In the silent place

Zhan Zhao reluctantly took the mask handed over by his aunt. "Aunt, I just go out for a walk, I don't need this."

"It's early in the morning, it's so cold outside, listen to your aunt and take it with you."

Zhan Zhao sighed and said nothing more.He waved to his aunt and walked out of the gate.

"Old Jiang, I'm still worried about him being alone." Liu Rong said, grabbing a coat and scarf and trying to chase him out.

"Don't go." Jiang Yewan was sitting on the sofa reading a newspaper when he heard a sound and called his wife to stop.

"It's so chaotic outside, what if he bumps into each other by himself?"

"He's not a child anymore, he will pay attention to it. If you go out like this and he sees it, it's not good." Jiang Yewan said, patting the empty seat beside him and beckoning his wife to sit down. "He has been holding back for so many years, and now he can go out and walk around with great difficulty, so let's not stop him."

When Liu Rong heard this, her nose sore, she sighed and walked to sit next to her wife.Seeing Liu Rong's red eyes, Jiang Yewan felt uncomfortable.He took his wife's hand and patted it lightly. "His father's stubborn temper can't hold him back, so he let him come back alone from such a long distance. Why do you think about it?"

"I know. But when I saw this child, my heart..." Liu Rong choked up as she spoke.

"You should be happy to see him the way he is now."

"Yeah." Liu Rong wiped her tears with her hand and smiled at her wife.

The cold winter of the twelfth lunar month, the three nine seasons.Zhan Zhao walked on the street wearing a thick scarf and a mask.From time to time, he moved his hands in his pockets to resist the chill.Stop and go, and occasionally sit on the edge of the flower bed on the street regardless of the image, laughing and watching the traffic and high-rise buildings.

"Brother, do you want to buy firecrackers?" The salesman who set up a stall at the entrance of the Tobacco Hotel couldn't help smiling when he saw Zhan Zhao.The young man was covered tightly enough, two eyes were exposed on one face, the pitch black was really pretty.

"Well, I want to buy it."

The salesperson hurriedly handed him a plastic bag, "You can choose which one you like. Our firecrackers are guaranteed to be very loud." Zhan Zhao took the bag, and there were things like two kicks, red earth, thunder, fire meteor, etc. Pick up the heavy ones.The salesperson was so happy when he saw it.This little brother is interesting, he is quite tall, but he is still a child at heart.

"There are hanging coins and couplets here, would you like some?"

"it is good."

On the way back, Zhan Zhao walked very slowly.From time to time, put the bag on the ground to rest for a while, then raise your hands and continue walking.After arriving home, her hands were red from the cold, and Liu Rong felt distressed after seeing it.

"You child, why did you go out without gloves. Go into the living room to warm up." Liu Rong ran into the kitchen and brought out a cup of hot water and handed it to her nephew.Zhan Zhao took it and touched the wall of the cup. The temperature was just right, and he picked it up and rubbed it on his cheek.

Liu Rong watched him rubbing left and right like a kitten, not feeling it was funny. "How old is he, the problems of childhood have not changed."

"I didn't expect it to be so cold outside, my face was frozen." Zhan Zhao smiled embarrassedly, and quickly brought the cup to his lips to drink.

"Go to the meeting when you're tired, and ask your cousin to buy you a pair of gloves tomorrow weekend."

"Don't bother my cousin, I'll just go and buy it myself."

"Anyway, you and your cousin haven't seen each other for a long time, so I just went out to have a chat, so as not to be bored with our old couple at home. And you saw it when you went out just now, the domestic changes are so great, and I even made mistakes when the main road was repaired." Confused, you must not get lost when you go out."

Zhan Zhao was speechless, thinking that his aunt really thought of him as a child, and he could ask if he got lost.well. . . . . .

The two of them were talking, when Jiang Yewan's voice suddenly came from the hall: "Oh, Xiao Zhao, how many firecrackers have you bought..."

There were several large bright yellow bags spread out on the floor in the hall.Jiang Ye Wan Mao looked at each other with his waist bent, time flies so fast, and the Chinese New Year is coming soon.

After breakfast the next day, Jiang Dong drove Zhan Zhao out.As the festival was approaching, the shopping mall was much more lively than usual, and the newly added temporary stalls at the entrance of the building were extremely prosperous, crowded with people inside and out.The two managed to pass through the crowd. Jiang Dong saw that Zhan Zhao was a little out of breath, so he hurriedly dragged him to find a quiet place to stop. "Wait here for a while, I'll ask which floor sells gloves." After finishing speaking, without waiting for Zhan Zhao's answer, he turned and left.Zhan Zhao raised his hand to stop him, but before his voice could spread, Jiang Dong's trotting figure was already overwhelmed by the crowd.

