Xie Ci was beaten head sideways.
He was stunned by the sudden slap. Dazed and dumb, with a silly look.
After a long time, he covered half of his face in a daze, and said aggrievedly: "Xu You, my face hurts so much."
As soon as the words were finished, another slap in the face was slapped.
"Does it still hurt?" Xu You asked, the fingers hanging by his side were trembling undetectably.
"..." This time he didn't even dare to say anything, because he was about to cry again when he saw her.
Really, a man has never been completely defeated by a woman.
I don't know what it's like.
A tear, or even a look.
As long as it is given to you by her, no matter everything, good or bad, you have to accept everything willingly.
Xie Ci had a bad temper since he was a child, and he liked to bully his peers when he was not sensible, but when he was older, no one would dare to provoke him. This is the kind of person who is a big devil no matter where he goes, and when he gets together, he beats others. How can he have the experience of being slapped twice and not fighting back.
As long as they go to fight together, Xie Ci likes to watch from the side, because he is very delicate and takes face very seriously. As long as someone touches him or hurts him, he must pay back twice as much, no matter how much he bullies the little, he must pay back.
Only this time, stand under colorful neon lights. The intense orange light shone on her face, causing the curvature of Xie Ci's spine to bend slightly unconsciously, and she didn't dare to move at all.
Xu You raised her head, allowing all her expressions to be seen in his eyes, and the disappointment in her eyes quickly spread.
"—Thank you, I hurt more than you."
After she finished speaking, she turned and left.
Before digesting the meaning of this sentence, Xie Ci's brain has not yet responded. He didn't care too much, and said after a few steps: "Xu You, don't cry, can you stop kicking me to vent your anger?"
“…….”
He hasn't coaxed women for so many years, and he has no experience, so he is really clumsy.
Chase all the way, against the crowd. It's late at night, and there are still countless people looking for fun in this city, tireless.
"Stand still." Xu You stopped.
Xie Ci immediately obediently stopped moving.
The two were in front of the traffic lights on the sidewalk and under the overpass. When the green lights came on, the people next to them left one after another, leaving them standing where they were.
She stood with her back to him, arms folded, as if cold. Xie Ci couldn't see her expression.
It turned into a red light again.
"From the beginning of our acquaintance, you forced me to do a lot of things I didn't like."
Xu You lowered her head and made no opening remarks, as if she was talking to herself.
"I saw you fighting and you were fierce, so I was afraid of you and didn't want to mess with you. I knew we were different, so I tried not to contact you. But then you were kind to me, I also remember , you came to me in the parking lot, accompanied me back to see grandma, and ran downstairs to me to give me candy. I think you are stupid, but you live happily, which is the complete opposite of me. You always like to be in front of me I did many things with confidence, but failed. You tightened my water glass, and I deliberately pretended not to know. You came home with me, and I pretended not to know. You peeked at me in class and took away my used pen Hiding it, I pretended not to know."
In the latter words, even she didn't realize that she had already softened her tone.
Every bit of what happened in the past is recalled bit by bit, and my heart still hurts.
I still remember having dinner with You Lele once, and the two talked about their high school days. You Lele talked about her teaching director, the naughty boys in the class, and the head teacher who always likes to explain the truth in class. She laughed out loud.
Xu You listened quietly.
"Xu You... I may be older now, and I like to recall the past more and more. I think life in high school is very beautiful. Although I am tired every day, I feel that everything is worthwhile at that time." You Le Le smiled and sighed.
"Um."
She said, "Although the boys at that time were naive, they were also innocent. They would treat whomever they liked wholeheartedly."
"However, it seems that little girls prefer boys who are more ruffian. I liked it too, but I don't know how to describe that feeling. Ruffian is a kind of temperament. If you don't have that kind of tone, you are a rascal."
So, Xu You suddenly thought of her seventeen or eighteen years old.
In the sweltering heat of the afternoon, the sound of cicadas singing lazily, the boy sleeping on the table.
In the classroom next to it, the sound of reading aloud can be heard from time to time, and the leaves outside the window are more lush than the sun.
At that time, Xu You ate in the school cafeteria at night.
They haven't been divided yet. Every time she finishes eating, she walks back to the teaching building. He just finished playing basketball and went upstairs with his friends. Xie Ci's surroundings are always too lively, surrounded by a large group of people. The stairs are very wide, Xu You walked to the left, and they walked to the right. Xie Ci hugged a basketball and approached her while talking to others. She glanced at her out of the corner of her eye, but she deliberately couldn't see it.
