a protracted war

July 6 was sunny.

It was the best time of the week again, I lay on the bed in my room, stared at the square lights on the ceiling, and the mischievous sunlight that lingered on my quilt from the window, and stayed for a while.

I heard my mother humming along with the Huangmei Opera on TV, and I also heard my father's terrifying singing that always came out when he went to the bathroom.

I sent a WeChat message to Yi Yi: The weekend is here.

Then I got up and opened the curtains, the sun poured in, and the branches of a gratifying camphor tree outside the window were about to rush into my room.

When I finished washing, my dad just came out of the bathroom. He told me that he didn't make breakfast today because my mom wanted to eat the Tianjin steamed stuffed bun at the end of the street outside the community.

I said ok, let me buy it.

My dad laughed immediately, his eyes narrowed, and the wrinkles at the corners of his eyes were as vivid as the folds on a steamed bun.

To be honest, the neighborhood relationship in the city is actually very weak, and the one I am most familiar with is Xiaojie, who goes to elementary school in the opposite family.

But when I was queuing at the Baozi shop, an aunt in front of me turned her head and talked to me. She told me that she lived on the same floor as me, and that she used to see me walking with my parents.

I had no impression of this aunt, so I could only answer a few words in embarrassment. I finally breathed a sigh of relief when the line reached that aunt.

I just can't stand it.

But to my surprise, when I walked out of the bun shop, I saw the aunt at the door.

My aunt told me: "I used to see you always walking with your parents, so I knew you must be a filial and good-tempered young man. Let me tell you, my relatives have a daughter who is 25 and six years old and works in the city hospital. Nurse, she is good-looking and gentle, do you have a girlfriend? If not, young people can get to know each other."

I didn't quite understand where my aunt's enthusiasm for matchmaking came from, so I said, "I have a partner."

The aunt was very disappointed and said: "It's a pity, there is really no way."

When I walked in, my mother asked me why I had been there for so long.

I told her that Baozi was very crowded today, I lined up for a while, and met an aunt who lived on the same floor at the Baozi shop, and said a few words.

My mom asked which aunt I was.

So I briefly told my mother the whole story.

After hearing this, my mother told me that that aunt just likes to match people, and she knew it when they danced together in the square.

After eating the steamed stuffed bun, I checked WeChat, and Yi Yi didn't reply to my message. I thought he might not have woken up yet.

It was not until before lunch that Yi Yi sent me a few voice messages.

There is a saying in "Fortress Besieged": Falling in love with an elderly person is like an old house on fire, which cannot be saved.

Yi Yi's father gave me a deeper understanding of this sentence.

Yi Yi told me that his father came back after chasing a woman from the United States. His father and Yi Jun’s mother divorced. They couldn’t find a place to live for a while, and they were unwilling to stay in a hotel, so they had to stay at his house for the time being. Ordered to pick up the plane at the airport, then went to eat something with his dad, bought some daily necessities, and has been tossing until now.

I couldn't help sighing: "Your dad is really... dare to love and hate."

Yi Yi said: "What dare to love and hate, he is just tossing around, he is almost 50 years old, and he still looks like a child."

I said: "It's okay, it's good to live together, you also have a companion, and you usually talk to multiple people, and the house won't be too deserted."

Yi Yi said: "I don't have much in common with him. If I tell him no more than ten words, I will be pissed off. It's better to be quiet."

I said, "You're exaggerating."

Yi Yi: "You'll know it after meeting my dad, anyway, I'll bring you to meet him no matter what."

I said, "Okay, you put it that way and I really want to meet your dad."

Then I made an appointment for dinner with Yi Yi, Yi Yi said that he suddenly wanted to eat hot pot, I said that was just right, and so did I.

Eating hot pot in summer actually has a special flavor.

The air conditioner is cold but the stomach is warm.

When I went out in the afternoon, my mother didn't even ask me who I was having dinner with, and without even thinking about it, she just said to me before I went out: "Next time, let Yi Yi come to eat at home."

I said yes.

