Seventh Year Of Separation chapter 50

Half a Box of Peach Slices

After finishing the meal, Li Zhao bid farewell to the others early and left with Gu Jiahe.

On the way home, Qun Ge sent a message asking how the dinner was.

With one hand, Li Zhao replied, “It was great, thanks for hosting.”

After that, there were no more replies.

In reality, after returning home, Gu Jiahe cooked two bowls of beef noodles, and they barely felt full after eating them.

“You can’t get full at those high-end restaurants,” Gu Jiahe patted his stomach, feeling emotional.

“Indeed. It’s better to feast on you,” Li Zhao teased, pinching his cheek.

“Hey, don’t tease me like that,” Gu Jiahe dodged hastily.

The next day was New Year’s Eve, and they slept until late morning before getting up.

Gu Jiahe then remembered Li Zhao didn’t go back to Pingcheng for the New Year this year.

“Hey, aren’t you going back for the New Year this year?” He nudged Li Zhao’s arm.

“No, I’m not. I have to meet a client on the third day of the Lunar New Year. Qin Yi specifically asked me to. I’ll find time to go back after the Spring Festival,” Li Zhao shook his head and got out of bed.

“Your job is really demanding,” Gu Jiahe sighed. Although they were usually busy, they usually had basic holidays off.

While Li Zhao didn’t have to work at the office, he was basically on call 365 days a year.

“The other party is an internet company, and everything they do is like pushing a cart,” Li Zhao sighed and went to freshen up.

According to tradition, New Year’s Eve required thorough cleaning, which Li Zhao didn’t care much about. However, Gu Jiahe insisted on cleaning, so he dragged Li Zhao to help.

They wiped the windows, aired the blankets, cleaned the air conditioner and range hood, and every inch of the floor in the house was polished clean.

More than an hour later, the house was completely tidied up.

Gu Jiahe was a bit tired after the busy work, so he told Li Zhao he was going back to the room to take a nap and didn’t even eat lunch.

He didn’t draw the curtains in the room. It wasn’t until the sun set, and the orange-red light projected in through the glass, that Gu Jiahe woke up groggily again.

He was alone in the room, and he sat up for a while, gradually regaining his alertness.

“Are you up?” Li Zhao heard the sound of him opening the door and called out to him.

“Yeah,” Gu Jiahe followed the smell and walked over, finding Li Zhao stewing soup in the kitchen.

Gu Jiahe couldn’t help but smile. Li Zhao, who wasn’t good in the kitchen, actually started stewing soup. “Hey, let me do it.”

“What? Are you looking down on me?” Li Zhao turned to look at him. “Didn’t I cook green bean soup for you before?”

It’s been ages. Gu Jiahe thought to himself.

Back when they were about to take the college entrance examination, it was hot in Pingcheng, and the school canteen had been closed for several days. At that time, Li Zhao would bring a thermos of ice green bean soup to Gu Jiahe every morning.

“Let me do it. It’s New Year’s Eve, we have to make it grand,” Gu Jiahe said as he noticed the sky getting darker, pushing Li Zhao away from the stove.

“Tell me, Jiahe, as your zodiac year comes to an end, do you have any feelings?” Li Zhao watched him skillfully open the refrigerator and gather ingredients.

“You woke up muddled, didn’t you? Whose zodiac year is it?” Gu Jiahe thought to himself. His zodiac year had passed several years ago.

“The year of the dog. Isn’t it your zodiac year?” Li Zhao pinched his cheek.

Gu Jiahe raised the spatula as if to hit him. Li Zhao quickly dodged.

Gu Jiahe decided to tease him back. “I only know how to make dog food. Don’t eat it tonight.”

“Yum yum yum. Dog food is so delicious and crispy,” Li Zhao raised his hand in surrender.

An hour later.

Li Zhao sat at the dining table, surprised that Gu Jiahe could turn the few ingredients in their fridge into such a feast.

Three dishes and a soup, with the main course being shepherd’s purse dumplings.

“You can make dumplings too?” Li Zhao looked at the clear soup and the plump dumplings lying in the porcelain bowl.

“It’s simple. Don’t you have ready-made wrappers in the fridge? Just mix the filling,” Gu Jiahe couldn’t help but feel proud.

