chaotic world

Zhou Lan returned to the Zhou family compound where he had been away for a long time. On the way, he changed his parcel into a suitcase, and changed all his clothes into brand new ones. He wore a thick woolen suit and a thick woolen coat with the neckline turned outward. , with a round mink fur collar embedded, he has grown a lot, he hasn't shaved for two days, he stepped on the shiny leather shoes and went directly to the hospital, the servant behind caught up and asked Mr. who are you looking for.

"Mother Zhang, it's me." Zhou Lan turned around and took off the rex rabbit fur hat. It was the cold winter, and a cloud of white mist appeared when he opened his mouth.

Mama Zhang opened her mouth wide, and then she forgot to greet him, and walked into the room: "Third wife, the young master is back, back."

Zhou Lan walked across the yard and was about to see her mother. She was very excited. Seeing the third aunt coming out, one arm was supported by Zhang Ma, and the other arm was held by a girl she didn't know. look.

Zhou Lan strode forward and supported her: "Mom, what's wrong with you?"

With tears in her eyes, the third aunt took Zhou Lan's arm to look left and right, but did not answer his question. She reached out to touch her son's face and muttered: "Xiaolong, you are back, let mother touch it quickly." "Xiaolong is Zhou Lan's nickname, only the third aunt called him that since childhood.

Mama Zhang explained with a sigh that since the son left, the third aunt has been crying because of worry, and her eyes are not good after crying too much. Although Zhou Lan's letter reported that she was safe, the third aunt's eyes have recovered There is no peace.At noon, when the sky is bright, I can still see something, but in the morning and evening or when it is cloudy and rainy, I can’t see clearly. I am very stubborn, and I always hear the sound of my son coming back. Once I went to the door in the middle of the night, and accidentally fell on the On the steps, I injured my knee, and now it's healed, but it's not easy to walk, and I always need help.

Zhou Lan knelt down without saying a word.

When he first arrived outside the customs, he was detained in the coal mine for half a year and had no way of contacting the outside world. He only wrote to his family to report his safety after he arrived at Black Eagle Mountain. He only said that he was doing business with Du Yunfeng outside the customs. My aunt is in such poor health.

A son who is unfilial is so unfilial, he is the first one who cannot forgive himself.

Zhou Lan didn't come back empty-handed this time, and the things he brought are for everyone.Although these people in the family, except his mother and dumb uncle, he doesn't miss anyone.

But even if these people are flamboyant, as long as they grow up by Mother's side, they are pleasing to the eye after all, so he can be patient, just be polite and broadcast kindness.

In the smoky main room, he bowed to his aunt, handed over the jacket of the little fox quilt with one hand, and listened to his aunt chatting about Buddhism politely.

The second aunt's room was empty, she ran away and never came back, Zhou Lan felt relieved.

Uncle Mute was very attentive. Before leaving the customs, he went to the fur shop to buy a good wolf fur mattress and a robe and a leather waistcoat. Uncle Mute was alone, and he was getting older and older, so no one cared about him.

Uncle Dumb lives in a very spacious wing room, with only some simple furniture, including a wooden wardrobe and a big bed, and only two suitcases with copper buttons stacked on top of each other. The dagger that didn't match the room was placed squarely in the center. Zhou Lan took it in his hand and fiddled with it a few times, but it was still as clean as new, and it looked like it had been wiped frequently.When Zhou Lan was a child, he thought Uncle Dumb's sword was very long, but now he felt it was just a short sword in his hand.

The dumb uncle gestured quickly with both hands, looked at him kindly, Zhou Lan smiled: "I'm fine, Yunfeng has been taking care of me."

The dumb uncle nodded, then asked and gestured again.

Zhou Lan shook her head: "I don't know, he... won't come back for a while." Zhou Lan didn't want to explain, some people, it wasn't necessary, he didn't want to think about it.

A long time ago, he felt that the dumb uncle was very interested in Du Yunfeng. Since Du Yunfeng first came to Zhou's house, the dumb uncle had been kind to Du Yunfeng intentionally or unintentionally. It is only good for Zhou Lan.

