CH 29

Autumn’s bleakness was cut off like this.

He Qiao gently draped the shirt he had brought downstairs over Chi Xueyan.

The moment the restrained warmth fell on him, Chi Xueyan’s eyes flashed with undisguised surprise.

It wasn’t because of his actions, but also because of his answers.

Chi Xueyan imitated He Qiao’s sentence and laughed. “It turns out that you really haven’t been in love.”

Han Zhenzhen had shared intelligence with him and said that Sheng Xiaoyue told him that this was He Qiao’s first love.

At that time, Chi Xueyan didn’t pay attention to it because it was the experience of ‘He Qiao.’

He remembered that on the day when he went to the Internet cafe, he casually asked He Qiao if he had ever dated someone in an Internet cafe.

He Qiao had said no.

It turned out to be a more thorough no.

“No wonder why you can listen to his ramblings so patiently.” Chi Xueyan finally understood the reason. “Ordinary people can’t do it.”

People who hadn’t been in a relationship would find those experiences new, so they might listen to it in a more fascinated manner.

Chi Xueyan had never been in a relationship but he had heard countless love stories from Lawyer Su, so it wasn’t really fresh and he was forced to be proficient.

He looked at He Qiao, who looked as usual beside him, and ridiculed. “Then you can indeed learn a lot. Do you want to listen to it a few more times in the future?”

Today, Su Yu only spoke for two hours and it was far from the limit.

For Chi Xueyan, it was a bit of fun to admire the eyes of other people who gradually became empty because of the chatter of the great love saint.

He Qiao replied as gently as usual, “Okay.”

Night grew dark and they turned back together and walked home.

Chi Xueyan found that He Qiao seemed to be very interested in the experience Su Yu mentioned today.

He asked many pertinent questions.

“When is an appropriate time to confess a crush?”

“Once you get a clear response—” Chi Xueyan said, “If you want the confession to be successful.”

Some people’s confessions just wanted to fulfill a one-way wish and didn’t expect to succeed, then the timing was irrelevant.

Chi Xueyan had heard countless confessions since he was a child and was very experienced in this.

He Qiao heard this and thought for a while. Then he asked softly, “If you don’t get a response, what will happen if you confess rashly?”

“You will be rejected and it might not even be possible to be friends.”

Chi Xueyan patiently answered the good student who was eager for knowledge, while not forgetting to emphasize that this was a personal experience. “Everyone has different ideas about relationships. Well, I am like this.”

He was very straightforward in his actions and emotions. He didn’t want to give others a hope that didn’t exist. This was why he said that sentence in public on the stage of the party in college.

No matter whether it was a secret love or open pursuit, he wouldn’t hesitate to stay away from the other person once he realized it, so as to not fall into unnecessary disturbances.

Chi Xueyan had bluntly refused countless confessions.

Or rather, it was every confession.

Then the only real heartbeat he had was quietly rejected.

This was probably the magic of life.

Back at the brightly lit home, Chi Xueyan saw the coffee table messily covered with beer cans. Chi Xueyan returned the shirt to He Qiao and walked to the coffee table.

“I’ll clean up. You rest early. Good night.”

He was the one who called a friend to the house and he should take care of the aftermath.

The person behind him didn’t refuse and said, “Good night.”

Chi Xueyan heard him entering his room.

The empty cans were thrown into the trash one by one.

Under the silent light of the living room, Chi Xueyan moved lightly, not wanting to disturb the people living in the same house.

The transparent beer glasses were washed by water to get rid of any remaining bitterness.

His fingers were slightly soaked in slightly cool water and Chi Xueyan suddenly remembered the moment when he blocked the cold wind just now.

The white shirt that was briefly draped over his shoulders was his favorite style.

It was simple and casual, without any deliberate constraints.

In the corridor outside the KTV, in front of the audience, he had casually mentioned to He Qiao that this shirt wasn’t bad.

From then on, He Qiao seemed to wear a similar style shirt when getting along with him.

His partner was really an overly careful and meticulous person.

Chi Xueyan was standing in front of the pool and looked out the window. He thought endlessly while wiping off the water stains on his fingers.

