soft hedgehog

Chapter 59 One Life Is So Short

If a person deliberately avoids another person, it would be a fantasy to meet by chance, let alone a transparent and decisive person like Liang Yuchen.Once a decision is made, he can not answer the phone, not reply to the text message, and not show up anywhere the two may meet.

As for Ji Tong, there was nothing he could do.

Liang Yuchen has looked forward, but he hasn't.The feeling of wanting to see someone will not disappear automatically just because the other person has a new relationship.On the contrary, it is like fuel on the fire, and it is getting worse.

Ji Tong wanted to see Liang Yuchen, even if he just took a look at him from a distance, the more he couldn't see him, the more he longed to see him.

The library, cafeteria, and audio-visual classrooms, where my brother used to go, Ji Tong has been there and wandered around more than once, but after so many days, he didn't come across him once.And Liang Yuchen was probably really busy, so he never took time to go home.

The graduation ceremony became Ji Tong's last hope.

The postgraduate ceremony is held in the playground, and it will be open to all teachers and students in the school. It is not difficult to go to the scene to watch the ceremony.Liang Yuchen's appearance in a degree gown is very charming without even thinking about it. It is an important moment in life, and Ji Tong feels that he should witness it.

After finishing work at his internship on Wednesday night, he walked to the subway station with another intern.

"Leilei, can you take over for me the day after tomorrow? I have something to do that day." The boss has already said that if you ask for leave, you need someone to help you, otherwise it will not be approved unless there are special circumstances.

The colleague is a girl who is in the same school as him, a junior in Spanish at the foreign college, and she agreed for the sake of her alumni.He thanked her a thousand times, praised her for being beautiful and promised to buy milk tea and soufflé for him, and then took the subway to a nearby shopping mall to buy clothes.Although Liang Yuchen might not notice him when he was on the stage, he still had to tidy himself up for that possibility.I haven't seen him for so long, I can't lose my brother's person, and I hope my brother thinks he's getting better and better.

On Friday, when the three people in the dormitory were still soundly asleep, Ji Tong's bed was already empty.He set the alarm clock at seven o'clock, but he woke up naturally at 06:30.He got up from the bed and got out of bed lightly. He took the washbasin towel and went to the bathroom to scrub his face carefully. After returning, he changed into the shirt he bought the day before and went back to the bathroom to look in the mirror.I imitated other people's hair waxing, and ended up messing up the strands of my fine, smooth hair, so I had to wash my hair again with cold water under the tap.

When he returned to the dormitory after blowing his hair, just as he closed the door, Wang Teng yelled in a daze on the bed, "Are you going out?"

He was startled like a thief, lowered his voice and asked, "Did it wake you up?"

"Hmm..." Wang Teng was feeling very sleepy, "Come back and bring me some chili pepper potatoes."

This is the most popular snack at the food stall at the school gate, and it costs five yuan a piece.Because he was about to see Liang Yuchen, Ji Tong was in a good mood, and said with a soft smile, "I see, but I may have to come back later, maybe in the afternoon, maybe in the evening."

In case Liang Yuchen found him, he would confess to his brother that he made a special trip there.The two have seen each other for a long time, and they should have a meal together.Now that he has the money he earns from his part-time job, he can treat his brother to a big meal openly, hoping that his brother will appreciate it.

Wang Teng responded and pulled up the quilt, turned over and continued to sleep.

After Ji Tong went downstairs, he first went to the cafeteria to buy buns and soy milk, and told his aunt twice: "No sugar, no sugar at all." Then he rushed to the playground in the East Campus early.Along the way, many people in academic gowns passed by him, and young students took pictures wherever they went.

It was less than 08:30 when we arrived at the gate of the playground, and there was still more than half an hour before the ceremony began.The playground is full of pre-arranged chairs. To the south is a teaching desk, with a big red shadow board on which is hung a round school badge with a diameter of more than one meter, and the school motto is printed on both sides.

