his substitute

Xun Musheng stood in front of an eight-story old-fashioned residential building holding a takeaway cup of grapefruit tea.

One side of the residential building faces the river, and the other side leans against a crowded path.It was the time when school was over, and groups of students ran across the path.Many peddlers squatted by the baskets on the side of the road, yelling in strange dialects.Vegetables and fruits are piled up in the baskets, and there are fish just caught from the river in the basins beside them.The fish jumped up and down, splashing out a large puddle of foul-smelling water.

Residents living nearby haggled loudly with the hawkers. Except for a few young women in their 30s, most of them still kept the habit of paying in cash.

The path was drenched, and some residents living on the first floor opened the door and poured out the used water.No one raised any objection or complained, as if splashing water on the street is a trivial matter in this remote small town.

It was not easy for Xun Musheng to cross this path.

There is no such place in Zhongcheng, and he has never lived in such a backward place before.

When he passed by a house, he was almost splashed by the water for washing rice, and he managed to avoid it, but the hostess of that house didn't mean to apologize at all, and she blinked at him in surprise, as if to say—the water is not good. Will hide, silly?

He didn't care about it, and left in a hurry, subconsciously walking towards the middle of the road, trying to avoid the water of unknown origin.

Halfway there, I suddenly thought, was Chi Yu just as cautious when he came here?Will Chi Yu also buy vegetables and fish on the side of the road?Have you ever been splashed with water?

Thinking of this, the annoyance of almost getting wet gradually subsided.Thinking that this is the street that Chi Yu passed by every day, the sewage, as well as the mottled psoriasis advertisements on the walls on both sides, seemed to become more intimate.

This is the place where Chi Yu lived alone when he left him for more than two years.

Chi Yu's address was informed by the clerk. He rested in the store for a while and used the washroom to clean up. Before going out, the clerk handed him another cup of grapefruit tea and said with a smile, "Sir, you seem to like grapefruit tea very much. Since You are Brother Yu's friend, so he won't be angry if I give you a drink."

The small customers in the store whispered, and one said, "Oh, he likes grapefruit tea too!"

Another person said: "What a coincidence, Sissy said that the girl the boss likes likes to drink grapefruit tea!"

He heard it all, his eyes suddenly paused, and after a while, he slightly pursed the corners of his lips.

These children probably misunderstood.

But he has passed the age where he can easily misunderstand when he hears "the girl he likes".

This "girl" who loves to drink grapefruit tea cannot be someone else.

·

Xun Musheng walked around the residential buildings to the river, and a round of sunset in the sky cast golden light on the torrential river, and the golden leaf-like river reflected on the ancient wall, faintly, showing the soft light that has been baptized by the years wave.

Chi Yu lived on the fourth floor, and the balcony was open with many green plants.Looking from below, those vibrant plants seem to be floating in the sparkling sky and sea, which is almost unreal.

Xun Musheng half-closed his eyes, his heart seemed to have sunk into the river kissed by the sunset, even the slightest beating could stir up turbulent waves.

That's Chi Yu's home.

The river breeze blows, bringing a warm touch, and the light waves reflected on the wall begin to fluctuate, and the leaves of the green plants are also stretched in the evening wind, fluttering, like people who have been waiting for many days waving to the distance.

"I'm here." Xun Musheng whispered to himself, "I'm waiting for you."

As the sun sinks into the river, the boatmen on the small fishing boats sing fisherman's songs.Every household heard the din of cooking and cooking, and poor-quality cooking fans rolled the choking fumes out of the window.The leather child who came home too late was beaten, and the screams of the woman and the exaggerated cries of the child came from the corridor.The river water gradually changed from gold to deep red, and then to gem-like blue.

Xun Musheng stood by the river for a long time, as if in a single sunset, he walked through the life of the residents in the small county.

The missed two and a half years seemed to be stacked in the ups and downs of the river.

Jiang Feng brushed his face, and he couldn't wait to tell him the little things about Chi Yu one by one.

He closed his eyes and saw Chi Yu's shy smile.

He still remembered that when Chi Yu was not called Chi Yu, he fell in love with that shy smile.So gentle, so tolerant, it submerged into his heart carefully, making the blood flowing through it stained with soft drunkenness.

