HMPS: Chapter 17 Part 3

The second person perspective story was flowing like water.

“You used to have the best parents. They loved each other and went through the hardest days of their lives together. They really loved each other and loved you, so you never felt that life was hard at that time.”

“It is a pity that once everything was about to improve, your mother, who had been in poor health since childhood, fell ill and died. You were left with only a father who couldn’t hide his grief, but still had to support you.”

“You started to depend on your father. In fact, you fully understand him and understand the meals he accidentally burnt when talking on the phone, you understand that he forgot to make sure he dried your socks in the sunlight and understand all the fuss in life because you both miss the one who left.”

“Then three years later, your father started to become successful and asked you if you wanted a new mother. He said he wanted to find someone to take care of you.”

“Every father who wants to remarry says this. In addition, every stranger who stays out of the matter will come up to you with a mysterious look and tell you that as long as you have a stepmother, it is equivalent to having a stepfather.”

“Your stepmother is an elegant woman. She buys you toys and affectionately asks what you want to play with. She is bright and beautiful. She can’t cook but she knows art. She looks better suited to stand by your current father than your haggard and thin mother in the black and white picture frame.”

“So you reached out and accepted the toy she gave.”

“Later, you had a younger brother and your magnificent home was full of his crying and laughter. He always called out Mom in a childish voice and his mother, who was still young and beautiful after giving birth, would sing him a lullaby and tell him fairytales. She will teach him early on the art that he can’t use in his ordinary life.”

“When she taught him how to distinguish between Baroque and Rococo, you suddenly thought of your childhood. Your mother with rough palms stood in the field and taught you how to distinguish rice from millet.”

“You remember that the millet has white veins that distinguishes them from the green rice. But your father is laughing at his little son who refuses to let go of his hair and his beautiful and lively wife is laughing happily.”

“You guess that he doesn’t remember the weed-like millet any longer.”

At this point, He Qiao stopped talking.

In the constantly flowing night, Chi Xueyan seemed to see the imaginary wilderness. He stood in it and heard the sound of the wind blowing the weeds.

He suddenly felt even sadder.

The fourth coin fell completely into the empty chest of the gaming machine.

Chi Xueyan initially thought he would give the coin a more grandiose name, such as ‘the thoughtful man in glasses’, ‘the determined career person’ or the ‘number two villain after me.’

As a result, he thought about it and realized that the coin was just a five year old child who lost his mother.

After that, his paranoia pushed him all the way into the darkness.

The unknown stories stored in the game machine were fully played.

Four coins respectively passed through their winding passages and fell clearly into different acrylic grids, facing each other through the transparent walls.

It was like the closest and farthest distance in the world.

After a long silence, He Qiao spoke first. “Do you regret listening to this story?”

Chi Xueyan thought for a while and answered honestly, “A bit.”

He heard everyone’s lives from their own perspective, using it to love and to hate.

Therefore, the relationships in the He family gradually became an unsolvable deadlock.

The only thing to be thankful for was that there were no obvious emotions in He Qiao’s voice. It seemed he was telling a story that had nothing to do with him.

In such a story where it was difficult to tell right from right, it was a good thing to be an outsider.

He Qiao smiled after hearing him say this. “Fortunately, it is only a bit.”

“It isn’t your fault. You are good at storytelling and you are suitable to be a children’s dentist,” Chi Xueyan joked. “In exchange, you can also ask me some questions.”

He Qiao heard this and was silent for a while.

Just as Chi Xueyan thought he was going to give up on this opportunity to ask questions, he heard this person’s very serious voice, “Why dye your hair red?”

Chi Xueyan didn’t hold back and laughed suddenly. “You said that you didn’t see the poster.”

“Sorry.” He Qiao’s attitude was very good as he admitted his mistake. “I lied before.”

He guessed that Chi Xueyan hadn’t wanted him to see the poster, so he said no.

However, He Qiao did see the black-haired Chi Xueyan.

He admitted it because he wanted to know why.

Chi Xueyan replied very cheerfully, “It is because of a child.”

There was a soft smile in his voice as he said this. This made the other person couldn’t help looking sideways at his expression.

He Qiao saw his good mood and smiled. His expression showed a bit of nostalgia.

“At that time, I became a practicing physician and entered the current clinic,” Chi Xueyan said. “One morning, a little boy came to the clinic. He was brought by his mother.”

“He had apical periodontitis and it was dragged out for a long time. He needed to do root canal treatment, but he was particularly uncooperative. He tightly grasped onto a figure doll the whole time, as if he was going to escape at any time. Once I got close to him, he would yell for help and cry in a heartbreaking manner. His mother had to apologize to me desperately.”

