love like a shooting star

7.

The landlord of Wu Liuyi lives in the unit on the left on the first floor.When Gao Cheng entered the house, he was immediately infected by the artistic atmosphere in the room, and at the same time felt that this person was different, maybe he was a painter who lived in seclusion in a back alley.Interlaced like a mountain, born in the army in Gaocheng, has no artistic talent, and knows nothing about painters except respect.This person introduced himself as Cui Ning, and Gao Cheng also said his name. Cui Ning smiled and said that Liu Yi mentioned you to me.He asked Gao Cheng to sit down and made a cup of tea for Gao Cheng.

"The house on the third floor was lived by my parents during their lifetime. They have been vacant since they passed away. I didn't plan to rent it out. It's an exception if I really like Liuyi." Cui Ning sat down opposite Gao Cheng.

The furnishings in the room are simple, and there are many oil paintings hanging on the walls. Gao Cheng looked around and found that the paintings were all of the same person, a young man.With meticulous tracing, every line and every eyelash is so clear, Gao Cheng feels that the person in the painting is no more than 25 years old.The simple face contains the color of fortitude, whether standing or sitting upright, all wearing military uniforms.

"Are you a painter?" Gao Cheng asked.

"It doesn't count, the painting is not good... I only have to paint him the best." Cui Ning looked at the young man in the painting and said.

"Is he...?" Gao Cheng couldn't help asking even though he suspected of spying on other people's privacy.

"He's the one I like." Cui Ning's answer was honest, and he waited to see Gao Cheng's reaction after speaking.

Gao Cheng was stunned for a moment, and then he understood: "That's right!"

Seeing that Gao Cheng's eyes were clear, and he didn't show any disdain, Cui Ning seemed very relieved: "If you don't mind, let me tell you the story between me and him."

Gao Cheng originally wanted to ask the landlord about Wu Liuyi's situation, but now he said he wanted to tell a story to himself, he couldn't help being a little surprised, he was very interested in the story, so he nodded: "Okay."

"He and I have known each other since we were young. We are neighbors. His family lives in the room opposite this unit, and it has been sold to someone else. We grew up together, and we are the best brothers and the strongest buddies, but one day they He suddenly told me that he has always liked me, not brotherhood, but the kind of feeling that only occurs between men and women. I was stunned at the time, and it was so unbelievable that I didn’t know how to respond. He was very sad to see my reaction, but I still smiled and said sorry for scaring you. We didn’t speak for several months after that time, and occasionally we would avoid each other when we met, and his house moved out after a while.” Cui Ning said here and sighed.

"What happened next?" The paintings all over the room and the loneliness between Cui Ning's brows hinted that the story was a tragedy, even so, Gao Cheng still asked, even a little eagerly, he suddenly wanted to know the final result.

"Later..." Cui Ning's voice traveled back through the long river of time, how long ago did it happen?Ten years or even 20 years...

"After that, about half a year later, I received a letter from him, an address thousands of miles away. In the letter, he said that he had joined the army, and now he is doing well in the barracks. He apologized for the trouble and wished me happiness. I held his letter in a daze for a long time that day, and I did feel a sense of loss in my heart, but I refused to admit that it was actually liking.” Cui Ning smiled bitterly at himself: “I always boast that I don’t discriminate against the relationship between the same sex, but it’s still hard to accept it when it happens to me, so I didn’t write back to him, and just spent it like this without doing anything.”

Hearing this, Gao Cheng couldn't help frowning: "How can this work, even if you can't accept it for a while, you have to write back, so that he will think that you hate him and don't want to talk to him, just like many people in the world, who make unreasonable accusations of same-sex relationships and contempt."

"I didn't know what was wrong at the time. You might as well think it through. I felt confused for a while and couldn't explain clearly. You should think about how you feel about him first, and then face each other when he comes back from family leave or discharge from the army. Talk. I didn’t realize that I had hurt him virtually, and I still regret it to this day.” Cui Ning’s eyes were full of pain and melancholy. , We once agreed to apply for the Academy of Fine Arts together, but in the end he went to join the army, I feel sorry for him.”

Seeing him sad, Gao Cheng quickly comforted him: "Actually, being a soldier is really good, and being in the company is very interesting. Just the armored reconnaissance company I led before. On the training ground that day, machine guns, bullets, and tanks were roaring. It’s mighty, and I’ll come back to practice every now and then, as exciting as possible. I’m not saying art is bad, I think, all men should go to the army to experience that kind of life.” Gao Chengyi talked about the military camp He was in high spirits, his eyes shining with excitement.

Cui Ning smiled slightly: "Yeah, that kind of life is pretty good."

Gao Cheng felt that the smile was helpless and sad, his heart skipped a beat, a bad premonition filled his heart, he was no longer excited, and stared blankly at Cui Ning, waiting for him to continue.

"You're right, he's dead." The regrets of 20 years accumulated in his heart, but he couldn't shed any tears, only sighed.

Gao Cheng felt tight in his chest and was speechless for a while.

"He was transferred from the ordinary company to the special forces after serving in the army for two years, and then he died in a mission." Cui Ning said in a low voice, "I thought there was still a chance, but I was wrong. Some regrets will last a lifetime."

"Since it's irreparable, don't be sad anymore. Living well is the greatest comfort to the dead." Gao Cheng said sincerely.

"What is more unbearable than sadness is regret." Cui Ning is also very serious.

Gao Cheng suddenly remembered something, and asked, "You haven't met since he became a soldier?"

"No. He only takes family leave once a year, and even when he comes back, he never contacts me. I know that he died a year after the accident. His parents are planning to immigrate to Canada and come here to deal with the real estate. I just heard from his mother I found out. At that time, the whole person was stupid. For several days in a row, I thought it was a nightmare. How could a good person just say nothing and disappear..."

