Chapter 64
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“Qiu Qiu, Merry Christmas.”
The man’s words were like the lightest feather, soft and gentle, causing Rong Qiu’s eyelashes to flutter.
Rong Qiu blinked.
Besides Rong Qin, he was the second person to wish him Merry Christmas.
Rong Qiu didn’t know what to think. He looked down, and the atmosphere seemed good. The metallic surface of the pen in the man’s palm emitted a faint blue glow, contrasting against the backdrop of the green pine tree wrapped in red and gold ribbons. The faint blue light was like a dazzling focal point, instantly capturing Rong Qiu’s full attention.
“This pen…”
Rong Qiu paused, but didn’t say anything.
Six years ago, he had given this pen to Qin Muye, never expecting to see it in front of him again. After six years, it was still the same old pen. Perhaps it had been thrown away by Qin Muye long ago.
But no, here it was, reappearing in front of him.
Rong Qiu glanced up at Qin Muye, and the expression on his face finally softened a bit.
“I thought this pen was broken a long time ago, or that you had lost it.”
Looking at the pen in the man’s palm, Rong Qiu didn’t reach out to take it.
What he didn’t know was that his words made Qin Muye feel heavy-hearted.
He had indeed lost this pen.
He had even forgotten about losing it.
It wasn’t until he gave Rong Qiu a pen on his birthday six years later that Rong Qiu’s obvious reaction reminded him that Rong Qiu had once given him a similar gift. However, the old pen had been thrown into the trash along with his phone.
He couldn’t remember the specific day he threw the pen and phone into the trash, nor could he recall the exact emotions at the time. He only remembered that when the two things entered the trash can, he didn’t feel as relieved as he had expected.
This uneasy feeling had persisted until now.
When Rong Qiu looked at him and didn’t reach out to take the pen in his hand, his simmering emotions reached their peak.
By now, Qin Muye’s entire body had gone numb, the throbbing pain like a twisting knife long replaced by the long-lasting pain of boiling water. No matter how many more stings Rong Qiu’s words brought, they were just adding more fuel to the fire under the big pot.
Qin Muye’s palms were covered with a thick layer of sweat.
Luckily, with this thin layer of gloves, he covered up the frostbite on his palms and blocked the fine heat and moisture of his palms.
He didn’t know what to say, or what he could say to ease the distance between him and Rong Qiu. He could feel that Rong Qiu didn’t reject him as much as before, but the distance between their hearts was still very far.
Rong Qiu had built a tall wall in his mental world, with himself inside and him outside.
He couldn’t violently dismantle this wall.
But letting this wall stand between them would only make him more miserable.
Was there still room for redemption between him and Rong Qiu?
Initially, it was he who inflicted profound pain upon Rong Qiu. Now, all of this is what he deserves. All he can do is stand on the other side of the high wall, watching day by day, guarding night by night, waiting for Rong Qiu’s sudden appearance.
Once again, it was a pang of pain.
Qin Muye suppressed all his complex emotions. When he spoke again, his voice was somewhat heavy, but still exceptionally magnetic.
“Take it. This item belongs to its original owner now.”
With that said, Qin Muye’s hand, which was previously holding the pen, shifted to delicately flicking the pen with his fingertips. He slightly lowered his hand, his expression melancholic as he gently inserted the pen into Rong Qiu’s pocket. The movement was light, as if afraid of disturbing someone in a dream.
Having completed this action, Qin Muye instinctively and modestly took a step back. “Alright, I should go now.”
Rong Qiu was still looking down at the pen in his pocket. Just as he was about to offer it back, the tall man had already walked away briskly, his erect figure gradually disappearing. Rong Qiu’s hand lightly slipped into his pocket, feeling the familiar texture. He nodded, then suddenly smiled faintly.
***
The next morning.
The winter dawn filtered in through the thick curtains, scattering beams of light like well-combed strands of white hair, long and straight, spreading everywhere.
Rong Qiu stretched lazily and walked to the window to open it.
The snow outside still hadn’t melted.
