fake god

Lu Ping didn't expect that Shen Yuze would "give up" his wish to himself.

But thinking about it carefully, this is indeed something Shen Yuze would do.

Every time Shen Yuze stacked an ingot, he had to repeat his wish softly. Lu Ping sat next to him, his ears red and his face hot.

He quietly bumped Shen Yuze with his knee under the table, reminding him in a low voice: "My sister is still here."

Shen Yuze raised his eyelids and looked at An An who was sitting opposite the long table.The little girl pursed her lips, while stacking the gold ingots, she was distracted watching the cartoon on the TV next to her, she had no time to take care of the two older brothers at the table.

"Why can't I say your sister when I'm here?" Shen Yuze said with a straight face, "It's the first time I found out that you are so unreasonable. It was you who made a wish when you said that you were folding ingots. Do you still care about what I wish? "

If he didn't bump Lu Ping lightly with his knee when he spoke, then what he said would still be three-point credible.

He bumped over, and Lu Ping bumped back.Through the rough school uniform trousers, their knees touched their knees, neither light nor heavy.

While the two teenagers buried their heads in stacking the ingots, they collided secretly in places where the younger sister couldn't see. Occasionally, their eyes met, and they quickly staggered.

The tabletop is calm and calm, while the tabletop is surging.

When a basket of gold ingots was stacked, An An suddenly raised her two little hands and screamed loudly: "Brother—look at my hands!"

The little girl's hands were covered with gold powder. When she touched the table, the table was all golden. When she touched the skirt, the skirt also turned golden.

Seeing that her little golden hands were about to wipe his face, Lu Ping got up in a hurry, and his knees that were close to Shen Yuze's thighs also moved away.He hurriedly said, "Don't touch, brother will take you to wash your hands."

At this time, Lu Ping became the good brother who cared about his sister again, as if all the collisions under the table just now were imagined by Shen Yuze.

Shen Yuze withdrew his gaze and cleaned the battlefield quietly.He swept the scraps of paper left over from cutting the gold paper into the trash can, and hid the blade of the jackknife.

When Lu Ping came out of the bathroom with his younger sister, the living room had been restored to its original state. The folded gold ingots were placed in a basket, and Shen Yuze moved them to the gate, so that they could be burned in the yard at dawn tomorrow.

It was not early, and Lu's mother urged them to wash up and go to bed. The first wave of rituals would start after five o'clock. It was still dark at that time. If they didn't go to bed early, they would not be energetic the next day.

Mother Lu asked Shen Yuze with concern if she had brought pajamas.

"Bring it." Shen Yuze pointed to the small bag next to the schoolbag, "I brought my pajamas and toiletries."

The bag was not big, and it seemed that it could only hold a set of very thin pajamas. Mama Lu said, "You will catch cold if you wear such thin pajamas after taking a shower!"

Shen Yuze was taken aback, he really didn't consider this point, the apartment he lived in had a constant temperature all day long, and it was enough to wear a set of silk pajamas after taking a shower; this time he stayed at Lu's house, he completely forgot to consider how cold it was in the south.

But Lu's mother was already prepared: "It's okay, I remember that Pingping bought a set of thick pajamas. Don't worry, they are all clean and unworn. Don't dislike them."

But why would Shen Yuze dislike the pajamas worn by Lu Ping?

Lu Ping took Shen Yuze back to his room to get him pajamas.

This is not the first time Shen Yuze has stepped into Lu Ping's room, but during that visit, their relationship was still a little cautious; unlike now, it is more than friendship, full of ambiguity.

The relationship is different, and doing the same thing again feels naturally different.

Lu Ping pushed open the door of his room, a little shy and at a loss: "...It's the same as last time, no difference."

