End of January, winter vacation.
The winter vacation for most universities in Beijing started more than half a month earlier than that for senior year of high school. With his mother urging him, Ning Xi bought a high-speed rail ticket and arrived at the station two hours in advance.
A box containing some spare clothes, a few bags of local specialties, and three books.
Ning Xi copied this book every day while lying on his desk in Beijing when he had nothing to do. It contained all the key points of his summary of the college entrance examination in his senior year of high school. The emphasized sentences were brightly outlined in red pen. Xing Cheng's name was written on the cover, and it was so strong that it could be seen through the back of the paper. The slight dent in the cover always made Ning Xi want to touch it with his fingertips.
This time the car was driving very fast, leading Ning Xi through mountains, rivers, lakes, and vast plains, like a river flowing south, rushing down from the north.
Xing Cheng seemed to have turned into this small boat, carrying him endlessly towards his hometown.
People who study away from home always feel homesick. In the past, they probably didn’t think their hometown was that good, but once they left for a while, they began to miss the 2-liang noodles sold at the corner door, the one-dollar scratch cards at the entrance of junior and senior high schools, or the leaves that quickly fell to the ground at the turn of summer and autumn.
The people and things there urged the pace of growth, ran to the end, and then disappeared.
Almost ten hours later, Ning Xi finally arrived in Chengdu, and the entire carriage seemed to have woken up.
It was Ning Xi’s first time to come to Chengdu East Station. Probably because it was the peak time for the return trip, it was already nine o’clock and the subway station was very crowded. Fortunately, he was tall and had little luggage, so he was able to squeeze in.
That brat Xing Cheng lied to him before and said it wasn't cold. It was clearly a dry winter. There was no rain in the basin, and the wind was blowing fiercely on his neck, making it dry and freezing.
Ning Xi took the subway for only one stop when he felt it was too slow, so he ran out of the subway station with his suitcase, took a taxi and headed towards the community.
Ning Xi was eager to go home, so he took two steps at a time, he just wanted to go faster.
Ning Xi returned to the street that he was familiar with. Instead of going home directly, he dragged his suitcase towards Shizhong. The small rollers of the suitcase made some noise along the way. All the students who were finishing their evening self-study were senior high school students, and they were all rushing home. Occasionally, a few passers-by turned back to look at him, but he didn't notice at all.
Ning Xi threw all his heart into the school gate.
Before Ning Xi reached the convenience store at the school gate, he had already spotted Xing Cheng, who was half a head taller than many people, from a distance in the crowd.
My brother's tough head was shaved short again, and his skin, which had been tanned in the summer, became whiter. The zipper of his school uniform was still half-zipped. Perhaps he had lost weight due to the hard training, and his jawline became more angular and sharper.
He had a basketball bag on his back, with a Spalding (basketball brand) inside, made of navy blue leather mixed with yellow, and the logo of the NBA Thunder team printed on it.
Xing Cheng turned around and swung the ball, accidentally hitting the lamppost next to him. He hissed and whispered, "It hurts."
Xing Cheng is a person who loves basketball as his life. I wonder how depressed he would be if the Thunder's team logo got its paint peeled off.
Xing Cheng took out a mobile phone from his pocket, took a look at it, then frowned and put the phone back.
Seeing Xing Cheng's action, Ning Xi remembered that he fell asleep in the car and was in a hurry to get off and hurry on his way, so he didn't have time to reply to Xing Cheng's text message.
Before Ning Xi could say anything, a short-haired girl came around from the side and called out to Xing Cheng, "Xing Cheng!"
The girl was holding an ice cream in her hand in such a cold day. She was wrapped in her school uniform to keep warm. Her cheeks were rosy. She walked step by step beside Xing Cheng. Ning Xi couldn't hear what she said.
Ning Xi felt that she looked very familiar. After thinking for a while, he remembered that she was the girl who had fought with Xing Cheng and his friends while having supper on Yulin Road. She was from the school basketball cheerleading team.
Ning Xi was just about to go over and call Xing Cheng, but Xing Cheng, who was tall and had a broad vision, like a watchtower, looked around and immediately saw his brother and was stunned.
Did his brother come back early? Or was he hallucinating?
Cheng Xiyu followed Xing Cheng's gaze and was overjoyed. She called him first, "Brother Xi!"
