Oral period

"Please tell me what it means to be alone."

It seems a bit too extravagant to write only one sentence on a whole letter paper, but besides that, the writer really can't think of anything else to add - if he can think of it, there is no need to write this absurd letter "Entrustment letter".

Zhen Xiao put down the pen, folded the letter paper in half and then in half with a blank expression, and put it into the black envelope prepared in advance - the black marker was filled with old newspapers, and then folded into a shape similar to an envelope - got up and walked towards the back door go.

"Put the black envelope containing the entrustment next to the fountain sculpture in the southeast corner of the school, and be prepared to pay the unknown reward, and your wish will come true"... The rumors are so, he doesn't really believe it, but he was lingering in the school for days. The problem in my mind was exhausting my body and mind, so I had to make such a bad move.

If you don't reach the point where the mountains and rivers are exhausted, why bother to place your hope on the illusory gods.

What's more, the gods in the rumors are not well known to everyone, and they have to charge an unknown amount of rewards, which is more like some kind of strange campus talk.

During the lunch break, most of the students shuttled between the cafeteria and the teaching building, but there was no one beside the sculpture at the side and rear of the main building—it was said to be a sculpture, but in fact it was already dilapidated, and the fountain device was no longer spraying water, and the huge potted landscape was replaced by Previous students used it to pile up books that they couldn't take away when they graduated, and occasionally new students came here to try their luck, hoping to pick up a handwriting of a master with complete notes... The generations have changed, and even derived a certain sense of sacred inheritance , The school just let it go.

The teenager looked at the colorful piles of old books, biting the zipper of his coat habitually, his black pupils were like glass beads, reflecting the inorganic colors of the world around him: the cloudy sky, tall dilapidated sculptures, books, and The brightly red maple branches in this season-finally stay on the sculptural pot-shaped fence, in a gap between books.

He approached the small space, filled the envelope in his hand, and thought aimlessly, even if it was not seen by the so-called "Black Envelope Office", it seemed understandable to put it in such an inconspicuous place.

Xia Jingzhe did not go to the cafeteria as usual, and sat alone in the abandoned office drawing comics. Her half-length black hair was tied up high, and she held a small piece of compressed biscuit in her mouth. She was trying to compare the style of the comic book at hand. Each storyboard is presented with the same style of painting as possible.

This is the commission he received not long ago.

"The manga I've been chasing for more than ten years is unfinished, and I'm not reconciled but I can't afford to hire a paid artist. I hope I can help draw the ideal Happy Ending" - the content is roughly the same, followed by a large description of the ideal ending, about the protagonist The scene of death is actually a dream. After waking up, he awakens his power to save the world, and by the way, he gets married with his lover, and so on.

It's not too interesting, but the content is just in line with the professional field, and he is happy to use it as a daily pen practice pastime.

It took less than two days from receiving the letter to completing the commission. When he put down the mechanical pencil in the last second, the ideal ending of the other party was drawn.

The next thing to do is to contact the other party according to the method on the entrustment letter, deliver the work, and then collect the reward... However, he does not expect any remuneration, but asks the other party not to disclose the process and results of the commission, and keeps his identity strictly confidential , lest greedy people rush to the door and throw trivial things to him in the name of entrustment.

Human nature is such that it is not difficult to predict such thoughts. After suffering several times, he simply let go of the appalling statement of "unknown reward" over time. He happened to filter the contents of the entrustment so that only the really important ones were left in the black envelope. desire.

After all, he is not a real god, and he is not kind enough to run for everyone's wishes. He just walked alone for too long, so he had a whim in the past, and found some social things for himself to do, and he also used it to obtain comic materials , not to let his only hobby be dusted.

It is rumored that the gangster who smokes, drinks, fights and does everything is his favorite thing to do is to stay in the abandoned office on the roof and draw comics alone, and he will also help those who isolate him solve problems and fulfill their wishes in the dark—probably no one will say this letter.

It seems that only by jumping out of the position of "Xia Jingzhe" and becoming an illusory god behind the black envelope, can he get rid of the label and gain the right to socialize on an equal footing, so that he will not be extinguished in a long time. In the solitude of the day.

The boy in black short sleeves put away the drawing paper, put it in an envelope, and swept it aside together with the mechanical pencil and eraser scraps. After finishing the work, he adjusted to a more comfortable sitting position and spread himself out on the old leather sofa On the floor, raised his head and moved his stiff cervical spine, lifted the hair on the forehead casually, and grabbed it all over the top of his head, rarely revealing that bright and almost feminine face, and skillfully knocked out a menthol cigarette with the other hand, and held it in his mouth. At the corner of the mouth, but it has not been ignited for a long time.

He has no addiction to cigarettes. When he first entered the rebellious period, he mistakenly thought that it was a standard equipment for bad boys. He would deliberately light it up and leave the smell on his clothes. Now there are some left.

After I became an adult, my concept changed a little. When I encountered a bottleneck in my creation and was under too much pressure, or when I just finished work, I was lazy and needed some more substantive stimulation, I would occasionally taste one in a place where no one was around.

