No.70 days

On July [-]th, Shao Wu returned to Yongchuan.

Before going home, Shao Wu and Chen Yimang had a meal. They had a hot pot restaurant near Hongya Cave, Chengdu Medicinal Food Hot Pot. The taste was a bit strange.Next week Chen Yimang will go to Shanghai for a catwalk, and he has already started to give up sugar and chili.The two walked along Binjiang Road after dinner. In 2011, Hongya Cave had not yet become an Internet celebrity attraction, and there were not many people on the road. The smell of Jialing River mixed with Chen Yimang's smoke, all poured into Shaowu nasal cavity.

Chen Yimang smoked a foreign cigarette, a Korean brand that Shao Wu couldn't understand. The cigarette was very thin, long and delicate.Chen Yimang joked to Shao Wu: "Try?"

Shao Wu really stretched out his hand to take out a cigarette from his cigarette case, and Chen Yimang said, "Stop smoking, it's not a good thing."

Shao Wu said, "I smoked."

Chen Yimang raised his eyebrows: "Are you quite rebellious? Come on," he lowered his head and pressed the lighter, "Slow down, don't choke."

Chen Yimang taught Shao Wu to crush popcorn beads, one orange-flavored and one mint-flavored, so the fragrance of oranges and the coolness of mint were mixed in the smell of the smoke, which was not so strong, just light.Shao Wu took a deep breath and let it out very slowly, thinking to himself, does Yang Shuyi still smoke?

Probably not, he might just want to finish off the cigarettes his dad left behind.Moreover, girls nowadays don't like boys smoking. Yang Shuyi is so considerate to Zou Xin, even if he still smokes, he should quit now.Shao Wu couldn't figure it out, didn't Yang Shuyi say that he didn't have the heart to fall in love?Why did you turn around and talk?But - but girls like Zou Xin, straight men will like it.

Shao Wu and Chen Yimang parted ways at the Linjiangmen light rail station, Shao Wu went back to the major, and Chen Yimang took a taxi back to Guanyin Bridge.When parting, Chen Yimang lightly squeezed Shao Wu's shoulder: "I may not come back next semester."

Shao Wu: "Are you going to have no classes next semester?"

"Well, it's my senior year." Chen Yimang smiled, "I'm not in a hurry to complete the project, we'll talk about it during the Chinese New Year. There are still more opportunities there, and I want to try being a full-time model."

"Oh..." Shao Wu felt a little lost in his heart, but he still nodded, "That's good."

"Send me more text messages, or call me, but you know, I often put my phone on silent..." Chen Yimang sighed softly, "I'm a little worried about you."

Shao Wu smiled at him: "I have nothing to worry about-you go, see you in the Chinese New Year."

"Well, see you in Chinese New Year—Xiao Shao," Chen Yimang paused, then whispered, "Don't be stupid."

Shao Wu tightly squeezed Chen Yimang's hand: "I know."

The next day, Shao Wu returned to Yongchuan, and Chen Yimang flew to Shanghai.

Longlong took the senior high school entrance examination this summer, and she still doesn't know how many points she got in the examination.Shao Wu habitually took the Want Want gift bag in the supermarket. When queuing up to check out, he saw the young mother behind her holding the child in one hand and carrying a gift bag in the other.It was only then that Shao Wu realized that Longlong was 15 years old, and she probably didn't eat this kind of snacks anymore.

In the end, I put the big gift bag back and only bought a box of yogurt and a few bags of fruit.

In the past two years, Yang Shuyi's family has changed a lot.Yang Long and Xiaojuan's bedroom was turned into a utility room, which was also Yang Shuyi's bedroom, while his previous bedroom became Longlong's room.The ceiling light in the living room has been replaced with a new one, bright white, making the whole room look much more spacious.Next to the LCD TV, there is a water dispenser, which was bought last year.

When the mother-in-law talked about this, her voice was beaming: "Our Shuyi bought it all. He also said that he would buy me a footbath when he came back in August. I told him not to buy it, but he insisted on buying it!"

Shao Wu smiled and said: "Yang Shuyi is very popular, and I heard that his grades are also very good."

"Yes, he just hung up the phone yesterday and said that his teacher is going to introduce him to a job. What is the survey bureau? It's a civil servant."

"A job introduction?" Shao Wu was stunned, "Isn't he... isn't he going to graduate school?"

"Don't read it, he said it's not good, it's useless to read it, come to Xiao Shao, eat peaches," the mother-in-law stuffed a peeled peach to Shao Wu, and continued, "Shu Yi has been arranged, he You can make money after studying, and Longlong learns painting, you know, it is very expensive. Shuyi said that he will be able to pay for Longlong to study at that time."

Shao Wu was confused: "What? He—"

A knock on the door interrupted Shao Wu's words, and the mother-in-law got up to open the door, and said with a smile, "Look who's here?"

"Brother Shao!" Longlong hurriedly changed her shoes, not even taking off her portfolio, "Why are you here!"

After the college entrance examination, Shao Wu hadn't seen Longlong—everyone was stunned by the important matter of giving up the National People's Congress. Everyone asked him, why?Why?He had no choice but to bore himself at home like an ostrich, not seeing anyone.

In the past two years, Longlong has grown a lot taller, and she is 1.6 meters five by visual inspection.The baby fat on her cheeks also disappeared, and a pimple appeared on her small melon-seeded face.

