The next time I saw Ai Qing was in Vienna six years later.

She walked on crutches and on the red carpet into the golden hall that Huai Shi once dreamed of, standing next to her piano, and there was applause and admiration from all over the world for her.

And Huai Shi and the teacher sat in the audience.

Witness the pinnacle of her life.

"Envy?" the teacher sitting next to him asked, "If you hadn't given up at the beginning, you might be standing on top of you now." ”

"Honestly, sort of. ”

Huai Shi shook his head, and then, he shook his head indifferently: "But I missed it, didn't I?"

"It's too late to pick up the cello again. The teacher said, "It's okay to start from scratch, it just so happens that I recently retired and am very idle." ”

“...... After thinking about it for a while, it's still very difficult. ”

Huai Shi smiled bitterly and looked down at his calloused hands: "To be honest, I'm already unfamiliar with the technique of the Dun Bow, and I don't have time to learn it from scratch." ”

"Is Northwest busy?"

"Water conservancy projects are very troublesome, and the budget is not enough, so many times we have to do it in person. Huai Shi shrugged: "To be honest, I don't even take a bath, this time I washed it several times in the hotel, and I felt that my hair and body smelled earthy...... When I came here, I felt rustic, and I was ashamed of Xiaoqing. ”

Over the years, he has wandered around the world like a wanderer.

I have seen too many people who were as helpless as him, even if they tried their best to do what they could, it was still not enough.

What can be accomplished with the strength of one person?

and the really huge difficulties, the money that is enough for a person to have no worries about food and clothing for a lifetime is still too small.

It does not even bring a small source of water to the villages in the wasteland that are trapped in the dry soil.

He could only try to try again.

But with little success.

"If only I could come. The teacher patted him on the knee and stared at his daughter on the stage: "How did you talk backstage?"

"A few words. Huai Shi shook her head: "It's been too long, it's too strange, but I don't know what to talk about, I can only say hello to each other like strangers - every time she is so cold, it always makes me suspect that I did something wrong back then." ”

"Everyone makes mistakes, and it would be too sad for a person to live without even making mistakes. ”

The teacher comforted him: "Although most of the time I think it was a mistake for you to give up the cello, sometimes I think that if you hadn't given up, you might not have achieved what you are today, and you wouldn't have been able to help so many people."

Student aid programs, dawn education, and water projects...... Many people have achieved because of you, Huai Shi, don't be depressed, you should hold your head high for them. ”

Huai Shi nodded and did not speak again.

"The show is over, let's go backstage to pick her up. ”

The teacher got up slowly, Huai Shi stretched out her hand to help her, only to realize that wrinkles had appeared on the back of her hand, and unconsciously, her hair gradually revealed a trace of white.

Huai Shi was stunned.

"I'm old, is this something to be surprised about?" the teacher chuckled softly.

"It's only fifty years old, and it's still young. Huai Shi said.

"It's you who are still young. ”

The teacher said, "You still have a chance to make mistakes, before you grow old—"

She is always gentle and gentle with people.

No matter how rebellious a child is, he can guide them on the right track with a smile.

As long as she is behind her, Huai Shi can move forward with confidence.

But a year later, he suddenly received the news that his teacher was critically ill.

Sudden cerebral hemorrhage.

It is said that he fell while going down the stairs.

At that time, Huai Shi was on the construction site when he received a call from Ai Qing, and when the other end of the phone told him the news, he fell into a daze.

Frozen in disbelief.

At that time, everyone was still celebrating the completion of the project, and in a jubilant atmosphere, Huai Shi sat on the ground. Several confused children surrounded him, trying to pull him up, but the uncle felt like a stone.

It's heavy, and it's so warm.

Huai Shi said goodbye to her colleagues in despair, took a six-hour car ride to the airport, and waited for half the night before getting on a plane to Xinhai.

When the plane finally took off from the ground, he suddenly remembered what his teacher had said.

"No matter how attractive art itself is, it can't compare to something more intuitive and heavier...... Huai Shi, art is floating in the clouds, but there are always people who can't adapt to the floating life, and will choose to step on the earth more realistically. ”

Once, when he chose to put his feet on the earth, he never found a safe place, but when he flew up to the clouds again, he found that he was about to find a place to return.

He covered his face and finally let out a faint cry.

It's like a child who has lost its mother.

.

By the time Huai Shi arrived at the ward, the teacher had already woken up.

It's like using up all the good fortune in this life.

It's just a false alarm.

Outside the ward, when he heard about the situation, he collapsed on the ground, sweating profusely, and his hands trembled as he got up, and he couldn't help laughing like a fool.