Occasionally for a few days, Xu You deliberately took a few extra detours to avoid them before going back to the teaching building. Xie Ci would always lie on the railing of the corridor, with the golden sunset behind him, and he would whistle at her with a wicked smile on his face. At this time, the other boys standing in the corridor would all boo and laugh.
Xu You remembered the way he smiled.
The eyebrows are raised slightly, and the corners of the lips are deeply sunken. The black lacquered eyes are bright, childish and charming.
"Later, I thought you might be a bit cute, although you were always making jokes and making jokes. But at that time, I always felt that you were too naive. Now that I think about it, I was young at that time, and I didn't know anything except studying. I'm not very good at it. Express your own feelings, so you may have doubted our feelings. You have your pride, and I have my self-esteem. You are not without complaints and hatred, and I am not without sadness or joy."
Xie Ci stared at his shoes without saying a word, feeling as if his heart was being pinched in someone's hands, and then rubbed to pieces.
She is a good judge.
And he was being delayed.
"Thank you, I used to have a lot of things I wanted to say, but now I feel that it is meaningless to say them. It has passed, and I don't need to think about it. But for so long, I have never blamed you for everything, except for your self-righteousness. "
"I have no sympathy or pity for your past at all, because it was all your own choice. No matter whether you are brilliant or depraved in the future, I will bless you. I respect all your choices, but—"
Xu You paused, seemingly unable to continue. She lifted the back of her hand and wiped away the last tears.
She has endured for too long, and she has completely collapsed.
Xie Ci said awkwardly, "Xu You..."
"—You always treat me in the way you think is right, but none of it is what I want."
Thank you.
You beat me, not your innocence.
It's your naivety.
Most saddening, brutally naive.
When the light turned green, she walked slowly across the zebra crossing.
Xie Ci didn't move, he just felt a blow to the head, and his brain was suffocated to a blank. Everywhere hurts, chest tightness, temples throbbing.
He stayed where he was, watching her back go further and further away.
It's like walking down the street.
They are back in two worlds again.
---
"Xu Yo, are you okay?"
Li Zhengan stretched out his hand and shook it in front of her eyes, "What are you thinking about?"
Holding a cup of coffee, he passed by where Xu You worked.
Zhang Lili, who was sitting opposite Xu You, raised her head and said with a smile, "She has been distracted all morning."
"So free, have you finished the draft?" Li Zhengan asked.
Zhang Lili: "Give it to the editor-in-chief for review, after which it should be handed over to the editorial department."
"The efficiency is quite high."
"Thanks to Xu You."
Listening to their chat, Xu You lowered her head, opened the drawer, and took out a plate of cold medicine from inside. She picked out two capsules, picked up the glass on one side, mixed it with water and swallowed it down her throat.
I don't know why, it rained the day before yesterday, and it just happened today.
She woke up this morning with a splitting headache. You Lele took her temperature and she had a low fever.
Li Zhengan, who was leaning on the side, saw that Xu You's face was not good, and asked with some concern, "You have a cold, should you go hang the water, don't hold on if you are not healthy."
Concerned about him, Xu You shook her head, not even bothering to raise her eyes.
Zhang Lili laughed when she saw this scene.
I sigh in my heart, it's really deliberate, and the flowing water is ruthless. It's a pity that it's another unrequited love.
In fact, during the period of working with Xu You, Zhang Lili found that this girl was a bit frigid in a different sense. That is, it's not that she doesn't have feelings for men at all, but that she is completely lazy to accept others.
Take Li Zhengan as an example. He has a good appearance and a gentle personality. He has been in this industry for a long time and has a lot of connections. It is said that he is also a rich second generation. As soon as he entered the news agency, Li Zhengan frequently expressed his favor to Xu You intentionally or unintentionally, but the woman never accepted or responded.
Originally a talented man and a beautiful woman, a good story about marriage. It didn't work out in the end.
At noon in the cafeteria, Xu You casually brought a bowl of noodle soup, which was not very satisfying.
She was eating soup with a spoon when suddenly a person sat down in front of her. Xu You looked up, it was a little girl.
This little girl is called Fan Qi, and she came out of the same school as Xu You. However, Fan Qi joined the news agency after graduating from a bachelor's degree, so she just entered the industry, and she is not in the same department as her, so she is half a junior sister.
"Sister." Fan Qi called her sadly.
Xu You hummed, "Have you been scolded again?"
Seeing her expression, Xu You probably guessed it.
Fan Qi didn't speak, it was her acquiescence. She took two mouthfuls of rice and said aggrievedly, "I really regret being an editor."
"What's wrong?"
"Sister, I'm too tired."
