Please Have a Cup of Green Tea

Part3. "Why Home"

"Let's congratulate PG for winning the League of Legends World Championship for three consecutive years!"

In the brilliant golden light, there were deafening cheers and screams in his ears. Before Li Dingbei took off his headphones, he subconsciously stretched out his hand to his side, wanting to celebrate the victory with her.

But the scene that caught my eye was her and Shi Zhong's embrace, and her laughter so brisk that it seemed to float.

"Three consecutive championships - we did it!"

The cameras couldn't stop their overflowing intimacy either.

Li Dingbei didn't know how long he stared at them, but he was woken up by the flashing spotlight and quickly stood up, blocking the moving camera for them without a trace.

The twins also gathered around, forming a group with them, happily venting the joy of victory.

When he picked up the trophy, Li Dingbei heard Shi Zhong whispering "thank you" behind him, but when he turned around, he saw the girl beside Shi Zhong bent his eyes at him and made a heart-to-heart with his fingers.

Li Dingbei pulled his lips, then picked up the trophy and strode away.

He wasn't quite sure what role he was playing, maybe in their eyes, he was more like a friend who helped cover up.

Back in the background, his mood gradually returned to normal, and his feverish brain began to slowly wake up.

What else is there to be unwilling to do?

Her relationship with Shi Zhong has never been hidden from them.

After winning the championship in the first year, the two have already started dating.

Li Dingbei even felt that it was not impossible for them to announce on Weibo when they were excited tonight.

However, everyone was busy dealing with the media that night, and the "official announcement" Li Dingbei imagined did not happen.

A few days later, they went to Li Dingbei's hometown for vacation according to the pre-match agreement.

The team tour after the S game has become their annual "reward". For example, in the first year, the twins entertained them with a beach house. Last year, Bi Ming took them to visit the Jiangnan water town. This year, it was Li Dingbei's turn.

As the most famous local tyrant in Qin Province, Li Dingbei's family got rich by mining coal, which is commonly known as the "coal boss". Later, when the policy changed, his family resolutely transformed, contracting the mountains and forests to start a "farmhouse", which is now the industry leader in the province.

When welcoming everyone, Li Dingbei saw his mother looking at his teammates, and his eyes stayed on Bi Ming for a while.

It was even more obvious when it was time to eat. Mother Li was almost inquiring about Bi Ming's family information.

Li Dingbei was restless, but looking at the expression of his brother and sister-in-law watching the excitement on the round table, and Shi Zhong's increasingly dark face, he could only pull his mother aside and explain in a low voice:

"Hey...Mom, don't ask so many people, it's like checking the household registration. How embarrassing."

Mother Li looked at her son: "What's embarrassing? Aren't you interested in that girl?"

"No—" Li Dingbei blushed, "Don't mess around with the mandarin ducks, it's nothing."

"Then what about our bracelet?" Mother Li's eyes widened. "That's for my daughter-in-law. Who did you give it to?"

"I'm still here, I didn't give it to anyone." The birthday present that Li Dingbei gave her was put back on the table in his training room.

Mother Li stared at him, the wrinkles at the end of her eyes narrowed, with a little doubt: "Why do I feel like you are lying to me?"

"Mom—" Li Dingbei rubbed his temples tiredly, "Don't be suspicious, please say a few words at the dinner table."

Knowing the son Mo Ruomu, when he heard his son's tone, the mother became even more skeptical.

The dining table in Li's family is very large, and four generations live in the same room. Halfway through the meal, the sound of a baby crying suddenly came from the room. Mother Li seemed to complain, and the elder sister-in-law quickly put down the tableware and went back to the room to coax. child.

"The youngest of our family is a crybaby and cannot be separated from his mother all day long." Mother Li smiled and explained to the guests, "But the older two are very good and can eat by themselves."

"So Brother Bei now has three nephews," Meng Dongliu exclaimed.

"More than that," Mother Li shook her head again and again and told them with a smile, "Dingbei's sister just got pregnant with her second child this year. Now that his older brother and sister have both sons and daughters, Dingbei is just short of it."

"Mom..." Li Dingbei didn't expect that he would suddenly come around to him.

But Li's father also supported his wife: "Your mother is right, the man should be married and the woman should be married. Your brother has a great treasure at your age."

The atmosphere at the table suddenly became a little strange.

The twins who hadn't thought about the topic of marriage bumped their legs against each other under the table.