Many people came to the venue one after another, but there was no figure of Liang Yuchen among them.Ji Tong was in a hurry, he stood in the corner and stared at the entrance, not daring to lose his mind for a moment, the buns in his hand gradually turned from hot to warm.

When he finally saw an acquaintance——Xi Jiacheng appearing in his field of vision, he was overjoyed, thinking that Liang Yuchen was probably behind him, and just about to call out "Brother Jiacheng", his phone vibrated at an inappropriate time.

It was the alumnus who had promised to replace him.

"Ji Tong, I'm sorry, I suddenly felt uncomfortable when I woke up in the morning. I'm still lying in bed and can't get up. I can't help you go to work today."

"uncomfortable?"

When he heard it, his heart turned cold for a moment, and he stared at the entrance helplessly.

It was nearly nine o'clock, and it was impossible to find someone else for a while.With no one to cover him, he had to go to work.Unexcused absenteeism is not a matter of money but reputation, and what is more terrible is that it affects other colleagues.

It is the basic etiquette of work not to trouble others.

"Well, I feel sick to my stomach, sorry."

The girl's voice sounded weak.Ji Tong was still clutching the steamed stuffed bun with his left hand tightly for fear of getting cold, he was speechless for a while, and after the other party called him twice, he slowly said, "Then you have a good rest, I'll just go by myself."

The scorching sun is already hanging high above, but it's a pity that it can't shine on this inconspicuous corner.

After hanging up the phone, he stared blankly behind Xi Jiacheng, feeling like he would see Liang Yuchen in a second, and also had the illusion that he would never see Liang Yuchen again.

—

After nine o'clock, the seat next to Xi Jiacheng was finally occupied.

He turned his head and punched the person: "You are late for the graduation ceremony, are you still an outstanding graduate of this school?"

"The morning rush hour is quite congested."

It was none other than Liang Yuchen who came.He was wearing an indigo academic uniform, his hair was a little shorter than before, he didn't wear glasses, and his face was thinner and deeper.

"I'm just telling you to live in school, what's the matter, after going abroad, you won't look down on our old love nest?" After Xi Jiacheng joked, he suddenly stretched out his hand and handed him a bag of steamed buns and a cup of soy milk, "Your brother bought it for you Yes, I said I have to leave first, and I will leave it to you."

Liang Yuchen was silent for a while and did not move. Xi Jiacheng said: "Take it", and then he took it, and sat silently on the folding chair, neither eating nor throwing it away.

People came to say hello to him one after another. They were all classmates who hadn't seen him for a long time. They couldn't help but stand up and say a few words, talk about the current situation, and talk about their future plans.

Among the people in the same department, the top ones entered the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and continued their studies to become a doctor. Those who wanted to enter the market entered training institutions, went to the Big Four, and went to foreign companies to work as full-time translators. They were willing to work hard to work in translation companies and foreign trade. There are very few translators.To put it more, there will be only two or three in this session.

Speaking of dreams, many people may have so-called professional dreams when they choose a department to enter school. After hearing the miracles of several great gods of simultaneous interpretation, they praised "Senior brothers and sisters are amazing", and hoped that they could become such a person in the future. different.A foreign language is a bridge, but it is a pity that many people do not even have the qualifications to be a bridge until they graduate, let alone cross the bridge to another world.

When he was finally free, the breakfast was already cold, and it looked awkward in his hand.He knew he should throw it away, and before he got up, he found Xi Jiacheng staring at him.The eyes of the two met, and he asked, "Have you tried soy milk?"

Xi Jiacheng said: "Of course not, did you ask knowingly?"

"That's not what it means." Liang Yuchen said, "I'll throw it away."

Xi Jiacheng watched him leave without stopping.When he came back, he seemed to know that he was in a bad mood, so he flirted with him: "Why didn't you come to the stage to speak for outstanding graduates?"

"I don't have time to write."

"Professor Xu has already returned to China, why don't you have time? He has enslaved you too hard."

