Chi Cheng was called away, Tao Huainan went to open the door a crack, once the crack was opened, it would be half a night. Chi Cheng didn't come back until midnight, Tao Huainan was already asleep when he came back. Tao Huainan left him a small lamp on his side of the bed, so that there would be light in the room.
There was also a new quilt on the bed, the previous one had been taken away.
Tao Huainan lay upright on his own bed. When he was a child, he obviously slept dishonestly, but now he seldom moves. The small bedside lamp spread over his face, and the eyelashes cast a shadow on his face, covering his eyes and the bridge of his nose, with a kind of quiet softness.
Chi Cheng turned off the light, and the room fell into darkness again. In the quiet night, only the two of them breathed in a staggered frequency in the dark space.
It has not been easy for Chi Cheng these past few years, as can be seen from how busy he is now. They chatted and researched almost all day long, distributed equipment to the visually impaired during the day, and helped them debug those who did not have young people at home. I went back to the hotel from there in the evening, and I could hardly put down my mobile phone and computer, so I had no time to relax.
He has always been a person who has no temperature for himself. He studied hard in middle school, and it is even more impossible for him to stop when he goes out to school. Chi Cheng never seems to be tired, nor does he feel hard work.
That night Tao Huainan was interrupted halfway through what he was saying, and he never had a chance to bring it up again. A lot of things can only be said out of the atmosphere and emotions at the time. If the atmosphere is over, the opportunity to mention it again will be lost, and it will be more difficult to communicate.
When my brother secretly asked, Tao Huainan was very guilty, and said to his brother in frustration: "No, I couldn't coax it well."
"What's the matter? Brother Ku didn't listen to you? Or did you not say it well?" Tao Xiaodong was also puzzled.
"He has something to do," Tao Huainan also felt regretful, "Fanguo and the others came just as I was about to say, they are very busy."
Xiaodong held his breath, and he would die helplessly for the two of them. The elder brothers said that, so there is no need for Mao. Tao Xiaodong looked at his younger brother's frustrated and distressed face, even though he thought they were trying too hard, he still laughed angrily, and said comfortingly: "Let's talk, it's okay."
Tao Huainan asked, "When will he return to Beijing?"
Tao Xiaodong said, "Next week, don't worry."
Tao Huainan nodded, and Tao Xiaodong said to him, "Be smarter."
"I'm so stupid," Tao Huainan himself said, "I don't look like you at all."
Tao Huainan said he was stupid, and he was really stupid. Many times when facing Chi Cheng, he couldn't even express himself well, he hesitated for a long time what he wanted to say, and he couldn't speak smoothly, always sounding a little uncomfortable and reserved.
It can't be said that Chi Cheng was deliberately ignoring him, but he definitely couldn't be called close. Tao Huainan would answer when he was asked, and would answer any questions, and there would be no more, and he would hardly call him.
They haven't seen each other or contacted each other for five years, and now they have been crossed by these five years, forming an invisible cold wall.
Every morning Chi Cheng packed up and left before dawn, and Tao Huainan had already left when he woke up. This day Tao Huainan woke up and touched his watch to listen to the time, then sat up and turned his face towards Chi Cheng's bed.
Putting on his shoes and getting off the ground, he slowly moved towards the bathroom, Tao Huainan yawned as he walked, thinking that he would go to the breakfast shop outside to buy some steamed stuffed buns later, Chi Cheng has been eating bread these days in the morning.
They will leave here tomorrow and transfer to the next place. The original time was to leave tomorrow, but Brother Tang said that this may not be possible, and it may not be until the day after tomorrow.
Yesterday, I heard from a local nurse here that there is a bun shop that has been open for more than 30 years, and the beef buns are delicious. It would be too late if I didn't go today, Tao Huainan planned to wait there and bring back the two pots directly. Brother eats bread every day, it's too dry.
After Tao Huainan finished his long yawn, he pushed open the bathroom door in a daze, and bumped into the person who was about to come out.
Tao Huainan was taken aback. This completely unexpected accident made him panic for a moment. This is the instinctive reaction of a blind person, even if he has grown up now.
He blurted out "Oh my god", and then shrank against the door panel like a quail, his eyes were wide open, and he stood up straight and gasped in fright.
