A few flowers bloom and fall, a few frosts and snowfalls, time passes imperceptibly, and the years have raised the children's stature, but they have dyed the adults' sideburns white.

After the summer of 2003, Qiao Nan stepped on the train to the south, put on a straight military uniform, and went to a strange city; Qiao Lu was still soaking in the laboratory, writing papers while thinking about future research directions; Qiao Lin was still carefree, humming a song and kicking the stones on the side of the road, and was about to enter high school in a blink of an eye.

It's 2005, Jixiang Road is the same as before, summer evening, the alley mouth is as busy as ever, and the roof of the "Jixiang Wonton House" still stands on the big pot lid. The younger children were running around, and the students in their high school uniforms were noticeably quieter, less babbling than the kids.

Qiao Nan was waiting for the kung fu to cross the road, thinking to herself that after this summer vacation, her sister would enter high school. Can a girl with skin like a wild monkey become a good girl like that?

The green light turned on, and Qiao Nan shook off and strode towards the wonton restaurant across the road. After staying in the army for a long time, there is always a style of kicking the right step when he walks, which is particularly conspicuous in the crowd. What's more, he was wearing a brown-green military uniform, with a short-sleeved shirt that showed off his strong arms, and he had a short board size, which looked like he had returned from the army.

During these two years, he grew a little taller. As soon as he stepped into the wonton restaurant, he suddenly seemed to have a lower roof beam.

"Qiao Nan?" someone among the guests who were eating recognized him and shouted out in surprise.

Qiao Jianjun stepped out of the kitchen with an arrow step, looked at his son and was stunned for a few seconds, and then asked lightly, "Hungry?"

Qiao Nan nodded and agreed: "Hmm." ”

"Give you a bowl of shrimp and shiitake mushrooms, or pork and cabbage?"

Qiao Nan thought for a while: "Fresh shrimp and mushrooms." ”

"Good. ”

The dry conversation between father and son finally ended, and Qiao Nan casually found a place to sit down. The air conditioner in the wonton restaurant was already very old, making a buzzing sound, like an old cow with an old and decrepit body.

Qiao Nan sent some allowances back last time and asked his parents to change the air conditioner at home, but it seems that they didn't change it at all, and the money was used to pay off the debt. However, I heard from my mother that the family's debts have been paid off almost, and they may be paid off in a year or two.

Qiao Nan's slender fingers clasped together, thinking to himself that as long as he could pay off the money, the mountain would be removed from the Qiao family's head.

There was a burst of laughter from outside, and I heard a little girl shouting excitedly: "My brother is back today, I'll go home first!"

The female companions said goodbye, the sliding door was pulled open, and a young girl jumped in like a rabbit.

I haven't seen her for more than half a year, she seems to have grown a little more, she has long legs and long arms who practice aerobics all year round, maybe it's because of too much pressure to study, she doesn't run outside all day long like when she was a child, and her skin is whiter. Overall, she looks a little girly, only the big innocent eyes are exactly the same as before.

The girl jumped over, sat opposite Qiao Nan, blinked her big eyes, and flicked her brother's head coldly.

"Uh..." Qiao Nan was completely defenseless, rubbing his forehead and snorting.

"Hee-hee, it's really my brother, it's a real person!" Jolene was so happy that she didn't know what to do, rubbing her brother's cheeks vigorously with both hands.

Qiao Nan's cheeks were deformed by his sister's rubbing, and he pushed his sister's hand away: "What are you doing?

Jolene was still so cheerful, she ran to the door of the wonton restaurant, raised her arms and shouted, "My brother is back!"

The clear voice echoed around, and Uncle Dong next door poked his head out and shouted, "Yo, Qiao Nan is back to visit relatives?"

"Hmm!" Jolene's eyes narrowed.

"Ha, your voice, the whole Jixiang Road people know!" Uncle Dong said happily.

Qiao Nan was very embarrassed and called Qiao Lin back. Only then did I realize that this sister still hadn't grown up, the same as when she was a child, she couldn't hide her happiness or unhappiness, and she couldn't even let go of a little big thing in her heart.

The wontons had already been served, and Jolene said to her father, "Dad, you are too partial, my brother has only been home for so long, so you will give him wontons?"