The outdoor temperature was too low; even with various impurities added, it couldn’t effectively raise the melting point of the snow. So, the Thirteenth Military District simply let the snow pile up on the side, while simultaneously increasing snow removal efforts for the roads. The original single lane had been expanded to a double lane, and gradually evolved into the current six lanes. Traffic had finally started to return to normal.
The snow on the coat was too bright, causing Rong Qiu to squint.
In the hospital room, Rong Qin had already gotten up early. He was sitting in a wheelchair, neatly dressed. Rong Qiu was afraid Rong Qin would feel cold, so a thick blanket was hung beside the wheelchair to prevent him from being frozen by the cold wind when they left the hospital later.
The things they needed to take had already been packed up the night before. Rong Qin didn’t have much. After counting them, it turned out that what Rong Qin valued most was surprisingly the small apple Rong Qiu had given him. He even wished he could hold it in his hands all the time. Rong Qiu had more belongings: a change of clothes, a water bottle, a lunch box, and finally, a medium-sized briefcase containing his design sketches, and the old pen returned to him by the alpha.
The pen’s nib seemed to have been repaired, it didn’t look like this before.
But Rong Qiu didn’t mind.
Some things were just mementos of the past and wouldn’t occupy much space in his future life.
Lastly, there was a slightly withered bouquet of golden roses on the table.
This was placed on his car handle on Christmas Eve.
In the snowy landscape, there was such a dazzling yellow. Even though it had now turned black and burnt, Rong Qiu still liked and cherished it.
But this bouquet of flowers couldn’t be taken away.
He threw the empty flower branches into the nearby trash can, wiped the white vase clean, put it in the storage box, and took it away.
Having completed all this, it was already half past nine.
Today, Zhao Nanchen had to go to work. He had previously taken all the leave to cook for the Rong brothers. Now, there was no more leave to take. He only said he would make a big meal for them after work to celebrate Rong Qin’s smooth discharge from the hospital and the successful reunion of the Rong brothers.
Rong Qiu didn’t disappoint Zhao Nanchen’s kindness.
Moreover, in order to take better care of Rong Qin, he decided to move back to the original villa.
The sun was shining outside, but it was still freezing cold, with temperatures below zero. Rong Qiu drove cautiously, having learned from Rong Qin’s accident. When he returned home, it was already eleven o’clock.
The villa was still the same, clean and tidy.
The property fees in this area were high, so naturally, they were well-maintained. The snow outside was also cleaned spotlessly. There was a two-meter-wide clean path between the front door and the four-meter-wide main road, which was better than the few tens of centimeters of the path outside the small high-rise apartment he used to live in.
He didn’t have to worry about shoveling snow; that made Rong Qiu feel a bit relieved.
As he pushed Rong Qin into the door, they passed by a flower garden of about ten square meters.
Previously, he had planted rose seeds in this secluded area and even set up a greenhouse for those seedlings. Now, it seemed that this greenhouse was no longer the one he had personally built. The one he built was neat and tidy, like tofu cut with a knife, while this one was crooked and twisted, presenting a shaky trapezoidal shape.
Rong Qiu glanced at it for a moment.
But he didn’t pay much attention.
It was just a bit strange.
He just thought about rebuilding it after the weather cleared.
From the temporary garage to Rong Qiu’s villa, it was only a few hundred meters away. Rong Qin had already sneezed several times while sitting in the wheelchair. When they arrived at the doorstep, Rong Qiu didn’t dare to delay and immediately unlocked the door with his fingerprint.
Since the central heating had been turned on in advance, the house was warm and cozy.
Putting everything down, Rong Qiu didn’t bother to tidy up and immediately ordered a meal to solve the lunch problem for both of them.
After the meal, Rong Qiu tidied up a guest room on the ground floor for Rong Qin. Rong Qin’s legs were inconvenient now, so the ground floor was more convenient.
Rong Qin had no objections. He watched Rong Qiu running up and down to help him move things, seeing Rong Qiu so busy that he didn’t even notice the cuffs of his leisure pants falling down, and stumbling with each step. Rong Qin felt both warm and distressed. This was his brother, so obedient and obedient. He wished he could watch him all the time, his dear brother who he couldn’t love enough.
