Chasing Tides

Sui Yi's eyes were dull, with some hidden emotions brewing inside.

Money was the most frequently mentioned topic between him and Ning Lan during those two years.

They never talked about the past and the future, nor did they talk about their hobbies and minefields. In this initially deformed relationship, one of them gradually became sincere. The other fell in love a long time ago, because of the inferiority complex and self-esteem that are deeply rooted in the bone marrow, they dare not speak out.

They are like countless people wearing philistine masks in the vast world, one gives money and the other laughs.The relationship between the two began with money, and when the bank card was returned, it was cut off unexpectedly and without warning.

Now I want to tie the broken rope back, and the word "money" can't be stained no matter what.

"That dress was going to be thrown away, so you should throw it away." Sui Yi was not good at lying, but fortunately his natural tone was calm, and it was difficult to hear the traces of deliberation.

Although the two faced each other, there was a distance of one meter between them.Ning Lan silently rejected his proposal, took out a wad of money from his pocket, and said, "I'll give you one thousand first, and I'll go to the store to ask the price, and I'll refund any excess."

"No need." Sui Yi refused in a hurry, and said with an idea, "It's a gift from a fan, not from a store."

Ning Lan remembered that there was no trademark on the collar and cuffs of the dress, so she believed it halfway, frowned slightly, and began to feel troubled.

"At the next meeting, I will ask her where to buy it, and then you will pay me back." Sui Yi lied in a fluster, and then asked tentatively, "Look at this... okay?"

Ning Lan couldn't think of any other better way, so she nodded in agreement in desperation.

The broken hair on his forehead blocked his beautiful eyes, and Sui Yi wanted to brush it away for him. The moment he raised his hand, he suddenly recalled Ning Lan's resistance to his intimate gesture in the morning, and he clenched his fist to dismiss the idea.

"It's late, go to sleep." Sui Yi said.

I have been waiting for more than three years, there is no need to rush to this moment.

The commissary reopened after being closed for two days.

The gears of time continue to turn forward, and everything is the same as usual, with careful attention and slight differences.

For example, there are some materials left over from repairing the eaves of the bathhouse next door, and I helped the small shop to build an awning by the way; for example, the iron gate was in disrepair for a long time, and I just borrowed tools from the uncle of the car repair shop to fix it by myself, and found that the door suddenly opened and closed smoothly. Slippery, just like the new ones; for example, when you buy bitter gourd, the boss will give you a handful of leeks, and when you buy half a catty of meat, you will be stuffed with an extra catty of ribs...

The neighbors on Quanxi Street have a harmonious relationship and often help each other. This kind of luck is not unheard of before, but it is not as frequent as it is these days.

This afternoon, before the delivery man from the wholesale market arrived, Ning Lan rode a bicycle to a chain supermarket five kilometers away to buy the ingredients needed to make octopus balls, a bottle of Japanese-style teriyaki sauce, a bottle of salad dressing, wooden fish One bag each of flowers and shredded seaweed, these are ingredients that cannot be bought nearby.

When checking out, the mysterious goddess of luck descended again—the supermarket held an event, and the shopping receipt was used to participate in the lucky draw. Ning Lan reached in and grabbed one at random, unfolding it to see: an electric car.

Buying an electric car at a cost of less than 60 yuan can make others wake up laughingly from their dreams. However, Ning Lan connected this incident with a series of unimaginable things before, and came up with an alarm bell in his heart. in conclusion.

He didn't want the electric car, and when he rushed home on his bicycle, the delivery truck had already parked at the door.The delivery man is still the little brother who often cooperates. Usually every time he comes, he puts the goods at the door in a hurry and leaves. This time, I don’t know where the patience came from. He is moving the goods box by box to the store, and he has already moved in. The goods are stacked neatly by the wall, neither hindering walking nor affecting the appearance.

Ning Lan immediately chased after him, walked around the canteen, and blocked Sui Yi who strayed into a dead-end alley.

Sui Yi seemed to have just finished physical work. He was sweating profusely, and a few strands of hair were scattered in front of his forehead. One sleeve was rolled up to his shoulder, revealing his entire strong arm, and his chest heaved violently with his breathing.Even though he was so tired, he never took off the mask on his face.

In the past, when he was tired from dancing, he would pull his short sleeves over his shoulders to dissipate heat.At that time, Ning Lan liked the way he was sweating so much and told him to wear a vest. Before he could answer, she shook her head and said no, no, no one else could see it.

Ning Lan looked away and asked, "What are you doing?"

Sui Yi: "Run, pass by."

