25 hour

Chapter 48 Ch47 Mortals

"So that's why you were late?"

At the entrance, Jeff winked at Shen Teng who was looking at him with a smile, and asked jokingly, "How many streets did you go around to collect these gifts?"

Flowers for his wife, toys for his son, the gift box in Jeff's arms, and the whiskey that Qin Zheng just put on the cabinet.

Qin Zheng picked up the whiskey again: "If you don't want it, I can bring it back..."

"I want it to the extreme."

Jeff quickly took the generous gift from him, and turned to look at the youngest son who was hugging his calf and looked at the guest curiously: "Edwin, your name is uncle."

Qin Zheng/Shen Teng: "..."

Icelanders have a complicated and strange way of naming. Generally, there is no surname used by the family. The child’s surname is usually the father’s or mother’s name plus the suffix dottir/son, which means someone’s daughter or son, and the name needs to be specified in the country. The list is strictly selected. For this reason, the government also specially set up a "naming committee" to supervise (there are similar restrictions on naming Icelandic horses). Girls cannot take boys' names, boys cannot take girls' names, and names that are not in the list of men and women It must comply with Icelandic traditions, Icelandic grammar and pronunciation regulations, and report to the reviewer for review. If the non-compliance is dismissed (usually it will be dismissed) but the parents refuse to change, the authorities will impose a fine of more than 1000 kronor per day until they change. name and accepted by the committee.

I don’t know that the name Edwin was originally included in the list of countries that were not in Iceland, but at least in the list of names that Shen Toma has heard, the meaning of this pronunciation is a bit too deep.After hearing the child's name, Shen Teng touched his pocket, took out a few candies like magic, and handed them to the big-eyed and timid Edwin with a smile.

The child shyly hid behind the adult at first, but with the encouragement of his mother, he finally accepted the additional gift from the strange uncle.

"It's strange to say," Shen Tom turned his head sideways and winked at Qin Zheng, "Obviously this name is not special, but this is really the second Edwin I have met."

However, Qin Zheng's focus was completely elsewhere. He glanced back at the (look empty) pocket of Shen Teng's hung coat, and whispered, "Is that candy originally mine?"

"..." Shen Teng helplessly mouthed to his master where he couldn't see: "I left it for you."

Qin Zheng didn't speak, but smiled in his heart.

In addition to the way of naming, the way of communication of Icelanders is also quite rigid and weird in Shen Toma's view.

There are three people sitting at a table, and only one person is acquainted with the other two, then the remaining two people will definitely not talk directly, even if they face each other face to face, they will only ask mutual friends for the other person's name.But maybe it’s because she’s been married to her British husband for a long time. Mrs. Vigdís, whose name is neatly included in the statutory list, only smiled shyly when she opened the door to welcome the two guests, and then greeted them very naturally. own house.

In the living room, Shen Teng was naturally complimenting the warm decoration style of the hostess' home. The other two were a few steps behind. Seems happy?"

Qin Zheng said flatly, "Oh, really."

Jeff's tone rose: "Yeah!"

He has noticed it since he entered the door. Although the "very happy" Qin Zheng still looks lazy and dead, but his eyebrows are well formed, and when his eyebrows are fixed, they are frightening. Once they are stretched, they immediately make people Feel a bit clear and suave.

But is this still the Qin who doesn't show his emotions?

He was very self-aware and knew why Qin Zheng was happy. He was definitely not invited to be a guest. Jeff looked suspiciously at Shen Teng who was teasing his son. After thinking for a moment, he strode towards his smiling wife and took it from her arms. Little friend Edwin raised it high and put it on his shoulder, turned his head and talked to Vigdís: "Honey, do you remember the first time I brought you to meet my friends?"

Vigdís glanced at him, couldn't help but nodded with a smile: "I remember, Birgitta and I were at home waiting for you to come back from shopping, and you sent her countless messages, and she complained to me as if you were worried that I would be bullied by her." of."

Shen Teng and Qin Zheng glanced at each other.

Shen Tom: Are they flirting?

Qin Zheng: What do you think?

Before the flirting between the two of them was over, Jeff had already looked over with a smile: "The last time I went to the Golden Circle with the two of them, and chatted with Shen alone for a while, Qin's reaction was exactly the same as my original reaction."

Qin Zheng: "..."

Noticing that the second young master touched the tip of his nose unnaturally and turned his head to the side, Shen Teng couldn't hold back and bent his lips, pretending not to notice, and continued to praise the decoration of the master's house, only when he came to Qin Zheng's side, he quietly Pulled his hand firmly.

"The cabinets in your house are so beautiful." Shen Teng praised.