While Rong Qin napped in the afternoon, Rong Qiu cleaned the remaining areas of the villa.
He had a slight obsession with cleanliness, and since no one had lived in the villa for so long, he scrubbed the floors until they gleamed, cleaning every corner and crevice of dust. Finally, he took out two big bags of trash.
When he came back, he glanced at his little flower garden.
The thermal insulation greenhouse looked a bit ugly.
Still quite strange.
Rong Qiu glanced at it again.
It was a bit chilly outside, with temperatures below freezing, and the sun was of no use. Each of Rong Qiu’s breaths formed a large and distinct white mist. Despite this, Rong Qiu still slowly walked to the nearby gravel path. Technically, this flower garden was his private area, and the property management wouldn’t help clean it. Yet now, it was cleaned spotlessly, without a trace of snow.
But just as he threw away the trash, Rong Qiu’s nose turned red from the cold. He took a breath, but what filled his lungs was the icy chill. Rong Qiu took a deep breath and bent down to inspect the plants in the greenhouse.
He didn’t hold much hope.
On such a cold day, even with a greenhouse, those seedlings might still wither.
However, what caught his eye was not complete desolation.
In the area where the seeds were sown initially, a small portion of the seedlings had completely died, while the remaining half still looked green. Although the stems were thin and somewhat shaky, they were still alive.
Rong Qiu inexplicably felt a joy.
To see such greenery in this winter, especially when it was the result of his own hand-seeding and greenhouse construction, brought him more joy than buying a bouquet of expensive golden roses from a flower shop.
He didn’t dare to look for too long, fearing that the cold outside would seep in, so he quickly closed the greenhouse tightly. However, the outer shell of the greenhouse was too cold. Just lifting and closing it again made his hands almost numb from the cold.
It seemed that the cold wave in the Thirteenth Military District was indeed not exaggerated.
During this period, the news broadcast in the 13th district had been reporting on this disaster.
The cold wave came fiercely, and if it weren’t for the preparations made by the cadres and the people from top to bottom in the Thirteenth Military District, the Thirteenth Military District might have experienced the same tragic situation as the last cold wave. However, even so, this cold wave had still greatly affected the lives of the people on the main star, U Star.
In the evening, Zhao Nanchen cooked a large table of dishes, and the three of them sat around the TV watching the military news of the Thirteenth Military District.
Rong Qiu and Rong Qin didn’t work in the military district, so they didn’t know much about what had happened during this time. Zhao Nanchen was undoubtedly the first witness to the cold wave.
“The news is not exaggerated at all. I was sent to work in another district a few days ago, and the snow there was much heavier than in our district. Let alone whether the snowplow could pass through, when I walked over, the snow could bury me up to my shoulders.”
The snow in the Thirteenth Military District was dry and soft, and it wouldn’t melt at all.
Zhao Nanchen had seen a colleague accidentally drop his phone into the snow about half a meter away from them. His colleague didn’t mind at all. He dug a hole in the snow, dug deeper and deeper, until he was almost buried in the snow, before finally retrieving the phone.
Fortunately, the cold wave was gradually passing. As long as they endured for another week, such cold weather would be far away from them.
Rong Qiu suddenly began to miss the winters that weren’t so cold before, when he could pilot his mech.
Unlike now, even if he was itching to do so, he couldn’t take his personal mech out for a stroll. Although the materials used in his personal mech were advanced and sturdy, they weren’t as cold-resistant as the military mechs. After the temperature dropped below ten degrees Celsius, it was best not to let his personal mech out.
After dinner, Rong Qiu was supposed to do the dishes.
But Rong Qiu didn’t feel like moving.
Zhao Nanchen had contributed his culinary skills today, and the three of them had finished the dishes cleanly. Considering that Rong Qin was injured, there wasn’t even any alcohol on the table, only oat milk as a substitute. Even Rong Qiu, rarely, had eaten too much, or more accurately, drank too much oat milk. There was no other way. Zhao Nanchen had a sweet mouth and kept wishing him and Rong Qin well, which made Rong Qiu gradually lose himself.
