HMPS: Chapter 28

The maple leaves all over the street turned red quickly.

Autumn grew more intense and the scenery that Chi Xueyan saw when he looked out the window of the clinic every day was subtly different.

Thanks to the binoculars sent by He Qiao, he could accurately see how many maple leaves on a certain tree had turned red.

This also added a bit of freshness to the autumn outside the clinic every day.

Chi Xueyan took the binoculars but he didn’t use it to look at He Qiao’s office window.

He didn’t really want to invade the other person’s privacy.

There were always complicated interpersonal interactions in business. In many cases, they were even called trade secrets.

On the contrary, there were only children coming and going and the permanent dental chair in his consultation room window. There was no personal privacy so he didn’t mind He Qiao seeing it.

From the day he fell asleep listening to the project plan and woke up to see two binoculars, Chi Xueyan had a more and more definite feeling.

Even putting aside those mysterious unknowns, he still thought that He Qiao was a fun person.

For example, the method of giving binoculars.

Rather than handing him a copy directly, He Qiao silently put down two brand new boxes and told him about the change in vision of the two people, giving him full freedom of choice and decision.

If Chi Xueyan pretended he didn’t see it, he could use these two binoculars as still-life decorations and not use them.

If Chi Xueyan took the initiative to accept it, this meant that He Qiao had given him the freedom to look back. The other binocular would be unsealed.

Communication between them always seemed to be like this. It didn’t need many words. Just a look or movement would do.

Chi Xueyan liked He Qiao’s seriousness and introverted rationality. They were very extreme.

He was like Su Yu, who would laugh and cry with a strange classmate for three days after being broken in love.

He happened to appreciate these unusual personalities.

If he and He Qiao hadn’t agreed to get married then there was a high probability that they would become good friends.

…However, even if they agreed to get married, it didn’t seem to affect them being friends.

Maybe it could make this essentially cold relationship a bit more relaxed and interesting.

After living with a like-minded roommate for a long time, it was natural for them to gradually become friends.

Moreover, Chi Xueyan no longer had any special thoughts about He Qiao.

When people simply made friends with each other, it had nothing to do with their sexual orientation. It was only related to love.

In Chi Xueyan’s current perspective, there was no difference between He Qiao and Su Yu.

One was very moving and the other was very quiet. Both of which met the standards of fun in his heart.

Therefore, Chi Xueyan hadn’t returned to his parents’ house for two weeks.

In any case, his parents finally enjoyed the long-lost world of two and thought he was a light bulb.

It was better to live with friends he could talk to and save himself from being disliked.

Today was the day when the first key advertisement produced by He Qiao after taking over Wanjia Media would be aired on TV stations.

At night after work, they finished eating and Chi Xueyan and He Qiao sat on the sofa together, waiting for the advertisement to be aired on TV.

This was why he asked for it on his own initiative. He also took the initiative to come out of his room to see it.

Chi Xueyan often took the initiative to reach out to people he was interested in like this.

He rarely hid his emotions and did whatever he wanted, whether it was out of fun, boredom, trust, disgust or the rarest of emotions.

Now he was happy for He Qiao’s career progress as a friend, not as an agreement lover who was always indifferent to him.

It was already cool autumn outside the window but the warmly decorated living room of the new house was dyed with a real warmth and liveliness at night for the first time.

The sofa was spacious and soft, the screen was flickering and two glasses of grapefruit juice with ice were randomly placed on the coffee table.

With one minute left before the broadcast time, He Qiao saw the lazy person next to him pick up the remote control and carefully adjust the volume to the maximum acceptable range.

He was seriously looking forward to the advertisement.

The screen of the phone left on the coffee table remained on and new messages kept popping up.

Chi Xueyan just glanced at it before retracting his gaze. He deliberately put the screen upside down so he didn’t always see it light up.

He Qiao saw his movements and instinctively asked, “Don’t you need to reply to the messages?”

