Chasing Tides

After lunch, Ning Lan planned to take a nap, but was afraid that she would not be able to sleep at night, so she took out the cardboard and prepared to draw a few more coffee cards.

As soon as I wrote two words, Lu Binghua called: "Boss, two old popsicles, takeaway to Bingbing Hair Salon."

"If the starting price is not reached, I won't give it away." Ning Lan said.

"Then add another pack of cigarettes."

Ning Lan put down her pen: "Your brother is back?"

Walking into Bingbing Hair Salon, Lu Hao was being held by his younger brother on the barber chair to have his hair cut.

Lu Binghua's haircut style is threatening and intimidating: "Don't move, or don't blame me if you go bald with a knife."

Ten minutes later, Lu Hao got down from the barber chair, a fine layer of sweat oozed from his forehead, met Ning Lan's curved eyes, and touched his hair in embarrassment: "Is it ugly?"

Ning Lan held back her laughter, gave a thumbs up and said, "Very handsome!"

Lu Hao smoked a cigarette outside, rinsed his mouth before returning to the inner room.Lu Binghua didn't know where to play, and Ning Lan was left alone on the swivel chair, turning around on one foot, lowering her head to scratch the scar on her hand.

His shoulders were thin and his eyes were covered with soft fluffy hair. Anyone who looked at him looked like a boy the same age as Lu Binghua, not a "28-year-old man" as he himself said.

Lu Hao stepped forward and said, "Take off your shoes, show me your feet."

Ning Lan stopped turning, and retracted her legs: "No need, it doesn't hurt much these days."

Lu Hao refused to budge, and squatted down directly: "You want me to help you take off your shoes?"

Ning Lan jumped off the transfer in a panic, took off her shoes obediently, and rolled up her trousers.

Lu Hao looked at his ankle, it wasn't red or swollen, it was recovering well.

"Come with me to the hospital for an X-ray next week." Lu Hao helped him down his trouser legs and stood up.

Ning Lan immediately put on a mournful face: "Can I not shoot? I can run and jump now, and it's no problem to go to the sky or to the ground." As she spoke, she jumped up a few times on the spot, and raised her left leg to give a roundabout kick, "Look , very good!"

Lu Hao was unmoved: "What's inside the bone can't be seen from the outside. If the X-ray shows that the condition is good, then you don't need to go back to the doctor for the next six months."

Ning Lan sat down listlessly, and began to think about whether it was worthwhile to exchange half a year of tranquility with a follow-up visit.

Lu Hao is a surgeon in a tertiary hospital in the city, and the whole Quanxi Street is called "other people's child" by grandparents and aunts.Ordinary people see him and Lu Binghua standing together, and they would never think that they are brothers. First, there is a big age gap, and second, apart from the fact that they both have the surname Lu, they can't find any similarities in their bodies.

Ning Lan kicked his feet, and even slid the chair to the desk. He held his cheeks and watched Lu Hao meticulously write on the medical record. When he met him for the first time, he looked at himself with scrutiny, and then said to Granny Zhang: "Report the case, the police will deal with it."

Even after years of getting along, his attitude towards him has gradually eased, Ning Lan still has awe of him.

Sensing Ning Lan's gaze, Lu Hao asked while writing, "Have you posted regularly on Weibo recently?"

"Yes, I posted a video of steamed buns yesterday... Oops!" Ning Lan slapped her head, "I wanted to bring some for you to try, but I forgot when I went out."

Lu Hao curled his lips into a smile: "It's okay, I can watch the video, just eat it."

After a moment of silence, Ning Lan bit her lip and asked tentatively, "Brother Lu, that medicine...is the medicine for calming the nerves and helping sleep, can you prescribe some more for me?"

Lu Hao raised his head, and the gentleness on his face faded seven or eight points: "Are you still insomnia?"

"No, just occasionally, occasionally I can't fall asleep..." Ning Lan hesitated to say clearly.

Lu Hao put down his pen and looked straight at him: "Those videos, did you read the comments below after you posted them?"

