Hedgehog and Tiger

My mother died in childbirth while giving birth to me.

I learned this from my relatives. They like to crack sunflower seeds, and they like to come to my house during the Chinese New Year. They carry rice noodles one by one, and when they leave, they carry the sausage and bacon that my grandma has smoked for half a month.

The second aunt's son is very strong, with soft flesh all over his body, and he speaks with great momentum, like a bully.He pestered me for my little racing car, and Dad handed it to him.

I shrank behind my father, and saw the little cousin facing me, showing a determined expression.

"Hey little boy, are you in the first grade of junior high school this year?"

I walked ahead, the snow was falling heavily, and it was very hard to walk.

My cousin wants to eat crispy raccoon noodles, but my family doesn't have them.Dad gave me five yuan and told me to take him to the street store to buy it.

Listening to his questioning, I ignored it, looked back at him, and said, "You should call me cousin."

The little cousin snorted softly and walked behind me wobbly.

There are a lot of people in the canteen, and children are crowded in the lottery place, picking up the lottery ticket with coins.

It's a scam.

My dad told me so.

"Hey shorty, give me the money, I don't want to eat crispy noodles anymore! I want to play with that!"

"That's..." There were other people around, so I didn't dare to speak too loudly, so I pulled my little cousin's clothes and said softly, "That's a scam!"

"What do you have? Why do people lie to you? You can win fifty for one yuan! If you win the lottery, you won't be able to eat as much crispy noodles as you want! I can also collect all the stickers of the Three Kingdoms!" the little cousin tweeted Open me, go forward and pick up the lottery card and start scratching.

In desperation, I had to pay the money and stand aside waiting for him to finish.

He scratched five sheets in a row, said something in a dialect I hadn't heard before, glared at me, and said, "I want crispy noodles!"

"Dad only gave me five yuan, and I paid you for the lottery."

The little cousin was tall and strong, so he pushed me again and said, "Who said that! I want to eat crispy noodles today. If you don't buy them for me, I'll go home and tell my uncle that you spent the money." Don't buy me food!"

His voice was a little loud, and several adults had already knocked on the melon seeds and looked over here.

I pursed my lips and pulled him, and said in a low voice, "I don't have any money with me...how about we go back and get it now?"

As soon as they went back, the family knew that the money was not spent on food.

The little cousin rolled his eyes, pulled back his clothes, and said: "My mother won't let me come with you again after I go back! Who doesn't know that you are a Zangmen star killer! Forget it. .....I won't eat!"

"...Who do you say is the dead star?"

"Talking about you, my mother can tell. After you beat your mother to death, you beat our grandfather, and now you want to beat grandma and your father!"

In my ears, it seemed that someone was beating desperately with a big drum, thumping, and the noise made me upset.When I came back to my senses, my little cousin had already been pushed to the ground, and I clenched my fists, as if I was going to greet him.

The dead star.

I heard this word for the first time.

"You are young, why is your mouth so dirty?"

I turned away, suppressed the anger in my heart, and looked at the person who came.

The person who spoke was not too cold in winter, and there was a circle of glaring bruises on his neck, as if he had been pinched by someone.Next to it was a fat man with potato chips, and a boy with yellow hair.

The man's eyebrows and eyes were stern, his eyes were raised upwards, his thin lips were pursed lightly, his hair was dyed yellow, and he just looked at him evilly.

The little cousin seemed to feel that he had lost face, so he looked at him with a stiff neck, and said, "I want you to take care of it!"

Speaking of which, my little cousin was about to pull me back, but I stood still, and my little cousin pushed and hit me in a hurry.

"Tsk..." The boy with bruises on his neck stood up, grabbed his little cousin by the collar, kicked him into the snow, spat to the side, and said, "Hurry up! Get out!"

The little cousin glanced at me angrily, and ran to the entrance of the alley.

While running, he muttered about Sangmenxing.

"Are you from Master Chu's family?"

I nodded and said, "You know my dad?"

The boy moved his neck and seemed to feel a little uncomfortable. He reached out and touched the bruise on his neck, and said, "The watch didn't work before, please ask your dad to fix it for a while."

I pursed my lips and stopped talking.

Just now when my little cousin went back, I don't know how he will arrange me. Now when I go back, my dad will definitely beat me for the sake of my second aunt.

