stepping into the night

Ruan Chu was stunned, subconsciously shrunk his face into his collar, lowered his eyelashes, the fingertips holding the Ping An Guo were icy cold, and all the redness on his face due to expectation and embarrassment faded away. Going down, there is only a little bit of bright color on the lips.

He was a little sad, but he should have expected such estrangement. Those unrealistic fantasies were just fantasies. He shouldn't impose his expectations on others. He didn't take the initiative to contact Lin Jiang, and neither did Lin Jiang. Take the initiative to take care of his obligations.

But Ruan Chu couldn't muster the strength to stand up and leave the youth cafeteria. The small and light seal in his pocket seemed to invisibly increase its weight many times at this moment. It was so heavy that he couldn't stand up.

——Actually, Lin Jiang discovered Ruan Chu when he entered the cafeteria.

Today is Christmas Eve, there are quite a lot of boys and girls who come to the store to buy milk tea, and there are even more young couples. They have been busy all day, but at night because the young couples are going to celebrate the festival, it is easier than usual, but he still stays. In the store.

In the dormitory two days ago, he almost had a serious fight with Pei Yun. It was nothing more than that he got an excellent scholarship in this semester's evaluation. Pei Yun felt that he was not worthy of virtue, so he might be gay. The problem was pointing at Sang and scolding Huai in the dormitory for a long time, but before the fight started, he was pulled away by several other people in the dormitory, persuading Lin Jiang that it was not worth it.

Lin Jiang originally ignored his innocuous insinuations, but Pei Yun said, "On the surface, you pretend to be a cool brother, but in private, you are flirting with the elementary school boy. Hey, it may be that the elementary school boy shamelessly seduces you." . " The stupefaction evoked Lin Jiang's long-suppressed negative emotions because of her unfamiliar relationship with Ruan Chu.

He has gotten used to all kinds of sharp eyes cast on him by the outside world because of his family and his status as a poor student, and he has built a wall in his heart to resist malice early on, but he can't stand Ruan Chu because He was implicated and vilified.

The first time he saw Ruan Chu at this time, it actually brought back the feeling of depression that he felt when he found out that Ruan Chu was walking away from him without saying a word.No one would shyly approach him when he felt that he seemed to be avoided in time, and Lin Jiang was just an ordinary person, he didn't know what Ruan Chu was thinking, and what he felt was indeed Ruan Chu's active alienation over him.

But the moment he lowered his head and looked away from Ruan Chu's gaze, he felt a little regretful in his heart, and he couldn't bear to see Ruan Chu's sad and disappointed expression.

But he couldn't help thinking, why did he think that Ruan Chu came to the cafeteria to wait for him?What if he found a girlfriend and came here to wait for his girlfriend to spend Christmas Eve with him?Isn't that just being self-indulgent?

Lin Jiang resisted the urge to look up at Ruan Chu, but she subconsciously paid attention to Ruan Chu's direction from the corner of her eye.

It was almost eleven o'clock, and half of the lights in the cafeteria had been turned off. Lin Jiang had already taken off her apron, cleaned the store, and could leave.

He finally raised his head and looked at Ruan Chu's position accurately.

This obedient and somewhat dull elementary school boy has been sitting there for nearly an hour without moving. The tip of his nose and the pinnae of his ears were reddened by the cold weather, and the gold-rimmed glass lens was covered with a layer of The white mist that rose from exhalation seemed to make people unable to move.

Lin Jiang sighed deeply in her heart, feeling that her life might be planted on him, and all the pent-up dissatisfaction and worries about being gossiped dissipated in his heart that melted when he saw that person inside.

He pushed open the door of the bar, walked towards Ruan Chu, stopped in front of him, and asked him in a soft voice like a sigh: "It's so cold, why are you sitting here?"

Ruan Chu felt a little sleepy, but even though he felt that Lin Jiang was alienating him, he was not willing to go back, and his peace fruit and seal had not been given to Lin Jiang.At this time, Lin Jiang's voice sounded above his head, and for a moment he almost thought that he was hallucinating, he raised his head in a daze, met Lin Jiang's helpless and conniving gaze, and suddenly felt a sore nose.

"Senior, are you angry with me?" Ruan Chu asked him in a low voice.

He said this without thinking, but Lin Jiang could understand what he meant.

"En." Lin Jiang responded, but when he looked at Ruan Chu so closely again, he couldn't make himself look cold at Ruan Chu, "But not now."

Ruan Chu pursed his lips, raised his hand and handed the gift boxed Ping An fruit he had been holding to Lin Jiang, and lowered his voice again: "Happy Christmas Eve."

He paused, and added "I'm sorry" almost inaudibly.

What are you sorry for?

Sorry for "leaving without saying goodbye", or sorry for taking the initiative to alienate yourself?

Lin Jiang didn't want to pursue it anymore, and Ruan Chu was able to muster up the courage to come to him on his own initiative, which surprised him, but this way made him a little dumbfounded.What if he really decided to ignore Ruan Chu?Is he going to sit here overnight?

But Lin Jiang knew that he could treat anyone indifferently, except that he could not turn a blind eye to Ruan Chu.

"It's okay." Lin Jiang said.

He raised his hand to take the Ping An fruit that Ruan Chu handed him, but his warm fingers covered the fingertips that Ruan Chu was holding next to the Ping An fruit. The temperature of his fingertips made Ruan Chu shiver subconsciously for a moment. .