Jeff was very proud: "No, Vigdís has nothing to say."

Qin Zheng, who was silently following behind, suddenly interrupted: "I also want to make a cupboard."

The apartment he rented was fully equipped, even if he changed to a less complete apartment, cabinets should be indispensable.Shen Teng didn't understand what he meant for a moment, turned his head, and saw that Jeff was putting his colleague's shoulders on his shoulders to advise him: "Then it must be custom-made, you are both tall, and ordinary cabinets may be suffocating. It has to be good enough."

Shen Teng subconsciously said: "Then don't let me reach it."

Qin Zheng replied faster: "Even if it's not about hitting the ceiling."

Shen Teng: "That's right for me... You can fight wherever you like, but I don't live in your house."

Qin Zheng glanced at him, seemed to want to laugh but held back, and only dragged out a long sound, "Oh".

Jeff and Vigdís exchanged glances.

Jeff: Are they flirting?

Vigdís: What do you think?

Just kidding, the visit ended soon, and Vigdís' dinner was already prepared, and several people pushed the dining table towards the balcony.

The summer is getting deeper, and the extreme day in Northern Europe has arrived. At nine o'clock in the evening, the sky is still as bright as in the afternoon. They opened the balcony door wide and sat in the room to enjoy the rare sunny weather outside.

Jeff's family is an enviable harmonious family in every sense.A humorous husband, a beautiful and kind wife, a healthy and lovely son, a black cat that hides and disappears, a Labrador who loyally accompanies the little master, and there is even a hamster running a wheel crazily on their balcony.

Regardless of dogs and hamsters, Shen Teng has been staring at the cat for a long time.

As early as when he was in Budapest, Qin Zheng had seen Shen Tom's love for cats, but his love seemed to be always restrained. Even if he chooses to settle in Iceland now and has his own warm home, Shen Tom still only stays with cats. Put some cat food and ham sausage by the window, never thought about how to have a cat of my own.

But this does not prevent him from being greedy for other people's cats.

When Qin Zheng waved to the cat for the third time to no avail, Shen Teng couldn't help but asked, "Why?"

He seemed to be really depressed, obviously Qin Zheng should not be as high as the piano bench at home when he was inviting cats and dogs on the street, but Shen Tomato's ten years of persistence in exchange for it is still cats and dogs. , and Qin Zheng, who is disliked by cats and dogs in human society, once he came to the real cat and dog society, hey, he was very popular.

Big news: Shen Tom is not happy.

But even though he frowned at the moment and seemed to criticize Qin Zheng, this petty demeanor also added a bit of human smoke to this guy's casual and smiling personality at all times.

If it were in the past, Shen Teng would not care about who is better in the relationship between himself and others.Even when they first arrived in Iceland, even if they were really curious about why Qin Zheng could attract kittens just by stretching out his hand, Shen Teng would probably only smile when he saw it, and would not say a word.

Shen Teng has a good personality and is loved by everyone, but in some respects, he is more independent than Qin Zheng.And these, Shen Teng has never pretended to anyone.

His frankness is true, and so is his indifference and laziness. If he wants to make someone happy, a few words can make them float into the sky, but when he just wants to be alone, he will be surrounded by tens of thousands of people. Tomato walked toward Broadway, and he would just smile absent-mindedly on the Nasdaq big screen, and he didn't do much superficial effort.

Before, Qin Zheng couldn't see through what Shen Tom was thinking when he was smiling and not smiling, and now he couldn't say that he could see through it completely, but if the former Shen Tom was like a cloud of fog that he couldn't hold, at least this The fog was now crystallized snowflakes that could rest briefly on his sleeve.

Anyway, it is indeed a bit mature.

Qin Zheng couldn't help softening his brows and eyes, and was about to speak when he was about to speak, but Jeff who was beside him suddenly asked again loudly: "Yeah, why? You two are not allowed to whisper!"

Qin Zheng: "..."

Shen Teng looked up at the unreliable Scotsman depressedly: "Which one is whispering?"

Vigdís smiled and pushed her husband, and said kindly: "I'm curious too, Tyra is very afraid of strangers."

Tyra is the name of a black cat (you don't need to report to the committee to name an Icelandic cat), Shen Teng silently read the pronunciation, and looked at Qin Zheng who was watched by everyone.

The young master was also generous, and taught everyone some skills in dealing with cats, some of them even didn't know the two real cat owners opposite.

Shen Teng looked at him several times in surprise, and then Qin Zheng leaned over between his words, and whispered to him understandingly: "I also wanted to raise a cat when I was young, and I did a lot of research."

It's all on paper, how can Qin Zheng pursue people and tease cats so easily.

