Chapter Index

    Chapter 15

    The afternoon sun was gentle and not dazzling. Grandma took Qi Ge and Xia Yize out for a walk.

    Qi Ge held Grandma’s arm and walked in front. Although Xia Yize wanted to know Qi Ge’s past, this way of exposing scars in person was too cruel. He was afraid that Qi Ge would silence him if he walked out of this door.

    But grandma would still turn around and say, “Xiao Ge, come here, you are always walking behind alone, how boring it is.”

    Xia Yize had no choice but to walk a few steps quickly. Grandma was in a good mood and talked more than in the morning, “Qiqi, the weather has been cold recently, so I knitted a scarf for you. Don’t catch a cold when the weather is cold. If you are busy with work recently, you don’t have to come to see me all the time. I am fine here and don’t lack anything. But you have lost weight again. You should eat well.”

    Xia Yize looked at Qi Ge out of the corner of his eye. He answered with a smile. Although Grandma would ask some questions again after a while, Qi Ge answered them patiently every time.

    Qi Ge’s face was not as cold as before. Xia Yize found that he had small dimples when he smiled, which was quite nice.

    Until evening, grandma began to urge them to go back, and specifically told Qiqi to send Xiaoge home.

    Xia Yize played a clever trick in the morning and didn’t drive. It’s not easy to take a taxi here, so he had a reason to take Qi Ge’s car.

    But Xia Yize would rather take a taxi back now. He was a little scared after knowing so many things about Qi Ge.

    After coming out of grandma’s place, Xia Yize did not go to the parking lot with Qi Ge. “I’ll take a taxi back. Please be careful on the road.”

    After saying that, Xia Yize went straight to the gate without looking back, taking a taxi while walking and choosing all the prices.

    It was getting darker and darker. He squatted on the side of the road and pulled dry grass blades. There was a mountain behind him, which was quite beautiful during the day. But when he pulled his arms together, he felt that the darkness was behind him, and he wondered if a wild beast would suddenly appear.

    Xia Yize hugged himself tightly. Qi Ge should have left by now.

    At this moment, a dog barked suddenly, which frightened him. Then a beam of light shone at him, and Xia Yize felt that the hairs all over his body stood up.

    Against the light, Xia Yize couldn’t see the person coming clearly. He could only vaguely see a person leading a dog towards him. He wouldn’t be robbed.

    Xia Yize cried, subconsciously raising his hands and turning his head to avoid the bright light.

    Not long after, the light of the flashlight weakened and shone on the ground, “It’s you, Xiaoxia, what are you doing here alone so late at night?”

    Xia Yize resisted his trembling legs and turned his head, only to see clearly that it was the security guard, “Uncle, I’m taking a taxi.”

    The security uncle barked at the dog that was about to come forward and said, “It’s not easy to take a taxi here. Why don’t you go to the security booth for a while.”

    Xia Yize looked at the big dog drooling at him and felt that if the security guard let go, he would be eaten. Xia Yize quickly waved his hand: “No, no need.”

    The security uncle saw that Xia Yize kept watching the dog retreat, and pulled the leash again, “Don’t be afraid, he doesn’t bite.”

    Just as Xia Yize breathed a sigh of relief, the security guard added, “Wild dogs sometimes come down the mountain, and Rhubarb is specially used to scare them.”

    Xia Yize, who had his back against the mountain, jumped up, his voice trembling, “Is there a wild dog here?!”

    As it backed away step by step, a honking sound startled him again. The car stopped slowly, the window rolled down, and Qi Ge sat firmly inside, “You haven’t caught a taxi yet?”

    Before Qi Ge asked him if he wanted to go with him, Xia Yize went to pull the car door and said, “Send me a way, please.”

    Xia Yize was still a little shaken when he got in the car. He huddled in his seat and clutched his seat belt tightly. After going out for a while, he finally remembered and asked, “Why did you get out?”

    “Grandma asked me to go back and get the scarf.” Qi Ge turned into an expressionless ice face again.

    Xia Yize slowly slid down on the seat, “Is it true that grandma only has one, and I don’t have a share? She is afraid that I will be sad when she sees it.”

    Qi Ge was silent for a long time, “Do you think I am occupying the magpie’s nest? That scarf is actually for Qiqi.”

    Xia Yize had said something casually, but he suddenly felt as if he had been shocked. This was different from everything Qi Ge said to him before. Maybe it was because people’s emotions are more fragile at night, maybe because he saw some of his secrets.

    Xia Yize sat up slowly. He couldn’t answer casually. This should be the closest he has ever been to Qi Ge.

    But after holding it in for a long time, when the topic was about to pass if he didn’t talk anymore, he said, “How about changing your nickname to Qiqi.”

