Shen Yan's residence is not far from the hospital, within ten minutes of walking.
The north part of the city belongs to the old city. Unlike the new area where Qi Jin lived, the buildings nearby are relatively old, leaving many old-style alleys and old houses.
Many of the residents here have settled here since their ancestors, most of the younger generation have moved out, and the retirees are happy to relax. Between the quiet streets and alleys, old people can be seen from time to time sitting under the eaves drinking tea and listening to the rain, and a few elegant ones even set out their chess records and listened while playing.
Inside and outside the walls, there is an atmosphere of tranquility and simplicity.
In the drizzle, I don't know where the green vines were hanging in front of the building, dripping water, gray moss on the left and right of the white wall, and occasionally you can see small snails dripping along the rain. Traces crawled slowly.
"right here."
Coming to an old-fashioned residential building, Shen Yan pointed to the innermost unit.
Because it is an old house, the corridor specifications are still old, and it looks relatively low and narrow. A few tall linden trees just happened to stand outside the building, and the lighting was even worse in rainy days. When you walked in, you could hardly see the stairs under your feet.
The light in the aisle could have sensed the sound, but Qi Jin took a few steps, but the light didn't come on.
Just as he was about to support the wall and go up, Shen Yan, who was walking in front of him, turned to his side and motioned him to stop first: "The light in the corridor broke two days ago and has not been repaired yet. Don't fall if you have an injury on your hand. on."
After saying that, he gently stretched out his hand to him.
Fortunately, the light is a bit dim.
Qi Jin turned his back to the light, and the expression on his face became more and more buried in the shadow, but he slowly raised his hand. The second time I held the opponent's hand, I felt much calmer than the previous time, but the temperature of my fingers was lower. Shen Yan shook her hands silently, her palm still as warm and powerful, and held him to continue walking up.
When we reached the third floor, my eyes were already able to adjust to the dimness, and there was a little sunlight at the end of the corridor.
But Shen Yan's hand never loosened. It wasn't until the two came to the door that he had to take out the key to open the door, so he gently put it down. Qi Jin stood at the corner of the wall without saying a word and waited, with his fingers folded together, they pressed against the side of his thigh and didn't move.
"Please come in." Shen Yan opened the door and gave up a seat, beckoning him to enter.
This residential building looks old, but the inside looks newer than expected, maybe it has been slightly renovated. The layout of the house is similar to that of an ordinary residential house. There are two bedrooms and one living room. Although the place is not wide, it is not narrow, and the size is just right.
Maybe it was because he was used to seeing his empty apartment. When he came here, Qi Jin felt that the room was filled.
Not a crowded feeling, but an intimate feeling. There is a lot of furniture here, the wood is almost all spade, and the tall closet in the living room is filled with all kinds of gadgets, books, and pottery. The sofa is also filled with boxy pillows, which are soft and warm, and the coffee table and dining table are spacious and take up a lot of space. At a glance, the whole house gives a sense of visual fulfillment.
This is like a home—Qi Wei couldn't help feeling emotional when she compared the simple layout of her apartment with nothing.
"I'm sorry, the house is a bit old." Shen Yan lowered her body, started to arrange the various pillows on the sofa, and made room for him to sit.
"No, I think it's fine." Qi Jin said hurriedly.
But, seeing so many things in the house... He probably doesn't live alone. Professional observation can sometimes lead to negative thoughts, such as this.
While thinking silently, Qi Jin looked around, and inadvertently began to look for traces of other people's residence.
Seemingly able to decipher his gaze, Shen Yan suddenly said softly: "I live alone too. This house used to belong to my grandfather. After he passed away, he still kept all the things, and I don't want to give them away, so it looks very nice here. Full."
Qi Jin was stunned for a while, and the five words blurted out: "Grandpa's grandfather."
After he finished speaking, he realized that there was something wrong with this sentence, and quickly avoided his gaze in embarrassment, regretting his blunder. But Shen Yan didn't mind, instead smiled lightly: "Yes, grandpa's grandfather, I was raised by him."
The conversation stopped here, and no other family members were mentioned.
Qi Jin is a smart person, so naturally he is not stupid enough to take the initiative to ask these questions and sit down silently with complicated thoughts.
"What do you like to eat?" Shen Yan asked him.
