Attempted first love

On Monday afternoon, Xia Yan was invited to attend his parents' retirement ceremony.

The venue is in the reception room of the research institute where they have worked for 30 years. Xia Yan came here when he was a child. When he sat on the chair, his feet could not reach the ground. He swung his calf back and forth, waiting for Lou Rui or Xia Zhengyang, but most of the time he looked like a student. Assistant, come and lead him in.

The process of the retirement ceremony was not as complicated as imagined. Xia Yan was in the audience, huddled together with many relatives of researchers who came from all over the place, and applauded several times.

On the way here, he learned that there was a flower delivery link, but he didn't know that the Institute would prepare it. He bought the largest bunch at the airport and carried it all the way. The petals of the pink roses were a little wilted, and the edges curled inward, but it didn't hinder Lou. When Rui took it, the circles of his eyes were red.

When it came time to take a group photo, everyone moved towards the main entrance of the institute by coincidence, and lined up in front of the gray granite gate. The wind and sand were a bit heavy, and everyone squinted their eyes with a smile.

After the ceremony, the crowd gradually dispersed. Xia Zhengyang went to see off his old colleagues who were leaving for the Northeast today. Lou Rui had three or five people gathered together. Xia Yan recognized some of the faces, but couldn't name them.

He was beautiful when he was a child, and every time he came here, he was hugged and teased by Lou Rui's colleagues.They raised their hands to call him, Xia Yan walked over with a smile on his face, stood next to Lou Rui, and listened to their family chat.Whose family's child has passed the college entrance examination, whose family's child has a baby, and finally talked about Xia Yan, they said they haven't seen each other for many years, how did they grow up so big in a blink of an eye, and still look so good-looking, and asked if they have any friends, let you soon Parents hug grandson.

"Don't worry," Lou Rui patted his arm and said in a relaxed and helpless tone, "Let him go at his own pace. Young people are thinking about it now."

After the crowd had dispersed, Lou Rui took Xia Yan home to rest.They lived in a double room dormitory in the park for the first few years, and they bought a house later.The house was not far from the research institute. It used to be the family courtyard of the government unit. It was gray in appearance, six stories high, and there was no elevator.

I heard from Lou Rui that the neighbors are basically colleagues from scientific research institutes, or retirees from former government agencies. The courtyard is very quiet in the afternoon.

The house is on the first floor with a small garden. Lou Rui took him directly through the fence gate of the garden, passing through the vines and the green vegetable field, and entering the room, "Baby, you're home, are you hungry?"

There were fruits and snacks on the coffee table. Xia Yan said that he had eaten on the plane, but Lou Rui urged him to take a nap, saying that he must be tired after flying for so long.

Xia Yan lived in the second bedroom when he was young, but the time he lived there was short and the interval was too long. He just felt strange when he opened the door and walked in. He could not fall asleep for a long time in bed.I don't know how long after tossing and turning, I received a message from Lu Zhouyu, asking him how the ceremony was going.

"It's over," Xia Yan replied, "I've arrived home."

In less than a second, his call came. Xia Yan was lying on his side, but after seeing the caller, he sat up from the bed, put the pillow behind his waist, and cleared his throat before answering the call, but Lu Zhouyu still asked: " are you sleeping?"

"No, I just lay down." Xia Yan said, "Maybe I have been sleeping on the plane, so I can't sleep now."

"Tired?"

"I'm not tired, but my mother thinks I'm tired, so she keeps letting me eat and sleep." Xia Yan glanced at the washed fruit beside the bed, a bunch of freshly picked grapes and a few oranges. , looks very fresh.

"Really," Lu Zhouyu said with a smile in his voice, "Then eat more."

Picking up an orange and peeling it, Xia Yan briefly talked about the process of today's ceremony and the arrangements for the next few days, and couldn't help yawning while talking.

Hearing this, Lu Zhouyu persuaded him to sleep for a while, but he didn't intend to hang up the phone, so Xia Yan asked him if he had fed the fish.

"It's been fed at noon."

"Okay...then I'll sleep for a while."

"Xia Yan."

"Ok?"

"Are you going to be there for the next few days?"

"Yes," Xia Yan flattened the pillow and lay back down again, his tone became lazy, "What's wrong?"

"It's okay," Lu Zhouyu said, "The weather forecast says that the temperature will drop in the next few days where you are."

"I brought thick clothes."

"Go to sleep."

In the evening when Xia Zhengyang came back, the family of three had a reunion dinner, all the dishes were picked from the yard.Xia Yan knew for the first time that his parents are also good at growing vegetables in addition to studying rare metals.

After eating, as Lu Zhouyu said, the temperature dropped, and the strong wind blew outside the house through the door. He was a little worried: "Are the vegetables grown outside okay?"

"Blowing it will make it grow better." Xia Zhengyang said.

Xia Yan nodded. He doesn't distinguish five grains, and he doesn't understand the principles. He just thinks of the backyard of Lu Zhouyu's house. Those vines and flowers that can't be named are growing so wildly because of the wind and rain year after year. Is it so dense?

The three of them chatted late, from the beginning with a deliberately intimate estrangement, and then really relaxed, Xia Yan talked about many interesting things at work, and also about Ji Qilin's care for him, and then suddenly remembered that he asked Ji Qilin He confessed his sexual orientation, but he was not sure if Ji Qilin had told his parents.

Probably not, Mr. Ji is not that kind of person.

Lou Rui saw his trance-like appearance, but he didn't ask any more questions. He just said, "It's late, go to bed early. Don't you always want to go to Desert Park tomorrow?"

Xia Yan nodded and said "OK", "Good night".