After he finished cleaning up, he turned off the lights outside and returned to his room.

Then the next morning, he saw an unexpected figure as he got up at his scheduled time to wash up and leave.

He Qiao was in the kitchen.

On the open bar to the side, there was a glass of milk and a colorful plate that Chi Xueyan often used.

On the plate was a nice-looking sandwich.

In contrast to all his simplistic ones, this sandwich had sliced tomatoes, freshly washed lettuce and a perfectly shaped omelet in addition to ready-to-eat ham and meat floss.

Chi Xueyan walked over and said in a familiar tone, “Is there something going on in the morning?”

He Qiao followed him and said good morning to him. “I want to start going to my father’s morning meeting. I will get up at this time in the future.”

He was assembling another sandwich when he looked down. “That is your breakfast. I made it as well.”

He Qiao had been cooking frequently and Chi Xueyan wouldn’t refuse this kindness.

In any case, it seemed like it was done incidentally and it wasn’t too much trouble for the other person.

He thanked the other person, picked up the sandwich and milk and went to the sink.

He Qiao was sitting on the chair next to the dining table. Under a somewhat surprised gaze, Chi Xueyan stood in front of the window, staring at the scenery outside and eating a whole sandwich. He seemed to be in a good mood.

He finished washing his cup and plate while keeping his eyes out the window. He turned around to go to work, smiled and looked at He Qiao, who was sitting with good manners.

“Now this scenery belongs to you,” he said. “Be careful not to be late. I’m leaving. See you in the evening.”

Ever since Chi Xueyan moved into the new house, this was how he spent every time he fooled around with breakfast and washed dishes.

He really didn’t like the constant chores in the kitchen and it was his way of fighting boredom.

It was just that the wake-up time was different from that of his roommate before and it hadn’t been discovered.

Now he took the initiative to share the secret as a gift for a delicious sandwich.

The red-haired young man with a cheerful expression smiled and passed by He Qiao. He said goodbye and left.

The door closed and the house fell quiet. He Qiao subconsciously looked at the kitchen sink that had become empty.

Just now, Chi Xueyan had stayed in a fixed position and stared at a specific angle outside the window.

Therefore, he got up, walked to the same place and looked at the same scenery.

With just one glance, He Qiao’s eyes were filled with a surprised smile.

He saw a strange landscape.

There was a miniature balloon man with long hands and feet, swaying wildly in the wind.

It was the same as the dancing dolls placed at the door to attract customers’ attention when stores opened. There was only a thin layer of balloon and might be filled with the wind at any time, dancing chaotically in the direction of the wind. Then it would collapse to the ground when the wind left, before suddenly standing up at a certain moment.

It was silly but it was also funny.

He Qiao remembered that such a thing was bought by Chi Xueyan when they were visiting the decoration stores together before the wedding.

It was so strange that he had taken a few more looks at it at the time.

However, he didn’t know when the other person put it here.

He didn’t know that Chi Xueyan looked at such scenery every morning with a happy expression while eating sandwiches.

The autumn wind blew the red maple leaves and the little balloon man placed in a corner of the house rose and fell. It was like a secret that he could never predict in the next second.

It was like the one who quietly hid it.

He Qiao stood in front of the kitchen window and looked at it for a long time.

Chi Xueyan’s reminder was very prescient.

He almost became late due to this look.

Immediately, he finished the same breakfast and left the house.

Today was still a normal day.

It was just that in the interval between sending off the children, Chi Xueyan occasionally wondered what type of expression the calm and restrained He Qiao would’ve shown when he saw the balloon man dancing freely in the wind.

In fact, he was looking forward to that scene.

However, he had a set time to go to work that day and he was really going to be late.

He hoped He Qiao would find it interesting.

Chi Xueyan thought so as he finished lunch step by step and chatted with the colleagues who came to him for a while. Then he prepared to take a lunch break as usual.

It was just that he was about to draw the blinds of the window when his casual gaze outside paused.

In the office building opposite him, there was a faintly bright object in front of the increasingly familiar window that he seldom looked at.

It was already the afternoon light so he couldn’t see it clearly.