“Not yet,” Chi Xueyan said casually. “I’m just a tree hole right now. He won’t look at it if I reply. He just cares about himself.”

He Qiao didn’t know who the ‘he’ in this sentence was but it was a conversational tone where he could continue to ask.

But before he could ask, the advertisement began.

The unique voice and touching melody rang through the rare warm home.

He Qiao had seen many different versions of this advertisement and was familiar with every detail.

He knew when the people would start talking, knew every movement of the actors and knew which was the most touching lyric in this newly written advertisement song sung by Duan Ruo.

Thus, he was distracted.

The person beside him was staring at the screen in front of him intently, unaware of the gaze that fell on him.

The warm yellow ceiling lights and colorful light and shadow made the wind stop temporarily on the small, red maple.

The usually flamboyant hair color was rendered by the night, showing a bit of dark richness. It was reminiscent of the young face that he only glimpsed on the bar poster where he had soft, black hair.

The singing continued.

This was the most touching sentence.

“…Approaching you from the furthest place.”

The chorus ended completely. Only the faded sound of music remained in the air.

Duan Ruo sat in front of the computer and sighed with relief. He picked up the cup to drink water to relieve the tension of just finishing singing a new song.

Words of praise popped up one after another on the screen. There weren’t many people but all the messages were filled with genuine joy.

When he was briefly popular, many people liked his songs. After a few years of silence, there were still some loyal fans waiting for him to return. They sent sincere private messages to his singer account that had long ceased to post new news.

So on the night the commercial was launched, Duan Ruo chose to spend it with the fans who still remembered him.

He sang a song for them called ‘Closer.’

It wasn’t the song he took to Wanjia Media in the beginning.

That song was recognized. Many of the songs he had accumulated over the years were recognized in exchange for a preferential contract for a long-term cooperation.

But both Duan Ruo and the employees of the music department thought that his latest song was the best. They unanimously decided to use ‘Closer’ as the soundtrack for the commercial.

His life had changed drastically in a short period of time. This emotion that was difficult to describe in words had been turned into inspiration and was composed into this song.

It came from the accident of fate.

During the time when he was writing the new song, Duan Ruo kept thinking, ‘If I hadn’t received the job at the wedding, if I hadn’t offered to use the stage name, if one company after another had rejected me, if I had taken a long time to decide to cheer up…’

In the long and hopeless wasted years, he didn’t know what he would become.

He survived the misfortune of being betrayed by someone he trusted and finally regained his luck.

Excited fans took to the chat screen to discuss the new song that was bought by a big company, his unchanged voice, improved singing skills and his new name that was somewhat funny when they first heard it.

On the screen, Duan Ruo’s face looked a bit less shy. He took the initiative to open the chatterbox and chat with these fans who were almost old friends.

“I like the new name Duan Luo very much. I remember when people used to call my name off stage and something they would mistakenly call me Luo. The people next to me would laugh.”

“It doesn’t matter now. Whichever name I am called is right.”

In the text screen full of laughter, the unique voice spoke quietly and delivered sincerity to them.

“I’m still me, but I”m not me anymore.”

“I’ve had a new beginning in my life and I’m trying to get closer to freedom and the things that have been lost.”

“…It is closer to you whom I’ve been away with for a long time.”

Sound and light lingered in front of the transparent glass windows.

Other advertisements had started to play on the TV. Chi Xueyan stared at the screen, still not satisfied.

It wasn’t the song he heard in the studio before but it was better. It was full of sincere and moving complex emotions. It captured the listener’s ears and hearts.

It was a pity that only the most memorable chorus was selected for the advertisement, not the complete song. It ended before he could listen to all of it.

However, Chi Xueyan could predict that this song would shine.

In addition to the music, the other parts of the ad were also of high quality.

It was a win-win cooperation.

After turning the TV volume back to normal, Chi Xueyan asked the people around him. “Is this his new song?”

