【Zhou Xiang】The Tropic

1.

After solving the housing problem, Sun Xiang began to worry about decoration.

He called the captain of the construction team who made the whole package back then, but he was sorry to tell him that he had returned to his hometown two years ago.

Zhou Zekai saw everything in his eyes, went to the balcony for a while, and then asked Sun Xiang for a spare key to his house when he came back.

Sun Xiang was puzzled: "The key?"

Zhou Zekai explained concisely: "I have a friend who does this."

It was only then that Sun Xiang realized what kind of chain pies this was—Mr. Zhou planned to be a good person to the end, and help him and the decoration company to get it done by the way.

"Um..." Sun Xiang believed that with Zhou Zekai's social circle, the quality of the construction must be a certainty. It's just that there are a lot of favors, so he was hesitant.

But at this time, Zhou Zekai put on a look of giving in out of consideration, and emphasized: "You will pay for it yourself."

"That's not the problem..." Sun Xiang hesitated for two seconds, then took out the key, "Then I'll trouble you!"

He really wanted to refuse, but Zhou Zekai's offers were too tempting, cost-saving, efficiency-improving, and fully satisfying the needs of increasingly hard-working entrepreneurs.

Sun Xiang decided to bow his head to reality.

2.

After packing up clothes, razors and other daily necessities, Sun Xiang packed his notebook and pad with his backpack, and finally took off the "Ten Years Anniversary" photo frame and carefully put it in his suitcase.

"Let's go." "Yes."

During the journey from the elevator to the parking lot, Sun Xiang was distracted frequently, and almost hit obstacles several times, only escaped by Zhou Zekai's reminder.

"Are you all right?" Zhou Zekai finally couldn't help but open his mouth when he saw his friend start to be in a daze after getting in the car.

"Well, I don't know," Sun Xiang came back to his senses, and answered honestly while fastening his seat belt, "I always feel like I forgot something."

"Did you drop something?"

"No." Sun Xiang shook his head, and suddenly said softly "ah", "I know!"

Zhou Zekai pressed the electronic handbrake and turned to look at him.

As soon as Sun Xiang thought about what he was going to say next, he suddenly had a strong urge to look away, but he held back: "We all forgot a very important thing - your mother will know about my borrowing Right? Would you mind?"

More than a month ago, the gossip between him and Zhou Zekai only lasted for half a day before it suddenly disappeared from the entire online world. Searching keywords returned blank results, clean and tidy, as if it had never happened.Later the TV station called and said they had finally decided to drop the episode because they "didn't want to be sensational," which was a false excuse, of course.All signs point to one point—someone is watching from behind, not allowing the incident to ferment.

Who is behind the scenes, the answer is obvious.

Sun Xiang knew that Zhou Zekai must also know these things, and he must be able to understand.With his hands on the seat belt buckle, he waited for Zhou Zekai to nod in agreement before getting out of the car and saying goodbye.

Unexpectedly, after listening to Zhou Zekai, he did two actions: release the electronic handbrake, and start the vehicle with the ignition.

"Wait, wait!" Sun Xiang was stunned, "I didn't understand enough?"

"I understand enough." Zhou Zekai replied casually, and stepped on the gas pedal at the same time.The vehicle gained power and immediately accelerated towards the entrance of the basement, "So?"

"So we need, want, avoid, hate! Otherwise, it will be regarded as crossing the line." Sun Xiang was speechless, he was clearly worried for Zhou Zekai, but the right man who was worried about it seemed completely indifferent.

"Avoid suspicion?" The vehicle returned to the ground, and the sudden large sun made Sun Xiang blind for a moment.When he could see Zhou Zekai's expression clearly again, he found that this person was actually smiling, as if he had just said some particularly funny cold joke.

Sensing Sun Xiang's gaze, the corners of Zhou Zekai's lips rose again: "Whether she crosses the line or not, it doesn't matter what she says, and she doesn't care."

If someone else said that, it could easily be interpreted as anger.But Zhou Zekai was different. As soon as he spoke, Sun Xiang knew that he was serious.

3.

