"Going to your house for the Mid-Autumn Festival? It should be no problem, I'll just tell my parents. That's right, blow your hair, blow your hair. ”

He beckoned me into the bathroom, where a small hair dryer had been plugged in, which he had just blown. I took it, lifted the switch up, and it didn't go off for a while, and then the lights went out.

"It's tripped, where is your distribution box?" I turned back to him and asked, it was pitch black behind me, and there was no one.

"Millet?" I called out to him and didn't answer.

"Don't be a prank, okay, how adult?" Complained.

Still no one answered.

"Come out, I know where you're hiding waiting to scare me. Speak! ”

Still no sound.

I crouched down and hugged my knees. It's been a long time since I've been in a strange and dark place. Ever since I was a child, I was afraid of the dark. Xianxian is not afraid, living with him, I am well protected. I know that when he lies on it or next to him, he always sleeps soundly. Even if he wasn't there, and it was pitch black above his head, I knew there was a bed there, as if he was lying there. The other owner of the room was still there and he would get in front of me.

And there is nothing here but me and the darkness.

There was another snap, and the room suddenly lit up, and I was still squatting in place, probably afraid that the lights would go out again if I moved around. Miller quickly poked his head out the door and said that he had just gone downstairs to find the landlord, and that the distribution box was on the tenth floor.

Seeing my expression, he immediately pulled me up, apologized and said that he should have said something before leaving. I said it's fine.

"Anyway, you really looked like a frightened kitten just now. You sleep and when you're scared, it's like, shrink up. He said. The two of us changed our clothes and went out, it was already past seven o'clock, the wind was blowing, there was no one on the street, and it seemed to be an environment where we could talk about our hearts.

"My brother seems to have said that I have a fever like a little sick cat, I have no energy at all, I don't say a word, I lie on my stomach, and I am very well-behaved. As soon as he said that, I wanted to kick him, even if he was serving me medicine at the bedside. ”

"Actually, when I first met you, I thought you were the character of a big brother, the kind that takes care of people." He tilted his head to look at me, then tilted back again, "However, you are really good to people, and you have a good personality now. ”

"What kind of personality am I now?"

"That's it...... Love to cry! I don't like to be seen yet. "He grimaced at me.

"I don't know who cried on the first day of school, or hid in the toilet and cried." I pinched his shoulder, a pile of bones as hard as a steel frame.

"It hurts, let it go." He struggled to break free of me. The two of us continued to walk down the street, and the wind blew through the jumper we were wearing, his in blue and mine in crimson. The thick clothes made us fearless, but we still tacitly put on the hats together. I was not afraid to hide in my hat, and I even felt that the wind could be a little stronger.

"By the way, are you afraid of the dark?"

"I'm afraid, and I'm afraid of ghosts. So don't ask me to watch horror movies or anything. ”

"Brother Xianxian is not afraid?"

"Don't be afraid."

"So what is he afraid of? You won't be afraid of anything, will you? ”

"Yes, too. He is afraid of bugs, especially those that can fly, except for mosquitoes. He was always worried about being hit head-on by a dragonfly or a butterfly, and when he heard the sound of wings flapping, he looked down and tried to dodge. Sometimes sparrows or bats are flying around, and he is not very at ease, and likes to run in the opposite direction, but they will fly where he runs. ”

"Aren't you afraid of that?"

"To be honest, I'm a little scared. But finally there is something he is afraid of, and when I encounter it, I will tell myself to be braver, so that it will really be better. ”

"I'm so scared of bugs. It's okay with flying insects, I really can't stand that kind of worm. Just thinking about them hunched around makes my scalp tingle, it's a nightmare. The most annoying thing is the kind that will spin silk hanging down from the tree, spring and summer are always hanging everywhere, I don't know what Jiang Yuan calls them here......"

"The Hanged Man."

