Chi Yuxian felt that he had only met Hua Manlou a few times, not even as many times as he had met with Lu Xiaofeng. How could he become friends?
Or is it easy to become the other person’s friend?
Thinking about it this way, it is somewhat believable. After all, Huamanlou has a good personality and it is normal to have many friends.
He was thinking to himself, not noticing that Huamanlou had also become quiet at this time, as if he was deliberately waiting for him to finish thinking.
"Don't we count as friends?"
After Huamanlou was quiet for a moment, he continued what Chi Yuxian had just said and asked, his tone sounding the same as usual.
But perhaps because he was secretly discussing the other party just now, Chi Yuxian felt a little guilty after hearing this rhetorical question.
He quickly lowered his eyes and replied calmly: "That's right."
"It sounds a bit forced." Hua Manlou said with a smile, with a smile on his brows and eyes, making it impossible to guess what he was thinking right now.
Chi Yu paused for a moment, raised his eyes to look at the young man in white sitting opposite, and hesitated a little: "I'm not forcing myself."
"Ha ha ha ha."
After hearing his answer, Hua Manlou, who had looked a little regretful just now, laughed out loud, her beautiful eyes bent like the crescent moon in the horizon.
Only then did Chi Yuxian realize that it was Hua Manlou who was joking just now. Instead of hearing it, he actually took it seriously.
He looked away and focused on the small flowers planted outside the railing on the second floor, which were as thin as a string of beads.
Huamanlou didn't wait for Chi Yuxian's answer, so she apologized softly.
"What are you apologizing for?"
Not being so surprised by the other party's reaction, he smiled slightly: "I didn't mean to do it just now, I just felt that Mr. Chi was indeed what Lu Xiaofeng said."
"Um?"
"interesting."
Under Chi Yuxian's slightly curious gaze, Huamanlou slowly read out two words.
"interesting?"
Chi Yuxian lowered his head and repeated these two words in a low voice, the same reaction as when Lu Xiaofeng said these words.
His first reaction was to think that the other party was joking? I am not an interesting person, even a little boring.
The second reaction was: Could it be that I did something funny to make him interesting? But if you think about it carefully, he just likes to be in a daze.
As if aware of his racking his brains, Huamanlou laughed dumbly and quickly changed the subject: "Why did you leave the city? Is there anything you need to do?"
"Um."
Chi Yuxian came back to his senses and briefly talked about his encounter with Hu Fei.
It's just that Hua Manlou's attention was not on Hu Fei, but noticed a small sentence in the paragraph just now.
"Did the knife break?" He thought in his mind. The other party seemed to be stuck with the knife, so he must have felt uncomfortable because of it.
Huamanlou didn't say what he was thinking, but just paid a little attention to Chi Yuxian's mood and found that the other party was not depressed because of it.
Of course, Chi Yuxian didn't expect that after he just said such a long sentence, the other party's attention was actually on the three words "the knife was broken."
The aroma of tea overflowed, and he lowered his head and took a few sips from the tea cup.
The tea used should not be cheap, but he can only taste this, no matter how much it is, he won't be able to taste it.
Fortunately, Hua Manlou didn't care about these little things, and after he finished drinking the cup of tea, she rolled up her sleeves and poured him another cup.
There are also refreshments on the table, each one small and delicate, just enough for one bite.
Hua Manlou pushed the pastries on the plate towards Chi Yuxian, gesturing for him to try them.
It's just that after the pot of tea was finished, the pastry placed in front of the other party was not touched much. Except for pinching a piece to taste at the beginning, it was never touched again.
After eating the pastry, Chi Yuxian drank several cups of tea, finally suppressing the sweetness in his mouth.
He doesn't usually eat sweets, so the pastry that obviously contained a lot of sugar almost made him gasp for breath.
"Is it too sweet?"
Hua Manlou didn't notice it at first, but the teapot was placed in his hand, and he heard the other party pouring tea just now.
"fine."
Chi Yu covered his lips and said, his sharp eyebrows furrowed and his expression looked a little bad.
He coughed several times suppressedly, but it still didn't escape Huamanlou's sensitive ears: "I'm sorry."
"no need to say sorry."
Chi Yuxian put down his hands and explained: "It's not your problem, it's just that I don't eat sweets very much."
"good."
Hua Manlou smiled, and a strand of long hair hanging on her chest was blown by the wind, and accidentally crossed Chi Yu's hand that was resting on the table.
It was a little itchy, as if someone was holding a feather to deliberately itch it.
It's just that neither of them took it to heart. After all, it was just a trivial matter.
The sun was gradually moving, and when the sun was about to set, Chi Yuxian put down the tea cup in his hand and was about to stand up to say goodbye, when Hua Manlou interrupted him the next moment.
"It's getting late, let's stay and have a quick meal."
Hua Manlou raised his eyes. Although he couldn't see it, people could always feel that his eyes were on her.
