Still tide

Chen Chao just doesn't like to be bored anymore, and now Miao Jiayan is sitting here obediently and quietly, confiding with a little helplessness and dependence, which makes Chen Chao a little soft-hearted.

He sat up, looked at Miao Jiayan, and asked, "Why don't you want to cut your hair?"

Miao Jiayan took her hands from her eyes, put them on her lap tightly, and replied in a low voice, "I just don't want to."

Chen Chao's voice sounded very peaceful and not aggressive: "Why?"

Miao Jiayan didn't make a sound at first, then said slowly after a while: "I don't know...I'm very afraid to cut my hair."

"What are you afraid of?" Chen Chao asked again.

"I'm afraid I'll have short hair," Miao Jiayan didn't know what to say, she fixed her gaze on Chen Chao's face, every time the fan turned, it would blow his hair up a little, "I've always been like this, I'm That's... that's how it should be."

"What about when you grow up? Are you still like this?" Chen Chao stretched out his hand and pushed the fan on the table at an angle.

"I don't know," Miao Jiayan shook her head, "...I haven't thought about it."

When Chen Chao thought Miao Jiayan was a girl, he didn't even talk to him much, and it was even more impossible to sit alone and talk like this.However, after knowing that he was a little boy, those awkwardnesses disappeared. Looking at Miao Jiayan now, he can be regarded as a younger brother.

Chen Chao asked him: "Would you like to try cutting it once?"

Miao Jiayan immediately shook her head and said "no".

Chen Chao had nothing else to say, and nothing to persuade him.

After a while, Miao Jiayan said, "Go to sleep."

Chen Chao said "um", and sat for a few more minutes. Miao Jiayan was honest and did not wipe her eyes again.

Chen Chao fell asleep first, and this night he slept very unhappily. Even though the mattress was laid on the floor, it was still cramp and hard, but fortunately, it was quite cool.Miao Jiayan didn't know when she fell asleep, Chen Chao woke up in the morning and he still didn't wake up.

The sleeping posture looks quite honest, the blanket is covered upright, and the hands are placed on both sides of the body.

Chen Chao stood up and rolled up the mattress and pillows on the floor and placed them at the foot of the bed. Miao Jiayan was in a deep sleep, her eyelids were still swollen and closed together.

When Chen Chao came out after washing, Miao Jiayan had already sat up, her hair was disheveled, and she was stroking her cut short hair.

When he saw Chen Chao, he greeted him with "brother".

Chen Chao didn't correct him, a little boy, he can be called whatever he likes.

Miao Jian made the elders of the family speechless, and left in the morning.

Miao Jiayan didn't cry anymore, half of it was long and half was short, which was really ugly. Grandma cut off the remaining half of her long hair, and then Grandpa Miao took her to the barber shop in the town to have it repaired. It turned out to be shoulder length Her hair became half-length and not short, covering her ears in bits and pieces.

Although it is not as good-looking as it used to be, after watching it for a few days, I get used to it and find it quite pleasing to the eye.

After that night, Miao Jiayan began to call Chen Chao "Brother" again. In the past, she would come to find Chen Chao specially when she had nothing to do, but now she occasionally strolls over quietly and stays with Chen Chao.

Chen Chao didn't push him out, anyway, Miao Jiayan didn't talk too much and wasn't annoying.

Chen Guangda didn't know what he was doing outside, so he left Chen Chao here and never came back for the whole summer.

Chen Chao didn't want to worry about where he went, but in mid-August, Chen Chao still had a phone call with his father.

Chen Guangda reckoned that he was too busy during this period of time, and he could hear his tired voice on the phone.

Chen Chao chatted with him first, and Chen Guangda said, "You don't want Dad anymore? Dad will go back in a few days, and he will definitely come back."

Chen Chao said, "It doesn't matter if you come back or not, but it's August, Dad."

Chen Guangda didn't know what to do, and even said: "Ah, the heat is almost over."

Chen Chao said helplessly, "I have to go to school."

