"Hahaha, isn't it cool today!" Zhang Chong excitedly put his arm around Xia Lian's shoulders and walked out of the video game city. If it weren't for the fact that this place was about to close, the two of them might still be silent in the King of Fighters world.

"I feel, you're a lot better at night than in the afternoon!" Zhang Chong beat Xia Lian's chest and said, "I won three games in a row just now!"

"Overall, it's not that you've won much!" Xia Lian said with a pretended unconvinced look.

"Oh, it's just a game, it's good to be happy, it's good to be happy!" Zhang Chong said with a smile: "I can see that your consciousness is still there, it's just that your methods are rusty, just play more." Besides, there's no shame on you losing to me!"

Xia Lian also smiled and shook his head: "Hehe, I really don't think you are so powerful! In a few days, I will torture and kill you in minutes! Especially your Kusanagi Jing!" hesitated to find that this Zhang Chong was very easy to get along with, and they also got into a relationship when they played together, and Xia Lian gradually became casual when talking to him.

"If you want to torture and kill my Kusanagi Kyo, wait until you can win!" Zhang Chong patted Xia Lian on the back: "Let's go, I'll invite you to supper!"

"It's so late, still eating?!" Xia Lian worriedly glanced around at the streets that had begun to desert: "I may have to go back!"

"Don't spoil the fun, it's rare for me to be so generous!" Zhang Chong still warmly invited, and it seemed that he was playing very speculatively with Xia Lian.

Xia Lian wanted to say something, but Zhang Zheng said solemnly: "I happen to have something to tell you, let's go." ”

Seeing Zhang Chong's invitation like this, it would not be good if he refused again. Xia Lian agreed, and the two walked together to the food street not far away.

Although many shopping malls have begun to close, the nightlife has just begun, and the food street not far from the commercial street is still brightly lit and full of people, almost every store is full of people, while eating and smiling, chatting and clinking glasses with friends, the lively atmosphere and the smell of food in the air make everyone who walks in here unconsciously relax.

Zhang Chong took Xia Lian into a barbecue restaurant where the table had been placed on the street, and before he could speak, the proprietress greeted him warmly: "Here comes brother!"

"Bring a friend of mine over today to try it, it's the same old look. After Zhang Chong said with a smile, the proprietress smiled and made an OK gesture, and then set a new table and entered the kitchen.

"It seems that you are a regular customer here!" Xia Lian asked, looking around.

"This store has been open for more than ten years, the owners are a husband and wife, they have good craftsmanship, and the price is also cheap, so many years have not increased the price, much cheaper than the surrounding ones. Zhang Chong introduced: "I've been eating here since I was a child, and the boss knows me." ”

When Zhang Chong was introducing, the proprietress brought a case of beer and put it next to them, and brought a plate of boiled peanuts: "Eat some first, and the dishes will come in a while." ”

"Thank you, boss!" Zhang Chong and Xia Lian thanked almost at the same time. Then, Zhang Chong directly opened a bottle of beer and handed it to Xia Lian.

"Hey, I don't drink either!"

"What's wrong with this, just pour it into your stomach!" Zhang Chong said and filled the two cups with wine, and raised his own glasses and said: "Come on, we will win a battle today, and for, I recognize you as a brother!

Zhang Chong touched the glass and drank the wine. Xia Lian did not shirk, although he had never drunk beer, he still followed his example and drank it all. The bitter and cold beer slid down my throat and into my stomach, and a strong irritating sensation rushed from my abdomen to my head, which instantly made people feel a little excited.

After a while, the proprietress brought the baked dishes, Zhang Chong picked up a string of mutton, and greeted: "Eat, eat, don't be polite to me!"

Xia Lian nodded: "Today, I really have to thank you for helping me." ”

"Alas, thank you!" Zhang Chong took a big bite of meat and said: "I recognize you as a friend, of course, I don't like to see people bullying more than less." ”

"But I still want to ask, why are you helping me so much? just because I can play games with you?" Xia Lian asked, sipping his wine.

Zhang Chong smiled and said very casually: "It's so simple to make friends, just be comfortable together, and I feel so good playing games with you! Don't dislike me, a bastard. ”

"Where is it!" Xia Lian and Zhang Chong clinked glasses and said, "Brother, I should have invited you to this meal today! If you hadn't helped me today, I might not have been able to do anything." At least from the current point of view, this Zhang Chong is very upright and righteous, and he gives people a sense of trustworthiness and even familiarity at first sight.

"It doesn't exist, in the future, we can play together when we have time, you are at school, just tell me what you have. In addition, I have a very good brother who is also in the sixth middle school, and I will give you a call later to get to know him when I have time. Zhang Chong said while pouring wine: "I don't know if you know the situation of your school, but today's matter may not be over yet." Huang Xu and his cousin are not ordinary people, they won't let you go so easily, you should be careful. ”

"Yes, I know. When the time comes, do what you need to do. Xia Lian took another sip of wine. Now he found that in fact, beer with barbecue is really good, when he was a child, his family was not allowed to eat this kind of roadside stall, let alone drink beer, and then in that small mountain village, he almost never saw this kind of thing, and now it is considered to have opened the door to a new world.

"Since we will all be brothers in the future, don't be embarrassed if there is anything!" Zhang Chong said: "I saw you fighting today, you have practiced." You look like you're local, I haven't heard of you before, so you seem to be low-key enough. ”

"It's not called practice, it's just learning to learn video games. Xia Lian didn't want to say anything about his abduction, but just replied lightly.

