One afternoon in late July 2002, Lin Zeqiu picked up a basketball with one hand and said hello to his parents: "I have washed the dishes in the kitchen and mopped the floor in the living room. Lin Zhixia is taking a nap. I am going out to play basketball with my classmates."
While flipping through the account book, my mother said, "Go ahead and come back early."
Lin Zeqiu rushed out of the house without looking back.
He's going to play basketball for four hours!
In these short four hours, he can completely get rid of Lin Zhixia!
There is a basketball court near Ancheng Community. Lin Zeqiu and his classmates often play here. Lin Zeqiu was ten minutes late, and his classmates had already adjusted the height of the basket.
The sun was shining, the sky was clear, and boys in vests and shorts were playing in the large open space. They waved their arms and stepped forward, their short black hair was soaked with sweat, and the hot summer wind made their clothes flutter. Among this group of boys, Lin Zeqiu stood out the most. He ran fast, jumped high, reacted quickly, and dunked accurately, and his classmates cheered for him.
Lin Zeqiu had a great time.
The temperature today was as high as 34 degrees Celsius. After a while, all the boys, including Lin Zeqiu, were sweating profusely. Lin Zeqiu was thirsty and was about to go home to drink some water when a classmate said, "Hey! It's too hot, I forgot to bring water, guys, let's go buy some iced Coke and ice cream!"
Another classmate suddenly said, "Brother Qiu's family opened a small shop." He put his sweaty arm around Lin Zeqiu's shoulders and said, "Brother Qiu, you treat me this time, and I'll treat you next time!"
Lin Zeqiu shook off his arm: "Don't touch me, I don't have any money."
He picked up the basketball from the ground and held it between his elbows: "I have cold drinks at home. Anyone who wants to buy one can follow me."
After that, he set out on the road home, and many classmates followed behind him, forming a mighty team. Their destination was the Lin family's small supermarket - there was a freezer at the entrance of the supermarket, which was filled with cold drinks, popsicles and ice cream.
The classmates stopped one after another and took out money to buy things in the freezer. Only Lin Zeqiu stood outside the supermarket, motionless.
His back fell on the stone steps.
The sun is scorching, the heat is getting stronger, and light and shadows are intertwined in the summer breeze.
Dad reached out and patted Lin Zeqiu on the shoulder: "Son, do you want some water?"
Lin Zeqiu took the kettle from his father, tilted his head back and took a big gulp of boiled water.
Dad said again: "Qiuqiu, go pick an ice cream."
Lin Zeqiu said, "I don't like eating that stuff."
He was wearing a sports vest, the front and back of the fabric were soaked.
Dad patted his head and said, "Qiu, Dad will treat you to a meal. It's okay."
Lin Zeqiu hesitated for a long time and only took a milk-flavored ice cream that cost 50 cents. He quickly opened the wrapper, held the ice cream in his mouth, hugged the basketball, and followed behind his classmates - the other students were holding cones worth more than 2 yuan.
Even so, Lin Zeqiu still felt satisfied.
The cold milk cake melted in his mouth, quenching his thirst and cooling off. He walked and dribbled the ball, his steps becoming more and more brisk.
When they approached the basketball court, Lin Zeqiu's classmates' faces suddenly changed.
Lin Zeqiu followed the crowd's line of sight and saw a group of fashionable young men occupying the entire basketball court. The men were strong, bearded, and had tattoos. Some were smoking. Cigarette butts with sparks fell at the entrance of the basketball court, and the smell of smoke lingered in the air.
Lin Zeqiu's classmates were stunned: "Oh my god, Brother Qiu, what should we do?"
"I'll ask them when they're done playing," Lin Zeqiu sat in the waiting area, "If they leave soon, we'll continue playing."
Lin Zeqiu had just sat down when a girl around 17 or 18 years old approached him and asked, "Little brother, how old are you?"
This girl was in the same group as the young men playing basketball. She asked Lin Zeqiu a question, which caused the young men to laugh. Lin Zeqiu understood the meaning behind the laughter. He responded to her fiercely: "What does it have to do with you? Do I know you?"
The girl got angry and pushed him, and his ice cream fell to the ground, covered with dust.
The midsummer sun is filtered through the leaves, turning into mottled circles of light, shining on the white ice cream, drying out the melted juice, like tears flowing from the shade of the trees.
Lin Zeqiu muttered to himself, "It's so fucking annoying."
The basketball sound stopped.
The young men gradually gathered around and asked, "Who owns this place?"