"It's a vivid statement, and I didn't dare to walk under a tree until autumn came, for fear that I would bump into one head-on. Sometimes when you see them from a distance, you can see them twisting in mid-air, and often one in front, one behind, and another one on the left, filling the air. It's not a matter of walking on both sides of the road, but if you escape to the middle, you'll find more of them, and when you look down, there are already a few crawling on your body, and your heart is completely broken, and you really wish you were short-sighted. ”

"You're really scary. But what about myopia, just because you can't see them doesn't mean they don't exist, it's better to see them clearly and avoid them. ”

"Makes sense. I heard that they were scared, so they hung their silk from the leaves, and everyone was scared. Isn't it easier to expose them hanging there, you say? The bird was going to die of joy when it saw it, and pecked one at a time. I've heard a saying that fear itself is the most terrifying, and it seems like that. ”

After walking a little further, the streetlights were a little brighter. Miller said that his parents told him that there was a snack street nearby, so we walked to the side of the road to get ready to drive a shared bicycle.

"By the way, did your family ever tell you to be a little more like a boy, or cultivate a little masculinity or something like that?"

"No, I don't." I feel that my family doesn't have any requirements for my chords, especially in the past two years.

"I thought of this because I just mentioned the bugs. Sometimes I saw them either because of something else, or a few boys would suddenly fly up and kick a certain tree while walking, and then the insects would hang down in fright. They like to be scary in this way, especially when there are girls walking under a tree. I kind of hate it, but they think it's pretty good, like a man. I don't want to mess around with them. ”

"I don't like it either."

"As a result, my family always said that I didn't look like a boy, I was quiet all day long, and I didn't go out with other boys. My parents are okay, those three aunts and eight aunts, as well as the next-door neighbors, like to educate me, can't do this or that, don't be a little girl, there will be nothing to do in the future. What the hell! What can happen? Don't you think I'm short, I think I'm like a child, and when I grow taller, who dares to say that to me. ”

"Let them do what they want." I stepped into the car.

"Yes, let's go!" He kicked it away.

For a long time, I didn't learn to ride. The family originally had two bicycles, but only the strings were in use. He tried to teach me several times, saying that teaching my brother to ride a bicycle was a matter of his dignity, as if my brother and I couldn't learn it would hurt his self-esteem. I did practice, I fell so badly that I couldn't understand how to keep my balance, and the handlebars were like a fierce horse that I couldn't control. And every time I sit on it, I can't help but hold the ground with my feet, and the fear of getting off the ground is unimaginable to me.

One day I was inexplicably uncomfortable and wanted to hit something or something. But I promised everyone, including myself, that I wouldn't break anything or hurt myself casually. So I went downstairs to the parking lot and got into the car that belonged to me and was barely used, regardless of how much dust had accumulated on its seat. I rode like crazy around the residential buildings of the community, fell down a few times, and scraped my hands and knees, and a few times before when I was on the pitch for saves. I didn't care, I didn't even clean the rubble and dust from the wound, and continued to race around the buildings that stood tall in the setting sun, and I was probably on top of the motorcycle. I kept falling, I kept getting up, I didn't count how many times I went around the same place, I didn't count how many times I fell. But in the end, I fell less and less, and when I stopped, I knew how to ride.

But I was still so sad, so sad that it was like a bleeding wound wrapped in mixed grit that was gradually solidifying in the slanting sun. The last bit of sunlight hit his body, and the whole body was hot and scorching. It's not because it hurts, it's because I can't find the car that strings on.

Later, I learned that my parents had given the car to my sister. Maybe they were afraid that I would be sad when I saw that things were not people, so they let things be "wrong". But just because I don't see it doesn't mean I don't think it doesn't exist. I still remember.

"Ke Ke eats." Miller handed me a piece of fried rice cake, which I had stuffed into my mouth to be exact, and the unevenly smeared sweet noodle sauce was all dipped in my face. He said that when he was in elementary school in his hometown, he wished that he would eat this thing at a small stall after school every day, and he was willing to be supported to death, but he didn't have so much pocket money at that time. There is no shortage of money now, but it seems that eating one piece is enough, and ordering another one is too much.

