【Double Flower】Honeysuckle

It was an ordinary early summer afternoon.

The manager's office located on the twelfth floor, without the shadows of mottled trees outside the window, the already warm and bright sunshine seemed a little clearer. A feeling of warmth ran down his spine.

He stretched, opened the mailbox, clicked on a new email, and smiled triumphantly.

Another invitation to sponsorship requesting cooperation.

He skillfully entered an official statement that he was looking forward to cooperation, and just as he pressed the send button, the door of the office rang.

Appearing at the door was the figure of Sun Zheping.

"Ha, it's Sun Zheping, what's the matter?" The team manager stretched out his hand to rake the hairline that was still relatively safe at that time, got up and poured a glass of water for Sun Zheping: "Your tactical arrangement for the first game of the finals the day after tomorrow Is the analysis session over?"

Sun Zheping nodded, and walked into the room in silence.

The blanket under my feet was soft to the touch, and it felt unreal to step on it.

He looked down at the disposable paper cups on the table.

His face was reflected in it.

It should be an all-too-familiar face, but at this moment, it seemed to him that he had never known this person before, and it was as far away as a mirror image.

He took out a piece of paper from his shoulder bag, put it on the table, and solemnly pushed it in front of the team manager.

"Please take a look at this termination contract." He bowed slightly to the manager, "I... want to retire."

The manager was startled, turned his elbow, and accidentally knocked the porcelain cup on the side to the ground.

The floor was covered with thick blankets, so there was no crisp cracking sound that anyone expected, but the scent of honeysuckle tea slowly permeated, and penetrated into Sun Zheping's nose one by one.

"Sun Zheping, don't worry. Tenosynovitis is a relatively common occupational disease. Take good care of your injuries. You can continue to play next season. There is really no need for this..." cup, stretched out his hand to press the piece of paper, and wanted to push it back to Sun Zheping's direction, but Sun Zheping pushed it back with light force.

Sun Zheping lowered his eyes so that the team manager couldn't see his expression clearly.

"It won't get better." He seemed to twitch the corner of his mouth lightly, but he didn't seem to: "Because it's not tenosynovitis."

The team manager opened his mouth, wanting to say something else, but when he lowered his head, the words "Avascular necrosis of the lunate bone" stood out in front of his eyes on the termination contract in front of him.

"You..." The manager was shocked, "But didn't you say..."

"As you can see. I have attached the hospital diagnosis report." Sun Zheping smiled apologetically, "I'm sorry, because I didn't want to affect everyone, I concealed my hand injury." He raised his eyes, his face Can't tell whether it's calm or tired: "But I don't want to hide it until next season."

"So, do you think it's a wise decision for you to retire now?" The manager calmed down and sighed softly: "The day after tomorrow is the final game of the finals, and you at this time..."

"So." Sun Zheping bowed deeply to the team manager again, "I hope that you can announce the news of my retirement to the outside world after the finals."

"The state of Zhang Jiale..."

"You can rest assured on that."

Sun Zheping closed his eyes, was silent for a while, and then said slowly: "I won't let him know."

Walking out of the team manager's office, the phone in his pocket vibrated.

Sun Zheping took out his mobile phone, his eyes instantly warmed up.He adjusted his breathing carefully, picked up the phone: "Hello."

"Where did you go, Sun Zheping!" Through the phone, Zhang Jiale's angry voice sounded a bit distorted: "Didn't you secretly call Glory again behind my back! How many times have you said it..."

"Take care of your hands—" Sun Zheping smiled and read out the second half of Zhang Jiale's words that Zhang Jiale had repeated to him countless times. Looking far away at the gray horizon at the end of his vision, he paused, lowered his eyes and said : "I suddenly wanted to eat the salt and pepper hoof you made, so I went to buy the ingredients."

Zhang Jiale's voice became clear in an instant: "Stupid! What are you going to buy when you have materials at home?" Although Zhang Jiale was scolding, Zhang Jiale was clearly smiling: "Then bring a bottle of old smoke back by the way, and the family is happy." Run out, don't you like braised food the most?"

Sun Zheping agreed with a smile, and waited for Zhang Jiale to hang up the phone with a smile. When he raised his head, he saw a warm-colored carved chandelier in front of him, but his mind was filled with whiteness.

He leaned against the wall of the corridor, and the street scene of City K in the distance shrunk countless times, and it fell into his eyes.It is no longer like standing on the thorny floor in a small building, looking up and seeing green and shining tree branches and buds.Without the shade of the trees, the sun made his eyes burn.He didn't want to close his eyes, and the tears involuntarily slid down his cheeks all the way, falling on the carpet under his feet, and he couldn't even find a trace of light gray in an instant.

The phone slipped from his hand and fell to the ground, perhaps because he touched the lock screen button, the phone screen suddenly lit up.

It was the bright smiling faces of the two teenagers that were fixed two years ago.

The phone screen gradually went dark due to no one touching it for a long time.

Sun Zheping bent down to pick up the phone and stuffed it back into his pocket.

This time it's true, it's all coming to an end.

When I got home, I opened the door, and a scent came out.

Sun Zheping changed into slippers, walked into the kitchen carrying soy sauce, and saw the back of Zhang Jiale who was busy around the stove.

Zhang Jiale never knew how to cook.

