11. Pig Brain

Lin Feng acted faster than she had imagined. Tang Sizhuo took a taxi to the police station and thought she would have to wait for a long time. However, after she finished her statement, she saw Zeng Xiasheng coming out and sitting on a chair in the reception hall.

There was a drunk man and two couples quarreling in the hall, and the whole place was in chaos, but he was not affected at all, nor was he interested in anything around him. He just sat quietly with his head down.

Are you waiting for her?

Tang Sizhuo walked over, Zeng Xiasheng noticed the movement and looked up at her.

"Did the police give you any trouble?"

"No."

It wasn't that he didn't, but it was hard to say if that was an embarrassment. When he first brought him back, Liu Jie sternly asked him if he knew the little man, and then asked him how it happened that Tang Sizhu would go to such great lengths to ask him to fix his phone.

Zeng Xiasheng understood his suspicions, fearing that anyone who saw him would think there was something wrong with him. But he didn't know what to say, and his silence only added fuel to the fire. He was asked to explain everything he had done since his release from prison. As he was speaking, Liu Jie went out to answer a phone call. When he returned, he didn't say anything, just gave him a cold look and said, "Forget it, just explain what happened today."

Tang Sizhu was skeptical about his answer and sat down next to him. Their clothes rubbed against each other and Zeng Xiasheng moved aside.

"I'm sorry, I was inconsiderate and got you involved."

Zeng Xiasheng whispered, "It's my own problem. If you hadn't stopped me, it would have been much worse."

Tang Sizhuo didn't want to argue with him about the division of responsibilities, so she didn't continue the topic. She sat for a while, and seeing that he still had no intention of leaving, she asked tentatively, "Why don't you go back? There must be someone in the store, right?"

Zeng Xiasheng turned his head to look at her with a calm expression.

"The person who smashed the car hasn't been caught yet. I'll take you back first."

When he said he was sending her off, he really meant it. He kept a distance of four or five meters from Tang Sizhu and followed behind her.

Tang Sizhuo wasn't sure if Zeng Xiasheng would be willing to get in a taxi if she took one, and she also wanted to prolong her time with him, so even though they were just walking in front of each other, she deliberately took the long way around. Zeng Xiasheng didn't ask anything, as taciturn as ever, and only the sound of his unhurried footsteps lingered in her ears.

Although the stroll-like atmosphere gradually improved her mood, the presence of her high heels became increasingly noticeable. After walking for half an hour, Tang Sizhuo could clearly feel blisters on the forefoot, and every step was painful.

She walked slower and slower, and finally stopped, and the footsteps behind her quickly disappeared.

"My feet hurt."

Tang Sizhuo turned and looked at the man not far away, his eyes revealing a bit of grievance.

"Come carry me."

Her heart pounded as she spoke, but she couldn't muster much confidence. Although the boy in her memory had always responded to her requests, after ten years in prison, no one knew whether Zeng Xiasheng still missed the old times as much as she did.

If it were two days ago, Tang Sizhuo would not have dared to make such a request. It was today's accident that made her feel a little happy. She thought that maybe he was just getting older, but his character had not changed, and their tacit understanding was still there.

However, Zeng Xiasheng did not move. He stood under a half-broken street lamp. In the flickering dim light, he stared at her blankly like a broken robot, unable to understand the instructions and unable to start the program.

Tang Sizhuo held his breath, his nails quietly digging into his palms, but he did not avoid his gaze, and stared back calmly.

She knew she should take a cab by now, but she wanted to wait a little longer. After all, she had already waited ten years, so a little longer wouldn't matter.

She didn't know how much time had passed, until her heartbeat was almost freezing in the cold wind, when the command seemed to slowly float into the computing center of the old machine, fought with his reason, and finally snatched control of the body with great difficulty.

Zeng Xiasheng walked up to Tang Sizhuo, bent down, and carried her on his back.

His muscles still had memory, so he didn't even need Tang Sizhu to bend over him. He could reach back and accurately grab her knees, and with a clever pull up, he could make her lie steadily on his back.

It wasn't that she was so skilled from the beginning. When they were still very young, they were powerless, and Zeng Xiasheng had dropped her several times. Tang Sizhuo didn't want to hurt her skin, fearing that it would be difficult to explain to Xiao Tong when he got home. So no matter which direction she lost her balance, he would quickly protect the part of her body not covered by clothes.

Tang Sizhuo leaned over his shoulder, glancing sideways to see a thin scar on Zeng Xiasheng's forehead that extended deep into his scalp. She had discovered some small red fruit on a tree in the grove, unsure if it was edible or not, so she just lifted a handful and tried to pick it. He told her to step on his shoulder to reach it. However, she wasn't paying attention and pulled the branch off with it, falling sideways. Zeng Xiasheng, trying to separate her from the gravel on the ground, slammed his head against the tree root, leaving a three or four-centimeter gash.

The scar has faded with time and is barely noticeable unless you look closely, but back then it was another testament to his reputation as a "bad kid." No one wanted to ask how he got hurt, but his grandfather blamed him for getting into trouble and gave him a beating before taking him to a small clinic for stitches.

As Tang Sizhuo swayed slightly as he walked, he stared at the slightly raised white mark and suddenly felt a soreness in his nose and eyes.