When Zhou Zekai said those words, both his demeanor and aura were very unfamiliar, but it did not prevent Sun Xiang from feeling an inexplicable sense of trust.He can't help but relax.

The last time this feeling appeared was in the analysis meeting before the Season [-] finals, when Zhou Zekai said "the championship is ours".

It's too long gone.The long absence caused Sun Xiang to be in a trance for a moment, thinking that time and space had flowed back, that the person sitting next to him was not the mysterious nobleman in a suit and leather shoes, but the younger and more handsome man with the same short-sleeved team uniform and a bullet necklace on his chest. The youthful reincarnation captain.

But this trance only lasted less than half a second, Sun Xiang rubbed his eyes, and quickly pulled out of the nostalgic mood.

"That's right," he put down his chair, yawned lazily, and looked out of the window, "At any rate, you're almost in your thirties."

In order to save face for Zhou Zekai, Sun Xiang didn't finish the second half of the sentence: At this age, the family is still in control of life all the time, and can't make decisions by themselves, it's really pitiful!

Zhou Zekai didn't know whether he understood or not, so he answered vaguely: "Yes. People change."

Sun Xiang touched Zhou Zekai's heavy eyes, and felt that the other party didn't want to continue this topic, so he turned to mention another matter: "By the way, I've been very busy with projects recently, and I might not come back until eleven or twelve o'clock or even later every day, so it won't affect you. have a rest?"

"It doesn't matter," Zhou Zekai turned his head to look at him helplessly, "...you may have misunderstood."

It turned out that it was just one of the many houses under Zhou Zekai's name.When he was entertaining or doing errands nearby, he would only rest for one or two nights.

Damn, Sun Xiang laughed dryly, and said to himself silently, this guy is not ordinary rich.

4.

Facts proved that Zhou Zekai was not lying.Entering the door, bypassing the porch, as far as Sun Xiang could see, every large piece of furniture was covered with a dust cover, as if it had been vacant for a long time.When he thought of not having to live with Zhou Zekai, he relaxed a little.

"Want to help?" Sun Xiang took off his coat, rolled up his sleeves, and asked Zhou Zekai.

The latter gave him a "what do you say" look.

Sun Xiang smiled and said no more. The two worked together and took 10 minutes to remove the dust cover of the entire house.

"At this moment, I have a question that I want to interview this local tyrant." Sun Xiang took the tissue from Zhou Zekai, wiped his hands, and said half-jokingly, "How do you feel about living alone in a house with four bedrooms and two halls? Don't you really feel empty?"

"Impressions? Yes." Zhou Zekai pulled out a Coke and tossed it to him, "It's very troublesome, um, I have to toss a coin at night to decide which room to sleep in."

"Stop, stop!" Sun Xiang laughed until tears came out, "Yes! This is the first time I know that you can tell bad jokes."

Zhou Zekai turned around noncommittally, turned out the kettle to boil water, said that he was not used to drinking Coke and wanted to make tea.

"Exquisite." Sun Xiang complained, and began to look at the decoration of the living room.

When Zhou Zekai was ironing the cup, he happened to come back from a stroll around, expressing his thoughts seriously: "It's different from what I imagined."

"You imagined?"

"Yes, in my imagination, there should be two porcelain vases of that size, antique ones," Sun Xiang gestured at the height, which almost reached his shoulders, "and then there must be a super metaphysical-looking entrance in the entrance." The feng shui array..."

Zhou Zekai's hand holding the kettle trembled, and he almost poured scalding hot water into his other hand.

"Be careful! You can't help it?" Sun Xiang snatched the cup with a sharp hand, moved it a little further, and continued, "Oh yes, and the solid wood cabinet on the west side of the living room is equipped with a diffused light strip. Was it originally used to put it? Wine?"

"Yeah. Do you want to drink?" Zhou Zekai finished the second golden eyebrow very skillfully, and invited Sun Xiang.

Sun Xiang glanced at the Coke can in his hand, drank it in one gulp, silently threw it into the trash can, walked across to Zhou Zekai, and sat down.

"It smells good. How much is one or two?" Sun Xiang asked curiously.