The day before yesterday, Chen Chao's mother, Jiang Li, called and asked about it. She asked when Chen Chao would go back, whether he was directly promoted to the junior high school in the headquarters, or whether his father had enrolled him in another school.

Chen Chao said he didn't know.

Jiang Li told him to go back to her immediately and not to stay at grandma's house.

Chen Guangda didn't seem to remember this until now, and couldn't help but let out "I cao..."

As a father, I really forgot about it. I thought about it at first, but then I was so busy that I forgot.The business was completely lost, and there were still seven-figure debts outside. There were so many things that people who had never been upright had a lot of vicissitudes.

Chen Guangda kept saying on the phone: "Dad, come back as soon as possible, as soon as possible! Dad really forgot!"

When Chen Chao called, Miao Jiayan sat cross-legged next to him, helping Grandma Chen peel peas while listening to Chen Chao.

Peel off a few small round beans and put them in a small iron basin, then tear off the transparent film of the pea skin, and save the soft pea skin to eat with shredded pork.

A bean flew away and landed on the table of the Eight Immortals. Chen Chao took a look, picked it up with the hand that was not holding the phone, and threw it into the small iron basin on Miao Jiayan's lap.

"Aren't you busy for a while?" Chen Chao asked his father, "Can you come back after I start school?"

I don't know what his father said on the phone, but Chen Chao said, "I did."

"Don't go."

Miao Jiayan clearly felt that Chen Chao was unhappy.

Chen Chao didn't speak for a long time, only frowned, and then asked: "Is it because you don't have time, or you don't want me anymore?"

After the phone call, Chen Chao's face was still stinky.Miao Jiayan dared not speak next to him, she quietly peeled the peas.

When the bag of peas was almost finished peeling, Miao Jiayan asked in a low voice, "Are you leaving?"

Chen Chao glanced at him, but didn't answer.

Miao Jiayan looked down at the beans in her hand, and scraped her chin with the back of her hand.

Of course, Chen Chao didn't leave.

They are all rural children who desperately send them to the city, and their heads are squeezed to get into a good school.When it came to Chen Chao, he was a kid from the city, but he just fell into the middle school in the town.

The junior high school in a small place is naturally incomparable with Chen Chao's original school, whether it is teachers or classmates.

For a long time when Chen Chao first entered the school, he had no common language with the students around him.There are dozens of students in the class, but he is the one who is the least talkative.

Because of going to school, Jiang Li made a special trip here.

In recent years, Jiang Li rarely came back to grandma's house. This time, she brought a lot of things to her grandparents, but they were actually a little awkward with each other.Although Jiang Li still called "Mom and Dad", she and Chen Guangda had separated after all.

She came that time to pick up Chen Chao, and wanted to take Chen Chao to his grandma's house to go to school there.

Chen Chao didn't go with his mother after all.

Jiang Li was very angry when he left, saying that Chen Chao was just like his father and didn't know what he was doing.

The school is in the town, about half an hour's walk from home.There was a school bus, but Chen Chao didn't take it.A group of rural children in the car sang local Internet songs, and talked about topics he couldn't listen to with their voices open, with a few swear words added from time to time.

On the first day of school, Chen Chao sat in the car, looking at the cotton fields outside, not knowing what kind of life he was leading, and his heart was as still as water.

After that day, Chen Chao never sat down again. He walked back and forth every day. The sun had not yet set when school was over every day. Not long after school started, Chen Chao was already tanned by two degrees.

Miao Jiayan's hair hasn't grown long yet, she can't afford to tie a small tail, and she doesn't need to wear a small rubber band on her wrist.

Only when my hair gets in the way when I wash my face, will I tie up my bangs in front and tie them on the top of my head.

Because Chen Chao got out of school late, the Chen family had dinner later than usual, and Miao Jiayan had already eaten, so she came over with a pot to deliver corn.As soon as Chen Chao came back, he went to the kitchen to wash his face, but he didn't dry it, and his face was still dripping with water.

Miao Jiayan hadn't seen him for a few days, she was quite surprised when she saw him, and said, "You're a lot of blackmail."

Chen Chao glanced at him and laughed when he saw the little bump on his head.

