back edge

Xie Jingnian's arms were wrapped in gauze, and half of the sleeves of his school uniform had already been soaked in blood, and it was casually draped over his schoolbag.

Just squatting next to the flower bed in the community, the wind made his skin crawl, but he didn't want to go upstairs.It was already ten o'clock in the evening, and the second window from the left on the fourth floor was still lit.

The whole building was pitch-black, only that one place was still emitting dim light, which looked particularly abrupt in the silent night.

Xie Jingnian touched his pocket, it was empty.Only then did he remember that his last pack of cigarettes was confiscated by Ji at school.

"Hey, is it Xiao Xie?"

The old man's voice came from a distance, and he even turned around a few times in the small building area, and it spread into Xie Jingnian's ears like ripples, and then the beam of the flashlight suddenly hit him.

Xie Jingnian hurriedly pulled off his school uniform, turned over his clean face to cover the wound, and replied, "Grandpa Sun, it's me."

Old man Sun swayed over with trembling steps, walked up to him and sighed: "You were kicked out by Old San Xie again?"

Xie Jingnian stood up, and before he had time to make up an excuse, Old Man Sun said again: "If you don't dislike it, move out to live with my old man, and stay away from him as soon as possible, I don't think he is worthy to be your father!"

Old man Sun said this more than once, and he was so excited that he gasped and coughed.

Xie Jingnian had a father who only knew whoring and gambling, and ate and waited to die. This story has long been spread in the community, and anyone can pull it out and say a few words.

He didn't even know what his mother looked like since he was a child.I heard Xie Laosan mention it a few times, saying that he ran away with others, a coal boss who came from Shanxi and came to the north to experience life.

So Xie Lao San prefers prostitution to gambling.With the money Xie Jingnian earned from hard work, he went out to find all kinds of women who could sleep with money, and brought them home every time.

He hadn't heard any kind of words in these years, but old man Sun was the only one who loved him dearly.

Xie Jingnian gave Old Man Sun a pat on the back with his uninjured hand: "It's fine, you don't have to worry about me. I will move to the school after a while."

Old man Sun took two deep breaths, stabilized his hand holding the flashlight, reached out to pat Xie Jingnian on the shoulder, and said earnestly: "Okay, study hard, and you will be successful in the future."

Xie Jingnian responded with a smile. Seeing that the only lit upstairs light went out, he persuaded him a few more times, and finally coaxed him to go home.

Xie Jingnian lay on the bed and touched his trouser pocket, took out a 100 yuan red ticket folded several times and held it in his hand.

It was the man who lent him the money.

In fact, he was rich at the time.But he borrowed it anyway, as if that was the only way to perpetuate the tiny, almost invisible connection between them.

But they are just strangers who met on one side.

Xie Jingnian held the 100 yuan tightly in his hand.The room was so quiet that he seemed to hear the sound of the edges and corners of the origami piercing into his flesh and blood, which was scalding hot.

Early the next morning, Xie Jingnian saw the youngest Xie lying on the sofa, sleeping on his head in disheveled clothes, with wine bottles scattered around him, creating a mess.

Xie Jingnian stood there watching for a while, and finally rolled up his sleeves to pack up.

The wine bottle jingled, Xie Lao San opened his eyes cursingly, and grabbed Xie Jingnian's arm: "Are you injured?"

Xie Laosan looked terrified, holding Xie Jingnian with great strength, and the bandages he changed early in the morning tended to be stained red.

Xie Jingnian lowered his eyelids, numb from the pain of the wound: "Yes, thanks to you."

Of course he would not feel that Xie Laosan was caring about him as a father.

Sure enough, Xie Laosan said: "Even if your mother is injured, you can't miss work. Do you hear me? I'm still asking you for money."

After finishing speaking, Xie Lao San let go of Xie Jingnian's arm, and kicked away the few wine bottles he had just packed, and the shattered glass shards exploded into flowers on the concrete floor: "If you dare to be less next month, For a penny, I will break your leg."