Xing Cheng ran over and dragged the box in Ning Xi's hand. He was still stupid. Wasn't his brother still attending classes in Beijing?
Cheng Xiyu knew that these two brothers were good friends, so she didn't think of anything else. She dragged Ning Xi's arm and begged him, "Brother Xi, can you help me get Ying Yuchen out?"
"Xiyu, I told you, he likes traditional, ladylike girls who are older than him..."
After Xing Cheng finished speaking, he stretched out his arm to grab Ning Xi's wrist, and directly pulled him to his side, and turned sideways to block half of Ning Xi's face: "If you like him, then go and ask him out. It's useless to ask my brother to help. Ying Yuchen only looks at my brother, not you."
Ning Xi's brain was quick, he understood what he meant, and glared at him: "Don't look for trouble."
Ying Yuchen and Xing Cheng are both little devils. Fortunately, he is there to block them, separate them, and hold up a scale. Otherwise, they would dare to climb up the roof and tear down the tiles on the first day of joining the school team, and fight with each other on the second day. They must have become natural enemies and competed to see who can defeat the other.
They have a pretty good relationship and are good friends, but Xingcheng is jealous and can't help but say a few words occasionally.
Xing Cheng felt that he was not afraid of his own shadow because he was upright: "I was right."
Xing Cheng reached out and touched Ning Xi's face to cool it down. It wasn't very warm. He was about to speak when he saw Cheng Xiyu still standing there. It seemed that she had no intention of leaving at all.
Xing Cheng said, "Xiyu, go back first, I'll make an appointment for you tomorrow."
People are shaped by the environment they live in. Most girls here are bold and daring. When they heard this, they almost jumped up and excitedly pinched the hem of their clothes: "Yes, yes, yes! You tell him! Tomorrow afternoon at 4 o'clock, Taikoo Li Paragon, I'll be waiting for him!"
Cheng Xiyu left happily, and Ning Xi glared at Xing Cheng: "He has an appointment with us tomorrow."
"We? Did you tell him in advance that you were back?"
Ning Xi said: "I'll give you a surprise."
Ning Xi particularly remembers the feeling he had when he went downstairs to "pick up a package" in Beijing last year. It was like a surprise from the sky, and what was falling all over the world was not snow, but clouds floating down from the earth, leading him and Xing Cheng home.
This surprise was indeed a surprise. Xing Cheng picked up Ning Xi and spun him around at the school gate: "You are the surprise among surprises!"
The wind was too strong in his ears, so Ning Xi didn't hear the words clearly. He just covered his face and cursed: "You are crazy!"
Although Xing Cheng was tall and strong, Ning Xi was also about 1.8 meters tall. After walking a few steps, Xing Cheng's arms became weak and he began to give bad advice: "Brother, I'll carry you back. If you feel embarrassed, just lift my hat to cover your face."
"This is on the street...slow down!"
Before Ning Xi could react, Xing Cheng carried him on his back. The young man supported his body with his strong arms. Ning Xi quickly put on his hat, leaving only his eyes exposed. He looked around with half-squinted eyes, still looking sleepy.
Ning Xi was helpless and scolded him: "You are really crazy."
They temporarily left their luggage in the store at the school gate. It was windy on that winter night and the way home was neither long nor short. Occasionally, they met classmates they knew on the way, and Xing Cheng would just say that someone had a fever.
The guys were all surprised. It was pitch black, so they couldn't tell that it was Ning Xi who was on his back, nor could they guess who it was. They smiled ambiguously, slung their schoolbags, whistled, and chased after him, shouting, "Brother Cheng is awesome!"
"We've been shouting this slogan for three years, why don't we get tired of it?"
Xing Cheng suppressed his laughter and whispered to Ning Xi, "Before, when I was playing in a game and I was exhausted, they would call your name."
"Why haven't I heard of it?" Ning Xi said stubbornly.
Xing Cheng couldn't help but curl his lips, and said, "Don't you always stir up trouble when the person involved is not around?"
At the beginning, Ren Mei would pull him in the class every day and always threaten to tell Ning Xi about something he had done. Xing Cheng seemed to be wearing a tight hoop. He would immediately sit up straight, pick up his notebook and start writing the formulas on the blackboard. Of course, he would fish for three days and dry the nets for a hundred days, and later he would concentrate on being a grass protector, which really affected his studies.
