salt by salt

It was already the afternoon of the next day when I returned from Songcheng.

I opened the door and found that Xiao Wang was the only one in the house. I wondered, "Where's Andre?"

A trace of panic flashed across his face, which made me suspect that I was dazzled, and then he stood up and explained with a normal expression: "Mr. Went to the cultural square on two roads. When I walked to the entrance of the theater, there happened to be an opera he was interested in, and if he spoke French, I bought a ticket to see it. It ends at four in the afternoon, and I will pick him up in an hour. "

Xiao Wang has always been meticulous and considerate, probably seeing Andre recovering his sanity, he can't help but relax.Taking care of patients is not easy, and it is natural to be lazy occasionally.

Although I could understand it in my heart, I still frowned: "He is alone, and he doesn't speak Chinese fluently. It's not safe to stay in the theater alone. You can also buy a ticket to accompany him. I will pay for this kind of money separately."

He hurriedly said: "I'm sorry, Andre is worried that there is no one at home. You will be anxious when you come back. You must wait in advance. After all, I didn't do my duty. I must pay attention next time."

"Well, wait a little earlier, so as not to be bumped into by people coming and going."

Although Andre is only thirteen or fourteen years old mentally, he is very smart and has his own opinions and persistence.In addition, the body is already an adult, so it will never be abducted.I felt a little more at ease, and didn't want to be entangled in such side matters, so I turned and went into the study: "Come with me, I have something else to tell you."

Xiao Wang has sharp eyes and quick hands. Seeing that I looked tired, he brought a cup of tea when he came in.I asked him to sit across from him, and explained in detail about accompanying Andre back to France.

At the end, he added: "You follow him to take care of him. You are only responsible for keeping him from touching those messy things, especially syringes and medicines. If you are too busy with daily life, I will hire someone to help you. Salary All bonuses are doubled, and if Andre wants to travel or go out to play, you will be treated the same as him, and I will cover all these expenses."

Xiao Wang was recommended by Yin Wenjun. At the beginning, because Andre was difficult to serve, and I wanted him to pay more attention to him, the price I offered was much higher than the market; just going to France to take care of him for a period of time can increase his salary. After all, such a condition is difficult for ordinary people to refuse.

His expression was astonished, as if he couldn't believe his ears: "Mr. Xu, why did you send Andre away?"

I also froze for a moment, I didn't expect Xiao Wang to ask this question.Naturally, I would not reveal the specific reason to him, so I simply replied: "His memory is only in his teens. At that time, he should have lived abroad. Send him back, maybe he can remember more. Would you like to go with him?" ?”

Xiao Wang showed hesitation, and after a while, he said earnestly: "Of course I am willing, but I am very surprised...Mr. Xu, you are a very good employer and treat people kindly, and Andre is not a difficult patient to take care of." I have been with you for so long, and I also have feelings for you, so I would like to ask, did something happen to send him away? Can I help you?"

I was really hit right by him - if it wasn't for Song Cheng's impromptu visit last night, I wouldn't have sent Andre back home so quickly.

I lowered my eyelids and smiled: "What's the matter! I talked with the doctor and I think this is better. I also told Andre about this decision a few days ago. I'm afraid he didn't understand. Are you Do you want to practice Chinese with him? Find a time to tell him slowly, don't speak too hastily."

"But Andre recovered so quickly because of you, Mr. Xu. If you go abroad, you don't know what it will be like." There was a trace of anxiety in Xiao Wang's eyes, "What if the condition worsens?" ?”

I noticed that his attitude was strange, but thinking that he usually did his best to Andre, it was probably out of worry, so I suppressed that bit of surprise: "I will contact a reliable doctor in France and let Andre stay in a nursing home first." Stay for a while. He has recovered a lot and has his own ability to judge. After all, I am just an older brother and cannot influence his personal wishes."

"Andre might want to stay here even more." Xiao Wang said, "I think he's been thinking about you these days, so he's definitely willing to get close to my brother."

It was because he was so "close" to me that I decided to send him away.

"Sending him back doesn't mean severing the relationship. You can come back at any time when the situation is stable." I helplessly, and found that Xiao Wang likes to get to the bottom of it today. "I have my own considerations. Since you are willing to take care of him, let's talk about it in advance." Alright, sign the contract and save yourself trouble later on."

Xiao Wang smiled mischievously, and finally stopped saying anything, stood up and said, "I'm fine now, so I might as well go to the theater and wait."

I waved my hand, and he carefully closed the study door and left.Time is running out, I am going to contact the heads of several nursing homes, and the matter of other accompanying personnel must be carefully considered.

Do you want to pass a message to Yin Wenjun and let him pay attention?

Forget it, he and his mother also have contacts, if his mother asks about Andre's whereabouts, it would be embarrassing to be caught in the middle.What's more, I sent Andre away this time. I was determined not to let others know, and I was going to wait for him to remember everything before deciding whether to forgive my mother.

Tell Xiao Wang a few more words to avoid complications.Lu Changbai once trained me, saying that if you don’t cultivate a few of your confidantes, you will be timid in doing things, which is really good...

As I thought about it, I picked up my teacup and took a sip.In order to refresh myself, the tea I drink has always been very strong. At this time, I can't taste half of the tea fragrance, leaving only a strong bitterness.

I was busy with this matter for a while, and my spirit was a little bit overwhelmed, and I was a little dizzy.Even if you don't want to, you have to stop and rest.

Just at this time the door opened and closed, presumably Xiao Wang and Andre came back.Immediately afterwards, there was the sound of footsteps all the way to this side. You don't need to listen carefully to distinguish the distinct meaning of anger.