Chen Chao rolled up his short sleeves and wiped his face casually, pinched Miao Jiayan with his index finger and middle finger, and stretched without exerting any force.

Miao Jiayan tilted her head following his strength.

"Like a Taoist priest." Chen Chao said with a smile.

He seldom smiles, but not a lot when he has a bad face.Miao Jiayan also raised her hand to touch the top of her head, and explained in a low voice, "It's not easy to wash your face if you don't tie it up."

Chen Chao squeezed it twice more, Miao Jiayan was not angry, and squeezed it generously.

If all the rural children in the school could look like Miao Jiayan, Chen Chao wouldn't have to go to school so painfully.

The school is not strictly managed, and many of the rules that used to go to school are gone now.Uniforms are not required to be worn every day, nor are snacks restricted in classrooms.Chen Chao couldn't bear the smell of someone eating in the classroom, and Chen Chao would get upset whenever someone around him ate.

However, whatever he was afraid of, there was a person behind him who ate spicy noodles every day.

The fishy and spicy smell of poor-quality oil diffused in the sweltering classroom in summer, and the packaging bag of the spicy sticks was stuffed in a corner without throwing it away. The thing that came here was tormented so much that the master went crazy.

"I'll go out to eat later." Chen Chao turned his head and said to the fat man eating spicy sticks with a sullen face.

Fatty probably was a school bully in elementary school. He acted like a big brother in the classroom every day. If someone openly challenged the authority of the big brother, that would definitely not be tolerated.

The fat man raised his eyebrows and replied nonchalantly, "Who are you talking to?"

Chen Chao said, "Follow you."

The fat man sneered.

That afternoon, the fat man tore open another bag of spicy strips, and purposely came over to sit next to Chen Chao to eat.

Chen Chao glanced at him, the fat man smacked his lips provocatively, and blew in this direction.

Ding Wentao would not let this matter be brought up every time he mentioned it afterwards, and he would cover up anyone who mentioned it in front of him.

The school is so big, and the people who go to school are all from elementary school, even if they are not in the same class at that time, they have seen them all.Only Chen Chao is not, Chen Chao is a new face in this town, with a bit of pretentious temperament in their opinion, many people have disliked him for a while.

Ding Wentao had long wanted to find an opportunity to tidy up and tidy him up to show off. This time Chen Chao brought it up by himself, Ding Wentao thought it was just right, and there was no need to look for excuses.

Without mentioning the details, Ding Wentao covered his ribs after school that night and couldn't walk steadily.

In the few years before Chen Guangda was so busy doing business, the two of them practiced taekwondo for three years in the martial arts gym opposite the community.At that time, it was popular among boys in the city to learn this, so Chen Guangda joined in the fun and brought Chen Chao there as well.

Ding Wentao has the ambition of a big brother, at least he didn't complain when he went home after being beaten, and he didn't let the younger brothers tell the teacher.In junior high school, he lost his prestige to Chen Chao for the first time, and suffered a dumb loss. Ding Wentao didn't hold any grudges, and he didn't bother Chen Chao again.

No one was eating around, and there was no strange smell, which made Chen Chao's next period of time much better.

The weather has finally cooled down. After a light rain, the heat in the air has dissipated a lot.Chen Chao doesn't need to turn on the fan when he sleeps at night, he can sleep well as long as the window is open.

It's just that there are still a lot of mosquitoes in the room, especially when he has to turn on the light to do his homework at night, the mosquitoes find the light through the cracks in the window screen and get in, and they land on Chen Chao's body like a bag.

Chen Chao scratched his arm, annoyed by the itching.

Miao Jiayan also turned on the light, and the curtains covered it. She didn't know if she was doing homework or what.

Chen Chao stood up, walked to the window, and called "Miao'er" outside.

With windows open on both sides, Chen Chao immediately heard Miao Jiayan shout: "Hey!"

After two seconds, Miao Jiayan opened the curtains, raised the screen, and asked, "Did you call me, brother?"

Chen Chao asked him, "Do you still have the cool balm?"

"Yes, have you been bitten again?" Miao Jiayan replied.

