born to ashes

Haicheng is just in the small piece of land protruding from the territory, surrounded by the sea on three sides, surrounded by the sea breeze kindly and domineeringly all year round, because of this meticulous confinement, under the smoggy sun everywhere, it belongs to Haicheng This small piece of sky turned out to be blue and bright.

The pace of life here is slow, and the low-slung urban village and the high-rise buildings separated by a narrow road are intimately mixed together. The old man is carrying a vegetable basket, and the child is holding a fruit juice. They cross the sidewalk to the market to buy cheap and fresh vegetables. , the red light on the sidewalk starts with three, and the ten digits start with three. With a few words, a small group of people can be gathered to pass through without haste. The little granddaughter, her pace is not slow compared to young people.

With short legs, Sun Ruoshui staggered and followed grandma with big strides, crossed the road, and the grandparent and grandson got into the crooked road paved by the house.

What did that sentence say?

There are no roads in this world, and the more houses are built, the more there will be.

The little Sun Ruoshui vaguely felt that this sentence made sense, but he couldn't tell where it made sense. In short, that's what the pretty sister who just moved next door to his house said.It's just a little strange, that sister and her boyfriend both have short hair, with only a small clump of green stubble sticking out on the scalp.

When she asked her sister why, that sister squinted her eyes and smiled, "How old are you, little girl, do you know what boyfriend means?"

"I know, my aunt has a boyfriend, and she's going to get married in the future..." Sun Ruoshui bit her nails and thought for a while, "I also have a boyfriend at the same table."

After she and grandma got home, they made leek meat dumplings with the leeks they had just bought. After they were cooked, it took a small iron basin and sent them to the neighbor.The older sister was beautiful, but her boyfriend was a bit scary. Although both of them had a pleasant face and loved to laugh, that boyfriend was very thin and fair. He lay on the bed all day and didn't talk much. He was a bit gloomy.

Sun Ruoshui knocked on the door outside the yard with the dumplings in her hands, but there was no answer inside. She pushed open the wooden fence and entered the yard, but was startled by the sound of bowls being thrown inside. Scattered, and there was a lot of scolding coming from inside.

"How many things we people have done for you these years, you fucking said, who are you worthy of when you go back to China to die in China! You fucking want to die, why don't you just die in Italy, save us trouble Get it back for you!"

The voice inside was hoarse, and Sun Ruoshui didn't dare to go in, carried the steaming dumplings and exited the small courtyard.

The person who cursed in the room was none other than Sun Ruoshui's beautiful "sister", Josh.

Josh looked at Cheng Jiezhi who was indifferent on the bed, sighed, and kicked the ponytail on the ground, slamming the door and entering the room.In order to express his anger, he shattered a small piece of glass on the fragile door three times.

Cheng Jiezhi sighed helplessly, closed his eyes and pretended to sleep.He was in poor health, and he panicked after closing his eyes. If he fell asleep like this and couldn't wake up again, it would be really ridiculous in the world. Josh was right, so many people took the trouble to help him Escape back, not to die in another place.

Zheng Fei's guess was wrong. In fact, Josh not only knew that Cheng Jiezhi had fled back to the country, but also participated in the operation.

It was true that he was in a bad mood a while ago, but where can he go drinking? Why did he choose Shengshi?To be precise, the news Zheng Fei got was indirectly revealed by Josh.When Cheng Jiezhi fled back, Wen Yu would definitely come back and arrest him when he realized it, but Brother Cheng didn't rub the sand in his eyes. He was worried that Wen Yu would stay in the country and would definitely obstruct him. When the two of them finished fighting, Cheng Jiezhi would be able to Completely out of Wen Yu's control.

As for why he chose to hide in Haicheng, Cheng Jiezhi was somewhat selfish.

Mainly to hide from Lu Chen.

Everyone knows that the Yan family in Haicheng is an old subordinate of the Lu family, but the youngest daughter of the Yan family has a close friendship with Cheng Jiezhi, but no one knows. Presumably Lu Chen and Wen Yu will relax their guard against Haicheng. The less likely it is to be found.