He Qiao nodded. “It is the latest one. After they discussed it, they temporarily decided to use this song as a soundtrack.”

“It can be heard that there are many personal feelings in it. He really loves music.” Chi Xueyan chattered with him casually. “I want to hear the full version. Do you have it?”

“Yes, do you want to listen to it now?”

“Yes.”

Chi Xueyan answered neatly. Then he suddenly stopped He Qiao, who was about to get up to get the computer.

“Wait a minute.” There was a bit of helplessness in his voice. “I probably don’t have time to listen tonight.”

The phone, which had been turned to silent, vibrated on the coffee table.

Chi Xueyan picked up the call and persistently held the phone far away from his ears.

The excited voice that suddenly erupted could be heard clearly even by He Qiao.

“Old Chi”! The excited Lawyer Su’s voice broke. “I’m in love!”

Chi Xueyan congratulated him calmly. “Congratulations on your I don’t know how many times first love.”

This was why he didn’t bother to read the messages before.

No matter whether it was breaking up or falling in love again, Su Yu would treat him as a tree word and pour out his emotions toward him. Then he wouldn’t be satisfied and would have to chat about the details in person.

For Lawyer Su, every love and breakup was like the most unforgettable first heartbeat and first heartbreak.

In his eyes, love was the most interesting thing in the world. Each stage of love had different interests, not to mention experiencing it with different people.

“Are you free tonight?” Su Yu was very skilled when making an appointment. “If you have time, you can choose a place. I’ll tell you. This time is really different…”

“That’s what you said last time.”

Chi Xueyan looked up at He Qiao while talking on the phone.

He nestled motionless on the sofa, seemingly with no intention of getting up and going out.

He Qiao understood exactly what he meant and took the initiative to ask, “Do you want to let him come to your house?”

Chi Xueyan really didn’t want to go out tonight.

The sofa was so comfortable.

In the past when he was too lazy to go out, Su Yu was unable to hold back and would consciously come to the door to chatter. At first, Han Zhenzhen listened to it once or twice out of the desire for gossip. Then it developed to the point that she would directly turn to run when she heard that Su Yu had emotional problems again.

With the permission of his roommate, Chi Xueyan told Su Yu, “If you don’t want to go out, come to my house. He Qiao is also there.”

“Okay, it is the first time I am going to your new house. Should I bring some gifts?”

Half an hour later, Lawyer Su moved quickly and brought a large bag of beer.

The moment Chi Xueyan opened the door, a smile full of love bloomed on his face. He repeated today’s key point loudly. “Old Chi! I’m in love!”

Chi Xueyan: “……”

He really didn’t want to fall in love.

Watching Su Yu fall in love and breaking up with different people was more fun than talking about it himself.

Su Yu also greeted He Qiao, his tone familiar. “This house is too beautiful. Aunt Sheng is really powerful. If I get married in the future, can I copy the design style?”

It was a home with fairytale colors. There was a pair of newlyweds who just finished their wedding. One gently went to get beer glasses and ice cubes while the other lay on the sofa with a remote control to rummage through programs to use as background sound. It was simply a match made in heaven.

It was perfect for sharing his radiant first love.

It must be that the atmosphere was too good, which led to Su Yu’s extraordinary performance. He only talked for two hours today before finishing.

It was two hours full of information.

He started from the memory of the first glance and talked about getting closer step by step, exchanging hearts like fireworks.

“I really didn’t expect it at first. Old Chi, you know that I hate that law firm the most. They are full of hooligans and scum in the circle. Their boss is just a stupid… forget it, I won’t swear today.”

“Every time, I meet the opposite side, it is their case. If it wasn’t my case, I would help beat them for free. But on that day, I actually sat in the gallery and lost my mind. I didn’t listen to the case at all.”

“She is special. I can’t think of another word, you know? She is special. The most special one in the crowd. I couldn’t take my eyes off her?”

