In the evening of the last day of vacation, Pan Yan came back wearing a straw hat and dragging his suitcase. As soon as he entered the door, he said affectionately, "Xida! Have a good vacation? Have you finished painting?"
Tao Xi rubbed his sore wrist, showing no good temper: "Pay with one hand, and deliver with the other."
"no problem!"
Pan Yan gave a thousand oceans to Tao Xi, and he was amazed when he got five paintings: "It's too awesome, I have a feeling of deja vu to this painting, I think it was painted by me, but I don't think it was painted by me. "
Tao Xi ignored it, took the money out of the bedroom, and went directly to the street to find a mobile phone store.
When the clerk saw that he was wearing the school uniform of Wenhua No. 1 Middle School, he kept introducing him to the high-end machine: "Look at this one, it has a large memory and high pixels. Even if you sit in the last row to take pictures on the blackboard, you can definitely see every detail clearly. a word."
Tao Xi was very moved, but the wallet said no, and simply said: "You can help me find one for less than 1,000 yuan, as long as you can download WeChat."
The clerk muttered, "Which phone can't download WeChat now?"
Tao Xi finally spent 999 to buy a domestic smart phone that was out of season for two years. Holding a solitary coin, he went to the business hall to buy a calling card with his own money.
After returning to the dormitory and taking a shower, he lay on the bed and fiddled with the new mobile phone. Fortunately, there was Pan Yan to guide him. After fiddling around for a while, Tao Xi roughly figured it out.
The first one he downloaded was WeChat, and he applied for a WeChat account with his mobile phone number. The WeChat name was very honest, and he used his real name, and the avatar was still the original gray head.
He tried to take a selfie with the front camera of his mobile phone, but when he saw it was so stupid, he hurriedly deleted it.
"Xida, please add a WeChat." Pan Yan is sorting out the photos taken by the travel and intends to post it on a circle of friends.
Tao Xi grabbed his phone and looked at his empty WeChat friend list, and refused: "It's not good today, I'll add you tomorrow."
He wants to make Lin Qinhe his first WeChat friend.
Pan Yan didn't understand how to choose a date when he added a friend, but he still had to rely on Tao Xi in the future, so he said, "Okay, you can add whenever you want, I'll be there whenever you need me."
Tao Xi decided to "decorate" his WeChat account, and didn't want Lin Qinhe to see his WeChat account like an unfinished building tomorrow.
He jumped up from the bed and threw himself on the seat to start painting.
Tao Xi painted a small dark blue planet with gouache. The planet was entangled by a silver-white light band and flew silently in the universe.
He adjusted the angle and light with his mobile phone for a while before taking the photo, which was simply cropped and set as an avatar.
Then I took a picture of the moon on the snowy night that I drew in the art club last time, and set it as the background of the circle of friends.
After seeing the background and avatar of his circle of friends, Tao Xi turned off his mobile phone and went to bed with satisfaction.
The next day, Tao Xi rushed into the classroom with a fully charged mobile phone. He read English books for a while, and Chinese books for a while. He wiped the two desks carefully again, and it took him a while to settle down.
But when I read English, I still get distracted. I want to wait for Lin Qinhe to come, how to ask him for a WeChat ID.
If Lin Qinhe doesn't agree, he will grind Lin Qinhe for a whole day, and if he can't find another classmate to ask for it, he must add it anyway.
But until the bell rang for the first class, Lin Qinhe didn't come to the classroom.
First class, second class, third class…
Yang Duole was not here either, maybe he was on sick leave, but why did Lin Qinhe miss school
Tao Xi held the phone in the drawer and couldn't help asking Bi Chengfei, who was known as the first class of cia.
"Xue Shen didn't tell you? He is going to participate in the mathematics and physics competitions. Today, he should go to the city to participate in the competition preparation meeting. It is a little far away. It is estimated that he will not come to school today." Bi Chengfei really lived up to his expectations. .
Tao Xi was slightly startled, but Lin Qinhe didn't tell him.
Forget it, tomorrow Lin Qinhe comes and asks him for a WeChat ID.
