Butterflies Fly Over Winter Chapter 21
byChapter 21 Chasing the White Whale
Sure enough, Xi Ai will never disappoint in the field of arguing with others.
In the second game, I can’t tell who lost and who won. Forget it, I’ll add one point to both.
The game ended badly because there was no improvement in the third game.
In a flurry of excitement, the four of them decided that they wouldn’t be interested in talking about it for a while, and tried to give them a chance to whisper, so they just put the wheat on the table.
And with the concerted efforts of the small group of four, Xi Ai and Chu Yiqi could only sit in rows.
No replacement.
So the messages in the group chat were particularly consistent.
[嘤嘤嘤 (Nie Chuiying): He is simply a chosen teammate.]
[Taiga (when spruce): Reasonable.]
[Unawake (Meng Yike): Intelligent eyes recognize CP.]
[West Coast (Yu Nianxi): Sensible and well-managed.]
Perhaps it was rare to hear the long-lost word “Shiny” again, so Chu Yiqi inevitably dreamed of the cruise ship on the sea that year.
And in the dream, I heard the waves chasing the beluga, and my heart beat in resonance.
*
There was not much wind and waves on the sea, so the horse-faced skirt only trembled slightly, and then settled peacefully under the cheongsam.
Chu Yiqi noticed the footsteps behind him and did not look back.
She knew it was Xi Ai.
Xi Ai, wearing a flowing fishtail skirt, walked up to Chu Yiqi and handed a glass of wine to Chu Yiqi: “Try it?”
Chu Yiqi took the wine glass with hesitation.
The glass was filled with pink wine, and a small pink flower floated on it.She shook it gently and the ice cube hit the glass with a soft sound.
“What is this?”
Xi Ai said: “No. 17.”
Chu Yiqi was stunned for a moment, then recovered and smiled.As if her trick had succeeded, Xi Ai took the wine glass back and took a sip herself.
It’s like drinking wine in disguise.
Chu Yiqi thought about it and asked Xi Ai: “Don’t I have another cup?”
“Yes, there must be Teacher Chu.” Xi Ai smiled and put on Chu Yiqi’s arm, “Want to take a walk by the way?”
On the cruise ship, in addition to a series of cocktail parties, the menu is also quite interesting.
There is no legend or name, just rows of numbers. For the sake of some guests who have difficulty choosing, there is also a turntable for random selection.
——But unlike before, Xi Ai didn’t use it this time.The bartender hadn’t changed in many years, so when he saw Xi Ai ordering No. 17 without hesitation, he looked at Xi Ai strangely and joked: “Why do you suddenly have a target?”
“Yes.” Xi Ai didn’t hesitate, sitting on a high stool, holding her head up and watching the cocktail mix.
The man didn’t ask any more questions and handed the wine to Xi Ai after mixing it.
It’s a coincidence that this wine is pink, and she should like it.
Chu Yiqi was walking forward with Xi Ai on his arm. Xi Ai was just enjoying herself because Chu Yiqi took the initiative to hold her, when a woman wearing a long white dress took half a step forward.
He was very measured and did not really block their way. Then he lowered his head slightly and asked Chu Yiqi in English: “Can you buy this lady a drink?”
Xi Ai turned her head and looked, clearly feeling Chu Yiqi pulling her tighter at the first moment.She curved the corners of her mouth in an extremely subtle way, waiting for Chu Yi’s reaction.
To be honest, she was not worried about Chu Yiqi’s reaction, but she was just curious about Chu Yiqi’s answer.
Chu Yiqi hesitated for a moment, took the wine from Xi Ai’s hand, touched the man’s glass lightly, and replied in English: “Thank you for your kindness, but my girlfriend is more jealous.”
Chu Yiqi took a sip of wine and his lipstick left some marks.She held Xi Ai’s arm and found that the man didn’t mind, but looked at them kindly.
Although the circles were different, she always felt that Xi Ai was somewhat familiar.But she didn’t dig into it, she just smiled and got out of the way.
“I wish you happiness.”
