The plane landed early in the morning.
Yin Guo sat in Meng Xiaodong's car, wearing a black dress that she changed on the plane. Meng Xiaodong handed her a shoe box, which was the black flat shoes he picked up from her home last night.
"Is Jiang Yang okay?" Her flight didn't have a satellite network, and she didn't have time to discuss Jiang Yang's affairs in detail before boarding the plane. Now she finally had a chance to ask, "Have you been discharged from the hospital?"
"It's gone. He will definitely be at the memorial service today," Meng Xiaodong started the car. "My family doesn't know about your Open."
She breathed a sigh of relief.
"But don't treat your parents as fools. Mr. He has been talking to your mother on the phone all the time. She has already guessed how many times she has asked me."
Her heart was raised, and she asked nervously, "...how did you say that?"
"I said—" Meng Xiaodong smiled helplessly, "I knew earlier that I was the one who matched you two."
In fact, Meng Xiaodong planned to be stabbed in the first place, and even his father said hello in advance, and he just waited for the time to solve the problem.
In the first few years when he played, Yin Guo's mother was still a referee, and she often took him around to play games. So since childhood, Meng Xiaodong has been closest to her. And because Meng Xiaodong is strong enough, his position in Yin Guoma's heart has been unshakable for many years. With him personally carrying the first knife, he will definitely take a big step forward.
Of course, the most important thing is that Lin Yiyang has behaved beautifully since he came back. From the China Open leading the best results in China this year, to shaking hands with his mentor, and now taking over Dongxincheng.
As early as subtly, I raised a lot of impression points.
"Don't worry," he said again, "I think her face is okay, but she is not angry."
Yin Guo exhaled, "Thank you brother."
"Fortunately, you didn't come back." What he was most worried about was that Yin Guo would abandon the game and go back to China. Not only would she lose her grades, but her parents would think that her love was the highest priority and she would forget her responsibilities. "Congratulations, champion of the US Open."
Yin Guo smiled.
The joy of the champion had long been diluted, she just wanted to see him soon.
***
Yin Guo's mother is with colleagues from the Sports Bureau.
When they arrived at the place, Yin Guo greeted her mother first, and followed Meng Xiaodong into the hall, as a representative of Beicheng.
The layout of the memorial service was simple, with He Lao's portrait in the middle, and the entire hall was filled with wreaths.
Mr. He has two daughters, the eldest daughter passed away a few years ago, leaving behind a grandson, and the youngest daughter gave him a granddaughter. In the early years, the teacher's mother also passed away. This family is not considered prosperous, these days mainly rely on the youngest daughter, son-in-law, and a few apprentices busy in and out to arrange all the funeral affairs.
Yin Guo walked into the hall, Meng Xiaodong took the pen from the reception desk at the door, and signed his and Yin Guo's names on the notebook.
She looked around, but did not see Lin Yiyang.
I was thinking, should I send him a WeChat message to tell him that I have arrived at the scene, but it is on the right side, with a familiar voice, it belongs to Wu Wei. Several people came up the stairs. The leaders are Lin Yiyang and Jiang Yang.
Both of them are the same, wearing a black shirt and trousers, black all over.
From the early return of the Open to today, I haven’t seen him for three days. There shouldn’t be any big changes, but he has lost a lot of weight visible to the naked eye, not only his face, but also his arms. The shirt no longer fits well. up.
Yin Guo met his eyes, and his heart felt as if he had been scratched by a blade.
Lin Yiyang slowed down.
It's hard to say much, and it's hard to do much under the watchful eyes of everyone. As soon as he slowed down, Jiang Yang beside him, and the older generation in Dongxin City behind him simply stopped.
Yin Guo held his breath, the him in front of him seemed to be in slow motion until he stood in front of her.
The man I miss the most stands one meter away.
Lin Yiyang has said too many things, arranged too many things, and made too many decisions in the past few days. When he faced his girlfriend, he couldn't think of what to say.
Meng Xiaodong put down his pen and broke the silence first: "If there is anything I can help, just say it."
Lin Yiyang patted Meng Xiaodong's arm: "You have already helped."
Help to appease Yin Guo's emotions in these two days, let her compete smoothly, and then bring her back safely. enough.
Lin Yiyang took one last deep look at Yin Guo: "The ceremony is about to begin, I'll go in first."
These words seemed to be addressed to Meng Xiaodong, but they were actually addressed to Yin Guo.
Yin Guo nodded lightly, feeling that he brushed past her. The leader of the latest generation in Dongxin City is surrounded by former brothers, not a few of them, and is responsible for receiving colleagues from the industry and sports circles here.