"I don't have any special hobbies. It's good to be simple, and it doesn't need to be too much trouble." Qi Jin's usual diet is very bad. , "The email you sent me last time was very good, light and easy to get."
Shen Yan gave a "um", opened the refrigerator, and bent over to find suitable ingredients.
Qi Jin also got up from the sofa at this time, hesitantly said, "That... If possible, can I help?"
To be honest, I was a little overwhelmed when I first heard Shen Yan's invitation. Going to eat at home is like cooking in person. Shen Yan has sacrificed her rest time today to take care of her return, and now she is busy when she comes back from the hospital. Qi Jin always feels sorry.
Although he can only use his right hand, he can still try to do kitchen chores such as hands.
"Okay." Shen Yan glanced at him and nodded after a while.
Having said that... It's not a help for things like watching fire.
Qi Jin looked at the blue flame jumping on the gas stove in front of him, and the pot of water that kept bubbling before it boiled, and looked at Shen Yan dumbly. Shen Yan didn't look at him, her eyebrows lowered, and she sliced the cauliflower on the cutting board in clusters: "That's it."
"I can do something else." Qi Jin insisted.
Since he stepped into the kitchen, he has done three things in total: washing rice, cooking, and watching the fire, all of which are effortless and unskilled.
And Shen Yan didn't even have time to turn around, the sound of the knife falling constantly, not only vegetables, eggs, tofu and other healthy foods were placed on the desk, but also half a catty of lean meat to add some meaty flavor, and two fish heads were prepared for a while. Make soup. With his sleeves half-rolled, he did everything from cleaning to cutting vegetables to seasoning and marinating. Qi Jin managed to find a space where he could interject.
Probably because of his unusually serious voice, Shen Yan paused for a moment, then he tapped a few eggs in the bowl, and then handed him a pair of chopsticks.
"Then, come and beat the eggs." This is what he calls substantive work.
"Shen Yan," Qi Jin felt that the plaster hanging on his left arm was so heavy for the first time, and the weight was pressing into his heart, "I really want to help, really."
"You are already helping." Shen Yan's expression was calm, and she did not mean to perfunctory. His chopping action slowed down a little, and the following sentence came out in a hoarse voice amid the sound of the chopping board, "And... You are willing to come, I'm already satisfied."
The fire jumped.
The pot of water on the stove reached its boiling point at this time, and the air bubbles floating up from the bottom of the pot broke through the water surface and began to explode large splashes of water.
That voice was very similar to the portrayal of Qi Jin's heart at this time - it had been silent on the surface, but it kept heating up, gradually shaking, and finally the feelings buried inside could not be restrained and burst.
His cheeks were pale, and he was speechless for a while. The large cloud of steam coming out of the pot masked the slight tremors on his body.
It seemed that he cared about the movement of his hands.
That's why he said that.
People like Shen Yan are extremely cautious, and it is easy to notice hints in other people's behavior and make adjustments. When he knew that he had suffered from speech disorder, he made such a hurtful reaction, which was tantamount to making things worse. Mingming has accompanied him through the storm, but now he says "contentment" because of such a simple thing as going to the door to eat.
Several times. Always accepting his concern, but in the end he pushed it away.
There is nothing more vile than this—
He lowered his eyes, the egg water in the bowl was shaking before it even started to beat. It turned out that the chopsticks in his hands were shaking too much. Guilt pressed against his vocal cords, making his voice inaudible: "…I'm actually very happy because you invited me."
For fear that the other party would not be able to hear, he bit each word very hard and repeated.
"Because of you, I'm so happy."
At this moment, he heard the sound of the knife falling on the cutting board stop.
Shen Yan sighed deeply, unable to tell whether he was relieved or more entangled: "I always thought you hated me."
That's where their conversation ends.
I didn't think so at all—Qi Jing really wanted to answer that. The reason why he didn't reply immediately was because when he wanted to refute, he found that many of his actions so far could not provide an argument for this at all, and even had the opposite effect. So I could only stand helplessly.
When the food was ready and the fire went out, he finally walked out of the kitchen slowly.
Eating around the same real family table was a common thing he hadn't done in years.
