who's next

Before the winter vacation, the opening hours of the dormitory were not as long as the summer vacation. After the final exam, Ji Huai went home directly.He opened the door and walked into the empty house without any disturbance in his heart.

It's New Year's Eve soon, and Chi Yan probably won't be going home this year. Tang Qizhou's family plans to celebrate the New Year abroad, and it seems that only Ji Huai's family is deserted in the neighborhood.

Ji Huai made a cup of hot milk and sat in front of the window, wiped off the hoarfrost on the glass and looked out the window, the gray sky was covered with snowflakes, and it turned into water when it landed.

He breathed into the white mist from the porcelain cup, and took a sip. The strong milk fragrance filled his mouth, and even his limbs became warm.

At this time, a notification sound came from the mobile phone in his pocket. Ji Huai took out the mobile phone and turned on the screen to see that it was the teacher in charge of the junior high school.

[Xiao Ji, is mom back this year?If you are alone, come to my house. Last time, you Mr. Wu didn’t attend the party in class, and you kept thinking about you]

Ji Huai's calm brows and eyes gradually softened. He put down his cup and typed a reply with both hands.

[OK, thank you teacher]

It's not the first time for Ji Huai to go to the head teacher's house for the New Year. In the past, when Chi Yan was not at home all year round, the head teacher would drag him over to have New Year's Eve dinner together.

It can be said that the mother's love and family affection that Chi Yan couldn't feel were given to him by the homeroom teacher's family.

The reason why they are so special to Ji Huai is because of Ji Huai's family accident and his weird personality.There are deeper reasons, the couple's son died of suicide.

Their children had a similar experience to Ji Huai, and also suffered from school bullying, but their personalities led to a very different ending for the two.

The husband and wife were all focused on the students, so they neglected their son.They never realized that their taciturn child had reached the level of moderate depression.

So, on a rainy and foggy day, the boy fell from a tall building like a chick with broken wings, without any hesitation.

Perhaps it was because of sympathy for what happened to Ji Huai, or perhaps they wanted to find an outlet to put down the overwhelming guilt and remorse, the couple made up for the lost affection on Ji Huai.

Before Ji Huai went to visit the class teacher, he went to the supermarket to buy some new year's goods.The whole street is deserted, there are few pedestrians, only the red lanterns that can be seen everywhere.

There was sleet last night, the ground was muddy, and there was a little water vapor floating in the clammy air.Ji Huai didn't open an umbrella, and along the way, countless small drops of water stuck to his woolen coat and hair.

He hated the wet weather, but there was nothing he could do about it.

Ji Huai knocked on the door of the head teacher's house in the low night, and this kind and gentle woman answered inside, opened the door with a smile and welcomed him in.

The couple's parents passed away early, and they celebrate the New Year together on weekdays. It's not lively but not lively, and it's not deserted.

The head teacher saw that Ji Huai was carrying big bags and small bags, and said angrily, "I came here as soon as I came, why are you still bringing things!"

The head teacher's husband sat on the sofa in front of the TV, looked towards the entrance, pushed his glasses, and quickly called Ji Huai to sit with him: "Xiao Ji is here, come here and let the teacher see if you have lost weight."

Ji Huai showed a rare shy look: "I exercise regularly."

He squeezed Ji Huai's hard muscles, and beat his chest lightly: "Good boy, I'm afraid I can't even beat you now."

Ji Huai lowered his head obediently: "You are an elder, I should accept it."

"By the way, Xiao Ji." The homeroom teacher brought a fruit plate and put it on the coffee table, which contained Ji Huai's favorite cherries. There was a little worry in her soft eyes, "Are those children still bullying you now?"

Ji Huai recalled the one-day trip to the police station on the day of the party, and chuckled inexplicably: "No, there is no contact anymore."

There was a long silence after that.

The homeroom teacher wiped his hands and broke the deadlock with a smile: "I'll serve chicken soup, you two are chatting."

