goodbye midsummer

The basketball flew through the air in a beautiful arc and fell into the hoop without any mistakes.

In the evening of midsummer, the wind blowing head-on brings warmth.Qin Yang sat on the steps beside the court, watching Wen Yu on the basketball court shoot one after another.

With a "snap", the ball flew wide and hit the backboard.Wen Yu sighed, and turned to look at Qin Yang on the sidelines: "It's been a whole day, aren't you bored just sitting like this?"

Qin Yang rested his chin and said, "I'm thinking about life."

"Think about life ass." Tired of shooting, Wen Yu walked towards him while loosening his muscles, "I also admire you, you can maintain this position for three hours without moving. Pretend to be deep Already? It’s time to go home for dinner.”

It's true that it's getting late, but Qin Yang didn't move: "You go back first, and I'll pretend for a while."

Wen Yu put the basketball into his backpack, wiped off his sweat and smiled: "Wow, what happened today, it's not like you. Don't you usually rush home after school? Did you quarrel with your family?"

Qin Yang still had that iceberg face, staring at her and said indifferently: "Go back as soon as I tell you. As a man, don't gossip like this."

"Brother, I care about you." Wen Yu ignored his sarcastic remarks, and sat down beside him with his bag.

In addition to the two high school students sitting by the basketball court, there are a few children playing with sand in Himu’s park at this time. They look like five or six years old, and they are working together to build sandcastles, having fun Almost.Several middle-aged women of similar age were leaning on the horizontal bar, chatting and watching their children.Talking and laughing came from afar from time to time.

Wen Yu saw that Qin Yang was just silently looking at the children in the distance, not planning to speak, so he poked his waist: "Hey, did you really quarrel with your brother?"

Qin Yang was silent, but the quarrel last night came to mind again.

That person, although he is gentle to everyone, is only so cruel to himself.

Every time, every time, seeing him pretending to be strong with a smile and accepting the hurts of the world and his relatives, Qin Yang felt sad and wanted to hug him tightly desperately.

It was the same last night, why did he agree to such an exorbitant request?Why can't he think for himself?

When Qin Yang thinks about the past, when he thinks of Shen Yi sitting on the swing and smoking helplessly on a snowy night, he feels that he cannot forgive the woman he has never met, and sometimes even hates Shen Yi's father. .

Have these parents fulfilled their responsibilities to cherish their sons?

What's more, he would hate himself for not being able to do even a little thing for Shen Yi.

These complicated thoughts always knocked him down, made him feel sad, and made him feel from the bottom of his heart: liking someone can be so uncomfortable.

On a summer evening, he watched the setting sun sink, and his gaze into the distance became misty.

"Wen Yu, tell me, do parallel universes really exist?"

"Ah?" Not quite sure why the topic suddenly turned in this direction, Wen Yu scratched his head, "How do I know, I'm not a scientist. But I guess, it should exist. The universe is so big, it's not uncommon for it to exist." .”

"If there is really..." The leaves of the camphor tree behind him were rustling due to the wind, and a leaf that had fallen off earlier happened to fall on the palm of his hand. He stared at the slightly curled and yellowed leaf, and his voice suddenly changed. Extremely pious.

"It would be great if there were."

I hope in that world, I can love him.

You can love him openly and without fear.

When the doorbell was pressed, Shen Yi suddenly felt panicked, and the hand holding the birthday present trembled.

The door opened quickly, and what came into view was an unfamiliar face—a man in his 40s, with a very ordinary appearance. When he saw Shen Yi standing at the door, he was also taken aback, and then he realized it.

"Oh, you are Shen Yi, right?"

"Yes." Shen Yi nodded nervously, but couldn't help but look at the middle-aged man.

This is the person whose mother remarried.He looks very ordinary, he is a working class that can be seen everywhere on the street, and he is honest and responsible.

At first glance, he is completely different from the workaholic father who exudes an elite atmosphere and always puts the company first. He wants to work 24 hours a day.

The middle-aged man smiled slightly, welcomed him into the house, called out to the kitchen, and a woman with fashionable curly hair and an apron came out from the kitchen.When she saw Shen Yi, her eyes lit up instantly: "Xiao Yi! You are here!"

Shen Yi nodded, and wanted to call "Mom" to the familiar woman in front of him, but was preempted by a more childish voice.

"Mom!" A chubby little boy rushed up to hug her leg and asked coquettishly, "I'm hungry, is the meal ready?"