"Don't borrow money. Those people came to me yesterday, and they cut off my arm." Xie Jingnian stood where he was, with a flat voice, "If I come to you in a hurry, I can't help it."

Hearing this, Xie Laosan paused as he walked towards the bedroom, and then closed the door with a "bang", his voice could be heard clearly through the door panel: "It's not your fucking turn to take care of me."

Xie Jingnian tidied up the living room and changed the bandages before leaving for school.

"You are finally here at the same table." Jia Feichen sat on the seat and looked at Xie Jingnian eagerly.

Xie Jingnian didn't know, so Zhuang Jie approached from behind: "Jia Feichen, this old hen has hatched eggs all morning, if you don't come again, the shell will break."

Jia Feichen turned sideways and slapped Zhuang Jie, then took out a bag from his arms and said to Xie Jingnian, "I'm afraid that the breakfast I brought you will be cold."

"Thank you." Xie Jingnian opened it and saw that there were two buns, an egg and a bag of soy milk inside, "How much is it, I'll give it to you."

Jia Feichen was unhappy when he heard this: "No money, I told you that I invited you."

Xie Jingnian touched the warm steamed stuffed bun, thought for a while and said, "Thank you."

"Why are you still being polite to me?" Jia Feichen grinned his teeth, took out his mp3 and started listening to the song, "Back Blade hasn't released a new song for a long time, and I haven't even listened to it."

"Yes." Zhuang Jie said with a sigh, "I read the official blog yesterday and said that they will take a year off."

Jia Feichen's eyes widened in surprise: "What the hell, one year? Who can remember them after a year, isn't that cool?"

"Why do you still think he has no fans?" Zhuang Jie said, "By the way, Xie Jingnian, can you lend me your math homework?"

Xie Jingnian handed the paper to Zhuang Jie.

He held it in his hand and sniffed it closely: "Why do you smell like hospital disinfectant?"

When Jia Feichen heard this, he immediately took off his earphones and looked Xie Jingnian up and down: "Are you sick at the same table?"

"Well, it's okay," Xie Jingnian said casually, "It's just a cold."

Xie Jingnian couldn't bear the nagging of the aunt in the clinic when he was dealing with the wound yesterday. Fortunately, his right hand was not injured, so he wrote the homework smoothly.

During the stitches, the pain caused him to break out in a cold sweat, and he just stood upright to finish a problem, which seemed to mean scraping the bone to heal the injury.

"Damn, it must be because you don't wear enough clothes, it's just the beginning of spring, keep warm..." Jia Feichen gave instructions for a while before continuing to listen to the song in peace.

During the lunch break, Xie Jingnian was called to the office by Ji Heyi again.

Ji Heyi is grading homework: "Xiao Xie, I called you here today to ask, our school has a poverty subsidy..."

"Teacher," Xie Jingnian interrupted him, "I don't need it."

Ji Heyi put down the pen in his hand, looked up at him from the pile of homework, and persuaded him: "I know something about your family's situation, this subsidy is not small, it is given every year, it must be for you Life at home can improve."

Xie Jingnian is not stupid, he understands the importance of money, but he cannot accept this money.

Once Xie Lao San knows, all the money will definitely go into his pocket, whether it's prostitution or gambling, it's as if the money has never existed, so it's better to give it to other people in need.

Xie Jingnian didn't say this, but Ji He understood everything when he saw his silent expression.In the end, he just sighed and patted Xie Jingnian on the shoulder: "Good boy, go eat quickly and take a nap during the lunch break."

No. [-] Middle School has no access control at noon and night, usually for an hour.Opposite the school is a snack street.

Most of the students do not eat the food in the school cafeteria, which is cheap and unpalatable.But there are also a few people who go to the cafeteria and think the taste is not bad.Xie Jingnian is one of the few.

