camouflage

Shu Xia was called away again.

Ji Xi glanced at the noisy eating scene, feeling a little uncomfortable.

The vegetable smell is very strong, but it doesn't stimulate any appetite. He is standing under the camellia tree on the side of the house. There used to be a pile of firewood. He has crossed it three times. , once to take Shu Xia away from here.

He frantically plucked at the pocket of his clothes, but found no cigarettes.

The clothes were dirty and covered with dust. It was dust from helping Shu Xia search for Shu Daqing's birthday horoscope. Shu Xia wouldn't let him touch it, but he couldn't bear to see him busy alone, and wanted to take him away. Go, go far away.

"Hi! Remember me?"

Ji Xi glanced sideways, it was Shu Ting, who had had a meal at her house at the beginning, but didn't have much contact with her afterwards.

"Well, I remember." Ji Xi said lightly.

"You know Shu Xia?" Shu Ting looked at him, "At that time you still asked about Shu Xia's home."

"Well, a classmate." Ji Xi said.

"Really!" Shu Ting was surprised, "Then you pretended not to know him then?"

"At that time... I wasn't very familiar with it." Ji Xi smiled, if he came up on a bicycle at that time, what would Shu Xia look like?

surprise?

It may be indifference!

With his temperament, as long as you don't mess with him, you'll be easy to get along with, but if you mess with him, you'll be Brother Pingtou, and you'll bear a grudge for the rest of your life.

"Oh, the photo you took with my grandma last time was very nice. I sent you a thank you, but you didn't reply me." Shu Ting smiled.

"Oh, there are too many contacts, I forgot it for a while, sorry." He said nonchalantly, looking at the camellias on the tree, and at the end of the month, he began to decline.

"The flowering period of camellias is coming soon." Shu Ting said, "In our place, Shu Xia's family grows the most, with several colors."

Ji Xi nodded, indeed, there are many colors, planted around the house.

"Shu Xia...his father...he is also pitiful. He has no father before graduating from high school." Shu Ting sighed.

Ji Xi didn't reply, Shu Xia has always been very pitiful, but he has a strong self-esteem and doesn't need pity and sympathy.

He is tired and proud.

"Well, this topic is a bit heavy, let's talk about it lightly." Shu Ting smiled, "A lot of people asked me about you today, and I am very curious about you."

"What are you curious about?" Ji Xi frowned.

"Because you are different, especially unlike the people here, in terms of speech, behavior, and demeanor." Shu Ting said.

"... Haven't there been any foreigners here?" Ji Xi asked, he is not a foreigner, so what's the difference.

"You're handsome!" Shu Ting said shyly.

"Isn't Shu Xia handsome too?" Ji Xi said.

"It's a different feeling, Shu Xia. Everyone knows that he grew up here, and he's used to seeing it. It's completely different from your feeling." Shu Ting said.

"Don't you think Shu Xia is out of place here?" Ji Xi asked.

"Ah?" Shu Ting was surprised, "No, from a village, there is something out of place, a native born and bred local."

"He is different from the people here." Ji Xi turned around and left after speaking.

Shu Xia is different from the people here, he shouldn't belong here.

Shu Ting followed behind him, "Shu Xia is pretty handsome, but after so many years, I've gotten used to it. Hey, don't you eat? There's a seat."

"No." Ji Xi looked for Shu Xia's shadow in the crowd without looking back.

Shu Xia was easy to find, the most conspicuous one at a glance, but he looked around and didn't see the conspicuous one.

Where did you go?

Ji Xi walked through the crowd, trying to dodge as much as possible. The satiated people stood beside them picking their teeth, drinking tea and wiping their mouths. The floor was full of garbage, and disposable paper cups were thrown all over the floor.

He is not used to this kind of environment, and he has all kinds of tastes. He didn't see so much when he went to Meng Ke's house last time, but this time he has learned a lot.

When passing by the gate, he glanced at the ice coffin in the middle from the corner of his eye, and the hairs all over his body stood up, feeling a chill coming over him.

Take two quick steps to avoid the yin flowers folded in yellow paper at the door, it's so fucking creepy!

He still remembered the scene where Shu Daqing circled his car, but now he was actually lying in it.

Gee!

Where did Shu Xia go?

The sound of crackling firecrackers was deafening, Ji Xi covered his ears and walked back.

He really didn't fit in here, and thinking about it made him feel even more irritable.