Because of Wei Wenqu's reason, Josh has always been prejudiced against those sons and boys in Zhucheng with jade in their mouths, and he also sneered at Cheng Jiezhi and the young master of the Lu family.He knew a little bit about what happened between Cheng Jiezhi and Lu Chen. The two of them also had a life of deep love and rainy days, but after Cheng Jiezhi returned to China, not only did he not rely on him, but he tried his best to hide in Haicheng. Planning to come out with "darkness under the lights", this is very unpredictable.

Josh and Cheng Jiezhi stayed in Haicheng peacefully for a period of time. During this period, Miss Yan's family has been running around to find a reliable hospital for Cheng Jiezhi. She just called and said that she can live in it at any time, but Cheng Jiezhi regretted it at this time and said no. went.That's how the play that little girl Sun Ruoshui heard just now came about.

Cheng Jiezhi coughed a few times, not because he was not afraid of death, but because he was so afraid of death that he didn't want to go to the hospital.

He instinctively felt that the tumor in his lung should be malignant, and the chances of being cured were low, so it would be better for him to die peacefully. , that is really too much to suffer.You said, don't let people die well, isn't that too cruel?

Josh was bored in the room for a long time, calmed down, and called Yan Jia.

Yan Jia knew Cheng Jiezhi's temper, so he persuaded Josh nicely, and made an appointment with the hospital.

After hanging up the phone, Josh played games in the room for a while before going out to start cooking.

Cheng Jiezhi leaned against the pillow in a daze, his eyes followed Josh around, and coughed twice from time to time, sometimes he could cough up blood, sometimes he couldn't.

He picked up a few chopsticks of potato shreds. He had no strength at all, but he had to eat something with all his energy.Cheng Jiezhi was out of energy. Except when he propped himself up to sit at the dining table when eating, he was always on the bed at other times.He intended to liven up the atmosphere, and while eating, he muttered recklessly: "I've put too little vinegar...I didn't say it, Comrade Josh, your skills have not improved in recent years."

Josh, who was already full of anger, hit it at one o'clock, and knocked off the piece of meat that Cheng Jiezhi was clamping with a chopstick, "You fucking fart, Wei...Everyone says that my cooking is delicious, how about you?" Feel free to pick and choose, you deserve to hold your 'Cheng's Clear Water Noodles' for the rest of your life."

Cheng Jiezhi has long evolved to a state of forgetting both when he is loved and when he is humiliated. He unhurriedly picked up the meat that fell on the table and put it in his mouth. Let's go back and cook..." Before finishing speaking, he choked and coughed hard.

This frightened Josh so much that he put down his chopsticks on the spot, "How dare you not go to the hospital with your fucking face all day long? Come check with me tomorrow!"

"I just...cough, I choked for a while," Cheng Jiezhi finally stopped coughing, "You don't want to change the subject, when are you going to go back?"

"After a while." Josh was a little guilty, and his voice quieted down. He picked up a few chopsticks of rice, "I'm here with you, who will cook for you when I leave." The more he said, Josh became more confident up.

"Tell me, what's going on." Cheng Jiezhi simply put down his chopsticks, "You used to keep saying that you were easy to be targeted, but at that time you were cautious even when calling me, why are you rushing up this time?" Now, in Haicheng, there is Yan Jia and Zheng Ying, I won’t starve to death, why aren’t you afraid that Brother Cheng will follow you to find me?”

Josh took a few bites of his chopsticks, why?

Cheng Jiezhi is hiding from people, isn't he too?

Cheng Jiezhi raised his eyes to look at his face, and said persuasively, "Tell me."

"Then you have to promise to go to the hospital tomorrow and check first."

Hearing Josh put forward this condition, Cheng Jiezhi suddenly laughed, why is he so grown up, he still looks like a child, "Okay."

Where to start?

