River City Story

"A simple debridement is totally enough, really, trust me!"

Lin Yan raised his hand, which was wrapped in a thick layer of bandages, and swore to God again.

"No, I don't know how long the blade has been stored in any corner. It needs an injection, and the clinic I went to just now is too small, so it doesn't look normal enough." He Zhengxi grabbed Lin Yan's other hand tightly, and turned to face Lu Chi. He said calmly, "Brother Lu, drive and go to the city hospital. I will reimburse you for the gas."

Lu Chi clicked his tongue for a while and turned the car around: "Who should I listen to? You two discuss it and give me an accurate answer."

"mine!"

"mine!"

The two people in the back row shouted in unison.

"There's no rust on the blade, and it's not dirty. Trust me, it's fine." Lin Yan pulled out a few wipes with one hand, bent down, pulled himself to wipe the dried blood on his feet, and said in a muffled voice, "Brother Lu Chi, we Let’s go straight to the train station, or we will waste two tickets and have to buy them again, which is troublesome.”

"Could this be a troublesome thing?" He Zhengxi wanted to stand up excitedly, but his head was hit by the car roof, so he had to sit back down again.He pressed Lin Yan's hand, took the wet towel, and wiped it while muttering: "What if you have a tetanus, what if you hurt your nerves, really, brother, why don't you bring it? Bring a razor and come out to see things." people……"

He spread out the wet towel covered with blood, sighed, leaned back on the chair back and said, "I was scared to death, I thought you were so mad at me that you were going dizzy and self-mutilated!"

Lin Yan laughed uncomfortably: "Why, you feel too good about yourself."

"However, how many random strokes with that thing can make it so deep?" He Zhengxi took out a bottle of water and poured it on the bloodstain, and continued to wipe, "This blood volume is very large, and the blade is powerful enough. I will buy you a bag when I go back." Make up red dates, brother, lift your foot, there is still a little under here."

"Oh." Lin Yan nodded, and then said guiltily to Lu Chi in the front row: "This car smells of blood, I have to trouble you to wash the car." He held the wallet under his arm, pulled out a banknote, and prepared Find a place to slip it in quietly.

"Wait." Lu Chi turned around, grabbing Lin Yan's hand quickly.He squeezed out the half-stuffed money, quickly folded it in half, and handed it back, "Take it, you don't need it."

"I'm dizzy, I didn't find the right time." Lin Yan raised his eyes, bit his lips tightly, and looked at Lu Chi innocently, "Is it still too little? Then I'll give you another one." Then he twisted his neck and went to pick it up money.

Lu Chi: "Don't pretend to be pitiful, I won't take what you do."

"Well, I won't be polite to you anymore." Lin Yan took the money in his hand, stretched it out, and put it back into the wallet.

Every time he made a movement, the wound on his palm was densely packed with pain.Although my mind was chaotic when it was cut off, it has slowly recovered at this time, and my chest is full of fear and fear.This is the second time, Lin Yan thought, if that time on the mountain counts, this is the second time that he had the tendency to kill himself unconsciously.

what to do?He pressed the corners of his eyes in some pain, and looked blankly at the roof of the car.

He Zhengxi beside him had already finished his work, and when he came back after throwing out the trash, Lu Chi started the car and started to drive towards the train station.Lin Yan kept his hair up in a daze, and the lights at night hit his neck alternately, outlining a clear bone shape.

Vaguely, He Zhengxi felt that something was wrong with Lin Yan's mood, but he couldn't tell what was wrong.But he knew that this time he had made Lin Yan anxious. He was a little worried about Lin Yan's ears, but he didn't dare to speak.

The moment he said those words, He Zhengxi already regretted it.He could see it completely, Lin Yan's eyes were filled with great shock and disappointment.So he opened the car door and fled. He didn't dare to face Lin Yan's always smiling face.With harsh and sharp words, he severely hurt the person he cared about the most.

Xu Jialin's drug involvement has kept Lin Yan in torment.Occasionally, he would also resent Xu Jialin, hating why he was too hotheaded to touch the bottom line.But beyond resentment, being a boy dependent on his adoptive father made him feel painful, and he hated himself for not working hard enough or being rich enough.If I have a lot of money, can Xu Jialin come out a few years earlier?He didn't want to stay alone in the dilapidated courtyard of the old ancestral hall, he really needed the company of an elder, even though Xu Jialin wasn't a qualified father.

