Out of place

Old man Lu came to the tea room with a bag of vegetables, and when he saw Cheng Boyan, he smiled and said, "I saw your car downstairs, have you been here for a while?"

"Just arrived," Cheng Boyan said, "Master Lu is too polite."

"You're welcome, what's so polite about it," Old Man Lu handed the dish to Hu Hai with a smile, "I just like to make friends, come and sit in the room, I'll make you some tea."

Hu Hai took the dishes into the small kitchen next to him, and Cheng Boyan took another look into the kitchen when he followed old man Lu to the tea room.

Xiang Xi didn't understand what he meant, and he didn't intend to tell Xiang Ximing that he couldn't figure out how this idea came to him. It was probably because after going through this period of time, he helped Xiang Ximing. There was some churning at the thought of finding my parents.

But... such a coincidence in this world is indeed impossible, and he didn't want Xiang Xi to have a good time while he was still alive.

Hu Hai's chiseled face is not at all like Xiang Xi's soft and delicate face.

Cheng Boyan seldom has the opportunity to face the tea mountain like this and drink tea under the cool breeze. He is usually busy with work, and if he is not too tired after work, he will read a book and go for a run.

It feels good to watch people make tea, smell the fragrance of tea, and chat casually.

"I fry this tea myself," old man Lu poured him a cup of tea, "I used to fry a lot by myself, but I don't want to touch it when I get older in the past two years, so I just make some casually every year, so you come later I can't drink anymore."

"Then I'm lucky." Cheng Boyan smiled and took a sip.

"Fate, this thing is false or false, to be honest, it is true." Old man Lu also took a sip of tea.

"I can learn how to fry tea," Xiang Xi said, "Master, teach me."

"When you understand what I'm telling you now, you want to learn everything," Old Man Lu smiled. "When Hu Hai came to me, he didn't want to learn anything."

"Then you still have an apprentice?" Cheng Boyan asked a little strangely.

"That boy..." Old man Lu took a sip of his tea and didn't continue.

"Because of his brother?" Xiang Xi chased after him.

"Don't ask nonsense." Cheng Boyan quickly kicked him lightly as a reminder.

Although he really wanted to know about Hu Hai's younger brother, it was not polite for Xiang Xi to ask such a question. Hu Hai was still busy in the kitchen.

Hu Hai came from the kitchen with a handful of chili peppers in his hand: "Do you eat spicy food?"

"I'm fine," Old Man Lu looked at Xiang Xi and Cheng Boyan, "How about you?"

"I can do it too," Cheng Boyan added after thinking for a while, "It's better...don't put too much."

"Then just add a little seasoning." Old man Lu said.

"En." Hu Hai responded.

When he turned to leave, Xiang Xi stood up: "What do you cook?"

"Fried small fish." Hu Hai said.

"This is a good dish," Old Man Lu said immediately. "The small fish are all caught by the landlord in the small river in the mountain. They are fried and fried with chili. They are delicious."

"I..." Xiang Xi followed, "How do I learn how to do it?"

"You don't want it," Cheng Boyan said, Xiang Xi ignored him, followed Hu Hai into the kitchen, he sighed, "Don't do it!"

"I'll just take a look!" Xiang Xi stood in the kitchen and shouted outside, "Aren't you tired of eating mixed bean porridge every day? How delicious the fried fish is..."

Hu Hai took a few small peppers and cut them up. There were already cut green peppers beside him. He poured some oil into the pot: "You live with your friend?"

"Ah?" Xiang Xi was stunned, and suddenly thought that this sentence seemed to reveal the fact that he and Cheng Boyan lived together, and suddenly felt a little embarrassed, "...um."

"Isn't the mixed bean porridge delicious?" Hu Hai said, as if he didn't pay much attention to the point. "Soak the beans, smash them into pieces, and add some sugar."

"Huh?" Xiang Xi was stunned. He never thought that mixed bean porridge could be eaten like this. Cheng Boyan added some water every time, threw the beans in and boiled them. The boiled beans returned to the beans, and the water returned to the water. If barley is also added, the taste will be lighter than that of plain water.

Hu Hai threw peppers and garlic into the pot to explode, and at the same time as the aroma wafted over, Xiang Xi also felt a burst of heat, bowed his head and sneezed directly.

"Oh, isn't it spicy?" He rubbed his nose.

"Leave it a little longer, and it won't be spicy when you eat it," Hu Hai looked at him, "Why don't you go out, choke."

"Let me see," Xiang Xi chuckled twice, "I want to learn."