"By the way, help the delivery guy move something?"

"Ah."

Ning Lan was about to be laughed out of anger, but she couldn't bend her smile when she opened her mouth, and asked coldly, "What exactly do you want?"

There was no one else in the alley, so Sui Yi pulled the mask up to his chin, revealing a handsome face that had hardly changed over the past three years, with his thin lips slightly parted, and said, "I wish you a good life."

This answer made Ning Lan stunned for a while, but after a while, his eyes became clear again.

"I'm fine now," Ning Lan said, "Please put away your boring sympathy, I don't need any help."

Especially from you.

Sui Yi soon received a refund of the money.

Aunt Jiang wondered: "Ning Ning insisted on giving it to me. You must know how stubborn he is. I told you that it would be too much. He ran away as soon as he put it on my table, and he couldn't even catch up..."

No one has a deeper understanding of Ning Lan's "preoccupation" than Sui Yi.

In the evening, Sui Yi called the teacher.

The teacher pretended to be dissatisfied and said: "I can't find anyone to complain, so you think of me?"

Sui Yi was lying on the small bed in the guest room rented by Aunt Jiang's house, and it creaked when she moved lightly.

He was depressed and had no time to care about the poor conditions, so he took this "consultation call" as a life-saving straw: "He refused to talk to me, refused to accept my kindness, I... what should I do?"

The teacher "tsk": "You made a wrong call, you have to ask your dad."

Sui Yi was not amused this time, looking at the mottled ceiling, anxiety spread in his eyes.

He had made a lot of plans during the three years when Ning Lan was away, how to treat him well, how to hold him in his hands and love him dearly.But these assumptions are all based on the premise that Ning Lan still cares about him. Now that Ning Lan doesn't see him, she not only turns a blind eye to all his compensation behaviors, but also tries her best to distance herself from him, which is far beyond his expectations .

For the first time, he felt that the power of life and death was in the hands of others, and he could only sit and wait for death.God knows how much he wanted to tie Ning Lan back when he was peeking at Ning Lan in the dark these days, and let him stay by his side all day, unable to go anywhere.

He was really scared, afraid that Ning Lan would disappear again, afraid that he would become a complete lunatic.

"Still listening?" the teacher called him over the phone.

Sui Yi dragged himself out of the bottomless vortex, exhaled heavily, and replied, "Yes."

"I think this is an opportunity instead." The teacher said, "You might as well change your identity, as a suitor, and chase him once."

In the early morning of the next day, Ning Lan got up from the bed rubbing her eyes, and saw a bright rose lying on the window sill.

He is not a girl and has no special feelings for flowers.He took it to the trash can, and couldn't bear it, so he simply threw it on the stove.

That night, a sharp-eyed netizen found a rose in the octopus ball making video posted by the food blogger "Can't Fried Chicken Wings". I lamented that the virtuous little brother who could cook was chased away by wild men, and the single dog could only boil water to soak a bowl of noodles and swallow them with tears.

The next day, Lu Binghua, who was eating octopus balls, came and saw the two flowers that his mother-in-law put in the bottle. His first reaction was that someone was chasing him, and he hugged his leg and cried, begging him to be firm. Be your own sister-in-law.

Ning Lan was indifferent, and her eardrums hurt from the noise, so she forked a ball, turned around and stuffed it into his mouth.

Lu Binghua puffed up his cheeks and looked towards the door, asking, "Hey, why did the human-shaped standing sign at your door a few days ago disappear?"

"Moved away." Ning Lan said.

"Ah... boring." Lu Binghua swallowed the last bite of food in his mouth and pouted, "Brother, you really don't plan to go home?"

Ning Lan froze for a moment, lowered her head and put down the plate in her hand, and said, "This is my home."

Lu Binghua narrowed his eyes, and said happily: "Then tomorrow, can my elder brother and I come to your house for dinner?"

The next day Ning Lan got up and looked through the calendar, only to realize slowly that today is her birthday.

In the morning, his mother-in-law made him a bowl of Changshou noodles. Not long after eating, Lu Binghua appeared shaking his head, and let him look at the sky for a while, and let him look at the back for a while.

In the end, Ning Lan couldn't take it anymore. She stood up and said no more. Then Lu Binghua took out a set of dishes behind her back and put them on the counter to show Ning Lan. This tableware, after all, is a food blogger with 20 fans, and the CEO of the biggest store on Quanxi Street, so he must have noodles!"

