Confluence

It was already past eight o'clock in the evening when the high-speed rail arrived at the final station, and the seven or eight-hour drive was exhausting.Zhang Shuchen was woken up by Wang Zheng, and the two pulled the suitcase out.

The snowflakes falling slowly in the sky and the orange street lights sprinkled down, adding a touch of warmth to the cold night.Most of the taxis at this time had just picked up the passengers, and they waited for a few minutes at the waiting station before finally getting a return one.

For a ten-minute drive, the driver was an enthusiastic uncle. Wang Zheng chatted with him for a while, while Zhang Shuchen stared at the scenery outside the window in a daze.Even though the alley was not easy to turn around, the driver kindly sent them to the gate of the apartment complex in the end. Wang Zheng gave a few extra dollars as a thank you, and the driver did not refuse.

Wang Zheng held Zhang Shuchen's hand and felt his fingertips were cold: "Is it still cold?"

Zhang Shuchen was silent for a while before answering: "Fortunately..."

Zhang Shuchen's condition has been weird since three days ago. Wang Zheng guessed that he was going to see his parents, so he became nervous. He will be fine in two days. After all, it's not like he hasn't been here before, so he didn't ask much... Now it seems that, On the contrary, it is more serious.

Wang Zheng tightened his fingers, held his hand tightly and loosened it a little, and comforted him: "Don't be afraid, my mother likes your favorite fish the most, and she made your favorite fish specially before. I will be with you Well, we haven't been back for a year, be happy, baby."

Zhang Shuchen finally bent his mouth: "Well..."

"Tsk, your voice still sounds unhappy..." Wang Zheng took the initiative to joke, "Why don't we go out and have a drink to relax before going back?"

"Are you crazy?" Zhang Shuchen scolded with a smile.

Wang Zheng also laughed, and the atmosphere finally eased up a bit, and then he said seriously: "Scholar, I know you have shadows about this matter, but stop imagining the impossible situation. My family and..." Wang Zheng wanted to say "your family" very much, but he suddenly felt a little cruel before he said it, so he hid it, "It's different, my mother told me before that she hoped we could be together, and my dad and my sister are also very fond of it." You, they've always wanted to be a real family with you."

Wang Zheng seldom used this method of shouting. At first glance, it sounded too intimate, which made Zhang Shuchen a little overwhelmed.

"You are the first person I bring back, no matter what identity you use."

"Maybe the speed of this disclosure is a bit fast. I'm sorry that I don't know what you went through back then, and I can't even empathize with you... But I hope you can just look at me now."

"Baby, I love you. I want to share my family with you, and they will be your harbor and backing in the future."

Zhang Shuchen's heart felt warm, and the heat rushed to his nose and eye sockets.

"Wang Zheng." Zhang Shuchen lowered his eyes, his fingertips were already warmed by the other party's grip, and he shook Wang Zheng's hand back, "I see, I love you too."

Wang Zheng's home was on the third floor, and the two carried their luggage to the second floor. Wang Zheng raised his head and shouted, "Second Treasure—open the door—"

Then the upstairs door slammed shut.

Wang Zheng laughed: "This girl will be useful at this time."

Zhang Shuchen glanced at him and said with a smile, "You have the guts to tell her in front of her."

"Don't dare, she will pinch people, and when she strikes, she doesn't know what to do, it hurts!"

The two stood at the door with their luggage, Wang Zheng pushed the door and said loudly: "We're back—"

"Snapped!"

The clear and crisp sound made Wang Zheng tremble in fright, and then shiny pieces of paper-cut fell from the sky.

Wang Yajuan turned on the light at the entrance, still holding a cracker in her hand: "Welcome—"

Wang Zheng was heavily drenched, stared at the little girl expressionlessly for two seconds, and rushed into the room loudly: "Mom! Er Bao litters!"

Mama Wang walked over slowly, took a look, and frowned: "Erbao, sweep the floor!"

Wang Erbao pouted: "Ah..."

Hearing this, Wang Zheng jumped up a few times in a hurry, raised his hand and patted the confetti off his hair and shoulders, and the door was in a mess all of a sudden.

"Brother—" Wang Yajuan raised her arm to hit him, "You hate me! Stop shaking on the ground!"

After playing with her for a while, Wang Zheng called Zhang Shuchen to his side, formally finished the greetings with his family, and then sent the luggage back to the bedroom.

