three feet away

At the dinner table, Xu's father and Xu Nuo's uncle's uncle had a bit of trouble. The reason is ridiculous because Xu Nuo's uncle said during the toast that the child is back and promising, unlike his son who has no achievements and is not at home all day. Stay away from doing business, saying that he should enjoy the happiness.

Such a simple sentence seemed to have hurt a certain sensitive nerve of Father Xu, and he insisted on pulling his collar reddened by the alcohol and asking him to explain whether it was laughing that he had no son.

Xu Nuo's little uncle accompanied him with an embarrassed smile and said, "Brother, you are overthinking but you can't get Xu's father's forgiveness." He grabbed his collar with one hand and pointed at everyone and said, "Ask, who doesn't know that old Xu's family has A son named Xu Yan?"

"Oh, what are you talking about? Don't mention the past, brother." The little uncle grabbed his collar to avoid shortness of breath, and while motioning for others to quickly pull Dad Xu away, he continued to beg for mercy.

Yan Ruyi was still holding the chopsticks in her hand, she looked worriedly at Xu Nuo who clenched her fists, and reached out to pat the back of her hand.

Xu Nuo sat in his seat, felt the temperature on the back of his hands, and watched Dad Xu, whose tongue was getting knotted when he was drunk, sit down cursing and cursing under the pull of a group of people, suddenly turned to look at Yan Ruyi and asked her with a smile : "Do you remember that I told you that I have a younger brother named Xu Yan?"

Yan Ruyi stared at Xu Nuo's face, her relaxed expression as if nothing had happened made her heart ache, of course she remembered, she even remembered the panic and self-reproach of Xu Nuo when he woke up crying in his sleep, she was beaten by this patriarchal man The family coerced her into taking on responsibilities that she shouldn't have to bear, and that responsibility pressed her to live in a state of autism throughout adolescence.

"I remember." Yan Ruyi whispered: "It's promise." Holding Xu Nuo's hand, Yan Ru turned her head in her ear and continued in an unquestionable tone: "About Xu Yan, I said it a long time ago." , that was an accident and had nothing to do with you."

Xu Nuo listened, smiled sadly, and did not speak again.

After the meal, Xu Nuo stood at the gate of the courtyard and watched the guests leave. Yan Ruyi was by her side, and the smile on Xu Nuo's face from the corner of her eye made her feel a little worried.

Lunch during the day wasn't particularly pleasant, at least for Xu Nuo and her father.Although the topic was temporarily diverted because of Yan Ruyi's intervention, and Xu Nuo followed her will and didn't deliberately mention anything, but before leaving, Yan Ruyi still couldn't feel at ease. She hadn't had a chance to communicate with Xu Nuo yet. Before, Xu Nuo did not express that she would have a showdown with her family, but her performance at the table at noon seemed to have been planned in her heart, and she wanted to come out.But, is it really peaceful after coming out of the closet?

"go in."

Xu Nuo's soft voice lingered in her ears, Yan Ruyi raised her head slightly to look at her, the dewy wind in the evening messed up her long hair, and the ends of her hair brushed the corners of her eyes lightly, but she didn't move at all, just With his chin slightly in his mouth, he smiled at Yan Ru.

Xu's father and Xu's mother came from the corner, and they both glanced at Xu Nuo and Yan Ruyi, but their expressions were different. Xu's father looked serious and indifferent, while Xu's mother seemed hesitant to speak.

Yan Ru glanced at Xu's mother once, and when both of them entered the courtyard door, Xu Nuo stretched out his hand to signal her to go in, then she stopped her and asked her in a low voice, "Are you going to have a showdown with the family?"

"Yeah." Xu Nuo didn't hesitate, she patted the back of Yan Ruyi's hand, and replied directly, comfortingly: "I had this plan before. It's just that I didn't plan so soon, but when I came back and saw that there were so many people at home, After being interrogated, I suddenly became a little impulsive."

"what about now?"

"Now?"

Xu Nuo looked up at the courtyard door, the sky was getting dark, the light from the kitchen fell on the front of the courtyard along the opening of the door, forming a huge yellow light shadow, in the shadow lay an old dog, it was too old, too old He didn't even bother to move after eating, and couldn't even bark at himself.

Averting his eyes from the old yellow dog, Xu Nuo glanced at Grandma Xu who was sitting huddled behind the kitchen door with her hands holding a hot water bag to keep warm, then looked sideways at Yan Ruyi, sighed faintly, and slowly He said something wrong: "If you are not so important to others, then their blessings and understanding seem to be not important."

