In the darkness, I saw a group of men with strange hairstyles, dressed in black, with tattooed arms, smoking cigarettes and holding sticks, standing in front of my house.

"Are you sure he lives here?" A voice asked gruffly.

"Of course, Boss, he's been here this afternoon."

"Then I'll rest assured, brothers, slam the door for me! Gotta force him out. ”

The sound of sticks slamming on the door was louder, accompanied by loud threats:

"Tan Yao! Lao Tzu knows you're in there, get out of here and pay back! ”

It's not good, they're here to find Tan Yao.

I hid at the top of the stairs, afraid to speak.

I told myself,

Run, run........

But my legs seemed to be paralyzed, and I kept shaking.

"Bang!"

As I slowly stepped back, I accidentally kicked the can in the hallway, and the group's eyes suddenly shifted to me.

"Someone!"

Before I could react, two men came up and grabbed me by the hair and dragged me out of the staircase.

The little thug at the head had a silver ring embedded in his lips, and with a cigarette in his mouth, he knocked the iron rod on his shoulder, took a deep puff of the cigarette, and sprayed a puff of smoke on my face.

The choking smell made me cough incessantly.

"I have the impression that you are Tan Yao's daughter. Say, 'Where is the other?'

His hand gripped my jaw tightly, pinching my bones with pain.

"If you want to protect him, don't blame our brothers for not knowing how to pity the fragrance and cherish the jade." His snake-like eyes gradually emitted an eerie cold light.

"What nonsense to talk to her." The woman in a leather coat on the side stepped forward and stretched out her hand to slap her.

The slap made me dizzy and my ears ringing, and I knew what she was saying by the collar.

It is only natural that the father and the son repay the debt. I will end up like this, and I can only blame myself for my ill-fated fate. I hope they're done fighting, and they leave on their own when they find it boring.

I closed my eyes playfully and waited for the next slap to come.

It wasn't long before I heard a loud noise in my ears, someone pushed me against the wall, and someone kicked me.

"I'll go, who is this stinky boy, so powerful." It was the voice of the gangster.

It wasn't until there was no sound around me that I dared to open my eyes slowly.

The people had all dispersed, and there were hair and pieces of torn clothes on the ground. A boy in a school uniform with a black backpack in his hand sat across from me, gasping for air, his heavy bangs messy.

"Zhang Huaixu, how do you ......." I hurriedly stepped forward to help him.

"Don't ask, how did you get into trouble with this group of people?" He adjusted his breath, spat out a mouthful of blood, and wiped the corners of his mouth.

"I ......."

Do you have to tell him that my father is a gambler, and these people come to the door to ask for debts? No, I can't let them know........

"I don't know."

"Do you have medicine at home?" He covered his arms, stood up against the wall, and asked, "I was beaten on the arm with an iron rod, and I wouldn't bother to go to the hospital if you have medicine at home." ”

Anyway, he already knew that my family lived in this kind of place, so he didn't care to let him into my house.

"Of course, please come in."

I helped him sit down on the couch, my eyes glancing at the look on his face.

Fortunately, judging by his expression, he doesn't seem to dislike my home.

In the past, there were many people who became more and more estranged from me after seeing my dilapidated home. Since then, home has become the last place I want to be known. What seems like a warm home to others has become a stain on my heart for me.......

"Wait a minute, I'll help you with the medicine."

Zhang Huaixu rolled up his sleeve, revealing half of his red arm.

Looks pretty serious......

He has helped me three times since the beginning of the school three months. The first class brought me a lot of surprises, and he and An Yuqiu brought me a lot of touches.

They were so nice to me, but I didn't even say thank you to them.

"Zhang Huaixu, I ......."

"Squeak ......"

The door opened suddenly, accompanied by an old voice:

"Didn't the group of debt collectors come just now?"

Tan Yao pushed the door in, and saw me and Zhang Huaixu sitting on the sofa, one half-kneeling and pulling his arm, and suddenly shouted loudly:

"You lose money, you dare to bring me a man home when you are only in high school? See I don't smoke you......"

His rough palm was about to knock it down, but he was grabbed by Zhang Huaixu.

"Uncle, please respect yourself. I was just her classmate. Zhang Huaixu stopped in front of me and said calmly.

"Classmates? Are you in the same class? Tan Yao changed his angry appearance just now, a distorted smile gradually bloomed on his face, and he hurriedly pulled a chair from the side, and said with a flattering face, "Don't say it earlier, sit down quickly." ”

Without waiting for Zhang Huaixu to react, Tan Yao sat down by himself, and continued,

"I heard that your class is all children of rich families?"

"Some, right?" Zhang Huaixu replied.

"Yo, that's amazing. So what do you do? What about the income? ”

Tan Yao laughed intently, his eyes narrowed into a slit with a smile, and the wrinkles on his forehead deepened a little with the distortion of his facial muscles. His hands kept rubbing, and his eyes were full of greed.

