squirrel

Although the injury on his face became more obvious on the second day, Gao Liyuan still chose to go to work - bruises can't heal in a day or two, and he couldn't think of any suitable excuses.

He put on a long sleeve in the temperature at the end of June to cover the wound on his arm.After nine o'clock is the class time, the campus is quiet, Gao Liyuan was about to rush into the office to blow on the electric fan, when suddenly he was stopped at the door: "Teacher Gao!"

"Teacher Yang."

The one who called Gao Liyuan was Yang Wenyue, who often worked with him in classes and worked as a physical education teacher in the fifth middle school for more than 20 years, and always took care of him as a junior.Gao Liyuan was already mentally prepared to be interrogated. Seeing her calling him, just as he was about to recite the ins and outs, he heard Yang Wenyue ask in a serious tone: "Did you fight with someone last night? Teacher Xu said he Lover saw you staggering out of the alley."

Gao Liyuan's explanation was choked up in his throat, and he struggled for a moment under Yang Wenyue's gaze, but he had no choice but to confess: "I saw someone stealing a wallet in the food court last night... I dragged him to the police station, but when he turned around, he was arrested." His accomplices are blocked in the alley."

"I also guessed that it was almost the same." Yang Wenyue sighed, "Xiao Gao, you are doing good deeds, but sometimes you have to think about the consequences...Look at you now, what do you think when the parents of the students see you? You're going to be thirty, it's time to settle down, don't be hot all over, old Qian asked me to ask you early in the morning, why don't you like his little cousin? That girl's family is very satisfied with you .”

Gao Liyuan didn't expect that at the end of the conversation, he would go back to this point. He didn't want to talk about it now, but said vaguely and perfunctorily: "There is nothing wrong with it. I am not worthy."

Yang Wenyue was originally entrusted by others and persuaded him with good intentions, but Gao Liyuan came up as a soft nail, which made her frown even deeper: "Mr. , which one is over 30 years old and hasn't married?" Her eyes were full of disapproval, and finally she just said: "You can't go to class with this face on your face, go back and rest for a few days, I will start with the boys in the class." Let's take it with you."

Gao Liyuan knew in his heart that his current behavior was embarrassing in school, so he thanked him immediately, and went back the same way without even entering the office.It was only ten o'clock when he got home, and after being scorched by the scorching sun for two rounds, his whole body was in pain as if he was falling apart, and he didn't change his clothes. He fell back on the bed and fell asleep again. It's two o'clock in the afternoon.

The intestines and stomach also woke up belatedly, and while continuously transmitting the sense of hunger to the brain, they did not forget to make a series of grunts, which was breath-taking.Gao Liyuan turned over and got out of bed, and was about to go downstairs to buy lunch and come back, but when he pushed the door open, he heard a "boom".

"oops!"

Gao Liyuan's mind, which was still a little chaotic, was completely sobered by the sound. Gao Liyuan looked out fearfully, and was meeting eyes with a grinning person.

He was taken aback: "Why are you?"

"Who else could it be if it's not me?" The squirrel got up from the ground and glared at him angrily, "Is there someone who opens the door like you?"

His question made no sense, Gao Liyuan gave up the idea of ​​arguing with the squirrel after thinking about it for a while, and only asked him: "Why didn't you knock on the door?"

The squirrel froze, not daring to say that he deliberately picked this time when Gao Liyuan was not at home.When he went back last night, he was scorned and fired by his boss, but he got his salary in advance because of it—although it was not much, but since he had already talked about repaying the money, he couldn't beat himself up.

He was a little afraid to see Gao Liyuan, so he specially found an envelope to pack the money, trying to slip it in through the crack of the door while he was away.As a result, before the money was stuffed into the side, the door opened suddenly, which made his knee hurt.

The squirrel patted Gao Liyuan's hand away, stood up with a grunt, and stuffed the envelope into his arms: "Here, I forgot to take it out yesterday, the first month's meal money—" He raised his head and saw The bruises on Gao Liyuan's face, his eyes widened, "So serious?!"

"It also looks scary."

"Crap, you must have hit a bone here."

Squirrel boasted that he had many years of fighting experience, seeing Gao Liyuan smiling and not caring at all, he reached out and pressed his bruise: "Does it hurt? Let me tell you..."

The moment their skin touched, both of them froze.

"Anyway, you'd better take some more medicine." Squirrel withdrew his hand quickly, rubbed against the hem of his clothes unnaturally, and stuffed it into his pocket, "Take some money back, I have to go to work, let's go first " Finished in one breath, without waiting for Gao Liyuan to say anything, turned around and ran up the stairs without a trace.

Gao Liyuan stood at the door for a few seconds, then simply returned to the living room and took out the envelope that the squirrel had stuffed in.The envelope was brand new, only one end was wrinkled, probably stuffed into the crack of the door.There was a tall letter scrawled in the middle of the envelope, which was ugly as hell.

There was 150 yuan in the envelope, except for one piece of [-] yuan, the rest were [-] yuan, exuding a smoky smell from a barbecue stall.The money is very old, and the edges of several sheets have been damaged, but they are all flattened as much as possible and stacked neatly.

Gao Liyuan sighed inwardly for a long time.

He left the provincial team halfway back then, on the one hand because of his family's request, on the other hand because he didn't dare to confess to his teammates after discovering his sexual orientation and couldn't relieve it. In addition, he heard about Song Lang's death. I fell into a deep self-blame.

He also knew that he was a bit of a dead end, but he couldn't help but wonder, if he hadn't left his hometown and taken good care of Xiao Lang, wouldn't he have made such a mistake that cost his life?

So Gao Liyuan chose to go home, and after almost ten years of mediocrity, he left because he couldn't bear his father's sarcasm all day long.

Then, one day a few years later, a squirrel came across who was trying to steal someone's wallet.

At the beginning, he just felt a little guilty towards Xiao Lang, and wanted to do some good deeds to make himself feel better—at the beginning, he really just thought so.

But what about later?

Gao Liyuan buried his face in his palms and breathed heavily.The pendulum of the hanging clock rattled behind him, and what he heard was that he lost the rhythm and became a mess.There seems to be a rational voice chattering in my heart, age, work, future... Gao Liyuan didn't want to hear it. After smoking one cigarette, he lit another one, and finally drove the voice away completely when he smoked the fifth cigarette. .