This was a thorn hidden in a small corner deep in Lin Yan's heart. Now, He Zhengxi dug out this hidden thorn bloodily again, and even forced Lin Yan to look at it and touch it.

Too tired, Lin Yan thought slowly while half asleep and half awake.He just wants to live happily, but since childhood, why is he so tired every day?He really didn't want to go any further, even half a step.Most of the nearly 20 years of my life were spent struggling to get through.My head is tired, my ears are tired, my hands and feet are tired, and even at this moment, I don't even want to keep beating my heart.

Unprecedented sleepiness and exhaustion enveloped Lin Yan, and he blinked dully once and for all.

He can no longer interfere with any of He Zhengxi's matters, and must be a calm bystander.

Before falling into a deep sleep, Lin Yan came to such a conclusion haphazardly.

It was not until the ticket was checked at the station that Lin Yan barely managed to keep his eyes open for a few minutes.Like a wandering soul, he followed the crowd step by step, didn't even bother to take care of his luggage, found his own place, fell back to sleep.

"Take care of your brother. I think he's not in a good condition. Call me if you have something to do." Lu Chi told He Zhengxi, "I can't let you two go today. I'm afraid you'll have to worry about it on the road."

He Zhengxi: "It's not that you don't know about my brother, you can call me or send me a text message when you get home. It's so late, my brother must be worried."

Lu Chi nodded, and pressed He Zhengxi's head again: "Okay, I'll go first."

"En." He Zhengxi waved to him.

Lu Chi took two steps and stopped, turned around and shouted from a distance: "Don't be old-fashioned, brother, you know!"

He Zhengxi naturally wanted to answer 'I know', but when he was about to speak, his throat seemed to be blocked, and he couldn't say a word in a daze.The two looked at each other for a while, and when Lu Chi was about to run back and slap him, He Zhengxi nodded vigorously.

"Yes." He said, "In the future, it will never be like this again."

One last guarantee.

Lin Yan didn't sleep well all the way. In the second half of the journey, when He Zhengxi was lying on the upper bunk holding a book and distracted, there was a sound of shoes being put on from below. He stretched out his head to look. Lin Yan has already hurriedly opened the door and ran towards the bathroom.He immediately turned over quickly and got out of bed, took out a disposable paper cup from his bag, put it on his body, and ran over.

Five or six minutes later, Lin Yan walked out of the bathroom with his back arched.He had just rinsed his mouth, and there were still drops of water on his thin cheeks, his eyes were slightly red, and every time he took a breath, his throat seemed to be leaking.This appearance made He Zhengxi feel pain in his heart. For the first time, he discovered that Lin Yan was also vulnerable.

"Stomach flu, you'll be fine after throwing up and going to sleep." Lin Yan spoke first as if he knew what He Zhengxi was going to say in advance.He held the cabinet next to him to gather himself, and then slowly began to move his feet.Just now he vomited out the food he ate at night, and the rumbling sound of the train shook him all over.

He Zhengxi stared at Lin Yan intently for a while, but he didn't get any more response, and felt a little disappointed.He walked up to Lin Yan, bent his legs, stretched out his hand and said, "Come up, I'll carry you on my back."

"I'm not light. I've been running for a year, and I've gained muscle." Lin Yan said hoarsely.

He Zhengxi smiled and patted himself on the back: "Don't underestimate your brother, come here."

"Okay, then take it easy." Lin Yan smiled softly, carefully lying on He Zhengxi's young and strong back like a baby eagle.

"Sit still?"

"Sit still."

"Then let's go."

"it is good."

As if the quarrel not long ago had never happened, He Zhengxi carried Lin Yan on his back, and walked back to the carriage that belonged to them under the doubtful eyes of the people around him.

Lin Yan sat on the edge of the lower bunk, not daring to move, and did not speak.He was a little uncomfortable, there was nothing to vomit in his stomach, but his chest was still oppressed.He Zhengxi stood in front of him at a loss, also silent.Another person in the carriage was sleeping, and it was extremely quiet in the narrow space.