"Are you learning to draw?" Shao Wu asked in surprise.

"Well, it started last year," Longlong sat upright opposite Shao Wu, with her hands folded on her knees, "I want to keep learning this from now on."

"Oh... is that preparing to take the art test?"

Longlong nodded, and smiled with her lips pursed: "I like painting quite a bit, and my brother agrees, and...my grades are not good, unlike you, Brother Shao."

Shao Wu smiled and shook his head: "Don't be like me, be like your brother."

Seeing that Longlong was really happy, she pulled Shao Wu into Yang Shuyi's room—that is, the utility room at home—and took out another picture folder from the cabinet.It is full of her paintings, sketches, gouache, sketches... A layman in Shaowu can't tell the good from the bad. Looking at them one by one, they all feel that they are very similar.

"Longlong!" The mother-in-law shouted while cooking in the kitchen, "Bring Xiao Shao over for dinner!"

"Hey! Here we come!"

Longlong closed the folder, suddenly lowered her voice, and winked at Shaowu: "Brother Shao, is my brother playing with your friends?"

Shao Wu was silent for two seconds, "I don't know."

"You don't know?"

"I don't see him often..."

"Oh, okay," Longlong stuck out her tongue, "During the phone call yesterday, he asked me if there is anything interesting in Yongchuan now... I guess he wants to bring his girlfriend back for fun?"

"Oh, is that so?" Shao Wu forced a smile, "It's also possible."

I had dinner at Yang Shuyi's house, and it was only after seven o'clock.When leaving, Shao Wu thanked her mother-in-law and father-in-law, and promised Longlong to help her find out about Yang Shuyi's relationship.

The heat was in full swing, and the sky was getting dark. Shao Wu was walking alone in the community. At this point, every family was eating, and the surroundings were very quiet, with cicadas singing from time to time.Shao Wu took out his cell phone, took a deep breath, and dialed Yang Shuyi's number.

He thought in his heart, I didn't call Yang Shuyi on purpose, I just... just asked about his situation, and asked if he needed help.

The call was connected soon, and Yang Shuyi was very noisy, he said, "Shao Wu?"

"Well, it's me," Shao Wu slightly raised his voice, "Is it convenient for you to talk now?"

"Wait a mininute."

When Shao Wu heard Yang Shuyi's voice, he lowered his voice a lot: "I'll go out for a while."

Someone booed: "Hey, Zou Xin? Tell her to come too!"

"No," Yang Shuyi said, "my friend."

Soon, the other end of the phone quieted down, and Yang Shuyi's voice became clear: "Shao Wu, what's wrong?"

"I went to your house this afternoon," Shao Wu said dryly, "I haven't seen my mother-in-law for a long time."

"Well," Yang Shuyi smiled, "Grandma still missed you a few days ago, why..."

"Yang Shuyi."

"what?"

"I heard from my mother-in-law that you don't want to go to graduate school anymore?"

The other end of the phone was quiet for a few seconds, and then Yang Shuyi said, "Let's stop reading for now."

"temporary?"

"Well, a graduate student has been studying for three years, and he is busier than an undergraduate, so he can't make much money," Yang Shuyi said calmly, "Longlong will spend money if she wants to specialize in art in the future."

Shao Wu said eagerly: "But you—"

"Do you remember? She was bullied when she was in elementary school, and you asked Zhou Lei to help vent her anger. After that, she became very introverted and often looked unhappy. Ask her, she didn't say anything... until She started to learn to draw, and then she became cheerful again. When I went home during the May Day holiday, she told me that she wanted to continue learning, and I said let’s learn.”

Shao Wu opened his mouth, but couldn't speak.

He didn't know what to say.

That is Yang Shuyi's younger sister, not relative, but just like relative.Yang Shuyi hopes that she will be well, and Shao Wu also hopes that she will be well...but why is Yang Shuyi making the sacrifice again?Yes, after the death of Yang Long and Xiao Juan, Yang Shuyi was the pillar of the family, that's no problem, but after all, he is only 20 years old?It was too heavy a burden for him, and it came too soon.

Shao Wu murmured: "I...I just feel a little pity that your grades are so good."

"It's nothing to regret, it's what I want," Yang Shuyi said softly, "Thank you, Shaowu."

"……you are welcome."

"Then I'll hang up first? They're waiting for me to eat."

"Well, good bye."

"Goodbye."

Shao Wu put his mobile phone in his pocket and walked out of Chunhui Community slowly. After a while, he remembered that he forgot to ask Yang Shuyi, where is the survey bureau introduced by the teacher?Chongqing?

Shao Wu came to that narrow street again, and the old street sign still stood there, Songji Street.Xiaolu Malatang opened the door. This is Yang Shuyi's Malatang since he was a snack. He brought Shao Wu to eat once.Shao Wu walked in, intending to pack a portion for supper at night.

However, when I entered the door, I found that something was wrong. The store was empty, and the tables and chairs were gone.The freezer was also empty, with neither vegetables nor meat.

"Oh," the boss stood up from behind the counter, "I'm so sorry, we're closing."

"Closing the door?" Shao Wu asked blankly, "So early?"

"It's not closed today, it's in the future, it won't be open in the future."

"Why?" Hasn't it been here for many years?

"The houses on this street are going to be demolished," the boss said very casually, "Well, I have made money, so I can go home and help my girl take care of the child."