rose ashes

The lights and shadows flickered, the people were crowded, and the twisting waists were slender and attractive.

Luo Yang just watched the people on the dance floor whose faces could not be seen clearly appearing in her already blurry eyes.

She didn't know how many times the wine glass in her hand had been empty, nor how many times she had asked the bartender to refill it with new wine. She just shook her wrist, indulging in a world that could allow her to escape from reality for a short while.

Tian Tian looked at her with a dazed look in her eyes, feeling a little worried, and walked through the crowded crowd and patted her back gently.
"Ah He, are you okay? Why don't you go home first?"

Luo Yang leaned over the table and looked sideways. Because of the alcohol, her cheeks were tinged with pink, her lips were red, and she smiled, "No, I'll be fine by myself for a while."
She didn't want to go home. She hadn't had a drink for a long time and it was a rare opportunity to have a good drink.

Tian Tian looked at her and felt uneasy, so she just sat down next to her.
"Are you in a bad mood? Otherwise, why did you suddenly ask me out for a drink?"
Luo Yang said she would quit drinking before she went abroad, and after returning home, she was rarely seen drinking.

She hadn't seen him this drunk for a long time.
Luo Yang's fingertips were trimmed and smooth, with a dazzling diamond ring on her ring finger, which looked a perfect fit. Her messy hair hung down a little on her temples.
He was mumbling something, but Tian Tian moved closer but couldn't catch any information.

Suddenly, Luo Yang seemed to wake up and sat up straight from the table, but his vision was still a little vague.
She looked at Tian Tian and said word by word: "If a person is angry, will he still come to me?"

Tian Tian couldn't quite follow her train of thought and didn't quite get the point: "Huh? Who's angry?"

Luo Yang waved his hands in confusion, "Forget it, if you don't want to come, then don't come. I'm used to being alone, it doesn't matter."
After saying that, he tapped the table with his fingertips and looked at the bartender: "A glass of bomber."

As soon as the words came out, Tian Tian stretched out her hand to stop him, "This is too strong, you can't drink it."
Luo Yang was already completely drunk, so he pushed her hand away and motioned to the bartender, "I'm fine, just one drink."

Luo Yang has a stubborn temper and looks gentle, but once there is something he must do or something he wants to get, no one will interfere with him.
Tian Tian sighed slightly, regretting a little that she had agreed to accompany her to the bar today.

In the noisy environment, Luo Yang lowered his eyes to stare at the small cup of bomber and drank it all without hesitation.
The sweet taste of coffee mixed with the spicy taste of liquor, a mixture of flavors.

But before he could comment, Tian Tian beside him suddenly exclaimed in a low voice and kept shaking her arms.
Luo Yang knew nothing and just frowned, "What's wrong? Did you see a handsome guy again? How handsome is he that makes you so excited?"

Tian Tian kept winking at her, "No, no, it's your family's—"

Luo Yang heard it clearly now and just found it funny, "There's no handsome guy in my family, are you crazy?"
Looking at the person right behind her with a gloomy face, Tian Tian was heartbroken and could only pray in her heart for Luo Yang to take care of himself.

Having drunk a lot of alcohol, Luo Yang was rarely talkative and was completely unaware of the oppressive feeling behind him.

"Are you enjoying your drink?" A voice that sounded like a smile came from behind, lingering in my ears and finally being swallowed up by the noisy environment.
Luo Yang seemed unwilling to look back, and just smiled and replied: "Not bad."
"Aren't you afraid that your family will find out?"
"Oh, where do I have a home?" Luo Yang thought seriously for a moment, patted the table, and said, "Well, I just got a new home recently, but he's a very busy man, fierce and mean, so he doesn't bother to take care of me."

The person behind her seemed to be choked by the words she blurted out, and remained silent. His pupils gradually calmed down, and his eyes lightly swept over Tian Tian beside him. He immediately knew what was going on and turned away, but he still looked at Luo Yang with some worry.

Being drunk, Luo Yang lay on the table, not wanting to move. He let the noisy environment around him get to him, but he didn't want to leave either.

Perhaps he hadn’t gotten over the problem just now, and he muttered angrily, “I know it’s my fault, but you’re so mean to me as soon as you get back…”
The hint of loneliness and helplessness in the words was heard by Ye Gu. His hand with the red rope was as long as a bamboo, and his broad palm covered Luo Yang's head. The spotlight shone on it, casting a shadow.