Wang's father and Wang's mother, the chefs of the Wang family, specially waited for them to come back before serving the meal, and moved the meal time back two hours. At this time, Wang's father was still busy in the kitchen.

After sitting at the dining table, the whole family is considered complete.

Zhang Shuchen looked cramped on the road, and he didn't know if it was Wang Zheng's credit, but when he really faced the Wang family, he behaved very naturally.Except when Wang Yajuan came over to ask whether she would call him "sister-in-law" or "brother-in-law" in the future, she was confused and couldn't answer for a while, but Wang Zheng took the question and said that she would call him "brother" in the future, which solved the problem perfectly. That's it - other than this incident, Zhang Shuchen is considered to be performing normally.

After the meal, Wang Yajuan was fined to wash the dishes for cracking the cannon. Ms. Wang went to the bedroom, and the three of them sat together in the living room.

Sitting on the single sofa, Father Wang pointed to the red-bottomed fruit plate and ordered to Wang Zheng, "Dazheng, peel an orange for the scholar."

Zhang Shuchen hurriedly said: "Uncle, I, I will do it myself."

Wang Zheng ignored his words at all, straightened up immediately, and reached out to take an orange: "It's a must—"

Before Zhang Shuchen understood what this meant, Mother Wang came out of the bedroom.

Holding a red envelope in her hand, she walked over cheerfully: "Scholar."

Zhang Shuchen's heart was shocked, he turned his head to look at Wang Zheng, Wang Zheng just winked at him, and didn't intend to help him.

Zhang Shuchen gave up asking for help, so he hurriedly stood up: "Auntie..."

Ms. Wang didn't engage in any provocative plots, she just held Zhang Shuchen's hand with one hand, then covered the other hand holding the red envelope, and pressed the red envelope halfway into his palm , laughing so hard that his eyes curled up: "Take it, it's agreed, this is the change fee."

Zhang Shuchen has long passed the age of receiving red envelopes, and the red envelopes from his elders are too far away for him. Before the video chat, he thought it was just for fun, but he did not expect that Wang Mama actually wrapped a red envelope.

"No, why..."

"Collect it! It must be collected—" Wang Zheng interrupted him loudly, and then handed over the peeled orange, "This one must also be collected together."

Ms. Wang also picked up immediately: "Yes, you must accept it! Otherwise, Wang Zheng hired you to lie to us!"

Under the urging of the two people, Zhang Shuchen could only accept the two together, blushing and whispering thanks: "Thank you, Mom..."

Wang Zheng poked his waist lightly with his fingers, Zhang Shuchen looked at him, Wang Zheng raised his eyebrows, and turned his eyes to Father Wang's side, Zhang Shuchen followed his prompt to look over, and saw Father Wang's expectant face Zhang Shuchen smiled embarrassingly, and shouted: "Dad..."

"Hey!" Papa Wang responded with satisfaction.

Wang Zheng pulled him to sit down: "Hurry up and eat oranges. The rule here is that a new wife eats an orange, which means that there will be another 'reunion' person in the family in the future."

Whether it was the unpredictable "rules" or the person who spoke, Zhang Shuchen couldn't refuse, so he had to eat the orange with the straightforward gaze of the three of them.

After the ceremony, Mother Wang smiled and said to the "newly married" husband and wife: "You are tired on the way back, you guys, go to bed early, and the Chinese New Year is just beginning tomorrow! In the past, Shuchen was a 'guest', but this year he is a 'host'." ’, I won’t let you sit and rest anymore!”

Zhang Shuchen also nodded happily: "Okay."

The two packed their luggage and went to wash up one by one. When Wang Zheng entered the bedroom, he saw Zhang Shuchen sitting by the bed holding the red envelope, his brows twisted together.

"What's the matter? How much is there? It doesn't look like it's thicker than a thousand, right? Is 100 yuan a joy?" Wang Zheng walked to him and sat down.

Zhang Shuchen looked at him expressionlessly, opened the red envelope without saying a word, and poured out the contents. It was a bank card.

Wang Zheng also opened his eyes unexpectedly: "Ah?"

Zhang Shuchen handed over the card. On the back of the card was a section of cloth tape that had turned yellow, with a 6-digit password written on it.

"It's a bit, it's amazing..." Wang Zheng picked up the card, entered WeChat into the number on it, and tried to bind the bank card with his own name, but it was indeed bound.

It's all his own information... Wang Zheng checked the balance of this card with his official account.