The family passed by like a revolving lantern, and Zhou Lan found that there was one more person she didn't know, the girl who was holding her mother's arm that day. She must have been a new girl after her mother was injured. He casually gave the preparations to Mama Wu in the kitchen. A pair of silver bracelets from the family were split into two and distributed to two people.

Wu Ma was so happy that she couldn't close her mouth from ear to ear, and immediately put it on for this one to show that one, the smile on her bright face was wrinkled, the girl took the bracelet with a low eyebrow and did not lift her head, it was inaudible When I got to thank him, I quietly returned to the third aunt's side, mixing with the old lady just right.

It's almost Chinese New Year, and he hopes that everyone in the Zhou family will have a happy face. After this year, next year they will go abroad. My mother is getting old, and it's hard to leave her homeland. I want to leave her a happy thought. .

Niangen wanted to buy new year's goods, which was something that servants could do, but the third concubine insisted on asking Zhou Lan to do it, and often asked the newly added girl—Shumei to go with her, once ignoring it, and twice , Zhou Lan tasted something wrong after three times.

In the evening, he personally poured mother-in-law soup for his mother, and put it warm under the bed. He sat on the edge of the bed, and asked about the girl's background directly without beating around the bush.

"Xiaolong, what do you think about giving her back?" The third aunt was wearing the foreign-style shawl her son bought for her, and the splash of red tassels made her look very good. With the hot food her son just poured under her feet, she pulled asked holding his son's hand.

Zhou Lan felt that something was wrong, but he couldn't think of the reason for a moment. He raised his head and thought for a while, and found that although he had said something to take someone out every time he was ordered to take him out, he couldn't remember what kind of person he was. So, if you have to describe it, you can only say it is a girl.He gently held his mother's hand back: "Mother's girl can just use it to feel comfortable, I don't think it's all that bad."

The third aunt also didn't want to go around the bush, so she got into the topic with a beam of joy: "Xiaolong, you are also eighteen this year. In the early years, when you were young, mother didn't want to compete with them. I didn't pay attention to you. Mother thinks this is a good girl." Mei is not bad, she looks upright, she is a good fortune."

Zhou Lan felt that this proposal was not important, but it was because of her mother's kindness, so she couldn't refuse it directly, so she said: "Mother, after the new year, I plan to go to study abroad. They are all new youths. Look, who wants to be a roommate?" , it’s not popular anymore.”

The third aunt didn't think so, she educated her son with all her heart, Shumei is very suitable to be a housekeeper, you take her with you, if she is pregnant with a mother, she can hold a grandson, you will give her a name when the time comes She took her as a concubine, and if you meet a suitable girl in the future, it won't delay your marriage.

The third aunt is too kind and has always loved her son, but she became stubborn on this matter. Zhou Lan didn't see the old lady's intention to give in after all her soft words, so she simply refused: "Mother, it's not suitable. I have studied for so many years. You let me It's not appropriate to marry a girl who sings."

I regretted it after I finished speaking, the third aunt was born in singing.

Zhou Lan knelt down beside the bed in an orderly manner.

In the days that followed, the third aunt never forgot about it. Starting from her son and Shumei's horoscope, she only talked about the weakness of the Zhou family's incense. , In the end, I still didn't get through it. The old lady was sick and couldn't eat well. Zhou Lan gritted her teeth and agreed.

The old lady was happy, and most of the time she recovered from her mental illness. It was just that Zhou Lan had a heart disease from then on, and felt awkward when she saw the girl. It wasn't that the girl was ugly, but that she felt tied up by something. I can't lift my legs, and I can't move.

The Zhou Family Courtyard is a house with three entrances and three locations. It has an all-Chinese structure. It emphasizes firmness and privacy. The yard is very large, but he feels that Shumei is everywhere. When eating, the third aunt will arrange for Shumei. Sitting in front of him, Zhou Lan didn't know how to eat. He hid in the study to read, and the third aunt urged Shumei to bring some tea and snacks from time to time. Even the changed clothes, Shumei took them away without paying attention. washed.