Shi Zhong turned his head, his slightly mocking eyes collided with Bi Ming, and then he was glared back coldly.

Li Dingbei took a deep breath: "Dad, Mom, let's not mention this first. I'm going to the resort with them at night. You remember to remind the manager over there to open five special cave houses."

"Go find Lao Chen yourself for this trivial matter." Father Li didn't say much when he saw his son changing the subject. He just raised his glass to everyone at the table with a smile, "Come on, everyone, eat more!"

After the meal time, Li Dingbei drove out the family tractor.

"I'll take you there." He coughed and seemed a little embarrassed, "Don't dislike this means of transportation."

The twins, who grew up in affluent neighborhoods and never touched a tractor, let out a cheer.

"Amazing little Beizi!"

"Bei Ge Niu!"

Shi Zhong also found it interesting: "Thank you for your hard work, Dingbei."

Li Dingbei pointed to the way to the cave area: "It takes more than 20 minutes to walk here. It saves time by sitting here."

Bi Ming smiled softly behind him: "I didn't expect you to drive a tractor."

Li Dingbei looked back helplessly, and whispered to her, "Sorry, don't take what they asked you about when you were eating just now."

"Uncle and aunt..." Bi Ming blinked, "What did they say?"

"What age are you, parents... They have always been like this, and they want me to get married sooner, so you understand." Li Dingbei's voice became lower and lower under her smiling eyes.

"It's okay," Bi Ming shrugged, "It's normal for the old man to be anxious for you."

Li Dingbei moved his lips, as if he wanted to say something, but was interrupted by Shi Zhong who came over.

"Shall we sit back and face each other?"

Shi Zhong pointed to the back seat of the tractor covered with haystacks and asked an obvious question.

Li Dingbei saw him quietly separating himself and Bi Ming, and sighed softly in his heart: "Well."

He shouldn't expect anything else, it's obvious that she and Shi Zhong are a couple.

Soon, except for Meng Dongliu, who was eager to learn from Li Dingbei to drive a tractor, everyone else boarded the empty seat in the back row.

The breeze came, and the heavy golden ears of wheat swayed into waves in the autumn fields.

Li Dingbei heard her intermittent brisk minor tunes coming from behind, perhaps mixed with other people's singing, and Meng Dongliu's chattering noise, and unconsciously curved the corners of his mouth.

Although he repeatedly reminded himself that he should remain rational, he still couldn't help but imagine—

She... probably likes his hometown.

At night, the mountain wind is cool and pleasant, the stars are shining, and the cicadas are croaking.

Li Dingbei and Bi Ming were sitting under the pergola hung with grapevines, chatting one after another.

"I'm eating skewers tonight, I feel like the weight is a bit too much." Bi Ming glanced at the grill next to it, and there were all kinds of skewered ingredients on it. "And why haven't they come yet?"

Li Dingbei's eyes moved from the night sky to her side face, and he slowly admitted: "They are not so fast, I notified after ten o'clock."

"Hey," Bi Ming frowned slightly and glanced at her phone, "But your message clearly said it was half past nine?"

"I..." Li Dingbei pursed his lips, "The message I sent you is different from theirs."

Bi Ming turned her head, her eyelashes fluttering in confusion.

However, Li Dingbei seemed to have made up his mind and said again: "Because I want to talk to you alone."

God knows how hard it took him to say that.

Bi Ming froze for a moment, then stared at him: "What do you want to talk about?"

Li Dingbei settled down and tried not to be affected by those bright eyes: "Two years ago, I gave you a bracelet, and you returned it to me. Now I still want to give it to you—"

"don't want."

"Keep it for you."

The words of the two blurted out almost at the same time.

"Lin Nan, that's not what I meant." Li Dingbei paused for a moment and explained with difficulty, "I know the current relationship between you and Shi Zhong, and this bracelet... is an excuse to avoid my mother's urging marriage."

Bi Ming tilted her head: "Without the bracelet, your mother wouldn't let you go, right?"

"There is a custom passed down by an old man in our family. It's 'enjoying the color'. This bracelet is a token." Li Dingbei lowered his head and avoided her eyes, "My mother values ​​this very much, and I can't help it if I take her away. Find the woman's house to get married."

"But you can't hide for the rest of your life." Bi Ming reminded him, "This is your family after all."

Li Dingbei said slowly: "I have passed the military's special move, and I will stay in the army for the next few years, so I can temporarily avoid them."

