Chapter 13: Going Upstream
Xing Cheng was stunned.
He thought that Ning Xi would blame him, ask him not to do that again, or go into a cold war with him, or even have a big fight, all of which were entirely possible.
But Xing Cheng never thought that at this time, Ning Xi would gently ask him if he wanted to drink soda.
There was caution and regret in his tone.
That afternoon on the Jinjiang District street court, Xing Cheng stood in the sun. The scarlet blood marks on his hands were hot, but he seemed to feel no pain.
Xing Cheng took a step forward and looked down at the faint shadow cast by Ning Xi's eyelashes.
Xing Cheng suddenly felt as if, at this moment, there were only the two of them in the world .
Before he could reply, Ning Xi said "Go buy some soda" and turned away.
When he came back, he was holding three bottles of pomegranate soda.
Ying Yuchen had a bottle, Xingcheng had a bottle, and Ning Xi had a bottle. The three half-grown boys drank until they burped, whistling and laughing.
In the second half, Ning Xi supervised Xing Cheng from the sidelines until the end of the game.
His brother stared at him expressionlessly from the sidelines. Xing Cheng did not dare to act rashly, let alone try any tricks to get more money. In the last quarter, he wasted playing time by dribbling the ball.
After a sudden pass and a switch of defense, Xing Cheng exerted force with his arms and made a fadeaway jump shot to end the game.
They had dinner with Ying Yuchen in a noodle shop on the street. After saying goodbye, Xing Cheng picked up two shared bicycles on the side of the road, carried his black schoolbag, and slowly followed Ning Xi all the way.
In the evening, Binjiang East Road is bustling with traffic. The lights of the restaurants on the covered bridge are so brilliant that the reflection of the Funan River makes the rippling water look like broken jade.
Willows sway along the road, and the spring breeze blows on your face, blowing away the last chill of winter in this city.
Ning Xi kept silent and rode very fast. Xing Cheng tried his best to keep up with him, shouting as he rode: "Brother! Slow down!"
"Follow me!"
It was a rare moment of willfulness for Ning Xi, and the evening breeze ruffled her hair.
Xing Cheng grabbed the handle tightly: "What did you say?"
Ning Xi slowed down a bit and pressed the bell: "Follow me closely!"
After he finished answering, he walked through the non-motorized vehicle traffic without looking back.
These words seemed to give Xing Cheng a boost. He rode forward for a few dozen meters, grunting and rushing, passed a traffic light intersection, leaned down and rushed across a long bridge, before finally catching up with him.
Xing Cheng was just about to follow Ning Xi across the street when he saw the green light of the traffic light on the side of the road flashing. Ning Xi pedaled and followed the flow of electric bikes in front of him across the crosswalk, leaving Xing Cheng far behind.
Xing Cheng held the handle and laughed, he felt even more excited!
He was just about to catch up when the green light at the crosswalk turned red. The traffic on the road that had stopped to give way quickly moved forward and then slowly began to flow again.
Ning Xi waved to him from across the street.
As soon as the light changed to red, Xing Cheng pedaled his bike forward like he was sprinting a 100-meter race, crossed the crosswalk, and before he reached Ning Xi, he saw his brother got on the bike again and rode forward!
Xing Cheng's fighting spirit had been aroused to the highest point, and he rode forward with all his strength, as if he could really catch up with his brother if he caught up with him this time...
The further they rode, the closer the distance became. Xing Cheng's heart was beating wildly and he didn't dare to relax his feet. When he got closer, he realized that it was Ning Xi who had stopped and was waiting for him.
Ning Xi had an earphone on his right ear and the other one hanging on his chest. He faced him and parked the car on the side of the road. Non-motor vehicles were speeding past him, honking their horns.
The speed of walking gradually slowed down...
He rode over, grabbed Ning Xi's front wheel, and smiled: "You're riding too fast!"
Ning Xi pinned the other loose earphone into his collar and raised an eyebrow: "You ride slowly."
"What are you listening to in your headphones? Is there any song I'm familiar with?"
Xing Cheng leaned forward and reached out to grab Ning Xi's headphones, almost falling down.
He didn't even listen to a single word, but the tune made Xing Cheng so happy that he put on his headphones and said, "I can sing this song!"
Ning Xi pedaled forward again after hearing this. Xing Cheng turned the bike around and followed Ning Xi at a distance of one meter. He didn't care if there were people around him and raised his voice to sing: "I like you for no reason! I'm deeply in love with you!"
