At night, the bus that Cheng Ran was riding passed through the streets of Chengxiang and then stopped at Ruilin Road.
Cheng Ran got off the bus. Along with the creaking of the bus door and the crowds rushing down, he was greeted by the sound of cars rolling on the road at the intersection. A piece of twisted electric wire was pulled from the street next to him, and electric lights were set up to illuminate several small bench stalls selling night pig flowers and barbecue food.
It was as if Cheng Ran had just left the quiet courtyard where Jiang Hongshao lived alone and stepped into the world of fireworks. He didn't have to worry about Jiang Hongshao's safety, because not far from the street station where she saw him off, there was a duty point with red and blue lights flashing under the big banyan tree. In that area, the local police station was also extremely cautious.
Cheng Ran walked across the intersection and entered the Fulong Family Compound. If he was just an ordinary teenager, coming from the residential area on Huanjin Road and entering the seven-story low-rise building in the Fulong Family Compound built ten years ago, he would have felt a big gap, but the teenager in front of him didn't seem to feel that way, instead his steps were brisk.
From downstairs, I could see the house was brightly lit. When I entered the house, Xu Lan and Cheng Feiyang were already home. They were both in the living room, watching TV. When Cheng Ran entered the house, Xu Lan said, "Why haven't you come back yet? I was about to call you to urge you."
Cheng Feiyang laughed, "If you hadn't come back, your mother wouldn't have been able to concentrate on watching TV."
"I think you are really the boss Cheng that people outside call you. You talk in a very different way. How could I not pay attention to you? I paid close attention to you. I was relieved that my son was having fun outside. You were not like me who kept asking me questions before," Xu Lan turned her head to Cheng Ran, "asking if you have been spending money recklessly recently, and what you have done with the money you earned? Have I been to the Tianxing Dojo..."
Xu Lan pointed at Cheng Feiyang who was a little embarrassed. "Your dad is like this. He says one thing in front of you and another behind your back. He said that his son has grown up and has his own ideas. He respects you and won't interfere. But he asks me about everything. He treats me as an intelligence officer. He knows that you two men can't express your concerns to each other. There are some things you don't want to tell him in detail. He is too proud to ask, so he goes through me. You don't know that I am almost annoyed by his questions. Now that my son is in front of me, don't nag me. Just ask him directly if you have anything."
Cheng Feiyang never thought that Xu Lan would betray him without stopping. He had a stern face and acted like the head of the family. He winked at Xu Lan several times but she ignored him. At this time, he coughed twice in his throat and didn't look at Cheng Ran. Finally, he managed to say, "When you visit someone's home, you have to be sweet. Did you call anyone?"
Xu Lan also stood up. "Are you hungry? How about I cook you a bowl of noodles, your favorite mom's hot and sour noodles?"
Cheng Ran took off his shoes and changed into slippers. He came in and smiled, "We just had dinner and chatted for a long time. The chef we hired from outside cooked the food at home. The food was delicious. I'm not hungry, but I want to eat everything you said, mom. Please cook for me tomorrow morning."
"Then I'll peel an orange for you, come and sit down and eat it."
"The oranges I bought this time are a bit sour. I'll have an apple." Cheng Ran didn't let her do it. He first sent a text message to Jiang Hongshao saying that he had arrived home, then took an apple to the kitchen to wash it.
At this time, Xu Lan said to Cheng Feiyang, "It seems that he is full after going out to eat. Your son never suffers any loss when he fights with others for good food."
Cheng Feiyang couldn't help but nodded with a smile.
In fact, the two of them were not concerned about whether Cheng Ran was full or not, but they thought that if he was happy, he should eat well.
Cheng Ran came over after washing the apples, and Jiang Hongshao's text message came back, "Then you should stay with your parents first... We'll talk later."
Reading Jiang Hongshao's text message, Cheng Ran felt warm in his heart, dispelling the chill of early spring in Chengdu.
In the dead of night, if there is someone to talk to and someone to say good night to, you may not be afraid of the night being too quiet.
So while Cheng Ran was watching TV with his parents and eating an apple, his mind was already taking off. Thinking about the time when he and Jiang Hongshao walked hand in hand under the starry night and dim lights, right under the nose of Jiang Hongshao's mother, in front of Liulin Road, the courtyard where the so-called "Xigui" is now known in the folks... He felt like he was really despising himself, how audacious he was.
…
In fact, when Jiang Hongshao received Cheng Ran's text message, she was changing into pajamas and preparing to wash up. After her mother saw her best friend off, she went to bed early. I don't know if she was tired today or tired...