Now, Rong Qin, Rong Qiu, and Zhao Nanchen were lying neatly on the sofa, ignoring the comfortable actions of rubbing their bellies. They were like three standard lazy fish.
However, their idle fish life was quickly interrupted.
At nine thirty-five in the evening, someone rang the doorbell of Rong Qiu’s villa.
“Who’s there so late?” Zhao Nanchen, the lowest-ranking person, went to open the door consciously, only to find his own elder brother standing outside.
“Brother, why are you here?! Aren’t you supposed to go back to the First Military Hospital to handle the affairs of the clinic?”
Zhao Dongqi entered, dusty and wind-blown, his nose and ears already reddened from the cold, with a large suitcase trailing behind him. Upon hearing his arrival, Rong Qiu immediately straightened his posture. As for Rong Qin, he remained slumped on the sofa.
Rong Qiu put on slippers and greeted him, “Dr. Zhao, come in quickly, it’s so cold outside.”
Zhao Dongqi was polite but obedient. He was indeed freezing. Before the cold wave, he had gone back to the First Military Hospital for some clinic matters. Unexpectedly, this cold wave was far worse than described online. He had just come down from the starship, and even though he was wearing the thickest down jacket, he was still shivering.
Rong Qiu made him a bowl of hot ginger tea, with plenty of brown sugar and spicy ginger.
Drinking the tea made Zhao Dongqi break out in a sweat. His blocked nose finally cleared up after drinking a large bowl of tea, and he could finally speak properly.
His first concern was whether Zhao Nanchen was doing well.
He couldn’t tell from the phone, and Zhao Nanchen had a naive temperament and didn’t know the severity of the situation. Zhao Dongqi was worried about him.
And now, seeing Zhao Nanchen with his shirt sleeves rolled up, showing off his robust muscles, Zhao Dongqi didn’t need to ask much to know that his younger brother was doing extremely well here.
Facing Rong Qiu and Rong Qin, Zhao Dongqi straightened his back and nodded solemnly, expressing his gratitude, “Thank you for taking care of Nanchen during this time. If you need me in the future, just let me know.”
If only Rong Qin was present, Zhao Dongqi wouldn’t apologize so seriously. He was very familiar with Rong Qin and had been close friends for many years. Now, he was thanking Rong Qiu.
“Don’t be so polite.” Rong Qin remembered something when he saw his friend come over and finally remembered, “Have I not told you yet?”
“Told me what?”
Rong Qin looked proud as he gently patted Rong Qiu’s shoulder, “This is my younger brother.”
Zhao Dongqi was inexplicably puzzled, “I know.”
Recognized as a little brother.
Rong Qin treated Rong Qiu well, and he had known this five years ago. Otherwise, Rong Qin, who least liked to owe favors, wouldn’t have begged him five years ago to perform memory-clearing hypnosis for Rong Qiu.
Rong Qin shook his head, his eyes almost disdainful, “My brother, my blood brother, legally confirmed by paternity testing.”
“???”
A long time had passed, with no repetition of words. When Rong Qiu returned from washing dishes, Rong Qin had already laid out new praises for him. Rong Qiu changed the hot water for them, but after listening for only three to five seconds, he couldn’t help but curl his toes. He felt really embarrassed, as he was thin-skinned, and being praised in front of someone made his ears turn red long ago.
But Rong Qin was very happy.
Rong Qiu was the treasure he had worked hard to find, and he wanted to show him off to the whole world.
But where was he? When he was free, he wanted to organize all his assets properly. Some assets were not appropriate to be in Qin Zexi’s name anymore. He had such a good Qiuqiu; he should give everything to Qiuqiu.
Perhaps because Zhao Dongqi was also an older brother.
Rong Qin had encountered Zhao Dongqi, so his little brother complex was completely developed.