"No reason, no cause!"
Ning Xi quickened his pace and rode forward like flying. Xing Cheng was not at all confused at all. He rode and sang at the same time, his voice was breathless: "Do you know I'm waiting for you! If you really care about me, how could you let your hand holding the flowers tremble in the wind..."
The boy's voice had a youthful magnetism and innate boldness. Ning Xi could hear every word of the lyrics clearly, like a spring breeze passing by his ears and then being immersed in the noisy crowd.
Xing Cheng chased him and sang for half the street, his voice getting smaller and smaller. Ning Xi turned around and saw sweat on his forehead, but his eyes were shining brightly.
Ning Xi's ears were so hot that he couldn't even get used to it, so he shouted behind him, "I changed the song!"
Xing Cheng asked, "What did you change?"
Ning Xi took a deep breath, held the handle tightly, and didn't look back: "I Only Care About You!"
Xing Cheng was stunned and quickened his pace: "Can I order a song?"
Ning Xi yelled back: "You can't hear me again!"
——The earphones are in my ears, what are you so proud of?
Xing Cheng quickly replied: "I can hear you!"
——Of course I can hear it!
Then, he caught up with some of them, not worrying at all whether the two hundred dollars in his jersey pocket would be lost. It didn’t matter!
Xing Cheng was nervous, watching the two people passing the last section of Binjiang East Road, crouching down and riding quickly around the bend, approaching them by about two meters...
Xingcheng rested his right hand on the armrest and made a trumpet shape with his other hand, as if his brother wouldn't be able to hear him if he didn't do that!
Xing Cheng said loudly: "I want to listen to "Those Years"!"
The sound of wind whistled past their ears, the street lights illuminated the road ahead, and non-motor vehicles kept passing them and rushing towards an unknown direction...
In just such a moment, in such a moment when I passed by countless people...
Ning Xi made a decision that affected his life.
He half-closed his eyes, not daring to stop moving his feet, not daring to look back at Xing Cheng, and shouted at the top of his lungs, "Okay!"
Xing Cheng suddenly parked his bike to the other side, turned the front of the bike around, and shouted to the front: "Brother! Turn around!"
It was very noisy around at the moment, with motor vehicles jammed during the evening rush hour. The car owners were probably extremely impatient and didn't care whether they would be fined or not. They all honked their horns as hard as they could, as if they were competing to see who could honk the loudest.
The way the two of them talked was all about yelling.
Ning Xi also heard it, so he turned the car around and said, "Where are you going?"
Xing Cheng said: "Tianfu Square!"
Ning Xi was puzzled: "What are you doing?"
Xing Cheng had already boarded the bike: "Bow to heaven and earth!"
Ning Xi hurriedly followed and almost laughed out loud after hearing this: "And then? The Three Heroes of Peach Garden?"
Xing Cheng said: "Yes! Let's go to the gate of the community!"
Ning Xi quickened his pace and caught up a little. It was too tiring to talk like this. He coughed a few times, and his throat was a little dry due to the night wind.
"You're not going in? What are you going to do?"
Xing Cheng said directly: "Bow to your parents twice!"
Ning Xi asked again: "And then?"
Xing Cheng said boldly: "Go to school!"
Ning Xi was stunned, but still followed his brother for a while. It was the weekend and it was already evening. What was there to worship at school?
He still asked: "What are we going to school for!"
Xing Cheng's face is now thicker than the city wall: "Brothers, we bow to each other! Then go home!"
Before Ning Xi could answer, Xing Cheng quickened his pace and led his brother in the opposite direction for a short distance...
There is still a long way to Tianfu Square, so the two of us rode one in front and one behind, trying to ride on the edge as much as possible so as not to block other people's way.
Every passerby who passed by them glanced at them with indifferent eyes.
Even though it was just a casual glance, Ning Xi felt a sense of pleasure from being spied on...
How he wanted to tie the school uniform around his body and put it on his head, to greet the azure moon above his head, and announce to the whole world that this was their fearless youth that was whizzing by.
It was a breezy night in early spring, but the wind warmed the hearts of both of them.
Xing Cheng rode very hard in front, and looked back at Ning Xi from time to time, as if he was particularly afraid that he would lose him. His shaky riding skills frightened Ning Xi: "Don't keep looking back!"