Chi Cheng was also taken aback, Tao Huainan walked silently, and he didn't expect him to get up before dawn.
Tao Huainan's restraint, fluster and cautiousness in front of Chi Cheng these days made this sudden surprise startle him away. This seemed to be his most natural reaction since he saw Chi Cheng this time.
He was so frightened that he looked like a bird with its wings folded and its head hugged. Although it was embarrassed, it was really funny. This kind of funny would make him look like a timid kid.
"...Brother?" Tao Huainan put down his hand on his chest after he realized it, his heart was still pounding with fright, and his voice was still panting, he asked tentatively, "Is it my brother?"
Chi Cheng said "hmm", leaned against the sink, looked at Tao Huainan and asked, "Didn't you hear me washing my hair and draining the water?"
"I didn't notice..." Tao Huainan took a deep breath to calm himself down, he was really embarrassed, scratched his hair and smiled, "I was thinking about going to buy... buns later, I... just think about buns."
Maybe it was because of the shock that broke Tao Huainan's pondering and thinking, or maybe it was because the day hadn't really started yet, but Tao Huainan was much more relaxed at the moment.
Of course Tao Huainan wasn't the only one like this, Chi Cheng was too.
Chi Cheng went out and said "I know how to eat" in a low voice.
Tao Huainan followed, stood at the door and said, "Don't eat bread today, I'll go buy buns?... okay?"
Chi Cheng took off the clothes he was wearing, changed into another one, and said "Yes".
"Then you wait for me," Tao Huainan suddenly became a little excited, and went into the bathroom again, "I'll be there in a while."
Chi Cheng was about to leave after changing his clothes, Tao Huainan was still wiping his hair vigorously with a towel before opening the door.
Tao Huainan wanted to say "goodbye, little brother", but after thinking about it later, he saw it and swallowed it back.
Unexpectedly, Chi Cheng took the initiative to call him "Tao Huainan".
Tao Huainan was very surprised, and immediately agreed: "Hey!"
He didn't know what Chi Cheng wanted to say to him, he grabbed the towel in his hand and stopped drying his hair. But after waiting for quite a while, Chi Cheng finally didn't say anything.
He just said "Let's go" and really opened the door and left.
This morning was unexpected enough for Tao Huainan. He continued to brush his hair until it was half-dried, changed his clothes and went out to buy steamed stuffed buns.
Tao Huainan has been thinking about this bun since yesterday, because he even talked to Chi Cheng, making people wait.
However, everything seems to be against Tao Huainan, and he is always unable to get what he wants. The steamed stuffed bun shop was not open that day, and Tao Huainan waited at the door until he was told by the owner of the small supermarket nearby that steamed stuffed buns were not sold on Sundays.
"Ah..." Tao Huainan nodded first, then asked again in vain, "The door won't be open today, right?"
"No, Lao Zhang will be with his grandson on Sunday!" The supermarket owner and Tao Huainan said, "Is it from out of town? Come early tomorrow, you can buy everything!"
Tao Huainan said "thank you" to the boss, stood still and thought about it for half a minute, feeling a little unwilling to put it into words.
After a while, Tao Huainan asked the owner of the supermarket where he could sell delicious steamed buns. The owner gave the locations of the two stores. Tao Huainan searched on the map and went there wearing earphones.
Unsatisfactory everywhere, the breakfast shop I went to only had two beef buns left, and the rest were vegetarian. Chi Cheng doesn't like vegetarian stuffed buns, he used to say they taste weird. Tao Huainan took those two beef dishes, and bought a lot of others, a lot of pies and fritters, and only one portion of porridge, for fear of carrying too much.
Carrying two big bags of breakfast, I went there, one bag on my brother's side, and one bag on Chi Cheng's side.
Fan Guo saw him call "brother" first, and came over excitedly, and took the bag in his hand. Both Chi Cheng and Guo Yiming were busy and couldn't get away.
"I was hungry last night!" Fan Guo flipped through the bag, covered his hands with a plastic bag, and directly squeezed a piece of pie and took a bite, "Can I drink this porridge?"
Tao Huainan looked at him and said yes.
