Chapter 9: Sudden Death

Li Wenyu walked downstairs and heard a clanging sound from his grandma's house on the first floor, as if she was chopping dumpling stuffing. Then he remembered that tomorrow was the winter solstice.

The light in the corridor was finally repaired and replaced with a brighter light. However, after being in the dark for a long time, Li Wenyu was not used to the sudden light. He heard voices at home before he entered the door. He guessed that his aunt was still asleep. When he opened the door, he saw that the light was on in the living room.

There was leftover dinner on the dining table that had not yet been cleared away. After the braised fish had cooled down, there was only a slight fishy smell left, and a little oily sheen floated on the ginger-colored chicken soup.

Ji He was wearing a black singlet and lazily put on a warm yellow sweater. When he caught a glimpse of Li Wenyu entering the door, he didn't say anything. He arranged his clothes and turned around in a circle. He said in a long voice: "That's it now, okay?" Grandma."

Grandma sat on the sofa and looked at him with a smile: "Okay, okay, you can wear it to school tomorrow."

Li Wenyu stood at the door to change his shoes and said, "Grandma, I'm back."

Grandma poked her head over from the sofa and smiled kindly: "Why did Xiao Yu come back so late today? Are you too busy with homework?"

"No," Li Wenyu shook his head and glanced in, "Auntie is sleeping. Are you ready?"

Ji He sat on the sofa, peeling oranges, and turned up the volume of the TV: "Go to bed early."

Grandma tapped his head, and said in a kindly reproachful tone: "I know your mother is asleep. And watch TV."

Ji He smiled at her obediently and didn't adjust the volume again.

Li Wenyu walked toward the room: "Then I'll take a shower first, grandma."

"Xiao Yu, go to bed early."

Li Wenyu opened the door and lay down on the bed.

He didn't turn on the light, and in the darkness he could only hear the noise of the TV outside the room. Listening carefully, there was also the ticking of the wall clock. The sound had been ringing for who knows how long. It wasn't until he felt sleepy that he slowly got up and took off his coat and entered the bathroom.

In the early morning, as soon as Li Wenyu went out, he saw Ji He standing at the door, sorting his coat. Normally, he would go out twenty minutes earlier than Ji He, but today he happened to meet him.

"You," Li Wenyu slowly closed the door behind him, "you are very early today."

Ji He turned to look at him and said casually: "Wake up early."

Li Wenyu said no more. He doesn't have a very good relationship with Ji He, and his personalities don't get along with him. Although the two were cousins ​​and lived together, they never met each other on their way to and from school every day, and they couldn't even exchange a few words with each other.

He picked up his schoolbag and went out behind Ji He. It was still early, and the road was quiet except for the occasional meowing of stray cats. Ji He walked very slowly, and the snow that had accumulated all night crunched under his feet. Just when he was approaching the school gate, he suddenly stopped.

So Li Wenyu also paused for a moment, and heard Ji He turn around and say with no expression on his face: "Hey, can you lend me some money?"

Ji He never called Li Wenyu's cousin, nor did he call her by his name. Usually it’s hey or hello.

Li Wenyu blinked and put his hand into his pocket and touched: "How much do you want? I don't have much money on me."

"You," Ji He looked unkind and scanned him from head to toe. It was natural. His expression didn't look like someone was borrowing money, but like someone who was robbing him. "How much do you have?"

Li Wenyu's ears were very red from the cold. He probably counted the money on his body, left the person who was going to buy breakfast for a while, and put the rest He handed over more than one hundred: "That's all."

Ji He looked directly at his actions, took the money and left without saying a word, his steps were much faster than before, and after a while, his kung fu disappeared. at the corner.

Li Wenyu didn't pay much attention to this matter. Although he was wondering what Ji He wanted to do with the money, it was obvious that the relationship between the two of them was not something that could be directly asked, so he quickly entered the school gate without thinking about it.

In a history class at noon, Yang Cheng rarely slept. He borrowed a copy of Li Wenyu's homework and copied it quickly. Li Wenyu looked at his anxious look and his increasingly scrawled handwriting and suspected that he was writing under the tip of his pen. A spark is about to appear at any moment.

Although Li Wenyu had long been accustomed to him being like this, he couldn't help but laugh at this moment and wanted to make a joke: "Can't you make up your homework earlier? Do you have to cram it in temporarily?"

Yang Cheng didn't even have time to raise his head: "Don't say sarcastic words. "If you have nothing to do, just copy it for me. I still haven't finished writing my political work."

Li Wenyu looked at the progress in his hands and couldn't help but want to express some sympathy: "Okay, bring it here and I'll help. " You."

"Oh," Yang Cheng screamed in surprise and turned to look at him, "You really want to copy it for me?"

"Bring it here," Li Wenyu nodded with a smile, "I'll just practice calligraphy. "

Yang Cheng was overjoyed and immediately took out the exercise book and put it on his desk. His anxious eyes were shining brightly: "Thank you for your kindness. I will treat you to dinner later."

Li Wenyu opened the exercise book and started. I was copying, but from time to time I had to look up at the blackboard and pretend to be listening to the lecture. After one class, my neck and eyes were very sore.

He closed the exercise book he had finished writing, shook his head and moved his neck before he felt better. Just as he was about to talk to Yang Cheng, his phone vibrated and a message popped up. He opened it and glanced at it, as if someone had hit him with a stick, his whole body tensed up instantly.

The message was from Pei Xin. Li Wenyu never gave him any notes, but the mobile phone number with four sevens was so conspicuous that people had to remember it.

——Come to the fourth floor of Zhengsi Building at noon.

Li Wenyu's breath was stagnant, and his heart was suddenly grasped in the air, hanging in a daze.

A minute later, the phone vibrated again, and the screen that was about to go out came back on.

——There's no point in pretending to be dead, you know.

Li Wenyu's eyes were so tired that he was about to type a reply when Yang Cheng suddenly moved his head over. Li Wenyu was almost scared out of his wits and hurriedly covered the screen of his phone, and his hands began to tremble.

Yang Cheng was startled when he saw him like this, scratched his head and said apologetically: "I didn't mean to look at your phone. I called you but you didn't hear me. I just wanted to ask you to go to dinner."

Li Wenyu nodded slowly . He nodded and quickly stuffed his phone into his pocket with empty eyes: "Let's go, let's eat."

Yang Cheng was pushed forward. He had never seen Li Wenyu like this before and couldn't help but look back worriedly. After a few glances, Li Wenyu was still distracted and didn't even notice that he was peeking at him.

"Are you okay?" Yang Cheng turned to look at him again and said hesitantly.

People were coming and going on the playground. Li Wenyu lowered his head. After a while, he looked up at him blankly, but his voice was calm: "It's okay, let's go."

After eating a meal in a hurry, Li Wenyu ate. Within a few seconds, the phone kept vibrating, and he hung up twice, but the person on the other end never gave up. Yang Cheng wanted to say something, but he shut up when Li Wenyu looked bad.

"I've finished eating," Li Wenyu picked up the plate and looked at Yang Cheng a little apologetically, "You eat slowly, I'll leave first."

This was too abnormal. Yang Cheng took a bite of the chicken leg and almost stared at Li Wenyu's leaving back with a hole in his face.