CH 41

Soon, Chi Xueyan regretted this casual move.

The phone vibrated. Lawyer Su, who had an elite profile picture, quickly sent a series of private chat messages.

[Su Yu: Old Chi, did your hand slip and you made a mistake?]

[Su Yu: Ah, I know. Old Yu, you finally agree with this sentence, right? Marriage really changed you!]

Chi Xueyan: “……”

He didn’t really want to talk to this person who called him Old Chi.

He avoided the question and simply changed the subject.

[Shahryar: Are you still in love this time?]

[Shahryar: You straight men seemed to be pretty good at dating?]

These were his recent heartfelt feelings.

[Su Yu:?!! ]

[Su Yu: Besides me, do you have any other straight man who will discuss relationship issues with you? How did I not find out?]

[Shahryar: Well, you’ll probably never find out.]

[Su Yu: Ah!]

[Su Yu: QAQ, am I not your only dog?]

[Shahryar: ……]

[Shahryar: Go.]

Straight men were really scary creatures.

Chi Xueyan didn’t want to deal with this Lawyer Su, who had different appearances, at all. He exited the chat box and returned to the status interface. He coldly canceled the like that he had just given.

He was stuck to the comfortable sofa and his sleepiness dissipated. He didn’t want to move, so he would go back to the clinic today without taking a nap. He played with his phone for a while.

Chi Xueyan slid down casually to admire the daily life of his relatives and friends.

Chairman Han and Mr Chi had recently been immersed in their long-lost world of two. Even when looking at the clouds outside the company’s windows, they could see the shape of a heart.

Aunt Xiaoyue was trying to air-dry pink roses and make them into decorations that could be remembered forever.

Uncle He was inspecting and holding meetings everywhere. He was running around almost every day.

…Below was a brief comment left by He Qiao.

Chi Xueyan couldn’t help laughing when he saw this.

He often saw He Qiao under two types of pots. One was similar to the love mood posted by Su Yu and he would silently give it a like. The other was related to work and he would seriously leave a message.

He really liked what he was doing right now.

For example, Ye Qing had recently been preparing for a new section of the Three Trees app. These days, he often ran to various fields and remote areas with special industries and inconvenient logistics to investigate. He was tanned and covered with dust, but he was full of vigor and energy.

As the representative sent by the investor, He Qiao didn’t directly interfere with the operation of Ye Qing’s company and didn’t follow him around. Instead, he often held remote meetings and communicated with Ye Qing to learn about the latest developments. It was both supervision and learning.

[Ye Qing: Yesterday, I was up almost all night. Now I see the stones as pillows and I want to lean on them to sleep. This is probably both sleepy and happy.]

The accompanying photo was a winter strawberry field intertwined with red and green. There was a naturally formed interesting stone at the entrance that looked like a pillow.

[Little Eleven: There is plenty of time according to the current plan. Pay attention to your body.]

A competent and humane capitalist.

Chi Xueyan’s focus was completely different.

He casually typed a line of warning.

[Shahryar: I have a stone like this and you will wake up with a stiff neck. I don’t recommend trying it.”

It sounded strange but he had bought a stone statue in the shape of a pillow that imitated the texture of fabric from the decorations mall. Then he actually tried sleeping on it.

The sleep was very cool and even his dreams were chilly.

However, he had to rub his neck for a long time after waking up.

Chi Xueyan recalled that special nap and smiled as he typed. Meanwhile, He Qiao had finished the call with his mother.

He heard the mobile phone held in the hand of the other person vibrate non-stop. It was the notification of a new message.

He came over and saw a smile on Chi Xueyan’s face.

“Are you talking to someone?”

Chi Xueyan reacted when he heard He Qiao’s question and switched back to the chat interface.

Lawyer Su, who had been ignored, had already babbled a lot on his own.

He said casually, “Su Yu is annoying me again.”

Immediately afterward, Chi Xueyan glanced at the pile of unread messages and continued to tell He Qiao, “Old Wang’s bar will have a band do a New Year’s Eve performance before the New Year ends. Su Yu is going to see it with his girlfriend and asked us if we want to go as well.”

It was clear that he wanted to show affection on the spot.

Chi Xueyan hadn’t met Su Yu’s girlfriend, who was also a lawyer, but in his impression, this seemed to be considered a fairly long relationship.

Su Yu obviously liked the other person very much and he couldn’t wait to show her off to others every day.

He Qiao listened to him and asked, “Do you want to go?”

“I don’t know if I will be free then,” Chi Xueyan said. “What about you?”

As he spoke, he felt that the question was superfluous.