Their class teacher once taught them: "You should either have a good relationship or study hard to get into college. Why are you wasting three years by being lazy and unlearned?"
Ning Xi just lay on Xing Cheng's back, unusually docile and obedient, without a stern face or cold eyes, just rubbing his face against his school uniform and commenting: "Xing Cheng, where's your crab?"
"In junior high school, you drew the crab on the back of your school uniform to show that you were a tyrant. Now you don't draw it anymore?"
"That's a scorpion, which symbolizes you. I'll emphasize it again," Xing Cheng panted, "Can I just write your name?"
Ning Xi muttered: "Why don't you draw my face?"
Xing Cheng seemed to be really thinking about it. He stroked his chin and said, "It's not impossible..."
Ning Xi: "Uh..."
Seeing that Xing Cheng really had this plan, Ning Xi lay on his back, feeling so happy that he almost died, but he still said seriously: "Go install an LED screen, and play it in a 360-degree loop without blind spots."
When Xing Cheng heard his brother say this to tease him, he gritted his teeth and said, "An, I will be An today!"
On the last stretch of the journey, Xing Cheng was too tired to go on. He let go when he felt his brother was about to slide down. Ning Xi stood at the street corner not far from the community and watched Xing Cheng running like a wolf in the wind, then turned back to get his own suitcase.
The two of them ran into the corridor almost in the dark, without even turning on the lights. Leaning against the crack of the door, Xing Cheng frantically took out the key from his schoolbag. This key was left for him by Ning Xi before she left, and he always carried it with him. Whenever he remembered, he would go in and sit down.
Xing Cheng tried to lock the door anxiously but failed after several attempts. Ning Xi couldn't bear it any longer and grabbed the key to open the door.
Xing Cheng squeezed in and took off his shoes.
The scene of Xing Cheng squeezing in this place and slapping himself last year was still fresh in Ning Xi's mind. Ning Xi couldn't help but ask, "Are you addicted to slapping yourself?"
Xing Cheng didn't take it seriously: "Do you want to try again to see if I'm ruthless enough..."
"That's enough!" Ning Xi pushed Xing Cheng.
After returning home, Xing Cheng took out a coat from the closet and put it on Ning Xi. The two of them went out to a chain supermarket outside the community to pay their water and electricity bills and buy some daily necessities. In addition, they still took the two cans of soda and slowly walked back home.
The first night Ning Xi came back, he felt embarrassed to let Xing Cheng stay, so he had to use the excuse of being tired. After the two of them had cleaned up the room and finished the hygiene, he urged Xing Cheng to go home.
Ning Xi slept soundly that night. He lay alone on the bed and closed his eyes. His mind was filled with images of Xing Cheng climbing in through the window, squatting beside his bed, taking off or putting on clothes, and even the way he leaned over the desk to write. All of them were pleasing to the eye.
The next day after returning, Ning Xi called his mother early in the morning. It was his aunt who answered the phone and said that the patient had been transferred to another hospital. If he wanted to go to see the patient, he would have to take a certain number of buses, then transfer, and take a small tricycle after getting off the bus. It would only cost five yuan to get there.
Ning Xi had been away for a semester, and her mother seldom called Ning Xi. Ning Xi called her every week, but she didn't answer. Occasionally, she would answer once or twice, and she would just say "everything is fine" and "everything is fine" and then hang up.
That day, Ning Xi stood by the window for a long time with his cell phone in his hand before he sent a text message to Ying Yuchen, saying that he was afraid he would not be able to keep the appointment that day and had to go to a hospital outside the city because his mother was sick.
Ying Yuchen said that they wanted to go see it together and asked him if he could take Xingcheng with him. Ning Xi just said that Xingcheng had to study. He saw Xingcheng going out with a schoolbag on his back early in the morning. It was not even dawn yet. He had a box of milk in his hand and was not wearing enough clothes. He must have been cold.
When his aunt called and said that they were divorced, his stepfather, who drove a second-hand BMW, had left with his younger brother, probably to some nearby satellite town instead of staying in the city, Ning Xi was completely stunned. He hadn't heard a word of it. Although the monthly living expenses were not much, they were still transferred to the card as usual. No one mentioned the illness to him, and he had never thought about it.
Perhaps it was because of the loud sound of electricity coming from the receiver that Ning Xi strained to hear. Her aunt was holding the phone and yelling, as if she didn't realize it was her sister who was ill: "You don't know your mother, she has cervical cancer. She said she wasn't feeling well before, and when she went for a checkup, it was already in the middle to late stages. She has no chance of survival!"