Xing Cheng didn't listen at all. He turned back every ten meters, which made Ning Xi scold him: "Ride your bike."
Xing Cheng smiled and replied: "I want to see it!"
He was so excited and happy that he wanted to grow a pair of wings and lead his brother across this bustling city to another secluded place.
He silently thought about it in his heart, silently rejoicing...
He was traveling, and when he was less than eighteen years old, he encountered the best thing that had ever happened to him.
He couldn't help but turned his head again. Ning Xi didn't say anything to him. He just looked at the road seriously. He seemed embarrassed to be stared at. He turned his head to look at the surrounding traffic. His entire profile was illuminated by the street light and created a backlit effect.
In the darkness of the night, Xing Cheng remembered the outline that had stayed with him for so many years.
They struggled until half past nine, and Xing Cheng was finally dragged home by Ning Xi.
Although their family was urging them to get married, the two were still excited. They accompanied each other into the apartment building and stood in the corridor for a long time.
Xingcheng returned home and was scolded by his parents. He was sweating and ran to take a shower.
After washing, he was still damp all over. He didn't even care that he hadn't wiped the water off his hands yet, and hurriedly clicked on Ning Xi's special dynamic page.
Ning Xi, who had never left any trace in space, finally posted a status.
Just one sentence.
“Today, we are the fish swimming upstream.”
The weather is gradually warming up, and after the late spring cold is over, the hooded sweatshirts worn under school uniforms are replaced with short sleeves.
The Shizhong school uniform was already thin, and it was easy to tighten it around the waist. It was also a must-have when riding a bike. Occasionally, he would reveal the two words "Shizhong" on the back of the uniform and throw it behind his butt, sparking and lightning all the way, as if announcing how amazing it was that he had managed to get into the same high school as his brother on his own.
This is the best liberal arts high school in Chengdu. It is located on the First Ring Road, next to the Sichuan Provincial Public Security Department. There are green trees along the road. When spring and summer meet, the afternoon sun shines on the ground, and cicadas and birds sing.
As for Chengdu, half of Xingcheng’s childhood memories are about Ningxi.
Riding his bike past the gate of a primary school at noon, Xingcheng looked at the primary school students in groups of three or four carrying heavy schoolbags and holding yearbooks in their hands. Suddenly he realized that graduation season was just over two months away.
Ning Xi had also bought this thing when he graduated from sixth grade. Xing Cheng clamored for one and asked for it to write on. He was three years younger than his brother and was still in third grade at the time. He didn't understand why the gender options were only "MM (girl)" and "GG (boy)".
So he took the initiative and wrote "DD (brother)" next to it and made a check mark.
He wrote his home address clearly, even his grandparents' phone numbers, and his dream of becoming an astronaut.
The message board he wrote on was even more interesting. The words were crooked and I can’t remember what they were now. I only remember that I drew a picture.
Blue sky, white clouds, the sun, a bird bigger than the sun, a fence, and green trees and flowers. In the lower right corner is a big house with waves floating in the chimney, a stone road at the door, and two boys in the middle. Both are smiling, with three hairs on their heads.
They held hands and said "hello".
The countdown to the college entrance examination has entered the double digits. After Ning Xi was admitted by his younger brother, he lived a very comfortable life every day, like a little emperor. Even the yogurt he ate after lunch was the Indian honeycomb yogurt that Xing Cheng bought at Kuixing Tower by riding his bike.
Ning Xi used a spoon to flatten the layer of honeycomb on the noodles, then scooped up a spoonful of yogurt. As soon as the tip of his tongue rolled over the spoon, he trembled with the sweetness.
Because of the intense study schedule, when it comes to lunch break for Class 3 and 4 of Senior High School, there are not only mountains of teaching materials in the classroom, but also students lying on the desks doing their homework. They are so hot that they are irritable, but they still have to grit their teeth and read.
The fans in the classroom were not turned on because the wind would make people drowsy and everyone would rather stay warm.
Xing Cheng sat at the table in front of Ning Xi, holding the half-eaten yogurt he had eaten, and looked at his brother with eyes full of pity as he bent down to pick up the pen.
People in the class are no longer surprised by the fact that this super handsome sophomore boy comes over every day. Boys have a duller sense of smell, but it’s different for girls nowadays. They obviously look this way more often. Ning Xi doesn’t care about the occasional rumors.
