"Happy Birthday!"

Cheers burst out of an old-fashioned slab building from the '80s, and the foot that had stepped through the door was immediately retracted.

"Tong'er! Happy birthday! Hehe-hehe......"

The dark room suddenly lit up, and I saw that the room was full of colorful banners for birthday wishes, and a thread lamp stretched along the rope to the door. There were five or six people at the door, and at the front was a young man of about eighteen or nineteen years old. The man was holding a cake with a candle in it, and greeted the girl who had just stepped in the door but took it back with a smile, but his face immediately changed when he looked at it.

In addition to the girl, there was a boy of her age behind her.

"Tong'er...... The......? ”

"Brother! Mom and Dad! Aren't you traveling?! ”

The girl was surprised to see the crowd in the house, and protected the boy behind her.

He ...... He's him, he's my classmate......" became stammering as he spoke.

"Classmate...... Why haven't I heard you say ......? ”

"Tong'er! Who is this man?! Why are you still holding your hands?! ”

When the young man was a little confused, another fat boy suddenly rushed out of the room, pointed to the clasped hands of the two outside the door and asked.

"Zhang Fan! Can you handle it?! Ay...... Hey, why are you ......!? ”

The girl called "Tong'er" was about to retort, but who thought that the fat boy pulled the boy behind her over.

"Come on, let's have a good chat!"

"Tong'er" was called by her parents to lecture in the bedroom.

"You said you brought a boy to the house alone at such a young age......"

The boy sat in horror in the middle of the room, and the man with the cake, the fat man, and a handsome man stared around him for a long time.

"A few big ...... Big Brother ......"

"Don't make a sound!"

The boy cautiously popped out a few words, and was directly scolded back by the fat man, and hurriedly sat up straight and didn't dare to speak.

"You ......"

The fat man looked at the boy carefully from top to bottom, leaned in and whispered, "You say, who are you Tong'er?" ”

"Same ...... Classmates ......"

"Fart!"

The fat man scolded back again.

"...... said," the fat man asked in a low voice, "Are you her man-friend-friend——? ”

The boy looked at the fat man's abrupt eyes in horror, took a deep breath, gritted his teeth and responded, "No...... It's not ......"

"Very good...... Very good......"

The fat man was obviously satisfied with this answer, patted the boy on the shoulder, and continued to ask, "Do you know what happened to her boyfriend last time?" ”

The boy just took a long breath and retracted it, and shook his head timidly, this time he didn't dare to say a word, for fear that he would say something wrong.

"Looks like a broken leg, right?"

The handsome man next to him pinched his chin and recalled.

"What's the matter, the one who broke his leg was the one who broke it, and the one who broke his arm was the one who broke it."

The man with the cake just now retorted.

"Oh, yes, yes!" The handsome man clapped his hands and nodded: "Anyway, any one has to be missing arms and legs, and I can't remember too much." ”

"I think this kid is quite sturdy." The fat man grabbed the boy's arm and looked it up and down: "It should be forbidden to fall." ”

"Can't help falling, can't help falling!"

The boy hurriedly waved his hand back.

"Then don't you go quickly!!"

The fat man roared, and the boy rushed out of the room in a matter of seconds.

"Cowardly—"

The bedroom door creaked open, and the girl's voice could be heard from inside the room.

"Tong'er!"

The fat man was very happy to see the girl, and the girl pouted and walked around him and walked straight to the man who served the cake.

"Brother! You lied to me! The girl raised her fist and struck.

The man raised his hand to defend, but he felt that his waist was grabbed, and a warm fragrance came over. The girl leaned on the man and said softly: "I thought you really went out to play and forgot about someone's birthday." ”

"How could that be!" The man replied righteously: "The things of the world can be bigger than my sister's birthday?!" ”

"Cut...... I reminded you. The fat man muttered unconvinced.

"Tong'er is sixteen years old, and she will be a big girl in the future." Father and mother followed out of the bedroom, still uneasy.

"Mom—got it!" The girl pouted and laughed.

"Happy Birthday!"

"Happy sixteen!"

The candle was lit again, and the girl clasped her hands, closed her eyes and quietly made a wish......

Eight or nine years have passed, Xiaoli's family has moved to an old building on the outskirts of Beijing, and the brother and sister who grew up in the hutongs are not used to living there, but their parents insist on not wanting to go back to the old bungalow, and only go back to clean and retrieve some items after a long time, but they will not let them follow.

"Brother—when can we go back to the yard?"

As soon as the birthday party ended, the parents still didn't let Xiaotong go, and kept telling words such as "society is complicated" and "girls should love themselves", Xiaotong hurriedly found an excuse to go out of the house with Xiaoli, Zhang Fan, and Lu Yushan.

"Hmm...... Who knows. ”

Xiaoli was obviously a little absent-minded.

"Brother!"