The Zhou family compound became a small box, and Zhou Lan couldn't turn around quickly, either on the narrow road or on the road to the narrow road.

He ran out whenever he had time, and he didn't dare to stay at home. He went to Nankai Middle School a few years ago, where Du Yunhai was studying.

The sky was blue and the clouds were white, and the warm sunshine fell through the dead branches of the sycamore trees on the street. It was a rare sunny day in winter. When Zhou Lan arrived at the campus, it was the last class in the morning. Looking for the road pointed by others, he found the place where Du Yunhai was. Class, he passed by the corridor outside the classroom, the windows were bright and the tables were clean.

He listened and watched, as if answering the world he was familiar with, but it was only familiar, but he didn't feel integrated into it.

He was dressed decently and cleanly. He wanted Du Yunhai to come out at the door of the class, but changed his mind.Leaning against the white marble railing in the corridor, he took out a cigarette, lowered his head and lit it, and took a puff. When he exhaled the smoke, he didn't wait to spit it out far. As soon as he inhaled, the smoke was swallowed back along his thin lips.He smiled secretly, remembering that Du Yunfeng said that watching him smoke would be fatal, as if seeing money, he was reluctant to spit it out.

"Sir, smoking is not allowed in school." As the bell rang, a woman in a cotton cheongsam came out of the classroom. Zhou Lan looked her up and down, probably a teacher.

He looked at her, without words or expressions, and silently extinguished the red flame with his fingers, tilted his head slightly, and breathed out the last puff of smoke unhurriedly.

Being harassed at home was already annoying enough, and he was harassed even when he came out to breathe. Now he felt inexplicably irritable when he heard a woman's shrill voice.

Du Yunhai walked out of the classroom. He had seen Zhou Lan a long time ago, and rushed out after class: "Brother Mu'an", the female teacher was displeased. At this moment, she turned her head and asked about the situation, but Zhou Lan didn't say a word Standing aside, with his hands in his pockets, he looked at the female teacher who was shorter than him. Her long eyelashes filtered her gaze, making the originally indifferent eyes look warm.

Du Yunhai happily hugged Zhou Lan. The half-sized man had strong arms, conveyed his happiness and relaxation to him, and jumped and dragged him downstairs.

The two came to a western restaurant. Du Yunhai said Gui was too awkward and didn't want to come. Zhou Lan put the kid on his shoulders and hugged the boy into the restaurant. Du Yunhai was 14 years old and his height almost reached his shoulders.

While flipping through the menu, Zhou Lan raised his eyes to look at Du Yunhai. This kid has also grown taller, but his appearance has not changed much. Except for his eyes, which resemble Du Yunfeng, other parts are not the same. In comparison, Du Yunhai Yun Hai looked more like Steward Du than Du Yunfeng, and the only similarity between the two was their eyes. According to Du Yunfeng himself, they looked exactly like his mother.

He wanted to take Yunhai to eat something good. Yunhai had been boarding at the school, and Du Yunfeng would send him money regularly. After losing his father, Yunhai relied on Yunfeng to support him.Thinking of this, Zhou Lan secretly sighed in his heart: It's not easy for him.

After flipping through the menu for a long time, Zhou Lan didn't order a good dish. Du Yunhai grabbed the menu and looked left and right, then raised his head and asked the waiter to smile at Zhou Lan from time to time, with crooked eyebrows and eyes, Zhou Lan's heart fluttered. moved a bit.

The whole meal was eaten amidst the laughter of the sea of ​​clouds. Zhou Lan forked a piece of potato, chewed it twice, and felt that he was not hungry, so he put the fork away, took out the cigarette case, and the moment he closed the lid, he changed his mind again. , opened it to the other party again, and leaned forward slightly: "Yunhai, here is one." He squinted his eyes and said with a cigarette in his mouth.

