growing up

Grandma was startled by Gu Yuan's crying, she managed to get up, and when she walked to the door, she saw Gu Yuan crying on someone's shoulder.

Grandma remembered that it was Ling Chao.

The old man raised his hand to wipe away the tears from his eyes, but did not go out, and returned to the bed and sat down.

Fortunately, Yuan'er finally no longer looked lost.

She had just lost her most beloved granddaughter, and nothing could happen to her grandson.

It will be better to cry.

The weather in City D today is particularly good, as bright as Qingqing's usual appearance.

Qingqing's funeral is scheduled for five o'clock in the afternoon, and the cemetery is next to her father.

The child's funeral should have been low-key, and Qingqing's departure was too sudden, so no one was notified except the neighbors in the village and a few friends of her parents in City D.

The cemetery is a hillside, surrounded by dense trees, wild flowers of various colors blooming in the grass on the ground, and there are bursts of birdsong and insects coming from all sides, and a small stream at the foot of the mountain next to it circles along the bottom of the mountain to the back of the mountain.

Gu Yuan knelt there, slowly put the small jar of ashes into the tomb, took a handful of soil from the side, and sprinkled it on the jar.

He wanted to bury Gu Qingqing himself, and he wanted to do one last thing for his sister.

Everyone in front of the cemetery had sadness on their faces.The red and swollen eyes, the haggard look, the plain skirt, and the crying sound from time to time all express the longing and grief for the deceased.

Only Gu Yuan was different, he put away all his emotions after crying in front of Ling Chao.Just like usual, it was as if nothing had happened.

But he asked to bury his sister alone, like now, burying all the soil in handfuls.

After all the process was over, Gu Yuan was still squatting there motionless, when Zhang Yun called him, he just shook his head.

Zhang Yun had no choice but to say to Ling Chao: "Ling Chao, why don't you help me to accompany him, I guess he still wants to stay here for a while."

"Okay, don't worry." Ling Chao agreed.

The mourners left one after another, leaving only Gu Yuan and Ling Chao on the entire hillside.Maybe his legs were numb from squatting, so Gu Yuan simply sat on the edge of the stele and slowly leaned against the side of the stele.

The breeze blows, with the "rustling" sound of the leaves.Gu Yuan closed his eyes, a gentle color gradually appeared on his face.

Ling Chao also sat beside him, took Gu Yuan's hand, and slowly rubbed the back of his hand.

"You, do you want to talk to me?" Ling Chao asked.

Gu Yuan's eyes narrowed a little, but he didn't look at Ling Chao either. His long eyelashes blocked his sight, making him look hazy.

Ling Chao didn't rush him, and just waited after asking that sentence.If Gu Yuan wanted to talk, he would naturally say it, if he didn't want to, then he would stay with him for a while.

After about four or five minutes, a few dead grasses were blown onto the marble platform under the stele by the wind.Gu Yuan finally moved, and gently brushed it away with his free hand, then turned his head to the other side and leaned against Ling Chao's shoulder.

"Do you know?" Gu Yuan finally said, "Qingqing likes to read all kinds of comic books and novels since she was a child, and she always tells me the plots in those books. But I don't really understand it, but she speaks very seriously. I am happy again, and I will be happy too.”

"When I met you at that time, she said in front of me more than once that I had CP with you, but I didn't know what 'CP' was until I saw your chat records and went to talk to her."

Gu Yuan seemed to smile, and continued: "I think I told you about this, I can understand that I also like you because Qingqing told me."

Ling Chao listened to him quietly without interrupting, he pinched Gu Yuan's hand with one hand, and hugged him from behind with the other.

"When my mother first discovered our relationship, she actually didn't agree with it, but maybe she felt guilty towards me and didn't stop us clearly. Later, she didn't seem to object so much, but I She was not happy to get hurt. During the period, Qingqing talked to her about us, and since then, she never deliberately said in front of me that there is anything wrong with two boys being together. "

"Qingqing is a person who has been very transparent since she was a child. She was sick, and her family was anxious and sad, but she acted like nothing happened, and comforted us in turn. She couldn't go to school well, so she studied at home to take the exam. Sometimes the energy is not enough. , she comforted herself by saying that she was combining work and rest."

