River City Story

"The person who likes your brother is not me, Brother Lin."

Cai Xusheng's very unique voice, which sounded particularly sleepy, floated unsteadily in He Zhengxi's mind.

His face turned black and red, in short, until he walked out of the bathroom, He Zhengxi's head was not clear.It felt extremely embarrassing to be prying into his heart, but he didn't dare to continue arguing with Cai Xusheng.This person is too sharp, much sharper than Lin Yan.

Thinking of Lin Yan, He Zhengxi immediately became irritable again.Now he doesn't know how to deal with the relationship between himself and Lin Yan.brother?or something else?He said that he didn't want Lin Yan to be his elder brother, so he wasn't out of his wits, if there was something like nothing, it did have some meaning.

but……

He Zhengxi thought distressedly that he should reconsider his wording, at least he couldn't just say it so simply and directly.

"Why are you still in a daze? You're going home." Lin Yan pushed the door open and turned to He Zhengxi and shouted, "Just to help me get a few more things, the big backpack on the ground is handed over to you. But the back seat can't be vacated There is a place to pick you up, we have to push the cart back."

"Oh, it's okay." He Zhengxi swallowed his thoughts, walked over with his head down, and lifted the bag to his shoulders.Cai Xusheng didn't know when he went into the bedroom to sleep again, Lin Yan didn't bother him, and the two brothers went downstairs quietly.

The two walked on the road one after the other. He Zhengxi couldn't figure out what Lin Yan brought out from the school dormitory. In short, whether it was carried on his shoulders or loaded by Lin Yan's car, it was quite heavy.

Lin Yan, as long as it looks useful, no matter what kind of tatters it is, he will never throw it away. He will try to repair it when he returns home, and he will throw it away if there is no way to use it.When He Zhengxi was very young, Lin Yan used this method to play with many gadgets for him.Clockwork cars, small wooden boats, magnet pigeons, and self-made puzzles.I used a water pen to draw a pattern on the hard shell paper, and then cut it out and messed it up. It was actually quite rough, and the drawing was very ordinary, but the two of them had a lot of fun.To be more precise, He Zhengxi was having fun.

In a blink of an eye, 7 or 8 years have passed.

He stared at Lin Yan who was walking in front of him, and emotions slowly flowed in his eyes.Lin Yan's aura is very gentle, but he is full of energy when he speaks and does things. Although he is thin, he is not emaciated.Putting on an ordinary aqua blue T-shirt, even though the back was partially soaked with sweat, it looked refreshing and clean.

So handsome, so good-looking, I like him.

Nothing else, it's that simple.

He Zhengxi wiped his forehead, his hand was wet with sweat.

"Why don't you take a taxi, you go back with your things first, I will ride a bicycle very quickly." Lin Yan stopped suddenly, turned and said to him.

"Ah?" He Zhengxi woke up suddenly, shouted, and then reacted: "No need, this is fine."

This way I can observe you more, He Zhengxi sniffed, raised his foot and knocked on the curb a few times.

"If you have money, burn it." Lin Yan looked at him.

"No, I got it." He Zhengxi immediately withdrew his feet.

For nearly an hour after that, both of them remained silent, and He Zhengxi was very depressed.It can be seen with the naked eye that Lin Yan has a lot of trouble with him, or does it mean that he and Lin Yan have a lot of trouble?He couldn't figure it out.

Lin Yan hadn't been back to the old ancestral hall for a few days, so he opened the door first to greet his sunflowers and corns. Seeing that the soil was wet, he felt a little relieved.He dragged his things back to the cubicle and came out again with a towel and soap.

"Don't clean up?" He Zhengxi asked.

"Take a shower first, it's too hot." Lin Yan said while taking off his clothes.His legs were clean and slender, and they were blindingly white under the sun's rays.The lower half of the shorts covered the thighs, thighs, and roots, making her look extraordinarily tall.He Zhengxi sat on the stool and watched intently for a while, then looked away again, and started poking the ants on the ground to play.

"Didn't our family change the bathroom? Are you still changing clothes here?" He lowered his head and asked.

"Yeah, what's the matter? There are no outsiders here." Lin Yan threw the T-shirt into the basin, and ran back to the house with his upper body bare to get laundry soap.