He Qiao nodded gently. “You decide.”

After the sudden change in their relationship, they hadn’t faced close family or friends together.

In front of the relatively unfamiliar company employees, there was no need to deliberately make intimate actions to prove their relationship. It would just look out of place.

But in private situations with friends and family, intimacy was the only option.

The skillful performance without emotion that was handy in the past suddenly became jerky and could no longer be so natural.

This was an ambiguous and tricky question.

“We will talk about it when the time comes.” Chi Xueyan decided to leave the answer to time. “In any case, Old Wang will leave me a ticket.”

At their tacit thoughts, He Qiao didn’t object. “Okay.”

Chi Xueyan put down the warm little blanket. He got up from the sofa and gave a reminder at the same time, “The clinic is very busy during this time. I should leave work later than you today. You don’t have to wait for me to go home together.”

Many people would spare time during the one or two months before the Spring Festival to deal with the dental problems of themselves or their families. This way, they could welcome the arrival of the new year with peace of mind and enjoy the rare reunion time.

He walked to the door of the office and was about to push the door to leave when he heard the person behind him seriously ask, “Then can I wait for you so we can go home together?”

Chi Xueyan laughed and gently pressed on the doorknob when he heard He Qiao ask like this. “As you wish.”

The doorknob turned. The secretary sitting outside politely called out ‘Mr Chi’. She habitually greeted him and escorted him into the elevator.

The familiar back immediately disappeared from view and appeared in the window instead.

The red-haired young man dressed casually left the office building, crossed the road lazily and walked into the opposite building.

The sun was sinking and the light and shadow of the road changed. The flow of people seemed to be weaving and the sun was gradually sinking in the west.

At dusk, the sky became colorful. Dim beauty submerged the entire city, passing by the hurried pedestrians and the always bustling cafe, dyeing the edge of the porcelain white coffee cups.

The man in the black coat left the office building while carrying a gift bag in his hand. He walked calmly across the road to the opposite side.

He walked into this building for the first time.

He followed the floor guide and the elevator stopped on the floor where the dental clinic was located.

He walked out of the elevator. The receptionist at the front desk heard the movement, looked up and asked politely, “Hello, do you have an appointment?”

It was overtime and only a few doctors were still busy in the consulting room. They were all dealing with patients with more complicated dental conditions.

At this point, it stood to reason that there should be no new guests coming.

Moreover, this gentleman didn’t bring a child with him. He didn’t look like the type of adult who would be afraid of ordinary doctors, plus he still had a gift in his hand.

Did he go to the wrong floor?

The receptionist was a bit curious in her heart while quietly admiring the handsome guy.

The unfamiliar visitor’s tone was very gentle. “I don’t have an appointment. I’m here to find someone.”

The receptionist nodded clearly. “Okay, which doctor or patient are you looking for? Several doctors have finished work already.”

He said, “I’m looking for Dr Chi.”

There was only one doctor called Chi here.

Thus, she answered quickly. “Dr Chi is in Room 8. You can see the guidance signs along this corridor. He should be able to leave work. You can wait in the rest area outside the consultation room.”

The unfamiliar man thanked her gently, turned and walked down the corridor.

At this time, the receptionist with nothing to do was staring at this back and the delicately packaged gift bag in his hand. He couldn’t help thinking that Dr Chi was worthy of being the most handsome dentist she had ever seen. Even his friend’s appearance was extraordinary and was very compatible with him.

Her eyes suddenly widened when she had this thought.

Dr Chi, whom many colleagues secretly had a crush on, just got married this year and it was without warning. He broke the hearts of several colleagues at once.

Everyone was given sweet marriage candy but no one had seen his other half. They only knew that his partner was a man. They never heard him take the initiative to mention his marriage partner.

…Was she the first person in the clinic to see him?!

Compared with the deserted front desk at the end of working hours, there were still lively human voices in several illuminated consultation rooms.

He Qiao walked to the vicinity of Consultation Room 8. The door wasn’t completely closed and a familiar voice was faintly heard.

But there was a hint of softness in it that was rarely heard on a daily basis.

Through the gap in the door, he saw Chi Xueyan wearing a white coat and a mask, revealing only a pair of beautiful eyes.

He seemed to have just solved a deeply hidden truth. He was explaining the precautions with the follow-up care to the relieved parents around him. The sobbing child was held in the arms of an adult but didn’t forget to wave goodbye to the gentle dentist.

The child kept waving at him, as if reluctant to part with him. However, the child also really wanted to leave this place with so many terrifying tools, so his eyes were full of struggle.

