited, it's just a guess." Ye Mingkang laughed, stepped forward and patted Sun Xiang on the shoulder. In just a moment, he felt that he had completely accepted the possibility that the two of them would be together in the future, "Let's go Let’s go, it’s best for you to think like this, don’t take it to heart.”

"Of course." Sun Xiang answered without hesitation.

That night, Zhou Zekai received a message from Ye Mingkang.

Uncle Idiot: "Surrender.jpg"

Uncle idiot: "Justify me.jpg"

Uncle idiot: "Grievance.jpg"

Zhou Zekai: "."

Uncle idiot: "If you don't quarrel, just discuss."

Zhou Zekai: "Say."

Uncle idiot: "How can you be sure that Sun Xiang still doesn't like you? Roll eyes.jpg"

TBC