Coincidentally, when I was going out, I ran into Xiaojie who had just left the house. I found that as long as I went out before dinner, I could almost meet him.

Xiaojie looked very happy today. He greeted me first, then asked me if I was going downstairs, and then ran to the front to press the elevator.

In the elevator, I asked him, "Why are you so happy today, have you been praised?"

Xiaojie said, "Because I'm going to take saxophone lessons."

I laughed at him: "Who still had a sad face a few weeks ago."

Unconvinced, Xiaojie said: "I was just learning it back then, and I wasn't very good at it. Now I'm pretty good at it."

Xiaojie beamed and said, "I can play a lot of tunes now."

I patted his head: "It's amazing, if you have a chance, let me hear it."

Xiaojie also said: "I have also practiced the songs you mentioned before, and I can play them very well now."

I thought for a while and asked him, "Did I tell you some tunes before?"

Xiaojie looked at me sadly: "Did you forget? The girl and the sailor, the place where the stars are, love is unavoidable."

Xiaojie also said bitterly to me: "You said you know someone who can play these songs, but he plays the harmonica."

I thought about it for a while, and felt that the expression on my face when I said this before must have been very embarrassing.

The hotpot restaurant I was going to was not far from my home, I was too lazy to drive, so I took the subway there.

When I arrived at the place, I saw Yi Yi at a glance. Although he was sitting in a dimly lit seat in the corner, my eyes could still lock on him quickly.

He is special, maybe I am too familiar with him.

When I sat down, Yi Yi handed me the menu. I ordered a few dishes at random, but I ordered two sets of duck intestines. My favorite for hot pot is duck intestines.

Yi also saw it and said, "Like duck intestines? Then order two more."

I laughed and said, "That's enough. The amount of food on a plate at the next table is quite large. I suspect we can't finish it all."

I said, "Order a few you like."

Then I found out that Yi Yi likes fennel, tripe, beef balls, and kelp.

During the meal, Yi Yi complained to me about his father, and then told me that after the premiere of Lu Zijie's movie last time, Yi Jun didn't know why he went crazy and insisted on singing in your bar.

I was a little surprised, "Which bar? I'll check it out then."

Yi Yi said: "He didn't tell me which bar he was in, and he felt that something must be wrong with this kid."

I said, "Isn't it such a pity that Yi Jun went to the bar to sing there?"

Yi Yi said: "He told me that going to the bar is a kind of tempering, and he also has the opportunity to practice his voice."

I laughed and said, "Obviously I can rely on my face, and my family still has resources, but I have to rely on talent."

Yi Yi said: "Yi Jun's mother can't help him much, at most she will throw money at him, but this is not possible, so he still has to rely on himself."

Me: "Yi Jun sings well and looks good, maybe someday some girl will go to a bar to record a short video for Yi Jun and post it on Weibo, and Yi Jun will become popular."

Yi Yi said: "There are still a small number of people like this, and it may not be possible for Yi Jun to follow the path of others. After all, the success of others cannot be copied."

I think Yi Yi thought it through very thoroughly, so I didn't say anything more.

This time, Yi Yi was cooking the hot pot almost the whole time. I was eating it. Yi Yi told me that he is very good at hot pot. He studied in Chongqing for four years.

Later, I stopped being coy, even though I knew he was taking care of me.

The food intake of the two big men cannot be underestimated. We ordered a large table full of food. We thought we would not be able to finish it, but we did not expect to eat it all in the end.

After coming out of the hot pot restaurant, away from the air conditioner, the hot and dry wind blows in.

Yi also asked me where my car was parked.

I told him that I didn't drive here today, I came here by subway.

Yi Yi also said that he would send me off.

I said: "Didn't you just receive a call from your uncle saying that he has gone back? Go back and be with him as soon as possible."

Me: "I'm going to take the subway, it's only three stops."

Yi Yi sighed and said okay.

I walked towards the subway entrance, and Yi Yi went to start the car.

Halfway through, I suddenly had a strange feeling. I turned around and found Yi Yi was looking at me.

My heart skipped a beat.

I smiled at him.

Yi also laughed.