Unfortunate Boy
"Hongqi, Xu Hongqi, I'm Xu Fengkai." My cousin called out loudly, which was rare.
Hearing the sound, Xu Hongqi stood up straight and turned his head. Maybe it was because he looked up suddenly or maybe it was because of the glare of the sunlight, Xu Hongqi squinted and looked at a man and a woman not far away.
He knew the boy, he was his junior high school classmate and the only person he could talk to in school.
In the first year of junior high school, Xu Chunling, his aunt, and her family did not agree to let him go to junior high school, so they refused to pay for his tuition and textbooks. He knew in his heart that they were afraid that if he read too much and became knowledgeable, he would go and ask for his job back.
He had to borrow some money from his father's former friend to continue his studies, but his father's friend's wife was strict and didn't see any ability for Xu Hongqi to repay the money, so the money given was only enough for tuition, and the books were borrowed from a boy named Xu Fengkai.
He didn't know the girl next to him, but she was looking at him with a smile. The girl was about 1.58 meters tall and thin, with a little blush on her fair face, but she was undoubtedly pretty. He was a little confused, so he frowned.
Xu Hongqi was looking at them, and Xu Nian was also looking at Xu Hongqi. Xu Nian opened her eyes wide and looked carefully at the person she needed to "correct".
The boy is like a small poplar. You won't pay attention to his appearance first, because he stands there very straight and upright. But due to malnutrition or other reasons, his face is a little yellow, and maybe because his life is hard, there is no smile on his face, and he looks serious and tense.
Xu Hongqi probably hasn't grown up yet, and looks a little immature, but he looks very fierce. In order to appear kind, Xu Nian deliberately smiled and observed him inconspicuously.
He has single eyelids, his eyes are neither big nor small, his nose is three-dimensional, and his lips are a little thin even when he purses them. His facial features are not really outstanding, but they look good together.
Perhaps feeling that someone was looking at him, the person who was about to talk to Xu Fengkai suddenly turned his head and glanced at Xu Nian with his sharp eyes, which scared Xu Nian. Xu Nian calmed down and pretended to be calm and looked away.
Xu Fengkai hurriedly said, "Xu Hongqi, this is my sister Xu Nian. She came with me today because she has nothing to do."
"Are you here to talk to me about something?" Xu Hongqi asked.
Xu Fengkai waved his hand and said embarrassedly: "I thought the final exams were coming up soon, and I haven't seen you at school recently, so I wanted to tell you."
Perhaps I could tell that Xu Hongqi seemed to be saying, this is not worth you riding your bike to tell me, so I added, "By the way, I want to learn from you. There are some things I don't quite understand. You know, sometimes the teacher doesn't explain it very clearly..." His voice became smaller and smaller.
Xu Hongqi understood this and didn't ask any more questions.
Because he still lived in Xu Chunling's old house, he often had to go to work so that he could take away some food.
"You can see I have to continue working. I can't leave halfway through now." Xu Hongqi even said calmly, "Otherwise, all this time I've worked would have been in vain."
Xu Fengkai didn't mind him doing this. After all, he was just helping out at home from time to time, but his family still wanted him to focus on his studies, so he was a little embarrassed for a moment.
Xu Nian was also a little stunned, but then he thought with relief that this was in line with Xu Hongqi's character. He and his cousin looked at each other and said, "We'll wait for you, you go ahead and do your work."
Xu Hongqi didn't feel embarrassed. He wanted to say something but didn't say it in the end. He nodded at the two of them and continued digging the ground with the hoe.
Xu Fengkai felt embarrassed, so when he saw Xu Hongqi rummaging through the gravel, he followed and picked up some.
Xu Nian was a little reluctant to get started. He watched the two of them for a while, then thought that he was supposed to "conquer and correct" Xu Hongqi. He couldn't leave an image of being indifferent and lazy, so he picked up rotten branches and other things miserably.
Xu Nian thought as she worked that she was able to adapt to life here so quickly thanks to the few years in the welfare home. Otherwise, she would have collapsed in the face of the occasional mental torture and the extremely comfortable life in her adoptive parents' home.