When he returned to the class after eating, the classroom was empty, and he either went out to eat or played on the playground.

As soon as he sat down, Jia Feichen ran in from the back door and entangled him: "Go out to play basketball?"

Xie Jingnian said, "No."

Jia Feichen took a sip of Coke, hiccupped and said, "Go ahead, I've never seen you hit before. Don't you know how? I'll teach you."

Xie Jingnian was a little sleepy, lying on the table, his voice muffled: "I want to sleep."

"That's fine, good afternoon." Before leaving, Jia Feichen closed the curtains for him thoughtfully.

He said he was sleeping, but in fact Xie Jingnian only slept for less than half an hour.The prep bell at the end of lunch break is the loudest and most punctual alarm clock.

He got up in a daze, his mind was a little muddy, and he felt his face and forehead were hot and hot.

"Fuck, what's wrong with you at the same table?" Jia Feichen looked at Xie Jingnian's flushed face, and reached out to touch his forehead, but the heat in the palm of his hand just after playing the ball has not subsided, so he can't figure out why.

"Zhuang Jie, come quickly," Jia Feichen turned his head and shouted in a low voice, and when he saw someone poking his head over, he pulled his hand to touch Xie Jingnian's forehead, "Touch it, do you have a fever?"

Zhuang Jie flinched from the heat, leaned over and said in a low voice, "I have a fever, and it feels quite serious, why don't you ask for leave."

Xie Jingnian cleared his throat, a little hoarse: "It's okay."

Jia Feichen said: "That won't work, what will you do if it burns out?"

Jia Feichen has a special ability, that is, every time he wanders off in class, he will be caught by the teacher, and he never misses.

This time was the same, the English teacher threw a piece of chalk on top of Jia Feichen's head, and even bounced on the bridge of Xie Jingnian's nose.

When it finally fell to the ground, it was accompanied by the high-pitched voice of the English teacher: "Jia Feichen, why are you slipping away every class? You just stand and listen to the class."

Jia Feichen stood up obediently, and quickly defended himself: "Teacher, my deskmate is sick and has a serious cold and fever and needs to go to the hospital for an injection."

The English teacher was taken aback by Jia Feichen's words: "Xie Jingnian has a fever? Zhuang Jie, take him to the school infirmary."

Jia Feichen turned his head to see Zhuang Jie's smug smile, and said unwillingly, "Teacher, I feel that I have an obligation to take on the important task of sending my deskmate to the school infirmary."

The English teacher rolled his eyes at him: "You stand in the corridor, I'm upset."

In just a short while, Xie Jingnian had already reached the door of the class: "I'll just go by myself."

The English teacher looked at him and said nothing, turned around and continued teaching.

The school doctor's office is in Building B, and Xie Jingnian needs to cross half of the playground to get there.He was looking for an excuse at random, but he didn't expect it to become a proverb.

The wind was warm and dry on his face, making him feel even hotter.

The school doctor was a woman in her thirties. She wore glasses and looked amiable. She took Xie Jingnian's temperature: "38 degrees seven, a bit high."

Xie Jingnian said, "I'll just take antipyretics."

The school doctor took the medicine for him and told him, "Lie down in the cubicle for a while. If the fever doesn't subside, you'd better go to the hospital."

Xie Jingnian nodded: "Okay, I got it."

He took the medicine and lay on the bed, staring at the snow-white ceiling, somehow fell asleep staring at it.When I woke up again, it was already dark outside.

The school doctor saw that he was awake, and took his temperature again: "The fever has subsided, pay attention these few days, take cold medicine on time, and drink plenty of hot water."

Xie Jingnian agreed, got dressed and went back to the classroom.

"How are you at the same table, are you feeling better?" Jia Feichen asked.

"much better."

"That's fine," Jia Feichen said, "It's hard for me to live without you this afternoon."

As soon as he finished speaking, he heard the Chinese teacher shout angrily: "Jia Feichen, get out and stand!"