Two days after Yuan Yuan returned from City A, Xiaode and Olivia also returned to City T from the sea. This time they didn't stay any longer, and only ran back to T city because there was no direct flight to foreign countries.
The two of them went there and sunbathes every day. However, it was about to snow in T city, and people's hands and feet were frozen, so they booked a flight back without stopping.
Xiaode said that before he left, he wanted to invite Chen Donglan to dinner and thank him for taking care of him these days.
This is not like Xiaode's style. After asking carefully, he realized that it was his father, that is, Chen Donglan's stepfather, who asked him to do this. He also said that if he did not bring the receipt from the restaurant when he invited Chen Donglan to dinner When he came back, he couldn't even step on the car's clutch.
Chen Donglan was a brother, and his first reaction was to refuse, but he agreed after knowing what Uncle Xu meant.
Because it is not intimate, it needs proper courtesy.
Dinner was around seven o'clock in the evening, so Chen Donglan was not in a hurry. After get off work, he went to buy vegetables and cook as usual.
When Yuan Yuan was washing vegetables with him, he saw that he only cooked a cup of rice, and asked, "Why only one person?"
Chen Donglan didn't have time to say to Yuan Yuan, "My brother is going back. Today we are eating out."
Yuan Yuan nodded: "What time is it? I'll take you there."
"No." Chen Donglan said naturally.
Yuan Yuan was helpless and couldn't beat him.
When it was almost eight o'clock, Chen Donglan put on his coat, said "I'm going out" and was about to leave. Yuan Yuan recalled today's temperature, went to the room to get a scarf, walked straight to Chen Donglan, pulled his shoulders and wrapped the scarf around his neck.
Half of Chen Donglan's face was buried in the woolen scarf, with only one pair of eyes exposed, making people want to laugh.
"Don't catch a cold anymore." Yuan Yuan helped him straighten his scarf, pressing it down to his chin.
However, Chen Donglan lowered his head and pulled up the scarf again, half covering his face: "Thank you..."
He opened the door and went out, nearly tripping over the threshold.
Chen Donglan was walking in the cold wind, but the heat on his face was very high, until he saw Xiaode and Olivia in the restaurant.
"Brother," Xiao De laughed when he saw him, and pushed over a beautifully packaged box, "Olivia chose the gift for brother over there. She said you should like it."
Xiaode is not such a thoughtful person. Chen Donglan knew that this was Uncle Xu's intention, and he didn't refuse. He took the box and said, "Thank you, you have bothered."
Olivia pressed against Xiaode and said sweetly, "Brother, take it apart and see."
To be honest, Chen Donglan didn't like Olivia very much, but she was Xiaode's girlfriend after all. He politely said, "Eat first, and then watch it after eating. Thank you."
Olivia flattened her mouth and said nothing.
This time, Xiaode and Olivia also ordered foreign wine as soon as they came up. Chen Donglan wanted to order boiled water as usual, but Olivia pressed Chen Donglan's menu with her hands and said with a smile, "I know this restaurant has a very good one. The famous fruit drink, let me order it for my brother."
Seeing her so enthusiastic, Xiaode thought she was trying to show her brother's favor, so he said, "That's good, brother, let her help you."
Chen Donglan felt that Olivia's enthusiasm was strange, but Xiaode nodded and agreed. :"sorry to bother you."
Olivia looked at the menu happily, and seeing her so happy, Xiaode was also full of smiles.
Chen Donglan couldn't help letting go of his worries. This is how feelings are, no matter how inappropriate outsiders feel, as long as the parties themselves enjoy it and are happy, others will not be able to make irresponsible remarks.
A few minutes later, the waiter brought a transparent orange drink to Chen Donglan, exuding the fragrance of fruit, the entrance was like a soda drink, and he didn't know what it was.
While eating, Xiao De suddenly asked, "Brother, haven't you thought about going to see your parents?"
Chen Donglan was not sure whether he wanted to ask this question, or whether his mother and stepfather wanted to ask. But since the third year of high school, he hadn't seen it for so many years, and he felt it was unnecessary in the days to come.
"I'm very busy at work now, I'm afraid I don't have time to go."
Xiaode is not very convinced: "Don't the company have annual leave? If you don't stay overnight, you only need three days."
"That's too tiring. I spent two days on the road. When I saw my mother and Uncle Xu, I was in a bad state. It was unnecessary." What are you doing?"
The brother's reply made Xiaode embarrassed, and it was even more difficult to hear him asking about his work: "We are still preparing for the band."
He studied music and has been playing a band with friends during college. It sounds like the same thing, but basically I used this name to party and play around, and nothing really happened.
Chen Donglan didn't know that he was embarrassed because of this, so he encouraged: "That's good, keep going."