After opening the chatterbox, Fan Qi began to complain endlessly, "I have to collect a lot of manuscripts every day, arrange the layout, arrange the headlines, and help reporters modify the titles of the manuscripts. You reporters don't have to work, you can control your own time, and you can come and go freely, but we every day The last time you had to submit your manuscript to start work, you got off work late every day, worked overtime until midnight yesterday, and was scolded by the editor-in-chief again this morning, I really regret not going to the postgraduate entrance examination, studying is much better than going to work."
"Don't think so."
Xu You comforted her, "Everything is difficult at the beginning, you have to persevere in whatever you do."
"I've said many things to you many times, and you should remember it yourself. The sun shines everywhere, and any professional outsider will always see only the bright side. In fact, no one knows the darkness and labor inside. "
She stopped talking.
Standing by the shutters in the office, looking down at the busy traffic through the cracks. Xu You regained consciousness, remembering what Fan Qi asked her just now.
"Why did you become a reporter in the first place?"
Why be a reporter.
Journalist is a special profession.
Maybe it was impulsive, but this profession did give her many things she wanted. The grasp of life attitude, the sense of spiritual abundance, the more she gets in touch with, the more she admires some old reporters with feelings. Xu You never regrets all her decisions. In the past two years as a reporter, she has seen a lot, listened to a lot, met a lot of people, and learned how to communicate with strangers.
Although I often run around, I report some unknown things in depth. But helping those in need and seeing the smiles on their faces is when she feels the most fulfilled and the happiest.
Only in this way can she feel that every day is new.
---
It's almost time to get off work. Xu You rested her chin on one hand, yawned, and turned on the computer to browse the web.
Zhang Lili went out to do errands. Her place is very clean, just after the end of the month, and the colleagues around are very busy. There are people chatting leisurely in the tea room.
The mobile phone placed on the black sandalwood table suddenly vibrated.
Xu You fumbled to connect without even looking at the name.
"Hello?! Xu You."
Hearing this slightly rough voice, she was taken aback for a moment, then reacted for a while, "Li Xiaoqiang?"
"Yes, yes, it's me."
"What's wrong?"
"Xu You, are you busy now, I want to trouble you with something."
"... .What's up?"
"That's it, wait a minute." Li Xiaoqiang seemed to leave his phone from his ears for a while, then talked to the person next to him, and after a few words, his voice suddenly became louder again, "Xu You, can you buy some medicine for Brother Ci?" past."
“…….”
Xu You was taken aback for a moment, she pushed aside the chair, stood up, and walked aside, "Thank you? What's wrong with him."
"I heard from them that Brother Ci seems to have packed up some things the day before yesterday and went to live in the city. He has been running a fever. Brother Ci never went to the hospital for injections. Ali said that he couldn't get through the phone just now. I just wanted you to be closer. Can you help me to see if he is okay, and buy some medicine for him by the way."
"..."
"Hello? Xu You, are you listening?!"
"......"
A few meters away, there was a voice of speaking.
"Where does he live?"
Xu You squeezed the phone tightly, rubbed her forehead, and suppressed her panic.
Li Xiaoqiang reported the name of a community and asked, "Do you know this place?"
Xu You bit her lip with her teeth. After a while, she hummed and hung up the phone after saying a few words.
How could you not know.
This place is only 50 meters away from where she lives.
Li Zhengan packed the things on the table, and when he looked up, he saw a figure from behind, and he called out, "Xu You."
She didn't hear it, and she didn't know if there was something urgent, so she disappeared immediately.
Li Zhengan shook his head doubtfully in his position.
Xu You went downstairs and went to the pharmacy opposite to buy some anti-inflammatory and fever-reducing medicines.
She was restless and didn't look at it carefully, so she just took a lot and went to pay the bill.
After buying, Xu You followed the address to find his home. That community is a newly-opened property with nice greenery and scenery.
Xu You absently registered in the security room with a plastic bag.
The roses and roses on the roadside are about to bloom and fall into the soil.
The elevator ding-dong, and two doors slid open in front of her.
Xu You went out. After two steps, he paused again. She clenched her fists, hesitated a few times, but still stopped.
Next to it is a metal bench. Xu You sat down and put a bag of medicine beside her.
She bowed her head, her hands on her knees. I stayed for a while. I don't know what I'm thinking.
At this time, a door next to it was opened, and an aunt passed by carrying a bag of garbage. Footsteps clattered in the quiet corridor.
When she came back, the aunt saw that Xu You was still sitting here, so she asked, "Little girl, who are you looking for?"
