Chapter 14 - Dream

Under Ye Zheng’s request, Jiang Kezhou cooked four dishes and one soup that night. Ye Zheng paid a little attention, and he could see that it was all his favorite flavors. With hindsight, he tasted the long-lost and familiar taste of "being in the heart of others" in a table of home-cooked dishes. In just a few breaths, the heart that had leaked for many years seemed to have been quietly closed by the window, and for a while, the miserable wind and rain and the colorful colors were all isolated, leaving only a warm and calm sorrow.

　　Jiang Kezhou's craftsmanship is not top-notch, all he makes is homely dishes, and his only advantage is that "practice makes perfect." He was poor since children and cooking is not difficult for him. It's just that meals are taken in the cafeteria when they go to school, and the cooking skills are useless. Still after Jiang Kezhou graduated and moved out to live, sometimes Ye Zheng had too much socializing, he felt sick after drinking, and he was very picky. Jiang Kezhou couldn't help it. He couldn't watch him starve to death, so he slowly picked up the craft of cooking, and from then on he had another identity besides his bed partner, the cook.

　　Ye Zheng's meal was comfortable and heartwarming, but Jiang Kezhou didn't notice his subtle absence. After eating, Ye Zheng put the empty plate and the bowl together, and was about to take it to the kitchen, but was intercepted by Jiang Kezhou halfway: "I'll do it."

　　Ye Zheng let go unwillingly, looking quite acquainted with the bowls. A little reluctant, and those who didn't know thought he had a deep love for the dishwashing business.

　　It's not that he won't, it's just his family circumstances, he doesn't need to do anything at ordinary times, and someone takes care of his food, clothing, shelter, and transportation in an orderly manner. It was also after Jiang Kezhou moved into this house. One time when the TV was turned on during dinner, the two sat opposite each other under the lamp. It happened to hear a sentence floating in a certain series: “The cooks don’t wash the dishes, and the dishwashers don’t cooking."

　　Jiang Kezhou was inexplicably poked into a smile and laughed loudly.

　　Ye Zheng looked at him helplessly, struggled for a while, and said, "Okay, I know."

　　Since then, all the dishwashing work at home has fallen on Ye Zheng. Ye Zheng had never encountered this kind of situation. He thought about it carefully and thought that everything was to be attributed to the gentle atmosphere at that time, and the estrangement between the two was almost transparent. He is willing to put down his body to wash the dishes to make that person's rare smile keep a little more smile on his face.

　　In the past, Ye Zheng played with the princes, who was willing to smile with a bright smile; then now he condescends to wash two bowls, what's the big deal?

　　However, now Jiang Kezhou lowered his eyebrows and took the chopsticks from him. This polite gesture suddenly excluded him. The two people spent a few years, and finally built up a precarious warmth, but it fell back to its original point of ice and snow overnight.

　　The house is warm, and the lights are also warm, but once people's hearts are cold, what can be done to warm them up?

　　The phone that Jiang Kezhou put on the coffee table rang suddenly. He heard the ringing in the kitchen, and was about to wash out the foam in his hand, only to see Ye Zheng walk in with the phone. The caller ID on the screen was Su Da, and Ye Zheng asked, "Answer?"

　　Jiang Kezhou was stunned, nodding conditionedly, and Ye Zheng picked up the phone and put the receiver in his ear.

　　The kitchen has a lot of space, but two people stop here at the same time, they are inexplicably crowded. Especially Ye Zheng is standing behind him, holding the cooking table with one hand and holding the phone for him with the other. He is tall, as if holding him in his arms. This cognition made Jiang Kezhou's heart jump suddenly, and he was a little flustered for some reason. Just then Su Da's loud voice rang: "Hey, what have you been up to?"

　　Jiang Kezhou's half bowl of water was not steady, and all of it was poured on Ye Zheng's hand.

　　Ye Zheng: "..."

　　He raised his wet left hand, held someone's wrist that was hanging in the air, pushed it back under the faucet, and said to him: "Concentrate."

　　"Oh, yes. What? So?"

　　Suda heard the rushing water from his side, and said strangely: "What's going on in your place?"

　　"Cleaning the dishes, what can I do?" Jiang Kezhou washed the two bowls clean and started to wash the dishes. Ye Zheng is like a clingy large dog, leaning against his back from the ground, and listening to Su Da's call with him in silence.

　　"Isn't it almost the end of the year? A few old classmates contacted me two days ago, thinking about having a classmate reunion a year ago. A few of them were in S City in the past two years, and sometimes they got together, but there were not enough people. A lot of people who went abroad have come back this year and plan to save the overall situation. Are you coming?"

　　Jiang Kezhou: "Well, it's too cold, I'm lazy to move."

　　Su Da: "Oh, look at you. Just take a breath. Aren't you tired out?"

　　Jiang Kezhou: "You go and play, I don't know them well."

　　Su Da: "It doesn't matter if you are unfamiliar, you still have me, baby~"

　　Ye Zheng: "!!!!!"

　　Does this bastard treat him as dead?!

　　Ye Zong, who was secretly rubbing his hands in dissatisfaction, encircled Jiang Kezhou's waist and put his chin heavily into his shoulder socket.

　　Jiang Kezhou turned his head tiredly and lipped: "Don't make trouble."

　　He said to Su Da, "Stop the nonsense."

　　"Hey, the opportunity is rare, come and play," Su Da said enthusiastically, "This is all back then. The revolutionary friendship of copying homework together in class. I heard that Brother Xiang Xiaocao is back. If you don’t go, I will ask them to lift the big sedan chair to invite you in person."