“You’re my savior,” Li Zhao scooped up a dumpling with a spoon and put it in his mouth.

“Hot!” Gu Jiahe hadn’t had time to stop him, and Li Zhao swallowed it down.

Li Zhao looked pained, squinting his eyes for a while.

“Silly.” Gu Jiahe knocked on his forehead with his knuckles.

Li Zhao then became smarter and used the spoon to cool the soup before eating the second one. “I really can’t get used to the dumplings here. It’s the first time someone has made dumplings for me.”

“Where did you get the dumpling wrappers in your fridge?” Gu Jiahe remembered the question.

“Oh, my mom sent them last week. I haven’t had time to organize them,” Li Zhao said.

Talking about Li Zhao’s parents, Gu Jiahe suddenly fell silent. He remembered the encounter outside the Pingcheng Insurance Company last time and felt a little uncomfortable.

“What’s wrong?” Li Zhao noticed he wasn’t speaking and glanced at him.

“Nothing,” Gu Jiahe shook his head, pointing to the dishes in front of him. “Are they doing okay?”

“They’re fine. My dad said his lungs were a bit weak recently, so I had him checked by a specialist.”

“Oh, I see. They need to take care of themselves as they get older,” Gu Jiahe responded and changed the subject. “Try this braised pork with bamboo shoots and see how it tastes.”

Li Zhao enjoyed the meal very much and took the initiative to clean up after himself.

When they looked outside, they saw that the sky outside the window was already pitch black.

On New Year’s Eve, burning was prohibited within the inner ring of the city, so everyone stayed at home.

“Aren’t we going out?” Li Zhao saw Gu Jiahe sitting on the sofa in his pajamas, looking absent-minded.

“Huh? Go where?”

“I know a good place,” Li Zhao said mysteriously.

Half an hour later, Gu Jiahe dressed himself in layers and followed Li Zhao out the door.

After the car left the garage, it turned left and right onto a small road, and the road became darker and darker.

Gu Jiahe couldn’t help but grab the handrail above his head.

“What’s wrong?” Li Zhao noticed his movement.

“You’re not planning to sell me off in the wilderness, are you?” Gu Jiahe joked nervously.

Li Zhao laughed, “Ge, I studied law.”

Gu Jiahe glared back. Li Zhao unexpectedly called him “ge” using his own tactics.

Soon, the car stopped by the roadside.

Li Zhao wrapped a scarf around his neck, got out of the car, and walked into a small shop on the side of the road. About five minutes later, he came out carrying a stack of things.

Outside was cold, and Li Zhao quickly ran back to the car and threw the stack of things into the trunk.

“What did you buy?” Gu Jiahe glanced back but couldn’t see clearly.

“Fireworks,” Li Zhao replied as he ignited the engine.

“But it’s prohibited here,” Gu Jiahe said, noticing they were still within the inner ring.

“We’re going to a place where it’s not prohibited,” Li Zhao stepped on the gas, and the car sped forward.

Half an hour later, Li Zhao parked the car in front of a huge lake. The lake was quiet, without even a ripple. It was extremely desolate all around, with no streetlights, just relying on a little natural light from the sky. It looked like a deserted area that had been abandoned for a long time.

Gu Jiahe followed Li Zhao out of the car, walking behind him. The cold wind blew, and he quickly put on his hat.

“Where is this?”

“An old reservoir,” Li Zhao opened the trunk and took out the stack of fireworks, piling them on the barren bank of the reservoir. “It should have been abandoned for years.”

Gu Jiahe opened his phone and checked their current location. They had reached the outskirts of the northern city.

“How did you find this place?” Gu Jiahe looked around; it was so deserted that not even a bird could be seen.

“The year we graduated, I drove for the first time and had nowhere to go. So, I found this place,” Li Zhao’s tone was calm as he spoke.

However, Gu Jiahe sensed something else. It had been a while since they broke up, and perhaps Li Zhao hadn’t completely moved on.

He watched as Li Zhao unpacked a firework, placed it on the nearby concrete ground, and then took out a lighter, igniting the flame.

“Step back and cover your ears,” Li Zhao’s voice came.

Gu Jiahe quickly covered his ears and stepped back several steps.

Swoosh—

The fuse was ignited, and the tail of the fireworks shot up into the sky.