Ning Xi was speechless for a moment, and could only ask stiffly: "Which hospital? I'll take a taxi."
The aunt seemed to be having a meal. The market over there was too noisy. She was annoyed even holding the phone, but she couldn't help nagging her nephew: "I'll send you the address on WeChat! Ning Xi, your family has a Peking University graduate, this is incredible, your mother received so many red envelopes, but she didn't even use them to treat the disease? They said she can only live for half a year, there's no cure, her husband complains, saying that she has an immoral private life..."
"Stop talking," Ning Xi interrupted her unpleasant words forcefully, "I'll go over there."
Ning Xi's understanding of "maternal love" in the past twenty-one years has been too complicated.
Ning Xi watched his mother remarry, leave his life, and then start her own family. Later, the occasional care and greetings, although small and few, still touched his sensitive nerves. Every time it was touched, it was like an old wound, and pouring alcohol or sprinkling salt on it could not withstand the pain.
Ning Xi still remembers that when he was a child, he stood in front of his house holding a bowl of fruit shaved ice. Xing Cheng ran over with a car model, then slowly backed away, acting like a little adult, and said seriously, "Brother Ning Xi, my mom said this cools the stomach, don't eat too much!"
He just stood there stupidly, nodded, and continued eating.
This kind of thing might not be good for a child's stomach, but Ning Xi couldn't help wanting to taste it a few more times. It was bought for him by his mother.
Ning Xi's heart is too soft, and it's only soft for the people he cares about.
Just like everyone Ning Xi has come into contact with since he was a child, he knows clearly who is "good to him" and who is "bad to him", but as soon as family ties are involved, the boundary becomes blurred.
He was eager and afraid, and at the same time he took on the responsibility.
Ning Xi has been in good health since childhood and seldom goes to the hospital, so his family has never worried about him.
The most profound memory of Ning Xi's childhood was the time when his father passed away. Now, when he stepped into the hospital again and found the inpatient department, his nose was filled with the smell of disinfectant, and even the entire ward was filled with it. No matter how many flowers were placed, they could not cover up that smell.
Ning Xi pushed open the door and ran into his aunt who was taking out the trash. He didn't shout, his eyes were fixed on his mother on the hospital bed.
"Oh, Ning Xi is here." The aunt's golden brown curly hair had not been taken care of for a long time, making her look haggard. She was pinching a peeled grape between her fingertips and was about to stuff it into Ning Xi's mouth when she saw him. "Come in first, your mother is asleep."
Ning Xi couldn't dodge, and a wet grape was stuffed into the corner of his mouth. It tasted sour, sweet and astringent, and it got stuck there, and he couldn't swallow it.
Ning Xi took a few steps forward, spit the grapes onto a tissue, folded it up and threw it into the trash can with a "bang".
Auntie turned around and looked at him, and Ning Xi just said, "Thank you, Auntie, I can't eat anymore."
He had little contact with his relatives, but after he was admitted to a good university, a few of them came to ask about his well-being. He was even less familiar with his mother's relatives. Ning Xi had grown up on his own, so he inevitably felt awkward when facing his elders and found a bench to sit down.
The aunt must have been bored for a long time. It was rare for a younger person to sit with her. She found a pear to peel and talked while she peeled it. She handed the medical records to Ning Xi. He had a hard time reading it, so the aunt explained it to him one by one...
Ning Xi felt that the aunt on the phone was not the same person as the one sitting here. He also didn't think he was very lovable. Instead, he felt uncomfortable being overly cared for. He stopped talking quietly, holding a pear in his hand, waiting for his mother to wake up.
Ning Xi sat there until about three or four in the afternoon. The doctor came to change the dressing and removed the quilt and woolen hat that covered half of the patient's face. Ning Xi could see clearly that his mother had shaved her hair and was still sleeping.
Ning Xi suddenly felt a sense of powerlessness surge from the bottom of his heart. After experiencing the departure of his immediate family members, he understood that death was not a simple moment.
Ning Xi plays ball and runs, and his grades are excellent. He is almost well-rounded in moral, intellectual, physical, aesthetic and labor aspects. He wants to get first place in grades and become MVP in basketball. He feels that his father has handed the rest of his life into his hands, and time will not allow him to live in a muddle, nor will it allow him to stand still. He can only choose to run desperately, to step on mountains and rivers, and to embrace his life with all his strength.
