Pastel Colors

Day1616:00

The two of them were lying on their sides, when the sound of a cuckoo telling the time came from the tea house, He Zhiyuan raised his wrist to look at his watch, it was four o'clock, and it was time for Bubu to leave school.

Song Ran yelled that the pick-up was late, grabbed his wrist and ran towards the kindergarten.As soon as he turned into Gaolan Road, Song Ran's expression changed, his footsteps stopped, the forward turned to the rear, and he hid behind He Zhiyuan like a thief.

He Zhiyuan turned his head: "What's wrong?"

Song Ran: "Uh, I was tripped by..."

On the other side of the road, the old lady who had chatted with him just now was leading a little girl towards him.The girl is quite cute, with a mushroom head and a little red dress with polka dots, and she looks up to talk to her grandma.Song Ran hurriedly pulled into a three-point line, using He Zhiyuan's height to cover himself—"The busy wife who always loves to travel" not only appeared, but also a man, the impact was too great, he was afraid that it would shatter the old lady The three views.

Songran let out a sigh of relief when the grandfather and grandson turned around the corner and disappeared from sight.

He Zhiyuan looked at him and narrowed his eyes thoughtfully.

There are two rows of cars neatly lined up at the entrance of the kindergarten, all of which are parents who come to pick up their children. There are so many car logos, it is comparable to a small car show.Among them was a second-hand bicycle, a bamboo basket, and a small leather stool, parked crookedly, showing a unique personality.

"This, my car, travels at ten kilometers per hour." Song Ran generously pointed to He Zhiyuan, then jumped over to pat the small leather stool, "Leather seats, luxurious enjoyment."

Seeing his bright smile, He Zhiyuan was also amused: "Bob has mentioned it several times on the phone, saying that he likes your car, it's slow and wobbly, and you can see the cats and dogs on the side of the road, It's more comfortable than taking my car. But there are three people today, and your car can't be used, can you feel wronged and take my car?"

Song Ran looked around: "Your car?"

A car parked on the side of the road opened the door, and a middle-aged man in uniform and wearing white gloves stepped out of the driver's seat, respectfully handed back the car keys to He Zhiyuan, then walked up to Song Ran, politely Introduction: "My surname is Wu, and I'm Mr. He's driver."

"Ah... you, hello!"

Song Ran hurriedly shook hands with him, and when the handshake was over, the other party did not take back his hand, but kept his palm facing up: "Please give me the car keys, I will be responsible for driving for you."

Driver?

Song Ran looked bewildered, and cast a puzzled look at He Zhiyuan.

He Zhiyuan explained: "The bicycle key."

Bicycles and drivers?

Song Ran opened his eyes wide, hesitantly took out a copper key from his pocket and handed it to Mr. Driver.The driver took the key with a calm expression, really unlocked it, helped the car, kicked the legs, and rode away along the shade of the trees.

"..."

Song Ran looked at his shrinking back, and didn't come back to his senses for a long time.

"Wake up, don't look, come to my side."

He Zhiyuan leaned against the car, reached out and knocked on the hood, motioning Songran to look over.Song Ran turned his eyes, noticed the whole picture of the car, and was stunned for a moment—the Infiniti he was thinking of was washed and waxed, and the afterglow of the setting sun was painted on it, and a dazzling line of silver-gray shell flowed on the edge. light.

It is so beautiful, more beautiful than any car I have seen in Bishuiwanju before.

Song Ran joyfully touched the car body, and carefully stroked the cold metal surface inch by inch with her soft fingertips, for fear of damaging it: "Why did you think of driving it today?"

"What do you say?"

He Zhiyuan smiled at him.

Song Ran suddenly understood, felt ashamed, lowered her head and remained silent.

"If you like, I can always open it in the future - only open it." He Zhiyuan spoke softly, stretched out his hand to loosen his tie, pulled it out from under his collar, and unscrewed a collar button with one hand, " Like it?"

Song Ran whispered, "I like it."

One point for praise of cars, and nine points for praise of people.

His eyes were clear and bright, filled with affection, from the bridge of He Zhiyuan's nose to his chin, from his chin to his Adam's apple, and finally to the shadow of the collarbone under the open front of his clothes - this man's appearance in a black shirt, It actually moved his heart even more than the previous glimpse.

