Chapter 180
Zheng Yi watched Xiao Li with an expression of sadness and pain.
Xiao Li was stared at by him and hesitated before asking, “…What’s wrong?”
Zheng Yi scratched his head and looked away. “Then how should we call you in the future?”
……Why was it becoming more and more like a bad situation? What could he be called?
Xiao Li replied, “You can call me whatever you want.”
“Oh… then I’ll call you Sherlock. I’m used to this.”
He had a bit of a psychological barrier to the name Moriarty. It felt like the person he hated for so long turned out to be the person he admired most.
Xiao Li nodded casually.
Tan Li had left Xiao Li’s pocket and was hanging from the window sill where the hydrangea was placed. She crouched there and stared deeply into the flowers with an admiring look.
Xiao Li sat on the sofa in the middle while Zheng Yi sat to the left. He glanced at Xiao Li and couldn’t help scanning the ancient painting hanging on the wall of the living room. The ancient painting had changed compared to what it looked like in Future Theme Park.
The ancient woman lay under the big tree and the Judge who previously came to Xiao Li’s house was lying face down. The stick person that Xiao Li added was shaking its scribbled head with interest, chasing the hand in front of it. The hand that was taken out of the ghost painting had five fingers down and used the fingers as legs as it tried to escape.
Zheng Yi who saw the bizarre skit, “……”
He cleared his throat. “She brought back the ghost hand?”
Xiao Li looked into Zheng Yi’s eyes. “Yes.”
Zheng Yi weakly stated, “Don’t bring everything back with you.”
“She likes it so it is fine.”
He didn’t care much about the ghosts who followed him. They could do whatever they wanted and treat this place as home.
The little black cat briskly jumped onto the sofa, raised his hind legs and scratched his ears. Then he bent his legs and no longer moved.
Zhou Ying in the phone saw there was no call and opened the game again. The Eternal Soul Umbrella that was automatically recovered at the end of the world was placed at the entranceway table like an ordinary umbrella. The little yellow book was spread out on the coffee table.
This house wasn’t big and was far from the luxurious Xiao family villa, but it was full of a type of strange warmth. It gave Zheng Yi a strange sense of security. He reached out his hand to rub the head of the little black cat. He just wanted to say something to Xiao Li when he abruptly raised his head. “I almost forgot!”
Xiao Li who had been half-spread out on the sofa like a salted fish, “?”
Zheng Yi pulled out a beautiful invitation from his pocket. “My birthday is next Sunday. Can you come?”
He could’ve actually asked about Xiao Li’s ident.i.ty on the phone. The reason Zheng Yi came in such a hurry was to give this birthday invitation to Xiao Li, not just confront him. Zheng Yi hadn’t wanted to do it but his mother forced him. Finally, Zheng Yi agreed to only invite a few of his best cla.s.smates.
Xiao Li didn’t answer at first. “I don’t like this type of occasion.”
“I know, I just want to try it.” Zheng Yi grinned. “You really won’t think about it? I promised to let you drink the best coffee in Future Theme Park.”
Xiao Li was the one he most wanted to spend his birthday with.
Xiao Li glanced at him and reluctantly accepted the birthday invitation. “k2026;Okay.”
It was just a stroll. He hadn’t gone out for a long time apart from school.
Zheng Yi was immediately happy. “Then I’ll see you next Sunday.”
Xiao Li left the birthday invitation on the table and fell back, continuing to lie down.
The little black cat was almost crushed by him. He pushed out with a grunt and placed his head on Xiao Li’s hand.
***
Time was fleeting. A few days of school pa.s.sed and it was soon Zheng Yi’s birthday party ‘next Sunday.’
Zheng Yi’s birthday party was held in a famous villa area surrounded by mountains and beautiful scenery. Every home was a single family villa with its own swimming pool. Xiao Li didn’t dress up too much and casually put on a shirt from his wardrobe.
By the time he arrived, Zheng Yi had been waiting at the door for a long time. Unlike Xiao Li, Zheng Yi was dressed up. He wore a white suit with a flower on his chest. He was like the spring breeze as he waited proudly for Xiao Li. His mother stood behind him in a fitted dress while waiting for Zheng Yi’s guest.