Several times, Zhao Dongqi made excuses to go to the bathroom, but Rong Qin dragged him back each time. Later, when Zhao Dongqi finally went to the bathroom, he was pushed out in a wheelchair by Rong Qin in a few minutes.
“Are you okay? Come out quickly, let’s continue chatting. Now, tell me how you usually accompany your younger brother?” Rong Qin eagerly asked.
In the bathroom, Zhao Dongqi, holding a tissue, had black lines all over his head.
Outside, Zhao Nanchen couldn’t help but stifle a laugh.
Rong Qiu couldn’t stand Rong Qin’s praise for him any longer, so he went upstairs blushing to draw design sketches.
Zhao Dongqi remained in the bathroom, and Rong Qin grabbed onto Zhao Nanchen without letting go.
“What do you think your brother usually does? What do you think he’s best at?”
Zhao Nanchen honestly replied, “Give me living expenses, not force me to study hard, allow me to play games.”
But Rong Qin carefully recalled Rong Qiu’s living conditions. Rong Qiu didn’t lack living expenses; he didn’t need to be pushed to study hard because he was already diligent, like now, going upstairs to draw mechanical design sketches. Moreover, Rong Qiu didn’t even have a hobby of playing games.
His only hobby was operating mechas.
Should he give Qiuqiu a limited edition mecha?
But that would be redundant since Qiuqiu himself was the chief mecha designer of the Thirteenth Military District.
Previously, when he offered the villa and assets, Rong Qiu had already refused. Rong Qin couldn’t think of anything to give Rong Qiu now; his mindset was one of compensation, wanting to give Rong Qiu everything. If Rong Qiu had asked him for something, it would have been even better.
But he didn’t.
Rong Qiu had never asked him for anything from beginning to end. Instead, he gave him a small apple.
The apple was still in Rong Qin’s pocket.
Rong Qin fell into contemplation.
He simply chatted with Zhao Nanchen.
As they chatted, they talked about the scene where Zhao Nanchen and Rong Qiu first met.
Rong Qin had always thought that the two had met through Zhao Dongqi’s introduction. Unexpectedly, there was still such a period of unfamiliarity between them before that at the cemetery.
“Before, I knew that Qiuqiu was persistent in buying cemetery plots. Why did you want to buy a cemetery plot?”
“Of course, it’s to have a place to be buried after death,” Zhao Dongqi replied.
“But Qiuqiu bought a double grave. Why did you want to compete with him?” Rong Qin caught on sensitively. “You have a partner, otherwise why buy a double plot?!”
“Partner? What partner?”
Zhao Dongqi, who had just come out of the bathroom with wet hands, walked towards Zhao Nanchen upon hearing this, his expression somewhat serious but also somewhat fatherly and relieved. “Nanchen, do you have a partner? When are you bringing them back to let your brother see?”
Zhao Nanchen looked puzzled, “I don’t have a partner.”
“Then why did you buy a double grave?”
“I thought that my brother definitely won’t have a partner, so I bought a double grave. If my brother and I are buried together after death, maybe we can be brothers in the next life.”
“Pfft…”
Rong Qin didn’t want to laugh, but he couldn’t help it. He thought that if he laughed, his good friend Zhao Dongqi might end their friendship, no, he would definitely end their friendship.
But after trying to hold back for three to five seconds…
“Hahaha…” Rong Qin burst into laughter.
Zhao Dongqi’s face had already turned black, and he didn’t know what to say. At this moment, all words were less effective than a good beating.
He couldn’t believe his good little brother had cursed him to be single for the rest of his life, and then had bought a double grave so he can be buried with this annoying thing in the future. Wasn’t this making him restless for the rest of his life?
Zhao Dongqi beat him severely.
He took out all the anger he would have to endure in the next life.
The whole villa was in chaos, and Rong Qiu in the study on the second floor was stunned. He had vaguely heard what had happened, and found it funny after hearing it all.
Rong Qiu felt that Zhao Nanchen deserved this beating.
And he felt that this kind of energy was quite nice.
If it could last forever, that would be great.