Shen Yuze looked around the room.It is said that the bedroom is the place that can best reflect a person's personality. For example, Shen Yuze's bedroom is in an industrial minimalist style, with abstract paintings with sharp lines on the wall, and even the reclining chairs in front of the French windows are mainly black and silver, sacrificing the sense of warmth , more emphasis on practicality; while Lu Ping's room is more real and fuller, everything is neatly packed, and it looks like a very organized and clean boy.

It was summer when Shen Yuze came last time, but now it is winter, the bedding has been replaced with thick cushions, and there is an electric blanket under it, which is very warm at first glance; there is a wooden box that has never been seen before under the corner of the table, Lu Ping said It's called a foot stove, and it can be used to warm your feet when you're doing homework. There are also "little suns" and "electric radiators", all of which are things Shen Yuze has never heard of.On a certain floor of the bookcase, there was a group photo of the two of them at the racecourse, as well as the trophy that Shen Yuze gave Lu Ping after the English speech contest.

"Sure enough, it's best to put it here with you." Shen Yuze walked to the bookcase, reaching out to take down the trophy.

Lu Ping stopped him immediately, not allowing him to touch it randomly: "Hey, who allowed you to touch my things?"

"Obviously I gave this to you, right?" Shen Yuze said helplessly, "I can't even touch my own things?"

"No, the one given to me is mine!" Lu Ping snorted, and readjusted the angle of the trophy so that the beautiful glass trophy stood in the place with the most light. "Normally, my parents won't enter my room. Since you want to stay overnight tonight, you must follow my rules and don't touch things."

"Can't you touch anything in the house?"

"If you insist on touching it, you should ask my opinion in advance." Lu Ping made a three-pronged agreement with him.

Shen Yuze pointed to the domestic building blocks on the bookshelf: "Is this okay?"

"This is not possible."

Shen Yuze pointed to the exercise book on the table again: "Is this okay?"

"this is okay."

Shen Yuze smiled lightly, then raised his hand suddenly, pointing at Lu Ping: "Then... is this okay?"

Lu Ping couldn't continue talking, so he hurriedly turned around, neither saying yes nor no.

The boy hastily opened the closet door, pretending to be looking for clothes, trying to cover up his unnaturalness: "Uh, let me see where the thick pajamas are..."

His closet was also tidy. The clothes of spring, summer, autumn and winter were neatly folded, and the washed socks were rolled into small balls in the drawer.

Lu Ping quickly found the extra set of thick pajamas, stuffed it into Shen Yuze's arms, and said like chasing away: "Go take a bath."

Shen Yuze: "You don't wash?"

"I'll wash it after you've finished washing." Lu Ping said, trying to hide it, "My family is not so poor that we need two people to take a shower together to save water."

Shen Yuze raised his eyebrows: "I haven't said anything yet."

Lu Ping's face turned red to the base of his neck, and he pushed Shen Yuze to the bathroom: "...you go and wash!!!"

……

The guest bathroom is opposite Lu Ping's room, usually only he and his sister use it.The size of the guest bathroom is very cramped, incomparable to the luxuriously decorated bathroom in Shen Yuze's home.

Shen Yuze made a quick decision, took a simple shower, and walked out with wet hair.

He underestimated how difficult the winter night in the south was. When he walked out of the hot bathroom, the cold air hit his face. If he wasn't wearing the thick pajamas that Lu Ping found for him, he would definitely be sneezing from the cold.

When he returned to Lu Ping's room, Lu Ping was lying on the bed doing English papers. He took off his school uniform and put on pajamas, and the electric radiator next to the bed was turned on to the maximum power.The boy's two feet were raised up and dangling, his teeth were biting the cap of the pen lightly, his eyes wavering between the two options.

"What's the problem, I'll help you look at it." Shen Yuze sat down on the edge of the bed naturally.His hair was not completely dried, and it smelled of the familiar peppermint aroma.Lu Ping knew that it was the smell of shampoo commonly used at home.

Lu Pingyuan thought he was already used to that smell, but he didn't expect that when it appeared on Shen Yuze's body, it made his heart skip a beat.