Josh recalled it carefully. In fact, he and Wei Linze had only known each other for a few months, not even a semester.Even his students could hang out with him for two semesters, Josh thought.

In front of Wei Linze, he has always felt inferior.No matter how others scolded him, he could smile back and go back. He had heard no matter how ugly scolding he was, but facing Wei Linze, he felt that he didn't want to hear any slander anymore. He had already sunk into the mud. Why step on a few more feet in front of someone he can't reach?

In the final analysis, people's sense of shame is worn out. In the familiar environment where they have been humiliated, they are used to it, but people are very forgetful. Once they get out of that environment for a period of time and see a normal and clean life, they will Following the imbalance, I wondered why I would be like a dog lying on the ground with a chain and wagging its tail. I couldn't help but envy that person, and I unconsciously became several heads shorter in front of him.Especially, when that person, you are really trying your best to treat him carefully.

Josh has always put on a tall posture, proud and arrogant, as if he was born with this look that I am a queen and you mortals are only worthy of kneeling and licking.But often the more people express something, the more they lack something.

He omitted the details that could express his state of mind, and told the story of him and Wei Linze without any emphasis. He said what he thought of, and when he talked about his appearance with gold-rimmed glasses, he would suddenly insert a few words that he doesn't eat this or that picky eater Yes, as he babbled, Cheng Jiezhi seemed to be a little more energetic, he bent over and leaned on the table to find the most comfortable position to listen carefully.

"I didn't know what he was thinking, and I didn't dare to ask, for fear of hearing something I didn't want to hear. It happened that Zheng Ying called me the next morning to ask me to help you, and I left." Josh concluded a little at the end , spread his hands, "It's actually up to you."

Cheng Jiezhi didn't answer him, and lay down on his stomach looking at the leftovers for a while before saying, "You are a fan of the authorities. He has already expressed his thoughts with practical actions. Everyone is an adult. Don't you have to tell you clearly before you know?" Are you pretending to be confused. Besides, both of you..." Cheng Jiezhi wanted to find a slightly euphemistic word, passed it in his mind, and decided to say directly, "It's time to go to bed, you can't be too unconfident, Since he wants to, he can't..."

"Sorry," Josh interrupted him, "I'm not unconfident, I'm too confident."

He successfully interrupted Cheng Jiezhi with this sentence, paused for a while, and then continued, "Over the years, there have been many people who have kept saying that they like me and love me, but they all came for my face and body. ? I'm too confident in my ability, I'm not sure why he is willing to... have sex with me. "

After hearing what he said, Cheng Jiezhi was the first to lose his mind. Why didn't he think of this word just now? In retrospect, the word he just chose was neither subtle nor straightforward, neither fish nor fowl.

He didn't have time to answer, Josh said on his own, "I'm in the dark, there's no way to escape, I can't drag him into my hell, I can watch from afar It’s enough to have a beam of light somewhere, that’s it, very lucky. Wei Linze is my light, and I can’t drag my light into the abyss with my own hands.”

This was Wei Linze's thoughts while he was still at the police station, waiting helplessly for what happened in the private room.At that time, the only thought in his mind was that it was over, because of him, Wei Linze encountered something that maybe he should only read about in books and news in his life.Perhaps, he had to leave Wei Linze, not only because he was in hell, but also because, as a light, Wei Linze didn't just want to illuminate that small piece of land.

"But he may," Cheng Jiezhi's voice is very soft, "maybe willing and able to turn your darkness into light? The darkness is not as powerful as you think. It cannot assimilate, nor can it extinguish the light."

There was no light in Cheng Jiezhi's eyes, and they were empty and unfocused, as if he was speaking to Josh or talking to himself.

Josh laughed very lightly, and he stared at Cheng Jiezhi as if his laughter was exhausted, "Even you don't believe what you said, Xiezhi."

"Lu Chen has the ability to protect you, Wen Yu has no way to get you away from the Lu family. But why are you hiding here? Ask yourself, I think the same as you."

