ten years love letter

[1]

2012, summer.

Tokyo in midsummer is a veritable hot hell.

The noisy cicadas sing endlessly, and the whole city seems to be melting into a huge swamp that swallows everything.

"Excuse me, excuse me, excuse me—"

He Shu struggled through most of the carriages and finally found his seat.

Opposite them sat a pair of elderly silver-haired couples. Judging from their clothes, they should have gone climbing.

Traveling together in such hot weather, the body is really strong.

When I reach old age, I don't know if I can have such energy.

I'm afraid I've been exhausted by the boring work.

Thinking of this, the 28-year-old Heshu couldn't help but let out a wry smile.

He took out a clean handkerchief and silently wiped his sweaty cheeks.

The train started slowly.

and tree looking out the window.

The scenery beside the railway flies by like a floating flower.

After a long time, the gray Tokyo was left far behind by the train.

The scorching summer sunlight casts a dazzling light on the clusters of small houses.

Narrow streets without people run through it, and occasionally a wild cat or a housewife riding a bicycle can be seen.

He Shu looked out the window quietly.

Another long time passed.

The transparent blue sea appeared.

Kazuki couldn't help straightening his back.

He stared at the beautiful and familiar sea for a long time.

The endless blue water and the clear sky are connected to each other in the farthest distance.

There is no wind today, the sea water is shimmering and sparkling, and the slender waves are as soft as scales, which is too beautiful to behold.

Haiqiu Station is almost here.

My hometown after a ten-year absence is coming soon.

The train made a short stop at Tanizaki Station.

The elderly couple on the opposite side got off the bus, and several high school students got on the bus talking and laughing.

He Shu looked at them calmly.

For ten years, the uniform of Haiqiu High School has not changed at all, it is still a white short-sleeved shirt and black uniform trousers.

At first glance, it seems that there is no difference between the school uniforms in Tokyo, but the country boys wearing school uniforms are very different from the boys in Tokyo.

Most of the teenagers who grew up by the sea have wheat-colored skin, and when they smile, their teeth are white, and they look extraordinarily shy.

Such a shy smile, almost as if he was afraid that he might make a mistake.

He Shu couldn't help but squeeze the briefcase in his arms tightly.

There is a letter in his briefcase.

This letter was sent yesterday. If he hadn't stayed in the company to work overtime, He Shu would have seen it a few hours earlier.

The signature of the letter is Haiqiu Town Meijin Law Firm, and the beginning is:

"Dear Mr. Kazuki Kosugi, the day before yesterday, your friend Mr. Shiba Aoki passed away in a car accident. Mr. Aoki once made a will in my office. If something happens to him, all his estate will be inherited by you. Therefore, I regret that I wrote this letter with a heavy heart, and I hope you can return to Haiqiu Town as soon as possible to deal with the inheritance..."

After receiving this letter, He Shu immediately called his boss to ask for leave.

He bought a ticket to return home, and then hurriedly packed his luggage.

Now sitting in the train, He Shu had time to think about it calmly.

Although he had to think calmly, Kazuki really couldn't understand this situation.

Aoki Shiba actually died?

That taciturn boy actually died?

He actually left the entire inheritance to me?

What are we two?friend?

Can two people who haven't contacted once in ten years be considered friends?

He Shu couldn't help but suddenly realized.

His thoughts gradually returned to the past, back to the first day he met Shiba Aoki.

[2]

1999, summer.

Before the alarm clock rang, Heshu woke up.

High Hill High's brand-new uniforms hang neatly on the wall, and Mom has ironed them last night.

Kazuki jumped out of bed and carefully took off his uniform.

Facing the mirror, he solemnly buttoned up his uniform, like a soldier putting on his armor.

The boy in the mirror was slender, with big eyes, a high nose bridge, wheat-colored skin, and a hearty and shy smile.

I am a high school student.

Heshu is very happy.

After washing, he went downstairs to have breakfast.

Seeing Kazuki in the new uniform, the younger brother and younger sister shouted loudly, "My brother is a high school student!"

He Shu pretended not to care, and said, "There is no difference between high school students and junior high school students. What's the fuss about?"

