Tropical Highway

The passage of time in Lhasa is gentler than that in the plains, as slow as a stream, and the speed is imperceptible. The shadows on the soles of the feet are getting longer and longer, the white sun begins to deepen and become brilliant, and scattered clouds gather in the low altitude of the mountains.

Tourists arrived at the last half hour of their visit, and the crowds left one after another, but the worshipers continued to kowtow.

"We seemed to be going in the wrong direction just now." Zhai Lan pointed to the prayer wheel, then turned around to confirm the exit location, "Should we come out after the end and turn the prayer?"

You Zhen didn't care about it: "But you said you don't understand anything, I saw that you had a lot of pious eyes when you visited just now, and you were probably affected by it. If you turn around a few times, you will feel more deeply, won't you? "

"How could it be so..." Zhai Lan smiled.

You Zhen was right about one thing, Zhai Lan did not understand the allusions of mural painting and the stories of Tibetan Buddhism.Even so, when he faced the patchwork of buildings in the Jokhang Temple, the monks walking with their eyes closed, and the Tibetans kneeling down one shrine after another, the shock and admiration welling up in the corner of his eyes from the bottom of his heart could not be deceiving.

The red, yellow and white colors are very bright, and the carved beams and painted columns have the Tang style that has been left over for thousands of years. Standing on the roof, it stands side by side with the golden roof that was overlooked a few hours ago. The blue sky can be shared, and there are a few clusters of golden flowers at the feet. .

At that time, You Zhen squatted down to tease some flowers, the shadow of the golden dome covered his whole body.

Zhai Lan greedily wanted to make this moment last longer.

They were the last tourists to walk out of the Jokhang Temple. They ate too much for the afternoon meal and couldn't fully digest it after two hours of shopping, so they went back to Barkhor Street for a walk.

Zhai Lan sometimes thinks that they are all wandering around the same place, but every time they pass by, the state of mind is different.He didn't know where the change came from. Perhaps this was the magic of this plateau. The stone had never changed its position. When he walked on it, the strength of each heartbeat was different.

So I want to remember something.

The Baima Yangjin who posted the guide to Youzhen jokingly called Barkhor Street "Lhasa Yiwu". In short, there is nothing to buy.At the end of their shopping, Zhai Lan found what he wanted in a small shop at the entrance of an alley.

The store is run by two sisters. A piece of red cloth is hung on the outer wall. The nails are simply assembled into a support frame, and the Gesang flower specimens packed in small boxes are placed on it one by one.The most conspicuous specimen is placed on the edge, and there is a different color in the petals, the bright yellow is set off by pink, like a ray of light that the setting sun breaks away from the sunset.

Zhai Lan picked up the small card with Gesanghua's introduction, and said silently: "The flower of happiness, the flower of tenacity... Cherish the people in front of you."

He turned his head, You Zhen was standing at the door of the shop, talking with a Tibetan uncle, the weather suddenly became a bit gloomy.

"How much is this?" Zhai Lan asked the shopkeeper.

Going out with a small bag, You Zhen just glanced at what he bought, and didn't ask much about what he bought and how much it cost.You Zhen is always close enough to not put any pressure on Zhai Lan.

I saw the dusk and sunset glow in Lhasa yesterday. I thought that the dry season on the plateau is the most common, but there was no cloud in this day. In the evening, with a few gusts of wind, the sky turned gloomy.The clouds thickened, the snow-capped mountains hid their outlines, and there was about to be a rainstorm, but You Zhen said it was only because of the wind.

The setting sun broke behind the clouds, bright at the edges but still a deep gray in the center.

They bought potatoes and yak meat on Barkhor Street, packed two servings of Tibetan noodles, and prepared to eat them at the hotel after receiving the courier.

Di Lan said that he was not tired, but he set off at [-] o'clock in the morning. Whether he visited the Potala Palace or the Jokhang Temple, he kept walking. He walked back and forth on Barkhor Street three times. How can I get up.You Zhen also found out, so without further ado, he and Zhai Lan went to the nearest courier point.

His package was quite a big box, You Zhen handed the food to Zhai Lan for safekeeping and picked it up by himself.

Back at the hotel, You Zhen took out a bag of clothes from inside, and the rest of Zhai Lan went to look at it, and found that it was all school-age children's textbooks, story books, encyclopedias and other reading materials.

"You sent it from Chengdu?"

You Zhen tidied up the bumped corners: "Yeah."

Zhai Lan asked: "But didn't you get on the bus in Xining? I thought you..."

"Passing by Xining, I heard from the elder brother I met on the train that there was a puja meeting in Kumbum Monastery at that time, and I always wanted to see the Thangka in Qinghai Museum, so I got off the train and bought a ticket for two days later. "You Zhen explained, putting those books away by category.

"Go to Linzhi, why not send it there directly?"

You Zhen paused before saying, "Actually, I don't know the specific address."

Whether staying in Qinghai for a short time or wandering like a guest wandering the streets of Lhasa, Youzhen never had a strong "purpose".

His plan for the trip to Tibet was also unclear, he brought a box of books and clothes, and then told Zhai Lan very casually that he didn't know where to send the box of books.

Zhai Lan sat on the edge of the bed and ate two mouthfuls of Tibetan noodles. The addition of highland barley had a rough taste, which he was not used to.

"Who is this for?"

"My parents sponsored a family, and their youngest child is in the fourth grade of elementary school this year."

In a rather unexpected answer, Zhai Lan uttered a monosyllable in doubt.

Most of the books have been sorted out, and You Zhen packed them with a brand new book in the courier, and the packing came to an end.He sat down on the ground and stretched out his hand: "Give me a beer."

