Two pots of water

The cluster of small flames that Tan Zui blocked at the door of the bathroom to light up for him made Jiang Chu's already good mood feel like being boiled, until he opened his eyes the next day with a sense of physical and mental joy and comfort.

Even if he was forcibly woken up by the firecrackers that were set off secretly by someone, he only felt that this year was extraordinarily special.

It was just seven o'clock in the morning, Jiang Chu checked his phone, but didn't go back to sleep.

He ordered the red envelopes from Daben and the others, and Fang Zi was still saying in the group that Jiang Chu had made money this year, so he would receive a wave of birthday red envelopes as soon as he opened his eyes, and another round of Spring Festival red envelopes at night, so where is he going to reason.

Da Ben said you should pull it down, count you the most picky, I will never forget in my life that I got you one dollar and sixty cents for my birthday last year.

Hua Zi: Still the luckiest

Da Ben: Yes, luck is still the best

Just as Jiang Chu sent two red envelopes to the group, before he even thought about typing two lines meaning thank you brothers, his mother's call came in directly.

"Are you up? Come here, I'll wait for you to post Spring Festival couplets." My mother's voice was full of energy.

"So early?" Jiang Chu sat up from the bed, "I just opened my eyes and didn't even wash my face."

"Hurry up and get out of bed and wash, who sleeps until noon during the Chinese New Year, really wants to come over for a meal at noon? It's too beautiful." His mother urged him with gossip and put the phone down, "Hurry up .”

Jiang Chu stretched his waist, got out of bed, opened the curtains, and went to the bathroom to wash up.

Tan Zui is still sleeping at the moment. After the holiday, his work and rest are very regular. Every morning, he lazily shakes out of the bedroom after 10:30.

Very standard adolescent good youth routine.

Before going out, Jiang Chu hesitated, but knocked on the door and called him.

Originally, I thought I would just call out, but let it be that Tan didn't hear me at the end, and let him get back to sleep steadily.

In the end, he turned around and was about to leave, when he heard the sound of getting out of bed and putting on his shoes, Tan Zui opened the door and came out, frowning and squinting, with a sleepy look on his face.

"Huh?" He leaned on the door frame to look at Jiang Chu, his voice was still a little hoarse.

Seeing him like this, Jiang Chu felt soft in his heart, reached out and rubbed Tan Zui's face, and said, "It's okay, my mother asked me to come over early and tell you."

"It's so early." Tan Zui reacted to Jiang Chu, looking at the time, he circled Jiang Chu's waist majestically with his unconscious mind, pulled him forward, and buried his eyes on Jiang Chu's shoulder wiped.

"Hey! You unwashed face!" Tan Zui's hair rubbed against his face, and Jiang Chu grabbed the back of Tan Zui's neck and pulled it away, "Go back and sleep, I'll be back after eating .”

"Say Happy New Year to Auntie for me." Tan Zui twitched the corner of his mouth, turned around and slumped back on the bed.

Zhou Teng also jumped down from the sofa, jumped onto the bed, and curled up next to Qin to sleep together.

That's how the family is supposed to be.

When I come back, I have to stick the word "Fu" together with Tan Zui.

Jiang Chu closed the door for him, looking at Tan Zui's relaxed back, these two words suddenly came to his mind.

Going to my mother's place for dinner on New Year's Eve is actually working.

Jiang Chu didn't know how she could still have so many things to pack after a busy day yesterday.

Together with Fang Zhou, I put up Spring Festival couplets first, and then went to clean up the balcony. After that, I helped peel and pick garlic, followed by helping hands in the kitchen, and cooked together.

It felt as if his hand kept going, but Jiang Chu was not bored listening to his mother and Fang Zhou arguing with each other.

The first few years were not boring.

This year, he was thinking about Tan Zui at home, so he couldn't help thinking about Tan Zui when he did anything.

"Oh, I told you to peel an onion and pinch off all the leaves!" Mom patted his hand, bringing Jiang Chu back to his senses, "What's on your mind?"

"Isn't this also skin?" Jiang Chu rubbed the peeled onion skin.

"You've turned from a rolling pin to chopsticks without looking at it." Mom pulled all the green onions away, fending off Jiang Chu and let him go to the side, "Okay, go watch TV."

"How old am I?" Jiang Chu couldn't hold back his joy, "I'm still being coaxed like a child."

"How old are you that you can't even peel an onion?" Mom whipped him with an onion.

"It was you who told me to peel, and I still think Jiang Chu is making trouble." Fang Zhou smiled and took Cong over.

"I even asked him to find a girlfriend, but I've never seen him be so obedient." Mom's topic turned unpredictable, "I don't think there is any girl who would like to be with you at such an adult."

As soon as Jiang Chu heard his mother mentioning this topic, he automatically filtered it. He thought in his mind that Tan Zui was probably already posting below, so he answered casually: "Tan Zui is quite good at cooking."

"He will marry you a wife for him?" Mom couldn't understand his logic and stared back at him, "I'm ashamed to say, I'm still a student."

"The child is at home by himself?" Fang Zhou asked, "I heard from your mother that he doesn't have a good relationship with his mother, and he didn't go to your father's place to celebrate the New Year today?"

"Didn't go, just eat something at home." Jiang Chu bit a cigarette, and the words came out of other people's mouths, which made him feel sorry for Tan Zui again.

"It's not easy for children." Fang Zhou said leisurely.

Not so.

Jiang Chu glanced at his mother. In fact, his mother was very talkative, but her heart was quite soft. Maybe she would call Tan Zui to eat with her when she was moved.

But mom didn't respond.