Liang Yuchen said: "He made me a lot of money."

Xi Jiacheng clicked his tongue when he heard the words: "No wonder you are willing to follow him. But he really thinks highly of you. Do you know that he came back before you and kept praising you for your ability with the teachers in the department. I was there at that time The boss’s office was approving the test papers, and I heard every word.”

The leaders on the stage started talking big, and the students off the stage started talking small things.

Liang Yuchen said: "He wants me to continue working with him."

"Who?"

"Professor Xu."

"He's not a Ph.D. supervisor."

"It's not a Ph. D., he's going to resign and let me be his deputy and partner."

Xi Jiacheng almost shouted: "I rely on Professor Xu to resign? I want to take you with me? What's your opinion?"

"I agree." In fact, he has even renewed his visa.

Without much hesitation, the fledgling Liang Yuchen decided to follow Professor Xu into the world first.

—

At six o'clock in the evening, Ji Tong finally got off work.

It's not dark yet, but I think with my toes that the school's playground is already empty, leaving only the background board that I haven't had time to remove.Ji Tong didn't look back.

The miss of this day is no different from every miss in the past.Together wherever we go, in the final analysis, it is empty talk.

When he got home by subway, the lights in the living room were not turned on for some reason, only the hallway and the kitchen were still lit.Walking into the kitchen and seeing Hu Aihua cooking soup in an apron, he asked, "Mom, why didn't you cook?"

Hu Aihua turned around and saw his eyes light up: "My son is so handsome today, did you go out on a date with the girl from the Qu family?"

Qu Han has been dating Ji Tong for half a year, and both parents thought they were dating.

Ji Tong's body seemed to be extremely tired, he shook his head, not wanting to say more, and asked, "Why didn't you cook?"

"Oh." Hu Aihua turned back to look at the soup, slowly scooping up the soup with a spoon in his hand, the milky white thick soup looked very nutritious, "Your Uncle Liang is not feeling well, go to bed first, and we will eat it. I will make soup At night, wake him up and have a drink."

After finishing speaking, he scooped up a bowl and handed it to him: "Be careful of burning."

Ji Tong took it, and the porcelain bowl burned his fingertips, then he turned his head absent-mindedly and saw the door of the master bedroom was closed: "Uncle Liang is sick?"

"I'm not sick."

Hu Aihua didn't seem to be in a high mood, he didn't look at Ji Tong all the time, and slowly stirred up the soup: "You brother Yuchen is gone again, he is not in a good mood, and he is reluctant to part with his son, it is inevitable."

The next moment, the porcelain bowl fell to the ground and shattered, and the hot soup splashed onto Ji Tong's calf, causing a large area of ​​skin to burn red.

Hu Aihua yelled out, hurriedly grabbed a clean towel and knelt down to wipe it for him, "Are you all right? Does it hurt? Why did you do it so carelessly?"

Ji Tong turned a deaf ear, the words he just heard buzzed in his head, as if he was stupid.

"Tongtong, Tongtong?" Hu Aihua squatted on the ground and raised his head to call him.

He just woke up like a dream, and asked with a horrified expression: "What does it mean that my brother is gone again? Where did he go?"

The soup on the stove was bubbling and bubbling in the deep-mouthed soup pot, and the aroma that should have tantalized the appetite was muddied by this question.

Hu Aihua frowned slightly, and after a moment of silence, he went to gently wipe his calf again.

"Where else can I go? I'm going abroad again."

"Impossible!" Ji Tong became excited, he couldn't feel any pain in his whole body, "He was still attending the graduation ceremony in the morning, how could he leave in the afternoon?"

"How is it impossible?" Hu Aihua didn't even lift his eyes, "Because he has already attended the graduation ceremony in the morning, so of course he can leave in the afternoon. If he is still in the store, how could your Uncle Liang be willing to close the store so early and come back?"

During this time, in order to spend a few more hours with his son, Liang Changlei almost always closed the door after eight o'clock, and never had dinner at home.

