Out of place

Xiang Xi got up 10 minutes earlier in the morning, took a shower, and washed yesterday's clothes by the way.

Clothes are hung outside the back window of the hut, which is the back door of the supermarket. There is a small passage, and no one goes there. Usually, the residents upstairs will park their electric cars or something.

Usually, I don't feel anything while drying, but when Xiang Xi went to dry his underwear today, he suddenly felt guilty, and after drying, he looked at the light before bowing his head and walking away.

In fact, you can't see anything, even if you can, no one will raise their head and stare at other people's underwear when they pass by, it's a pair of men's underwear...

Xiang Xi's breakfast is usually settled at the entrance of the supermarket. There is a breakfast stand by the roadside.

"Do you still want milk and steamed buns?" the elder sister asked with a smile when she saw him coming.

"I want corn paste today," Xiang Xi thought for a while, "I want two more buns...and a glass of soy milk."

"Okay, I ate more than usual today." The eldest sister quickly took a bag and filled him with steamed buns, "Summer consumes a lot."

"...Probably." Xiang Xi replied a little embarrassedly.

Expendable?

Not...how big...

To consume is to consume a little...

I don't know if Cheng Boyan usually consumes it or not?

If you don't consume it, you are sick!

Xiang Xi clicked his tongue when he took the bag and turned back to the supermarket, what was he thinking about all day long!

There are still a lot of customers today, and there are still two days of activities in the nearby gymnasium. Xiang Xi is wandering around in the store, but there are still thieves. Last night, the colleagues in that shift checked their things before they got off work and found that there were missing products.

Xiang Xi felt that not all professional thieves came here to pick things up, the main reason was that colleagues didn't know how to look at people, so there was nothing worth stealing here, and the real thieves were all gathering in the gymnasium right now.

In the past, he and Mantou...

Thinking of Mantou, Xiang Xi's train of thought suddenly stopped, and he stopped at the figure that Mantou disappeared in the white sunlight yesterday.

He sighed softly, leaning against the shelf and looking at a few customers who were picking things.

After a busy day, Zhang Xin asked them to have dinner again, and He Xiaoru waited expectantly for his answer.

"No, I have something to do tonight," Xiang Xi said, "It's very important."

"Hey, what's important?" Yu Baoquan asked aside, "Can't you go after eating? Are you going to eat with someone?"

"Well," Xiang Xi nodded, and when he turned and walked towards the hut, he added, "Girlfriend."

This sentence could not have been said, but he still said it. He Xiaoru's attitude made him a little unbearable. The little girl is shy, and it is estimated that after a few months, she will not have the opportunity to say no.

It's good to say something so unintentionally, it doesn't hurt my self-esteem too much.

"Damn—" Yu Baoquan yelled with a smile.

Neither Zhang Xin nor He Xiaoru made a sound, and Xiang Xi didn't look back. This was the first time he said such a thing, and he was embarrassed to look back, so he buried his head and went back to the hut.

Today is very tiring, but he still plans to go to the address given by Cheng Boyan to find that old man Lu for something to eat. There are still several days left on the rest day, and he can't wait.

you are fine.

If he hadn't seen Mantou again and heard what Mantou said, maybe he wouldn't be so anxious.

But now, he is a little scared, he is afraid that any "waiting" by himself will make him slide back, he is afraid of being like Mantou, he is afraid of Mantou's flat tone for which he doesn't know the reason in the end.

He is very familiar with this tone, he used to be like that, plain as if he saw through everything, but in fact it was nothing but helplessness and despair.

There is nothing to prepare to go to old man Lu. I originally wanted to bring some gifts, but after thinking about it, I feel that people are not willing to accept money, and people don’t care about buying things, and I don’t know what to bring.

It's boring if it's light, but it's reluctant to bear it if it's heavy.

In fact, the main thing is that I can't bear the money...

Xiang Xi was carrying a bag and didn't plan to go anywhere to eat, so he brought two small dumplings from the supermarket and ate them while walking.

After eating, while standing at the bus station waiting for the bus, Cheng Boyan called.

"Are you so free today?" Xiang Xi was a little surprised, at this time, Cheng Boyan would usually be racing against time to see the patients who were still waiting.

