It was raining heavily, and it was extremely difficult to walk in the forest, and if you were not careful, your feet would slip, and the road ahead was also shrouded in white mist from the heavy rain, making it difficult to see the direction.

Xue Rin was exploring the way in front with a harpoon in one hand, and Yao Zhixia, who was stumbling in the other, and finally found a big tree that was both short and stout.

"Let's go under that tree and take shelter from the rain. ”

Xue Rin saw that this tree was the shortest tree in this forest, with a thick trunk and extremely lush branches and leaves, which was perfect for sheltering from the rain.

After the two of them stood still under the tree, Xue Rin brushed back the long hair that was already soaked in front of his forehead, and patted the water on his arms and neck, and when he looked at the people around him, he found that Yao Zhixia was holding his arms and trembling.

Xue Rin immediately leaned down, took off the package behind Yao Zhixia, pulled out the towel inside and twisted it vigorously.

"Come here!"

Yao Zhixia was already soaking wet, her lips and neck couldn't help but tremble, and she couldn't stop chattering between her teeth.

Xue Rin dragged her in front of him, wiping her head back and forth with a towel in both hands.

"I'm fine, you wipe yourself first......"

Yao Zhixia said that he was about to snatch the towel in Xue Rin's hand.

"Stay honest!"

Xue Rin patted Yao Zhixia's hand, wiped her hair, and wiped her neck and arms.

I don't know if it was because of the cold or nervousness, Yao Zhixia's body stiffened, she tried to relax herself, and stared down at the fluffy puff on the ground who was licking Ding Man's hair.

Feeling that it was almost done, Xue Rin let go of the hand that had been holding her just now and began to wipe her hair.

After wiping his hair, he took off his shirt again, wrung out the rainwater, and reluctantly put the wet clothes back on.

"Without fire, it's really hard to move an inch. ”

"This rain came so suddenly, and the sun was shining a second ago. ”

Yao Zhixia curled up in the corner of the stone under the tree, rubbing her arms constantly to keep warm.

"That's how the weather is at sea, isn't it the same on the day of the shipwreck?"

Xue Rin shook the hem of his clothes and sat on the other corner of the stone.

"A good birthday outing, it was ruined. Yao Zhixia had some regrets.

"I don't have any regrets, I'm very happy on this birthday. Xue Rin tilted his head and smiled meaninglessly.

"We'll go down to the beach tomorrow evening, and plan how to get the passing ships to notice us. ”

Yao Zhixia has never wanted Xue Rin's wish to come true more than now, because it is also her wish to let Xue Rin return to his world, let everything return to its original place, no more illusions, no more misunderstandings.

I don't know how long it took for a "hmm" to sound in the air.

Xue Rin wanted to go back, to make up for the arrogance of the past, but more importantly, he felt that he was no longer a dandelion floating in the wind, and a seed had quietly taken root in his heart, although he was not sure what it meant to him, but he insisted on protecting something.

"Yao Zhixia. ”

"Hmm. Yao Zhixia's voice was a little lazy.

Xue Rin turned his head and saw that Yao Zhixia was already drowsy at this time, and his head couldn't stop smashing on his curled thighs.

Seeing this scene, Xue Rin quickly covered her mouth with her hands to hide the laughter she couldn't help but make, for fear of disturbing her who was rarely relaxed.

He reached out and gently hugged Yao Zhixia into his arms, let her head rest on his shoulder, and reached out to rub her back and forth, trying to warm her up.

Peng Peng curled up at Xue Rin's feet, and Ding Man burrowed under Peng Peng's belly to keep warm, and in the regular sound of rain, Xue Rin gradually closed his eyes.

----

"Wow, Wow!"

In a trance, he heard the barking of a dog, and Yao Zhixia, who was still asleep, arched the solid object supported below with his chin, feeling solid and warm, and was about to turn over comfortably to continue sleeping, but a low whisper came from his ear.

"Are you awake?"

"Hmm. Yao Zhixia replied reflexively with her eyes closed.