"Well..." Xiaode said perfunctorily, wanting to change the subject again, but found that Chen Donglan's face was not quite right.
"Brother, why is your face so red?"
Chen Donglan propped his forehead with his hand, and the touch on his hand was very hot: "It seems a little bit."
He was dizzy from the very beginning, thinking about the problem of the dim light, so he ignored it.
Xiaode nodded and didn't care too much.
After a few more minutes, the uncomfortable feeling gradually became stronger, Chen Donglan frowned and supported his head with his hands.
Olivia opened her eyes wide and smiled: "Brother is starting to go up."
"Brother?" Xiaode recalled it, picked up the orange drink that Chen Donglan drank half, put it on his nose and smelled it: "via, this is not a fruit drink, it's wine."
Olivia smiled even happier: "Yes, this restaurant's super famous wine is very deceptive. Even people who don't know how to drink it can't tell it's wine, and it's not low in alcohol."
Xiaode said with a straight face: "via, apologize to brother."
Knowing that he was a paper tiger, Olivia still smiled: "I'm sorry, brother, I sincerely apologize to you."
Chen Donglan frowned tightly, the headache and dizziness intensified, making him unable to say the words of forgiveness for Olivia.
Xiaode saw that Chen Donglan was not angry, but really uncomfortable, and was a little worried: "Brother, are you not allergic to alcohol?"
Chen Donglan shook his head.
Xiao De let out a sigh of relief: "Then..."
Before the word "OK" came out, he heard a snap, and Chen Donglan fell down on the table.
"Brother!" Xiaode jumped up from his seat, and Olivia was also startled.
Chen Donglan hit his head just now and was a little awake. He wanted to sit up straight, but couldn't exert himself: "Xiao De, I'm sorry... I might have to go home first."
Xiaode supported him: "Okay, I'll take you home." He asked Olivia to take his card to check out, and he didn't forget to let her keep the receipt.
Chen Donglan knew that he couldn't go home by himself, so he didn't refuse.
"I live in..." Chen Donglan recited the address of the shared house as if he was reciting a text, and then he was so uncomfortable that he couldn't pronounce a single syllable.
Olivia quickly settled the bill, and the two of them carried Chen Donglan in the car with difficulty.
The shared house was not far from the restaurant, and the car only took ten minutes to arrive, but in such a short time, Chen Donglan had fallen asleep by the car window, and he would not wake up no matter how he called.
Xiaode didn't know which building and floor Chen Donglan lived in, so he asked Olivia to directly add money to the driver and asked him to stop here and so on. He remembered that Chen Donglan once said that he lived with a friend, so he found his mobile phone in his pocket and rummaged through the address book.
I thought it would take a lot of phone calls to find my brother's roommate, but Xiaode looked through the call records and found that Chen Donglan had only contacted him and a person named "Yuan Yuan" for a long time, so he called Yuan Yuan directly. .
As soon as he explained what was going on, Yuan Yuan hung up the phone. Within two minutes, he appeared outside the taxi.
"Hello..." Xiaode greeted Yuan Yuan cautiously.
Yuan Yuan ignored him and went directly to see Chen Donglan in the car. It was indeed the "drunk unconscious" that he said on the phone, his flushed face was against the car window, his breathing was short and fast, and he didn't know whether he had fallen asleep or passed out.
"He is pouring a cup, you as his younger brother don't even know this?" Yuan Yuan instructed Xiaode: "I will carry him, and you will help."
Xiaode couldn't help but feel ashamed, and helped him to support Chen Donglan.
After stabilizing her back, Yuan Yuan's tense expression finally relaxed a little, which also helped Olivia, who was frightened, to relax.
"Thank you for sending him back." Yuan Yuan left without a word. Xiaode quickly followed.
Yuan Yuan glanced at him: "I don't need to help, you go back first."
Xiaode felt ashamed: "I have to see that my brother is all right before I can rest assured."
Yuan Yuan frowned slightly, hesitated for two seconds, and did not refuse.
Xiaode turned around and instructed Olivia: "via, go back to the hotel and wait for me.
In just one sentence, Yuan Yuan had already gone all the way, and Xiaode had to trot to keep up.
Yuan Yuan carried Chen Donglan on his back, and could feel his breath, warm and humid, with a sweet smell of wine.
Originally, he was very angry, but Chen Donglan, such a tall man, had no difficulty carrying it on his back, and his heart suddenly softened.
Really... I can't relax for a minute, I just have to watch him all the time.
After entering the house, Yuan Yuan laid him down on the bed and asked Xiaode to help him take off his shoes, while he went to wash a towel and wiped Chen Donglan's face.
He washed the towel with cold water, maybe it was too cold, he twisted his head slightly and snorted when it touched his forehead.
Xiaode held the shoes that Chen Donglan had just taken off, and asked awkwardly, "Where do you put this...?"
