driftwood

"Zhou Chen, I want to go out for a while." Chen Xing wiped his mouth after eating the bread. It was the 29th of the Lunar New Year, and it started to snow lightly when he got up in the morning. At this moment, there was also a thin layer of snow on the road.

Zhou Chen finished washing the cups in the kitchen, put his hands on the side of the table and asked, "Do you want me to accompany you?"

"No, I want to go out for a walk alone." Chen Xing shook his head, kissed Zhou Chen on the lips, and said with a smile, "I'll be back in a while."

"Well, be careful."

Wrapped in a thick down jacket, Chen Xing walked out of the community, put his hands in his pockets and walked forward with his head bowed. His steps were slow. The sudden drop in temperature reduced the number of pedestrians on the street. Chen Xing walked along the side of the road. It looks especially bleak in the cold wind.There was a cart selling candied haws on the side of the road. Chen Xing walked by with his head down, and then backed up.

"Auntie, take a bunch of candied haws, the kind without pits, and wrap it up."

The aunt who sold the candied haws swiftly packed the candied haws and handed them to Chen Xing: "Young man, five yuan."

Chen Xing's hand holding the candied haws was a little red from the cold. When he reached the familiar neighborhood, he reflexively looked at the third floor. The curtains were drawn, just like when he left that day.

He reached into his pocket and found a bunch of cold keys, and after a while, he took them out again.

There was an old man upstairs leaning on a cane to take out the trash. When he passed by Chen Xing, he asked tremblingly, "Are you that kid from the old Chen family?"

"Hello, Grandpa." Chen Xing nodded obediently, took the garbage bag from the old man's hand, walked to the trash can and threw it away.

Helping the old man up to the second floor, Chen Xing looked up at the third floor, the door was closed and it was deserted as usual.He walked downstairs, walked to the wall and stood still, looked down at the candied haws in his hand, and finally stuffed it into his pocket, leaving a long piece outside.

Little grainy snow fell on the sofa and rustled. Chen Xing didn't care whether the wall was clean or dirty. He leaned his upper body against the wall with his back facing the stairs. He took out a cigarette and bit it in the corner of his mouth, and took out a box of new matches. The blue-white smoke rose, and Chen Xing lowered his head, unable to see the emotion in his eyes clearly amidst the smoke.

When the smoke completely surrounded him, Chen Xing suddenly thought that after being with Zhou Chen, he seemed to seldom smoke.

Voices were faintly heard in the corridor, and then the anti-theft door was opened, and light footsteps came from behind, Chen Xing put out the cigarette and turned around, Chen Jianping was standing not far from him, looking at him in disbelief .Not only Chen Jianping, but also a gentle woman in her 30s and a little boy. The boy was held by two adults. His face was small and white, and his eyes were clear and bright like a deer, looking at Chen Xing openly. .

After being surprised, Chen Jianping was full of joy: "Chen Xing, where have you been? Why don't you go home?"

"I don't want to see you. You should buy a new house and don't come back here again, okay?" Chen Xing's voice was a little hoarse now that he hadn't smoked for a long time. When he said this, he stood with his hands down and looked down at the Chen Qi.

Chen Jianping didn't speak, but there was a little sadness in his eyes, Chen Xingquan pretended not to see it, after a while of silence, Chen Xing slowly squatted down, stretched out his hand and gently touched Chen Qi's head, bent his eyes and smiled, and said softly: " Chen Qi, hello."

"Xiao Qi, this is your brother, quickly call him brother." The woman said slowly, shaking Chen Qi's little hand.

"Brother." Chen Qi grinned, his eyes were almost exactly the same as Chen Xing's.

"Well, how is daddy treating Xiaoqi?"

"Okay." Chen Qi nodded vigorously, looked at Chen Xing smiling and continued: "Dad bought me a lot of Transformers, and Dad will tell me stories and take me to the amusement park."

"Ah That's good."

Chen Xing took out the candied haws and shook it in front of Chen Qi: "Do you like it?"

Chen Qi nodded, and then seemed a little frustrated: "Mom and Dad won't let me eat it, saying it will cause tooth decay."

"Mom and Dad are right, wait until you grow up to eat."

Chen Xing put the candied haws in his pocket, Chen Qi looked at it aggrievedly, raised his face to look at his mother, and asked: "Mom, brother give me candied haws, can I have one today, I haven't eaten for a long time."

The woman gently touched the boy's head: "Yes, then you have to thank brother."

"Brother, mom said I can eat today." Chen Qi looked at Chen Xing with sparkling eyes, Chen Xing smiled, and handed the candied haws to Chen Qi, and Chen Qi thanked him obediently.

Chen Xing looked at Chen Qi licking the candy outside the hawthorn mouthful, with a small mouth, very cute.

Chen Xing stood up with his hands on his knees, his legs were a little numb, and he staggered when he got up. Chen Jianping hurriedly reached out to help, but Chen Xing dodged away.

Chen Xing stabilized his body and looked at Chen Jianping's gray temples. The man in front of him suddenly became old for some reason. It seemed that they hadn't looked at each other for a long time.

