salt by salt

I pushed open the door, just in time to see Xiao Wang busy at the dining table.Andre was sitting opposite, his face was smeared with flour, and he was holding a large bowl of whipped cream in his hand.

I was stunned and said, "This is?"

"Ah, Mr. Xu, you came back very early today." Xiao Wang smiled and put down the cake mold, "It's not, it's your birthday today, and Andre wants to make a cake to celebrate, so I'll help him."

Sour thoughts flooded my chest, diluting the heavy heart brought about by meeting my mother.I was silent for a few seconds, then took a few steps closer to Andre, and wiped off the flour on his cheeks: "Look at you, you look like a little tabby cat."

Xiao Wang is used to encouraging his progress, and said beside him: "Mr. Xu, I thought Andre could only understand, but I didn't expect him to be able to read and write. It's just that no one talked to him every day before, and he couldn't speak well. Shun. When you were away, he practiced with me. I can’t see anything these two days, and I will definitely become more and more proficient in the future.”

"Ah."

The small reply came from Andre at my side.He smiled and glanced at me quietly as if he was embarrassed. When he saw that I was looking at him, he immediately lowered his head and pretended to concentrate on kneading the dough.

After one night of confusion when he mistook the drug for a vitamin, the invisible barrier between Andre and me has dissipated.

I rolled up my shirt: "Where are you going? I'll help too."

Xiao Wang's cooking skills are good, and I have also learned some dessert recipes, but Andre is a little unfamiliar.He wanted to squeeze out the cream to decorate flowers, but he couldn't control his strength, making it all over the table.

Xiao Wang tidied up his hands and feet swiftly, and Andre looked at his hands with a confused and bewildered expression.The doctor said that he took too much medicine, his nerves were strongly stimulated and damaged, and he might not be able to control his fingers to do fine movements in the future.

We must not tell him this, but the fragile appearance is really pitiful, I quickly said: "Today's cream is a bit runny, it's not easy to squeeze. It just so happens that I don't like fancy decorations, we just need to wipe a flat surface."

After a while of tossing, it can be regarded as a good-looking fresh milk fruit cake.Andre sat obediently beside me, and Xiao Wang put candles on the cake.

They bought a whole 27 and filled the surface of the cake densely. I was moved and laughed when I saw it: "It's still daytime outside, so the trouble of blowing out the candles will be avoided?"

Before I finished speaking, Andre got up and ran to close the curtains of the living room's floor-to-ceiling windows, and closed the doors of each room, and the room became much darker in an instant.After finishing all this, he returned to the seat next to me and looked at me helplessly: "Brother, it's all right."

I burst out laughing and pinched his cheek lightly.Xiao Wang said: "Birthdays mainly depend on the atmosphere. Anyway, we have to blow out the candles. Mr. Xu, why don't you just make a wish."

"You are too...too serious."

Candlelight flickered in the dark room, and the sweet scent of butter floated in the air. Someone beside me showed an expectant expression.I can't count how long I haven't spent my birthday in such a plain and warm way—or maybe never.

Infected by this kind of childishness, although I said I was childish, I still closed my eyes.

Countless thoughts flashed before his eyes.I think of how crazy I was chasing family and wanting to be loved, as if I would die immediately if no one loved me.Actually not.All the things I don't get are not as important as I thought they were.But I didn't know it before, so I reached out desperately to reach for it. I lived my whole life as if I was running away, and I was really exhausted.

If I meet a 17-year-old Xu Junyan now, I will pat him on the shoulder and tell myself that I don’t have to live so hard.

It really doesn't have to be that hard.

Looking back on the past 27 years, many people have participated in my life, their faces are hidden in the darkness, and it is impossible to tell who is who.At that time, the things that I thought would never be forgotten, whether beautiful or ugly, were all erased one by one.

I opened my eyes and Andre's gaze met mine.Those eyes are still bright, and the smile is like a rose with morning dew blooming in front of me, charming and charming.

Only now, the fetters of blood will be wiped out, love, hatred, love and hatred will be lost along with the memory, and all the things that trapped you by my side will finally disappear.

While you don't love me, while parting won't hurt my heart.

I don't want to be an unqualified brother for the second time.Andrei, if your wish comes true, you will find happiness far away from it all.

Taking a deep breath and blowing out the candle, I seemed to hear what he said to me in the car that year:

"We are all trapped in a cage, the difference is that you no longer have the courage to escape."

I don't run away.I fight it to the end.

When I received Yang Chen's call, I was sitting in the car going to Songcheng's residence.

The partition separates the front and rear seats, so you don't have to worry about being heard by the driver.I changed to a more comfortable position and swipe the screen: "Huh?"

"Xu Junyan, happy birthday."

The voice of the man at the other end was low and a little hoarse.A picture appeared in front of my eyes almost instantly: Yang Chen was leaning on the seat, holding a mobile phone in one hand, and stroking his forehead with the other hand.

I pursed my lips: "Thank you."

"I ordered a gift for you, and someone delivered it to your home. It's not something expensive, so it's auspicious." He said, "Lu Changbai is too difficult to deal with, and he has been very busy recently. I wanted to call you earlier, legal affairs There was another impromptu meeting, and when I came back to my senses, I found that it was already afternoon."