***
When he was at home, Rong Qiu wasn’t too busy.
Rong Qiu’s research institute was solely responsible by him, but he was currently in the drawing stage, so he didn’t need to use the institute’s experimental instruments. Rong Qiu spent six hours a day drawing in the study, and the rest of the time he spent taking care of Rong Qin downstairs.
Rong Qin tactfully suggested whether they should hire a caregiver to take care of him.
At that time, Rong Qiu was cooking. Hearing this, he looked at Rong Qin in the wheelchair outside the kitchen door with a puzzled expression, “Am I not taking good care of you?”
“No, no,” Rong Qin explained immediately, “I’m afraid I’m delaying your work, Qiuqiu.”
Rong Qiu shook his head gently. He used a public chopstick to dip into the soup in the pot and tasted it, “No. I’m also very relaxed doing this.”
Rong Qiu spoke the truth. Taking care of Rong Qin was much more comfortable than being fully immersed in experiments. When Rong Qiu was still at the mech research institute, because there were no assistants and the experimental period was shortened, all the experiments and data acquisition were fully entrusted to him alone, and at that time, he lived entirely in the research institute.
Now he is much freer.
After all, the research institute doesn’t belong to the government. As long as he produces experimental results within the time frame he sets for himself, it’s fine.
Rong Qiu was content.
The taste of pork and corn soup was very good, with the meaty flavor complemented by the sweetness of corn. Rong Qiu served Rong Qin a small bowl, not too much, fearing that if Rong Qin drank the soup, he wouldn’t be able to eat lunch.
Rong Qin took a sip and suddenly raised his thumb.
Then, Rong Qin skillfully took out his phone from beside the wheelchair and started taking photos of the soup that was both visually appealing and delicious.
Rong Qin’s social media was now filled with updates about his recovery process or what could be called “showing off his younger brother.” Rong Qiu’s figure never appeared in any of the posts, but Rong Qin’s flaunting was beyond words.
【Today’s soup is really good, Qiuqiu’s cooking skills are amazing~】
Rong Qin’s voluntary army was now on the right track. He held online meetings during the day, and now was the time when he left the meeting room. His subordinates were already used to seeing the boss’s updates at this time and naturally praised his excellent cooking skills in the comments.
Rong Qin watched with delight, feeling as if he were in a honey-filled dream.
Then he saw Qin Muye’s comment—
【Qin Muye: Very nice】
Though only two simple words, Rong Qin could easily taste the bitterness in Qin Muye’s comment.
Qin Muye was indeed having a hard time now, but who could he blame?
Rong Qin pretended not to see it and waited until he finished dealing with his phone. By then, the temperature of the pork soup in the bowl had dropped to just the right level, with the meat stewed to the point of being tender and falling off the bone, and the corn retaining its golden, tender, and sweet taste. This small bowl was worth more than gold.
Rong Qin sipped the soup gently, feeling satisfied.
***
On the fifth day after Christmas, Rong Qin’s little apple finally couldn’t hold on.
The indoor temperature was very suitable, which accelerated the drying and rotting of the little apple. Throughout the day, Rong Qin’s expression was particularly gloomy, and his cold expression during meetings made his subordinates suspect that there was a problem with the data.
Even Rong Qiu noticed Rong Qin’s unusual behavior.
Upon asking, he learned that the apple was about to spoil.
Rong Qiu counted the days, realizing that the apple should have spoiled by now, but Rong Qin’s reaction caught him off guard.
Although it was just a spoiled apple, Rong Qin seemed as if his beloved treasure had been destroyed. Watching Rong Qin staring at a rotten apple, unable to eat his lunch, Rong Qiu sighed helplessly. While taking out the trash in the evening, he went to the nearby small supermarket.
The owner of the supermarket recognized him and skillfully handed him a pack of cigarettes.
“No need, I’m not taking cigarettes today.”
“Are you quitting smoking?”
“…More or less.”
Rong Qiu walked around the shelves, picked up a bag of fresh red apples, and brought them to the checkout counter. This supermarket was not small, and it had everything from daily necessities to stationery and accessories. During checkout, Rong Qiu’s gaze lingered on a keychain with glass apples.
