aftershock

The next day was already August, but it was still raining in July. Gangwon got up very late, and only my aunt was busy cleaning at home.The small sweeping machine bumped into his feet more than once, and he realized that he had read the drawings all morning and couldn't remember what he was looking at in the last second.

Auntie said that she would cook some multigrain porridge in the evening, and spent a lot of time with Lao Xu in the afternoon. One was responsible for cracking walnuts and the other was responsible for peeling them. There was a small TV sound in the kitchen, and there were laughing voices.Jiang Yuan was not far away, and Sora seemed to be watching the daily life of his parents and family. He got up to help peel pine nuts, and his aunt made him another cup of hot chocolate.

The smell of chocolate is very fragrant, and I want to close my eyes when I smell it.

The pine nuts fell into the plate one by one, and the aunt said in surprise, "Xiao Yuan, why did you have a nosebleed?"

Jiang Yuan subconsciously touched his nose with his hand, and sure enough, his hand was wet. Auntie was a little anxious, holding a tissue and kept asking what was wrong.

In fact, there is only some blood foam, which disappears as soon as you wipe it off, but the anxious and caring look of the aunt makes Jiang Yuan feel a little addicted.

The aunt stopped letting him lower his head to peel the pine nuts, and kept persuading him not to look at the drawings any more, but to lie down and rest. Even Old Xu thought she was exaggerating, but Jiang Yuan obediently lay down.

Lying on the bed, he couldn't help but miss the long-lost nagging and caring questioning, those things have been lost for a long time.

It's been so long that he doesn't want to think about it at any time, even afraid that he will have a dream. Before going to bed, he always thinks about many other things to cover up. He knows how hurtful it is to stay in a memory for a long time, but he chose How unfilial it is to trap yourself for the longest period.

From that day on, Gu Lu felt that Jiang Yuan had matured a lot.Most of the time when he can meet, he no longer sticks up to find topics to chat with himself, and it is normal to meet and talk.He usually looks at the drawings or other things in the living room before he gets off work and eats.He looked serious, focused and quiet. Gu Lv felt that this way of getting along was a good thing for him or for him, at least it was easy.

When Jiang Yuan eats, he usually doesn't speak, and he is used to chewing food with his mouth closed. He was eating a bowl of dry chicken breast in clear soup that day. Usually, his aunt disassembled it early and left it for him. Gu Lv remembered what Old Xu said, adding I always saw him eating this, and felt that he was too picky eater, and it was rare to open his mouth, so he asked him to eat less nutritious food.

Later, Gu Lu didn't see him eating chicken breast again for a long time, and after a while, he inadvertently heard his aunt sighing to Old Xu in the kitchen, "He doesn't even want to eat chicken."

At that time, Gu Lu still just felt that Jiang Yuan was still too picky about food.

Eight

In the middle of the month, the temperature rose instead of falling, and the sun always set very late in the hottest days of the year. Gu Xu's grandfather picked one of these days and passed away very peacefully before sunset.

Gu Zhengzhong's father is Gu Mingyuan, who is also a leading musician. He personally called Gu Lv to inform him.

Gu Lu stepped into the door of Gu's house, called Gu Mingyuan grandpa, and Gu Zhengzhong called uncle, and he was officially recognized as Gu Xu's child by default.

Because of this, their Gu family has always been very special to Gu Lv, with a kind of not-so-justifiable tolerance and gentleness, Gu Lv naturally fulfilled his filial piety as it should, and in this way, everyone is very respectable.

Jiang Yuan and Gu Lu went to Gu's house together, and sat in the same car again, not only the back seat was spacious.

The mentality of not being embarrassed is not necessarily a matter of shame.

Jiang Yuan thinks that Gu Lv never felt embarrassed towards him, probably because his attitude towards himself is not much different from that of an animal or a passer-by, and no one would feel embarrassed towards animals or strangers.

Jiang Yuan wouldn't feel embarrassed anymore, he chose to look out the window at the stop-and-go asphalt road, at the parasol trees and at the traffic lights, the quiet world inside the car still couldn't hold back his surge of emotion towards Gu Lv, it was force majeure and powerless.

Jiang Yuan has also seen photos of Gu Zhengzhong when he was young, and his expression doesn't change much now, but the outline is not as gentle and straight as it is.

He thought that Gu Zhengzhong would be sad to some extent, but hearing Liang Ji's tone, he rushed back in a hurry.

