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Xu Xizhou lifted his eyes only to realize that Zhuang Jingchun was holding his hand. The man’s fingers were slender and strong, and his palm was warm and dry. The moment he held it, his hand mysteriously stopped shaking.
“That’s someone else’s life. Your biological parents may not be like this. Don’t think too much, okay?”
Xu Xizhou felt the tables next to them cast their eyes in his direction. His mind slowly registered the embarrassment, and he quickly withdrew his hand.
“Hm, I know. I was a little impulsive just now.”
He lowered his head and chewed the vegetables. The warmth of another person’s hand lingered in his palm. The heat seemed to spread from his fingers to his heart.
In the afternoon, they went to a nearby art museum, and then returned to the hotel early.
Xu Xizhou swiped his card to enter the room, and after learning that Zhuang Jingchun was going to stay there for one night, he didn’t think much about it and suggested, “This hotel is probably full, why don’t you squeeze in with me for a night today, don’t waste your money.”
Zhuang Jingchun was silent for a few seconds. He silently deleted the hotel reservation information that Secretary Zhou had just sent him, and said with an embarrassed expression on his face, “Then… okay.”
After taking a shower, Xu Xizhou lay on the bedside to read his course book for a while, and then became a little drowsy. Zhuang Jingchun was sitting at the desk by the window, using a laptop to handle official business, with a very focused expression.
Xu Xizhou yawned, put the book on the bedside table, and got into the quilt.
“I’ll go to bed first. You should go to bed early too.”
Zhuang Jingchun adjusted his glasses and hummed softly.
Xu Xizhou always fell asleep quickly, and he fell into a deep sleep after closing his eyes for a few minutes. Most of the time he slept until dawn, but this night, he had a nightmare.
At the beginning of the dream, the scene was still very warm. He turned into a little baby and was held in the arms of a woman. The woman coaxed him in a low voice and sang a lullaby to him in a beautiful voice. However, the sky darkened, and all the pictures were distorted in front of him, and two huge, hideous black figures appeared behind the woman, and then there was screaming.
“Let go of my child! You scum, don’t touch my child!”
A shrill scream pierced the night sky, and the black shadow swallowed the woman, and then slid towards him. He saw a pair of scarlet eyes, and the next second, his small body fell heavily to the ground.
He seemed to be thrown into the wilderness. There were gloomy trees everywhere, the sharp howl of wolves sounded, and the cold wave hit him…
“Mama… save me…”
When Zhuang Jingchun came out of the bathroom, he immediately realized that something was wrong with the person on the bed. He picked up his glasses and put them on, walked to the bed in several steps, lowered his head, and looked at Xu Xizhou’s face.
The boy seemed to be having a nightmare. His eyebrows were tightly furrowed, and his face was full of pain. The moment Zhuang Jingchun heard what he was shouting clearly, some indescribable emotion seized his heart instantly.
He held Xu Xizhou’s trembling shoulders, gently touched his forehead with the other hand, and comforted him in a low voice, “You are safe now, don’t be afraid, don’t be afraid.”
There was sufficient heating in the room, but the boy still seemed to feel cold. His body shrank unconsciously, trying to curl himself up into a ball. Zhuang Jingchun frowned, got on the bed and lay down facing Xu Xizhou, and hugged him into his arms.
The boy probably felt the heat source approaching in his dream, and unconsciously stretched out his arms to hug him tightly, rubbing his head against his chest.
Zhuang Jingchun patted his back softly, and Xu Xizhou’s head rested on his arm giving him some kind of furry feeling. He hesitated for a few seconds, tentatively stretched out his hand, and stroked the boy’s black hair.
Under his comfort, Xu Xizhou’s originally stiff body gradually relaxed, and his breathing became steady. Zhuang Jingchun exhaled lightly and pulled his numb arm from under his cheek.
He turned off the night light by the bed and lay down next to the boy, but he didn’t feel sleepy at all. The thought he had suppressed before popped right back into his head as he looked at Xu Xizhou’s side face.
