yesterday's wine

own transparent film.Soon, he became the so-called "helped object". Everyone showed full enthusiasm to help him integrate into the group, but no one succeeded. Cheng Zhen shrank himself even tighter, and was outside the closed heart again. , plus more barriers.

He thought of Xia Yu again, if there was no sound of his harmonica outside the door that imprisoned him in the darkness, he would have built a thicker wall for himself.Besides him, who else can see through the loneliness behind his joy, and who will enter his pain when he cries without asking for anything in return?

On those enthusiastic faces, there are various motivations written, curiosity, probing, and conquest, but there is no simple companionship that he desires most.

Cheng Zhen spent the weekend running all over the city's audio-visual stores, trying to find that Soviet song tape.There are fewer and fewer places selling tapes, and this kind of outdated music has long been out of print. The shop owner repeatedly recommended him the CD of the latest idol, and Cheng Zhen didn't stop for half a second, and went straight to the next one.

He knew that what he was looking for was not music.

But hope gradually sinks in the process of searching, and in the end, Cheng Zhen has to face the reality that he can no longer find the old memories.

Xia Yu was admitted to the best provincial key high school, the campus is located in the outskirts of the city, Xia Siwei simply let him live on campus, instead his home became a small classroom for graduate students.

Cheng Zhen could often see those young people, but never met Xia Yu once.They calmly entered and exited the door that Cheng Zhen was afraid of, but he didn't dare to knock on the door to ask when Xia Yu would return home, and even the news that he lived in school was "inadvertently" learned from his mother.

He instinctively told himself that he couldn't ask too much, but he didn't know what he was afraid of, everything was vague, just like he couldn't explain why he relied so much on Xia Yu's company.

It was not until the eve of winter vacation that he finally met Xia Yu.

Cheng Zhen had just finished school and was picking out the key to open the door. When he heard footsteps, he turned around and saw the person he missed.

A thin layer of snow fell on his head and shoulders, Cheng Zhen walked over without thinking, raised his hand to brush off the snowflakes: "Go to my house first." He glanced at the other side of the corridor, "My mother has a consultation tonight, so I won't be able to come back for a while Come."

Xia Yu raised the corners of his mouth knowingly, and followed Cheng Zhen into his house.

Cheng Zhen's heartbeat quickened inexplicably, and he didn't know whether it was a guilty conscience that kidnapped Xia Yu, or some unexplainable reason.However, after his heartbeat calmed down, he felt great joy again. He didn't know how to express it. He wanted to grab Xia Yu's arms, but he felt that this was not a boy's way of expressing.

While hesitating, Xia Yu patted his head: "It's grown taller."

Cheng Zhen raised his head, still looking up at his face, the height difference between them didn't seem to shrink much.

Xia Yu pulled him over, his chin just stuck on Cheng Zhen's head, and he pointed to his neck: "You only come to my place during the summer vacation."

Cheng Zhen didn't notice that change at all, only felt that his panic was getting worse, so he hurriedly unloaded his schoolbag and distanced himself from him.He took off his coat, revealing his school uniform.The same is sportswear, but the style of private middle school uniforms is much more fitting, not as bulky as most schools, and the color scheme has also got rid of the tacky red, white and blue, but silver-gray smooth fabric, with the school's English printed on the back.

Xia Yu stared at him for a long time, and said with emotion: "It's much more decent than our school uniform at that time."

Cheng Zhen suddenly remembered the outfit he used to wear at that time, white jacket and dark blue trousers, hanging dangling on his body, like a few cloth pockets.

Xia Yu also took off his coat. He didn't wear a school uniform, and the dark thin sweater stuck to his body, making him look even slimmer.

Cheng Zhen had many questions to ask him, what is it like to live on campus?What was high school life like?Does he still have to attend those endless make-up classes?How long will it take to see each other...

As soon as the words came out, it became: "I looked everywhere for that tape, and I couldn't buy it."

Xia Yu was puzzled: "Tape?"