His hand remained suspended in the air for an unknown amount of time. Ye Gu's hand trembled slightly, and his lips gently pressed against hers. Before the next dance song began, he truly stroked her soft hair.

His voice was hoarse and heavy: "I'm sorry, I was mean to you."

Luo Yang didn't know whether she heard what he said clearly or not, she just shook her hand subconsciously, the diamond ring on her right ring finger was dangling, the cut surface was dazzling.
"It's okay, I don't blame anyone."

She felt drowsy and wanted to sleep a little, but alcohol always forced her brain nerves to feel excited. The drowsiness and the excitement factors were fighting against each other, which was a lose-lose situation.

Luo Yang raised her head and just barely saw the person sitting next to her. He didn't speak for a long time. He just clasped his hands together and held his coat in one hand, his eyes burning as he looked at her deeply.

She laughed, blinked her eyes and curled her lips slightly, "As expected, if you drink too much, you will have hallucinations. I actually saw Ye Gu."
After a moment, he said, "He won't come to see me."
It didn't happen before and it doesn't happen now.

Ye Gu's heart shrank slightly, and he curled up. The coat in his hand slowly fell on Luo Yang's shoulders, covering her slightly exposed collarbone.
"He'll find you."

Luo Yang tilted his head, as if trying to confirm the authenticity of the words of the people around him.
Half a minute later, someone suddenly passed by behind him. Luo Yang only felt that the chair moved suddenly, and his eyes were full of the face of the deep-looking man in front of him.

Her heart was beating like a drum, Luo Yang's eyelashes trembled, and her watery eyes stared at him without blinking, forgetting to look away.
A slightly cool palm covered her vision, and a clear voice shone in her ears, "Your eyes will get tired."

Although he was surrounded by the smell of alcohol, Luo Yang strangely smelled a faint aroma of milk. His nostrils were filled with the right amount of milk flavor, which seemed to be there and not there, yet familiar.
Luo Yang blinked her eyelashes slightly, and glanced at Ye Gu's palm. Beyond the barrier of her palm, Ye Gu's Adam's apple rolled slightly, and he didn't dare to look at her.

With his head lowered, his eyes were fixed on the ground. Luo Yang, who had been drinking, was no match for her at all.

He lowered his head and said in a low voice: "Since you don't know me, why do you let a strange man get so close to you?"

Luo Yang realized it later and reached out to push it away, "Yes."

The next second, his wrist was grabbed. Ye Gu gritted his teeth and suppressed the surging tsunami. "Tsk, forget it. Who am I mad at?" He raised his head and hid the ripples in his eyes without a trace. "Look carefully, I am Ye Gu. Now, I will take you home."

Luo Yang frowned, carefully looking at the man in front of him who called himself Ye Gu, and shook his head hesitantly, "Are you Ye Gu? I don't think you look like it."

Ye Gu patiently persuaded him, "What do you think he should be like?" Luo Yang perked up and cleared his throat, "He should be 'idiot, you've grown old for nothing all these years, and you still come to the bar to drink?' And, 'You are really capable, Luo Yang!'"
She put her hands on her hips and imitated every bit of his charm. It must be said that even Ye Gu had no words to refute her inability to act like him.

Ye Gu was slightly startled and coughed lightly, "He's not always like this."

Luo Yang was skeptical, but then he couldn't figure it out. He frowned and shrugged, "Whatever. He won't come to pick me up anyway. I'll go home by myself later. Don't bother me as a stranger."

Ye Gu: “…”
Tian Tian, ​​who had been observing from the side, couldn't help but burst out laughing. She lowered her voice and said leisurely, "Master, you have come to this day too. It really is a matter of time."

Seeing that Ye Gu’s patience was about to run out, Tian Tian was just a talker, and in the end she couldn’t just watch Luo Yang stay in the bar without being able to go home.
Just as he was about to help, Ye Gu slowly squatted down, silently took off Luo Yang's high heels, took out a pair of white sneakers from the bag beside him, and carefully put them on her.

Luo Yang was already deeply drunk, slumped over the table, completely unaware.

He tucked the lock of hair behind her ear, buttoned up his coat, and said in a low voice, "Ye Gu is really here to pick you up. He's at the door. I'll take you there. Can you go home with him?"

It seemed that only this name could make Luo Yang react. She took a deep breath, rubbed her face, and her steps were unsteady. Ye Gu protected her with both hands so that she could barely walk straight.