The smile in Chi Xueyan’s eyes intensified while the dusk outside the window dimmed.

Finally, he waved gently to the child and told him in a soft tone, “You need to brush your teeth well in the future. Goodbye.”

The child who just had his tooth pulled out looked back at Chi Xueyan and said vaguely, “I remember. Bye bye.”

He watched the parents leave with the child. Then he shifted his gaze to the door, just in time to see the waiting figure.

The assistant in the consultation room glimpsed the strange man standing at the door while packing up the tools and looked surprised. “This gentleman, you are here…”

Before the assistant could finish asking, Dr Chi interrupted with a smile. “This is my husband. He came to wait for me to go home.”

Thus, the assistant’s eyes involuntarily widened.

…I must be the first person in the whole clinic to see Dr Chi’s husband!

The assistant was in shock but was forced to end the overtime work together, losing the opportunity to watch as a light bulb.

It was because Dr Chi said he would take care of the rest.

Chi Xueyan cleaned up the consultation room alone while He Qiao waited quietly on the side.

He watched Chi Xueyan put on new rubber gloves and go to clean up the utensils and dental chair. The process was long and tedious but his expression was always serious.

He Qiao could see him in front of the window with a white coat every day but this was the first time he was seeing it up close.

There was a special feeling that was difficult to describe in words.

The only way he could describe it was that Chi Xueyan looked good in such an outfit, as if it should naturally be like this.

Dazzling red and clean white, wanton openness and focused tenderness.

It was just that the rare tenderness had very specific targets and had now been withdrawn very simply.

It made He Qiao even more obsessed with catching the phantom that remained in the air.

After cleaning up, Chi Xueyan finally took off his gloves and mask.

The tight rubber strangling the skin caused faint marks. The next second, it was thrown into the trash.

He lowered his head to wash his hands and his steps were still meticulous. The running water and foam flowed over his fingertips and his skin glowed slightly red. There was a pattering sound in the sink.

Behind him was a large dental chair restored to its original position, shiny and cold metal instruments and the smell of disinfectant alcohol.

Everything here was obviously clean but it was shrouded in the misty light at dusk. This neat order seemed to become chaotic and an instinctive desire grew in the reason that dominated everything.

He Qiao was trying to interrupt these foggy thoughts.

He suddenly asked, “Are adult guests accepted here?”

The receptionist of the dental clinic wasn’t surprised when seeing him come here alone.

“Yes, some adults will come to see a children’s dentist specifically because they think we have a more sympathetic attitude.

“There are a few colleagues who will see these patients, but my patients are only children. I never accept adults.”

After saying this, Chi Xueyan remembered something and joked, “Besides, you don’t need to see a dentist.”

“—Your teeth are very well taken care of.”

He said this on the day of the blind date and it was the first message he sent to He Qiao.

Both times were pure jokes.

But once their eyes met and the same sentence fell into the ears of the listener, it had a different meaning.

The curve of the tip of his teeth, the light-colored lips, the exchange of breath.

The fleeting dusk became more fragile and soft. It was gradually encroached by the light. Finally, the light could no longer illuminate the entire room and fell silently into the pure black corners of the coat.

Chi Xueyan wiped off the water stains on his hands and took off his white coat. As he approached He Qiao, he wasn’t aware of the dark color in He Qiao’s eyes and looked at the delicate gift bag.

“I seem to smell a very light fruit aroma.”

There should be fruit in the bag.

Chi Xueyan was sensitive to sweet smells. He didn’t smell it just from the gift bag. He also seemed to smell it from the other person.

The other person raised a hand to give him the bag and whispered, “They are strawberries that grew next to the stone pillow.”

It was what he had commented on at noon, the strawberry field that Ye Qing went to today.

During the brief period of astonishment, accompanied by He Qiao’s movements, Chi Xueyan keenly sensed that the smell had become stronger.

He laughed suddenly. “After the strawberries arrived, did you choose a box yourself?”

The voice of the person around him responded positively.

In the dark twilight, Chi Xueyan didn’t care. He thought about the logic of taste while turning off the lights, preparing to go home from work with the person waiting for him.

The aroma he smelled came from between He Qiao’s fingers and was a residual aftertaste that couldn’t be washed away.

Chi Xueyan stared down at the gift bag while thinking about the sweet taste of winter strawberries. Meanwhile, the person close to him was staring at him.

He Qiao watched the ends of the crimson hair that gently brushed across his white neck. The strong contrast in the dim light was like a raging tide.

It was like soft skin and cold stone.

An ambiguous distance and a clean room.

In addition, what he wanted to do and what he couldn’t do.