Ning Xi held the pen in his hand. Xing Cheng looked around and saw about ten people, all concentrating on doing their homework. He whispered, "You do your homework, I'll feed you."
Ning Xi blocked the spoon with his hand and dodged it: "Stop it."
Xing Cheng was stubborn and looked around: "They are all doing their homework."
What's more, the pile of supplementary books has long blocked my view...
Ning Xi shook his head, changed the ruler and drew auxiliary lines on the triangle, and said, "Eat something yourself."
He rode his bike there as soon as he got out of school. After all, the journey was so far, and he even bought a bowl of noodles after the trip. I guess his brother didn't eat much.
As Ning Xi finished saying this, the wind started to blow outside the window, and the spring breeze blew into the classroom, rolling up a corner of the curtains and fluttering them away. The sunlight outside poured in across the desk, spread out beside Ning Xi's hand, and blew open a corner of the test paper.
It was as if leaves were floating in, the curtains were fluttering , and suddenly they covered Xing Cheng who was lying back in the front seat.
With quick hands and eyes, he quickly scooped a spoonful of yogurt and handed it to Ning Xi's mouth.
Ning Xi didn't act pretentiously and just opened his mouth and bit it. The moment he finished the action, the wind stopped and the curtains slowly returned to their original state, leaning quietly against the wall.
After finishing a bowl of yogurt, Xing Cheng was still using a spoon to scrape the honey at the bottom of the bowl, with a sweet taste on his lips.
Ning Xi wrote the questions with his right hand while his left hand rested on the book. This was a habit he developed when he was smoking and writing at home.
Xing Cheng saw it, grabbed his left hand, picked up a black pen, and drew something on it bit by bit.
When he finished drawing, it was almost lunchtime. As a sophomore, he was embarrassed to stay in other people's sprint classes for too long, so he stood up and said, "I'll go down first?"
Ning Xi looked up at him, then quickly lowered his head to write the formula: "Okay."
After saying that, he tore off a note, folded it up and used it to fan himself, saying to himself that the weather was getting hotter.
When Xing Cheng walked away lazily with his school uniform rolled up, Ning Xi turned the page with his left hand and found that his brother had drawn something messy on his left hand: a ring.
A label was also drawn on it, and the price was 520 yuan.
Ning Xi was speechless. He cursed the boy as a childish ghost in his heart, but he was reluctant to wipe it off.
Ning Xi was no longer in the mood to do the questions and planned to take a short break. He drew the ring that Xing Cheng had drawn on paper again, smoothed out the wrinkled corners, lay down on the page and closed his eyes.
The wind blew across his forehead, and the sunlight spread over his eyelashes, outlining a golden edge.
Ning Xi enjoyed the warmth of spring, pursed his lips, and his heart blossomed.
The faint sound of the basketball hitting the frame on the playground was intertwined with the sound of Ning Xi's classmates reciting poems in a low voice, and gradually spread out, getting farther and farther away.
He lay on the table, slowly erased the countdown for the college entrance examination with an eraser, and then changed it to "45".
There is still one and a half months left.
On the weekend, Xingcheng and Ningxi went to the bookstore to buy test papers, because there was not much time left in the senior year of high school. If they didn't hurry up and practice the questions, by the last month, they wouldn't be able to hold on.
Ning Xi picked up a few books and flipped through them, saying as he selected: "This one, this one, and this one..."
Xing Cheng was surprised: "So many?"
Ning Xi didn't raise his head to look at him: "Yes, Qiao Ziyue and the others are doing this. The teacher recommended it."
Aren’t top students born with the ability to learn? Why do they work so hard every day?
Ning Xi seemed to see what Xing Cheng was surprised about, and sighed: "Do you think they are really like you, training and playing basketball every day, and then going home to sleep after finishing?"
The top students all have to work overtime. Those who play like crazy in front of others suffer a lot behind the scenes. Every time Ning Xi goes to evening self-study and turns back to hand in the papers to Qiao Ziyue and other senior teammates, he is never playing around.
Xing Cheng had nothing to say. He had indeed been a bit slack during this period and fell asleep as soon as he got home every day.
The two of them walked around the bookstore for a long time, and Ning Xi's cell phone in his pocket suddenly vibrated.
Seeing that he didn't take it out, Xing Cheng said casually: "Brother, you have new news."
Ning Xi didn't even turn his head, holding the book in his hand and couldn't move his hands: "Yeah."