There was a large crowd and they were at the entrance of the kindergarten, Song Ran was embarrassed to ask He Zhiyuan to hold hands, the two of them leaned side by side by the car and waited for Boubo to come out, their shoulders and arms touched lightly through the cloth, and their skin felt a little hot.

"Puba!"

As soon as Bubu came out of the kindergarten, his eyes spun around like a top, locked on the target, and ran towards He Zhiyuan cheering.A head of short hair was blown wildly by the wind, standing on top of his head in a mess, as if it had just been struck by lightning.

He flew forward, turned into an octopus, and hugged He Zhiyuan's waist tightly: "Baba, I miss you so much!"

He Zhiyuan was about to lift him up, but Bubu suddenly let go of his little hand, slipped off his body with a squeak, stepped back half a step, pointed at his shirt and said, "Puba, the clothes are wrinkled...I'm sorry."

A small part of the hem was pulled out from the waistband of the trousers, which should have been rubbed hard just now.

The child blinked his eyes twice, timidly took a step closer to Songran, tugged at his sleeves, and looked a little flustered - he was always obedient in front of his father, how could he dare to jump on his waist as soon as he saw him ah.In the past half a month, Song Ran was used to pampering her, and she raised more and more "presumptuous" behaviors, and she was too excited for a while, so she couldn't stop her.

Dad must be unhappy.

However, He Zhiyuan was not angry, he bent down and hugged Bubu, kissed him on the cheek, and comforted him: "It's okay, Bobu misses Dad so much, Dad feels very happy."

"Really?"

Boob looked incredibly happy.

He Zhiyuan nodded: "Really."

Bubu immediately turned from cloudy to sunny, and put his arms around He Zhiyuan's neck: "What about Dad? Does Dad miss me?"

"Of course I do. Dad misses you every day, worrying about whether our little Bubu is full, whether we are afraid of going to bed at night, and whether we are getting along well with my brother." He Zhiyuan poked his little face lightly, "Baby tell Dad, this How are your days?"

"I had a great time!" Bubu beamed with joy, his clever little eyes wandered, and he sweetly added the second half of the sentence, "I'm even happier when Dad comes back!"

Song Ran almost laughed when he heard this—this kid is really sugar cane, and everything with his mouth is sweet.

The family got into the car, and Bubu sat in the exclusive child seat, and took the initiative to fasten the seat belt, while Songran sat in the co-pilot cautiously, pointing his toes up, for fear that his sneakers would stain the car that had just been cleaned.

Until now, he was still a bit dreamy, he couldn't believe that he really got into the Infiniti of his dreams - he knew that this car was not expensive, and it was probably incomparable with He Zhiyuan's other two cars, so he kept it in limbo. But what it symbolizes is solemn and precious, which is what Songran has always been looking forward to.

Seeing that he was nervous, He Zhiyuan opened the door and got out of the car, walked around to his side, fastened his seat belt in a gentlemanly manner, and said with relief: "My car, let go of it, it's fine."

From, my own...

Song Ran was a little embarrassed.

Of course, he wouldn't feel that if he was dating He Zhiyuan, he would get half of the car, but the word "own" really sounded nice.He recited it silently a few times, and felt much more at ease, so he put his feet flat, stretched comfortably, and felt the inertia of the vehicle start pushing him gently on the back of the seat.

It only takes 5 minutes to drive from the kindergarten to home. After 5 minutes, the scenery on the roadside is not only not familiar, but becomes more and more unfamiliar, and finally even drove on the viaduct.Song Ran asked what was going on, and He Zhiyuan tapped the steering wheel with his fingertips: "Before you said you liked eating crabs, I promised to take you there, remember?"

Song Ran had long forgotten about this, and managed to regain a little vague impression.

He originally thought that he would go home for dinner tonight, but he went to the vegetable market yesterday, bought a basket full of meat and vegetables, and wrapped thirty small white wontons in advance, and now he is queuing up in the refrigerator It's time to cook.

When Bubu heard that there were crabs to eat, he called out happily: "Crabs! Crabs! Galagala!"

Listen to this heroic strength, you can swallow eight in one breath.

Song Ran thought that he hadn't eaten crabs for many years, so he was so greedy that he didn't object, he said thank you, quietly leaned back on the seat, and watched He Zhiyuan drive intently.His eyes were not naked, but seemed to rest unintentionally on He Zhiyuan's right hand - this man's hands are also extremely beautiful: slender but not thin, with well-defined knuckles, flat nails without thorns, and four clear metacarpal bones on the back of the hand It is raised, and under the skin are several clusters of blue veins.