"Work is important." I said softly, "Don't work too hard, remember to pay attention to your body."

"No matter how hard I try, I can't beat Lu Jingfan. In fact, even if your father has all-hands and eyes, it is impossible to know the foresight. Our chances of winning are already great. However, with Lu Jingfan's energy, he sleeps for three hours a day at most, and personally intervenes in every detail. .”

There was a bit of irritability in Yang Chen's words: "Indeed, the more careful the preparation, the better, but there are some things that go too far. He looks like he's about to confront Lord Hades, and he shows timidity before the court session, which tends to make his subordinates nervous. I've been living this day, it's so fucking short of my life, I'm about to have a nervous breakdown."

I listened patiently, knowing that he didn't deliberately get angry, but he was used to complaining in front of me, or expressing some inhumane thoughts, which was a way to release the pressure.

"Forget it, don't mention this." He clicked his tongue, "Don't worry, I'm here, and the progress is going well. Did Zhao Yuan find you?"

"……No."

The "line" between us is mainly determined by Zhao Yuan. If there is no change in the next arrangement, he will never take the risk to contact me with his temperament of not saying a word and taking one step at a time.

"I guess so. That's why I hate dealing with political people. They are all slippery." Yang Chen said. thorough."

The words were sarcasm, and I didn't refute. I turned my body and leaned against the car window, and sighed helplessly.

I don't know if the sigh was heard by Yang Chen, the call was quiet for a few seconds, and when he spoke again, he changed the subject: "I went to see Sun Ning."

I blinked and began to doubt my ears: "Who?"

"Sun Ning, that woman who lived with you for three years." He seemed to be grinding his teeth in secret, and what he said sounded like gnashing of teeth, "She seems to be giving birth this month, and there is no man around to help her. difficult."

Having been together for so many years, I couldn't figure out what he was implying, so I couldn't help rubbing my forehead: "You didn't provoke her, did you? That's Xu Yuzhong's child, stop thinking about it."

"We haven't met... We have nothing to say when we meet. But for the sake of her taking care of you for three years, I asked my assistant to bring some tonics. I'm afraid she won't accept it, so I left your name." Yang Chen said in a resentful tone. , "And how dare I provoke her, she has a big belly, in case something happens, you have to tear me apart."

I couldn't help but bend the corners of my lips: "Even if you go, Sun Ning won't talk to you. She has a rational personality and doesn't get angry with others easily. I don't know who will be the one who will make trouble for herself."

He paused for a few seconds, and suddenly asked: "Xu Junyan, if no one finds you, and you live incognito in City S, will you marry her?"

I didn't expect that Yang Chen, who always only cared about the future, would ask such a question. I wanted to say something perfunctory, but I swallowed it before the joke blurted out.

For some reason, I intuitively felt that he cared about my answers.So I thought about it for a while, and then said: "First of all, I think Sun Ning doesn't like me. I don't have a formal job, I don't have a stable income, and I'm still half disabled... She is beautiful, and her career is on the rise. Women who are better than me, unless they want to humiliate themselves..."

"This is not enough to constitute a reason." Yang Chen interrupted me abruptly, "My mother married my father who had nothing at that time."

I said: "The second point is that Sun Ning's ex-boyfriend is Xu Yuzhong. Although it does not mean that she still has a good impression of Xu Yuzhong, at least Sun Ning does not reject having his child. She and I are just friends, and there is no love. possibility, not to mention marriage."

"As far as I know, your cousin has no idea that he has a child so far."

Yang Chen spoke quickly: "If you hadn't left, would Sun Ning keep silent and let the two of you raise the child together? With your temper, would you refuse to help? It is not enough to have a mother, you must have a father. Other men may not be reliable, but you know the bottom line, isn't it just right?"

"Yang Chen, this is all the 'if' you assumed." I was baffled by his reaction, "Sun Ning is not the kind of person you said at all, and I didn't stay—"

"But I dreamed it!" There was a hint of breakdown in his growling voice, "I dream of you being with someone else every day! With her, with Song Cheng, with your brother, or even with anyone, anyway, it's not me!"

I was stunned, and Yang Chen murmured: "I'm really afraid that you will still not accept me after I get things done here. There's no need for me to treat Zhao Yuan like a cow, let alone talk to others in a low-key manner. Drinking and playing around. Lu Changbai is still a friend of my dad's for many years. For you, I even cheated him. Do you know what my image will be in front of the elders after the lawsuit with him is over, and how much I will lose my head?"

I closed my eyes and tried my best to ignore his trembling voice.

"Xu Junyan, you promised that between me and Song Cheng, you will definitely choose me." He said, "Are you lying? Xu Junyan, I want to hear your promise."

Yang Chen, having been cheated so many times, why doesn't he have a long memory.

Xu Junyan is an executioner who is cruel by nature and full of lies.

"No matter who I lie to, I won't lie to you."

When I heard my reply, my tone was soft and firm, convincing: "You are my first love, how could I be willing to let you get hurt?"