Yan Ruyi stared at Xu Nuo, her words seemed to mean that coming out of the closet was no different to her, but her expression didn't look so indifferent, on the contrary, her slightly frowning brows looked, It's not easy.She opened her mouth, and just as she wanted to comfort her, Xu Nuo grinned and chuckled. She looked at Yan Ruyi, then took a deep breath, and asked in a helpless tone:

"Is that so? Yan Ruyi?"

is that so?Yan Ruyi's slightly opened mouth finally failed to speak. She finally found the point from the promised words. What she wanted to express was never whether she should come out of the closet, but, in the eyes of her parents, she was It's not really an important existence like a child in an ordinary family.

Holding Xu Nuo's hand tightly, Yan Ruyi smiled at her. She couldn't make any judgment on Xu Nuo's original family environment, right or wrong. Words are an emotional blow, so she just squeezed her hand and told her: "For me, promise, your importance is beyond doubt."

After hearing Yan Ruyi's words, Xu Nuo's dim eyes lit up for a moment. She took a breath, nodded heavily towards Yan Ruyi, and her radiant smile seemed to have captured the whole world: "I know."

The two walked into the kitchen side by side, Xu's mother came up first, and said to Xu Nuo: "The room was cleaned up earlier, and a new quilt was replaced. If it is cold at night, Mom will give you an extra bed."

Xu Nuo glanced at Papa Xu, who was sitting beside him, smoking a cigarette without saying a word but obviously angry, then turned to look at Mama Xu and smiled, but instead of answering, he turned to ask Yan Ruyi: "Today Stay late and leave tomorrow?"

Yan Ru nodded, before she had time to speak, Father Xu who was next to him had already stamped out the cigarette butt in his hand, and shouted at Xu Xu:

"Are you choosing a hotel? If you can't live in it, you need someone else's consent?!"

Xu Nuo frowned when she heard such words, she watched Yan Ruyi swallow the words she almost said in embarrassment, and turned her questioning eyes to Father Xu, becoming extremely indifferent.

Yan Ruyi was afraid that her temper and words were insignificant, so she quickly pulled the corner of her clothes from behind, promised to raise her eyebrows, glanced at the person standing next to her, the expression on her face softened, she was silent for a moment, then turned to Mama Xu Said: "Forget it, I have something to do tomorrow, so I won't be staying at home tonight."

"Then when will you come back? Where do you live in Chengdu now? Is work going well?" Xu's mother's eyes turned red when she heard the promise to leave, and extreme reluctance crawled all over her face.

Xu Nuo noticed the change in her expression, and quickly turned his head away, unwilling to meet her gaze.She moved her mouth, and when she was hesitating how to answer the question, Dad Xu had already thrown out another knife-like sentence:

"He's a bachelor who came back from studying abroad, why should you worry about it?! Today she can't find her way home, but tomorrow she can forget about her parents!"

As soon as Xu Nuo heard this, his face changed, and the hand beside him squeezed tremblingly, but he was still unable to grasp it.She knew that Yan Ruyi was looking at her, so she could only maintain the original appearance and act like it didn't matter.

"The child just came back, can you say a few words less? Can't you change your temper?"

"I'll change?" Xu's father snorted coldly: "I haven't heard of any old man who will be a kid. Could it be that she did the right thing when she didn't go home for a few years? I still clap with my tail between my legs when she comes back now." welcome?!"

Xu's father said more and more outrageous, Xu's mother seemed to get angry, and stood between Xu Nuo and Xu's father to block their sight: "You go to bed after drinking too much, what are you talking about? There are still people here."

"Which one is there?" Xu's father raised his head: "Which one is here, I always say the same! Her wings are too hard to give me face! Do you still want me to give her a lining?"

I was in a hurry, and Xu's father was even more angry. He stood up and pushed away Xu's mother who was standing between them, pointed at Xu Nuo's nose and scolded: "The Xu family has never had such an unfilial son! Which one is your promise? Onion? Did being out of the country spoil your complacency?! Four years of being away from home, let me be poked in the back to see a joke, now you are in a good time, and you are the leader of the country, right? The leader of the country is not as busy as you! "

When Xu Nuo listened to her words, her heart felt bitter. She raised her head and tried her best to control her emotions that were on the verge of getting out of control. She forced a smile and said to Xu's mother:

"It's all good, don't worry, I'll be back when I have time."

"Why do you come back? Just don't come back outside, no one welcomes you when you come back! Just pretend that the old Xu family never gave birth to you! Sure enough, unreliable things will never be reliable!"

Just pretend it never happened?unreliable? !

As soon as Father Xu said this, Xu Nuo's emotions that had been suppressed all day lost control. She clenched her fists, raised her head to the lamp and let out a tired long sigh, then grinned at the corners of her lips, showing a self-deprecating smile Laughing: "Don't say that, if you say that, I will misunderstand, misunderstand that I have been welcomed before, and misunderstand that I have been important."