The village was very quiet at night, and the words echoed, and the two of them could hear each other clearly without shouting.

Chen Chao said, "Go out and open the door, I'll go get it."

Miao Jiayan waved her hand: "You wait for me, I will deliver it to you."

After speaking, he shrank back and put down the window screen.

After 2 minutes, Miao Jiayan opened the door and came in, wearing a set of blue pajamas with frogs printed on it, and holding a new can of cooling oil in her hand.

He gave Chen Chao the cooling oil and asked, "Are there mosquitoes in your room?"

Chen Chao said, "There are too many."

Miao Jiayan said, "You do your homework, and I will type it for you."

"Can't fight, forget it." After such a summer, Chen Chao has been bitten out, and he is immune to the buzzing of mosquitoes.

"Yes." Miao Jiayan picked up the water bottle Chen Chao had finished drinking on the table, and unscrewed the lid, "You write, I'll clean it up for you."

Miao Jiayan leaned her head against the wall looking for mosquitoes, and Chen Chao looked at him while applying cooling oil on the mosquito bag.Miao Jiayan's pajamas should have been from last year or the year before last, and the trousers were a bit short, with her ankles exposed, making her look like a child.

"Have you finished your homework?" Chen Chao asked him.

"I don't have any homework," Miao Jiayan put her finger on her mouth to signal him not to make noise, and replied softly, "There are very few homework in sixth grade."

Chen Chao thought to himself what kind of rural custom this is, why the sixth grade didn't leave homework.

"I found a mosquito." Miao Jiayan stated softly, took a water bottle and slowly went to catch the mosquito, and after holding it and shaking it, the mosquito was stunned.

"Can this be held?" Chen Chao was quite surprised.

"Yes, I always catch mosquitos like this," Miao Jiayan smiled, "It's very useful."

Miao Jiayan stayed in Chen Chao's house for half an hour, caught six mosquitoes, and finally screwed on the bottle cap and took them away.

"I'm going back, brother." Miao Jiayan yawned and said.

Chen Chao was about to send him out, but Miao Jiayan had already run away.After going out, he can skillfully reach in through the small square opening on the door and close the door fork.

After a few minutes, the lights on the other side were turned off.

After coming here for just a few months, Chen Chao experienced all the things he hadn't experienced in the past few years, and gradually got used to it.

Such as prickly heat powder, such as cooling oil.He has been living in this environment more and more peacefully. Perhaps Chen Chao's last insistence on his identity as a city boy is that cucumbers must be cut before eating.

During the National Day of the [-]th National Day, Chen Guangda came back once. Although he still maintained his playful and smiling face, it was still obvious that he was very tired and left after two days.The uncle's family also came back. The younger brother was a little shy at first when he saw Chen Chao, and he didn't dare to talk to him. After a while, he started clinging.

When the younger brother saw Miao Jiayan, he greeted him politely and called "Sister".

Chen Chao was sitting on a stone stool, nodded him with his knee, and said, "Brother."

The younger brother looked back at him, not understanding.

Miao Jiayan was also a little uncomfortable, put down her things and left.

His hair has grown a bit, and it can already cover his neck, and he wears thin black rubber bands on his wrists, which are used to tie his hair occasionally.

"Why is it brother?" The younger brother was still puzzled, and asked after the person left.

Chen Chao said: "No reason, it's my elder brother."

After the little brother came, Miao Jiayan seldom came back, he seemed a little shy, and he didn't dare to speak when there were people around Chen Chao.

When the uncle came back, a friend came to visit and brought two buckets of ice cream for the child.This is what Chen Chao used to eat at home. It is not available in the town. The supermarket in the town only has cheap ice cream.

The younger brother served two bowls, Chen Chao opened the window and called to the opposite side, "Miao'er."

Miao Jiayan answered, opened the window and asked, "Huh?"

"Come here." Chen Chao called him.

Miao Jiayan hesitated and asked, "What's the matter?"

Usually, he would come right away as soon as he called out, so he asked what was going on reservedly.

Chen Chao: "Come here."

Miao Jiayan: "...Here we come."