When held by this hand, no matter the strength or heat, it is so strong that there is no way for people to survive.

Songran felt itchy in his heart, and couldn't help but licked his lips quietly.

"Don't look, I will panic."

He Zhiyuan looked ahead and said calmly.

Song Ran was startled, looked away quickly like an electric shock, lowered her head, and stared at her trouser legs in embarrassment.He Zhiyuan laughed silently, while waiting for a red light at a certain intersection, he let go of the steering wheel, held Song Ran's hand, interlocked his fingers, and gently closed them.

The back seat of the car was full of presents brought back by He Zhiyuan, and Boo Boo was pulling and biting happily all the way, and before he got to the place, he dismantled all kinds of things - most of them were snacks, toys and picture books, unprecedented There is also a GoPro Karma drone.

After unpacking a bunch of small cartons, Boo Boo was so excited that he stretched his arms and wanted to unpack the biggest carton.He Zhiyuan discovered his intention through the rearview mirror, and stopped him in time: "Don't open it, it's a gift for your brother Songran."

"Hey!" Boo Boo cheered up, "What is it?"

Song Ran didn't expect that he also had a gift, so he became curious: "What is it?"

"Some painting materials, such as paper, pens, and paints." He Zhiyuan said, "I'm not familiar with your field, so I asked the company's designers to help me choose. There are about twenty kinds of brands, and you can try one by one. Come here and find which ones are comfortable to use, and I will buy them for you in the future."

Song Ran was startled: "Thank you."

If He Zhiyuan gave him any other expensive gifts, he would be rude to reject them, and would feel uneasy about accepting them. In comparison, painting materials are probably the most suitable choice.But for things like paper, pens, and paints, it doesn't cost much to buy cheap goods. Once you start to pursue high-end, it is also a considerable sum.

The watercolor paper he is using now has many problems. Firstly, the water absorption is not enough, and secondly, the surface strength is not enough, which affects the layering and smudge effect, and it is not suitable for repeated modification.He wanted to change to pure cotton drawing paper several times, but he gave up after calculating the price - he didn't earn much in the first place, and if the cost increased, he might not be able to make ends meet.

So it has been going until now.

Songran really likes picture book illustrations, and wants to draw better works, but the price of paper and paint is like a hurdle, which is always there - he can't afford high-priced consumables, and this kind of money that is pulled apart The gap cannot be made up by skill alone.

The painting materials that Mr. He bought for him must be expensive.If Mr. He pays for these things in the future, will it be regarded as supporting him to some extent?

Thinking of this, Songran's self-esteem began to be strange, and his chest was stuffy and astringent: "I like this gift very much, and I will definitely cherish it, but I still plan to buy the materials in the future. Mr. He, I can't spend you money."

He Zhiyuan understood what he was thinking, pressed his palm against the back of his hand, and patted him lightly a few times in a comforting way: "Don't worry too much about it. There is no accounting between family members, and I will tell Bubu a few more stories in the future. We're even."

"No...I can't." Song Ran shook his head, "Mr. He, I really have no position to spend your money."

He Zhiyuan laughed when he heard this: "I don't mind proposing to you later when we have dinner."

"Don't, don't, don't be impulsive!"

Song Ran jumped up in shock, and was dragged back to the seat severely by the seat belt, her ribs felt a dull pain.

He Zhiyuan withdrew his hand, put his hands on the steering wheel, and said calmly: "Songran, you shouldn't be too clear about this aspect with me. We are not living together in a close relationship, nor are we in a clear-cut cooperative relationship. We are interdependent. partner, and family."

"This... I know." Song Ran paused, "But if the relationship is close, the relationship is close. If it is money, it should be settled separately. As the old saying goes, brothers are clear about settlement."

"If you must settle the accounts, well, I'll help you." He Zhiyuan insisted, "I promise to pay you [-] for fifteen days, equivalent to [-] per month. This price only includes care Bubu, it doesn’t include taking care of me. If you include me, the salary will be doubled, fifty-six thousand. I can agree to separate the finances, on the condition that at the beginning of each month, I will pay you fifty-six thousand.”

"Mr. He, why do you have to do this?" Song Ran was anxious, "I have no other intentions, I just think that every penny I spend should be earned by myself."

He Zhiyuan shrugged: "You earned the fifty-six thousand."