Tao Xi carries his mobile phone wherever he goes all day, for fear of losing it. After all, this is the first real electronic device in his life, and he will have a big role in contacting Lin Qinhe in the future.
After class in the afternoon, Tao Xi put his mobile phone in his pocket and went to the cafeteria for dinner, but Li Xiaoyuan grabbed him right after the cafeteria.
"Tao Xi, your father has come to school. He'll be waiting for you at the gate. Go ahead."
Li Xiaoyuan just went to the gate to pick up the courier, and saw a middle-aged man shouting at the doorman that he wanted to go to the school to see his son. He promised to help him call Tao Xi over there.
"Tao Xi?" Li Xiaoyuan shouted again, Tao Xi's face was a little strange, when he heard his father come to see him, he seemed to hear some bad news, and his normally high-spirited eyes were covered with a deep shadow.
Tao Xi took a deep breath, said thank you, turned and walked towards the school gate. He walked faster and faster, and finally even ran, but his footsteps became heavier and heavier.
It was twilight, and students in neat school uniforms came and went talking and laughing.
"I said that my son is studying in it, you still don't believe it, are you looking down on people?!" Tao Jian saw Tao Xi came in panting, his first reaction was to slam the doorman's table, shouting for the front guard who had been caught by the doorman. Stop to get back the arrogance.
"You are the mayor, and you have to register and contact the head teacher to enter our school! Otherwise, who knows if anything will go wrong?!" The guard on duty is a young guy, apparently arguing with Tao Jian before. His eyes were red, and he was even more angry at the moment.
"What do you mean?!"? Tao Jian rolled up his sleeves and took a big step, with a high-pitched voice, "I go to school to see my son as a matter of course! What qualifications do you have as a guard..."
"Enough!"? Tao Xi clenched his fists and shouted at Tao Jian in a low voice.
Tao Jian paused, turned his head to look, Tao Xi stared at him with red eyes, his eyes were fierce.
Tao Jian clapped his hands and pointed to the guard: "I don't care about you."
"Go out, don't block the door." Tao Xi walked outside the door and said to Tao Jian with a cold face. There were already many students who came to the door to pick up the courier and looked at them.
"Yo, I went to a good school, and I'll take care of your father." Tao Jianchu didn't move in the guard's room. He took out a crumpled cigarette and a lighter from his trousers pocket and lit it under the eye of the guard. Putting it between his rough fingers, he scolded Tao Xi, "You can't take me to the cafeteria for a meal if I haven't eaten my meal to see you?"
"Parents can't enter the school without a call from the head teacher!" The guard couldn't help but say again.
Tao Jian puffed out a puff of smoke, and looking at his posture, he was about to quarrel with the guard. Tao Xi only felt tired and seemed to have no strength to speak.
"I'll take you out to eat." Tao Xi walked over, bent down and wrote his name and reason for leaving the school on the doorman's registration form, then looked at Tao Jian and slowed down, "Follow me."
Tao Xi followed the narrow streets and alleys to find a noodle restaurant where he usually eats on weekends. Tao Jian was cursing along the way, and Tao Xi was only silent.
In the noodle restaurant, Tao Jian ate the noodles in the bowl with chopsticks. He seemed really hungry. After eating, he took out a poor-quality paper towel, wiped the sweat from his forehead at will, and tapped the bowl in front of Tao Xi with his chopsticks. Noodle bowl, "Buy me another bun."
Tao Xi put down his chopsticks, went to get two drawers of buns, put them in front of Tao Jian, and Tao Jian began to eat buns with his head down again.
Tao Xi glanced at the noodles left in his bowl, and was not in the mood to continue eating. He waited for Tao Jian to finish eating, and then asked, "What's the matter with me?"
Tao Jian must have learned about his coming to Wenhua No. 1 Middle School from Guo Ping, but Tao Jian had been working on the southern coast before, why did he suddenly come to Wenhua City? Came to find him.
Tao Jian threw his chopsticks, wiped his mouth with a tissue, took a sip of a small bottle of Jingjiu, burped, and then hummed, "I can't see you?"
