In a Chongqing hot pot restaurant, a private room on the second floor is unusually noisy, and three men and two women are happily drinking wine and soaking hot pot.

These four people are me, Sun Kai, Xiao Qing, and her boyfriend Jin Chen.

Jin Chen's wine has gone through three rounds, changing the gentleness and elegance when they first met, and the only remaining bit of scholarly anger is gone, he raised his wine glass and talked about the process of meeting and falling in love with Xiao Qing abroad and working together, which inevitably has a difficult and sad process, as well as the sweetness of laughter.

Sun Kai looked at him as if he was not drunk, with a complicated expression on his cold cheeks, but the corners of his mouth still maintained a perfect arc.

Xiao Qing's cheeks were red, but her mind was very clear, she leaned on the backrest, expressing her comfort, and her smile was full of happiness.

There was a large mandarin duck pot on the dining table, the soup was boiling and tumbling in the pot, making a gurgling sound, and a few plates of mutton rolls and vegetables were placed on the side of the pot, and no one was putting vegetables into the pot.

"Come on, let's just drink, let's eat something first."

I poured a plate of mutton into the pot and glanced at Sun Kai again, he said that the weather was cold, and proposed that everyone come to eat a hot pot, but he sat there and only cared about drinking, and did not eat a single dish.

After hearing this, Jin Chen hurriedly picked up a few bitter endives and put them into the pot.

"Waiter, I'm bringing two bottles of liquor."

Sun Kai shouted loudly, with imperceptible emotions in his voice.

"Xiao Kai, don't drink, let's talk for a while, and after my wedding, let's get together."

Xiao Qing had a trace of worry on her face, and she persuaded Sun Kai faintly.

After I listened, I handed Sun Kai a cigarette and threw another one to Jin Chen.

"Uh, I'm sorry, I'm not a smoker."

He shook his hands and made a gesture of surrender.

"Xiao Qing is right, it will be her wedding in two days, don't hurt your body."

I lit the cigarette in my hand, took a deep breath, and observed Sun Kai's expression.

Over the years, I still know him very well, Xiao Qing has always been an indelible complex in his heart, no matter when, or at the end of the world, his infatuated love has never been extinguished, even if he is married to Mengxi, what he has done is more responsibility than love buried in his heart.

"If you want to get married, you have to get drunk."

Sun Kai held a cigarette in his mouth and continued: "Marriage is a major event in life, some people say that marriage is like besieging a city, people in the city want to go out, people outside the city want to come in, I hope Xiao Qing's married life is happy." ”

He crossed Erlang's legs, there was a hint of drunkenness on his red cheeks, and his eyes were a little erratic, but the cold light hidden in them was faintly visible.

The waiter knocked on the door and walked into the private room, handed over a bottle of Wuliangye, bowed down, and slowly walked out of the room.

"Come on, come on, the sun and moon in the pot are close, and the smoke outside the bird is clear in dreams, especially you."

Sun Kai stood up, unscrewed the cap of the liquor bottle, looked at Jin Chen stupidly, and motioned for him to consciously bring the wine glass.

Jin Chen hesitated for a moment, he glanced at Xiao Qing, Xiao Qing lowered his head and ignored him.

The noisy atmosphere instantly cooled to the freezing point, and the silent silence lasted for about ten seconds, only to see that in the private room, Sun Kai was holding a wine bottle, standing tall and straight in front of the table, looking at Jin Chen condescendingly.

Jin Chen looked left and right, looking at Xiao Qing for a while, looking at me for a while, he was asking for help, embarrassment and nervousness surged up on his face, his forehead was covered with fine sweat, like sitting on acupuncture, eager to find a gap to get into.

Xiao Qing lowered her head, squinted her eyes, as if she had drunk alcohol, frowned, and seemed to be in a bad mood.

Poor Jin Chen, I thought to myself, in this embarrassing atmosphere, I can't drink a sip of wine, since the last time Sun Kai drank and lost his temper, I have some resistance, try to avoid drinking with him, the last time I was in Laoshan, he was in a good mood, but in such a low and depressed occasion, it is inevitable to do something immoral.

"Come, I'll drink with you."

I stood up, snatched the wine bottle from Sun Kai's hand, and filled my quilt.

"What's the matter with you drinking with me?"

Sun Kai looked at me menacingly, as if I had dug up his ancestral grave.

"What? Can I drink with you? ”

I stared at him, snuffed out the cigarette in my hand, and put one hand in my trouser pocket, a cold light flashing in my eyes.

Sun Kai will always be the one who stayed in childhood in my heart, even if he drives a luxury car, lives in a mansion, takes a virtuous wife, and has a high-paying job, but I have never been angry, and I have buried deep blessings in my heart, but I have never said it to him.

But his love for Xiao Qing has never been extinguished, and even on the eve of her wedding, he embarrassed the groom and put on a posture of protecting the flower messenger, which makes me look down on it, although the three of us have grown up together, but I can't see one of the friends having an unhappy marriage, since Xiao Qing has found her ideal home, we should bless her with our hearts, instead of tearing down the stage in public and sweeping everyone's luck.

Sun Kai looked at me for five seconds, slowly lowered his head, picked up his wine glass on the table, and motioned for me to fill it.

"That's right."

I sneered and glanced at Xiao Qing again, who was rubbing her temples with one hand, her face a little haggard.

