night fire

37

The bus drove through an old street full of sycamores. The dark red old-fashioned apartment was adjacent to the modern glass building, and the crowd was bustling. For some reason, Zhao Qiyan wanted to get off the bus and go for a walk.

On a short street, there are three pharmacies, two flower shops, several snack shops, and several clothing stores with clothes hangers piled up on the sidewalk. Zhao Qiyan bought a bag of roasted chestnuts, and the heat was trapped in the tightly clenched cowhide bag. , In a short while, those round maroon things were blown wet and soft.

He didn't eat it, he just held it in his hand, walked a few steps, and bought two bunches of candied haws on the side of the road. He only wanted to buy one bunch, but he really didn't know whether to buy small tomatoes or hawthorn. Fortunately, it was the same Here comes a bunch.

He stopped and stopped like this, and when he reached the end of the street, he already had a bunch of things in his hands - fried chestnuts, candied haws, rice flower candies of an unknown brand, small square cakes covered in spicy oil, and a bag of steaming Xiaolongbao.

He stood under the sycamore tree at the end, with layers of palm-shaped leaves on top of his head, dry and thin, which is a unique autumn scenery.

Through those winding branches and yellow leaves, Lu Xiujin, who is leaning against the antique carved window on the second floor of the hotpot restaurant on the opposite street, is smoking.

Zhao Qiyan looked straight up, watching the golden sunset light gently envelop Lu Xiujin's profile.

So he was here too—so he was in this city, too.Strange city, familiar people, Lu Xiujin can barely be counted among the latter.

Lu Xiujin turned his head, the cigarette in his hand curled up, he seemed to see him, but only for a moment, he looked away, as if he was not going to look in his direction.

Zhao Qiyan withdrew his gaze, as if a stranger walked away relentlessly after unintentionally glanced at the corner of the street - because there was really nothing to care about.

Lu Xiujin actually doesn't really want to eat hot pot - he doesn't really want to smoke either.The hot pot boiled and was emitting white gas, which mixed with the cigarette in his hand. The smell of butter and chili lightened the aroma of tobacco, and he suddenly felt extremely irritable.

He looked out of the window, but he didn't know what he was looking at—he saw the busy traffic, the crowds, the girls' short skirts, and the cart selling candied haws.He was restless, but saw a familiar face between the leaves.

When he came back to his senses, the man had disappeared, and he only remembered that he seemed to be wearing a black coat.

He flicked the cigarette ash, and watched the small piece of bright red go out quickly, feeling a little funny.

"What a ghost." He laughed at himself.

Zhao Qiyan wasn't supposed to be on shift at night, but one of his colleagues had an emergency, so he went to help out. He hadn't been at work at this time for a long time, and the crowd was unbelievably crowded, and his tie was squeezed out several times.

In the early hours of the morning, some people dispersed, and when Zhao Qiyan was getting drinks at the bar, Wu Yong asked him if he should change back to men's clothes.

"You have less work now anyway," he said.

Zhao Qiyan was picking ice cubes from the ice bucket, and the sound of small square ice cubes falling into the glass was clear and sweet.

"Men's clothing is easy to be harassed." He took it for granted.

"Can't you wear women's clothing..." and even more.

Zhao Qiyan shook the wine bottle and began pouring downed cocktails into it side by side, saying, "Well...the situation is different..."

After pouring the last cup, he straightened up and continued: "After all, men are still good at fighting."

Wu Yong felt that it was necessary to correct his thoughts: "Being sexually harassed by a woman is also harassment!"

Zhao Qiyan raised a glass of wine, looked at the small translucent bubbles in the glass, and smiled childishly.

"I know—" he dragged his voice lazily, "but..."

"...I can't do anything to girls."

"..."

"Has Uncle Wu ever suffered?"

"...Well," Wu Yong's face showed a bit of helpless depression, mixed with a bit of confusion about recalling the past, "I pushed her, but my life almost died."

"Oh." Zhao Qiyan took the cup and left.Wu Yong spread out his five fingers, the scar under the middle finger bent and spread to the wrist, ugly as a reptile.

"You must have been very angry," he said to himself, "and you must have regretted it."

That's why I didn't come back for so long.

It was several days later that Lu Xiuyan found out that her younger brother was a little abnormally well-behaved - he didn't cause trouble or spend a lot of time, except for going out for a few meals with his friends, he stayed at home obediently the rest of the time.

She was so frightened that she invited a family doctor to examine Lu Xiujin, for fear that he might have some kind of disease.

Lu Xiujin looked drowsy, but he didn't resist the doctor. He answered the doctor's questions obediently, but the doctor didn't see any problem. After checking for a long time, he only got a result of lack of sleep.

"Do you want to go to heaven because you don't sleep at night?" After the doctor left, Lu Xiuyan walked to the bedside and asked.

Lu Xiujin raised his eyelids and said, "It's not that I haven't slept... It's just that I haven't slept enough."

He shrank into the quilt: "So sister, you go quickly, I want to catch up on sleep."

The moment he heard that Lu Xiuyan was about to walk out of the room, he suddenly lifted the quilt, revealing his hairy head: "Sister."

"how?"

"Do you remember the last time you asked me to apologize?"

"Well," Lu Xiuyan nodded, "Aren't you refusing to do so, kid?"

Lu Xiujin slid down again, the quilt covered the lower half of his face, only his eyes were exposed, and said in a low voice, "Then I will now, will you come with me?"

Lu Xiuyan was a little surprised, but still replied, "Okay."

"Good night, sister."

"Good night."

She closed the door, thinking, it's time to call Wu Yong together, neatly.

The author has something to say:

Sister: One family, neat and tidy.