Yu Luying's home is a typical old Shikumen house, with four or five families living in the narrow main entrance, sharing a "soap room" (kitchen) and a washroom.

It is said that it is a washroom, but it is impossible to go to the toilet or take a bath, so in addition to wiping the body with a towel dipped in hot water, you can only use a plastic bathtub.

What really belonged to the mother and daughter was a large single room, about seventeen or eighteen square meters, and the entrance was directly opposite the statue of the "Madonna of Pain" on the wall: in this icon, Mary frowned slightly, and pointed to her heart - where seven sharp swords were struck.

On the side of the door was a sofa, in front of which there was a small coffee table, under which lay a double bass, facing the square table where the meal was served.

The square table was against the window, and a large bed was next to the innermost corner, with a small prayer table at the head of the bed.

The baroque prayer table is small, but it is the most ornate and dazzling part of the modest room: a cross of pure gold is placed in the center, and on the left is a foreign Latin scripture—only a photograph of a man in black and white, on which it is somewhat out of place.

Yu Luying sat up from the bed, glanced at her father's photo, and lowered her eyelids again.

After a good night's sleep, she felt much better, so she rolled over and got out of bed, fumbling her slippers on the floor on her toes.

There was an empty place next to her, and it was her mother's bed—as far as Yu Luying knew, there were almost no people who slept in the same big bed with her mother after they were in their first year of high school, except for herself.

The room was quiet and there was no sound outside the door, which meant that my mother had probably gone out.

Whenever she realizes this, Yu Luying feels a burst of relief.

Because of the distance between the floors and the orientation of the room, although it was daytime, the room was dark—the bright sunlight outside the house did not share much with her, but it did not affect the girl's mood in the slightest.

Rather, she was accustomed to the darkness and tranquility, like a young deer lurking in the forest.

What breaks this tranquility is the vibration sound of mobile phones.

In the silence, the sound was so loud that it startled her.

Sure enough, it was Xiao Yao who called, and she subconsciously pressed it.

There are (4) unread messages, Yu Luying did not click on them to read, but directly closed the flip cover.

Immediately, there was a cheerful ringtone of receiving a new text message in his hand.

Yu Luying continued to search her slippers with her toes, but she never found them.

She lifted her right foot and rested it on the knee of her left leg, caressing her palm.

What is he doing with his pants?

…… She shook her head vigorously, dispelling her imagination and patting her cheeks, which were a little hot.

In a word, disgusting!

The phone rang again, Yu Luying picked it up, lifted the flip cover, and moved her finger to the answer button.

At that moment, the door opened with a "click".

It's Mommy back!

Yu Luying subconsciously pressed the phone, muted it, hid the phone behind her, and did it in one go.

"Yingying," Yu's mother shouted outside the door, "Come and help mom get something." ”

"It's coming!" Yu Luying shouted, knelt on the ground and pouted her hips, and pulled the slippers out from under the bed.

"Why are you so slow...... "Yu Mu muttered as she entered the door, "Help me get the food?" ”

She turned her head and saw her daughter's hair standing on end, her body curled slightly, and her feet dangling a few centimeters from the ground, as if she were being held by an invisible hand.

The screams of mother and daughter filled the hallway.

-- Dividing line --

"Are you alright?" Shen Jie cared about Xiao Yao, whose face was pale.

"I'm fine, what's this, sprinkle water." Xiao Yao said with a trembling tone.

What a reckless guy, Shen Jie thought.

"I mean, you're on a roller coaster for the first time?"

"Actually...... Yes. Xiao Yao thought for a while and admitted: "I studied in kindergarten, elementary and junior high school in other places, and we don't seem to have such a thing." ”

"Ah," Shen Jie was a little surprised: "You're not a local?" ”

"My parents are," Xiao Yao explained, "both of them are educated youths who went to the mountains and went to the countryside, and finally settled down to work in Gangbo, and I was the last group of children of educated youths who returned to their homes, and I also added 12 points to the high school entrance examination." ”

"That's good," Shen Jie replied casually, "Then what about your parents, have you also returned to the magic capital?" ”

"I didn't ...... They're divorced. Xiao Yao's tone was a little gloomy: "Then they remarried, and I live with my grandmother now." ”

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

"What's there to be sorry for."