Hu Hai didn't speak, he stir-fried a few times, took the fried small fish and poured it into the pot.

"Does this fish need to be deep-fried?" Xiang Xi looked at the little golden fish.

"Well, it needs to be oiled so that it smells good." Hu Hai said.

"It's over-oiled..." Xiang Xi suddenly felt a little discouraged, the amount of oil for frying fish this time can probably catch up with Cheng Boyan's cooking for several years.

"Are you afraid of too much oil?" Hu Hai smiled, "I'll tell you a way to use less oil, that is, to fry for a longer time, the oil will enter when the frying time is short, and the oil will come out if the frying time is longer."

"Really?" Xiang Xi suddenly got excited again, "How long?"

"It's fried to this color." Hu Hai pointed to the small fish in the pot.

"You will be fried into charcoal fish." Cheng Boyan's voice came from behind.

Xiang Xi turned his head and saw Cheng Boyan standing at the door of the kitchen, he was a little unconvinced and said, "That's not necessarily true."

Cheng Boyan smiled and said nothing.

"Don't you drink tea?" Xiang Xi looked at him, "Are you learning to cook?"

"Let me see." Cheng Boyan said.

"Is it fragrant? Is it very fragrant?" Xiang Xi asked.

Cheng Boyan seemed a little helpless, and nodded after a while: "It's very fragrant."

Was it a mistake not to let Xiang Xi learn to cook?

Cheng Boyan stood outside the kitchen for a while, seeing that Xiang Xi didn't intend to leave, he probably insisted on watching Hu Hai's cooking process.

He only returned to the tea table, where Old Man Lu was pinching his knees.

"Uncomfortable knees?" he asked habitually.

"It's a little bit up." Old man Lu poured him another cup of tea, "It's usually fine, but today I went up the mountain, and I'm a little unhappy."

"May I show you?" Cheng Boyan sat next to him.

"You..." Old man Lu looked at him and suddenly laughed, "By the way, you are an orthopedic doctor, right?"

"Well," Cheng Boyan smiled, moved old man Lu's calf, and asked him how his legs usually feel, "No big problem, there will be some degenerative diseases at this age, try to climb the mountain as short as possible, Don't go there every day."

"Okay, okay," old man Lu nodded, "I'll listen to the doctor."

Hu Hai cooks very quickly. He just drank a pot of tea and the dishes on his side are ready.

"Let's eat on the terrace," Old Man Lu waved his hand, "The weather is neither too hot nor too cold."

Several people set up the table on the terrace. When the lights were turned on, there was quite an atmosphere. Cheng Boyan went into the kitchen to help bring out the dishes.

After setting the chairs, Xiang Xi went into the kitchen to wash his hands. Cheng Boyan was about to go out. He glanced at him and then stopped. He felt that this kid suddenly became silent for some reason. According to his personality at this moment, it should be normal for him to be elated. .

"Xiang Xi." He called Xiang Xi.

"Huh?" Xiang Xi turned his head and watched him open his mouth, as if he wanted to say something, but when Hu Hai came in to get the dipping sauce, he stopped talking.

During the meal, Xiang Xi regained some energy, and chatted with old man Lu very enthusiastically, asked a lot of questions about fried tea, as if he was ready to do it after eating.

Hu Hai seldom talked, eating silently on the side, Cheng Boyan couldn't help staring at his collar. To be honest, although he felt that his thinking was a bit unreliable, he still wanted to take another look at Hu Hai's jade pendant .

It's a pity that there has been no chance again. If the pendant in the clothes can't be pulled out to look at it, it is only possible if Hu Hai was overturned to the ground in the past.

After eating and resting for a while, old man Lu began to talk about tea to Xiang Xi, while Cheng Boyan sat on the terrace blowing the night breeze.

From the window, you can see Xiang Xi listening seriously, and you can also see Hu Hai's profile.

He was sitting by the window playing the piano, with a very devoted look on his face. From the first time his fingers touched the strings, it was as if he was in another time and space.

Until the old man Lu finished speaking to Xiang Xi, Hu Hai's piano sound didn't stop. Cheng Boyan still heard the piano sound in his ears for a while, but he ignored him.

"Let's go," Xiang Xi walked to the window and waved to him, "It's over."

"Yeah." Cheng Boyan stood up, went back to the house and said hello to old man Lu, and then glanced at Hu Hai, thinking to say hello too, but Hu Hai didn't even turn his head.

"Don't worry about him," Old Man Lu said with a smile, "he's not in the same place as us anymore."

