murmuring

When I got home in the evening, the floor was still as clean as new, and there was no dust on the sofa. It must be that my aunt came to clean it. Zhou Mingchen put down his schoolbag and slumped into the soft leather sofa, sleeping comfortably for a while.

There was food on the table, which was still warm. After Zhou Mingchen had eaten, he took out the mobile phone that had been hidden in his school bag for a week. The school forbade him to take it with him. I heard that there would be inspections from time to time. If found, he would call his parents. Zhou Mingchen I didn't dare to take it out blatantly.

After browsing Weibo, I just clicked on WeChat and received a video request from my grandma. Zhou Mingchen accepted it with a serious heart.

Grandma Zhou Mingchen came from a scholarly family, she is a real lady, she is over 50 years old this year, she has wrinkles on her face, her skin is no longer young, but she is still a beauty with the same demeanor.

"Xiao Chen."

As soon as the video was connected, Zhou Mingchen saw the familiar furnishings in the living room of the old house, and Grandpa Zhou was sitting next to Grandma Zhou. His voice was wrong as soon as he spoke, and he sounded a little choked up.

Zhou Mingchen hurriedly asked, "What's wrong with grandma?"

Grandpa Zhou has a standard Chinese character face, and he is especially majestic when he is not smiling. The subordinates dare not breathe when facing him.At this moment, his face was sullen, and his tone was as sharp as a sword: "Stop pretending, we all know about your parents' divorce, including the fact that you went to study in Xincheng alone."

Zhou Mingchen's face fell, he smiled wryly and didn't know how to explain.

He knew it would be revealed, but he didn't expect it to be so soon.

Grandma Zhou's eyes were already red: "They are away from them, Xiao Chen, why do you care what they are doing, why did you go to such a far place alone, you are not familiar with the place where you live, and you have no one to take care of you, how can you live alone?"

When Zhou's father married Zhou's mother, Grandma Zhou did not agree.The man dominates the outside and the woman dominates the inside. A woman who is too ambitious can't take care of her family.After Grandma Zhou married Grandpa Zhou, she has been staying at home to take care of her husband and teach her children. Her life has always been harmonious and beautiful, and her three sons are all very promising.The youngest son was the one the two elders loved the most, and Zhou Mingchen was also the one who loved Zhou Mingchen the most among their grandchildren.Now, upon first hearing that the youngest son and his wife are divorced, and that the grandson went to study in a remote southern town by himself just a few years after returning to his parents, Grandma Zhou is anxious and distressed.

Zhou Mingchen felt ashamed. It was his fault to transfer to another school without telling the two elders, but if he had discussed with the two elders in advance, he probably wouldn't be able to leave, so he had to gently persuade him: "Grandma, don't be sad, I'm fine, just I want to change my environment. I am tired of staying in City C for so many years. I am almost an adult, so I can take this opportunity to exercise and take care of myself. Let me tell you, Xincheng is beautiful, and I have traveled a lot place, I will show you the photos I took some other day."

Unexpectedly, the easier he spoke, the more distressed Grandma Zhou felt, and the tears began to fall from the corners of her eyes: "It's all your parents' fault, let them make troubles on their own, and you will suffer in the end. You threw it here before you were a year old Bring it to us, and you won't see anyone for a month or two. When you get older, you will pick it up, and you will quarrel every now and then, and now you are getting divorced..."

Seeing Grandma Zhou shed tears, Zhou Mingchen was so anxious that his head was sweating, he didn't know what to do: "Hey, grandma, don't cry!"

Grandpa Zhou patted his wife on the shoulder to comfort him: "Okay, don't cry, it hurts you to be too emotional at such an old age."

He is also very dissatisfied with Zhou's father and Zhou's mother. When it comes to being parents, the two of them are not qualified at all.However, Grandpa Zhou believes that traveling thousands of miles is worse than reading thousands of books, and boys should go for it.When Zhou Mingchen went out to get in touch with people and things outside, there were only advantages and no disadvantages.So when my wife first found out, she was so excited that she was going to bring him back, but Grandpa Zhou persuaded him.

Grandpa Zhou softened his tone and asked, "Ming Chen, how is the new school?"

Zhou Mingchen naturally reported the good news but not the bad news, so he had nothing to worry about: "It's good, the teachers and classmates take good care of me, and I even got the third grade in the entrance exam."