He has long been obsessed with Chi Yu.

·

At night, the coffee bookstore is busier than during the day.Those who play games, those who fall in love, those who copy homework, and those who study hard are all here, without interfering with each other, and each has its own fun.

Xun Musheng sat in the store with a group of small customers, and became the presence of everyone paying attention.He sighed, and after a short rest, he pushed the door and walked out into the night.

The night in the small county is deserted and clear, only the food stalls are open in full swing.He ate something casually, and walked to the river again.

The night wind was heavy, and the sound of the river lapping on the bank could be heard.

He lit a cigarette, found a rock and sat down.

I can already calm down and think about Chi Yu.

At noon, when the clerk said that Chi Yu had returned to his hometown, his first thought was that Chi Yu had gone back to the city where he lived as a child, and then he wondered whether Chi Yu would go to Zhongcheng. Subconsciously denied by him.

But thinking about it now, Chi Yu probably won't go back to that real hometown at all - a place where there is no one to miss, and there is nothing worth remembering, so what's the need to go back?

The hometown refers to Zhongcheng.

He stood up suddenly, his eyes were as deep as the river under the moonlight.

If Chi Yu really went back to Zhongcheng, he must have gone to see him.But he came to Hu County.

An embarrassing blunder.

I couldn't help thinking, Chi Yu arrived in Zhongcheng, what should I do if I can't find him?Will you be simply anxious, or do you feel that it is destiny not to see you?

Not daring to think further, he immediately called Ye Fenglin.

Chi Yu's current identity information has already been obtained, so it is not difficult to check his recent whereabouts.

After hanging up the phone, he suddenly had the urge to rush back to Zhongcheng, and then forced himself to calm down a few seconds later.

If two people are looking for each other, they are most likely to miss.He missed Chi Yu so many times, at least this time, he didn't want to miss it again.

In the middle of the night, the small county town was completely quiet, Ye Fenglin returned the call, Chi Yu had indeed arrived in Zhongcheng.

He endured the heartache and the emotion as soft as cotton, and asked in a deep voice: "Where is he now?"

"He got on the flight to Ancheng in the afternoon." Ye Fenglin said: "He is already on the general express train from Ancheng to Perkin County. Mu Sheng, if the general express train is not delayed, it will be at 1 o'clock tomorrow afternoon 05 minutes to Dapper County, you..."

The voice in the receiver suddenly became indistinct, and Xun Musheng heard a voice from the bottom of his heart.

--He is back!

·

Po County is more than 200 kilometers away from Hu County, and there is the nearest railway station to Hu County.

Xun Musheng couldn't wait any longer, so he rushed back to the coffee bookstore, and immediately wanted to ask the clerk to contact him for a bus to Per County.

"No." The clerk said: "Our place is different from the outside. The more than 200 kilometers are winding mountain roads with extremely bad road conditions. You came from that road, right? It is difficult enough to drive during the day, but it is impossible to drive at night. , There was an accident before, a minibus turned over from the mountain, and a few people in the car were not rescued, and then there were regulations that no car was allowed to go up the mountain at night."

Xun Musheng had no choice but to sit in the store for a whole night, checking the route of the express train that Chi Yu was taking from time to time, and there seemed to be a "clang" sound of the train and the rails in his ears, and he was traveling with Chi Yu thousands of miles away. It's been a long, sleepless night.

At dawn, he got into the car that the clerk found him, his eyes were bloodshot, and his chin was covered with green stubble.

The driver was a fat man in his 40s. He yawned and closed the car door, as if he hadn't woken up. "Leaving so early? Are you going to catch a train in Perth County?"

He was eager to get to Perth County and asked, "How soon can I get there?"

The driver laughed and laughed at him as an outsider who didn't understand the market, "If I want to fall into a ravine, I'll drive faster."

But having said that, after getting on Panshan Road, the driver stopped teasing and became more reliable and drove very steadily.

At 10 a.m., the car was parked outside the Perth County Railway Station, covered in dust.

·

All the way to stop to give way, the train was delayed.There was a lot of complaints in the sleeper car, but some people complained calmly: "Which one is not late for this train? Just make it in time for dinner."