One of Lin Zeqiu's classmates was so nervous that he hiccuped and stammered, "The basketball court is a public sports area of Ancheng Community. We applied to the street office in advance for the right to use it from 1:00 to 5:00 this afternoon. This place is ours now..."
The leader of the group of young people said, "What grade are you in, elementary school students? Why are you fighting with your grandfather when your hair hasn't even grown out yet?"
This man had dyed blond hair, his left ear was full of earrings, he had triangular eyes, thin lips, and a fierce look on his face, and he looked like someone who was not easy to mess with.
Lin Zeqiu was only ten years old. He sat on a stone chair, looked up at the yellow-haired man, and asked with contempt: "Whose grandfather is this? Your grandfather can only compete with elementary school students?"
The yellow-haired man grabbed Lin Zeqiu's collar, and Lin Zeqiu elbowed him with his backhand. The yellow-haired man raised his leg and kicked him on the knee, and the two of them started fighting in public.
"You're looking for death!" Huangmao cursed, "You little bastard!"
Lin Zeqiu punched him in the face: "I'm your grandfather!"
The soles of their shoes scraped against the concrete floor, making a loud "crackling" sound.
Lin Zeqiu's classmates hurriedly tried to stop the fight, and some even took out their cell phones to call the police. The yellow-haired man didn't want to make a big scene either - especially since the girl was pulling on him. Everyone finally managed to separate Lin Zeqiu and the yellow-haired man, but the yellow-haired man grabbed a handful of sand from the ground and threw it at Lin Zeqiu, so Lin Zeqiu yelled, "Run! Go home! Run!"
The students scattered like birds and beasts.
Lin Zeqiu was holding a basketball and walking briskly.
His knees, hips, abdomen, and elbows all ached.
He also tasted a salty smell.
He wiped his mouth and his fingers were covered in blood - it turned out that his nose was bleeding.
Lin Zeqiu didn't dare to go home directly.
He had watched many Hong Kong police and gangster movies and was well versed in the art of "tracking and anti-tracking". He firmly believed that Huang Mao was a gangster and even had a close connection with the gangs - he was shocked by his own assumptions and felt even more depressed.
Lin Zeqiu ran into another community and wandered around. It was not until the sun set and it was getting dark that he took a shortcut back to Ancheng Community. He looked around every three steps, even more cautious and suspicious than a professional mercenary.
Finally, around six o'clock in the evening, Lin Zeqiu returned home.
Lin Zhixia was the first to discover him.
He and his sister looked at each other.
For the first time in his life, Lin Zeqiu hoped that his sister could understand him. As the saying goes, "The love between brothers and sisters is deep, and blood is thicker than water." Lin Zhixia is also gifted and a natural genius. She must be able to read Lin Zeqiu's facial expressions.
Lin Zeqiu also raised an index finger, put it to his lips, and quietly said "hush", signaling Lin Zhixia to keep quiet and cover for him.
However, the next second, Lin Zhixia shouted loudly: "Mom, Mom, my brother's face is covered in blood!"
Mom hurried out of the kitchen, and Lin Zeqiu strode towards his bedroom: "I'm fine!"
"Lin Zeqiu, stop! Where does the blood come from?!" Mom questioned him.
Lin Zhixia repeated like a megaphone: "Where did brother get the blood?"
Lin Zeqiu told a huge lie: "I picked my nose and broke it!"
At this moment, everything was silent.
Lin Zeqiu slammed the door shut.
He first pulled the curtains tight, changed his clothes, and put on a pair of trousers to cover the purple scars on his legs. He found the painkillers and Yunnan Baiyao in the medicine box, took them according to the instructions, calmed down for a moment, and went to the bathroom to take a hot bath.
He hadn't eaten dinner, but he wasn't hungry at all.
After coming out of the bathroom, he lay on the bed exhausted both physically and mentally.
Darkness surrounded him, and so did pain.
Lin Zeqiu was not afraid of pain. He was most afraid that he would be beaten to a pulp by Huang Mao, and that his parents would have to take him to the hospital for treatment. When he was born, he unfortunately suffered from congenital heart disease. In order to cure him, his parents sold everything they had and borrowed money from others. It was said that they borrowed money from the entire village in their hometown, and his father even kowtowed to the village chief.
He was born with a heart disease. Lin Zhixia has the same father and mother as him, but she is born with extraordinary intelligence.
He began to imagine that he actually had some superpowers, just like the mutants in "X-Men" who had not yet awakened. Today's fight between him and Huangmao represented an opportunity to unlock the seal on him... In this way, the pain in his limbs was a reward for honor, and the passionate battle guided a bright future.
Lin Zeqiu took a deep breath, and the bedroom door suddenly opened a little. Lin Zhixia called out softly, "Brother."