Cheng Zhen suddenly regretted it, as if he had punctured the secret that Xia Yu wanted to hide, but he had already said half of it, and it was too late to swallow it back, so he continued with difficulty: "I want to buy that disc, I heard it at your house, the Soviet Union Song……"

Xia Yu's expression froze.

Cheng Zhen regretted it unceasingly. At this time, he was no longer a child who didn't understand human affairs. Knowing those foreign languages ​​meant traumatic memories to him.

"Sorry……"

Xia Yu rubbed his head again, with a slight smile in his eyes: "It's okay, it's over. If you like it, I'll give it to you."

Cheng Zhen raised his head suddenly, the hand slid down his side face and landed on his shoulder.

"That's what she brought from abroad. Of course you can't buy it."

"Then—" Cheng Zhen plucked up his courage, "Can you still play the harmonica?"

Maybe it was because the eyes were too pure and hot, Xia Yu felt that he was getting hot all over, and it took him a long time to calm down his emotions: "Yes. Do you want to hear it?"

Cheng Zhen nodded vigorously.

Xia Yu kept his hands on his shoulders, his thumbs rubbed against his face unconsciously, and his eyes were deep sea blue because his back was facing the light.

He opened his mouth softly, a familiar yet unfamiliar language flowed from his lips, accompanied by a long-lost melody:

"Белеетливполепороша

порошапороша

Белеетливполепороша

Ильгулкиеливнишумят

Стоитнадгорою Алеша

Алеша Алеша

Стоитнадгорою Алеша

Вболгариирусскийсолдат

......"

Cheng Zhen blurted out: "Алёша!"

Years later, he still clearly remembers the pronunciation, the only Russian word he knows.

Xia Yu's eyes became very complicated, and the sea blue wavered for a long time.

"Before my mother was born, her father participated in the Great Patriotic War. He went to Berlin in 45 and never came back... This song was written for the soldiers who died in that era." His fingers are still in Cheng Zhen's face rubbed, "His name is Алексей, Alexei. To commemorate him, she gave me the same name, Алексей. You can also call me Алёша, Alyosha."

At that time, Cheng Zhen didn't understand the complexity of the Russian language, and he didn't understand that Alexei and Alyosha were actually the same person's first and second name.But he firmly believed that Xia Yu would not tell this name to anyone other than himself.

"Алёша."

"Да." Xia Yu agreed in Russian.

"Алёша!"

"Да."

"Алёша!"

"Да."

"Алёша! Алёша! Алёша..."

Cheng Zhen called his name over and over again, louder and louder. Xia Yu closed his arms and muffled his voice:

"Да."

He didn't know why he did this, as he later recalled, many things happened quietly when they were still ignorant.

Cheng Zhen leaned against him quietly, feeling the rise and fall of that chest.

"Alyosha, why are you so kind to me?"

Note: Да is, yes

Lyric translation:

It's snowflakes falling on the fields

falling snowflakes

It's snowflakes falling on the fields

Still a storm

Look at the city towering Alyosha

Alyosha Alyosha

Look at the city towering Alyosha

That warrior is heroic

----

08 Broken Harmonica

"Why are you so kind to me?" Cheng Zhen asked again.

Xia Yu seemed to have been reminded of something, and silently let go of his body: "I don't know."

He hadn't been called by that name for too long.

Cheng Zhen let him sit on his bed, then moved the chair over and rode on, resting his chin on the back of the chair and staring at him, his face was losing its youthful roundness, it became a little more angular, and looked a bit stern.One day in the future, Cheng Zhen hopes that he will become like this and get rid of childishness as soon as possible.

Xia Yu didn't avoid his gaze. Cheng Zhen's dark eyes were like a talking mirror, reflecting his unreserved thoughts. He smiled lightly, and started another topic: "Tell me, how does it feel to go to junior high school?"

It was only then that Cheng Zhen remembered what he wanted to ask originally, but it was a bit difficult to ask the same question on himself—he was really embarrassed to admit that he had spent the first semester wasted by him.

He looked at the side with a guilty conscience: "I don't feel anything, it's still the same."

"Your junior high school is pretty good," Xia Yu smiled and didn't ask further, "Many students in our school got admitted from there."

