"Su Bei, are you crazy? Let go of your mouth! Let go of your mouth quickly! Wow...Su Bei, let go of your mouth..." Sheng Yinuo burst into tears, but I still refused to let go of my mouth that was biting his arm.
"Su Bei, let go!" Yu Xia ran to us, panting, and patted my head.
I let go immediately and frowned as I looked at Yu Xia's elbow which was covered with a large Band-Aid. I felt extremely sad and my tears fell on his arm. "Does it hurt?"
He shook his head.
"You, apologize to Yu Xia!" I put one hand on my waist and ordered Sheng Yinuo. Seeing that he hesitated, I said, "If you don't apologize, I will bite you again."
"Su Bei! Can you stop helping Yu Xia all the time? I was obviously injured just now!" He said, pointing to the small scratch on his arm.
"Humph! You deserve this! If you hadn't run so fast, how could you have knocked Yu Xia down and injured him?"
"Su Bei! Are you Yu Xia's little wife? Otherwise, why do you always help him and not me?"
"Sheng Yinuo! If you say that again, I will never talk to you again." When I heard the word "young wife", my face turned red. I couldn't help but look up at Yu Xia, whose face was also very red.
"Okay, okay, it's all my fault, Yu Xia! I'm sorry!" Sheng Yinuo apologized reluctantly.
I fumbled in my pocket and took out three candies, keeping the green one for myself and stuffing the other two into their hands: "My dad said that these are brought back from abroad, and they are delicious."
"Really? Let me try it." Sheng Yinuo, who had just been crying with snot and tears, smiled as she opened the candy and stuffed it into her mouth. As soon as it entered her mouth, she burst into tears again, "Su Bei! You liar!"
"I didn't lie to you!" I put my candy into my mouth with a sense of grievance, "Wow! It's so bitter!"
"Su Bei, why did your tongue turn green? You're poisoned!" Sheng Yinuo pointed at me and yelled again, "Mom - Su Bei is poisoned!"
"Your tongue is black! You are also poisoned!" I also saw Sheng Yinuo's tongue when he shouted, "Wow - Dad, Sheng Yinuo and I are both poisoned!"
We were two little fools at that time. We didn't know what devil candy was. We thought it was just ordinary candy and all candies were sweet.
Thinking of the people in the TV series who would vomit blood after being poisoned and then die soon, I became even sadder and cried even harder. Seeing me crying like this, Sheng Yinuo cried even more uncontrollably.
"Stop crying, you are not poisoned." Yu Xia said in his weak voice, but we were immersed in our own sadness and didn't hear it at all.
"Stop crying! I told you to stop crying." He said again, but still no one heard him.
"Did you hear me? I'm telling you! Stop! Crying!" He shouted, and then he coughed continuously.
We both stopped crying and turned to look blankly at Yu Xia, who hadn't gotten sugar poisoning yet. Our tears flowed down our cheeks and we couldn't stop crying.
"Ka... This is not poison. It's a kind of candy that can change the color of your tongue temporarily. Just rinse your mouth when you go back. Also, this candy has a layer of sugar coating on the outside that tastes very strange. It becomes very sweet after this layer of sugar coating is removed." As he said that, he peeled his candy and threw it into his mouth. After frowning for a few seconds, his expression returned to normal. While he was talking, I noticed that his tongue was yellow .
Sheng Yinuo and I looked at each other, then turned to Yu Xia, looking at the person in front of us with admiration, and couldn't help but exclaimed: "Yu Xia, you are so smart!"
The corner of his mouth twitched: "You are too stupid!"
"How dare you say we are stupid!" As we said that, Sheng Yinuo and I grabbed Yu Xia and tickled him for a while.
Later, Yu Xia recalled this scene and said that when he saw us crying loudly, he felt like there were two idiots standing in front of him, and he didn't understand why he would play with such idiots.
That year, we were six years old, and it was the second year since I moved to this community . I became good friends with a crybaby who always boasted about how great he was, and a boy who liked to pretend to be smart and wise but was sometimes very childish.
We went to school together, played together, and grew up together.
If that accident hadn't happened, Sheng Yinuo might still be the crybaby who would cry non-stop over the slightest thing when he was a child.
That year, we were ten years old.
