Solitary

It was not until December that He Jiqing returned to Nanjing.

In the villa of Yanming Villa, no one took care of it, creeper vines covered the gate, weeds were overgrown in the courtyard, maple branches and leaves grew wildly, the swimming pool was full of rainwater, and the fallen leaves were floating, giving off a rotten smell.

The house still remained as it was when He Jiqing left in March.There were two pairs of hiking shoes at the door, side by side. The mud on the sides of the shoes had dried up, and some of them were peeling off on the ground.A coat worn in Tibet was draped on the sofa.On the carpet is a SLR camera.The memory card is in the computer in the upstairs study.

Next to the computer, there are two 32G USB flash drives, one red and one blue, which together form a heart. In the USB flash drive, there are all copied videos and photos.

In the bedroom, the quilt was pushed aside.There were even traces of someone sitting on the edge of the bed.On the bedside table, there were two unopened packages of dried squid.

The traces of Lin Shu are still there.

He Jiqing walked back downstairs from upstairs.Behind the bookcase, he found golf clubs that he hadn't used for a long time.He smashed the camera, the computer, the bedside table...everything that could be destroyed in the house.

Golf clubs have changed.He even sawed down the two maple trees in the yard.

This destruction lasted for more than two hours, until He Jiqing could no longer swing a golf club.He stood in the ruins, sweating profusely, with a hideous face, panting heavily.He took out his mobile phone and called the interior decoration company: "I want to redecorate the house!"

The villa began to be redecorated. It was said to be a renovation, but in fact it was just a change of furniture, from the bed to the sofa, from the high stool in the kitchen to the bathtub in the bathroom.The decoration company moved very quickly, and everything was done in half a month.

The swimming pool in the courtyard of the villa was knocked and turned into a pool, and the maple tree was replaced by a large cherry tree.The ivy was replaced by wisteria, and the lawn behind the house was all planted with grapefruit trees.The couch in the hall turned into a tatami mat.The piano is on one side.The cabinets on the book wall are replaced with light colors.In the bedroom, the red pine double bed was replaced by a white oak single bed.The cloakroom and the original bathroom became one, and the bathtub was so large that it was possible to swim in it.The study room has been replaced with a larger desk and a new computer.The open kitchen has become a bar counter, with a whole wall of wine.

Throw away everything you don't want.Memory card, U disk, dried squid, shoes, clothes, pots and pans, sofa, bed...

The person in charge of the decoration company once asked him: "If there is nothing broken, don't you want it?"

"If anyone of you wants it, take it yourself." He was very generous.

Workers took everything he didn't want.

In the completely new villa, He Jiqing started living alone again.As before, quiet and undisturbed.When rushing to draft, I was sleepless day and night.After submitting the manuscript, fry a steak and drink some wine.When you are free, drive to Zijin Mountain for a run or swim in a swimming pool with few people for an afternoon.When I am in a good mood, I can play the piano, watch the latest foreign movies, or write.When the sun is good, lie outside the house, drink coffee, read a book, play with mobile phones, and read messy online news.

Don't worry about life, do what you love.This kind of life, many people spend their whole lives, asking for it but not getting it.

In January, He Jiqing's new novel ended. This time he wrote a love reasoning story that he had never written before. It was a tragedy. The protagonists who were originally in love were separated because of reality.One died tragically, and the other died alone.Even the supporting roles were unloved, and eventually fell flat.

The editor said: "This ending is too tragic, and readers will not like it."

Most people don't like to watch tragedies, probably because the reality suffers more than pleasure, and they always want to find some compensation from the fictional world.The editor strongly suggested that he change the ending.

He Jiqing disagreed, he thought it was reasonable and the reality was worse than fiction.

"It's true, if this is a group of real people, the final outcome may be like this. But after all, it is not real life, it is a novel. People want to see the protagonist happy." The editor earnestly said.

"Then this story is boring. Not all stories will have a happy ending."

Not in the book, nor in reality.He Jiqing was very stubborn, and the editor almost wailed on the phone.

"My God He, you are right. The tragic ending is indeed very interesting to you. But it is not to the readers! This book is for everyone to read."