Oh, I haven't seen him smile so much since I was born. The way he looked not only made me look disgusted, but even felt that he made me lose face in front of Zhang Huaixu, so I couldn't help yelling at him:

"Tan Yao, you're enough! Put away your money-eyed look! ”

This is the first time I have refuted him.

"See the money? I saw that the eyes of money were opened, what's wrong? You are a loser, you are virtuous with your mother, Lao Tzu gave birth to you, you can't let Lao Tzu make some money from your man, isn't ......"

When Tan Yao heard me scolding him, he jumped up from the sofa almost immediately, pointed at my nose and scolded, completely ignoring Zhang Huaixu on the side.

I didn't listen to Tan Yao's words, but looked at Zhang Huaixu.

His expression is very indifferent, like an audience sitting under the stage, and Tan Yao and I are tantamount to clowns jumping off the beam on the stage, which makes people feel pitiful, ridiculous, and pathetic.

At that time, a fire of ignorance rushed into my heart, and for a moment I felt that I hated Zhang Huaixu, why did he send me back, why did he drive away those people, why did he see the ugliness that I wanted to hide so much.

I pushed Zhang Huaixu next to me and rushed out, Tan Yao was still standing at the door babbling and scolding something, for the sake of the fragile self-esteem of his youth.

Now that winter is on, the wind in the north is so cold that it hurts like a knife on my face, and I forgot my coat at home again.

I sat on a stone bench on the side of the road, shivering from the cold.

"Hey." A voice called me in a low voice.

I looked up and saw Zhang Huaixu standing sideways in front of me, his hands in his trouser pockets.

"Seeing this scene, you are satisfied! You've been following me and caring for me, and you've known for a long time that I have such a pathetic home! Be less self-righteous, I don't want your sympathy, I can be fine alone! Why was I born into such a family..... You go, you go for me! ”

What I wanted to say was obviously not these, but I don't know why, these words were blurted out like this at the beginning. Maybe it was because I already regarded him as a friend at the time that I dared to lose my temper at him like a child.

He was a little angry, his fists clenched, his joints arcing in his trouser pockets.

I shouldn't have said that, and I don't want to, offend anyone.

"I'm sorry, I ........."

He paused for a moment and said to me:

"Go and live at my house."

"Huh?"

Although I also wish I could stay away from this home, how can I live in someone else's house, and I am still a boy.

What's more, I just said such an excessive thing......

"Don't be cranky, I just don't think it's safe for you to live here." Zhang Huaixu's face flushed slightly.

Seeing that I didn't speak, he coughed, and then said, "I live in the apartment building next to the school, with An Yuqiu. If you move in, there's a spare room for you. ”

"Is it just the two of you?"

"Hmm."

From the beginning, I was curious about the relationship between him and An Yuqiu. No matter how close the relationship is, after all, men and women are different, so they won't live together.

Could it be that they are brothers and sisters of the opposite sex? Or something else?

I looked at Zhang Huaixu standing in front of me, and I almost couldn't help but want to ask him this question.

Should I ask? After all, this is someone else's private matter, so wouldn't it be rude.......

After weighing it up, I chose to remain silent.

"How? Go? Zhang Huaixu asked.

I can't go back to my house tonight, and I don't have any extra money to stay in a hotel, so it shouldn't matter if I stay there for one night, after all, there is still An Yuqiu......

"Hmm." I nodded.

So, we got on the bus back to us.

Zhang Huaixu began to nap as soon as he got in the car, probably tired. I leaned against the window and looked at the various landscapes outside the window.

I was suddenly worried about Tan Yaolai.

I don't know if that group of people will come back to him, he is alone, can he solve it? Although he said excessively, and he never fulfilled his obligations as a father, he is still mine after all.......

"Don't worry, I gave him a little anesthetic, and it should be fine to protect himself." Zhang Huaixu's eyes were half-open and half-closed, and he suddenly spoke.

"Anesthetics?"

"I tuned it when I was bored in chemistry class today."

“.........”

"Zhang Huaixu, because you sympathize with me, you will help me many times and again."

"Huh?"

"Thank you, it's just that in the future, you don't have to help me anymore. If you don't stick a needle in your body, you will never feel empathy. You are different from me, the more you care about me, the more pathetic and incompetent I feel, and I misunderstood you just now........"

Zhang Huaixu didn't speak, time seemed to freeze at this time, and even the sound of cars outside the window was not very real.

I buried my head low, rubbed the corners of my clothes with my hands on my thighs, and cold sweat broke out in my palms unconsciously.

"It's not sympathy for you," Zhang Huaixu turned his head and looked at me seriously, the breeze blew his bangs, and I could see clearly that his eyes were soaked with sadness.

"I'm not sympathetic to you, I just feel that we are all the same........"