Those Steps We Walked Together

According to the ideas provided by Julia, the group's story design has begun to take shape.

Everyone decided to go home and start refining the details of the plot, sorting out their own research notes, so that they could be handed over to Hugo for summary.

And the character design is also on the agenda.

Character creation is exactly what Cheng Kesong is not good at, so he decided to take a walk along the Seine River on Thursday, draw a picture of the steps that go deep into the water there, and observe passers-by a lot by the way, looking for possible eye-catching designs point.

Oddly enough, he took the initiative to ask about Hugo.

"Do you want to come with me tomorrow?"

Hugo blinked and smiled immediately: "Okay."

Since the plot by the Seine River in their story happened at night, they needed to do graphic research on the night scene of the Seine River, so the two made an appointment to meet at Place de la Concorde on Thursday afternoon.

The days in summer in Paris are always very long, and the sky will not be completely dark until after nine o'clock in the evening.This day happened to be the summer solstice. Although the two agreed on a time of five o'clock in the afternoon, the sky remained unchanged, but the temperature was slightly lower than at noon.

The breeze blew on the surface of the Seine, stirring up a dense layer of fine waves.

Standing on the edge of the square near the Seine River, Cheng Kesong saw Hugo walking in the sun from a distance.

Hugo was wearing a light-fitting gray-green cotton short sleeve, khaki cropped harem pants, and a pair of extremely simple beach flip flops.There is no belt on his trousers waist, but a very long fabric belt tied. After a knot, the tassels at both ends hang down to his knees, swaying slightly with his steps.

This belt is woven from many strips of extremely high-purity colored cloth, the colors are gorgeous, and it is very conspicuous against the gray tone of his whole body.

Around his neck is a colorful wooden decorative chain that echoes the colorful belt, hammering leisurely on his chest.

It was the first time Cheng Kesong saw someone who could combine cleanliness and exoticism so skillfully—Hugo’s temperament has always been like this, literary and artistic but not pretentious, personality but not dazzling, just like street performers in the alleys of Paris. An impromptu serenade played by the accordion with a light melody.

When Hugo approached, Cheng Kesong discovered that the other party had replaced the three diamond studs on his face with rubies.

"good afternoon."

Hugo greeted him with a bright smile, put his arms around Cheng Kesong's shoulders, and kissed him.

Cheng Kesong immediately noticed that the perfume on his body had also changed, it was a little stronger than before, with a slightly damp and deep amber and musk smell.

"Let's take a walk along the Seine. Do you want to go to the Ile de la Cité, or to the Eiffel Tower?"

Hugo tilted his head and asked.

Cheng Kesong didn't think about it for too long: "The iron tower, the iron tower is always beautiful at night, and I haven't seen it for a long time."

Both of them had no objection to the itinerary, so they strolled slowly west along the trail along the Seine River.

There are many bridges on the Seine River, and there are also many steps extending from the bank into the water.

These steps are often built facing each other, and walking down from one side can see the stairs going up on the other side.The river water is not particularly clear, but you can see four or five steps underwater through the water surface.The water swayed slightly, making small waves on the stone surface where the steps entered the water.

Hugo sat down on the ledge of a step and bent down to look at the reflection in the water.

"Actually, the Seine is not suitable for such supernatural stories. She is too conspicuous. Everyone who comes to Paris will see her at first sight. Whether you go to Notre Dame, the Eiffel Tower, or even the Louvre. And there are always The boat passed by, the commercial atmosphere was too strong, and it seemed that it was not on the same channel as the soul and salvation."

There was concern in his tone.

"I don't think it matters." Cheng Kesong sat down at the top of the steps, stepped on the two stone slabs below, and continued to speak.

"You see, our story happened on the night of the full moon. On the night of the full moon, in the legend, anything can happen. At that time, there will be a full moon in the sky, and there will be a full moon in the water, maybe It is at this time that a mysterious door will open between the two."

Hugo quietly listened to Cheng Kesong's speech, looked at him for a long time, and suddenly smiled: "You are different from what I thought."

Cheng Kesong didn't react for a moment: "What?"