"I'm not busy, I'm in the toilet and I've been holding back for more than an hour," Cheng Boyan said, "Call you sometime, are you off work?"

"Well, I'm waiting for the car to find that old man," Xiang Xile said, "Have you finished peeing yet?"

"It's over," Cheng Boyan smiled, "Are you going now?"

"Otherwise, when will you go? If you go early, you will know the result," Xiang Xi said, "Do you think it's appropriate for me to go empty-handed?"

"It's okay to be empty-handed. It's okay. Maybe everyone else has something, but you don't have it. It's more eye-catching. When someone mentions it, you immediately remember it. Oh, it's the kid who didn't bring anything..." Cheng Boyan said His voice trembled a little, he was probably walking towards the consulting room.

"Are your words hurting me or comforting me!" Xiang Xi was a little dissatisfied, "I'm nervous here."

"Comfort, seriously," Cheng Boyan said, "If you don't pass by, don't call him an old man. You can call him Master Lu, Master Lu, and Grandpa Lu."

"I know, I know, I don't know how to say these things." Xiang Xi said.

"I remember..." Cheng Boyan laughed, "Speaking is your strength, and you speak the truth as if it were true."

Xiang Xi laughed aloud, he knew that Cheng Boyan was referring to the time when he was full of nonsense and fooled others.

After laughing for a while, he slowly closed his smile again, leaned against the billboard at the station, and said softly, "Tell me, am I very... indifferent?"

"Huh?" Cheng Boyan was stunned, "Why are you indifferent?"

"It's just...it's just...willing to die and not helping a friend in trouble." Xiang Xi frowned and spoke with a little difficulty.

"You mean steamed buns?" Cheng Boyan asked.

This is the first time Cheng Boyan mentioned steamed buns on his own initiative, Xiang Xi paused: "It's like steamed buns."

"I can't explain this matter in one or two sentences," Cheng Boyan was silent for a while, "You can only do what you can. It has nothing to do with being indifferent. Impulsiveness and fever are the most terrifying."

Xiang Xi didn't speak, but responded after a few seconds: "I understand."

"Do your own thing well first," Cheng Boyan said, "If you want to talk about this matter, let's find a time to talk."

"Okay." Xiang Xi smiled, feeling a lot more at ease.

Old man Lu's house was quite far away, and Xiang Xi was not familiar with the bus routes, so he had to change buses three times before arriving at the place, and was sweating all over when he got off the bus.

He entered a shop, turned on the air conditioner for a while, and then came out again when it was cool, and continued to walk to old man Lu's house according to the address.

This area is an old residential area of ​​the Tea Research Institute and a factory next to it. There is a large yard. Many small open yards on the first floor have a small open space. Some are planted with vegetables, and some are left unused and full of weeds. , There are also many small wild flowers blooming.

There are also many trees, all of which are old trees that grow casually. They are quite old at first glance. They are different from the neatly grown trees in Cheng Boyan's community, and they look more comfortable.

The old man Lu's house is on the first floor, at the end of the residential compound, building No. 8, the 8 printed on the wall of the building is half off, and it looks like a 6.

Xiang Xi smelled the fragrance of tea...he wasn't sure if he really smelled it, he didn't have such a good nose, and the fragrance of tea might not be able to travel so far, but he thought it was here.

There was no one in the small semi-open yard on the first floor, and nothing was planted. When I walked over, I could see two chickens on the ground with half of a small rope tied to their legs.

Xiang Xi took a breath and knocked lightly on the door.

"Who is it?" Someone inside asked, and the voice was a little girl.

"I'm looking for Mr. Lu...Mr." Xiang Xi looked, there was no peephole on the door, but he still put a smile on his face.

"My grandfather hasn't been feeling well for the past two days, so he doesn't accept guests." The little girl said inside, but didn't open the door either.

"I saw him in Yunshui Fanxin two days ago." Xiang Xi was a little uncomfortable with this kind of polite rejection, "I can't tell he's uncomfortable."

"That's why I said it was uncomfortable these two days, yesterday and today." The little girl inside said.