The deceased is gone, and words of comfort are superfluous. Gao Cheng feels that he only needs to be a listener now.

Cui Ning said: "I have never seen him in military uniform, it must be very beautiful, so I drew these pictures based on my imagination."

Gao Cheng suddenly realized that it was no wonder that the person in the painting had been dead for fifteen or sixteen years and was wearing special forces uniforms of various styles from different eras.His heart moved, and he asked, "You said that you rented the house to Liu Yi because he was a soldier?"

"It's one of the reasons, but not all of them. More importantly, I was moved by June [-]st."

"Moved?" Gao Cheng didn't understand.

"That kind of wholehearted devotion and meticulous care of the people I like is something I have wanted to do all these years but have been unable to do it. Liu Yi lives here, and other neighbors are alienated from him, but Liu Yi has never minded others He has more courage than me."

Gao Cheng's expression can be called shock: "You, you, you mean, Liu Yi has someone he likes, and they still live together, that person..." Gao Cheng wanted to say that the person was still a man, but I didn't say it, because it was too unbelievable.As the company commander of Wu Liuyi, Gao Cheng knew his soldiers better than anyone else.Wu Liuyi is straight, has always been, how could he fall in love with the same sex!

"You, you don't know?" Cui Ning was a little astonished, and then suddenly said, "Maybe he is too embarrassed to tell you, after all, this kind of thing...is not accepted by most people."

"This bastard! Is his company commander like that?!" Gao Cheng suddenly realized that he was speaking foul language in front of the artist, so he was a little embarrassed, and said embarrassingly, "I am really not that kind of person."

Cui Ning couldn't help laughing, he found that the behavior of this school-level officer was a bit childish. "Instead of regretting after losing it, it is better to cherish it when you have it. Liu Yi lived better than me." Cui Ning said.

At this moment, the tea in Gaocheng's cup ran out, and Cui Ning got up to pour him another cup.Gao Cheng said don't bother, Cui Ning said you're welcome, and walked to the table with a thermostatic electric kettle in front of the window.It was pitch black outside the window, and suddenly two beams of bright beams shot out from high beams, passing slowly across the window from far to near, and a taxi stopped in front of the building.

Two people got out of the car, one supported the other, Cui Ning's eyes lit up, he turned his head and said with a smile: "They are back on June [-]st."

Gao Cheng showed surprise, and quickly stood up and walked towards the door.The door of the unit was opened, and Gao Cheng came out to welcome them, just in time to see the two people walking slowly into the corridor.

When they met each other, the three of them were stunned.Shi Jin shook his body, and his bloodless face suddenly turned pale.As Wu Liuyi was supporting his arm, he felt that his hand was getting heavier and heavier, and the person he was supporting was falling down uncontrollably. Wu Liuyi almost instinctively hugged Shi Jin's waist.The crumbling body was supported, and Shi Jin's strong support dissipated, and the whole person fell limply into Wu Liuyi's arms.

Gao Cheng's stiff posture and petrified expression showed the shock in his heart.Shi Jin's two gazes projected over faintly, the pitch-black eyeballs were startlingly bright in an instant, but then dimmed quickly, and the voice was so erratic that it was almost impossible to catch it.He called him softly: "Company commander..." But he didn't intend to leave Wu Liuyi's arms.

In fact, Wu Liuyi was the most embarrassing.He knew Shi Jin's thoughts too well, and it was obvious that he wanted Gao Cheng to misunderstand him.But he has always had nothing to do with his squad leader, so he has to follow the trend and do his best.

"Company commander, why are you here? You didn't call in advance. Look at this... Hey... I don't have any preparations... We live on the third floor, let's go up and talk .”

"Okay, let's go to your house." Gao Cheng gradually eased from the shock.

Wu Liuyi turned to Cui Ning and said, "Mr. Cui, I asked you to entertain my company commander. Excuse me."

"No. Your company commander made a fool of you, so I bought him a cup of tea by the way, just in time for you to come back."

Gao Cheng said: "Mr. Cui is very talkative, and he is good at painting. We had a good chat."

Cui Ning smiled.After observing from the sidelines for a long time, he felt that there were indeed many past events between these three people that were not known to outsiders, so he said: "Next time we have a chance to continue the conversation, I will not bother you."

"Then we're going up." Wu Liuyi said, "Go to bed early."

"Okay." Cui Ning nodded politely to the three of them, and closed the door.

Wu and Shi walked in front, and Gao Cheng followed behind, staring at Shi Jin's back all the time, and couldn't help frowning.Shi Jin was still supported by Wu Liuyi, and his footsteps were sloppy as if he was stepping on cotton. Gao Cheng was worried that he might fall down the stairs at any time.

"What's wrong with you today? You're so thin! Are you sick?" Before entering the room, Gao Cheng couldn't help asking.

"Heh... the company commander knows everything, and I can't hide anything from you. I caught a cold two days ago and had a fever. I just came back from the hospital for an infusion, and nothing happened. Thank you, the company commander, for your concern." Shi Jin turned his head, deliberately narrowed his eyes into slits in a smile, and exaggeratedly curved the corners of his mouth, this is the expression he used to make in front of Gao Cheng.

Gao Cheng was suddenly blessed, and he stared round his eyes like before and said angrily: "Poor! The third squad leader, after so many years, you haven't made any progress at all, and you are still so..."

Wu Liuyi continued from the side: "Vulgar, ambiguous!"

"Hahaha..." The three of them laughed at the same time, and the awkward atmosphere finally dissipated.