It looks like we've grown up. I responded. However, it will continue to grow up. He said yes, maybe one day he won't like to eat, or he won't be able to eat it. So let's eat it while you can. After speaking, he took a big bite and dragged out a long sticky white thread. Startled, he grabbed it before it could fall.

I couldn't help but want to rub his hairy head again.

After strolling around for a while, I ordered fried skewers at various stalls, stacked them on a plate, and found a place to sit. We ate one by one, inserting the eaten bamboo skewers into a small bucket, and after a while it was like a chopstick basket. I think the fried oyster mushrooms taste good, shriveled and crispy, and the sweet noodle sauce is full of it, and the flavor is overflowing when you bite into it.

As I ate, Miller suddenly put the hat off back on and reached out to grab me. I asked why, and he pointed to a stall behind me, a little far away, and said Ke Ke, you see if that person is Brother Tao.

It seems that there is a child about the same age as us who is watching the stall, and it is selling finger cakes. Now there were not many guests, and when one came, he nodded and asked what he wanted, although we couldn't hear him. As the guest spoke, he reached out to collect the money, then handed back a few coins, then spread out a piece of bread, fried it for a while, and then skillfully turned it over. I also saw the action of beating the eggs, which was crisp and neat, and the yolk fell on the iron plate, and the eggshell went into the basket next to it. What dishes to add and what ingredients to coat, I can't see clearly. All that was left was his last act of rolling the bread together and putting it in a bag. When the guests left, he continued to stand on the stall and watch, not shouting, and not caring about himself playing with his mobile phone to do anything else.

I glanced at the map on my phone, and this snack street was indeed within the boundaries of the economic development zone.

When I was a kid, I loved watching other people make pancakes or finger cakes, and Miller said it was amazing to be able to make a ball of batter or hard cake into something delicious, just like making clay sculptures or pottery. I spent a lot of time in my childhood watching other people make cakes, and then my boss was a little unhappy when he saw that I only watched and didn't buy them. Now that I think about it, it makes sense, I just look at it for my own fun, but people don't do it all the time for fun. Ke Ke, don't you think it's a little strange, we eat here, Brother Tao does it there, we are actually classmates in the same class and a dormitory.

Yes, I don't feel very good in my heart, but is it really that bad? I say. The striker from the school yesterday was my elementary school classmate, and he was very surprised when he found out that I was living in the school, as if he had been greatly wronged or had a bad life. Actually, no. Maybe in the eyes of those of us, Brother Tao is not doing well, that is, we have not experienced it and can't imagine his life. He may think that it is very meaningful and willing to help his parents look at the stall, so what qualifications do we have to preconceive that it is not good?

You're right. So I can't figure out why I'm uncomfortable now. Miller said. Is it because I don't think much of people from the bottom of my heart? How good am I? Is it that we live too "lightly" and carefree?

While we were still whispering, he had done two more orders.

Well, it's useless to just be cranky here, we have to help him. Miller said. However, I didn't dare to go directly to the stall to find him, I was so embarrassed, he would definitely be embarrassed. He asked me what to do, and I couldn't think of it.

If only Ye Ruiyang were here.

In our hesitation, Zhang Taotao left, and an aunt walked to the back of the stall to replace him. Tao Tao walked over this way. The two of us are like two gophers in a game of whack-a-mole, with our heads down and trying to retract into the hole. Fortunately, he didn't pay attention, and he probably didn't expect that his classmates would watch him "change classes".

He walked to the end of the street, disappearing into the lights and night.

"Why don't we go to his mom and order two finger cakes to support us?" Miller asked. I said that Taotao's mother had seen me and was afraid of being recognized. Miller said he hadn't seen it, and he went to order it. Well, just wear your hat and follow him, don't speak.

"Auntie, I want two family portraits." Reflected in the stall's slightly dizzy white light bulb, Miller's face must be very sunny and lovely. I hid behind him with my hat over my face, and saw a smile on Taotao's mother's somewhat tired face. Miller is a child who makes everyone feel comfortable when he laughs.