"Sheng Yinuo! Crybaby!"
"Sheng Yinuo! Snot ghost!"
"Sheng Yinuo! Coward!"
…
In the park outside the community, several boys surrounded Sheng Yinuo and shouted taunts in unison like slogans. When Yu Xia and I arrived with a jump rope, he was standing in the crowd, biting his lips and crying in grievance.
Seeing him crying, the boys shouted even harder and louder.
"What are you doing?" Yu Xia rushed forward, pushed a boy away, and stood in front of Sheng Yinuo.
"Sheng Yinuo, you are so big, why do you need a boy who looks like a girl to protect you?" At that time, Yu Xia was very thin and fair-skinned, and was often mistaken for a girl.
"Go away!" I also rushed forward, "I won't allow you to bully Sheng Yinuo!"
"Sheng Yinuo, you coward! You crybaby! You actually let a girl protect you! Tsk tsk, if I were you, I would go home right away and never go out again."
It is said that children speak without restraint, but few people know that these words are the most hurtful.
"Yu Xia... wuwuwu... Su Bei... help me... hahahaha" They imitated Sheng Yinuo's crying voice and acted coquettishly in front of us. Our anxiety and anger were a joke in their eyes.
"Shut up, all of you!" Yu Xia rushed forward and punched the person who led the laughter in the face.
"Yu Xia, let me help you!" I rushed up as well.
Sheng Yinuo always said that I was a dog and would bite anyone I saw. When I saw Yu Xia fighting with others, I also went crazy and bit anyone I saw, and would not let go no matter how much they cried.
After all, there were only two and a half of us. Sheng Yinuo, who cried until he had no strength left, could barely be counted as half. The other side had five or six people, and they were all stronger boys than us, so we soon fell behind.
If an adult who was off work hadn’t seen what was happening and ran over to stop it, there’s no telling how far this “battle” would have gone.
All I know is that when my father carried me home, my whole body was in pain, and even yawning felt like it was taking half my life.
That night, there were three waves of parents who came to my house to cause trouble. Each of them started by shouting loudly, then demanded compensation, and finally ran away in shame when they saw me with a bruised face, fearing that if they walked too slowly they would be blackmailed by my family.
Maybe the wound was infected, because I had a high fever the next day and it wouldn't go away, which scared my father and mother.
After being in a coma for two days, I finally woke up. Yu Xia was carefully wiping my lips with a cotton swab dipped in water, and there was a wet towel on my forehead.
"Yu..." "Uncle! Aunt! Su Bei is awake! Su Bei is awake!" Sheng Yinuo's voice was so loud that it hurt my ears, and I couldn't help but frown.
"Sheng Yinuo! Speak a little quieter, Su Bei just woke up!" Yu Xia blamed him.
“You’re all here…” I grinned, “I thought I’d never see you again.”
"Su Bei, I'm sorry. It's all my fault. I'm too cowardly and that's why you got hurt!" Sheng Yinuo rushed to my side and cried, "I will become very strong in the future and protect you."
"Sheng Yinuo." Yu Xia reminded.
"I know!" Sheng Yinuo raised his arm to wipe away the snot and tears on his face, "I will only cry this time, and I will never cry again. I will become very powerful, very powerful, and I will protect you and Su Bei for the rest of my life!"
"I don't need your protection. I will protect you." Yu Xia looked at us with an extremely firm look.
After that day, Sheng Yinuo never cried again. Even when she was covered in bruises from learning Taekwondo, she never shed a single tear.
When I was thirteen, my father passed away suddenly.
I stood outside the crowd and looked at my father's body, standing there blankly and silently. My surging tears told everyone that I was still alive and had not died from the severe pain in my chest.
From that day on, I seemed to stop laughing. Also from that day on, the most important thing for Yu Xia and Sheng Yinuo every day was to accompany me. When I took a six-month leave of absence from school because of my father's death, they came to my house every day. One of them took out a book to explain to me what the teacher had taught in class today, and the other kept talking about all the interesting things that happened on campus today. Looking at their lively appearance, the huge wound in my heart was healed little by little.
"Su Bei, the physical education teacher is teaching us Tai Chi today. Can you come downstairs with me and I will show you how to do it?" After school, Sheng Yinuo came to my house on time.