When Ai Qing was with him, he grabbed the doctor's hand, asked about the condition over and over again, and then asked about the precautions. The doctor seemed to have seen too much, and just patted him on the shoulder and waited for him to finally calm down.

Sitting on a chair outside the ward, waiting sluggishly.

Until the door was pushed open, Ai Qing, who was holding a cane, came out and told him, "Mother is waiting for you inside." ”

He hesitated for a long time, but he couldn't muster up the courage.

Someone kicked him in the back.

It's Ai Qing.

"Hesitating and hesitating, annoying. ”

She closed the door.

Huai Shi was stunned for a long time: "Is your leg well?"

"Years ago, she had surgery. ”

The old man on the hospital bed made a voice: "I wanted to tell you, but she stopped me, and she always wanted to be like now...... Haha, scared, right?"

The old man's pale face squeezed out a mischievous smile.

I don't know if I mean my condition.

Or Ai Qing's healing.

Huai Shi was stunned for a long time, and finally couldn't help but breathe a sigh of relief: "Teacher, it's okay if you're fine." ”

"It's just a fall, no fuss. The teacher shook his head: "You've gone too far, haven't you......? If I'm critically ill, won't I even see the last of us? ”

"I'm sorry. Huai Shi lowered her head.

The teacher on the hospital bed laughed: "Say I'm sorry, it proves that you think you've made a mistake - you always seem to be making mistakes, Huaishi." ”

"yes. "Huai Shi bowed his head.

"But in a person's life, he always has to do the right thing, doesn't he?

In the long silence, Huai Shi was stunned.

I can't argue with it, but it's ...... I don't know what to say.

He could only bow his head: "I'm sorry." ”

"What are you sorry for me, Huaishi. The old man shook his head: "What have you done all these years...... Dawn Education, the Northwest Water Conservancy Project, and the Student Aid Program, is there anything wrong with that? Everyone is thanking you for your help, Huaishi, but have you forgotten yourself?"

"I'm just ......"

"You just haven't found it yet, I know. The old man sighed: "But shouldn't you help yourself before you help everyone?"

"Why can't you look back once in a while as you walk forward?" the old man looked into his eyes and whispered, "Look at me, look at Xiaoqing, look at your friends...... Because we're watching you, too, waiting for you to come back one day. ”

“......”

Huai Shi was stunned.

In the silence, the old man listened to the music on the television and hummed softly, "Howmanyroadsmustamanwalkdown?"

How many steps does a person have to go to become a man?

Huai Shi didn't know.

But at this moment, he felt an unprecedented sense of regret and uneasiness: how long did he wait for those who stared at him after he had walked such a long way?

Is it so important to be a man?

Over the years, he has traveled around the world in fear and confusion, like a wandering soul with nowhere to go, even if he has tried all his best to do those things, but can he really make himself feel satisfied?

"Huaishi, love will make people choose to wait. The teacher suddenly whispered, "But don't let the people who love you wait too long." ”

At that moment, he finally realized in a sudden sense.

"Understood?"

The old man laughed, raised his hand slightly, and combed his hair with pleasure: "Go, go—do the right thing."

You still have a chance to redeem it all, before you really grow old. ”

Huai Shi reluctantly glanced at the teacher, turned around, and ran away.

almost crashed into Ai Qing who entered the door.

"Neurotic!" Ai Qing looked at him in amazement, turned her head blankly, and looked at her mother: "What's wrong with him?

The old man on the hospital bed laughed.

"Probably...... You've finally grown up, haven't you?"

.

Huai Shi runs in the wind.

Pulled off the cumbersome backpack and tossed it aside, ripped off the bow tie, ran as hard as he could, as if instinctively rushed somewhere, somewhere somebody was.

Go to the place where she was waiting for herself.

It wasn't until he was tired that he couldn't breathe, staggered forward, and finally found the silhouette that became clearer and clearer in his memory.

She's still there.

When I looked back in amazement, I saw the face that had been absent for a long time, and there was still a faint trace of the sincere outline of the former young man.

Even if it's so embarrassing.

For a moment, Huai Shi felt unprecedented happiness.

Thank God.

She's still here.

Huai Shi used her last strength, took a deep breath, and summoned all her courage.

"Fu Yi. ”

He said, "I have something to tell you—"

Since then, it has been a long time.

.

【Theend I】

Then, when it all came to an end.

Time starts again, and Vientiane is renewed.

Huai Shi opened her eyes again and heard a familiar voice.

"Name?"

.

.