"It's okay." Lu Ping rolled the paper on his side on the bed, avoiding Shen Yuze's hand, "My English has improved a lot now, so I don't need your tutoring anymore."

Shen Yuze raised his eyebrows slightly: "Is there really no need?"

"It's really unnecessary." Lu Ping sat up, pulled his slippers and walked around Shen Yuze, "I'm going to take a shower first, you...you go to sleep first." He pointed to the bed: "You choose yourself, you can sleep inside or outside. Can."

His bed is against the corner, and he usually sleeps on the outside, with some sundries on the inside, such as earphones, vocabulary books, and half-read mystery novels.Today he cleaned up ahead of time, and the sheets were laid neatly.

Without waiting for Shen Yuze to answer, Lu Ping rushed to the guest bathroom with the towel in his arms.

Taking a bath in winter is a tough job, every time Lu Ping must muster up the courage to take off his clothes in the cold air.Fortunately, Shen Yuze was the first to take a bath today, and the steaming steam in the bathroom hadn't dissipated yet. Lu Ping was very glad that he could find such a warm bathroom.In my mind, I couldn't help but imagine Shen Yuze's appearance in the shower.

He took off his clothes in front of the mirror, his honey-colored skin was exposed to the warm air, and he no longer got goosebumps from the cold as usual.

He stood in the shower room, hot water gushed out and sprinkled on his shoulders, dispelling the chill brought by the cold winter.He sighed comfortably, and then stopped suddenly - Lu Ping couldn't help but blush when he thought of the hot water spilled from the nozzle, which also fell on the top of Shen Yuze's head, and slid along his body to the ground.

...stop, stop, stop!

Lu Ping shook his head, not understanding why his mind was filled with such strange pictures.

He turned the water down a few degrees to clear his mind.

……

It didn't take long for Lu Ping to take a shower, but today he spent more than half an hour dawdling in the bathroom.

He wished he could spend some more time, and it would be best if Shen Yuze was already asleep when he returned to the room, so that they wouldn't have to lie on the same bed and chat awkwardly.

Unfortunately, his expectations failed.When he pushed open the bedroom door, he saw Shen Yuze leaning on the bedside, flipping through a mystery novel that Lu Ping hadn't finished before.The reading lamp by the bed cast off a piece of off-white light, reflecting on Shen Yuze's side face, and the thick eyelashes cast a shadow.

Lu Ping's Adam's apple rolled, and he put down the towel to wipe his hair, and muttered, "You...haven't slept yet?"

"The master hasn't come back yet, of course I can't sleep first." Shen Yuze put down the book in his hand and looked up at him, "I've read this book before, do you want to know who the murderer is?"

"No spoilers!" Lu Ping immediately forgot the embarrassment a second ago, "I haven't finished watching it yet!"

"Speaking of which, the author used a very interesting narrative technique..."

"Ooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo yous this spoiler!

Shen Yuze changed the book from his left hand to his right hand, and then from his right hand to his left hand, deliberately teasing Lu Ping not to let him touch it.Lu Ping rushed over in a moment of excitement, but accidentally tripped over the edge of the bed and fell directly on Shen Yuze.

Shen Yuze: "!"

Lu Ping: "!"

Shen Yuze: "..."

Lu Ping: "..."

They all just took a shower, with the same fragrance of shampoo on their bodies. Because of the play just now, the top button of Lu Ping's pajamas was undone, revealing a slender and straight collarbone. With the open placket to see the scenery inside.

None of them moved.The boy's half-wet hair rested on his forehead, slightly curly after soaking in water, covering his sight.He peeked at Shen Yuze's expression through the gaps in his hair, and Shen Yuze was also looking at him at the same time.

The room was quiet, the freezing rain outside the window was pattering against the window, other than that, there was only the sound of each other's breathing.

——Until, the books that fell by the bed slipped off the edge of the bed, making a distinct "boom"!