"No way." Chi Yuxian declined, but still couldn't resist the other party's invitation and stayed a little embarrassed.
The restaurant in the city would deliver food at a fixed time every day, but this time he came too suddenly, and Hua Manlou had no time to notify him to prepare food for two.
For this reason, Chi Yu stood aside and said silently: "It's okay, I don't eat much."
But these words sounded a bit pitiful to Hua Manlou's ears. After all, no matter how little he ate, one person's meal was not enough for two adult men.
Hua Manlou sighed, he had not thought enough about this matter.
Seeing that the other person's gentle and jade-like face was about to have some self-reproach, Chi Yuxian quickly reached out and grabbed the other person's wrist.
"I really don't eat much."
He tried hard to explain: "I don't usually have a big appetite. It's normal to eat one meal sometimes a day."
Chi Yuxian's original intention was that he didn't want the other party to bother going to the city anymore, so it would be better for him to go back. But unexpectedly, Huamanlou frowned slightly after hearing his words.
"In this case, the body will..."
Before he finished speaking, he was interrupted by Chi Yuxian: "I know, so it's just occasional."
As he spoke, he shook Hua Manlou's wrist vigorously to show his credibility.
Hua Manlou smiled and could only nod in agreement under the other party's firm attitude: "Okay."
After receiving a positive answer, Chi Yu Xian secretly breathed a sigh of relief, and then released his hand holding the other party's hand.
Candles were lit in the hall of Baihua Building, and the warm yellow light illuminated the small and medium-sized place, like honey flowing.
Chiyu sat idle and looked at the familiar food on the table.
This was the same restaurant where Hua Manlou invited him to eat yesterday. It was delicious and delicious. The only drawback was that it was very expensive.
Of course, this is not his shortcoming, it is just that he has no money.
Huamanlou set out the bowls and chopsticks and signaled Chiyu to eat in her leisure time.
"Thanks."
He thanked her sincerely and then picked up his chopsticks to eat.
Because he didn't have time to give orders, the restaurant served Huamanlou's usual meals. Fortunately, Chiyuxian wasn't very picky about food, so he lowered his head and started eating.
The dinner table suddenly became quiet, but compared to yesterday, it was not so awkward.
Maybe it's because they are already familiar with it. Chi Yuxian thought in his heart.
After dinner, Huamanlou finally understood what the other party meant by "not eating much".
It was said to be for one person, but Chi Yuxian only put down his chopsticks after eating for a while. After hearing the commotion, Huamanlou asked specifically if the food was not to his liking.
"No." Chi Yuxian denied, "I'm full."
"..."
Hua Manlou didn't know whether to laugh or cry, and even wondered if the other party had a low appetite because he didn't know how to refuse her invitation.
Compared with normal adult men, the other party eats very little, even a child of fifteen or sixteen can't compare.
But after he said so, Hua Manlou had no choice but to put down his chopsticks.
"You keep eating." Chi Yuxian pursed his lips and frowned slightly. If he had known that the other party would put down his chopsticks, he would have forced himself to take a few more bites.
His tone was serious, so Hua Manlou had no choice but to continue eating.
*
After eating, it was completely dark. It gets dark very quickly in autumn and winter.
Chi Yuxian took the initiative to tidy up, then wiped his hands and prepared to leave.
It was getting late, and Baihualou was quite far away from the city, so Huamanlou thought about letting the other party stay here for one night.
However, Chi Yuxian did not agree. He picked up the broken knife placed aside and said firmly: "I have already paid."
He glanced at Huamanlou, and then said: "It's a waste to spend money and not live in it. Although the rent is not much, it is still money."
"Okay." Huamanlou was amused by his words and had no choice but to send him out of Baihualou.
"Let's go back."
Chiyu gathered his clothes leisurely, the night breeze was a bit cool, but fortunately the moonlight was very good, and the silvery moonlight illuminated his way back.
"goodbye."
"Um."
Chi Yuxian turned around, opened his umbrella and walked away.
The sound of holding the umbrella was very obvious. Hua Manlou also reached forward with her palms upward, but did not feel any moisture.
*
Chi Yuxian is not afraid of the dark, so he doesn't walk that fast at night.
He held an umbrella, his eyes fell on the road ahead, and his steps were neither too big nor too small.
The surroundings were very quiet, and he could only hear his breathing and footsteps. It was a bit scary to be alone in this situation.
You will pass a forest ahead. The leaves are withered and yellow, but there is still a lot of greenery.
Chiyu approached the woods without changing his expression. The shadows of the branches illuminated by the moonlight were like ghost claws, spread on the ground in a sinister and slightly terrifying manner.
The white umbrella was very conspicuous in the night. Just when he was about to walk out of the woods, he bumped into a woman.
In the dark night, he was dressed in red, with disheveled hair, a white cloth wrapped around his neck, and blood oozing out.
Chi Yuxian: "..."