Seeing that he handed her the jade bracelet that was crystal clear in the moonlight again, Bi Ming was a little helpless: "Can't you keep it yourself?"

Li Dingbei lowered his eyes and was silent for a while.

"If I die on a mission in the future, you can keep it as a memorial."

Bi Ming suspected that he should have enlistment anxiety: "No, you are still a recruit."

Li Dingbei grabbed her hand and stuffed the bracelet into her palm—

"Just think I'm unfounded."

Bi Ming was choked on by him, and when he saw that he threw the family heirloom to him without caring, he shook his head.

"I'll deposit it in the bank safe for you another day." She pondered for a moment, and then she quickly cut through the mess, "You will keep the keys yourself. And don't think about it. It depends on which comes first tomorrow or the accident. Life."

At that time, Li Dingbei didn't know what a prophecy was, so he breathed a sigh of relief.

Her willingness to accept that bracelet was also a kind of psychological comfort to him.

Cicadas chirped, and the bright moonlight splashed in the yard, dyeing the branches of the grape shed with a halo.

The man turned his head, and the emotion in his eyes also overflowed softly like moonlight.

"Lin Nan... Anyway, I hope you are happy."

She bent her eyes and smiled, looking back at him—

"thanks, I will."

This smile that bloomed for him appeared repeatedly in Li Dingbei's dreams in the following years.

Hard training, the invasion of the waves, the thrill of the storm... The long military life has tempered him into a strong and tenacious naval warrior.

Just like his name "Dingbei", he has become a part of the coastal defense cause of the Northern Military Region, and has won many honorary medals for his hard-working spirit and keen and loyal character. .

In the year of his exceptional promotion to major, he picked up his phone and couldn't wait to tell her and his family the good news.

However, the new information on his phone froze all his joy for a moment.

[I heard that Lin Nan suffered a terrorist attack, did you know, brother Bei? 】

[Dingbei, look at the news, Lin Nan, a staff member of the embassy in Jordan, was attacked by a stray bullet... Is that Sister Nan? 】

A dizzying sensation hit him, so that he, who has always been strong, stayed in place like a stone pillar and couldn't move.

The military's system is strict, and anti-counterfeiting slips require weeks of approval.

For the first time, he, who has always been a pacesetter of discipline, begged his superiors for approval as soon as possible. He was afraid that he would not even make it to her funeral.

The extreme pain was like ten thousand ants biting his heart, Li Dingbei repeatedly asked Shi Zhong to verify the truth of the matter.

Her bones have not been found, how can she be considered dead?

"Dingbei, her estate has been counted, remember to pick up the bracelet deposited in your bank." Shi Zhong's calm voice sounded extremely cold to Li Dingbei, and even made him a rare kind of anger.

Knowing that today - he would never - give her to -

There was finally a crack in the man's strong heart that could not be sewed, so that it was out of control.

【Why let her go to such a dangerous place? 】

【Why... can't you protect her? 】

He yelled at Shi Zhong on the phone, but when he came to her empty coffin, all the hostility turned into emptiness and nothingness.

The man thought that her ashes were lost on the battlefield, and no one had collected them.

He was silent in front of her tombstone for several days, and finally went to the bank to take out the bracelet, and asked someone to reprocess it into two small jade pendants.

The jade pendant was made into a dragon and phoenix pendant, one piece was worn on his chest and the other was buried in the grave.

The following year, he gave up his immediate promotion order and recommended himself to the troops for a peacekeeping mission in South Sudan.

Since then, the army has added a soldier who has repeatedly rotated among peacekeepers in West Africa and the Middle East.

Danger, war and death have been with him ever since.

In a foreign land, even if there are many dangers, he can always complete the task brilliantly. Perhaps being alone and having nothing to worry about made him stronger.

But no matter how much honor the accumulated military merit is enough for him, he has only one request each time:

Don't send him back home.

Later, he became the youngest admiral, and he never married. Like a ghost in the open sea, he dedicated his life to the country.

But he knew he wasn't that great.

In the final analysis, it was just because his love died in a foreign land, and he was reluctant to be too far away from her, so he had to drift on the sea, waiting for the Mediterranean wind to bring her breath.

Starting a family, starting a business, getting married and having children... These life plans have all disappeared in Li Dingbei's life.

After all, she's gone, why is she home?