"Ji Xi, come here." Shu Xia called out.

Ji Xi raised his head and saw that Shu Xia was standing at the door of the living room looking at him, he relaxed in one breath, squeezed through the crowd, and walked towards Shu Xia.

"Where have you been?" Ji Xi couldn't help being wronged as soon as he approached.

"Come with me." Shu Xia didn't return him, but took his arm and pushed through the crowd to the side of the house.

is the direction of his room.

Ji Xi looked at the white cloth strip on his arm, there was one on his head too, but he took it away, making it inconvenient to do things.

He turned over the familiar window sill three times.

"Turn in." Shu Xia pushed him.

"If there is a door and you can't leave, why open the window?" Ji Xi asked, leaning on the window sill neatly and jumping into Shu Xia's room.

Shu Xia followed in, "There are too many people in the living room."

Ji Xi protected him and jumped down, looking at him puzzled, "Why are you so secretive?"

"I made noodles for you." Shu Xia pulled him to the bed next to him, and his desk moved to a place where there were many gift boxes piled up.

Ji Xi looked at the hot noodles on the desk, with a fried egg and shredded pork on it. Shu Xia had made similar ones before, and it was a little sour.

"Eat quickly, you are not used to eating outside, I am too busy to cook delicious food, you just eat something, and I will make you a supper when you are not busy at night." Shu Xia pulled him to sit on the bed , in front is the desk, and on the desk are the noodles he made.

Ji Xi couldn't help hugging him, and said in a muffled voice, "What are you doing, don't worry about me, I can take care of myself."

Shu Xia patted him on the back, he just didn't want to wrong him, Ji Xi has a serious obsession with cleanliness, and is picky about eating, if he doesn't do it, he will definitely be hungry, and he won't eat a bite if he is killed.

"Eat quickly, it won't taste good if it gets mushy." Shu Xia pushed him away, and pushed the noodles in front of him.

"Shu Xia, if you do this, I will feel guilty." Ji Xi took a bite with his head down, fearing that he could not help crying, "You are already very tired, and you still have to take care of me."

"I'm not tired. Taking care of you is the most relaxing time for me." Shu Xia smiled, watching him eat, "Is the taste okay? I didn't buy the noodles, so I haven't tasted them yet."

"Everything you cook is delicious." Ji Xiyao looked at him and smiled, "Shu Xia, you will make me pampered like this."

"Pfft...it's okay, just be charming." Shu Xia said with a smile.

"Are... are you okay now?" Ji Xi asked hesitantly, afraid of touching his bad mood.

"Well, it's okay. In fact, I don't feel much when I'm busy. I'm already like this. I can't get him up." Shu Xia breathed out deeply, "I knew this result a long time ago, but it was too sudden. If you are not ready, now, when you are busy, you will not feel sorry for yourself."

"You are strong!" Ji Xi said.

"I'm not strong, I cried today, how can I be strong?" Shu Xia said with a smile.

"Stronger than me, if I..." Ji Xi paused, unable to think of his own state, "Anyway, much stronger than me."

"Okay, eat quickly!" Shu Xia smiled.

"Have you eaten?" Ji Xi asked.

"I don't have an appetite, let's talk about it when I'm not busy." He was so busy that he kept his feet on the ground, and he didn't feel hungry at all.

"Let's eat together." Ji Xi picked up a piece of egg and said, "How can you do without eating? You know how to take care of me, but you don't know how to take care of yourself."

Shu Xia opened her mouth and swallowed it without chewing twice.

"I might be very busy later, if you're bored, you can sleep here, or go out to see the excitement." Shu Xia wanted to tell him to go back, but she would definitely quarrel.

"Don't worry about me. Besides, I'll stay with you. How can I take care of you like this?" Ji Xi fed him a mouthful of noodles, mixed with some shredded pork, "Eat the meat too, so that you will have strength work."

After taking two bites, Shu Xia waved her hand away, "You can eat, I don't have much appetite, I have to go out, you can leave it when you finish eating, if you are bored, you can play with your phone, but the signal may not be very good, or you can go out Watch them play."

"Playing cards?" Ji Xi was surprised, "This kind of occasion... isn't it good to play cards?"

"It's all like this here." Shu Xia wiped her mouth with a piece of paper, "For them, there is no difference between a funeral and a wedding."

"Huh?" Ji Xi was surprised.