The blood vessels on Ji Tong's forehead were throbbing, and he could only repeat the words "impossible": "You said he would go home and have a meal with us, you said he would—"

"He refuses to come back by himself, so what can I do?" After wiping his legs, Hu Aihua changed a rag to wipe the floor, sucking up the soup stains on the floor little by little, "Our family has not treated him badly, so that's fine, do it. Family members also pay attention to fate, and you can't force everything."

Ji Tong is no longer so easy to deceive: "Who told you he won't come back?"

The reason why Liang Yuchen has been able to hold back and not meet each other hastily in the past ten days since he came back is because he has always held this idea: my brother will always return to this home, and the family can't let go.He didn't believe that Liang Yuchen would be so decisive that he would leave his hometown again without even taking a step into the house, just like Liang Yuchen didn't believe that he would want to move away by himself.

"I don't need anyone to tell me, the facts are right in front of my eyes." Hu Aihua drove him away, "Stand up to the side, I'll wipe it off."

Roots took root under Ji Tong's feet: "Mom, why are you so indifferent? You were not like this before."

"What I was before."

"You used to...you used to like my brother the most, and you knit scarves for him."

"You remember wrongly, I only knit scarves for you."

"But I remember you clearly said that you would give it to him after weaving for me—"

"Have you finished talking?" Hu Aihua stood up suddenly, "Go to apply the medicine after you finish talking. Let him go if he wants to go. It is better for our family to live a good life than anything else. How can we control so much?"

The whole family has already excluded Liang Yuchen from their words.

Ji Tong was stunned for a second before arguing loudly with her: "What do you mean by leaving as soon as you want? What do you mean by living your own life well? He is also a member of our family, how can he not care?"

"There must be a misunderstanding here."

"I'm going to ask my brother for clarification."

Hu Aihua looked at him coldly and listened quietly. When he said the last words, he swung the rag in his hand and slapped him immediately: "How dare you?"

Snapped--

Ji Tong was caught off guard, blinked his eyes and took a step back, covered his left face and looked at his mother in disbelief: "Why did you hit someone?"

"Who did you say you were going to find?" Hu Aihua's voice was as cold as ancient well water.

"I..." He was caught by the suppressed aura, his lips moved, and for a moment he retreated, but when he thought of Liang Yuchen, his blood boiled again, "Go to my brother and ask him clearly."

This messy account must always be calculated and understood.

Hu Aihua turned a deaf ear, and rushed into his room to take away something as if he had rehearsed countless times in his heart.

"Mom!" Ji Tong followed and shouted when he saw what she was holding, "What are you doing with my passport?"

Folding the passport tightly in half, Hu Aihua turned around and brushed his messy hair, "Aren't you going to find him? Now I'll see how you get there."

After finishing speaking, he gouged out his eyes like knives: "One day when I'm here, you two don't want to get together again."

There was a clear mystery in the words, and the meaning couldn't be more obvious.

Ji Tong's whole body trembled suddenly, and he suddenly felt ashamed.It turned out that my mother had seen through the matter between him and Liang Yuchen early in the morning, but she didn't say it clearly.

He opened his mouth and couldn't speak, his face turned red and white for a while, his body trembled slightly.Once Hu Aihua pointed it out, the whole person calmed down from his anger, just waiting for him to open his mouth to surrender.

During the stalemate, Liang Changlei's voice suddenly came from the door: "What are you mother and son arguing about?"

Hu Aihua was taken aback for a moment, then turned around and put away his hostility: "Why are you up?"

Turning around after speaking, he looked at his son with indifferent eyes, while being vigilant, he said with a pun: "Go to the bathroom and wash your legs, don't say those angry words, your Uncle Liang is not in good spirits today and can't listen to these things."

In front of the ignorant Liang Changlei, she expected that Ji Tong would not dare to act recklessly.

