Joel screamed and pushed the door open, muttering in a babbling voice, and then drooped his shoulders, as if he had just been run over by a bulldozer, and now he couldn't even move a finger, and fell directly on the couch, face down, motionless, as if a bag of potatoes had been smashed down, and the whining voice gradually faded away, and the last sound was gone, as if he had passed out. Pen? Interesting? Pavilion wWw. ｂiquge。 ｉｎfo

If it's an outsider, this set still works. But for Lawrence, he couldn't be more familiar.

Lawrence and Joel are only a year apart in age, Joel is a year older, the two grew up together, Lawrence has seen this trick countless times, every time, Joel pretends to be dead and tired, and then all the work is left to him to do.

At first, he stupidly complained to his parents, but Joel's acting skills were so good that Lawrence deeply believed that Joel could earn a place in Hollywood, and it would be a waste of talent to stay in Silicon Valley instead of Hollywood. The outcome of the complaint is always the same, the parents are deceived by Joel, and instead come to blame him for not working.

Later, Lawrence learned to be obedient, and once, he pretended to go out to work, but in fact he secretly hid outside the house, waiting for Joel to let down his guard and start eating potato chips and watching TV, then he sneaked out and quietly called his mother over, and as a punishment for doing all the housework himself, he asked his mother to keep her mouth shut, hide outside the house and observe for a while, and then suddenly shouted, "Mom! Immediately afterward, they witnessed the whole process of Joel re-playing dead.

After that, Lawrence was given a new lease on life.

Looking at Joel, who was playing dead again, Lawrence had a ridiculous feeling, as if time had never passed, and they still stayed in this small mountain village and did not leave.

But at this moment, Lawrence saw Lu Li and Cole stand up and walk towards the door. If it was in New York's style, he should hang up and keep his mouth shut, not to mention, they were not friends; But reflexively, Lawrence shouted, "Hey! ”

He couldn't remember the names of the two of them.

Lu Li and Cole just glanced back at Lawrence, but their footsteps did not stop and continued to move forward. Lawrence swallowed the words that followed, for he found that they did not look at Joel, but walked straight over, with a light look between their cheeks and eyebrows, and there was no reluctance at all. This means that they didn't pass because Joel was "sick", but they were ready to help.

Sure enough, the two men walked to the door, picked up the firewood, and then re-entered, stacking it next to the fireplace. Passing through the two people talking and laughing, you can see the colorful Christmas tree behind it, and the milky yellow halo dyes the sky outside the window that has not completely darkened.

Lawrence remembered his father's words: he was the guest, and they weren't.

With a helpless sneer, Lawrence stood up. He knew that he didn't have to; He also knew that he was not very suitable for soft-heartedness; He also knew that Joel would definitely secretly laugh at him. But at this moment, he just wanted to do it, and he simply felt that this was the most suitable thing.

Joel turned his head secretly, he was going to wail a few times, because he knew that Lawrence would definitely not be fooled, but he didn't expect that Lawrence and the other two guys didn't have any reluctance, and they started to get busy directly, but he was lying here like a clown.

When he was a child, he would be complacent; But when he grows up, he doesn't feel like it anymore.

Joel leaned down on the couch in frustration and complained, "Hey, you guys, Jesus Christ, are you trying to pretend to be Jesus?" It's Christmas, so everyone has become noble? You're not going to do it, I know, you're waiting for me to feel guilty and ashamed, and then get up and do my own work. I'll tell you, this doesn't work, I've seen a lot, you'd better come up with a better way. ”

As he spoke, Joel grew bored because it was like a one-man show. He was already nearly forty years old, and yet he was like a seven-year-old child muttering and complaining, which was really ......

Joel jerked his hands together and said helplessly, "Well, you guys won." Originally, he thought that he would see three people standing next to him, standing by, waiting to see him laugh, and he had even made a good expression, but he didn't expect to see that the three people were still methodically moving the firewood to the fireplace.

Well, he's really a joke now.

"God, Lawrence McCartney! I knew I shouldn't have come back this year. Joel complained depressedly, but the movement still did not stop, stood up and walked over, helped together, and said with a speechless face, "This is not a Hollywood movie, what is it?" Lawrence, aren't you a lawyer? Aren't you a New Yorker? You should wear a suit and shirt, sit next to you, and continue to write the paperwork. ”

"If you don't want to, you can continue to sit in the hall." Lawrence teased, and Joel muttered a few words under his breath, but he couldn't hear anything clearly, as if he was complaining about the two strangers.