“…”

The words of the promise caused everyone present to fall into a brief silence. Yan Ruyi took her hand distressedly. Under the dazzling incandescent light in the kitchen, the shadow of the promise seemed to tremble a little, like a crumbling leaf hanging on a branch.

"What did you say?" After a brief silence, Xu's father roared and slapped Xu Nuo: "Say one more thing? Ah! Say one more sentence!?"

There was a crisp snap, and Yan Ruyi gasped involuntarily when she heard it, and the hand holding Xu Nuo couldn't help trembling, then she hurriedly pulled Xu Nuo back, her eyes were red and she maintained politeness with her remaining rationality Say to Xu's father: "Uncle, the promise is big. She is not a child. Besides, she is a girl. It's still Chinese New Year. How can you beat her?"

"Are you crazy?! What are you beating her for? If you have something to say, can you talk it out?!" Mother Xu rushed up, looked around with Xu Nuo's face in her hands, then turned her head and yelled at Father Xu.

Xu's father stiffened his back and raised his neck, as if a slap was not enough to relieve his anger, he became even more angry when he saw the two people protecting Xu Nuo, and shouted: "I can't even teach my children? The emperor and I can't control it." I take care of the boy!"

"Hehe." Xu Nuo, who had been standing behind Yan Ruyi after being beaten, suddenly laughed.

As soon as Yan Ru turned her head, she was a little frightened when she saw her laughing as if she had heard the funniest joke in the world. Her eyes turned red all of a sudden, and she took Xu Nuo's hand in fear. Anxiously asked her what happened.

Xu Nuo straightened up, with a disappointed smile still on her face, she took two steps forward, staring at Dad Xu for a moment: "Are you regretting it?"

Xu Shixu's eyes were too cold and ruthless, Xu's father seemed to wake up all of a sudden, he stared at Xu Nuo in astonishment, and did not speak for a while.

Xu Nuo tilted his head slightly, and shifted his gaze to Grandma Xu, who was sitting at the door and seemed to be unable to respond to the outside world. Then, he turned to Mother Xu, and finally turned back to Father Xu. With a chuckle, he continued:

"I guess you all hate it, why not me?"

"Promise, don't say that, the palms and backs of your hands are full of flesh, and your father loves you too..." Mother Xu came back to her senses, trying to smooth things over.

"You still have to speak for him!!" Xu Nuo let out a low growl and interrupted Xu's mother: "For so many years, even if you have a little bit of confidence, I will never become what I am today!! How can you tell that he loves me? Mine? The palms and backs are full of flesh, that’s right! You’re wrong because you didn’t realize that he never put me on the palm of his hand!”

Xu's mother was taken aback by the yelling, she stared at Xu Nuo for a long time, with a strange and heartbroken look, Xu Nuo looked back at her without a blink and sneered:

"When they blamed me for Xu Yan's death, did you say a word for me?! I never blamed you for being weak and incompetent, but I hate you for being silent and helping others! It's been almost 20 years , He is still pretending to be crazy about Xu Yan’s affairs to this day, and you are still explaining to him that the palms and backs of the hands are full of meat...Mom, you let me down..."

Xu Nuo's expression was too cold, so cold that people couldn't escape reality, Xu's mother stared at her blankly for a long time, covering her eyes and crying bitterly.

"Why are you crying?!" Xu's father was in a hurry, he tugged at Xu's mother's arm, turned around and walked towards the stove, and when he came back, he was holding a three-finger-thick wooden stick that he found from the woodpile. Pointing at Xu Nuo, he pretended to beat her hard: "You are right! You are no match for Xu Yan anywhere with me! Even if he is dead, you are no match for him!"

Yan Ruyi looked at Xu's father blushing and thick neck, fearing that the wooden stick in his hand would really fall on Xu Nuo, so he pulled Xu Nuo back: "Stop talking."

Xu Nuo just smiled, his eyes fell on the wooden stick in Xu's father's hand, and he said a more provocative sentence calmly: "Don't get me wrong, I never wanted to compare with him? How can I compare with him? ? He is not as good as me, even if you can make you angry, I am afraid that I am better?"

"You!!!" Father Xu was so angry at Xu Nuo's words that he almost couldn't breathe, he took the wooden stick in his hand and slapped Xu Nuo repeatedly several times.

This beating scared Mama Xu and Yan Ruyi, and the two of them didn't care about anything else, one pulled Papa Xu and the other Xu Nuo, at least they kept a safe distance.

Yan Ruyi looked at Xu Nuo's painful forehead with cold sweat soaking out, still sneering, her heartache was beyond words, but the person who beat her was her biological father, and she was an outsider here, she couldn't say anything, in the end it was Unable to hold back, he let out a sob.