He Zhengxi thought for a while, then slowly stretched out his hand, and when he almost touched Lin Yan's forehead, Lin Yan spoke suddenly, and He Zhengxi heard him say in an unexpectedly low voice: "You don't have a fever, you Pour me a glass of water, and then go up and rest."

He Zhengxi's arm paused embarrassingly in the air for a few seconds, and finally he had to withdraw it.He picked up the thermos of the same style as in his sports backpack, went outside, and lined up to get hot water.

Lin Yan did not have a fever. He was not sure if he had a stomach flu. He thought that he might just be sleepy and needed sleep and a complete rest.Lin Yan stared at the elder brother who was sleeping soundly on the opposite bed for a while, and soon, as if infected, he closed his eyes again and started the next stage of chaotic dreams.

When He Zhengxi came back with the thermos cup, Lin Yan was lying on his side on the small bed and was sleeping soundly.Even though this night's experience was really not pleasant, his eyebrows and eyes were still gentle and beautiful after he fell asleep, and it seemed that such things as hostility had never appeared on him.He Zhengxi quietly took off his shoes, stretched his long legs to the sides of Lin Yan's body, slowly stroked Lin Yan's face with his bony hands, subtle emotions appeared and disappeared in his dark and gloomy eyes.

Time passed by, and He Zhengxi still didn't get off Lin Yan's body.

"Brother..." He murmured softly, "I'm going crazy, I like you so much that I'm going crazy, brother..." He Zhengxi buried the tip of his nose deeply into Lin Yan's neck, sniffing carefully, earnestly and focusedly. with.His eyes were hot, all the way from his collarbone to his lower abdomen, his fingertips slightly touched the warm skin under Lin Yan's shirt.

"Nonsense... Pour water..." Lin Yan closed his eyes and muttered.

He Zhengxi was stunned for a moment, then kissed Lin Yan's forehead lightly, and said in a low voice, "Wait, I'll give you water right away."

He turned over neatly and got down, stretched his arms and took another paper cup from the upper bunk, poured the water from the thermos into it, put it on his lips and blew it slowly for half a minute before he dared to give it to Lin Yan to drink.

While bending over to feed Lin Yan, He Zhengxi suddenly felt that he was being stared at by a strange gaze.He finished feeding the water calmly, put away the paper cup, screwed on the lid of the thermos, and then turned his face to meet the owner who was looking at him.

"You... you, what's the relationship?" The elder brother on the other side had an extremely strange expression, and he stuttered.He Zhengxi remembered that when he first got into the car, this person was quite normal. He quickly reviewed what he had done just now in his head, and then said with a simple and honest smile: "My brother has a cold, and he is not feeling well."

The eldest brother wiped the sweat that didn't exist on his forehead, and nodded suspiciously, "Oh, then the relationship between your brothers is good enough...haha."

"Yes, that's what everyone said. We grew up without parents, and he brought me up." He Zhengxi replied solemnly.He carefully covered Lin Yan with the blanket he carried with him, turned his head and smiled at his elder brother again, "I'm sorry to bother you, you continue to sleep, I have to rest too."

"...Oh, go to sleep, go to sleep." The eldest brother was terrified by He Zhengxi's simple and honest smile, turned around quickly, and fell asleep facing the wall.

The train they took had nearly 30 stops along the way, with a total distance of more than 2000 kilometers, from south to north, from paddy fields to corn fields. Lin Yan fell asleep all the way.

When they arrived in Yancheng, Cheng Qi came to pick him up.

"It can be regarded as seeing someone, I'm so busy these days." Cheng Qiying went over to help drag the suitcase, her eyes fell on Lin Yan's hand, and she exclaimed suddenly: "God, what happened to your hand?!"

Lin Yan took two steps back again and again: "Keep down, my ears hurt."

Cheng Qi immediately covered her mouth, and asked again in a voice that can only be heard by ants: "God, what happened to your hand?!"

"I was accidentally cut by the blade." Lin Yan yawned sleepily, "Thank you for sending me back."

"Shouldn't you go for a walk in the store first? The girls are all looking forward to your return. There's still a meal tasting meeting today. You can take brother He to eat." Cheng Qi said.