Xiang Xi was overjoyed when he heard it, and said casually: "Your nonsense is too incompetent."

The little girl was silent for two seconds, and when she spoke again, she said with a smile, "Are you looking for tea with him or are you inviting him to perform? He really doesn't have time."

"Neither of them," Xiang Xi said, "I just want to ask if he still accepts apprentices."

The little girl lost her voice, and an old man's voice in the room said something, but Xiang Xi didn't hear clearly.

Then the door slammed open and opened a crack, revealing one eye and half of face, a little girl looked Xiang Xi up and down, turned her head and rushed into the room and said, "It's a little boy."

"It's not too small." Xiang Xi added, peeking in through the crack of the door, but didn't see anyone.

The little girl turned her head and opened the door: "Come in."

"Thank you." Xiang Xi smiled at her and entered the room.

The little girl was about thirteen or fourteen years old, and she wasn't pretty, but her smooth long hair that almost reached her thighs was very eye-catching.

"Your grandpa..." Xiang Xi asked standing at the door.

Old man Lu came out from the back room. Unlike the gray coat that day, today he was wearing a very ordinary old man sweater and a pair of big pants that old men who walk in the morning usually wear.

"Hello, Master Lu." Xiang Xi bowed at him.

"What a small boy I thought," Old Man Lu said while looking at the little girl, then looked at him again, "Sit down."

Xiang Xi took a look, the room had a wooden floor, but there were no slippers to change into. He hesitated for a while, put on his shoes, entered the living room, and sat down on the sofa.

"What's your name?" Old man Lu sat down opposite him and looked at him, "How old is it?"

"Twenty." Xiang Xi replied, and quickly calculated his age in his mind, it was about the same.

But when he answered the name, he went through many circles in his mind.

Zhanhongtu or Xiangxi?

Zhanhongtu or Xiangxi?

"My name is Xiang Xi." He finally chose a name for himself.

"Want to learn tea?" Old Man Lu asked with a smile.

"Yes," Xiang Xi nodded, the little girl brought a cup of tea and put it on the tea table in front of him, and he said to the little girl again, "Thank you."

In fact, in old man Lu's house, just looking at the living room, there are not many things related to tea. There is not even a tea set on the coffee table, only a fruit plate. It doesn't look as good as Uncle Ping's living room.

"Try this tea." Old man Lu said hello.

The tea was brewed in an ordinary glass, but there was no tea in it. Xiang Xi picked it up and took a sip without saying a word. The tea was not very good. He didn't know what old man Lu was asking him to drink. mean.

"Can you drink some kind of tea?" Old man Lu asked.

Xiang Xi glanced at him, thought about it for a long time, and finally decided to tell the truth: "It's...not very good green tea."

The old man Lu looked at him without making a sound, and just stared at him for a long time. Xiang Xi felt uncomfortable being watched. He wondered if his words were too rude, and he regretted not being more tactful.

Old Lu looked at him for a while, leaned back on the sofa, and laughed: "Do you usually drink tea?"

"Don't drink." Looking at his smile, Xiang Xi felt that the old man was not angry, so he still told the truth.

"Then how about drinking this tea?" Old Man Lu asked with a smile.

"When I was young... I would occasionally drink with adults." Xiang Xi also smiled.

"Then tell me, why do you want to learn from me?" Old man Lu put away his smile and asked again seriously.

This answer may be the key. Maybe old man Lu chose the apprentice based on the answer to this question?

Thinking of this, Xiang Xi immediately became nervous. He was not afraid of failure. Before finding a part-time job, there were all kinds of ups and downs. After all, this is an "elegant" job, and it is normal to fail.

What he was nervous about was how to answer, there were many kinds of answers, and he struggled with which one would satisfy the old man.

"I want to learn how to make money." Xiang Xi looked up at the old man.

This answer is probably not very good, but Xiang Xi still decided to tell the truth. Anyway, he always told the truth before, and it is right to keep the style of telling the truth now.

Don't they all say that he has something special, so let's be special.

"Really," Old Man Lu didn't smile, and he couldn't tell whether he was happy or unhappy by the tone of his voice, "Then why do you want to learn from me?"