Zhang Shuchen leaned his head over to watch him messing around, and the moment Wang Zheng saw the balance, he swears softly: "Damn..."

Zhang Shuchen was stunned when he saw the numbers on the screen: "So many?"

Wang Zheng exhaled, then raised his hand to wrap Zhang Shuchen's shoulders, and said with a smile, "It's a betrothal gift, that's right!"

"No," Zhang Shuchen said solemnly, "Mom and dad are getting old, so what if the family doesn't have any emergency money in the future... We can't accept it!"

"Honey, don't panic. They must have plans for Erbao to go to university next year. How could this be all of this?" Wang Zheng pressed his fingers lightly between his frowning brows, "This should be what they left for me. My wife Ben, if you don’t accept me, who will I give it to?”

"But……"

Wang Zheng interrupted him, and said in a low voice: "We have collected everything, how can we refund it? We can't use the money now, just keep it for emergencies, okay? Besides... we can't rent it for a lifetime." The house, you have to have your own home, the cost of the house is so high now... With our current income, can we pay it off in one lump sum?"

What Wang Zheng said was reasonable, Zhang Shuchen didn't say anything more, the two counted their savings again, sighed that life was not easy, put away the card, turned off the lights and went to sleep.

The next day the weather was fine, and the family was called up early by Ms. Wang to clean the house. Even Wang Yajuan did not stay in bed.After eating, the three juniors wiped the windows and replaced the newly washed curtains as required, and cleaned up the house before ten o'clock.

The dough was bought in the market, which saved a lot of time. Father Wang prepared the fillings for the dumplings, and took out the basin while greeting them. A festive song and dance performance was playing on TV, and the family gathered around the tea table and started making dumplings.

The Wang family makes dumplings every year.In the past, when Wang Zheng and Wang Yajuan were young, they were exhausted from cleaning every year, and they had to serve breakfast and lunch for the two cubs. The job of making dumplings was a lot of work with little time.Children can't climb up to hang the curtains, and they can't drag the floor cleanly, but making dumplings is safe and fun, so in order to catch up with the time for making dumplings at night, the family of four not only went to battle, but also competed with who made more dumplings after making them .

After so many years, the four of them have reached the state of proficiency. They don't even need to look at their hands. While chatting, their fingers are like flowers, and they can wrap a finished product with a perfect shape in the blink of an eye.

The appearance of Zhang Shuchen's dumplings was not bad, but the speed of his hands was not a little bit slow. When the hundreds of dumpling wrappers were used up, he only made seventy or eighty dumplings—barely worth a fraction of Wang Zheng's.

In terms of numbers, Wang Zheng won by a very small margin and won the championship again.Mama Wang helped Papa Wang put the dumplings on plates and put them in the refrigerator.

Zhang Shuchen looked at his hands full of flour, while looking at Wang Zheng, the palms of both hands were relatively clean.

Even if he was a bit unwilling, Zhang Shuchen had to admit: "Your hands are really fast."

Wang Zheng smiled meaningfully: "Do you want me to teach you?"

No matter how low the voice sounds, it is not serious.

Zhang Shuchen gave him a blank look, turned his arm and gave him an elbow, and ignored him.

The New Year's Eve dinner was so extravagant that it simply exceeded Zhang Shuchen's previous cognition.

The three big men on the table can't drink badly, but after a few drinks, they get a little drunk and they get closer.Wang Zheng chatted about the interesting things about his work this year, and Zhang Shuchen sat next to him, listening to him talking, even if it was something he knew, it was a bit more interesting when he said it.

On this dining table, there are honest and tolerant elders, a lively and lovely younger sister, and a lover who is within reach.Alcohol made his nerves relax, and Zhang Shuchen felt sore and warm in his heart in a trance.

All this was originally out of reach for him, but Wang Zheng used the fastest speed to let him have it again.

Dreamy.

Zhang Shuchen lowered his eyelids with a smile, immersed himself in it, and enjoyed the moment with all his heart.

After dinner is the most traditional program: the Spring Festival Gala.

Father Wang wrapped himself in a blanket and started snoring after only watching two dances. Wang Yajuan was watching the show on her mobile phone while scrolling through Weibo, laughing so hard that the ceiling almost collapsed, and Mother Wang yelled at her.

Wang Zheng cleaned up the kitchen, but he didn't see Zhang Shuchen in the living room when he came out.

Mama Wang looked at him, glanced towards the study, and raised her chin to signal him.