Cheng Zhen let out a groan, thinking that it wasn't considered great, for someone like him to be admitted to a provincial key point from an ordinary school is called strength, and there was that kind of unconscious admiration and yearning in his eyes.

Xia Yu interpreted it as expectations for the future, and said a few words of encouragement that he was not very good at.

Cheng Zhen obviously couldn't listen anymore, so he interrupted him: "What about you? Is high school interesting?"

Xia Yu shook his head and told his life lightly.He lived a monotonous life every day. In other words, the school did not allow them to be rich. The dormitories, classrooms, and cafeterias were three points one line. Apart from endless questions, there was no other entertainment.Cheng Zhen was extremely bored hearing this, and felt deep sympathy in his heart.

"Do I have to live like this in the future?"

"It's all temporary." The frustrated expression was still childish, Xia Yu found it funny, "Three years later, it will be different."

"After three years, don't you have to go to university? What kind of university do you want to go to?"

"University of Medicine."

Cheng Zhen's entire upper body leaned back, let out a long "ah" twice, and then leaned back on the back of the chair after a long time: "Why are you learning this..."

He still hasn't got rid of the shadow of the hospital. When he thinks that Xia Yu will become like his mother, his loss is beyond words.

Xia Yu didn't understand his resistance: "Why do you ask that?"

Cheng Zhen muttered: "I can't explain a sentence or two, anyway, I don't like it."

"There are many roads, not just this one. Have you thought about the future?"

"future?"

"The future..." Xia Yu's eyes seemed to pass through Chengzhen's body, extending far away.Cheng Zhen couldn't help but glanced back, feeling puzzled, when he heard him say again:

"What kind of person do you want to be? Where are you going?"

Cheng Zhen was stunned. He vaguely knew what he didn't want, but he hadn't thought about what he wanted. He was even more confused about the second question: "What is 'where to go'? Don't you want to be Doctor?"

Xia Yu looked at him silently for a while, sighed, and didn't answer.

It was that incomprehensible expression again, the person in front of him suddenly became very far away, and he seemed to never be able to catch up.Cheng Zhen felt burning in his chest, like anger, but he didn't know who to direct the anger at.

What made him unbearable the most was that Xia Yu touched his head again, like treating a child.

Cheng Zhen was completely annoyed, and raised his hand to wave him away.

"What's wrong?" Xia Yu was a little surprised.

Seeing his reaction, Cheng Zhen began to regret again. He didn't know when, he couldn't control his emotions more and more, and sometimes even his mother would be speechless by his blunt tone.

"It's nothing." Cheng Zhen was stiff, trying to cover up his uneasiness.

"It's because I didn't make it clear," Xia Yu withdrew his frozen hand, "What I want to ask is, do you have any ideals or goals? In the future..."

He was suddenly interrupted by the sound of a key being inserted into the door lock, the heavy outer door opened, and a gust of cold air gushed in.

Chang Qing stomped at the door, rubbed off the slush on the soles of the shoes, and suddenly saw an extra pair of shoes in the entrance: "Cheng Zhen, who's here?"

Xia Yu went out to say hello: "Hello, Aunt Chang. I ran into Cheng Zhen on the way back and chatted with him about going to junior high school."

Chang Qing was surprised for a short time, and then showed an expression of approval: "This kid is not worried at all! You can get him a little more when you have time. You don't know, when Director Xia mentions you, he is almost so complacent..."

Xia Yu smiled awkwardly: "It must be."

"Let's eat here tonight, Aunt Chang will cook braised noodles for you."

Cheng Zhen curled his lips behind her back: "This meal might as well be cooked by me..."

"you shut up."

"No, I just finished chatting. If I don't delay Cheng Zhen's homework, I'll go back right away." After saying that, Xia Yu picked up his coat and schoolbag and stepped out the door.

Cheng Zhen could only watch him leave helplessly, full of depression.

Chang Qing was washing vegetables in the kitchen, Cheng Zhen's homework was spread out on the table, and he didn't write a word for a long time.