But since he came back from the hospital that day, he immediately bought a lot of ingredients, stewed pig's trotters when he got home, and told Sun Zheping solemnly, "What to eat, what to eat", making Sun Zheping dumbfounded for a while.

Naturally, his first finished product was ugly in appearance, and the actual taste was nothing compared to the fact that he cut his finger and almost set fire to the kitchen.

But he didn't want to stop there. On the contrary, he squeezed out a lot of time in his already packed schedule. Every day, he presented his masterpiece to Sun Zheping.

Salt and pepper, braised, steamed, stewed...

Looking at Zhang Jiale who was so busy, Sun Zheping wanted to speak up many times, telling him that it was useless, that he was wasting his energy—but every time the words came to his lips, he couldn't say anything.

The light in Zhang Jiale's eyes was so bright and scorching that he didn't want to look away, and was even more timid to think about what it would look like when the eyes were dimmed because of him.

So he was less and less afraid to mention the truth, so he could only eat Zhang Jiale's better and better hoof fat again and again, while letting the sweet touch transmit the trembling along the tip of his tongue to his brain, On the one hand, he had to suppress the sour and bitter guilt crawling up his chest with all his strength.

"You're back!" Zhang Jiale heard the movement, turned to look at Sun Zheping with a smile, skillfully took the well-cooked pig's trotters out of the pot, and threw them into the ice water beside him.

Sun Zheping put the soy sauce in his hand into the seasoning cabinet, stretched out his hand, and hugged Zhang Jiale from behind.

"Ah, don't make trouble!" Zhang Jiale giggled, turned away from Sun Zheping's kiss, wiped his hands on the apron, turned around and gave Sun Zheping a hug, and gently pushed him out of the kitchen: "While waiting for dinner, I have good news for you!"

Looking at Zhang Jiale's smiling eyes, Sun Zheping leaned against the door frame outside the kitchen, smiling faintly, the emotion in his eyes was so deep that he didn't even realize it: "The final final match the day after tomorrow, how about Cook for me?"

Zhang Jiale turned his back to him, and waved his hands: "With normal skills, do you think our Da Baihua will lose?"

Sun Zheping took a deep breath and said with a smile, "How is that possible!"

"That's natural!" Although Zhang Jiale's face couldn't be seen, Sun Zheping could imagine that at this moment, his most familiar, flamboyant smile was definitely on his face again. "Give it up." Following the crisp sound of the porcelain plates touching each other, Zhang Jiale turned around with a large plate, stretched out his hand to pick up a piece of fried golden pigskin shreds from the plate, and put it in front of Sun Zheping: "Dinner is ready."

Sun Zheping opened his mouth to take it, but took Zhang Jiale's fingers into his mouth with one mouthful.

He lightly licked Zhang Jiale's fingertips, looked at Zhang Jiale's ears and neck that turned red immediately, and said with a smile: "I really want to eat you."

"Old rascal." Zhang Jiale scolded him with a smile, and walked to the dining table with the plate.

Sun Zheping was still leaning against the door frame outside the kitchen, the tip of his tongue was slightly pungent and astringent.

Not a joke.

It's just that the closer the time is, the more unable he is to face the separation that is so close at hand.

"Dasun, why don't you come over for dinner?" At the other end of the table, Zhang Jiale waved to him: "Come here quickly, I have to go back to the club and prepare with them after eating."

Sun Zheping shook his head, took the bowl full of rice that Zhang Jiale made for himself: "You just said good news, what is it?"

Hearing the word "good news", Zhang Jiale's eyes lit up.As if suppressing his excitement with all his strength, he took several deep breaths before lowering his head, trying to speak in the most stable voice: "I..."

As if remembering something, Zhang Jiale only said one word, but suddenly closed his mouth, and looked at Sun Zheping with a bright smile: "I have a surprise for you after the final."

Sun Zheping was stunned for a moment, then immediately lowered his head, making it hard to see his expression.Zhang Jiale thought that he was guessing the specific content of the surprise, and his heart was full of ecstasy that was about to burst out.

He still remembered the bewilderment he felt when his mother caught him kissing Sun Zheping on New Year's Eve. He also remembered the guilt and self-blame he felt towards his parents when he was forced to leave. He even remembered every time he called his mother and was hung up. Full of thoughts and nowhere to tell the loneliness.

But before the final, he received a call from his father.

The mother was still angry with herself and refused to talk, but at this time, her father brought her acquiescence and acceptance of them.

She let herself go home with her "daughter-in-law" after the final.

For her parents, Zhang Jiale always felt guilty. After receiving the news that her mother had finally softened, and the day when she would be accepted by her family was just around the corner, Zhang Jiale couldn't tell whether it was bitterness or joy in her heart.

He secretly raised his eyes to look at the silent Sun Zheping opposite, couldn't help but put down his rice bowl, leaned over to give him a kiss across the table.

When Sun Zheping raised his head with affection that he couldn't understand, and wanted to deepen the kiss, he smiled and pushed him away: "I'm going to the team building to do the last two rounds of technical practice, eat well and wait for me here Just come back and collect it.”

He touched Sun Zheping with a disappointed face: "Don't show such an expression, our time is still very, very long, we can go on forever... Oh, why am I telling you this, let's go!"

Hearing the sound of the door closing, Sun Zheping closed his eyes.

In the quiet room, after a long time, there was a low sob.

Fleeting, like an illusion.