"I think it's going to be fine," said Dr. Hopkins, who turned his head to look out of the room and asked old Andreana for a jug of boiling water, "and he received a lot of precious little gifts last month." /”

"Tea bags?" Chegalle took the tea bag and looked over and over, he couldn't see why, it was a very delicate tea bag, diamond-shaped, tetrahedral structure, translucent, with dark green "color" leaves and deep purple "color" petals, he put it under his nose: "The aroma hits." ”

"It's a lot of space and easy to get the aroma out," Hopkins says, "with lavender flowers and mint, and a touch of forget-me-not." Thanks, Andreana," he said, taking the boiling water, only a small jug, but more than enough for two cups of tea: "Taste it, Chegalle." ”

The dried and crushed flowers and leaves soon dyed the boiling water a beautiful purple color, and the intensity of the fragrance doubled, and Chegalle stretched out two fingers and pinched the cup the size of his ears: "I have never smelled such a strong lavender tea," he said, stretching out his lips and sipping it.

"Drink it, Chegalle," Hopkins said, "it's not just lavender tea, it's not just mint and forget-me-not." "There's something else in there." "I'll taste it," Chegalle said. His mouth was wide open, his tongue spread out, and he was free from a small vermilion carpet on which hot tea was poured, and the water beads swam and rolled, and his tongue surrounded them, restricting their course, making sure that every taste bud could feel them carefully.

The two men did not say a word, time whirred away like sand, and old Andreana walked in with her feet and took the empty teapot.

"Know that once," Chegaral. Bisandi broke the silence: "It is on the Tower of Babel, your son, Sasha. Does Hopkins' abilities work on me when I feel? ”

"Not bad?"

"Isn't it bad?" Chegalle put it bluntly: "It's just amazing. It is faster to live than a well-fed child, and it is more comfortable than soaking in a bath. Even the ease and comfort of killing the enemy with your own hands can't be compared, to be more accurate - more than "sex"/high/"tide". He exhaled, "Until I came to my senses, did I have any thoughts?" His eyes were hidden behind the overlapping skin, a slit as thin as a matchstick, and it stared at Hopkins without blinking: "I want to kill Sasha. Hopkins. ”

Sasha. Hopkins' father put down the teacup.

"It was a wonderful feeling that scared me," Chegalle continued, "but I knew how to identify drugs, but I had never been addicted to any of them, and it was impossible for me to wake up, they didn't work for me, cigarettes, alcohol, women. The pleasure they give me is minimal, almost nothing. I still have to eat to feel the only thing I can do, and every day I have to swallow food that will make the stomachs of twenty lean lads explode, and my mouth will move non-stop, and let my fat pile up, why? Because it's the only entertainment I have, but it's also going to give me less and less. I'm ramping it up, dear Hopkins, and you know that, but one day, it's going to disappear — and sometimes I'm going to be chaotic. There's only one point of light left in my head, and guess what? ”

"My son."

"That's right. Your son, his power. Chegalle said: "The 'Don' on Poseidon Island has a lot of power, but there are a few things that he must not do, one of which is that he cannot be controlled or influenced by things or people, he must remain sober and rational at all times...... Alone. I," Chegalle gave a thumbs up and pointed to himself, "but, Hopkins. Your son can break that, Mary, no, the devil knows how much I want to enjoy that kind of ...... of being overwhelmed and surrounded by power again. Pleasure...... It fascinates me," he whispered, as if afraid that someone would hear, "I quietly made a list on a piece of paper, and if I could get this power, what would I be willing to give?" The answer is – all. My rights, my obligations. My body, my mind, my spirit, my son. Faithful and unfaithful to me, the whole Poseidon Island. If he wants to take it, take it! His eyes showed a look of fear, and his complexion changed, and he was afraid that no one had seen him for a long time: "Hopkins, it's terrible." I am willing to give everything, I crave power like those poor worms crave drugs, although I understand that more power is actually not of much use to me, I am 'Don', my crisis is over, the betrayer is dead, Poseidon Island and I are safe and sound. ”

He let go of his hand and let the teacup fall, shattering on the stone floor.

"So when I learned your whereabouts from there, I wanted to kill you."