Old man Lu sent them to the stairs, and when he wanted to go downstairs, Cheng Boyan stopped him: "Your legs, rest more."

After going downstairs and getting into the car, Cheng Boyan looked up at the lighted tea room upstairs and started the car.

After the car drove out of the intersection, he said to Xiang Xi who had been silent all this time: "What's wrong with you?"

"No, it's nothing..." Xiang Xi shook his head and said after a while, "I'll think about it first."

Cheng Boyan didn't ask any more questions, and he didn't speak any more while driving.

The light outside the window flickered across Xiang Xi's face. He kept leaning against the window and looked out. When the car stopped at the intersection and waited for the red light, he turned his head: "Why did you ask me Hu Hai?" About my brother?"

Cheng Boyan didn't speak, just glanced at Xiang Xi.

Although he didn't want Xiang Xi to know his absurd idea now, Xiang Xi's sensitivity still made him a little hard to guard against.

"Do you think..." Xiang Xi whispered, "I asked him."

"Ask him?" Cheng Boyan was stunned.

"Well, I was chatting while cooking, so I asked," Xiang Xi said, "He said that my brother...was lost by him."

Cheng Boyan opened his mouth and said nothing.

"Do you think so?" Xiang Xi turned his head, "I think I'm thinking too much? Do you think so?"

"He didn't say...how old was he when he lost it?" Cheng Boyan asked hesitantly.

"I didn't say, I just said I was very young, so I don't have to ask any more," Xiang Xi sighed, "Isn't it possible? Did I really want to find my parents, so I can think of this?"

"I thought so before," Cheng Boyan patted his head, and when the green light came on, he withdrew his hand and continued driving, "I saw his pendant."

"The pendant? What pendant?" Xiang Xi asked.

"I didn't see it clearly, but I felt that the head of the water was very good, a bit like yours," Cheng Boyan said, "I was probably infected by you, and I thought of this after just a glance."

Xiang Xi was silent for a while, then leaned back in his chair and smiled: "A rational person like you can still think wildly."

"Xiang Xi, this...don't have too much hope." Cheng Boyan spoke with some difficulty, fearing that these words would make Xiang Xi uncomfortable.

"I know, it's not such a coincidence, and Hu Hai and I don't look alike at all," Xiang Xi smiled, "If it's true, he would at least pay attention to my mole, but he never Noticed."

Xiang Xi touched the mole on his face, he had always regarded this mole as one of the important clues.

Theoretically, this is true. If you lose a child, you will be very concerned about such a sign.

"Besides," Xiang Xi closed his eyes, "If that's the case, then what Uncle Ping said doesn't match...Although the truth he has said in his life is probably not as good as I said hello to the cat on the opposite wall Much more."

Cheng Boyan didn't say anything else, he frowned until he got home, and then went into the bedroom and took out the box that contained Xiang Xi's pendant.

"Why?" Xiang Xi looked at him.

"It's nothing." Cheng Boyan took out the jade pendant and looked at it for a while. He felt that it was different from Hu Hai's. Although the head of the water was good, the size and shape seemed to be different when he thought about it. "How about..."

"I'm wearing it?" Xiang Xi quickly understood what he meant.

"Well," Cheng Boyan nodded, "To be honest, I don't think it's reliable, but we can't give up on this matter without trying it, right?"

"Will I wear it around my neck next time I go to show off my wealth?" Xiang Xi said.

"Well, I'll get you a shorter rope tomorrow," Cheng Boyan compared the pendant to his neckline, "to make you show off more clearly."

"Tomorrow..." Xiang Xi followed up, and suddenly grabbed Cheng Boyan's arm nervously, "I'm going to the police station tomorrow! I'm... oh... I'm a little nervous!"

"Well," Cheng Boyan glanced at him, and felt a little amused when he heard the words he had demolished, "Let them drive you there tomorrow, after all, you are going to Zhaojiayao."

Cheng Boyan was referring to the trio, Xiang Xi nodded, thought about it and said, "Do I have to prepare anything? What should I say?"

"No, didn't you go just to find out what to prepare?" Cheng Boyan touched his face, "Just say whatever people ask you."

Xiang Xi felt that there were a lot of things these past few days, and his head was always a little messy. He couldn't sleep well when he lay down at night, and he couldn't turn over.

"How long will I have to sleep in this position?" He leaned against Cheng Boyan and touched the watch on his wrist.

"Theoretically, it will take a week," Cheng Boyan said. "If you are bored, you still have time to finish your work tomorrow. Come to the hospital and take a film for me to see."

"Well, that's right, it's good to know a doctor." Xiang Xi said happily.