"Treat your son well and watch him grow up. It's time for you to learn to be responsible. Please give me the money for my college. I will pay you back in the future." Chen Xing finished speaking expressionlessly. Turning around neatly after speaking, Chen Jianping's voice behind him suddenly became much older.

"Chen Xing, Dad is sorry for you."

You said sorry to me, but why don't you call me Xiaoxing now?I remember you used to call me Xiaoxing.

"I don't want to hear it. Don't look for me in the future. I don't want to see your ex-wife, and I don't want to see you. I hate you both."

The snow particles hit his face head-on and it hurt, Chen Xing took a step, and the words behind him fell clearly into his ears.

"Mom, is brother my real brother?"

"Yes."

"Then why doesn't he call him Dad or Mom?"

"Mom is not my brother's mother, but my father is my brother's father. My brother is a little unhappy. My father made my brother angry."

That's your dad, not mine, and my mom, who will be the mom of another kid, and by then, she won't be my mom either.However, I have a boyfriend, and I have Zhou Chen, who is still waiting for me to come home.

Chen Xing was in a daze along the way, exhausted all his energy, and was too lazy to take out the keys when he was at the door, so he raised his arm and knocked on the door twice.

There were hurried footsteps in the room, and the moment Zhou Chen opened the door, the heat in the room rushed towards his face, making Chen Xing dizzy.

Standing at the door, Chen Xing looked at Zhou Chen who was wearing a tracksuit, and smiled with a weak voice: "Zhou Chen, hug me."

Zhou Chen stretched out his hand to pull him into his arms, and closed the door. The moment Chen Xing touched Zhou Chen, his heart felt at ease. He rested his chin on Zhou Chen's shoulder, and his eyelids were so heavy that he couldn't lift them. Gu Zi said: "Zhou Chen, I'm sleepy, I want to sleep." Zhou Chen seemed to be calling himself, but he was really tired, I'll be fine after a night of sleep, Zhou Chen, don't worry, I'll sleep in a while just got up.

Chen Xingan lay quietly on the bed, his face was pale and bloodless.Eyelashes trembled slightly, eyebrows furrowed suddenly, lips opened and closed as if they were saying something, Zhou Chen put his ear to Chen Xing's mouth, vaguely heard his name, and his heart softened suddenly.

When Chen Xing's hot lips pressed against Chen Xing's forehead, Chen Xing's frowning brows relaxed, and a smile appeared on the corner of his mouth. Zhou Chen kept bending over and didn't move. When Chen Xing slowly opened his eyes, the first thing he saw was It was Zhou Chen's enlarged face.

"What are you doing?"

Zhou Chen straightened up slowly, looked down at Chen Xing, "You have a fever again."

"Ah."

"Where did you go?"

Chen Xing smiled and pulled Zhou Chen to sit by the bed, and said, "Go home, Zhou Chen, I have a younger brother."

Zhou Chen held Chen Xing's hand tightly, Chen Xing sat up, and continued with a smile: "His name is Chen Qi, he is three years old, he looks very good-looking, his eyes are very similar to mine, he said his father treats him very well Yes, I saw his mother, and she was very gentle."

Zhou Chen leaned forward and hugged Chen Xing in his arms. Chen Xing's voice was muffled: "But Zhou Chen, why am I so uncomfortable? I told my mother that if you have a child in the future, you should treat the child better. I told you Dad, please treat Chen Qi better in the future. But you said, why no one told them to treat me better. "

We are so good, how come no one loves us?

"You still have me."

"I only have you."

Chen Xing and Zhou Chen stayed at home until the third day of the Lunar New Year. The two watched movies, cooked, read and went to bed every day.During the period, Xu Xin and Du Keming came to have a meal together. This can be said to be the most comfortable year Chen Xing has ever lived.

At noon on the fourth day of the Lunar New Year, Chen Xing was woken up by the ringing of Zhou Chen's phone. Zhou Chen stayed in bed with Chen Xing. After touching the phone and seeing the caller ID, Zhou Chen sat up from the bed and Chen Xing glanced at With a glance at the screen, Zhou Chen is fucking.

When the phone was connected, Zhou Chen yelled "Mom" without any emotion. Yang Qiu's voice was not loud, but it was enough for Chen Xing to hear.

"Where do you live, give me your address."

"Where are you?" Before Zhou Chen finished speaking, the phone was hung up. After compiling the text message, he sent it to Yang Qiu. Chen Xing lay down on his head, covered himself with a quilt and prepared to sleep again. Zhou Chen pulled the quilt helplessly Come down and say "My mom might be coming."

"Ah?" Chen Xing sat up abruptly from the bed, dazed for a few seconds, then hurriedly dressed, was pulled back by Zhou Chen, and asked, "What are you doing?"

"Your mother is coming, I'll find a place to hide first."

Zhou Chen was amused: "No, she won't come into the bedroom, you just stay in the bedroom."

Chen Xing washed his face, brushed his teeth, took milk, and just entered the bedroom door when there was a knock on the door, Zhou Chen went to open the door, Chen Xing stood behind the door and saw Yang Qiu, a woman in her 40s, dressed in ordinary clothes , although there were wrinkles on his face, he could still see that he must have been beautiful when he was young. Zhou Chen's peach blossom eyes were very similar to Yang Qiu's. Chen Xing closed the door lightly, and sat on the ground leaning against the door.