He is a real layman when it comes to tea, drinking some only occasionally when visiting investors.But the senses can't deceive people. When I smell this taste, I feel that it is several grades higher than what I have drunk.

Zhou Zekai thought about it, and quoted a terrifying price in grams.

Sun Xiang's eyes widened, and he said with emotion: "I'll go, I'll pay you a lot of Coke in one gulp!" He reaffirmed that the guy in front of him was really not in the same world as himself.

However, it is just a sentence of emotion.

According to normal development, if you were someone else, you might have unconsciously restrained yourself, which would affect your subsequent speech and behavior. However, when it comes to Sun Xiang, there is no discomfort, embarrassment, nervousness... nonexistent.

Zhou Zekai could naturally see this too, and made him a cup: "Then drink more."

"Sure, it's a rare opportunity. If you don't tell me, I'll drink it too!" Sun Xiang laughed loudly, "Oh, I didn't finish talking just now. I think there are not many people with this kind of imagination except you. .”

"Thank you." Zhou Zekai accepted it calmly, "The house is a gift from my uncle. The decoration is more traditional, and it has been slightly modified."

"No wonder, the porch at the door looks very expensive, but there is nothing on it. I was wondering just now, and now the case has been solved."

"Ha ha."

After drinking a few cups of tea and chatting for a while, Sun Xiang put down his cup, got up and walked towards the balcony.

Outside the huge floor-to-ceiling glass, the sky has gradually darkened.He pushed open the door, leaned on the railing, and found that the view here was extremely wide. Looking down, he saw the river bank and green belt outside the fence of the community. When he raised his head slightly, the Huangpu River appeared in his view.It accepted the kiss of the setting sun and turned into a soft orange-red satin with a charming color.

——Sun Xiang has never experienced such a unique view and perspective in Shanghai——Although his office is nearby, the front of the window is just blocked by another taller and wider office building, so it is even more difficult. Most of the time, you can only make do with admiring the dense traffic at your feet.

Sun Xiang stretched his waist, looked at the buildings on the other side and said, "Zhou Zekai, I'm suddenly full of work motivation!"

Zhou Zekai walked up to him, and looked out the window together: "Why?" There was a hint of a smile in his voice.

"Ask knowingly!" Sun Xiang muttered, "Work, make money, make a lot of money, buy a river-view house! Hey, is it hard for you to go from extravagance to frugality? I lived in a river-view house since I was a child. In Chongqing, the difficulty of buying a riverside house is lower than in Shanghai. There are too many! I just calculated, at least I have to manage Mercury until the tenth season of Samsara, in order to get the profit share that can afford the down payment."

He suddenly missed the floor-to-ceiling windows of his living room facing the Jialing River. During the holidays, he would gather a table with relatives and friends to play mahjong, watch the river view, and smell the aroma of rabbit heads fried by his pretty girl in the kitchen. What a wonderful life this would be How cool.

"There will be." Zhou Zekai answered very quickly, as if he was perfunctory.

But in Sun Xiang's ears, it became another meaning - he could hear the confidence and expectation in it.

"Of course!" Sun Xiang laughed loudly, looking at the river, his eyes were brighter than the sparkling river water, showing great ambition and extraordinary courage: "Let's wait and see!"

5.

Although the owner himself doesn't live here often, everyone has already entered the house today, and no matter how he thinks about it, it is impossible to drive them away.

So Zhou Zekai stayed that night.

After drinking tea, Sun Xiang took the initiative to bring up the topic of offering sacrifices to the Temple of the Five Viscera.His mental preparation was that since Zhou Zekai hadn't lived here for a long time, the refrigerator must be empty, and he probably had to order takeaway.

Unexpectedly, Zhou Zekai told him: "There is food at home."

"Huh?" Sun Xiang was surprised, "When did you buy the food? Has it expired?"

Zhou Zekai walked to the refrigerator, opened the frozen side, and explained with actions.

Facing the quick-frozen dumplings and wontons filled with almost every compartment, Sun Xiang was silent for a while, and then expressed sympathy: "This is not as good as takeaway..."

"Takeaway is not healthy." Zhou Zekai insisted.