Shen Teng curled his lips, and from the corner of his eyes, he caught sight of the gossiping look of the couple on the opposite side who covered their mouths and winked when they saw them talking close to each other.

Shen Teng put his fist against Qin Zheng's shoulder to push him away, coughed lightly, and changed the subject: "How did you fall in love with each other?"

This topic turned bluntly, but it wasn't completely unconstrained. Everything had to go back to the conversation between him and Qin Zheng in the Porcelain Museum.

Shen Teng asked Qin Zheng what he liked about him, Qin Zheng didn't answer and asked instead, Shen Teng fooled around and then half-truthed Qin Zheng, saying that he fell in love with the young master at first sight.Of course, it is not entirely correct to say that you are fooling around. If Shen Toma had no interest in Qin Zheng at the first sight, the two of them would never have the stories that followed, and Qin Zheng should be the same.

But how did interest turn into liking, and at what moment did it change into a more valuable relationship?

Shen Teng still couldn't answer.

And he himself entangled with the problem unsuccessfully, and now he came to entangle the couple again, but because of his clear eyes and beautiful features, it made people feel that he was really just purely curious.

Jeff and Vigdís looked at each other, and then laughed together under Shen Ma's raised eyebrows.

Pointing at her British husband, the Icelandic woman replied with a smile: "Since I was a child, but with him, I have never worried whether it would be more intimate."

Iceland is vast and sparsely populated, and most of the locals are descendants of Vikings. The blood relationship is closely entangled, just like pure-blooded Icelandic sheep and Icelandic horses. Walking casually on the street, passers-by may be in What kind of in-laws are shown in the national database.

A classic Icelandic joke, but is it because of this that Vigdís likes Jeff?

"It's not hard to tell."

Jeff turned his head to look at Vigdís again, and the couple smiled at each other, with the same warmth in their eyes.

"It's nothing more than an angel shooting a mortal's heart." Like his wife who loves to tell old-fashioned jokes, Jeff also said an old-fashioned but touching love story.

Shen Teng and Qin Zheng looked at each other again.

Shen Tom: Are they flirting?

Qin Zheng smiled and leaned over to kiss the tip of his nose, rubbed his ears together, teasing in a low voice: "I'm still struggling, Angel."

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While the couple on the opposite side were booing and booing, Shen Teng touched the touched place and gave Qin Zheng a gouging look. He couldn't help but also laughed, and called out pretending to be arrogant: "Mortal."

Qin Zheng nodded in response: "Exactly."

He is not just an ordinary person, Qin Zheng thinks that he is simply an ordinary person, vulgar, but he just wants to tease one person.

Jeff stopped flirting with his wife this time, and laughed loudly: "I can see, you are just flirting!"

The drinking party of the four adults was full of laughter and laughter, and it was very lively.

Before Shen Tom came here, I heard that Vigdís was a gentle person. He originally thought that the second young master, who said [-] words, could make people speechless with three words. The dinner must be all about the talkative Jeff and He was thoughtful, but he didn't expect Qin Zheng to perform at a super level today. From the recent surge in the number of tourists in the peak season to the global warming, Iceland can survive for a few more years.

Could it be that being a tour guide can really sharpen one's eloquence?

Shen Teng had also seen Director Qin’s conscientiousness in his job before. Asking ten questions and answering ten, expressing clearly is the basic skill. The young master who is used to taking care of himself is also very familiar with arranging a whole day’s itinerary for strangers. In unexpected situations, people from all walks of life and all walks of life can cope with it freely.

But that was Qin Zheng at work.

Shen Teng watched helplessly that the old saw-mouthed gourd, who used to be shy when he met social occasions, was beaming in front of him (in fact, his expression was a little more vivid than before), and he was dazed for a while, and finally took advantage of it. While the couple went to the kitchen to serve tiramisu to get new wine, they leaned their heads into Qin Zheng's ear and asked, "Who are you possessed by?"

Qin Zheng replied without batting an eyelid: "Elizabeth, you..."

Still talking about drama.Shen Toma pushed him gently: "I can't help but misunderstand whether you were always pretending in front of me before."

Qin Zheng grabbed his hand and held it in his palm, looked sideways and said lazily: "You also know it's a misunderstanding?"

Shen Tong smiled helplessly, frowned slightly, and wanted to say something, but Vigdís had already come out of the kitchen with a large plate of tiramisu, and Qin Zheng got up neatly to take the plate without needing Shen Tong's reminder , and thanked his sister-in-law very softly.

During the whole process, Shen Teng looked at Qin Zheng calmly with a very complicated smile.

Just like Qin Zheng knew himself, Shen Teng also knew the bad roots in Qin Zheng's character.

