I put out his fire

Chapter 75

In the high-end western restaurant, Nero was wearing a formal suit and a standard bow tie, frequently looking at his watch.

He is waiting for his date.

Last month's University|Sports Meeting, a boy from the sports department won first place in the archery event.

Unlike ordinary sports students with a rough appearance, the boy had long hair that fell down to his shoulders, black eyes that were as calm as obsidian, sharp eyebrows, and lips that were astonishingly colored as cinnabar.

Seeing this boy for the first time, Nero actually wanted to cry.

On the playground full of sweat and dust, the boy with black hair and black eyes shines brightly.He drew up the bow and arrow, staring intently at the bull's-eye, and touched his moist red lips with the stretched bowstring.

Nero stared blankly at those two red lips, feeling the sun explode into countless pieces of gold in the background, and then there was the sound of falling pieces in his ears.

He immediately went to check on the boy.

According to the information found, his name is Rhodes, and he is also a student of Pugomes University. He was admitted to this top university in the United States last year as a special sports recruit.

However, his family had some problems.My grandfather was imprisoned for financial fraud, and my parents were more or less involved.In addition to going to school, he had to work part-time to earn tuition and living expenses.

Nero pressed the Vertu phone specially customized by the designer, opened the front, wiped off the sweat from the nose with a tissue, tidied up the curly silver hair, and took a deep breath of himself in the screen.

It didn't take long for Rhodes to come.Big black pants, a loose white T-shirt, and a pair of flip-flops that look cheap at first glance.

Nero stood up stiffly, with a cautious expression, and solemnly extended his hand to Rhodes with the etiquette formed from his long-term travels in social occasions.

Rhodes shook hands in a coping manner, and sat across from him, with a white napkin on his knees, his expression a little cold.

"Hi, my name is Nero, I'm at the same level as you, but I'm studying political science." Nero introduced himself shyly.

"Nice to meet you." Rhodes said politely and distantly, "Let's order."

The shirt-pressed waiter brought two menus in three languages.

Nero flipped through the menu and said: "Caviar and fruit salad are on the first plate, and the taste should be sour. The cold soup should be a creamy soup with foam removed. The fried foie gras should be red wine, no rosemary. Raw beef with Mustard, sliced ​​Parmesan cheese and rocket.”

He closed the menu, "As for the main course and dessert, we will order later."

The waiter quickly wrote down the request, and glanced at Rhodes opposite, "Sir, what do you need?"

Rhodes put the unread menu back on the table, and said flatly, "A glass of cold beer."

The dishes are set on the table, and the beer in the glass is bubbling.

"Are you busy with your studies? What do you do every day?" Nero asked, hoping to open up the topic.

Rhodes picked up a piece of fruit that hadn't been dipped in salad dressing, "It's not busy. Sports students are not as strict as you, we just need to ensure daily physical training."

Nero cut off a piece of foie gras, "We do policy analysis every day, make slides, and report to professors who are politicians. Sometimes we have to catch a plane to go to other countries."

"Political science is the best major in Pugomes," Rhodes said. "You have a bright future."

Nero ate the foie gras and said: "Actually, I don't really like this major. Speaking of hobbies, I prefer music or art. But my parents want me to study politics like them. My mother even smashed me to make me give up. Bad house piano and violin."

Rhodes glanced at him, "Are your parents in politics?"

Nero nodded, "Not only my parents, but my grandparents and even my great-grandparents are also in politics, so I have to take this path too. My dad was assassinated by a political opponent with conflicting interests when I was two years old, but fortunately he was rescued. .But even so, he still wanted to be a politician, and my mother was brainwashed by him to use him as an example to demean me all day long. However, their relationship is very good."

Rhodes' expression was still indifferent, and he picked out the beans from the green pods silently.

"Where do you live now? At home?" Nero asked, "I heard that you are a local."

"No, I share a room with a classmate who studies mineral materials." Rhodes said, "My house was taken away by the government. My father died in an accidental car accident, and my mother is now in jail."

Nero was shocked, and the table knife clanged against the porcelain plate, "I'm sorry, Rhodes. I shouldn't mention this."

"Nothing." Rhodes said calmly.

Nero looked at the pair of stern black eyes, changed the subject and said, "The reason why I came to you was to ask you to teach me archery. You were at the sports meeting that day, and you almost stole the limelight from everyone on the playground. Of course, the instructor You decide the price."

