This is a three-story old house, a long and narrow space, the first floor is a small grocery store, selling some needlework, cigarettes, candy, snacks, handkerchiefs or something, the owner is a middle-aged couple, both in their thirties, living on the second floor, along the narrow wooden staircase less than half a meter wide up is the small attic rented by Zhou Ruikang for Ruojun.

The attic is very small, about seven or eight square meters, a single bed, a small wooden table, a lame chair, a small low stool, and a painted wooden wardrobe, a screw of the cabinet door has fallen off, making the cabinet door on that side slanted down, and it is not bad that there is a bright glass window in this small attic, which the landlord has just matched.

Mei Ruojun stood on the low stool, happily pushed open the window, looked at the lively street scene downstairs, and suddenly found that the free air was more beautiful and precious than any luxurious and resplendent to come, she stretched out her head, looked back to the sky, squinted her eyes, took a deep breath of cold air, and felt extremely happy in her heart.

"Oh my God, it's been a long time since I've breathed such free air." She said to the sky, a little carried away.

"Come down." Ruikang hugged her down, closed the window, shook his head, and said, "Your illness is just right." ”

"Ahh She really sneezed, Ruikang quickly took off his coat, draped it over her, and gently tapped her head with his knuckles, she smiled sweetly, wrapped her arms around his waist, he sighed and shook his head, and smiled slightly:

"You haven't listened to me since the first day I met you. I told you not to marry, you have to marry, I asked you to go with me, you don't, I told you to believe me, you don't believe it. Seriously, I should have beaten you up a long time ago, but I couldn't bear it, cough, forget it, count my life hard. ”

She smiled deeper, enjoying his pampering, burying her face in his chest, and he hugged her and kissed her hair.

After a while, the two of them began to clean and decorate the small attic, and Ruikang brought in two large black cloth bags, and conjured up all kinds of daily necessities, pillows, quilts, mirrors, towels, pajamas, slippers, hangers, teacups, and soup women.

Then I asked the landlord to get some tools, and I repaired the door of the closet, replaced the light bulb, and flattened the lame leg of the chair.

Ruojun cleaned up there, wrapped his hair in a cloth, held a rag in one hand and a feather duster in the other, like a little housewife, wiping the table, wiping the chair, wiping the floor, and changing the sheets......

After a busy day, they finally cleaned up, and both of them were already sweating and their hands were gray, and they looked at each other for a while, and they both laughed. She smiled and said, "I didn't know that you, the eldest young master, would still do such menial work. ”

He scratched his head and grinned, "I knew that one day we were going to go out alone, so I learned it in advance." ”

"Nonsense," she laughed.

She is so true to express her emotions, so joyful, her eyes are full of hope, this is the real Mei Ruojun, when he peeped at her for the first time in the Mei family, she was like this, although she was slender and gentle, but full of vitality, not like in the Zhou family to suppress pain and constantly compromise. Ruojun ran downstairs and scooped a basin of hot water in the kitchen, and the two washed their faces and hands.

Ruikang repeatedly instructed: "Mrs. Chen is very warm-hearted, you can talk to her about anything, you can use their kitchen." When I get paid at the end of the month, I'll buy you a quilt. ”

"No, there's the kitchen down there, and their stove is always on, so it's not cold here at all, Ruikang, don't spend money indiscriminately."

"Okay, well, my salary will be handed over to you in the future, housekeeper." He smiled and said with some guilt: "Ruojun, I'm really sorry to let you live in such a humble place." ”

"Simple? How so? I think it's very good here, much better than the Zhou family compound, and I'm not a daughter, I think it's very good. She happily walked around the small space, pointed to the window, and said, "Just add a goose-yellow curtain with broken flowers there." ”

"Okay, I'll buy it." He reclined on the bed and smiled at her as she imagined like a little fairy, and the joy and excitement in her eyes satisfied him.

"No, no, don't buy and buy all the time. I have a way, just now Mrs. Chen said that her bed sheet was broken and she was going to throw it away, I went to ask her for it, and she would definitely give it to me. ”

"Sheets?"

She pretended to raise her head mysteriously, squinted her eyes and said, "Don't worry about it, I'll do magic, and there will be curtains when you come tomorrow." ”

"Silly, it's not that I don't know that your needlework is good, the handkerchief you embroidered for me is still in my pocket, you want to change the sheets into curtains, but your body is better, don't be tired."

"Okay, I know. You know, it's small, but I feel so happy and safe. Because it's just you and me. She spun around in place, her slender and well-proportioned figure and fluttering skirt, which was really beautiful like a painting.

He stretched out his hand and pulled her to his lap, hugged her lovingly, and said, "I told Mrs. Chen that you are my fiancée, because my parents did not agree with our marriage, so we chose to elope." She was sympathetic to us. So you can live here with peace of mind. It's close to the publishing house. ”

"Ruikang, do you know, if it weren't for your insistence, I would have really accepted my fate." She bit her lower lip and looked at him with tears in her eyes. He hugged her tightly in distress, and she grabbed his neck and kissed him on the lips.