He Zhengxi played with the ants enough, held the branch and raised his head again.Lin Yan disappeared behind the door, making him dizzy for a while.He Zhengxi shook his head, trying to gather his distracted eyes.

"Are you suffering from heat stroke?" Lin Yan returned quickly, and squatted in front of He Zhengxi with his hands behind his back.He was comfortable with some of the accumulated smell of soap from years of use.He Zhengxi raised his eyelids slightly, glanced at the dangling chest in front of him a few times, and shook his head in a daze, "No, I'm a little sleepy."

Lin Yan threw a melon to He Zhengxi and said, "Eat it first, and sleep after taking a shower."

"... Oh." He Zhengxi took the melon and nodded in a daze.

"It seems that temper is directly proportional to the degree of finesse, and this will become a normal big friend again." Lin Yan muttered and walked into the small bathroom.

The two took a shower one by one, preparing for a nap.

Although the bed in the small bedroom of the old ancestral hall was for two people, Lu Chi bought it according to the stature of two and a half teenagers. Now it is not suitable for the two of them to lie on it together.He Zhengxi twisted his lower body vigorously before finding a comfortable posture.

"Both of us have become queen-sized. I will go to the furniture store in summer vacation to change the bed." Lin Yan said.

"Very good." He Zhengxi shook his head, "It looks more intimate this way."

"Intimacy?" Lin Yan smiled with his back turned to him, "You just said at noon that you didn't want me to be your brother. This face has changed, but it's much more powerful than the sky in June."

He Zhengxi choked for a moment, so he had no choice but to curl his lips and say, "You just think I'm crazy, you have to understand me, I haven't seen anyone after waiting for two days, who doesn't bother..."

"Stop talking like this in the future, I don't want to hear it, you know?" Lin Yan buried his head in the pillow, rubbing the sticker on the toilet water bottle with his fingertips.

He Zhengxi turned his face, "What are you talking about?"

"You don't want me to be your brother, I feel uncomfortable listening to it."

"...I'm sorry, brother, I must have lost my mind." He Zhengxi stretched out his hand and put his arms around Lin Yan's waist. "Don't blame me, okay?"

His forehead pressed hard against Lin Yan's back, just like when he was a child, "You are my brother for the rest of my life. Those are just angry words, so please forget them quickly." He whispered.

"It doesn't sound like it's sincere, it's very perfunctory." Lin Yan laughed lowly, and the vibration brought about by the laughter spread from the depths of his chest all the way to He Zhengxi's skin, with heat.

"elder brother."

(——Abbreviated 127 characters, including the description below the neck——)

"What are you trying to do?" Lin Yan finally spoke.

"Ah! Oh...it's nothing, no...you're not careful." He Zhengxi quickly withdrew his hand, "Recently I'm learning Chinese medicine from my grandfather, and I started unconsciously, hehe."

"That's right, with your method, be careful not to be taken to the Public Security Bureau in the future." Lin Yan shrank back and teased.

"No." I only dare to do this to you alone, He Zhengxi said in his heart.

Hearing this, Lin Yan's chest rose and fell in relief, as if he sighed lightly.The surroundings are quiet, only the sound of cicadas falling outside the window, urging people to sleep.

At around four o'clock in the afternoon, He Zhengxi woke up from the heat. He looked at his side, Lin Yan's mouth was half open, and he seemed to be still in a deep sleep.He got up rustlingly, turned on the fan, and lay back down again, staring at the roof in a daze.There was no mat on the bed, Lin Yan seemed to be ignorant of the heat, so he covered it with an extra thin blanket.There was also a corner on the blanket itself, probably pulled by Lin Yan when he was half asleep.I didn't cover any more places, just covered the belly button a little bit.Lin Yan had this habit, saying that he would get a stomach ache when he caught a cold, and no matter how hot it was since he was a child, he would insist on covering He Zhengxi.

He Zhengxi moved down, pressed against Lin Yan's back quietly and closed his eyes again.

"Hey...it's like a plaster." Lin Yan moved the person aside and sat up slowly, He Zhengxi also opened his eyes, "Sleep?"