"Yes, Su Bei, Sheng Yinuo learned dancing from the teacher today, and it was so funny." Yu Xia said, and gestured twice in a rare lively manner, "Look, it's like this, very funny."
"Yu Xia, why are you so mean? Didn't we agree not to tell Su Bei about my dance lessons?" Sheng Yinuo pushed Su Bei.
"Did you say that? I remember you said that you wanted to learn to dance and then pull Su Bei to dance with you?" Yu Xia retorted.
Sheng Yinuo blushed and changed the subject: "Su Bei, let's ignore him. Let's go. I'll show you Tai Chi."
They pulled me downstairs without saying anything. I sat on the bench. The setting sun shone gently on them. Sheng Yinuo was doing Tai Chi clumsily, and Yu Xia was clapping and laughing at the side.
The vivid scene made me couldn't help but curl my lips.
"Su Bei!" Yu Xia suddenly ran to me excitedly, pulled me up from my seat, and excitedly picked me up and spun me around twice. "Su Bei, you smiled, you smiled, right?"
"Hey, hey, hey, Yu Xia, don't touch my Su Bei! Let go! Let go!" Sheng Yinuo pried Yu Xia's fingers away from me one by one, "You usually look quite serious, why do you take advantage of my Su Bei when you have a disagreement? You are a beast in human form!"
"Sheng Yinuo, did you see that? Su Bei just smiled." If it were any other time, Yu Xia would definitely mock Sheng Yinuo for not knowing what it meant to be a beast in human form. But now, he excitedly grabbed Sheng Yinuo's hand and wanted to jump up. "Su Bei smiled, finally smiled."
"Really? Su Bei, smile again for me! Don't let Yu Xia see it alone."
"Thank you," I said.
"Ah——" Sheng Yinuo's scream shocked several buildings, and the sound of several households opening their windows and shouting could be heard.
In the soft light of the setting sun, Sheng Yinuo and Yu Xia were covered with a layer of soft light golden color, like angels descending to the earth, giving me the strength to continue living.
For a long time, memories became the heaviest part of my life. Whenever I thought about the past, I felt that I couldn't move forward. So, I tried to make myself forget, forget those vivid and painful past events in my life, and pretend that nothing had happened. Although this ostrich-like escape seemed stupid, it prevented me from losing the courage to live every midnight when I was awakened by nightmares.
The past of my youth came back into my dreams after a long time, and when I woke up, my pillow was wet. I stared at the ceiling with wide eyes, as if I saw the young Sheng Yinuo patting his chest and telling me that he would protect me forever.
I put on some clothes and walked to the window.
It's the season of falling leaves again. Five years ago, on a day like this, Sheng Yinuo left me forever. I closed myself off and left my hometown. It took me a very long time but I still couldn't completely escape the pain he left behind.
During these five years, I first dropped out of my original university and came to this city with my mother where heavy snow fell in winter. I worked in a coffee shop during the day and continued to study in night school at night. I never had the gene for a top student in my body, but perhaps because life was dull and boring, I actually completed the night school studies with high scores. Holding the blue diploma, I knew that I could finally live in this world like an adult.
The dawn sky was glowing with a soft red light. I sat there, watching quietly, as if I saw that evening many years ago, when I saw two boys cheering for joy because of my smile.
Perhaps, in this matter, the person I blame more is myself. All the conflicts and entanglements were caused by me, but they ended with Sheng Yinuo's death, an ending that I don't want to mention in this life.
I have new friends and a new life around me. I get up every morning and work from nine to five. Most of my colleagues are young people of similar age. We can get together to watch a movie or go shopping on weekends.
Everything looks fine.
It just seems that some things will only be revealed in the dead of night.
I have never dared to go back to the city where I once lived. I was afraid. I was afraid that I would stop in a corner and think of what happened there between me and the boy named Sheng Yinuo. I was afraid that I would be hurt and that I would never be able to find the way back.
Colleagues sometimes sigh: "Su Bei, you are really a person who values ​​words like gold!"
They don’t know that I used to be very arrogant and talkative. Not only Sheng Yinuo was afraid of me, but even Yu Xia was afraid of me.
Yu Xia...
This name has been sealed in my heart for many years, and when I think of it now, my chest still aches.