He stared at the place where Xia Yu sat in a daze, and kept thinking about that sentence: "What kind of person do you want to be? Where are you going?"

Where is he going?Where am I going...

The door was knocked again.

"Aunt Chang, stop cooking and bring Cheng Zhen to our house to make dumplings."

"Hey, there are so many shrimps!"

"Send it outside to freeze!"

"The vegetarian stuffing is also reconciled, who will taste the saltiness..."

Xia Siwei's house was very lively.There is a round pull table in the living room, around which several young people are rolling out stuffing. There are already a lot of dumplings on the table.

Chang Qing and Cheng Zhen were also warmed by the atmosphere, they changed their clothes and greeted Xia Siwei.Although the two families live close to each other, they seldom communicate with each other. There are many eyes on them in the department, and gossip will be spread if they talk closer.When Chang Qing was promoted to deputy high school, many people commented that her relationship with Xia Siwei was unusual.

The students didn't take it seriously, wishing they could solve the teacher's personal problems years ago.They had already seen what Xia Siwei meant, but Chang Qing was determined to draw a line with him, and now finally found a chance, so he urged Xia Yu to invite her.

They took Teacher Chang one by one, and asked her to make dumplings together. Xia Siwei sat on the sofa and read the paper, chatting with them from time to time.The two children were left alone, each grabbed a handful of melon seeds, and then went into the next room.

Xia Yu knelt by the bed and pulled out the box hidden under the bed. The dusty cardboard box was indeed full of Russian books and old things.

The harmonica is there too.

Xia Yu blew on the ash from a distance, and the air flow passed through the reed, bringing out a dusty piano sound.

The familiar voice caused a commotion on Cheng Zhen's eardrums, and the soft warm current flowed into his body along the ear canal, and the tension instantly relaxed.

Cheng Zhen also squatted down next to the cardboard box, watching Xia Yu dig out those old objects one by one, such as unintelligible books, tapes, mirrors and wooden combs for women, and a pair of photo frames with a faded photo inside.She is a foreign woman, with light-colored hair and eyes, and the shape of the bridge of her nose is exactly the same as Xia Yu's. Her face is not young, but looks older than Changqing, with a kind of elegant charm.

Xia Yu stroked the dust off the glass with his palm, and murmured softly: "Валентина, Валя..."

"Is it her name?"

"Ah."

Cheng Zhen saw the loneliness on his face again, and the loneliness was fleeting. Xia Yu stood up, pulled him up as well, and smiled: "She bought the harmonica, and she also taught me."

He came to the desk, found a screwdriver in the drawer, removed the screws on both sides of the harmonica, quickly disassembled it into parts, and cleaned off the dust one by one with a brush.

They still shared the same chair, and each of them sat on only half of the body, while the other half was tightly pressed against each other.Cheng Zhen supported his face with one hand and watched Xia Yu work without feeling crowded at all.His fingers were long, but flexible and stable, as if they were naturally suitable for such delicate work.

Cheng Zhen was a little fascinated.

I don't know who is telling a joke, and laughter passes through the door.

Chang Qing's angry and laughing voice overwhelmed them: "I haven't introduced a partner for you yet, but you've started to fuck me!"

Xia Yu suddenly remembered their purpose, and with a shake of his hand, the reed fell to the table, bending a reed.He gently pulled the tiny piece of copper, trying to restore it, but the old metal had already oxidized, and it broke into two pieces when it was under a little force.

There was another cheerful laugh outside the door.

Cheng Zhen watched his face lose his composure, his stable hands trembled, and his arms and body trembled as if falling into a frozen lake.

Xia Yu supported his forehead with his hands, covered his eyes in the shadows, and took a quick breath, as if he was in severe pain.Cheng Zhen touched his shoulder helplessly, Xia Yu instinctively retracted and distanced himself from him.

Cheng Zhen's heart also seemed to be bitten, and it hurt sharply.

The laughter outside the door came to an end, footsteps approached briskly, and a student knocked on the door:

"Kids, the dumplings are in the pot."

Xia Yu took a deep breath, and said with a wet nasal voice, "I'll be here soon, thank you!"