The wind was still too strong, and it came in through the crack of the window, making a thin whistling sound. Xia Yan lay back on the bed, always having the illusion of sleeping on the wind and sand, even though they lived nearly a hundred kilometers away from the real desert.

This place is very dry. After only being here for a long time, his lips are a little cracked. Drinking a lot of water didn’t help. , took out a piece of sugar, grape-flavored.

After eating, I went to brush my teeth again before falling asleep.

The next day, the family went to Desert Park and asked someone to take a group photo in front of the stone carving gate at the entrance of the park. They paid 20 yuan to launder one picture, which was later framed by Lou Rui and placed on the TV cabinet.

Lou Rui and Xia Zhengyang's retirement procedures have been completed one after another, and they have to prepare their admission materials intensively. They have been re-employed by a local college, and they will report in two weeks.

When there was no one at home, Xia Yan would sit in the yard.He bought a rattan hanging basket recliner and placed it under the vines. He sat on it and swayed every day, which was very comfortable.

In addition to blowing the air on the recliner, he was on the phone with Lu Zhouyu.When Xia Yan answered the phone, he put his legs and feet into the hanging basket, and his whole body was curled up in the eggshell. When it was over, his legs were numb, and it took him a long time to get down and walk.

There is nothing important to say, it seems that because they are still in the cooling-off period of their relationship, the topic will automatically screen out ambiguous elements and talk about their lives.

The hanging chair was slightly swayed by the wind, Xia Yan talked about what he saw and heard in the northwest.

The magnificence of the lonely smoke in the desert and the sunset of the long river also has the softness of the spring water in the oasis.The sunshine time here is longer than that in Haicheng, and the day is very slow.After nightfall, the sky is not black, but a very dense dark blue, with stars and clouds hanging down, as if you can pick them up at your fingertips.

After four or five days, Xia Yan has basically adapted to the dryness and lack of rain in this land, and the occasional wind and sand attack. He even described the wind and sand as rough snow particles.

And Lu Zhouyu seldom answered words, and seldom made a sound, but after Xia Yan stopped, he would immediately ask "Is there any more", so Xia Yan had to talk more.When he said "I heard that there will be shooting stars recently", Lou Rui just pushed in through the garden door.

"Baby," she yelled, "Sit outside and bask in the sun—are you on the phone?" She lowered her voice again, smiled, and quickly went into the house.

When the door was closed, Xia Yan somehow felt that Lou Rui's smile was very meaningful. He froze for a moment, then continued the topic just now, talking about the meteor observation time, "I don't know if I can see it or not."

"You can try it." Lu Zhouyu said, and then asked, "Was that your mother just now?"

"Yes, she just came back from school."

"Oh," Lu Zhouyu asked with a smile, "What did she call you?"

"..." Xia Yan rarely felt embarrassed, "Did you hear that?"

"Well, baby." Lu Zhouyu repeated in a low voice, still with a smile in her voice, a bit like that kind of kind teasing, but also like other things.Xia Yan couldn't tell, but felt that the hanging chair was spinning, the vines were sprouting, and the sparrows were singing.

"Have you had lunch?" Xia Yan stretched out his legs from the hanging chair, stepped on the ground with his toes, and changed the subject.

"Ate."

"What to eat?"

"noodle."

"I also eat noodles in the morning, beef noodles, for several days." Xia Yan sighed, "I want to go back and drink tofu nao."

After chatting for a few more words, Xia Yan heard scattered construction sounds on the phone, sometimes heavy and sometimes soft, and there was also a little conversation, but he couldn't hear clearly.He couldn't help asking: "Are you working?"

"Find someone to clean up the grass in the yard." Lu Zhouyu said.

It wasn't until Lou Rui opened the door a crack and gestured for Xia Yan to go in for lunch that the two hung up the phone.

Two days later, Lou Rui's materials were basically prepared, and Xia Zhengyang needed to go to another place to apply for a certificate.There are only mother and son left in the family, Lou Rui has the habit of reading in the morning, Xia Yan wants to get up early with her and do some exercise.

I managed to open my eyes when the third alarm clock rang. It was [-]:[-], and I got up late again.Xia Yan went out barefoot, saw milk on the table, drank half a glass, saw the phone screen light up, and received a WeChat message.

Lu Zhouyu sent a bus number, and simply said that he would arrive at the station around eight o'clock. If Xia Yan woke up, could he meet at the North Railway Station.

In his first reaction, Xia Yan thought it was a dream, the kind of dizzy dream that would happen when he accidentally fell asleep while nestling in a hanging chair.

When the phone was dialed, he asked, "What do you mean?"

"Are you awake?" The voice was familiar.

"I'm not awake, I can't understand your words."

"There is a cross-provincial cooperation project. I went to Dunhuang for inspection. The train does not go directly. I will transfer to you." Lu Zhouyu said, "If you are not late, you will arrive at the station at eight o'clock."

Xia Yan's breathing stagnated for a second, and besides hearing Lu Zhouyu's words, there was the sound of trains roaring on the tracks and the ground.

Getting out of bed and opening the curtains, the colorful color blocks are laid out in front of my eyes unexpectedly.The blue sky with high purity, the green grape leaves with high brightness, and the large and irregular golden sunlight sifted by the leaves.

There should be some, which penetrated the car window and flowed through Lu Zhouyu's skin.They are sharing the morning sun on the same land.

"How long is the layover?" Xia Yan still couldn't believe it, but he had already opened the closet to search.

"One hour and 45 minutes," Lu Zhouyu replied patiently, "If you wake up, can you meet me at the station?"