"I’ve told you so many tis, cola isn’t for throwing!" Although Qin Lan caught the cola that Chen Xin threw over, he didn’t open it; he just put it back on the coffee table and sat down next to Chen Xin. "Where’s the other controller?"
"In the drawer below the TV, grab it if you want to play." Chen Xin glanced at Qin Lan, silently saved his current ga and exited, then switched to a two-player fighting ga.
The young special ops officer sitting nearby also sat down on the sofa, but he sensibly kept his distance from the long sofa where Chen Xin and Qin Lan were sitting, opting instead for the single-seater sofa.
Qin Lan pulled out the controller from the drawer, giving the TV screen a look to understand Chen Xin’s intention. "Is this the sa controller I gave you back then? Still the sa old one?"
"Choose your character; don’t say I’m bullying you, I’ll let you pick first." Chen Xin felt a bit nostalgic. Among the few shared hobbies he and Qin Lan had, playing fighting gas was probably the one they did the most.
Soon, just like in the past, they picked their characters and started vigorously battling with their ga controllers.
Perhaps gas truly affect a person’s mood; they hadn’t played many rounds before shouting and exclaiming, and even the young special ops officer watching them seed quite engrossed.
"KO! You lost again." Chen Xin took on an elder’s deanor and said with a sowhat smug smile at Qin Lan, "Lan, your skills have regressed!"
"You think everyone has ti to play gas every day like you do?" Qin Lan didn’t seem to care about losing the match but still retorted in response to Chen Xin.
Setting the controller down, Qin Lan picked up the soda Chen Xin had given her earlier. Just as she was about to open it, she hesitated, put it back, and picked up Chen Xin’s opened can, pouring it into her mouth.
Chen Xin frowned at the sight. "Didn’t I give you one? Why do you have to drink mine?"
"What’s the big deal? It’s not like I haven’t drunk yours before, and we’re not even sharing the sa spot on the can." Qin Lan put on a nonchalant look; when she and Chen Xin were dating, they’d been more intimate, so to her, this wasn’t anything to fuss over.
Her casual deanor, however, seed to the young special ops officer nearby like she was bantering with Chen Xin, making him feel awkward, like a third wheel.
Chen Xin glanced at the young officer, feeling a bit bad about leaving him out, so he handed his controller over. "Want to play a round?"
"No, no, watching you guys is fine." The young special ops officer quickly declined, though he loved playing gas and was itching to play, he wisely turned down the offer.
For the young officer, if it weren’t for waiting to leave with Qin Lan, there was nowhere else to go in Chen Xin’s refuge. He truly wished he could escape sowhere else to avoid being in their way.
However, Qin Lan seed to notice his embarrassnt and said to him, "Xiao Wang, you can head back first. I have so things to discuss with Xin."
"Huh? You’re not going back, Lan? Then how are you getting back?" The young officer seed a bit confused upon hearing Qin Lan wasn’t leaving.
"I’m staying at Xin’s for a couple of days because I’m off duty for the next two days." Qin Lan seed to have planned this well, instructing the officer, "Besides, I need to discuss the ground source heat pump equipnt for the team with Xin and supervise him in making it."
"Well..." The young officer wanted to say sothing but encountered Qin Lan’s warning gaze, leading him to answer firmly, "Alright, Lan, I understand."
Saying that, the young officer quickly stood up. "I’ll be off, Lan, enjoy your ti here."
Watching the young officer prepare to leave, Chen Xin gave Qin Lan a aningful look and said to her, "Alright, Lan, you see him out and rember to close the door."
"I know, I’ll be right back." Qin Lan nodded, standing up to see the young officer out.
As Qin Lan and the officer left, Chen Xin couldn’t help but stroke his chin, feeling sothing was off.
Though Qin Lan was his ex-girlfriend, even when they were dating, she had never actively stayed over at his place.
Suddenly exhibiting this behavior now, Chen Xin didn’t believe she was staying just to play gas for two days.
However, Chen Xin didn’t want to delve into why Qin Lan stayed. Today, he felt particularly downcast and didn’t want to trouble himself with thinking things over; on the other hand, he trusted Qin Lan enough to believe she wouldn’t do anything against him.
Continuing to play the ga alone, Chen Xin casually picked up the soda Qin Lan had just sipped from and glanced at the rim, smiled slightly, then drank from it directly.
Just like Qin Lan ntioned, she used to drink his soda too; back then, she would leave a lipstick mark on the can.
Qin Lan soon returned to the living room after seeing the young officer off and sat down beside Chen Xin, who was still gaming, picking up the controller again.
"Why did you stay?" As Chen Xin played the ga, he raised the question.
Not wanting to think things through didn’t an Chen Xin wouldn’t find out the cause.
"Xin, is your mood not good lately?" Qin Lan didn’t answer Chen Xin’s question; instead, she posed a new one. "You used to be like this when you felt bad or stressed—just soda, chips, and gaming all day, right?"
Qin Lan’s words made Chen Xin feel a bit embarrassed, also rather surprised; he hadn’t realized how predictable his behavior was or how observant Qin Lan was about his situation.
"Did I make it that obvious?" Though he chose to be downcast today, being directly pointed out made Chen Xin sowhat uncomfortable.
"You were once my boyfriend; I should at least notice when you’re unhappy." Qin Lan looked at Chen Xin with slight annoyance but also worried whether her words seed too intimate.
Chen Xin didn’t mind Qin Lan’s remark, only sighed helplessly and said, "Last night I dread about past events, so I’m not in a good mood today."
Upon hearing Chen Xin, Qin Lan glanced at the paper stuck on Chen Xin’s wall, having so inkling about why he felt down. "Xin, are you missing your parents?"
"How could I not miss them?" Chen Xin’s face showed a bittersweet smile.
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