Tao Xi was very impatient, but he was the only one who annoyed Tao Jian and embarrassed him. He tried his best to calmly ask, "Now that you have watched and eaten, is there anything else?"
Although it was already October, the noodle shop was still hot and narrow, only the iron fans on the walls sent some cool air. Tao Jian took off his washed white jacket, and tucked a few curled hair with his rough fingers. After a while Hui Cai raised his eyebrows and said, "Do you still have money? Give it to me first."
Last month, the factory where Tao Jian worked went bankrupt and the boss ran away. He and a group of workers did not get any money. A fellow called him to say that there was a job opportunity in Wenhua City that could provide food and lodging. He stood there overnight. The green train came over and paid some training fees, but in the end, he found out that he had been cheated. He always played cards as much as he earned, but now he only has a few hundred dollars on hand.
Tao Xi looked at Tao Jian, obviously not surprised, but he couldn't help being disappointed. He thought he was ridiculous, and he had expectations for Tao Jian, expecting him to really just come to see him.
He pursed his lips and said sarcastically, "Do you think I'll be rich as a student? Is there anyone who asks his son for money?"
The latter sentence really angered Tao Jian, and his eyes lit up: "Don't you have a school subsidy every month? In addition to the money for meals in the cafeteria, there is one or two thousand dollars. How much can you spend as a student?!"
Tao Xi only felt stuffy, he tried his best to suppress his voice and said: "You know very well, then you don't know how much your daughter spends on medicines every month? I will leave the rest of the monthly subsidy to Tao. Le, don't even think about making a move!"
What followed was endless quarrels. The owner of the noodle restaurant tried to persuade him several times, but was frightened back by Tao Jian, and the other diners also hurriedly checked out and left.
"I'm fucking raising a son for nothing. To this day, which of the money you spend on food and study is not earned by me? Without me, you are studying in a big city today?!"
Tao Xi always thought that he would not be hurt by the person in front of him again.
He thinks he overestimates himself.
He seemed to be calm again, but his throat was very dry: "Yes, you are right, but I should have grown up in a big city and studied in a good school, shouldn't I?"
Tao Jian slammed the wine bottle to the ground, stood up and pointed to the door and shouted loudly, "Do you think I want to raise an unfamiliar son? Then you fucking find my own son for me?!"
The sharp shattering sound of glass seemed to pierce Tao Xi's eardrums. He closed his eyes, his eyelashes trembling vigorously.
He suddenly remembered that when he was very young, Tao Jian would bring him candy and toys bought in the city when he returned from work, put him on his broad shoulders, and lead him to run and play all over the mountains and fields.
When did it start to change
There was gossip from the village that he was not like Tao Jian at all, it was Guo Ping who stole someone from outside, and gradually Tao Jian became more and more indifferent to him. The two met like strangers.
And after knowing the truth from Guo Ping's mouth, Tao Jian never looked at him again, and would often sneer at him, just like now.
But now Tao Jian came to ask him for money and asked him to return his biological son to him.
What a fucking irony.
At that moment, Tao Xi wanted to stand up and shout at Tao Jian: "Your son is in this school, in the same class as me, go and recognize him!"
But in the end, he just opened his red eyes, stared at Tao Jian with a gloomy expression and sneered: "You should go to Guo Ping and ask her why she did that in the first place, and then look at your own virtue, is it possible that you think I think With your old man?"
Tao Jian looked at the "son" who had always been taciturn in front of him in disbelief. He was furious, smashed the bowl of noodles on the table with his hand, and said, "I'll come back to you in a few days! Get your money ready, You owe me this!"
After saying that, he walked out of the noodle shop with a sullen face, and kicked the table before going out.
The dark brown soup splashed on the sleeves of Tao Xi's white school uniform shirt. He sat on the stool for a while, before the violently heaving chest gradually calmed down.
He silently wiped the soup on his sleeve with a tissue, but it couldn't be wiped off, he gave up, got up to help the boss clean up the debris and soup on the ground, and then settled the money with the boss and gave some more as compensation.
The noodle restaurant owner took the money and looked at Tao Xi and sighed. After hesitating, he asked, "Does it matter? Do you want to call the police?"
