"Not going well?" Liam Le suddenly said.
"What?" Ethan Zhou had been a little distracted since he met Adrian Du again. When he looked into his brother's eyes, he realized that his worries were written on his face, so he smiled and explained, "No."
Liam Le said: "My father once said that forming a partnership is like getting married. If you feel it is not suitable, don't force it. There should be other opportunities, right?"
Ethan Zhou understood what Liam Le was thinking and explained, "It's not because of our partnership, I'm just worried that it will be inconvenient for you to go to school. I'm used to having you around, and suddenly I feel empty when you go to school."
Liam Le nodded and said, "The teachers are very enthusiastic. I can take care of myself. Besides, I have to learn to live independently."
Ethan Zhou didn't respond. He took off his shirt, picked up his soaking wet brother, put him on a chair, wiped his body, put him in pajamas, and said, "Don't worry about the store. It's going to work. I'm free tomorrow, so I'll take you out to play. You haven't been around the city yet after you come back."
Liam Le nodded, supported herself on the edge of the bed, and struggled to move from the wheelchair to the bed. Ethan Zhou went into the bathroom to clean up and take a shower.
The hot water poured down his head, gathered on the indistinct muscle lines on his shoulders and back, and flowed down along the deep lines of his waist. The floor-to-ceiling mirror in the bathroom was covered with a layer of white mist.
Ethan Zhou wiped the mirror several times and stared at himself in the mirror. His wet hair blocked his eyebrows and eyes. He seemed to be no different from five years ago. Then he thought of Adrian Du who he saw unexpectedly.
"My name is Adrian Du, the 'Adrian Du' in 'Don't hurt someone, don't be surprised'."
Ethan Zhou said to himself.
The rain outside the window was getting heavier, just like the first day he and Adrian Du met.
It was a rainy day and the typhoon almost blew down the dormitory building. When Ethan Zhou arrived in this strange city alone to report for duty, not a single part of his body was dry.
He rushed into the dormitory with a gust of steam. A tall figure inside immediately came forward and helped him close the door. The windows and doors were rattling wildly in the storm, but as the man closed the door, the world finally became quiet.
"The window won't stay shut," the man said. "The draft will blow it open."
Ethan Zhou breathed a sigh of relief and said, "The typhoons this year are too strong."
"This is my first typhoon," the man said casually. "It's been blowing all day."
Ethan Zhou leaned against the desk, looking disheveled, with water dripping from his whole body. He looked into the man's eyes and caught a glimpse of the deep scar running across the bridge of his nose.
He would be very handsome, if he didn't have this scar, Ethan Zhou thought.
Then she turned her gaze to his eyes and nodded to each other.
The next few years of my life will be spent with this person.
"Ethan Zhou," Ethan Zhou introduced himself, "Ethan Zhou, the one whose name means 'If friends and relatives in Ethan Zhou ask me, I will give you a heart as pure as ice and jade.'"
"Adrian Du," the man introduced himself, "Adrian Du, the one who said 'Don't be sad, don't be scared'."
Ethan Zhou was very surprised when he heard this, and then he turned his head to look at Adrian Du and smiled. Adrian Du was not too enthusiastic, he pulled out the chair, still sat at the desk, put on headphones, and just pretended he didn't exist.
He is indeed a quiet person... Ethan Zhou simply packed up his things, turned his back to Adrian Du, took off his T-shirt, and couldn't help but look back at Adrian Du. He saw Adrian Du looking down at a book with a cold expression. In this indifference, the scar under his eyebrows was particularly conspicuous.
An old friend of Ethan Zhou’s grandfather is a professor at our school. Ethan Zhou called him before reporting for duty. The professor’s graduate student asked him if he had any special requirements for the dormitory and roommates. Ethan Zhou’s answer was: a good temper, quiet, and no interference with each other is enough.
So the department assigned him to Room 603 of Tingpu Building. Later Ethan Zhou learned that there were not many student dormitories in Tingpu Building, and most of them were children of faculty and staff, or people with special requirements and special treatments.
In other words, Adrian Du also used his family connections when assigning dormitories.
The environment of Tingpu Building is very nice and quiet, but it is too quiet. The dormitory is dead silent, with only the sound of wind and rain outside the window. It seems that my roommate is a relatively introverted person.
After taking a shower and drying his hair, Ethan Zhou saw that his brother had fallen asleep on the bed, so he covered him with a blanket and turned off the light.
Thinking back to the day when he first met Adrian Du, Ethan Zhou was most impressed by the scars on his face, and the second was that this roommate was very silent.
What a pity. Ethan Zhou felt that if Adrian Du didn't have this scar, with his figure and appearance, he would be good enough to be on the cover of a fashion magazine. He was so in the past, and of course he is still so now.
When Ethan Zhou suddenly saw Adrian Du again in the private room, he almost thought that he had completely disappeared from his life.
But why did he appear at this time? What had he been through in these years?
Ethan Zhou took a box of yogurt from the refrigerator, sighed, inserted a straw, drank it, went back to the room, and lay down on the bed.
