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Entering September, it seems that the whole city has changed.

Lao Si got up at six o'clock every day, ate the breakfast prepared by Si's mother in advance, and brought Si Ji a bowl of hot and sour noodles from downstairs.The noodles at that shop have been sold for more than ten years, and even though the price has increased several times, they have always been so delicious.The balsamic vinegar and special hot sauce are topped with minced meat, which is super sensual just by smelling it.

Shen Luoshen was fascinated by this taste when he was in high school, but he lived too far away.Si Ji carries a bowl in an insulated bucket every day and delivers it at the corner of the second floor of the teaching building.After Shen Luo squatted in the corner and finished eating, the two chatted for a few words before the morning study bell rang.During the morning exercises, the two of them usually skipped, hid by the small pond and smoked a cigarette together, and then went to class with unfulfilled desires.

At that time, Shen Luoshen's parents had divorced, and he lived with his father and stepmother.The stepmother was not a few years older than him, and every day she dressed gorgeously and swayed in front of Shen Luoshen.In Shen Luoshen's words, if he was straight, he wouldn't have been able to bear it and would have done her a long time ago.Later, when his stepmother sneaked into Shen Luoshen's bedroom, father Shen was furious when he found out, and Shen Luoshen moved out by himself.

Anyway, I have to find it.Out of sight out of mind.

When Shen Luo was in college, his biological parents miraculously remarried, and a new era opened.His father sleeps in flowers and sleeps in willows, wandering around at will, his mother doesn't care.Older, Shen's father was tired of playing, so he started to travel around with Shen's mother, taking selfies that were even more exemplary than a model couple.

And Shen Luoshen never complained in front of Si Ji again.

After more than a week, Si Ji was embarrassed to let the old Si serve him.This day he finally got up earlier than the boss, said to eat by himself, and went downstairs from the kitchen with the thermos barrel that had been used for more than ten years.In early autumn, it is not cold, and there is a faint fragrance of rose in the air.He was wearing a moon-white long-sleeved T-shirt, jeans, and a light jacket.On the first floor, Grandma Wang was lovingly stroking a few tender green mimosa plants on the ground. When she saw Si Ji, she asked, "Xiao Si, isn't it cold?"

fine.Si Ji smiled and waved at her, then hummed a song and went to line up at the entrance of the community.After eating quickly, he packed a serving of noodles with meat, he hailed a taxi and headed towards Zuo Yan's house.

Zuo Yan lives in a community in the city center, Si Ji knows the place, but has never been there.No chance to go.Standing at the gate, hesitating whether to call Zuo Yan, he turned the phone over and over in his hand.He didn't want to disturb Zuo Yan, but if he didn't disturb him, he would never have a chance of winning.After staying there for more than ten minutes, he stared blankly at the row of glossy magnolias on the isolation belt, and realized that his courage seemed to have really diminished.unconsciously.

"Si Ji?" A voice suddenly came from beside his ear.Si Ji tilted his head in astonishment, it was Zuo Yan.He was still wearing short-sleeved shorts and was sweating all over his face. "Are you jogging in the morning?" Si Ji asked.The muscles on Zuo Yan's calf are beautiful, and the white sneakers are covered with small dust.He stared at the thermos bucket in Si Ji's hand: "Who are you delivering food to?"

fine.There was a sarcasm in his tone.Si Ji stroked the big-eyed doll on the plastic bucket, and smiled: "Just pretend."

The community is very large, and there are more than a dozen aunts gathered by the rockery pool in the middle, and they should start dancing when the waiting time is up.Zuo Yan led Si Ji upstairs.After opening the door and putting on slippers, Si Ji looked at the living room carefully, seemingly unintentionally.Not to mention the decoration and so on, the color is cool, and there are several models on the decoration shelf on the east wall.Taking a closer look, they were almost all biological bones, and Si Ji could recognize ancient apes and saber-toothed tigers. "It's expensive at first glance," he said. "It's okay, pick it up and look, you are not a bear." Zuo Yan came out of the bathroom, wiped the water on his head with a towel, "This is from the VeryMuseum, I saw a friend's house before, and I liked it, so I bought some .”