Zhai Lan threw it to him, the can was quite heavy, suppressing the speed of the fall, he said: "I'll ask you."

On the contrary, he was ahead of You Zhen when paying the bill in the small supermarket, but the other party didn't object, and accepted the "treat" from the boy who was several years younger with peace of mind.

When tearing off the tab, the beer foam splashed on the knuckles, and You Zhen took a sip: "I remember, thank you Xiaolan."

"I learned from whom..." Zhai Lan pretended to be unhappy with a stern face, but he couldn't help but rubbed his temples helplessly for a second with the "stop pretending" look in Shang Zhenzhen's eyes, "Oh, why am I starting to feel dizzy again? gone."

"I'll give you two sips of rhodiola later, and go to bed early."

"Then why are you drinking, smoking and trotting, nothing happened?!"

"Nu Wa was eccentric when creating humans."

Zhai Lan hugged the pillow and almost threw him.

After a brief silence, You Zhen raised his head and finished off half a can of beer in one go. He was much calmer and was about to continue tidying up those things when Zhai Lan suddenly asked him a question.

"You Zhen, what did you say about the family supported by your parents?"

He didn't want to mention it, but this was something he had to face.

You Zhen crossed his legs, with his knee protruding a little from the hole in his jeans. This posture allowed him to easily support himself and lean forward slightly, as if he wanted to talk seriously, but some words were not so easy to say.Too private, he usually doesn't even tell the whole story about his friends in the band.

Zhai Lan looked at him with curiosity, doubt, and vague worry.

His tone of question was also straightforward, without being offensive at all.This makes You Zhen suddenly feel that it is easier than he imagined to tell those old things to Zhai Lan.He thought about it for a while, and after a while, he squeezed the can a little harder.

"That's right, the last time I came to Tibet, I came with my parents."

"what."

You Zhen observed Zhai Lan's expression and didn't see anything unusual, so he continued: "Something happened at home in junior high school, and my parents went to a temple in western Sichuan to... confess? I met the local Rinpoche and pointed it out. It just so happened that many people participated in the 'Hand in Hand' activity at that time. After learning about the situation, they came back to discuss for a long time, and finally decided to get in touch with a family in southern Tibet to support their children's education until they started working."

It sounded like a very meaningful thing, but it was difficult for You Zhen to say it, Zhai Lan was a little puzzled, and just said: "What happened later?"

"There are three children in that family, the oldest one, you know now, is Baima Yangjin." You Zhen said, shaved the side of his face embarrassingly, "She had very good grades, she was the first college student in the village at that time, and she was admitted to Chongqing. ...Oh, I went to college in Chongqing, and then we got to know each other."

"Hey, what a coincidence."

"There are two younger brothers in Yangjin's family. The older one... was unlucky. He got a sudden illness after he was in high school, and he couldn't be saved." You Zhen's voice gradually sank, maybe it was because he was telling the tragedy of others, "The other His name is Tsering Tenzin, he was only 11 years old, and he had a tumor on his retina. At first, the family didn’t pay much attention to it, but this year, he told Yang Jin that the child now... can’t see clearly, and may go blind at any time.”

Zhai Lan has been immersed in grief for half a year, exposed to other people's suffering, unexpectedly for a short while forgetting that he is still in labor pain.

"Then, now...?"

"I went to Linzhi this time to pick him up for a diagnosis in the city. If he is still alive, I will take Tenzin back to Chengdu for treatment." You Zhen said with a brisk ending, "No matter what Said, the child is to be supported by my parents, even though they have gone abroad now, I should be responsible for him."

Zhai Lan was speechless.

When he just lost his father, he felt that he was the worst person in the world. He was under 20 years old and had never done anything bad. Why did he have to suffer so much.So he couldn't extricate himself, until he stepped on that train, he was giving up on himself.

"...Is she okay? Yang Jin." Zhai Lan asked softly.

You Zhen smiled: "She is quite optimistic. In fact, we can see each other when we return to Chengdu. She is especially good at comforting people. If you are in a bad mood, go to 'Holiday' to chat with her for an afternoon, and I guarantee that you will be cured."

"It's okay to find you." Zhai Lan blurted out.

The lighting in the hotel room is ambiguous and warm, and the spacious floor-to-ceiling windows reveal the Potala Palace in the distance.

As night fell in Lhasa, telling secrets became sacred.

"When I'm with you, I don't have to think about all the mess." Zhai Lan said, looking at him carefully from behind the pillow, "I... I'm very relaxed, just follow you."

You Zhen was stunned for a while because of these words.

His fingers were unconsciously picking at the top aluminum edge of the beer can. His fingertips were cold and a little painful. He suddenly felt that Zhai Lan and the small period in the private message box overlapped somewhere.

In a private letter, the small period babbled about many unsatisfactory things in recent days: I accidentally cut my hand with scissors, I wanted to eat watermelon but summer is still a long time away, and I had no one to talk to, so I had to treat him like a tree hole. I'm sorry, but it's a pleasure just chatting with you like this.

At that time, he typed with a smile, "As long as chatting with me can comfort you, the rest is fine."

You Zhen didn't expect that there was another person in the world who would care about his every word and deed.

"You Zhen?" Zhai Lan was afraid that he wouldn't believe it, so he emphasized it again, "Really, I feel much better after meeting you. We bask in the sun together, as if we can get through everything."

"You think too much of me." You Zhen smiled, with an indifferent tone.

Zhai Lan shook her head: "You are just fine."

He didn't want to tell Zhai Lan that he couldn't bear Zhai Lan's so much dependence and expectation, and he couldn't afford anyone.

In the end, You Zhen didn't say anything and drank the beer in one gulp.

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