Borrowing a Kiss

The car drove for almost an hour before returning to Yuhe Garden. Liang Muqiu was a little sleepy for the second half of the time, without the gnashing of teeth and claws and bad temper during the day, his face looked sleepy.

Cen Nan turned his head to look at him at the red light, and saw that Liang Muqiu's eyelids were half closed, the lips kissed by him were still rosy, the long eyelashes drooped down, he was quiet and well-behaved, almost the appearance in Cen Nan's memory .

So much so that Cen Nan was reluctant to drive too fast.

But no matter how long the road is, there will be an end.

When the car was parked in the basement downstairs of the apartment building, Liang Muqiu woke up from his doze, rubbed his eyes, feeling a little unhappy that he hadn't had enough sleep.

Cen Nan didn't provoke him either, he was already very satisfied to have dinner with Liang Muqiu and watch a movie today, if he pushes further, it might have the opposite effect.

But when they were waiting for the elevator together, Liang Muqiu's cell phone rang.

Liang Muqiu took out the phone from his pocket suspiciously, not knowing who would call him at this point, but when he saw the name on the screen, he raised his eyebrows in surprise.

He pressed the answer button and said in dialect, "Grandma, it's so late, what's the matter, why haven't you slept yet?"

The unhappiness between his brows completely dissipated, and he laughed like a child.

The old man's slow and hoarse voice came from the other side of the phone, "Let me see you, darling, grandma had a nightmare, and I want to hear your voice."

Liang Muqiu was a little embarrassed and helpless, he was so old, but his grandmother still told him to be good, and everyone laughed when he said it.

Cen Nan also heard that Liang Muqiu's grandmother was on the other side of the phone.

Although he had never met this old man, he knew that Liang Muqiu had a very good relationship with his grandmother.

He looked at Liang Muqiu with a gentle smile on his brows and eyes, and he didn't know what to think of, and his originally expressionless face suddenly felt a little lonely.

Liang Muqiu didn't pay attention, he figured out why grandma made the phone call in a few words. Grandma had a nightmare about him, and after waking up, she was in shock, and she had to hear him to feel at ease.

He coaxed grandma nicely, "I'm fine, what's there to be afraid of, everyone has nightmares, I dreamed that the earth exploded the day before yesterday, I didn't take it seriously."

He was good at coaxing his grandmother, and the old man became more at ease after a while, and told him to take good care of himself outside, and don't always eat takeaway.

Liang Muqiu is always very obedient at this time, answering everything, but whether to do it or not is another matter.

"Go to bed early," Liang Muqiu said, "I'll go back and see you later."

Grandma is relieved.

After hanging up the phone, Liang Muqiu still had a smile on his lips, and the bad mood of not getting enough sleep a while ago disappeared, thinking about whether to go back to his hometown next month.

Cen Nan stared at the floor button of the elevator, and suddenly asked, "Is it your grandma's call just now? Is she in good health?"

"It's good." Liang Muqiu lowered his head and kicked the carpet under his feet, feeling relaxed, "I'm always strong. I wanted to go climbing a while ago, but I almost got stopped."

Cen Nan smiled, "That's pretty good, I should spend more time with her when I have time."

Liang Muqiu thought, that's up to you.

Then he remembered that Cen Nan was also brought up by his grandma, and emotionally speaking, he had a deeper affection for his parents.

So he subconsciously asked, "Is your grandma okay, did you go to see her after returning to China?"

Cen Nan didn't answer right away.

The lights of the emergency room flashed before his eyes, the white hospital bed, the tulips outside the window, and a pair of dry and emaciated hands, held by him, no longer warm.

He whispered, "She died."

Liang Muqiu didn't expect to get this answer, so he froze on the spot.

The elevator reached the eleventh floor, and with a ding, the elevator door opened.

Cen Nan lightly touched his shoulder, "Let's go."

Liang Muqiu followed out in a daze.

After standing in the corridor, he apologized dully, "I'm sorry, I didn't mean to."

He looked at Cen Nan uneasily, it was the first time he was at a loss in front of Cen Nan since they reunited.

Cen Nan reached out and stroked his soft hair, "There's nothing to apologize for."

Liang Muqiu pursed his lips, looking into Liang Muqiu's eyes, hesitant to speak.

Cen Nan seemed to know what he was thinking, and said calmly, "She passed away last fall because of cancer. She stayed in the United States for several years and tried various treatment options, but she still couldn't keep her. But I do I did everything I could, and she walked away peacefully in the end, so even though I was sad, I didn’t feel like I couldn’t bring it up. I accepted the fact that she wasn’t there.”

He spoke calmly, but there was still a trace of unresolved melancholy in his brows.

Accepting it is one thing, being sad is another.

Liang Muqiu regretted it, he had nothing to say.Even putting aside the relationship between him and Cen Nan, he is not willing to expose other people's scars.