Yun Hai stared and shook his rattle: "Smoking is not good, students don't smoke." Then he continued to eat.

Zhou Lan smiled, tapped his finger, closed the cigarette case, put it in his hand, and repeated the sentence: "Students don't smoke", and then he thought, since when did I stop being a student?

After taking a big sip of soda, Yunhai mentioned his brother, saying that Du Yunfeng wrote an inexplicable letter three months ago and mailed him a large sum of money, which was enough for him to study for several years. His living expenses for one or two months.

"What did he write in the letter?" Zhou Lan asked, and then he secretly scolded himself for not being able to hold back, since the day he left Fengtian, he decided to forget everything in the past two years.

It was too painful there, there was a lot of joy, but it was all ruined by Du Yunfeng.

"My brother's foreign language is not very good. This time he is especially confused. He doesn't know what to say. Anyway, just tell me to study with peace of mind." Yun Hai put the last piece of steak in his mouth, and added: "By the way, I can't say anything." Tell me, if I have any difficulties, go back to Zhou's house to find you, and you will take care of me."

Zhou Lan finished smoking a cigarette, and listened to Yun Hai's narration of the endless letters, but she didn't understand why.

It was very relaxing to be with Yunhai, but Yunhai had to go to class in the afternoon. Before leaving, Zhou Lan took out an HSBC passbook from his pocket and handed it to Du Yunhai. He had just deposited money in it this morning.

"Brother Mu'an, I don't need it. The money my brother gave me is enough for a long time. You don't need to give me so much money." Du Yunhai stretched out his hand and pushed it out, sincerely not wanting it.

"I'll take it for you. If I go well in the next year, I will go to Europe. You keep some money with you, study for another two years, and find me in France." He forced the booklet to him.

Zhou Lan returned to Tianjin with [-] gold bars, and gave her mother [-], which were given by Du Yunfeng to honor her godmother. If he didn't keep it, it had nothing to do with him.Of the other ten, eight were deposited in the bank, and two were converted into deposits and given to Du Yunhai.

Du Yunfeng can settle with him, but Zhou Lan thinks he is not so heartless and powerful. Besides, the sea of ​​clouds is the sea of ​​clouds, not to mention - Yunhai's father died tragically. Thinking of the raging fire, Zhou Lan took a breath of the cold air in the twelfth lunar month. He didn't want to continue thinking about it, and the traffic on the road successfully helped him divert his attention.

After seeing the sea of ​​clouds, Zhou Lan stopped a rickshaw and went to St. John's Middle School, which was his alma mater. He went to see Father Bailey. He hadn't seen him for a long time, and he really missed him.

In the familiar chapel, Zhou Lan bowed deeply and kissed Father Bailey's hand. The moment his lips touched the back of his hand, he found the feeling he had when he was a student for the first time in the few months after returning to Tianjin. This feeling has been lost for a long time. Yes, it passed by in a flash, making him both excited and melancholy.

He had a lot of things he wanted to say to Father Bailey, and he walked into the confession room as before, and through a veil, confessed his heart like Father Bailey.

"Father" started in English. Although Father Bailey has been in China for many years, the school's educational environment is all in English, so he is still not familiar with Chinese.

Zhou Lan swallowed her saliva and continued: "I haven't prayed for two years. When I was in pain, God didn't show up to save me. He watched me suffer and I was hurt."

Father Bailey nodded slightly, and Zhou Lan could only vaguely see the silhouette of the other party through a gauze curtain.

For a long time, the priest spoke slowly, and his gentle voice and tone made Zhou Lan feel trustful and at ease: "God knows all the sufferings of the world, he loves us and has mercy on us, please believe that God is always with us, God's love, sometimes We can't feel it, but child, you can calm down and feel it, sometimes he will use the hands of others to save him."

Zhou Lan remained silent in the dark. The small confessional room became even darker as evening approached. The candles had not been lit yet, and the faint light from the small gauze curtain in front of her was also dimming.