Before lunch, Ning Lan received a bouquet of flowers from Fang Yu, and the card arrived at the same time: [Give myself to you, happy birthday my little Lanlan]

Fang Yu has been in touch with him recently, saying that he has been busy with the new album for a while, and he will come to see him again when he is done.It was rare for Ning Lan to be in a good mood, so she took out the few roses from the bottle, inserted fresh flowers into them, and returned to Fang Yu for a treat.

In the evening, Lu Hao came with cakes. Ning Lan and her mother-in-law set up a table of dishes together, and the four of them ate until their stomachs bulged.Lu Binghua was still thinking about that cake and insisted on cutting a piece for everyone.

Ning Lan almost threw up after eating, stood up and ran around the yard, Lu Hao followed him out, reminding him to slow down and be careful of the relapse of his old disease, so Ning Lan slowed down and walked with Lu Hao at a five-meter square Eat in the small yard.

As soon as they turned around, the two almost stepped on each other's feet. Lu Hao smiled and said, "Let's go for a walk, we can't turn around here."

The summer wind blowing head-on brings some coolness at night, which makes people's pores dilate, which is very pleasant.Ning Lan walked forward while kicking stones, passed the small bridge named after Quanxi, and kicked the stones into the river.

Lu Hao proudly applauded and shouted "Strike" from the side, Ning Lan curled up his lips and smiled, the moonlight coated his soft face with a light edge, making his already clear eyes shine like stars.

It's not that Ning Lan couldn't feel Lu Hao's throbbing and temptation. On the way back, the two accidentally touched their hands several times, and he quickly avoided it. He secretly regretted coming out with Lu Hao, for fear that he would say something words that cannot be answered by oneself.

Lu Hao probably also sensed Ning Lan's vigilance, and approaching the entrance of the canteen, he asked, "Are you free next week?"

"Ah? Yes... yes."

"Take half a day to go to the hospital with me."

Hearing this, Ning Lan's tense nerves instantly relaxed, and then he looked bitter and bitter: "Are you really going?"

"Really." Lu Hao said, "obedient children have candy to eat."

Ning Lan curled her lips: "I think you are more suitable to be a pediatrician."

Lu Hao was noncommittal.

When she reached the door, Ning Lan had just inserted the key into the lock when she heard the person behind her say, "In my eyes, you will always be a child who needs protection."

In the middle of the night, Ning Lan tossed and turned, unable to fall asleep.

Lu Hao's words frightened him even more than his confession. He knew that he could not respond to this feeling, but he desperately longed to be loved and protected.

For example, he knew that he had nothing to do with Granny Zhang, but he was still taking maternal love from her.

For example, he knew that someone as proud as Sui Yi would be unbearable to turn around and leave after being treated so coldly by him, but he still wanted to open the window to see if he had sent flowers today.

Granny Zhang next door was already sound asleep. Ning Lan got out of bed barefoot, walked to the window, and gently opened it.

At the tip of the moon, besides a rose whose petals have begun to curl, there is also a small cuboid-shaped thing on the windowsill, which reflects delicate light under the moonlight.

It's a recording pen. I saw this thing when I was interviewed by a magazine with other members of the group.

Ning Lan hesitated for a while, picked up the two things, sat back on the bed, put down the flowers, and took a close look at the recording pen.

He didn't turn on the light, and didn't know which button was recording and which was playing.

Murphy's Law always comes into effect at critical moments. The more you dare not touch it randomly, the more you will accidentally hook your left thumb, press a button, and the sound of electric current will come into your ears from the external outlet. It was turned off, and before the key was touched, a melody slowly flowed out from the small recording pen.

The sound of a violin.

Ning Lan considers himself a layman through and through, and can only barely distinguish the timbres of different instruments. He seems to have heard this song somewhere, and he doesn't seem to have it.

But he could hear the graceful melody, like the ripples of stones falling into the water, light and quiet.

Ning Lan was a little annoyed after listening to the whole song unconsciously, he didn't intend to listen to it.

At this time, there was a light click from the recording pen, and it automatically jumped to the next part. Ning Lan, who was in the dark, failed to touch the pause button again, but turned up the volume a lot.

He heard the person playing the piano just now say, "Lan Lan, happy birthday."

The heartbeat and the blunt sentence stopped at the same time, and the recording pen recorded the sound of people's breathing clearly.

The person playing the violin was probably afraid that he would not want to listen, so there was a bit of eagerness in his calm tone.

After sending a sentence of "Happy Birthday" that everyone can say to him, the person playing the violin is selfish, his lips are close to the receiver, and in his voice that is more mellow and melodious than the sound of the violin, softly say: "I love you. "

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Schubert's "Song on Water"