"Really? You didn't lie to me? He really came? I still think it's impossible..."
Luo Yang occupied the widest position in the crowd, walking step by step, muttering to himself.

Ye Gu said patiently, "Really, I didn't lie to you. Have you forgotten that you called him just now?"

Luo Yang shook his head, "I remember, but I can't quite remember what I said... I don't think I said anything..."
The person who was blatantly challenged and teased had a gloomy expression, then raised his eyebrows, "Oh, I didn't say anything, I just wanted to overthrow him."

Ye Gu paused for a moment, looking at the man in the ill-fitting suit in front of him. After a few seconds, Luo Yang nodded and said as if it was a routine matter, "Oh, that's good."
Ye Gu: “…”

Now there was no doubt that she was really drunk, very drunk, and she didn't even react to the ridiculous things she said.

Ye Gu shook his head helplessly and followed behind. When he arrived at the door, Liu Min had been standing by the car waiting for a long time.

When Luo Yang saw that person, he narrowed his eyes slightly and insisted: "You lied to me."
Ye Gu hadn't reacted yet, and buttoned up the buttons she had unbuttoned again bit by bit, "What?"
Luo Yang pointed in Liu Min's direction and said in a flat voice, "Objectively speaking, Ye Gu is not that mediocre, so he didn't come at all, right?"
Luo Yang raised his eyes and looked straight in the direction of the car.

The night wind was slightly cool, and in the vastness, a clear voice sounded behind me, as if coming from a distant place.
"If you look back, he's there."

Ye Gu just looked at her back. The street light cast her thin figure on the ground, tall and desolate.

Luo Yang slowly turned her neck slightly, but before she turned it completely, she took a deep breath, clenched her fists at her sides, and her voice trembled slightly, almost unnoticeable.
"Forget it, I'm not expecting anything, let's go home."

Not knowing what he was afraid of, or perhaps he was afraid that he would regret something, Luo Yang was drunk from the alcohol, but he still couldn't get rid of the worry in his heart.

In the moment of distraction, Ye Gu watched her get into the car without looking back, his eyes unfathomable.
He couldn't see her clearly. Maybe she wasn't drunk at all, but her unclear mind couldn't deceive anyone.

/ / /
The effect of alcohol is hard to estimate. Luo Yang probably didn't expect that he would be defeated by a small glass of "Bomber" before drinking it.

I was just a little sleepy in the car and kept shouting that I wanted to sleep, but when I got home, I was completely energetic, a completely different person, and extremely excited.

Liu Min looked at Ye Gu's tie and shirt, which had long been untidy, and silently worried for Luo Yang.

"Didn't you say you wanted to go to bed?"
Ye Gu loosened his tie with one hand and put it on the sofa. He looked at Luo Yang, who was sitting on the sofa opposite him, guarding herself against anyone approaching and unwilling to go upstairs. He was at a loss as to what to do with her.

She must have been sent by God to torture him. It was already 1:30 in the morning of the next day, but Luo Yang refused to listen. He could only talk to her patiently in a negotiating tone.

Luo Yang sat upright, hugging a pillow, looking at him frankly with bright eyes.
"Ye Gu, tell me, are you not capable of this?"

His hand that was pulling up his sleeves paused, he looked up in disbelief, and sneered, "What did you say?"
The wrist bones protrude slightly and the eyes are slightly focused.

Luo Yang didn't realize anything was wrong. He just looked at him, looked him up and down, and said two words firmly: "No, it's OK."

Ye Gu smiled, clenched his back teeth, and quickly said, "You know it won't work even if you haven't tried it?"

Luo Yang seemed to have heard something funny, and smiled: "Isn't it obvious at first glance? Do you still need to try?"

But before he could say the next sentence, he was picked up by someone and the sofa no longer felt real under him. In panic, Luo Yang hugged Ye Gu's neck, and their breaths intertwined with each other, warm and oppressive.

Ye Gu's pupils were lowered so low that one couldn't see his thoughts clearly, as if if one looked for one more second he would be sucked into the unfathomable vortex, with no possibility of survival.

His thin lips moved, and his breath opened and closed, spraying lightly on Luo Yang's thin and transparent earlobe. Facing the light of the crystal lamp, the small hairs and red blood vessels on the earlobe were clearly visible.

"You said practice makes perfect, so let's give it a try and see if I can do it."

(End of this chapter)