He stood up, turned his back to Cheng Zhen, and pressed one hand on the doorknob: "Let's go."

"and many more!"

Cheng Zhen followed in a few steps, his body reacted faster than his brain, and hugged him tightly.

------

09 The old days are gone

Xia Yu froze briefly, then took Cheng Zhen's hand and patted it:

"Okay, it's alright."

Cheng Zhen was skeptical, and was about to look up at his expression when he broke free, opened the door and left.

"Come on, come on, Teacher Xia and Teacher Chang are at the table first!"

"Huh? Where's the other kid?"

Cheng Zhen clenched his fists and then loosened them. He glanced back at the debris on the desk before stepping into the commotion outside the door.

The dumplings on the dining table were steaming hot, and there were several cold dishes in the middle. Xia Siwei found a bottle of some vintage Jinmei wine and opened it: "This wine is out of print, you are blessed."

Xia Yu was arranging the bowls and chopsticks, when he saw Cheng Zhen, he showed a faint smile: "Come."

Cheng Zhen silently sat beside his mother, took the chopsticks he handed over, and let him fill his glass with black currant juice without saying a word.

He didn't enjoy that meal, although it was the best dumpling meal he had ever had.

Xia Yu sat opposite him, putting down his chopsticks from time to time to answer questions from others.When he talks to people, he is always polite and decent, and with eye contact, he appears sincere and gentle.But his eyes never fell on Cheng Zhen, and even the short eye contact was moved away without a trace.

Cheng Zhen drank a stomach full of fruit juice, which was sour and cold.

Chang Qing only when his son enters puberty, the growth hormone makes his height grow rapidly, and other hormones are colliding in the body that has been sprouting all the time, so it is natural for him to have mood swings.

She expressed her understanding of Cheng Zhen's restlessness, and calmed down her emotions with professional theories, most of the time she didn't care about him.

Ever since that gathering, the relationship between Chang Qing and Xia Siwei has become delicate. They still deal with business affairs in the hospital, but they gradually communicate more in private.Xia Siwei's friends often travel on business and bring him special products and souvenirs. When Xia Yu was at home, he was sent to deliver things, and Chang Qing no longer refused.

Cheng Zhen looked at Xia Yu coldly, his manners were still distant and impeccable.Sometimes, they will also talk a few words about the exchange of learning experience that parents are willing to hear.Cheng Zhen always felt that he was also infected by Xia Yu, and kept saying insincere words, but he couldn't find his flaws, so he could only suppress his anger.

Cheng Zhen is not Xia Yu, so he broke out in depression.

The cause was that he accidentally knocked over Xia Siwei's gift to Chang Qing, a wooden elephant from Southeast Asia, it fell to the ground and broke its nose.It is said that that kind of wood is very precious, with a natural dark color, and it will sink to the bottom when placed in water.

But the stubble of the elephant trunk is white and the texture is very rough.

In fact, it is not a precious material, but an economic tree that produces latex. Once the production declines, it is cut down by the locals to make furniture, and it is also made into tourist souvenirs and sold to ignorant foreigners.Chang Qing gently broke the cracks, and found the weight metal embedded in the wood under the gorgeous lacquer decoration.

Cheng Zhen couldn't hold back, and smiled softly.

Chang Qing didn't expect that he would be ignited by that laughter.

She knew that Xia Siwei and his friends were just deceived by the cunning shopkeeper, and Cheng Zhen was even more innocent, but at that moment, her disappointment was also real, and the son in front of her eyes became the outlet of her long-standing emotions.Cheng Zhen's old accounts were mercilessly uncovered, with poor grades, impolite manners, and not taking the initiative to greet her colleagues... Even when he was young, when Chang Qing and her ex-husband quarreled, he didn't stand by her side and talk. He was brought out and accused.

Cheng Zhen couldn't beat her, so he slammed the door and left, his mind full of menopausal women's unreasonableness.

He ran to the river alone to blow the air, and it wasn't until the sunset rose that the suffocation dissipated that he remembered that he forgot to go to the make-up class in the evening. If Chang Qing knew about it, he didn't know how long the quarrel would be.