In fact, the sound was not loud, but to Lu Ping's ears, it was like the first shocking drum at the Winter Solstice Festival, enough to penetrate the eardrum and wake up his soul.

Lu Ping was startled, and immediately sat up from Shen Yuze's body.

As a result, Shen Yuze's hand slipped off his body involuntarily.

Lu Ping lowered his head, awkwardly grabbed his pajamas, fastened his open collar, and picked up the mystery novel that fell on the floor.

He dusted off the paper, put it on the bedside table, and whispered: "It's getting late, go to rest."

"..." Shen Yuze responded vaguely.

Lu Ping: "You sleep on the outside?"

Shen Yuze: "Actually, I haven't finished reading this book yet."

Lu Ping: "If I sleep on my side, I may have to get up halfway through the night for fear of disturbing you."

Shen Yuze: "However, I have read another novel by this author, which is a series with this one, and I still have his signature."

Lu Ping: "Forget it, I'll get up from the end of the bed."

Shen Yuze: "I will bring it to you next time I come."

The two talked about their own topics.

Neither listened to the other, nor answered the other.

Lu Ping got up, walked around to the bed, took off his slippers, and climbed onto the bed silently.The electric blanket had been turned on in advance, and the bed was extremely warm, so he got into his own quilt.

From when he went to bed to when he lay down, Shen Yuze kept staring at him, until he wrapped himself in the quilt again into a silkworm baby, Shen Yuze asked, "Turn off the light?"

"Hmm..." Lu Ping whispered, "Go to bed early."

Then the next second, the bedside lamp went out, and the two of them fell into the darkness at the same time.

"Good night."

"Good night."

Lu Ping closed his eyes, tried his best to breathe lightly, and imagined himself floating above the water surface, being lifted up lightly by the sea water.The waves continued, one wave after another rushed towards his body.

Lu Ping was born by the sea, and he knows better than anyone else that when the sea is gentle, it can support him and let him drift with the current; but when the sea is raging, it can swallow everything about him in an instant.

In the darkness, he quietly turned over, facing the inner wall.

He arched himself, curled himself up, and the position of lying on his side provided him with enough security and also allowed him to hide some secret things.

Go to sleep.

Lu Ping said silently in his heart, tomorrow is the winter solstice.

The thick night flooded into the dream, and Lu Ping didn't know when he fell asleep. Before he fell asleep, he could still smell the same fragrance of shampoo as his own on the person next to his pillow.

……

This sleep was not solid.

Shen Yuze was half asleep and half awake when he was awakened by the sound of his bedmate getting up.

He opened his eyes sleepily, and suddenly found that the seat beside him was empty. He immediately woke up and sat up.

Fortunately, Lu Ping did not leave the room, but stood in front of the window wearing a thick coat.

On such a cold day, the boy was barefoot, opened the curtains with one hand, and looked out, with an uncontrollable excitement on his face.It was still dark, and the dots of stars were flickering in the night sky. A dim yellow night light was lit on the wall, dim and shadowy, and the electronic alarm clock next to it showed that it was only 04:30.

In other words, they only slept for just over four hours.

Seeing that Lu Ping was awake, Shen Yuze simply got up and got out of bed, followed Lu Ping's example, put on his coat, and walked behind Lu Ping.

"Why did you wake up so early?" Shen Yuze's throat was a little hoarse after just waking up.

"—Damn, why is there no sound when you walk?" Lu Ping, who was lying in front of the window, was taken aback.

Because of what happened last night, he now feels embarrassed and ashamed just hearing Shen Yuze's voice, and he hides himself from looking into his eyes.

Fortunately, Shen Yuze didn't notice his unnaturalness (or maybe he did, but he pretended not to notice it considerately), and instead asked him what he was looking at.

Lu Ping gave up his position, opened the curtains, pointed outside and said, "Look at the Marshal Temple."

