Xin Chen bought a ticket for the latest flight, rushed to the airport as fast as possible, sat on the plane, heard the announcement prompting to turn off the mobile phone and fasten the seat belt, she mechanically pulled the seat belt, and it took a while to buckle it, and then she realized that her hands were shaking badly.

Her thoughts were churning wildly, but she didn't dare to convince herself to calm down and think about it, so she sat up straight the whole time, looking at somewhere in front of her. The passenger next to him was a middle-aged man, he looked at the young girl next to him resting on the armrest with her tightly held hands and stiff sitting posture, he felt pity and said comfortingly: "Miss, are you taking a plane for the first time?" Don't be nervous, it will be better to relax, and it will be there in half an hour. ”

It took her a while to come to her senses, "Oh, thank you. ”

If that person accosted anything else, she was in no mood to respond.

It was easy to get on the plane to land, she hurriedly got off the plane, came out and got into a taxi, the driver started the car, asked her where she was going, she paused, hesitated for a while before saying: "Master, you get on the city highway first." ”

was about to get off the airport expressway, and the driver was just about to speak, Xin Chen reported the name of a lakeside community, and the driver hit the steering wheel and turned to another avenue according to his words.

The security guard at the entrance of the community asked them where they were going, she reported the room number without thinking, the security guard handed the driver a temporary parking card to let them go, she instructed the driver to drive to the front of the villa, pay to get out of the car, and stop in front of the courtyard gate.

After standing for a while, she tried to push the courtyard door, and there was a latch inside, she hesitated, reached in and pulled out the latch, and walked into the courtyard along the bluestone pavement.

The weather is clear, and the sun shines through the shade of the trees, casting irregular spots of light on the ground. It can be seen that this place has been renovated, the curtain of the living room facing the courtyard gate hangs low, and the courtyard has been carefully planned, paving a narrow path with bluestone slabs, and on the side of the courtyard, she is planted with the familiar acacia tree, with feathery leaves stretching densely. Along the courtyard wall crawled Ling Xiao and morning glory, the flowers brought from her were placed in an orderly manner on the wrought iron trellis, the moon, pomegranate and geranium were in full bloom, and the roses had already sprouted buds, and they should be in full bloom in the past few days.

Behind the acacia tree is a semi-open sun room, with a rattan sofa and a small rattan round table, on which a pair of chess pieces are placed, and Lu Fei is sitting on the sofa, fascinated by the chess game in front of him.

She stood still and didn't make a sound, but Lu Fei seemed to suddenly feel something, turned his head, a little surprised, and then a smile appeared on his face, he reached out and picked up a cane next to him, and stood up, "Xiaochen, why are you here?" ”

Dressed in a white T-shirt, gray athletic pants and a pair of canvas shoes, he walked slowly with the cane in his left hand.

Xin Chen raised his hand to cover his mouth, blocked a scream in his mouth, and looked at him in horror. She could scarcely face the scene before her, and tried to pull her legs and turn and run away, leaving it all behind, but she could not take a step, only stood motionless.

Lu Fei walked down the first few steps of the sunroom, "Come in, Xiaochen." ”

Xin Chen stared at him blankly, his hands still covering his mouth.

"What's wrong, isn't it feeling well?"

Xin Chen put down his hand, his mouth opened and closed, and finally tried to open his mouth: "Your legs, Lu Fei, your legs." Her voice was hoarse and choked, unable to continue.

Lu Fei hurriedly reached out and held her hand, "Don't be afraid, it's just a fracture, it's almost healed." ”

This sentence smashed Xin Chen for a long time and couldn't digest it, she stood in place in despair, Lu Fei led her into the sun room, and then unloaded the backpack behind her for her, and let her sit on the sofa, she was still in a stunned state. Lu Fei sat down beside her, put his cane aside, stretched his legs, and raised his hand to touch her forehead, which was covered with cold sweat.

"Why do you look so bad, do you want to drink some water?" Lu Fei looked at her worriedly, reached out to touch his cane and prepared to stand up again.