"Learn as long as you are good at it," Xiang Xi said without thinking, "I think you are good, so I want to learn from you."

"That's it," Lu Tou'er thought for a while and smiled again, "Do you know that I don't take many apprentices now?"

"I know, and I also know that you pay attention to eye contact when recruiting apprentices," Xiang Xi scratched his head, "I just want to try, if I don't talk about seeing each other, I don't know if I have eye contact."

"Then let me ask you again, you don't understand tea," Old Man Lu looked at him with his elbows on his knees, "How do you know if I'm good or not?"

"For your eyes," Xiang Xi also propped his elbows on his knees, "I think you're not performing, you're just drinking tea..."

Old man Lu had a smile on his face, as if he was waiting for him to continue, so Xiang Xi continued without thinking: "Anyway, I think tea is tea, drinking tea is drinking tea, it doesn't matter What are the procedures and what are the particulars? The first thing to drink when drinking tea is tea, and all the procedures should be based on tea..."

After Xiang Xi said a few words, he didn't know what to say. His mind was spinning, and old man Lu suddenly leaned back and said, "Well said."

"Huh?" Xiang Xi was taken aback for a moment, is that all right?

"You answered the next question I wanted to ask," Old Man Lu said with a smile, "I originally wanted to ask you what you think about drinking tea, but what I want is the simplest answer. "

"How about...you ask, and I'll say it again." Xiang Xi also said with a smile.

"I'm only free two nights a week now, and I can't take other time. What day of the week are you free?" Old man Lu asked. Come early and come late, I can't teach you anymore."

When Cheng Boyan returned home, it was just after eight o'clock. Today was fine. There were not too many patients, and there was no surgery. He changed into sports clothes and went into the study.

Put on your headphones and turn on the treadmill.

Another few days without exercise.

Listening to the music, he habitually counted his steps while running.

On the sofa next to him was the suit that Xiang Xi always wore when he came here. Xiang Xi hasn't called yet, so I don't know how the result of going to Mr. Lu today is.

How many steps have you run?

Xiang Xi was a little nervous, but he wasn't too worried. This kid is smart and quick to react. Whether he made up nonsense or not, he should be able to get the words right.

If it's not that there is something to worry about, it's better to say that he is more worried that he will accidentally bring out the gangster's anger if he speaks too quickly.

Banditry is not a shortcoming for Xiang Xi, it's just a mark of his past life, engraved in his bones, it doesn't mean that he can have it without it.

Is it two hundred steps?Or two hundred and four?

But for an elegant old man who plays with tea in a fairy style, he suddenly realized that he didn't know what it would be like.

But maybe, the old man only taught tea but also paid attention to eye contact, maybe he felt that Xiang Xi, who was different from others, had special eye contact.

How many steps have you run?Forget it.

After running for almost four and ten minutes, Cheng Boyan was about to slow down the speed of the treadmill when he heard the door of the living room rang through the music on the earphones.

anyone?

He took off his earphones as he ran.

The living room door was opened.

Xiangxi?

He was dazed, and his steps were a little slow. Before he could adjust, Xiang Xi's loud voice came from the living room: "Cheng Boyan! Come out!"

This voice made Cheng Boyan's unadjusted steps suddenly messed up. He felt like he was walking on the treadmill like an old lady with small feet, but he didn't catch up with the speed of the running belt, and then he was thrown out of the machine by inertia. Jingle fell to the ground with a clatter.

"What's wrong with you?" Xiang Xi ran into the study room without putting on his slippers when he heard something wrong.

When he entered the study, he happened to see Cheng Boyan fell to the ground gracefully by the running belt. He wanted to turn off the machine, but he put his hand on the running belt, and before Xiang Xi could say "be careful", he was taken away again It fell down, and turned half a circle on the spot before lying on the ground.

"Are you okay!" Xiang Xi rushed over and didn't know how to turn off the thing, so he pulled the plug off, then threw himself to kneel in front of Cheng Boyan, looking at him anxiously, not knowing Cheng Boyan He wasn't hurt anywhere, and he didn't dare to reach out and touch him casually.