"Let's go back to the cave, we'll catch a cold if we don't go back to the fire." Xue Rin gently stroked Yao Zhixia's cheek.

The increased tenderness on her face made Yao Zhixia sober up in an instant, and she quickly ejected from Xue Rin's shoulder.

When her consciousness was fully awake and her eyes adjusted to the dimness of the forest, she suddenly noticed that the sky was full of golden stars, flying stealthily through the silent forest like plankton.

On the grass not far away, Fluffy was tilting his head up, whining at the dots of light, carrying the sleeping Timon on his back, its four little paws hanging loosely on Fluffy's back, unaffected.

"It's ......"

"Fireflies. ”

Xue Rin stood up as he spoke, walking towards the dense meadow.

Yao Zhixia packed up the package and followed closely, but before he could take two steps, he stopped because of a hand stretched out by Xue Rin behind him.

Looking at Xue Rin's outstretched palm, Yao Zhixia hurriedly lowered his head to untie his burden, but his panicked hand was held down by Xue Rin.

Yao Zhixia was stunned, not knowing what he meant.

"What do you want? Give me your hand. Xue Rin's tone was a little anxious.

Yao Zhixia thought about it, now that it was getting late, the road under her feet was a little unclear, and if she fell, she would cause trouble for the two of them, so she obediently stretched out her hand.

Xue Rin didn't take the initiative to hold her hand, he stretched his outstretched palm closer, and raised his chin towards her.

Yao Zhixia instantly understood what he meant, so he had to take the initiative to put his hand on his palm.

As soon as the two hands touched, Xue Rin's fingers curled up, wrapping Yao Zhixia's hand firmly.

Xue Rin raised the corners of his mouth proudly and pulled Yao Zhixia along the way down the mountain.

There were countless flashes of light dancing in the air around her, Yao Zhixia's eyes were completely attracted, she stared at the sky as she walked, everything in front of her was like a dream, and it was unreal.

As soon as Xue Rin turned around, he saw Yao Zhixia who was opening his mouth slightly, and couldn't help but stop and look at her intently.

Suddenly, there was a sound of rustling in the dim grass not far away, Yao Zhixia instinctively jumped back, hiding behind Xue Rin, and the burden on his body was immediately scattered.

Xue Rin spread his arms and stood in front of Yao Zhixia, staring at the grass where the sound came from.

Before he had time to think about it, a big rabbit with gray and white flowers suddenly jumped out of the grass, and after meeting Xue Rin's eyes, it hid deeper in the grass as soon as it slipped away.

"When did you become so timid?" Xue Rin asked the one hiding behind him with a smile.

I don't know why, in the face of Yao Zhixia's fear just now, Xue Rin was not worried, but like a child who was playing tricks on other children, he felt a little pleasure and pride in his heart.

"When it suddenly appears, it is inevitable not to be frightened. ”

Yao Zhixia said and let go of Xue Rin's collar that he was holding in a hurry just now, brushed the folded fabric again, and squatted down to clean up the burden scattered all over the place.

Just as Yao Zhixia was about to tie the burden tightly, a question came from above his head.

"Isn't this the jewelry box in that suitcase?

As soon as Yao Zhixia looked up, she saw that Xue Rin had already bent down and picked up the abrupt black jewelry box in the baggage, she was in a hurry, and hurriedly reached out to grab it.

"What are you nervous about?" Xue Rin quickly retracted his hand and dodged Yao Zhixia.

"I ...... This thing is precious, put it away quickly, don't lose it. Yao Zhixia pulled out a plausible explanation, and went to grab the box as he spoke.

"What are you carrying it for?" Xue Rin held the box above his head and continued to ask.

"I, I thought, today is your birthday, and I have nothing else to give you, so I thought about giving you the most precious thing we have now. Yao Zhixia lowered her head and nervously twisted the fingers of her hands around.

Looking at the other party's ostriches, Xue Rin secretly grinned brightly.

He cautiously opened the jewelry box, saw the pair of gold rings lying inside, and just wanted to reach for the men's ring in it, but after thinking about it, he stopped again.