Qiao Nan helped explain: "Sister will come back tomorrow, wait for her to come back and have a big meal together." ”

"Oh, I see. Jolene nodded thoughtfully: "It's good that you two are at home every day, so that I can eat delicious food every day." ”

Qiao Jianjun poked his daughter lightly, and said with a smile: "Look at what you said, doesn't your father usually cook food for you?"

Jolene smiled: "Just kidding, anyway, the big meal has to wait for the two of them to come back." ”

Qiao Nan rarely praised her sister: "You have meat to eat together, you are really my good buddy!"

Qiao Lin pouted: "I'm a good young man who talks about righteousness!"

Qiao Nan smiled kindly again and touched her sister's head. When he was about to finish eating, his phone rang. He gave a quick glance, didn't reply, and slipped the phone back into his pocket.

Jolene's eyes lit up as lightning and she asked, "What text message? Don't you dare to reply to my face?"

Qiao Nan said vaguely: "Little broken child doesn't need to know. ”

"Don't you say? That's either a mission or something else. But now that you're on vacation, there's no way there's anything going on!"

Qiao Nan was quite helpless: "You are really a good seedling of a scout, it's a pity not to join the army!"

Jolene didn't go around in circles with her brother: "Just tell me! From childhood to adulthood, what can you hide from me? If I dig it up, won't you have to give me hush money again?"

Qiao Nan scratched her nose: "Adults, don't be curious about children!"

Qiao Nan has done such a good job of secrecy, there must be a big situation. Jolene wanted to follow him, but her brother's military academy background might make a fool of herself, and she would end up abandoning herself in a deserted place and watching herself make a fool of herself.

Jolene was drowning in her fantasies, and her brother had finished eating and sent the dishes back to the kitchen. Qiao Jianjun was quickly brushing the dishes by the pool, and Qiao Nan couldn't help but say, "Hire a dishwasher! It's only 1,800 yuan a month." ”

"No, I can still brush it. ”

Qiao Nan's proposal was blocked by his father again, so he had to retreat stupidly. If it were his mother, he might be able to persuade him, but in the face of his father, he couldn't say a lot.

Early the next morning, Jolene had breakfast at the wonton restaurant and ate it deliciously. Qiao Nanchen ran back and drank a bowl of tofu brain. Jolene stared at him intently, afraid that he would run away if he didn't pay attention.

Maybe every sister is like her, full of interest in her brother's private life, and every brother should be like Qiao Nan, who hates this kind of behavior, but there is no way.

After Qiao Nan finished breakfast, she walked past her sister and stuffed something into her hat. Jolene hurriedly took it out, and it turned out to be a handful of change. She danced and counted over and over again, and it was almost thirty dollars!

Although compared with girls from superior families like Zhao Linlin and Xu Na, this amount of money is only a fraction of their pocket money, but Qiao Lin is so satisfied that she almost jumped three feet high: "Haha! I'm rich!"

Jolene was so busy cheering that she had long forgotten to follow her brother.

Qiao Nan sneered: "Heh, you can't stand the temptation of sugar-coated shells at all, and you still want to follow me?"

Qiao Nan took off his military uniform and changed into a white T-shirt. Maybe it's because he's not used to wearing casual clothes, and he always feels weird when he looks at himself in the mirror. He walked across the road, jumped on a bus, and rushed to Haida for an appointment.

In recent years, the port city has developed extremely rapidly, and the buildings have become taller and taller. After getting off the bus, Qiao Nan walked in this ever-changing city, feeling like a foreigner.

He got off the bus at the main entrance of the Maritime University and was looking for a Japanese restaurant called "Umeda" on University Street. The bustling crowd made him a little confused, and it took a long time to muster up the courage to hold a girl, and before asking for directions, he didn't say a word, and raising his right hand was a standard military salute.

"Hello comrade..."

It wasn't until he saw the girl's frightened gaze that Qiao Nan realized how strange his behavior was. He touched his ears with his saluting hand and asked with a smile, "This classmate, do you know Umeda Japanese restaurant?"

The girl nodded, a little shyly and said, "Just by the way, you can come with me." ”

Qiao Nan walked behind the girl, curiously looking at the changes around her, and didn't even hear the girl's whisper of "so handsome".

About three minutes away, they quickly arrived, Qiao Nan thanked the girl, the little girl blushed, and ran away in a daze.

Qiao Nan walked into the restaurant and looked around, but didn't see the familiar figure. Someone slapped him twice in the back, and he turned his head, blinked, and closed his mouth in surprise.

