Translator: Dj22031
Editor: Dj22031
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Zu Qi, who was holding the phone, froze for a moment and turned around mechanically.
The next second, he saw the tall figure who had appeared in the rain at some point. The lights on the roadside were dim, but they cast a long shadow under him, just touching Zu Qi’s toes.
Xue Jue didn’t expect to meet Zu Qi here just after hanging up the phone. Undisguised surprise appeared in his deep eyes. He held an umbrella in one hand and a mobile phone in the other.
After two seconds of stunned silence, Xue Jue strode over and tilted the umbrella towards Zu Qi.
“Are you having a midnight snack here?” Xue Jue asked with a smile, the corners of his mouth slightly raised.
“No… I came to see you…” Zu Qi suddenly remembered the conversation he had just had with Xue Jue and instantly realized that Xue Jue was lying. He frowned and said, “Aren’t you at home?”
Xue Jue gently put his arm around Zu Qi’s shoulders and led him to the street, where a black Land Rover that Xue Jue often drove was parked.
“I never said I was at home.” Xue Jue’s voice was low, and it had a different flavor amid the rustling sound of the drizzle. “I came here after you called me, but my phone went out of battery. Fortunately, I could ask Xiao Zhao to send me a phone before it turned off.”
Zu Qi looked around: “Where’s Xiao Zhao?”
Xue Jue held down Zu Qi’s restless head with one hand.
“Back to the company.” Xue Jue said calmly, “There is still a pile of work waiting for him. He can’t even find his place to deliver something. What an idiot.”
Zu Qi thought that Xue Jue’s car was parked here, but he was walking from the back of the coffee shop. It was probably that Xiao Zhao accidentally lost his way. Somehow, Zu Qi actually wanted to laugh.
When getting in the car, Xue Jue saw Zu Qi’s face trying not to smile, and he couldn’t help but raise the corner of his mouth. He started the car and asked, “Did you win in the end?”
“Huh?” Zu Qi didn’t understand for a moment, “Won what?”
“The game you played when you were recording the show.” Xue Jue stared straight ahead, his hands with distinct finger bones holding the steering wheel and turning it slowly.
“……”
Zu Qi fell silent for a moment.
Xue Jue really knew that they were recording a show…
“That was a punishment game.” Zu Qi shrank his head pitifully like a quail, looking guilty and aggrieved, “They asked me to call someone and ask that person to go somewhere. If that person agreed, my punishment would be over.”
Xue Jue couldn’t suppress the smile on his lips: “So you called me?”
Zu Qi shrank his neck guiltily and hummed almost inaudibly.
But soon, Zu Qi realized something and turned his head suddenly: “Do you know I’m recording a show?”
Xue Jue nodded calmly: “I heard the screams from your side, it should be the sound of the audience?”
Zu Qi paused, after all, he was embarrassed to say that he had contacted Heng Jingchen before calling Xue Jue.
No… that’s not the point!
“You already know I’m recording a show, then why did you come over?” Zu Qi didn’t know when Xue Jue came, but he was sure that Xue Jue had been waiting in the cafe for more than three hours.
After all, it took him and Director Wang two hours to have a midnight snack, plus another hour’s drive…
What’s more, it was so cold at night and it was drizzling. When Zu Qi thought of this, he felt a pang of pain in his heart. He immediately regretted calling Xue Jue at the instigation of the audience. If he had called Weng Yuxiang or Butler Zhang, Xue Jue would not have to wait so long in the rain.
Zu Qi was feeling so guilty that he was unable to extricate himself, but Xue Jue still looked as if nothing had happened. He said, “I thought you could win the game only if I came here. I can’t let you lose face in front of so many people.”
“…” Zu Qi said, “Oh…”
The coffee shop was not far from Xue’s house, less than half an hour’s drive away, and it seemed that they arrived there not long after.
When Xue Jue drove the car to the garage and was about to get out, he realized that Zu Qi had hardly spoken a word during the entire journey. He kept his head down in dejection, and no one knew what he was thinking about.
Even after Xue Jue got out of the car and walked around to open the passenger door, Zu Qi had not yet broken free from the overwhelming negative emotions. He then looked up at Xue Jue who was standing beside the car.
The light in the garage was dim, and Xue Jue stood in the shadow of the large light. It was difficult to see his expression clearly at the moment, but his voice sounded as gentle as if it was soaked in water.
“Why are your eyes red?”
Not only were Zu Qi’s eyes red, but even the tip of his nose was red. He sat in the car seat somewhat at a loss, with an obvious layer of mist in his peach blossom eyes. He still looked pitiful, like a bullied little rabbit.
“I’m sorry, Xue Jue.” Zu Qi sniffed. He was rarely so sad, and he would never cry for anything. But now, a feeling of sadness was like a flood that broke through a valve and was out of control.
Xue Jue rubbed Zu Qi’s hair and suddenly laughed: “Why apologize?”
“I just feel sorry for you.” Zu Qi said, tears sliding down the corners of his eyes. His expression did not fluctuate greatly, but tears were crisscrossing his cheeks.
Xue Jue knew what he was talking about without him explaining.
Xue Jue lowered his eyes and looked at Zu Qi for a long time, sighed, reached out to pull Zu Qi out of the car, then pushed him against the car door, and gently wiped away the tears on Zu Qi’s face with his slightly cold fingertips.
“Don’t apologize.” Xue Jue put his hand against Zu Qi’s forehead, and as their breaths intertwined, he whispered, “I don’t want to hear those three words.”
For some reason, Zu Qi suddenly couldn’t control his emotions. Under Xue Jue’s comfort, the tears that he could have held back burst out even more wantonly.
“I just think I’m too selfish sometimes.”
Zu Qi hiccupped, trying hard to suppress the surging emotions in his heart. He felt Xue Jue’s kisses falling on his face like raindrops, and stammered, “Although I’ve had several relationships before, this is the first time I really like someone, and it’s also the first time I have my own home in such a long time. My parents passed away early, and I’ve always lived alone. Maybe it’s because I’ve been a lone ranger for so long that I even forgot how to consider other people’s feelings.”
“Um…” Xue Jue responded. He hugged Zu Qi in his arms and buried Zu Qi’s face in the crook of his neck.
Zu Qi didn’t know what was wrong with him. He actually had the urge to tell Xue Jue about his identity as a time traveler. This secret was like a huge rock pressing on his heart.
And it was getting heavier.
The pressure was getting so great that Zu Qi couldn’t breathe.
He pushed Xue Jue away, made up his mind, pointed his finger at his chest, smiled and said, “You may not believe it, but the soul in my body is almost twenty-six years old.”
Xue Jue stared at Zu Qi without blinking and said, “I believe it.”
Zu Qi was stunned and said nothing.
Xue Jue put his hands on Zu Qi’s shoulders and lowered his head slightly. There was an unprecedented seriousness and solemnity in his eyes. He slowly repeated what he had just said: “I believe that you are no longer the same as before.”
“…”
Zu Qi blinked, as if he understood, but also as if he didn’t understand.
“But no matter who you were before, you are Zu Qi now, the real Zu Qi. This is a fact that no one can change.” Xue Jue said again.
At this moment, Zu Qi’s head buzzed. He could hear nothing and could not think of anything.
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