"I said that you feel very mysterious, as if nothing can impress you. But now I find that I was wrong."

Hugo curled up one leg, put his chin on his knee, and looked at Cheng Kesong with a smile.

"You are actually a very romantic person, and there are many things that can touch you, otherwise you would not be able to come up with so many beautiful stories. You are just a little passive, and all your romantic feelings are hidden by you. Someone can see it."

His tone was very gentle, following the rhythm of the river water gently slapping the bank, it actually showed a bit of tenderness.

Cheng Kesong is not used to being judged so directly, so he feels a little embarrassed.

"I'm very glad to have this opportunity to cooperate with you to complete the weekly challenge mission." Hugo smiled.

"I'm also... very happy." Cheng Kesong said.

"Hey, you just sit here and I'm going to paint a picture!"

Saying this, Hugo suddenly jumped down from the side rail above the steps, and landed on a step lower than where Cheng Kesong was sitting, he wobbled before standing still.

"Be careful!" Cheng Kesong subconsciously got up to help.

Hugo leaned against the wall of the side rail behind him, and grinned: "It's okay!"

He took out the sketchbook from his bag, sat down on the steps below, and began to sketch Cheng Kesong.

Cheng Kesong turned his head to look at the pedestrians coming and going on the sidewalk of the Seine River beside him.

There are mostly travelers on this section of the road, and most of them are in a hurry, with the excitement of seeing the beautiful scenery for the first time on their faces.They were dressed in casual clothes, and some ladies even wore ostentatious colorful hats, which seemed out of tune with the temperament of the local residents of Paris.

In fact, this is not a very good observation point, but Cheng Kesong thinks the scenery here is very beautiful.

Whether the breeze is good or the sun is good, the fine waves on the steps are so delicate and small. Even the tourist boat passing by the center of the Seine River in the distance makes him feel very cute.

And the big boy who was painting him intently.

Hugo happened to raise his head, colliding with Cheng Kesong's gaze looking at him.

"Do you know you are handsome?" Hugo asked suddenly.

Cheng Kesong was taken aback for a moment, then shook his head.

He knew he was not the handsome type.His skin is a bit dark, his facial features are very ordinary, and he has a pair of single eyelids.His nose is not too high, and his lips are too thin.

He thinks he is the kind of person who will disappear instantly when thrown into the crowd.

A far cry from the Hugos who were destined to shine.

"You have an oriental mysterious temperament. You may never have noticed how charming your black eyes are."

Hugo held the sketchbook in front of his chest, supported his chin with his right hand holding the pen, tilted his head and face, and looked at Cheng Kesong.

Cheng Kesong's face felt a little hot, he muttered a few times, and said, "You're handsome too."

"Me?" Hugo raised his eyebrows, and the cut surface of the ruby ​​nail revealed a brilliant brilliance, "I can't be described as 'handsome', when they praise me, they always use 'beautiful'!"

Not at all humble.

Cheng Kesong felt that it should be taken for granted.

"Let's go, and find another step."

Hugo stepped up on the stone slab, passed by Cheng Kesong, stretched out his hand, and pulled him up from the ground.

The two stopped and walked along the Seine, drew close-ups and long-range views of several steps, and sketched each other.

In the early seven o'clock, the sky began to gradually darken.

The warm sunset hangs in the sky, casting golden sparkles on the water of the Seine.

It was no longer suitable to continue painting under this light, Cheng Kesong and Hugo walked side by side by the Seine River.The spire of the Eiffel Tower can already be seen in the distance, forming a silhouette against the sunset.

"Have dinner together? There is a nice small restaurant nearby." Hugo said suddenly.

Cheng Kesong naturally wouldn't refuse.

It was indeed a small restaurant, and there was a circle of wrought iron outdoor dining tables as usual under the awning outside the restaurant.The setting sun slanted and came from the other side of the road far away, shining on the dining table through the gap in the awning.

The two sat down at the small dining table outside.

"Good evening, gentlemen." The waiter quickly handed over the menu.

Cheng Kesong carefully ordered a steak, and Hugo also chose the same.

"Drink some wine?" Hugo asked with a smile.