"It's okay, I'm not hurt," Cheng Boyan knelt on the ground, propped his hands on the floor, and said after a long time, "Don't you want to laugh?"

"Ah?" Xiang Xi was stunned. He was quite anxious at first, but when Cheng Boyan said this, he suddenly remembered Cheng Boyan's appearance when he fell to the ground after turning half a circle, and then he couldn't help it anymore, and sat down on the ground I started laughing and couldn't stop laughing.

"I wanted to laugh when I turned around," Cheng Boyan looked up at him, "Do you know what word I've been thinking about?"

"What are you thinking about?" Xiang Xi asked happily.

"Turn over, little perfunctory..." Cheng Boyan stood up and patted his pants.

Xiang Xi didn't stop laughing until Cheng Boyan went into the room to get his clothes and got ready to take a shower, his face hurt a little.

"It's really funny." Cheng Boyan said.

"Did you fall somewhere?" Xiang Xi walked up to him, lifted his clothes and checked them around.

"No, I just watched it." Cheng Boyan patted him on the head, "Why did you come here suddenly and didn't call me? How are you talking with Mr. Lu?"

"Oh, I forgot to laugh," Xiang Xi patted Cheng Boyan's buttocks, his voice raised, "Guess! Why don't you take a shower first, and guess after you take a shower!"

"Do you still need to guess?" Cheng Boyan looked at his raised eyebrows along with the voice, "Did they accept you?"

"Yeah! Ha!" Xiang Xi clapped his hands excitedly, "How about it! Didn't you think of it! Anyway, I didn't think of it! He also invited me to drink tea, and I chatted for a while before I left!"

"Really? So powerful?" Cheng Boyan pinched his chin. Although he could guess the result from Xiang Xi's excited look, he still couldn't help laughing when he heard it with his own ears. "What did you say? What happened? Did he test you?"

"No!" Xiang Xi walked around the living room twice, took another glass of water and drank it in one gulp, "Just asked me why I wanted to learn, why I wanted to learn from him, and asked me about drinking tea. How do you look at it! I said it was for Qian Xue, and I thought he was drinking tea without acting, and it was very comfortable. Drinking tea means drinking tea without putting on an air, and drinking it in any order is just for the sake of drinking tea..."

Xiang Xi was very excited, and he talked without a pause, and his words were a little confused. Cheng Boyan didn't interrupt him, but just listened to him with a smile, and didn't even tell him that he took the wrong glass for drinking water.

"Anyway, I will go to his own tea room at eight o'clock in the evening on Saturdays and Wednesdays. He will teach me about tea and teach me. It will take about three to two months. There are many things to learn. It depends on my understanding. If I can learn well , he can recommend me to go to a better tea house!" Xiang Xi raised his arm and waved vigorously in the air, raising his eyebrows at him, "How about it!"

"Great!" Cheng Boyan smiled and hugged him, "Take my cup and wash it."

"Hey?" Xiang Xi looked down at the cup in his hand, and ran into the kitchen with a smile, "You are really hopeless, you can still find this at this time!"

"I found out earlier," Cheng Boyan followed into the kitchen and squeezed his shoulder, "Then did your master tell you to prepare anything? Is there a fee for tea sets and tea leaves when you are studying?"

"No, not at all, just let me go, and he said that he doesn't need to take notes, and it's not very advanced." Xiang Xi washed the cup, "Just say that this thing is out of mind. Naturally, the old man said he picks people. It’s not about how advanced the tea is, just choose the real thing.”

After Xiang Xi finished speaking, he heyed twice, put the cup aside, and let out a sigh of relief by supporting the sink: "He thinks I'm real, am I real? The old man didn't miss it?"

"It's quite real," Cheng Boyan hugged him from behind, "and he's also very smart and capable."

"You praise me harder than washing your hands." Xiang Xi leaned back.

"I'll take a shower." Cheng Boyan pushed him.

"I'm not obsessed with cleanliness," Xiang Xi lowered his head, "I just thought, if I didn't know you, I wouldn't be sure what I would be like now. How dare I think I could be as far as I am today."

"You don't have to think about it in the future." Cheng Boyan kissed him on the back of the neck, "You already know me now, and you are very familiar."