In the end, He Jiqing compromised, and the protagonists were still separated, never seeing each other until death, but they also gained the happiness of ordinary people.The same goes for the supporting cast.

The editor still had some complaints about this ending, but He Jiqing insisted on not changing it.

On the last weekend before the Lunar New Year, He Annian came to the villa without calling in advance.Before he called to talk about it, He Jiqing refused because he was busy with work.

This time he rushed up suddenly, although He Jiqing was surprised, he didn't chase him away.He Annian carried the vegetables into the yard, and found that the inside had changed drastically.He Jiqing stood by the pool smoking and feeding the fish.Seeing him, he asked lightly, "Why are you here?"

"Come and see you, you have been back for more than a month." He Annian walked to him.

There are more than ten koi in the pond, huddled together to fight for food.On the edge of the pool, there are two kinds of narcissus, white and yellow, in full bloom.

"Mom asked you to come, right?" He Jiqing threw away all the fish food in his hands, and the fish scrambled even more happily.

"No." He Annian hastily retorted.

He Jiqing finally turned around and took a look at him. The two brothers were about the same height, just at eye level.He Annian's eyes were sincere. "Really not, I came here by myself. I want to see you. We haven't seen each other for almost a year." His voice became smaller and smaller, with grievance.

He Jiqing slightly hooked the corners of his mouth.He Annian stared at his beard and cropped hair with a bright expression: "You look good like this!"

He Jiqing glanced at him: "What are you carrying?"

"The vegetables I just bought along the way." He Annian held them up for him to see: "It's all your favorite food, beef and shrimp. I'll cook it!"

He Jiqing lazily replied "Yes", turned around and walked inside.He Annian followed behind him.

"How have you been?" he asked behind him.

"Good."

"Why don't you go home and take a look when you're back?" He Annian asked in a low voice, staring at the half-burned cigarette in his hand.

"Busy." He Jiqing went up the steps.He smoked a cigarette at the door and stubbed it out.

He Annian saw a lot of cigarette butts in the ashtray by the door.He remembered that He Jiqing rarely smoked before.

The two entered the house together, and He Annian found that the house had also changed.Everything was changed, even the piano.He put the dishes on the bar and turned around.

"It's all changed!" He Annian sighed cautiously.He Jiqing ignored him, took a book from the bookshelf, reclined on the tatami and began to read.

He Annian pursed his lips, returned to the bar silently, and started cooking.He had a great time cooking, humming out of tune, and asking him questions at every turn.

"Brother, where is your salt?"

"Find it yourself."

"Brother, where did you put the tin foil?"

"Find it yourself."

"Hey brother, don't you have any milk?"

"No."

He Annian turned the bar counter very loudly, crackling and bangling, people who didn't know it would not think that he was cooking.Soon the aroma filled the room.

He Jiqing didn't eat any rice today.He held the book and read two pages, then turned back and read it again.

He Annian finally finished cooking, fried steak and prawns, pumpkin soup and pasta.He called He Jiqing loudly: "Brother, you can eat!"

He Jiqing still flipped through a few pages of the book before walking over slowly.He glanced at the dining table, He Annian's presentation of the dishes was really bad, without any sense of aesthetics, but the color of the food was good, and the aroma was charming.

He first took dry white from the wine rack, and asked He Annian, "Do you want it?"

He Annian was flattered: "Yeah, I want it!"

The two brothers sat down facing each other.

He Annian said with emotion: "It's been a long time since the two of us sat and ate together like this!"

He Jiqing poured wine for him, and he picked up the glass and drank half of it wildly.He Jiqing frowned.He smiled embarrassedly: "I'm so thirsty!"

He Jiqing drank half a sip of wine before picking up the knife and fork to slowly cut open the steak.Just medium rare, the meat is soft and tender.His younger brother has been very talented in cooking since he was a child.

He Jiqing looks elegant, and He Annian looks envious.He can't be like him, no matter what he does, he can stay calm.

"Are you okay?" he asked expectantly.

He Jiqing nodded, and He Annian grinned happily.

