Chapter 25: Burial

The day before the final exam happened to be Sunday, and Li Wenyu got up early to pick up his grandma from the hospital. Li Teng originally asked him to take Ji He to review at home, but Ji He was nowhere to be seen early in the morning, so Li Wenyu went to the hospital as a matter of course.

As soon as he got out of the hospital elevator, he went straight to the ward, and sure enough he saw his grandma lying on the bed chatting with the aunt in the next bed.

Grandma's complexion has improved a lot now, but the doctor said she still needs to rest quietly, and it's best not to be away from others.

He called grandma, and grandma, who was chatting happily with someone, looked towards the door of the ward. The smile lines at the corners of her eyes were a little deeper: "Xiao Yu, you are here."

Li Wenyu nodded with a smile: "I'll take you back. Home."

He took a closer look and found that grandma looked really good, so he finally felt relieved and helped Li Teng pack his things.

After staying with her for seven days, grandma's energy gradually improved. On the contrary, Li Teng became much paler. The conditions of the hospital were indeed not very good. She had to eat with her grandma and had various taboos. She also had to take care of patients, so it was difficult to live there. Feeling relieved.

After packing up, Li Teng asked Li Wenyu to wait downstairs while she took her grandma to change clothes. Li Wenyu carried his bag downstairs and waited on the garden bench downstairs in the inpatient area.

After several days of continuous rain, the city seemed to have entered early spring. The dead branches began to sprout, and the yellow grass in the meadow slowly grew new green. Today there happened to be some sunshine, so the wind became gentler.

People were walking around the flower bed not far away. Most of them were family members supporting or pushing the patients. They were walking very slowly. However, only two people were getting closer and closer in the blink of an eye. One of them was wearing a hospital gown. The uniform walked in front, and another slightly younger man wearing a casual sweater followed behind.

The two walked faster and faster, accompanied by several fierce arguments.

Li Wenyu had no intention of peeking into other people's privacy, but he was still stunned when he saw the face of the young man in the sweatshirt. Although the man looked very bad and his expression was different from usual, it was indeed Ying Wei.

The other party was obviously immersed in the argument and completely ignored Li Wenyu, who was sitting on the bench next to him. Ying Wei's face was ashen, and there seemed to be a lot of anger in his usually kind eyes. Although the man in the hospital gown in front was being chased to explain, he had a more fragile and pitiful look on his face.

Li Wenyu could only see half of the man's face, but he was sure that he was a good-looking man, about twenty-five or six years old. Although he was ill, his lips and nose were covered with a thin layer of snow-green color. Crispy shell, so beautiful and pure.

The two walked in through the door of the inpatient department and disappeared.

Li Wenyu didn't pay much attention and just continued to stare at the exit. Before Li Teng and his grandma came out, he lowered his head and glanced at his phone and found a text message from Pei Xin. The content was very simple, asking him to have lunch.

After that day at the barbecue restaurant, the two never saw each other again and only exchanged a few text messages. Pei Xin made several appointments with him, but he was always excused, and Pei Xin surprisingly didn't bother too much.

Li Wenyu looked at his phone and thought for two seconds before typing a reply: I have to review for the final exam tomorrow.

Before waiting for a reply, he saw Li Teng helping his grandma walk out of the door. He put down his phone and walked over.

*

It was winter vacation after the final exam, and Li Wenyu started working in the game arcade during the day, from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. There are a lot of customers in the game arcade during holidays, especially after two o'clock in the afternoon, so Li Wenyu will basically help until he leaves around six-thirty.

Li Teng's long vacation is not over yet, and the Spring Festival is approaching. He is busy preparing New Year's goods with his grandma at home. It was about seven o'clock when Li Wenyu arrived downstairs in the community. Sausages, cured fish and the like were hanging on the balconies of every house in the community. There was a dazzling array of things to see, and the cold wind gave off a faint fishy aroma.

Li Teng and grandma were busy in the kitchen when Li Wenyu came in. Ji He had a rare opportunity to sit on the sofa and watch TV. Since the winter vacation, he rarely stayed at home, and Li Teng couldn't control him. He always said that he would lose sight of people in the blink of an eye.