Yuan Yuan pointed to the door: "There is a shoe rack there, and there are slippers in it. You can also change your shoes by the way."
Xiaode looked down at his leather boots, even more awkward.
After changing his shoes, he walked back to Chen Donglan's room, where Yuan Yuan was sitting on the edge of the bed and tucked him in. Xiaode felt that he was superfluous, but he couldn't just turn around and walk away, standing at the bedside depressingly and looking at his brother.
"Xiao De, can I call you that?" Yuan Yuan suddenly approached him.
Now Yuan Yuan is much kinder, which makes Xiaode feel relaxed. "Okay, then what should I call you?" After saying that, thinking that he already knew his name, he said familiarly, "I'll call you Brother Yuan."
Yuan Yuan: "..."
Is this really Chen Donglan's younger brother
He coughed: "your brother will be fine after a night's rest, you can go back first."
Xiaode nodded and left in no hurry: "I'll stay for a while."
After exchanging names, Xiaode breathed smoothly, refreshed, and no longer felt that it was difficult to stay here. He looked at Chen Donglan's room, and a familiar feeling came to his mind.
In fact, there was a time when he wanted to get to know his brother. At that time, Chen Donglan went to high school, and he also went to middle school. His parents forced him to study every day to lay the foundation for going abroad, and he became very rebellious. At that time, Chen Donglan couldn't say a word to him for a week. In his eyes, he was both cold and mysterious. As a result, his brother's room became the destination of his adventure, and "what's hidden in my brother's room" became the secret he desperately wanted to know.
Up to now, even though it has been more than eight years, once I think about it, he seems to have become that curious child who dared not approach.
Seeing that Chen Donglan was sleeping peacefully, with his hands and feet neatly tucked at his sides, Xiaode couldn't help laughing: "Brother used to be like this too, he slept very well, what posture is before going to bed, what posture is when you get up. That At that time, although his bed was a single bed, it was more than enough for two people, but he always tucked his hands and feet into the quilt and tucked them into a ball, leaving a lot of space on both sides of the bed."
Xiaode recalled endlessly. Seeing that Yuan Yuan also showed what he wanted to hear, he said it in one breath.
"Actually, there is nothing special in my brother's room. The only thing I find strange is his bookshelf. There is actually a collection of poems among the books full of social sciences and popular science. It is a collection of love poems. I always remember the name. Four Lines of Poems"."
There was no reaction on Yuan Yuan's face, but he was surprised in his heart. He knows how boring Chen Donglan is to read books. Since living together, he has only read books for chemistry majors, and he has never touched a single literary work, let alone a collection of love poems, which is completely out of tune with him.
Xiaode stood up and searched on Chen Donglan's bookshelf: "Brother has put that book of poems in a prominent place for three years in high school, I don't know if it is still there." He went down one by one from a height. Counting, I saw many old books with damaged casings, and finally found the "Portuguese Sonnets" in the corner of the shelf.
He pulled out the book in surprise and handed it to Yuan Yuan: "Look, there really is this love poem, but I didn't expect my brother to keep it for so many years."
Yuan Yuan did not answer. He and Chen Donglan never touched each other's personal belongings, which was agreed from the beginning. But Xiaode obviously didn't have this idea. He wouldn't go to the closed cabinet of Chen Donglan, but he took out an old book from the open bookshelf that he remembered deeply. He didn't think it was a big deal.
Yuan Yuan didn't answer, and Xiaode didn't force it into his hands, but put the collection of poems aside and searched for other books with great interest.
The dilapidated collection of poems was placed in front of Yuan Yuan's eyes, and it was a different version from what he had read before. Half of it was curiosity, and half was driven by his love of reading, so Yuan Yuan finally picked up the poetry collection and read it.
The inner page has long been yellowed, and once opened, there is a unique smell of corruption. With Yuan Yuan's movements, the pages turned over and suddenly stopped on the page with a newspaper clipping in between.
Is it a bookmark made by Chen Donglan himself
Yuan Yuan turned the newspaper clippings over, and after seeing the contents clearly, his heart beat wildly, and he collected the poems with a bang.
His fingertips trembled.
It was a clipping that had become fragile over time.
Grey ink, block letters.
The newspaper comes from his and Chen Donglan's junior high school, and is a school newspaper issued within the school. The cut is the news about Yuan Yuan. That year, in his second year of junior high school, he broke the 400-meter running record at the school sports meeting. In the current school newspaper, a small area reported the incident, with a blurry photo of him standing on the podium.
Back then, it was clearly about himself, but he didn't pay much attention to it. But another person cut out the newspaper and treasured it in a love poem.
Something is about to come out.
Many things in the world are waiting for a rare opportunity. Once you miss it, it's on hold forever.
Once it starts, it gets out of hand.