Ha ha

Xu Chenchuan woke up early, and when he opened his eyes, it seemed that it was still night, and there was only a faint light on the curtains.It was gray and strangely silent, and it was impossible to judge the time.

He turned his head sideways and looked at Bai Qi who was still sleeping soundly.Bai Qi's facial features stretched out, showing a bit of distortion in the illusory light and shadow.Xu Chenchuan had the urge to lean over to steal a kiss, but after thinking about it, he gave up.Bai Qi's waking up was terrible, Xu Chenchuan was afraid of waking him up, he lifted the quilt inch by inch like in slow motion, sneaked out of bed, and planned to go for a morning run.

After Xu Chenchuan got dressed and slipped out of the bedroom, he suddenly realized the reason why the light was so weak.

Snowing.Under the bleak sky like a dream, the pure white stars fell silently, announcing the official arrival of another year of winter.

Morning jogging was impossible, Xu Chenchuan stood by the window with his hands in his pockets and watched the snow for a while, feeling refreshed inexplicably.He didn't dare to go to the bathroom to freshen up and disturb Bai Qi, so he walked slowly around Bai Qi's house on tiptoe, and unknowingly turned into an unused room.

This room was originally designed as a bedroom, but Bai Qi has always lived alone and would not invite anyone to stay at home, so the bedroom has become a storage room for sundries, and no one will come in if there is nothing to do.

Xu Chenchuan looked around and saw a photo frame placed on the wooden cabinet.

He froze for a moment.It was a black-and-white photograph—a posthumous portrait of a woman.

Even though he had a premonition before, Xu Chenchuan still took a little time to digest this information.He couldn't help but look at the woman in the photo.She looks very beautiful in her 30s, and the lines on the corners of her lips reveal her determination and strength.Xu Chenchuan finally knew where the Bai family brothers inherited their god-defying good looks from.

He's only in his 30s... How old was Bai Qi at that year?primary school?junior high school?

Bai Qi's mother is different from what he imagined, far from Katie's kind and loving mother.Xu Chenchuan looked at her for a while, then looked back at the door, hesitated and whispered: "Hello, auntie."

……

"My name is Xu Chenchuan. I've never greeted you since I entered the house. I'm really sorry."

If Mother Bai was alive...would she accept him?

Seeing Bai Qi now, how would she feel?

There was a slight movement in the bedroom, Xu Chenchuan took a last look at the photo frame, turned around and walked into the door of the bedroom, seeing Bai Qi sitting up slowly.Bai Qi's complexion was fine, and it seemed that he had eased off the waking up.Xu Chenchuan smiled and said, "Morning."

"Morning." Bai Qi was still dizzy due to lack of energy and blood, and reached for his clothes expressionlessly.Xu Chenchuan walked over and moved all the clothes in front of Bai Qi, watching him put them on one by one.

"It's snowing outside, wear more clothes."

"Ah."

Dressed neatly, Bai Qi moved himself out of bed, let Xu Chenchuan walk to the wheelchair and sat down.They went to the bathroom together, one brushing their teeth facing the sink and the other washing their face in the bathtub.

Xu Chenchuan wiped off the water droplets on his face with a towel, turned his head to see that Bai Qi still had toothpaste foam in his mouth, and brushed seriously with his eyes down.He hung up the towel and went to get his tooth cup. After thinking about it, he should report to the homeowner: "I accidentally went to the storage room just now."

Bai Qi expressed doubts with his eyes, but Xu Chenchuan didn't understand.Bai Qi spat out toothpaste foam: "Accidentally?"

"Well... I saw a picture."

Bai Qi withdrew his eyes, rinsed his mouth unhurriedly, and then said flatly: "That's my mother. She passed away a long time ago."

"I'm sorry." Xu Chenchuan was sensitive to the change in his tone, "I didn't mean to..."

Bai Qi took the towel he handed over, turned on the faucet and tested the water temperature with his fingers, and suddenly said, "Don't apologize."

Hot water gradually came out. "I'll tell you all about it in the future."

"...Okay." Xu Chenchuan was stunned, and the balloon in his chest swelled up.He has always wanted to know the past of Bai Qi who he was absent from, but if Bai Qi didn't share it, it would be meaningless.