He didn't reply.
Lin Zhixia said again: "Brother, brother?"
He remained silent.
Lin Zhixia was startled. She ran to his bedside and reached out to feel his breath. He grabbed her fingers and said, "What are you doing, Lin Zhixia?"
Lin Zhixia was much smarter than he thought: "Did you have a fight with someone this afternoon?"
Lin Zeqiu wrapped himself tightly in the quilt and turned to face the other side: "So what?"
Lin Zhixia pulled the corner of his quilt: "I'm going to tell mom and dad to take you to the hospital!"
"You dare!" Lin Zeqiu stopped him fiercely.
Lin Zhixia's momentum was not weak at all: "Lin Zeqiu, don't threaten me, I hate being threatened."
Lin Zeqiu adjusted his strategy in time. He changed his voice and said gently, "Let me lie down for a while. It's nothing serious."
Lin Zhixia was skeptical: "Really?"
After a while, she said again: "Dinner is almost ready, mom is calling you to eat."
Lin Zeqiu got out of bed immediately.
Lin Zhixia smelled the scent of Yunnan Baiyao aerosol. She reached into his bed and felt a damp sweat. She felt something was wrong and ran to her parents: "Dad, Mom, this afternoon, my brother had a fight with someone and his nose was bleeding. He has been lying in bed for an hour. You take him to the hospital."
Before Lin Zeqiu could say anything, his father had already lifted up his trouser leg and checked his knee. He quickly said, "I don't feel any pain at all. It's common for boys to fight."
"Are you feeling unwell?" Dad asked him.
"I'm fine," Lin Zeqiu emphasized again and again, "No need to go to the hospital."
The mother's tone became increasingly urgent: "Who did you fight with? How many times have I told you to control your temper, but you just wouldn't listen!"
Lin Zeqiu admitted his mistake vaguely: "I got into a fight with someone while playing basketball. There won't be a next time."
Mom and Dad thought that Lin Zeqiu had an argument with his classmates on the basketball court - he had just finished the fourth grade and was about to enter the fifth grade at the beginning of the school year. His classmates were just a group of elementary school students, and it was common for boys to fight with each other.
In addition, Lin Zeqiu looked normal and ate two bowls of dinner, so his parents felt relieved. They only told him that if there were any problems, they would take him to the hospital overnight.
Before going to bed that night, Lin Zeqiu drank a glass of milk to calm his nerves.
He lay in his little bed, peacefully trying to fall asleep, but his knee suddenly felt a piercing pain that made him tremble all over, clench his teeth, sweat broke out on his forehead, and he almost fainted.
He suspected that he either had sequelae from being beaten by Huang Mao, or that he had suddenly developed some serious terminal illness. It took him less than ten minutes to go from being shocked and anxious to accepting reality.
After the pain subsided, Lin Zeqiu turned on the bedside lamp and wrote his suicide note under the light.
He wrote solemnly: "Dad, Mom, Lin Zhixia."
He suddenly remembered that Lin Zhixia hated him always calling her by her full name.
Anyway, I am going to die soon, so I don’t need to think about my future life anymore. Lin Zeqiu thought so and wrote on another piece of paper: “Dear Dad, Mom and Xia Xia, I have to tell you that ten years ago, I had a congenital heart disease. Ten years later, my knees…”
He couldn't remember how to write the word "cancer" so he used pinyin instead: "My knee has changed."
He borrowed a sentence he learned from a TV show yesterday: "This is my fate. I don't blame the heavens or the earth, and you shouldn't blame yourselves either."
Then he concluded: "My piggy bank and car model are for Lin Zhixia, and you can divide the other things (don't give them to Ke Zhuangzhi). I have never seen the sea, and I want to see it. Play a seaside song at the funeral. Lin Zhixia is a crybaby, so mom and dad should comfort her more."
When writing the last line, Lin Zeqiu's pen trembled slightly: "Lin Zeqiu, my last words."
He found red ink and put a red handprint on the paper.
After doing all this, Lin Zeqiu posted the suicide note on the head of the bed. He lay flat on the bed with his hands crossed on his chest, just like an Egyptian pharaoh, noble, mysterious, and daring to face death.
Soon, he lost consciousness.
It turns out that survival is just a thought away, and death is just a moment away.
The next morning, Lin Zeqiu was woken up by his mother.
Lin Zeqiu half sat up, and his mother held the suicide note and asked him, "Did you write this?"
He hadn't yet distinguished between reality and dreams, and his mind was still confused. His mother grabbed his left hand, stared at the red ink mark on his thumb, and insisted on taking him to the hospital - Lin Zeqiu's father also supported him.
