He Tianran hung up the phone, returned the phone to Wen Liang, and said with a relaxed expression:
"She asked me to go there early the day after tomorrow. Guo Huai wants me to be his best man."
Wen Liang looked at him suspiciously and said nothing.
The two only looked at each other for less than two seconds. He Tianran was defeated and shrugged: "Well, it's actually Cao Aiqing who wants to see me."
"She's getting married the day after tomorrow and wants to see you today?" Wen Liang said strangely. Not knowing the content of the call, she could only guess: "Could it be that what she actually wants to see is another you?"
"It would be better if I go to see her." He Tianran thought about it for a while and said without hesitation: "Ai Qing in this world has changed too much. Although my relationship with her is very weak now, now that she has spoken, I still want to go It’s a one-time meeting, and I definitely won’t give that bastard this kind of opportunity.”
Wen Liang paused for a moment and hesitated to speak. She was conflicted. In fact, in the final analysis, she was not qualified to care about such a thing.
However, she was still uneasy in her heart. They had only been together for two days. Wen Liang was standing at the door and it was neither right nor wrong to leave.
He Tianran smiled: "What are you afraid of? Are you afraid that I won't be able to control myself and will run away with Cao Aiqing without you?"
Wen Liang glared at him, but still said seriously: "I can see that you wouldn't do such a thing with her, but I still feel vaguely uneasy. My sixth sense is still very accurate."
The expression on the young man's face did not change: "Okay, don't talk too much, hurry up, you have to get on the plane later."
"Where did she ask you to meet?" Wen Liang ignored the prevarication in his words.
"It's our Starbucks downstairs. She'll come over in the afternoon." He Tianran said bluntly.
"Um……"
After hearing this, Wen Liang pondered to himself, not knowing what he was thinking.
"Don't worry, I'll send you a photo this afternoon. Nothing will happen."
He Tianran calmed the other party's emotions, and just then Wen Liang's assistant called her. She responded with a few words. After all, time waits for no one, so she could only say helplessly:
"Then, you must wait for me to come back..."
"Well, after I finish meeting her in the afternoon, I will wait for you to come back at home in the future. I won't go anywhere. I'm ready to eat soft food."
He Tianran said with a playful smile, rolled his eyes at him with a warm smile, and gave him a quick pout on his face before turning around and leaving in three steps.
The young man breathed a sigh of relief. Wen Liang's premonition was correct. The place where he and Cao Aiqing met was not a Starbucks, but Nanzhi Island, which was more than 20 nautical miles away from the port city.
Nanzhi Island is an island surrounding the port city. Compared with the ancient towns in inland cities, as a coastal city, there are not many islands developed as tourist attractions. It only takes about an hour to take a boat from the harbor area. It takes a little more time to get there, which is more convenient than going to the city center.
He Tianran didn't know why he made the appointment there. In fact, what he wanted to know more was why his other self would read that book to Cao Aiqing.
He said Wen Liang would fall into the sea, but he didn't; now he indirectly told Cao Aiqing the story that happened in his own timeline, what did he want to do?
There are too many mysteries, and He Tianran can only take one step at a time.
"After Ai Qing's matter is settled...I will definitely go see him again and ask him if I have time, and then..." He Tianran touched the rosary and said to himself, "Then we will go to Chuanling Temple again."
The time to meet Cao Aiqing was not in the afternoon. In fact, when she called, she was already on the island.
Listening to her tone just now, I hope that the sooner the two of them meet, the better.
He Tianran changed his clothes, went out and took a taxi to the pier, and bought a ticket to Nanyan Island. He sat in the cabin and wanted to take a nap, but the tourists on the boat made a noise with the chickens and ducks bought by the islanders. He couldn't find peace, so he could only close his eyes and try to empty himself.
The sea road was bumpy, the view outside the boat was endless, the sea breeze blew by, and there was a cool feeling.
He Tianran's thoughts wandered freely, and he rarely entered a state of deep thought. The confusion after coming to this world, the excitement when meeting Wen Liang, the disappointment and sigh when facing Cao Aiqing, all these things flashed through his mind , but what he thinks about most is himself.
That self that has never changed.
The answer can be said to be ready to come out. In fact, it can be summed up in two words, that is -
Cold-blooded.