They met in a hurry and left in a hurry. Adrian Du didn't even leave him a contact information. Ethan Zhou knew that Adrian Du must still be angry with him, and also with himself. This anger lasted for three years.
Time can solve all problems for others, but not for Adrian Du.
Is his illness getting worse?
Ethan Zhou tossed and turned on his bed in the dark, his mind filled with Adrian Du's appearance today. He seemed to have grown taller and thinner than three years ago.
When they first met, they were like two polite strangers. Ethan Zhou didn't even have time to get familiar with him. A few days later, military training began.
Adrian Du studied automation, Ethan Zhou studied mechanics, they were not in the same company, but Ethan Zhou would occasionally see him across the playground - he was the tallest man in military uniform, standing in the last row. During breaks, Ethan Zhou would wave at him and whistle to signal him, Adrian Du would sometimes look at him, but he didn't respond, just looked at him from a distance.
Ethan Zhou noticed that Adrian Du hardly spoke to anyone in their class, and during breaks he sat alone in a daze with a cold look on his face.
"Would you like a Coke?" Ethan Zhou walked over and handed it to him.
Adrian Du nodded indifferently, took it, glanced at the Coke in his hand, suddenly took out a pack of cigarettes and handed it to Ethan Zhou.
"How do you know I smoke?" Ethan Zhou was very surprised.
"You smell like cigarettes." Adrian Du said.
At first, Ethan Zhou thought that Adrian Du didn't want to make friends with him, so he never spoke. However, through military training later, he found that Adrian Du was more silent and indifferent to others than to himself, so he guessed that this was his nature. On the contrary, he talked more to him, Ethan Zhou, so he didn't take it to heart.
Ethan Zhou himself has a lot of friends. Because he is sunny, cheerful and easy-going, he quickly became familiar with his classmates.
But he still cares about his roommate, after all, they will spend a long time together.
One day during the military training, after Ethan Zhou's class was dismissed, he saw Automation Class 3 still basking in the sun on the playground, but Adrian Du was missing, so he felt a little strange.
So he went to the cafeteria to get some summer tea, went to Adrian Du's company dormitory, and asked the instructor.
"Are you his friend?" the instructor asked.
"Roommate." Ethan Zhou guessed that Adrian Du might have suffered from heat stroke, and said, "I'll come to see him."
"Ethan Zhou," the instructor said, "you live in Room 603. I know you."
Ethan Zhou: "?"
Ethan Zhou was a little bit puzzled. How did the instructor of Adrian Du's class know him? Because he had seen the dormitory list? Maybe the instructor noticed him when they were arranged to live together?
But he didn't ask any more questions. The instructor told him the dormitory number, and Ethan Zhou knocked on the door. Adrian Du didn't say anything inside, so Ethan Zhou pushed the door open and went in.
It was a double room. Adrian Du was sitting on a bed in the inner side, his body and face hidden in the shadows, taking medicine with his head down.
"Are you okay?" Ethan Zhou asked.
Adrian Du was obviously startled, with uneasiness in his eyes. Ethan Zhou asked, "Did you get a heat stroke? I saw you didn't go to training, so I brought you some herbal tea."
"Thank you." Adrian Du immediately regained his usual composure and put the medicine box into his pocket.
Ethan Zhou was a little confused. He just accidentally saw that Adrian Du's medicine box was filled with white pills. The medicine box had many compartments and was obviously for daily administration.
He is sick?
Ethan Zhou looked around, sat on another bed, changed the subject, and said with a smile: "Your dormitory is better than ours. There are twelve of us living in one room, and there are double rooms for military training?"
"The instructor's bunk." Adrian Du replied.
"Is the heat too severe?" Ethan Zhou asked casually, "Are you feeling uncomfortable? Have you had lunch?"
Adrian Du nodded, Ethan Zhou unscrewed the thermos and poured him some herbal tea.
"It's too bitter." Adrian Du frowned, but Ethan Zhou laughed.
The instructor also came in and said, "Don't you want to go out for a walk? Go ahead and take your friend for a walk."
Adrian Du picked up the camouflage cap and motioned Ethan Zhou to follow him. They left the dormitory and wandered behind the canteen. Behind this camp was the girls' camp, which Ethan Zhou had never been to. The two walked one after the other without saying a word. When they reached the alley, Adrian Du suddenly said, "Are we going to the next class?"
Ethan Zhou was startled and asked, "What?"
"Several girls are talking about you," Adrian Du asked, "Bring you over and let them see you."
"Stop joking!" Ethan Zhou burst into laughter and said, "How did you know?"
"I overheard it by accident." Adrian Du said.
"You also eavesdrop on other people's conversations?" Ethan Zhou said, "I didn't expect you to be such a gossiper."
Adrian Du replied: "I only know you. When I heard your name, I paid attention to you. Have you finished your cigarettes? I'll buy you another pack."
Ethan Zhou took out the cigarettes Adrian Du bought for him and said, "I haven't opened them yet. Here you go."