Rhodes filled a small bowl of cream soup for himself, and said: "Based on your financial conditions, you can find a professional archer. I just won a game in college | sports meeting, not very professional. And..."

He paused, "We are not from the same world at all."

Nero felt a chill in his heart.

Rhodes put down the tableware and drank the beer in the glass, "I'm done."

Nero stared at him blankly, "But...you haven't eaten the main course yet."

"I still have work to do, so I came here some time today." Rhodes stood up and pushed the chair away, "Thank you for inviting me to dinner. The cold beer is delicious."

Nero watched helplessly as he crossed the marble floor in flip-flops, passed through the door, and finally disappeared behind the cloudy frosted glass window.

An indescribable grief made him dizzy.

Nero didn't even bother to take his cell phone, and ran out of the restaurant, shouting at his back: "Rod!"

Rhodes stopped in his tracks, turned around, and behind him were traffic lights and moving car lights at city intersections.

Nero ran up to him, out of breath, his expensive shirt wet a little on the back.

"Rod... Actually, what I want to say is that I like you. Although it is presumptuous to say so, it also seems that I am very frivolous, after all, we have only met for the first time." Nero said with a red face, "But I am When I saw you on the playground, a hot stream like a volcanic eruption made me faint. I even felt that I was born just for that moment. You can say that I am lustful, or you can say that I am a dead man Emotional rubbish, but..."

He took Rhode's hand carefully, "Can you give me a chance to pursue you?"

Rhode saw a small freckle on the bridge of his nose and didn't withdraw his hand.

……

Nero in this life launched a long-lasting pursuit of Rhodes.Rhodes rejected him countless times, but he never gave up.

After completing his undergraduate studies, Nero studied law and obtained a master's degree at the Law School.At the suggestion of his parents, he decided to work in the courts while studying for a doctorate.

After graduating from university, Rhodes chose to stay in school to teach and became a physical education teacher.

In the prison, the warden received Nero and handed him a parole permit.

Rod's mother was sentenced to 20 years in prison for participating in financial fraud.Nero, who worked in the judiciary, paid a lot of money to open up personal connections, and finally paroled Rhodes' mother on the grounds of "obvious intention to repent" and let her escape from prison.

When he showed Rhodes the parole release form, he was first punched hard in the face.

"Are you crazy?!" Rhodes said in shock, "You have just secured your seat in the court, in case something happens..."

"All the procedures I have gone through are legal." Nero wiped the blood from the corner of his mouth, "Just let those who decide the number of paroles give priority to your mother."

Rhodes said seriously: "No. This is a bribe..."

"It's not about bribery, it's about making friends." Nero approached him. "Everything I do is legal, and no one will pick a problem. Don't worry, Rhodes, trust my abilities."

Rhodes read the parole approval form carefully, and turned his back to him.Nero saw that his shoulders were shaking.

"...you stupid guy who is more stubborn than a pit bull who refuses to admit defeat." Rhodes turned his back to him and said with a dry voice, "Why are you being so kind to me, why don't you give up..."

Nero felt his heart beating like a drum, and hugged his thin shoulders.

"Rod, I love you. Every time I see you, I feel like we've known each other for a long time, even though it's only been four years." Like the countless confessions before, Nero said seriously, "I know you because Reality, family and my career have been hesitant. But you have to trust me, I can handle this, promise me okay..."

Rhodes didn't speak, and stared at his serious face, from the curly silver hair to the bleeding corner of his mouth.

He stroked the red and swollen corner of his mouth with his fingers, gently wiped off the blood on it, and said with a complicated expression: "Does it hurt?"

Nero froze for a moment, then his face lit up like fireworks, and he trembled in surprise.

"It hurts." After saying that, he held Rhode's hand and leaned forward to kiss his lips.

……

During the five years of being in love with Rhodes, Nero successfully obtained a doctorate and was promoted to work in the Department of Justice in Washington, far away from the control of his parents.

He bought a property in Washington and transferred Rhodes' job to the local university.

The independence of economy and career made him more and more confident, and finally proposed to Rhodes after living together for three years.

They were both in their 30s when they got married.

"For our honeymoon, I took ten days off." Nero came back from get off work, took off his neat official uniform, and hung his suit jacket on the drying rack.

Rhodes was in the kitchen, opened the shutter-shaped sliding door, stretched out his head and said, "First take out the garbage at the door, and then eat."

