cliff

"Hi! Hey, hello, brother... I want to ask if the house is rented out? Uh-huh, I have time in the afternoon, and I just go over to look at the house on the weekend... Hey, see you after five o'clock. Um, are you busy? Well, goodbye."

The howling cold wind poured into the phone, and Lu Chen could only hear the gender of the other party after talking for a minute.

Even in this big winter, or even in Penang, which is colder because of the wind blowing around the sea, it has not delayed the rise of housing prices and the dissatisfaction with the desire for houses.Finding a place to live was like going to heaven.

With a "crash", the inferior suitcase let out a scream because of his unceremonious push, like a sharp weapon for nails scraping a blackboard.

The man wrapped his puffy down jacket tightly, fumbled out a pack of cigarettes, flicked his hand, and received one just right on his frozen purple lips, and handed over the flame with the other hand.However, after taking a deep breath, it was not as comfortable as imagined.

"I'm going! Smoking with the cold wind in Penang is really... so refreshing, it's like smoking a needle."

However, this did not prevent the man from carefully, courageously and fascinatedly giving the second mouthful.

With a cigarette in his mouth, Lu Chen took out his mobile phone and adjusted the screen brightness to the maximum by instinct. Even if he didn't have this brightness, he could still use this instinct to continue swiping the phone leisurely.However, the man's slender figure was filled with the words "I'm impatient", and he was already unable to use his "night vision" function.

"Five o'clock, it's only 02:30, tsk."

In Penang, a place where every inch of land is very expensive, it is necessary for newcomers to live frugally.Let alone Penang, money is always the most important thing when you first come to other places.Or it can be summed up in one sentence - money is always important.

For a salaryman like Lu Chen, it was already a struggle to squeeze out the balance of one month's salary from three months' salary.

I smoked a cigarette tremblingly, and the heat I had just got off the train dissipated.

However, his hands were still shaking, constantly shaking.Lu Chen dragged the heavy suitcase, and walked step by step, almost showing a sense of cherishment.I repeated that photo and the blurry and handsome face on it over and over again in my mind.

-

Chinese teacher Yu Li rushed into the office holding a photo, and the coated photo was almost wrinkled by her.

"Lu Chen, Lu Chen!" Yu Li rushed into the classroom, and the wind brought over the lesson plan on the desk.

Those who teach Chinese are sensibility. After soaking in words for a long time, even the most trivial things can be adjusted as if disaster strikes.Lu Chen has long been accustomed to it.

"Lu Chen!" Yu Li was so excited that she lost her ability to speak. She stared at her big eyes, and her eyeballs almost popped out of her sockets. Lu Chen just glanced at it, and cold sweat broke down her spine.

"I said, Teacher Yu, can you be more careful? This is a university after all! What's the matter, another brat who skipped classes in a row, oops, the photos of the missing persons notice are all ready. Parents have come to the door? I said that the children who grow up in this honeypot are often dying, because these parents who make a lot of fuss get used to it. Don't take them too seriously..."

Yu Li tried to interrupt Lu Chen several times, but Teacher Lu Chen, as a humanities teacher, talked endlessly about social morality.Yu Li had no choice but to take a picture of his handsome face that was almost crushed, and the high bridge of the nose was sore.

"Look at this person, isn't it Shen Yi?" Yu Li was stunned, and Lu Chen was even more stunned than her.

"Shen Yi..." Lu Chen silently read these two words in his heart.Hands are faster than eyes, pick up the photo and paste it in front of the eyes, forcing myself to focus.

"Is it him?" Yu Li said disbelief on her face, but her tone was exceptionally firm. "This is a commemorative photo of the freshmen majoring in Chinese language at the University of Penang. It fell out of a classmate's book, and I just picked it up. I found out when I returned the book. The person is from the University of Penang. Exchange student." Then Yu Li asked again in disbelief, "Is it him?"

Lu Chen stared fixedly at the person in the photo, time had stood still for him.

In the photo, this person has the same face as Shen Yi, a face so beautiful that people can never forget it, but it is just a face.