No matter before or after marriage with Jiang Liantian, she was very clear about the boundary of "family", she directly closed her ears to shield Jiang Chu and Fang Zhou, and concentrated on giving her Tang Bamoer.

It wasn't until after the meal that Jiang Chu packed up and was about to leave that she asked Jiang Chu to wait a while, and went to the kitchen to pack an insulated box and come out.

"Take it back for you two to eat at night, your refrigerator is cleaner than your butt." She bagged the insulated box and handed it over.

"What are you talking about?" Fang Zhou smiled and went to pick up two more roast geese, as well as a large box of other messy things, all packed in advance and waiting for him to take home.

"I've been waiting for this pile for a long time." Jiang Chu took over everything, "Before I came, Tan Zui asked me to bring New Year's greetings. I was thinking that if you don't bring him something to eat, I won't say anything."

"You touch your elbow." Mom looked at him.

"It's in it." Jiang Chu smiled and put his arms around his mother's shoulder and patted it, and explained again which of the things he brought were for her and Uncle Fang, and which ones he wanted her to take back to his grandma.

Carrying a pile of food and then driving home, Jiang Chu realized the meaning of "turning one's heart like an arrow".

On the way, he called Tan Zui and wanted to ask him if there was anything he wanted to eat and drink and bring it back.

"Are you back?" Tan Zui was quite surprised when he answered the phone, it was just after 12:30.

"My mother is going to my aunt's place, hurrying out." Jiang Chu heard the noise from his side, he didn't seem to be at home, "Are you not at home? Why does it sound like you are on the street."

"It's indeed on the street, go out and do some shopping." Tan Zui gave him a location, "By the way?"

"Shun." Jiang Chu turned the steering wheel, "Stand by the side of the road and wait."

Qin Zui was in front of a shopping mall on the street of their school.

Jiang Chu drove over and found that this year's New Year's Eve, there were more people on the road than in previous years.

Although the sun is sunny today, the snow has not stopped for the past two days. The snow under the curb is still piled up, and the air is cold when you smell it.

The streets are full of young couples holding hands and dangling. The small flower stalls on both sides of the road are distributed according to the dots, and there are only one every few meters.

Finding Tan Zui in the crowd was as easy as ever, even though he was wearing a hat with the brim pressed down very low, and he was still pressing his phone with his head down.

"Little handsome guy." Jiang Chu stopped the car, lowered the window and whistled.

Tan Zui raised his eyes and smiled, opened the car door and got into the passenger seat: "It's so fast."

"It's not too far away." Jiang Chu glanced at the paper bag in his hand, "What did you come out to buy?"

Qin Zui handed over the paper bag directly.

Jiang Chu opened it and took a look, it was a scarf.

It's not cheap, although Tan Shuman will definitely not lose money to Tan Zui, it is still a luxury for high school students.

"For me?" He looked at Tan Zui.

"Can you show a little surprise." Tan Zui also leaned on the back of the chair to look at him.

"You just threw it into my arms, and you didn't intend to startle me." Jiang Chu smiled, "Then do it again—won't it be for me? It's really unexpected."

"...I'm sick." Tan Zui looked out the window with a smile, then turned his head to look at Jiang Chu again after laughing, "Is it okay?"

"Well, it's very good." Jiang Chu nodded, and drove Tan Zuo home.

"Anyway, you don't need anything, so I just took the one that was pleasing to the eye." Tan Zui flicked the paper bag.

"Birthday gift?" Jiang Chu asked.

"Huh?" Tan Zui paused, staring at him, "What gift do you want?"

"What I mean is, yesterday's lighter candle is enough." Jiang Chu said.

He did think so.

Yesterday's little flame had already put him in a good mood. Tan Zui really spent money to buy things for him. Jiang Chu must be happy, but he still wanted Tan Zui to spend the money on himself.

It's just that this is Tan Zui's intention after all. After Jiang Chu thought about it, he was afraid of tying his delicate self-esteem in adolescence, and was about to explain further, but Tan Zui interrupted him.

"When your ex-girlfriend bought you something, is it enough for you to say something first?" He asked Jiang Chu helplessly.

"...You really make comparisons for yourself." Hearing this comparison, Jiang Chu suddenly didn't know how to respond.

Brother, with your ex-girlfriend, are these two relationships compatible?

"It's my own money, not the two of them." Tan understood Jiang Chu's meaning best, looked out the window without saying anything else, put his fingers on the door handle and tapped lightly, "I'm willing to buy it, You just take it."

From the corner of his eye, Jiang Chu glanced at him, as if he wanted to explain, but Tan didn't look back.

His originally good mood suddenly became irritable.

He is annoyed that Jiang Chu subconsciously regards him as his real "brother" and feels that spending money is not his business at all; he is also annoyed that he really doesn't have enough confidence and capital to spend money now.

Even if he said it was his own money, in Jiang Chu's eyes, it probably meant the same thing as a child's new year's money, it was the bank card Tan Shuman gave him.

It was actually his money, his own earned money.

However, compared with Jiang Chu's decent job and completely independent financial ability, Tan least wants to tell Jiang Chu that the "own money" in his hand is spent in the Internet cafe on his hometown street during holidays and weekends when he is not in class. It was saved by helping to be a network administrator.

This can't even be called a "part-time job", it can only be regarded as a part-time job at best.

Originally, he didn't care much about this image. His goal was very clear. He wanted to go to a better place, but his father couldn't point it out. He had to think about saving some money for himself from time to time.

But facing Jiang Chu, he just cared.

He has goals and plans, but time is the most insurmountable gap.

He couldn't step forward to a few years later and replace his "child" image in Jiang Chu's eyes that needed to be taken care of everywhere.

The anxious feeling of the long distance between him and Jiang Chu last night reappeared.