She simply didn't believe Zeng Xiasheng was willing to abandon her, nor did she believe his lies about revenge and murder. He was born from a poor soul, and even the humblest seed that fell would be treasured by him like a treasure.

The first dessert he ever ate was a pineapple bun she shared with him, and until he started high school, until the accident, it was the only food he ever bought beyond his basic needs. The first bag of scented laundry detergent he ever bought was also because she told him she liked the smell of lemon, and so to this day, the man carrying her carries the faint lemon scent of laundry detergent on him.

He remembered the food, the smell, and how to carry her on his back easily, so how could he forget just her?

Tang Sizhuo tried to hold back his tears, but they still fell.

The cold liquid slid into her collar. Zeng Xia stopped abruptly, tilted his head and asked her softly, "Why are you crying?"

Tang Sizhu was speechless and shook his head, trying to find an excuse to get away with it, but he couldn't stop his tears and gradually began to sob.

Zeng Xiasheng tightened his arms and guessed the most likely answer.

"Do your feet hurt so much? I should have come to carry you earlier. I'm sorry."

Tang Sizhu was so angry that he laughed and wanted to call him a fool, but before he could say anything, his tears flowed even more violently.

She sensed his frustration from the stiffness of his back, but her clumsy lips and tongue didn't even dare to try to comfort her. Zeng Xiasheng paused, then started walking again, quickly crossing the empty road and stopping in the lee of a building. He didn't put her down, but just stood there with her on his back, waiting for her to vent for a while and then slowly calm down on her own.

Tang Sizhuo didn't have the heart to look for tissues in her bag, nor did she want to take any. Her snot and tears were all on him. After she stopped crying, she moved her head to lie on the clean shoulder on the other side.

"I want to eat pineapple buns." She suddenly said without any context.

It was almost eight o'clock in the evening, and it was basically impossible for any bakery to be open. However, Zeng Xiasheng didn't think twice, as if she was afraid that this slight chance to make her happy would slip away. She immediately said, "Okay, I'll take you home first, and then I'll go buy it."

There were only street-side shops around Tang Sizhuo's apartment, no large supermarkets. Aside from convenience stores and late-night snacks, everything else was closed. Zeng Xiasheng dropped her off at home and then hurried out without a word. But after searching everywhere, he could only find factory-made pineapple buns from convenience stores.

Fortunately, Tang Sizhuo was not picky. She curled up on the sofa, holding the overly sweet promotional item in both hands, eating it one bite after another, feeling very satisfied.

There were only two left in the restaurant, and although they were far from delicious, since it was Tang Sizhuo who asked for them, Zeng Xiasheng had originally wanted to leave them for her. However, Tang Sizhuo insisted that he eat together, so he stood in the living room and finished his own in a few bites.

After two days of not seeing each other, the house was a mess. After Zeng Xiasheng finished eating, he began to pick up the shopping bags she had thrown on the floor. He recognized them; they were the ones she had left in the back seat of her car to bring him the day she was released from prison. He had confiscated them, and she had refused to return them, leaving them piled up in the living room. When she had come before, the bags and boxes had been placed on the sofa, but now they had all been pushed to the floor, scattered around the coffee table.

Zeng Xiasheng could understand why, and began to regret that he shouldn't have said such harsh words at that time.

However, he didn't dare to mention it at all, so after tidying up the living room, he hurried to the kitchen, fearing that Tang Sizhu would talk to him.

Tang Sizhuo hadn't finished the porridge she'd cooked last time, nor had she cleaned it up; it was still sitting in the rice cooker. Luckily, it was cold and by the window, otherwise it would have fermented. He had no idea what she'd eaten the past two days; it looked like she hadn't cooked anything, but there were no takeout containers either. Zeng Xiasheng opened the fridge and found only the milk had been touched; he might have drunk a glass or two.

While cleaning the trash can, he deliberately searched and found a small piece of cut pill packaging inside. The few words left on it couldn't make out the name of the medicine. Zeng Xiasheng glanced into the living room and saw that Tang Sizhuo didn't notice, so he gathered the packaging in his hand.

The sharp edges pierced his palm, and the slight pain seemed to flow into his heart along with the blood. He could only tell himself that this was a childhood friendship, a favor he wanted to repay. He had no intention of crossing the line, and would not allow himself any unreasonable thoughts.

The crunching sound of plastic wrapping gradually died down in the living room. Zeng Xiasheng thought Tang Sizhu had finished eating, but when he went out, he found her asleep on the sofa.

Tang Sizhuo had changed a lot. His features were more mature, his hair longer than before, and he wore delicate makeup, but the lipstick had faded a little, making him look a little pale. He squatted beside her, watching her quietly for a while. There was still half a pineapple bun left, and he wanted to take it out so she could sleep well, but she held it tightly.

Zeng Xiasheng hesitated for a few seconds about whether to carry her to the bedroom to sleep, but this was no more than being drunk, no more than an emergency, and he shouldn't enter a woman's bedroom. So he got up and turned on the air conditioner in the living room to make sure the heat wasn't warm enough at night, and then he took her coat from the coat rack in the hallway and put it on her.

After cleaning the bathroom, he walked to the door with two bags of garbage, thought for a moment, turned back, and left a note for her.

"You forgot to change the door lock code, remember to change it."