This meal was eaten for four hours, and no one chatted and talked in the later stage, only I said a few bad jokes from time to time, but no one ate this set, and the atmosphere was not active, Jin Chen lowered his head and played with his mobile phone, looking like he was sitting and watching, Xiao Qing leaned on the back of the chair, closed his eyes and recuperated, Sun Kai put one hand on the chair, and kept smoking.

After coming out of the hot pot restaurant, Xiao Qing and Jin Chen stopped a taxi, and after a few words of greeting, they parted ways.

I live in a neighborhood with Sun Kai, he insisted on driving back, I persuaded him not to drink and fight, refused to get into the car, he left me in front of the store in a fit of anger, and the car roared away, bringing up the dead leaves on the side of the road.

The autumn wind is bleak, everything is depressed, the cold north wind takes away the life of the streets, and the withered yellow weeds cover the park, adding a touch of golden brilliance to the arrival of late autumn.

I wrapped my coat tightly, my mouth was dry, I bought a box of cigarettes, bought a bottle of mineral water in the supermarket near the hot pot restaurant, unscrewed the cap, drank a bottle of water gurgling, hiccuped, and walked in the direction of home.

Passing by a square, I saw a few children standing there controlling the drone, holding the remote control in the frozen red little hand, the drone was buzzing in the sky, and from time to time made a few flight shapes, causing everyone to look up.

The WeChat prompt sounded, took out my mobile phone to check, it was a video call sent by Xue Xinyan, I hurriedly looked around, and saw a rest chair in the park, after answering the call, I walked to the bench.

She was in a clean and tidy room, with a large bed behind her, with white sheets and bedding on it, and a long table beside the bed with pots of plants and tropical fruits.

After a few days of absence, her radiant expression not only did not recover, but became more and more tired, with a deep tiredness on her fair cheeks, hazy eyes a little haggard, and no trace of blood on her dry lips.

"Are you okay? Isn't it tiring over there? ”

I looked at the phone screen with a worried face, and when I saw her expression, my heart ached as if I had been cut by a knife.

"I'm fine, you're back to your hometown, is it cold over there?"

She brushed her bangs and watched the view behind me.

I switched my phone to the rear camera and showed her the park, which is not too small or too small.

"It's very cold, like winter, do you know where this is?"

I chuckled.

"I don't know, I haven't been back for a long time, and I have forgotten the name of some places."

When she said this, my heart was a little cold, and when I first woke up from my dream, I was also full of confusion, wandering and inseparable from this place that was once both familiar and unfamiliar.

"Brother Du has returned to China."

She picked up a glass of water at the table and took a sip of it.

"Oh, when are you and your mom coming back?"

"I don't know yet, her illness needs long-term observation, just wait."

"Where's she?"

I looked at an empty bed, puzzled.

After hearing this, Xue Xinyan sighed and said helplessly: "There is a patient in the ward next door, Chinese-American, a professor of history, my wife died in her early years, she is quite handsome, she is good, she is a nymphomaniac, she goes to other people's wards every day to sit and chat. ”

Xue Xinyan pouted, almost rolling her eyes in anger.

After hearing this, I laughed and said, "Isn't this a good thing, helping you find a father will also fulfill your dream of a family of three." ”

"I don't bother to care about her, it's her freedom to find her or not, and I have no right to interfere."

"Really? Then why are you angry, you see, your face is red, hehe. ”

As soon as Xue Xinyan was told by me, her cheeks instantly turned red, she glared at me fiercely, and said, "I'll hang up if I say it again." ”

She seemed to be really angry, I hurriedly reined in, and said seriously: "She has been single all these years, the company still has to worry about it, most of the time and energy are spent on running the company, simply meet your favorite this time, then wish her, who doesn't want to have a partner in their later life." ”

A child in the park was crying, his drone was out of power, no matter how he pressed the remote control, the drone did not move, there was no response, his father squatted down to wipe his tears for him, and was patiently coaxing him.

"Did Xiao Qing's wedding happen?"

Xue Xinyan pursed her lips and looked at me with curiosity on her face.

"No, it's the day after tomorrow."

I looked at the dad in the park, picked up the little boy, slowly walked out of the park, and disappeared into the north corner, without a trace.

The park was instantly quiet, the autumn wind blew, bringing the first batch of cold currents in Siberia, the trees in the park crossed the north wind, making a rustling sound, the sky dimmed, on the gray sky, there were a few stars scattered and scattered, the clouds drifted away, covering more than half of the moonlight, like the singer in "Pipa Xing", still holding the pipa and half covering her face, there is a sense of youth that wants to say goodbye.

I chatted with Xue Xinyan for a long time, until the beginning of Huaguang and the lights of thousands of homes were shining in the city, I reluctantly hung up the video call, stood up, and felt that I had completely sobered up, I put my phone in my pocket, rubbed my face, took out a cigarette and lit it, and walked home.

When I arrived at the door of my house, I knocked on the door for a long time and no one opened it, and suddenly remembered that my parents had not yet gotten off work, and the key I gave me was put on the shoe cabinet in the house, I looked at my watch, six forty, and they came back at least ten o'clock, how is this good.

I sat on the steps, took out my mobile phone, wanted to call my mother, struggled for a long time, or gave up, they were at work, I couldn't bother because I forgot to bring the key, I sighed lightly, I felt weak, my legs and feet were sore, I couldn't lift my spirits, I really wanted to fall asleep on the bed at this time.

I walked downstairs slowly, looked up and saw that the light was on in the window of Sun Kai's bedroom, I wrapped my coat tightly and walked forward slowly.