That night, Chen Jiayu stayed at his house as a matter of course.
At nine o'clock in the morning, Fang Hao's biological clock woke him up - when he had a normal schedule, he usually needed seven hours of sleep, no more or less. With sleepy eyes, he looked at Chen Jiayu beside him. The other person was still holding him at first, and then slowly turned around and went to sleep, but their backs were still touching. Fang Hao sat up with one hand and looked at Chen Jiayu's side face with nostalgia, watching him breathe in and out quietly, and his chest rose and fell. When Chen Jiayu fell asleep, his demeanor was quite different from usual. He looked younger, more vulnerable, and less defensive. He also knew that Chen Jiayu had no rest for nearly fourteen hours yesterday, and because he flew to Shenzhen the night before, he was already sleep deprived, and now he owed a lot of sleep debt. So, he got out of bed quietly, and after washing up, he went to the living room and started making a simple breakfast.
Chen Jiayu woke up after about an hour. When he brushed his teeth and came to the living room, what he saw was Fang Hao studying coffee powder in front of the Platinum coffee machine. He held the brewing handle in one hand and the instruction manual in the other and was studying hard.
He was so focused that he didn't notice Chen Jiayu standing at the door of the bedroom at first. He didn't raise his head until Chen Jiayu said "goodbye."
"Get up," Fang Hao asked him, "Did you sleep well yesterday?"
"It's good. I haven't slept for such a long time in a long time." Chen Jiayu replied. After saying that, he walked over, stood behind Fang Hao and watched him tinkering, filling the brewing handle with coffee powder, compacting it, and then stuffing it into the machine.
"Have you finished your research and are you satisfied?" Chen Jiayu asked Fang Hao about his experience of using it. He pays great attention to after-sales service, whether it is making love or giving gifts.
Fang Hao said: "I just figured out how to make espresso. I have to watch videos online to study the rest." The machine vibrated, and then thick black coffee flowed out of the interface and fell into the delicate small cup. As he fiddled with the machine settings, Chen Jiayu went one step further and hugged him from behind. His shoulders were a little wider than his, and his height was a little taller. The early morning sunlight slanted directly into the window, illuminating the two people and even their shadows matched.
"Hey..." Fang Hao was a little surprised, but he let him hold her. He just said, "Be careful, don't get burned."
The first cup of espresso was ready, but Fang Hao didn't drink it. Instead, he turned around and handed it to Chen Jiayu: "You try it first. I didn't buy milk at home, so I can only try the milk frother next time."
Chen Jiayu drank it all at once and gave him a thumbs up. In fact, he has never thought about buying a semi-automatic coffee machine for his home. He usually doesn't have the time to develop this kind of life interest. He usually buys it ready-made at the airport coffee shop, so he has a koza membership card. However, before Fang Hao's birthday, when he was thinking about what gift to give him, his first reaction was that he should buy this for him. In his impression, Fang Hao liked to think about various high-tech objects and was also someone who would make good use of this machine - and his guess was indeed correct.
On such an ordinary morning, the aroma of coffee gradually filled the whole room, and quiet time flowed between the two of them.
When Chen Jiayu stood far away, he realized that Fang Hao had changed into sportswear, shorts and a quick-drying T-shirt. Sure enough, Fang Hao finished the coffee for him, drank a cup himself, and said to Chen Jiayu: "I just made some breakfast and left some for you. It's in the microwave. If you want, you can bake a piece of bread yourself. It's in the refrigerator." There's yogurt and yesterday's leftovers - I don't know what you like to eat, can you figure it out yourself? I'll go for a run and be back in about an hour. If you want to go out to eat, you can take a shower when I get back. ." After he finished this long list of explanations, he put on his running shoes. Chen Jiayu made a joke and said, "Don't worry, I'm at home alone."
Fang Hao smiled and replied: "Then there is nothing to worry about. Can you still rob wealth and sex? Without wealth, sex has already been robbed."
Chen Jiayu was quite satisfied with his answer. He was indeed a little hungry, so he walked to the refrigerator. He didn't pay attention carefully on the day of the party, and now he saw a calendar on the refrigerator. There was something like a daily plan on the calendar, with some English words written on it, such as "easy pace", "tempo", and some abbreviations. Note, the number of kilometers is marked next to it.
"Your training plan?" Chen Jiayu asked him curiously.
Fang Hao was about to put on his sports headphones, but took them off again and said to him: "Well, I originally planned it in advance and then implemented it every day, but... I feel ashamed to say it. Because I have been busy at work recently, my plan has not kept up with the changes. Now It’s become a running record, and I’ll run every day when I feel good, and run as much as I can.”
Chen Jiayu thought of what he had confided to him in the car that night two months ago, and asked him: "Are you going to participate in a competition soon?"
Fang Hao hesitated for a moment, but chose to tell him: "There will be a 100-kilometer race in Hong Kong next year. There was also a 100-kilometer race in Beijing the year before last, but I didn't run down, so I felt burdened and didn't think about whether to sign up for it this time. If I sign up, I have to train hard. Play well," he said.
Chen Jiayu encouraged him: "Just do it if you want to, you'll be fine." After he finished speaking, he digested the other person's words in his mind, "Isn't one hundred kilometers... equivalent to two marathons? That's right. How long do you have to run for?”
"Almost two and a half." Fang Hao said seriously: "I have never run down, so I don't know."
