crack

The dumplings sent by Pei Chongyuan were still steaming, I don't know when they were cooked.

It may have been cooking for a while, or it may have just been cooked.

Jiang Xi stood there until his tail almost knocked over the plate of dumplings, and then he hurried back into the house.

There were 22 dumplings and they were perfectly cooked and none of them broke.

Jiang Xi put the plate on the coffee table, watched the plate of dumplings not move, and smoked.

He has always disliked eating dumplings, but after being with Pei Chongyuan, he was always ordered to eat a few times a year.

It's like a ritual, Jiang Xi thinks it's dispensable, but Pei Chongyuan thinks it's essential.

After smoking a cigarette, the dumplings were half cold.

He got up to wash his hands, and when he came back, he saw Tail resting his front feet on the coffee table, staring at the plate of dumplings, wanting to eat but not daring to act rashly.

Jiang Xi smiled and rubbed its head.

"It's not for you." Jiang Xi picked up a dumpling with his hand, thought for a long time, but didn't eat it.

He went to the kitchen with the plate, and stood beside the trash can for a long time, so long that the hand holding the plate was a little sore.

Wasting food is bad.

Dumplings are innocent.

He sighed, put the plate of dumplings on the table, leaned on the edge of the cooking table with one hand, squeezed the dumplings with the other, and ate them one by one.

Pork with mushrooms.

He doesn't like the taste very much.

I don't like it, but it's familiar.

Jiang Xi doesn't like dumplings with any filling, so he follows Pei Chongyuan's taste every year, and Pei Chongyuan likes this.

Putting them into his mouth one after another, Jiang Xi ate very slowly, his head was empty, and he didn't think about anything.

When I came back to my senses, the plate was empty, and the white plate in front of me was printed with a string of English: Nicetomeetyou.

Nicetomeetyou. The first lesson in English textbooks that year.

Nice to meet you.

Jiang Xi looked down at the string of English, and felt that something was stuck in his throat, and he couldn't swallow it or spit it out.

He brushed the plate, put it aside, took a glass of water, and drank it in one gulp.

Nice to meet you.

Where is there to be happy?

After eating the dumplings, Jiang Xi didn't go to bed directly, feeling uncomfortable in his stomach.

He curled up on the sofa watching a movie, dozing off with his tail on his lap.

He didn't know how many times he had watched "The Purple Rose of Cairo", and he didn't know why he would always open this one whenever he wanted to watch a movie.

The movie follows him, or rather, he seems to walk along the film's course in a different way.

Tom on the screen was attracted by Cecilia's obsession with movies, and he came out of the illusory world, wanting to feel freedom and the real world with her.

And he, because of his obsession with Pei Chongyuan, was pulled into an illusory world by that person, feeling unreal love and happiness.

At the end of the story, Cecilia finally recognized reality and illusion, and he finally returned to the cold world from the illusory illusion of happiness.

"I seem to have found the happiness I was looking for."

The man on the screen is still singing.

Singing is simply the elegy of Cecilia's love.

what is true

What is fake?

This plate of dumplings tonight is real, but the plate seven years ago was fake.

Jiang Xi was already able to tell the difference.

At two o'clock in the middle of the night, Jiang Xi turned off the TV, covered his tail on the sofa with a small blanket, and went into the room by himself to sleep.

What he thought before he closed his eyes was: Maybe tonight's game is also fake, and the person living next door is not him at all.

Early the next morning, just after eight o'clock, there was a knock on the door of Jiang Xi's house.

He just took out the coffee beans he bought a few days ago, he hesitated when he heard the knock on the door, put down his work and went to open the door.

Pei Chongyuan stood at the door neatly dressed: "Did you eat the dumplings last night?"

"Throw it away." Jiang Xi said.

Pei Chongyuan smiled indifferently, and handed him the insulated lunch box in his hand: "I'm going out, you should eat well."

Jiang Xi frowned and glanced at him: "What do you mean?"

"I made it for you."

"No need." After Jiang Xi finished speaking, he was about to close the door, but he heard Pei Chongyuan say, "I'll just leave it at the door, remember to take it yourself."

The door slammed shut, separating the two worlds again.

Jiang Xi felt that Pei Chongyuan really didn't need to do this, between the two of them, there was no need.

However, thinking it was unnecessary, Jiang Xi opened the door when he heard the sound of the elevator descending.

Pei Chongyuan had already left, but the white insulated lunch box was still there.

He looked down, thought for a while, then came over with his tail and smelt around the lunch box for a long time, then looked up at him.

"You can't eat it." Jiang Xi said to Tail, "He has been poisoned."

In the end, Jiang Xi didn't touch the insulated lunch box. He went about his own business as usual, walking the dog, going out to the bar, as if the lunch box never existed, and neither did the person next door.

From that day on, Pei Chongyuan was like an alarm clock with a set time, delivering meals to Jiang Xi in the morning and evening, and occasionally putting some fruit snacks at the door.

But Jiang Xi never moved, and he tried his best to reduce unnecessary encounters with the other party.

