Overtone

For Qi Ye, most of the time words don't need to express anything specially.

Sometimes, a few words are more powerful than a long speech. For example, what Xiao Cheng said just now is indeed a shot in the arm, like lighting a lamp for a drifting boat.

Qi Ye looked sideways at the world outside the porthole of the plane.

The lights of the lighthouse in the distance were wet by the rain and snow at this time, foggy and blurred.

Listening to the flight attendant's announcement, Qi Ye's eyes fell on the phone, when Xiao Cheng sent a message asking him to send the hospital address.

After sending it, Qi Ye thought for a while, then landed his fingertips on the screen again, and typed a few words.

-Qi Ye: Professor Xiao, I'm sorry today, I wanted to have a meal, but I have to trouble you to take you to the airport.

-Xiao Cheng: All right, is the plane on time?

-Qi Ye: Well, there is no sign that the plane meal will be served before takeoff, so it should fly on time.

-Xiao Cheng: Good.

For some reason, even though it was written, he could imagine Professor Xiao's demeanor. For example, in the simple sentence just now, Qi Ye always felt that his tone was very gentle.

Indeed, he was reluctant, but now he had to leave.

But when they came back, they were going to go on with the night, and all of this.As for the existing and unspoken words, when he comes back this time, he must fully explain them clearly.

When Qi Ye arrived in City C, it was already late at night, and there were no more demands for taxis and taxis in the county than in big cities. After reluctantly hailing a black car on the street, he finally arrived at the hospital in the early morning.

No matter what time of day, hospitals are always busy and overcrowded.

After the examination results came out and everything was done, Qi Ye sat on a chair in the corridor of the hospital and squinted for a while.Not long after, Zhou Qun called: "Brother, have you gone back?"

"Yeah." Qi Ye closed his eyes, feeling a little tired after not sleeping all night, "It should be acute appendicitis, and he will be fine after a few days in the hospital."

"That's fine." Zhou Qun said, "I was so worried that I didn't sleep well all night, so you can take a rest too."

Qi Ye nodded: "Okay."

After hanging up the phone, he leaned against the corridor again, staring at the whitewashed walls in a daze.

After a while, I was about to get up to smoke a cigarette, but saw a takeaway boy in blue running over, looking around for a long time.Before Qi Ye could say anything, he asked, "Excuse me, is this Mr. Qi Ye?"

Qi Ye was stunned for a moment, and said "Mmm".

"This is your errand order." The little brother put down two big bags, turned and left.

Confused, Qi Ye opened it and saw that there were fruits such as kiwis inside. Besides, there were three boxes of packed vegetable porridge and steamed dumplings, plus a flower basket.

He suddenly remembered that Professor Xiao asked him for his address yesterday.

Without rushing to make a phone call, Qi Ye brought the food into the ward.

Seeing that his parents were resting with their eyes closed, he tiptoedly put the porridge on the table, put the flower basket and fruit aside, and walked out quietly.

For some reason, he felt a little bored, probably after traveling for a long time, he didn't recover mentally or physically.

On the roof of the tenth floor of the hospital, he lit a cigarette.

The call got through at this moment, and Qi Ye held it for a long time without saying a word.It was very noisy around, and there were people drying sheets and wheelchairs to bask in the sun.

Logically speaking, if the other party didn't speak, they wouldn't be able to hear anything, but Qi Ye could hear Xiao Cheng's breathing, as if there was indeed someone by his side.

"Professor Xiao, the things have been received." Qi Ye lit a cigarette, "Thank you."

"It's okay." Xiao Cheng said, "How is Auntie?"

"Stay in the hospital for a few days and you'll be fine. The doctor said it was appendicitis." Qi Ye replied, "I'll be back in a week."

Xiao Cheng said "um" on the other end, and his tone eased a lot.He seemed to want to say something, but when he heard Qi Ye yawn on the phone, he said, "Go and rest for a while."