"Xue Dongmei?"

Xue Dongmei's hair grew long, and her straightened hair hung down to her shoulders, looking very quiet. She put on contact lenses, revealing a pair of very tasteful Danfeng eyes. She should have been in shape after she went to college, her figure was slender but not thin, and a floral dress set off her beautiful body curves. Although she is not a big beauty at the level of a school flower, she is also a beautiful scenery on campus, and she will appear in the topic of talking in the boys' dormitory.

"What, don't you dare to admit it?" Xue Dongmei's expression was also much brighter, and her smile was very vivid.

Qiao Nan was speechless, and only after a long time did he say, "Oh my God, really... Is it really you?"

Looking at his stupid expression, Xue Dongmei couldn't help laughing: "Come and sit, don't stand here, like a stupid big man!"

Qiao Nan was stunned again, pondering in his heart--No! How can a girl change so much? It's not that he hasn't seen a girl in a military school, but they are not like Xue Dongmei! Could there be any traps in this?

Looking at his stupid appearance, Xue Dongmei couldn't help but pull his arm: "Hey, dignified PLA soldiers, are you still afraid that I will sell you?"

Qiao Nan sat in the corner with her, flipping through the menu, and couldn't help but smack her tongue a little - is the food outside so expensive now?

Xue Dongmei ordered the food very neatly and said, "I won't ask you what you mean, anyway, you boys order 'whatever' and 'okay'." I ordered a few of my favorite foods, and you shouldn't be picky. ”

I haven't seen her for almost two years, and her personality has become much more cheerful. Qiao Nan couldn't help but sigh: "You have really changed so much!"

Xue Dongmei smiled: "Everyone who sees me says that, but you say it much more sincerely than them." ”

Qiao Nan lowered his head and laughed twice. There were four girls at the table next to him, all pretending to glance at Qiao Nan casually, and then gathered together to whisper. All this couldn't escape Xue Dongmei's eyes, she grabbed Qiao Nan's hand very simply, Qiao Nan was agitated for a while, and wanted to pump but couldn't pull it back.

"What are you going to do, so many people are watching!" Qiao Nan said uncomfortably.

"Look at palmistry!" Xue Dongmei smiled like a flower, with a kind of mysterious magic, but her eyes kept looking at Qiao Nan: "See if you have peach blossom luck." ”

Qiao Nan pulled out his hand and said, "Don't make trouble, I'm a monk practicing in the temple, where is there any peach blossom luck!"

Xue Dongmei was amused, and Qiao Nan also relaxed. In the past two years, the two of them have kept in touch, but Qiao Nan went to a military school, and the two of them couldn't meet. This time, Xue Dongmei made an appointment with him several months in advance, and no matter what, she would meet him during the summer vacation.

The waiter brought a sushi platter, and then brought out two bowls of barbecued pork ramen, which looked hearty, but in Qiao Nan's eyes, these things were really not enough to stuff his teeth.

The two ate for a while, and the conversation gradually opened. After talking for a while, Xue Dongmei asked, "I'll send you a message, you usually can't reply until a few days." It's the 21st century, and your school is still so strict?"

Qiao Nan smiled bitterly: "When I was a freshman, I was so managed that I didn't dare to do anything, I only dared to look at my phone within the specified time. Now that my sophomore year is over, I've found the ropes, and I'm much freer than before. ”

Xue Dongmei said: "When you came in just now, I was also in a bit of a trance. When you were in high school, you were the tallest in my class, and after two years of college, did you grow a little taller? Also, you were a lot stronger than before. ”

"Every day when I open my eyes, I have to run 5 kilometers, and I have to change places to pull weeds, can I not be strong?" While speaking, Qiao Nan accidentally ate a piece of mustard, and suddenly the whole person was not good, and his soul jumped out of his body directly, and tears and snot flowed down all of a sudden.

Xue Dongmei was amused and laughed: "You, you, why did you eat so carelessly!"

Qiao Nan wiped away his tears and said again and again: "I'll invite you to eat another rice bowl later, I'm really not used to eating Japanese food, and I can't eat enough!"

"Good, good. ”

The boy's clumsy appearance has a different kind of cuteness, Xue Dongmei always wants to laugh involuntarily, and Qiao Nan is even more embarrassed. Under the pretext of going to the bathroom, he secretly stuffed a hundred-dollar bill to the waiter and asked him to settle the bill first.