"Brother, do you remember when you were a child? The first time I cooked, the rice was put in the pot, but no water was put in. The bottom of the pot was burned through!" He Annian talked about when he was five years old.

At that time, He Jiqing had just been taken home by his parents.That time when his parents got off work late, He Annian cried out that he was hungry, but he ignored him, so he set up a stool and cooked with a liquefied gas stove.

"If you hadn't discovered it in time, brother, not only the pot would have been burned through, but the house might have been set on fire!" He Annian has a deep memory of this incident.

"Thanks for having you!"

He Annian chewed the meat in big mouthfuls, with a satisfied expression on his face.No matter what he does, he is full of enthusiasm and recognized as a little sun.

"How are you and your girlfriend?" He Jiqing suddenly mentioned.

After He Annian was stunned for a second, his smile froze, and the taste in his mouth lost instantly, "We broke up, she thinks I'm not good at work."

"How to say?"

"You know that I work in personnel affairs in a company, and it's still a start-up company. She thinks that there is no future for development and wants me to change jobs. But, you also know that I only have a college diploma. What good job can I get?"

He Annian couldn't study, and he was always at the bottom of his class since he was a child.Very different from him.

"Besides, the boss is my friend. Now our company has encountered some difficulties. You let me go at this time, how unjust."

"It doesn't matter if they split up, if they stick together, there won't be any good results." He Jiqing said lightly.

He Annian sighed: "Actually, I like her a lot, and she's a pretty nice person. We can talk about other things pretty well except for work."

"She doesn't think you're doing a good job." He Jiqing squinted at him.

He Annian buried his head in cutting the steak, and the cuts were messy.In front of He Jiqing, he was always useless.

He Jiqing knew that the words were serious, he didn't look down on He Annian.In some ways, he was jealous of him.

He can't see him too happy, and he can't see him unhappy.Anyway, He Annian was willing to kiss him.It has been since childhood.Even though there was a gap of five years, the first time he saw him, he would take the initiative to come up to him and call him brother affectionately.

Such things as blood relationship are really subtle.He Jiqing hated it, but couldn't help wanting to use it.

"That girl is right. If you work in that job for another ten years, it will still be the same." He Jiqing was still not polite.

He Annian raised his head abruptly, with beef wrapped in his mouth, he bit hard.

He Jiqing picked up the shrimp meat and put it in his mouth.The shrimp meat is a bit cold, but the tenderness is still there, and the meat has the sourness of lemon and the fragrance of lemongrass.

"If you become a chef, it's better than this job."

He Annian's eyes lit up immediately: "Do you think so too?"

"Yes." He Jiqing should be careless.

"My classmate said the same thing." He Annian brightened up again.

That's how he is, effortlessly happy.He Jiqing hates that he can be happy easily.

"Brother, if you feel the same way, then I can really work on this." He Annian was very excited.His classmates have told him many times, but he didn't take it to heart.He Jiqing's understatement immediately ignited the fire in his chest.

His happy look was too dazzling, He Jiqing drank expressionlessly.

"Brother, did you go home for the Chinese New Year?" He Annian asked him excitedly.

"Ah."

"Are you and Lin Shu really over?" He Annian asked without thinking too much.

He Jiqing's strength in cutting the meat increased, and the knife made harsh sounds on the porcelain plate.

He Annian came back to his senses and almost shook his mouth.

"Isn't this what you want?" He Jiqing looked at him coldly.

"Eh, actually, ah, Mom has no other intentions. She, she just cares about you." He Annian stammered, "You, if you get back together, they won't say anything."

He observed He Jiqing carefully.

He Jiqing stopped after two mouthfuls, put down the knife and fork, and interrupted with a tissue.He said he was full.

Looking at his calm face, He Annian knew that he was in a bad mood.He went to the study on the second floor.

Leaving He An with no taste for Nianshi, he finished eating, packed everything and went upstairs, only to find that the door of the study room was closed tightly, and the stormy symphony pierced through the door.He put his hand on the door, dropped it, and finally gave up.He leaned against the door and shouted, "Brother, I'm leaving."

There is only the sound of music in the room, nothing else.He Annian left sadly.