"Are you borrowing flowers to offer Buddha?"

"Huh, but I—I really don't have anything else to ......," Yao Zhixia immediately looked up to explain.

"Don't be verbose, you're borrowed, why don't you give it yourself?"

Xue Rin interrupted the ostrich impatiently, and then reached out his left hand in front of her eyes, and picked at his ring finger in a suffrage.

Yao Zhixia was stunned for a moment, and suddenly understood what Xue Rin meant, she reached out and took the ring out of the jewelry box, and then gently put it on Xue Rin's ring finger.

Xue Rin withdrew his hand and looked at the ring, although it was dim, it seemed to be custom-made for him, and the size was extremely suitable.

"Thank you, although you are a gift-giver like a thief, but I like this gift very much!" Xue Rin said as he closed the jewelry box with the remaining female ring and prepared to put it in his trouser pocket.

"Hey, can you leave that jewelry box for me?" Yao Zhixia's tone was a little more forceful.

"You're only giving half of the gift, are you so strict?"

When he found out that this ring was a birthday gift, Xue Rin had already guessed the ostrich's intentions, so he deliberately put away the other ring, intending to force the ostrich to do so.

Seeing that the ostrich finally came out of his head, he decided not to test it anymore and returned the jewelry box containing the female ring to Yao Zhixia.

Yao Zhixia happily held the jewelry box in her hand, wiped the dust on it, and put it into the package.

After repeatedly confirming the safety of the package, she said heartily: "Let's go home! No matter how beautiful the fireflies along the way are, they can't compare to the cave that can shelter from the wind and rain." ”

"Okay, I'll take you home. ”

Seeing Yao Zhixia who was so happy, Xue Rin's mood also soared, as if even the glimmer of light emitted by the surrounding fireflies had a refreshing sweetness.

He must be crazy to hope that this road home will never be finished.

----

In recent days, Liu Piaopiao has been confused, and she has lost her enthusiasm for work, and she takes out her mobile phone from time to time to look at it when she goes to work, for fear of missing the call from the search and rescue center, she is Yao Zhixia's only contact.

The general manager of the sales department knew that she and Yao Zhixia were sisters and sisters, so he opened up and turned a blind eye to her absent-mindedness.

Finally staying up to get off work, Liu Piaopiao hurriedly packed up her things, and rushed out without saying hello to other colleagues.

But as soon as he walked to the door of the supermarket, he met Gong Yan who was walking towards him.

"Director Gong, are you off work?" Liu Piaopiao asked, glancing at Gong Yan's handbag.

Gong Yan didn't show the slightest surprise, he nodded at her, as if he had made an appointment with her in advance.

"You're off work?"

"Uh-huh, I ......"

"Let's go together!"

Without waiting for Liu Piaopiao to finish speaking, Gong Yan naturally turned around, not waiting for the reply of the person behind him.

"We, the ......"

"Didn't you go to the search and rescue center?"

Seeing that the people behind him were still grinding, Gong Yan couldn't help but turn around and ask her, and then strode towards the elevator, and Liu Piaopiao had no choice but to follow.

Strange to say, Liu Piaopiao only knows that Gong Yan works in a shopping mall, and his parents and the parents of the missing friend are world friends, and their gestures reveal the atmosphere of high society.

But what was different from what she imagined was that Gong Yan took good care of her, and they were also very kind to her.

She often wakes up in the middle of the night these days, and when she thinks about what she has experienced in the past few days, she always feels as if she has fallen into a strange dream that she can't wake up from.

"Have you noticed that there are a lot fewer family members who came yesterday?" Seeing that the other party didn't speak, Gong Yan took the initiative to provoke the conversation.

"Oh, yes. Liu Piaopiao knows that every day that passes, it means that it is one day closer to accepting reality.

"The first seven. Gong Yan added lightly.