The owners of the Zheng family villa were at the door so the other guests were embarra.s.sed to stay in the villa. They took the opportunity to say h.e.l.lo and stayed at the door to see who made Zheng Yi so enthusiastic.
Zheng Yi ran up to Xiao Li when his figure appeared. “You are here.”
“Am I… late?” Xiao Li glanced at his watch.
He wasn’t too late. He was 10 minutes early.
“No no.” Zheng Yi patted his shoulder affectionately. “You’re early. It’s just that every day I don’t see you is like autumn.”
Xiao Li, “……”
Mrs Zheng walked over from behind Zheng Yi and touched her son’s head. “Ah Yi has been telling me about you, how much you take care of him and how much he likes you. Now that I see you today, sure enough, you are a talented person.”
Xiao Li pursed his lips. He didn’t speak but Zheng Yi noticed that Xiao Li was looking at his mother more.
Mrs Zheng said, “Since you are here, I won’t disturb your gathering of young people. I’m going first.”
Before she left, she rubbed her son’s hair lovingly.
Xiao Li paused, disguised his lowered head as a bow and said goodbye to Mrs Zheng. Mrs Zheng got into the black car at the door of the villa and left the villa.
Zheng Yi immediately became lively. He took Xiao Li’s arm and walked into the villa. “Come here, the coffee is ready for you. It is grinded by hand. I specifically invited someone from abroad to make it.”
His shirt wasn’t b.u.t.toned at the top and opened outwards. The young man’s collarbone was exposed. He looked slender and difficult to get close to, but he was very attractive.
Not soon after, Zheng Yi’s childhood friend came over. “Zheng Yi, who is this? Aren’t you going to introduce us?”
Zheng Yi observed Xiao Li’s face and found that this person didn’t have any impatient reactions before speaking. “This is my current cla.s.smate Xiao Li and also my best friend. Xiao Li, this is my former kindergarten cla.s.smate called Mu Si.”
Mu Si wanted to say a few more words to Xiao Li but Zheng Yi had already pulled Xiao Li to the hall bar. Then Zheng Yi brought a cup of coffee and placed it in front of Xiao Li. No more explanation was needed as the strong smell of coffee filled the air.
Xiao Li took a sip of the coffee. It was indeed different from simple instant coffee. The taste was much more mellow but Xiao Li didn’t like coffee too much. Therefore, he didn’t like the taste of this drink.
However, he saw Zheng Yi’s expression and praised, “It’s good.”
Zheng Yi was relieved. Rather than drinking coffee like Xiao Li, he sneaked behind the bar and took out a box of foreign wine from the cabinet.
Zheng Yi moved the box of foreign wine under the projector in the large living room, took out a few bottles from it and placed them on the ground. “Xiao Li, are you coming?”
His friends weren’t reincarnators and the name ‘Sherlock’ was too strange so Zheng Yi used his real name.
Zheng Yi originally thought that Xiao Li wouldn’t join this game. He expected the other person’s usual style would be sitting to the side and smiling. He didn’t expect Xiao Li to actually agree and put the coffee cup aside to sit near him.
“Come, come, how can it be a birthday without drinking?” Mu Si also gathered.
“It is boring to drink alone. You should’ve invited a few female students to come.”
“Play a game? Drink if you lose?”
Zheng Yi hadn’t invited many people. They were mostly teenagers of the same age and they started to make a fuss.
“What game should we play? Truth or dare?”
“Isn’t that a bit vulgar? How about something exciting?”
“Forget it.” As the protagonist, Zheng Yi gave the final word. “Don’t play anything exciting. This is fine. Don’t be too tricky and there is no need to take big risks. If you lose then you’ll drink. This is something good I got from my mother. Don’t waste it.”
“Turn the bottle. The person the mouth is pointing at can ask a question of the person the bottom is pointing at. If you don’t want to answer then you have to drink.”
The group formed a circle with the bottles of wine in the middle. Zheng Yi took a bottle of wine, placed it horizontally and used force to spin it. The bottle turned around and finally, the head of the bottle pointed at a little fatty while the bottom of the bottle pointed at Mu Si.