Dad whispered, "Check your brain."
Mom's arrangements were more detailed: "The brain needs to be checked, and the knees need to be checked too. Take out our family passbook. Go to the bank first. I'll make breakfast for Xia Xia, and then we'll take Qiu Qiu out."
"Okay," Dad paced in the bedroom, "Don't panic, we both got through it before."
When Lin Zeqiu was a child, he had his fortune told in the countryside. The old man at the east end of the village said that he could "turn misfortune into good fortune." He thought it was just an auspicious saying, but his parents brought it up again, as if they were seeking some kind of belief. The supermarket at home was temporarily closed, so his parents took Lin Zeqiu to the hospital and, following the doctor's instructions, spent thousands of yuan to give Lin Zeqiu a comprehensive examination.
That was quite a long process.
It was almost noon when Mom rushed home by bus and made lunch for Lin Zhixia.
Lin Zeqiu and his father still stayed in the hospital, eating the boxed lunches provided by the hospital. His father picked out the meat from his portion of shredded pork with green peppers and put it on Lin Zeqiu's plate, saying, "Qiuqiu needs to grow, so eat more meat."
Lin Zeqiu put down his chopsticks.
Dad added: "The food in this hospital is pretty good, with both meat and vegetarian dishes..."
There were only vegetarian dishes in Dad's bowl, and the meat dishes were all on Lin Zeqiu's side.
People were coming and going in the hospital corridor, and gradually going away. The fragrant shredded pork was lying on the white rice, and the hot steam penetrated into Lin Zeqiu's eyes. He rubbed his eyes and responded: "I won't fight again in the future."
Dad said to himself, "Your sister and your mother are worried about you. Your mother called me just now. Xia Xia didn't eat much lunch or take a nap. She was just waiting for your test results in the hospital."
Lin Zeqiu remained silent.
His knee started to hurt again.
Fortunately, according to the examination results, Lin Zeqiu was fine, with only mild soft tissue contusion. The doctor believed that Lin Zeqiu's leg symptoms were due to growing pains - no redness, swelling, fever, and mostly occurred at night. The doctor prescribed some medicine for him and sent him home to observe on his own.
From the age of ten to eleven, the yellow-haired guys on the basketball court disappeared without a trace, but the three words "growing pains" were Lin Zeqiu's lingering shadow.
Lin Zeqiu grew up very fast. He became the tallest boy in the class, and the seniors in the sixth grade often had to look up to him. He was also selected by the school leaders as the captain of the "Experimental Primary School Boys Etiquette Team", responsible for escorting the drummers into the flag-raising ceremony every Monday.
Lin Zeqiu's ability to have such an honor is entirely due to his height, physique and appearance. However, there are always one or two days a week when he wakes up in the middle of the night with severe cramping in his leg muscles. Sometimes he would think, I hope Lin Zhixia will not have the same experience as him in the future, after all, she can't forget that kind of pain, and he forgets the pain after the scar heals - this is the only place where he feels he can surpass her in brainpower, his nerve pain tolerance level is much stronger than hers.
Listening to her talk about biological neurology every day, Lin Zeqiu also barely understood a little bit of it.
Lin Zeqiu slept in a daze until five in the morning, when he heard hurried footsteps outside the door. His father pushed open his bedroom door and panted, "Your mother went out to buy goods at four in the morning. She was riding a tricycle and flipped over on the road, crushing her legs. Dad is going to the hospital to take care of mom. Dad will leave the phone to you. Qiuqiu, you stay at home to take care of Xia Xia. Eat frozen glutinous rice balls in the morning and frozen dumplings at noon. You are 1.7 meters tall and can reach the stove. Dad has taught you how to make fried rice with eggs several times..."
Lin Zeqiu suddenly sat up from the bed.
Dad left his cell phone, keys and cash to him and left in a hurry.
Lin Zeqiu washed his face with cold water.
It was the winter vacation of 2003. Lin Zeqiu was eleven years old and Lin Zhixia was eight years old.
It was still dark, the howling north wind made the windows creak, but Lin Zhixia's room was still warm. She was covered with a quilt with a strawberry pattern, sleeping soundly, her snow-white cheeks slightly pink, as if she was having a sweet dream.
Lin Zeqiu stood by her bed for a few minutes, then went to the kitchen to cook a bowl of red bean paste dumplings. While he was worried about his mother's injury, he was glad that he was tall enough to be busy near the stove. When he went out to buy groceries, he only needed to cover his face with a scarf so that he would not be mistaken for a primary school student, which would save him a lot of trouble.
