salt by salt

"Brother Junyan, my ears are going to freeze off."

Wu Yanrui was wrapped in a scarf, only revealing a pair of big round eyes, with snow particles on the long eyelashes.I held her hand, breathed out a cloud of white mist, and asked with a smile, "Who was going to ski at the beginning?"

The end of the year is approaching, and the days are freezing cold, so Wu Yanrui is going to go to the ski resort in the suburbs of Beijing.This little girl was on winter vacation, and Yan Xia sent her to spend the New Year with Wu Mian. I fulfilled the agreement before leaving and took her around.

After leaving the ski resort, I ate with her at a nearby children's restaurant.It has been snowing in City B recently, only the indoors are warm like spring, Wu Yanrui stretched out her fingers and showed off to me: "I built five snowmen in the community! Five!"

"That's amazing." I asked with a smile, "Are your hands cold?"

She shook her head happily: "It's not cold, Dad is here to help me."

I smiled slightly, and looked sideways at the snow in the yard outside the window.

Counting that Sun Ning has been pregnant for more than four months, some time ago I paid Yan Xia a sum of money and entrusted her to take care of her.Yan Xia originally insisted not to, saying that we have known each other for so long, and she would take care of Sun Ning just because of friendship, so why bother.

I said that if I gave the money to Sun Ning, she would never use any of it, and it would be better to let someone else manage it, so as not to worry the pregnant woman.Yan Xia was silent on the phone for a long time before she sighed and agreed to accept it.

Sun Ning saved my life and accompanied me through the most difficult years, but I couldn't be by her side when she needed it. I already felt guilty, and I could only make her live comfortably in the best possible way.

The driver drove Wu Yanrui home and asked me sitting in the back seat: "Mr. Xu, do you want to go home or go to the company?"

This driver was chosen by Songcheng for me, and "going home" means going back to the residence arranged by Songcheng.I glanced at my watch, it was still early, just after 03:30 in the afternoon.After thinking about it, I reported a string of addresses: "Go there."

Fortunately, this person usually only followed the orders, and he turned around and continued driving without asking anything else.

It was still a familiar scene, the evergreen trees planted by the roadside were covered with a layer of snow, and a few old men who were not afraid of the severe cold were sitting in the pavilion playing chess.I had just left the Xu family, and I was dazzled by different housing sources. I finally chose this not-so-new community because of its quiet and quiet environment.

The key from that year was naturally lost. Fortunately, the process of unlocking the property was not troublesome. After half an hour of tossing around, I got a new key and finally entered the house.

The house was different from what I had imagined. It had been unoccupied for three years, yet there was no heavy smell of dust.The floor can be called clean, and there is even a bit of life, as if someone lived here not long ago.

I turned my head to look at the property staff. He was as surprised as I was, and quickly separated himself: "Mr. Xu, unless you show valid identification like you just did, we will never provide outsiders with the key to enter your house."

The password lock screen in the bedroom was broken, and it looked like it had been violently damaged. I was stunned, could it be a thief?

Twist the handle to enter, the room does not look like a mess, the drawers and wardrobes remain the same, only the mattresses are piled up in a mess.

I usually tidy up the quilt without any hassle. At this time, I probably had a guess in my heart. The staff behind me were still asking worriedly: "Mr. Xu, do you want to check if there are any important items missing?"

"No." I said, "I forgot that my younger brother also has the key here, maybe he came to live for a while."

The staff looked amnesty, and hurriedly said: "I just said that the security of our community is very good, there is no possibility of theft. Mr. Xu, if there is nothing wrong, I will leave first, and you will call us if you have any questions. "

After the person left, I sat down on the sofa and found that there was an empty ice cream box under the coffee table that I had not thrown away after eating the ice cream.Fortunately, the weather is cold, otherwise I don't know how many bugs will be recruited.

Andre is too careless.I am funny and helpless, once I get busy in City B, I will find that time flies very fast.It has been two months since the last time I met him, but I still vaguely feel that it was a few days ago.

Our conversation on the phone stopped months ago, and I wondered if I should take the initiative to call him.With my fingers hanging over the dial key, I hesitated again and again, and I retracted the phone.

This little bastard is the most aggressive, and once contacted, he doesn't know how much right and wrong will happen.Just dealing with Song Cheng and Yang Chen is enough of a headache for me, I really don't want to spare my energy to deal with him.

Anyway, Chinese New Year is not too far away, I will go back to Xu's house on New Year's Eve, and we will always meet at that time.

I cheered up and simply cleaned up the house.Andre didn't make a lot of rubbish, and the only thing that was out of the ordinary was that he didn't live in his own room obediently, but stayed in my bed overnight.

Considering that he has asked to live in my bedroom several times before, this move is not unexpected.

The house is full of instant food, and Andre usually makes do with food.I asked the driver to go to the supermarket to buy some fruits, vegetables and meat, and filled the refrigerator to the brim. I was relieved, and felt a sense of security in my heart.