Lin Yan tilted his head to look at him, waved his palms to create a few gusts of wind, let out a breath and said, "Sleep again, you will suffer from insomnia at night."

"Oh."

He Zhengxi rubbed his head on the pillow twice as an answer, and then asked: "Where's that big summer mat, haven't you spread it? The hottest time hasn't come yet."

Lin Yanmai stepped over He Zhengxi, sat on the edge of the bed awake for 2 minutes, and then said slowly, "I only come back to sleep two days a week, what are you pretending to do."

"Isn't it a holiday now?" He Zhengxi said.He got up and hung up the mosquito net, and sat on the edge of the bed, side by side with Lin Yan.

"That's right. I brought back two bamboo mats from the dormitory. Those are cooler than ours. I'll wipe them, dry them and put them on at night."

"Who else has it?" He Zhengxi asked.

"Ok?"

"Maximum, besides yours, who else's?"

"Chinese cabbage, who else can do it? He wants to throw it away as garbage. I think it's a waste."

"Oh……"

"There are so many problems." Lin Yan yawned, put on his slippers and moved outside the door. After taking two steps, he turned around and said to He Zhengxi leisurely, "You have a lot of firepower, you can stand up even after a nap. awesome."

After he finished speaking, he ran to the yard to pack his luggage, leaving He Zhengxi alone on the bed blushing.Lin Yan speaks a lot more presumptuously now, and there is always something adult in his tone.As for the sentence just now, Lin Yan said it generously and casually, like He Zhengxi's uncle, or some other elder, but not really like his brother.Where did Lin Yan say anything nasty before?He Zhengxi was a little distressed, but at the same time joyful.Annoyed that Lin Yan still treats himself as a child, joyful Lin Yan seems to have discovered his own growth.

With mixed emotions, He Zhengxi stayed in the old ancestral hall for one more day, and then flew back to Yancheng with Fang Jue to take the final exam honestly.

After seeing Lin Yan off at the airport, the stone hanging in his heart finally fell to the ground.He wasn't sure about He Zhengxi's current character, let alone explore what this younger brother was thinking in his heart every day.

On the return bus, there were a few junior high school students in school uniforms standing beside the hanging handrails. Some exaggerated patterns were drawn with water pens on their schoolbags. One earphone plug was hanging on the other. I didn’t know what I was listening to. It is full of topics such as football stars, TV series, concerts, and comics.Hey and joking, all of them are full of youth.

Lin Yan stared at it for a long time, then turned his head and looked at himself reflected on the window glass, his face was quite tender, 18 years old, an age that everyone envied.But for some reason, Lin Yan felt as if he had begun to age. The moment he walked out of the examination room, he even wanted to lie down and sleep on the spot.Very tired, very tired.Then he quarreled with He Zhengxi in a muddleheaded way, really stupid.

He patted his right ear, still uncomfortable, and he didn't slow down, and the sound always felt distant and close.Lin Yan thought for a while, took out the mobile phone from his schoolbag, and sent a text message asking for leave to the part-time restaurant proprietress.After receiving the reply, he shrank in, leaned against the back of the chair and closed his eyes.

Go to sleep, let me sleep for the rest of my life, I don't want to open my eyes, I don't want to wake up.

Back at the old ancestral hall, he didn't eat or drink and slept all day. After one day, he continued to go to the restaurant to clock in for work.

In a few years, the size of the original small family restaurant more than doubled, and a branch was opened.Lin Yan is already regarded as a senior veteran in this restaurant, and he has a new guy to do the job of serving dishes. Now he is basically only active in the counter area of ​​the restaurant, helping with cashiers or settlements, and looking after the store.

"It's worth it!" Old Chen came out wiping his hands to greet him.

"There are quite a lot of reservations today, where is the proprietress?" Lin Yan asked neatly while looking for change.

"Hey, she ran away as soon as you entered the door!" Old Chen said with a smile, "Anyway, you are the substitute."

"Still working out?" Lin Yan collected the money and gave the guest a friendly and warm smile as a gift, "How about the man she recently dated?"

"Hey! I don't think so. The proprietress scolded him during dinner last night, saying that he is worthless."

"Why don't you two just get along, you don't have a wife, and she doesn't have a husband." Lin Yan leaned against the counter and laughed.