Mother's voice came from the kitchen, she laughed and said, "Heshu has also learned how to be cool!"

The younger brothers and sisters laughed, and He Shu couldn't help showing a smile.

He Shu went to the shrine again, and bowed to his father's portrait.

In the black-and-white photo, Dad smiled until his eyes narrowed.

Dad's cancer was terminal when the photo was taken.He lost all his hair and teeth due to chemotherapy.

That morning, Heshu read a few pages of the magazine to his father, and there was a cold joke in it, which especially hit his father's point of laughter.

When the photo was taken in the afternoon, the photographer had just finished yelling "cheese", and my father remembered the joke. He burst out laughing so hard that he couldn't see his eyes, and the camera happened to freeze this scene.

After the photo was developed, my father said, "Just use this photo as my portrait. I really want to see what the monk who performs rituals will look like."

At that time, the whole family laughed.

"Dad, you must bless me to make more friends in high school."

Kazuki bowed to his father's portrait before going to the dining table to have breakfast with his younger siblings.

Today is the first day of the new semester at Haiqiu High School.

Haiqiu High School is not far from home. During the summer vacation, Heshu and his friends rode bicycles to visit Haiqiu High School.

Heshu rides a bicycle very fast, and his mother is very worried about Heshu's reckless personality, so he is not allowed to ride a bicycle to school.

Heshu can only obey his mother's wishes.

After breakfast, mother went to work, and He Shu took her younger siblings to the school bus stop of Haiqiu Primary School.

Several housewives chatted with their children at the station.

Seeing Heshu, the wives greeted him warmly, and Heshu's new uniform received unanimous praise.

Kazuki is not very good at dealing with older women other than his mother.

He replied a few words shyly, and then handed over his younger siblings to their temporary care.

The younger siblings bid farewell to He Shu obediently.

He Shu waved his hand, turned and walked towards the road to Haiqiu High School.

He knew the way to the high school very well: first pass a dentist's office, then turn left and there is a convenience store, behind the convenience store there is a small alley, and then follow the small alley and walk two blocks to the embankment.

Behind the dam is the endless sea, and walking up the sloping edge of the dam is the gate of Haiqiu High School.

The summer vacation has passed, but the summer sun is still very dazzling, especially at the seaside, where the fresh sea breeze keeps blowing the scorching heat.

Under the hot sun with the tree, he kept walking forward with a shoulder schoolbag on his back.

When he walked to the convenience store, he was so hot that he couldn't bear it, so he had to go in and buy a bottle of soda.

The air conditioner in the convenience store was fully turned on, and He Shu couldn't bear to leave here, but he had to.

While drinking soda, Kazuki went into the alley.

After walking tens of meters, He Shu noticed a boy in front of the alley.

The boy was tall and slender, with a distinctive fair skin.

The boy lowered his head, wearing earphones, and kept walking five or six meters in front of Heshu.

He also wears the uniform of Haiqiu High School and walks the same way to school.

This is a new classmate?

Or senior?

Would you like to say hello?

Of course I want to say hello!

Kazuki quickly stuffed the soda bottle into his schoolbag.

He quickened his pace, and when he was about to catch up with the boy, the alley came to an end.

The concrete embankment exposed to the wind and sun suddenly appeared in front of the line of sight.

At this time, the strange boy turned around.

He continued to walk along the slanting embankment.

The boy turned around briefly, and He Shu was suddenly stunned.

Just because at that moment, the narrow alley entrance was like a picture frame erected:

In the distance is the sparkling blue sea, and occasionally a whale-like white cloud swims in the clear sky. In the center of the frame, there is a lonely and tall figure.

A strange boy in a short-sleeved white shirt was turning around.

The sea breeze blew his thin white shirt, but he lowered his eyes and remained silent.

Short black hair, brown eyes, drooping eyelashes, high nose bridge, fair skin, such a beautiful side face, as clear as a crystal, but his expression...is so melancholy.

The boy frowned.

He was wearing headphones, the black cords tangled and tucked into his breast pocket.His temperament is so lonely, as if he is an isolated island.

And tree stunned.