“She was sitting there but she always looked businesslike. Once she got out of court and we met outside to chat, she had the same attitude and didn’t want to deal with me.”

Hearing this, Chi Xueyan concluded as he watched the basketball game while listening to Su Yu’s thoughts, “So it is a secret love this time?”

“That’s right. It starts with a crush.” Su Yu poured alcohol into three cups in turn. “Then I chased her.”

The clear yellow beer was poured into the glass and countless foam instantly swelled.

To the side, He Qiao listened quietly.

“…I invited her to dinner. I knew she was going to see the latest new movie so I took the opportunity to ask her to go with me. It turned out that she was concentrating on the movie the whole time, but I couldn’t help peeking at her.”

“Someone in their office is also after her. I really want to hit that idiot—d*mn, I won’t say dirty words.”

“I could never figure out what she was thinking, because she didn’t ask me anything. It was as if she had no curiosity about me.”

Chi Xueyan interjected naturally, “No wonder why you have recently started sharing music in your Moments in the middle of the night. Will anyone listen to it?”

“Yes, it doesn’t matter if you don’t listen. It wasn’t sent to you.” Su Yu grinned and emphasized every word. “In short, when I woke up in the morning, I found that she gave me a like.”

“……” Chi Xueyan was silent for a moment.

He glanced at He Qiao, who was staring at the beer glass, and reminded, “Can you control your expression a bit?”

“No, I can’t do it. There are no outsiders here.”

Su Yu couldn’t wait to say, “I continued to talk. Then I started from that song and chatted with her again. Then I found that our tastes are very similar. The mood at that time was really—I can’t describe it.”

“Seriously, Old Chi, love is definitely the most wonderful thing in the world…”

Before it was too late at night, Su Yu finished talking to himself and said goodbye to the couple with satisfaction.

In addition to sharing with his friends, there was a hint of surprise in his heart.

Unexpectedly, He Qiao participated in this activity for the first time and he listened so attentively that he didn’t even watch the exceptionally wonderful basketball match on TV.

This refreshed Su Yu’s understanding of He Qiao.

A good temper and patience beyond imagination.

After all, except for Chi Xueyan, who was good at multitasking and doing other things while listening to his chattering, ordinary people would tune out when listening to him. However, he really couldn’t restrain the excitement in his heart and had to finish speaking.

It was worthy of being the person who made Old Chi suddenly decide to get married.

…Ah, getting married.

Su Yu, who was still immersed in his romantic mood and was excited, got into his car and waved goodbye to the two who sent him downstairs together.

The car carrying the excited passenger gradually drove away and the night fell silent again.

Chi Xueyan watched him leave and couldn’t help saying to the people around him, “Isn’t he really good at speaking? No wonder why he works as a lawyer.”

Before Su Yu came, he roughly described to He Qiao what would happen. He Qiao didn’t have to be with him and could do his own thing at any time.

But to his surprise, He Qiao listened to the whole process carefully.

The autumn night was slightly cool. Chi Xueyan was still wearing short sleeves suitable for the temperature at home. Once the wind blew, the exposed skin gave him a touch of coldness in an instant.

He Qiao responded softly to his emotions, “Yes, he is very good at speaking and allows people to learn a lot.”

Hearing this, Chi Xueyan was a bit curious. He couldn’t help turning his head to look at him and ask, “Such as?”

Once he looked over, he found that He Qiao knew the temperature outside better than himself and brought a long-sleeved shirt downstairs.

Under the dim street light, the white shirt held in the palm of her hand was illuminated so it was a bit transparent. It was like a hazy mist.

He Qiao also looked sideways at him. He Qiao’s eyes were soaked by the dark night and made it difficult for people to see it clearly.

Chi Xueyan heard his serious voice that was like a student who just finished reading a brand new textbook.

“Such as, that is a crush.”

The white shirt fell gently on his shoulders like sudden snowfall.

—

The author has something to say:

A kiss with the taste of secret love =3=