Liu Piaopiao lowered her head and was silent for a while, and said with a crying voice: "Yesterday's commander's words, I don't understand what he meant, but I just don't want to be reconciled, I go home every night now, and I'm scared alone, I'm really not used to the feeling of not having Sister Zhixia by my side." ”

"You said that the two of them are so annoying, and they don't even want to go home when they go out to play, which makes life uneasy for the two of us. Gong Yan gritted his teeth, and kept cursing the stinky boy who was uncertain about his life and death.

"Director Gong, let's go to the beach. Liu Piaopiao snorted and plucked up the courage to say to Gong Yan.

Gong Yan didn't answer, but just stepped on the accelerator hard.

----

The road to the beach was a bit blocked, and many people spontaneously came to the beach to mourn those who died in the shipwreck.

On the way to the beach, Gong Yan and Liu Piaopiao bought two pieces of white cardboard and white candles, and when they finally arrived at the beach, it was almost late at night, and a large number of people had receded, and only a few people were still wandering on the beach.

Most people gather in twos and threes to burn paper, but Liu Piaopiao's eyes are attracted by a lonely middle-aged man.

He sat cross-legged on the beach, with a photo of a family of three in front of him, he lowered his head, chanted words to the photo, sometimes sobbing faintly, sometimes laughing, Liu Piaopiao's heart felt like he was pricked, and turned his head away evasively.

Gong Yan on the side obviously also saw the man, he stopped, his eyes stayed on the man for a long time, and then looked at Liu Piaopiao, her sad expression was reflected in Gong Yan's eyes.

"Come on. ”

Gong Yan gently patted Liu Piaopiao's back a few times, as if to comfort her tactfully.

Liu Piaopiao nodded, and followed Gong Yan to the beach closer to the sea.

Like friends who have known each other for many years, the two tacitly agreed not to say a word, one lit the candle, the other folded the paper into a paper boat, and then carefully placed the candle in the paper boat.

Gong Yan put one of the finished candle boats in Liu Piaopiao's clasped hands, Liu Piaopiao stared down at the flickering candlelight for a long time, and then slowly spoke: "Sister Zhixia, come back quickly! I will send you a lamp, and a boat, you have to come back as soon as possible, you still have to take the exam, you still have a dream to realize, Sister Zhixia, I will always wait for you at home." ”

Gong Yan stared at Liu Piaopiao's cheeks quietly, the darkness eroded the contours of her face, but the faint candle flame illuminated her eyes, which were as clear as water.

When Liu Piaopiao finished speaking and raised his head to look at himself, Gong Yan came to his senses and raised the paper boat in his hand a little higher.

"Xue Rin, I, Gong Yan, will do a hypocritical thing for you this time in my life, and you will roll back for me! Don't let Lao Tzu face the four of them alone, whatever basket you poked from childhood to adulthood, I can carry it for you as a brother, but you want to be at ease yourself, let me support the four of them alone, there is no door! When you come back, take a fat beating from Lao Tzu first!"

Gong Yan squatted on the ground after speaking, he gently put the paper boat on the water, but he refused to let go, until the swaying paper boat found balance in the water waves, he reluctantly let go of his hand, staring at the paper boat gradually drifting away.

Liu Piaopiao also squatted down, she let go of the paper boat in her hand, rested her chin on her crossed arms, tears dripped down her cheeks, and smudged dark brown dots in the sand.

After a while, feeling that his calves were a little sore, Gong Yanjing stood up by himself, he lowered his head, and looked at the body at his feet that was trembling like a rabbit.

The street lamps on the beach embankment emitted a faint and dim soft light, reflecting a diagonal and deformed shadow on the sand around Liu Piaopiao.

Gong Yan quietly stretched out a hand in the air, placed it on the shadow's head like a madman, and gently stroked it a few times, trying to appease the lost rabbit.

Two small boats carrying candles leaned against each other and drifted away towards the center of the sea, occasionally passing by a hint of sea breeze, the candle flame on the boat seemed to be blown out and shrunk into a tiny point of light, but after a moment it regained its strength, like a flag, shining with stubborn firelight, drawing a way of life in the dim and boundless sea.