But it's too late to say anything now.

Liang Muqiu looked at Cen Nan hesitantly, bit his lip, stepped forward, hugged him gently, and then let go quickly.

"Sorry," he said again.

Cen Nan finally smiled, instead of arguing with him, he just said, "It's over, I'm fine now. Go back to sleep early, I'm very happy to be with you today."

Liang Muqiu nodded, but asked with some uncertainty, "Then, where is your grandma buried, should I also visit?"

He also ate rice dumplings made by Grandma Cen Nan. This kind-hearted old man was also very kind to him. When he heard of her death, he really couldn't remain indifferent.

But Cen Nan shook his head, "No, it's not that I don't want you to go, but she was not buried in China, she stayed in the United States, and stayed with my grandfather."

Liang Muqiu was slightly surprised, but then remembered that Cen Nan's grandfather was of Chinese origin. He returned to China 30 years ago to work hard, but in his will, he stated that he would return to his overseas family to be with his relatives.

He didn't say anything else, and went back to his room. When he stepped into the door, he looked back, and Cen Nan was still looking at him from behind.

And inside the house, the rose that Cen Nan gave him was still blooming faintly.

Liang Muqiu went straight to the bathroom to wash up.

While brushing his teeth, his fingers touched his lips, and he remembered the kiss with Cen Nan in the car again.

It was completely different from the previous violent and crazy kiss, which was full of despair. Like a tyrant, he suppressed all his hostility, leaving only the softness like spring rain and apricot blossoms, which fell on his lips lightly.

Liang Muqiu couldn't help but slow down brushing his teeth, and his face felt a little hot.

He spit out the foam in his mouth and splashed water on his face, the heat on his cheeks dropped a little.

After washing up, Liang Muqiu climbed onto the bed in his pajamas.

It is now May, and his bed has been replaced with a thinner quilt, a cool basket blue color, and he is sitting in white pajamas, like a feather floating in the sea.

He always used to watch documentaries or books to find inspiration before going to bed, but today he found that he couldn't calm down after a few glances at his Kindle. When he recovered, he had already picked up his phone and opened Cen Nan's ins.

He only discovered Cen Nan's ins by accident last year.

This person doesn't post any interesting content abroad, he lives like an ascetic who hides from the world, occasionally posts a photo, and the text is even less.

There are quite a few people who left messages for him, Yingyingyanyan's, and it can be seen that many of them are interested in Cen Nan, but Cen Nan never replied, as if he had never interacted with anyone.

Liang Muqiu sneered at this behavior, thinking that Cen Nan was fake and prudish, and regarded Cen Nan's ins as adulterous, pulled out each one and tried it repeatedly, trying to read from it that Cen Nan's life was not good at all.

Anyway, he has always been not forgiving, and he couldn't congratulate his predecessor on his complacency.

But among the sparse dynamics, there is one that has always impressed him inexplicably.

It was more than half a year ago. Cen Nan posted a photo on ins. It was covered with green trees, and it looked like a landscape photo with nothing special.

But the copywriting is three words, "It's over."

Liang Muqiu didn't know why, but when he saw these three words, his heart skipped a beat. He should have turned a blind eye to Cen Nan, but he subconsciously looked at this photo and searched the map.

Because of the iconic buildings, he quickly found where it was on the picture.

When he saw the introduction, his heart sank.

This is a cemetery.

On a mountain somewhere in America.

At that time, he vaguely realized that maybe a colleague or friend of Cen Nan was buried in this cemetery, but Cen Nan didn't take pictures of the tombstone, and he wondered uncertainly, what if Cen Nan was just passing by.

But now he knows.

What was buried there was not any friends or colleagues, but Cen Nan's grandmother, who was his most important relative in the world.

The old woman who raised Cen Nan with one hand and taught him to grow into a rational and mature adult with the other hand was buried in a foreign country's cemetery last autumn.

And after this photo, Cen Nan's ins was deactivated, and he never posted any updates.

Half a year later, Cen Nan crossed the ocean and appeared in a bar in Bincheng.

Liang Muqiu stared at the phone, unable to explain how he felt right now.

When he was peeping at Cen Nan's ins, he cursed Cen Nan in a heartless manner for falling into the pit today and soaking in the water tomorrow, wishing that Cen Nan would experience ninety-nine and eighty-one hardships for a day.

But now, he knew that Cen Nan was really having a bad time, but he couldn't be happy at all.

He looked out the window quietly, and couldn't help thinking, what kind of mood should Cen Nan be in abroad, guarding his grandma's hospital bed, watching his most important person leave.

Cen Nan always looks fearless and powerful. He has been arrogant and stubborn since he was young, as if he takes everything lightly, but in the face of life and death, he is just a weak ordinary person after all.

In the end, he left nothing but a cold tombstone.