After not seeing each other for a few years, he never thought that Pei Chongyuan would do this.

Surprised, but not relented.

Jiang Xi felt that he would never be moved by Pei Chongyuan's small favors again.

In early December, it snowed heavily for several days.

Jiang Xi found that Pei Chongyuan's life had become very regular, as if he had lived a nine-to-five life.

Probably because he found a job, he became much more energetic. The feeling of depression when he first came back was gone. Although he was still much thinner than before, his slightly slumped shoulders straightened up again.

During this period of time, Jiang Xi only had a few face-to-face meetings with him, and most of the time Pei Chongyuan greeted him through text messages and notes.

I don't know where the man learned it from, so I posted a note on the door for him.

Jiang Xi never paid attention to it, but it was inevitable that he would see it.

[The soup is stewed, it is suitable for soup in winter. 】

[I'm afraid I'm going to become a professional chef because of you. 】

[I've been very busy recently, I'll go to the bar to see you later. 】

[It's cold, remember to wear a scarf, drive carefully, safety is the most important thing. 】

……

One in the morning and one in the evening, like a naive elementary school student.

Jiang Xi did not express any opinion on his note, because he knew that not responding was the best rejection.

However, there would always be one or two that accidentally fell when he opened the door, and fell precariously on the ground at home.

It was brought in by the wind, and no one could resist it.

Reluctantly, Jiang Xi bent down to pick it up, and originally planned to paste it back, but happened to meet Pei Chongyuan who came out of the elevator.

In the middle of the night, Pei Chongyuan stood there with a cold air all over his body.

Jiang Xi exchanged a glance with him, clenched the note into a ball in his palm, and entered the room.

Pei Chongyuan looked at the traces of glue on the door of his house, opened the door with a smile, took Jiang Xi's insulated lunch box that had not been touched again, and went home.

Pei Chongyuan is really busy these days.

The four words "reshaping life" are easy to say, but once implemented, they consume most of the energy.

He was looking for a job again, almost starting from scratch.

Fortunately, those interpersonal relationships were relatively stable back then. Even if he came out of the prison, everyone understood the cause and effect, and they were still willing to help him.

But even so, the road was not easy.

Career is actually very similar to love. When it does not exist, you want to build it. Although it is not easy, it is still easier to build a tall building than to rebuild it after a disaster.

After a life has collapsed, starting over from the beginning, lifting the original foundation and removing the collapsed rubble, this process can make many people discouraged.

Pei Chongyuan gritted his teeth, and for the sake of face, he had to look relaxed.

When he got home, he opened the insulated lunch box, which contained the untouched meals and soup after a boring day.

Jiang Xi was angry with him, and he understood that it might be a good thing for the two of them to take their time.

Moreover, these days, Pei Chongyuan has actually found the joy of life from this state. It seems that the silent fight with Jiang Xi every day is the most interesting and vivid moment in his boring and tired life.

Jiang Xi didn't touch the food that was placed at Jiang Xi's door in the morning, and it was dinner when he came back.

Although it's boring for a day, the taste is not very decent, but there is always a feeling of "you can eat hot meals when you get home".

It can be regarded as having fun.

After Pei Chongyuan finished his meal, he washed the insulated lunch box and put it aside, waiting to put new dishes in it tomorrow morning.

After washing up, he lay on the bed and flipped through the recipes stored in his phone, cooking in different ways, but in the end it was all cheaper for him.

During this period of time, Pei Chongyuan was reflecting, and he suddenly found that his previous self was indeed a bit ridiculous.

I always feel that I dote on Jiang Xi so much, but now that I think about it, I don't even know what the other party likes to eat.

Whether it is a couple, a family member or a friend, it is always easier to move yourself, forgetting that you are only touching yourself.

Pei Chongyuan looked at the recipe for a while, then fell asleep in a daze, and when he was half asleep, he heard something outside.

He woke up with a start, frowning and listening in bewilderment.

It seemed to be the sound of closing the door, and there were vague voices.

Pei Chongyuan glanced at the time, it was getting faster, he hesitated and got out of bed.

Wearing slippers and pajamas, he went directly to the door and opened it to look out, but there was no one outside, and the elevator went down to the first floor.

Jiang Xi suddenly went out in the middle of the night, which made Pei Chongyuan feel uneasy.

He went back to the house and took his mobile phone to call Jiang Xi, but the other party never answered.

He didn't sleep well all night, thinking about Jiang Xi. Although he knew that a man in his twenties would not need to report to him no matter what time he went out, no matter what he was going out for, but he just felt uneasy. .

Until Pei Chongyuan went out to work, he didn't hear Jiang Xi's return, and the usual early morning dog walk session was cancelled.

As usual, Pei Chongyuan put the lunch box at his door, pasted a note, and left worriedly.

When Qin Song came to feed the tail after ten o'clock, he was stunned when he saw the things at the door. He hesitated for a while, and took the lunch box and the note into the house.

When Qin Song returned to the hospital, he said to Jiang Xi: "Brother Xi, did you fall in love behind my back?"