Jiaojiang City has always been known as the source of Buddhism, and the north bank pays special attention to sacrifices. Every village and town has its own temple. This is what Shen Yuze discovered when he first visited the north bank.Some temples are full of incense, with red walls and black tiles, and the gold-plated body of the Buddha; some temples only have a small courtyard, and the one sitting on the lotus is not Avalokitesvara, but Taoist gods.

The small town where the Lu family is located also has its own temple dedicated to the Taoist Marshal Zhao.Shen Yuze passed by the temple several times, and often saw people coming in and out.

At 04:30 in the morning, it was pitch black, only the Marshal Temple in the distance was lit.

Dots of lanterns hang high above it, illuminating the bowing crowd in front of the temple.

Shen Yuze: "What are they doing?"

"That's the chief priest leading everyone to prepare!" Thinking of the upcoming winter ceremony, Lu Ping's tone gradually became excited, and he couldn't wait to push Shen Yuze, "Hurry up and go downstairs, we have to meet Banlong at the door before dawn !"

Shen Yuze didn't have time to ask what Banlong was, so Lu Ping urged him to change clothes and wash up.Because he was too impatient, Lu Ping almost forgot to wear his slippers. It was Shen Yuze who reminded him that he remembered to stuff his cold feet into his shoes.

Shen Yuze originally thought that they had already woken up very early, but when they went downstairs, the Lu family couple were already busy in the kitchen.

On the morning of the winter solstice, you must eat winter solstice rounds.Mother Lu made two kinds, one is sweet Luyuan, in which solid Lantern Festivals are rolled in brown sugar and soybean powder for a few times, and she reads while rolling: "Ruiyuan reunion, everything is round"; the other is Baoyuan. The salty winter solstice circles in the heart, the dried bamboo shoots stored in spring are mixed with shiitake mushrooms and pork stuffing, kneaded into fist-sized balls, and steamed in a pan.

Two kinds of winter solstice circles are placed in the center of the table, and a bowl of soup made of rice flour paste is served as a soup for breakfast.When Mother Lu saw the two children coming down, she hurriedly greeted them: "Pingping, Xiao Shen, eat while it's hot. I'll go upstairs and wake An An up."

Shen Yuze got up too early, and felt that the dumplings he ate last night hadn't been fully digested, so he stopped after eating one each of the sweet Leiyuan and the salty Dongzhiyuan, but he drank a big bowl of hot soup , shredded pork, shredded mustard greens, shredded fungus, and dried tofu are put in the soup. Drinking a bowl in the cold morning can warm the stomach from the heart.

Lu Ping next to him was not very interested in bad soup, but Lei Yuan ate several in one go.It's too troublesome to make the round balls. There are several processes for the outer layer of powder. If it wasn't for the winter solstice, Mother Lu wouldn't be able to do it.

Shen Yuze watched him take one bite at a time, worried that he would not be able to digest too much sticky food.

By the time An An rubbed his eyes and went downstairs, Lu Ping and Shen Yuze had already finished their respective breakfasts.

The little girl was so sleepy that her upper and lower eyelids were almost glued together, and she couldn't open them at all.She fumbled to put a few winter solstice balls in her bowl, and kept "nodding" her head while eating.While braiding her hair, Lu's mother scolded her: "Tianzhu Nan, you were the one who said you were going to get up to meet Banlong yesterday, but you stayed in bed until this time today."

Shen Yuze heard the word "banlong" again, and curiously asked what Lu Ping was referring to.

Lu Ping didn't answer directly, but deliberately kept it secret: "You will see it in a while."

After a few members of the family had eaten the winter solstice round, Father Lu and his son carried the altar outside the gate together, placed incense burners, tributes and incense candles, and waited excitedly for the arrival of the auspicious time.Two flaming firecrackers were hung on the lamp post in front of the yard, each with a thousand rings.The stacked gold ingots were piled up in the basket last night, and a circle was drawn with lime on the ground. The gold ingots will be lit in the circle after a while. It is said that the lit ingots can be delivered to the ancestors faster.