He rubbed his face, and the idea of ​​going home was dismissed by him, and he walked back and forth in the riverside park by himself.

There was no square dance in that era, and people's hobbies were much wider than now.They spontaneously formed a band and played there, accordion, violin, clarinet, trombone and snare drum... Some instruments that are only found in concert halls were brought to the streets by them, and the repertoire they played also had exotic flavors.

Cheng Zhen felt that the melody was similar to the music his mother liked to listen to. It was called the blue river, soothing and melodious, and another group of people were dancing to their melody.Middle-aged men wear shirts, trousers and leather shoes, and they are meticulous. Women also perm their heads and wear brightly colored "Blagi" - a Russian-style dress. They are dancing a slow "three steps".

He couldn't stand the kind of dance steps of one step forward and two steps back, and he speeded up to get away from the crowd, and someone in front of him danced "four steps".This kind of dance is also called Beijing Pingsi, and it is much more cheerful. The dancing women wear gypsy long skirts, and the skirts sway with the dance steps, showing off their beauty.Their soundtrack is not as luxurious as those three-step lovers, only a large recorder is placed on the bench next to the dance floor, and Yang Yuying's singing is sweetly pasted on people's eardrums through the tweeter.

Cheng Zhen shrugged his shoulders, put his hands in his pockets and continued walking.

Passing by a group of old people dancing Xinjiang dances, and passing by a few Indian dance lovers, he saw a lonely musician at the end of the park.The man was holding a harmonica and was playing it against the river.Perhaps his skills were not good enough, and there was no audience nearby, and no one stopped to listen.

Cheng Zhen immediately recognized his melody.

He stood quietly aside, and only applauded lightly after he finished playing the song "Three Sets of Cars".The man was a little surprised, smiled at him, and blew another song "Cranberry Blossoms".

Cheng Zhen leaned against the fence of the river embankment, closed his eyes, and saw Xia Yu.

His piano sound has a special taste, which has nothing to do with technique. Even the bright "Katyusha" is played by him with a touch of loneliness.The person in front of him blew "An Evening in the Suburbs of Moscow" very cheerfully, pulling him out of his memories in an instant.

"Do you know "Alyosha"?" Cheng Zhen said suddenly during a break.

The man froze for a moment, shook his head, and said he had never heard the song.

Cheng Zhenxin was disappointed, his eyes fell on the river, but his ears could no longer hear him.The man continued to play until it was completely dark, then he put away the instrument and said goodbye to him.

"Can I see your harmonica?"

"Give."

Cheng Zhen took it, and the black piano was heavy and well-crafted. The cover was the same varnished hardwood as the piano, and it was shining.

"West German goods are not cheap. If you like harmonica, you can buy a 'Guoguang' first and play."

Cheng Zhen looked up at his face: "How much?"

The man quoted a price, which was enough to buy an ordinary guitar. Cheng Zhen returned the harmonica to him, thanked him, and turned to leave.

When she got home, Chang Qing was in her room. Her door was the same as Cheng Zhen's, with a glass window and a piece of cotton cloth hanging on it.The warm light of the desk lamp shines through the cloth, and the room is quiet, and she is writing her thesis again.

Cheng Zhen didn't say hello to her, and went straight into his room, and saw the food on the table.

There were uneven scorching marks on the cooled omelette, which looked like Chang Qing's handwriting, and it was one of the few special dishes that Cheng Zhen didn't dislike.

He sighed and went out to wash his hands.

After that day, he never confronted his mother tit-for-tat, and faced her emotions with another attitude, the same as when he was in school.

silence.

This brought him a lot of space, so that no one could invade his secrets. Except for his grades, Chang Qing knew less and less about him, and he knew nothing about his campus life.

She also didn't know what her son would use the little lunch money for.

Cheng Zhen didn't even think about what to buy with his savings.He originally wanted to buy another harmonica for Xia Yu, but when he walked to the musical instrument store and saw the shiny new harmonicas on the counter, he changed his mind.