How could Xiaotong not guess what he was thinking? "I really don't have anything to do with him, what kind of vinegar are you eating?"

"Who...... Who is jealous! ”

Xiao Li retorted. "If there's anything you can't tell me, even I'm hiding." As he spoke, he turned his head away.

"Okay, okay-" Xiaotong patted Xiaoli's shoulder and comforted: "I won't hide it from you in the future, okay." ”

"It's honest to admit your mistakes." Xiao Li crossed his waist and nodded, "As a reward...... Hmmm - that's how you want to go back to the bungalow? ”

Xiaotong nodded vigorously in response.

"Then take you back to the bungalow."

Xiaotong's eyes lit up when she heard "Back to the Bungalow", and asked, "Really? Then he was a little unconvinced and asked, "How to get there?" ”

"The fat man and Yu Yi have to go home, let's go back together, and we will rush back later." Xiao Li replied.

"However, my uncle has repeatedly told us not to go to your yard."

Zhang Fan and Yu Yi remembered that they just looked inside a while ago, and later they were reprimanded by Xiaoli's father, and they couldn't help but be apprehensive.

"We haven't fought any battles, and we're afraid that the little thief won't be able to make it?" Xiaoli added: "It used to be because we were young, but now we are all so old, think about it, have there been any accidents over the years?" ”

What Xiao Li said seemed to make sense, the little courtyard seemed to be more mysterious and attractive than any danger he had explored when he was young.

"Then ——?" The heavy people looked at each other and smiled tacitly.

At this time, except for the bustling area, there is basically no congestion, and the four of them stepped on the bus for dozens of minutes to reach the destination.

"Brother, why am I a little cold?"

Xiaotong rubbed his hands and said.

"You kid, you really have a sense of substitution, it's a pity not to let you go filming."

Xiaoli patted her sister's head, the latter stuck out her tongue, and several people walked in the direction of home with a smile.

"Look, I'll just say there's nothing to be afraid of."

After entering the courtyard of the bungalow, I turned around, or objects, houses, or trees, but they were still the same as in my memory, and there was no change for half a minute.

"Brother, there, how can there be a ......?"

I saw Xiaotong raise his hand and point to a corner of the courtyard, and the other three were startled, only to feel that there seemed to be a cold aura coming from that direction.

"Xiao ...... Xiaotong...... Don't scare us......"

Zhang Fan's voice was already a little trembling.

"Really." Xiaotong said in a low voice:

"It's just to scare you!"

Then there was a sudden sharp voice, and the three of them jumped up in shock, and Xiaotong leaned back and closed with laughter.

"Okay, okay, I've seen it almost, we should go back."

Several people sat in the courtyard and chatted for a while, Xiaoli twisted her sister's nose, and did not forget to advise: "Put the things in the house back in place, my parents are not vegetarians." ”

"Then let's go back first?"

A few people walked out of the courtyard and said in a whisper.

"It's so dark, do you need to send Xiaotong?"

Zhang Fan hoped that others would agree with him.

"I still have my brother, why are you sending me?"

Xiaotong glanced at Zhang Fan and replied.

"Then we'll go first, you guys be careful on the road."

Yuyi pulled Zhang Fan, who was reluctant, and left, and the two brothers and sisters walked to the station.

"Girl, boy, all right......"

A ragged beggar moved cautiously, holding in his hand a porcelain bowl full of traces of time, and several steel hammers inside.

"Steel Boom...... Steel ......"

"Girl, boy, all right......"

"Brother, do you have any change?"

Xiaoli touched his body, took out a few coins and put them in the bowl.

"Steel Boom...... Steel ......"

"Thank you......" The beggar bowed slightly and slowly left.

In the evening, the bus interval would be slower, and the two siblings waited for nearly 20 minutes to make a trip. There were not many people in the car, so the two of them randomly picked a side by side seat.

"Brother...... Brother ......"

After sitting for a few stops, I was sleepy, and Xiaoli, who was a little confused, was woken up by Xiaotong on the side.

"Hmm...... Arrived at the station? ”

"Brother, ...... behind"

Xiaoli suddenly woke up, only to feel a chill slowly coming behind him.

It's been a long time, but it's still very familiar!

Xiaotong wasn't joking this time, because Xiaoli noticed that her hand couldn't stop shaking. Xiaoli held her sister's hand......

Three-stop ...... Two stops...... One stop

The moment the car door opened, the brother and sister rushed down with one arrow. After running more than fifty meters, Xiao Li looked back at the bus stop.

That bus is still parked there! The lights in the car kept flashing, like thunder!

"Steel Boom...... Steel ......"

"Girl, boy, all right......"

Xiaoli Xiaotong was stopped by a voice, it was a ragged beggar, I don't know when he had been in front of the two, raised his head full of dirt, showed a mouthful of white teeth, and smiled slightly:

"Huh...... Hehe......"