"Oh? So powerful?" Grandpa Zhou asked, but he looked proud.He knew that his grandson was better than other families, but he didn't show it before.

Grandma Zhou wiped her eyes, and she was really distracted, concerned about her grandson's daily life: "Xiaochen, where are you doing? Are you used to eating? Are you sleeping well? Have you been bullied? "

"Everything is fine with me here. Grandma, don't worry. My teachers and classmates take good care of me. There is also an aunt who cooks and washes clothes. I don't need to do it. I am only responsible for studying hard and making progress every day, and I will be your good grandson." Zhou Mingchen said She tried her best to speak more truthfully than pearls, but at the end she was flattering and nasty: "It's been a long time since I saw grandpa and grandma, so I miss you."

Grandma Zhou immediately said distressedly: "Grandpa and grandma miss you too, so take care of yourself and come back after the holiday. If you don't want to see your parents, go back to grandpa and grandma, do you hear me?"

Zhou Mingchen nodded and promised, "I'll go back to see you and grandpa as soon as I'm free."

Grandma Zhou gave instructions for a while, and then reluctantly cut off the video.

Zhou Mingchen let out a sigh of relief, he was really afraid that grandma would not be able to pass this test.The sky and the earth are not afraid of anything, but what I fear most is grandma's tears.

……

Zhao Yunlan specially cooked a large table of dishes to reward her son who came home after two weekends.Now the child is studying hard, getting up early and going to bed late every day, and he can't hold on if he doesn't make up his body.

"Today's ribs are good, let's eat more."

As for the extra Cheng Xi on the dinner table, Zhao Yunlan just pretended not to see it.

Cheng Hai didn't say a word to his wife's actions, and while eating in a muffled voice, he picked up a coke chicken wing for Cheng Xi, and fried eggplant with chopsticks and salted fish.

Cheng Xi was startled, and subconsciously glanced at her aunt, seeing that her face was ugly, and the chopsticks in her hand were pounding, as if they weighed a thousand catties.Cheng Hai didn't seem to see his wife's face, and said to Cheng Xi with a calm expression, "Eat quickly."

Zhao Yunlan was naturally not happy, because there is one more person in the family, and one more expense.Cheng Hai works as an interior designer, and in a third-tier city like Xincheng, he can earn a thousand dollars a month before receiving a project. Zhao Yunlan herself is a civil servant of the tax bureau, and her salary is only more than 3000.The children in the family are studying, plus the mortgage, the pressure is not small.

It's just that her husband, Cheng Hai, is the master of the family, and Cheng Xi is his only nephew. Zhao Yunlan doesn't want to push her husband into a hurry, and she can't drive him out, because it will hinder her husband's face, and sometimes she has to put on a show.Asked as if concerned: "I heard that Xiaoxi got No.1 in this entrance exam? Not bad, much better than Yiming Yisheng."

Cheng Yisheng didn't recognize the falsehood in her words, and thought that his mother really praised Cheng Xi, so he gave Cheng Xi a sharp look, and the chopsticks in his hand hit the mouth of the bowl with a clear and crisp sound.Cheng Yiming was worried that Cheng Hai would see it, so he pulled his brother's sleeve under the table and gave him a wink to calm him down.

Cheng Xi didn't care whether his aunt was praising or belittling, so he answered with a hmm.

Cheng Hai knew that his nephew was smart and had excellent grades, but he was also surprised that he did so well in the first exam. He gave him a gentle and appreciative look, then turned to ask his two sons: "Cheng Xi did well in the exam, you two did well in the exam. How about it?"

Zhao Yunlan immediately ignored Cheng Xi, her face was full of smiles, and her tone was a little excited: "Yiming got No.1 in the class, and Yisheng also made it into the top ten!"

Cheng Yiming is in Class Two (3) and Cheng Yisheng is in Class Two (4), both of which are key science classes.Zhao Yunlan has always been proud of her son's success, but she didn't expect Cheng Xi to enter class (1) when he transferred to another school, so she was always unhappy about it.No. [-] Middle School is divided into classes according to grades, and the further the class goes, the better it is.