Some things are gone forever, like their broken home, which can never go back to the way it was before.

He walked out of the musical instrument store to an educational bookstore a few blocks away and bought a set of Russian textbooks.

------

10 ignorant confession

In all fairness, Cheng Zhen is not stupid. There is only one thing that hinders him from doing things well, and that is motivation.

Cheng Zhen gnawed at the textbook for a semester, and he memorized hundreds of Russian words by rote without knowing how to pronounce them.He also couldn't figure out why he had to learn Russian when he was not even familiar with English.

He went to consult an English teacher in private - most of the basic foreign languages ​​​​of that generation were Russian, and English textbooks did not enter the classroom until many years later.The English teacher couldn't laugh or cry at his request for help, but couldn't resist his persistence, so he had to agree.

"I'm not teaching you for nothing, you have to pay 'tuition fees'."

She and Cheng Zhen made an agreement in three chapters, asking him to exchange his English grades for Russian lessons.Cheng Zhen had heard Xia Yu speak Russian, and the English teacher's pronunciation was really unflattering. It was the same as her English pronunciation, with a strong northeast accent. That accent was not even like that of a local, but more like the dialect of the Liaoshen area, that is, The "big smell" in people's general impression.

Despite this, Cheng Zhen still has the motivation to study, and he desperately memorizes vocabulary and grammar every day, and he just raises his English score by a notch.

Chang Qing didn't know what was going on, but thought that his make-up classes played a role, and hurriedly renewed his tuition for half a year.However, the surprise didn't last long, and Cheng Zhen was still partial to subjects, especially science subjects, which tended to be unable to support him.

He didn't care, and he didn't think about the consequences of his waywardness.

Xia Yu didn't know what happened to Cheng Zhen until the summer vacation before the third year of junior high school.

At that time, he and his mother had another quarrel and went out angrily. Just as he was going to relax by the river, he ran into Xia Yu in the stairwell.Cheng Zhen chatted with him for a few words, and wanted to ask him to hang out together, but Chang Qing chased him out to expose him, revealing all his usual bad deeds.

Xia Yu's face was calm, but his voice became cold: "Cheng Zhen——"

"It's not as serious as she said!"

Chang Qing glared at Cheng Zhen fiercely, then turned to Xia Yu, with an anxious prayer in his voice:

"Xiao Xia, help him..."

"Slow down! I'm exhausted..."

Cheng Zhen was sweating after chasing, Xia Yu kept pedaling in front, and only stopped at the red light to let him take a few breaths.Every time Cheng Zhen wanted to jump into the back seat, he would push him down mercilessly. After repeated several times, Cheng Zhen became angry.

He rushed forward with all his strength, grabbed the back seat with brute force, and forced the car to a stop.

"Why are you walking me?!"

Xia Yu didn't compete with him, stepped out of the car, and looked at him quietly.

Cheng Zhen panted heavily, his cheeks flushed, and he stared back stubbornly.

Their heights were only half a head apart, and he no longer needed to look up at Xia Yu like before. The almost level gaze gave him the illusion that they were equally equal in other respects, so Xia Yu's neglect made him particularly annoyed.

"say!"

Xia Yu didn't explain, just kept silent.

Cheng Zhen was angry from the heart: "You treat me as a child, silly, don't you?"

Xia Yu watched him explode, only finding it amusing, the anger that had been suppressed all the time melted away, and a faint smile overflowed from his eyes.

Cheng Zhen only thought that he was laughing at himself, and turned around to leave.

"Don't go, I won't walk you anymore." Xia Yu hurriedly set up the car, chased after him and grabbed him.

Cheng Zhen threw him off forcefully, but slowed down on his feet.

Xia Yu had no choice but to give in: "I didn't lock the car..."

Cheng Zhen only took one look at that look, and he couldn't get angry anymore.

"Get in the car, I'll take you." Xia Yu took his arm.

"I'll walk by myself, without your help!"

Cheng Zhen was stubborn, got into the car, and put his arms around Xia Yu's waist as before.