"Just blow it!" Zhang Chong scolded him, and both of them laughed at each other.

On this day, the two played until nearly twelve o'clock before leaving, and with the catalysis of alcohol, the relationship between the two soon rose to a higher level, hooking shoulders and backs, and the brothers were commensurate, as if they were two brothers who had reunited after a long absence. During this period, Xia Lian took advantage of the time to go to the toilet to pay quietly. It's just that he was still discovered by Zhang Chong, and robbed the money, and even claimed that he continued to be so polite, just denying him as a friend. Xia Lian had no choice but to stop insisting and shook his head helplessly.

When he got home, Xia Lian opened the door lightly and pressed his steps to sneak into his room.

"Xiao Lian!" his mother's slightly serious voice made his whole body freeze in place, and with it, the light in the living room also turned on, flashing Xia Lian a little stinging. He felt like he was standing up straight, holding his gauze-wrapped hand behind his back, covering it with his elongated sleeves.

"Why did you come home so late?" said the mother a little angrily, "Do you know how worried I am?!"

Xia Lian glanced at the dishes on the table, which had completely lost temperature, and silently lowered his head. He knew that his mother had been waiting for him to come home for dinner.

"I understand that you get along with your classmates normally, but you should tell me, or come back early!" said the mother as she got up and walked in front of Xia Lian.

Xia Lian wanted to retreat, but the living room was not spacious, and his mother quickly smelled the strong smell of wine on him.

"Have you drunk?" Mother's face became gloomy again: "How did you learn to drink, how long have you just been home!, and what's the matter with the injuries on your body?"

"Mom, you don't have to worry, I have my own measure. Xia Lian replied seriously.

"How can I not be worried!" the mother raised her voice and said, "What have you been through at school lately?" I don't tell my mother anything when I come home, I'm really afraid that you will ...... one day" The mother said this, her voice choked and stopped abruptly, and she turned her head with that helpless look. Xia Lian could see that his mother's eyes began to moisten.

"Mom, there's nothing wrong with the school, the problem is me, I'll pay attention to it in the future, and I won't let you worry anymore!" Xia Lian didn't want to explain too much, and he didn't know how to comfort him.

After ten years apart, he and his mother already have an indescribable sense of distance and strangeness, although he knows very well that his mother is still the greatest relative who cares for him, but he doesn't know how to communicate with her, there seems to be a huge gap between them, blocking each other. That may be called the generation gap, and to Xia Lian, it seems to be more terrifying than the generation gap.

The mother slowly retreated to the sofa, holding her head with her hands, her body sobbing slightly, the emaciated and gradually aging body, as if under too much weight-bearing pressure, finally got a short vent at this moment.

"Mom, don't worry, I won't do this again. Xia Lian said sincerely, but this was also the only word to answer his mother.

The mother slowly stabilized her mood, wiped the corners of her eyes and said, "I'll buy you a mobile phone tomorrow, and I'll go to the hospital to see the injury, and I'll call your homeroom teacher and ask you about your situation at school!"

"Mom, no, I have skin injuries all over my body, and I will get better soon. Don't worry about such trivial things, okay?"

"I'm your mother, what do you have to know at school!" said the mother, with some excitement. In the ten years that Xia Lian has been missing, she has experienced the greatest despair in her life, and now that she has found her son, she doesn't want anything to happen to him, and she doesn't want him to be wronged in any way. Even if she can't let Xia Lian live a comfortable and carefree life with her abilities and conditions now, she will do her best to satisfy him with everything.

"What about the ten years I have been missing, and what did you help me with at that time?" Xia Lian couldn't help but get excited with his mother's commanding words, and only after saying that he realized that his words were too heavy, so he immediately shut up and avoided his mother's eyes.

Mother's expression froze, and shallow tears overflowed again from the corners of her slightly twitching eyes, and she continued to speak for a long time: "I know, you have suffered a lot over the years, and now you will be very uncomfortable with real life, but if you encounter any difficulties, your mother will try her best to find a way!"

"I know, but I can take care of myself!" Xia Lian replied impatiently, turned around and entered the room and locked the door. It wasn't that he was tired of his mother's nagging, but that he didn't know how to answer his mother's words.

"Tell you not to be so late, you haven't listened to me since you drank before!" another voice in his head reproached.

"Why are you starting to ramble?!"

"Do you want to lose this hard-earned life?"

"Okay, I don't want to argue with you about this, you should know very well what real life is, and it is definitely not what we are now. If you want to get it, you can only fight for it yourself!"

"I just want to go to school!"

"Aren't we working on this now?"

"And you're going to continue using my body tomorrow?"

"Well, it's up to you tomorrow, I'll rest for a day!"

Xia Lian shook his head and lay down on the bed, the experience of this day made him physically and mentally exhausted, and soon entered the dream. As everyone knows, my mother fell into a state of insomnia again this night, she lay on the bed tossing and turning, full of thoughts.

When Xia Lian just came back, she vowed to make up for her son's suffering in the past ten years, so that he could readapt to society and live a normal life.

Of course, he was worried that his son would be ridiculed and bullied at school because of all kinds of discomfort, and he was also worried that he would go astray, but now what she feared most was happening. After thinking about it, she decided to find a time to quietly call the head teacher.