Xu Ran poured the river sand into the flower pot, mixed it with the soil, inserted the fig branches obliquely into the soil, buried them and watered them, and finally patted the pot wall with satisfaction.
He got up and wiped his sweat. After working all morning, I have been bending over to arrange the flower pots, my back muscles are stiff, and the area from my lower back down to my crotch is a little numb.
There are more than a dozen large and small flower pots in front of me, all brought back by Xu's mother from the work unit. I don’t know what her old man thinks this year, she suddenly wants to learn how to grow flowers, but she can’t even understand the simple method of fertilizing, so she can only ask Xu Ran to arrange all the flowers. From now on, she will only be responsible for Water the pruning.
"Mom, the fertilizer is at the door, take it for me." He turned back and called to the room.
Mother Xu quickly brought over the small bag of fertilizer. She leaned on the window frame of the floor-to-ceiling window and watched Xu Ran fertilize pots one by one, with an unstoppable smile on her face.
Xu Ran put the shovel aside helplessly, "What are you laughing at?"
"It's good that I have someone to take care of you when you're at home." Mother Xu said.
Xu Ran smiled and said, "Won't you think I'm annoying in a few days?"
"How can it be?" Xu's mother patted him, "Even if you stay at home every day, I won't find you annoying."
Mother turned and entered the house, Xu Ran stayed on the balcony, watching the brilliant setting sun in the distant sky. In the afternoon, the sun shines on the city through the clouds, and the birds pass by in groups, leaving behind a few bright shadows. On the overpass in the distance, cars come and go, and pedestrians are in a hurry, as if they are separated from the comfortable life here into two worlds, intersecting and staggering, far apart.
Xu Ran likes to look at such a city, as if the hustle and bustle belonged to others, and he only had this home in this world, which was enough to build a safe nest in the busy world, where both gains and losses were, The joys and sorrows are also here.
Since he was on vacation, he has seen this kind of scenery many times. Every day, his heart sank, and a feeling of uncertainty enveloped his heart, like the continuous drizzle in spring, constantly beating him. nerves.
He tried to get himself out of this wet mood, but at the moment when he looked into the distance of the city, He recognized the true and firm face in front of his eyes.
- You trust me for once, okay
When did I not believe you? Xu Ran lightly stroked the armrest of the wheelchair aimlessly, but what did I get in the end
In the past, he never felt the need to measure feelings by how much he "gained". Giving is voluntary, and expectations are also voluntary. He arbitrarily added expectations to He Cheng that the other party didn't want, so naturally he couldn't get a perfect answer.
Who is to blame? Do you blame He Cheng for delaying his career for ten years, or blame yourself? Does he have the right to point at He Cheng's nose and scold him for not giving him enough in return
But how much is this "return" and how should it be measured
Xu Ran was a little confused. He simply didn't think about it and sat on the balcony basking in the sun.
Xiao Hei, who was sleeping on the ground beside him, turned over, exposed his soft belly to the warm sunlight, and yawned comfortably.
Xu Ran leaned over and scratched its stomach, in exchange for a dissatisfied dream.
Xu's mother called him to eat fruit in the house, and when Xu Ran came to the dining table, she brought the new mobile phone box and asked him to help configure it.
Xu Ran looked helplessly at the scattered accessories on the table, "Mom, what have you been doing recently? Why did you suddenly start making these novel things?"
In the past, Mother Xu never took the initiative to buy new electronic products. She smiled, with a faint blush on her face, "It's nothing, just a change of mood."
"Mom?" Xu Ran was taken aback, and came to her, "Tell me the truth, you are growing flowers, doing yoga, and buying a new mobile phone. What's the matter?"
The moment he saw his mother's expression, many bad thoughts such as "middle-aged derailment" flashed through his mind. Xu's mother saw through it and knocked him on the head in a funny way, "What are you thinking! Next month is My thirty-year wedding anniversary with your father!"
Xu Ran hugged her head and laughed too.
At that time, Xu's parents were deviant, and they got married only a year after Xu Ran was born. I heard that the grandma's family didn't like this daughter-in-law, and the marriage was delayed again and again, and it was only when the child was getting older that they had to compromise.
Xu Ran didn't meet his grandparents much, but he knew that because of conflicts back then, his parents took him to the city alone to work hard. The family of three was helpless, and with a stubbornness, they forcibly gained a firm foothold in this city without any foundation.
Over the years, the relationship between parents has always been very good, so good that sometimes Xu Ran would feel envious.
He smiled and said to his mother, "Congratulations."
"How do you say that you have nothing to do with it?" Mother Xu said, "Next month, your father and I will ask for leave to travel, and you will follow."
"Me? What are you two taking me for on your honeymoon? I'm not going."
The two of them finally went out to play once, Xu Ran didn't want them to worry about taking care of themselves all day long.
Mother Xu looked at him strangely, "Why, you were born between us?"
Xu Ran knew that he couldn't talk to her, so he could only concentrate on configuring her mobile phone. Flipping through the box, the pin that poked the SIM card had fallen out of nowhere, so he said, "I'm going to find something."
He went back to the room and took out his old mobile phone case from the drawer. As soon as he opened it, something fell to the ground.
It's an old SIM card. Xu Ran forgot which one it was. In the past two years, under the influence of various accidents, he changed his mobile phone too many times, and he couldn't remember the previous number at all.
Xu was curious when he was bored. After configuring the new mobile phone for his mother, he replaced the card into his own mobile phone.
The familiar interface lit up, and he thought for a while before realizing that this was the number he used three years ago.
In order to completely draw a line with He Cheng, he discarded everything related to the past. This card stored He Cheng's mobile phone number, as well as all their text messages and phone calls after they returned from City C, even if they deleted it, it still felt like it would affect their mood, so Xu Ran simply changed the number and started from scratch.