The cool wind dried his hot sweat, and the restlessness in his heart gradually subsided.The shoulders in front of him were much wider than before, but the waistline was about the same as before, appearing narrow and powerful.That back looks a little different, and it feels different. The only thing that doesn't change is the breath on his body, which is still so warm and clean.

He hasn't been in Xia Yu's car for a long time, and he misses it very much.

From childhood to adulthood, whenever they need to rely on, the person who should have sheltered them from the wind and rain is absent. It has always been the mother's thin shoulders that support the family.In many things, Cheng Zhen can't rely on anyone, and always faces everything alone.

Only when he sat behind Xia Yu could he take a short breath.

For a moment, allow yourself to be weak and dependent.

Cheng Zhen gradually moved his body closer, but the car stopped suddenly.

Xia Yu put the car on the side of the road, went to the cold drink stand to buy two popsicles, and handed him one:

"Defeat the fire."

Cheng Zhen was in vain, but couldn't explain it, so he could only vent his anger on Popsicle and refused in a fit of anger.

"If you want to melt, treat it as eating with me." Xia Yu held the popsicle in front of him, his smile was the same as the sweet fragrance of the cream from the popsicle, and it had a magical power to erode people's will-it was not that our army was incompetent, but that the communist army was too strong. cunning.

Cheng Zhen didn't last ten seconds, so he gave up resisting.

Not far from the river, the two of them no longer rode their bikes, but pushed their bikes for a walk.

The popsicle melted in his stomach, and also melted Cheng Zhen's last bit of anger.

All the way to the riverside park, Xia Yu went to store the car, and Cheng Zhen walked slowly in front.

He remembered the historically rare flood last year. Not long after he listened to someone playing the harmonica by the river, the place under his feet turned into a vast ocean.Today, there is no trace of it here, only an inconspicuous notch on the flood control memorial tower built in 1958.

Year after year, the singing and dancing in the park seems to have not changed.

He heard someone playing old Soviet songs again, and the melody of the accordion was cheerful and relaxed.Cheng Zhen glanced at the dance hall, there was a man dancing the Cossack dance, he was not very proficient in dancing, he folded his arms in front of his face, squatted and kicked his legs, staggered from time to time, looking very funny.

Cheng Zhen's stomach ached from holding back, and he didn't laugh out loud until they walked past the crowd.

He looked back at Xia Yu: "Will you?"

Xia Yu squatted down and tried, but he couldn't get it right.

Cheng Zhen laughed out of shape again, Xia Yu watched him smile, and he was infected by him, laughing deeper and deeper.If it wasn't for Cheng Zhen, he would never have done such a thing.

"My impression of 'over there' is getting weaker and weaker." He calmed down earlier than Cheng Zhen, "I even forgot a lot of Russian, not as good as English."

Hearing what he said, Cheng Zhen felt a burst of discouragement, and his raised head suddenly dropped.

"Aunt Chang said, your English is pretty good?"

Xia Yu changed the topic calmly, which was exactly the purpose of bringing Cheng Zhen out.

"It's okay." Cheng Zhen was full of frustration, he said something perfunctory, and stared at the water in a daze.

Xia Yu is not good at chatting, especially this kind of purposeful chatting. After one sentence is finished, he has to spend time organizing the next sentence.When he was thinking hard about how to get Cheng Zhen to focus on his studies, he heard him chanting vaguely, and it took him a long time to discern the content before he could hear the content.

are some Russian words.

That accent was ridiculous, but Xia Yu couldn't laugh.

"When did you learn?"

Cheng Zhen didn't want to be exposed at this time. He looked at the river and the setting sun just now, and subconsciously read the corresponding words. Now it was too late to regret.

Xia Yu asked again.

"It's been a year." Cheng Zhen was a little guilty and didn't dare to look him in the eyes, "The English teacher taught me, and she asked me to exchange my English grades."

"why?"

"I have no idea……"

"Why do you keep asking me to remember something I want to forget?"

Xia Yu's voice had never been so far away. He looked at Cheng Zhen coldly, and stepped back step by step until his back touched the guardrail of the river embankment:

"Cheng Zhen, you, like them, don't stop