Xing Cheng couldn't hold back his curiosity: "Let me see?"
Ning Xi nodded, turned sideways, and moved his pocket closer to Xing Cheng. Xing Cheng put the book on one hand and spread it out, using the free hand to search his pocket.
Ning Xi almost dropped the book.
Xing Cheng was grinning, and Ning Xi was so angry that he wanted to reach out and pinch his face. He stared at him and couldn't say anything. Xing Cheng was a man who could read people's expressions. He immediately bent down and put his face closer: "Come on, come on!"
Ning Xi dodged, pinched his face and looked around, wanting to knock this man out with a basketball.
Xing Cheng took out his phone to check WeChat messages and found that a girl from the school team and a girl who had no notes sent Ning Xi a message almost at the same time: "When is your birthday? Can I know what day it is?"
It's normal for Ning Xi to attract the attention of girls given his conditions. I guess they had discussed it before asking together.
Xing Cheng showed the phone to Ning Xi, who took it, took a look and put it back to Xing Cheng: "Reply however you want."
Xing Cheng made a prompt decision: "Don't put the blame on me."
Ning Xi held the book in his hand and blocked Xing Cheng's hand that was about to pinch his face: "Go home."
In broad daylight, they are rebelling!
In the following week, Xing Cheng discovered that Ning Xi would also bring him delicious food, muster up the courage to knock on his door, and say "Hello, uncle and aunt" to his parents.
Ning Xi was probably tired from doing homework during this period. He had a physique that could not gain weight anyway, so he would make an appointment with Xing Cheng to have a midnight snack at the restaurant at the entrance of the community at around 9 or 10 o'clock in the evening. From time to time, they would have some stewed pig's trotters with kelp and mix it with some hot sauce. Ning Xi's lips turned red from eating so much that Xing Cheng smiled and took a picture of him with his mobile phone.
The two of them had many meals together.
Xing Cheng has a lot of photos on his phone of Ning Xi sitting opposite him eating. If he put them all together, he could probably make a collection of delicious food.
There are Ning Xi who lowers his head and eats obediently, there are those who suddenly look up and kill the camera with their eyes, and there are those who can only see their eyelashes and nose bridge...
Xing Cheng heard that there was a bus in Chengdu that specialized in eating gourmet food, with famous snacks at every stop. So he took his brother to take a ride on it after his college entrance exam.
When it comes to studying, Xing Cheng advocates that Ning Xi should combine work and rest. Now that he has his parents' permission, he is not afraid of anything and no longer climbs out the window.
Sometimes, when the night sky was dotted with stars, Xing Cheng would draw the curtains of his bedroom and proudly say, "I have memorized all the words in Book 5 of English!"
"What are you showing off for? Are you reciting it for me?" Ning Xi rolled his eyes at Xing Cheng and turned his head to continue reading.
"That's not the case." Xing Cheng shrugged.
Now that the college entrance examination is getting closer, a series of relaxing activities are on the agenda. Sometimes, when we are brave enough and the weather is getting hotter, we just ride our bikes to a barbecue square a little further away, eat a lot, and then sing all the way back.
Xing Cheng poured the beer while picking up some food for Ning Xi: "Eat more kelp, it cures coughs, and some cucumbers, it clears away heat and quenches thirst..."
Ning Xi was forced to eat a lot. He picked up a piece of leek with chopsticks and threw it into Xing Cheng's bowl. He said mischievously: "Eat it."
"I do not need!"
Xing Cheng had studied recipes when Ning Xi was in his senior year of high school, so he understood it immediately, though he was still a little confused.
Ning Xi hid the smile on his face and pretended to take it back: "Forget it."
Xing Cheng grabbed the bowl and used chopsticks to dig directly: "Eat, eat, eat!"
After drinking a glass of pineapple beer, Xingcheng's ears felt hot, and the breeze made him more sober.
The countdown to the college entrance examination is getting smaller and smaller. The green areas in the community are flourishing with new lotus and apricots. It is late April and the summer is more pleasant than spring.
Class 3 of Senior 2 welcomed the monthly exam in April. Xing Cheng finished the test paper quickly because he had a task to do later. If he was late, he would get a scolding from the coach!
Now Xing Cheng's grades were much better than those of his brothers, so naturally the test papers became shared. Ren Mei kept poking his back with a pen, forcing Xing Cheng to grit his teeth and write desperately...