"If the healing is not satisfactory..."

"No, I'm healing well. I drank three bowls of bone soup tonight."

Speaking of bone soup, Cheng Boyan thought of Hu Hai again.

This person's cooking is indeed top-notch. He is full of disgust for Hu Hai, but he still eats a lot of dishes, which are delicious, and he can tell that Hu Hai doesn't use MSG in his cooking. It really depends on his craftsmanship.

Thinking about it, he felt a little depressed. When he thought of Xiang Xi watching Hu Hai cook with anticipation, he was very upset. He really hoped that Hu Hai was Xiang Xi's brother, but of course he would not say that.

Xiang Xi got up early the next morning, and when Cheng Boyan was woken up by the sound of the soybean milk machine, Xiang Xi was busy in the kitchen.

"What are you doing?" Cheng Boyan asked in surprise, looking at the beans on the desk and the ground.

"I'll make you a not-too-palatable miscellaneous bean porridge," Xiang Xi guarded the machine, "Go and wash up, I'll clean it up."

"Clean it up now, and step on it later!" Cheng Boyan said.

"Then you clean up." Xiang Xi was still staring at the soymilk machine intently.

"Didn't you ask me to wash up?" Cheng Boyan sighed.

"Didn't you say clean up?" Xiang Xi turned around and smiled at him.

Cheng Boyan had no choice but to clean up the beans. When throwing them into the trash can, Xiang Xi sighed: "What a waste."

"You still want to pick it up and put it back?" Cheng Boyan said, "It's a good thing you didn't clean it up."

"Of course put it back. If you drop it on the ground, you can pick it up, blow it, and put it back. Your floor is so clean that you can lick your tongue. There is nothing you can't put back," Xiang Xi said, "Don't you have to cook it when you eat it? Don't eat raw beans..."

Cheng Boyan made him speechless, and it took him a long time to turn around and go into the bathroom: "OK, OK, next time you drop it, pick it up and put it back."

"You cleanliness may have wasted a lot of food these years." Xiang Xi said again.

Cheng Boyan poked his head out of the bathroom and looked at him: "I've never scattered all over the floor like you...don't pick it up in the trash can!"

"I won't." Xiang Xi laughed.

The miscellaneous bean porridge that Xiang Xi made today is miraculously not mushy, probably because I used a soymilk machine, but I couldn’t make it if I wanted to.

"How is it?" Xiang Xi stared at him and took a sip, "Is it delicious?"

"It's delicious, you can put less sugar." Cheng Boyan said, this method was taught by Hu Hai, if it wasn't for Xiang Xi's tossing and tossing for a long time in the morning, and it was mainly for him to eat, he really wanted to say something It's not delicious, but it's unpalatable, it can't be more unpalatable!

"Well, next time when I make it again, I won't put sugar in it. If you want to eat sweet, you can put it in. If you don't want to eat it, you can put it lightly." After hearing his affirmation, Xiang Xi went into the kitchen and took his own bowl to eat. "Try that fried fish when you have time, I..."

"It's time for you to go out," Cheng Boyan interrupted him, "It's not close to Zhaojiayao."

"Oh!" Xiang Xi wiped his lips and ran into the bedroom, and ran back to the kitchen as soon as he entered, washed his hands, and ran back into the bedroom again, "I'm exhausted from this trip."

Going to the police station, for Xiang Xi, he no longer had the fear he used to, although he had never been arrested.

But today is very tense.

Sitting in the car, Xiang Xi kept rubbing his legs nervously.

When Officer Zhang called, he almost jumped up in fright.

"Remember to go there today." Officer Zhang reminded him.

"On the way," Xiang Xi said, "Officer Zhang, I have something...I want to ask."

"What's the matter?" Officer Zhang said.

"That's right, if Uncle Ping catches it," Xiang Xi whispered, "Can you tell me?"

"Okay, maybe there will be something that needs your cooperation." Officer Zhang smiled.

"Then..." Xiang Xi hesitated, "Then...you will ask him, ask him...have you found anything about me?"

"Is there anything you want to know?" Officer Zhang asked.

"I just...want to know," Xiang Xi's voice became softer, "Whether I was picked up by him or kidnapped, and what is my last name..."

When Hu Hai talked about his younger brother yesterday, he was very depressed and almost lost his words. He didn't dare to ask more questions, just like he didn't dare to mention Cheng Boyu before Cheng Boyan. He was afraid that asking too much would make Hu Hai uncomfortable.