His father’s death did not happen at that moment, that day, or that day, but lasted throughout Ning Xi’s life from beginning to end.
He suddenly stood up, took out a paper bag from his pocket, and while the doctor was examining his mother who was still sleeping, he stuffed the paper bag under her pillow and stood by the bed for a while.
Ning Xi buttoned up his clothes and whispered to the woman who was eating melon seeds, "Aunt, I'll come back tomorrow."
Ning Xi almost ran out of the inpatient department, went down the stairs and stood under a tree for a while. The cold wind whistled past, blowing the leaves off the branches. He remembered the sentence "The tree wants to be still but the wind does not stop", but he didn't want to think about the next sentence anymore.
He was trying his best to grow up, but he was also losing his life at the same time.
Ning Xi felt cold all over and wanted to touch the cigarette in his pocket, but then he remembered that this was a hospital, so he kept walking forward, completely anxious to escape from this place.
Until he walked a distance, he saw a man standing at the entrance of the outpatient department. He was about 1.87 meters tall after drinking milk. He was wearing a dark blue school uniform, a pair of sneakers and combat boots on his feet, and he didn't even have a schoolbag on his back. He was looking around.
Ning Xi seemed to be groping in the dark the whole day, and now Xing Cheng suddenly appeared, like a beam of follower light, completely lighting up the way ahead for him.
There was a lot of people at the hospital entrance. He ran forward a few steps through the crowd, stopped, reached out to pat Xingcheng's shoulder, and waited for him to turn around before hugging him tightly.
"Go."
"Brother, tell me."
Xing Cheng heard Ning Xi lower his voice, a little hoarse, and put his hand on his arm and said, "I gave the money I saved for renting an apartment in Beijing to my mother."
"It's okay," Xing Cheng answered without hesitation, "These things should be borne by the two of us together."
Xing Cheng saw Ning Xi buried his head and kept silent, so he reached out and kneaded Ning Xi's soft neck: "Birth, aging, sickness and death, nothing can be escaped."
Ning Xi buried his face in the collar of Xing Cheng's school uniform: "I can do it, too."
"I can do that, too." Xing Cheng followed him, "But I hope you only go through the first two."
Ning Xi pinched his cheek: "No."
Xing Cheng smiled, but it was a bit forced. When talking about such a heavy topic, he said in a consoling way: "Then, we don't ask to be born on the same day, month and year, but we ask that..."
"I just hope that on the same day of the same year, we can buy two more bottles of pomegranate soda and drink until the sunset, and we will be intoxicated."
Ning Xi finished speaking in a calm voice, his throat was blocked and he couldn't say anything else.
——Who doesn’t want to prolong life? I just want to live a hundred years with you.
Ning Xi closed his eyes and didn't say this.
On the way home slowly on the bus, they found the last row of seats. Xing Cheng let Ning Xi sit by the window. The shoulders of the two people swayed and rose and fell along the bumpy road, and finally collided with each other.
Xing Cheng squeezed towards Ning Xi, who understood and turned slightly to the side, half leaning on each other.
Ning Xi turned his head to look at the scenery outside the window and realized that half of his life had been spent like this.
He gave it to the ivy behind the community wall and to his little brother who was making trouble in front of him.
That day, Ning Xi did not ask how Xing Cheng found this place, whether Ying Yuchen told him that his mother was sick, whether he skipped classes, whether he was caught and scolded when he returned...
Or, how long has he been waiting here?
In this place full of hope and despair, in the bitter cold of winter, how long have I waited for myself?
Ning Xi began to run to his mother's place every morning, occasionally buying some fruits. His aunt accepted some money he gave her privately and was more willing to help take care of her.
There is still very little communication between mother and son, and the mother doesn't like to talk much anymore. She just often lies on the bed with her eyes closed, asking Ning Xi, "Have the flowers of the Qin family on the fifth floor bloomed this year?"
Ning Xi was also well-behaved. He tucked in the corners of the quilt over and over again, saying that it was open. His mother asked if it opened in winter, and Ning Xi said that it was open.
Ning Xi felt sleepy after returning from the hospital, but he would still go to Shizhong to meet Xing Cheng every day, and occasionally bring him some drinks, which would make Xing Cheng happy.
