recession

On the first day of New Year's Eve, it snowed heavily in N City.

Xu Yunqing finished the magazine shooting, bid farewell to the staff and went out of the studio. Through the glass window, he could see snowflakes the size of a child's palm dancing in the sky like goose feathers under the warm yellow street lights outside.

"Mr. Xu, the elevator is here." Zhang Xin called him.

Xu Yunqing walked in and saw that only the negative floor was pressed, so he stretched out his hand and pressed the first floor.

Zhang Xin was stunned for a moment: "You really don't need me to see you off?"

Xu Yunqing waved his hand: "I've asked you several times, I'll go back by myself, why don't you get off work early?"

"Sister Shen said she couldn't come today, and asked me to send you home before leaving." Zhang Xin said in a low voice, "Besides, you've been shooting magazines all day and I'm tired from looking at them, so I'd better see you off."

"You and Shen Xi don't learn anything else, the little girl learns so much. I really don't need it, I still have something to do." Xu Yunqing smiled, and took out a red envelope from his coat pocket: "Come on, it's time to meet the scene, hard work It's been half a year."

Zhang Xin hesitated and didn't accept it: "The year-end bonus was distributed last week."

"If I give it to you, take it without biting your hand. Everyone has it, and you are here, so I will give it to you first. Take it."

Xu Yunqing raised his eyebrows, and Zhang Xin hesitated to take it: "Thank you, Teacher Xu."

Xu Yunqing smiled and shook his head. The elevator had already reached the first floor. He put on his mask and lowered the brim of his hat: "Go back early. See you next year."

He went out from the back door of the building, glanced left and right before sending a message to Tao Liyang.They made a plan to go to Tao Liyang's house on a nearby mountain to celebrate the Spring Festival.Originally planned to wait for a while, but within 5 minutes, Tao Liyang's car stopped in front of him.

Xu Yunqing opened the co-pilot's door, a little surprised: "You won't be waiting around all the time, will you?"

"No, just arrived." Tao Liyang leaned over and took a paper bag for him from the back seat. Xu Yunqing opened it and saw that there was a warm pumpkin and taro paste in an insulated box, and then looked at the logo on the bag: "Why are you still running to buy this?"

There is a modest Cantonese-style dessert shop in front of the Academy of Drama. It can only accommodate three tables and does not deliver food, but it tastes good. The pumpkin and taro paste is very good. Xu Yunqing often goes to eat it when he is studying.

"Didn't you say you wanted to eat last night?"

"I didn't say it. I just mentioned it in passing."

"Then what do you want to eat?" Tao Liyang said warmly, "Are you hungry or not? It's only nine o'clock now. We'll have time to find a place to eat before we start."

"You haven't been waiting for me without dinner, have you?" Xu Yunqing asked him after hearing the words.

"Of course I've eaten it, and I'm not stupid." Tao Liyang started the car, "I mean, if you don't want to eat mashed taro, you can leave it."

"I didn't say no to eating." Xu Yunqing glanced at him with a smile, "I also ate a salad at six o'clock, that's enough, there's no need to stop."

"It's really difficult to serve." Tao Liyang couldn't help but also smiled, raised his hand and squeezed his arm: "The spoon is in the bag, find it yourself."

When Xu Yunqing just graduated from university, Xu Yunqing often went to buy the pumpkin and taro paste.Later, it became more and more popular, flying around all year round, and stayed in N City for less time, so naturally I never went there again.Last night, I called Tao Liyang and talked about things in college, so I brought it up casually. He only said one sentence, and Tao Liyang also remembered it.

Xu Yunqing lowered his head and took a bite, the taste was almost the same as before.He dug a spoonful and brought it to Tao Liyang's lips. Tao Liyang never liked sweets, but when he fed it, he swallowed it.

Xu Yunqing knew that he didn't like it, so he didn't care about it after feeding that spoonful, and said after eating a little bit slowly: "Don't buy it in the future. The school is so far away, and it's all on the west side of the city. It’s hard to run away.”

"How troublesome it can be." Tao Liyang didn't care, "I was in the coffee shop in the building next door, and I wanted to bring you a dessert by the way, I tried the ones you like, and this one didn't do very well. I just remembered that you talked about the mashed taro near the school last night, but fortunately it was not closed, so I caught up with the last one."

"He said he didn't have to wait long." Xu Yunqing looked at him. It would take an hour to get to the Drama Academy from here without traffic jams, not to mention that people are everywhere during the Spring Festival. When did you come?"

Tao Liyang regretted his slip of the tongue and did not answer him, but said: "Writing manuscripts in the coffee shop at the beginning does not count as waiting for you."

"What about the time on the road?"

"Change your mind, you can't write all the time." Tao Liyang said with a smile, seeing that Xu Yunqing was still looking at him, he looked around and said: "The desserts in this shop are not good, but the coffee is okay."

"Don't change the subject." Xu Yunqing squinted at him.

"Where is there?" Coincidentally, Tao Liyang stopped the car and turned his head to look at him when he encountered a red light ahead.The two looked at each other for a while, and finally couldn't help but laughed.

"You always have something to say, but I can't tell you." Xu Yunqing shook his head, then dug another spoonful of mashed taro to eat.

"Then next time you want to tell me about me, I will let you." Tao Liyang took out a steam eye mask from the armrest box and gave it to him. "If you are tired, sleep for a while, and it will take about an hour and a half."

"Not sleepy yet." Xu Yunqing said, and asked him again: "When did you buy a house on the mountain, I don't even know."

"It's been a few years." Tao Liyang wrote lightly.

Xu Yunqing saw that he didn't seem to want to say more, so he stopped asking and turned his head to look at the street scene outside the window.

Tomorrow is the New Year's Eve, and there are lights and festoons everywhere in N City.When passing the People's Park, he saw a huge fancy colored lantern standing in the center. Xu Yunqing looked carefully, it seemed to be in the shape of a magnolia.

"Why did it change to this year? I remember it used to be a big lantern every year."

"It's always been there. It's been two or three years. After Magnolia became the city flower, it was replaced with this one during the Spring Festival. The park next to the neighborhood where you lived also had it." Tao Liyang was a little strange, "Didn't you see it before?"

"Oh." Xu Yunqing paused and responded flatly before saying, "I was in the crew for the Spring Festival a few years ago."

Tao Liyang felt something was wrong for a while, but after a while he remembered that the lunar calendar for Li Shuang's birthday seemed to be just a few days before the Spring Festival.But this is not a big deal, after all, busy with work, sometimes couples don't celebrate their birthdays together...

Thinking that Li Shuang was not a pleasant thing for Tao Liyang, he breathed a sigh of relief, didn't think about it any more, and only lightly touched the back of Xu Yunqing's hand.

"What's wrong?" Xu Yunqing also held his hand backhand, the palm of his hand was soft and warm against the back of his hand.

"It's nothing." Tao Liyang said, "I think you still have to work after Chinese New Year, and it's very pitiful to be alone in the crew. I will accompany you every year from now on."

"What's so pitiful about celebrating the New Year alone, I'm not a child anymore."

"It can be with me." Tao Liyang said seriously.

"It's half a year older than me, what's the advantage, shameless." Xu Yunqing glanced at him, and before Tao Liyang could speak, he squeezed his hand quickly, with a smile in his eyes: "Got it, brother, stay with me I, I remember. Then I will sleep for a while, and you will call me when it arrives."

"Okay." Tao Liyang was taken aback by this address, shook his head and smiled, and pulled out his hand to increase the temperature of the air conditioner, "Go to sleep."