Wang Zheng nodded, and walked straight to the study, regardless of the excitement in the living room.

There is a balcony separated by glass doors in the study, and there is a window outside the balcony. Zhang Shuchen opened a gap, and sat alone on a chair by the window.Wang was opening the heavy glass door, cold air poured in from the balcony, and the temperature was a bit lower compared to the room.

Zhang Shuchen heard the movement behind him, turned his head to see Wang Zheng, and smiled at him: "Will you watch TV with them?"

"I want to accompany you," Wang Zheng walked up to him, "Is the room stuffy? Be careful not to catch a cold."

Zhang Shuchen also stood up: "No, I feel a little hot after drinking."

Wang Zhengdao: "Are you happy?"

Zhang Shuchen pursed his lips and smiled, nodded: "Happy."

Wang Zheng was facing the window, heaved a sigh of relief, and looked out the window.The field of vision here is not wide enough, and you can only see the warm lights of the houses on the opposite side.

"It will get better and better in the future," he said.

Zhang Shuchen let out a "hmm".

For a while, neither of them spoke again, but the atmosphere was not stiff.

After a while, Zhang Shuchen's phone suddenly started vibrating.

"Call at this time?" Zhang Shuchen was a little surprised, and asked while looking for the phone.

Wang Zheng also looked over: "Colleague's New Year greetings?"

Zhang Shuchen assumed that the caller was a colleague or a student, but he didn't expect He Cheng to be displayed on the screen? !

Why did this kid suddenly call himself when he was older than the Chinese New Year?Zhang Shuchen looked at Wang Zheng blankly.

Wang Zheng didn't expect it to be him. The two looked at each other for a few seconds. Several speculations flashed through his mind, and then he widened his eyes and exclaimed: "Damn it! It couldn't be this brat who fell out with his family, Did you come to see you by car?"

Zhang Shuchen's face turned pale, and he said "impossible, there won't be a car so late on New Year's Eve", but he hurriedly picked up the phone.

"Brother Shuchen, Happy New Year!" He Cheng's voice was energetic and joyful, and there seemed to be nothing wrong with it.There are children's laughter and adults' yelling in the background, and the sound of mahjong collision can be heard faintly.

Wang Zheng pointed to his mobile phone, Zhang Shuchen nodded, took off the mobile phone and pressed the speakerphone: "Why call me today?"

"It's New Year's Eve tonight! Why can't we fight?" He Cheng was confident.

"I thought you ran away from home!" Zhang Shuchen scolded with a smile.

He Cheng retorted: "Tch, I won't!"

"It's fine, happy new year!"

"Brother Shuchen, where are you?"

"Me?" Zhang Shuchen raised his eyelids to look at Wang Zheng beside him, and said with a smile, "I'm at your Brother Wang's house."

"Ah...that's it." He Cheng suddenly hesitated, "Brother Shuchen, is it convenient for you to talk now?"

"It's convenient, isn't this just talking to you?" Zhang Shuchen thought to himself, why is this kid talking nonsense.

"My cousin said... I want to talk to you..."

Wang Zheng was relaxed when he heard the words, but he was shocked when he heard the words, and he looked nervously at Zhang Shuchen.

Zhang Shuchen froze as if struck by lightning, with inadvertent fear in his eyes.

Before he was ready, the person on the other end of the phone had already changed: "Hello."

It was a female voice who seemed to have a bad tone, with a low voice and a little impatient anger.

For seven years, Zhang Shuchen's heart was instantly grabbed by an invisible hand, causing his eyes to blur from the pain.

Not hearing the voice from here, the woman became even more irritable: "Hello!"

Zhang Shuchen quickly responded to her: "I am..."

When the woman heard Zhang Shuchen's voice, she was silent for a while, and then said dryly: "...are you still alive?"

The corner of Wang Zheng's mouth twitched, and he almost swears, but after thinking about it, this is Zhang Shuchen's mother... and his mother-in-law... Suddenly, he felt nervous again.

Zhang Shuchen didn't know how to answer it, so he could only say "hmm" honestly.

The other end of the phone was quiet again, this time for a longer time, some firecrackers sounded in the background, and the woman's almost murmured voice came over: "Okay, as long as you're still alive..."

Zhang Shuchen's eyes turned red instantly.

Maybe it's because she hasn't spoken to her son for too long, Zhang's mother is more awkward than Zhang Shuchen, and her breath is clear and long when she hesitates to speak, and finally she gives up: "Well, that's it."