Xing Cheng was now bolder and pinched his face: "I almost broke the window. I was thinking, why do you still have a problem with me?"
Ning Xi mercilessly scolded him: "Because you are stupid."
The Spring Festival came very quickly this year. On the twenty-ninth day of the lunar year, Xing Cheng rushed down from the second floor to the first floor and knocked on Ning Xi's door. Once Ning Xi's door was opened, Xing Cheng took Ning Xi for a spin and looked him up and down. "My parents will like him today at first glance!"
"What's wrong?" Ning Xi was still a little confused, "What's wrong with uncle and aunt?"
Xing Cheng was in the hallway, he turned on the light, pinched his fingertips hidden under the cuffs of his sweatshirt, and said, "My parents asked you to go upstairs for the reunion dinner."
"Okay," Ning Xi suddenly became nervous. Ren Xingcheng pinched him, "but tomorrow is New Year's Eve."
Xing Cheng asked tentatively, "You are going to the hospital to accompany your aunt tomorrow, right?"
Ning Xi nodded, afraid that Xing Cheng wanted to go with him, so he quickly changed his shoes and was dragged upstairs.
Ning Xi hadn't been to Xingcheng's home for a while. He sat upright on the bench, watching Xingcheng's father drink a big bowl of tea and answering all the questions, most of which were about college life.
The four of them gathered at a round table. Xing Cheng's mother brought a bowl of rice soup to Ning Xi. Her smile was the same as Ning Xi remembered: "You loved to drink it when you were a child. Xing Cheng likes to show off. If there is something delicious, he will eat it outside. It makes people hate him!"
After she finished speaking, Ning Xi took the rice soup and said with a smile: "Xing Cheng will be very outstanding when he grows up, and he will be envied by others."
Halfway through the meal, Ning Xi was helping to arrange the dishes and pick up the food at the table. Xing Cheng felt a tightness in his chest when he saw this. He raised his eyes to look at his brother's expression. It was clear that he had completely let go of his usual "pretensions", removed that layer of protection, and seriously wanted to get closer.
There was a "pa" sound of chopsticks hitting the wall of the bowl. Xing Cheng's father frowned and said nothing, and Ning Xi shouted "Uncle Xing" almost at the same time.
Ning Xi has very few moments in his life when interacting with his elders, let alone using words like "uncle" and "aunt" which are considered intimate to him. He now cares about the attitude of Xing Cheng's parents. He put his bowl and chopsticks on the table and didn't dare to touch the dishes. Xing Cheng's mother and Xing Cheng also stopped.
"I can't eat anymore," Xing Cheng's father finished the tea in the big bowl, stood up and took the thick cotton coat from the hanger, "Let's go."
Xingcheng's father stood up straight and waved his hand: "Xingcheng, let's take Ningxi out to eat better."
It is a rare winter night to have such a clear evening scene. The sky is as light as water, and the moon is hanging on the top of the tree, reflected by the neon lights of the city, with a blurred purple and red color.
Xingcheng's father drove the Hummer H2 smoothly along Binjiang East Road, where they used to love riding bikes. Xingcheng turned his head to look at the Funan River, and Ning Xi followed his gaze, only to see the rippling river and a few dim street lights.
With his parents sitting in front, Xing Cheng pulled Ning Xi's palm over and wrote on it with his fingertips.
Ning Xi kept his eyes closed throughout the whole process but did not fall asleep. His mind was on his hands, trying to feel what inexplicable gestures Xing Cheng was making.
The final conclusion can be summed up in three words: another year.
Later, many years passed quickly, and it never snowed in Chengdu on New Year's Eve. Ning Xi still remembered the first two years between him and Xing Cheng, a time of madness and confusion. He and Xing Cheng were still the youngest then.
After going to the hospital that year, Ning Xi returned home exhausted.
That is, early in the morning on the first day of the new year, Xing Cheng, perhaps still remembering the stupid things he did when he was a child, held a small bouquet of flowers and stood at the door of Ning Xi's house and gave it to him: "The language of this flower is forget-me-not."
Ning Xi perked up a little: "Is this all you can do?"
Xing Cheng conjured up a black rose from nowhere, inserted it in the middle of the bouquet, and said, "This is called, there is only me."
One of a kind, one in a million.