//

Within a few days, the curtains made of Mrs. Chen's sheets were hung, and Mei Ruojun sewed very beautiful pleats, like lace, and the whole small attic became more warm, and she found a small teapot with a broken spout in Mrs. Chen's waste heap, and after washing it, she sealed the spout with cement, filled it with a little water, and inserted a small daffodil in it, and put it on the windowsill.

She quietly ran to a nearby pawnshop to get rid of the jewelry on her body and exchange it for some money. Every day, I came back with Mrs. Chen to buy vegetables, wash vegetables and cook, and wait for Ruikang to come back from work to eat together.

Mei Ruojun finished frying the last dish in the kitchen, just as Ruikang came back on a bicycle, Mrs. Chen smiled happily at the door: "Yo, Mr. Zhou is back, your wife's craftsmanship is really good, you smell it, the house is full of rice and coriander, as soon as you come, we both husband and wife have feasted on it, I have already told your wife, we will hand over the meal money to her in the future, she is responsible for our three meals a day, and the excess money will be regarded as wages." ”

Ruikang happily said a few words, then ran to the second floor, in the kitchen, hugged Ruojun, quickly kissed her on the cheek, turned around and said with a smile while washing his hands: "You are really amazing, you have conquered the stomach of the landlady in just a few days, and she wants you to be a chef." ”

"Hehe, yes, she told me in the afternoon, I looked at a few small embroideries in her shop, I said I would embroider, go back and embroider a few pieces and sell them in her small shop, and then I would pay half a cent with her. And she agreed. ”

"It's good, but don't tire yourself out, you know?" Ruikang said, helping to carry the food in his hands, and the two went upstairs and closed the door.

On the small table, a dish, a meat, a soup, and a small pot of rice, the two of them sat on the small bench, eating happily, everything was so simple, simple, but so warm and warm.

After eating, Ruikang would lie on the bed and read the newspaper to Ruojun, comment on current affairs, Ruojun would make him a cup of tea and listen to his analysis quietly.

Put down the newspaper and drank tea, Ruikang looked at Ruojun with a smile, a little drowsy, and fell asleep after a while, he was indeed too tired, school, publishing house, small attic, and he had to ride more than ten kilometers back to school later.

She was reluctant to wake him up, so she gently took off his shoes and covered him with a quilt. She sat on the side and watched him quietly, and couldn't help but lean over and kiss him on the cheek.

After Ruojun cleaned up the dishes and chopsticks, when she went upstairs again, she saw that Ruikang slept more sweetly, and it was already dark, and she was not worried that he was riding at night, she smiled and sighed. The most painful thing between lovers is separation, their separation every night is so reluctant, but they also know that they have to separate, there is only one reason, she is still Zhou Rui'an's wife.

Ruojun did embroidery under the lamp for a while, and he was tired, and looked at the hour clock, it was already more than eleven o'clock, but where was he going to sleep? In the past, in the chrysanthemum garden, she could make a bunk on the floor because she had extra bedding, but now the only bedding was on Ruikang's body, so she couldn't just sleep on the floor and ask Mrs. Chen if she wanted a futon? But it was already too late, and the Chan couple had already fallen asleep.

Her eyes stared blankly at the single bed, her heart was beating wildly, her face was hot, Ruikang was sleeping on her side, there was indeed an empty seat next to her, which could accommodate her body, but could she really lie next to him? Is that the right thing to do? No, her sanity kept warning her, but what was she going to do tonight? Do you just sit all night?

She struggled for a long time, but chose to sit on a chair and lie on the table to pass the night. She lightly put on her padded jacket, wrapped Ruikang's coat around her legs, took a few clothes out and put them on the table as pillows, turned off the lights, and fell asleep.

I don't know how long I slept, Ruikang felt uncomfortable with the tunic and belt card on his body, and woke up slowly, only to find that he was still in the small attic, so he hurriedly turned over, turned on the light on the table, and saw Ruojun lying on the table in a daze, and hurriedly woke her up.

"Ruojun, wake up quickly, you will catch a cold if you sleep like this."

She rubbed her eyes and slowly woke up, her waist was stiff for a while, and it took a long time for the two of them to wake up.

Ruikang hurriedly said: "I'm sorry, I don't know how to fall asleep, why didn't you wake me up?" I'll go now, and you can go to bed quickly. ”

As he spoke, he straightened his clothes and sat down to put on his shoes.

"It's two o'clock, are you going back to school now?"

"It's fine, or I can go somewhere else to pass the night."

"Elsewhere? Where? ”

"Don't worry about this, go to sleep, I have something to do at school tomorrow morning, and I will go back to the publishing house in the afternoon, and I won't come over for lunch, and I'll come over after work." Ruikang said as he put on his coat and took the bike keys before leaving. She stared at him blankly, not knowing why, but suddenly she wanted to cry.

"What's wrong?" He asked.

"I'm ......." her lips twitched a few times, and she wanted him to stay, but she couldn't.