Socializing outside the unit, private dinner with friends feel different. Knowing that the hot meal in front of you was made by someone for yourself is a feeling of being taken seriously. And the last time I experienced this kind of scene was before he ran away from home.
How many years have passed by now, Qi Jin has forgotten.
Because no one reminded him of this feeling for too long, until today, until he met the man across the table.
"Let's eat."
Shen Yan seemed to have no intention of continuing the previous topic. Qi Jin nodded along with his words, thanked him in a low voice, and sat down at the dining table.
There were only two of them, but there were five dishes and one soup on the table, garlic cauliflower, egg bean curd soup, fungus and mushrooms, boiled pork slices, and sour bamboo shoots and fish head soup... They are all ordinary home-cooked dishes, but every dish They were all matched with good color, fragrance, and taste, which improved his appetite, which he had been unable to pick up even when he was ill.
Shen Yan gave him a bowl of white rice that had just been boiled, put it in front of him, and put chopsticks for him.
Apart from eating out, Qi Jin has rarely seen so many dishes in front of him these years. What's more, Shen Yan did it in private.
He was reluctant to even move his chopsticks: "...your craftsmanship is really good."
Seeing that he hadn't tried anything yet, Shen Yan seemed to have a smile on the corner of his mouth, but it was very light: "How do you know if you haven't eaten yet?"
"You can tell it's delicious just by looking at it." Qi Jin answered truthfully.
He suddenly remembered the hospital box lunch he had spent several days with him on the hospital bed—the rice that was as hard as gravel, the bitter wheat vegetables that were too salty, the tasteless eggs, and the only pan-fried tofu that was barely worthy of praise, and said with a wry smile: " In the days after the operation, I was hospitalized alone, and no one delivered meals, so I went to the hospital cafeteria every day to buy a boxed lunch. That boxed lunch was just the opposite, and it was hard to eat just by looking at it.”
However, at least he had this boxed lunch to accompany him when he was at his worst, and he didn't die on the hospital bed.
Shen Yan suddenly said at this time: "You have lost a lot of weight compared to the time before the car accident."
Qi Jin was startled, and looked up at him in a trance.
Across the steaming food on the table, the man sitting across from him had a solemn expression, frowned slightly, his eyes stayed on his face for a long time, and he said in a low voice, "Although when we were chatting before, I vaguely felt... I suffered a lot. But when I meet you again, I'm really surprised."
Hearing this, Qi Jin subconsciously raised his hand to cover half of his cheek, and asked sternly, "I'm already so thin that it will startle people?"
I don't know how many kilograms I have lost in the past two weeks, and I haven't weighed it in detail, but everyone said that, it must be a lot of weight loss. I hope it didn't make Shen Yan feel unsightly.
"It's not just the change in body shape, it's the complexion of the whole person." Shen Yan said slowly.
His impression of Qi Jin was still when they met in the hospital for a follow-up report on the cat abuse incident.
At that time, although Qi Jin sometimes looked tired, the spirit of the whole person was still there. He often smiled and greeted everyone politely. Like a ray of sunshine in the early morning, although it is not as strong as the noon sunshine, the texture is light and warm, and it is very comfortable to look at.
Not now.
It was not what he saw under the umbrella, standing alone in the corner, with thick plaster on his hands, with a slender figure and a face as dark as a city in the rain.
"Of course he doesn't look good, after all, he's broken." Qi Jin smiled and shook his head, smiling a little reluctantly.
No patient will look good.
Shen Yan shook her head gently, but did not smile: "You can obviously treat yourself better."
Qi Jin blinked blankly.
The concept of better, better is too vague and unrealistic for his current living situation. So he began to enjoy his hardships best: "I was injured because of business, and the unit gave me a month's leave, so I would take care of my illness at home, compared to the usual days of running around and eating and sleeping irregularly. It's much better. The only way to get out of this life is to change jobs."
Shen Yan still didn't smile: "I know that reporters are usually very hard, but I don't want you to change jobs."
It turns out... he didn't mean that.
Qi Jin looked at him blankly: "Then what do you mean?"
Shen Yan retracted his gaze, looked down at the tableware and chopsticks in front of him, raised his hand, and gently pressed the side of his fingers to the top of his lips. He seemed to want to say something, but he was unable to say it.
"I mean—you should find someone to take care of you."