The handsome young man wears rimless glasses, shoulder-length hair and delicate eyebrows almost have an enchanting taste, slim trousers and a knee-length windbreaker, wearing a baggy black T-shirt, still holding a pipa The half-covered face reveals a distinctive collarbone.

Among a group of young people who have just entered university and still have high school childishness, there is a distinctive maturity, a taste that has seen through everything.

Lu Chen remembered that Shen Yi had never been so ostentatious and bright, so bright that he had a kind of immature and fresh youthful air, but he was obviously dull and dead.

Shen Yi always likes to bury himself, but his natural face always makes him the center of the topic in an instant.

He closed himself in darkness, refused to communicate with the outside world, and blocked all love and friendly eyes.He knows that he looks good, but he never deliberately dresses himself up like this, embellishing this kind of goodness.

The several sets of sportswear that were changed in turn were all washed white, and finally they were directly replaced with white sportswear.

My hair is still the same length, and occasionally I get a small knot in physical education class, and I usually let it go to cover the expression on my face, as if I can hide myself in this way.

"Penang University, major in Chinese language." Yu Li's voice has long been isolated from the world, but she is still eloquent, "Hey, tell me, he finally re-entered the exam, why did he choose Chinese language as a major?" ? His greatest talent is foreign language learning. Isn’t this ruining it? Even if he is learning foreign languages, if he becomes a translator in the future, he doesn’t need to read as many books as Chinese...”

"Shen Yi", Lu Chen finally couldn't help saying out loud, like a statue awakened, and along the way awakened the gate of time.

"Shen Yi, trust me, you don't have to do anything, just trust me."

……

"I would love to be the trash can for all your negative emotions and have automatic digestion."

……

"Sometimes I suspect that growing up with such a heartless appearance, and the cheap temper that has not been changed after breaking a few feather dusters since childhood, is all because of meeting such a worrying you."

……

"Even if you fall into the abyss, I will be the hand that holds you."

……

"Brother, I want to live."

"I want to live", Lu Chen stepped on the crunching snow, leaving a long string of single footprints.When Shen Yi uttered these four words, his whole world was filled with the bright and clear sky after the rain.But after the rain and the sunny day, the interval between them is too short, so short that there is no time to reminisce.

When Shen Yi was admitted to university for the first time, Lu Chen was just a teaching assistant on a postgraduate study.Just three days ago, he was a teacher in that university full of happy and painful memories.

The most outstanding thing of Ruisi Foreign Language Institute is foreign language education. Shen Yi is the best student majoring in French, and his grades have always been among the best.

Lu Chen couldn't tell how the two of them got together, just like he didn't know why he left without saying goodbye until now.

After Shen Yi left without saying goodbye, Lu Chen frantically looked for him for half a year, and he seemed even crazier than Shen Yi when he was suffering from depression.

After calming down, he was determined to stay in Ruisi, and he just hoped to leave a way for Shen Yi to find himself forever. This was the only connection Lu Chen could keep with him.

Now that this relationship finally showed signs of waking up, Lu Chen grasped the photo and had the urge to fly to Penang University immediately.Subconsciously, he rushed into the grade director's office without hesitation, and stared at Director Li who was wearing reading glasses for a long time.

Director Li: "You... went to the wrong room again?"

Lu Chen: "...No, it's not. It's... Teacher, Shen Yi is back. I found him."

Director Li couldn't help the wrinkles on his face, and his tone became cold.

"Yeah, I didn't receive his enrollment file."

Director Li's real name is Li Jingze, he lived in the same community as Lu Chen, and later had a teacher-student relationship.Lu Chen was naughty when he was young, and he was not accompanied by his father, so he almost watched him grow up.

Director Li didn't like Shen Yi very much. He felt like a monster at first sight, he was clearly a wolf in sheep's clothing, far less innocent and harmless than he appeared on the surface.

However, Lu Chen is like a demon, no matter how crazy Shen Yi is, Lu Chen, who has been rebellious since he was a young master, always sulks alone for a while and then goes back.Director Li is even more convinced that he is a monster in nature.

"He didn't come to Ruisi. He was admitted to Penang University last year. I accidentally saw his freshman commemorative photo."

