[The Wandering Earth] Short Story Collection: The Age of Roses

Wang Lei's residence is in a family area of ​​the east courtyard of the research institute, hidden in the depths of the downtown area. The gray exterior walls and faded rose-carved balcony windows look old.There is a layer of snow on the ground, and through the white ice crystals, Liu Qi can vaguely see the red brick floor covered by snow and the flower beds of the same color. At the end of the year, there are only dead branches with a layer of snow on the branches left in the flower beds. There are also flowers that have bloomed and withered in autumn.

Probably the residents of the community are researchers who are not at home during the day, so the surroundings are too quiet, only the "creak" sound of two people's leather shoes stepping on the snow and the monotonous rustling sound of snow flakes falling on the umbrella surface.A gust of wind mixed with sporadic white snow blew into the bottom of the umbrella. Liu Qi grabbed Wang Lei's hand holding the handle of the umbrella. The latter noticed his movement and couldn't help but glance at Liu Qi sideways.

"... How far is it?"

Liu Qi's voice was unclear in the wind and snow, but the slight tension in his voice made Wang Lei's lips curl up in a warm arc.Holding the umbrella with the other hand, he took out the left hand held by Liu Qi and patted the back of the young man's hand comfortingly, and then hit it lightly as if he thought his hand was too cold, completely smashing his hand Wrapped in the palm of your hand.

"Don't be afraid, it will be your home from now on."

Liu Qi's fingers moved like an electric shock in his hand. "Answer to the question." He muttered in a low voice, turning his face away to face the heavy snow blowing outside the umbrella, but Wang Lei saw that the ear on his collar was dyed a circle of crimson from the pinna, and it spread inward until the outer edge Eventually it turns deep red.

Has anyone ever told you that your ears don't tickle?Wang Lei's heart seemed to soften suddenly.He stared at the side face of the young man, and his heart wavered several times, wanting to really ask Liu Qi this question, but in the end he shook his head, turning his intimacy into a smile.

If you act too hastily, maybe he will run away.

"What's wrong?" Liu Qi's voice was a little nasal.

"It's nothing." The older scientist shook the young man's hand, "I'll be there soon, in the building in front."

Maybe the first thing he does when he gets home is to cook a pot of ginger soup for him to drink.

Liu used Wang Lei to open the door with his little whale laser key.Wang Lei's house is a typical design with one elevator and two households. There is no elevator, and the entrance is a small corridor.The door on the right is closed, and a sheer curtain has been drawn in the living room, showing a dim hazy feeling against the wind and snow outside the glass window.Wang Lei came in after him, he closed the door casually, stood behind Liu Qi, turned around and hung the black umbrella shared by two people on the umbrella stand behind Liu Qi.

"Do you like it?" Liu Qi heard him laugh lightly.That smile sounds like the soft joy in the eyes of a person who sees the first peach blossom blooming on a branch before the snow has completely melted, or like staying on the platform for hours, watching At a certain moment when the train carries passengers between cities, there is an indescribable or Daoming emotion in my heart.In this steel city where almost everything is dominated and controlled by AI, logic, analysis, and procedural predictions have the absolute upper hand. The gentle eyes, emotions, and light pink flowers are so incongruous compared with the concrete forest, but Wang Lei's home It hides a thick and lingering aura, which is so familiar to Liu Qi, but it does not belong to this era, as if Wang Lei sealed the spring day of Yuyuantan[6] into a bottle more than ten years ago and sent it to a distant place. In 39, wait for the [-]-year-old self to open.

"I thought... you wouldn't use fragrance in your home."

Liu Qi paused for a moment, rubbed his sore nose, and quietly suppressed the heat that welled up in his eyes when he thought of his childhood just now: "What kind of fragrance is this?"

"It's true that I don't use fragrance at home," Wang Lei said gently. After he changed his slippers, he handed another pair to his young man. Only then did Liu Qi belatedly realize that he was still standing on the floor of the entrance. , "Do you smell something? What is it?"