The door of the study was pushed open heavily, and Andre appeared outside the door, Xiao Wang followed behind to dissuade him, but nothing could stop him.

I sighed, and said softly: "Come in and talk. Xiao Wang, pour Andre a glass of water, not ice. Is it hot outside? Is the musical good?"

"You don't want me." He took a few steps closer and looked at me, the anger on his face faded, but the circles of his eyes slowly turned red, and the words he spit out were full of unspeakable grievances, "Why don't you want me?"

Seeing his pitiful appearance, I was heartbroken, and all the words I had drafted were crushed: "Andre, my brother didn't want you. I, I didn't tell you. In the future, when you think about it, any time Can you see me! Do you want to go back to the place where you grew up? And, if I have time, I will go there to accompany you."

He couldn't listen to others like a child, just shouted: "You just don't want me! You say you want to get rid of me!"

What I'm most afraid of is to stimulate Andre's spirit. I clearly told Xiao Wang to tell him slowly, why is it still so troublesome?

"No, how could my brother not want you?" I hurriedly grabbed his wrist, "You are my younger brother! If I abandon anyone, I will never abandon you. Let's go back and live for a few days. My brother will find someone to play with you, thinking about it every day." Whatever you do, wherever you want to go.”

Andre shook off my hand, squatted down and curled up his body, whimpering like a young animal, stumbling and saying: "No! I don't! Mom doesn't want me, Dad doesn't want me, and you don't want me... all Everyone hates me!"

I remembered what the housekeeper said, and thought of his dark childhood experience, I almost cried: "That's not the case, brother doesn't mean that, Andre, can you listen to my explanation?"

He turned his back to me, covered his ears with his hands, and refused to turn his face away.

I was so anxious that I half-kneeled beside him, and heard him murmuring in a low voice: "You have my name on you, so you must like me... Then you, why do you let me go? What did I do wrong, you don't like me Yet?"

Turns out he noticed the tattoo on my belly, no wonder I'm so shy these days.

After suddenly realizing it, the situation became more and more troublesome: "You misunderstood—no, it's not a misunderstanding, but this is all from the past, do you understand?"

Andre's tears fell in strings, and his whole face was wet and flushed.He bit his lips tightly, trying to wipe away the tears with the back of his hand, but wiped more and more.

I suppressed the feeling of love and pity that was overflowing in my chest, and tried to explain it in simple words so that he could understand: "I can't be with you forever, one day we will be separated. If I'm here, your life will be unhappy. Send you back, you can live a better life, and as an older brother, I will be happy for you."

Those beautiful eyes looked at me fixedly, a teardrop hung on the slender and thick eyelashes, precarious: "But, but with you, I am very happy."

"Happiness...is temporary. When you think about it all and realize what you have lost, you will be very, very sad. Maybe you will be so sad that you never want to see me again." I closed my eyes, "Listen to brother."

People who were radiant and talented in the past can't even decorate cakes well.I've been through this before, so I know how painful it is.

If Andre completely recovers his memory, how sad will he be in the face of all this?

I stroked his shoulder patiently, after a while he calmed down, raised his face and asked, "So, you don't love me? Not at all?"

Because he had just stopped sobbing, the corners of his eyes were slightly red, which instead made his face vivid and beautiful, adding a bit of color.

But when I made this decision, I asked myself, if Andre begged hard, would I be able to stick to my decision and not cross the threshold?

can.

I don't want to drag him down anymore.

"I don't love you." I said, "I only regard you as a younger brother, and I only fulfill the obligations of an elder brother. There is no other relationship between us."

"I don't believe it!" His eyes widened, his tone suddenly raised, "This is impossible, you are lying! I want to hear the truth!"

I never expected that Andre would be so excited, trembling all over, even his teeth were chattering, and the tears that had finally stopped came out of his eyes again: "I don't believe it, haven't you always taken care of me? You didn't even Give up, why don't you want me now? Why? Why? How could you not love me, how could you not love me?"

The questioning voice was full of despair, it was heartbreaking.

"I'm sorry, I'm sorry." I was shocked by the ups and downs of emotions, but I had no choice but to apologize repeatedly, "I'm sorry, it's my fault, I shouldn't have provoked you that night."

Andre reached out and hugged me tightly, crying loudly in my arms.Instead of the beauty of crying just now, this time he collapsed into an imageless, heart-piercing, almost terrifying.

I was relieved, he was only thirteen or fourteen years old mentally, and when he was vulnerable, sensitive, and full of emotions, maybe it would be good to cry.

He cried for a long time, his eyes were red and swollen like peaches.When his voice was too hoarse to cry, he rested his head on my lap, with a sense of despondency lingering all over his body.

In the past, Andre was seriously ill. Although he couldn't recognize me, he knew that he was close to me and often leaned on me like this.

"do not go."

Tears were still streaming down his cheeks, he grabbed my sleeve and refused to let go, so he muttered to himself with tears: "Even you don't love me, am I bad, bad? Can you Don't throw me away, I don't want no one to want me, I will be good, and I will never make trouble again...Brother, don't want me..."

I just felt like a knife was twisting in my heart. I touched the top of his hair lightly, and looked up to see the photographs hanging on the wall of the study.

At the auction, he recognized my back at a glance, so he bought it for 50 yuan.How bad-hearted Andre was at that time, insisting on using this matter to embarrass me in front of Yang Chen, after a dispute, I slammed the door and left in a huff.

I turned around as the door closed and caught a glimpse of him standing there alone out of the corner of my eye.I know that he always stands in the same position, staring at my departing figure until he can no longer be seen.

The dissatisfaction of the past has been blurred, but I remember his expression, like an unspoken word.

Brother, I will wait for your return.