"Just get used to it." Shu Xia leaned over and kissed him on the cheek, "I'm off to work."

"Uh... okay." Before Ji Xi recovered, Shu Xia actually kissed him!

It's not that busy at night, just discussing when the burial will be done, tomorrow's expenses, what Shu Xia should do... There are many and complicated things.

Ji Xi leaned against the door and listened, his heart was stuffy, his head was empty, and he really wanted to smoke. He said he wanted to accompany Shu Xia and wanted to help him, but he was not needed here at all, and there was nothing he could do. , without a suitable identity, just Shu Xia's classmate.

Classmates, minors, students, these pronouns make others treat him with a kind of indifference of "you are still a child, what can you do".

When Shu Xia was so busy, he couldn't help, because of his status, burning paper money required his relatives, so he couldn't help, and he couldn't participate in the discussion of expenses. It wasn't that relatives didn't even have an excuse to go in, and they didn't even have the qualifications to help him receive visitors. No……

He took a deep breath, but he didn't want to leave, even though it was awkward to be here, and there were waves of people asking questions, he didn't want to leave either.

"Hey, what are you doing?" Shu Ting asked him.

Ji Xi took a look, there were three of them, and two boys were with them, they seemed to be high school students, looking at him with sizing eyes.

"It's okay." Ji Xi said lightly, and glanced at the living room from the corner of his eye. Shu Xia was listening to the village head and the old man talking about customs, what to do, and what it meant... a lot, he couldn't understand, because the dialect spoken by the old man , and a strong accent, which he could only distinguish a little.

"When are you going back?" Shu Ting asked.

Ji Xi frowned at her, "What's wrong?"

"We are short of three here, do you want to join?" Shu Ting asked, pointing to the two boys next to her, "They are from our village, they grew up together, and they are also studying in No. [-] Middle School, freshman in high school."

Ji Xi took a look, but he didn't recognize them, and couldn't even find their shadows, so there must be no intersection.

"This is Shu Mu." Shu Ting pointed to the boy on the left, who was skinny and dressed like a playboy following the trend.

She pointed to the boy on the right again, "This is Shu Fan."

He is quite an ordinary boy with pimples on his face, his face is bumpy, and his clothes are similar to that of that "tree".

"Oh, hello, I'm Ji Xi." Ji Xi twitched the corner of his mouth.

"Are you coming?" Shu Ting asked.

"What?" Ji Xi asked.

"Playing cards, I just said it." Shu Ting said.

play cards?Ji Xi suppressed the surprise, discomfort, and inexplicable anger in his heart. He was dead. How could he still have the mind to play cards? Here...

—For them, a funeral is no different from a wedding.

Shu Xia's words lingered in his ears, and Ji Xi was in a complicated mood.

These people, because it was not their relatives who died, so they didn't care. They came to have a meal during the meal, and after the meal, they would have fun playing cards and firecrackers by themselves... It was sad and true.

"I don't know how to play cards." Ji Xi said, probably because he stubbornly felt that he was Shu Xia's boyfriend, how could he play cards at his father's funeral, playing like a stranger strayed into a feast, full of Curiosity to inquire, even participate.

"We can teach you." Shu Ting asked, "Are you leaving?"

"Yeah." Ji Xi answered casually.

"Oh." Shu Ting nodded.

"Aren't you going to study at night today? Why are you still here?" Ji Xi then remembered that he didn't seem to ask for leave, and he could still help Shu Xia with this matter.

"Isn't there... a funeral..." He didn't hear what Shu Ting said, but hurried to the side of the house, passing by Shu Xia's room.

Turn over the window sill and go in, there is no one inside.

He sat on the bed and took out his mobile phone to call Shen Shi, only to find that Shen Shi had already called him a few times, as well as Qi Xin and the others, a dozen or so calls, his mobile phone was on silent, neither heard nor heard. Feel free to take a look.

Call Shen Shi.

The connection was quickly connected, and before he could speak, there was a lot of chattering from Shen Shi, and he didn't even have a chance to interrupt.

"Enough!" Ji Xi roared, "How can I talk like this?"

Only when the phone quieted down did Ji Xi find an opportunity.

"Shu Xia's... Dad passed away. I was so busy that I didn't call you after two o'clock today. It's our fault." Ji Xi said.

"Then... is Shu Xia okay?" Shen Shi asked softly.

"...It's okay, it's just that he's very busy. His mother can't do anything. He's busy inside and out, so there's no time to take a breather." Ji Xi sighed.

