Liu calmly listened to Zhao Ermei say something about the factory, and when he got up and was about to leave, it suddenly rained heavily.

The rain became heavier and heavier, and the rainwater flowed down the rooftops on both sides of the alley and concentrated in the aisles of the alley. The narrow aisle became a temporary drainage ditch, and because of the poor drainage, it only took a moment for the alley to become a long waterway.

Liu Ping opened the door, through the dim street lights, watched a few pedestrians walk in from the mouth of the alley, holding an umbrella against the wind with some difficulty, wading through the water carefully step by step, constantly testing the road ahead with his feet, and was able to walk slowly over.

Zhao Ermei walked to Liu Ping's side with a heavy heart and gently closed the wooden door of the rental house. A gust of wind and rain blew, and the rain ran down the door panel to the ground beneath his feet. She took Liu Ping's hand and reminded, "Your shoes are wet." ”

Liu Ping looked down and said, "Well, this rain is too heavy." It was too sudden, when I came, the weather was still good, and I also paid special attention to the weather forecast, and there was no rain in the forecast, the weather was really a little messy. ”

Zhao Ermei's heart has a voice that constantly reminds herself: "Cousin cares about you so much, he loves you, and you love him too." You are a free woman, and all you can give him is your tenderness. There's nothing you can't do, and you don't need to hesitate any longer. Reach out your hand, grab this man next to you, grab your happiness, even if it's a short one, don't miss it. ”

On the street outside the alley, a new video store called "Legend" was opened, and the soft singing voice came intermittently, it was the popular song "The Heart is Too Soft", Zhao Ermei listened carefully, and the lyrics made people have mixed feelings: "You are always too soft-hearted, too soft-hearted, and crying alone until dawn." You love that person without regrets, and I know you're not that strong at all. You're always too soft-hearted, too soft-hearted......"

Zhao Ermei struggled in her heart again, and finally raised her head to look at her cousin Liu Ping's back, and reached out to hug him from behind with a red face. At that moment, she distinctly felt her face burning as if it had been burned.

Outside the house, there was the sound of non-stop rain, Liu Ping let Zhao Ermei hold him, he put his hands in his trouser pockets, and stood there motionless and silent. Zhao Ermei muttered: "Cousin, I know that you will get married in a few months, I will not affect your family, I have no other meaning, I just want to repay you for your concern for me for so many years in my own way, the rain is so heavy, don't leave tonight." ”

Liu Ping felt Zhao Ermei's somewhat rapid breathing in his ear behind him, Liu Ping was also struggling, as a man, he liked her, but he didn't care about her as a man. He always cared for her as a brother in his heart, he was a full ten years older than her, and he always regarded her as his little sister.

Liu Ping once stayed in the countryside for three years as the last batch of educated youths to be decentralized, and the educated youth point he delegated was not far from Zhao Ermei's house, and it took more than an hour to walk. In the days when Liu Ping was devolved, his aunt, Zhao Ermei's mother, had to bring him something to eat and use every other week, worried that he would not be used to living in the countryside.

One day, Liu Ping clearly remembered that it was a weekend before the beginning of winter, and the other educated youths had returned to the city, and he was the only one in the entire educated youth point. That evening it rained heavily, and he fell ill, lying alone on a tightly bound bed, cold and hungry, and feeling that he could not support himself.

In the drowsiness, he felt someone knocking on the door, it turned out that his aunt had come to bring him food again, and he cried when he saw that his aunt had wrapped several layers of crockpots in old cotton clothes, and that the chicken in the crockpot was still steaming, while the cotton clothes on his aunt's own body were wet.

But the aunt kept comforting him: "It's okay, it's okay." When the aunt saw that the quilt on his bed was very thin, she became worried again: "This thin one can't sleep, and this winter is colder than usual, so it's not good." I still have a lot of quilts at home, and I'll send them to you tomorrow. Liu Ping knew that his aunt's family was not wealthy, where did he get the extra quilt, but he just wanted him to accept it with peace of mind.

Liu Ping thought in his heart that he owed his aunt too much, and he must repay his aunt's kindness in the future. The aunt seemed to see what was on his mind, and said flatly: "Ping'er, your mother and I are sisters, you are in trouble now, I should take care of you, and you don't want to take it to heart." If you really have a chance in the future and can take care of your second sister, your aunt will be relieved. Your sister's heart is higher than the sky, her life is thinner than paper, she is the child who worries me the most, and the child who makes me the most worried. ”

From that time on, Liu Ping remembered his aunt's words. After returning to the city, no matter where he worked or how busy he was, he always thought about Zhao Ermei, and always thought of ways for her to help her. But he never thought about the relationship between men and women, and just cared for Zhao Ermei as his own sister.

Liu Ping knew that Zhao Ermei was the most vulnerable time for her feelings, and she needed warmth and comfort. He couldn't hurt her, but he couldn't promise her without principle, let alone deceive her.