Dear Yu Xia, I haven’t seen you for many years. How are you doing now?
The phone rang suddenly early in the morning on the weekend. I stood up to pick up my phone, only to find that I had been sitting by the window for too long. My body was a little stiff, and I tripped over the chair and almost fell.
I staggered to pick up the phone, and heard senior Wang Yutong excitedly shouting on the other end: "Su Bei, Su Bei, are you up?"
"Senior, didn't I answer your call?"
"Oh oh oh, I'm stupid, you are free today, right? Please do me a favor!"
The woman who called me at 7 o'clock on Saturday morning was my senior in night school. She graduated a year earlier than me and we met when we were looking for a job. She is a bit impatient and does everything in a hurry, but she is very serious about her work. I have been grateful for her help in the past two years. Otherwise, with my personality, I really couldn't integrate into the workplace life quickly.
Before I could refuse her request for help, she said, "Accompany me to a blind date at noon. You know I'm embarrassed to go alone."
It turned out to be a blind date. Including today's one, I have accompanied her on three blind dates in total. The first time, the other party was a very stingy man. After meeting each other, the senior sister looked down on him and said that he actually asked her on WeChat to pay him back the money for the meal in the form of a red envelope; the second time was a 30-year-old bald man. After we met, I spent the whole afternoon listening to her muttering about the unreliability of the introducer; the third time, the other party looked okay and was not bald, but had severe mysophobia. During the whole meal, he complained that the food was not clean. In the end, the senior sister couldn't stand it found someone to call herself, pretending that there was something going on at the company, and took me to pay the bill and ran away... I don't know what kind of weirdo I will meet this time.
I feel like if I continue to go on blind dates like this with her, I’m going to develop male phobia.
"Su Bei, let me tell you, I originally wanted to turn down this invitation today. You know the three people I met before were all weirdos. But the introducer is my mom's boss. If I offend her, my mom will definitely fire me. So please be kind and accompany me this time. I promise, this is the last time, the last time." She begged me softly on the other end of the phone.
The last time it was introduced by my dad’s boss, and he also said it would be the last time.
"What time? Where is the appointment?" Although I was very reluctant, I still felt embarrassed to refuse the person who had been helping me all the time.
"I know Su Bei is the best. He will definitely go with me. We'll meet at the Wanda Plaza in front of the Municipal Hospital at 11 o'clock. I'll drive to pick you up at 10 o'clock." Fortunately, we were over the phone, otherwise she would have rushed over to hug me and spun me around.
I get goose bumps just thinking about her bear hug.
"Su Bei, are you awake?" Mom knocked on the door. "Yes."
"Let's have breakfast!"
After washing up, my mother and I sat at the dining table. After what happened five years ago, our relationship has become much closer. We will speak directly to each other and no longer be as cautious with each other as before.
" What are you going to do today? If you have time..."
"I'm going out with my senior today."
"Are you going to accompany her on a blind date again, Su Bei? Mom is not scolding you, but you should think about your own affairs occasionally. You are not a child anymore..."
"Mom, I want to stay with you for another two years. During these two years, I will definitely find a good man and marry myself."
"Hey...you can't always..." Mom shook her head, "Would you like another bowl of porridge?"
"Okay." I knew what my mother meant before she finished her words. She took me away because she wanted me to stay away from the past and start over. Over the years, I have tried hard to act happy in front of her, but she still knows that I am not that happy.
My heart will always be filled with a person named Yu Xia. It has not changed at all over the years.
When I saw my senior, she was dressed up as gorgeously as usual and waved at me, inviting me into her bright yellow "Beetle".
Along the way, she kept telling me about the man she was going on a blind date with today. The introducer praised him to the highest heavens, saying that he was the best in terms of appearance, character, and work.
Hearing this, she couldn't help but ask, "Why doesn't he have a girlfriend now? Is he gay?"
This sentence made the introducer, who was drinking water, choke and cough for a long time before he recovered.
I asked, "Didn't she say she was your mother's boss? How dare you?"
She pouted: "My mother's face was as red as Bao Gong's. Afterwards, if my father hadn't stopped her, I guess my feather duster would have been discounted."
I have met my senior’s mother, and what she said is true.