When they got into the house and the lights were brighter, Ning Xi could see clearly that the black rose was made by Xing Cheng out of paper. Looking closely, it was crooked and had a gold wire wrapped under the petals, making it a mess.
Ning Xi was just touched for a second, and now she wanted to put flowers on Xing Cheng's head. He was having so much fun every day, and he didn't even know whether he could get into university.
"It's for your leisure."
Ning Xi held the flower in her hand, wanting to put it back but also wanting to keep it for herself. She turned it over and knocked Xing Cheng on the head with the flower stem: "Have you finished your winter vacation homework?"
This really hit Xing Cheng's sore spot. He put on a stern face and said sternly, "Doing the test depends on fate. The almanac says that it is better to eat, drink and have fun today than to do the test paper. So I am not destined to do them. I will do it when I am destined to do it again."
"Don't be so funny!" Ning Xi raised his chin and instructed him, "If you can't finish the test, then you can write the composition."
Xing Cheng was pushed out of the door and turned back to ask, "Are we still going to eat, drink and have fun?"
Xing Cheng looked at his brother standing at the door with a sullen face, reached out to close the door, and then leaned on the door to coax him: "Brother, can I write a travel journal? I've played and done my homework."
Ning Xi held back her laughter and wanted to scold him.
Xing Cheng ran downstairs and went straight into the room to look at his winter vacation homework.
Actually, Xingcheng had finished most of the twenty test papers, with a few political papers left. Unfortunately, he really didn't have the awareness, so he just made up the answers to these questions, said some nonsense, and was scolded by the teacher.
Xing Cheng took out his homework, flattened it, took out two pens, thought for a while, and put one back into the pen holder.
Xing Cheng was struggling with his thoughts when he saw his mother standing at the door of the room, mixing pickled cucumbers in a jar in her hand: "Son? What are you doing?"
Without waiting for Xing Cheng to answer, she raised the can in her hand and said, "Here, give some to Ning Xi. I see he has lost weight since he went to college. I feel so bad for him..."
Xing Cheng looked at the jar in his mother's hand, frowned and asked, "This?"
Xingcheng's mother put the can down, took out her hand to push Xingcheng, and pointed her nail-polished hand at the soup pot on the kitchen stove: "What are you thinking about? There's bone soup in the pot over there. I've been cooking it all night. It smells so good that your dad got up in the middle of the night! Come on, take it down."
"Mom, why didn't I smell it?" Xing Cheng stood up and was very happy. "Why are you so nice to my brother?"
She also laughed, her eyes turning to look at her son, and she didn't spare him: "Children like you are disliked, but people like Ning Xi are loved."
"Don't you always keep saying at home that it would be great if Ning Xi was my son? Xing Cheng, look at yourself, what kind of person is this!" Xing Cheng imitated his mother's words and was hit on the head by a rolling pin. He dodged and laughed, "Now he really has become your son."
The local women inevitably speak in a coquettish tone, but they were so angry at their son that they wanted to laugh, and launched a wave of attacks that Xing Cheng could not refute: "You are dreaming. Can you get into Beijing? With your grades, you can go to a nearby school, right? Ride your broken tricycle to Peking University every week to see Ning Xi, and be careful that his classmates throw junk into your basket!"
"Well, I can't win the argument, so the best thing to do is to run away." Xing Cheng was so annoyed by what he said that he didn't dare to say a word back, so he grabbed the test paper and went to open the door.
Mom covered the thermos bowl of bone soup with plastic wrap and handed the bag to me: "Are you coming back to stay tonight?"
When Xing Cheng heard this, he was stunned as if he was hit by happiness. "How can I not come back?"
"Yes, you go downstairs and sleep, and let Ning Xi come upstairs to stay."
"Well……"
When the door was closed by his mother, Xing Cheng heard his mother gnashing her teeth and saying: "You are very good at climbing through the window, right? Keep going and you will break your leg and see how you will perform in the exam!"
Although Xing Cheng was locked outside the house by his mother to keep watch early in the morning in the middle of winter, he felt warm in his heart.
Last night was New Year's Eve, and grandma went back to the county town. Xing Cheng took advantage of the fact that the three of them were at home having a reunion dinner and told his parents about Ning Xi's family situation. The three of them were silent for a while, and no one spoke. Xing Cheng was also quiet, waiting for his father to speak.
Xingcheng's father lit a cigarette and added agarwood to it, making the whole room stuffy.