Fan Guo lifted the lid and squatted on the side to suck, and said: "I don't like salty porridge very much, porridge should be sweet, and Brother Chi likes it. But he doesn't drink it much now, it's troublesome and a waste of time."
He seemed to have endless things to say, and he couldn't finish talking one morning.
"You can't keep your mouth shut when you eat." Guo Yiming said to him over there.
Fan Guo said "Oh", and squatted down, eating pie and porridge.
There are other helpers in this house, everyone divided the breakfast, Tao Huainan couldn't see what they took, he didn't know how much was left, or if there was any.
Chi Cheng's appetite is not too small, Tao Huainan thought, don't go too far.
I didn't buy the steamed stuffed bun that I was thinking about early in the morning, and the breakfast shop I found after walking two and a half kilometers wanted nothing, and the porridge that I finally brought back was sucked by Fan Guo.
Have a good morning to buy steamed stuffed buns and buy thin slices, what the heck.
Guo Yiming and Chi Cheng came over, and Tao Huainan leaned against the wall as if he was being punished.
"Have you eaten Huainan?" Guo Yiming asked him.
Tao Huainan was not in the mood to eat, and replied that he had eaten.
"The pie is delicious, but there are no more." Fan Guo had already finished eating, wiped his mouth and said, "You two eat fried dough sticks."
"We can eat anything," Guo Yiming said, "We don't choose."
Tao Huainan stuffed the two steamed buns from his pocket into Chi Cheng's hands, and when their fingertips touched, Tao Huainan quickly shrank back. Chi Cheng looked down and saw that there were two steamed buns wrapped in a plastic bag.
"Aha!" Fan Guo said with a smile, "This shows that my brother is treated well, you still hide it, little brother, you still have to be careful!"
Tao Huainan just smiled and didn't speak, thinking in his heart that if I don't pay attention to what I have been tossing about this morning, I don't pay attention to what my little brother eats.
It's been a long time since Tao Huainan has had so many inner dramas, and today he doesn't know what happened, there are a lot of inner activities. He himself attributed it to the jump in the morning, and after the scare, the whole day was not normal.
Fan Guo asked what the stuffing of the bun was, Chi Cheng had already bit into the second one before he finished asking. He eats fast and gets used to it in a hurry.
But Chi Cheng's appetite was not enough for him to eat two buns, Tao Huainan asked softly beside him, "May I go get you a bun?"
Chi Cheng said "no need".
Someone came in from the outside with things, and his sight was blocked so he couldn't see the person standing here, who was about to bump into Tao Huainan. Chi Cheng stretched out his hand and tugged at his sleeve to pull him forward, Tao Huainan moved two steps, and the man behind him moved over with his things.
Chi Cheng finished eating the two steamed buns, took another deep-fried dough stick, and went back to work while biting.
Hospitals have breakfast, as do hotels, but it’s not very tasty. Afterwards, Tao Huainan strolled to the hospital's staff cafeteria to make up some breakfast by himself, and it was tasteless.
Tao Huainan had steamed buns in his pocket this morning, and the smell stayed on his clothes. In the past, Tao Huainan disliked smell the least, but now he thinks it's nothing.
Pan Xiaozhuo looked for him on WeChat and asked when he would reply.
Tao Huainan sent a voice back to him: "I have to wait a few days, Xiao Zhuo, I saw my little brother."
Pan Xiaozhuo:! ! !
Pan Xiaozhuo: Which brother? late
Tao Huainan: "Which brother do I have?"
Pan Xiaozhuo also sent him a voice message directly: "Really! Didn't you go out with your brother?"
Tao Huainan said, "Yes, my little brother is here too."
Perhaps in these years, the person who knew Tao Huainan the most was Pan Xiaozhuo, so now he was so surprised to hear Tao Huainan said that he saw his brother, and he was a little excited for Tao Huainan.
Pan Xiaozhuo: "Does he have a date? Have you asked, Huainan?"
Tao Huainan: "I don't know, I don't even dare to say anything, I dare to ask this."
Pan Xiaozhuo asked again: "Has he become more?"
Tao Huainan thought about it carefully, and replied: "It should be quite a lot, and it has become better. But not much for me, he has always been him, because I am not objective."