Her hand pressed lightning to his right leg, "Don't move. Immediately retracted his hand, "I'm sorry, did it hurt?" ”

Lu Fei showed a look of crying and laughing, "Xiao Chen, you pressed my right thigh, it's okay there, I just fractured the tibia and fibula of my left calf, and it has long been fixed with steel nails, and it is almost recovered." ”

Xin Chen looked at him steadily, since she knew that Lu Fei had gone to Qiandongnan to find him injured, her heart had been full of indescribable confusion and panic, and she only tried to suppress herself from thinking about it.

However, starting from Dongzhimen, until standing outside the courtyard gate just now, the chaotic thoughts that lingered in my heart suddenly and clearly came up one after another: car accidents, frostbite in the snow, hypothermia, amputation...... Her original knowledge of the outdoors was entangled with pessimistic associations, and she had been exhausted along the way, and when she saw him come out on crutches again, her heart was shaking, and now she really couldn't regain her composure all at once.

She struggled to pace her breathing until she thought she could speak normally before she spoke: "Are you almost recovering?" That's good, remember to go to the hospital on time for a review, the steel nails seem to have to be taken out after a while, and when exercising and walking, don't bear weight on your injured leg. ”

Her voice was so smooth that it didn't fluctuate, and Lu Fei looked at her thoughtfully, "This is consistent with what the doctor said, I didn't expect you to have a lot of medical knowledge." ”

"Hiking must know how to deal with all kinds of accidents, you have a good rest, I'll go first." She stood up and reached for her backpack, and Lu Fei held her hand. She suddenly got angry out of nowhere, and without thinking, she pushed his hand away fiercely and picked up the bag, but Lu Fei grabbed her wrist and pulled hard, she lost her balance and fell into his arms, and before she could be surprised and angry, she immediately shouted: "Your legs, have you pressed it?" ”

Lu Fei said lightly: "I said that the thigh is fine, but don't move, it may affect the injury." ”

Xin Chen suddenly stayed in his arms honestly, not daring to move, Lu Fei hugged her tightly, his chin was on her head, for a long time, and sighed softly, "Are you worried about me, Xiao Chen?" ”

Xin Chen was silent.

"I'm fine, don't be afraid."

Her voice came from his arms, "Why didn't you tell me earlier?" ”

"I'm afraid you're worried, I don't want you to feel guilty, I was going to go to Beijing to see you after I was able to throw away my crutches."

"Why should I feel guilty?" Xin Chen raised his voice suddenly, "What's the matter with me?" ”

"yes, it's none of your business." Lu Fei tried to hold back a smile, "Okay, I don't want to appear in front of you like this, so that you dislike me for being a disabled person." ”

Xin Chen was discouraged and sulked for a while before saying, "I'm sorry, I'm really unreasonable." ”

Lu Fei had a pleasant smile on the corner of his mouth and did not speak. He couldn't tell her that she had been acting too unreasonable since they met again last year, and that he enjoyed her sudden unreasonableness.

"Tell me about the situation." Xin Chen whispered in his arms.

"I got on a military truck carrying relief supplies and drove from Guangxi, and the journey was very slow, but it was all smooth. On that stretch of the road, there was a sudden mechanical failure in the braking system, and the driver was very experienced, so he made the least costly choice to play the steering wheel. The car slid into the ravine and overturned, and the driver, and a soldier were all injured in the cab, but they were not serious, but the temperature was low, and it was more uncomfortable. After the radio contacted the convoy, the rescue came, you see, it was not thrilling at all, and it was certainly not as complicated as the situation you encountered on the hike. ”

He said it lightly, Xin Chen broke free from his arms, did not stand up straight, reached out and picked up the trouser tube of his left leg sweatpants, the suture wound on the calf was not a regular long strip, but hideous and winding, there were branches sticking out in the middle, extending from under the knee to close to the ankle, her fingertips hesitated, and touched it gently, the uneven scars had a warm skin texture, and there were several places where the skin was obviously darker, and it could be seen that it was a trace of frostbite.

"Is it an open fracture?" She knew that it was not as simple as a fracture of the tibia and fibula as he said, and after several years of hiking and traveling, she had seen all kinds of accidents, and she had carefully collected information on the treatment of external injuries, which did come in handy.

"There are open wounds, but you see, it's really fine, I started going to work after the Spring Festival." He didn't mention that he was in the hospital, the secretary was already reading documents to him next to his bedside, and as soon as he was discharged from the hospital, he started to work in a wheelchair to work in the company.