Yin Guo was behind the crowd, by the door, at the intersection of natural light and lighting, watching him.
Watch him shake hands with others and exchange greetings.
The memorial service began soon. Important guests filled the auditorium, and those of the younger generation had no place to stand, so they all stood outside the hall on the stairs. Jiang Yang is the host of today's memorial service. He has just left the hospital and looks very bad.
But as a man who has led Dongxincheng through more than ten years, even if he is about to enter the operating room, standing here can preside over the entire scene.
In the usual process of the memorial service, the second time Yin Guo faced Lin Yiyang at close range was to shake hands with the family members. She followed her cousin and shook the hands of the family members one by one, and then went to several apprentices. Lin Yiyang stood at the end of the family members. Everyone was crying, except for this most favored little apprentice, only he was calm.
All the people who came said their condolences one by one, and shook hands with every family member and apprentice.
Yin Guo followed the team and came to him.
Lin Yiyang stretched out his hand to her, and she took it. The rough lines of his palm slid across the back of her hand, and then parted.
After the handshake, the people left the auditorium one after another.
Yin Guo's suitcase was taken out of the car by his cousin. He took the suitcase and went to the parking lot with her, and Yin Guo's mother was waiting for her.
Yin Guo always felt that after he shook hands with Lin Yiyang, he was watching him off.
So much so that she followed Meng Xiaodong to the flower bed next to the parking lot. When she saw her mother, she still felt his silent gaze behind her.
"Are you tired after flying for more than ten hours?" Mom asked him.
Meng Xiaodong took the car keys, opened the trunk, and put her suitcase in the back of Yin Guo's mother's car.
She smiled: "I'm used to it."
"Go home first," Yin Guo's mother said, "Xiaodong, you also come here, grandma is here, and wants to have dinner with you two."
"Okay," Meng Xiaodong replied, "I'll drive with you."
Yin Guo watched the interaction between her cousin and her mother, but she was thinking about Lin Yiyang.
She wanted to stay, to see him alone, to have a few words with him.
don't want to go...
Meng Xiaodong turned around and started to drive.
"Mom..." Yin Guo suddenly said, "I'll come home later, okay?"
Meng Xiaodong stopped, and Yin Guo's mother also stopped.
It happened that a car pulled out of the parking lot, stepped on the brakes as it passed by, and said goodbye to Yin Guo's mother. Yin Guo's mother smiled and waved to the car, then turned to look at her, and asked after a moment of silence, "Grandma misses you very much, why don't you go home first?"
She looked at her mother pleadingly: "Go home at night."
The brief silence made people even more uneasy.
She was afraid that being too direct would bring bad results, so she looked at Meng Xiaodong, who also hinted to her to take it easy and go home first. Unexpectedly, when the siblings made eye contact, they heard a sigh from their mother: "Go."
After saying that, he said another sentence: "Don't be too late."
Yin Guo showed the happiest smile in the past few days. She said excitedly "Thank you, Mom" and ran away immediately.
Yin Guo's mother watched her daughter disappear, and said to Meng Xiaodong: "Xiaodong, do you know? Nine out of ten people who came here today have received the favor of Mr. He."
The so-called favor is not necessarily material, but spiritual assistance.
Yin Guo's mother graduated from university and entered the industry for the first time. She took the referee qualification test and often saw teacher He Wenfeng on the field. At that time, billiards were still relatively small compared to now. She liked it and wanted to be a referee, but no one in her family understood it. Any infighting in the workplace can happen in any industry, and the referees can't escape it. I wanted to give up countless times, so I chatted with He Lao who often went to the stadium to watch the competition.
Mr. He is usually serious, but also very funny. What he often says to her is: people, live every day, choose what you want to do most every day, and do the happiest thing. Don't think too much, don't think too far, look at the present, and see the most real road under your feet.
Mr. He has never learned to use the inspiring word "dream", which belongs to the new generation. He often pats his chest and says, it's that kind of energy. When he thinks about it, he gets excited, can't sleep, wants to do it, and feels all over his body. The blood is hot and boiling.
Lin Yiyang is so lucky. He was able to learn from He Wenfeng back then. As a young man, he couldn’t feel everything. I believe that today he saw so many seniors coming from all over the country to mourn their seniors. Should have a deeper understanding.
East New City is not so much a ball club as it is a place of inheritance. Maybe it will decline in the future, maybe it will be better, but it will not affect the status of its name.
And Lin Yiyang is its future leader, which was personally decided by Mr. He before his death.