Xue Dongmei didn't expect that Qiao Nan of Mu Ne would come up with this trick, and she complained and thanked a little. She suggested, "Don't go for a rice bowl yet, I'll treat you to ice cream." ”

The sun is blazing outside, and now is indeed a good season to eat ice cream, Qiao Nan no longer refuses. The two of them walked to the beach eating ice cream, found a shady place on the beach, and sat down side by side.

After chatting for a while, Qiao Nan asked, "You are also under a lot of pressure at Tsinghua University, right?"

"Well, especially when I decided not to change my major and study for a double degree, I was so tired that I vomited blood every day. Xue Dongmei licked the ice cream and tried her best to speak lightly: "When I was most tired, I slept for three hours in three days, and I forgot whether I had eaten or not, I only remembered that I took four courses in one day, and after the last exam, I had to prepare for a group speech in economics, and I had a nosebleed in the study room at three o'clock in the morning, crying and pulling my hair, which frightened my classmates." ”

Qiao Nan was very distressed when he heard this, and said: "I always feel that the person who talked and laughed just now is not you, but the person who is full of ruthlessness is you." ”

Xue Dongmei smiled: "Then what's the way, I can only feel the value of life if I work hard." ”

"Is your place in Port City okay? Your mother... Didn't come to harass you, did I?"

Xue Dongmei raised her head and said refreshedly: "Hehe, I cut off contact with her after I went to college, my father works outside and basically doesn't go home, let her guard my brother's loser! That's fine, just don't contact the two at home anyway. ”

Qiao Nan couldn't help but sigh, Xue Dongmei is really a ruthless character, she will cut it off when she says it, and she doesn't drag it at all. After eating the ice cream, she hugged her knees and said, "I will substitute teach at a training institution this holiday, and I will stay in Hong Kong City for three days, and I will go back tomorrow night." ”

Qiao Nan was slightly surprised: "Why are you rushing faster than me?"

"Hmm... The wish has been fulfilled, and there is no regret in the short time. ”

Xue Dongmei smiled meaningfully, but Qiao Nan was maddeningly sluggish, and she didn't expect him to understand now. She stood up, patted the sand on her skirt, and said, "I have my train tomorrow afternoon, can you come and see me off?"

"Absolutely. It's just that you come and go in a hurry, and you don't know if your body can eat it?"

Xue Dongmei said chicly: "I didn't suffer anything when I was a child? There is air conditioning and a sleeper on the train, where can it be regarded as suffering?"

She still bought a sleeper, indicating that she would not treat herself badly, and Qiao Nan was slightly relieved. On the way back to send Xue Dongmei, he walked into a supermarket, bought a bunch of instant noodles, ham sausages and drinks, and said: "My sister is a grinder, if I can't deliver you tomorrow, it must be tripped by her." You take these things to eat on the road, don't go hungry. ”

Xue Dongmei's heart was touched, she took the plastic bag, and immediately cried and laughed: "I just returned to Beijing from Hong Kong City, fifteen hours, and I fell asleep in one sleep." I'm not going to war, I don't need so many rations!"

"That's it..."Qiao Nan felt that he had made a mistake again, he scratched his scalp and said, "I have no idea." ”

Xue Dongmei realized that the former majestic squad leader was a little silly. She put the things Qiao Nan bought for him into her backpack and said, "Then I'm welcome, I'll try to finish eating, and when I get out of the car, I will be fat like a little pig." ”

"You're not fat. Qiao Nan corrected very seriously.

Xue Dongmei smiled again and bent over, carrying the schoolbag on her shoulder. Qiao Nan's eyes lit up: "Oh? isn't this..."

"That's right, it's the bag you gave me, it's the ring on my shoulder. Xue Dongmei said this lyric and laughed self-deprecatingly - how could Qiao Nan's piece of wood know this lyric?

Qiao Nan really didn't understand it, the melody echoing in his mind was only military songs like "Three Disciplines and Eight Attentions", and he really didn't know much about pop songs.

Xue Dongmei carried her schoolbag, and just as the bus came, she reluctantly jumped on the bus and waved goodbye to Qiao Nan: "Tomorrow, if you can come, you must come to see me off!"

Qiao Nan also waved goodbye: "If I can go, I will definitely go!"