"University of Penang, that is an institution of higher learning, much better than our Rice College, which only specializes in foreign languages."

Lu Chen knew that Director Li had an opinion on Shen Yi, but he also knew that it was because he cared about himself, so no matter how uncomfortable he heard, he couldn't refute it.

Yeah, what else can you do if a guy hurts you just because he loves you?Can you blame him for why he likes you?

After tasting the words on the tip of his tongue for a long time, Lu Chen still couldn't help but said: "Teacher, I have to go to him, he has nothing left, he can't live without me."

"Even if he didn't have you! He has survived the past three years and was admitted to a better school! Why do you think so, huh?"

The old director completely lowered his face, and his clear and sonorous voice, cultivated with decades of lecture experience, echoed in the independent office.Lu Chen's ears hurt from the shock.

Although Lu Chen is a single-parent family, he was spoiled and spoiled since he was a child and has never been treated badly.Although he has matured a lot after growing up, he is still a dog who can't change his shit.

This voice yelled away the inexplicable sense of self-blame in his heart when he faced Director Li who was also a teacher and a teacher.

"Uncle Li, I have to go find him! I can't just watch him walk into the abyss, but there is no one around me who can hold him back. I have lost it once, and there will never be a second time!"

Lu Chen's gaze was firm and hot, and Director Li knew that he couldn't stop it. Since it was his life, let him go. Whether it's right or wrong lies ahead, and no one will know.

Forced to figure this out, he casually picked up the phone and called an old classmate of Penang University, and Lu Chen's disturbed heart finally calmed down a little.

Li Jingzao used his connections and transferred Lu Chen to Penang University.

In fact, the treatment of the teachers of the University of Penang was not as good as that of Reese, and the school did not arrange dormitories for the faculty and staff, so Lu Chen had to brave the cold wind and hurry up to find a place to live.

In fact, when he first arrived at the University of Penang, he spent most of the day in the Chinese language teaching building. His coat was already soaked through, and he still didn't see anyone he wanted to see.

The revolution has not yet succeeded, and comrades still need to work hard.The most important thing is to keep the capital of the revolution first.

The suitcase dragged on the snow like a bulldozer, blowing up a pile of snow. "After so many years, I can't find it everywhere, but fortunately he is still alive."

The sky was covered with goose feather snow again, and Lu Chen's tears were frozen in the eye sockets by the cold air, but the heat of the heart pushed the source of heat to flow out, and in the end they could only be glued in the eye sockets and blurred vision.

Lu Chen suddenly laughed, feeling extremely moved in his heart for a moment.

At five o'clock in the afternoon, Lu Chen met with the landlord.

The uncle is seventy years old, and it is said that he went to the battlefield when he was young.His personality is still upright and upright. His mantra is to put the villain first and then the gentleman. The daughter-in-law is the property of this community.

Facing such a frank and clear-cut landlord, Lu Chen felt a little lucky. He didn't want to waste any more time entangled with each other on the price issue.

"Jin Shang Ming Zhu Apartment", Lu Chen thought about the name of this apartment and shook his head frequently, "Why should it be called Palm Palm Pearl Apartment"!

The corners of the landlord's eyes twitched, and his focus on him was very fresh. He thought that this young man looked like a dog, but he didn't expect that he had a problem with his mind.

"That's it, I live in this room, right?" Lu Chen pointed to the side-lying room with a balcony and turned his head to ask the landlord.

While thinking about whether to rent the house to a lunatic, the landlord replied subconsciously: "Well, the previous tenant just moved out, hey, the tenants are all boys, it's convenient. As long as the hygiene is done well, I'll just do it. A request."

"I know", Lu Chen bared his white teeth, and uttered a few words concisely: "I am a Virgo!" sonorously and forcefully.

landlord:"……"

With a sincere smile, Lu Chen cleverly pushed the suitcase, and the object with four wheels slipped steadily into the crack of the bed.

After signing the contract and paying the rent, Lu Chen dalala sat on the sofa, facing the warm yellow walls of the whole house, his heart had already flown to the University of Penang, which is only 10 minutes' walk away.