“Do you want this? It’s free, I’ll give it to you.”
Rong Qiu wanted to pay, but the owner refused, saying, “It’s nothing, just consider it a thank you.”
Rong Qiu was puzzled.
The owner smiled, “Last time when my supermarket had a shipment, it was thanks to your help.”
Rong Qiu remembered.
That time, there was a problem with the experiment at the mech research institute, and it was a bit tricky. When he got home, he was still thinking about the institute’s affairs. Since there were no cigarettes at home, he came to buy some, and he ended up helping unloading a whole cart of goods.
Such a small thing made the owner remember it for so long.
But the owner smiled again, “The people living in this area are all alphas with family backgrounds. None of them care about a small supermarket, and even fewer are willing to lend a hand.”
Rong Qiu smiled too, even though he felt it was nothing significant.
In the end, Rong Qiu returned home with a bag of apples and a keychain with a slightly pinkish glass apple.
Rong Qin’s mood had calmed down a bit, but only a bit. His mood improved slightly when he saw Rong Qiu pushing the door open.
Rong Qiu asked Rong Qin for the spoiled apple.
Rarely did Rong Qin not want to go along with Rong Qiu’s wishes, but he still handed it over to Rong Qiu.
Rong Qiu looked at the small apple in his palm.
If he didn’t throw it away soon, its sourness would ferment into a foul smell.
Seeing that Rong Qiu seemed to want to throw away the apple, Rong Qin was so stimulated that he trembled slightly. Rong Qiu didn’t notice. He just gently placed the apple behind him and handed Rong Qin a bag of apples, along with the crystal glass keychain.
“If Brother wants it, I’ll always buy it for Brother. That was just the first one, and it won’t be the last.”
In the end, Rong Qiu still didn’t throw away the spoiled apple.
Rong Qin seemed to have a fixation on that apple.
Rong Qiu carefully extracted the still intact seeds from inside the apple and promised Rong Qin to plant them in the flowerbed outside the villa when spring came.
Rong Qin was moved to tears, but then he remembered something and reminded Rong Qiu in a low voice, “The flowers in the flowerbed outside are Qiuqiu’s, let’s plant them in the soil by the fence gate.”
Looking at Rong Qin, who was like a child, Rong Qiu finally smiled, “That’s fine. But the flowers in my flowerbed might not necessarily grow well.”
“Who says so? Qiuqiu’s flowers will definitely grow well.”
***
Rong Qiu didn’t hold much hope for Rong Qin’s inexplicable confidence.
This wasn’t his first time planting roses, but the climate in the Thirteenth Military District was not as mild as that in the 1st Military District. Summers were hotter, and winters were colder. The seeds he had planted in the 1st Military District had all sprouted, with sturdy branches indicating they were ready to bloom. Unfortunately, he had left in a hurry back then, and the house in the 1st Military District was sold to someone else so quickly. He didn’t know how those flowers were doing now.
Now, the latest batch of flower seeds he had planted in the Thirteenth Military District, even if the seedlings were alive, looked wilted.
Rong Qiu didn’t hold much hope. So, he only went out again to check on the condition of the seedlings in the flower garden when the weather was a few degrees warmer.
The seedlings still looked wilted, and the entire plant couldn’t be described as sturdy. However, it seemed a bit larger than before, a bit thicker too, with a few new leaves sprouting out. Overall, it was different from a few days ago.
Maybe this time he could really manage to grow another batch.
A subtle hope emerged, and Rong Qiu noticed that there seemed to be something different.
The color of the soil seemed different from before.
Last time, just a few days ago when he came to see, the surface of the soil was slightly white, showing signs of dehydration. But now, when he looked again, the soil was thoroughly wet, emitting the fertile scent of black soil.
Rong Qiu pressed his fingertips against it.
The soil was different too.
This wasn’t the original soil in his flowerbed.