Ji Huai also found out that the head teacher and her husband always subconsciously pulled him into the family atmosphere and never mentioned anything about Ji Huai's mother.It seems that as soon as you mention it, the false beauty in front of you is like bubbles, which explode into water vapor under the sunlight.

The smell of rice wafted from the kitchen, arousing the greed in Ji Huai's stomach. He turned his head and looked at the dining table. There were no greasy big fish and meat, but some home-cooked dishes.

Just as Ji Huai's butt was attached to the chair, the piercing cell phone rang.His gaze stayed on the caller ID for a long time, his lips were pursed into a straight line, and his face was getting worse and worse.

"What's wrong?" The head teacher put down his chopsticks, his eyes full of concern.

"It's okay." Ji Huai put the phone back into his pocket, and put a piece of fish in his mouth.

Yet the bell rang persistently.

The couple noticed something strange, they stopped serving food, and looked at Ji Huai worriedly.

Seeing that Ji Huai couldn't hide it, he had no choice but to press the connect button.

"It's Chinese New Year, why aren't you at home? I came back specially to accompany you for the New Year's Eve dinner, and you left me an empty house?"

"Don't you know how dangerous it is for a girl to stay home so late? Are you going to leave me like your father?"

"..."

"I'm sorry, Xiao Huai, there seems to be something wrong with me again, you'd better not come back, I'll take it easy."

Ji Huai exhaled heavily, and the warm yellow light flowed in his light brown pupils, revealing a trace of unspeakable sadness.He hung up the phone with a heavy heart, hesitant to speak in front of the couple who regarded him as his own, and parting words lingered between his lips and teeth.

"Teacher, my mother is back."

The head teacher's smile froze on his face, and finally turned into a very faint wry smile: "You go home, mom should be waiting."

Ji Huai rushed home non-stop, the living room only turned on the small light at the edge, and the light was very dim.Chi Yan sat on the sofa and propped his forehead, unable to see her expression clearly.

Hearing the movement, she raised her head suddenly, even though her makeup was exquisite, it couldn't hide the fine lines around her eyes.

Chi Yan happily walked in front of Ji Huai, held his face in his hands and murmured: "It's so tall."

Her slender fingers slowly moved up, and touched Ji Huai's forehead: "I also cut my hair..."

Ji Huai let Chi Yan move without saying a word, with mixed emotions in his heart.

When he graduated from junior high school, Chi Yan finally listened to the expert's advice and received treatment, and Ji Huai also escaped from the nightmare of women's clothing.After a few years, Chi Yan's condition improved, and she immediately devoted herself to work, ignoring Ji Huai's life.

Until today, it was the first time in five years that mother and child met each other.

"There are no ingredients at home, so I'll go out to buy some food." Ji Huai calmly opened the distance between the two, with a respectful and distant tone.

Chi Yan's hands were frozen in the air and hung down in embarrassment, her eyes wandered, her hands twisted together uneasily: "I cooked instant noodles and added vegetables, ham and poached eggs."

Since the promulgation of the national policy of banning fireworks and firecrackers, the taste of the New Year has dissipated a lot.Not only was the New Year's Eve dinner peacefully eaten, but it was also so quiet outside the window that only the sound of wind and snow was left.

Ji Huai and Chi Yan didn't communicate much, and went back to the bedroom and closed the door after eating the instant noodles.Without taking off his clothes, he lay on the bed and buried his face in the velvet quilt.

The pictures in his mind flashed like a revolving lantern, and in the end, Ji Huai couldn't tell whether it was a memory or a dream.

What Ji Huai didn't know was that he received his first New Year's greetings when the mobile phone stuck in his pocket, which he had neglected for several hours, got stuck at midnight.

[Happy New Year, I hope you are happy.At least in front of me, I won’t make you sad]

What Ji Huai didn't know was that the sender stayed up almost all night waiting for his reply.