Two seconds later, bang!

The fireworks burst in the sky, illuminating the night sky and scattering colorful lights like a gorgeous dress.

Soon, the fireworks disappeared into the sky, turning into ashes, and the echo faded away.

Gu Jiahe stood behind, watching Li Zhao’s black silhouette. In the cold wind, his hair was a little messy, and his tall figure disappeared into the dim night.

Gu Jiahe seemed to see the young Li Zhao who had driven here alone years ago.

After watching for half a minute, he suddenly strode up to him. Gu Jiahe crouched down, took out a lighter from his pocket, and lit another firework beside him.

Then he grabbed Li Zhao’s hand and ran away.

Swoosh—The second firework flew into the sky. It was lit by Gu Jiahe.

Pop! A huge burst echoed through the night sky, illuminating the entire night as if it were daylight.

“I’ll be with you to set them off in the future!” Amidst the explosion, Gu Jiahe shouted to Li Zhao.

“What did you say?!” The fireworks were too loud, and Li Zhao didn’t hear clearly.

Gu Jiahe let go of his hand, repeated, “In the future! I’ll be with you!”

The light from the sky shone on Gu Jiahe’s face, making it particularly vivid.

The two of them set off fireworks by the reservoir for more than an hour until Gu Jiahe’s face was almost frozen, and then they drove back home.

Although there were no fireworks in the city, it was brightly lit with decorations everywhere.

When they arrived home, it was almost eleven o’clock. The lunar New Year was approaching.

After taking a shower, Li Zhao walked back to the bedroom, where Gu Jiahe was already lying in bed, with only his head exposed.

Li Zhao mischievously lifted the blanket, only to find that Gu Jiahe hadn’t fallen asleep but was looking at his phone, engrossed in something.

“What are you looking at?”

“Nothing,” Gu Jiahe turned off his phone screen, changing from lying on his side to lying on his back.

Li Zhao slipped under the covers, and the bed sank down.

There was about half a minute of silence between them.

Li Zhao reached out and turned off the bedside lamp, dimming the room.

As he was dozing off, Li Zhao suddenly felt some movement.

Then a dark figure suddenly leaped onto him, and he immediately opened his eyes.

As he looked up, he saw Gu Jiahe lying on top of him, like a koala.

Li Zhao couldn’t help but laugh, “What’s this all about?”

Gu Jiahe didn’t respond, propping up his arm and looking into Li Zhao’s eyes from above.

After a while, he raised his hand and carefully touched Li Zhao’s cheek.

It was extremely rare for Li Zhao to feel a little embarrassed.

Seeing his slightly flushed skin, Gu Jiahe couldn’t help but tease, “you seem to have matured by thirty percent now.”

“You’ve really grown,” Li Zhao said, trying to turn the tables and take control.

But Gu Jiahe gently pressed down, continuing to look at his face, like a precise scanner, scanning every inch of Li Zhao’s skin texture.

“What are you looking at? It’s creepy,” Li Zhao grabbed his hand.

“I want to see if you’re real.”

“What?”

“I don’t know, it just feels unreal. How is it that after so many years, I’ve picked you up again?” Gu Jiahe’s voice was gentle.

Li Zhao chuckled, “What if it’s not? Maybe it’s all just your imagination. Actually, I’m just a fuzzy teddy bear plush toy now.”

Gu Jiahe seemed to finally confirm that the current Li Zhao was real. With a smile on his lips, he was about to lie down, but Li Zhao held down his hands.

“What’s up? Can’t finish what you started?”

“Why? Are you restricting my freedom?” Gu Jiahe tried to pull his hands out but couldn’t move.

“I wouldn’t dare.” Li Zhao reached out, opened the bedside drawer, and rummaged for a while before taking out a small box and tossing it onto the blanket.

Gu Jiahe looked and saw that it was actually the peach he bought that day at the port.

“Do you know there’s a tradition in Pingcheng for the New Year?” Li Zhao looked at him.

“What tradition?” Gu Jiahe straddled Li Zhao’s body, feeling a bit off.

“The tradition of out with the old, in with the new. You can’t keep old things until next year; they have to be used up.” Li Zhao raised his hand and shook the box, which still had half of the plastic wrappings inside.