The so-called "growing pains" are worth it no matter how painful they are.
Lin Zeqiu took the money his father gave him and went out in the cold wind to buy meat buns, vegetable buns, and tofu pudding. When he brought these back for breakfast, Lin Zhixia was already awake—she stood barefoot in the living room and asked him, "Where are mom and dad?"
Lin Zeqiu told the truth: "Mom is in the hospital and Dad is taking care of her."
Lin Zhixia's eyes turned red like a little rabbit: "Brother, I want to go to the hospital to see my mother."
"What can you do if you go there?" Lin Zeqiu questioned her, "You are so short and delicate, you can't do any work, you can only pester your mother, and you will only be annoying if you go to the hospital."
Lin Zhixia instantly exploded: "You are the annoying one!"
Lin Zeqiu was too lazy to argue with her, so he just said, "Come over for breakfast and put on your slippers."
Lin Zhixia stood still.
Lin Zeqiu slapped the table and said, "Lin Zhixia, I got up at six and worked on your breakfast until seven. If you don't come over to eat, I'll send all the breakfast to the neighbor's house and you'll go hungry."
Lin Zhixia ran back to the bedroom and put on a pair of pink plush slippers. She rushed to the dining table like a whirlwind, and her brother brought her a small dish of vinegar. She dipped the buns in the vinegar and lowered her head to eat. Her brother raised his hand and touched her head.
She didn't say anything, and her brother touched her again: "I'm at home..."
He said softly, "Don't be afraid."
Lin Zhixia was stunned when she heard this.
Lin Zeqiu returned to his usual state: "Okay, don't forget to call mom and dad after dinner, you mother-in-law."
He put his father's cell phone on the table.
Lin Zhixia put down her bowl and called her mother immediately. She waited for a few seconds, and when the call was connected, she said in a series of words: "Mom, mom, mom, how are you?"
Her mother answered her, "It's okay, it's just a minor injury, you need to stay in the hospital for a few days. Your dad has been very busy these days, running back and forth between two places. Xia Xia, you and Qiu Qiu should be good at home and listen to your dad, okay?"
"I understand," Lin Zhixia agreed, "Mom, take good care of yourself."
Mom also reminded them: "You and Qiuqiu should not come to the hospital to see me. In a week, I will go home. You and Qiuqiu should be well at home. Only then can I feel at ease in the hospital."
The Lin family's supermarket was in a semi-closed state. Dad had been running back and forth between the hospital and home for several days, and one night he even went to the hospital to keep watch - because Mom had to have a checkup early the next morning, and Dad was afraid that Mom couldn't handle it alone.
That night, there were no adults at Lin Zhixia's home.
The provincial meteorological bureau issued a blizzard warning.
It was past eight o'clock at night. The city was covered with snow and the cold wind was howling. A dark shadow was faintly passing by the curtains. Lin Zhixia tossed and turned, unable to fall asleep. She told Lin Zeqiu the truth: "I miss my father and mother."
Lin Zeqiu asked her: "Are you sleepy?"
Lin Zhixia shook her head.
Lin Zeqiu walked to the living room. He turned on the TV and switched to the TV6 movie channel - this would never happen under normal circumstances. Mom and Dad strictly forbade their children to continue watching TV after 8 o'clock in the evening.
The background sound of the movie attracted Lin Zhixia. She hugged her pillow and sat on the sofa, next to Lin Zeqiu.
This was the first time in their lives that the two siblings watched a movie together in tacit understanding.
&tv6 is playing the American classic action film "Leon: The Professional", with twists and turns in the plot, which is fascinating. Whenever a gunshot is heard, Lin Zhixia will hug her pillow tightly, and Lin Zeqiu will touch her head. The living room is filled with the warmth between the brother and sister.
The blizzard outside the window has not stopped yet. The falling snow is beating against the window. The cold of winter permeates the whole city. The heroine in the movie asks again: "Is life always so difficult? Or is it only like this in childhood?"
The male protagonist replied: "It's always like this."
It's always like this, Lin Zeqiu thought.
Lin Zhixia said, "Compared to the movie plot, we are already living a good life."
She looked up at him and said, "Mom will recover, and our lives will gradually get better."
Lin Zeqiu nodded for some unknown reason.
Lin Zhixia raised her right hand, imitated his usual movements, and touched his head. So that snowy night in the severe winter was not as cold as they imagined. When the movie ended, they returned to their respective beds and fell asleep with expectations for tomorrow in their hearts.
The author has something to say: The extra chapter of Qiuqiu's childhood has ended! Spread the flowers