A few minutes before I felt comfortable, the phone rang, and it was a strange call.

The mobile phone card was newly issued after returning to the capital, so naturally there is no previous address book, and many contacts have to be re-established.I glanced at the number, and felt that it looked familiar, as if I had seen it somewhere before, but I couldn't remember it for a while.

"Hello, who is it?"

"Toshihiko."

The tone of the female voice was light, and I froze in place: "...Mom."

"Why didn't you tell me when you came back?" She said, "I still learned about it from other people."

There was a cruel righteousness about her, as if contacting her as soon as I got back was a task I had to complete, and it was my fault if I didn't, and she had nothing to do with the person who bought me a cemetery a few years ago and declared her dead.

In front of my mother, I will always be a bad child who cannot satisfy her.

There seems to be something choked in my throat, which makes it difficult for me to speak: "Recently... a little busy."

She laughed, seemed a little disdainful, and seemed to be caused by my oversensitive nerves: "Junyan, where are you?"

I wanted to make up an excuse to have a meeting at the company, but I finally paused and reported the address.

"I'll come here now." Her order sounded light, but it made me dizzy, "I'll be there soon."

My mother was still sent here by her housekeeper. I was afraid that she might not be able to find the building, so I ran to the gate of the community to pick her up—even though she actually came here once.

Maybe it was because Xu was too tired to run the business, or maybe it was the gloomy weather today. Although she still had a beautiful face and graceful temperament, she was not as radiant as I remembered.

Mom was wearing a dark coat with a serious black dress underneath, which was not enough to keep warm.After a little hesitation, I took off the scarf and wrapped it around her. She didn't refuse, and even raised her jaw slightly so that I could help tidy it up.

The housekeeper did not follow, but waited in the car downstairs.My mother followed me into the room, and after sitting down, she looked me up and down: "Junyan, you have lost a lot of weight."

I smiled awkwardly, not knowing what to say, so I could only pour her a cup of hot tea.

She took the teacup, dipped her lips with the tea reservedly, and looked up at me again: "What are you doing standing up? Sit down and talk."

I took a deep breath and asked sincerely, "Is there anything mom can do with me?"

"What can I do? I haven't seen you for so long. I heard that you are back. Let's see how you are doing."

Her tone is just right, not too much, not too little, which can be used to perfunctory: "Recently, rumors and gossip have spread to me. After all, I gave birth to a child. What happened to you, I always You can't help but ask, right?"

I didn't say a word, she stroked the broken hair on her temples, her hands were well maintained, white and slender like a girl.

"I was considered pretty when I was young, and I often attracted men around. It's just that my wrists couldn't keep up with my face. Although they liked me, it didn't last long, so I suffered a lot later."

She bent the corner of her lips: "I didn't expect that the blue is better than the blue. I gave birth to an ordinary-looking son, but it can make several people give up their hearts and make so many things. It's really epic."

I was so embarrassingly hot that I couldn't stand anymore, so I murmured, "Mom..."

"Junyan, if I had known that you had the ability to provoke men, I should never have put you in Xu's family. Take you by my side and raise you as a daughter. Maybe it will bring more help now. You Say?"

I never thought that my biological mother could be so cruel.

Every word she uttered was like a poisoned dagger, piercing into my weakness.Even though I don't feel the same emotional ups and downs about her as before, I still feel a pang of sadness: "Mom, don't say that about me."

"If you do it, don't be afraid of people saying it." She glanced at me, "Andre grew up beside me, and I worked hard to train him for more than 20 years. After returning to China and staying with you, he became like that. Probably not angry."

Andre's matter became another irreversible deadlock between me and my mother, and I bowed my head.

"I thought he could be smarter, but I didn't expect that the treatment wouldn't work. All he thinks about is abnormal things. It must be inherited from his father. Sooner or later, his family..."

Mom cut off the conversation abruptly, she frowned, and a bored look appeared on her beautiful face: "Looking at it this way, compared to him, you, Jun Yan, are more like me."

Andre once said that his mother made him suffer a lot of inhuman treatment during the "treatment".I grasped the clues in her words and hurriedly asked: "What's wrong with Andre? Mom, you can't treat a living person in an ignorant way!"

"You ask Andre? Don't worry, he is my son, and of course I will let him live well and be safe."

I paused, and my mother smiled when she spoke, but that smile was cold, which made me suddenly have an ominous premonition.

"Mom, he is indeed your son, but he is not your property." My voice trembled a little, "You know, you can't lie to me now, and I will find out soon if I want to check."

"Maybe I'm not a qualified mother, but Jun Yan, you are not a qualified brother either. So you don't know?"

My mother was sitting there. When she raised her eyes and looked at me, she had a noble posture, but she showed a cruel expression invisibly:

"Andre is crazy."