Si Ji nodded, didn't take it, turned around and sat on the sofa.Zuo Yan's house is the same as his own, casual but not messy.There are several magazines and novels on the coffee table, a tablet is placed across it, and several cigarette butts are poked in the oversized crystal ashtray.Si Ji couldn't help laughing: "I think of that college student again. Do you remember that time when Old Shen took him to dinner. They knew each other because of the ashtray."

Zuo Yan threw a cigarette to him, and he himself took out a fork and stood on the carpet to light it, speaking calmly, "Thank you for bringing me breakfast."

Si Ji lowered his head and smiled, and opened the thermos.The thin noodles are very chewy, and the appearance is well maintained.Zuo Yan found chopsticks, bowed his waist and began to eat.After taking the first bite, he said, "During those years outside, what I miss the most is the noodles from Qiucheng."

"That's right, almost everyone in Qiucheng who is out of town is like this." Si Ji himself was also like this.I can’t find the same taste in other places. “Every time I go home on vacation, I can eat noodles of various flavors, and then I go to sit by the river, and I feel that my trip is not in vain.”

He was puffing on the cigarette while talking, trying to flick the ash, but found that the burning speed of the smoke was too slow to flick anything.Mars is wrapped in soot, like a volcano under ash. "You've been smoking a bit aggressively lately." Zuo Yan said.Si Ji was stunned for a moment, and said it was okay, not even one pack a day.

When he was busy at work, he would only go to the toilet for an occasional one.Most of the time, it is still concentrated at night, with the windows open, lying on the bed, and one after another. "I learned to smoke from old Shen. When I was young, I was too embarrassed to say hello to my classmates if I didn't smoke."

"He didn't teach you anything good."

Si Ji smacked out the cigarette butt, pulled out a tissue and stuffed it into Zuo Yan's hand: "He's an asshole. But you see, I went to work after finishing college, and the friends around me changed again and again, and he was the most steadfast. After thinking for a while, he added: "Besides, he and I do need each other. I can't explain why, but it is true."

Zuo Yan is ready.Holding the thermos, he said, "This is pretty good."

Si Ji opened his eyes wide: "I think so too."

Zuo Yan couldn't help laughing, and raised his hand in the air.Si Ji was ready to be curled by him, but he retracted it, got up and went to the kitchen to wash the dishes.

On weekends, the kindergarten and Kongshan don't need Boss Zuo for the time being.After changing his clothes, Zuo Yan took Si Ji and left.Before leaving, Si Ji glanced at the closed bedroom door, feeling empty in his heart.He said it's not even eight o'clock, where are we going, a date?Zuo Yan led him into the car and started the engine: "No, go see a friend of mine."

It's getting a little chilly.Sitting in the co-pilot, Si Ji embraced himself, humming a song.In his memory, late autumn in Autumn City is the most beautiful, the sky is blue, the ground is full of dead leaves, and the vicissitudes are so beautiful.Thinking about it, he said, "Old Zuo, it's okay, let me take you around Qiucheng?"

Zuo Yan sneered, "What are you thinking?"

Si Ji simply put his hands on his shoulders, and said happily: "I know you want to say that you are also from Qiucheng, but after all, we have been separated for many years, and we may have some unexpected gains when we go shopping together."

He is very curious.Where did Zuo Yan go to kindergarten when he was still a milk baby? Perhaps the big-bellied little boy whom Mama Si once praised at the entrance of an elementary school was Zuo Yan.When Si Ji was a child, he always walked to elementary school alone, and had to cross a wide road.Maybe the teenage Zuo Yan took his hand unintentionally and took him for a ride; maybe they met at some intersection, he stared at the uneven stone road on the ground stupidly, and Zuo Yan in school uniform blew Whistle, and pass him by without any worries.

Maybe they met a long time ago, but they just couldn't call each other's name.

It wasn't until Zuo Yan stopped the car that Si Ji recovered from this bewildering imagination.