The difference between cloud and mud

In order to welcome Mrs. Xiao, Xiao's father and son and Tiffany dressed up on Saturday morning and headed for the airport in a mighty manner.Xiao Fengtai hasn't said a word to Xiao Zhizhong since the violin dispute, but it's the constant jokes on Tiffany's road that keep the atmosphere in the car from freezing.

"Cousin is very popular in school." Tiffany suddenly brought the topic to him: "There is no girl in our class who doesn't like him, it's a pity..."

"What a pity?" Xiao Zhizhong couldn't help asking.

Xiao Fengtai turned his head and glanced at her.

"It's a pity that his eyesight is too high, and he doesn't like any of them!" Tiffany's cat eyes were bent into crescent moons, and her smile was cute and cute, which made Xiao Zhizhong smile.

Xiao Fengtai sneered silently, and turned his eyes to the window again, missing Tiffany's meaningful gaze.

Mrs. Shaw's flight arrived in Hong Kong on time.Although the old lady was nearly [-] years old and experienced a long-distance flight, she still carefully applied a thin layer of makeup on her face, and her silver hair was tied tightly behind her head without any mess.She was wearing a long black velvet cheongsam, with a very thin silver cane in her right hand, her back straight when she walked, and her demeanor was aloof.

As soon as Mrs. Xiao stepped out of the gate, Xiao Zhizhong stepped forward and helped Mrs. Xiao's arm: "Mom, the journey has been hard."

Mrs. Xiao frowned slightly, but she didn't break free: "I'm an idler, you juniors can go about your own affairs as much as you want, and you don't need to mobilize people every time."

"It's rare for you to come, we're just doing our duty." Xiao Zhizhong responded to Mrs. Xiao with a slightly bowed back, his posture was respectful yet intimate, and his own son was nothing more than that.

"Kenneth, come and walk with grandma." He beckoned Xiao Fengtai to come forward.Seeing her grandson, the old lady's smile finally became warmer.

"I've grown taller again." She looked Xiao Fengtai up and down: "Are you tired of preparing for university applications recently?"

"Not tired." Jiang Tong said straightforwardly: "It's very interesting to write documents by myself. I am writing and revising while writing, and I want to understand many things."

The grandparent and grandson came back and forth, knowing the subtext of each other's words.Xiao Fengtai has been revising the application materials for three consecutive days until the early morning, and he still pretends to be full of energy with dark circles under his eyes.He grinned at Mrs. Xiao, and the old lady raised her eyebrows and turned her head away.

Xiao Fengtai thinks grandma's angry look is cute.Until now, he still feels that the quarrel with grandma is not a big deal.Before the video call was halfway across the world, there were inevitably obstacles in communication. When we meet and have a heart-to-heart talk, what needs to be resolved will naturally be resolved.

By the way, he glanced at the rare and honest Tiffany behind him, and pleaded with his grandma to get Tiffany back to Europe.

When the group returned home, Xiao Fengtai estimated the time to knock on grandma's door, but was stopped by a servant at the door——tiffany was the first to reach Mrs. Xiao before he did.

"Please get out of the way." He said coldly, "You should know that grandma won't mind my interruption."

"It's Madam who has something to discuss with Miss Xiao." The maid's smile was very humble and kind, but her body stood upright on the spot, motionless.

"The madam also specifically asked that no one should interrupt the meeting with the young lady, especially you."

On the other side of the door, two young ladies from the Xiao family, who were more than half a century apart in age, sat face to face at the table, silently looking at the black cube in the middle of them.

Panting, groaning, fabrics rubbing against each other, the sound of a zipper being undone, something fell to the ground, and it was still clear and piercing through the noise of the radio waves.

Not harsh.Madam Xiao closed her eyes in despair.At this moment, the sound wave has a substance, like a steel awl, with precision and ruthlessness, deeply inserted into her heart.