"I don't know how long I've been in the cold, so I don't know how long I've come to look for me." Lin Jiang sighed, and took the Ping An fruit with one hand. He hesitated for a moment, and the hand that was covering the back of Ruan Chu's hand moved up a little bit. Holding his wrist, leading him to go out.

The intimacy of this kind of contact has far exceeded Ruan Chu's expectations and extravagant imaginations. He hesitated for a moment, but was still reluctant to break away from Lin Jiang's hold of his hand, and quietly shrank his blushing face into his collar shrink.

But he still remembered that he wanted to bring back a cup of highland barley taro balls for Ye Xingzhi, so when he was dragged by Lin Jiang to the inner room of the milk tea shop, he asked him in a low voice embarrassedly: "Will it be troublesome to order a milk tea now?" ?”

"Do you want to drink?" Lin Jiang was a little surprised.From the time he met Ruan Chu to the present, for more than half a year, Ruan Chu never made any request to him. Every time he made a milk tea for Ruan Chu alone, Ruan Chu would thank him several times, even if he Knowing that Ruan Chu is such a character who doesn't like to trouble others, he also hopes that Ruan Chu can rely on him more, or reveal his feelings to him more.

"No," Ruan Chu shook his head, "I brought it for my roommate, he said he wanted a cup of highland barley taro ball milk tea."

"Do you want to drink?" Lin Jiang asked him back.

Ruan Chu thought for a while, then shook his head. Being able to get so close to Lin Jiang and chatting with him like this is enough for Ruan Chu to go back and have a happy aftertaste for a long time. He has no preference for milk tea, nor does he want to It made Lin Jiang feel that she came to him to give him Christmas Eve gifts because she wanted to drink more cups of free milk tea.

"Then I can't do it today, the materials are gone." Lin Jiang said.

In fact, there are still ingredients in the store, but if the person drinking it is not Ruan Chu, he doesn't want to make an extra cup after get off work.

"Oh, okay, then I'll talk to him when I get back." Ruan Chu didn't doubt that he was there, and nodded when he heard that, unconsciously stroking the already made seal with his right hand in his pocket.

——Lin Jiang's fingers were still resting on his left wrist, warm and thick, with a thin callus on the fingertips, which was not painful, but somehow made Ruan Chu feel at ease.

But he was led by Lin Jiang to sit in the warm inner room. Lin Jiang didn't let go of his hand, and he pretended not to know and didn't take the initiative to break free.

Ruan Chu's fingers are very slender, and he can touch his beautiful joints, but the skin of his palm is not as delicate as a girl's, with a thin layer of calluses. Lin Jiang didn't need to think too much to know that this was a part-time job he had been doing for so long What was produced was something that both of them tacitly had, but such a touch made Lin Jiang reluctant to let go.

The heating in the room had been turned off, but Ruan Chu felt a little sweat dripping from the palm of his hand, he couldn't help but move it lightly, and Lin Jiang let it go lightly as if belatedly aware of it. open him.

They seemed to suddenly suffer from some kind of skin hunger. They were obviously two people who had been independent for a long time, but when they saw each other, they couldn't restrain their desire to touch each other.

"Are you tired from the work in the office?" Lin Jiang asked softly.

"I'm not tired," Ruan Chu lowered his face, and couldn't help but look at his wrist that was touched by Lin Jiang just now. "The teachers are very good. They don't need me to run errands often, and they will teach me. How to organize the documents quickly, and the night duty time is also very relaxed, allowing me to bring homework to do when I have nothing to do."

"That's good." Lin Jiang nodded, and the atmosphere made Ruan Chu's face warm up again.

He didn't ask Ruan Chu why he didn't tell him when he resigned from the milk tea shop, and he didn't ask Ruan Chu why he didn't contact him for such a long time.

Both of them were quiet for a while, and when the last light in the canteen was turned off by the staff, Lin Jiang heard Ruan Chu's question, cautiously and expectantly, like the dot on a dead branch in the deep winter Fragile fresh snow.

"Senior," Ruan Chu said softly, "We... are friends, right?"

He didn't want to be alienated from Lin Jiang so much, so that he could suppress his unspeakable little thoughts, suppress those emotions that made him feel ashamed, and stay by Lin Jiang's side under the name of "friend". He's a little closer.

He felt that he was too despicable, but he couldn't help himself not to like Lin Jiang anymore, and he was eager to find a legitimate excuse for himself to get close to Lin Jiang.

If one day, Lin Jiang has a girl he likes, then as his "friend", he can send his blessings and leave completely, no more worries, no more unnecessary extravagant hopes, he selfishly hopes that that day will come later .

Lin Jiang froze for a moment, thousands of thoughts flashed through his mind, but in the end he had no choice but to leave one.He still doesn't have the ability to be responsible for the future of both of them. At least, as a friend, he can hold someone by his side openly, feel his gentle gaze, or hook his shoulder secretly, as a friend. .

If one day, he has the ability to bear any consequences for both of them, if Ruan Chu has not met someone he likes at that time, he will tear away this layer of "friend" status and use the money he has saved for nearly 20 years. Courage, to seriously pursue him once, in bright sunlight.

Lin Jiang swallowed a very low sigh into her throat, and responded to Ruan Chu in a warm voice: "Yes."