She nodded, and went to get the bread. Miller asked how much, and she said forty. I pulled out fifty dollars from my wallet and put it in the box with my head down. The aunt was busy frying two eggs, and said "Young man, take the money you found yourself." I nodded and didn't take it.

"Are you students?" She asked, her accent much clearer this time. Perhaps she speaks Mandarin more naturally when doing business, but it is a bit difficult to control when talking to other parents. Adults can be nervous, too.

"Yes, we're both in our first year of junior high school."

"In which school?"

"Jiang Yuan No. 1 Middle School."

I tugged at the corner of Ramile's coat. If it were me, I would say that I am a student at the Xinjian Middle School in nearby Jiangyuan City. It's not that I want to lie, but I'm afraid of trouble. I'm so bad at talking to people. And, perhaps, leaky mouth.

"My son is also in No. 1 Middle School, do you know him? is called Zhang Taotao, in the third class. ”

I tugged at his clothes again.

"Oh, we weren't in the same class as him, but we've heard of it. He is a very hardworking classmate, both in studying and cleaning. It's not bad to play football, and I went to watch him play yesterday. ”

"Did you win? Did he score? ”

'We didn't win, he played well, he was almost lucky to score, so he'll definitely score next time.'

"I don't know much about football, but I want him to do what he loves." She pressed the tenderloin, the square leg and the bacon on the iron plate, and looked up and smiled at us from the rising fumes. The bags under his eyes are a bit heavy, and his eyes are very kind.

"Yes, that's what my mom and dad said to me. Although I don't know Tao Tao very well, I can feel that he is a very nice person, very educated, and everyone likes him. It's just a little shy, but we don't know him, but we've only met him a few times, and he was with his classmates at that time, and the atmosphere was very harmonious. ”

"Sometimes, I think that we don't have much ability as parents, we can only cook and work, and I can't compare with other parents in No. 1 Middle School, I'm afraid that he will have a little inferiority." She lowered her head and poked the meat open with a small shovel, trying to check if it was cooked. The light from the light bulb spread evenly across her hair, making it impossible to tell if it was illuminated or really white.

This is a bit bitter to hear. Maybe it's easy for Miller to win the love of adults with her sensible and cute appearance, and she actually said this to us. Maybe we lied and said that we didn't know Taotao well, so that she could talk to us with confidence. Although we really don't know enough about Taotao.

"Auntie, don't think so, your finger cakes are delicious, and you can smell them from afar. Cooking is a university question, and I want my mother to cook as delicious as you. Moreover, I think Taotao is very confident when he plays the game, and he will definitely not feel inferior in life. ”

"Don't dislike your mother's cooking, she'll be upset." Auntie added lettuce to two sheets of bread with the ingredients.

"Hehe, our family usually cooks for my father." Millet stuck out his tongue and made us all laugh.

"Your classmates don't like to talk much." She's bagging us, probably because I laughed at her and noticed me again.

"He's a stuffy gourd, but I like his personality. In fact, he is super confident, and he is the star of our school, but he usually doesn't speak. So Auntie, don't worry about Taotao, the real masters are usually silent! ”

The last one who could blow so well was probably Ye Ruiyang, Mi Le must have done his best today.

"What's your name? Next time you come here to eat, Auntie will give you a discount and add ingredients. She handed the two bags to Miller, who took them and scratched her head with her hand, as if thinking for a moment.

"My name is Huang Zheng, and his name is Mu Minxue......"

It's not easy to hold back your laughter. If you don't slip away, you will be exposed, not everyone can be like Ye Ruiyang's face does not change color and heart does not beat.

Auntie sent us away with a smile and said that she would come to play often. She looked a little tired, but even so, she was refreshed at work, like the light bulb that was dusted inside and out, but still kept shining. That was my last impression before I turned away.

"Koko?"

"What's wrong?"

"Auntie gave us double portions of tenderloin and bacon. She probably knows you didn't get the money you were looking for. ”

Eating finger cakes twice a day is more challenging than eating two rice cakes at a time, not to mention the super deluxe version of the family photo set, which adds everything you can add. However, we were both determined to eat them without any leftovers.