Moreover, Cheng Boyan also said about this matter, it is unreliable, he just asked rashly, if it is not, it will make Hu Hai uncomfortable.

If he could verify from Uncle Ping whether what he said back then was true, it would make him sure whether he should just ask Hu Hai like this.

He had little hope in this matter, but he was unwilling to give up even a little bit of hope.

"This... I can ask," Police Officer Zhang said, "but you can go get a blood sample and enter the sample into the missing persons database for comparison. If your parents are looking for you and also enter the sample, you can find it."

"Can it still be like this?" Xiang Xi straightened up.

"Well, but if your family members don't take samples, they won't be able to find out, but your samples will be kept," Officer Zhang said, "You should still try."

"Ok, ok, ok," Xiang Xi said in succession, "Thank you!"

After he hung up, he urged Brother Wang, who was driving, to hurry up, wishing he could have a tube of blood drawn straight away.

When the car drove into the range of Zhaojiayao, Xiang Xi fell silent again.

Zhaojiayao was still the same, this place was too familiar, so familiar that he suddenly saw the ruined scene outside the window, and felt a deep sense of loss.

The darkness hidden in his blood, from here on, he lived aimlessly and uncompromisingly in these darkness, and struggled to escape.

And the light he wanted in the end had to start from here.

The two completely different feelings made him feel an indescribable emptiness when he got off the station at the gate of the police station.

After entering the gate and telling a policeman about my purpose in the reception room at the gate, the emptiness was filled up little by little.

filled with hope.

A policeman from the Household Registration Section entered the reception room. Because Officer Zhang had contacted him before, this policeman surnamed Li had already prepared the required forms for him.

"It's called Xiang Xi, right?" Officer Li asked.

"Yes, but it wasn't called Xiang Xi before," Xiang Xi replied nervously, "This name..."

"The name doesn't matter, just write the name you are used to when registering," Police Officer Li looked at him, "You have to fill out some forms, and there are some proof materials that you need to stamp on the street."

"What material? Stamped?" Xiang Xi asked worriedly.

"Your situation is special, and you need a document from the neighborhood committee to prove that you were picked up, you have no parents, and you don't know your place of origin. Then we will deal with it in detail, and we can put your household registration on the collective household registration of Welfare Dan," Police Officer Li said very excitedly. Explain to him patiently, "This way you can apply for an ID card."

"Oh," Xiang Xi couldn't help raising his eyebrows when he heard the ID card, "How long will this take?"

"After all the materials are ready, it will be completed within fifteen working days," Officer Li said, "Come on, let me tell you what to prepare first."

Officer Li explained to him how to fill in a form, gave him a template, and finally took a list of materials that needed to be provided, and ticked off all the materials he needed to use.

"Is it clear?" Officer Li asked.

"I almost understand." Xiang Xi nodded, he half understood, but the content was written on paper, he can go back and ask Cheng Boyan to help him read it again.

"Just get these ready. If you don't understand anything, you can ask me. It's on the phone." Officer Li pointed to the code number.

"Well, Officer Li, I still want to ask." Xiang Xi put all the forms and instructions on the table in the file bag that Officer Li gave him, "I heard from Officer Zhang, what kind of... "

"A DNA database?" Officer Li said, "It is possible. You can come over tomorrow and I will take you to the identification center to collect a blood sample. This is free."

Xiang Xi stayed there for two hours, and Officer Li got to know his details again and made a record.

When he came out of the police station, he felt that his footsteps were a little light, and he was trembling with excitement. He squeezed the folder too tightly, and he almost couldn't separate his fingers when he was about to put the folder down.

"I'll make a call," Xiang Xi said to Brother Wang who was about to drive him to the neighborhood committee, and laughed for a while, "I have to make a call first."

The call was made to Cheng Boyan, and Cheng Boyan was probably eating, and when he answered the phone, he could hear his voice drinking milk.

"How is it?" Cheng Boyan asked.

"It went well. They recorded all my situation and gave me the form. I will go to the neighborhood committee in the afternoon to see how to issue a certificate." Xiang Xi was so excited that his teeth trembled a little, "You said, let me fill in the name If so, is it called Xiang Xi?"

"You can fill in whatever you want, including Cheng Xi," Cheng Boyan said with a smile, "You can think about it slowly, and you are not asked to write it now, right?"

"Think about it first, and the birthday, I can estimate the year, I also thought about the specific date," Xiang Xi couldn't help laughing as he spoke, "Just the day you rescued me."

"Why?" Cheng Boyan asked.

"Because I saw the light from that day on," Xiang Xi said, "From that day on, I walked towards the light."