sunk into the earth

Zhang Chen still felt that the last week of August [-] was the most painful and happiest week in his tattered life in the past ten years.

He sold the motorcycle that had been with his family for many years to the owner of a building materials store, traveled all over the city, and finally bought the owner's private collection with all the money at a video store in the city center.

The boss is a rock fan, so he didn't want to sell that disc at first, saying that it was a new disc that was still hot after traveling across the ocean. A video store in a small town like theirs has several Cantonese song albums that can be counted on the table. not for sale.But later he saw that Zhang Chen was very stubborn, stuck at the door of the store and would not leave, and he was still standing there after going out to eat, so he could only wave his hands and sigh: "Forget about the ancestors! Sell it to you, sell it to you!"

On the night of receiving the gift, Cheng Sheng fled to Zhang Shen's house with his suitcase and guitar on his back.

As soon as Zhang Chen opened the door, he saw Cheng Sheng leaning against the door with big bags and small bags, looking at him with bright eyes, pointing to the marks on his neck that hadn't faded, and lying to him, "Grandma thinks I'm ashamed, saying I have no shame, Let the man sleep in vain and drive me out, I have nowhere to go now, so I can only come to your house."

There was no one in the house. Zhang Chen was wearing a big T-shirt and shorts. He looked like he hadn't woken up. He stood at the door and scanned Cheng Sheng and the suitcase behind him. He didn't care whether what he said was true or not. He pulls into his house.

A table was added to the living room, with Li Xiaoyun's posthumous photos on it, a lotus lantern and a row of burning incense candles in front of it, and the smell of incense wafted out.

Cheng Sheng piled all the things he had brought into Zhang Chen's bedroom, came out and kowtowed three times in front of Li Xiaoyun's portrait, chanting "one bow, two bows, three bows..."

Zhang Chen rubbed his eyes and looked at him behind, "What are you doing?"

Cheng Sheng turned his head, stretched out his arms and pulled Zhang Chen down, forcing him to worship with him, and after the prayer was over, he looked delighted: "We are married."

Zhang Chen said: "Men and men cannot marry."

Cheng Sheng immediately retorted: "We all prayed three times just now, and your mother is a witness."

Zhang Chen said again: "She is in the sky, so she can't control the people on the ground."

Cheng Sheng didn't care: "It doesn't matter, getting the certificate in the underworld is also getting it."

This nonsense statement sealed Zhang Chen's mouth and let him go.

Zhang Chen didn't say anything, but his hands kept pouring water for Cheng Sheng and helping him organize the things he brought.When he touched the guitar, Zhang Chen turned to him and asked, "What are you doing with the guitar?"

At that time, Cheng Sheng was sitting in front of Zhang Chen's desk, with glasses on the bridge of his nose that he only wore when reading. He was correcting the paper that Zhang Chen had just finished, without raising his head, he said, "For you, it's in my school bag." There are also a few music theory books, and after reading it, I can compose and arrange my own music. If I am not happy in the future, I can just play the piano and write songs. I can also curse people in the songs, and I can write about any uncomfortable things.”

While talking, he suddenly remembered something, Cheng Sheng put down his pen, took out a wooden drum stick from his schoolbag, and handed it to Zhang Chen behind him, with a self-indulgent face, "Hurry up, take it! A drum stick, I will give you as a token of love between us."

Zhang Chen held it in his hand and looked at it for a long time, but he couldn't see anything special about this wooden stick, so he put it on the table and leaned to one side, propping his head to watch Cheng Sheng bend over the red pen seriously on the desk.

"Leave next week?"

Cheng Sheng held up the glasses on the bridge of his nose, his hands didn't stop, only his mouth was moving: "I bought a train ticket for No. 31, and I'll go back in the morning." He paused here, as if he understood Zhang Chen's question just now. Subconsciously, he laughed: "Are you reluctant to part with me? Then I will take the last train back every Friday night, and go back to school on Sunday. We can see each other every week."

He originally thought that Zhang Chen would be happy to hear that he had sacrificed so much for him, but the person over there lowered his head and remained silent for a while before saying, "That's too late, we can see you in the winter vacation."

Cheng Sheng looked at him sideways, Zhang Chen didn't know what he was thinking, his eyelashes were drooping, and Cheng Sheng swallowed the phrase "You don't want to see me every week" that he almost blurted out.

Neither of them wanted to talk about the future anymore.Cheng Sheng was lying on the table flipping through the papers, while Zhang Chen was reading the music theory book he had brought, tacitly not following this topic to continue the chat.

They huddled together at night, as if nothing happened the other day.Which of the seventeen or eighty-year-old boys does not have excessive hormones? They just tasted the forbidden fruit a few days ago, and no one could hold it back. hot.

The two of them stuck together, sticking together for most of the day.This time I was much more proficient than the first time, but it seemed that because I was about to part ways, I only did it once in a hurry and I was not in the mood to mess around again.After they were done, the two of them lay flat and smoked one puff at a time, neither of them making a sound.

Cheng Sheng woke up, stumbled out of bed, and wanted to go to the bathroom to wash off the ugly things underneath, but he was picked up from behind when he was halfway there.

Zhang Chen hugged him and freed his hand to take the medicine from the drawer, which he bought from the pharmacy after that night.He carried Cheng Sheng to the bathroom, first connected the water, washed the person's body carefully, and then gave him the medicine without hesitation.

Cheng Sheng let him hold him, it was chilly, but he didn't care about the shame, hugged Zhang Shen's neck tightly, and said with some despair: "You might as well almost treat me and cut my mind, now I can't leave is you."

***

The next day when they were going out, they happened to meet Grandma Li who had come to the east of the city to arrest someone.

She was aggressive at first, but when she passed by the row of colorful paper wreaths in Zhang Shen’s apartment building, she was frightened—she had just talked to Li Xiaoyun that day, and then the person disappeared in a blink of an eye. Grandma Li always felt that this matter had nothing to do with her rashness. His opinion is inseparable from the relationship, as if he owes his life to others, and he feels cold in his heart.

It was Zhang Chen who came to open the door. He seemed to have expected Grandma Li to come, and he didn't show any surprise.

Grandma Li stood upright at the door of his house, but her tone of question was not very good: "Where is Cheng Sheng from my family?"

"He said he was kicked out by you."

After some nonsense, Grandma Li almost spat on the ground, suppressed the fire in her stomach, skipped Zhang Chen and shouted inside: "Cheng Sheng! You come back with me now, you stay at his house What does it look like?"

There was a rustle inside, but no one came out, only a voice: "I won't come back! You killed me and I won't come back!"

Grandma was angry, she pushed Zhang Chen away and wanted to go inside to arrest him, but Zhang Chen blocked the door tightly first, and said to Grandma Li: "He doesn't want to go back, so don't come to my house to block him." He also said: "The dead air has not dissipated, it is unlucky, you can go back, Cheng Sheng said that he will go back to Beijing directly on the 31st, he will not even go to school."

Grandma was choked by him, and since she couldn't be like the people around here, she loves to roll around when things happen, and she wasn't willing to just come here for nothing, so she had no choice but to threaten Cheng Sheng: "Just this week! You Weigh it! Your dad already knows, if you dare not go back to Beijing to go to school next week, your dad will bring the guards to escort you back!"

It was quiet for a while before Cheng Sheng's voice came out: "Just this week, just this week is enough."