Grandma came out with the braised fish and happened to see Li Wenyu changing his shoes. She put the dishes on the dining table with a smile: "Xiao Yu is back, wash your hands and start eating."

Li Wenyu nodded obediently, put on his slippers and went to the bathroom: "I know. Grandma."

After washing his hands, he came out and saw Ji He helping to serve the dishes. There were meat and vegetables on the table, and the dishes were very colorful. Li Teng stopped scolding Ji He during the meal because of the upcoming Spring Festival, and the family finished the meal in harmony.

After finishing the meal, Ji He helped his grandma sit on the sofa. Li Wenyu put away the dishes and went into the kitchen. Li Teng followed him in. He took out a bank card from his pocket and handed it to Li Wenyu while lowering his head. Wiping the table: "There are 100,000 in it. You take it and return it to your classmate first, and say thank you properly. The remaining 20,000 will be made up after the Chinese New Year."

Li Wenyu was stunned for two seconds and wiped the table. With water stains on his hands, he put his bank card away: "I know, aunt, I'll tell him later."

Li Teng hummed, "There is hot water in the kettle, use hot water to wash the dishes."

"I know."

Living room The sound of the eight o'clock soap opera surrounded the room, gradually covering up the rushing water in the pool.

After Li Wenyu came out of the kitchen, he picked up his mobile phone and sent a text message to Pei Xin. When he opened his address book, he realized that there was no record of Pei Xin's number in his mobile phone. He thought for a few seconds and entered Pei Xin's number in his memory into the recipient column. The content of the text message was concise: Do you have time?

Li Teng answered the phone and went out to play cards. Grandma watched the TV series with great interest. Ji He lazily played games in the corner of the sofa, but Pei Xin never responded.

Li Wenyu guessed that he had remembered the wrong number and wanted to try again tomorrow. I got up and went to the kitchen to wash some grapes for grandma. When I came back, the TV had changed the channel and started playing the weather forecast. The host's familiar broadcast lines and background music sounded. Li Wenyu listened for a while. It snowed heavily on New Year's Eve.

The game arcade is closed during the Spring Festival and has a seven-day holiday. Li Wenyu thought about it, glanced at his phone again, and saw a very brief reply from the number 7777 in the notification bar: At home.

Li Wenyu pinched the bank card in his pocket, got up and went back to the room to change clothes. He wore a long cotton coat for convenience. When he came out, he said hello to his grandma and went out.

The day after tomorrow is New Year's Eve, but many shops on the street have begun to put on lights and decorations, and even the usually boring alleys are bustling with excitement. Li Wenyu stopped a taxi and reported the address of Pei Xinjia's community.

There are advantages and disadvantages to celebrating the festival. He was stuck on the road for a while. The drive that usually only takes ten minutes took about half an hour.

The wintersweet in the flower bed of the community is in full bloom, and the light shines on the ground so clean that no dead leaves can be seen without any warmth. The cold wind is very dry, but it cannot bring out the fragrance of the flowers. Everything here is exactly the same as when Li Wenyu came last time. There are no red lanterns, no fireworks and incense, and it seems impossible to enter due to the solar terms outside.

Li Wenyu knocked on the door. This seemed to be the first time he came to Pei Xin's house. He suddenly felt very uncomfortable.

The door in front of him was quickly opened a crack, and Pei Xin's hoarse voice came out: "Come in."

Li Wenyu pushed the door open and went in. There was no light in the living room, only the TV in front of the sofa changed colors, reflecting a little bright. He remembered that he had smashed a TV set that had been placed there before.

Pei Xin was lying on the couch, his long legs crossed, and he was smoking lazily. His face was looming in the white mist, blurring the sharpness and indifference in his daily life. He actually looked desolate and harmless. .

Li Wenyu smelled a bit of alcohol very keenly, and the smell got heavier the closer he got to the sofa. The desk lamp next to him turned on, and the sudden light pierced Pei Xin's eyes. He raised his eyes with half-squinted eyes and saw Li Wenyu standing there with no expression. He seemed to have just reacted, frowned and said, "Why are you here. "

There are several cans of beer and wine bottles on the coffee table, lying here and there. Li Wenyu's hand holding the bank card tightened and did not extend it: "Have you been drinking?"