Xi Ai and Chu Yiqi looked at each other, as if confirming something, so Chu Yiqi pushed Xi Ai, and Xi Ai said, “Maybe we can exchange contact information and have a drink later?”
“Very happy.”
A burst of music flowed out from the moment the door was opened. The tune was very slow. Xi Ai took Chu Yiqi and walked through the crowd. The flowing lights shone on them and followed their steps.
“Come on and choose a drink.”
Chu Yiqi pursed his lips, and for some reason, he looked at Xi Ai unconsciously, and spoke before thinking: “No. 2.”
Xi Ai smiled and spoke a few words to the bartender in French.The bartender immediately understood, looked at Chu Yiqi, and replied to Xi Ai: “OK.”
Although Chu Yiqi didn’t understand Xi Ai’s French, the two different languages were indeed easy to distinguish.
I don’t know if these two people, one French and one English, have developed language systems…
Chu Yiqi asked Xi Ai: “What did you say?”
Xi Ai looked at Chu Yiqi without saying anything, but the curvature at the end of her eyes became more obvious.
“Hurry up and say——”
Xi Ai smiled and took Chu Yiqi’s hand. The slightly different temperature was transferred between their fingertips. Xi Ai said, “Please replace the mint with the butterfly decoration next to it.”
Chu Yiqi didn’t like mint and couldn’t even taste it. Perhaps this indirectly caused Xi Ai to transfer the perfume mint that she had kept for a long time to a friend’s house when they lived together.
“Why No. 2?” Xi Ai asked her again.
Chu Yiqi didn’t answer, but looked at Xi Ai quietly, and then asked, “What about you? Why is it No. 17?”
Xi Ai said: “You guess.”
Chu Yiqi also followed suit: “Would you like to take a guess?”
The two looked at each other for a moment, then curled their lips in tacit understanding.
“Miss Chu, your wine.”
When Chu Yiqi heard this, he immediately went to see Xi Ai, and Xi Ai understood easily: “Beautiful people are easy to remember.”
Chu Yiqi glared at her, but Xi Ai surrendered silently, and finally answered seriously: “Maybe it’s because this is my first time coming with someone else, and I ordered the number myself.”
Chu Yiqi didn’t say anything. She knew that Xi Ai had guessed why she chose No. 2 from the beginning.
In the earliest days, the CP names of both of them were not the current “Return to the Final Semester” or “Xi Weicheng”, but a string of numbers – “172”.
However, if there is no 172, Chu Yiqi will naturally choose “2” without hesitation.
When they sat down at the table in front of the floor-to-ceiling window, they suddenly saw the girl just now, and the two of them greeted her from a distance.
The man came over and when he saw Xi Ai, he was no longer as polite as before. Instead, he was a little excited.
Just when Xi Ai felt that there was no reason, she took the initiative to explain: “Is your name… Xi Ai?”
Xi Ai looked at her, nodded, and said, “What’s wrong?”
She eagerly took out two identical photos, a group photo.
Xi Ai was stunned when she saw it, and even her breathing stopped for a moment, and then became slightly faster.
She hadn’t seen the person in the photo for a long time.
Maybe ten years ago.
The last time Xi Ai saw them in person was when they were saying goodbye at the airport.
At that time, both of them were wearing white coats, and the woman held her arm with the person beside her affectionately, her eyes shining with anticipation behind her lenses.
They are all looking forward to the next meeting and the triumphant return of the foreign aid.
But in fact, when they met again, it was a one-sided gaze at the funeral.
Xi Ai actually couldn’t remember whether she cried or not, but she remembered that many people were praising her parents for their bravery and kindness as doctors.
“Are you…?” Xi Ai finally raised her eyes and felt the warmth of Chu Yiqi’s fingertips.
The person in front of me gave the photo to Xi Ai, clasped his hands together, and said almost incoherently: “My God, your parents saved me and our family many years ago. They also showed me your photo at that time. Thank God for meeting you here… Are they okay?”
Xi Ai was startled, then said: “They… died a long time ago.”