Tao Xi raised the corner of his mouth and smiled, shook his head and said, "It's okay, I'm sorry to bother you."
After he finished speaking, he turned and walked towards the outside of the noodle shop. The red-gold glow covered every street and alley in the city, but there were still many dark corners that could never be illuminated.
He walked in these dark corners and walked towards the gate of Wenhua No.1 Middle School.
The tall school gate stood quietly in the twilight. Tao Xi remembered that when he first came here, he was full of ambition and hope, as if a brand new door in life had opened, and he was about to embark on a smooth and smooth road.
But now he looked at the door, wearing a school uniform that belonged to here, but wondered if he had ever walked in.
It's alright, Tao Xi.
he said to himself.
Even if his feet were stuck in the mud, he would try his best to climb up.
Tao Xi walked into the guard's room and was about to go to the guard to register. He saw a slender man talking to the guard. He was wearing a precious suit that was worth a lot of money at first glance, and he was carrying a small black shopping bag in one hand. Raised his wrist and looked at the time, he said to the guard:
"I called him and he didn't answer. Could you help me contact his head teacher, I'll hand over things to the head teacher and leave."
The doorman was obviously very polite to the man and kept smiling all the time. He saw Tao Xi coming in in a blink of an eye, and said to the man: "This student seems to be in the same class as your son, why don't you give him the things and let him help? Hand it over?"
The man turned to look at Tao Xi, and when he saw Tao Xi raised his head, he was slightly startled, then showed a polite smile, and asked, "Classmate, are you also in the second class of high school?"
Tao Xi looked at the man and nodded blankly.
The man took a step closer, glanced at Tao Xi's dirty sleeves, and said in a warm tone, "Can you do me a favor? This is a small gift I brought to my son when I came back from a business trip. He doesn't answer my phone and wants to trouble you for help. Bring it to him."
There was no embarrassment of his son not answering his phone in his words.
Tao Xi glanced at the small black shopping bag. He couldn't recognize the brand, but it should contain very valuable things.
He didn't really want to help, he was afraid that something went wrong in the middle and he would take the blame. When he was looking for a reason, he heard the man continue:
"By the way, my son's name is Yang Duole. He has just been transferred to Class 1 this semester. You should know him."
Tao Xi suddenly looked at the man, and at that moment he could hardly feel his own breath.
He heard a very slight cracking sound explode in his head, his throat seemed to be suddenly blocked by a mass of wet cotton, he seemed to want to say something, but couldn't say it.
The man looked at the red and wet eyes of the boy in front of him, and was stunned. After a while, he still asked with a smile, "Is it alright?"
Tao Xi lowered his eyelashes in embarrassment, nodded his head at a loss, he said "OK", but found that he couldn't make a sound at all, only made a mouth shape.
"Thank you so much." The man handed the shopping bag in his hand to Tao Xi, and joked, "If my son was a little better, I wouldn't have to go through all the trouble to send a gift."
The guard on the side flattered: "Children like to be petty when they are rebellious. It will be fine after a while, you don't have to worry too much."
The man smiled, as if his son was really just a little awkward, and said in a helpless tone, "No way, I spoiled him when I was a child."
Tao Xi closed his eyes, took a deep breath, raised his feet with a shopping bag and wanted to leave, but was lightly tapped on the shoulder by a hand.
The man looked down at his eyes slightly, his eyes focused and soft, and asked with a smile, "I forgot to ask just now, what's your name?"
Tao Xi was silent for a while, and then heard his dry voice say, "Tao Xi."
"Tao Xi? A very nice name." The man paused, then took out a business card from his business card holder and handed it to Tao Xi: "If my son doesn't want to answer, you can call me."
Tao Xi lowered his head and saw three words printed in the center of the pale gold business card: Yang Zhengming.
Below is a string of mobile phone numbers, and there is nothing else but a faint scent of perfume.
Tao Xi blinked his eyes hard.
he thinks.
It turned out that his father's name was Yang Zhengming.
He seemed to use all his strength to lift his hand to take the business card.
Then quickly left there.
The author says:
Don't worry, it will be clear in the end. One more chapter.