"It's about getting married and starting a business. It can't be explained in one or two sentences." Old Chen took out a cigarette, saw Lin Yan's gaze, put it back resentfully, took a sip of tea, smacked it a few times and said : "Don't look at your old-fashioned way of speaking, you are actually still young, and you will understand in a few years. It is this matter of men and women, no matter how good it looks on the surface, sleeping in the same bed for a few years will take a lot of time. It turns into tangerine peel. From dry firewood to burning fire, to seeing each other disgustingly, it is just a blink of an eye."

Lin Yan chuckled softly: "Your analogy is quite related to your profession, and your speech is quite literary."

"Literature?" Lao Chen waved his hand, "I'm telling the truth, and you will know it sooner or later."

Lin Yan nodded clearly: "Be taught and be taught."

"This kid! I won't talk to you anymore." Old Chen patted his clothes and walked towards the back kitchen, "Teach the new girls if you have the time, they are terrible at work!"

"Okay!" Lin Yan stretched out his head and replied.

His position in the restaurant was relatively casual, and after a few years of work, Lin Yan had been tempered into a shiny little gold brick.There was no welcome guest, so he went to stand.It was too late to serve, so he went to carry it.The back kitchen is too busy, and he can even put on an apron to help make a small stir-fry, but the cash register and accounting are considered regular work items.The proprietress's career has been developing smoothly in the past few years. She is worried that her figure will be out of shape, so she always goes to the gym across the street to sweat.

When the proprietress is away, there must be someone who understands in the store. It is not enough to be down-to-earth, but he must be quick-witted and quick-witted. When everyone thinks about it, Lin Yan is allowed to come in.Lin Yan, when he smiles, his eyes are full of charm, but his overall demeanor is refreshing and comfortable, big girls and old ladies love to see it, and the stop at the cashier is a living sign in the store .You don't need to post any advertisements, this face is enough, even during holidays, classmates will come to visit you.During the free time when there are no customers, Lin Yan will lie on the window and do his homework, with a concentrated expression, as if no one is there.In a trance, the passing people always feel that this is not a family restaurant that serves northern and southern dishes.

Lin Yan stood in front of several newcomers and young girls, his face was completely different from that of the counter. There was no spring breeze, but a northerly wind, mixed with the cold air from Siberia.

"When you have nothing to do, don't get together and chatter like sparrows. I printed out a copy of hotel etiquette for each of you, go back and look through it. Our restaurant is not a big hotel, and there are few rules and regulations, but we must abide by them." Pay attention. When you first came, it’s normal to have things you can’t take care of. After a month, you still don’t have work in your eyes, but it’s not as simple as being criticized.”

After Lin Yan finished speaking, he put on a smiling expression again, and said while handing out pamphlets: "Sisters, if you are doing well, let's eat delicious food and drink spicy food together. You choose as you like. Our restaurant is the best paid in this food street, with insurance and holidays, what a great job. I am not a leader, I am a fake tiger. The proprietress is a rough nerve, but she is pretty Okay, I don’t teach us too much, but I can’t treat her as a stupid girl, can I?” He finished speaking like a bustard, straightened up with a smile, and walked back to the counter to press the calculator up.

The little girls stood there in a daze, bursts of complicated emotions whistling through their hearts.

This little handsome guy has too much face.

After Lin Yan finished the big phone call in a serious manner, the soles of his feet began to flutter. He squeezed the calculator and shook his wrist, and took a desperate breath to calm down.

How dare you make me a bad guy!But considering the ever-increasing salary... Lin Yan took out his mobile phone and checked the bank card balance text message.His daily salary has more than doubled now, but he still has to deposit money for Xu Jialin on a monthly basis, and keep a part of it for living expenses, and there is not much left. He can only continue to help people make up lessons on weekends, so he can still save every month. some money.

Living expenses during college should be no problem, Lin Yan thought.In addition to the little savings left in the original old passbook, it will not be too tight now, but Lin Yan has other plans.