Sun Xiang and Zhou Zekai looked at each other for a while, before being defeated: "All right. Today is only one night, and I will bring food back tomorrow!"

He didn't notice another hidden meaning of this sentence at all.

"En." Zhou Zekai didn't raise any objection for some reason, nodded, and the matter was settled.

The two chose pork and cabbage, which is suitable for all ages, and cooked it. They swiped their phones while eating.Zhou Zekai's habit of not being talkative seemed to have not changed. If Sun Xiang didn't take the initiative to stir up the topic, he would just eat the soup with his chopsticks, and his posture was as elegant as a painting.The central air conditioner maintains a constant temperature. There are boats passing by on the river outside the window, and occasionally there are star lights. The restaurant Zhou Zekai only turned on a small light. The antique glass cover looks artistic and warm. The vinyl record player is slowly playing him. Songs in foreign languages ​​that don't understand the words, this kind of full-bodied atmosphere has never appeared in Sun Xiang's life in the first 27 years. He felt novelty, but he didn't reject it. He even accepted it quickly and felt extremely comfortable.

However, for the two career-oriented men, the weekend rest is actually not as long as expected.

After dinner, Zhou Zekai went to work in the study, while Sun Xiang chose to stay in the living room.The volume of the record player was neither loud nor low, and he was too lazy to turn it off, so he let it spin there slowly.The aromatherapy machine exuded a soft white sandalwood smell, and his notebook was placed on the coffee table. While answering emails, Sun Xiang chatted with Fang Minghua and Zhao Yaoyao about the team's situation on QQ.

Zhao Yaoyao reported on the latest regular season game, Wu Yue performed outstandingly, but the newly recruited pastor did not cooperate well with the team.Also, their long-distance occupations are still a bit weak, the team coach has been struggling with adjustments and replacements, and then the dormitory building has received rectification requirements during the fire raid inspection, and there are other bits and pieces... Sun Xiang rubbed Rubbing his temples, he felt that he wanted to be a boss before retiring. After becoming a boss, he realized that running a team is not as simple as managing players well.

I don't know how long it has passed, Sun Xiang was thirsty, and was about to get up to add water to the cup, but found that it had been filled up at some point.

As if he had noticed something, he turned his head. Zhou Zekai was standing beside him with a cup of coffee, his gaze passed him and landed on the screen playing the video of the game, with a look of interest and concentration.

Sun Xiang coughed, "Are you done?"

Zhou Zekai neither affirmed nor denied: "It's over."

Sun Xiang thought about it, if Zhou Zekai continued to stand, he would look like a team coach inspecting training, it would be really awkward.

So he moved a little to the left and invited, "Together?"

As soon as he finished speaking, Zhou Zekai sat down unceremoniously.It gave Sun Xiang the feeling that he had been waiting for this sentence for a long time.

Sun Xiang: "..."

6.

They watched the whole game.During the period, Sun Xiang occasionally commented or complained, but Zhou Zekai basically didn't say much, and his reaction was quieter than in the afternoon.

Sun Xiang guessed that Zhou Zekai might be tired from work, so he didn't ask any further questions.Afterwards, he turned off the video, and clicked on the logo of New Glory—no matter how busy he was, he would always go online for an hour every day as a means of relaxation—in Glory, he could put aside all his real identities and gain the status of a player. The unique happiness that can be had.

After the game started, Sun Xiang remembered that Zhou Zekai was still at the side.

He glanced at Zhou Zekai, hesitant to speak.

Zhou Zekai met his gaze and blinked curiously: "Can I try?"

Sun Xiang couldn't refuse, so he nodded with difficulty.The game account is like a wife, and Yinwu is his own baby, so if Zhou Zekai gets on the account, he has the illusion that his wife and children are all seen.

7.

But since he agreed to him, Sun Xiang didn't bother to go back on his word. After adjusting his mentality, he immediately actively taught the other party how to use the new skills.

The account Sun Xiang used was the "God Destroyer" that Zhou Zekai had used to "PK" him before. It is a melee class, but it has magic equipment, and the weapon can change its shape to a certain extent for defense and control. Drawing on the feeling of "Thousand Chance Umbrella", once it was launched, it quickly became the top three most popular jobs in New Glory.