Tandem bikes have been returned, and boys and girls walk side by side along the trails of the forest park. Xiao Yao put one hand in his trouser pocket, and Shen Jie pinned his hands behind his back.

"When I first came to the magic capital, I was very uncomfortable," Xiao Yao recalled: "The past classmates and friends are gone, and there is a feeling of being a stranger in a foreign country, which is very lonely." ”

"Get used to it a little bit, and soon there will be a new circle of friends." Shen Jie said.

"That's what I thought at first...... It's just that I'm out of place with everything here. ”

"How so?"

"The high school here ends at 4 o'clock, there is no evening self-study, weekends off, and less homework...... I said to my classmates, why is high school easier than junior high school, people look at me with alien eyes, and say that junior high school is more relaxed, okay? ”

"So, that's not a good thing?"

"I was surprised that it was a key middle school in the district, but the head of the grade openly encouraged everyone to fall in love at the grade assembly, but the people around me took it for granted......," Xiao Yao said.

Shen Jie wanted to speak and stopped, and finally said, "So, do you prefer to be stricter?" ”

"It's not...... Xiao Yao scratched his head: "Maybe I'm suitable for being controlled strictly?" ”

"I can understand it, but I can't understand it." Shen Jie tilted her head and thought about it, and said.

"I don't make any friends here," Xiao Yao sat down on a wooden bench by the roadside: "I don't go home after school, I always like to stay in school until the doorman catches me away...... I just want to be able to meet a few classmates who leave late and chat with others, both men and women. ”

"It's okay, I'll be your friend from now on." Shen Jie took out a small packet of wet wipes, wiped the bench, and sat down next to Xiao Yao.

"Friends?" Xiao Yao glanced at her and felt that it was not the time to be entangled in this word: "As for me, I always talk to my classmates and want to participate in their conversations or activities, but I always invite others to dinner when I have no money, and in the end, I am isolated by the whole class." ”

"Why?" Shen Jie asked in surprise.

"I don't know," Xiao Yao's expression was a little sad: "How do I know?" ”

Shen Jie stretched out her hand and touched Xiao Yao's upper arm a few times.

"There was a girl who had invited her to dinner the week before, and when I found out that I was isolated the next week, she rolled her eyes at me when I talked to her again." Xiao Yao continued: "Once, after school, a boy openly mocked and insulted me in front of seven or eight students who stayed behind, and then the others sat there as if they were deaf. ”

Shen Jie didn't speak again, just listened quietly.

"At that time, my blood was gushing up, and I was about to go up and beat him, but Yu Luying stood up and told the boy to shut up." Xiao Yao smiled: "Otherwise, I might have been punished for fighting a long time ago, right?" ”

"If it were me, I'd help you beat him." Shen Jie pinched her knuckles and made an obvious sound.

"Thank you," Xiao Yao said, "Ouyang Qianqian said the same thing—it's my godsister." ”

"At least, you still have two good friends in the class, don't you?" Shen Jie reminded.

"Well, I got very close to them later, especially Yu Luying, because she and I are both backbone members of the poetry club. Later, many people acquiesced that the two of us were a couple......" Xiao Yao's face showed a look of happiness.

"Poetry Society?" Shen Jie didn't understand.

"Poetry, modern poetry." Xiao Yao explained: "The night gave me black eyes, but I used them to find light. ”

"The man who said this ended up hacking his wife to death and then committed suicide." The displeasure on Shen Jie's face flashed, and she changed back to a smile.

Xiao Yao was stunned: "Don't worry, I won't." ”

Shen Jie quietly pushed his hand away from his shoulder: "What does it have to do with me, you can continue to talk about yours." ”