Zhang Shuchen's lips trembled, and Wang Zheng stretched out his hand to hold his other hand, and immediately felt him squeeze back tightly, with great strength, and was still trembling slightly, as if he wanted to gain the courage to speak from him.

As he wished, Wang responded to his strength, making his fingers swell.

"Mom..." Zhang Shuchen's voice was unsteady, "X-Happy New Year."

The phone was quiet for a long time, so long that Zhang Shuchen thought she had returned the phone to He Cheng, and finally a simple and vague answer came from the other end: "Oh..." Then the phone was hung up immediately, leaving only "beep" sound.

After the beep sounded for a while, Zhang Shuchen came back to his senses and put away his phone. His emotions were uncontrollable, mixed with grief and joy, with tears in his red eyes. He took a deep breath, let go of his sore hand, and smiled. With a cry, he raised the back of his hand and rubbed his nose, pretending to be calm and said to Wang Zheng: "Let's... go in."

Wang Zheng didn't say anything, but suddenly reached out to hug him, put one hand on his back, and rubbed the back of his head with the other hand, expressing congratulations and comfort.Zhang Shuchen buried his head on his shoulder, tears soaked into his clothes, occasionally there was a small sound of breathing.

Wang Zheng turned his head and kissed the hair next to his ear, and said softly: "It will get better and better in the future."

Zhang Shuchen hugged him back forcefully: "Yes."

After the two calmed down on the balcony, the temperature on the balcony was quite different from that in the house. Seeing that their faces were turning pale from the cold, Mama Wang didn't ask the reason, but asked them to sit for a while. Only after supper can I go to bed.

Zhang Shuchen sat for a while, his mood calmed down and his body warmed up, and he gradually became sleepy.

Wang Zheng took advantage of this time to get up and said that he was going to cook for supper. Everyone would eat earlier and queue up to wash up earlier. Mother Wang agreed.

The New Year's Eve dinner in the evening has not been digested, and some snacks and candies are occasionally stuffed into the mouth while watching the show. Everyone is not hungry now, and the supper is just a sense of ritual.Wang Zheng only cooked a small bowl of fermented glutinous glutinous rice balls for each person, and they were cooked very clearly, not much different from a bowl of hot sweet soup, just right to quench their thirst.

Zhang Shuchen had supper, said good night to everyone after taking a shower, and went back to the bedroom first.

Wang Zheng and his family stayed for a while longer before going to take a bath, and it took longer than usual. He thought Zhang Shuchen had already fallen asleep, but when he opened the door, he found that the dim lamp by the bed was still on.

Wang Zheng closed the door: "Didn't sleep? Didn't you get so sleepy that your eyes almost closed just now?"

"I'm almost awake after taking a shower." Zhang Shuchen sat on the bed, holding a mobile phone in his hand, and was scrolling through various trending news for entertainment.

Wang Zheng walked to the window, opened the curtain a crack, took a look, then turned to Zhang Shuchen and said, "Mr. Zhang, it's snowing outside."

Hearing this, Zhang Shuchen put down his phone and got out of bed: "Really?"

Wang Zheng didn't answer, but just took a step to the side, giving up his half-person's seat: "Come and see for yourself?"

Zhang Shuchen thought to himself that it hadn't snowed when he came in and drew the curtains, but now it's snowing... But before he could get close to the window, a force on his waist caught him off guard, and he turned around according to him.

After being turned around for a while, being pressed on the bed by Wang Zheng, Zhang Shuchen saw the face of the other party who was close at hand, and was about to speak, but his lips were blocked by his lowering his head as soon as he opened his mouth.

Wang Zheng tilted his head and separated from his lips, not surprised by his movement at all, panting and smiling and said: "Mr. Zhang, you said that you would not let me always, we two will settle accounts, right?"

Zhang Shuchen put his hands on his sides, looked into his eyes: "Yes."

"Exactly, I thought I had to wake you up tonight." Wang Zheng raised his hand to rub his neck, and said relaxedly, "Then... the year-end settlement, let's begin."

Zhang Shuchen smiled, lowered his head and kissed his face, his voice was gentle and serious: "Leave it to me."

The gala came to an end, the hour hand and the minute finally coincided at the top, the fireworks bloomed dazzlingly in the dark night sky, huge colorful hydrangeas rose one after another, the sound of firecrackers attracted fine snowflakes, and in the whirlwind of white, people ushered in a new Year.