It was Zhou Zekai's first time to get started, but after all, he has the foundation of a top player, and the operation quickly became decent. In less than 3 minutes, he was able to proficiently clear the single-player dungeon close to the level.

Sun Xiang looked at it from the side, and was about to ask Zhou Zekai to take back control of the mouse and keyboard, but at this moment, a team invitation from the guild popped up on the interface.

[Night Returner 9802] invites you to conquer the dungeon of [Wind and Storm Walled City], the current team size is 4/5, do you accept?

"Wait!" Sun Xiang wanted to stop him.

Unfortunately, it's too late.

Before he spoke, Zhou Zekai's mouse had accurately clicked on "Confirm Acceptance of Team Formation".

Sun Xiang tried to save him: "I'll do it! This dungeon only drops silver material once a day, and the number of times can't be wasted!"

Zhou Zekai glanced at him silently.

The eyes were very short, no more than half a second, but Sun Xiang clearly read the subtext of "You don't trust my skills, I'm very hurt".

Sun Xiang's heart was broken, and he told himself that it's a game dungeon if it's a big deal: "All right, all right, go!"

In 15 seconds, Sun Xiang didn't have time to remind him that Zhou Zekai provoked a monster that they had to use stealth to avoid.The monster showed its unique skill: Mountain Roar.On both sides of the canyon, boulders were caught off guard and rolled down, knocking down half a tube of blood per person on average.

For 40 seconds, Zhou Zekai bravely opened the small boss.He didn't know the hatred value, and he didn't control the damage well, causing the priest beside him to suffer together, and almost wiped out the group early.

Ye Guiren couldn't bear it anymore!Go crazy on the team channel: sun!My day!Why are you drinking?

In 60 seconds, Zhou Zekai found the rhythm and started to kite two elite monsters all over the map.The full screen jumps up the hit evaluation of SSS from time to time.

In 90 seconds, the little elite fell.

Yeguiren reacted: BUFF!Add all to sun!

At 2 minutes and 03 seconds, the boss roared unwillingly and fell down.The interface bursts out with a familiar golden light, and a huge "Glory!"

Sun Xiang clutched his heart that was beating wildly as if he had just been on a roller coaster, and said angrily, "Damn, you're going to kill me!"

Zhou Zekai turned his head in doubt: "Why?"

Sun Xiang regretted it: "The setting of this dungeon is very cheap. Only when the customs clearance time is better than the last time, can you get the hidden rewards, which means that you may lose one more silver equipment material. I calculated very well before, and it took the boss's hard work to get it." After finding such a team that is so good, it's good..."

He didn't bother to say the rest, and believed that with Zhou Zekai's mind, he would definitely understand what he meant.

However, he waited and waited, but did not wait for Zhou Zekai's apology.At some point, the guy turned back to stare at the screen and was typing on the keyboard.

Sun Xiang had a bad premonition in his heart, and when he took a closer look, there were already several private chats on the screen.

Ye Guiren: Brother, I'm sorry, I shouldn't suspect you of drinking and playing games, you've obviously practiced new skills!

Sun: Thank you.

Ye Guiren: Oh, what a shame, I have to call you thigh from now on, no, big brother!

Sun: Hehe.

Night Returner: Brother!You are my dear brother!How about taking my younger brother down the cliff tomorrow?

Sun: Yes.

Ye Guiren: Really? !Long live big brother!soaring tears.jpg

Sun: You are welcome.

Ye Guiren: By the way, brother, I'm very curious about something, so don't get angry if I ask you. . .

Sun: What's the matter?

Ye Guiren: Just half a minute ago, it wasn't your real level, was it?

Sun: Yes.

Ye Guiren: Damn, I knew it!Brother, don't be embarrassed to admit it, squinting and smiling. jpg, in fact, the first half minute is the account of the sister-in-law, right? !

When Sun Xiang poked his head over, the last private chat just happened to pop up.

Zhou Zekai's originally calm expression froze.His fingers hung over the keyboard and couldn't get down.

Sun Xiang also froze completely. After a long time, he held back a very forceful cry: Fuck!

TBC