　　Jiang Kezhou hesitated for a moment, it’s really not easy to reject his friend to save face, he had to compromise and said: "Okay, send me the time and address. Thanks for your hard work."

　　Su Da laughed and said, "What are you polite with me? That's it. You wait for my news."

　　Jiang Kezhou washed the dishes. Put the pan in the cupboard and wipe off any water stains on the countertop. Ye Zheng noticed that since he put down the phone, the corners of his eyes and eyebrows were gloomy, his gaze was sloppy and melancholy, like a daze and nostalgia. The kitchen is equipped with a warm yellow ceiling lamp. His profile is pale and clean under the light, but he looks tired, as if he is caught in the world of smoke and dust. He can see it through but can’t see it. He can only sink forever, unable to extricate himself from it.

　　Ye Zheng didn't want to disturb Jiang Kezhou when he was thinking about things, and followed him out of the kitchen. When he was about to clean up, he said, "After a day of tiredness, let's rest early."

　　Jiang Kezhou was called back to his soul by him, and then he realized that he had left Ye Zheng to the side for a long time. This kind of situation was very rare in the past. As long as Ye Zheng thinks about it, his presence will be strong enough to be aggressive. And he remembered that Ye Zheng really hated other people's inattentiveness when facing him. It was really not easy to tolerate him today.

　　"Oh, good." He promised, "Then you...?"

　　Ye Zheng sat on the sofa and urged: "Go take a shower, and I will leave when you sleep."

　　Jiang Kezhou subconsciously wanted to refuse, but he was rejected by him. An eye knife nailed it and couldn't open his mouth anymore, so he turned around and went into the bathroom.

　　He was indeed very tired today, and Ye Zheng had tossed him with him, presumably it couldn't be easier. Jiang Kezhou quickly took a shower and climbed onto the bed, hoping that Ye Zheng would leave quickly. In a place like the bedroom, he was somewhat afraid of Ye Zheng, after all, he had the most memories here, and some of them were not pleasant.

　　The mattress is heavy and sunken down slightly. Ye Zheng turned off the bedside lamp and stared at Jiang Kezhou's face in the dim darkness. Even if he couldn't see clearly, he could still feel that he was deliberately shrinking back. He endured and endured, finally did not hold back, and asked: "Are you that afraid of me?"

　　Jiang Kezhou immediately stopped moving.

　　"Forget it," Ye Zheng regretted as soon as he spoke, and said, "Go to sleep."

　　Jiang Kezhou suddenly said, "Thank you."

　　Ye Zheng said without any emotional ups and downs, "I have already eaten the meal, so you don't need to say it a second time. "

　　Jiang Kezhou seems to be short to laugh, paused for a long, he said: "Not only you are helping me ah, in aong time I was probably…. been blocked by someone..."

　　He is really not good at expressing feelings straightforwardly, and his words are obscure. For a long time, he didn't show his sincerity, pulling out the sparks with a little body temperature from a handful of embers, for him, it was tantamount to cutting open his heart and placing it under the bright sky. Ye Zheng didn't know the struggle behind his words, but for the first time he heard such a coquettish expression of weakness from Jiang Kezhou's mouth. Like a cat who refused to be touched or hugged thousands of miles away, finally lowered his head and let people touch his ears, opening his territory to him—

　　Tonight's cold wind, doubt and the endless anxiety suddenly has meaning.

　　Ye Zheng patted him lightly through the quilt, leaned down and leaned close to his ear, sniffing at the back of his ear and neck, lingering and burning like a lover's whisper, and his voice was extremely low: "No thanks, baby."

　　Jiang Kezhou that had just been relaxed had no time to retreat, this person took advantage of it. Half of his body was suddenly numb, the alarm bell in his mind was loud, and he was about to avoid, but a gentle kiss that was extremely restrained suddenly landed on his forehead.

　　"Don't hide," Ye Zheng sounded with a smile, "Just this time, I won't bother you."

　　"I will be on a business trip tomorrow, and let Xiao Liu pick you up for two days. Don't be blocked when you go to work." He slowly pulled the quilt up to Jiang Kezhou’s shoulders, “As for the classmates’ reunion, you can go to relax if you want to go, and don't go if you don't want to. I don’t force you. So no one can force you. There is no need to give them face.”

　　“Okay, go to sleep. I'll be with you."

　　Insomnia is an old problem of Jiang Kezhou. In severe cases, even the ticking of the wall clock and stopwatch can make him unable to sleep. After following Ye Zheng, he actually improved a lot. In most cases, it is exhausting and just close his eyes and fall asleep; or when he is sleeping with a quilt, he will be hugged by Ye Zheng when he turn over a few times, and follow his back one by one, like a noisy child. Maybe if someone is with you, knowing you are safe subconsciously, you will soon fall asleep in a daze.

　　He don't know if Ye Zheng's sleeping pill has turned into a fine. A few minutes ago, Jiang Kezhou felt that his mood was too fluctuating, for fear that he would not be able to sleep at night. After a few minutes, he was too sleepy to open his eyes.

　　Ye Zheng sat motionless in the dark, until he was sure that he was asleep, he left the bedroom lightly, closed the door and locked it.

　　On the way back to his residence, he called the driver to arrange the schedule, vaguely concerned and finally took shape in the open long night and thousands of bright lights.

　　In the car audio that he turned on, the singer flowed with familiar tunes-

　　"How to love, unfortunately, it is never recorded in the book.

　　I finally figured it out but the years do not return.

　　I don't come back. I missed the spring, but the flowers will bloom again.

　　Thousands of loves need to be irrigated by tears of love, and the withered tenderness will grow back in the end."