Part4. "Void"

—He is a born statesman, strategizing and scheming.

This is the most common evaluation of Shi Zhong from the outside world.

His official experience is almost comparable to that of male novels, with smooth sailing and excellent luck.

The only thing that was used to make an article was that he maintained a premarital cohabitation relationship with a woman in his early years.

The identity of the woman is also very old. Back then, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs focused on cultivating talents, Lin Nan, the second secretary of the embassy in Jordan.

It's just that the relationship between the beauty Gao Fan and the municipal party committee cadres, who are well-matched and talented, has nothing to do with "black material".

And everyone knows that the two of them were once legendary e-sports players and had a three-year friendship with the team.

The PG team they are in has so far been considered the ceiling of the professional team of the League of Legends.

The reason why this e-sports team is legendary is not only because of its good results, but also because its members have all reached the pinnacle of life after retirement.

Its bot lanes ushered in the era of holographic gaming.

The top order has become the spiritual banner of peacekeeping troops stationed abroad.

The jungler has inspired countless women to join the industries occupied by men and achieve themselves.

The most mysterious and low-key mid laner in the team, whose name is also in the news reports.

Perhaps the first generation of PG was too good, and its successors were reduced to mediocrity under the background, which also led to the sudden shrinkage of club sponsorship and decline year by year.

"That's why you bought PG, right?" Shi Zhong in a suit sat in the office and quietly sipped his hot tea.

The twin brother sitting across from him nodded of course.

"Brother Zhong, now we are the bosses of Big Bear, it feels amazing." Meng Dongliu laughed.

Meng Xishang also showed a bit of a mischievous smile: "I will be shocked when Sister Lin comes back."

At this time, Bi Ming had just passed her twenty-ninth birthday.

"She guessed it a long time ago," Shi Zhong smiled lightly, as if caught in some kind of memory, his eyes narrowed happily, "I bet with me last night before going to bed that you would definitely shoot."

The twins stared at Shi Zhong's warm and harmless face, as if he had been stabbed by something.

Brother Zhong knew that they would be jealous if he said that.

"In this way, my sister really understands us." Meng Dongliu's ending was slightly longer.

Shi Zhong has cultivated very deeply in the past few years, so he doesn't care about this little provocation: "She still misses the club base, let me explain to you, if it is convenient, keep the training room as it is and don't decorate it. "

Meng Xishang immediately hooked his lips: "Brother Zhong, you reassure her, we plan to turn the PG building into a team memorial, and the new base will be relocated nearby."

"Use the original base as a memorial hall?" Shi Zhong raised his eyebrows, "Is the new base used to form your holographic game team?"

The twins seemed a little surprised by his sharpness: "Can you guess that?"

"I also read the holographic technology development document issued by the General Administration," Shi Zhong tapped lightly with his long fingers on the table. "This industry is still a blue ocean, and your ideas are good."

Before they knew it, they started talking about business.

When the twins left the office, they reluctantly discovered that the rhythm of the conversation was completely controlled by Brother Zhong again.

"Why is he like an old fox now?" Meng Dongliu complained to his brother in a low voice.

"Normal, Brother Zhong is being watched by more and more people now." Meng Xishang patted his younger brother on the shoulder, "When that person's term ends, he will be promoted again."

"Tsk, so terrifying." Meng Dongliu was speechless, "I think his promotion is as easy as drinking water."

"It's Brother Zhong after all." Meng Xishang said meaningfully.

A guy who is full of scheming, emotional intelligence, and IQ, no matter where he hangs out, he can stand out.

This is indeed the case. Shi Zhong has been living under high pressure since he was a child, skipping grades all the way, going straight to the junior class, and completed his undergraduate studies when others were still in the single-plank bridge of the college entrance examination. After playing League of Legends for a month, he was BU by the then veteran club Cultivated as an SSR card.

He also lived up to people's expectations. When he turned eighteen years old, his debut was the peak.

But it wasn't the scariest.

Before Bi Ming's debut, Shi Zhong had always been at the top of the LPL player's vote, steadily reaping the dividends of popularity. No matter whether his team had good results that year, his evaluation was always the best.

For example, when he was nineteen years old, the degenerate BU failed to make it to the World Championships, but he was still named the most popular player of the year, because the image of him playing with illness and being able to drag four players has been deeply rooted in the hearts of the people.