When the truck rolled over, Lu Fei's left leg was stuck, and another soldier was concussed unconscious, and the driver was the least injured, only his forehead was cut by glass, and his skin and flesh turned out, and he was bleeding profusely. He dragged them out of the cab one by one, took out the first aid kit for emergency treatment, cut open the supplies packed in the rear compartment, and took out a cotton coat to cover them. Lu Fei endured the pain, picked out the broken glass shards on the wound for the driver, and helped him bandage it.

The distress signal was received quickly, but only due to road conditions, and it was already 18 hours later when help arrived.

He was sent to the hospital, and the results of the examination were an open fracture of the middle of the left tibia, a comminuted fracture of the left tibial plateau, a fracture of the lower left fibula, two open wounds, blood loss, plus a frostbite that was not small, debridement in the local hospital, and then brace fixation, he had been anxiously waiting for news, and finally heard that Xin Chen had escaped from the small village and stayed in the same county town with him, so he was relieved.

He was immediately taken to the military hospital in a neighboring province, where he underwent surgery to implant steel nails for internal fixation. His mother rushed to visit him at the hospital and asked him how he could have been injured in a province far from where he worked, and he confessed: "My girlfriend is stuck over there and I want to pick her up." ”

His mother looked at him angrily, "Your father is too busy to teach you a lesson, but you are almost 30 years old, do you still need me to say what you should and shouldn't do?" ”

He only smiled and took his mother's hand, "Mom, have I worried you before?" ”

"That's not true, it's just that after the enlightened niece appeared, you changed, otherwise you wouldn't have done such a thing as canceling the marriage contract, let alone almost dying this time."

"It's not that serious, and I told you last time, the things I did have nothing to do with Xiao Chen. She is now very capable of living independently, and she takes good care of herself, knowing that if I go to her, maybe she will be annoyed. ”

"She didn't even come to see you, what did you say you were doing this for?" His mother felt sorry for him in the end, looking at his legs, there were tears in her eyes.

"You don't have to let her know."

His mother shook her head, knowing that it would be in vain to say anything more, "You child, you have been rational since childhood, I thought you wouldn't do stupid things, alas." ”

He smiled silently, but what he thought in his heart was that a person who has always lived a rational life can sometimes do stupid things other than reason in order to be calm and happy in his heart.

Lu Fei only felt that the cool fingertips stopped along the scar to her ankles, she leaned over, he couldn't see her expression clearly, but he could feel the slight tremor of her fingertips. He pulled her up and pulled her back into his arms, and she reached out and wrapped her arms around his waist.

"If you can't do anything because of this," Xin Chen couldn't help but shudder at the thought of this possibility, "What do you want me to do?" I will never forgive you. ”

"Just an accident, don't think too much about it. I didn't cripple myself so that you will always remember my intentions, and if it weren't for the bad weather and road conditions, there would have been no accident at all. ”

She whispered, "Why are you so stupid to run to me." It's just that transportation and communication are temporarily interrupted, and I'm not stuck in a no-man's land, and after a few days, won't I come out well? ”

"I can't wait, your last call only said that you were rushing to a remote town, I carefully looked at the map, the weather report, and I couldn't be sure if you had arrived safely or were stuck on the road. And. He paused and stroked her back gently, "Your birthday is almost around then." ”

Xin Chen was annoyed again, trying to control himself, "What kind of reason is this?" It's not like you don't know, I never cared about birthdays. What's the big deal about a birthday, it's worth the risk. ”

His voice came from above her, "I've missed you too much, Xiao Chen, I can't let you be trapped in the snow alone for that birthday again." But I still missed it, there are some things that I really can't force. ”

The faint desolation in Lu Fei's voice made Xin Chen silent.

On that day, she was in the small village, realizing that her birthday was quietly coming, facing the red charcoal fire in the brazier, thinking back to the days they had been together and missed for twelve years, with hesitation and uncertainty, and the firelight reflected her face red. She didn't expect that he was trapped in a ravine that was only more than ten kilometers away from her.

When she was a child, her grandparents and father would buy her gifts on her birthday, and her father would take her to the best hotels for cakes several times to celebrate. However, after the age of 14, she suddenly became indifferent to this day, and when Lu Fei mentioned her birthday for the first time, she immediately remembered the scene when he heard that it was her birthday, and her face turned pale.

