Meng Xintang has been reporting to the teahouse almost every day recently, and he is more diligent than the boss Wei Qiming. Wei Qiming wondered more and more why this person suddenly became so idle, as if he was unemployed. It was also not easy for him, and it took several days for him to pry out a word of information from Meng Xintang's mouth.
"Something happened to one of the seniors, which is being dealt with. Everyone is under review and will no longer be responsible for any research work in the short term."
"Under review?"
Wei Qiming was stunned. He knew what Meng Xintang was researching, but he didn't expect such a thing to happen. He hesitated for a while, then turned his head to ask in a low voice, "What happened?"
Meng Xintang looked up, looked at his nervous look through the lens, and looked down at the newspaper again.
"Sensitive events, it's better not to talk about it."
After all, it was a secret, so Wei Qiming didn't want to be invited to tea, so he didn't ask any more questions, and just chased after him: "Then are you all right?"
Meng Xintang shook his head, picked up the scissors on the table, clicked, and dropped the first cut.
"I have been reviewed and I am waiting for the next arrangement."
"Yes," Wei Qiming retracted his shoulders and took a sip of tea, "I don't understand anything else, you'll be fine." He tilted his head again, looked at the incredible thing in the other's hand, and flattened his mouth. He asked, "Brother, what time is it now, is this kind of newspaper clipping a hobby of my grandfather's generation?"
Meng Xintang chuckled and gave him a look: "Why don't you call someone quickly?"
"roll roll roll."
After reading today's newspaper and neatly pasting all the content he wanted to keep on his newspaper clippings, Meng Xintang breathed a sigh of relief and sorted out the objects on the table. He looked up at the sun outside, roughly estimated the time, and was about to leave. Wei Qiming asked him to eat, but Meng Xintang refused.
"Xinchu is coming over and cooking for her."
Meng Xintang took the good things and walked out, went downstairs, and glanced at the side door involuntarily. We had a very pleasant conversation during the meal that day, but he never met Shen Shiyan again for so many days.
Swapping the clippings, he lifted his leg and walked towards the side door. I didn't hold out much hope, I just wanted to try my luck, but maybe it was a fate, I should have met, and when I opened the curtain, Meng Xintang actually saw him.
No one was singing outside this time, and Shen Shiyan was squatting alone in the narrow shade at the base of the wall, with a cigarette in his hand. He squinted his eyes, and his eyes floated on the brick eaves and tiles in the distance. His clothes were a little wrinkled, and he didn't look very energetic.
Meng Xintang called him immediately, Shen Shiyan turned his head and looked at him against the light. He walked towards him.
"Did you just get off work?"
"Well," Shen Shiyan smiled, his index finger moved slightly, and he flicked the soot.
"You look tired."
As he got closer, the tiredness on his face became more obvious. There were red blood under his eyes, the dark circles under his eyes were as big as his eyes, and there was a faint blue mark around his mouth, which was the root of a beard that had just emerged. The cigarette in his hand was put into his mouth, and his dry, flaky lips pressed against the cigarette butt, causing the cigarette to tremble slightly.
"Two patients were in bad condition last night, and one was sent in critical condition in a car accident in the middle of the night, and he didn't rest all night."
Probably really tired, when Shen Shiyan was talking to him, he didn't even stand up, just raised his head and looked at him with some difficulty. So Meng Xintang squatted beside him, two big men curled up side by side, the scene was somewhat indescribably funny and cute.
"Then go home and get some sleep, rest."
Shen Shiyan nodded, smiled and raised the cigarette in his hand at him: "Go back when you're done."
Meng Xintang lowered his eyes and looked at his fingertips.
The hand was still the same hand, but the second time they met, Shen Shiyan gave him a different feeling.
"I thought... you didn't smoke."
Shen Shiyan was stunned for a moment, remembered something, and then laughed twice.
"I can't say I don't smoke at all, it's just more restrained and healthy," the hand holding the cigarette stretched out a finger, and the cigarette butt was shaking when it was shaken in the air, "I only smoke one a month."
Meng Xintang raised his eyebrows, and repeated in disbelief, "One a month?"
"Well." Shen Shiyan took another breath, tilted his head, and blew the smoke to the other side. Turning around again, he saw what Meng Xintang was holding.
A notebook, a pile of newspapers with missing sections, a pair of scissors and a glue stick.
He tilted his neck curiously, moved his head towards Meng Xintang, and asked, "What is this?"
Meng Xintang glanced at his hand: "Oh, newspaper clippings."
He handed the book to Shen Shiyan and explained with a light smile, "An older hobby."
Shen Shiyan seemed very interested, and immediately asked if he could take a look.
After getting permission, he switched to holding a cigarette between his ring and little fingers before taking the book and putting it on his lap, carefully flipping through the corners of the page. Meng Xintang saw his small movements and couldn't help but move his eyes to his serious face.
For Meng Xintang's newspaper clippings, the header of each page has the time, newspaper name, and detailed comments or opinions below the newspaper. Shen Shiyan read two pages and found it very interesting.
"Few people do this now, is it your habit?"
"Well, since middle school, it was my father's request at first, and it has been maintained since then."
Looking at the days that never fell, and the words with unique ideas, Shen Shiyan suddenly realized that this person who had only met for the second time should be better than he thought.
Seeing that Shen Shiyan seemed to like it, Meng Xintang suggested, "If you like it, you can take it and see."
When Shen Shiyan heard it, he immediately raised his head and shook his head to refuse: "I think you do it every day, and you can't get it if I take it away."
"It doesn't matter," Meng Xintang flipped over two pages and pointed to the date column. "Look, it's been together in the past few days."
