back edge

Xie Jingnian came to the entrance of the supermarket by bus, and he felt a strange atmosphere as soon as he got off the bus.

It was only when he came to the front that Aunt Liu, the owner of the supermarket, was standing at the door arguing with a group of gangsters. During the quarrel, he vaguely heard his name.

"Hurry up! I want to find Xie Jingnian, where is he?"

"How do I know where he is? Can you be reasonable! If you do this again, I will call the police!"

"If you dare to call the police, I'll smash your store. You can report one!"

Aunt Liu has always been a strong woman, but now she was entangled by them until she turned pale.

Zhao Kang came out of the room, saw Xie Jingnian at a glance, and waved his hand, signaling him to leave quickly.

Instead of retreating, Xie Jingnian went forward and called a few people aside: "How much does Mr. Xie owe you?"

"No more, no less, exactly 3000 yuan." The man thought that Xie Jingnian was going to pay back the money for Xie Laosan, his eyes lit up, "That's all, we are not usury, just pay it off."

Xie Jingnian turned on the phone recording and asked them to repeat it again, and promised that no matter how much Xie Laosan owed in the future, it would have nothing to do with him.

"The money is with Xie Lao San."

"You fool me?"

"Believe it or not, he will spend all the money if you go late."

The gangsters were dubious, and they didn't forget to threaten Xie Jingnian before leaving.

Back in the store, Aunt Liu sat behind the counter and looked at him, she was so tired that she didn't speak for a long time.

"Aunt Liu, I'm sorry, I'm late today." Xie Jingnian said.

"Xiao Xie, I always thought you were a good boy." Aunt Liu suddenly took out a wad of money from her bag and put it on the table. Not once or twice."

Seeing that he didn't speak, Aunt Liu asked him if he understood her.

Xie Jingnian nodded.

"This is 4000 yuan. Auntie knows that it's not easy for you, so I made up some for you." Aunt Liu took the money and put it in Xie Jingnian's hand, and patted his head lovingly. "In the future, you must study hard and stand out in the future."

Study hard and get ahead.

Old man Sun once said this to him.

Xie Jingnian carried the suitcase and started walking aimlessly again.

Of course he knew that he had to study hard, because he knew that this was the only way for him to leave this small broken city.

He naively thought that he could live his own life without Xie Laosan, but he was wrong.

Everything Xie Lao San brought to him was deeply imprinted on him, and he couldn't escape or get rid of him wherever he went.These influences will be with him throughout his life.

confused.

He has been particularly confused many times.It seems that he is always embarrassed in the middle of the night.

It's just that no one will pick him up this time.

Ding--

"Are you home?"

Xie Jingnian looked at these words and instinctively told him that it was from Chen Xi.

Emotions surged in an instant, and throat choked.Trembling, he pressed the voice call button and was quickly connected.

"what happened?"

When the really old voice came, Xie Jingnian's tears finally meandered and left moist marks on the skin.

"Brother Rotten—"

The wailing and whimpering like a small animal, with the ending sound of crying, was drawn long in the narrow alley.

"I'm here."

Chen Xi asked him why he was crying.

Xie Jingnian buried his face in his arms, weeping uncontrollably, only Chen Jiu's slightly anxious voice came out from the phone.

Chen Xi said that he would call him with his mobile phone.Xie Jingnian passed the friend application, and received a call from Chen Xiu the next second.

"Don't cry, where are you?"

There was noise from Chen Xi's side, probably on the side of the street.He hailed a taxi and asked where Xie Jingnian was.

Xie Jingnian reported the address, and Chen Jiu said, "I'll go over now, wait for me for a while."

Along the way, Chen Xi didn't hang up the phone. Although the comforting words were cold and blunt, Xie Jingnian felt very at ease.

Chen Xi stepped forward and pulled the squatting person up, his rough fingertips carelessly wiped Xie Jingnian's tears: "Okay, don't cry."

Xie Jingnian threw himself into his arms and hugged him tightly.

Chen Xi gave a "tsk" sound, "Why do you love to cry so much?"

"I don't." Xie Jingnian withdrew from his arms, still smelling the faint smell of tobacco around the tip of his nose.

Chen Xi walked to the corner, picked up the suitcase that Xie Jingnian had fallen on the ground, and looked back at the people who were still standing there.

"You don't want to go home with me?"

Xie Jingnian was sitting on the sofa watching TV.In the kitchen, Chen Jiu was cooking noodles for him.

Chen Xi asked him if there was anything he would not eat.

Xie Jingnian said against his will that he was not picky at all.

"Why didn't you tell me when I asked you just now?" Seeing Xie Jingnian's hesitation, Chen Xi put all the carrots into his bowl.

The noodles picked up by the chopsticks fell back again, Xie Jingnian said in a low voice, "I don't want you to find me troublesome."

Chen Xi said, "You are already troublesome enough."

"sorry."

Chen Xi put down his chopsticks and looked at him sideways: "Did I ask you to apologize?"

Xie Jingnian said no.

"Then you're sorry." Chen Xi put the bowl into the sink after eating the noodles, and when he passed by Xie Jingnian's side, he gave him a headache. "Go back to bed after eating, put the bowl there, you don't need to wash it."

Taking advantage of Chen Xi's time to take a bath, Xie Jingnian couldn't sit still, so he finally secretly cleaned the pots and bowls, placed them neatly, and even wiped the stove.

After finishing these, Xie Jingnian obediently sat in the living room and waited for Chen Xi to come out, holding 200 yuan in his hand.

Chen Kui was standing at the door of the bathroom wiping his hair. He looked at the money Xie Jingnian handed over, and confiscated it: "I said I don't need to pay it back."

"Then, Brother Xiu," Xie Jingnian held the money in his hand, and asked tentatively, "Have you considered renting out the house you vacated?"

How could Chen Xi fail to see his devious ways, but he was not in a hurry to expose him, and only told him that he had no such plan for the time being.

But when Chen Xi saw Xie Jingnian's dejected face, he couldn't stop teasing him.After all, the child had just cried a while ago, his eyes were still red, and he said pitifully, "If you want to rent it, it will be your utility bill, two hundred a month."

"really?"

"fake."

Unexpectedly, Xie Jingnian actually believed that it was a lie, Chen Yu laughed and scolded: "Little idiot, you can believe anything you say."

He added: "There is no bed in that room, I have to buy one."

Xie Jingnian quickly said, "I'm off on Saturday and Sunday this week."

Chen Kui patted Xie Jingnian's head, and replied: "Then go on Saturday."

It wasn't until Chen Xi went out and closed the door that Xie Jingnian carefully took out a lighter from his pocket.

It is a fluorescent green plastic shell, and there is not much gas left in it, and it is sold for one yuan each in the supermarket.

A cheap little thing that surprised him when it showed up in his shoes this morning.Even if Chen Xi searched for it all over the house, he would never return it.

What falls in his shoe is his.

Xie Jingnian took out a small iron box from his schoolbag, which contained 100 yuan bills folded into cubes and the small filter tip.

Now there is another cheap lighter.

The author has something to say:

Probably one more tonight...