Chi Xueyan instinctively looked at the drawer next to the desk that contained the binoculars he used to count maple leaves.

This time, a balloon man swaying in the window appeared in the binoculars.

It wasn’t the one he kept at home but it looked pretty much the same, or even newer.

It turned out that He Qiao’s reaction was like this.

Chi Xueyan couldn’t help laughing.

He stood in front of the window and looked at the suddenly fresh window for a while. Then he took out his phone to send a message to He Qiao.

[Shahryar: It seems that you like that view.]

[Shahryar: By the way, is your mother coming to see us at the company soon?]

Other than that, Chi Xueyan couldn’t think of any other reasons that would make the normally serious He Qiao copy the weird scene outside his office window.

He could see the notification about the other person typing appearing at the top of the chat box.

He Qiao typed for a while before sending a short reply.

[Little Eleven: Yes, tomorrow.]

Chi Xueyan understood.

He would seriously cooperate with business in front of elders.

[Shahryar: I got it.]

[Shahryar: I’ll look at your window a bit longer.]

The moment this message was sent, a colleague knocked on his door.

“Doctor Chi, are you sleeping? For a case I just mentioned, there is a place I forgot to ask about—”

Once Chi Xueyan answered, his colleague pushed open the door and saw him standing at the window with binoculars.

The colleague immediately laughed and joked, “Doctor Chi is so gossipy. You actually bought binoculars to take a look.”

Ever since a company settled into the office building, it had become a daily topic for everyone. There were still people enthusiastically speculating on which of the people coming in and out of the building was the legendary President He.

Chi Xueyan smiled and didn’t answer. He casually put down the binoculars and walked over to his colleague who had something to ask.

His figure disappeared for a while.

The window lost color.

He Qiao stood in front of the opposite window and could only watch the newly bought balloon man sway and dance in the wind.

After arriving at the office in the morning, he had asked his secretary to send someone to buy it.

He had bought the same style as the photo of the balloon man at home.

On the day he received the certificate, Chi Xueyan taught him what it looked like when love was just beginning.

In the passenger seat of the newly bought sports car, the man he was about to marry had a hair color similar to the color of the car body paint and told him the following words in an ordinary tone.

“Liking someone often starts with liking other people’s hobbies, such as imitating him and buying the same style.”

Now He Qiao thought he was right.

Five minutes later, Chi Xueyan’s figure reappeared in front of the window.

He didn’t hold the binoculars or send another message to He Qiao. Instead, he held a note.

Chi Xueyan carefully stuck the note on the window, smoothed it out and closed the blinds. It looked like he was going to take a lunch break.

The window was no longer transparent and there was only the note that had just been pasted.

It seemed that there were words written on the paper. But at such a distance, He Qiao could only rely on external forces, even if the light was just right.

A line of casually written words appeared on the binoculars.

[My colleague said I was too gossipy. I will suspend business first.]

He Qiao saw the note that was close at hand in his field of view and couldn’t help smiling.

This was until the secretary knocked on the door and told him to go to a meeting.

He answered and returned to his desk.

Secretary Li, who was waiting outside the door, saw the pen in He Qiao’s hand move slightly.

A moment later, he came out with a document and handed it to the secretary, his voice calm. “Go to the meeting room.”

Secretary Li immediately took the document and walked behind He Qiao. As she was closing the door, she saw that the empty’s president office had a note squarely pasted on the glass window.

It wasn’t there when she entered in the morning.

The paper was very clear due to being illuminated by the sun and the writing could be seen, but the words on the paper were written toward the side facing the street. Secretary Li was anxious to keep up with the boss’ footsteps and couldn’t understand it with one glance. She could only close the door with curiosity.

In the office building, dull and regular footsteps moved through the building.

The free balloon man was still dancing in the wind.

After the lunch break, Chi Xueyan opened the blinds to welcome the afternoon’s work.

The moment the light spilled in, he instinctively looked at the window that had become interesting.

He Qiao copied another strange move that he did casually.

Through the lenses, Chi Xueyan could clearly see the clear and powerful handwriting on the paper.

[Temporarily leaving. Please call if you need anything.]