There is a group photo on the bookshelf at home. It shows the children who often came out to play games together in the yard when they were young. Their ages ranged from three to thirteen years old. There was a big height difference. Xingcheng was young but tall, so he directly grabbed the middle position.
Ning Xi looked like he was ten years old. His features were different from now, much softer, but his expression was still cold. He leaned against a tree at the corner, with the thick shade casting a shadow on him. Just when he was about to press the shutter, Xing Cheng, who was only seven years old at the time, turned his head and looked at the tree.
Later, my parents asked Xingcheng why he looked back, and Xingcheng just said that he wanted to see if the tree had borne fruit and how many leaves had fallen...
If my parents still ask me about it now, Xingcheng would like to say that the fruits have grown and the leaves have fallen.
The time after the New Year passed quickly. On the second day of the New Year, Xing Cheng got up early in the morning and ran to the fruit store at the entrance of the community to buy a fruit basket. Without saying hello to Ning Xi, he waited for Ning Xi downstairs of the community unit and went to the hospital with him.
When Xing Cheng saw Ning Xi's mother again, his memory was a little fuzzy. It seemed that the rude and mean woman in his memory should not be lying on the sickbed like this, wearing a hat, and looking haggard.
Her hands were shaking even when she was holding an apple. She looked up and saw that it was Xing Cheng. Her eyes were calm and she just called out calmly, "Xing Cheng is here."
On the night of the third day of the New Year, Ning Xi was watched by Xing Cheng to fall asleep early. He said it was a Spring Festival custom, so don't stare, just follow it.
In fact, Ning Xi knew everything clearly. He had taken care of his mother in the hospital all day, and Xing Cheng was worried that he was too tired.
The fifth day was a bit more relaxing, as my aunt came back from the New Year to help look after my mother. Ning Xi made an exception and slept at home until noon. When the sun was shining in through the window and drying his butt, he heard Xing Cheng standing by his first-floor window calling him, holding two bottles of soda in his hands.
Ning Xi leaned against the window, bleary-eyed, almost falling asleep again.
He woke up naturally at seven o'clock, washed up and went back to sleep for a nap. This time he was completely awake, but still sleepy. After being back for this period of time, he started to feel lazy.
The sunlight shone on Ning Xi's eyelashes, coating them with a layer of gold, and Xing Cheng was stunned.
It took Xing Cheng a while to remember that he was taking him out for dinner, and he raised the two bottles of drinks in his hand: "Brother, this brand has a new flavor, lime. I bought one of each, which one do you want?"
"It tastes like pomegranate." Ning Xi answered lazily.
"I also want the old taste," Xing Cheng smiled, "What should I do?"
Ning Xi half opened his eyes and looked at him, whispering, "Let's drink together."
Xing Cheng insisted, "What if you get tired of drinking?"
What to do if you get tired of drinking? Ning Xi never thought about getting tired of drinking.
It was so sweet and sour, and when he swallowed it, it rushed to his head in one breath. He couldn't bear to taste it.
Ning Xi suddenly woke up from his doze, raised one arm, put it on Xing Cheng's head, and coaxed him like a puppy: "I won't get tired of you, silly."
Later, Ning Xi returned to his room and secretly made another note on the memo.
In just one afternoon and evening, Xing Cheng had finished three more test papers for his winter vacation homework under Ning Xi's supervision. Both of them had sore backs and waists, so they slept for three hours before getting up again and studying late into the night.
As he was writing the test paper, he ended up writing on the draft book. Ning Xi wanted to get angry at Xing Cheng's nonchalant attitude, but then he thought, forget it.
Ning Xi has become much more cheerful since he has been with Xing Cheng. This is probably the so-called chain effect. It seems that they are influencing each other. He can feel Xing Cheng's maturity and increasing stability, and he can also feel his own heart slowly treating some people and things with a calm and optimistic attitude.
Ning Xi is also learning, when others are very enthusiastic, try not to respond with words like "um" or "okay".
Xing Cheng is a man of integrity when he is outside, but to Ning Xi, he is still that big boy who is willing to do anything for him. He is eager to give him the best and is eager for him to grow up.
Along the way, Ning Xi used up all his strength to walk with Cheng and support each other in growing up. He didn't want to know what was waiting ahead.
Now that I have important people around me, a bright future, and a promising future, there is always meaning in challenges.