Ning Lan's eyes dodged: "Yes... yes, of course."

"Then do you know how many fans you have now?"

"...[-]? Or [-]? I can't remember."

"It's 20."

Ning Lan stared round her eyes: "So many? Where did they come from?" After finishing speaking, she realized that she had slipped her tongue, and she curled up her shoulders and shrank back, not daring to make a sound.

Lu Hao said: "I know you are afraid of facing this, but if you regard sending videos as a task that you have to complete, and only output information without receiving feedback, then what is the meaning of the existence of this treatment plan?"

More than two years ago, Lu Hao started to treat Ning Lan.Ning Lan is a sanno person with no identity information, and it is impossible to go to the hospital to register a number, so Lu Hao helps him diagnose and treat in private, and takes time to go back to Quanxi every week, carefully records and takes it to the hospital to ask doctors in other departments, Find a way to help him get medicine.

It can be said that it is all thanks to Ning Lan that he is able to dance around like a monkey on Quanxi Street.This is why Ning Lan respects him. Being able to help him heal his illness without asking him where he came from or why he made it like this is as kind as a reincarnation of a Bodhisattva.

So Ning Lan was so ashamed that she buried her head in her chest and said in a muffled voice, "I'm sorry..."

After a long while, Lu Hao sighed softly, and said: "The body is your own. If you don't want it to be better, it will be futile for others to work hard. Next week, I will have a psychological evaluation with me. The medicine is spiritual. Prescription drugs, I can't take more than one time."

Ning Lan gave a barely audible "hmm", then reached into her trouser pocket and rustled out a wad of money circled inside: "And this, I sold the ticket, I'm sorry, I don't know Bingbing will..." At this point, he was a little hard to say, "Bingbing is still a child, he thinks it out, don't take his words seriously."

The atmosphere suddenly felt slightly awkward, and the speed of the surrounding air flow slowed down.

Ning Lan was even more upset.But any normal person would not want to have anything to do with a semi-disabled person like himself with unknown background and mental illness, right?

He is precarious every day, unable to predict what will happen in the next second.It was enough to live alone in such a life, and he didn't want to involve innocent people at all.

The clock ticked forward, and when Ning Lan was sitting on pins and needles, racking her brains to change the topic, Lu Hao said slowly: "Then if I say it, I mean it?"

The sun was scorching hot outside the window. On Quanxi Main Street, more than 200 meters away from the hair salon, a black SUV drove from the west. It braked a little anxiously, and the tires rubbed against the ground making a screeching sound.

Sui Yi got off the car and hurriedly walked across the road.It was about two or three meters away from the canteen. He stood still and took a breath, then strode in.

No one was in the store, and it was the first time that Sui Yi took a closer look at this small shop—the small commodities on the shelves were neatly arranged, the cold drinks in the freezer were not piled up randomly, mineral water, sports drinks, colored Drinks and popsicles are divided into exclusive areas, and there is a corner with frozen meat and other ingredients wrapped in plastic bags, which may be prepared for the next video recording.Turning his gaze, there was a washed-white strawberry pillow on the rocking chair behind the counter.

He has been here twice, but he didn't notice these details.Just now, I confirmed that the address where the video was sent is here through positioning, and now I have a one-to-one correspondence between what I see and what I remember, and I finally have a sense of reality that Ning Lan is here.

"Who is it?" The mother-in-law opened the curtain and smiled when she saw Sui Yi, "Boy, are you buying coffee?"

Sui Yi's mind was full of Ning Lan, so he didn't care much, so he asked directly, "Mother-in-law, is there someone named Ning Lan here?"

The mother-in-law was stunned for a moment, the smile on her face quickly disappeared, and she said firmly: "No, I haven't heard of this name before."

Sui Yi was burning with anxiety: "Then are there any other employees in your shop?"

"No, just me."

The mother-in-law was eager to deny it, and Sui Yi easily caught the flaw in her words: "The coffee maker you mentioned last time..."