It’s too difficult, I don’t want to take the exam anymore!
The invigilator walked away with his back to them. Ren Mei saw that time was running out and became anxious. She lowered her voice and said, "Machine-readable card, machine-readable card!"
Xing Cheng calmly placed the scribbled machine-readable card to the empty space on the right and whispered, "Don't copy everything. Remember to change a few."
The guy at the next table stretched his neck like a giraffe, glancing around and winking at Xing Cheng.
After you finish writing and hand in the paper, hurry up and go to the playground to reserve a spot. There will be a competition later. If you are late, you will have no place to relax.
After he ran out of the examination room while putting on his school uniform, Xing Cheng stood at the door of the examination room and slapped his forehead. It seemed that he was the first one in the whole grade to hand in his paper.
His writing speed is just like him, quick and accurate. I guess he won't make many mistakes on the machine-readable card this time.
If he could pass the English test, Xingcheng would have the capital to show off in front of his brother.
Xing Cheng couldn't hold back the excitement in his heart, and took advantage of the fact that there were no teachers from the inspection team in the corridor and ran to the corridor of the third grade.
Xing Cheng put his hands in his pockets, pretended to be passing by, and slowly walked past the door of Class 1 of Senior 3, followed by Class 2 of Senior 3, Class 3 of Senior 3, and then Class 4 of Senior 3...
When he passed by the window of Class 3-4, he coughed and pretended to look inside casually.
The classroom was originally quiet, and although Xing Cheng's cough was not loud, Ning Xi had sharp ears and still heard it.
He also looked out the window. Xingcheng saw that they were still in class and didn't want to stay any longer. But when he saw that his brother had also seen him, he couldn't move his feet.
Ning Xi was a little embarrassed at first, but when he saw the grade leader of the senior year slowly walking up behind Xing Cheng, he made a gesture to him to "hurry up".
Xing Cheng thought his brother was being embarrassed with him, so he raised his eyebrows and blinked.
Ning Xi quickly turned his head away, his head felt bigger.
Xing Cheng was scolded by the head of the grade for half a class. He was unable to grab a spot and had no time to play basketball. He stood upright in the office with the phone in his pocket vibrating like an explosion.
The head teacher glared at him and could no longer do anything about these brats bringing cell phones into the teaching area!
He spread his hands: "Whose?"
Xing Cheng suppressed his laughter, took a quick look, and put his hands in his pockets: "Ren Mei's."
The head teacher said, "I'll pick it up."
Xing Cheng didn't hesitate at all. He held back his smile and handed the phone over. When the other party picked up the phone, he yelled, "Xing Cheng, what's wrong with you? Where's the person?"
Then, as soon as the head teacher spoke, the person on the other end was stunned. He quickly hung up the phone and never called again.
Xing Cheng coughed, thinking that he would be scolded by Ren Mei again when he returned to the classroom.
Ning Xi came to the door of the grade office as soon as the get out of class was over and stood there listening. He counted how long Xing Cheng had been inside. Finally, he couldn't help it, so he knocked on the door and went in, saying that he had something to talk about.
The last-minute things weren't very important, but Ning Xi, who had good grades and looked well-behaved, was favored by the teacher, so he was forced to stay for ten minutes so that he could plan for the college entrance examination and try to get a good high score.
After Ning Xi finished talking to the teacher, he ran to the corridor window and looked at the court. This was the closest spot to the court.
Ning Xi watched for a while, then went back to the classroom for evening self-study. He put the earphones from his sleeves into his palms, covered his ears with his hands, and listened secretly, not to songs or English words.
Ning Xi saved all the voice messages his younger brother sent him on WeChat and listened to them from time to time.
After a while, whenever Xing Cheng spoke, Ning Xi could imagine his expression and the smirk on his face while doing the questions.
"Brother, what are you doing? Come downstairs quickly!"
It seemed like it was a little late that day, and I was still dawdling, picking out clothes to wear in the closet.
"Do you want to add some spiciness to the skewers? Forget it. You've been eating a lot of spicy food these past few days. You need to start taking care of your stomach now. You need to pay attention to your diet for the college entrance exam!"
Every time I eat with Xingcheng, we both get red in the face from the spicy food, but drinking some beer makes us feel refreshed.
"Were you spying on me playing basketball? I feel like I'm full of energy today!"
Staring in your seat, or discovered?
"Are you stupid? I'm waiting for you at the stairs here. Why are you rushing over there?"
