Run in the opposite direction

Title: "Backwards"

Author: Mango Stuffed Rice Dumplings

Copywriting: He fell in love at first sight twice in his life

Luojiang is a small tourist city that has only been developed in recent years. It coincides with the off-season of tourism. At night, there are no vehicles and pedestrians on the streets.

Xiao Xu slowed down, looked both sides of the road and asked Xing Chen, the co-seat, who was resting with his eyes closed: "Director Xing, which hotel do you think is suitable by the roadside? I'll go down and book a room."

Xing Chen opened his eyes, yawned and looked out the window, scanning the names of several hotels without stopping Xiao Xu.The car drove through an alley, Xing Chen saw the dim yellow light in the alley, squinted slightly to see the words clearly - Ancheng Inn.

Luojiang is an area inhabited by ethnic minorities. Since the development of tourism, many local residents have transformed their houses into small inns. Although they are not as high-end as the star-rated hotels on both sides of the street, they are cheaper and have local customs. During the peak tourist season, these inns are more sought-after than star-rated hotels.

Xiao Xu followed Xing Chen's gaze and said, "The environment of this small inn is average, are uncles and aunts used to living there?"

The two elders of the Xing family in the back seat also looked into the alley. Xing's mother smiled and said, "I can't stay in a hotel. I agreed yesterday that I will stay in a local inn when I come to Luojiang. It just so happens that this inn is called Ancheng. It is destined for us, Xiao Xu. , you go book a room."

Xiao Xu put on his clothes quickly: "Okay."

Xiao Xu entered the gate and stepped on a cobblestone road to the yard. Looking around, the two-story building had no more than ten rooms on the upper and lower floors. There was the sound of running water in the yard, which sounded very clear at night.Xiao Xu called out loudly: "Boss!"

A young male voice came from the room: "Here we come."

Xiao Xu: "Boss, please show me the room first. If there is no problem, I will book three rooms."

The innkeeper turned sideways and led Xiao Xu inside: "I have single rooms and standard rooms here, and I will show you both."

Xiao Xu followed the boss to check the room. The style of the inn was indeed different from that of the hotel. The room was full of carved beds, tables and chairs, and even the lamps on the roof were of ancient style.The sanitation environment is also very good.Xiao Xu followed the boss to open the room with satisfaction.

After everything was done, Xiao Xu went outside to ask Xing Chen and the two elders to get off the car.

Xing Chen walked into the yard, and the young boss who was turning on the corridor lights turned around and said to them: "The rooms you booked are all on the second floor, and the stairs are on your right. If you need anything, you can call the front desk or go directly to the second floor. calls me."

Xing Chen helped his mother to go up the stairs. When he was about to go upstairs, he subconsciously looked back at the young man not far away, because against the light, he could only vaguely see the outline, not the face.A figure flashed in Xing Chen's mind, and soon disappeared. He frowned for a second, then shook his head and went up.

After Xing Chen settled his parents down, he took the room card and went to his room.Xing's father retired last month, and he has nothing to do. Xing Chen kept saying that he would take his parents to a clean place to stay for a few days. Finally, there was nothing to do at work in the past few days, so he asked for leave and came to Luojiang with his parents.Xing Chen was promoted to deputy director in his early thirties. He is a son who makes his parents very proud of his career. Slowly brought a debt.Therefore, if his parents have any wishes on weekdays, he will try his best to satisfy them.

Qiao Qianyan went downstairs and saw all four guests entered the room before returning to the room.

At dawn the next day, Xiao Xu went downstairs to ask the boss about food and attractions.Qiao Qianyan took out a map from under the table and handed it to him: "This is the tour map of Luojiang. Our famous snacks and scenic spots are all specially marked. You won't go in the wrong direction with this. Don't miss it. Don’t look at the mobile phone map, because there are many small roads that are not shown on the map, and it is easy to go wrong.”

After listening to his words, Xiao Xu asked, "The boss is from Ancheng?"

Qiao Qianyan nodded.

Xiao Xu smiled and said, "It's an accent. We are also from Ancheng, and we are all fellow villagers."

Qiao Qianyan lived in Luojiang for two years, and the inn greeted and sent him off. At first he felt kind to the people in his hometown, but later he got used to it, and said calmly: "Really, it is really destined."

After Xiao Xu asked about the matter, he went back upstairs and waited for the leaders to get up.

Qiao Qianyan checked the time, it was time for the old lady to get up, so he went to the kitchen to prepare breakfast.Grandma Qiao wanted to do a set of Tai Chi in the yard every morning. When she saw a few people coming down from upstairs, she said to them in a loud voice: "There is a breakfast shop at the entrance of the alley. The tofu flower here is very delicious. You can Go try it."

Father Xing looked at her and said, "Old lady, you and we are from the same hometown."

Grandma Qiao laughed: "Yes, I am also from Ancheng."

Xing Chen took a look into the room, but didn't see the boss from yesterday, so he went out with his parents.

