HD Chapter 25

After saying these words, Xu Zhi opened the cola can, and the unstable carbon dioxide escaped along with the cola from the aluminum can.

Xu Zhi felt like the air pressure in the room had increased, squeezing him with every word Zhou Mu said.

The takeout arrived quickly. While Xu Zhi was busy wiping the sofa with tissues, the doorbell rang. Zhou Mu put down his cola and went to open the door.

When he returned, Xu Zhi pretended to be busy with his back turned, wiping continuously. Zhou Mu had no choice but to drop the topic.

“Let’s eat,” Zhou Mu called out to Xu Zhi.

Xu Zhi stood up straight, threw a large pile of tissues into the trash can, and walked towards the dining room with a distant look in his eyes. “Let’s eat.”

Zhou Mu followed behind him, holding the takeout box, and couldn’t resist teasing, “Xu Zhi, so shy?”

“You shut up!” Xu Zhi shouted at him fiercely.

“Can you leave your contact information for me?” Zhou Mu put the takeout box on the table and said while opening it.

Xu Zhi found two spoons in the box and did not look at him, saying vaguely, “We’ll see.”

Zhou Mu didn’t hold back and smiled, “Mhm, let’s see then.”

Of course, in the end, Zhou Mu managed to get Xu Zhi’s contact information. Before leaving, he even waved his phone and said, “I’ll call you when I get back.”

Xu Zhi’s response was to slam the door in his face.

Zhou Mu kept his word and called Xu Zhi that evening around 8 o’clock.

Xu Zhi, who was bored to death, lounging on the sofa and playing colorful home-building games, hesitated for a moment when he saw Zhou Mu’s call but eventually answered.

“Hello?” Zhou Mu’s voice, laced with a smile, came through the earpiece like an electric current.

“Hmm,” Xu Zhi responded.

“Did you eat?” Zhou Mu must be walking now since when he spoke, he was a little out of breath.

Xu Zhi’s head looked at the takeaway box on the table, “Ate.”

“It’s windy outside,” Zhou Mu said suddenly, “very cool.”

Xu Zhi sat up from the sofa, walked to the window, and looked out.

The residential community was filled with numerous trees whose names he couldn’t recall. They were tall and large, but their canopies were not round; they had pointed tops.

The row of treetops was gently swaying, indicating the presence of a breeze.

“Oh,” Xu Zhi responded.

“Do you want to come down?” Zhou Mu smiled, “I’m downstairs.”

Xu Zhi’s throat moved as he continued to gaze downstairs.

Residing on the 18th floor, he couldn’t discern whether any of the vaguely discernible figures below were Zhou Mu.

However, nobody had ever invited Xu Zhi for a walk, and Xu Zhi also wanted to go out for a stroll. Therefore, he said, “Wait for me a moment.”

Xu Zhi changed his shoes and headed out. The elevator was just descending, and he barely had to wait before reaching the ground floor.

Zhou Mu was standing under the streetlight outside the building, waiting for him. When Xu Zhi emerged, Zhou Mu couldn’t help but smile.

Xu Zhi observed Zhou Mu for a moment, noticing his somewhat formal shirt and well-groomed hair.

“What do you do?” Xu Zhi asked.

“I was securing investments.” Zhou Mu leaned in a bit. “I’ve been working on some projects lately.”

Xu Zhi had heard that many people start their businesses during their school years, but he remembered Wen Shuyao mentioning that Zhou Mu’s parents seemed to be well-known entrepreneurs in another city.

But Xu Zhi didn’t inquire further, just feeling that Zhou Mu seemed a bit too diligent.

Unlike Xu Zhi, who never seemed to achieve much.

“Want to take a stroll around the school?” Zhou Mu suggested.

Xu Zhi glanced at him, nodded, and followed Zhou Mu.

In the residential community, the streetlights were spaced a bit apart, so there were a few dark spots between them.

The darkness heightened senses other than vision, and Xu Zhi noticed a faint smell of alcohol coming from Zhou Mu.

“How did you come here?” Xu Zhi asked.

“Taxi,” Zhou Mu said, “but there are some traffic jams on the way to school, so I decided to walk a while.”

Xu Zhi thought that when he was on the call, Zhou Mu did have a slight panting sound, so he asked, “You have something to do; why bother asking me out?”

“I originally wanted you to rest more,” Zhou Mu said, “but the cool weather is so rare in summer, I just wanted to invite you out for a walk.”

They reached the second streetlight, and the light brightened a bit.

Xu Zhi said, “Actually, I remember who you are.”

“Hmm?” Zhou Mu looked at him over his head, “You remembered?”

“During that day,” Xu Zhi said in a low voice. “You were Wen Shuyao’s classmate on the same competition team.”

“Yes.” Zhou Mu nodded. “At that time, I just started the third year of high school. However, I only spent half a year here in the third year, then transferred back to my registered school for the college entrance examination.”

Zhou Mu smiled and then said, “Otherwise, maybe I could see you a few more times.”

Xu Zhi felt that his face was a little hot, so he warned Zhou Mu, “Be careful with your words.”

The two of them were separated by half a meter, but the shadows made it seem they were very close to each other. Xu Zhi kept looking at the shadows, and Zhou Mu said nothing.

“Xu Zhi,” Zhou Mu said, “when you got the admission notice, Shuyao called me to take care of you.”

“Ah,” Xu Zhi responded, “Shuyao was worried.”

“Not really,” Zhou Mu said, “Even if he didn’t call me, I would still come to see you.”

“Why?” Xu Zhi asked.

“I knew you would go to this university.” Zhou Mu smiled. “So, I came a year early to wait for you.”

Considering Xu Zhi’s mental condition, he could never go too far alone, and he was destined to be confined to this city. Zhou Mu couldn’t take him away, so he came here to find him.

Zhou Mu said these words openly, without avoiding Xu Zhi’s illness and without a tone of pity or concern. It made Xu Zhi feel that, at least in Zhou Mu’s eyes, he was just a normal person.

“You already know,” Xu Zhi muttered, not bothering to engage with him.

They walked from one streetlight to the next, their shadows short and long, like two intimate strangers supporting each other on a path with no visible end.

“I don’t know,” Zhou Mu said. “But I’m an optimist; I won’t miss any opportunity.”

Zhou Mu could recognize his opportunities—the opportunity for Xu Zhi to attend university in this city, the opportunity for Xu Zhi to come out for a walk with him tonight, and perhaps the opportunity for Xu Zhi to feel something for him.

The wind started to pick up, and the leaves began to rustle. Normally, Xu Zhi walks this road alone, but tonight he had Zhou Mu, who carried a faint scent of alcohol.

The road didn’t seem as spacious as before; Zhou Mu made it narrow, forcing Xu Zhi to walk every step with an accelerated heartbeat.

He kept his head down, not saying anything until they left the residential area. Suddenly, Xu Zhi spoke, “Yes.”

It was the answer to Zhou Mu’s question during the day, “Then if I chase you, can I?”

After Zhou Mu left during the day, Xu Zhi opened two more cans of iced cola. He had never drunk so much carbonated beverage in a single day before, so he wasn’t sure if drinking too much of it would make him feel tipsy.

But what Xu Zhi was sure of was that no one else would run downstairs in the hot summer evening breeze, smelling of alcohol, asking if he wanted to go for a walk.

 

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The author has something to say: Yes.

t/n: Yes.