"She has a lot of hobbies. When she was young, other children danced well when she was watching art performances at school. She also wanted to learn, but she couldn't jump or dance, and she couldn't even stay in places where the sound was too loud. How could she learn?" What about dancing? Later, I talked about learning to draw, this one is quiet, but unfortunately she was not born with this talent, but in the end I accompanied her to learn better than her. She loves reading books, comics, cosplay, and many hobbies."

"However, she is not in good health. 'Tetralogy of Fallots', oh, the name of this disease is really a bit foreign. I used to have the desire to be a doctor, but unfortunately my talents in this area are not as good as those in the past. It’s on the computer. Studying medicine is a long road, so it’s better to earn more money to treat Qingqing’s illness.”

"I was still thinking two days ago, I am now in my third year of high school, I should take another job that I promised before and go to school first, and it will be bad if I can't even pass the college entrance examination, after all, the money in my hand will support me. A year is totally fine."

Ling Chao kept observing Gu Yuan's emotions, and found that he really seemed to be telling someone else's story, and even laughed a few times.

"But, it doesn't seem to be necessary now. Qingqing is gone, so what do I do to earn money? But Qingqing definitely doesn't want me to be decadent, so I should go to school."

Speaking of this, Gu Yuan sat upright, looked at Ling Chao, and said, "Brother Chao, let's have a competition. It's like every monthly exam and the big exam, the loser gives money to the winner. 1 yuan each time."

Ling Chao still hadn't made the switch from Qingqing's story to gambling in games, but he instinctively replied immediately: "Okay."

Gu Yuan smiled, stood up, stretched out his hand to Ling Chao, motioned to pull him up.

Ling Chao handed him his hand, followed his strength and stood beside him.

Gu Yuan patted his butt to remove the sticky weeds, and then led Ling Chao to his father's grave next to him.

When he got there, Gu Yuan knelt down, pulled Ling Chao to kneel down as well, and then said to the photo in military uniform on the monument, "Dad, let me introduce you, this is Ling Chao, my boyfriend. I'm sorry, In this life, I may only be with him, and I will not be able to marry a wife and have children. But I believe that if you are still alive, you will support us. Today is Qingqing's funeral. Qingqing is looking for you. In the future, Qingqing I just ask you to take care of it. Please rest assured that I will take good care of grandma and mother."

After Gu Yuan finished speaking, he dragged Ling Chao to kowtow three times to his father.Kneeling down, he took two cigarettes out of his pocket, lit one and inserted it into the incense burner in front of the stele, and smoked the other by himself.

After the cigarette was finished, he stood up with Ling Chao.

He slowly stepped back a few steps, then stood between the two tombstones, and bowed deeply.

During the whole process, Gu Yuan maintained his usual appearance, as if all the sadness had been vented in the crying in the afternoon.

He stayed until the end, just wanting to spend time with his sister and introduce Ling Chao to his father.

On the way back, Gu Yuan kept holding Ling Chao's hand.Ling Chao couldn't tell whether Gu Yuan had really come out like this or was holding back another energy.But as long as Gu Yuan needs him, he will accompany him.

When they got home, everything was normal, and the Gu family organized a dinner for those who helped and those who came to the funeral.The courtyard was full of guests, so Gu Yuan dragged Ling Chao directly to the second floor.

He went to stand in Qingqing's room for a while, did nothing, just stood in the middle of the room, looking at every corner of the room little by little, as if to remember everything here.

After he came out, he closed the door, then went to his own room, the same, and finished reading it.

Ling Chao didn't know what he was doing, but he didn't ask him aloud.Just waited beside him and stood with him twice.

Then they went downstairs and found her in grandma's room below. Before entering the door, Gu Yuan said to Ling Chao: "Brother Chao, you go to eat, I will say a few words to grandma."

Ling Chao understood what he meant, nodded and went out.

Gu Yuan waited for Ling Chao to walk out the door before going in.Grandma was sitting on a recliner in the room, her eyes were closed, and the wrinkled corners of her eyes seemed to still be wet.

