no longer ordinary friends

In the legal circle for so many years, from interns, lawyers, consultants to partners, the effective working time is at least 12 hours a day, and work is his life.

But he never for a moment liked being a lawyer, or even hated it.

Every moment he was in Mingdi, he felt that he was not Jiang Xianghuai, but his elder brother.People who are familiar with him often sigh with emotion: "A tiger father has no dogs, and brotherhood is a brotherhood. If Xiang Qing is still there, he must be so good. If he sees his favorite brother, engaged in the industry he loves, he must be very pleased. .”

He felt that he was despicable, his brother protected him, and he should have carried on with his sins and his brother's dream, but he hated from the bottom of his heart that everyone thought he was living for his brother.

He should be Jiang Xianghuai, not Jiang Xiangqing, but if he was a lawyer for a day, he would be Jiang Xiangqing.

Only when he was in Nanri County would he feel that he was being himself, because his elder brother would not like the type of Chengcheng, and he would not stay in Nanri County.

After graduating from university, in the first year of JD in Berkeley, he thought about dropping out. He didn't have any interest in this subject or this industry. His parents rarely contacted him. The contact was to remind him not to forget his brother's wish , to study hard, never cared about how he was doing, in the coldest month of that year, he seemed to have lost his desire for everything, couldn't sleep, couldn't eat, never left the apartment, and even had the idea of ​​committing suicide several times .

Until Zhou Zhicheng sent him a QQ message, 5 months had passed since the last time they met, Zhou Zhicheng was a sophomore in high school.

"Are you busy? I sent you a message, why haven't you replied to me for a long time?"

"What time is it in the United States now? My brother said you were very busy and told me not to disturb you, but I have a lot of things to tell you."

"Have you finished the exam? Will you...will you come back during the Chinese New Year?"

At that time, perhaps the effect of the medicine took effect, which made him more emotionally stable, and he replied to her: "Stop calling me brother again?"

"The other party is typing" was displayed on her side, and it took a long time before she said awkwardly, "Brother Xiang Huai."

She added: "The United States is so far away. My brother is also in the United States now. I have never even been to Beicheng. You are all far away from me...Brother Xianghuai, are you back from winter vacation?"

"Are you missing your brother?"

She didn't think about it, she just said pitifully: "I'm alone."

Jiang Xianghuai's impulsive idea came very suddenly. He booked the nearest non-stop flight ticket back to China, then turned the car around, took the bus, and rushed to Nanri County. He didn't realize that he didn't tell Chengcheng that he was coming to see her. things.

At that time, the sky was dark, the street lights were sporadic, and several of them were broken. He stood on the road sill not far from Meimei's canteen and waited.

The cold wind howls in the winter nights in the south, and the temperature is icy cold, as if the cold can penetrate into the bones.

Then, he saw Zhou Zhicheng who said pitifully that he was alone, holding a friend in one arm, with a lollipop in his mouth, tightly wrapped in a fluffy coat, very cute, with dyed hair It's dark, and she's a different person from half a year ago, but now she's a good girl.

Jiang Li next to her asked shyly, "Chengcheng, will your brother come back?"

"Which brother?"

"Aren't you just a brother? Captain Zhou! Zhou Bingcheng!"

"I have two." Zhou Zhicheng thought about it and decided, "One is fine, then I don't want Zhou Bingcheng, and he is not the captain yet, so don't praise him, please call him Pilot Zhou."

He couldn't help it, and laughed out loud.

Zhou Zhicheng heard it, she turned her head to look over, just one glance, her pupils lit up, even if he was in the dark place of the street light, even if he was covered in dust, even if he was in a bad state, she would still recognize him up.

He didn't want to enter Zhou's house, and she didn't force her, she took a lot of food from the canteen, and her grandma scolded her as a prodigal daughter in the back.

The two were sitting in front of a barbecue stand. She hurriedly spread paper towels on the chair for him, wiped the dishes for him, and then chirped and asked him why he suddenly appeared. She said it was like a dream, and she only wanted to see him. I saw it right away.