Two years ago, he and Lu Jiawei broke up in an awkward manner. After the breakup, he was lost in his personal life and relationship for a period of time, and he was not very happy for several months. He analyzed himself and felt that he was in a typical quarter-life crisis and needed some fresh motivation and goals, so he impulsively signed up for a 100-kilometer race in Beijing. Because he signed up in a hurry, he was not very prepared before the race. On the day of the race, he just forced himself to run, thinking that he could survive with his willpower and normal long-distance performance. As a result, he felt something was wrong when he reached the 70th kilometer. He couldn't eat anything and couldn't replenish energy at all. It was also very hot in Beijing that day. He vomited twice on the roadside. Finally, he gave up when he couldn't run anymore and was taken away by a rescue vehicle. Fang Shengjie and Fan Ruolan came to the finish line to hug him and encourage him, but he couldn't resist the loss.
After that, he never tried the same distance again. The big "Did Not Finish" on the score sheet became a psychological shadow for him. Running circles call this DNF. People who often run and compete will never have two DNFs. However, for Fang Hao, it may be the distance of a hundred kilometers, or it may be this very short time cutoff - whether it was the rushed game or the dismal ending of his previous relationship that DNFed, what is bothering him? He couldn't take this step, and he didn't fully understand it himself.
After returning from his run, he took a shower and prepared to go to the airport for work. When Fang Hao changed his clothes and came out, he found that Chen Jiayu had already put on yesterday's uniform. His laptop was placed on the bar that separated the dining room and the living room. He was sitting with his legs crossed on the matching high stool next to the bar. While flipping through the computer to do some work, I talked on the phone with my family.
He looked like he had already eaten breakfast. He put the chopsticks and plates in the dishwasher, including the small cup he had used to taste the espresso. Fang Hao had actually felt it before. Chen Jiayu had an aura that was hard to describe. He was the protagonist of any conversation he entered, and the master of any room he walked into. This was an innate feeling. It doesn’t matter if you’re not famous. In front of him, he spread out his tent in his living room. It really didn't feel like it was the first time he spent the night at his house, but like he had lived under this roof for a long time - he probably touched everything in any closet. Thoroughly. For a moment, Fang Hao was reluctant to disturb this tacit understanding.
He was undoubtedly eavesdropping, but Chen Jiayu did not avoid him on the phone. He mentioned going to the hospital to go through the procedures and sending flower baskets to the doctors to express his gratitude. He raised his watch again to check the time, and then decided to go at noon.
After he hung up the phone, Fang Hao had time to ask him: "Is anyone in your family hospitalized?"
"It's my mother who was discharged from the hospital." Chen Jiayu remembered that they had never talked about this topic. Seeing that Fang Hao brought it up, he did not avoid it: "The breast cancer is in the advanced stage and has metastasized to the lymph nodes. She was undergoing chemotherapy before, but recently she decided to Treat conservatively and don’t go to the hospital if nothing serious happens.”
It was indeed the first time that Fang Hao heard him talk about family affairs. He said softly: "...when was it found out?"
Chen Jiayu said: "About a year ago."
Fang Hao recalled that he knew from various other channels that around that time, Chen Jiayu gave up the high-paying and labor-saving international route and instead flew domestically. Fang Hao put himself in his position, thinking that if this happened to Fan Ruolan, he would be so uncomfortable that he would suffocate. Although he also experienced the death of his father when he first started working, his father died of a heart attack, and the incident was really sudden. From a certain point of view, when he left, there was no physical pain, and there was no psychological torture of knowing that life would come to an end and then living one by one. Having a terminally ill patient at home affects not only the patient himself, but also the relatives around him. Referring to others, he knew that Chen Jiayu would definitely have a hard time this year.
Fang Hao approached him, sat down on another high chair, and just said, "Sorry." After saying that, he put his hand on Chen Jiayu's back and patted him.
The feeling from last night came back. He had survived it all by himself no matter how hard it was, but now someone really stood by his side. Saying "I understand you" or "I'm sorry" made him feel a sore nose. . Chen Jiayu lowered his head to hide his emotions, and then said after a moment: "It's not something I can choose." He had said similar words to Fang Hao before. For him, balancing work and family has been the only option from the beginning. But now that Fang Hao asked, he was alert. Now there was another relationship with Fang Hao that needed to be balanced. He had to take care of both sides and not let people down.
Fang Hao looked at his serious expression, sighed, and said, "I'm sorry, I... can't help you with anything."
Chen Jiayu was a little moved. He closed the computer and held his hand: "No. Your words are enough."
Near noon, Chen Jiayu packed his things and was about to leave for the hospital. He was still thinking about Fang Hao's car being left at the airport, so he insisted on driving him to work first, and then turned around and went home. As soon as Fang Hao got off the cool Porsche Macan, he caught up with Chu Yirou who had just parked the car.
Chen Jiayu also recognized her and did not shy away. He rolled down the window and said hello to her.
When he drove far away, Chu Yirou opened her eyes wide and asked Fang Hao, "Is there something wrong with you?"
Fang Hao smiled and said to her simply this time: "Well, that's right."
"Are you together?" Chu Yirou confirmed.
Fang Hao said: "Let's talk about it, we are still in the probation period. We are not together yet."
Chu Yirou was happy for him and took his arm: "Hey, I knew you two were special."
Chu Yirou was two years younger than him, so Fang Hao always had a brother-like indulgence towards her. At this time, he also recognized her: "Well, you still have a sharp eye and discovered it earlier than me."
The two separated at the tower, and everything in the control room was as usual, from the radar screen, microphones and headsets to the flight schedule. The air conditioner has a constant temperature, there is always a liter of water in the cup, and the chair is at the same height that he adjusted for himself last time. These are the constants in his life. Fang Hao sat down in his seat and made preparations as he had done for more than a thousand days. There was no difference. But the only variable was that Fang Hao felt that he was in a happy mood - Chen Jiayu was not flying in the sky today, but others should have already been on the highway. It turns out that thinking about someone can also be in such a mood, making him feel relaxed and satisfied——
Easy pace (EP): easy running, which is to restore physical strength or maintain condition; tempo: rhythm running, which is medium to high intensity running.