Abnormal

(This chapter recommends BGM: MerryChristmas, MrLawrence and Thetruththatyouleave)

"Wake up, wake up!"

"...Gao Tong, Gao Tong!"

...Gao Tong?

Who is calling his name? !

His body seemed to be falling endlessly towards the bottomless pit, and the heart-pounding weightlessness completely enveloped him.Can't move at all.However, in the brain, the call for that person is still clamoring.

Bai Xiuwen took a deep breath, and exploded with all his strength to escape from the imprisonment, but it was all in vain.This weightlessness seems to grow from the soul from the inside out, and it is impossible to break free.

After an unknown amount of time, the sound of his soul falling to the ground woke him up.

Bai Xiuwen suddenly opened his eyes.

This is where?

The surrounding area was pitch black, and there was no sound, except for the muffled sound of raindrops hitting the plastic shed, the fresh smell of soil seeping in through the screen window, and the sound of the sewer running every once in a while. .

He subconsciously sat up, looked around, and soon realized that this was a structure similar to a high school dormitory, with four beds in a bed and table configuration, and a dusty fan hanging from the ceiling.but……

This is not a high school dorm.

Bai Xiuwen can tell with just one glance that this is not the high school dormitory where he lived together day and night when he was young and haunted by old dreams as an adult.The environment is poorer and more life-like. It is a very typical male dormitory, filled with a sense of orderly chaos.

There was a sound of snoring from the bed at the opposite corner, Bai Xiuwen frowned slightly, but his eyes stopped suddenly when he glanced at the bed next to him - like a ghost, he poked towards the bed next to him, and lifted the curtain that covered it.

Bai Xiuwen's heart was beating violently, his pupils shrunk slightly, and he looked at the person buried under the blanket without daring to blink.

This person's sleeping position was not very elegant, the quilt was kicked into a ball, and his hair was disheveled.A smoky gray half-sleeve loosely covers the thin upper body, one leg is exposed, and the toes with blue veins are stretched out against the protective rails of the bed legs.

The faint moonlight cast a shadow on his side face, and Bai Xiuwen saw his slightly trembling eyelids, slightly parted pale lips, and his body rising and falling with his breathing.

...Gao Tong.

Bai Xiuwen's body leaned forward, and the veins in his hand clutching the bedside railing bulged, with such force that the whole bed made a trembling 'creak' sound.

"Gao Tong, wake up!"

He blurted out this sentence completely unconsciously, and Bai Xiuwen was taken aback for a moment.

It's not his voice.

Seeing that Gao Tong was about to wake up, Bai Xiuwen quickly glanced at his bed.The surroundings of that space were covered by black bed curtains, there seemed to be some kind of ball lamp hanging on the wall, there was a small table on the bed, and there was a collection of dormitory sharp tools with the highest sales volume on Taobao.

This is Gao Tong's university.

Bai Xiuwen didn't have the time to care about why he appeared here, because Gao Tong had already given a soft 'huh', although his eyes hadn't opened yet, but his mouth was moaning, as if talking in sleep.

Bai Xiuwen tentatively asked him what he was talking about, but Gao Tong didn't respond, and after several minutes passed, he suddenly sat up stiffly.He seemed to be still sleepy, his head was spinning, and he murmured, "Why is it still dark outside... what time is it?"

He didn't get a reply, Gao Tong tried his best to open his eyes that were slit into a slit, but when he saw the person in front of him clearly, he couldn't help but move back, and the whole person was mostly awake.

"Old Yuan, you, looking at me like this in the middle of the night, scared me..."

The other party didn't seem to hear it, and still stared at him steadfastly.

Gao Tong waved his hand in front of him uncomfortably: "Old Yuan, what are you thinking!"

...!

Bai Xiuwen came back to his senses, and said to Gao Tong who was staring at him blankly: "It's nothing, I'll go to the bathroom, you sleep first."

Gao Tong let out an 'oh', without saying anything, and lay down heavily on the bed again.

Bai Xiuwen got out of bed.

The sliding door of the balcony was stuck in the middle, and he walked in sideways, and looked up to see that the sky outside was just dawning, showing a dull and depressing blue.The windows are also half-open, and the screens are so clogged that they can filter out any flying insects. The handles on the top are also rusty, having been exposed to the wind and sun for many years.The sycamore tree outside grew so tall that its branches almost reached into the window.

