The coin in his hand.
It took Chi Xueyan several seconds to remember the metaphor he casually said four months ago.
That night, he put four coins one by one into the game machine full of unknown stories, from which four segments of life flowed out, which made him understand the complex relationship between the He family that was difficult to make a conclusion with simple right and wrong.
Pragmatic idealists, naive artists, happy fools, and paranoids who walked all the way into the dark after losing their mother.
After listening to these four stories, Chi Xueyan sighed and found that what he wanted to know more was the fifth story that happened outside the novel.
What kind of life did He Qiao, a mysterious book traveler sitting next to him at this moment, have?
Partners should understand each other and know everything about each other.
Even if he has never had the experience of love, he naturally knows this common sense.
Because this is the instinctive desire to explore when the heart comes, and no teaching is needed.
It is a mutual exchange born of love.
Unfortunately, He Qiao asked him about the origin of his hair that night, but he didn't accept the fifth coin.
Days passed like water, and four months later, the night of the 24th, came.
The same "Perfect Summer", the same soundproof car back seat.
Opposite season, opposite questioner.
In the strange coincidence of time and scene, will he still want to throw this coin into the game machine that finally opened again?
Chi Xueyan actually doesn't know.
He has just packed up his good mood and reconstructed his youth, which may have been lacking.
This is the way Chi Xueyan gets along with himself. He doesn't expect or need other people's responses.
Under the appearance of returning to his hometown on Christmas Eve and celebrating his birthday for Heqiao, another layer of narrative was buried, which was his own secret.
For him, everything is fine in life now.
It's so good that there's no need to make any changes.
There is no need to force to erase the sadness of being rejected.
Chi Xueyan gradually understood that he probably wouldn't throw this coin.
After all, love is an adventure with an unknown outcome, just like Su Yu is sincere to every girlfriend, but in the past few years, love has been burning and extinguished. Lovers come and go, and only the friends who are patient to listen to his complaints have not changed.
Chi Xueyan likes to get along with He Qiao during this period.
It's not love, but it can make him feel relaxed and happy.
He doesn't care about the relationship of agreement marriage, because he has changed back to Chi Xueyan, who doesn't want to fall in love and prefers to be single. Married status is not an obstacle, but the most trouble-free excuse to reject others.
If He Qiao wants to have a real marriage with someone in the future, he will cooperate to clarify the relationship and be willing to divorce at any time.
Therefore, no matter from which angle you think about it, there is no need to take unnecessary risks.
After getting along with each other for a long time, he seemed to be infected with that kind of meticulous rationality by He Qiao.
Just like He Qiao was forced to wear a dress with a completely different style.
Chi Xueyan thought so.
From the end of the words, the back seat of the car has been quiet for a long time, so quiet that there is only the sound of each other's breathing.
He didn't think about how to refuse the late reply, but their eyes kept meeting.
Chi Xueyan felt that He Qiao should have been able to read the silent answer from his often unconcealed eyes.
He decided to say something casually to break the closed silence in this winter night, so that the ordinary birthday of the trip would also end in ordinary words.
For example, "You have given all the coins to the boss", or "There is a cake shop in front of me. I didn't prepare the birthday cake in advance. Should I ask the driver to park there?"
But strangely, Chi Xueyan couldn't say these words.
He kept staring at He Qiao's eyes, and did not see any complicated waves, such as understanding, disappointment, or loneliness.
There is only a pure waiting in it.
Waiting for him to reply to the question, even if the answer is obvious.
The quietly intertwined eyes in the air gave Chi Xueyan an illusion.
It seems that not only He Qiao, but even himself has been waiting for a long time.
Therefore, he suddenly changed the words he would say.
His life is always full of elusive irrationality.
"If the story you have prepared is boring enough." Chi Xueyan said coldly, "I will use it."
For the first time, he wanted to hear the interesting reverse.
--"That's a boring story, not as wonderful as One Thousand and One Nights."
This is the excuse used by He Qiao to reject him.
What if it's not an excuse, but a fact?
In the closed window, this is the only possible gap, and maybe the wind will blow in from there.
Chi Xueyan's tone is very ordinary, as casual and arbitrary as ever.
But the person who heard this sentence finally received tonight's birthday gift.
A coin that fell gently into the game machine.
"I didn't lie to you. It's really a boring story. It can be finished in one sentence."
That's a very short sentence.
Then, Chi Xueyan heard the gentle voice of the people around him as always.
"I don't know my past."