The woman who looked at her through the midsummer afternoon sun called her Xin Chen, and told her date of birth, the weather on the day she was born, her weight, her blood type, and the red mole on her right foot...... Try to convince her.

She didn't need the proof, and when the woman stared at her and said, "I'm your mother," she understood that it was true.

That sentence also made her finally know that no matter how happy and relaxed she is, she is different from other children. Before that, she lived in her uncle's house, and when she saw her aunt come in every night to cover her cousin Xin Di with a quilt, she was somewhat inexplicably envious.

The mother has not existed since she was born, and there is an invisible gap in her life; And the mother suddenly appeared in this way, and then disappeared silently, leaving her with only a sleep disorder that has been haunted since then, and the gap has become so bright that it can no longer be ignored.

She didn't think about that, and shook her head at Lu Fei, "I don't want to celebrate my birthday, take me to the movies, go out to play, just don't mention birthdays, don't want cakes, no candles, no gifts, all of them." ”

Lu Fei immediately understood her, touched her hair lovingly, and nodded lightly. He never mentioned her birthday again, but when they were together, he would always find time to spend time with her on this day.

He did his best to indulge and care for her occasional vulnerability, but how could he know that her insecurities had been magnifying.

When her father was accused, she saw the procuratorate take him away for investigation, and even being hugged and comforted by her uncle could not stop her frenzied fear, she was afraid that another gap would appear and then expand, and her life would become unraveled, and she would no longer be able to piece it together.

By the time Lu Fei left, all her reactions were despair. Brutally refusing to let go, he swung his claws fiercely and grabbed at his heart, hoping to make him taste the same pain as himself.

Yet, no matter what, he left.

There are indeed some things that are destined to be impossible to force, she can only learn to face her life with gaps, mend it little by little, and grow up day by day.

No one else can go through the process for her.

At last she was able to look at everything calmly, and birthdays had become normal for her, maybe gloomy and cold, maybe a little sunshine that had not been seen for a long time, maybe a little snow as on the day she was born—but it didn't matter, just a day in the long winter. Whether it is in the city where she was born and raised, or in a simple house in a remote village, whether she has him around or not, she can accept that she is a year older.

However, after such a long time, he still remembered that this day had a different meaning to her. It's like she always remembers the first hug he gave her when she was 14 years old.

Sunlight shines obliquely through the sunshade on the roof of the conservatory, and countless fine dust flies in the beams. Heaven and earth are just all things traveling against each other, time sends away hundreds of generations of passers-by, floating like a dream, how happy is it? Born in this earthly sea of people, everyone is not dust floating and sinking in the sun.

The sand will slowly seep out of the fingers, and the memories will settle in the bottom of the heart, but after all, there is still something left.

What they want is probably nothing more than to compete with time, and try to stubbornly hold the relationship that the ruthless years have tried to wash away in the palm of their hands.

The sun room is facing the courtyard, full of purple and red, and the flowers are blooming. Xin Chen looked at the pot of bamboos placed in a corner of the sunshine room, "It seems to have grown taller again, when I was there before, others didn't believe that bamboos could grow so tall." ”

The property's gardener also said that it was the first time he had seen bamboo that grew more than 1 meter tall.

Xin Chen looked at the chessboard in front of him, reached out and picked up the black elephant in it, and touched the small indentation on the corner, "Are you and Master Lu's grandson grabbing chess?" ”

"I went downstairs that day and bought a Transformer to exchange with him, and he obviously liked my gift more."

Xin Chen stared at the chess piece she had rubbed countless times, smiled slightly, and put it back in place.

"It's nice to sit here and look at the flowers."

"Yes, I like this design the most, and it can be used as a greenhouse in winter. I'm a good gardener now, and I take good care of all the flowers you left behind, and do you see this tree in the yard? ”

"Acacia tree, I like it very much."

"I like it too. I picked a tree from the tree farm and it should bloom next month. From spring to now, watching these flowers bloom in bunches, it seems as if you are always by my side. ”

"Lu Fei, I'm not the naughty little girl who hugged the acacia tree anymore."

"I know, Xiaochen."

"If you think you can accept a girlfriend who is unsure of her relationship and is always hesitant, let's try to start over."

"Okay."