"But we are a family!" Songran subconsciously glanced at Boubo in the back seat from the corner of his eye, and seeing him concentrating on making toys together, he lowered his voice, "I take care of you, you accompany me, don't you pay for each other? , why should it be converted into money?"

He was nervous, afraid to quarrel with Mr. He again.

At first, their family views were at odds, and they came together after a difficult detour. Now that they met each other, they only involved a little bit of economic exchanges, and found that their views on money were different. What should they do in the future?

He Zhiyuan didn't show many signs of anger, and he still drove the car in an even and steady manner.

Only at a certain moment, he sighed very lightly.

"Songran, you said yourself that we are already a family. I am not good at cooking, but your cooking skills happen to be good. In the future, you will cook many meals for me and Boubu. I have hired several people with high salaries before. Nanny, everyone has received professional training. To be honest, no one has ever made Boo Boo so full of praise. You are different from them, you are more attentive, you will observe what Boo Boo likes to eat, and you will also consider his physical needs What to add. I mentioned that I like the little wontons you made by yourself, so you will remember it. You cleaned the house a few days ago, and you made some beautiful handmade decorations."

"These things may seem very common to you, and you don't need to talk about money at all, but not talking about it doesn't mean it doesn't exist. In fact, its value is far higher than you think. If you change it to a nanny, it will be a fortune. Small expenses. Songran, why are you refusing to accept money, or even allow me to give money? Because you love us, you give it voluntarily, and I... want to give you something voluntarily. "

"You like to paint and make a living from it. I hope you can work more comfortably, so I send you painting paper and paints without charge, because I love you too. Songran, you said that giving is mutual. Yes, giving It is indeed mutual, you have your way, I have mine, so what is the essential difference between a bowl of wontons and a stack of drawing paper?"

Song Ran opened her mouth, unable to answer.

A large orange-red sunset glow spread out in the sky, bright and soft.The setting sun shines into the car window, giving people a layer of flickering light.For some reason, Songran felt that Mr. He looked a little tired—after a long-distance flight for thirteen hours, and after landing, he went to the company to work all afternoon, so he must be tired.

He Zhiyuan drove the car quietly, and said for a long time: "Baby, I don't want to argue with you, especially because of that little money - in my opinion, our relationship is far more important than money. If you insist on not accepting it, I can give in, but I want you to know that when I give you a stack of paper and watch you draw with it, I feel the same way as you cook a bowl of wonton and watch me eat it bite by bite..."

"Mr. He, I'm sorry."

Song Ran finally compromised.

He knew he had made the same mistake again—not just emotionally, but financially as well.

Emotionally, he yearns for an intimacy that blends in with each other, but he is afraid that if he invests too much, he will be abandoned one day and will not be able to escape unscathed.In terms of money, he has been struggling for seven or eight years, and has experienced the days of walking on tiptoe on the verge of hunger and fullness. Money and dignity have been firmly bound, and he has developed the same problem-no matter how much he pays, he is embarrassed Counted as money, every penny paid by others must be counted as money.

Cooking a bowl of wontons, washing two pieces of clothes, helping to take care of the children for a few days... It's just a trivial matter, how can I ask for money?

But when it was the other party's turn to give him watercolor paper, he thought, those are real things, ten Waterford sheets, hundreds of them, how could he accept it for nothing?

No way.

It must not be accepted.

Out of the psychology of self-protection, he still can't get out of this vicious circle. At best, he is selfless, but at worst, he only takes his own sincerity as his sincerity, but treats the sincerity of others as the liver and lungs of a donkey.

That's why Mr. He is unhappy.

"I'm sorry, I understand." Song Ran rubbed his cold wrist, and slowly said to Mr. He, and also to himself, "There is no difference between a bowl of wonton and a stack of drawing paper. As long as you use your heart Yes, there is no difference, so..."

He looked up at He Zhiyuan, and smiled easily: "So, I want the best watercolor paper."

Infiniti drove into the parking building and slowly reversed into the garage.He Zhiyuan turned off the ignition, pulled out the key, and lightly turned it twice between his fingers.

The car was silent.

He suddenly supported the steering wheel, stretched his arms around Songran's neck, leaned out from the driver's seat, and kissed his lips.The silent kiss lasted for a long time, until the air became sultry and the drowsy Boo Boo in the back seat let out a moan, and they parted reluctantly.

"I'm very happy." He Zhiyuan looked at him, his eyes showed great affection, "Baby, I will give you the best in everything."