The coin landed on the ground, making a crisp and beautiful sound.
He exchanged the fifth coin for the simplest, most rough and most unusual answer.
Chi Xueyan always thought that He Qiao was just bringing an unknown story, but he didn't expect that he was the unknown itself.
So he has nothing to tell about himself.
He doesn't seem to feel empty and confused because of it.
After He Qiao finished speaking, he still looked at him intently. There was no extra emotion in his eyes, only a faint trace of fear that he did not believe it.
Chi Xueyan looked at the familiar faces of the people around him, blinked suddenly, and did not respond immediately.
He tried to sort out his thoughts at the moment.
Assuming that everything He Qiao said is the truth in his eyes, under the current conditions, the most logical inference is that he is not an outsider, or the "He Qiao" in the book, but somehow predicts the "future".
But there are so many differences between two people with the same name and surname.
Different personalities, hobbies, different sexual orientations, different life plans, and the attitude towards the elder brother is even more different.
That's not a kind of calmness and staying out of it that can be done by concealment.
Chi Xueyan doesn't know where He Qiao comes from, and He Qiao himself doesn't know.
It sounds absurd, but like every conversation in the past, whether it is true or false, Chi Xueyan still chose to believe what he said.
Therefore, he will no longer ask who He Qiao is, but only ask some trivial things.
"Is it your own birthday today?"
"Yes."
"Why do you like to watch the news?"
He Qiao's answer is the same as when he was in the Internet caba: "Sometimes I think it's very beautiful."
Only a memory that happened where it was added.
"I have seen some news in the world, which will only happen in the future."
Details without coordinates constitute his only fragmentary memory.
The origin of hobbies and personality is always unknown.
He Qiao finally confessed his true self to him, but he was still the mysterious book traveler.
It seems that nothing has changed, and it seems that everything is different.
Chi Xueyan found that he didn't have the kind of unreasonable and unacceptable mood.
He accepted this boring and bizarre story almost without hesitation.
Perhaps it was because a long time ago, the name Heqiao was bound to the unknown in his heart.
A life that can never be certain, and the unknown that can never be determined.
Chi Xueyan was quiet for a moment, and his words suddenly jumped to the part that had nothing to do with Heqiao.
"In the book, how did I die?"
He had never asked this question before, and He Qiao did not take the initiative to raise it.
Even though Chi Xueyan has been sneering at her mother's keen on fortune-telling since she was a child, after accepting the fact that the world is a novel, such an almost prophetic tragic ending always makes people unhappy.
It's like living in a horror movie with a bloody ending, and you have to beware of some sudden signs of death for the rest of your life.
Now, he suddenly wants to know.
But just like his own origin, He Qiao still couldn't give an exact answer.
He looked into Chi Xueyan's eyes and said frankly, "I don't know the specific way. I only know that it happened."
Hearing the words, Chi Xueyan thought for a while and tried to translate: "It's like in an inconspicuous corner of the novel, I wrote a simple sentence. The villain died, but the cause of death was not written, and even the person who did the good deeds was not mentioned?"
He saw He Qiao nod gently.
Chi Xueyan smiled in surprise.
The person who wrote the story probably really likes this character, unnecessarily describing the trivial details of not wearing earrings, and reluctant to spend pen and ink to describe the tragic ending he deserves.
At this moment, he only has one question left to ask.
The night became more and more intense, and the glass windows of the store flashed out of the car window, covered with red and white snowflakes and Christmas hats. The two colors were completely different, but there was a kind of warmth that should have been so.
He Qiao answered every question of the people around him seriously.
Every question in a plain tone made a trace of unspeakable jeery in his heart.
Chi Xueyan believed what he said.
I didn't question this story that didn't sound like the truth.
His eyes were as bright as usual, without any confusion, helplessness, or fear.
Before tonight, He Qiao had thought countless times that Chi Xueyan should not be afraid to approach such a person of no origin.
In the hearts of many people, the unknown means fear, but not for him.
But this is a problem that will take some time to confirm.
Even though He Qiao deeply understands Chi Xueyan's character in the novel and the real world, he still subconsciously wants to be more cautious.
This is something that can't be turned back if you take a wrong step.
Fortunately, there is still a long way to go.
Before he really began to try to change each other's relationship, he only had one thing left to confess.
And there is always a tacit understanding of unknown origin between them.
The moment He Qiao was about to open his mouth, he heard Chi Xueyan's question that seemed to have understood the answer: "Who did I tell in the book about the story behind the birthday photo?"