"It's almost there." She bent down and touched her younger son's head, her eyes were full of love, "Can you play with your brother first? Look, this is your brother."

The little boy turned his head to look at Shen Yi, and Shen Yi looked at him awkwardly for two seconds before remembering that the gift was still in his hand.

"Happy birthday."

When the little boy saw the gift, he immediately snatched it and sat aside to unwrap it without even saying "thank you".

She ritualistically "rebuked" her son a few times, but she didn't take any substantive actions to teach him how to be polite. She just smiled helplessly at the eldest son: "It's the first time he saw you, he was a little shy, don't you?" You know the rules too well. By the way, let’s sit down for a while, the meal will be ready soon, let’s have a meal together later. Our mother and son have not seen each other for quite a while.”

The man also smiled politely: "Yes, let's have a meal together, we are all family members."

All are family members.

For some reason, hearing this sentence, Shen Yi suddenly felt very uncomfortable.

are we family

Not to mention my mother who is related to me by blood, you and I are complete strangers, and the younger brother who is only half blood, is he really my family?

Shen Yi maintained an awkward smile on his face, standing in the middle of this bright and unfamiliar living room, he suddenly felt very tired.

Don't want to stay here for a second.

He silently turned his face to his mother, continued to smile, but no longer tried to force himself: "I won't eat, I just came to see you. I have something to do later, so I'll leave first."

He told an obvious lie, and it didn't matter whether the other party would see through it or not.All he knew was that he didn't want to stay for a second longer.

The mother seemed a little hurt: "Didn't you agree to have dinner together, and you are leaving so soon?"

"It's inconvenient not to eat." Shen Yi no longer looked at his mother's face, turned around and walked out.

"Xiao Yi! Are you still unwilling to forgive mom?" The mother behind her was already trembling with tears.

Although he couldn't bear it, he still didn't turn around, but his voice became very gentle: "Mom, I never hated anyone, really. It's just that someone at home is waiting for me to go back."

When he got to the door, he looked back at his mother standing in the living room. It was heartbreaking to see her holding back tears, but he still didn't soften his heart. He smiled at her and closed the door.

Closing the door, he let out a long breath.

The chest that has been constricted since entering the door can finally breathe comfortably.

Mom, though it would always be his mother.But now, he is no longer her only son.She now has family members who are more important than herself.

Today, he confirmed this with his own eyes.

Not all people connected by blood are family.Maybe it used to be, but that doesn't mean it always will be.

He finally realized it.

I thought that such a process must be painful and difficult, but I didn't expect it to be so simple.

Not jealous, not hating, although there is a bit of sadness and pain, but it is not as unbearable as imagined.

When he walked outside, the night wind blew his hair, he took a deep breath of the midsummer night air, and in the faint fragrance of gardenias, he thought of Qin Yang.

The pace of going home suddenly became much lighter.

Yes, at home, there is still someone waiting for me to go back.

Six months ago, my father and Aunt Xue decided to accept the opportunity offered by the company to work in the head office in the United States.

As workaholics, they know that it is not easy to be appreciated by the US head office. This is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity. If they can lay a solid foundation there, it will not be difficult to make progress.Therefore, when they decided to accept this opportunity, they did not make a decision to work abroad for a few months, or a year or two, but decided to settle overseas.

His father asked Shen Yi if he would like to study in the United States.Shen also refused.

The relationship between him and his father has never been good, and besides, he will graduate from university in one year. If he is asked to abandon his domestic life at this time and go to a brand new country to start again, he is unwilling to say anything.

His father seemed to have expected him to make this decision a long time ago, so he was not surprised, and he didn't try to persuade him again, but only said lightly that he respected his decision.

Surprisingly, it was Qin Yang instead.

No one expected that Qin Yang would refuse to go to the United States.But no matter how hard Aunt Xue begged and tried to persuade, Qin Yang refused to change his mind and only said that he wanted to stay in China.

Aunt Xue naturally refused. After all, Qin Yang was her only son. If she did not go to the United States, she would have no one to take care of her in China. chance to meet.Thinking of this, she was caught in a dilemma - she wanted to be with her son, but she was unwilling to give up the opportunity to go to the United States.

Shen Yi was also entrusted by Aunt Xue to persuade Qin Yang, and also asked why he refused to go to the United States.But the stubborn boy refused to say anything, he just insisted that he didn't like the United States, and then stared at Shen Yi.