She said a lot, then held her face and stared at him: "Are you very tired and hard? You have lost a lot of weight, dark circles are heavy, and your complexion is not good. Is the United States very bitter? I heard The aunt next door said that her son smuggled to the United States by boat more than ten years ago to wash dishes and clean toilets, but he didn’t even get paid.”

He smiled solemnly: "Well, after I finish class every day, I still have to serve the dishes."

Zhou Zhicheng obviously believed it, and she was anxious: "Then you don't need to work part-time. How much money are you short? I still have some lucky money. I can borrow money from my brother. Grandpa said that Zhou Bingcheng has made a lot of money now."

He was taken aback for a moment, then, looking at her, he laughed and comforted her: "Brother doesn't need money."

She still felt that he was too thin, so she kept picking up vegetables for him and letting him eat. In the end, he took her home, and he stood under the broken street lamp, watching her walk slowly towards the canteen .

She didn't know what to think of, and suddenly turned around.

Loudly said: "Brother Xiang Huai, I will be like you in the future."

He didn't understand.

"I also want to study law, and I want to go to the same university as you. I also want to go to Beicheng. I saw the video of your graduation that day. I like the oath: I voluntarily dedicate myself to the cause of politics and law...to use the law The sword holds the scales of justice."

She was standing under the unbroken street lamp, the dim light shrouded her body, and behind her was the moon after the dark clouds gradually dissipated.

She smiled happily, with curved eyebrows and eyes: "Jiang Xianghuai, we will all be lawyers from now on, fighting side by side... Also, happy new year, you should be happy too, if you want to be happy, you can tell me when you are unhappy... Although I I can’t usually look at my phone, but I will reply to you on QQ on weekends, and sometimes at night!”

He froze for a long time without speaking, and she didn't need his response, she had already bounced back to Zhou's house.

He stood where he was, his hands and feet were cold and stiff. It turned out that because he wanted to study law, there would be people who wanted to follow the same path as him, and purely just wanted him to be happy.

It's a pity that he didn't cherish her well in the dark later, and when his negative emotions were the strongest, he couldn't control them and hurt her.

How could he say "Chengcheng don't bother me anymore"...

Zhou Zhicheng ignored the class group chat messages, and while sorting out the evidence, he sulked, thinking of Jiang Xianghuai, who was also in Nanri County, and thinking that he had made her ashamed again today.

She regretted that she had been too friendly to him recently. She hadn't seen him for many years. She left Beicheng in a state of embarrassment. Now that he has become famous and came to Nanri County, she still has no temper at all.

Before going to sleep, Zhou Zhicheng received a text message from a string of numbers, saying: "Chengcheng, I'm sorry."

Jiang Xianghuai hadn't changed this number since she was in college. She had been blacklisted before, and the blacklist was released after the reunion. Even if she didn't make a note, she knew the number by heart.

She ignored it, turned off her phone, and went to sleep.

The next day, when Zhou Zhicheng saw Jiang Xianghuai, it was no different from meeting a stranger. She had been dealing with unfinished cases all morning, and asked Ye Bai to take the trio of Mingdi to the court with He Yanming, feeling Nan Ri Litigation climate in the county.

At noon, when they came back, Ye Bai called Zhou Zhicheng to have lunch, which was in the small fried shop downstairs of the law firm.

Zhou Zhicheng's eyes met Jiang Xianghuai's, and she said calmly, "Lawyer Jiang."

Zhao Yanjia immediately noticed that something was wrong between the two of them. Although there was nothing wrong with calling Lawyer Jiang, it was just weird.

Zhou Zhicheng glanced at the arrangement plan and said: "Go and eat, and bring me back a fried rice. My cousin will come over later, so I won't eat."

When a few people arrived at the small fried shop, Zhao Yanjia approached Jiang Xianghuai and asked in a low voice, "Did you offend Lawyer Zhou? Didn't you eat well yesterday?"