He was afraid of this dark and closed environment, which reminded him of the dark prison cell without windows, tortured day and night, he breathed heavily, and stretched out his hands to grab the window lattice heavily.

"Son, are you okay?" Father Bailey's voice sounded right next to his ears, full of kindness and stability, like an invisible hand calming Zhou Lan's tense nerves.

He was thinking about the sentence that the priest said that God sometimes uses the hands of others to save. He tried to calm himself in the dark, and said: "I seem to like the wrong person." He changed his words and spoke Chinese. When he was a student, he was like this. Although he felt that he trusted the priest, he refused to tell anyone the deepest secrets in his heart.

This time he was still muttering to himself, talking non-stop about the past events outside the customs, and the scenes reappeared in his mind. He didn't know how many times he mentioned Du Yunfeng's name. He was excited and painful: "I am afraid that I will become such a Man, I want to like him, but I can't face what comes with it, what should I do?"

Father Bailey has been listening to him. Although he can't understand the content of these words, he can hear the young people's mood from those melancholy tones - that is the unique melancholy of young people, it should be love, so he lightly Light comfort: "Child, there is nothing wrong with loving someone."

Zhou Lan put her hands on her forehead and said in a low voice in English: "Father, in fact, I have never believed in God. I am so devout only because of you. You are the gods, and you are like my father."

"There is nothing wrong with loving someone." These words echoed in Zhou Lan's heart. In the middle of the night, rickshaws were running on the streets, and the streets were empty. There were a few young men and women who looked like students, singing patriotic songs, and holding hands , howling in the middle of the night, childish and free.

Zhou Lan glanced at them, and his eyes followed them for a while until they passed by.

When he was at Black Eagle Mountain, not to mention howling in the middle of the night, even if he had a fight with Du Yunfeng, he could do whatever he wanted.

And now he's hurrying home,

Back in the Zhou family compound, Zhou Lan went into the kitchen with a cold air all over her body, and asked Zhang Ma to make something to eat.There was movement at home, and the third aunt got up to look at her son before she rested, and asked Shumei to heat up the food that had been reserved in advance and bring it up, put the chopsticks by the bowl, and Zhou Lan sat at the round table without looking up , took the chopsticks and just ate.

The third aunt talked too much about how late he came back, it was Shumei who was careful, she found the plates and bowls for the good food and dishes in advance, knowing that it hurts people.

After a meal, the third aunt was the only one talking, and Zhou Lan was only thinking about what Father Bailey said, like a glass full of water, no matter how hard he poured it, he couldn't pour it in.

Everything was according to the old lady's wishes, Zhou Lan didn't resist or argue, even at night, when Shumei entered his bedroom, he was stunned for a moment, then realized that it must be the old lady's order.

It’s hard for a girl to be useless, so he got up and turned on the light, and put on his overcoat—he wore a set of light gray silk long-sleeved pajamas and pajamas when he slept, and after putting on a dark thick woolen overcoat, he stood there looking empty , he left the bed and took a few steps, pointing to the bed: "Go to bed."

Shumei wears a big black braid, but she is actually a beautiful girl. When she was desperate, the third concubine bought her in and always carried her close to her body. It is not a bad treatment to be a housekeeper for the young master of the Zhou family. It was the first time Zhou Lan returned home that day. Taking advantage of his gentle and handsome face with the sable collar, Shumei felt that if this was the case in this life, it would be really good. .

Shumei didn't wear much, so she went to bed carefully, untied the hair rope and loosened her hair, pulled the quilt with both hands and lay down, she still didn't unbutton her clothes after thinking about it, even though she knew why she came, But after all, I feel that it is the man who should take the initiative.

Seeing that she was lying down, Zhou Lan turned off the light.

Shumei waited for a while, but no one went to bed, only heard the sound of matches being lit, she opened her eyes, and in the dark room, Zhou Lan was sitting on a chair, with her back to the bed and her face to the window, the match The light illuminated his silhouette, then went out.