“This, I’m very sorry, I…sorry…”
Xi Ai shook her head, accepted one of the photos, and said, “It’s okay, they will die with no regrets in the end.”
In fact, it is a regret that I couldn’t save more people, and I couldn’t come back to see my parents and daughter for the last time… But compared to what they did, they still tried their best and felt no regrets.
When Xi Ai and Chu Yiqi returned to the room, Chu Yiqi was still holding Xi Ai’s hand tightly.
She didn’t know how to comfort people, so she could only hold Xi Ai in her arms, hoping that this would give her lover some comfort.
Xi Ai didn’t say anything, but just hugged Chu Yiqi for a while. Chu Yiqi patted Xi Ai’s head awkwardly, and then his hand fell on Xi Ai’s hair.
Without turning on the lights, Xi Ai asked her in the darkness: “Do you know why I wanted to act in the first place?”
Chu Yiqi shook his head, then paused for a while and said, “I don’t know.”
Indeed, according to Chu Yiqi’s previous thoughts, Xi Ai seemed to be the kind of person who would study finance and take over the family company safely.Although she later found out why Xi Ai studied music, she never asked why Xi Ai studied drama.
Xi Ai said: “Because… Actually, at first, I also wanted to study medicine, but I hesitated when I saw my grandfather going to visit the grave alone.”
She wanted to be like her parents, leave something behind, or help someone, so every year she would save her pocket money and donate it. This was her first way.
She wants to study medicine and save people.But she didn’t want to see her grandpa sitting in the yard again, as he seemed much older overnight; she didn’t want to see him go to the cemetery to sit in the cemetery with flowers for an afternoon again.
Then try another approach.
Xi Ai turned on the light, and Chu Yiqi noticed that her eyes were a little red, and heard Xi Ai say: “If I can’t do it myself, then maybe I can hide behind the screen and trace half of their outlines, or more of them, that would be good too.”
Chu Yiqi couldn’t deny that her initial prejudice against Xi Ai was indeed outrageous.
She always felt that Xi Ai was the rich second-generation playboy who couldn’t stand the pain. Although she was talented, she was too hot-tempered and acted like a young lady.
But in fact, perhaps no one thought that Xi Ai would persevere for many years and achieve what she wanted to do because of some obsessions, some people, and something that might be called “inheritance”.
“So you see, you did it.”
Xi Ai looked at Chu Yiqi and saw the concern hidden in Chu Yiqi’s eyes.
Maybe they are really compatible in some aspects, such as the energy to face doubts; such as persistence in what they want to do.
Xi Ai always felt that they still had differences that could not be ignored.She couldn’t describe it, but she was attracted by something completely different from her in Chu Yiqi.
“Good night, Xi Ai.”
“See you tomorrow, Chu Yiyi.”
*
When Chu Yiqi opened his eyes, it was really “tomorrow”.She fumbled for a long time and found her cell phone – six o’clock.
The biological clock is so easy to adjust.
But on the other side, Xi Ai was still dreaming about some old dreams.
It was still the first time, they had just finished choosing the topic.
When Anila was guiding the arrangement, she asked them why they chose to come here and why they chose to “fight”.
Xi Ai was writing lyrics at that time, and she and Zhou Qingxi were discussing the style of music.After hearing this, she raised her head with a calm expression, as if she already had the answer.
Similarly, she also saw Chu Yiqi standing next to her mentor, neither humble nor arrogant, but extremely determined.
“If this is the only way to prove me, then I will not look back.”
Chu Yiqi looked at Xi Ai and suddenly felt that a corner seemed to be loose at all.Because she seemed to know what Xi Ai wanted to prove – that she could get what she wanted even without relying on capital.
After a moment of silence, Chu Yiqi felt his mentor’s gaze under Xi Ai’s gaze, and said in a gentle voice: “It’s easier, go out and let ‘I’ truly become ‘me’.”
At that time, Xi Ai couldn’t really understand the meaning behind Chu Yiqi’s words, but she could somewhat feel the mood.
At that moment, Xi Ai suddenly thought of something –
“I have been dealing with myself for a long time, and finally I became me.”