Grandma didn't know Qingqing left until Gu Yuan brought back a jar of ashes.None of them informed grandma of the news.Qingqing was brought up by her alone, and she loves this little granddaughter more than anyone else.Now, Qingqing just left as soon as she said she would.

Grandma fainted once in the morning, Gu Yuan couldn't do anything, he was like a puppet, he could only stay by the bed.

Now, Gu Yuan seems to have recovered all of a sudden, and he should work hard to do what he said before his father's grave just now.

He leaned on the chair and squatted beside grandma's leg, gently pinching grandma's calf.He didn't check to see if grandma was asleep or awake, and slowly said what he wanted to say.

He said: "Grandma, now that Qingqing is gone, you will be left alone in my hometown. I don't worry, I want to pick you up and live with us in the city. My mother and Qingqing talked about it many times last semester, but I know , you are reluctant to come here, because there are grandpa and dad here."

His voice was slow and soft, but clear.When he raised his head to look at grandma's face, he met the old man's cloudy and sad eyes.

"Grandma, are you willing?" Gu Yuan looked at her and asked.

Grandma Gu leaned on the edge of the chair and sat up little by little. She stroked her grandson's hair, and it took a long time for her hoarse voice to utter a word: "Okay."

Gu Yuan pulled out a smile, tilted his head and rubbed against the palm of his hand that was stroking his cheek a few times: "I told my mother that she should have a few days off, let her stay here with you, and then you can talk to her again. Let's go back to the city together, okay?"

Grandma Gu nodded.

After getting grandma's consent, Gu Yuan stayed with her for a while before getting up and going to the backyard to find his mother.

Zhang Yun was more tired than Gu Yuan in the past two days. Not only did he not fall asleep, but he also had to work so hard that his body couldn't hold on anymore.

She was eating outside at the moment, and she finally had some free time. She sat alone on a small stool in the kitchen, propped her head up and closed her eyes.

She wasn't sleeping either, just resting her swollen and sore eyes.When Gu Yuan walked over, he saw such a scene.

Gu Yuan felt very distressed, and also regretted his previous reaction.He shouldn't have left Mom to deal with everything just because he was sad.

Gu Yuan walked over, hugged Zhang Yun slowly, and called softly, "Mom."

Zhang Yun heard footsteps, she knew it was Gu Yuan coming.But before he even opened his eyes, he was hugged by Gu Yuan.

She was particularly worried about her son's state these two days, but fortunately Ling Chao came, and he seemed to be getting better. Now when he was leaning against his son's thin arms, he finally felt a little warmth in his heart.

"What's the matter?" Zhang Yun still leaned on him and asked him.

Gu Yuan let her go, dragged a stool to sit next to Zhang Yun and asked, "Do you still have a few days off?"

Zhang Yun nodded.

"How about this," Gu Yuan said, "You stay at home with grandma for the first few days. Grandma must be very sad, and I'm afraid she will feel a little uncomfortable. When your vacation is over, you take grandma back to the city. Li, can we take care of her together in the future?"

Zhang Yun didn't expect that Gu Yuan came to arrange these things, he was a little surprised: "But isn't grandma unwilling to go to the city?"

"I just talked to her, and she agreed." Gu Yuan said.

"Really?" Zhang Yun was a little surprised.

"Really," Gu Yuan said, "we're going to start school tomorrow, and I'll take Uncle Chen's car with Brother Chao back to the city in a while. I won't be going home for a few days. I want him to be with me."

The voice of Gu Yuan's last two words suddenly dropped, and he had endured it for several hours.He didn't want to let sadness occupy his heart anymore, at home, he was the only man, he couldn't be cowardly and couldn't just indulge in sadness.Ever since Ling Chao woke him up, he knew that he had to walk harder in the future.

However, now in front of his mother, he couldn't bear it anymore.

He could only tell himself over and over in his heart not to cry.

Zhang Yun looked at his son distressedly, not knowing what to say to comfort him.

Because she couldn't even comfort herself well.

"Okay," Zhang Yun said, "then you can stay with Ling Chao these few days, I know maybe it's best to have him with you now. Don't worry at home, grandma will take care of me."

The author has something to say:

Huh, finally, these two days have passed.