The lunch break is coming to an end, and it's time to go back to the classroom. The teacher in the first class in the afternoon is very troublesome. He always threatens people with bulletins and criticisms. It's better to avoid causing trouble.

Xia Jingzhe got up lazily, threw the unlit cigarettes into the trash can casually, and flipped out through the window leading to the roof like he did when he came - the door was already rusted to death, this was the only way to get in and out.

An ordinary day, an ordinary life, if there are no accidents, probably still belong to the category of ordinary but beautiful.

The accident happened in the evening, and An Ran sat in the classroom listening to the metal rock for an afternoon. Xia Jingzhe had a whim, and decided to sneak out of the school gate to have dinner to reward himself, and by the way replenish the rooftop storage that was about to run out of ammunition and food—sweets, instant noodles and compressed biscuit.

I also want to buy a few cans of Coke by the way... His thoughts stopped suddenly, and he realized something with a keen intuition like a beast, and instinctively lowered his body and dodged forward.

Can barely avoid the baseball bat that was swept by the wind.

"Is it popular to use this thing to sneak attack now?" Xia Jingzhe rolled to the ground nimbly, stood up slowly, and looked at the three social youths who were holding sticks not far away and looked much older than him, with hair floating in his eyes Teased from the bottom of my heart, "That's it?"

"Stop talking nonsense, where are people?" The leader of the gangsters dropped the iron rod, and the end of the metal product hit the ground, making a tooth-chilling sound that echoed vaguely in the deserted alley.

"If you find someone, go to the police." He didn't intend to make a fuss, and he was too lazy to waste time. He took two steps forward with a blank expression, and stood within the range of the opponent's attack, almost facing each other. The banter in his eyes disappeared, leaving only As sharp and cold as a knife's edge—clearly from a head-on angle, but as if looking down on the opponent, "I also accept this kind of commission, the premise is that you, no, your boss... can pay the reward."

After all, before the other party could react, Xia Jingzhe suddenly reached out and grabbed the iron rod leaning on the ground, twisted up with the strength of the grip, and stepped on the forehead of the faultfinder, cleanly and without leaving any room.

The bastard who lost his balance was blinded, fell backwards, and smashed at one of his companions impartially.In the few seconds when he lost his vision, a scream came from beside his ears. It was another companion who was hit by the iron rod in his hand and clutched his abdomen.

"Heal your wounds well," the young man's clear voice sounded like a death knell, and it was shocking to hear from a distant place, "Do you still want to go to the emergency room?" -

It was getting late, and the setting sun sank into the night, melting into a long piece of blood red, which was a bit unappetizing.

Affected by the unexpected episode, Xia Jingzhe didn't want to go back to school for evening self-study, and planned to find a place to settle dinner. Anyway, there are many day students who go home directly in the evening, and he is not one of them.

However, before he could think of a destination, the edge of his field of vision flickered suddenly, and a familiar figure flashed past.

He stopped, doubting his eyes for a moment - the black coat, the familiar schoolbag, and the shining gauze sticker on his forehead...

It's an idiot, surnamed pillow.

The other party obviously saw him too, stopped and walked straight towards him.

The road to Yuanjia is narrow, and it is too late to ignore it. Xia Jingzhe scratched his hair, feeling a little annoyed for no reason—he was used to seeing malice from others, but in fact he was rarely upset so clearly. His disgust was too straightforward and too inexplicable, in just a short moment of looking at each other, he actually tasted some kind of long-lost, suddenly exploding unhappiness.

There may be a little naive psychology of sitting together.

The other party stopped a step away from him, with his back to the setting sun, unable to see his expression clearly, as if he was waiting for him to speak first.

Xia Jingzhe didn't want to look into his eyes, so she could only look elsewhere, not wanting to waste time with him, her tone was cold: "Why are you here?"

Zhen Xiao said indifferently: "Go home."

"...did you see that?" He was referring to the episode that didn't qualify as a fight a few minutes earlier.

Zhen Xiao put his hands in his pockets and looked at him thoughtfully, neither nodding nor shaking his head, as if he thought it was very interesting to hang him like this - I don't know how long it took, until Xia Jingzhe couldn't bear it anymore, clenched his fists and made a gesture to make a move, he didn't Taking a step back, he said calmly, "Well, I see, you hit three with one, very powerful."

"They were looking for trouble first, and besides, I didn't do anything, I just got away." Realizing that his explanation was a bit redundant, Xia Jingzhe frowned, changed the subject, and said coldly, "Don't spread the word."

"Huh? Why."

"Because I gave you a bar of chocolate, idiot."

Zhen Xiao turned a deaf ear to the anger in his words, was silent for a moment, then tilted her head innocently and confidently: "Not enough."

A meaningful cunning flashed across his eyes, and he was engulfed by the reflection of a large orange cloud.

"But I'm hungry now," he added slowly, looking at the half-length black hair of the other party, "One meal, exchange of equal value, how..."

"Understood," Xia Jingzhe interrupted him angrily, "After eating, take what happened just now into the coffin—what to eat?"

It's strange to say that two people who are socially repelled and reticent to the point of autism have only met each other on the first day, but they are choking back and forth, quite like a "wind and water".