Liu Ping thought about it, turned around and took Zhao Ermei's hand, sat down opposite her, and said with a gentle smile: "I am your brother, I have always regarded you as a good sister in my heart, and it is natural for my brother to care for and take care of my sister." Bhabmy can't do this, it's not fair to you. Brother doesn't allow himself to have this thought, and he doesn't allow you to have this thought, I don't want to mix any emotions between us other than brother and sister. Brother is not ruthless, on the contrary, this is the most sincere family affection. I also hope that you will always treat me like a brother, and never think nonsense. Promise brother! ”

Zhao Ermei finally understood that her cousin was the only man around her who really loved her, but this was the love of brother and sister, not the love of men and women. He is a man who is different from others, he does not belong to her after all, she nodded with tears in her eyes.

Liu Ping stood up and stretched out his hands: "Let my brother hug me and promise my brother to take good care of himself." My job is going to change soon, and I may have a lot less time off in the future, and I probably won't have as much time to see you as I used to. You must take care of yourself, otherwise I won't rest assured, you must let my brother rest assured. I stayed in the hospital with you for a long time today, and I have a material to rush out, and I have to work overtime when I go back at night, otherwise I can accompany you. Don't say so much, hug my brother again. Liu Ping saw Zhao Ermei sitting there blankly, so he stretched out his hands again.

Zhao Ermei looked up at her cousin, a smile appeared on her face, she smiled a little bitterly, and she smiled very happily. This man can't be her lover, but he's the best brother for herself, what more could she want? She reminded herself that she should be satisfied. Zhao Ermei stood up, stretched out her hands and hugged her cousin tightly, buried her head in his arms, and enjoyed an irreplaceable warmth.

Liu Ping opened the door, and a gust of wind and rain rushed from outside the door, and he instinctively stepped back. The rain became heavier and heavier, and under the dim light of the street lamps at the mouth of the alley, it was intertwined into a dense rain curtain, and the water in the alley was deeper. Liu Ping waved his hand to Zhao Ermei, opened the umbrella and walked into the heavy rain, and the rain soon covered his shoes and wet his trouser legs.

Zhao Ermei looked at Liu Ping's back and disappeared into the dim night at the mouth of the alley, and there was an infinite love in her heart. She stood alone at the door, muttering to herself in the direction where Liu Ping's back disappeared: "I love you, I will always love you, you can't refuse that I love you, you can not want me, but you can't refuse the love in my heart." ”

Dongfang Siyi gently closed the last file of Zhao Ermei's previous second divorce case.

He thought that if it weren't for Zhao Ermei's fight for another lawsuit over the issue of child support, these dossier materials would be lying quietly in a drawer among the hundreds of cabinets in the archives room, just like hundreds of thousands of other archives, which is where many old things in the past should go. They may only serve as an imperceptible trace on a page of history, or they may only serve as some kind of corroboration of the life situations experienced by a generation. In addition, the person concerned may occasionally reminisce, and no one will notice it again, and no one will mention it again.

Dongfang Siyi moved his somewhat numb feet, got up and walked to the window, trying his best to look at the sky in the distance, let his tired visual nerves, and find a space to relieve and release.

Thick evening clouds, large expanses of the western sky, slowly diffuse, and the afterglow of the setting sun gilded those clouds with a layer of yellowish bright edges that surrounded clusters or patches of teal clouds. The evening clouds slowly moved and spread towards the periphery at a speed visible to the naked eye, and finally, they finally covered the entire western sky.

This is the most common scene in summer, and Dongfang Siyi watched as these clouds gradually spread and diffuse, and watched them finally spread out into a continuous array, as if pulling up an endless curtain. The night came as scheduled behind this curtain, embracing and soothing everything.

On the street, the street lights are gradually lit up, and pedestrians are hurrying. Whether you are a busy person or a leisurely person, every day is the same length. It's just that the mood is different, the harvest is different, and maybe the ending of life will not be the same.

Night is the wand that connects the two ends of time, both the end and the beginning of a period of time. Whether it is a well-dressed dignitary, or a gloomy common people, whether it is an ambitious speculator, or a tired wanderer on the way home, they will all usher in their own night. The night gives them sweet dreams to tell them new hopes, so that when they wake up they can be resurrected with full blood, and the nightmare is to give them hints at difficulties and setbacks, so that they can move forward more steadily after waking up.

Dongfang Siyi turned on the light in the office, repacked the files and put them in the filing cabinet. This is a cabinet that is usually used to temporarily store documents and archives, and when there are many cases, the cabinet will be filled with all kinds of materials, and Dongfang Siyi's brain will be stuffed with the same cabinet without a little gap.

Every once in a while, Dongfang Siyi needs to clean them up in order to free up some places for new people and things to squeeze into, which is his daily work, the work that he can't finish for many years.

(Next Preview: Chapter 118: The Threshold of Civilization)