Qi Ye listened to what Professor Xiao had to say, but at this moment, no one wanted to hang up the phone and say go to sleep.

He stepped on the thick water pipe in the hospital, and while looking at it, he took a breath of smoke: "I'll go later."

After a few seconds, Qi Ye suddenly asked, "Is it still snowing here?"

"It's stopped in the morning."

Qi Ye nodded: "Very good."

"what happened?"

"It's nothing, I just wanted to see the stars. It's snowing all day in City A, so I can't see anything." Qi Ye raised his head and blew on the smoke ring, and then glanced at the sky, "But it's easy to see here in the south. It’s all sunny and almost no snow.”

After talking with Xiao Cheng for a while, Qi Ye returned to the ward.

After two days, Qi Ye's mother improved a lot, and the doctor said that after two more days of observation, she could be discharged from the hospital.

When I got the news, it happened to be New Year's Day.

Qi Guoqiang hung the New Year's card and Chinese knots sent by the little nurse beside the hospital bed: "This New Year's Day is more and more like the Spring Festival."

"Dad, your waist is not good, so let me replace it." Qi Ye smiled, took the Chinese knot, and hung it neatly on the lamp.

"Don't hang it there." Qi Ye's mother said, "You have to take it off when you leave the hospital, what a hassle."

"Picture an atmosphere, Ms. Zhao." Lao Qi said, "It's rare for my son to come back, I cherish it..."

To say that their family names are quite casual, Qi Ye sometimes called Lao Qi and Lao Zhao, but finally under the torture of a certain lady, he obediently changed his name after his father and called "Ms. Zhao".

Seeing the two of them bickering without a word, Qi Ye smiled helplessly, and was about to say something when he suddenly saw a text message from Xiao Cheng, so he stopped listening to the old couple's chatter and looked down at his phone.

It may be that this thought is a bit obvious, or it was very straightforward two days ago, Qi Guoqiang saw it a little bit: "Son, you are not quite right."

"Ah?" Qi Ye was taken aback for a moment, then a little amused, "What's wrong?"

"Every time the phone turns on, I get nervous." Lao Qi said.

"Can't you see that?" Ms. Zhao looked at her with some disgust, then turned her head and said to Qi Ye, "The anonymous flower basket and fruit are also sent by him."

Qi Ye nodded, acknowledging that there was nothing wrong with it generously, but the moment Lao Qi approached with a gossiping face, he quickly waved his hands: "Haven't officially caught up yet."

"Ouch." Lao Qi shook his head, "You can't do that."

After a while, he whispered mysteriously again: "I'll go home in two days, and I'll teach you about my father's experience in chasing your mother back then."

As soon as Qi Ye was amused, he quickly peeled two apples: "Don't worry, we will come back together next time."

"Really?"

"Yeah." Qi Ye looked very serious, "You guys just keep these flowers, and you can be happy at home every day, just pay attention to your health."

These are also heartfelt words.

The health of the old couple is equally important to Qi Ye. Although the incident happened suddenly last time, there are still many opportunities for him and Xiao Cheng to get along. We have to look forward in everything, and we can't always think about things that have not been done before. , It's useless to regret it then.

When Qi Ye arrived home, it was around ten o'clock in the evening. This small county in the south never snowed, but was freezing wet. He complained a long time ago that it was a persistent buff attack, and he couldn't bear it.

He sat on the old-fashioned wicker chair, stared blankly at the wall covered with awards from his childhood, got up again after a long time, and called Xiao Cheng.

Not to mention, whether it was before or at this moment, it seems that as long as you listen to his voice, you will have a very reassuring feeling, as if you are close at hand and accompanied by your side.

"Are you busy?" Qi Ye asked.

"No." Xiao Cheng said, "I just finished reading the lesson plan, and I plan to take a rest now."

Qi Ye said "Yes", nodded to himself, and then heard Xiao Cheng ask: "What happened?"