    Sure enough, Qi Ge closed his microphone.

    Xia Yize felt sad that he had lost a good opportunity. He finally struggled and asked, “Are you okay tonight?”

    “What for?” It sounded like Qi Ge was not interested in his proposal at all.

    “To celebrate your birthday, come to my house and I will cook for you.” Xia Yize turned around and looked at Qi Ge, like a big dog that would never give up.

    “You can’t roll dumpling wrappers, but you can cook?” Qi Ge chuckled.

    Xia Yize said: “I know a lot.”

    Qi Ge could have eight hundred reasons to reject him, but Xia Yize said: “I want to celebrate your birthday alone.”

    The car turned a slight corner, and Qi Ge asked lightly: “What do you want to eat?”

    Xia Yize sat back and said proudly: “I know how to make soup. I’ll go to the supermarket downstairs first. Only when the ingredients are fresh can it be delicious.”

    Xia Yize secretly searched for tutorials on corn ribs soup. Although he had made it before, he had never made it delicious, but this time he should be fine following the recipe.

    In the supermarket, Qi Ge took a piece of corn from his hand and put it in the shopping trolley. Qi Ge didn’t want to interfere at first, but he really couldn’t bear to see this man’s vision in buying vegetables. He said that only fresh ingredients are delicious, and there are obviously fresher ones, but the leaves he picked up were all dry and yellow.

    Xia Yize put the dishes picked by Qi Ge in the car and muttered in his heart, they are all the same.

    Qi Ge went to Xia Yize’s home for the first time. It was an old building with no elevator, but the lights in the corridor were pretty decent.The moment he opened the unit door, Qi Ge was still a little confused as to why he wanted to come to Xia Yize’s home. However, Xia Yize was not that troubled. He opened the door and turned around with a smile to ask him to come in quickly.

    When Xia Yize got home, a little black sesame ball jumped to his feet. Xia Yize bent down and picked it up, “Close the door quickly, don’t let it run out.”

    Qi Ge quickly closed the door and touched the little black sesame ball, “It’s a little fatter.”

    “Yeah, my appetite is better every day.” The first thing Xia Yize did when he came back was to feed it.

    Although Qi Ge had been mentally prepared, this room was still a little smaller than he imagined. As soon as he entered the door, he could see the bedroom and kitchen at a glance, and there was only a sliding door at the bathroom door as a partition.

    This room is as relaxed as Xia Yize himself. The quilts are scattered randomly on the bed, and his clothes are on the sofa, but the kitten’s toys and bowls are neatly placed.

    Xia Yize saw Qi Ge standing at the door and looking at his room. Only then did he realize how hasty his decision was. How could he bring someone back without cleaning up the room.

    A little embarrassed, he put away the clothes on the sofa, rolled up the quilt, found a new cup and said, “Drink some water, sit wherever you like.”

    He wanted to go to the kitchen to escape from this awkward place. Qi Ge sat down on his gaming chair unceremoniously with a cup, “Can you sit here?” The corn in Xia Yize’s hand rolled to the ground, and Qi Ge asked without changing his expression: “You do live broadcasts.”

    Qi Ge turned his chair to face his computer and wiped his fingers on the table. “This is the cleanest place. Everything is quite complete.”

    Xia Yize threw down the corn and ran over, turning the chair around. Qi Ge was also startled, and the two faced each other with big eyes wide open.

    It took Xia Yize a long time before he slowly said, “This belongs to the landlord. He asked me to wipe it every day.”

    Qi Ge just asked casually. He didn’t expect Xia Yize to have such a big reaction. As for whether he was live broadcasting, Qi Ge didn’t care.

    Xia Yize was afraid that he would find any clues, and he felt more and more that he was careless in letting him come, so he said, “I can’t decide whether you can help me cut the corn.”

    But when he got to the kitchen, Xia Yize wanted to drive him out again.

    Did you cut the ginger slices without washing the onion knife?How come the ginger slices are cut into different thicknesses?The pork ribs need to be blanched in cold water to remove the fishy smell, and too much cooking wine has been added!

    In the end, Xia Yize handed over the power of chef and became a subordinate.

    This person is really not difficult to maintain.

    Qi Ge originally wanted him to do what he wanted and eat, out of sight but out of mind, but when Xia Yize asked him to be the audience, he couldn’t stand it anymore. It took him a long time to watch Xia Yize make fire, so he decided to do it himself.

    Xia Yize handed the shovel for a while and looked for salt for a while. When he was free, he ate a few shredded carrots cut by Qi Ge.He watched Qi Ge stir-fry with a big spoon, the aroma wafted out, and he felt it tasted better than takeout.