After getting married, Nero persuaded Rhodes to quit his job and hide him at home like a baby.His income alone is enough to cover the expenses of a small family of two.

Nero came back after taking out the garbage, put on comfortable pajamas and a pair of cotton slippers, and helped Rhodes set the table and serve the dishes.

Steaming milk porridge sprinkled with dried cranberries, waffles drenched in vanilla syrup, slightly burnt bread slices sandwiched with blue cheese, half-rare steak poured with pommi sauce, served in colorful Pepper slices and broccoli on a flat plate.

Rhodes took off his plain apron, poured a glass of orange juice for Nero, and held it in his hand.

In the rising water vapor of the milk porridge, Rhodes' eyes and lips blurred, and black and red were printed on the light white background.At this moment, Nero seemed to see a famous painting by Monet.

"Rod..." Nero said blankly while holding the orange juice.As soon as Rhodes said these two words, he could feel a warm current in his heart.

With tears in his eyes, he sighed, "Why am I so happy..."

Rhodes smiled, scooped up a spoonful of milk porridge, and gently scolded him, "Don't be hypocritical."

The two ate dinner quietly.Nero ate up the steak and the bell peppers used for decoration, and asked excitedly, "Where do you want to go on our honeymoon?"

The ceramic knife that was cutting the steak stopped and moved again.Rhodes thought for a while and said, "Rome."

Nero was surprised, and smiled: "I think the same as you."

……

The sky in Rome is bluer than in Washington.

The marble colonnades have been eroded, and the carved columns of the Pantheon, although regularly maintained by the government, also have cracks at the base of the walls.The square, where countless grand events were held in ancient times, was also seriously eroded by wind.The remaining amphitheatres, arches and statues are half destroyed, and the setting sun shines, which has a strong sense of history.

Time passes.

Rhodes and Nero wore sunglasses and backpacks, and visited the attractions according to the map.

They came back from the dilapidated Senate and were going to see the royal tombs that were open to the public.

In the tomb with electric lights, the two followed the tourists who came to visit together, passing gorgeous and retro tombs everywhere.A tombstone is erected in front of each mausoleum, engraved with the life and epitaph of the deceased.

There are two mausoleums built very close together, and the tombstones are also next to each other.Rhodes noticed and pulled Nero to walk over.

They were separated by the fence, and the words on the tombstone were very vague, and they were all in Latin, which was impossible to understand.There is a signboard written in English next to the fence, which is an introduction to the mausoleum.

"This is a joint tomb." Nero pointed to the sign and said, "Could it be a couple?"

Rhodes looked at the tombstone in a daze, and couldn't help himself, reaching out to touch the cold tombstone.

"I really want to know what is written on it." He said staring at the inscription like a heavenly book.

Nero took his withdrawn hand and said with a smile, "It's a pity that none of us can speak Latin."

……

They also went to the Trevi Fountain and the Mouth of Truth in the movie, and tasted the local special crispy pizza, black truffle, tiramisu, and hard pasta.

Nero had a DSLR around his neck, and he snapped photos of Rhodes wherever he went.

At night, the amphitheater is illuminated with colorful lights.

Each of them took a handmade ice cream bought from the street, paid for tickets at the spiral staircase, waited in line for the staff to check the tickets, and then went to the high seats to watch the performance.

On the brightly colored stage, a professional repertory troupe is performing "Turandot".

Rhodes ate ice cream slowly, absent-mindedly, "This theater used to be full of killing and blood, but now it's actually performing a love story."

Nero gnawed on the crunchy cone and said, "Everything is changing. The tour guide said that in ancient Rome, theaters were open for free."

Rhodes leaned over and rested his head on Nero's shoulder.Nero stuffed the cone into his mouth and put his arms around him.

The decaying marble arches, the stone road with grass in the cracks, the dusty streets, the actors' limbs and expressions on the stage... These impacted Rhodes like an old film film.

He felt familiar, but he couldn't remember where he had seen these, and suddenly felt an indescribable emotion.

"I miss you, Nero." Rhode said deeply, "Although we stick together every day, I miss you every moment."

"I miss you more." Nero turned his face and kissed his hair, "Not only do I miss you more, but I also love you more."

"I love you too." Rhodes closed his eyes, followed some subconscious thoughts, and said intuitively, "My Lucius..."

The author has something to say:

Happy forever!Thank you all little angels!