Xu Chenchuan was secretly happy while brushing his teeth, over there Bai Qi seemed to wake up after washing his face, he paused and said: "Yesterday someone said to make breakfast for me."

"Oh!" Xu Chenchuan quickly finished his work and ran towards the kitchen, "Forget, forget, wait until I show you a hand."

"You still have time?"

"Hurry up before it's too late, don't follow in, don't leak the ancestral recipes." Xu Chenchuan said loudly from a distance.

"..."

Bai Qi left the bathroom alone, but Xu Chenchuan stopped him from entering the kitchen.He stayed there for a while, then subconsciously turned to the storage room.

There was a thin layer of dust on the frame.He took it off the shelf and wiped it, staring at the woman's face in the black and white photo.

The woman is still in her 30s, with a stubborn smile.

At her funeral, he didn't shed a single tear, so that every year since then, on the anniversary of her death, he couldn't regain the ability to cry.Year after year on New Year's Eve, Bai Sheng and Bai Hao babbled to report to her about their current situation, talking about their health, studies and careers.He watched from the side, and wanted to open his mouth when it was his turn, but he always had nothing to say.In those few years, his days and nights were the same, stranded in the same place and repeated.

But today, for no particular reason, he spoke smoothly.

"The person who came to see you just now is called Xu Chenchuan."

After all, men and women are different, and his appearance is quite different from that of women.Unlike Xu Chenchuan, who perfectly copied his father's eyes.

For Bai Qi, it was not until half a year ago, in order to protect Xu Chenchuan, that he entered Xu's company relying on Bai Sheng's relationship, and met Mr. Xu himself, the mystery of many years was finally completely solved.

It turned out to be him.It only takes one glance to recognize that the so-called colleague in the painting should actually be the boss.Bai Qi thought about the relationship between a few people going around, which can be regarded as a trick of fate.

With the few contacts, he could also understand why Gu Shuying liked this person at that time.Xu Guoqi is elegant and steady, he has goodwill in dealing with people, and he is reliable as an elder.It is simply an antonym of itself.Gu Shuying, who had just left her exhaustedly, would be willing to fall in a single mistake.

A long time ago, Bai Qi also imagined how he would react if he met the person in that painting one day.But when he actually faced Xu Guoqi, who was completely unconscious, he was amazed at his own calmness.

Perhaps it was because at that time, he had already found the answer that he had tried so hard to find.

Not excited, not apprehensive, not overjoyed, and not heart-piercingly sad.It is ordinary, quiet and distant.

Loving someone feels like being alive, with an immortal fire burning in your chest.

Bai Qi thought, Gu Shuying never got it in her life, but experienced it briefly in the last two months of her life, it must be such a feeling.How many people in this world have never felt it in their entire lives?

Bai Qi looked at the woman in the photo.

"Will you know?"

After he asked this sentence, he smiled and put the photo album back on the shelf.He was too young then to have had a good conversation with a woman.

"For a few years, I wanted to ask you every time, if life is such a thing, why give it to me.

"Now I understand, I have to thank you for keeping me alive. Only by living can I meet him."

Bai Qi thought for a while, moved himself from the wheelchair to the ground little by little, and put on a somewhat embarrassed kneeling posture: "Speaking of which, I haven't kowtowed to you for so many years. Now I can make up for it."

He adjusted his posture and kowtowed as straight as possible.When I straightened up, I felt that this little gratitude was not enough, so I kowtowed one after another.

At first, Bai Qi counted ten or twenty subconsciously, but gradually he couldn't count. He just felt more and more calm in his heart, as if it was filled with light.

Until a call broke the atmosphere: "Bai Qi—" Xu Chenchuan excitedly searched around but found no one, and finally turned to the door of the storage room, and was surprised when he saw Bai Qi's appearance.

Bai Qi turned to look at him.The tempting aroma of food floated in from outside, and just smelling it warmed my stomach.

Xu Chenchuan didn't ask any further questions, and walked over to help him up from the ground.

"The floor is so cold, does your leg hurt?"

"It doesn't hurt."

"The meal is ready, come and eat."

"it is good."

Xu Chenchuan smiled, and walked out first: "Hurry up, hurry up, I'm going to be late for the company..."

"Okay." Bai Qi said, "Come on."

【End of full text】