    Qi Ge finally poured the water, “You can eat the ribs when they are cooked. If you want the soup to be richer, simmer it for a while.”

    Xia Yize took the apron that Qi Ge had taken off and was already looking forward to this delicious pot of soup.

    The little black sesame ball was also very excited today, running around Qi Ge.

    Xia Yize was washing dishes in the kitchen for a while. The sound of clanking and the aroma of vegetables in the kitchen fermented in this small room, making Qi Ge feel at ease in his heart. He yawned. People will feel sleepy when they relax.

    “Don’t you usually cook?” Qi Ge asked while teasing the little black sesame ball.

    “How did you tell that?” Xia Yize felt a little guilty.

    “It seems like you haven’t taken out your bowl for a long time.” Qi Ge chatted with him wordlessly.

    After being exposed, Xia Yize smiled and said, “No, I got this new bowl just to meet your mysophobia.”

    “Then if I don’t come, you’ll be eating with your hands.” Qi Ge stroked the fur of the little black sesame ball.

    But Xia Yize on the side was not relaxed. He would look back at Qi Ge from time to time to see if he was paying attention to his live broadcast equipment. In the blink of an eye, he saw the pepper in the spice box.

    Last time the fans voted for him to pour two spoonfuls of pepper. Xia Yize stirred it and looked at the orders on his phone. He had already celebrated his birthday with such care. It would not be too much to satisfy the fans’ request. After all, Qi Ge was the scumbag first.

    While he was studying, Qi Ge asked lazily from the sofa on the side: “It’s almost ready. Do you want me to help serve the soup?”

    “No need.” Xia Yize said quickly.

    He took out two bowls of soup, quietly added two spoons of pepper to one of them, and put the rest in the soup bowl.

    Xia Yize first brought the two bowls of soup over, prepared them one by one, and said to Qi Ge, who was sitting opposite him: “Teacher Qi, happy birthday, let’s have soup instead of wine.”

    Xia Yize couldn’t wait for a long time. He had tasted the soup in the kitchen and it was very delicious. He scooped up a spoonful and brought it to his mouth. He almost spit it out, but Qi Ge on the opposite side blew it into his mouth and said, “Thank you for the treat.”

    Xia Yize looked up at his own and then at Qi Ge’s. Qi Ge took another sip and said, “I’m telling you, you don’t need to add any seasoning. You have such a strong taste.”

    Xia Yize was about to burst into tears, “I don’t cook often, so I didn’t do it lightly or harshly.”

    Qi Ge didn’t need to look to hear Xia Yize moving the condiment box. The little black sesame balls were picking at his trouser legs and biting them gently. Qi Ge inexplicably reminded Xia Yize of being naughty.

    There was a sudden knock on the door outside. Xia Yize quickly poured the bowl of soup and opened the door. The delivery man brought a cake.

    Qi Ge frowned slightly. Qi Ge didn’t like celebrating birthdays. Since he was a child, he hoped that no one would pay attention to this day, so as not to have to think of a decent explanation to cover up that his parents did not celebrate his birthday when others asked him how he celebrated his birthday.

    Xia Yize took back a cake and looked at him with a smile on his face. Qi Ge acted too calm and took a sip of soup, “Didn’t I already eat cake today?”

    Xia Yize sat down and said, “I heard it today. Grandma is celebrating Qiqi’s birthday, and you are doing it to make grandma happy.” He winked and said, “This is for Teacher Qi. Maybe you don’t like cakes, but I hope that when you think of cakes, you think of your own birthday, which is a very happy moment.”

    Xia Yize opened the cake, and it read crookedly, Happy Birthday, Teacher Qi.Only half of it is decorated with flowers, and some fruits are piled randomly on the other half, as if to apologize for this scrawled work.

    He smiled sheepishly and said: “It’s too urgent. The cake shop can’t make it in such a short time. I asked them to keep everything simple.” Xia Yize took a spoonful and handed it to Qi Ge’s mouth and said: “Imperfection is also a surprise, right! You don’t have to be ready to do everything.”

    Qi Ge looked at Xia Yize. His eyes were large, shining with innocence under the warm yellow light.

    Qi Ge has indeed never seen such a half-finished cake, but the cake, birthday, and Xia Yize are all related together, which makes a good impression.

    Qi Ge took his little spoon and took a sip, “You don’t have a job yet, right?”

    It was hard to understand that Xia Yize was about to question him about the live broadcast, and Xia Yize’s heart beat loudly.

    Qi Ge cut a piece and presented it to Xia Yize, “The school printing club is recruiting people. If you want to make a transition, I can help you ask.”

    “Okay.” Xia Yize quickly thanked him. He could be an upright economics school, but he was afraid that he would not have the chance to meet Qi Ge.

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