"It's nothing serious." Qi Ye leaned against the window by the balcony, "I just came back at night to pack my things, and then I called."

In fact, he really wanted to answer "I miss you" or "Just talk to you" on the phone, but his reason told him that it was disgusting.

"The school is still taking the final exam recently?" Qi Ye said, suddenly feeling that he was not used to it anywhere.

That's right, unlike the bungalow he rented, he couldn't say that he would just light a cigarette when he was on the phone, so he opened the balcony door and walked onto the balcony.

Fresh air came in, and there was some movement from Xiao Cheng, as if the mouse clicked on some software, followed by the sound of the door opening.

"Not busy." He said, "Recently, I just need to guide the students' thesis, and maybe I have something to do with the orchestra."

"That's fine, wait for me to come back." Qi Ye smiled on the phone and complained casually, "Wait after New Year's Day, air tickets are so expensive recently."

When the voice fell, he paused for a few seconds, and then said softly: "Happy New Year's Day, Professor Xiao."

The last time I said this was after Christmas and early in the New Year.

But this time it was indeed during the first few days of New Year's Day, Qi Ye thought of it, so he said it.

Qi Ye seemed to hear Professor Xiao's reaction on the other end of the phone, so he added: "It's okay, I'll just talk, don't take it seriously."

"Thank you." Xiao Cheng's voice suddenly came out, still in a pleasant low tone, "Happy New Year's Day."

Qi Ye's heart skipped a beat twice, but he didn't speak.

Xiao Cheng on the other end of the phone didn't say any more. He raised his eyes to the sky. At this time, the vast sky was full of stars, and his eyes became gentle: "Can you see the stars there?"

Qi Ye was taken aback when he heard that, he leaned out from the balcony railing: "I can see it."

"I heard that there are the most stars in winter." Xiao Cheng's voice was very gentle, "Look to the west."

"Are the brightest stars?" Qi Ye carefully identified, "One above and one below, and the three in the middle are connected like a belt."

Xiao Cheng smiled: "Yes."

"That's Orion, the most recognizable constellation in winter," he said. "The orange-red star above is Betelgeuse, and the bright blue-white star below is Rigel, Rigel."

Listening to Xiao Cheng's words, Qi Ye also loved listening to them. He was immersed in the bright galaxy, as if he could bring one back with just a light grasp.

"It's quite similar." He said suddenly.

"what?"

"I said that blue and white star is quite like Professor Xiao's." Qi Ye smiled, "It feels quite bright, and it illuminates everything around you."

That's true, he said a long time ago that Xiao Cheng is like a star, distant and dazzling, and it feels like the stars in the whole universe are revolving around him.

It's just that I just said it in my heart before, but now I take this opportunity to sigh.

Before Xiao Cheng could speak, Qi Ye suddenly remembered something: "I know there is an Orionid meteor, is it related to this?"

"Well, every October." Xiao Cheng said, "Wait a lot in open places, and you can meet them."

"That's right." Qi Ye recalled, and complained coquettishly, "I remember being dragged to the suburbs by my friends to watch this two years ago, but it started to rain that day in the afternoon, not only did I not see it, I came back wet and caught a cold."

As soon as he finished speaking, he heard Xiao Cheng laugh for some reason.

"what happened?"

"It's okay." Xiao Cheng's voice was very relaxed.

"There must be something." Qi Ye half-jokingly said, "Do me a favor and let me hear."

"It's nothing." Xiao Cheng's tone was light, but he could still hear a smile, "It's just that I just talked to those stars."

"Huh?" Qi Ye was slightly taken aback.

"I told them that in October this year, there will be a child here who wants to see shooting stars." Xiao Cheng said, "You must remember it at that time, and you can't let him down again."

Only then did Qi Ye come to his senses, and his heart beat a little faster: "Well, what then?"

"Then..." Xiao Cheng's voice was very soft, as if he was coaxing a child to tell a fairy tale, "then they all agreed that they would not miss any meeting with him after that."