growing up

After more than four hours of flight, when the plane arrived in H City, it was already twelve o'clock in the middle of the night.The completely different temperature difference from City D made Ling Chao feel unaccustomed to it for a moment. Fortunately, he only wore a short-sleeved jacket. Ling Chao carried the bag on his back. Both mom and dad are here.

He trotted over to them: "Dad, Mom, why are you both here so late. Didn't you tell me that I will take a taxi back by myself."

Bai Lan hugged Ling Chao happily and distressedly: "How can I leave you alone in the middle of the night. Of course I have to come and pick up my precious son."

Ling Chao hugged his mother back, and rushed to hug his father again: "I miss you so much!"

Dad was still quite strong, so he patted him hard on the back twice and said, "I don't think you've grown stronger this month."

"Really?" Ling Chao let go of his father and walked outside with them: "I exercise every day anyway. Besides, Aunt Chen's cooking is really delicious, and I eat quite a lot."

In the car, Dad drove, and Bai Lan sat in the back with Ling Chao.

"Are you used to it over there?" Although I don't know how many times I have asked this question, a mother is always worried that her son will suffer.

Ling Chao is only one and a half years old, and he goes to school so far away by himself.Being alone, how could it be possible for them not to worry at all.

"I'm used to it, I'm used to it wherever I am. How far is it now? I'm going abroad for university, so you have to ask me this three times a day?" Ling Chao was not impatient, he knew that his mother just loved him.

"Yes, it will be less than two years, and you will have to live abroad alone for at least four years." Bai Lan sighed, "It's really hard to help!"

"Mom, that's not the way to use this word!" Ling Chao put his arms around Bai Lan amusedly and said, "It's as if I'm rebellious, and I've abandoned my parents since then."

"Son, let me tell you." The father in front suddenly said: "Your mother is probably in menopause this month. You haven't seen her nagging, tsk tsk tsk. I didn't see her so clingy before." You, once you leave, she can read you ten or twenty times a day in front of me."

"Go, go, drive your car, you're just in menopause!" Mom stretched out her hand and slapped Dad on the shoulder: "I don't think my own son is another man, no way."

"Okay, okay, of course." Dad immediately confessed.

Seeing his parents laughing so much, Ling Chao suddenly thought of Gu Yuan.Since getting off the plane, I have been immersed in the joy of being reunited with my parents, and I didn't come to rush to turn on the phone to send a message to Gu Yuan.

Ling Chao quickly took out his mobile phone from his backpack and turned it on. It was already past 12:30.Gu Yuan should be asleep too, but remembering what Gu Yuan said no matter how late he should send him a message, Ling Chao decided to report him well.

Unexpectedly, it came back in seconds.

— Well, it’s good to be here, Happy Eleventh!

- You haven't slept yet?

—Come on, sleep after running this program.

— Do you often go to bed so late?

— No, I think I'll turn in this job tomorrow.

—Okay, then go to bed early when you finish, my parents are here to pick me up.

— Well, you too.

-Good night.

-Good night.

Seeing his son holding the phone and sending messages with a smile on his face, Bai Lan asked him, "Who are you still in contact with at this late hour?"

"Just..." Ling Chao put away the phone, thought for a while and turned around and said, "Gu Yuan."

"That little boy you like?" Bai Lan was already familiar with this name, and Ling Chao always mentioned him when they chatted via video and WeChat.

"En." Ling Chao was actually a little embarrassed to be said so bluntly by his mother.

"It's so late, is he still asleep?" Bai Lan asked again.

"He is doing some work every night, just helping an IT company to do some programs." Ling Chao said.

I have never heard this from my son.Bai Lan knew that Gu Yuan was a grade-jumping student with exceptionally good grades, worked hard, worked part-time to earn money, and was good-looking. Although he was cold-tempered, he was very kind to his son. He knew how to make delicious breakfast. Also participated in long-distance running together.

"So amazing? Can you program at such a young age?" My father became interested after hearing this.

"Well, he's really amazing, he can do everything. I think he's a genius! All-around genius!" Ling Chao boasted that Gu Yuan was really relentless.

"I want to meet him as you said." Dad was amused by Ling Chao's tone: "However, why does he have to work to earn money by himself at such a young age?"

"This..." Ling Chao didn't know how to say it. Gu Yuan didn't tell him much about himself. After thinking about it, it didn't matter if he told his parents.

"His father seems to be gone, and his mother is working in other places. He also has a twin sister who has congenital heart disease, a very serious one." Ling Chao's voice suddenly dropped a little, completely different from when he praised Gu Yuan just now. different.Visibly distressed.