It was obviously his fault for sitting in the wrong place, the little bastard.
In the last month before the college entrance examination, Xingcheng took the May Day holiday.
He still didn't go anywhere. He suddenly started to work hard and didn't go on a road trip with his parents. He stuffed his clothes into the suitcase and dragged the suitcase to live with Ning Xi.
He didn't get annoyed with Ning Xi. He got up earlier than Ning Xi every morning and went to bed with Ning Xi at night. Except for the time wasted when the two of them were squeezed in the same bed, he still got enough sleep every day.
Ning Xi no longer had to go to the community gate to eat. After washing and dressing in the morning, he would see Xing Cheng carrying two bowls of noodles and a cup of oatmeal milk. He would change his shoes at the door while calling him to come for breakfast.
"There's still a month left. You need to take good care of yourself and make preparations."
Ning Xi heard him say that, raised his head and smiled: "It's like your college entrance examination."
Xing Cheng raised his eyebrows and smiled: "Almost the same."
Ning Xi took a sip of oat milk and stirred the noodles with chopsticks. He was too lazy to argue and just let the boy laugh foolishly.
Xing Cheng personally escorted Ning Xi to school, and then rode his bike all the way back, took a comfortable nap, set the alarm, and went to pick up his brother from school at noon...
He took two flyers he had picked up on the road, folded two paper airplanes from them, and carried them all the way home.
The house is more than 100 square meters, neither too big nor too small, lacking this or that, but it has become a harbor for him and Ning Xi to give to each other, warm and hot, thriving in the summer.
It was too hot to sleep at night, and the electric fan didn't help much. The nights in Chengdu in May were extremely hot and humid, so Xing Cheng ran to the store, got two bottles of ice cola, and threw them on the bed.
The two of them reviewed their lessons at night. Xingcheng couldn't memorize the questions, so he had to be scolded. After being beaten a few times, he memorized them. He could recite the ancient poems fluently in one breath, and finally figured out which big rivers, mountains, lakes and seas there are in China. He also learned a lot about meteorology, and had no problem passing geography.
He lay on the bed, looking at the ceiling, and pinched his fingers: "Brother, I calculated that the sun will come out tomorrow."
"Geographical aura is not for you to see the celestial phenomena."
Ning Xi turned over and ignored him: "It's only May, how can there be no sun?"
Seeing Ning Xi turned over, Xing Cheng stretched out his arm to turn him over, but he couldn't do it no matter how hard he tried. Xing Cheng coughed and said, "It's sunny to cloudy."
Ning Xi turned around while hugging the quilt and used the back of his hand to cool him down: "Is it clear now?"
Xing Cheng saw that his plan had worked, so he grabbed his brother's paw and said, "The clouds are turning into rainbows!"
Occasionally, when Ning Xi was doing homework by the window, he would see a paper airplane flying in from a distance with a note on it. When he picked it up, he saw a crooked red lip print. Ning Xi looked up and saw Xing Cheng standing in the community with a newly bought ice pad in his hand.
When asked whose lipstick that was, Xing Cheng said without hesitation: "My mom's."
One night when the holiday was almost over, chickens from someone's household in the neighborhood kept crowing, which almost made Xing Cheng have a nervous breakdown. He subconsciously turned sideways to block his brother.
Ning Xi in his arms groaned, moved his body, and whispered, "Is it dawn?"
Xing Cheng patted him on the back and coaxed him, "No, just a little."
Ning Xi also wanted to catch the chicken and make soup, but he was almost sleepy after being called, so he turned over and sat up, saying that he was not sleepy anymore.
Xing Cheng saw that he was sweating and felt hot, so he got up and opened the window. The two of them sat by the window to get some fresh air. Unexpectedly, the fresh air actually made them feel more energetic.
Xing Cheng's eyes lit up and he said, why not go for a walk on the street.
Ning Xi was stunned for a moment, but he didn't mean to resist. He went to find shoes to put on while saying, "It's one o'clock. Are you done yet?"
“Go, go, go!”
Xing Cheng didn't even bother to let him put on his shoes. He suddenly picked him up on his back and rushed out the door holding his shoes.
At a little after one o'clock, Xing Cheng took Ning Xi and, without fear of spending money, took a taxi to Tianfu Square.
Facing south, with the statue of Chairman Mao behind it, in the city center, the two people looked at each other in the deserted square at midnight, as if completing some kind of ritual.