He didn't expect that on the morning of the beginning of this new semester, in this dusty alley, he was caught off guard and saw a freeze-frame picture like a movie.

Is that guy a movie star?Or reader model?

He Shu couldn't help complaining in his heart.

After the strange boy turned around, he quickly disappeared.

He Shu came back to his senses and hurriedly chased him out of the alley.

The boy was already submerged in crowds of boys and girls in uniform.

It was just such a flash of divine effort that he missed the opportunity to say hello.

Heshu was very remorseful.

Who is that man?

If they are students of the same school, then tomorrow morning, they will meet again on the way to school, right?

He Shu comforted himself in this way, he couldn't help cheering up, and happily entered Haiqiu High School.

But what he didn't expect was that only ten minutes later, he reunited with that boy in the new classroom of the first grade.

It turned out that the boy was also a freshman, and they were assigned to the same class.

So lucky!

[3]

There are many default rules in society, and the world of teenagers is no exception.

For example, after a new class is formed, in a short time, countless small groups will be born in a classroom.

These small groups will determine the network of relationships for the next three years, if not longer.

He Shu has a cheerful personality and was very popular in the original junior high school.Soon, he had a hot fight with several classmates around him.

The boy with headphones sat by the window.

No matter how the girls around him were chattering, he always looked out the window, remained silent, his brown eyes were extremely indifferent, as if he was not interested in this world.

He Shu was very curious about that person, and couldn't help interrupting the conversation of the new friends, asking: "By the way, do you know that classmate? He and I seem to be on the same path to study."

The friends looked back and said they didn't know each other.

Only student Yokoyama smiled and said, "Oh, you said that guy. His name is Shiba Aoki, and he and I used to be in the same junior high school."

"Shiba Aoki?" Kazuki asked with interest, "Student Aoki looks so cool, since you are from the same junior high school, why don't you talk?"

Student Hengshan showed hesitation, and said: "Because... when Student Aoki was in junior high school, he was bullied by the whole class for three years."

He Shu asked back in astonishment: "Bullying?"

Other friends also aroused interest, and asked: "What's the matter with bullying?"

Hengshan had no choice but to answer: "I am not in the same class as Aoki. I only know the general situation. It seems that Aoki comes from a single-parent family. He only has a father and no mother."

He Shu frowned, and asked, "Is it just because of this? I am also a single-parent family, and I only have a mother."

Student Hengshan said: "The situation between you and Aoki is different. Your father died of illness, and everyone in the town knows it. Aoki's mother eloped with a man. Elopement, it's too embarrassing."

"Elope", this word has a charming and sinful color, it is a word that only appears in sensory novels, and it will indeed arouse children's amazement and curiosity.

Kazuki thought silently, for a man, it is really embarrassing for his woman to elope, but what does this have to do with Zhibo?It's not like Zhibo eloped with someone.

However, there is no reason for children to collectively bully their peers.

It may be because of an unintentional remark, because of a nickname, because of a pair of glasses that are too thick, because of a test paper with full or zero marks, because of being too fat, because of being too thin, because of being too poor, because of being too rich, Because they are too beautiful, because they are too ugly...even because of something that has nothing to do with them, anyone will be bullied.

Bullying will not stop unless the victim stands up, or remains silent until graduation or a transfer or worse separates the victim from the perpetrator.

It seems that Aoki-san should have chosen the second solution.

In fact, most children choose the second solution.

It cannot be said that he was cowardly, nor that he was weak. The only thing that can be said is that he must have endured great loneliness and pain.

single parent family...

He Shu suddenly felt very uncomfortable.

He couldn't help but look towards the window. Classmate Aoki rested his cheek on his hand, silently looking at the playground outside the window.

The boy's expression was so indifferent, and his whole body exuded a lingering gloom.

Upon closer inspection, he has dark circles under his eyes, and he indeed looks like he has been depressed for a long time.

It turned out that the boy was not a movie star, nor a reader model, but just a poor and unlucky guy.

Heshu recalled the scene in the morning again.

In front of the sparkling sea, at the mouth of a small alley, the boy was turning around.

His profile was as clear as a crystal, and his white shirt was bulging with the sea breeze.

single parent family...

What's wrong with that?