"What made you change your mind? Chegalle? ”

"I'm afraid I'll regret it." Chegalle said clearly: "I'm afraid I'm going to lose Sasha. Hopkins regrets it later, and when that time comes, what's the use of being upset? It is impossible for a dead person to crawl out of the grave - I think I should meet you, it's a gamble. Now it seems that I won – and although I still feel unbearable from time to time, I can persevere," he said proudly, "I won over myself, I was not controlled by my own **." ”

"You are indeed a respectable person." Hopkins said he cowered into the darkness and hid himself a little deeper: "Most people can't do that, and some don't want to control it at all." ”

Chegalle smiled, "I just wanted to tell you that I remember your son's strength very clearly, and my memory is not blurry. Hopkins, the power that this cup of tea has given me is very similar to that of your son, it has cleared my mind, it has made me energetic, it has been focused, it is full of joy, it feels omnipotent—even if it is only a few tens of thousandths of the latter, but it is, it is, it is strange—I think that is what you call precious. ”

"I did an anonymous test," Hopkins said, sipping his tea: "There was no coca, no poppy, no stimulants, no pesticide residues," he pursed, "clean like a newborn baby." ”

"Man is born sinful." "I'm afraid it's the same with this cute little herb – I'd love to have another one now," Chegalle said. What about you? ”

"Me too." Hopkins and Bisandi looked at each other, they were both people of patience and steel, and there was very little to shake them - they were still like that, what about the students?

"Anpu has investigated that only the ninth and tenth graders who transferred this comprehensive tea bag were transferred, and the eleventh and twelfth grade students not only did not, but also bought this tea bag from others, and each bag of tea could be sold for up to 100 yuan to 1,000 yuan."

"Addicts."

"It's not a pure addict, because they can't live without it, Grande has winter and summer vacations, and many people mention that they only want a cup of comprehensive tea when they are nervous about schoolwork or frustration, quarrels with friends, and broken love. The idea can't be said to be outlandish, everyone loves herbal tea, it's traditional. ”

"But as long as there are conditions, they will do everything possible to make this tea." "Dr. Douglas' Deep Water Club has a lot of great students, some of whom have graduated, but they still have a very close relationship with Dr. Douglas," Hopkins said. ”

"It's too short," said Chegalle, "Grande is a good school, thirty or forty percent of its students apply to the best universities in the Western Continent, and if he is given twenty years, his supporters will be all over the political, financial, and educational circles of the Western Continent." ”

"The Douglas family will be ecstatic."

"I don't think so," said Chegalle. Noel. Douglas is also drinking this tea. He rubbed his fingers.

"Who knows?" "I've heard that his uncle doted on him very much, and I could even say that he was a little afraid of him," Hopkins said. The man in the same profession as Dr. Douglas stood up, pushed away the chair behind him, and walked around the table, glancing at the fragments of teacups on the ground.

The large and small pieces jumped up, glued together in the air, and it flew back to its original position, where it was laid out, exactly like the original.

Dr. Hopkins stopped, and he blinked.

The teacup is still in the old place, torn apart. (note 1)

***

"Talk to me? Boa. Douglas, "Sasha. Hopkins said.

***

"Talk to me," Boa. Douglas said, "One last time, Miss Marcia. ”

“…… As long as you're on the swim team," Marcia said, "it won't be the last." ”

"So," Boa's face was paler than ever, and he looked like a frame from a black-and-white silent movie: "As someone who loves you and someone I love...... One last conversation. ”

"I can talk to you, whether it will be the last time or not......," said Miss Marcia, softly but bitterly, "you are still a child, and you do not yet know what the last time is—a word that only means to those who are imminent in death." ”

Boa's lips twitched, and Marcia didn't hear what he was saying.

"Something inconsequential." Boa ignored her inquiry, "Maybe you're right, Miss Marcia, but I at least know how to give up when it's time to give up," his eyes lit up in shock, "I just want a result." ”

Marcia sighed, she looked at her watch, and at a quarter past nine, Grande asked the students to go to bed at ten o'clock, and they only had half an hour to talk at most.

"Where?"

"On the edge of the Grande tributary." "The flow of water makes me feel calm and happy. ”

He glanced at Miss Marcia's fingers, which were covered with rose-red nail polish.

(To be continued)

n (one second to remember the world)