The sewers are louder here.

There was actually a lighter on the sink, Bai Xiuwen took it to light it, and looked up at the mirror.

Reflected in the gray-blue sky and the dim, jumping firelight, it was not his face.

Bai Xiuwen put the lighter back, walked back to the bed, and sat down on this man's chair.

When the sky was brighter, the alarm clock rang on Gao Tong's side.With a flick of Bai Xiuwen's fingers, the dusty memories were stirred into many skys that were indistinguishable from today's.The sky at five o'clock in the morning in Jincheng No. [-] Middle School is always foggy and mixed with a drowsy blue, and the room at the end of the corridor on the fourth floor of the male dormitory building always rings with an unshakable and dream-disturbing alarm.

Gao Tong...

Bai Xiuwen knew that his reaction to everything was not the same as before, but the current situation was really hard to explain, he didn't know what happened.

Gao Tong's alarm clock rang once and then stopped. Bai Xiuwen estimated the time and knocked on his bed curtain to wake him up.Gao Tong climbed down in a daze, sat on the chair and dozed off again, and asked him, "Why do you get up so early?"

Bai Xiuwen smiled, and said something about being woken up by hunger.

Gao Tong sighed, closed his eyes and went to the balcony to brush his teeth, and replied vaguely: "I'm hungry too, but the classroom is too far away for this class, so I don't have time to buy breakfast..."

Bai Xiuwen didn't speak again, while Gao Tong was still washing up on the balcony, he glanced at Gao Tong's schedule posted on the wall, and wrote down the names of the other two roommates.Then he asked Gao Tong, "Is this your bag?"

Gao Tong brushed his teeth and showed his head from the side of the balcony: "Yes, what's wrong?"

Bai Xiuwen said, "I'll wait for you downstairs, I'll take your schoolbag for you."

Gao Tong was taken aback: "Ah? You also have today's morning..." But before he could finish speaking, Bai Xiuwen had already left the door.He stared at the door in surprise, only to find that the other two roommates had also woken up, and they showed their heads from his bed one after another, with demented looks on their faces.

"Did Lao Yuan take the wrong medicine?" said one.

"Hey, I did this when I was chasing little girls in junior high school." Another roommate joked.

Gao Tong didn't think much of it, he was just a little confused, but the time on the watch left him no time to worry about other things, so he quickly finished washing and went downstairs.

Bai Xiuwen lingered around the snack street a few dormitory buildings away, ordering every shop's signature products.When walking back with a bunch of packing bags in both hands, he unexpectedly met a classmate who greeted him. This person gasped and gnawed on the steamed stuffed bun while running: "Buy breakfast for your girlfriend, old Yuan?"

Persuven paused for a moment, and said yes.

"A good boyfriend from China," the classmate wolfed down the steamed stuffed bun, and said, "Go to class, bye!"

Bai Xiuwen nodded, and went back to the downstairs of the dormitory. It didn't take long for him to see Gao Tong.

His clothes were as plain as ever for ten years, like a colorless shadow.Under the shadow of the dormitory building, her skin was dazzlingly white, her beautiful drooping eyes were completely buried by black and white framed glasses, she looked lifeless, and her lips were still a little chapped.

Bai Xiuwen looked at him from a little distance away.

It's hard to say what emotion, is it a stormy sea, or is it calm like water?nothing.

Over the years, many people have said that he is a person whose emotions are terribly stable, as if nothing can shake his mind.As time goes by, he is getting used to such a gentle person like himself.It's just that he is not so emotionally stable as he is a person with almost no emotions.

Since then, however, what little emotion he had left seemed to have vanished, too.To say it was muddled would be too serious, it shouldn't be a word used to describe Bai Xiuwen.It may also be because this word represents the possibility of being healed, the possibility of 'returning from evil' and returning to the original state.But that's not realistic.

He just hesitated for a moment at certain moments, not knowing whether everything he experienced in this vast life was a dream or reality.If it is a dream, he will always wake up at a certain moment, but the dreamer will never know at which point he will wake up; if it is reality, then who can judge the reality of this big dream after waking up? A dream that lasted longer?

Bai Xiuwen stared at Gao Tong's face in a daze, at this time the other party also saw him and walked over.He also obviously saw the things his roommate was carrying, and asked, "Did you buy it for your girlfriend? It turns out that you all have eight o'clock today."