The three of them said a few more words and walked towards the intersection.

The boy with the yellow hair walked a few steps, seemed to think of something, looked back at me, and said, "Are you coming?"

I froze for a moment, looked at the entrance of the alley I had to go home, patted the snow on my body and followed.

"What are you doing with this kid?"

"sold."

"Sell it online?"

"Why are you on the Internet? The pancake shop next door has made pure beef. Do you want to eat it? Fatty invites you!"

On the first day of next year, everyone is busy getting together at home, but these few seem to have no home, wandering outside at night.

The fat man looked back at me, stepped forward and grabbed my shoulders, and said, "My name is Zhang Haoyu, and the tall one is Wu Fear. We all call him Angkor. This little yellow hair is Yang Tang. If you call him Tangzi, you can call him Tangzi." become."

"My name is Chu Feng."

"Which wind?"

"Maple of maple leaves."

Angkor looked at me, and seemed to think of the way I clenched my fists just now, he smiled and said, "Little lunatic, go crazy."

"It's not that crazy! It's the maple next to the wooden letter, the maple leaf!"

"Yeah, little lunatic, do you want pie? Beef, your fat man treats you."

The two laughed as they talked, and so did the yellow hair next to him. Don't look over at a car on the street, his eyebrows and eyes are much softer.

We found a factory, and the construction team stopped coming a long time ago. Because of the rectification, the unfinished building did not know when it would be repaired, so it became the secret base of the big guys.

The bruises on Angkor's neck are gone, replaced by a circle of tattoos.I asked him what those letters meant and he gave me a look and said something I couldn't understand.

Then the fat man told me that Angkor actually couldn’t read it, so he went to a tattoo shop and told the owner to cover up the bruises, without asking which country’s words were in the circle.

Fatty and Wu Yue's family is strictly controlled and they don't come here often.Angkor is mixed with some people on the road, afraid of messing us up, so they don't bring people here.

Besides me, the only one who comes to the factory frequently is Yang Tang.

I am not familiar with Yang Tang.

He seldom speaks, and spends most of his time sitting drinking and playing cards.

Today is the weekend, and I arrived at the factory with a big bag of snacks, but there was no one in it.

"Angkor?"

"He'll be here in a while."

I was startled and looked at the person coming.

There was some blood on Yang Tang's hand, but he waved it indifferently, opened a bottle of beer in the corner, and leaned against the window to watch.

"I told you not to mess with Zhou Si'er! Don't you understand?!" Angkor said while disinfecting Yang Tang's arm with alcohol.

Only then did I see that there was a long knife mark on the man's arm, the cut was not deep, but the skin was slightly broken, but I could also see how dangerous the situation was.

Yang Tang let him bandage up, and when he finished, he said flatly: "I can't watch you get chopped up."

Angkor stopped packing his things, turned his head and gave him a hard look, and said, "It's better for me to be cut than to be hurt by you! I promised Aunt Shu to take good care of you!"

When it comes to Aunt Shu, Yang Tang's mask seems to be broken.

He pursed his lips and stopped talking, but his aura was not as cold as before.

Angkor seemed to have something else to do. He glanced at his watch and said, "Madman, take good care of your brother Tang."

"......Um."

As soon as Angkor left, the atmosphere seemed awkward again.

Yang Tang was lying on the sofa cushion, his face was blurred by the lit cigarette.

He is handsome, even childish.But every time he pretends to be an adult, he also pretends to be the most like him.

It's like a bottomless pit with pain and emptiness at the bottom.

Want to explore, want to go deep.

You can only jump in.

"You drew this?"

I came back to my senses and looked up at the painting on the ceiling.After thinking about it, I still sat beside him and lay down on the sofa with him.

"It was drawn with a mineral water bottle, with a needle hole poked on it, and the inside is filled with paint, with such a stroke—"

I gestured, and the man seemed to smile.I stopped talking and lay beside him, smelling the faint smell of smoke on his body.

Since that conversation that can't be called a dialogue, Yang Tang seems to be a lot gentler to me, even more gentle than Wu Yue.

I'm not in the same class as him, he's in the last row in the class, and so am I.

So often when the teacher is giving lectures, I will lean on the back door to listen to the class, and quietly separate my mind to watch the door.