Xing Cheng was so happy that he bent down, picked up Ning Xi, and ran all the way home.
He picked a shared bike and rode it. Ning Xi sat on the back seat with his back to him, with the wind blowing on his face.
That night, Ning Xi was taken by Xing Cheng to look at the stars in the sky and made some decisions.
The May Day holiday is over and the college entrance examination has truly entered the final countdown.
Ning Xi's biological clock became completely regular. He no longer got up too early in the morning, nor did he toss and turn in bed at night. Xing Cheng was quite sensible. Every day, he would pass by his brother's window, relax openly, then jog into the corridor and stand at the door of his brother's house in a daze.
Most of the books on the desks in the classroom have been cleared away, leaving only a few that are particularly useful.
In fact, with Ning Xi's results, he only needs to take good care of his body and summarize his mistakes in the last period of time, so as not to make too many mistakes in the college entrance examination.
Ning Xi's family hasn't come to see him for a while, and he has almost forgotten those unpleasant things.
Xing Cheng was like a beam of light in his life, trying hard to illuminate him in the darkness.
Ning Xi used an eraser to erase the countdown on the desk and changed it to "27". He also put a small note next to it and wrote "87".
This was the last time he and Xing Cheng could be together every day.
There were some concerns and decisions that he had not yet fully thought through, and he could not let Xing Cheng know about them.
In Chengdu in May, cicadas were chirping and birds were singing. The summer breeze blew over and almost heated the cold cake on his table to boiling hot.
Ning Xi has recently fallen in love with sweets, and Xing Cheng even ran to the next street to buy them for him. The two of them would go to the school rooftop and sit when they had nothing to do.
Shizhong is located in the city center and covers a small area. Although it is an antique building, it has high floors. Standing on the rooftop, one can have a panoramic view of most of Qingyang District.
He quietly put the food into his mouth, looking at the city, streets and rivers in front of him, and suddenly felt strange.
Living in a city, but only familiar with a small area of it, people of all kinds pass by me every day, but no one knows each other.
Time brings more people together by fate, and then the torrent of time disperses them, scattering them to every corner of the city, becoming a "long time no see" many years later.
Some classmates have already started to leave school one after another. Some choose to go home to review, and some choose to go to tutoring institutions for the final sprint. Ning Xi is naturally the one who still goes to school every day.
He began to especially cherish the sight of seeing Xing Cheng on campus. Both of them were wearing blue school uniforms, as if these were the only similar clothes they had ever worn.
The two of them began to walk around the campus, on the playground, and in each other's eyes, shining brightly.
The afternoon sun is beautiful.
The campus radio station also started playing some songs about graduation, such as "Youth Yearbook" and "Days on Beijing East Road", which reminded Ning Xi of the same scene at the end of May last summer.
It seems like just yesterday.
Ying Yuchen also began to restrain himself and stopped playing around. He studied at home every day. He heard that his brother and sister-in-law seemed to be breaking up recently and were arguing seriously, so he didn't dare to offend his brother at all.
Ning Xi knew that Xing Cheng was taking Ying Yuchen's brother Ying Yujiang as an example, so he could only sigh, thinking that things in this world are unpredictable.
He knew that he couldn't be anxious as the college entrance examination was approaching, but he was still a little nervous.
Although this cannot determine everything about one's future life, for a child from a family like Ning Xi, it really concerns his fate.
After school, Xing Cheng played a game at noon, and Ning Xi skipped class to watch it, deciding to indulge himself.
He ran outside the school, bought a pack of cigarettes and put them in his pocket, took two bottles of Budweiser beer in his hands, sat down on the edge of the playground, and sipped them one sip at a time.
Xing Cheng was playing fiercely on the court, but he didn't expect his brother to skip class. He was almost hit by the ball and was stunned.
Ning Xi was sitting on the sidelines, with the cuffs of his white short-sleeved shirt rolled up high, revealing his beautiful arms. He was fiddling with the cans on the ground, with his long legs resting on the steps. When he saw his brother turning around, he raised the bottle of beer.
Ning Xi's eyelashes looked particularly long in the sun, and his fair face was slightly reddened by the sun. He looked at the road ahead, or at the blue sky in the distance, or at the land where he had fought for four years, the green trees, the runway...
He smiled and said, "Cheers!"
Cicadas chirping in the roadside trees——
June is coming.