The expression on Yang Qiu's face was indifferent, and he sat on the sofa after entering the door and said a word: "Go back to the postgraduate entrance examination."

Zhou Chen refused in silence, standing in front of Yang Qiu without speaking.

"Go back to the postgraduate entrance examination." The formulaic tone was not mixed with a trace of personal emotion. This is how Yang Qiu talked to Zhou Chen most of the time over the years.

"I don't want to take the exam." Zhou Chen shook his head and looked directly into Yang Qiu's eyes.

"It's not up to you."

"Why?" Zhou Chen asked calmly: "Why can't I make my own decisions in life, and I have to listen to you in everything I do. Zhou Chuan is Zhou Chuan and I am Zhou Chen. You see clearly, you have two Son, one wants to be a policeman, and the other wants to study architecture. Now that Zhou Chuan is gone, why do you let me live for him? Why, his dream has been fulfilled for him. What about me? What should I do? "

The last sentence, Zhou Chen yelled out, because he was too wronged, because he was too disappointed, because his heart really hurt too much.

Finally, a trace of expression appeared on Yang Qiu's calm face, anger, yes, she was very angry, so when the slap was swung down, it was mixed with more than 20 years of resentment towards Zhou Chen, and the crisp sound of "slap" echoed in the living room In the middle of the day, Zhou Chen turned his face slightly to the side, and a slap print immediately appeared on his face.

Standing behind the door, Chen Xing forcibly resisted the urge to rush out. His fists were clenched tightly, and his fingernails were white. He pressed his head against the door panel. It might be an illusion. Why did he feel that the door was shaking? ?

He heard the heart-piercing scream of the woman in the living room: "Zhou Chen, you beat your father to death and your brother to death, why didn't you die, you disaster star."

His fingernails dug into the flesh and there were bloodshot eyes. Chen Xing realized that it was him who was shaking. His legs were so weak that he couldn't stand, so he sat down slowly while holding the door. His hands trembling and he took a cigarette into his mouth. The matches couldn't strike.The matchbox dropped by his feet, Chen Xing slowly lowered his head and buried it in his arms.

Zhou Chen, why do I always cry for you? Actually, I don't like crying at all.

Zhou Chen, my heart hurts.

Zhou Chen, you said you would never let others bully you again, but why is it like this now?

The screaming and cursing of the woman outside the door finally became quiet, and with the last "bang" of the door slamming, the whole world finally became quiet.

Chen Xing didn't remember how long he sat there. Finally, he stood up holding the door, opened the door and staggered out. Zhou Chen sat on the floor motionless with his back to the bedroom door.

Chen Xing walked these few steps with difficulty, his voice was hoarse: "Zhou Chen."

Zhou Chen didn't move, and Chen Xing called "Zhou Chen." The person in front of him still didn't move.

Chen Xing walked around in front of Zhou Chen, the five finger prints on Zhou Chen's left face made his eyes hurt, Zhou Chen lowered his eyes, his long eyelashes fanned his eyes, and he couldn't see sadness or joy.

Chen Xing squatted in front of Zhou Chen, hugged Zhou Chen into his arms in an awkward position, and patted Zhou Chen's back lightly: "If you feel uncomfortable, cry."

Zhou Chen held Chen Xing's back tightly, and rested his head on Chen Xing's neck.

There was liquid passing across the neck, one drop or two, more and more, flowing on the neck, cool, and Zhou Chen's suppressed crying sounded in his ears.

"Let me tell you, Zhou Chen, you are my most precious person. Really, I love you very much, and I will be with you no matter what, so you can cry loudly."

Zhou Chen's crying gradually became louder, he choked up and spoke intermittently: "Chen Xing, I didn't mean to..."

"No one ever asked me... what did I do that night?"

"I didn't say that... that day, I went to a classmate's house to get a comic book, which Zhou Chuan wanted most. I had saved money for a long time, and I asked a classmate to sell his book. Give it to me, it will be Zhou Chuan's birthday in a few days, I originally wanted to give him a birthday present."

"I don't know, I didn't expect such a thing to become like this, Chen Xing, I'm really sad."

"Zhou Chuan is my brother, my own brother. He treats me the best at home. If he has an accident, I feel more uncomfortable than anyone else."

"But Chen Xing, my brother loves me the most. He definitely won't like me to be a policeman. He knows that I want to study architecture."

"I'm sorry, I'm really sorry."

When you say sorry, you don't know who you are talking to. The only one you have treated badly over the years is yourself.

Zhou Chen cried for a long time that day, until he lost his strength. Chen Xing carried him to the bed, gently twisted the towel to wipe his face, and finally got into the bed carefully, and hugged him from behind.

When you wake up from sleep, everything will be fine. There is still sun in the sky, and I am still lying on the pillow. You are in a dream, remember to be happy.

The author has something to say: Why is Zhou Chen and Chen Xing being abused in this chapter, the author is very heartbroken...

I have really seen such parents, I am human, and I am sorry for them...