Occasionally, Yang Tang could be seen leaning against the door with his long legs outside the door, as if he would run out as soon as get out of class was over.

Angkor said that Yang Tang was born with pride in his blood, and that he would not stay in this muddy quagmire for long.

Unexpectedly, Angkor was right.

Yang Tang's father met a rich woman Biao/son whose family was rich and powerful.

This is how Yang Tang described it.

When he said this, Yang Tang's hair had lost a lot of color, and the black hair inside looked very dazzling.

The fat man who was usually interrupted by illustrations stopped talking, and looked at Angkor in silence.

Don't mess with him at this time.

will be beaten.

I'm not used to such an atmosphere, so I handed him the skewers on my plate.

Yang Tang raised his eyebrows and asked me, "What?"

I blinked and said, "Comfort you."

Wu fears Fatty: "..."

Yang Tang scolded me with a smile, and said, "Will you send the beggar?"

Wu Fear and Fatty on the side breathed a sigh of relief, and said, "Boss! Here are thirty more palm treasures and meat skewers!"

I picked something on the plate that I didn't eat and handed it to Yang Tang.Yang Tang didn't say anything, and ate a few skewers with a smile.

Back to school after dinner, I met Angkor's deadly enemy on the way.

Thursday.

"Wu Fear, I don't want to talk to you. Tell the little biao/boy behind you to come out."

Zhou Si'er was talking, but her eyes were fixed on Yang Tang.

Yang Tang was born handsome and clean, even if he was dressed like the second generation ancestor, many girls fell in love with him.He casually glanced at Zhou'er and said, "Where is the dog barking?"

In the whole year of the second year of junior high school, I have already seen Yang Tang fight without money or life. Before Angkor could speak, I took his arm first.

I'm afraid that he will go up and start in the next second.

Seeing my movements, Zhou Er snorted softly and said, "Okay, don't come out, right? You know how Yang Tang and my three brothers got into the mess last time. This must be blamed on one person." .”

Then he took the stick and left.

Angkor frowned, looked back at Yang Tang, and said, "When will you go to City S with your father?"

"Xiaofeng! Have you found Dad's watch strap?"

I came back to my senses, responded indiscriminately, then went out holding the watch strap in the small box, and said, "Are these few okay?"

Dad nodded. After taking the watch strap, he didn't rush to repair the watch. Instead, he glanced at me and said, "What's wrong? You look so bad?"

I pursed my lips and shook my head, and suddenly remembered that on the night of the first day of the new year, my second aunt dragged my little cousin away cursing, forgetting even the sausage and bacon.

"Dad, are you saying that I'm really a Sangmen star, specializing in killing people?"

My dad was taken aback, and then he came back to his senses with a cold face, as if very angry, and said, "Who told you this!"

"No one..."

My dad sighed for a while, and said: "Xiaofeng... before your mother gave birth to you, the doctor said that the baby is not good, and it may not survive... guess what, your grandma and I will take care of you every day. Look at her, and often invite experienced old women to come and see, your mother actually kept you."

I rested my cheeks and listened to him.Dad recalled the past, with light in his tired eyes.

"Your mother told me that it's because you have a feeling for her. You know that she loves you, so you are willing to grow up in her belly."

"Your mother loves you more than anyone else, and looks forward to your arrival more than anyone else."

I lowered my head, wiped my face carelessly, and said, "I see."

Dad rarely said these words on weekdays, but today he seemed to be agitated by the words in my sentence.He sighed, patted me on the shoulder, and said: "Everyone in this world has their own life, and they can't escape or avoid it. Life is long, and some people are destined to walk this part of the road with you. The protagonist is still You yourself, do you understand, Xiaofeng?"

"Ah."

In the middle of the night, I was woken up by the ringtone of the landline, so I got up and took a look.Dad repaired the watch all night, it seems that he has just fallen asleep, and his snoring is still in the room.

I answered the phone, and Wu Yue's voice was rather hurried.

"Hello? Hello? Little lunatic? I'm Wu Yue!"

"Well, what happened?"

"Brother Tang has an accident!"

I was shocked, took the phone and said, "What's going on!"

"Thursday, do you remember? I was surfing the Internet at an Internet cafe just now, and I heard that they recruited many people to squat Brother Tang downstairs!"