The so-called introversion, being a homebody, being unsociable, and not knowing how to speak are all just appearances. If you look into your heart, you will know how lacking He Tianran is in his spiritual world.
In the past, other people's impressions of him were very uniformly shy, even dark. Even in normal social interactions, he could seem friendly and polite, but there was a disgusting distance emanating from him. Feelings will always repel people thousands of miles away, as if to imply:
“That’s it, please don’t cross the line.”
This is He Tianran's defense mechanism that has become instinctive. He maintains a state of being able to escape from an upcoming relationship at any time, and even enjoys it.
“To avoid endings, we avoid beginnings.”
This is the original He Tianran. He seems to be sensible, but in fact he has a cold nature.
Of course he wants hope and love, but how can he give others something he has never received?
He Tianran has not experienced the thirteen years of this world, but when he thinks about it, he can roughly understand the current mental state of his other self.
Such a person grows up in an environment where his soul is hurt. Everything around him will not be much better than the black and white world in the eyes of a young man.
On the sea level, the outline of a small island gradually emerged. He Tianran walked from the cabin to the bow of the ship alone. As he got closer to the island, he saw a white figure standing by the port in the distance. The sea and sky blended together, making it look very similar. An oil painting expressing loneliness.
That was Cao Aiqing waiting for her. She took off the professional suit she wore last time and put on a pure white dress, as elegant and quiet as before.
She just stood there.
He Tianran was surprised to find that when he saw her this time, she had a faint color on her body.
After the boat stopped and docked, He Tianran followed him onto the pier. The crowd coming with the boat passed by them in a hurry. The two looked at each other and were silent for a moment.
During this meeting, Cao Aiqing looked at him seriously again. Unlike the last time, which was a change in image, this time there was a little strange emotion in her eyes.
He Tianran avoided her eyes slightly and asked, "How long have you been waiting?"
Cao Aiqing shook his head, looked away, and said calmly: "It didn't take long."
After saying that, she turned around.
"Come for a walk with me."
"……Um."
He Tianran followed, and the two of them walked aimlessly among the paths on the island.
The scenery of Nanzhi Island is very good. It takes almost four hours to circle around the island. The development of tourism in the port city has greatly boosted the island's economy. The economic scale of an 11-square-kilometer island has reached the level of a small county town. , along the way, He Tianran not only saw chain convenience stores, restaurants, youth hotels, and even a bar street.
Thirteen years ago, He Tianran heard that the port city wanted to build Nanzhi Island into a "Lijiang on the Sea." At that time, Nanzhi Island was just an ordinary scenic spot, and there were only two ships coming and going every day.
Along the way, He Tianran looked strange, and Cao Aiqing glanced at him from time to time. The two walked into a music bar that was still open during the day.
The owner of the bar is a cheerful young man in his early thirties. He wears a scarf on his head, a simple white vest, a pair of baggy polyester pants, and a little stubble on his angular chin. He is a typical bartender. The island version of literary youth dress.
Seeing Cao Aiqing walk in, the boss who was washing the wine utensils behind the bar greeted him warmly.
"Ai Qing is here. Have you returned to the city recently? Haven't seen you for a while, are you still the same?"
Cao Aiqing nodded with a smile, found a seat and sat down, and He Tianran sat down opposite her.
Soon after, the bar owner served a cocktail called "Nicoroni". He looked at He Tianran, smiled and asked Cao Aiqing:
"Your brother? Or the new intern in your studio? He's very handsome."
"No, he...is my friend."
Cao Aiqing replied.
The bar owner noticed the subtle relationship between the two and looked at He Tianran thoughtfully: "Uh... then, my friend, do you need something to drink?"
He Tianran shook his head: "Just water..."
"Give him a glass of whiskey."
Cao Aiqing helped him answer this question.
The bar owner looked around, and finally returned to the bar, poured a glass of whiskey and gave it to He Tianran.
"Actually, if I don't drink...I will tell you the truth."
The young man lowered his head and shook the wine in the glass slightly. The ice cubes hit the wall of the glass and made a slight pinging sound.
Cao Aiqing's purpose in letting him drink was obvious.
The woman was touched. She was not embarrassed. She just raised her neck slightly and took a silent sip of wine. She said slowly:
"Can I see your arm?"