Shen Yi was unnaturally stared at by him, so he had no choice but to declare his surrender.

During that time, due to Qin Yang's unreasonable stubbornness and Aunt Xue's refusal to give in, the atmosphere at home was always bad.Later, Shen Yi finally came up with a compromise: Qin Yang can stay in China to finish his studies, and then go to the United States to reunite with Aunt Xue after graduating from high school.During his stay in China, Shen will also move home from school to take care of his daily life.

In view of his mother's repeated begging, Qin Yang reluctantly agreed to this decision.

Three months later, both Aunt Xue and her father flew to the United States.Only Shen Yi and Qin Yang are left in this family, brothers who have no blood relationship at all.

When passing by the community park, Shen Yi looked up at the lights upstairs.It was already eight o'clock at night, and all the other floors were lit, but the floor where my house was located was pitch black without any light.

It seems that Qin Yang hasn't come back yet.

He was a little lost, and slowed down and walked home.

In the two years since they became brothers, he and Qin Yang had hardly quarreled. First, Shen was not a person with a strict personality. Second, although Qin Yang didn't like to talk, he didn't have a bad temper. Time has always respected each other and rarely interfered with each other's private life.

A situation like last night is indeed extremely rare.

Qin Yang, who has always been easy to get along with, would lose such a temper because of him.He can't understand.

"I haven't been at home all day, where did I go?" He murmured to himself in the elevator, and after a while, the elevator door opened, and he took out the keys while stepping out, but was stunned the moment he looked up.

Opposite the elevator, Qin Yang was leaning against the door, as if waiting for him to come back.

Seeing his shocked expression, the 17-year-old said lightly, "I forgot my key."

The tone was the same as usual, as if nothing happened last night: he was just a kid who came home late, waiting for his elder brother who came back later because he forgot to bring the key.

Shen Yi was stunned for a while, then quickly walked over, took out the key to open the door, and asked, "Waiting for a long time?"

"Not long." He still replied lightly.

The door opened, Qin Yang walked sideways into the room, turned on the lights in the entrance hall and the living room, and in an instant the room was filled with warm light.Shen Yi, who was following behind, looked at the back of the 17-year-old boy who was already taller than himself, bathed in the warm yellow light, and looked imposing.

Before he knew it, the child had grown so tall.

"Have you eaten yet?" Shen Yi asked him.

He shook his head.

Shen Yi smiled: "It just so happens that I haven't eaten either, I'll make something simple, let's eat together."

Qin Yang looked at him in surprise, and said puzzledly, "Didn't you go to the birthday party..."

"I went, and I came back after staying for a while. About 5 minutes." Shen Yi spoke with a relaxed tone, smiling, and then went to the kitchen.

Qin Yang didn't seem to expect him to do this, his eyes silently followed his back, leaning half against the kitchen door.

With his back turned to him, Shen Yi was busy in the kitchen. He took out tomatoes and eggs from the refrigerator, and took out chopsticks and glass bowls from the cupboard. Amidst the sound of kitchen utensils clashing, he heard Qin Yang's words behind him. Low and hoarse words: "Sorry, I said that to you yesterday."

His hand that was cutting vegetables stopped, turned his head to look at Qin Yang who was leaning against the kitchen door, and smiled: "It's okay. I know you are thinking of me. Where did you go today?"

Simply changed the subject.

Qin Yang said: "Just go outside for a walk."

"Did you forget to bring your mobile phone?" Shen Yi lowered his head to chop the vegetables, cut the tomatoes into small petals and put them in a small bowl.

Speaking of mobile phones, he couldn't help but think of the scene this morning.

Qin Yang's lock screen password, why is it his birthday?

However, Qin Yang behind him didn't notice anything, and nodded behind: "Well, I forgot to bring it."

"I forgot my phone and my keys, it doesn't look like you." Shen Yi smiled, "Go back to your room and check your phone, maybe someone is looking for you."

Responding "OK" obediently, Qin Yang returned to the bedroom.The phone is still by the pillow as it was when I left this morning.He keyed in the password and found several missed calls, most of which were from Wen Yu, so there was no need to call back.

There is another missed call, the time shows that it is after [-] o'clock in the morning, and it is from Shen Yi.

There is no need to call back.

He sat by the bed, listening to the reassuring sound of cutting vegetables from the kitchen outside the half-open door.

He took a deep breath and let it out again.

His right hand reached into his trousers pocket, where a bunch of keys lay secretly.