Jiang Dong came back after a while, and saw his cousin standing under the giant billboard looking up at something, his slender and tall silhouette was vaguely outlined by the orange light on the light box.He was so engrossed that he didn't even realize that Jiang Dong had walked to his side.

"What are you thinking about?" Jiang Dong patted Zhan Zhao's shoulder.

Zhan Zhao was stunned for a moment, then regained his composure, and said with a smile, "No, just take a look."

The two big men are not interested in going shopping, buying gloves is considered to have completed the task.The air in the shopping mall is bad, and Jiang Dong doesn't want to stay longer.

Sitting in the car, Jiang Dong turned to look at Zhan Zhao next to him. "It's still early, are you interested in seeing the ice lantern?" From just now, Zhan Zhao seemed absent-minded and didn't talk much.Jiang Dong knew it was because of the billboard for the Ice Lantern Art Exhibition.

When Zhan Zhao heard this, his heart warmed, and he secretly blamed himself for his behavior just now. "Forget it, it's been a long time since I've been out, and my aunt will be worried."

Although deliberately hiding it, Jiang Dong still captured the fleeting excitement and anticipation in Zhan Zhao's eyes. "I'll just call home later and tell you. It's you, are you tired?"

"I'm fine."

"Okay then, let's go now."

The car stopped once on the road, Zhan Zhao got out of the car to buy water, and Jiang Dong was waiting for him in the car.When they arrived at the destination, it was just after ten o'clock, and there were not many people coming, so the two quickly found a parking space.After buying the tickets, Jiang Dong stood at the door and grabbed his cousin, pretending to be mysterious and said: "I have an appointment, let's go in together later."

"Huh? When did you make the appointment?" Zhan Zhao wondered.

"I won't tell you." Jiang Dong had a smirk on his face.

Zhan Zhao turned his head and ignored him, with an expression that no one knew.

"Okay, I'm not teasing you. When you were buying water just now, you just received a call from her, so you asked her to come with you." Jiang Dong waved to the distance as he spoke. "Say Cao Cao Cao Cao is here."

"Come on, let me introduce you, this is my cousin Zhan Zhao, and this is my girlfriend Gao Yue." Jiang Dong said, raising his hand to hug Gao Yue's shoulder affectionately.

"Hello." Zhan Zhao greeted him friendly.

"Hello." Gao Yue looked a little shy, her cheeks flushed slightly.She is not such a beautiful woman, but she feels very comfortable.

"Hurry up and go in, the wind is so strong at the door, you'll almost freeze to death waiting." Jiang Dong deliberately exaggerated, causing Zhan Zhao to secretly hold back his laughter.

After renting non-slip boots, the three of them prepared to enter the museum.Zhan Zhao didn't want to be a high-wattage light bulb, so he made an appointment with Jiang Dong to see the exhibition and meet him at the place where the boots were returned.Jiang Dong didn't object either, and told him to go in with Gao Yuejin in his arms.As soon as he entered the pavilion, Zhan Zhao was attracted by various ice sculptures and snow buildings.Although it is winter, the temperature difference between inside and outside the museum is still huge.Zhan Zhao tightened the scarf, and didn't feel much discomfort.After passing through the carved area and the ice maze, he stopped in front of the huge ice slide.

The number of people gradually increased, and many parents brought their children to visit and play.Seeing him staring at the ice slide for a long time alone, the staff asked aloud. "Sir, would you like to ride the ice slide? 20 yuan per person."

"No, thank you." Zhan Zhao replied with a smile.He remembered the scene of watching ice lanterns with Bai Yutang in high school.What Bai Yutang likes the most are the two huge ice slides, and he insists on pulling him to ride with them.The slide is very long, and when the mat slips when turning, he slides down with his super unimaginable head down and feet up.When Bai Yutang saw it, he laughed until tears flowed out.

Turning around, Gao Yue reckoned that Zhan Zhao had seen enough, pulled Jiang Dong and said, "Let's go out. It's the first time we meet, and it's not appropriate to keep your cousin waiting."

"Compared to where he used to stay, this place is a paradise. He won't go out so soon."

"Didn't he just come back from abroad? What kind of paradise? I don't understand."

"It is true that he is abroad, but he has lived in the isolation ward of the hospital for more than three years."

"What kind of disease do you have? It's so serious?" Gao Yue was a little surprised. Apart from being a little thinner and a little white, Zhan Zhao looked like an ordinary person, and he really didn't look like a seriously ill patient.