I have to go through the registration process tomorrow.Lu Chen is a teacher in the Department of Humanities and Social Sciences. Oh, since new recruits start as a teaching assistant, Shen Yi is a student majoring in Chinese language. In the professional arrangement of Penang University, they happen to belong to the same department and the same teaching building. Can be his teacher again.

Thinking about it, I felt like I was filled with honey, waiting for the bees to come to my door.

The sound of the shower in the bathroom finally stopped, and I don't know if this buddy has been collecting ashes for several years or because he signed the contract too quickly.

A burly man who was only as high as his shoulders but three times bigger than his waist walked over, wearing a bath towel, his thick chest hair was still covered with steaming water.

Lu Chen handed over a cigarette almost, which is the fastest way for men to get acquainted.

"Brother, I just moved here. My name is Lu Chen, and I'm going to Penang University tomorrow to start a job. What's your name?"

The big man tightened the towel that was about to be stretched, "Zhu Wenwen, you can call me fat."

The action of the fat man bending over to light a cigarette stretched the towel a little further, so he tightened the towel again with the cigarette in his mouth.

Lu Chen really wanted to say, why don't you go in and change your pants first.But at the same time, he was thinking, Zhu Wenwen?It is indeed stable enough, as the name suggests, but it sounds a bit inappropriate at first glance.The two voices struggled with each other, making him miss the best time to answer.

"I am a graduate of Penang University, and I am staying in school now."

"Oh, stay in school for graduate school? When I graduated before, I was also on a temporary job for graduate school."

The fat man took a puff of smoke, "That's not true, he stayed in school and opened a clothing store."

Lu Chen: "..."

Are you sure you can sell it?

Lu Chen pursed his lips and swallowed the words.Try to change the subject to ease the embarrassment.

"Hey, by the way, as for the other buddy, everyone who can live near here should be from the University of Penang, maybe he is a colleague."

"He's a student. He's so busy all day long, and he doesn't know what he majors in. He's still so busy in college."

Now that Lu Chen hears the word "student", his blood boils a little.

The fat man smoked a cigarette, raised his eyebrows and frowned, "We have lived together for a year, but we haven't seen each other a few times. We only met each other when we went to the bathroom in the middle of the night. Every time we lie in front of the computer and don't know what to write." , didn't say a few words."

"Well, what's his name? I can say hello when I meet."

"You put it that way... I don't seem to know his name at all." The fat man spread his hands.

It's awesome, and it's also pretty weird.

"But this boy looks really...beautiful, yes, I can only describe him as beautiful." The fat man didn't give him a chance to reply. , I have never seen such a beautiful man, he is even more beautiful than a woman by many times. But when it comes to temperament, he is very clear and clean, in short, he is a very tasteful person."

Lu Chen's heart beat wildly for no reason.

No way?Impossible, impossible such a coincidence.It's my fucking first day here!

The fat man has a wide heart and a fat body. He didn't hear Lu Chen's beating heartbeat, and continued to say with fascination: "The first time I saw him was during a class reunion during the day and I drank too much alcohol and got up in the middle of the night. I saw him sitting at the dining table. Well, that’s it.” The fat man turned around and pointed to the dining room, “He was typing in front of the computer with a pair of rimless glasses, with a few magazines piled up in front of him, and the restaurant’s warm light was turned on, I’m a fucking man 20 For the first time in years, I feel like I'm almost broken!"

At this time, Lu Chen should have smiled in response to the situation, but he really couldn't move the corners of his mouth.He was a little excited because he knew that Shen Yi did have such a charm.And a little resentful, as if his baby was coveted by others.

The fat man talked for a long time but no one responded, finally realized that something was wrong with Lu Chen, and patted him on the shoulder with his fat hand, "Dude, what's wrong with you?"

Lu Chen seemed to have finally come to his senses, "No, you, just keep talking."

"Hey, there's nothing to say, maybe he's a work-study student. I guess he's living off the manuscript fee, and the few times he's met, he's just rushing to draft. I don't know why, and his family conditions are so low. It's not very good, why do you have to come out to rent a house, and make yourself stay awake in the middle of the night."

Lu Chen's heart changed from beating wildly to beating violently, and the beating level changed from knocking on the door to a plane taking off, and the rumbling sound exploded across the sky.