"The two of them are sitting side by side at someone else's table waiting for dinner", if the existence of Qin Zheng in the subject is removed, it may still happen when Shen Ma is in a particularly good mood, but once Qin Zheng is added, Immediately it seemed extremely rare.

For so many years, it's not that Qin Zheng is not good at communication, it's just that he is too lazy to figure out how to get along with others from the bottom of his heart.Classmates, friends, elders, business partners, no matter whether interests are involved or not, Qin Zheng will always look alienated, making it difficult for people to guess what he is thinking, let alone dare to guess.

For a long time, Qin Zheng treated Shen Teng like this.

But now he is sitting here, on a night when the sun is not setting in Reykjavik, the outdoor wind blows in through the wide open balcony door, and the window screen is flapped, and the pink-orange sunset will not appear in the sky for several hours, but Qin On Zheng's face is a warm smile that has almost never appeared in the previous 24 years.

It seems that he is no longer the Qin Zheng who always rejected people thousands of miles away with his eyes full of indifference and sarcasm in Shen Mao's memory, but Shen Mao knew the reason for his change-Qin Zheng restrained himself Thorns, I want to pull the people around me into the real world of sentient beings.

But is Shen Tom willing?

Back to the original question, what does Shen Teng like about Qin Zheng?

If it is said that Shen Teng's "love at first sight" towards Qin Zheng was because he fell in love with his extraordinary appearance infiltrated with unique temperament to the point of being extraordinary in a remote place, then Qin Zheng's indifferent attitude of cooperation over the years probably made Shen Teng never A big reason for losing contact with him.

In Shen Toma's life, there are too many experiences of leaving without saying goodbye, most of which were done by him on his own initiative, but only for Qin Zheng——for this cold-hearted guy who seems to be the most suitable for leaving without saying goodbye However, Shen Teng always felt that they must have a decent and ceremonial ending.

This was the reason why he went to Jiangcheng, and it was also the reason why they were sitting side by side laughing now.

Qin Zheng asked Shen Teng what he liked about him, and Shen Teng could only give some vague, abstract, and highly general answers.

Shen Teng likes good-looking guys, and Qin Zheng is very good-looking.Shen Teng was afraid of trouble, but Qin Zheng never made trouble for him.Shen Teng loves freedom, and Qin Zheng still gives him the utmost respect for life and death decisions to this day.

He likes the taciturn Qin Zheng with drooping eyelids, who seems to be forever above the mortal world, who doesn't need and doesn't want to care about anything. Was it Qin Zheng, who was worried about the balance of his card and rent, could see through his emotions at a glance, and was trying clumsily to pull him into the lively world?

When the cold majesty in his memory, who was not like a mortal, gradually faded away from the layers of quiet and noble attire, changed his body, and finally turned into a real ordinary mortal, does he still like Qin Zheng?

In other words, is he willing to become such a mortal, guarding the illusory love that no one can guarantee the validity, and spend an ordinary and long life with another mortal?

I remember that on the cruise ship in the spring night in Vienna, he once told Qin Zheng categorically that he was unwilling and avoided this possibility.

Shen Teng smiled and leaned against the back of the seat, turned his head sideways, and looked at Edwin, who was sitting on the soft carpet and arranging building blocks.

Beside him, besides the large dog loyally lying down to protect the little master, there are also many toys scattered on the ground. One of the dolls is very familiar. A miniature version of his cactus figure.

I heard from the second young master that those guys had bad intentions when they sent him off. They insisted that Qin Zheng carved it in the same shape as this plant. Even if he didn't have thorns all over his body in his previous life, he would have to plant it in the desert in his next life.

Afterlife.

Although he keeps claiming to be a Bolshevik, Shen Teng is not a firm materialist. Sometimes, he would think about what he would like to do if he really had an afterlife.

There are many answers.

He thought about being a gust of wind, a cloud, a wave hitting the rocks... There are all kinds of romantic and extraordinary, the only thing in common is that they are all fleeting but free and illusory images.

Shen Teng almost never thought of becoming another living creature.

But when he was in Buenos Aires, he said that he slipped his mouth once, listening to the sound of whales, and said to himself that he could be a fish eaten by His Majesty.

At that time, his "unprincipled" might be covered up by the reason of "being insane at night", but now, at this moment, in this place and in this scene, when he was just looking at Qin Zheng in a clean day, he suddenly Feeling again, if, maybe—

He looked at Qin Zheng who raised his eyebrows coldly in response to Jeff's jokes but couldn't hold back the corners of his mouth, and smiled and thought in his heart: If there is an afterlife, it should be good to be a cactus on someone's window sill.