Should he… try to find Xu Xizhou’s parents?
Xu Xizhou woke up early in the morning. He remembered that he seemed to have had a nightmare, and the woman’s shrill scream still seemed to echo in his mind.
Whose woman’s voice was in the dream? He had never had such a dream in his previous life.
He opened his eyes in a daze, and what appeared in his vision was a piece of dark green fabric with the smooth touch of silk. He rubbed it with his hands, and it took a few seconds for him to realize that something was wrong.
How could it feel hot to the touch, and there was the sound of beating…
The next moment, he met a pair of sleepy green eyes.
“What are you doing?”
Only then did Xu Xizhou realize that he was leaning on Zhuang Jingchun’s chest, and what he reached out to rub just now… His cheeks turned red, and he quickly backed away, because he moved too much, and rolled off the bed.
Zhuang Jingchun: …
“You had a nightmare last night, and you insisted on sleeping in my arms. Even a three-year-old is not as childish as you.” Zhuang Jingchun looked disgusted.
Xu Xizhou faintly guessed that this was the reason, but Zhuang Jingchun said it so bluntly, and he still felt his cheeks burning terribly.
He pressed his painful tailbone, explaining in vain, “I can’t control my dreams. It was an accident. It was a pure accident. It will definitely not happen next time.”
“Do you still want to have another time?”
Zhuang Jingchun yawned and sat up lazily on the bed. His green eyes seemed to be soaked in the morning dew, bright and transparent, but also faintly narrowed.
“You cried so hard last night that you wet my clothes.”
“I… cried?”
Xu Xizhou’s face contorted for a few seconds, and his lips trembled slightly. Just when his self-esteem was about to crumble to the ground, the man’s laughing voice sounded again, “I’m joking, do you really believe it?”
Xu Xizhou: …
Damn, why is this guy always so hateful!
After the pre-match test, Xu Xizhou rented a small apartment in London, and he trained every day in addition to attending classes. Occasionally on weekends, he would go to Lyon to fulfill his obligation as a contracted boyfriend. After having a meal with Zhuang Jingchun’s parents, he would chat happily with Zhuang Jingchun.
A month went by unnoticed, and soon it was the new season opener for F2.
Melbourne, Australia.
The day before the opening game.
The first race of F2 is very important, and Zhuang Jingchun will naturally not miss it. As soon as Xu Xizhou left the hotel in the morning, he saw his car parked downstairs, and he was immediately surprised.
Just as he was about to get into the car, his cell phone rang, and it was actually a call from Lu Rong.
“Xiaozhou, I originally booked a ticket to watch your first game, but something at school delayed me. I’m sorry, I will definitely watch it at the next station.”
Xu Xizhou didn’t expect Lu Rong to remember this.
“It’s okay, you are busy.” Thinking of the meal that Lu Rong invited him to, and the simulator he gave him, Xu Xizhou paused, and then said, “If you want to come, you can tell me in advance, and I’ll leave a ticket for you.”
Just treat him as an ordinary audience, Xu Xizhou thought in his heart.
After talking to Lu Rong, Xu Xizhou got into the car. He stared at Zhuang Jingchun that looked like an elite in a smoky gray suit, and unconsciously remembered the first time he saw him.
“To be honest, my first impression of you was not good. You seemed like an arrogant person. Not to mention the team manager couldn’t be more polite to you, as if afraid you won’t invest in him.”
Zhuang Jingchun opened all the car windows to let the cool morning breeze in, and his voice was lazy.
“Really, what do you think of me now?”
Xu Xizhou choked, he obviously did not expect Zhuang Jingchun to ask such a question.
“It’s definitely better than before, but… just that.” He finished speaking with a stumble and found that Zhuang Jingchun was still staring at him, and couldn’t help feeling a bit hot.
“Why do you look at me like that?”
“What do you mean by ‘just that’?”
His tone was persistent as if he wanted to dig out the truth.
“For example, how am I compared to Lu Rong?”