Cheng Kesong's words of refusal circled around his mouth, and finally became: "Okay."

When dining in restaurants in Paris, wine can be ordered by the glass.If you order a bottle of wine, the waiter will first pour a little into the quilt for the customer to taste. When the customer is satisfied with the taste of the wine, they will serve the customer a new bottle.Customers can even ask to taste every wine in the store before choosing their own table wine.

But neither of them has such a hypocritical character.Cheng Kesong ordered a glass of Bordeaux as usual, but Hugo chose pink wine.

"Have you ever eaten snails when you came to Paris?" Hugo asked.

"I already tasted it on the first day I came here." Cheng Kesong said, "But I like its green garlic sauce better than the snail itself."

“Bread with green garlic sauce, delicious!”

"Yeah, it's delicious."

"Besides snails, what else have you tried?" Hugo asked curiously.

"A lot...but I still cook a lot by myself and rarely eat out." Cheng Kesong laughed.

"Wow! Do you cook your own Chinese food?"

Cheng Kesong nodded: "It's just cooking rice, plus some simple stir-fried vegetables. I don't know how to make anything too complicated."

"It's already great, I can only cook pasta." Hugo pouted.

The waiter quickly brought the wine, and put a small basket of baguette slices on the table.In large and small Western restaurants in Paris, this kind of baguette slices is provided for free, and if there is not enough, you can ask the waiter for more.

After the two of them finished eating the steak, Cheng Kesong followed Hugo's example, picked up two slices of bread, tore them open and dipped them in the soup on the dinner plate.

"This restaurant puts out a unique dessert every early summer, and it's my favourite."

As Hugo said, he called the waiter and added two rose ice cream balls.

"Their rose ice cream is made with the roses that are in full bloom in the season. It has a rich aroma and a warm color. It is a double enjoyment for the eyes and the taste. You must try it. But before that, I suggest you drink up the wine first, Don't let the smell of wine mess with that rose scent."

Cheng Kesong was kind, and sipped the little red wine left at the bottom of the glass into his mouth.

Ice cream arrived quickly.

Sure enough, as Hugo said, two round and bright red ice hockey balls were placed side by side on a white porcelain plate painted with gold edges. In the light from the glass window of the restaurant, the red was blazing and enchanting, like two extremely passionate flames.

Hugo put his arms across the table and leaned forward slightly.He picked up a small spoon on the plate, scooped out a small piece of ice cream and put it into his mouth, tasted it slowly for a while, then stretched out the tip of his tongue to lick his lips.

"Fragrant and rich, I love the pure smell of roses."

Cheng Kesong only felt that the other party's lips seemed to be dyed the same color by that smear of crimson, and the ruby ​​nail under his lips reflected a rose-like charm in the light.

Cheng Kesong lowered his eyes awkwardly, and took a sip of the ice cream in front of him.

He rarely eats desserts, and he doesn't like the overly sticky taste of cream mixed with sugar.Especially French desserts, they are always too sweet, as if you can only taste sugar when you bite down.He is indifferent to macarons, known as the queen of desserts.

But the ice cream in front of him subverted Cheng Kesong's impression of French desserts.

There is no dairy in this ice cream, and it tastes extremely refreshing, more like a smoothie than ice cream.The entrance is full of rose fragrance, and the very light sweetness is subtly blended into this floral fragrance, like the finishing touch, mobilizing people's taste buds.

No wonder Hugo admired it so much.

Rose is a symbol of love, its fragrance is rich and fragrant, elegant and mellow.It is between the lips and teeth, and in the nasal cavity, stimulating every sense of Cheng Kesong, making him feel that this breath is even more intoxicating than wine.

The sky has turned into a deep blue, and the afterglow of the setting sun has finally dimmed slowly.The Eiffel Tower in the distance is lit up with golden lights at this moment when night falls, becoming the most dazzling existence in the night scene of Paris.

Cheng Kesong looked at Hugo, but in his eyes he saw a light that was more dazzling than the lights on the Eiffel Tower.

"I want to go around the Iron Tower." Cheng Kesong heard his own voice say this.

This was followed by Hugo's answer with a smile.

"Together."

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