The pain was sharp and piercing at first, and gradually eased over time, but it would never disappear, and finally became a part of her memory, a part of her body, making her feel unbearable with every breath and every movement. pain.

The moment a daughter raised in the palm of her hand knelt down in front of her for a man, she felt this pain for the first time, and it will be tortured every day for the rest of her life.Mrs. Xiao suddenly felt that the whole thing was so absurd that it was almost comical, why would the same story repeat itself to her children.

"I'm going to be an adult in 89 days." Even though Xiao Fengtai's voice was transcribed by inferior radio equipment, it was clear and unmistakably juvenile.Her daughter also has a sweet and crisp voice like a yellow oriole. When she goes to the choir on weekends, she stands in the middle, and the eyes of the believers cannot focus on the priest at all.

The strange young man's muffled laugh was followed by another gasp, his flesh rubbed against the fabric, and it was hard to tell whose groaning it was.Vaguely whispering, they naively planned the future, renting a house and buying a car in the United States, the young man seemed to be older than Xiao Fengtai, Xiao Fengtai acted like a baby to him, asking him to give him better grades after becoming a ta.

The little red light went off, and the room returned to silence.Mrs. Xiao and Tiffany looked at each other, and neither of them spoke for a while.

Mrs. Xiao finally spoke first: "Does anyone else know?"

She was expressionless, staring closely at Tiffany's eyes, taking in every subtle expression of the girl. Tiffany came prepared, but under the pressure of Mrs. Xiao's aura, she involuntarily stuttered: "No, no."

"Very good." Mrs. Xiao suddenly smiled, and then retreated from her daunting seriousness, like a kind grandmother next door.

"Tiffany, you're doing well." She leaned forward slightly, took Tiffany's hands on the table, and squeezed them tightly: "You're doing very well."

Tiffany was stunned: "What?"

The old man's eyes were frighteningly bright: "This recording saved Kenneth, and it also saved the Xiao family. Sure enough, I was right—you are the smartest and most sensible of the girls in the family."

The old man's hands were soft and dry, and Tiffany had never been so close to Mrs. Xiao.After all, she was still a little girl, and she was dizzy under Mrs. Xiao's enthusiastic praise, forgetting the fact that she had never been seen.

"It's great that I didn't live up to grandma's expectations." She blushed and replied to Mrs. Xiao, but she felt something was wrong in her heart: "But grandma, if my cousin is gay—"

"He's not gay." Mrs. Xiao interrupted her sharply, her hand suddenly became stronger, Tiffany took a deep breath in pain, subconsciously wanted to break free, but couldn't.

"Leave the rest to grandma, and grandma will take care of it." Seeing Tiffany's frightened look, Mrs. Xiao slowed down her tone: "In the Republic of China, it was common for rich young masters to be opera singers, but it was just for fun, and sooner or later they would return to the right path. It’s nothing like Kenneth—the head jewelry my father bought for people is now in the Continental Museum.”

Her tone was so natural, Tiffany nodded as if hypnotized, and believed it.

Grandma is right.How could my cousin be gay—how could such a handsome, smart, promising cousin not like women?If her cousin is really gay, wouldn't her chasing him for so many years be in vain?

"You have done what I told you so well, it's really hard not to reward you." Mrs. Xiao continued, "Do you want to go to Rome to shoot the channel's spring and summer commercial?"

Tiffany exclaimed, and her face turned pink after being slapped: "Thank you...thank you grandma!"

Mrs. Xiao smiled: "You prepare your luggage and leave in two weeks. The school asked Kenneth to ask for leave for you."

"Okay! Just listen to grandma!" Tiffany agreed.

After the girl left happily, Mrs. Xiao sat silently in the room alone.She played with Tiffany's mini recorder in her palm for a while, lifted the lid of the teapot, and gently threw the recorder into it.

The small plastic cube fell into the steaming tea with a plop, and after the sizzling electric current, it fell silent again.