Lin Yan raised his neck and said, "Give me two days off, I have to sleep."

Cheng Qi looked Lin Yan up and down curiously, looking really not in good spirits, "Okay, you've been tired enough for the past few months, take a good rest, your body is your capital."

"Well, thanks." While talking, Lin Yan yawned again, pointed at He Zhengxi, and said to Cheng Qi, "Let's take him home first, we live close anyway."

"I don't want to go home, can I stay with you?" He Zhengxi asked cautiously.

Lin Yan paused, turned his head and looked at He Zhengxi with eyes that were too sleepy to focus on, and after a long while, he finally said, "Okay, it's up to you."

After hearing this, He Zhengxi was half-hearted.

Lin Yan said that he wants to sleep at home, which is not true at all, he really needs to sleep for two full days.The previous afternoon, Cheng Qi took the hot pot ingredients to the rented room to find him for a sneaky meal, but she couldn't get up.

"No, what's the matter with your brother?" Cheng Qi pushed open the door and glanced at Lin Yan who was buried in the pillow with flushed cheeks, then withdrew and asked He Zhengxi worriedly, "Don't give birth It's not a serious illness, but last month we organized a medical examination for the staff, and he is in good health."

He Zhengxi scratched his hair irritably, leaned against the wall of the living room, and said, "I made him angry before I came, and he had a cold on the train, and he vomited quite badly..."

"What happened?" Cheng Qi closed the bedroom door, lit a cigarette, and walked to the balcony.

"Let me tell you, can you think of a way for me?" He Zhengxi asked.Seeing Cheng Qi smoking, he couldn't help but also started to dig out his pockets, but soon stopped with an embarrassed face.

"Yo." Cheng Qi was amused by He Zhengxi's series of actions, "Smoking must be one of the angry things."

"Yes..." He Zhengxi leaned on the balcony, took out a stick of gum, and chewed.

Although the time he had known Cheng Qi was too short, his intuition told him that Cheng Qi and his brother had a really good relationship, and they were also partners. Maybe they could give some advice, but they might also give him a punch.

"And then? Tell me." Cheng Qi finished fiddling with a few pots of green plants planted by Lin Yan on the balcony, and looked at He Zhengxi, "You really look like a confused teenager in the rebellious period."

"Maybe, anyway, I can't think of a solution." He Zhengxi picked up the small watering can at hand and started watering the plants. He hesitated to speak until every leaf was clean.

"The situation between the two of us is more complicated. I don't know if it's okay to tell you some details, such as..." He scratched his forehead in confusion.

"For example, the legendary Uncle Xu, um... so what?" Cheng Qi asked.

He Zhengxi raised his head in surprise, "My brother even told you this?"

Cheng Qi exhaled smoke and nodded, "He said, since we are partners, it is necessary to tell me and the proprietress about these things, and he hopes we don't mind this kind of background." Cheng Qi recalled, frowning in the smoke, "Mrs. Lin Yan To be honest, you know, he even said at the time that if he was worried about getting in trouble, he could pack up and leave immediately."

He Zhengxi's heart throbbed suddenly, he didn't know how to continue talking, because he didn't know what Lin Yan had suffered because of Xu Jialin's matter.In He Zhengxi's eyes, Lin Yan has always been confident and strong, and seems to be overcoming obstacles all the time.

Cheng Qi glanced at He Zhengxi who was in a daze, and continued: "He came back this time, he is like a withered grass. His willpower is stronger than anyone else's, and it is usually not like this. Please, talk as much as possible." He stubbed out the cigarette in his hand with a serious expression, "After all, he is the great protector of our restaurant. Of course, he is my friend, or my brother. No matter how much he has gone through, Lin Yan is just a student after all, he is not a superhero."

He Zhengxi was silent for a long time, and said: "...I... I actually like my brother very much." After he finished speaking, he hastily explained: "It's not the affection between brothers, to be precise, I love my brother." He, I hope to take care of him for the rest of his life."

He looked at the shocked Cheng Qi, with a tone of seeking support, "You've been abroad for so long, so you should be able to understand."

Cheng Qi opened her mouth, finally nodded, and asked doubtfully, "But aren't you brothers?"