He then removed the secret kept alone and replied softly, "He Qiao."
The red-haired young man was not half surprised, but smiled: "Well, I guessed it."
"The logic is finally complete." His tone seemed to analyze the plot in a detective novel, "With your usual outsider attitude, you should not take the initiative to propose marriage with the future villain."
"Unless you think it is necessary to do this, for example, He Qiao is not an irrelevant supporting role, and he and I have a special intersection."
This is the classic reasoning logic, which is simple and effective.
"Beso, I don't think I will like Lu Siyi that much." Chi Xueyan added with some disgust, "He doesn't even like to watch SCALPEL."
This is his personal logic, which can lead to the same answer together.
He Qiao knew that Chi Xueyan was always smart, much smarter than himself.
He let go of the plot of the original book earlier, distinguished the difference between the two worlds, and calmly faced every character in the book he met, including Heqiao, who was no longer "Heqiao".
"I like He Qiao in the book, and you said that He Qiao is dead." Chi Xueyan continued to do the next reasoning question, "Is it because of me? Is he also the one who has been hurt by the villain?"
"No, he's just unlucky."
He Qiao maintains the same answer as in the past.
But a detail that happened in the book was added.
"You didn't hurt him. You were very good to him." He said, "Meeting you is his luckiest thing."
No matter in which world, whether it is clear or not, Chi Xueyan has always been very good to the people she loves.
Finally, He Qiao said, "I'm sorry for hiding this from you before."
Chi Xueyan was quiet for a long time. He was not angry or accepted his apology, but spoke without margins.
"This time, you owe me a detail, as if you can't return it to me."
He Qiao understood what he meant.
On the night after the blind date, Chi Xueyan confirmed the truth of the book in the hot pot restaurant. He just said the photo as evidence, but he didn't expect that it meant a kind of obscure love.
This was originally a secret that only Chi Xueyan knew.
The secret of love that has been accumulated over a long time.
He is a person with no origin. In his incomplete memory, there is no trace of love.
But Heqiao thought that this may be the only thing that will really surprise Chi Xueyan tonight.
He can exchange this detail related to love.
Because after coming to this world, he has had many new memories in his life.
Chi Xueyan shook her head when she saw the people around her.
He Qiao said, "When I lie, I will bow my head to avoid your eyes."
Chi Xueyan tried to recall, but had no impression. When talking, He Qiao always looked at him, such as tonight.
Seeing that he really showed a strong surprised look, He Qiao smiled first, and then whispered, "I rarely lie in front of you."
Except for those subconscious hidden thoughts.
Only three times, he deliberately concealed the very important fiction facts from Chi Xueyan.
The time Chi Xueyan confirmed the story of the birthday photo to him, the time he asked about the role of "He Qiao" in the book, and the time when he asked "Lu Siyi" had never liked him at all.
At first, he felt that the plot of the novel was a kind of fate hanging high above his head, and he did not want to be attracted by fate.
Now, he realizes the growing difference between the two worlds. From the beginning, he just followed the direction of his heart.
The same is true for the two protagonists. They have both embarked on a different path from the one in the book. The current life seems to be the trajectory that they are more recognized in their hearts.
Therefore, He Qiao no longer cares about the fate of "He Qiao" and "Chi Xueyan" entangled in the original book.
Another He Qiao became silent in gloomy pain, and the other Chi Xueyan did not have black snowflake earrings and was no longer a dentist.
It's completely different from them.
But he still seems to mind some traces left by "Chi Xueyan" in the later life of "Lu Siyi", which may be a kind of excitement that the latter did not notice until the story suddenly ended.
The authorities are in the maze.
Bystanders always see more clearly.
He Qiao didn't want to tell Chi Xueyan about this matter.
Just regard it as a kind of selfish concealment.
He thought that there should be a new story.
Different worlds, different people, different beginnings, different endings.
After crossing the lonely long street, at the end of the road, the car slowly stopped beside the warm-toned new house.
He Qiao got out of the car first, then turned around and gently blocked the top of the door, lest the person who got out of the car accidentally hit it.
While waiting for Chi Xueyan to walk into the house together, he completely described the details used for exchange, like the most serious summary.
In the rainy night, he looked at his lover's starry eyes.
It was a clear and cloudless Christmas Eve. He finally used up all the coins in his coat pocket, and his body seemed to be covered with light snowflakes.
"This has happened, and only I know it."
"Now, you can tell if I'm lying at any time."