Bai Xiuwen came back to his senses, and handed the things to him noncommittally.Gao Tong was taken aback for a moment, and took it over.The two walked a few steps, Bai Xiuwen stopped, and tapped some food in the bag with his chin: "Why don't you eat?"

Gao Tong's eyes widened slightly, he didn't quite understand: "Is it for me?..."

"It's all yours, eat it." Bo Xiuwen put his schoolbag on his back and walked behind Gao Tong.

At this time, it was completely daytime. There was a light rain last night, and the air in the campus was good.The two walked along the campus avenue for a while, and students on bicycles passed behind them from time to time. Gao Tong glanced back several times, and finally broke the embarrassment: "I, I will transfer the money to you later. Are you here? Want your classroom?"

Bai Xiuwen replied as quickly as if he had rehearsed: "I'm asking for leave today."

"Ah? Then why are you up so early?"

"I'll accompany you to class." Bai Xiuwen replied, seeing Gao Tong's expression turned strange, and continued: "I'm very interested in Ma Zhe."

Unexpectedly, Gao Tong's expression became even more strange, "How did you know that I was Ma Zhe in the first quarter... Are you interested in this? Yuan Haodong, why are you taking the wrong medicine today?"

Bai Xiuwen smiled, and only said that if you struggle with this, you will be late.

This Mazhe is a big class in the lecture hall.The two found an empty seat and sat down. The bright incandescent light made it hard to keep your eyes open. Gao Tong listened for a while and then began to nod. Bai Xiuwen took off his coat and spread it on the table, telling him to sleep first.

Gao Tong whispered that this was too blatant.

"It doesn't matter." Bai Xiuwen looked at him sideways, and said softly, "I'll help you block it. And the front has already fallen."

Gao Tong opened and closed his mouth, and finally said: "Old Yuan, why do I feel that you have been acting weird today."

However, he was really too sleepy, so he didn't care about anything, and fell asleep right away.

After the morning class, the two ate fish meal in the cafeteria. Bai Xiuwen stood behind and frowned slightly when he saw Gao Tong finish swiping the number 3.38 on the monitor on the campus card, but he didn't say anything and returned to his seat.

Gao Tong asked him, "Why didn't you find He Yuan for lunch today?"

He Yuan is the girlfriend of the owner of this body, and Bai Xiuwen doesn't know how to deal with this matter for the time being, so he just said perfunctorily: "Five grains and fish meal are so unpalatable."

Gao Tong: "I often see you eating this, I thought you liked it, so I proposed this..."

Bai Xiuwen: "I mean, I didn't cook well today."

"Hey, it's really not accurate to cook in the cafeteria, and there are new anti-human dishes launched every day..."

Gao Tong is always easily carried away by the topic, he has always been like this.

At noon, everyone returned to the dormitory. Gao Tong was playing computer games on the seat, and Bai Xiuwen was leaning against the bed rail to watch his mobile phone, and at the same time chatting with the other two roommates casually.However, others may think that he is playing with his mobile phone, but they don't know that he is actually using the camera to watch Gao Tong.

Bai Xiuwen would often stare at Gao Tong literally and physically.In the past, he had to be a little low-key and shy, or use some tools to achieve his goals; later, when the two were together, he no longer had any scruples, and this completely became his way of entertainment and leisure.

...Gao Tong.

Bai Xiuwen stared at him calmly, seeing his earnest expression of playing games, the slightly raised corners of his mouth because of his victory, his slightly bent back... Seeing the depths of the bones, it seemed that he wanted to imprint this person's appearance. Down in general.

After a while, the two roommates said they were going to take a nap, Bai Xiuwen put down his phone, and took the opportunity to ask Gao Tong: "Aren't you going to sleep at noon? I remember you also have classes in the afternoon."

Gao Tong was staring at the computer screen intently, "err" for a while, before saying: "I don't want to go to the afternoon class."

The other two students began to wail: "I don't want to go either."

Bai Xiuwen asked: "It's artificial intelligence and information technology, right?"

Roommate A's voice was very sluggish: "The professor's lectures are like chanting scriptures, and I get sleepy every time I go to class. Fuck, it's useless to learn these things every day, and it won't be as good as the rich second generation by then."

Another roommate B sneered: "If you can't be a rich second generation, you can be a rich second generation."