Adrian Du waved his hand, and Ethan Zhou was a little surprised: "Why do you buy cigarettes if you don't smoke?"
"This cigarette has a nice packaging," Adrian Du replied, looking to one side, "I bought it as soon as I saw it."
It was the first time Ethan Zhou heard such a reason.
Ethan Zhou was smoking in the alley in front of the convenience store. Occasionally, classmates would come over and whistle at them. Ethan Zhou would greet them with a smile. People came and went, and everyone looked at Adrian Du strangely. Adrian Du looked away and never looked at anyone.
"Hey, someone is taking pictures of you." The boys in Ethan Zhou's class quickly touched him, and Ethan Zhou turned around with a smile.
His hair was messy and he hid the cigarette aside to avoid affecting his image. Unexpectedly, when Adrian Du looked sideways, he immediately turned his head away, not wanting his face to be photographed.
At the end of the alley, only laughter could be heard. When Ethan Zhou wanted to take a closer look, the person who took the photo of him had already left and he didn't even see his face.
"Male or female?"
"I didn't see it clearly, was it taken by Ethan Zhou?"
"I'm taking pictures of you." Ethan Zhou, who had become very familiar with the boys in the class, said seriously.
"Take your picture."
"Take a picture of yours!"
Everyone started to grab Ethan Zhou's Coke, so Ethan Zhou handed it over. The bottle of Coke was passed around, and when it came back, an empty bottle was left.
Adrian Du left in silence. Ethan Zhou threw the bottle away and followed Adrian Du.
"You go back." Adrian Du turned around and said, squinting his eyes to look at Ethan Zhou in the sunlight.
Ethan Zhou said: "I'll be free when I go back, so I can keep you company?"
Adrian Du said, "I don't need to accompany you."
Ethan Zhou discovered that no matter what he talked about, Adrian Du could quickly finish the topic. Perhaps that was why Adrian Du didn't make any friends.
"I haven't added your contact information yet." Ethan Zhou suddenly remembered something and took out his phone, thinking that maybe adding WeChat and chatting on WeChat would be better? After all, some people don't like to talk in real life, but they are much better on communication software.
"My phone fell." Adrian Du also took out his phone and showed it to Ethan Zhou. The screen was completely broken and the body was twisted and deformed as if it had been hit.
Ethan Zhou was shocked and asked, "How did he fall? How could he fall like this?"
"I slipped down from the upper floor without noticing," Adrian Du said, "and got stepped on again during the assembly."
Ethan Zhou tried a few times, but the phone wouldn't turn on, so he said, "I'll go back after the military training and buy you a new one."
Adrian Du nodded. At this time, the assembly whistle sounded. Ethan Zhou waved at him and quickly ran back to the company.
Afterwards, Ethan Zhou couldn't help but ask his classmates about automation, and the answer he got was the same as he thought.
Adrian Du is quite unsociable and never takes the initiative to talk to others, so no one takes the initiative to greet him.
"Because of low self-esteem?" The person who helped to inquire said to Ethan Zhou, "His face is quite badly disfigured. I always feel that there is something wrong with his eyes."
"What's wrong?" Ethan Zhou said seriously, "I don't think there's anything wrong."
"I heard that he had the highest college entrance examination score in this year," said the person who helped to inquire, "and he got full marks in mathematics."
Ethan Zhou: ...
On the day the military training ended, all departments had a meal and drinks in the cafeteria. There were many tables. Ethan Zhou's table was talking and joking happily, but suddenly everyone was quiet and everyone looked behind Ethan Zhou.
Ethan Zhou realized it later and turned around, only to see Adrian Du standing there with his water bottle in his hand.
"My roommate." Ethan Zhou introduced to everyone, "Adrian Du, want to eat together? Sit here?"
Ethan Zhou had previously seen Adrian Du being a loner in the automation class, and thought that perhaps the mechanics class might be more humorous, so he could have a chat with him.
"Here's your water bottle." Adrian Du handed the water bottle to Ethan Zhou, then lowered the brim of his hat, turned around and left.
"Do you want to change dormitories?" A good friend whispered to Ethan Zhou, "This guy seems too gloomy. We have to live here for four years. Who can guarantee that if we quarrel over some trivial matter, there will be no big trouble..."
Ethan Zhou immediately stopped the rumors and gossip about "thanking his roommate for not killing him".
Moreover, he had never felt that Adrian Du's eyes were gloomy, and he couldn't tell why, as if it came from some kind of innate intuition. It was not a look of hatred, but loneliness.
It was a deep loneliness - a loneliness that revealed one's submission to the whole world.
When he was in high school, Ethan Zhou worked as a summer intern in a zoo because he liked to study animals. Adrian Du's eyes always reminded him of animals locked in cages for people to watch.
Later, he slowly realized that Adrian Du just didn't want to hurt others unintentionally.
Five years later, Ethan Zhou tossed and turned in the dark, and finally stopped.
As long as you are in a city and are willing to look for someone, you will definitely find him. Ethan Zhou thought so and fell asleep in the quiet night.
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