He planted flowers as he pleased, watering them when necessary, and building a greenhouse for the seedlings in winter was already a rare occurrence. He wouldn’t bother with changing the soil.
So, who—
Had rebuilt his greenhouse and also thoughtfully changed the soil and watered it.
When he got home, he checked the outdoor surveillance.
From the first day he left this villa, when he left, and later when Rong Qin occasionally came back to stay, until Rong Qin stopped coming back, the villa remained empty for a long time.
Until…
A particularly tall figure, one that Rong Qiu felt familiar with, appeared in his line of sight.
The man stepped on the knee-high snow, leaving a row of solid footprints along the not-so-wide road, connecting the road to the small nursery in his yard.
Why would he appear outside his villa?
Soon, Rong Qiu knew the answer. But his pupils shrank, and he watched as the man reached out to remove the snow from the half-collapsed greenhouse. The snow was so thick on the greenhouse that brushing it off with his hands was futile, so the man had to dig with his hands. It took who knows how long for him to pile up the heavy snow to one side, leaving behind the semi-collapsed greenhouse.
The following scene felt like a silent movie from ancient times.
The man clumsily supported the entire greenhouse, seemingly dissatisfied. He adjusted it left and right for a long time before finally achieving the strange appearance that Rong Qiu saw now.
***
But Rong Qiu’s little seedlings were dying.
Because of the extremely cold weather, the prolonged low temperatures made even the tall trees along the roadside almost unable to bear it. The delicate seedlings were too fragile, showing signs of withering and frostbite.
Rong Qiu noticed it quickly. Perhaps it could be said that after he finished watching all the videos related to someone in the villa, Rong Qiu silently focused on this small nursery outside.
Now, Rong Qiu looked at the dwindling seedlings, closed the curtain of the greenhouse, and sighed quietly.
Perhaps this effort would still be in vain.
Rong Qin, who paid great attention to Rong Qiu’s mental health, keenly noticed Rong Qiu’s change of mood. He seemed absent-minded when he got up for breakfast in the morning, and despite the cold weather outside, he still went out to tinker with his small garden.
“What’s wrong with the small garden outside? Do you need to bring any of the flowers back in?” Rong Qin asked casually, remembering that there were no flowers in the small garden outside Rong Qiu’s villa.
Rong Qiu shook his head. “No.”
“Then don’t go out too much. In this weather, your ears will freeze in just a few minutes. Be careful, Qiuqiu, don’t freeze your hands.”
When it came to frozen hands, Rong Qiu lowered his head.
Although he shouldn’t think about it, he couldn’t help but think of those hands covered in frostbite.
The next day, Rong Qiu, with mixed feelings, opened the recent recordings again.
Unexpectedly, the man appeared again last night.
He stood outside for a long time, then left.
Rong Qiu became increasingly irritated.
To drive away these unspeakable thoughts, Rong Qiu deliberately ordered a bouquet of golden roses online. Looking at the bouquet of roses on the study desk, Rong Qiu stayed up unusually late. It was past one in the morning, and he still hadn’t slept. The desk was filled with intricate sketches. He had roughly drawn the outline of the new mech, but there were still a few small details to fill in. Without a doubt, he would have to stay up late tonight.
Past one in the morning, Rong Qiu went downstairs to fetch water.
To dispel the faint drowsiness, he even washed his face with cold water from the kitchen.
As he turned around, he suddenly noticed a figure swaying on the terrace.
Qin Muye was bending down. He wasn’t wearing gloves, afraid that gloves would inconvenience him in digging the soil, so he gently removed the almost withered seedling. His hands, red from the cold, held a new seedling, ready to be planted in the pit. The moonlight and the snow-white color in front of him instantly faded away, replaced by the bright light of the terrace lamp and a slender figure.
Qin Muye froze suddenly.
Realizing something, he looked up.
He saw someone he thought had already fallen asleep suddenly appear in front of him.
Rong Qiu was wearing warm and comfortable white plush pajamas, holding a cup of steaming water in his hands. His clear and gentle face showed a touch of gentleness and clarity, but his eyes were clearer than the snowy night.
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