Soot, Moonlight, Vodka

Under the endless clear winter sky, Chen Zhuo led Wu Chen and walked side by side with Xia Zhifeng.

In the distance, there are tool warehouses with red roofs and white walls, as well as scattered cabins, winding along a trace of Frost Lake.

Xia Zhifeng didn't say a word, Chen Zhuo could hear the small sounds of branches, dead leaves and soil that the two of them stepped on while walking.

Wuchen is docile and relaxed, and slowly follows them. Chen Zhuo is very familiar with this state of Wuchen. It was like this when he took Wuchen for a walk with Lu Xingze.

Its dark eyes are like a pool of autumn water, overflowing with clarity, innocence and joy.

"Wuchen likes you very much," Chen Zhuo said, "It's rare for him to be so intimate with someone he just met."

"Maybe I'm lucky." Xia Zhifeng stroked Wuchen's ear with a smile, thought for a moment, and said, "Sorry, I was drunk before, I didn't mean to break the rules between us, that day... thank you for picking me up go back."

"I also overreacted." Chen Zhuo lowered his head slightly: "In any case, I shouldn't do anything to you."

Xia Zhifeng shook his head: "Your slap made me understand one thing."

"What is it?"

Xia Zhifeng smiled, but didn't speak.

"Are you planning to work here in the future?" Chen Zhuo asked.

"I don't know, I have to see."

"Look at what?"

"Look..." Xia Zhifeng blinked, and the youthful look appeared in his eyes again: "Is there anyone who needs me? If no one needs me, at least the horse needs me."

Chen Zhuo didn't speak, and the two walked forward.

Inadvertently, Xia Zhifeng felt his hand being held.

It was the hand of the person he wanted to hold the most, and now he took the initiative to hold him.

At that moment, his heartbeat seemed to stop.

Chen Zhuo's fingertips felt a little cool, but his palms were slightly warm. Where the palms touched, he could even feel the other's pulse...

Does Chen Zhuo want him to return to his side?

Did he finally get what he wanted...

Xia Zhifeng looked at Chen Zhuo, Chen Zhuo's eyes were soft, he was looking at Lu Xingze.He seemed to be waiting for something.

Xia Zhifeng understood that only when he was related to Lu Xingze would Chen Zhuo look back at him, invite his company, hold his hand, and look at him with this kind of gaze.

From that slap, Xia Zhifeng realized that if he insisted on keeping a distance from Lu Xingze, then Chen Zhuo would never love him.

Xia Zhifeng saw Chen Zhuo's love clearly again, and what Chen Zhuo meant by "being with you only because I like you".

It turns out that if you like someone, you only need that person, and no other substitutes will work.

It turned out that Chen Zhuo liked Lu Xingze so much that even if he died, there would be someone with the same appearance as him, Chen Zhuo would not want it. Chen Zhuo would rather push away the hands that wanted to hold him.

He should have known this...

Perhaps he already understood.

Regarding love, he is a sad deserter. He throws away his helmet and armor when he sees the shadow of love from a distance. He can't believe it when he sees the true face of love, and deceives himself.

Is now the time to confess?Confess the multiple crimes of deception he committed, and then face Chen Zhuo's trial?

Xia Zhifeng's complexion turned pale, and he lost his usual calmness.

Wu Chen also felt the strange emotion of his master, his ears stretched forward, tense, and his tail flicked slightly.

"You look so pale, aren't you feeling well?" Chen Zhuo lightly squeezed Xia Zhifeng's cheek: "I want to ride by myself for a while, go back and rest."

Chen Zhuo stepped on the stirrups and got on the horse. Wuchen looked back at his master and ran forward, his bright and clean figure was like a cloud.

Chen Zhuo concentrated on holding the rein, and reached a tacit understanding of body and mind with Wu Chen, as if he wanted to forget the conversation just now.

After dinner, Chen Zhuo proposed to talk to Zhou Chongrui alone, and the two went to the study on the second floor.

"Uncle Zhou, I would like to take the liberty to ask... What do you think of Xia Zhifeng?"

Zhou Chongrui clasped his hands together: "He looks a lot like Xiao Lu. Sometimes, even I would miss him. When I look at him, I always feel that the child is still there."

Chen Zhuo felt another pain in his heart.

Zhou Chongrui continued: "Actually, I'm also wondering if he really has any relationship with the Lu family. But I don't plan to investigate deeply. Sometimes, investigation is a kind of harm to the person involved... Now Xiaoxia's life has not appeared. There is nothing wrong with it, and there is nothing wrong with the Lu family."

"I understand what you mean. I just have a question..." Chen Zhuo considered again and again: "Is it possible that Xia Zhifeng is Lu Xingze? I know this idea is absurd and unrealistic, but I really have a feeling that they Like the same person."

Zhou Chongrui was stunned for a long time, and the thoughts in his eyes changed several times: "...I really don't know. Take a step back and say, if this is the case, if this is his own choice, all we can do is respect his choice ...And I feel that if Lu Xingze does not exist in this world, it would be a relief for him and his parents. Of course, this is just my guess, and I don't fully understand the Lu family's affairs."

If Lu Xingze didn't exist in this world, it would be a relief for him and his parents.

Chen Zhuo thought about the meaning of this sentence.

"What happened... between him and his parents?"

"I'm afraid no one but themselves knows, and I can only make the vaguest guesses."

Dinner was barbecue, venison kebabs sizzling on the grill, Zhou Chongrui brewed his own beer, each with a glass.

The others chatted happily in the room, but Chen Zhuo didn't have much in common with them, so he found an excuse to come out for a drink.

He sat on the wooden steps in the corner, took a sip of the snow-white wine, Xia Zhifeng appeared from nowhere, walked over and sat beside him, and also took a sip with his head bowed.

"An indirect kiss again?" Chen Zhuo asked him with a smile.

"Yes, can't it?" Xia Zhifeng took another sip of Chen Zhuo's wine, and the aroma of malt diffused between his lips and teeth.

Chen Zhuo cupped his cheeks, and pressed a kiss on his lips, this kiss fell in the shadow of the eaves, it was real.

There are no stars in the sky, the stars are all in Chen Zhuo's eyes.

Xia Zhifeng's heart was melted into a pool of spring water by the kiss, his head was a little dizzy, he just knew not to let go of Chen Zhuo's lips, and deepened the kiss.

It was Chen Zhuo who took the initiative to kiss him, was willing to kiss him, and finally stopped pushing him away.

"Okay..." Chen Zhuo turned his head and ended the kiss, his lips were a little numb.

He thought that Xia Zhifeng would be very enthusiastic, but Xia Zhifeng's enthusiasm was always a little more than he imagined.

Xia Zhifeng stared at Chen Zhuo infatuatedly, afraid that this was a dream, afraid that if he spoke, he would wake up from this beautiful dream.

"Ah, your pants...!" Chen Zhuo yelled softly, just now Xia Zhifeng didn't hold the wine glass steady, and the beer spilled all over him.

Only then did Xia Zhifeng come back to his senses, put down the beer glass, and happily tugged at his wet pants: "Go, go back to the room and change."

"Do you want me to change your pants?" Chen Zhuo's earlobe was hot, and the wine was sticky between his fingers.

Xia Zhifeng laughed, grabbed Chen Zhuo's hand and pulled him away.

The author has something to say:

The relationship has entered a new stage~