"We are not related by blood. Both of us were adopted children by Uncle Xu, but later, my biological parents brought me back..." He Zhengxi lowered his head, his expression full of guilt.

"Okay, you continue." Cheng Qi said, "You raped your brother?"

This time it was He Zhengxi's turn to be shocked, he replied awkwardly: "No, I won't, but... it's actually pretty much the same."

"Almost? To what extent?!"

Cheng Qi's eyeballs were almost out of frame, he was amazed at the mobility of the big boy in front of him.

"Just... I touched him a few times while he wasn't paying attention, and it was very... How should I put it, you are a man, so you should understand." He Zhengxi saw Cheng Qi's expression was very ugly, and immediately He said again: "My fingers have never gone in. My brother actually can beat people, although he can't usually tell, his fists are very hard."

Cheng Qi plucked her ears helplessly, and said loudly, "You still want to go in?! It's good that Lin Yan didn't kill you, let alone you are a minor. If such a thing is really resorted to by law, Your brother has no right to speak."

"Also, there is one more thing, which may be the direct cause of his becoming like this." He Zhengxi continued on his own.

"What else?!" Cheng Qi choked, "I didn't expect that, you are so young, you are powerful enough!"

He Zhengxi said with a disheveled face: "Yes, I sorted it out myself and found that it is really not good, it is full of bad marks."

"Come on," Cheng Qi clapped her hands, "continue to tell about your bad deeds. If Lin Yan doesn't want to do it, I can do it for you."

"I have no objection, just give me a knife." He Zhengxi said with red eyes, he raised his head vigorously, as if he had made a huge determination, he started from the smoking incident and talked about the quarrel between the two.Every sentence, every detail, even the expression, he spoke intermittently for more than ten minutes like a repeater.

"...In the end, I was probably out of breath. I didn't think it was my own. I even mentioned to him about Uncle Xu, who is our adoptive father Xu Jialin. I said, maybe Xu Jialin has taken drugs many times, and he will squat He deserves to be in prison until he grows old, he should tell Uncle Xu more about what he taught me... instead of talking to me here and there." He Zhengxi raised his hand to cover his eyes in pain and choked up a few times , Regretted: "I must have hurt him deeply, I can see that he is very disappointed and sad, I feel like I have no conscience, a white-eyed wolf, not a human being."

"I also feel that you are not human after listening to it. By the way, you have a good memory and you are indeed a good student." Cheng Qi said after a few minutes of silence, "What about his hands? What happened to Lin Yan's hands?"

He Zhengxi recalled it with difficulty, and said: "I didn't have the face to continue to face my brother, so I opened the door and ran away. The elder brother who sent us to the station got out of the car and chased me. When we came back, his There was blood all over his hands, and his eyes were filled with fear and bewilderment."

He stretched out his hand and gestured to Cheng Qi, "It was a deep incision. My brother said he was accidentally cut. He bled a lot, really a lot, all over his feet. We were very nervous at the time. I took him to a nearby clinic for cleaning and bandaging."

After he finished speaking, he looked at Cheng Qi who was frowning and thinking again, and asked, "I definitely made a big mistake, didn't I? My mind is in a mess now, and I don't know how to make up for it so that he can feel better. "

"Wait." Cheng Qi made a pause gesture to He Zhengxi, "After you go out, Lin Yan will be left alone in the car, right?"

He Zhengxi nodded: "Yes, it was already 8 or 9 o'clock at night."

"Are the lights on in the car?"

"should not……"

"That is to say, no one saw what he did. In a dark environment, even if there are street lights outside, it may not be able to illuminate the entire carriage." Cheng Qi paced back and forth on the balcony, analyzing to himself , "The wound on his hand is said to have been accidentally cut by a blade. I don't think it's possible."

"Why?" He Zhengxi's heart also rose, he didn't think about it at all, Lin Yan said he was not careful, and he believed it.

"How many injuries did Lin Yan have on his hands?" Cheng Qi asked.

"Three ways, three ways are very deep..."

While He Zhengxi was talking, he suddenly raised his head as if thinking of something.He gathered himself together, met Cheng Qi's eyes, and the other party gave him the same guess:

Who gets accidentally cut three times in a row?The wound is still that deep?