“f.u.c.k.” The little fatty hit his thigh. He was Zheng Yi’s cousin and he had a belly full of tricks. He rolled his eyes and said, “I will make a good start. I’ll give you some face and will ask you a more reserved question.”
Mu Si let out a large scoff. “A dog’s mouth can’t spit out ivory. What good questions can you ask?”
The little fatty went straight in. “Did you give your first kiss to your ex-girlfriend or your current girlfriend?”
Mu Si looked around. He hadn’t brought his girlfriend. “…Ex-girlfriend. Don’t tell Qian Qian. She will kill me.”
The little fatty sneered and turned the bottle again. This time, the mouth of the bottle stopped on another young man and the bottom stopped on Zheng Yi.
“Big birthday star, let me ask you. What is the most emotionally fluctuating thing you experienced recently?” The young man asked.
Zheng Yi glanced at Xiao Li and quickly finished in one breath. “The person I worship and the person I was blackening are actually the same person. The person who was scolded by me was another ident.i.ty.”
The young man listened to this complicated relationship and was stunned. “…Hey, you actually play like this?”
He used his dirty thoughts to add to Zheng Yi’s words, thinking it was some strange role-playing.
“Hurry up, the next person.” Zheng Yi waved unhappily.
The young man shrugged and turned the bottle again. This time, the bottom of the bottle was facing Xiao Li but the mouth of the bottle was facing Mu Si.
Mu Si eagerly spoke. “New friend, I haven’t seen you before so I’ll ask the simplest question. Do you have a partner?”
Zheng Yi interrupted, “Why are you doing? In your next sentence, do you want to ask who the partner is? You care so much?”
Mu Si thought it was strange. “Why are you trying to cover it up? Are you his partner?”
Zheng Yi, “……”
He didn’t dare, he didn’t dare. For Xiao Li, this question was actually very easy to answer. It was obviously a no. However, he didn’t know why but he remembered the one the man stood in front of him in Future Paradise.
Xiao Li tilted his head, picked out a bottle from the pile of wine bottles, opened it directly and poured it into his mouth. Zheng Yi’s family was rich and this bottle was a good wine. It wasn’t strong but there was still some degree of alcohol. It was relatively strong for people who didn’t like to drink. Xiao Li didn’t drink often and took a lot of effort before swallowing. He controlled himself not toc cough and looked at the bottle in his hand. Then he took another sip.
“It seems there is a partner…” Mu Si murmured. “Next time, I’ll ask you who it is.”
“Go on.” Zheng Yi rolled his eyes. “look at how you gossip.
“………”
They played a few more rounds but it never went to Xiao Li. He placed his hands on his chin and watched them. The strength of the wine rushed to his head and he took two more mouthfuls. This group of people played happily and on average, everyone drank at least half a bottle.
This lasted until Zheng Yi pushed Xiao Li’s shoulders. “Xiao Li, are you okay? Are you drunk?”
“I should be.” Xiao Li measured the temperature of his cheek with the back of his hand. The wine acted quickly and he was half sober and half confused. “I have to go back.”
Zheng Yi felt Xiao Li was a bit drunk and pulled him up. “Should I ask the driver to take you back? Or don’t go back at all and sleep in my house. There are many rooms.”
Xiao Li was a bit unsteady and felt the world spinning around. “I don’t like to sleep in strange places.”
He continued, “…There is no need to send me. I can go back by myself.”
“Look at you, how can you go back by yourself? I can call you a cab but I’m afraid you will be thrown on the ground.”
Xiao Li used his chaotic mind to think. Just give him a car and he could let Tan Li drive… it’s not like she had never driven before. Or…
Or who else? No one would come and pick him up. Others had parents but he didn’t have any.
A trace of tiredness appeared on Xiao Li’s face. He lowered his eyelashes to erase the emotions in his eyes. “Let me stay for a while and…”
“Give him to me. I’ll take him home.”
Xiao Li hadn’t finished his words when someone took him from Zheng Yi and embraced him, the other person’s words entering his ears.