Before he finished speaking, the mother-in-law became furious, and waved his cattail fan and blasted him out: "No, if you say no, you don't have it. Do you want to buy something? If you don't buy it, go out!"

The mother-in-law's footsteps were trembling, and Sui Yi was afraid of hurting her, so she could only be forced to retreat steadily under the driving of the aggressive old man, still begging: "You let me see him, just one time, I have something to say tell him."

"Damn!" the mother-in-law yelled, "Where did you go early? Where were you when he was so skinny and homeless? Seeing that he is doing well now, why are you eager to recognize him? Bah ,Stop dreaming!"

With a sound of "bang", the iron door was slammed shut in front of him, Sui Yi took two steps back, his eardrums buzzed from the shock.

On the other side, Ning Lan was also bewildered by the unexpected situation, and stammered, "Don't, stop joking."

Lu Hao closed the medical record and clasped his hands on the table: "I'm not joking."

Ning Lan was stared at by his undisguised eyes so that her heart felt weak, she hesitated for a moment and said: "No, no, your condition is so good, what kind of one are you looking for..."

"Then why can't I find you?"

Ning Lan took it for granted, "I'm 28 years old, I have inconvenient legs and feet, I'm mentally ill, and I'm still a man. The most important thing is that I'm a criminal. To put it bluntly, I don't know my identity."

Hearing what he said, Lu Hao relaxed instead, and said: "I am 7 years older than you. I am a real old man. I can be cured of all diseases. Our country recognizes same-sex partnerships as legal. Most importantly, I don't mind your identity. unknown."

A point-by-point refutation, with reasons and evidence.Ning Lan's back started to sweat, but he still couldn't figure it out, a good doctor brother, what kind of muscle is suddenly wrong today?

Lu's parents died early. Lu Binghua was brought up by Lu Hao while studying. Lu Hao was still unmarried in his 30s, probably because work and taking care of his younger brother took up most of his time.The two brothers have been living together for more than ten years, and their personalities seem to be diametrically opposed, but in fact they have a strong relationship.

Thinking of this, Ning Lan seized an important clue: "Bingbing talks nonsense all day long, don't take it to heart, he told me in private, in fact, he is happy to find anyone, as long as you like it."

Lu Hao clasped the intertwined fingers and suddenly closed them forcefully. He tapped his thumbs irregularly on the back of his hands a few times, and after thinking for a moment, he said, "I like you."

Ning Lan opened her mouth and stared blankly at him.

After Lu Hao finished speaking, he was a little embarrassed, and he used a smile to cover up his nervousness: "I'm not used to saying this. But I hope you know that I chose you not because of Binghua, but because of my personal experience. After careful consideration, I sincerely want to spend the rest of my life with you."

On the way back, Ning Lan was still stunned and helpless by the confession.

Lu Binghua seemed to have timed it right, and came back before he left, took out an electric baking pan, and begged him to make octopus balls for him with a blink of an eye.

The electric baking pan came with several cast iron pots of different sizes, and it was very difficult to carry in the hand, so Lu Hao offered to send him back with the pots.

Ning Lan wanted to refuse, but Lu Binghua moved too fast, put the electric cake pan into his brother's arms, and waved him to go back early.

At this moment, the sun was just about to set, and the two of them were walking on the road, gossiping a few things, and neither of them mentioned what happened in the house just now.

After all, Lu Hao is not a young man, he said that he doesn't care about marriage, status and other vain things, he just likes it and feels comfortable together, so he told Ning Lan to go back and think carefully, don't rush to answer him.

Ning Lan is the most soft-spoken, and wanted to refuse on the spot, but he was so respectful and humble that he couldn't say it for a while.Now calm down and think carefully, the answer is the same as before, or not.

Lu Hao's thinking is detached and he doesn't stick to the world, but Ning Lan is a layman through and through.Aside from emotions and desires, he doesn't have the confidence to have a relationship with anyone without a contract.He looks chic, but he actually cares more about the so-called "status" than anyone else, otherwise he wouldn't have done so many absurd and stupid things three years ago in order to pay back the money and maintain equality with that person.