He Tianran smiled bitterly, rolled up the sleeve of his right hand, and stretched it out. There was a faint circular tooth mark on his arm.
This was when he and Cao Aiqing went to watch the sunrise together on New Year's Day, when he was bitten by a girl who was rare and willful.
"how so……"
Cao Aiqing murmured, looking at the tooth marks in a daze.
Her hand reached out involuntarily. She wanted to touch the circle of marks and try to verify that it was real. However, upon seeing this, He Tianran had already pulled down his sleeves and retracted his arm.
This move made Cao Aiqing look up at the other party.
"You have read that book, and you should know that in another world, there is a Cao Aiqing with the same name, the same appearance, and the same parents as you. We love each other, you don't have to doubt this, but... you It’s not her, there’s no need for you to insert yourself into someone else’s story.”
What He Tianran said was very clear. After hearing this, Cao Aiqing, although she had been mentally prepared, still had a complicated look on her face. She paused for a long time and then said slowly:
"You said you love each other?"
"Well, I love her very much."
He Tianran answered without hesitation. He recalled the days he had experienced with Ai Qing, and a smile appeared at the corner of his mouth:
"We got into each other's hearts. At first, she always liked to use her studies as an excuse to reject others. In the final analysis, she still didn't like her enough. But, she was worried that the rejected person would be hurt, and she was really torn to death. She was very She is simple and kind. I like her very much. But it is because of this extreme kindness that she has attracted a lot of criticism. Fortunately, I was still with her at that time. I fell in love with her and protected her. I think it was then that she really fell in love with me."
The Cao Aiqing in front of him sighed quietly after hearing these words.
"I haven't experienced this, so you think, I'm not her?"
He Tianran thought for a while and said:
"Yes, everyone in this world is unique and will not be replaced just because another He Tianran appears today or another Cao Aiqing appears tomorrow. This uniqueness is carved by different experiences and memories. This brings out the unique color in everyone's heart. I like my Cao Aiqing, her beautiful appearance, and even more her innocent soul."
Cao Aiqing's expression went from listening quietly at the beginning to lowering her head in deep thought. Now she frowned slightly and said coldly:
"I agree with what you said, but I don't want you to be just a glib talker."
He Tianran said with a distressed smile: "What I said is all the truth."
"Then how do you explain your relationship with Wen Liang? You keep saying how much you like your Cao Aiqing, but in this world, you seem to have forgotten about her, and then you talked about ten things unscrupulously at the dinner table. The fact that I fell in love with another woman three years ago. Yes, I am indeed not the person you like, but I am still called by this name after all. The difference is that if she knew about your performance, she would be disappointed. I will suffer in silence, I will be stupid enough to think that I am not good enough, and then treat you twice as well, and I will express my anger!"
These words, starting from the first rhetorical question, turned into cold arrows, aiming at the weak spot that He Tianran wanted to avoid the most. The lethality was so great that the young man was caught off guard and was rendered speechless. .
After a long time, He Tianran could only say this bluntly.
"This is between me and Wen Liang and has nothing to do with you."
If it hadn't been for the impetus of the drowning scam, he could have honestly said that Wen Liang was his ex-girlfriend. If it hadn't been for her appearance, he wouldn't have had the courage to protect Cao Aiqing.
But now, even if he is not facing his girlfriend, He Tianran no longer has the confidence to be so confident.
He does still love Wen Liang deeply in his heart.
Cao Aiqing kept sneering and said sarcastically:
"You have so many stories. No wonder you like 'Innocent Soul'."
He Tianran was a little angry at these words, and he couldn't help but retorted:
"I don't know why the other me would show you that book, but I want to remind you that you are getting married the day after tomorrow. There is no need for you to worry about my affairs..."
As he spoke, he realized that he was agitated. He suppressed his impetuous mood and continued: "Guo Huai loves you very much. In this world, it is undeniable that he protected you in the first place. I also hope that in this world Ai Qing can be in this world." Find happiness in love and have a beautiful life of your own.”
After saying that, He Tianran raised the wine glass and raised it between the two of them.
Cao Aiqing was indifferent to his actions. The young man could only take back the glass angrily and take a sip himself.
In his ears, he suddenly heard a sentence of resignation:
"So, no matter which world I am in, I will always be bullied, right?"
(End of chapter)