"I heard you guys arguing inside, how could I not stop to take a look." Liang Changlei was separated from them by two doors, the content of the quarrel could not be heard clearly, but the decibel level was clear.Seeing that Ji Tong's expression was not right, he asked, "What's wrong with Tong Tong, are you unhappy?"

Before his son could speak, Hu Aihua took over the words: "I told me that I was going to visit his father during the summer vacation. I told him a few words and refused to let him go. I confiscated his passport and lost my temper with me."

Liang Changlei nodded, which means he knows and won't worry about it.

Holding the passport in Hu Aihua's hand, Ji Tong had to take into account Liang Yuchen's father's feelings even if he wanted to scramble, quarrel and get to the bottom of it.Before he figured out the situation, it was even more impossible for him to easily express his opinion for Liang Yuchen.

Right now, I can only choose to remain silent.Under the watchful eyes of his parents, he walked towards the bathroom without saying a word, and when he was about to reach the door, he heard Liang Changlei say: "You are doing this wrong. After all, father and son are inseparable, so you can stop it if you say so. Well, if you can stop it for a while, can you stop it for a lifetime? As long as Tongtong wants to see him, he will eventually meet in the future. "

Such a piece of persuasion based on lies is still inapplicable to the truth.

Subsequent conversations are inaudible.Ji Tong took a shower indiscriminately, and returned to the bedroom in a trance. The first thing he did was to lock the door.

After the lock was locked, it was impossible to open it from the outside, so he felt a moment of peace of mind.

At least this room, and the memories in it, are safe.

At first he thought that Liang Yuchen would come back, so he spread the sheets and quilts on the lower bunk, and it can be used as his own shelter at this moment.

He hid in the big tree on the lower bunk like a small animal sheltering from the wind and rain, and started calling Liang Yuchen.This time, it is not to confide in missing, but to find support.

He shrank his body in the corner against the wall, listening to the busy tone on the phone, his heart was beating fast.

For a moment, he couldn't figure out how much his mother knew about the affairs between the two brothers, and why he hadn't told him the truth, and he didn't know what to do next.

Whether to take the initiative to ask his mother to clarify or continue to be confused, if you want to say what to say, you should discuss these with Liang Yuchen.

It's a pity that Liang Yuchen's calls were like countless times in the past, no one answered, let alone someone else was still on the plane.

Unable to find Liang Yuchen, Ji Tong began to nibble on his fingers.

He was placed on the edge of the cliff. On the one hand, he was terrified of being noticed by his mother, and on the other hand, he was suffering from the pain of never seeing Liang Yuchen again.

There is no deadline for Liang Yuchen to leave this time, the sky is high as birds fly, and the sea is wide as fishes leap, how can I see him again?

Hu Aihua holds the passport, and the money in the card is running out after donating to the mountainous students in the north and north and buying gifts for their families. They can't even afford a plane ticket to go abroad.

But Ji Tong wanted to leave, it was the first time he was so determined to find Liang Yuchen.

His first thought was to ask his biological father Ji Jianbin for money.But this is too risky, a few thousand dollars can still be said to be buying things for oneself, once such a large amount of [-] to [-] is said, Ji Jianbin is likely to talk to Hu Aihua, and it will be even more difficult to deal with it.

Ask Beibei and Yang Xiao to borrow it?I'm afraid they are also stretched.

Then there is only one way left: Earn slowly, and earning half a year may be enough.But even if the money is earned enough, how should the family explain it?How to get rid of her mother's control, how to overcome the guilt towards Liang Changlei, and how to arrange her studies well.

There were so many things going on, and he racked his brains for hours, but he couldn't think of a perfect solution.

What's more, the person he wants to see with all his heart doesn't want to see him.

After sitting helplessly on the corner of the bed for a long time, Ji Tong gradually wanted to give up.

He is used to it, and always starts to unravel by himself when he can't do it.He persuaded himself to forget it, wouldn't he be living well if he didn't see Liang Yuchen for the past six months?Maybe I have not seen it in the future and I will gradually get used to it and forget it.Even if he could find his brother, what would change?