In the chaotic contract year, he was forced to play for a season, and people thought he was likely to sink, but he turned around and got PG's sky-high contract, slapped Kuroko's face on the field.

At the same time, he also displayed a quality that is extremely rare in a young professional player - returning good to evil.

He never pays attention to the malicious BU fans, never mentions the grievances and grievances of the contract year, and maintains a good relationship with his original club teammates, which also makes his popularity and reputation in the circle unparalleled .

If it wasn't for Bi Ming seeing him in a daze on the small balcony, and having a glimpse of his true emotions, I am afraid that Shi Zhong would be very good at "buying people's hearts".

"There is no such stupid person in the world, so you must be pretending." One day, she suddenly teased him, "Be honest, have you been interested in me for a long time?"

The man in the apron could only stop what he was doing, and helplessly and hilariously responded to the "question" of his beloved:

"In a sense... um."

"When?" Her hand hooked his apron, stroking the man's thin and strong waist.

Shi Zhong's breath tightened, and the kitchen utensils in his hand remained motionless: "Forget it."

The woman didn't seem to be satisfied with his response, her fingernails tickled slowly at his waist: "You perfunctory me—"

"Wait for a second..." Shi Zhong's voice was hoarse, he picked up a tissue and wiped the water droplets off his fingers, "It looks like it's in an elevator."

"Is it our first time meeting?" The woman was thoughtful, but couldn't help exclaiming in the next second, "Huh?!"

Shi Zhong grabbed her wrist, turned her back on the stove, lowered his head and approached the tip of her nose—

"It should be, after all, someone flirts with me as soon as they meet."

His lips were only a few centimeters away from hers, and his warm breath mixed with ambiguous eyes ignited the air.

"Then you're too good at pretending." Bi Ming blinked and accused him slyly, "Putting on a dead iceberg face makes me think it's hard for you."

Shi Zhong smiled even deeper, and immediately bowed his head, firmly pressing her open lips, showing that he was not "difficult" at all.

At first, the lips were just softly touching each other, slowly probing each other, but soon, this warmth turned into a deeper desire, the tip of the tongue began to entangle restlessly, the man's groan and the woman's whimper were intertwined, inseparable.

"Fingers... so icy..."

"Don't worry, it will be hot soon."

In a short time, the kitchen has become extremely messy, the apron is crumpled and thrown on the ground, the knocked down vegetable basket, the fruits and vegetables rolled on the ground.

Their kiss continued from the cold marble cooktop to the refrigerator, to the threshold, to the dining table...as if it would never be parted.

At that time, the man stroked her flushed face and thought, how lucky is he to be so loved by fate?

Even if this love affair is less and more distant and cannot be made public, she is already softening, isn't it?

He thought that he would always wait until she was relieved.

Ironically, fate turned around and gave him a blow.

That day, Shi Zhong, who was in a meeting, received a message from his assistant.

[Terrorist attack by rebels near the Jordanian consulate, Miss Lin Nan is currently missing. 】

The next day, this [missing contact] was marked as [death], and Bi Ming's work group published an obituary in black on a white background.

Due to the large scale of the terrorist attack, local personnel were evacuated urgently, and Shi Zhong couldn't even retrieve her bones.

He stayed in the house all that time, spraying her usual mint perfume all over the house, and cuddling her clothes to sleep as if she were still around.

But it was of little use, and he began to suffer from repeated insomnia.

The charred potted plants on the balcony were left unattended, and the food in the kitchen was rotting.

He remembered that he once held her and read her prose word by word with a book:

"My home has since become an abandoned garden."

When reading this sentence, the woman sighed in his arms:

"Fortunately, we have you in our house. If it becomes an abandoned garden, I will find you to settle the account."

Now, the house is in a mess, and the person who said he wants to settle accounts with him has not come.

Later, when Shi Zhong was transferred to the capital, the house by the Huangpu River was no longer inhabited.

Even his "neighbors" didn't come back, as if they forgot there was a house here.

An inch of land and an inch of gold have been added to the site since then.

It was not until after Shi Zhong's death that his ashes were returned here.

Although he knew that the bright light would not be on again, and the person who was waiting would not come back, but he was still waiting, just as they had agreed when they were in love—

"What if you can't wait?"

"Will keep waiting."

Until his life stops, the soul will stay in place, waiting for her to turn back.

The author has something to say: Shi Zhong is a scheming ghost.

But he was willing to be a fool in front of the heroine.