Li Jingping did bring her a basin of hot water, insisting that she would sleep better if she soaked her feet in it before going to bed. Jiang Hongshao sat on the sofa and put her feet in the hot water. She saw her father, who had already washed up, going to another bedroom. "I'm going to sleep first. Remember to turn off the lights later. You should go to bed early too." Her mother was a light sleeper, so her father and she had been sleeping in separate rooms for a long time. In addition, her father had to read at night, which was a habit he had had for many years, so she slept in the guest room.
After Jiang Hongshao responded to his instructions several times, Li Jingping went to his room and closed the door. Jiang Hongshao wiped her feet with a towel, picked up the basin and poured hot water, stepped on her cotton slippers, went up to her room on the second floor, and sat in the bedroom. Cheng Ran's text message had already arrived.
In fact, the two of them just wanted to maintain the conversation. As for what to say, it didn't matter. Jiang Hongshao would also pick up an unfinished book on the bedside table and flip through it. This habit was exactly the same as her father's. In the past, she was very focused when reading, but today she put the phone between the pages of the book. While reading the book, her eyes would glance at the phone from time to time, waiting for a new text message from Cheng Ran.
The process of quietly waiting during this gap, sending messages and raising topics, and then waiting for the other party to respond to the topic in a bit of excitement, can make one feel a little irritated.
I clearly thought that I had to finish reading this section of the book first, and then wait for the text message to arrive before reading again...
But as soon as the crisp ding sound was heard, her thumb pressed on the small button of Nokia's mailbox, and she dialed it crisply. Then, she looked at the content on it and gradually revealed a bright smile.
After replying the text message, she looked at the hand she and Cheng Ran had held in a trance. A look of confusion seemed to emerge in her eyes from a slight shyness.
The sudden ringing interrupted her reverie, and she saw the caller's name, which read "Aunt".
Then she raised the corners of her mouth slightly and answered the phone, "Hello."
Since she was very young, her aunt, who loved her the most, has been Jiang Hongshao's best friend and mentor in certain aspects of her life.
She often tells me about her experiences, analyzes people's minds, and tells me about her experiences, but these are things that her mother Jiang Yueqin never tells her. She always takes time out every year to take Jiang Hongshao on a trip abroad, under the pretext of seeing the world.
They were in Bohol Island in the Philippines, traveling back and forth between dawn and dusk. They lay in the sun on a sailboat in the old port of Marseille, watching the fearless seagulls strolling around, and then snatching the bra that my sister-in-law had left beside her. They watched a football game in a packed stadium in Florence, shouting until they were hoarse...
Her favorite experience was last year's stroll along the banks of the River Wear in the sunshine, because she talked about Cheng Ran with her sister-in-law there.
To a certain extent, Jiang Hongshao's experience and perception of life do not come from Jiang Yueqin, who is too busy with official duties to take care of her, or Li Jingping, who needs her to cook and take care of her most of the time, but more from this aunt with whom she can confide.
So much so that some people in the family say that her aunt is her guide. Jiang Hongshao has her own independence, strong will and excellent genes. To a certain extent, they are similar.
In the past few years, her aunt had told her about things between men and women, and even about her first time. Of course, she said this more to make Jiang Hongshao understand what was going on between men and women and to protect herself. But thinking of her aunt's sometimes spicy and bold words, Jiang Hongshao couldn't help but stick out her tongue.
During the days they spent together, they kept nothing secret from each other and had already become close friends.
At this time, after a conversation, Jiang Hongshao could clearly hear that her usually cheerful and fearless aunt was not in a good mood. Finally, when she was about to hang up the phone, her voice was melancholy and sad.
"He's here. Have you... seen him?"
Hang up the phone.
Jiang Hongshao saw the text messages Cheng Ran had sent earlier. After she didn't reply to two of them, Cheng Ran sent another message, "Are you asleep?"
Jiang Hongshao pressed the buttons with both hands, "I'm going to sleep. I'm a little tired today. Cheng Ran... Good night."
After saying goodnight to each other.
Lights off.
Jiang Hongshao did not lie down, but remained in the posture of hunching over with her legs hugged. The moonlight from the balcony was as cool as water, and its clear light poured into the room, with half of the bright moonlight shining on her face.
Her face, as cold as a tree covered in snow, just stared quietly out the window, then her neck drooped, her cheek resting on her curled up knees, her right hand stroking her left hand, as if there was still some warmth left there.
The starry sky outside the window is still dazzling.
But she felt bleak and depressed.