"...A few days off, I will approve it right away?" Shen Shi asked.

"Me too, let's ask for a week first, I don't know when I will be buried." Ji Xi said.

"What are you asking for? This matter has nothing to do with you..."

"I'm willing to help others, can't I care about my classmates?" Ji Xi yelled like venting, too many people have separated him from Shu Xia today, they are obviously a very close couple, but they can't do anything.

"That's it, hang up." Before Shen Shi could say anything, Ji Xi hung up the phone.

Looking at the time, it was 10 minutes to eight o'clock. He should be in the second quarter's evening self-study at this moment. He put the phone back in his pocket and wiped his face.

Even if I can't do anything, I still want to watch him here.

He wanted to lie down, but Shu Xia's busy figure couldn't get rid of in his mind, and he couldn't live comfortably while lying down, so he slowly looked at Shu Xia's room, the room where he lived for 16 years.

Small but clean.

The walls are covered with stickers, wallpapers with light blue patterns, the ceiling is not pasted, and the wooden boards and plastic sheets on it can be seen, as well as an energy-saving lamp.

The wardrobe is against the wall on the right side of the bed. It is dark brown in color. It is quite big for some years. He forgot what it used to be on the opposite side. Now there are a bunch of gifts and various things from others, packaged and placed all over the corner. .

Shu Xia's desk was moved to the left of the bed. It used to be by the window, but now the window is full of sundries, like a storage room.

The only valuable thing is this bed, a large carved bed, very similar to the one in the costume drama.

It's just that the color of the sheets doesn't match the bed.

He leaned back, leaning against the quilt folded into tofu cubes. There was a pendant on the bed, a bit like a hexagon made of straw, with a red Chinese knot underneath.

Quite good looking.

I didn't pay attention the last time I came here, maybe I was watching someone.

Ji Xi raised his hand to fiddle with it, making it spin, round and round, the red Chinese knot twirled.

Want to keep it for yourself.

As soon as an idea popped up in his mind, Ji Xi acted.

He got up and studied for a long time, but he couldn't find a place to take it off. How did he hang it up in the first place? Was it woven on it?

After fiddling for a long time, he couldn't get it off, so he gave up.

Sure enough, Shu Xia's things are very loyal.

The same is true for the uneasy kindness, and he ignored him.

The same goes for Xiaocao, only when Shu Xia feeds her, she reacts a little bit, but at other times she acts like a grandpa.

It was too noisy outside, Ji Xi got up, sighed, turned over the window and went out again.

Some people are cleaning, there are piles of garbage, and some people are playing cards by the fire. It's really... Ironic and sad.

Shu Ting and the others didn't know where to fight, and Ji Xi wasn't interested in knowing.

He walked slowly, looking at the white, yellow, and red papers around him, which belonged to the dead.

Soon they reached the gate, and there were several people guarding inside. Ji Xi was relieved, at least there were still people there, including Shu Xia's mother.

The whole person is very haggard, with disheveled hair, staring blankly at a certain point, not knowing what to think.

"Auntie." Ji Xi called her.

Mei Ting looked up at him, lifeless, without any energy.

"Are you okay?" Ji Xi asked.

She didn't say anything, just looked at him, as if she didn't know him, Ji Xi stood there awkwardly, not knowing what to say to her.

Her eyes suddenly changed, becoming sharp and hateful, as if looking at an enemy, Ji Xi took a step back in fright.

"Auntie..." Before she finished speaking, Mei Ting rushed over and grabbed his clothes, glaring at him with a ferocious face, "It was you who brought Xiao Xia into trouble, wasn't it you? It must be you, he has always been very obedient, But after meeting you, he changed, rebellious, disobedient, disfilial..."

He was charged with one crime after another, and Ji Xi couldn't react for a while.

"How well-behaved he was before! Now, he failed at school, all of them failed at school, it's all because of you, it's all because of you..."

"How can you treat him like this, he is just a student, he studies well, how can you teach him badly?"

"...You still have the face to come here? How did your parents teach you to be so uneducated?"

A sentence hit Ji Xi's heart, why did he teach Shu Xia badly?Why is he uneducated?

He didn't teach Shu Xia badly, he didn't...

Ji Xi wanted to push her away, but Mei Ting's grip was too tight, and the people around her couldn't react for a moment, they just stared blankly.

……