Chi Yu sat in front of the window, and outside the window was a scene that was quickly regressing.He looked blankly, and his heart was silent.

The passengers in the same car, even the one who complained calmly, wanted to go home early.The train was 2 hours late, and maybe no one in the whole car was completely indifferent except him.

Whether it's late or not, whether to go back or not, doesn't seem to matter to him anymore.

The southwest is mountainous, the train drove into the cave, and the darkness fell on the window glass, reflecting his tired and emaciated face.

He hadn't slept well for many days, his eyes were red, and the stubble had grown, giving him a kind of slovenly decadence.

He suddenly regretted it—people always seem to regret what they didn't do, even if the will was as firm as a rock when they first made up their minds.

Why must I leave?He fell into a vortex-like abyss, thinking emptily, must he not be able to let go of the past if he stays in Zhongcheng?

What if?

Two and a half full years, and a little longer, three and a half years from when the truth was revealed.For three and a half years, he dared not let himself fall into a vicious circle of negativity.But ever since he boarded the return flight, the negativity accumulated over the years suddenly came back, and countless sharp claws tore at him, almost crushing him to pieces.

He couldn't take it anymore.

How I wish I could see Xun Musheng again and call out "Musheng" softly.

After the accident, he changed his address, and always called "Mr. Xun, Mr. Xun", polite and distant, like a stranger who could no longer get close.

And now, he might really never be able to get close to his beloved again.

As the train drove out of the cave, the light suddenly fell, making his eyes sore.He lowered his head, looked at his clenched hands, and sighed very shallowly.

If you want to blame, you can only blame yourself.

·

The Puer County Railway Station was built in the last century and is already outdated.The radio kept broadcasting delay information, and almost every train that passed by could not arrive on time.

Xun Musheng looked at the electronic screen that was showing up and not showing up at that time. Counting from 10 o'clock, he had been waiting for 5 hours.

Finally, the status of the K-prefixed train coming from Anseong changed from "delayed" to "inbound". At the same time, the radio began to play the pick-up information.Regardless of his sore legs and feet, he immediately rushed to the exit, his heart beating like a drum, and he stared intently at the empty railroad tracks ahead.

Soon, a long-overdue train broke into his field of vision, the door opened, and passengers with big bags and small bags hurried towards the exit.

He didn't dare to blink, the tall figure stood in the crowd of more and more people, like a reef exposed to the sea at low tide.

The surroundings became extremely noisy, and many people bumped into him, but he still didn't dare to look away, looking anxiously for that familiar figure.

Gradually, the peak receded and the tourists were few and far between.He was still standing at the exit, with sweat dripping from his forehead and neck, the light in his eyes was shattered by eagerness and worry, and gleamed and sank into the bottom of his eyes.

Chi Yu, where are you?

·

After all the people in the carriage who were supposed to get off in Perkin County had left and new passengers came up one by one, Chi Yu slowly picked up the luggage and walked out of the carriage.

The middle-aged flight attendant said a few words: "Hurry up! I have changed your ticket for you a long time ago. Why are you getting down now? What should I do if the car drives away?"

He ignored it, and in a rare act of impoliteness, he walked towards the exit in a daze.

Those who are in a hurry to get off the bus are all in order to go home early, but he has no home at all.

After walking for a short distance, he stopped suddenly, looked down at the outdoor shoes stained by the instant noodles of the children in the car, and looked at the unclean clothes and pants, pulling the corners of his lips helplessly.

Fortunately, he didn't let that person see such a downcast appearance.

The train behind him started to whistle, he turned around to look, sighed, and continued walking.

There were all kinds of noises all around. He felt it was too loud, and wanted to block his ears. He raised his hand, but found that he could only block one.

I had to speed up my pace and get out of the station earlier.

Suddenly, he heard a familiar voice, which pierced into his nerves like a needle with distinct tremors——

"Chi Yu!"

His heart went numb, and he raised his head in a daze. Before he could tell where the voice came from, he had already bumped into someone's hot eyes.

The man strode forward, then ran like the wind, passed through the exit, and hugged him, as if he had exhausted all his strength.

He suddenly opened his eyes wide, and his heart almost jumped out of his chest after a brief numbness.

"Mu, Sheng."