"Not bad!" Cheng Hai nodded his son's academic progress, his face was filled with relief, but he didn't just praise him blindly, and seriously told him: "Now you mainly rely on persistence in your studies, and you must rely on methods to improve yourself. If you have any doubts, ask your teachers and classmates." Ask." He didn't say to look for Cheng Xi, but he also knew that his two sons rejected Cheng Xi.

For the matter of the room, Cheng Hai also took great pains to let one of his two sons live with Cheng Xi, but neither of them would be willing. He was afraid that his son would be wronged, and Cheng Xi was also afraid that Cheng Xi would be wronged.

Ten years ago, among the two brothers, he had the better grades. The eldest brother Cheng Jiang went out to work after graduating from high school, and has since become a construction worker.His eldest brother's hard-earned money is included in his college and postgraduate fees, and the meager income of his family is not enough.Fortunately, he received a national scholarship every year, so his life was not so tight, and he found a good job after graduation.

Cheng Hai never told his wife that Cheng Jiang secretly gave him tens of thousands of dollars when he bought the house, so that he could make up the down payment.At that time, Zhao Yunlan hadn't married her yet, and her mother-in-law's family also said that it was impossible for Zhao Yunlan to marry him if they didn't buy a house in the city.For so many years, Cheng Hai has always felt ashamed of his elder brother. He really loves Cheng Xi and wants to send his nephew to a good university so that he will have more capital to fight for a good future in the future.

After the meal, Cheng Xi helped clean up the dishes, and when he was about to wash the dishes, his uncle rushed him back to his room to study, and Zhao Yunlan could be heard complaining through the door.

"Washing the dishes can't be exhausting."

Cheng Hai responded, "Okay, you go to rest, and I will wash the dishes."

Cheng Xi listened silently. In fact, he used to wash dishes a lot. Grandma was too old to move around, so he was always worried that she would do too much work.Doing what he can do at his uncle's house will make him feel more at ease, but his uncle obviously doesn't think so.

Pacing back and forth in the room to digest food, he used to go out for a walk after dinner, and he is still used to walking after dinner.After walking for a few minutes, Cheng Xi sat down and listened to the news in English until Cheng Yiming knocked on the door.

"Cheng Xi."

Cheng Yiming closed the door and stood by the door hesitating to speak, as if he was very embarrassed.

Cheng Xi looked at him, and remembered that when he came to his uncle's house, Cheng Yisheng was the one who opposed him the most, and it is still the same until now.And Cheng Yiming didn't say anything, neither welcomed nor opposed, sometimes Cheng Yisheng provoked troubles, and Cheng Yiming would help Cheng Xi.But Cheng Xi had an almost intuitive dislike for him.

Not wanting to waste time, Cheng Xi took the initiative to ask: "Is there anything wrong?"

After a while, Cheng Yiming said: "Thank you for not telling Dad what happened that day. I'm sorry about what happened that day. I hope you don't take it to heart. I will try my best to hold my brother and prevent him from looking for you."

Cheng Xi was stunned for a moment, but he didn't expect him to apologize, so he lowered his eyes and said, "I see."

Cheng Yiming was about to say something, but the door behind him opened again, and Cheng Yisheng walked in. Seeing Cheng Yiming here, he looked at Cheng Xi defensively, and at his younger brother questioningly, and asked in a very bad tone: "You come to find me?" What is he doing?"

Afraid that he would lose his temper again, Cheng Yiming nervously grabbed his sleeve and asked, "Brother, why are you here?"

Cheng Yisheng glanced at Cheng Xi, snorted and said meaningfully: "This is my home, of course I can go wherever I want."

Cheng Yiming let go of his hand, and said angrily, "Brother, don't say that, Cheng Xi is also our family, you forgot that last time Dad was so angry with you that he was about to attack."

When Cheng Xi first came, Cheng Yisheng didn't speak well, and Cheng Hai almost beat him up.

Being told by his younger brother in front of Cheng Xi, and mentioning the matter of embarrassment, Cheng Yisheng's expression became even worse.Seeing this, Cheng Yiming also lowered his face, and said angrily: "Okay, I don't care about you anymore, I'm going back to my room."

After saying that, he ignored Cheng Yisheng and went out by himself.Cheng Yisheng wanted to pull him but he didn't. He turned his head and gave Cheng Xi a look, and hurriedly followed him out.