Liu Qi thought for a second, "It's like time stopped here." He said.

He saw Wang Lei turn on the light, and there was some orange light in the warmth.As if puzzled by his words, the older scientist blinked.

"Oh," Liu Qi also smiled, "I can't tell," he stepped forward and leaned on his lover's shoulders, "But, it's...it feels like home."

He saw Wang Lei's smiling eyes.

"This was originally your home."

It was at that moment that Liu Qi made up his mind to find time to officially introduce Wang Lei to his family—even though his father, Liu Peiqiang, had not met Liu Qi for more than ten years because he participated in the "Navigator" project, and lived in seclusion alone in Beijing. The grandfather in the suburbs also refused to call and text him for more than two years after he also joined the "Navigator" program, and he refused to let Liu Qi in when Liu Qi went to see him on rest days.

What Liu Qi originally thought was just to confess all the love and love in his heart to this respected and beloved teacher and senior, he was not sure about the result, but when he received the same love from Wang Lei, Even far more profound and silent love than what he gave - he had never heard him say love before, Wang Lei hid this emotion in his heart, if Liu Qi didn't take the initiative to confess, he might not have uttered a word in his life , but he designed a study room for Liu Qi in his own home.

——Willing to accept someone into your family is the most straightforward and passionate way to confess.

The water from the faucet poured into the sewer, Liu Qi stared at his wrist washed by the water, with a satisfied and proud smile unconsciously on his face, completely forgetting that he had been in the bathroom for 7 minutes.In the living room, Wang Lei's cell phone rang, and the notification tone of the text message brought him back to reality. Liu Qi raised his head subconsciously, and was startled by the strange smile of the person in the mirror.

"What are you doing..."

He muttered, and casually supported the mirror in front of him.The two mirrors above the sink opened in response to the sound, revealing a cabinet inside. There was no trace of dust on the wooden partition, and there were several white medicine bottles on the left.

Liu Qi looked back at the door, stretched out his hand and raised the medicine bottle to his eyes to read the instructions on it: ibuprofen sustained-release capsules, naproxen, acetaminophen tablets, benoxylate[7]... are all pain relievers. class of medicines.He couldn't help but glanced at the bathroom door again, holding a medicine bottle in his hand, stared at it for a while, and then closed the cabinet door quietly.

"...I'm sorry," Wang Lei heard these words when he raised his head from the sofa. He watched the young man close the bathroom door with his lips pursed, and showed him a white medicine bottle in his hand, " I accidentally opened the cabinet on the sink just now...uh..."

From Liu Qi's point of view, Wang Lei's expression was unusually tired, which surprised him, because just a few minutes ago, Wang Lei's eyes were still reflecting the lights of stars under the orange light. It was as if someone lit a fire there.The phone rang again, and Liu Qi saw Wang Lei's pupils shrank.The scientist typed a few times quickly on the keyboard, then exited the interface, pressed the lock screen of the phone, turned the phone upside down on the coffee table, and patted the sofa beside him.

"Finally out?" He looked up at Liu Qi with a calm expression.

"...Wang Lei, do you often have headaches?"

Liu Qi did not respond to his lover's ridicule, but felt relieved because of this sentence.He stretched his limbs and sat beside Wang Lei, and pressed his temple sideways, "Does it hurt?"

Wang Lei stared at his face quietly, his eyes were calm and gentle, Liu Qi was a little embarrassed by his look, and he couldn't feel his movements of rubbing his temples lightly. "What's the matter?" he asked, his ears turning slightly red.

He saw Wang Lei's lips move slightly, and he caught a glimpse of the scientist's chest rising and falling suddenly from the corner of his eye.At that moment Liu Qi thought that Wang Lei was going to tell him some terrible news, because his dark eyes were full of emotions, as if they were buried with thousands of words.But this look only lasted for less than a second.The scientist immediately relaxed his shoulders and fell sideways on Liu Qi's shoulders, even closing his eyes.