"Forget it," Shen Shiyan studied the research, but still shook his head, "In this way, if you don't mind, you can show me the old newspaper clippings."
Meng Xintang responded, thinking that he would bring it to him next time. If he couldn't meet him, he would put it at Wei Qiming's place first.
A cigarette was quickly burned out, Shen Shiyan pressed out the cigarette, got up and threw it into the trash can.
"Are you going back?"
Shen Shiyan made a sound of "um", accompanied by a nasal sound. [There is "but"] After he agreed, he didn't move. Meng Xintang saw him raising his eyebrows, and suddenly put his hands in his pockets and stood there quietly.
"Aren't you going?" Meng Xintang was a little strange.
Shen Shiyan coughed lightly, trying to smile or not.
"My legs are numb."
When Shen Shiyan said this, the expression on his face was not at all uncomfortable and embarrassing, but he kept laughing, very magnanimous.
Meng Xintang was amused by him and laughed. He walked over, looked at his bent eyes and asked, "How long have you been squatting?"
Obviously, the time spent on a cigarette is not so numb that it is impossible to walk.
Shen Shiyan raised his hand to look at the watch on his wrist, and tilted his head, as if thinking.
"Like... half an hour?"
"That's too hard for you," Meng Xintang laughed lowly, "I'll help you?"
Shen Shiyan waved his hand: "No, just stand for a while."
They couldn't walk, so the two of them continued to stand, and the sun was even stronger.
"Oh, by the way, you said you wanted to buy a piano for your sister during dinner that day. I will rest this Saturday. I can accompany you if needed." Shen Shiyan said suddenly.
Meng Xintang was stunned for a while, and then he remembered the lie he had told during dinner that day. He sighed inwardly, feeling a little fortunate.
"Oh, well, I've been very free lately. You can help me choose that Saturday."
Shen Shiyan nodded: "If my sister is free, you can bring her with me. I always think that picking a piano also requires attention."
Thinking of Meng Xinchu, Meng Xintang suddenly felt a little guilty, and he didn't know how to explain the time when he really bought a pipa. Although he thought about it in his heart, he replied calmly: "Okay, I'll ask her."
After chatting a few more words, I felt that my legs and feet were almost the same, so Shen Shiyan stomped his feet and bounced a few times. He looked at the time, said it was getting late, and invited Meng Xintang to have lunch at his house.
Meng Xintang's heart moved, knowing that this was a good opportunity to get closer. But after thinking about Meng Xinchu at home, he shook his head regretfully.
"I'm afraid it won't work today. My sister goes home. I have to go back and cook some food for her."
"You can cook?" Shen Shiyan's tone was surprised.
Meng Xintang didn't answer and asked, "Why, I don't look like me?"
This time Shen Shiyan took a step back, looked at him seriously, and shook his head: "It doesn't look like it."
A man who studies military weapons, hobby newspaper clippings, he has a hard time hooking him up with the kitchen.
"My parents are busy with work, so for a long time, I was taking care of my sister, and I learned how to cook." Meng Xintang tilted his head with a smile and pushed his glasses lightly, "It's okay, I'll have more in the future. If you have the chance, I can make it for you to try."
"Then I have to look forward to it."
After parting, the two made an appointment to meet at nine o'clock in the morning on Saturday, and Meng Xintang came to pick up Shen Shiyan.
When Meng Xintang returned home, Meng Xinchu was already sitting cross-legged on the sofa and eating snacks. Looking at the bag of puffed food, Meng Xintang asked her incredulously, "Aren't you trying to lose weight for wedding photos?"
Meng Xinchu threw a piece in his mouth, chewed hard and said angrily, "No more! No more knots!"
Well, this is another quarrel. His sister and prospective brother-in-law can't say that there is a small quarrel in three days and a big quarrel in two days, but from time to time they have to stage a three-view debate. In Meng Xintang's view, it was not a big deal, and he really didn't understand what they were arguing about.
"Tell me, I just saw the photos my classmates posted of them eating together, and said that which one of my classmates is getting more and more handsome, he will be excited. You say why this person is so stingy, what's the matter? I'm so angry, I shout every day that my male god is handsome, why is he so bad?"
Meng Xintang, who was cutting vegetables, was chased by his sister and thought, he pulled the vegetables on the chopping board aside, raised his eyes and asked, "Are you asking me?"
Meng Xinchu choked, swallowed something in his mouth helplessly, leaned on the cupboard and sighed: "Yes, you are a single old man, how do you know this."
"Do you still want to eat?" Meng Xintang calmly threatened.
Meng Xinchu said "hey": "Eat, eat, but this is the truth."
She poked Meng Xintang's waist, Meng Xintang was so itchy that he ducked, and warned: "Don't make trouble."
"Brother, I was thinking, you haven't gotten married yet, I'm going to get married first, will you feel uncomfortable? Tell me the truth, your shit and piss are pulling me up. , if you're uncomfortable, I'll stop talking to that stingy guy."
Meng Xintang just thought it was absurd and strange: "Why am I uncomfortable?"
"Loneliness, embarrassment, panic, although a man may have forty-one flowers, but since you bloomed with Sister Xiao Zhi once, you haven't grown any bones again. You're almost an iron tree."
Meng Xintang felt that this kind of nutritious debate was meaningless and a waste of life, and directly threw Meng Xinchu away.
The surroundings finally quieted down again, and when Meng Xintang started to clean up the dishes again, Shen Shiyan appeared to be squatting there smoking today. He stopped and stared at the clear sky outside the window for a moment.