The air-conditioning in the morning was refreshing, the freezing rain had stopped last night, and the air was exceptionally fresh.At around five o'clock, the neighbors all walked out of the house one after another, and placed their altars at the gate.

Lu Ping was shivering from the cold, he hid his chin and neck in the scarf, and explained to Shen Yuze: "The Banlong team will walk around the town in a while, and when the Banlong team passes by the front and back of the hall, every household will light red candles , Setting off firecrackers, this is called 'Solitaire'. If the winter solstice fails to catch the dragon, the coming year will not be smooth."

Almost as soon as Lu Ping finished speaking, he suddenly heard a burst of loud music coming from the direction of the Marshal Temple.

The sounds of folk instruments such as drums, horns, and suona are intertwined, accompanied by firecrackers, waking up the dark night sky!

"Dragon—come—lah!!!!!!"

A few naughty Xiao Ning shouted while running. They were wearing brand new clothes and red cloths on their heads, and ran all the way along the alley.Occasionally someone would stop them and stuff a handful of candies or a tangerine into the pockets of these little Nings, and soon their skirts would be bulging.

"The dragon is coming! The dragon is coming! Firecrackers are going to be set off!!" An An also clapped her hands and shouted.

The neighbors in the neighborhood started to hang firecrackers and set off firecrackers. Father Lu was the pillar of the family, so of course he had to light the firecrackers of the Lu family.He leaned close to the red whip hanging on the lamp post, lit the fuse and immediately turned and ran back to the altar.

The lead wire burned out quickly, and only heard a few "crackling" sounds, and the two red whips jumped up

Smoke and dust are everywhere, red makeup is all over the ground, amidst the festive and piercing sound of firecrackers, the winter festival ceremony on the North Shore has finally begun!

Mother Lu leaned on her husband's shoulder, silently praying to Marshal Temple in her heart.

An An was courageous and wanted to get closer to the firecrackers. Lu Ping quickly grabbed the little girl and covered her ears with his hands, for fear that the loud firecrackers would hurt her ears.

Lu Ping shouted: "Does your ear hurt???"

An An: "What did you say????"

Lu Ping: "I said, do your ears hurt!!!"

An An: "Brother, I'm not hungry!!!"

Lu Ping: "..."

Lu Ping was speechless, and suddenly, his ears were also stuck to his palms.Lu Ping was startled, and looked sideways, the owner of the hand was standing beside him, the young man's hands covered both sides of his ears, thoughtfully helping him block the harsh sound of firecrackers.

Under Lu Ping's gaze, Shen Yuze opened his lips slightly and said a word to him.Shen Yuze spoke slowly, and the changes in the edges of his lips were clearly visible.

"Pingping, I like..."

But the sound of firecrackers was too loud, which cut off Lu Ping's chance to hear those words clearly.

It wasn't until the sound of firecrackers disappeared and the smoke dispersed that Lu Ping resentfully let go of his hand covering his sister's ears, and immediately went to grab Shen Yuze's hand.

Shen Yuze dodged and didn't let him catch him.

Lu Ping could only grab his sleeve and ask in confirmation, "Shen Yuze, what did you just say?"

Shen Yuze asked back: "If you didn't hear it, then didn't you see it, didn't you feel it?"

Lu Ping automatically ignored the latter two questions, and insisted: "Please, who would talk about things while setting off firecrackers! And you covered my ears so hard just now, I couldn't hear them even if I wanted to!"

"Forget it if you didn't hear it." Shen Yuze smiled, "This is the second time, and you can't pretend you didn't hear it the third time."

Lu Ping still wanted to argue with him, but An An suddenly jumped up. She pointed to the winding fire coming from the far alley, and screamed in surprise: "——The Banlong team is coming! I see It's five beasts!!"