Qiao Qianyan needed to go to the building materials market to buy paint today, because the paint on the wooden swings and teahouses in the yard for guests to rest was badly peeled off, so he had to take advantage of the good weather these few days to repaint the paint.It will be National Day in just over a week, and there will be more tourists by then.

Mrs. Qiao got Alzheimer's a few years ago, and she often forgot one thing or the other.So every time Qiao Qianyan went out to do errands, he would tie his phone around his grandma's waist and call her every once in a while.Grandma Qiao knew that she had this disease, and the locals in Luojiang spoke minority dialects, so she couldn't understand them.So she usually doesn't leave the inn.

After breakfast, Xing Chen and his parents walked along the street towards the ruins of the ancient city. Qiao Qianyan passed by them on an electric bike. Xing Chen accidentally saw Qiao Qianyan's side face, and his heartbeat suddenly missed. .

Why... I seem to have seen him these two days.

Xing Chen shook his head again. The young man in his memory should be a young talent who can command the wind and rain. How could he open a small inn in this remote town?

Xing Chen seemed absent-minded all the way around, Xing's mother thought he was tired, so after having lunch at the scenic spot, she suggested going back to the inn to rest and come out to play at night.

When the group returned to the inn, Xing Chen's heart beat suddenly when he stepped on the cobblestone. He knew what he was looking forward to and what he was afraid of.Over the years, he has cultivated a copper-skinned and iron-framed body. In addition, he has been in the officialdom and cannot reveal any well-known hobbies. It seems that he has not felt throbbing for a long, long time.This feeling seemed familiar to him. In retrospect, the last time was also because of Qiao Qianyan.

When Xing Chen walked into the courtyard, he first smelled the smell of paint, and then saw Qiao Qianyan who was squatting in the middle of the courtyard and painting the swing.

He didn't see clearly last night, but at this moment Qiao Qianyan was standing in the sunlight, from hair to ankles, everything was clearly visible.Xing Chen narrowed his eyes and could even see the blood vessels on Qiao Qianyan's wrist.

Xing Chen walked to the swing, and subconsciously called out the word "Qiao Qianyan". Before he could say anything, he felt that this was too strange, so he changed his usual words: "Boss, are you busy?"

Qiao Qianyan put down the brush and straightened up, looked at Xing Chen with a smile and said, "Paint the furniture."

The lines of Qiao Qianyan's eyes are stretched and smooth. When he smiles, the end of his eyes will rise slightly, the waves will shimmer, and his whole face will look very vivid.

The face in Xing Chen's memory overlapped with the person in front of him at the moment, and he couldn't be sure whether his memory was blurred or the person in front of him had changed.This smile made him familiar, but it was very strange.

What's the difference?

Qiao Qianyan's facial features and temperament have not changed, and he still attracts attention wherever he goes, but... his eyes seem to be different. In the past, his eyeballs were amazingly bright when he smiled, but now they seem to be coated with a layer of fog, which is a bit dull and exhausted.

Seeing the other party staring at him, Qiao Qianyan turned his gaze and bent down to continue painting.

Seeing her son standing there in a daze, Mother Xing called out loudly, "Ah Chen, let's go up first."

Xing Chen came back to his senses, and followed his parents upstairs.He went back to the room and turned on the computer, inputting a web address with great proficiency, his fingers paused for a moment when he hit the Enter key, and then he tapped it down with a snap.

This website is the forum of his university. He has never entered the forum since he left that city. Now that he opens it, he finds that many interfaces have been revised. To find something, he needs to click on it one by one.

He entered Qiao Qianyan's name, clicked on the search box, and there were nearly a hundred pages of resources and posts below. This data was unmatched a few years ago, and no one can surpass it now.Xing Chen casually scanned. The most recent post was posted a month ago. An alumnus asked Qiao Qianyan where he was going now. Everyone who replied said that it had been a long time since he heard the name of this person.

Xing Chen rearranged the page according to the number of replies, and found the video post that made Qiao Qianyan famous overnight. The post recorded the "Spring Bridge Cup" college student debate contest that Qiao Qianyan participated in sophomore year. There were six competitions in the whole schedule. He led his classmates Passed all the way, and finally won the championship smoothly.Originally, the game schedule video was only disseminated in the business school where Qiao Qianyan was, but was later uploaded to the forum, and soon spread widely. Overnight, Qiao Qianyan became a celebrity in the school.

If Qiao Qianyan looks ordinary, if he has a meek personality, if he does not continue to excel in the follow-up, the popularity of this video will only last for a few days, and it will not become a treasure for countless alumni who have new acquaintances with Qiao Qianyan. .

Xing Chen was the director of the street office where the university was located at the time. The debate competition was an event organized by the city's publicity department in conjunction with the university. As an alumnus, he was sent by the leader to coordinate the scene.So from Qiao Qianyan's first appearance to the final victory, Xing Chen watched the whole process live.

Xing Chen paused his mouse on the title of the post and hesitated. He knew how he made up his mind to stay away at the beginning, and how he made up his mind later.