Gao Tong: "..."

Roommate A: "Speaking of the rich second generation, when I was in high school, I had a buddy whose family was huge and rich. I heard that his family had several mines in Africa, and he drove to school in a luxury car every day. My girlfriend That was more than a car, and it also impregnated a girl. His family tricked the girl into giving a sum of money and kicked the girl away after the child was born, and then it was the girl who dropped out of school. He was fine. "

Roommate B: Hey, it’s good to be fucking rich, I’m so envious...

Unexpectedly, Gao Tong, who had been silent all this time, suddenly opened his mouth at this moment: "What's there to envy, a scum and a scum." His voice was so cold that it made people feel a little chilly, and it was even a little different from the previous voice ,

Roommate B was choked for a bit, and he was a little embarrassed: "Hey, you just say you don't envy, if there is a chance for you to become like him, or get a little relationship, why don't you immediately go after him? Go up." At the end, he added: "I didn't target you, Gao Tong, this is just right things and not people, people are like this."

Bai Xiuwen smiled when he heard the words: "It's not like that."

"Old Yuan, you are the richest of the four of us, go and go, your words here don't count."

"That's not what I'm talking about." Bai Xiuwen's expression was very calm, he said lightly: "The experience of life is different, and the pursuit of things outside of the body is also different. Things that you regard as treasures may be worthless in the eyes of others. "

Roommate B was taken aback, and then he heard Bai Xiuwen say, "It's even more meaningless to say that it's right about the matter and not about the person. Since a paragraph has already been said to someone, the object and the content of the words are the other party. The last statement is just a sentence." Just to comfort myself."

Roommate A was surprised: "Old Yuan, what are you doing today..."

Bai Xiuwen paused, and said with a smile: "I'm just kidding. What I said is also right about the matter and not about the person."

After he finished speaking, he went cold.Anyone can hear that Bai Xiuwen's words are very offensive, but after careful consideration, it seems that they are not aimed at anyone. Although there is something wrong with the whole sentence, there is no way to refute it.

It was very quiet in the dormitory.

It was roommate A who said, "Hey Gao Tong, why haven't I heard you talk about high school?"

Bai Xiuwen kept staring at Gao Tong, and found that the other person's expression and body became a little stiff after saying this.However, he quickly started another game, and said nonchalantly: "Because there is nothing worth mentioning. An ordinary life of a scumbag."

"We wouldn't be meeting here if we weren't scumbags," roommate A said as if he didn't care, "but I came here because I performed a little bit better in the college entrance examination..."

No one spoke after that.Bai Xiuwen took a hat casually, and after putting it on, he pulled the brim of the hat a little above his eyes, sat aside and continued to look at Gao Tong.

At two o'clock in the afternoon, Gao Tong planned to climb up to sleep for a while after the other two roommates had packed up and got up.The two stared in confusion while putting on their socks and said, "Will Lao Yuan go?"

Bai Xiuwen subconsciously glanced at Gao Tong who was stepping on the ladder, and couldn't say anything.

"By the way, Christmas is coming soon. Do you have any plans for that night? How about we go out for dinner?" Roommate A glanced at his phone and asked suddenly.

Roommate B: "I have no objection, but is Lao Yuan going out with his girlfriend?"

Bai Xiuwen suddenly raised his head and asked, "Gao Tong, are you going?"

Gao Tong: "Huh?...I, I can."

Bai Xiuwen's next sentence was in reply to the two roommates: "Then count me in."

The two roommates hadn't left for a long time, and Gao Tong's bed had already heard the slight breathing sound of falling asleep.Bai Xiuwen walked to his seat, sat down gently, and was about to look at Gao Tong's desktop and collections, but unexpectedly, the phone vibrated several times.

He subconsciously looked up and found that Gao Tong hadn't been woken up before turning on the phone. He found that it was a message from roommate A, with six or seven messages in a row: "The professor said that roll call today!!! He also said that if this class doesn't come Even if you are absent from class this semester, you are always in danger!!"

Oh yes, they belong to the same department, and there is a high probability that everyone will take this general education course.

Bai Xiuwen sighed, got up and went to wake Gao Tong up.

"Wake up, Tongtong..."

As soon as he uttered his words, Bai Xiuwen was stunned.

It turned out that at the starting point of everything, the one named Gao Tong was himself.