However, he was the reason why the contract could not be concluded, so this in itself was an unsolvable problem.

The hair salon and the canteen were less than 300 meters away, and Ning Lan could see the closed door of the shop from a distance.He took out the key to open the door, called his mother-in-law a few times, and found that her mother-in-law was already lying on the bed and fast asleep when he went to the back room.

He closed the door lightly, went back to the outer room, unpacked the electric baking pan, took out the pan, rinsed it, and then plugged in the electric heating.

Lu Hao didn't intend to leave yet, he stared at the pot intently: "Put the flour in, can it be baked into cakes?"

Ning Lan couldn't help laughing: "Well, wait for the paste pot." After finishing speaking, she went to the freezer outside to get a little dough left over from making steamed buns yesterday, and was going to try to make an egg pancake first.

He turned the dough out from under the frozen meat, took the dough in one hand and closed the freezer with the other, at the same time, a deep voice rang in his ears without warning: "Lan Lan."

Probably because the dough was too cold, Ning Lan shivered from the cold, and the dough dropped on the freezer cover. As soon as it came into contact with the hot air, it began to emit cold air.

His current name is Zhang Ning, even his closest mother-in-law would only call him "Ning Ning".

He hadn't heard the name "Lanlan" for more than three years, so his first reaction was to think he was dreaming.

But the faces of the people in the dream are all blurred, while the person in front of him is tall and tall, with clear outlines, above the bridge of his nose, a pair of deep eyes are looking at him.Ning Lan could even see his undulating chest wrapped in thin clothes, and the long shadow drawn on the ground by the setting sun.

Sui Yi's heart beat fast, as if it was about to jump out of her chest.He didn't even dare to blink his eyes, for fear that with a slight movement, Ning Lan would disappear from his sight again.

What he is most thankful for now is that before going out today, he thought that he might see Ning Lan at any time, so he carefully selected his clothes. Although he was sweating, he didn't look embarrassed, and Ning Lan probably wouldn't dislike him.

"Lan Lan." Sui Yi stepped forward and called out again.

Ning Lan's reaction was to lean back, with her toes pointing out, obviously wanting to turn around and leave, but for some reason she stopped and stood there without moving.

This is much better than the countless reunion scenes that Sui Yi had envisioned. At least Ning Lan didn't turn around and leave, which meant that he didn't reject himself that much.

Encouraged, Sui Yi stepped to the counter in two steps, and was about to say something when a man came out from the back room separated by a curtain: "Why did it take so long to get the dough?"

At this moment, Ning Lan's face was pale, and the fingers hanging by her sides trembled and curled up.

When Lu Hao saw the person standing in front of him, he felt familiar, but for a moment he couldn't remember where he had seen him before. In addition, Ning Lan's mental state was up and down, and he couldn't bear to be stimulated the most, so he thought this person was looking for trouble. The customer pulled Ning Lan's arm, pulled him behind him, and asked, "Who are you?"

The intimate conversations and actions of the two people in front of them fell into Sui Yi's eyes.His eyes became deep, and his mind turned a thousand times, and countless terrifying hypotheses flashed across in an instant.

But he has been looking for Ning Lan for more than three years, and he can't let go no matter what.

Sui Yi looked greedily at the living Ning Lan standing in front of him, all the cells in his body seemed to be resurrected from the dead, and the breath in his nose was scalding hot.

He said slowly and word by word: "I am his boyfriend."

Lu Hao was obviously surprised, but Sui Yi's expression was so serious that he didn't seem to be lying, so he turned his head to look at Ning Lan: "He is yours..."

"No, he's not." Ning Lan, who had been silent all this time, suddenly spoke. He lowered his eyes and didn't know where he was looking, completely ignoring Sui Yi's fiery eyes on him, and said lightly, "I don't know him."