Pei Xin hummed: "Why don't you sit down?"

Li Wenyu walked over and sat on his left side. The sofa was very long, and they There is a large space between them.

"I'm here to pay you back." Li Wenyu put the bank card in front of Pei Xin, "There is one hundred thousand in it, and I will give you the rest after the year."

With the mentality that only by paying back the money can he not owe Pei Xin any favors, Li Wenyu's heart suddenly felt a lot more relaxed, but he still couldn't relax completely.

Pei Xin's hand holding the cigarette tightened slightly, his finger bones were a little blue and white, the cigarette was crumpled, and the tobacco fell out and fell on his clothes. Li Wenyu followed the traces of fallen tobacco and saw a large stain on his black sweatshirt, some blue and white, looking like cream or something.

Pei Xin put out his cigarette with frown, but said nothing. His eyes seemed to be watching the TV, but they were empty.

The only sounds around were the sounds of the old literary and artistic films played in front of me. The Cantonese spoken was very pleasant, but the tone was dull, making people drowsy after a long time.

Li Wenyu vaguely felt that something was wrong with Pei Xin today. He glanced at the empty kettle on the dining table and asked, "Is there any water to drink? I'm a little thirsty."

Pei Xin casually pushed a bottle of beer in front of him: "No, only This."

Li Wenyu has never drank alcohol, but he guessed that the alcohol content of this beer should not be too high. The wine was taken out from the refrigerator, and it felt cool in his hand. Li Wenyu took a sip. The taste was not strange, so he took another big sip.

Pei Xin looked at his nose, which was wrinkled by the cold, and suddenly smiled: "Have you never drank alcohol?"

Li Wenyu nodded: "Never, drinking alcohol is not good for your health."

Pei Xinchao Eyebrow: "Then what are you doing now?"

Li Wenyu thought the beer was too cold in his hand, so he put it back on the coffee table: "I'm just going to have a taste."

Pei Xin sat up straighter, his eyes looking from Li Wenyu He moved his face away, picked a bottle from the cans of beer and handed it over: "This bottle is not iced, you drink this."

Li Wenyu wanted to say no, but Pei Xin didn't seem to notice his hesitant look, so he simply He raised his hand and threw it directly into his arms.

Li Wenyu touched the body of the can and found that it was indeed room temperature, so he opened the lid and took another sip. Pei Xin also picked up the wine at hand, raised his head and drank it almost in one gulp.

This situation looked like two people getting together to drink. Li Wenyu felt very awkward, so he said, "Put your card away and don't drink too much. I'll leave first."

"Wait a minute." Pei Xin said suddenly. Li Wenyu grabbed his hand and rushed over. Li Wenyu's waist was hugged when he straightened up, and he was forced to fall back on the sofa.

Pei Xin's eyes were almost bright in the dimness, and the ends of his eyes were raised, as if he could easily retain the affection that wanted to slip away. Ruyu's eyelashes were slightly drooped, trembling very lightly, like the thin wings of cicadas in summer. He smelled of alcohol and nicotine, like the aroma of some juicy fruit pulp, not pungent, but a bit cloying.

Li Wenyu only indulged in the smell for a second, and then immediately raised his hand to block Pei Xin's face, which was getting bigger and bigger and was already close at hand.

Pei Xin's lips fell on the back of his cold hand, he blinked his dazed eyes, and called his name in a drawled tone as if he was unhappy: "Li Wenyu."

Li Wenyu gritted his teeth and still said Without moving the hand between the two of them, his voice was muffled under the palm of his hand: "You are drunk, go to sleep."

Pei Xin's eyes suddenly became a little dazed, and the weight of his whole person was Li Wenyu buried his head in his neck and breathed quickly: "Today is my birthday. I fell asleep and my birthday passed."

Li Wenyu paused. Today is the 28th of the twelfth lunar month. Pei The new one is a full two months younger than him.