Gao Tong took off his pantyhose and put them beside the bed, it seemed that he really planned to have a good sleep.The slender and white legs were in front of his eyes, Bo Xiuwen habitually held his ankles, and wanted to wake him up again, but he was directly kicked by the other party's nerve reflex.

"...Old, Lao Yuan, what are you doing?" Gao Tong leaned on the bed with his elbows, staring at him with wide eyes in horror.

Bai Xiuwen didn't know how to explain, he coughed and repeated what roommate A said.

Gao Tong didn't say anything, started to put on his pants, got out of bed and brushed his teeth quickly, and the two of them went out.Before going out, Bai Xiuwen heard Gao Tong muttering: "As long as I don't go, I must roll my name, I really vomit."

The two hurried and finally arrived at the classroom before the roll call, and sneaked into the corner.Unexpectedly, only a minute later, the professor suddenly turned off the light and started to play a movie. The big screen was black and green, and a line of English letters appeared on it: "The Matrix".

Gao Tong whispered: "Isn't this the English language of Matrix?"

"That's right," Bai Xiuwen said, "It's still the original name of the movie "The Matrix"."

Due to time constraints, the professor only played a small part of the movie, and then asked several questions for students to discuss.Bo Xiuwen supported his face with his hands, thinking that the content involved in this class is actually more philosophical.

The discussion in class was heated, but Gao Tong and Bai Xiuwen are not people who love to speak in class, the two of them were silent in their seats, but a female classmate sitting in front of them suddenly turned her head, "Yuan Haodong, what are you doing today? So quiet?"

Bai Xiuwen was startled, then smiled and said, "Today's topic is too advanced, I can't get involved."

"Come on, you," the girl gave him a gouged look, and then she glanced at Gao Tong, who was quietly playing with her phone, "Where is Gao Tong, have you seen this movie before?"

Gao Tong said no.

"how about you?"

Bai Xiuwen said that he had seen it in middle school, and the female classmate asked, "What's the plot behind the first one? The professor just let it go, and it made my heart itch."

Bai Xiuwen glanced at Gao Tong from the corner of his eye, and found that the other party still had no interest. His tone was very light: "The first one is considered a commercial film, and the plot is easy to understand. The classic red and blue pills in film history came from here—the red The pill represents the cruel and painful real world, and the blue pill means the seemingly normal and peaceful illusory world. After choosing the red pill, the male protagonist Neo left the mother’s body and saw the real situation of human beings. After that..."

However, at this time, the professor suddenly told everyone to be quiet, saying that he would show everyone some famous scenes from the movie before get out of class was over.Bai Xiuwen propped his face carelessly, thinking about how to call Gao Tong out tonight, but suddenly listened to a conversation broadcast on the speaker——

"You ever have that feeling where you're not sure if you're awake or still dreaming?"

("Have you ever had that feeling...that you just can't tell if you're awake or dreaming?")

Bai Xiuwen slowly raised his head.

get out of class has ended.

This class lasted about three hours. When we returned to the dormitory, the sky was dusk and there was a little snow again. Bai Xiuwen looked up at the sky and asked, "What date is it today?"

Gao Tong thought for a while and said, "17th, December 12th."

What does this date portend?Bai Xiuwen had no clue, except for himself, everything around him was so peaceful and quiet, it seemed no different from usual.

But in reality, he never participated in Gao Tong's college life.So, is it a dream?But how are these dream constructions that are completely outside the scope of one's own consciousness achieved?

——Is this Gao Tong's dream?

Daigo empowerment.

If he is in Gao Tong's dream, it can explain everything that is happening now.Why is this dream so realistic that it feels like being there, every detail is clearly constructed, because this is what really happened.And this is also Gao Tong's personal field that he has never set foot in.

... If possible, he hoped that Gao Tong's dream could last a little longer, and even longer, and it would be best if he never woke up.

When he returned to the playground next to the dormitory downstairs, Gao Tong asked Bai Xiuwen if he wanted to run.

The school has regulations on the number of kilometers to run each semester, and the mobile phone software is used to count. Bai Xiuwen shook his head and said you go, I will wait for you here.

Gao Tong nodded, just said "you go back first, don't wait for me" and was about to run away, but Bai Xiuwen grabbed his wrist.He said, "Give me the schoolbag."