"Where is Angkor? Did you tell Angkor?"

"No... I haven't had time to say yet."

"You...you...you can do this, you tell them first, I will go to Brother Tang's house to find him!"

"You are crazy! What if you are caught by Zhou Er?!"

"...It's okay, they won't mess around."

Just after Chinese New Year, the air is filled with the sulfur smell left by firecrackers.

It was already dawn, and I rode my bicycle to Yang Tang's house.

"Brother Tang! Brother Tang!"

I don't know if there is anyone in the room, are you still sleeping at this time?

I knocked on the door, but no one answered.

Before waking Yang Tang up, there was a noise outside.

I looked back and saw that Thursday's son seemed to have drunk a lot of wine and walked crookedly.

He was shaking the iron rod in his hand, and there were still many rust spots on it.

The man looked at me and smiled, the corners of his mouth parted, revealing a hint of malice.

"I remember you, Yang Tang called you crazy, right?"

When I became conscious again, I no longer knew where I was.

I can't control my body, and my consciousness seems to be chaotic.

My name is engraved on the tombstone, and four or five bouquets of flowers are placed on it.

The fat man squatted on the ground without saying a word, while Angkor next to him grabbed Wu Yue's clothes and forced him to kneel in front of the tombstone.

"You know that he is kind-hearted and can't let go of Yang Tang, why do you still tell him?"

"You told me that Brother Tang was kidnapped by his stepmother to the wedding...I...I thought he knew too..."

"Does he know what's the use? Are the lunatics worried about Yang Tang and want me to say it?"

Angkor seemed very angry, he kicked Wu Yue's chest, cursing.

The fat man held him back, sighed and said, "Let the lunatic be quiet for a while."

Only then did Angkor retract his legs, and smoked a cigarette in silence.

"Where's Tangzi?"

"His stepmother locked him up for half a month, and he didn't make it to the funeral. Now...it seems that he went to S city with his father."

"...how does he look?"

"No soul. On the day of Thursday's sentencing, I picked up a bench from the ground and threw it on someone's head. I was almost detained."

Angkor took a deep breath, patted the fat man, and said, "Let's go, let's go to City S too. Take care of it."

"Ah."

Angkor and Fatty often come here. Fatty sits in front of the tombstone and talks all afternoon. Angkor is different from him. He drinks a few glasses of wine and leaves, as if he is busy with other things.

I don't even know what I am, God?ghost?Or just a little monster.

I seem to have no body, and my consciousness is fragmented from time to time.

Yang Tang never came.

I don't know how long it took.

A man I don't know sweeps my grave.

He is tall and very handsome.His eyebrows and eyes were curved, so gentle that it seemed to be filled with water.

"My name is He Xinchun, Jia Beihe. I am Yang Tang's lover."

Yang Tang's lover?

Is it the lover I understand?

Fuck, brother Tang is a bit wild in this way?

"He couldn't bear to come here, so I came here..." He Xinchun paused, pursed his lips, seemed to be thinking about something, and said, "You know, he is that person. impossible."

I know for sure.

The school belle next door that brother Tang was talking about was spoiled by him.

How about I make Fatty watch brother Tang fall in love all the time.

You never know when you'll be caught.

He talked for a while, but he didn't seem to understand why he was talking about a tombstone for a long time.So he patted the last bit of soil with a smile, and said, "Don't worry. I... enjoy Yang Tang's love very much. But I won't take it for granted."

Uh-huh.

That would be nice.

Although Xiaowazi Luzi is wild, he looks good and has a good personality.

This sister-in-law, I recognize it.

He Xinchun stood up, took a dirty rag, looked at it for the last time, and walked over there.

Yang Tang stood far away, seeming to be arguing with He Xinchun, clasping his waist while talking.

The man was holding a rag in his hand so he couldn't fight back, but he couldn't stop talking, every word and every word made Yang Tang's ears turn red, and he didn't know what he was discussing.

I looked at the backs of the two leaving, feeling sleepy for no reason.

As my dad said, life is long, and some people are destined to accompany you only for a while.

It's just that I didn't expect that in Yang Tang's life, I would only accompany him so far.

Fortunately, there is still someone to accompany him for the rest of the way.

Ok.

Very nice.

It's nice of them both.