Everything seems to have been missed.

That being the case, why bother to meet someone who doesn't want to see him at the risk of falling out with his mother and disturbing the peace of the family?Not worth it, right?

He comforted himself like this, pretending to have convinced himself.He even went outside to pour a glass of water and brought it back to the house, turned off the light, took out two tablets of Stocos and took it all at once, and lay down on the bed quietly waiting for sleepiness.

It's a pity that I was too eager to fall asleep quickly, tossing and turning, but I was always awake.

Unable to fall asleep, he opened the curtains again, turned his body sideways, and quietly looked at the scene outside the window.Outside, the moon was bright and the stars were sparse, and everything was silent. Only the far away building, which seemed to be the No. 17 building, and a few others were lit. They were far away, like a chessboard whose paint had been poked off.

The third floor is not too high, and there are old trees climbing to the sky outside, so there are two birds resting at such a late night, you comb my fur, and I will peck your neck for you.

The bird's fur seemed grayish brown, and it was a bit deserted, so it couldn't be seen very clearly in the dark.Ji Tong stretched his neck to look, and sat up to look, but still felt that he couldn't see enough and couldn't see clearly.He pushed open the window again and leaned out his upper body to have a look.

The early morning wind finally brought some coolness, blowing on his head, pouring in through his ears, blowing on his neck, and getting in through his neckline.

He actually shivered, in this hot and humid season at the end of June.

Every move of the bird was beautiful, and he was fascinated by it, and when he looked into his heart, he was in a trance, almost thinking that he would fall, and he was afraid, so he shrank back into the house.

But every movement of the birds is beautiful, so are the trees, the moonlight is beautiful, and the stars are of course even more beautiful.

He lay on the edge of the window with his face wet, and asked the birds, the wind, and the treetops.Ask the moon, ask the stars, ask everything he can see.

"Do you think the sun will rise at seven o'clock tomorrow morning?"

"Do you think people will die of thirst if they don't drink water for a month?"

"Do you think if all the ice in Antarctica melted, we'd be doomed?"

"What do you think..."

"Do you think brother will talk to me again in this life?"

He heard them say "yes," and he took them for "yes."

After closing the window, he fell back on the bed again, took out his mobile phone and listened to Liang Yuchen's voice, from the summer when we met to last winter.At first they couldn't speak a few words a week, then they talked every hour, and then they never spoke again.

He clicked on Liang Yuchen's avatar that he had used for three years, and stared at the blue tree in the picture in a daze.

White background with only one tree.The canopy is dense and the leaves are verdant.He checked it specifically, and it was the cover of a book, "A Tree Grows in Brooklyn", which my brother might particularly like.

Three years of voice made him hear the morning light spitting white from the dark night, his eyes swelled up high.Gradually there was light in the room, and everything became blurred like fog.

After such a long time, my brother should be on the ground.

With his drowsy head on his head, he endured the impulse all night and seemed unable to bear it any longer, and started typing on his mobile phone.

Just pretend that he is deceiving himself, he bet that Liang Yuchen would not have the heart to delete the conversation between them.

"Brother, I didn't sleep well all night, and I know you're awake too."

"Brother, if you want to leave, no one can tell, at least you should tell me. I am your only younger brother, have you forgotten how you promised me before?"

"Brother, my mother seems to already know about us, how should I tell her? Can you teach me, I'm afraid that my nonsense will disturb you, you know I've never been very good at talking. "

"Brother, I want to find you, where should I find you?"

He sent an unknown number of messages, one by one moved up in the dialog box, and a new one popped up.

In the end, he couldn't read the words he typed clearly. He covered his eyes with his forearm and waited for a long time before deciding to send the last message.

"Brother, promise not to leave me forever, is our life so short?"

The whole life of the two of them seemed to stop on the eve of Ji Tong's 21st birthday, and after that they became two separate people, never called a lifetime.