When Xu Jialin is released from prison, I'm afraid he won't be able to go out to do errands again, not to mention how can an old man earn money. Lin Yan hopes to rely on his own strength to provide for Xu Jialin's old age.And the house, Lin Yan thought of the house, and began to think about bigger things.The urban construction of Xicheng has been very fast in the past few years. The old market has been completely transformed into a convenience market. Those old tube buildings on Linshui Street and the ancestral hall where I live may be written with a big "demolition" someday. Character.Xu Jialin said that the ancestral hall belonged to him, and there were documents to prove it, but Lin Yan didn't quite believe it.Even if the place really belongs to him, there are a lot of people who can't get compensation for demolition these days, how can they really hold the idea of ​​​​sharing the house and money?Furthermore, the distance cannot quench the thirst of the near, money is such a thing, if you can make money right now, you have to seize the opportunity.

After planning back and forth, Lin Yan's energy slowly returned.During his three years in high school, he has experienced a lot.In school, in restaurants, in prisons; classmates, colleagues, customers.Everyone has their own unpleasant moments, big people think about big things, little people think about small things, in short, those things are not easy things in their hearts, and they are all quite difficult.Even Cai Xusheng's cabbage was full of troubles.I am not the most difficult one, I am actually very lucky, at least I still have a small treasury.

After Lin Yan pondered one thing after another, his emotions became completely clear, and when he was talking to people, he couldn't help but smile on the corner of his mouth.

"What are you smirking at?" The proprietress came back in a hurry, wearing a strong smell of perfume, "Today, I really can't go for exercise. I just eat less recently. Running is really tiring."

Lin Yan said with a light smile: "As long as your physical indicators are normal, there is no need to go to the gym and spend money. Isn't it good to go to the park for a couple of laps, the air is still fresh." He handed the account book to the proprietress, I sat on the chair and touched the mouse to change a playlist for the store, "Your music taste is absolutely amazing."

"It's just a place to have dinner and drink. It's not that particular." The proprietress flipped through the accounts and threw them back, "I laughed like a fool just now, what's the matter, how's the score? How's it going?"

Lin Yan put away the account book carefully, loosened his shoulders and said: "I didn't estimate the score, I have passed the exam, the estimated score is useless, let's talk about the results."

The proprietress gave him a thumbs up with bright red nail polish, "Sister trusts you, there is no problem."

"Follow the fate, don't force it. Now I just want to wait until I go to college, and I can find some money to do more projects." Lin Yan said.

The proprietress poked him with a finger, and said bitterly: "Little brother, you are too tired to live. Really, sister is rich, and sister can help you." When she said this, she glanced at Lin Yan Looking at the expression on his face, he immediately said: "I know, I know, you don't want it, it's really hard work. If you go to university and leave, I will lose a right-hand man, and I feel quite uncomfortable."

Lin Yan blinked a few times, pointed to the back kitchen and said, "Old Chen is very good. Isn't his son going to be admitted to Xicheng? They are not bad people. You should train more of your own people."

The proprietress blushed rarely, and said, "When you talk about others, you are right. Anyway, I can't tell you. You just think too clearly, and you are in trouble."

"Hey." Lin Yan pinched the shoulders of the proprietress attentively, and said in a low voice: "I know you treat me like a brother, very kind, very close. You all treat me very well, I have been feeling very lucky recently .”

The proprietress turned her head and glanced at him, then turned back and talked about her own affairs in a rambling manner.

"What kind of luck is not luck? Look at my sister and me. When we planned to open a store with our newly engaged object, who would have thought that he would be able to leave as soon as he said it. After his funeral, all his relatives and friends agreed. Now, I still have to worry about opening a store. I don’t believe it, and I’m about to open it. Now, the restaurant has been doing smoothly for a few years, but I’ve never felt happy, let alone lucky. After all, that person can’t be seen anymore. Busy, just to make myself not so empty."

The proprietress spread her hand, looked at the plain ring on her ring finger, and said, "Lin Yan, you are only 18, don't let yourself be framed by the word "luck", what will happen in the future, you can't imagine Too much, trying desperately to muddle along, not contradictory, right?"

Lin Yan didn't expect that the proprietress would suddenly talk to him about her concerns. He always thought that this enthusiastic and talkative elder sister lived a carefree life.

He stopped what he was doing, smiled to himself, and said, "I will try my best."

"Silly boy!"