While Josh was talking, Cheng Jiezhi didn't dare to look at him at all. In the end, he used his usual trick of pretending, pretending that he didn't hear, and moved back to the bed with the unique steps of a patient. When he closed his eyes, it didn't mean he was sleepy, but fell asleep. It means that he can naturally ignore what happens in the outside world.

Looking at the oily tableware on the table, and Cheng Jiezhi on the bed who was pretending to be dead, Josh seriously missed the days when he didn't have to wash the dishes.

Haicheng is Josh's hometown.

He didn't tell Cheng Jiezhi.In fact, I haven’t been back to Haicheng for many years, and it’s not what it used to be here. However, the home where I lived for more than ten years when I was a child is in this city, and it’s only less than half an hour’s journey away. A completely unfamiliar village in the city.Haicheng, to him, seemed to be a place no different from other strange cities.

Zhucheng and Haicheng are only separated by a toll booth. It takes two hours to get there by high-speed rail, four hours by train, and three hours by high-speed train.

Wei Linze has been out of shape since the beginning of school. The title of associate professor has been evaluated, and the course is proceeding in an orderly manner. He occasionally follows Professor Jiang to sort out the information processing data of ancient characters. It seems that everything is running steadily on track, but in fact , the thing that deviated from the track was just that he deliberately didn't think about it.

The so-called deliberateness is bound to inadvertently rush to the mind repeatedly in leisure time.

He was looking for a weekend and wanted to relax.For the location, I chose Haicheng after thinking about it.

As for why, there are countless reasons. The scenery of Haicheng is good, the sky is blue, the wind smells good, there are sunny beaches, waves and cactus. In the slow-paced life of Haicheng people, the best experience is to relieve their anxiety.

Actually, these are not important, they are all made up by Wei Linze.To relax him, playing games all day at home is more effective than anything else.

The important thing is that Qiao Wang told him that Haicheng is his hometown.

Qiao Wang's hometown is Josh's hometown.

He walked along the slope full of street trees, and occasionally a few old people with lazy dogs passed by beside him, accompanied by the regular singing of cicadas on the trees. Under the shade of the trees, there seemed to be such a It's as if you can reach the end of the world by taking a stroll.

This is where Josh grew up.

Wei Linze rarely feels a sense of belonging to unfamiliar places, but here, he inexplicably has the idea of ​​staying and living. This city is really suitable for survival.

After living this life unsteadily, my heart yearns for it.

He took a taxi to the cemetery in the west of the city, and stood in front of the tombstone with the name "Qiao Zhen" written on it for a long time, facing the black and white photo in front of him with two stripes on the corner of his mouth, Wei Linze didn't know what expression to use.Not far from the cemetery is a piece of sea, and there is always some salty sea breeze rushing over and blowing a piece of tall waving grass.

Wei Linze's hair was also moved by the blow, he moved his numb ankle, turned and left.

There seemed to be a sentence scattered in the wind, but I couldn't hear it clearly, and the sound of clapping hands buried in the rustling leaves barely leaked two words.

"He..."

Wei Linze walked from the cemetery to the beach in the spirit of walking.

In recent years, the construction of the seaside has been getting better and better. Real estate developers have covered expensive cement around the house, with various sculptures on it, and fountains made of marble are reluctant to spray water.

The old tree was cut down and a new one was moved in.

Every inch of the land by the sea is clamored for quiet by other places, and the single-family villas try their best to keep the maximum distance between them, quiet and quiet, only the sea breeze is playing in the ears.Here, there is actually a small hospital built. Its appearance is a small white European-style building, which blends in with the surrounding scenery without being obtrusive at all.

The environment here is really suitable for recuperating, Wei Linze thought.

If he could look at the hospital one more time, he could see, among the surrounding white buildings, a red car slowly sliding into a parking space under the shade of trees.

If you can look more carefully, there are two bald men in that car, one of them is as beautiful as a little nun who just came down the mountain.