Ling Zhifeng and Bai Lan never expected such a situation.In their hearts, the person their son likes is the person they like.Although they have only known each other for about a month, since childhood, Ling Chao has never cared so much for anyone like Gu Yuan.No, it should be said that Gu Yuan was the first time Ling Chao had the consciousness of liking someone.Although this little boy had never met him before, from Ling Chao's description, he could tell that he must be a very good boy.He is someone worthy of his son's liking.

"Then..." Bai Lan took Ling Chao's hand and patted it lightly: "Do you really like him?"

"En." At this moment, Ling Chao nodded heavily without any hesitation.

"I didn't think about the future, I didn't even think about confessing. I don't want him to know this, so it's good to be a good friend." Ling Chao said: "But I want to take care of him, help him, and do what I can But you know? I have been there for more than a month, but he is always taking care of me and being with me. This feeling is very different. It is different from the feeling when I get along with any other friends before. .”

Dad drove the car quietly, and mom still held his hand. Every time he was with his parents, Ling Chao was happy. They understood him and loved him so much.

But Gu Yuan was always alone.

On the playground that day, when Gu Yuan said to him, "In the future, I will accompany you", his appearance was so sincere.Ling Chao's heart palpitates every time he thinks about it, so from now on, they will accompany each other until the other party has another person who can accompany him forever.

During the two-day vacation of his parents, he took Ling Chao to a certain island to play. The environment there is beautiful, the food is delicious, and there are complete recreational facilities. Eat food unique to the island.In the evening, I will hold a bonfire party with the aborigines on the island, eat barbecue, drink cold drinks, and dance.

Ling Chao feels very relaxed. He used to go out with his parents, but most of them took him with him on business trips. It is rare for him to be completely on vacation like this.Maybe it was because they were far away from home this time, and they hadn't seen themselves for a long time, so they worked hard to get two days off to play.

Ling Chao sat by the campfire and looked at his parents dancing in the crowd, with a strong smile on his lips.

"Young man, let's have a glass of beer!" The uncle who was in charge of eating handed over a large glass.

"Thank you, but I'm not very good at drinking." Ling Chao politely declined.

"We made this ourselves. The alcohol content is very low, but it's also delicious. It's okay if you drink less!" The local residents are all good wine drinkers. Here, drinking beer is no different from drinking alcohol for them.

Ling Chao couldn't push it, so he had no choice but to accept it, and thanked him again and again.

The beer was chilled, and the outer wall of the transparent glass was covered with a layer of water mist. The light yellow beer was full of wheat aroma, which was a little different from those sold outside.

Ling Chao took a sip, and there was a hint of sweetness in it. The alcohol smell was really small, and it was very pleasant to drink on such a night.

For some reason, drinking reminded him of Gu Yuan.A young boy should have a good drinking capacity, and at this time, if he is here... what a wonderful thing.

Unknowingly, Ling Chao also drank most of it. When he first tasted this wine, it did not taste like alcohol, but the aftertaste was not too small. Although it was not as good as other beers, Ling Chao's drinking capacity was really small.

He felt a little dizzy, and the dancing crowd was still going on, most of them also held such a glass of wine in their hands, drinking while dancing, it was very lively.

Ling Chao took out his phone, thought about it and sent a message to Gu Yuan.

—Did you have fun at home?

It's been a two-day holiday, and I haven't had any contact with Gu Yuan except when I got off the plane.In fact, they rarely contact each other on weekends.Ling Chao endured it, but Gu Yuan was too busy.

The message didn't come back right away, Ling Chao drank all the wine in his hand, and sat there for a while in a daze before he felt the phone vibrate.

——Just came back from dog walking with Qingqing.

Ling Chao was really a little dizzy. He looked at Gu Yuan's message and thought about it. He quit WeChat and turned on the camera. He raised his hand very high. Apart from himself, most of the crowd dancing around the bonfire could be seen on the screen.He took a photo and sent it to Gu Yuan.

Unexpectedly, Gu Yuan also sent back a photo, but it wasn't him. The one in the photo was Gu Qingqing's back crouching under a tree, with a big black dog beside her.

It should be the courtyard of Gu Yuan's hometown, the orange light is scattered throughout the photo, it is warm and quiet.

Ling Chao found that he missed Gu Yuan very much, maybe it was the effect of alcohol, or maybe it was driven by instinct, so he texted.

—Can I make a video with you?

I don't know whether Gu Yuan was busy or unwilling, and he didn't reply for a full minute.

Ling Chao also realized that he seemed to be a little impulsive. When he pointed to the message and was about to withdraw it, Gu Yuan's message came back.

—Okay, but the signal here in my hometown is not particularly good.