Anyway, now that the Internet is developed, if Bai Jinming and the others need to find him, they can just contact him online. In fact, apart from New Year's greetings, they have not had much contact in these years.
In the past, because he could always think of He Cheng's face when looking at it, Xu Ran put it in a box and locked it in a drawer, thinking that he would never find it again. Now I am waiting for the phone to read the information, but I feel nothing in my heart. Maybe time has diluted everything, he has been able to face the past calmly, and he will no longer think about things because of a mobile phone card.
The process of reading the card was surprisingly long, and when the icon of the SIM card finally disappeared, a series of vibrating sounds of text messages followed.
Xu Ran was startled, the vibrations sounded one after another, as if there was no end at all.
He quickly clicked on the text message interface, and watched the little red dot next to the first number change from a dozen to 20s, 30s, and finally stopped at a staggering number.
Xu Ran frowned. The latest text message he saw was: I will protect the store for you, everything is safe.
Is it He Cheng
Why did so many messages pop up all of a sudden, the phone's cloud data was drained? Xu Ran opened He Cheng's number in doubt, and was suddenly taken aback.
The penultimate text message was sent a few days ago: Good night, sweet dreams.
The third from the bottom: Today is the day for you to buy goods, ask the uncle of the noodle shop to help, don't be too tired.
The fourth from the bottom: Xiao Hei is very cute, and the milk candy is very sweet.
One by one, from bottom to top, the date gradually moves forward.
Xu Ran moved his finger and turned the interface up little by little, as if his own life was also rewound, back to the rainy spring day, the snowy winter, to the late autumn when the leaves were all over the ground and full of cicadas and raging fire. The bitter heat of the sun.
He saw He Cheng and said: Today is the beginning of autumn, the weather is cold, please keep warm.
—The French restaurant I used to go to is closed, and the opening time is uncertain. But I found a new shop, it tastes good, you'll like it.
—Find someone to learn how to cook, but failed. I cut my hand, it hurts.
——Wang Li's child is three years old. The boy is a fine person, just like his father. He asked me why I wasn't married that day. I said that I have someone I like, but he ignored me. He said you are so inferior. Want to beat him up.
—The peach blossoms in the community are blooming, and they are very beautiful. Do you like wine making? How this thing is brewed is very troublesome.
—Today is Halloween, a group of little ghosts came to the company, from the kindergarten next door, I asked the secretary to buy chocolates for them. They say I'm a good person, but I know I'm not.
…
Quickly scrolling to the top, the day they met for the last time three years ago, He Cheng said: I'm sorry.
Putting down the phone, Xu Ran quietly took off the SIM card, put it back into the box, pushed it into the deepest part of the drawer, and locked it again.
He went to the bathroom to wash his face, and when he came out, he met his mother entering the bedroom. Mother Xu glanced at him, and suddenly asked, "What's wrong with you?"
"What?" Xu Ran was taken aback, touched his face, but didn't feel anything unusual.
Seeing his red eyes, Xu's mother hesitated for a moment, but did not continue.
In the evening, Xu's father worked overtime and after dinner, his mother greeted Xu Ran in the living room.
She was holding a thick photo album, the corners of which were old and yellowed, and she didn't know where it was dug out. Xu Ran leaned over and saw a faded photo of a chubby child with bare buttocks smiling sweetly at the camera.
"This is me?" Xu Ran felt strange, and turned two pages, "Why did you take so many photos?"
Xu's mother said, "When you were just born, your grandma's house didn't allow your dad to meet me, so he could only take a lot of photos with him. But you grow up fast, and you change every few months. Every time he recognizes you Can’t come out. After waiting, he put all the photos in this album.”
Xu Ran flipped through the photo album silently. From being a baby to babbling, to eating popsicles with a schoolbag on his back, the whole heavy photo album records his growth trajectory.
Looking at it, Xu Ran smiled slightly.
Mother Xu touched his face, "Is there something bothering you?"
"Ah?" Xu Ran responded for a moment, then smiled, "No."
"Who do you think you were born?" Mother Xu pointed to the photo album with her chin, "When did you lie to me?"
"I… "
Xu Ran paused, indeed, since he was a child, he couldn't hide anything from his mother's eyes.
He put down the photo album, pondered over his words, "Well, He Chenghe..."
Mother Xu sighed softly.
"I knew it." Mother Xu said, "He finally came to you?"
"Finally?" Xu Ran was taken aback, what does this mean
Xu's mother shook her head, without explaining, she just said, "You are already in your thirties, there are some things, there is no need to worry about my feelings and your father's."
Xu Ran lowered her eyes, "I didn't say to forgive him."
"I didn't ask you to forgive him." Xu's mother held his hand tenderly, "But no matter whether you forgive him or not, there will always be a result in the end. I just want to say that as long as you make a decision that makes you happy, that's fine. If you are happy, your father and I will naturally be happy."
She opened the photo album, pointed to the little man standing in the front row eating fingers in the family portrait, and said with a smile, "No matter how old you are, you will always be our baby. Whether you are single or with whomever, mom wants you happiness."
"… mom."
Xu Ran leaned over and hugged her, Xu's mother patted him on the back, and said amusedly, "How old are you and you still cry, don't be ashamed."
Xu Ran wiped his face vigorously, "Who are you to lose, isn't it born by you?"
Mother Xu laughed, "You brat."
The author has something to say: Thanks to the little angels who cast [mine]: TTTTT 2, C'estlavie 1, 34698489 1
Thanks to the little angel who threw the [grenade]: the mentally handicapped person on the opposite side looked over 1, TTTTT 1
There are two more at nine o'clock