"Wang Lei??"

"It's so comfortable, keep pressing." Wang Lei's answer gave him the illusion that he had punched into the cotton. Liu Qi could only roll his eyes, embraced Wang Lei and continued to rub his forehead.The living room did not turn on the lights, and the wind and snow outside the window did not stop. The howling wind blew into the empty building, hitting the empty echo on the huge glass curtain wall at the end of the road.The sky is about to fall, and the ground of the balcony is slightly blue, and the snowflakes pass through the gauze curtain, spreading a line of irregular, light-colored light on the wooden floor.

"Ask you, do you often have headaches?"

After pressing for a while, Liu Qi gently shook Wang Lei's shoulder.

"It's an old problem." Wang Lei replied.

"Then I'll give you more massages in the future." Liu Qi said.

"Ok?"

"Don't believe me! My massage skills are really good! All the elderly in my family suffer from headaches. I massaged my dad when I was a child, and then I massaged my grandfather when he entered the 'navigator'... Speaking of which, do you have any massage skills? Have you ever met my dad? His name is Liu Peiqiang, he is engaged in intelligence science and software engineering, and studies computers and AI. I still remember that when he was three or four years old, he took me to program, and bought me a box of Lego in a different logical way... What's wrong with you? Why are your shoulders tight? Are my hands too heavy?"

Wang Lei opened his eyes, and smiled at Liu Qi comfortingly. For some reason, Liu Qi felt that the smile was a bit sad. "I just... thought of my father," Wang Lei said. "When I was young, he wanted me to enter the military academy, but I insisted on studying life sciences. We had conflicts, and I ran away from home... A few years later, I got a little mixed up. When I went home to look for him, he had already moved, and I don't know...how he is now."

"Why...?" Liu Qi frowned. Why did Wang Lei's father cut ties with his son because he was studying life sciences?

"This is a very long story," Wang Lei said. "If you want to know, I will tell you tomorrow. Now I will cook a meal."

"Cook?"

"are you not hungry?"

Only then did Liu Qi belatedly realize that his stomach was growling, he pursed his lips, and stood up with Wang Lei: "I'll go and help you."

"Okay, what do you want for dinner?"

The child didn't speak, Wang Lei paused suspiciously, and then felt himself being hugged tightly from behind.

The warm touch from the back is as real as the world.

"Wang Lei, don't be sad," Liu Qi's warm breath sprayed on the side of his neck. The young man's breathing was still unsteady, and he would rush by for a while, "I will always be here in the future. I am your family. I will accompany you and find you again." family."

"Okay."

Liu Qi's arms were tightly wrapped around his body, and Wang Lei held his hand.

"After a while, we will visit my grandpa with a gift," Liu Qi hugged him even tighter, "Send a message to my dad again, although he hasn't contacted me for two or three years, but wait 'leader As soon as the operatives' program is over, he'll go home no matter how high the secrecy level is. I'm going to introduce you to my family."

"……OK."

Wang Lei's voice was dry, he turned around and hugged his boy tightly.

The world is full of wind and snow, and they embrace each other here.Time stopped briefly in the dim room, and wrote a riddle-like poem on the boy's heart:

There is a bright word,

By a bright hand,

Write on a bright piece of paper.

......

Wang Lei's mobile phone was randomly thrown on the coffee table in the living room. From the moment Liu Qi last saw him pressing the screen off, the mobile phone's screen never turned on again.

——The situation is not optimistic. Tianji has data backup, and he knows that there are dangerous people in the life science laboratory.Rushing to delete everyone related to the 'Tinder' plan will lead to the destruction of secrets.

——MOSS, is there any way to keep Liu Qi

— There is no way without threatening the lives of others.

—What about threatening others?

--replace.

- replace me

--……you sure?

--Sure.

——Wang Lei, I'm going to start the operation.

--it is good