Gao Tong seemed to hate being touched by others, so he shrank back a bit and didn't wave it away, and said in a somewhat stiff tone: "No, there's nothing inside, I can carry it by myself."

Bo Xiuwen didn't insist anymore, let go of Gao Tong's wrist, saw him uncomfortably pulling down the sleeves of the padded jacket, and ran away.

There are more and more people on the playground, and the sky is becoming more and more completely dark.Several street lights surrounding the track and the basketball hoop were turned on one after another, and the warm yellow spotlights were surrounded by chaotic snowflakes. Bai Xiuwen went to the side of the big tree, watched Gao Tong's jogging route, and lit a tree. cigarette.

He quit smoking for a while, because Gao Tong couldn't smell that kind of smell.

but……

Bai Xiuwen half-closed his eyes, looking at Gao Tong who had already run to the opposite corner of the playground.In the dark night, the faint sparks from the cigarette butt flickered in his pupils, which happened to reflect Gao Tong's figure.

The days passed smoothly like this, and Christmas has come in a blink of an eye, and the final month will also come.A few people in the dormitory finally stopped playing games all day, and they agreed to spend a few all-nighters in their decadent life to fool the exam.

"Hot pot tonight?" Roommate A's head finally emerged from the messy desk, and he stretched his waist, "Or whatever you want to eat, I can do it, I haven't gone out for a meal in a long time."

No one else had any objections, so the four of them went out together when it was almost dinner time, and walked to the hot pot restaurant opposite the school gate.

Roommates A and B were chatting, while Gao Tong and Bai Xiuwen walked in tandem. There were no Christmas decorations in the school, only a few more lights were lit.Going out of the school gate is like another world, the street shops are brightly lit, there are all kinds of Christmas trees at the door, and Christmas songs are echoing everywhere.

It has been raining and snowing frequently for the past few days. There was just a little snow in the morning. Now the snow and rain have been trampled into a ball of mud, and it is not very comfortable to walk on.

"Why do I feel that Lao Yuan smokes more and more frequently recently?" As he was walking, roommate A suddenly turned his head, nodded his chin at Bai Xiuwen, and asked, "See, you haven't contacted He Yuan yet, are you planning to break up?" up?

Bai Xiuwen said lightly: "She is going to take the postgraduate entrance examination soon."

This is true, perhaps because of the rationality of the dream, the girlfriend of the owner of this body actually sent him a message directly, saying that he is currently in the closed class for sprinting a week before the exam, and will contact him after Christmas.

He didn't have time to think about how to deal with these things after the festival.Being in a state of mental tension every day, even a person with excellent stamina like Bai Xiuwen couldn't bear it.

He didn't know how much time he had left.

"Hey, Lao Yuan, eat quickly, if you don't eat this plate of mutton, it will be gone."

Roommate A suddenly waved his hand in front of his eyes, Bai Xiuwen came back to his senses, lowered his eyes, picked out a piece of well-cooked mutton and soft rotten potato chips, and naturally put them on Gao Tong's plate.

"Thank you, thank you." Gao Tong didn't say anything, but the other two roommates held back for a while, and finally couldn't help but said, "Why do I feel like Lao Yuan has been possessed this week?"

Roommate B: "You think you are possessed, but I think Yuan Haodong's eyes look like he wants to eat Gao Tong every day. If I hadn't seen him and his girlfriend stick together, I would have thought he was old Yuan. Do you have thoughts about Gao Tong..."

Gao Tong was drinking Coke, and almost choked when he heard the words, he said awkwardly: "What are you talking about?"

Bai Xiuwen didn't respond.

He put down his chopsticks and said he was going to the bathroom.Roommate B stopped him, saying that he was also a little anxious to urinate, together.Bai Xiuwen nodded.

The two went into the bathroom of the hot pot restaurant together. The roommate drank a little too much and staggered into the cubicle.Bai Xiuwen took a symbolic urinate, then washed his hands and went to the door to light a cigarette.

Those two roommates were right, he did smoke more and more every day.The reality of this dream is also that he has a sense of touch, and the same sense of smell and taste.Others use cigarettes to relieve their worries, but he feels that smoking can make him sober for a short time.

Reason told Bai Xiuwen to seize every moment with Gao Tong.God gave him what he could not ask for this year, and he should be grateful.However……

"Aren't you old Yuan?"