Zhou Lan had a sleepless night, staring at the flaming cigarette butts to feel that he was not imprisoned in the darkness again. He couldn't stop, one after another, waiting for the dawn.

Zhou Lan doesn't stay at home during the day, doesn't sleep at night, and her cheeks are so thin that she has nothing to do every day. She hasn't started to study abroad. At first, she was very excited and wanted to take her mother and Xiao Yunfeng together. Now Xiao Yunfeng He didn't bring it anymore, but he wanted to bring a woman who kept him awake at night. He procrastinated, thinking about doing these things in the next year.

Every day, at dawn, he asked his mother how he was, and then he found an excuse to go out. Tianjin City is quite big, but he has no friends. He opened a room in the traffic hotel to sleep. When he went upstairs, he met a pimp with his hands He pinched the photos in his hand to let him choose, but he waved his hands away, the man turned his eyes and took out a few more photos of boys.

"Sir, take a look at this, but the disciples of the Baohua Troupe, do you have good bones and toughness?"

Zhou Lan glanced at it, and there was indeed a handsome boy in the photo, with naturally curved brows and eyes, as if he was smiling.

It seems that Yunfeng looked like a child when he was half a child, not yet fully grown, he is a kid.

Oddly enough, he stopped in his tracks and just asked a few more questions, but not long after he went upstairs, the boy in the photo knocked on his door.

The boy's name is Lan Sheng. He used to sing well in the Baohua Troupe, but he didn't take care of his voice when he got older, and his voice cracked, so he might not be able to perform on stage.

The theater troupe didn't support idlers, so the troupe owner threw him to the pimp, turned a blind eye, and asked him to go out and earn more money.

The bitter boy knew his duty. He had been doing this for a long time, and he knew how to please the guests. Seeing that Zhou Lan was not like a wolf like a tiger like other guests, he guessed that the other party was not a familiar one.

He half-covered and took off his clothes, and successfully attracted Zhou Lan's attention with his youthful image, and then he used his hand and mouth to please Zhou Lan, and when Zhou Lan became interested, he tried his best to entangle him in every possible way.

His legs are so soft that when he is lying flat on the bed, he can be pressed against his shoulders, and his whole body is folded in half.

He is obviously a boy, but he is more willing to flatter him than a woman.

Zhou Lan's grievance at home vented out in his body. After the incident, Zhou Lan was not as stingy as other guests. He paid the money very happily and never bargained.

Sleeping with someone is not sleeping, Lan Sheng has a small child in his heart, Zhou Lan is in the traffic hotel during the day, and when he comes home at night, Lan Sheng begs softly to stay overnight.

A high-end restaurant is much more comfortable than his overcrowded troupe.

When Zhou Lan came during the day, he would serve tea and pour water back and forth, beat his back and legs, and when Zhou Lan became interested, he would try his best to cooperate.

After a few days of eating, drinking and playing, Lan Sheng was very happy. Of course, the longer the better, so after a full meal, Lan Sheng took out a set of smoking sets from the small suitcase, and said: "Mr. , I know many crafts, shall I blow a smoke bubble for you?"

Zhou Lan was so drunk that she let the other party stuff the bong into her mouth.

While swallowing the clouds, he felt relaxed. Lan Sheng saw his rosy face and comfortable look, so he sat on his waist knowingly.

Zhou Lan felt comfortable all over, staring at Lan Sheng's ups and downs in a daze, her little face was flushed with exhaustion.

Lan Sheng looked at him, smiled ingratiatingly, his eyebrows and eyes were curved, Zhou Lan suddenly became energetic, turned over, pushed An Sheng to the ground, and picked up An Sheng desperately.

Lan Sheng grimaced in pain, but he was very happy that the guest was addicted to him.

Sure enough, in the next half month, Zhou Lan became more and more inseparable from him, and the money he gave was not only the price of the skin and meat business, but he was given dozens of dollars to buy cigarette cream, and then the two went crazy together.

In the blink of an eye, the Lunar New Year is here.