When she calmed down, she rang the bell to call her confidant who was guarding the door to come in.

"Touch Tiffany's room, and follow her closely these few days." She said lightly, "She said she didn't leave a copy, I can't believe it."

The servant responded and wanted to leave the room, but she stopped her again: "Help me arrange a meeting with that Chinese teacher, and don't let Xiao Zhizhong know."

She stared at the tape recorder sunk in the bottom of the teacup with dark eyes.

"I want to see what kind of man Kenneth is fascinated by."

Jiang Tong has been very busy recently.very busy.

Although it is cumbersome to apply for a job at school and graduate school, he can barely handle it.The newly found part-time job is far more difficult than he imagined.Suits and leather shoes maintained a friendly smile and served plates and poured water in the coffee shop all afternoon. During the shift change, Jiang Tong was so tired that he slumped in the dressing room, not even having the strength to open the wardrobe.

In fact, he is not short of money - the part-time contract with Xiao Fengtai is still going on, his mother's condition has also remained stable for the time being, and Jiang Tong's bank account balance has increased steadily recently, which is even considered affluent among his peers.

But Xiao Fengtai's birthday is approaching.Jiang Tong wanted to use the money he earned to buy a gift for the children.

There is still a world of difference between them, and Jiang Tong also knows that he is still a long way from being truly independent.But from now on, he will prove his ability step by step.One day, he will no longer need Xiao Fengtai's pity and relief, but will be able to shade him instead.

Do it for another week.He leaned against the locker room wall, looking with satisfaction at the daily shrinking numbers on his phone calculator.The compression space for living expenses is larger than expected.With the saved money plus the part-time salary, he was still a little bit short of reaching the goal he had calculated in advance.

The screen suddenly switched to caller ID, which was an unfamiliar number that had never been saved.Jiang Tong thought for a while before pressing the answer button.

He thought it was a harassing phone call or an automated voicemail, but a fluent and elegant English mezzo-soprano came from the other end of the receiver: "Good afternoon, are you Mr. Jiang?"

"Yes." Jiang Tong straightened his back unconsciously: "Excuse me, are you...?"

"Sorry for not introducing myself first." The woman's voice was as elegant and deep as velvet: "My name is Marianne. On behalf of Master Kenneth's grandma, Mrs. Shaw, I would like to invite you to have afternoon tea later this week."

"Master Xiao's Chinese scores have improved rapidly recently, Madam hopes to have the opportunity to thank you in person."

"It's all the result of Kenneth's own hard work." A thin layer of sweat broke out on Jiang Tong's back unknowingly: "I just did my best, and I dare not take credit for it."

"What time is convenient for you? We will send a car to pick you up from the school."

Marianne's tone was very gentle and respectful, but there was a pressure that Jiang Tong could not refuse.After two or three rounds of back and forth, he was finally defeated.

"Excuse me..." Before hanging up the phone, he struggled repeatedly and decided to ask clearly: "May I ask if it's Kenneth...Did Kenneth say something?"

Marianne's voice suddenly cooled down: "This is a private meeting between you and Mrs. Xiao. It has nothing to do with Master Kenneth."

The afternoon tea made for the improvement of Xiao Fengtai's Chinese performance has nothing to do with Xiao Fengtai.Jiang Tong's heart sank, but he couldn't tell what was wrong.

It is impossible for the Xiao family to find out about his relationship with Xiao Fengtai, he thought.If the matter between the two of them was revealed, the elders of the Xiao family would definitely want to pack him up and fill the sea, so how could he politely invite him to drink tea.

After hanging up the phone, he opened the chat page with Xiao Fengtai.

"A lady who calls herself Marian just called me and said your grandma is taking me to tea." Delete.

"Have you reconciled with grandma?" Deleted again.

never mind.He turns off the screen.When the soldiers come to block the water and cover them with soil, there is always a way to deal with it.

Xiao Fengtai doesn't need to know this.