But Gu Zhengzhong even smiled at him when he saw him.Maybe he and Liang Ji look at themselves no differently than they look at a child.

Gu Lu called "Uncle", Gu Zhengzhong nodded to him, he was a junior in Gu's family, he was going to offer incense, Jiang Yuan didn't follow, Gu Zhengzhong took him to the yard to see pomegranate flowers.

"I've lost a lot of weight, aren't you used to it when you go back to China?"

Jiang Yuan and Gu Zhengzhong have not been very familiar with each other. He is closer to Liang Ji. Although Gu Zhengzhong and Liang Ji have been together for almost 20 years, they have never been in a relationship where they can talk heart-to-heart. Children are very sensitive. Jiang Yuan has always felt that Gu Zhengzhong Zhengzhong doesn't like himself very much, he should like Gu Lv more.

"It's okay, I probably didn't get used to work a while ago"

Gu Zhengzhong still looked at him with a smile for a while, the very tall pomegranate tree was blooming fiery red flowers, stronger than the sunset, Jiang Yuan thought for a while, and asked a little cautiously.

"Won't you be sad?"

There were more than a hundred flowers on the tree, but Gu Zhengzhong picked up a flower that had fallen not long ago on the ground.

"It's not very sad." Seeing Jiang Yuan's puzzled look, he said slowly, "My brother really liked the fruit on this tree when he was young, not because he liked to eat it, but because he liked its red and round shape, and he always climbed up to pick it off to play with. Grandpa is not angry at throwing unripe fruit all over the ground. After my uncle took my brother out of the house, the fruit has grown big and red every year, and grandpa never allowed anyone to pick one."

Gu Zhengzhong lit a cigarette, sighed with the smoke, and then slowly said, "When I was a child, I didn't admit defeat, boy, I couldn't pick it up during the day, and I had to pick it up at midnight. Every time I went in the middle of the night, I saw my grandfather sitting Looking at the tree in the hall and sighing"

"Didn't you ask him why?"

"I asked, and every time I asked, I was beaten." Gu Zhengzhong smiled when he said this, "Every time I was beaten, I hated my brother even more. I thought that one day I would find him and beat me like this." The beatings I have endured for many years will be returned.”

"......."

"After many, many years, my brother came home for the first time. I lied to my grandpa that he was my friend, but my grandpa was still biased. I picked a big fruit for him and gave him the best piano in my family."

Gu Zhengzhong raised his head, "I know this tree is probably just something in my grandfather's heart. He is afraid that it will not be well preserved. Gu Xu will be disappointed when he comes back to see the light tree, so I will be very angry when I touch it. .”

Jiang Yuan did not expect that Gu Zhengzhong would have such a childish and jealous heart when he was a child. Looking back on his face, he found it funny, and he said, "Don't you think it's unfair?"

"I think, so I have been looking for my brother, I want to be better than him."

Jiang Yuan was startled, and Gu Zhengzhong was also silent for a while.

"But people are eccentric, and the lost is the best, but...I'm not bad, my father is worse than me, he has never been better than my uncle."

"That…"

Gu Zhengzhong seemed to know what he wanted to say, and smiled helplessly, "This is not the reason why I am not sad, on the contrary, I also think that my brother is better than me, and I am also biased."

"It's not sad just because I tried my best. I worked hard to find my brother when he was alive. I did my best and filial piety. I lived a good life and made him feel at ease with me. He is worthy of him and the Gu family."

"People don't have to be sad if they try their best to do what they can do well."

He said that there is no need to be sad, Jiang Yuan understood half of it, because he still only felt that he had only lost half, and he was doing his best, although he still felt a little sad.

Gu Zhengzhong spoke to the pomegranate tree and Jiang Yuan, the longest conversation he had ever had with Jiang Yuan, and his back and eyes standing there seemed to be a farewell.

As time goes by, Jiang Yuan also seems to be able to see Gu Xu's grandfather sighing under the tree in such an evening in his mind.He had probably waited for Gu Xu all his life, so he deliberately picked a sunny day to find his beloved little grandson.

In this world, would there be someone like Gu Xu's grandfather and Gu Xu's younger brother who would wait for him and want to see him?

And all the things in the world, can you really not have to be sad because you have done your best and have a clear conscience?

Between him and Gu Lv, if he wants to be better than anyone else, how can he use his best? He can feel that everything is lost because of a few words from Gu Lv, and he will give birth to a little hope because of a few casual words from an outsider. , But what else can he do, he can't think of what else to do.