The tone was hesitant and hesitant, Xu You hurriedly explained, "Auntie, may I ask you... is there someone called Xie Ci?"
"Thank you?!" Auntie frowned and thought for a while, "I don't know this person."
"..." Xu You looked down and checked the address again.
The aunt standing at the door suddenly seemed to remember, turned around and pointed her finger at Xu You, "Oh, you are talking about that young guy, he lives across the street, but he seems to be away often, I don't know Are you here now?"
Xu You nodded and said thank you.
The aunt gave her one last look and closed the door.
---
The doorbell made several melodious ding-dongs.
She had a plastic bag hanging on her arm, and pressed it again after the sound passed. There was no response from inside, Xu You waited patiently for a long time.
After a while, there was still no movement, she knocked on the door anxiously, and put her ear on it, "Is anyone there?"
The inside became more and more quiet, and the strings in people's hearts collapsed and tightened.
Finally, the door was pulled open from inside.
Xie Ci's originally impatient expression turned into surprise the moment he saw the person coming.
He opened his sleepy eyes hard. A thin and delicate face, the upper body is naked, wearing only a pair of gray sports trousers. Xie Ci half opened his mouth, and looked at Xu You stupidly.
Xu You looked calm. There is still a blue ribbon wrapped around her fair neck, and a reporter card hangs on her chest.
“…….”
The two looked at each other for half a second, Xu You looked away first.
I was in a trance for a moment.
Xie Ci looked down at himself, and let go of the doorknob. He turned around and walked two steps towards the bedroom, then hurried back, pulled Xu You in, and closed the door with his hand.
His head was in a daze, but he pulled himself together and said, "Don't go, I'll go get dressed."
Xu You didn't go in, but stood at the door with downcast eyes, "I'll just deliver medicine to you, I have something to do, so I won't go in."
"etc."
He didn't seem to hear, he didn't even close the bedroom door, just picked up a T-shirt and put it on his head, and walked out.
"I'm leaving." Xu You put the medicine on his shoe cabinet, turned around and put his hands on the door.
An urgent sound of stopping came from behind, "—don't."
Her movements paused.
"That, that."
Xie Ci's voice softened, and he said, "You...you can boil some water for me before leaving, I don't have the strength."
---
In the kitchen, the hot water in the kettle cascaded out, and the red light turned green.
Xu You pulled the plug and waited for the water to calm down. She opened the cupboard to find a glass for water, but found that there was nothing in it.
Passing by the living room, I found that it was even more empty, with no popularity at all. There are very few things in the room. Except for some necessary furniture, other daily items are so few that they can be seen at a glance.
Xu You didn't squint.
The light in the house was dim, except for a little yellow light on the bedside of the room.
Xie Ci's illness was severe this time. He was already in poor health, and this time it was not a high fever without warning. He guessed that he was also confused, unable to distinguish between dreams and reality. After a while, he lay on the bed again groggy.
Xu You called him several times, but there was no response.
She couldn't help but glance over the messy room, hesitated a few times, and stepped in anyway.
His gaze slid across Xie Ci's face. His head was tilted to one side, his eyebrows lingering. The lip color has become extremely light, the cheekbones are red, the eyelashes are slightly closed, trembling slightly.
"Thank you...you get up and go to the hospital." She called him in a low voice.
"Thank you."
"Thank you..."
"Thank you?"
Xu You bent down, turned on the lamp on the bedside table, and put her hand on his forehead.
There is a scalding temperature in the palm of your hand.
She didn't care much, knelt on the bed with one leg, and went to pull him up.
Xie Ci reacted a bit, opened his eyes slightly, dazedly, and put his hands around the back of Xu You's neck. He thought he was dreaming, whispered softly, and rubbed the back of her neck with his fingers reluctantly, "Xu You, let me sleep for a while, and get up later."
She slowed down for a moment before realizing that he had really lost consciousness.
After a while, Xie Ci's hand slid down feebly, his wrist hanging on the side of the bed. His dark hair hid his face.
She blinked, and inadvertently saw the faint light on his finger.
Xu You moved his eyes away, and after two seconds, he turned his eyes back to the ring.
There is something faintly under some narrow silver rings.
At that moment, she didn't know what was possessed by her. He reached out and wanted to take off the ring.
The tender and shameful mucous membrane shattered silently. She couldn't control herself.
It was as if someone had gently pulled the taut strings in her mind.
The ring has not been worn for long and the size is not right. With a slight force, it slid down along the finger bones and fell to the ground.
By the dim light.
Xu You stared there.
His breath was thin and silent. On the ring finger, there is a black tattoo with a circle of English letters.
XY.