Because the lonely Shen Yi has been relying on scholarships and manuscript fees to make ends meet.

Shen Yi is actually the child of a boss and a junior, and his name was given by the person who adopted him.Xiaosan felt that having a child would affect her great future of "everything is always spring", so Shen Yi was thrown by his mother to his father when he was born.

His father raised him until he was six years old, and Shen Yi suffered six years of bullying at the master's house. Later, his father couldn't stand it any longer, so he chose a day to drive the car to the countryside, kicked the car door shut, and drove away in dust.A set of movements is extremely agile, I don't know how many times I have practiced.

Little Shen Yi stared blankly at the car running away, and even forgot to cry.He instinctively chased the car that left him behind, tripped over his foot on the rough dirt road in the countryside, and fell like a dog eating shit.Never got up again.

Maybe he never got up.

But no matter how cruel that family is, people's hearts know that they have a source and belong to them, and they know that they didn't jump out of a crack in the rock.What's more, he was just an age when he needed to rely entirely on others to take care of him.

There is no unparalleled road, and later a kind mother-in-law who made a living by picking up junk picked him up, raised him through hardships, and passed away when he was promoted to university.

Shen Yi has a good language talent, which was buried by the underdeveloped education system in the countryside for more than ten years. It was not discovered by the English teacher until he went to a high school in the provincial capital.

Probably because life was very difficult when he was a child, so Shen Yi who was raised has a very quiet and sensible personality.He doesn't go out to play very much, and the age when young people should be playing freely is occupied by housekeeping, taking care of his mother-in-law, and making money in various ways he can find.

Not many friends, almost none.My usual hobby is reading books borrowed from school.

After I was promoted to junior high school, I won several awards for my essays, which were published in magazines.The moment he got the manuscript fee, Xiao Shenyi found a new way to make money, and the manuscript fee became one of the important ways for him to subsidize his family.

It is difficult for Shen Yi to open his mouth to say that his own story is difficult to reach the blue sky. These are all made up by Lu Chen's countless times of coquettish and slippery.Thinking about it now still makes me sad.

Lu Chen remembered that when he heard about this for the first time, he covered himself in bed and cried wantonly for more than half an hour.The so-called men don't shed tears lightly, he just did it for Shen Yi to see.

At that time, Shen Yi had just recovered from his depression, and he needed a strong sense of security, so Lu Chen magnified all his love dozens of times to show Shen Yi.

In those few months, Lu Chen forgot all about the so-called reserved face, maturity and stability among adults.In addition, I was not a serious person at first, so that when I saw Shen Yi later, I couldn't help but feel cheap.

His thoughts went back to the scene three years ago, and after turning around a few times, Lu Chen heard himself stumbling and saying: "Uh, heh, this person is quite interesting, but it has aroused my curiosity. No Do you know when you will be lucky enough to see the true face of this mysterious person?"

The fat man crushed the cigarette butt, "The last time I saw him was around 02:30 in the morning, but he came back every day, and the garbage in the toilet and living room was cleaned up every day. Now everyone is so busy at work, who has the patience and time to wait Seeing someone? Time is money! If you want to see him, you have to stay up all night, and I don't know when he will come back. "

Up all night?It's so simple, which day in the past three years have I slept through the night?

Lu Chen thought to himself.But if it is really Shen Yi, what should be the first sentence?

He had imagined this scene countless times, and every time he thought he was ready.But the fear of being close to the country, what is more terrifying than the fear of being close to the country is the disillusionment of hopes, and what is more terrifying than the disillusionment of hopes are the nightmares he had in countless nights-Shen Yi finally failed to survive the depression, and left forever in a single thought.

Lu Chen thought, he shouldn't need to deliberately stay up late, because just thinking about it is already going to cause insomnia.At this time, he was able to separate part of his consciousness, considering that he had to go through the entry procedures tomorrow, and if he couldn't get up, he would be completely finished.

Shen Yi always had this kind of talent, which made him in a dilemma until he was completely finished. Even if he was not around later, he still had this kind of supernatural power, which only increased in three years.