He Qiao quickly imagined the strange scene and smiled slightly.

“It just so happened that I knew the figure he was holding. I wanted to take the opportunity to chat with him and let him relax. It was the most powerful character in a cartoon. He had red hair and the mysterious power to store things in bones and teeth. He was particularly powerful and a character admired by children.”

Chi Xueyan couldn’t help laughing as he talked. “Then I learned that he has always believed in this way of storing power, so he refused to let others touch his teeth. He said it would make him an ordinary child without superpowers.”

“His mother was a bit embarrassed to hear him speak so seriously, but she still whispered to him that letting the doctor see the teeth wouldn’t hurt the superpower.”

“It turned out this mother had always guarded this naive idea.”

Chi Xueyan paused and smiled brightly. “So I thought of my mother. I had believed for a long time that there is a Santa Claus in this world. Due to this, my mother dressed up my father like that every year. Even if I am asleep, he would have to put the gifts in my stocking before taking off the white beard.”

The past stories intertwined with the alcohol accumulated that night and slowly turned into the drowsiness that disappeared.

“I saw him clutching the figure hard, standing alone on the edge of the chair with a desperate expression. I told his mother to bring him back in the afternoon.”

“By the time they came in the afternoon, I already had red hair.”

Chi Xueyan smiled slightly. “I didn’t have time to eat at noon that day. I sat in the hair salon. As I waited for my hair to be collected, I called my friends to find some clothes.”

“I dressed up as that character. Fortunately, I didn’t look too silly.”

“Once he and his mother saw me, they opened their mouths wide in a stupid manner. They didn’t know where to put their eyes and they were completely stunned.

Chi Xueyan reached out and rubbed his red, hot cheeks, trying hard to keep his words intact. “I took the opportunity to ask him if I could treat his teeth. He just stared at me blankly and asked if it was a wig.”

“I said that he could touch it. He thought for a while and really reached out to pull my hair. Then he stopped talking and looked shocked. After that, he obediently let me treat him.”

The dazzling red hair trembled slightly. He Qiao saw his sleepiness and quietly lent him one shoulder.

Chi Xueyan naturally leaned against it and his voice was drawn out. “It turned out that being Santa Claus is such a feeling.”

Light strands of hair brushed against his ears and a warm sigh fell on his neck.”

He Qiao felt his heartbeat and also heard his own. “Have you been keeping your red hair since then?”

“Yes, it is pretty cool.” Chi Xueyan nodded slightly and chuckled. “The clinic leaders had their objections, but they were also shocked by me. Moreover, I regarded it as a work injury. I had to dye my hair due to the non-cooperation of a little patient, right?”

“Yes.” He Qiao smiled and agreed with the drunkard. “It is considered a work injury.”

So from then on, the red-haired children’s dentist Chi Xueyan became an exception.

He was indeed the most special exception.

For the sake of a young boy who believed in superpowers, he dyed his black hair a different color that often caused prejudices.

The usually bold and wanton person leaned on his shoulder like this.

In the silence, his heart stirred like an illusion.

“In fact, I still have a coin in the palm of my hand,” Chi Xueyan suddenly said.

It was another strange metaphor.

He Qiao knew that he didn’t have a coin in his hand.

He asked patiently, “What coin?”

“The coin that belongs to He Qiao.” Chi Xueyan’s voice was extremely soft. “You haven’t told me his story yet.”

It was about the person close at hand, the other He Qiao.

Perhaps this was the puzzle he always wanted to know the most.

The moment these words came out, Chi Xueyan struggled out of his sleepiness. He was waiting for an answer when he suddenly realized a detail that had been overlooked.

They were holding hands in the backseat of a car without an audience.

He leaned on He Qiao’s shoulder and looked sideways at the intertwined fingers.

The body temperature penetrated the texture of the skin. It was amazingly hot. Their fingers had intertwined at some point.

It happened to be He Qiao’s injured right hand.

The scab formed earlier on the palm had quietly faded away. The new skin of the scar was a light and smooth pink. There was an imperceptible softness and sense of realism.

Holding hands this time was completely different from the previous experience.

He couldn’t find the right adjectives.

Chi Xueyan’s fingers gently touched the warm and fragile scar. The time was quiet, as quiet as a feather blown by the wind.

Words suddenly became unnecessary.

There was no rain tonight.

However, all the accumulated rainwater seemed to condense at his fingertips at this moment.

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The author has something to say:

A kiss with a genuine taste (づ￣3￣)づ