***
Lin Yiyang's car was not in the parking lot, but in a corner behind the auditorium.
He came out with a cardboard box, which contained some sundries, to be brought back to Dongxincheng. He threw the suitcase into the trunk and got in the car. The door on the side of the passenger seat was opened, and the person who got in the car was smiling at him.
Lin Yiyang was still pulling the seat belt with his right hand, and when he saw her face, he paused for a few seconds, and then showed the only true smile these days: "I'm not afraid of being seen."
"My mother knows," Yin Guo couldn't help laughing, "My brother took the knife for you. He said he was the one who made the match, so he set us up. With my brother here, we'll be fine."
Lin Yiyang turned his head to look at her, and she leaned back on the seat to look at him too.
She took the initiative to hold Lin Yiyang's right hand on the steering wheel, but Lin Yiyang held hers instead, and stroked the back of her hand with her fingertips.
"Where are you going? Just now?" She asked him proactively.
"Go back to Dongxin City."
"Then go to Dongxincheng," she said, "I'll accompany you back."
Haven't been there yet.
The North City Club was opened by Meng Xiaodong after choosing a new location, because he disliked that the previous location was not central and inconvenient. However, the address of Dongxin City has not changed since its establishment until today. It is not as good as the ball room rented by Lin Yiyang, but it is bigger.
The main building has a large area, with a total of three floors.
Yin Guo got out of the car and was taken outside the gate by Lin Yiyang. When he saw the plaque of "Dongxincheng Billiards Club", he couldn't bear to look around.
The red walls and iron gates of the compound blocked a unique place, with the main building on this side and the small building on the first floor on the other side. There is an open space behind the small building to park cars.
Today all the staff of the club went to the memorial service, and few people came back. Including Lin Yiyang's car, there were only three.
Seeing Yin Guo, Lin Yiyang's depressed mood has improved a little bit, and all the things have been dealt with today, which can be regarded as a worry, which is much better than the previous two days. But the dark clouds in my heart have not yet cleared, and there are still few words.
Yin Guo didn't want to chat with him too much today, she just wanted to be with him.
On the first floor, there is a group of children practicing basketball. They are very young, not even ten years old.
She followed Lin Yiyang up the stairs, and Cheng Yan and several young female players from Dongxin City came down facing her. Cheng Yan was absent from the U.S. Open and the World Championships this time. This was the second time since the two met in New York... Meet each other.
She was also surprised to see Yin Guo, there were too many people at the memorial service, and she didn't notice each other at all.
"Brother Six." Chengyan called him.
The rest of the people shouted at him, "Uncle Six."
Lin Yiyang nodded.
The girls flocked downstairs, and most of the stairs were occupied by them. Seeing Yin Guo stopped there, Lin Yiyang grabbed her wrist and led her up the stairs from the far right.
When the two of them turned the corner, their backs disappeared.
Chengyan was still holding on to the handrail of the stairs, suppressing all the emotions in her heart.
Yin Guo walked beside Lin Yiyang because Cheng Yan was distracted. I forgot about this before, if Lin Yiyang returns to Dongxincheng, he will see Chengyan every day. And I want to compete, train, get together with him less and leave more...
Lin Yiyang walked to the first office on the south side of the second floor, took out the key, and opened the door of the office.
The door opened.
There are simple desks and sofas inside, and on the coffee table, the ashtray is full of ashtrays, and various cigarette butts are piled up in a mess.
It was left by a few big men chatting here the whole night last night. The windows were opened for half a day in the morning, and the smell of smoke dissipated. Lin Yiyang went to close the windows and draw the curtains.
Yin Guo was dragged by his wrist and brought to the sofa. He asked her to sit down first, and then lay down on the sofa in the most tired state, with his head resting on her legs: "It's not very comfortable," he said hoarsely, "Go to sleep."
She had never seen him like this before, even when he was sick and traveled between two places to talk about a relationship with her that was almost in a different place, he was able to handle it with ease. But now, he let go of the energy that had been supporting him for the past few days, revealing his truest side.
This was the sleepiest time since he came back, and the only time he thought he could fall asleep. The decision to take over Dongxincheng was yesterday. All personal belongings are still in the ball room, the dormitory here is not cleaned up, there is no bed in the office, only this leather sofa. But it seemed right to come back here.
He remembered his younger brother's toast to him on Ching Ming Festival, and the same sentence: Find a home, brother.
…
Lying on the couch in this office, he wanted nothing more than today: a home.
As long as there is her in the family, there is only her.