"A disease of the blood."

Gao Yue suddenly sympathized with Zhan Zhaolai, seeing Jiang Dong's serious expression, she stopped asking.Although she didn't know much about blood disease, she also knew that it was difficult to cure.Obviously still so young.Why. . . . . .

When people run into acquaintances on the street, they always sigh, oh, what a coincidence.But when Bai Yutang saw Zhan Zhao again, he felt that this was another trick of fate.It never gives itself a chance to choose, and always changes his trajectory in such a willful and ruthless way.

Zhan Zhao just stood there quietly, his body was thin but still straight as loose.His lonely back seemed to be isolated from the world, and he was out of tune with the noisy crowd around him.Bai Yutang felt suffocated in his heart, and couldn't bear it any longer and walked forward quickly. "How long will you continue to hide from me, forever?"

Zhan Zhao turned his head when he heard the sound, and stood there in a daze.How many times have I silently rehearsed what to say when we meet each other in my heart, but now I can't even say a word.

"It's been more than two hours, and your cousin hasn't come out yet, why don't you call him?" Gao Yue was a little worried.

"He doesn't have a cell phone."

"Huh?" Gao Yue thought it was unbelievable who didn't have a mobile phone these days.

"Don't stare at me like a monster, can you? He used to live in isolation, so he couldn't use a mobile phone." Sitting on the bench, Jiang Dong also began to worry. He knew that he shouldn't be left alone.

"Then what should I do? It's so cold inside that I have a runny nose, can your cousin's body take it?" Gao Yue thought for a while, and suddenly had an idea: "Why don't we talk to the staff in the library, Ask them to help broadcast a missing person broadcast?"

"clever."

Jiang Dong stood up and pulled Gao Yue straight to the inquiry desk.

"Miss, please, we have a friend who got separated inside, can you make a broadcast for me, just say..." Before he could finish speaking, Jiang Dong's cell phone rang. "Excuse me, wait a moment." Jiang Dong took out his mobile phone to see the caller ID 'Bai Yutang', and hurriedly pressed to answer.

"Your cousin is with me, don't worry."

"What..." Dududududududu. . . . . .Before he could finish speaking, the other party had already hung up the phone.

"Miss, you don't need to broadcast, thank you." The young lady frowned impatiently.Jiang Dong didn't care about it, and dragged Gao Yue back to the rest area.

"What's wrong?" Gao Yue asked.

"My cousin is with Bai Yutang."

Gao Yue was stunned, she felt that her brain could not keep up with her thoughts at all.Jiang Dong doesn't have time to explain now, he has been busy calling Bai Yutang, but the other party never answered.

"Asshole, answer the phone for me." Jiang Dong couldn't help yelling.

"Did Jiang Dong call?" Zhan Zhao was sitting in Bai Yutang's car at this time, feeling extremely irritable.

"You don't need to worry about it." Bai Yutang had a cigarette in his mouth, and the hand holding the lighter shook violently. He failed to light it after lighting it three times in a row. He was so angry that he folded the cigarette and threw it together with the lighter. in the compartment.

Seeing him like this, Zhan Zhao was so angry that the veins on his forehead thumped, and his voice trembled. "You don't want to do this."

"Zhan Zhao, am I that unbearable in your eyes? If I made things difficult for you back then, I apologize. But you didn't say a word, and just kept away from me for four years. .Is your heart made of flesh?!"

Zhan Zhao lowered his head, his face was pale, his mouth was tightly pursed, and he didn't say a word.

Seeing him like this, Bai Yutang felt distressed and angry at the same time.When Zhan Zhao left without saying goodbye, it stuck in his heart like a thorny thorn, which lasted for four years and could not be touched or pulled out.He has been holding back some words for a long time, and he must speak clearly today.Even if he would be injured badly, even if Zhan Zhao would sentence him to death again, he would die clearly.

Bai Yutang tried his best to restrain his emotions, and said in a calm tone: "I don't blame you for not being able to respond to my feelings. I just want to ask you a question, did I make you feel uncomfortable?" He paused After a pause, he let out a long breath: "In other words, you...do you think I'm disgusting?"

Zhan Zhao suddenly felt a darkness in front of his eyes, and his heart ached.Unexpectedly, what happened back then would hurt him so far.Such a proud and confident person actually said such words.He clenched his teeth, but couldn't help but wet his eyes.

"I haven't." Apart from these three words, he didn't know what else to say.He would rather Bai Yutang beat him up severely, or simply forget him from now on, than see him so ashamed of himself.

The mistakes and injuries caused are irreparable.

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