Hearing her cry, Xu Nuo glanced at her sideways and frowned, then turned to Xu's father who was still about to come forward to beat her and said, "I came back because you raised me. I can't deny it, but you can't see If you're used to me, then I won't come back in the future, so you won't be able to avoid having a mess when you think of your good son."

After finishing speaking, Xu Nuo turned around and pulled Yan Ruyi out.

"Then I'll kill you, you unfilial daughter first, so that no one else will see the joke!" As soon as the two of them entered the yard, Xu's father threw off Xu's mother and rushed out.

Xu Nuo instinctively turned around when he heard the sound, and suddenly felt that the light in front of him dimmed, and then he felt a sharp pain in the top of his head, and his ears buzzed.

She was a little dizzy, her feet were erratic, and she couldn't stand still. She pulled Yan Ruyi and murmured to her, and then fell down.

Yan Ru was so frightened that she lost her mind, holding Xu Nuo's body that was slumped down for a full seven or eight seconds before crying out, frantically trying to pull her up.

Xu's father swung the stick like crazy and slapped Xu Nuo, Xu Nuo snorted a few times, but had no other reaction.Yan Ruyi hugged the promise and couldn't dodge it. He suffered several sticks, but couldn't stand it any longer. He let go of the promise, stood up and kicked Xu's father in the abdomen with all his strength. He kicked back several steps and fell to the ground.

"It's wrong, it's wrong, I'm in charge of my housework, it's wrong!" Following Yan Ruyi's movements and Father Xu's roar, the silent old dog in the yard suddenly barked at Yan Ruyi and Xu Nuo barked wildly, baring his teeth as if he was about to pounce on them and bite them.

"Xu Nuo." Yan Ruyi wiped his eyes, turned a deaf ear to Xu's father's words and the dog barking beside him, squatted beside Xu Nuo, hugged her upper body and shouted at her at the top of his lungs, "Open your eyes and look at me, I'll take you there right away." Hospital, promise!"

Xu Nuo opened her eyes in a daze, and Yan Ruyi's blurry shadow in her vision was blocked by a blush, she couldn't see clearly, so she could only reach out to wipe the blush.

Yan Ruyi looked at her trembling hands scratching in front of her eyes, and looked at her speechless in shock.

After wiping it several times, the red shadow in front of my eyes not only did not decrease, but became thicker. Xu Nuo smiled weakly, took Yan Ruyi's arm and said to her: "Why is the sky turning red? Yan Ruyi, please help her." Me, help me, let's... go home..."

Yan Ru nodded repeatedly, helped her stand up, and wanted to reach out to wipe the blood off her face, but was afraid that she would fall down again, so she could only choke and tug at her arm.

Xu Nuo patted her hand, smiled at her to reassure her, suddenly something like raindrops fell quickly in front of her eyes, she turned her head slightly, and asked Yan Ruyi strangely: "Why is it raining suddenly?"

Yan Ruyi looked at her blood-stained face, covered her mouth and was so distressed that she couldn't speak. She didn't know how to tell her that her father had hit her head with a stick.

She didn't get an answer, and Xu Nuo didn't say much. She used Yan Ruyi's strength to support her and took a step towards Xu's father. She looked at Yan Ruyi with a smile and said to Xu's father: "You finally beat me, and I also scolded you!" Well, I’ve vented my anger at Xu Yan’s death. You’ve been suffocating for more than ten years, haven’t you? I’ll repay you for letting you fight, hehe, but don’t worry, I’ll still give it to you Pension, I will never let you spend the money for my education in vain."

After finishing speaking, Xu Nuo pursed her lips and fell silent for a while, then turned her head and glanced at the old dog that was still barking, pointed at it and smiled and asked Mother Xu, who was standing aside and looking at her face in horror: "Do you have any?" Didn't realize that even the dog never admitted that I was a part of this place?"

"Promise, you..."

Xu Nuo smiled and patted Yan Ruyi's hand: "Let's go."

After Yan Ruyi heard what she said, she stopped talking and quickly helped her to go out.After walking a few steps, Xu Nuo stopped. She turned around slowly and said to Mother Xu, "Oh, I think I should tell you that I am in love with her."

As soon as this blockbuster came out, the whole yard was completely in a state of collapse. Dad Xu grabbed the stick beside him and roared towards the two of them. Yan Ruyi pushed away, with a hopeless smile on her face, she murmured: "You almost ruined my life, why do you still want to beat me? Could it be, just because, you are... my father. …”

Yan Ruyi was pushed away and rushed two steps to the side. When she stabilized her body and came back to her senses, Xu Nuo had lost her center of gravity.