The four of them were busy, and in the blink of an eye, there was a pile of firewood next to the fireplace, but before they could sit down, Lily shouted from the kitchen, "Fourteen, Cole, can you come and help?" Place the cutlery on the table. ”

"Here we are." Cole raised his voice in response, and then Lu Li followed closely behind, Joel just sat down and looked at the two of them speechlessly, "Can you stop?" Don't be so diligent? I came back here just to have a good rest and rest, don't I even have the right to take a vacation? I knew I was going to Mexico City and the Caribbean, the sea, the beach, the sun, this is the holiday. ”

Lawrence immediately stood up as well, and Joelton was speechless, "I say, why do the two of them look like hosts, but we look like guests?" What the hell is going on? ”

Lawrence shrugged, "Maybe it's because that's the way it is." Then he walked over and saw Ronald with a plate in his hand, with wine glasses neatly placed on it, Lawrence reached out to help, but Ronald said angrily, "Don't you have work to do?" Isn't that work about someone's life? You should keep working, I don't want blood on my hands. ”

Lawrence reflexively wanted to retort, but when it came to his lips, the words paused for a moment, and then said, "I thought your hands were covered in blood. This morning, I saw you deal with the lamb. The voice carried a hint of ridicule and mockery, which made Ronald stunned, and he didn't know how to refute it for a while.

This was a moment of stunned, Lawrence took the plate from Ronald's hand and walked towards the restaurant, Ronald finally reacted, angry and angry, "How come I don't know, when did you become a vegetarian?" Then why didn't you tell your mom in advance? Don't eat tonight's dinner! ”

Ronald's voice came from behind him, but Lawrence was full of care, shook his head helplessly, and then walked into the dining room and began to set the table. He is really familiar with this work, he was in charge of it when he was a child; Joel is in charge of serving food in the kitchen.

Ronald stood in place, his chest heaving violently like a bellows, and then he saw Joel also stand up and walk over, his eyes widened, "What's the matter with you?" Didn't you want to call? Isn't there a meeting? Isn't it your tens of millions a second? Then you just stay in Silicon Valley and don't come back, we didn't ask you to come back! ”

"Are you sure?" Joel muttered a retort that he wouldn't have come back if his mother hadn't called him and emphasized that they hadn't been back for Christmas for four years in a row. But seeing that Ronald was about to get angry again, Joel hurriedly raised his hands and made a gesture of surrender, "You should learn to control your temper, you know, after all, you are no longer young." ”

"Joel McCartney!" Ronald's anger rushed upward, but Joel raised his hands with a smile on his face, indicating that he had no offensive power, and retreated all the way to the kitchen, shouting in a smooth tone, "Mother, is there anything I can help with?" ”

Lu Li left the kitchen, holding a plate in his hand, with knives and forks, plates, and soup bowls in it, and smiled at Ronald, "Are you sure you don't need my help?" How many times have you put cold water on the dumplings just now? ”

One sentence immediately made Ronald react, "Ahhh The temper flew away without a trace, and he trotted all the way to the kitchen, "Lily, Lily, is the water boiling?" ”

With the help of the four people, the table was quickly set up, and then the dishes were all on the table, and finally Ronald walked in with a huge turkey in both hands, Ronald's footsteps paused slightly, and then Lawrence hesitated and stepped forward, reaching out to try to take it.

Ronald was stunned, Joel was stunned, and even Lawrence wasn't quite sure. Finally, Ronald deliberately straightened his spine, shook his head, and said firmly, "I'm not old enough to need help. But his voice was no longer as irritable and rough as before, and he cleared his throat, and his momentum fell completely, and he muttered, "In a few years, in a few years." ”

Joel's funny voice sounded right next to him, "In a few years, we will be forty years old, isn't it too old?" ”

Lily chuckled, "You also realize now that you're old?" Judging by your actions, I think you're younger than Fourteen. This made everyone laugh.

Ronald placed the turkey at the end of the table and smiled widely, "Good, everyone's here, we can prepare for dinner." Let's start with prayer. ”

Looking at the candles lit on the dining table and the turkey glowing with golden oil, Lu Li finally had a real feeling at this time: this is Christmas Eve, this is Christmas, the moment to say goodbye to the old and welcome the new, as if they were watching the Spring Festival Gala in China. The important thing is no longer the party, but the ritual in memory.