She glanced at Xu Hongqi out of the corner of her eye. She wondered if it would be even more difficult for him to adapt to life, as he had lived a happy life since childhood and had become poor because of the death of his parents. Xu Nian had her own judgment. She never thought that what the Time and Space Messenger said was correct. If she put herself in his shoes, if she encountered these things, she would not be able to face them calmly. At most, she would not retaliate against all mankind, but she would not let go of those who deserved punishment.
The three of them didn't communicate with each other, but they worked much faster. This area was allocated to Xu Hongqi. After the scorer came to record the points, he looked at them twice and left without saying much.
After work, Xu Nian and Xu Fengkai followed Xu Hongqi home along a deserted path. The two boys weren't too silent at this point. Although her cousin was the one who talked most, Xu Hongqi would usually respond.
Xu Nian saw that she had nothing to do, but in order to make her presence felt, she still took the opportunity to interrupt. When she saw the two of them talking about the increase in the number of people taking the high school entrance exam this year, she naturally said, "Yes, there are more students in our class taking the junior high school entrance exam this year than last year."
Then he pretended to be a good boy and said, "Brother Hongqi, I heard from my brother that you are very good at studying and you are better than what the teachers teach you. Not only my brother admires you, but I admire you too."
Xu Fengkai was surprised at his sister's shamelessness and smiled embarrassedly at Xu Hongqi.
Xu Hongqi felt that Xu Fengkai's sister was quite lively and her personality was not very similar to that of his classmates. However, since he had no interest in getting along with others, he nodded indifferently.
The three of them pushed a bicycle, not moving particularly fast, but fortunately the path was shaded by trees.
It was almost noon when we arrived at Xu Hongqi's house. At other people's homes, someone would have been home early to cook for the whole family, but when we arrived at Xu Hongqi's yard, the door handle was locked. The tattered door frame creaked as it opened, accompanied by dust falling from the mud wall.
The three of them stepped into the house and found that the three small houses inside were even more dilapidated. Xu Nian didn't know how he lived here. The yard was empty with only a few small trees.
After parking the car, they walked into the house again. It was a very hot summer day, but the house was not only stuffy but also dim. The people standing there should be in the main hall for receiving guests. There was also a small room inside, which was probably where Xu Hongqi rested and slept.
After Xu Hongqi took them in, he ignored the brother and sister. He went to somewhere to dig up a bowl of coarse grain noodles, took some wild vegetables from a box, and prepared to cook.
Maybe Xu Fengkai didn't expect that the academic classmate he admired was in such a difficult situation. He thought his classmates were exaggerating. He felt a little sorry for Xu Hongqi and felt a little sorry for him.
Everyone knows that Xu Hongqi's family was originally from the county town. His father was a designer in the factory and his mother was a trade union officer. Now he lives such a life. No matter how you think about it, you feel aggrieved for him.
Xu Nianke didn't care what his brother was thinking. When he saw Xu Hongqi stand up, he followed him. When he saw him stirring the noodles, he took the initiative to pour water into the bowl. When he saw him washing the vegetables, he helped wash them. In the process, he accidentally touched Xu Hongqi's fingers, which startled them both.
The different touches of men and women made them feel a little awkward. Xu Hongqi rarely spoke to Xu Nian: "You should take a rest. The meal will be ready soon."
The boy's voice was still a little childish, and a little hoarse due to dry mouth. Xu Nian nodded sullenly, but did not leave. He just watched Xu Hongqi work not far away. Xu Nian didn't know why he felt a little uncomfortable. The weather was very hot, but it seemed that it could not warm the boy's cold heart.
The meal was quick and simple, a soup of coarse grains and wild vegetables. She watched Xu Hongqi give her brother and sister a bowl each, and then she watched without eating. She remembered the two bowls on the kitchen counter, and she understood.
Although the meal was not tasty and had a bitter taste from the wild vegetables, she ate quickly. After finishing, she washed the dishes in the kitchen, then went into the main room and handed the bowl to Xu Hongqi.
Xu Hongqi was still talking to Xu Fengkai when Xu Nian handed him the bowl. After a moment of hesitation, he took the bowl and asked, "Are you full? If not, there's more."
Xu Nian nodded: "I'm full, go eat now."
When Xu Hongqi went to serve the rice, Xu Nian patted his brother and said, "Brother, you are such a pig!"
Xu Fengkai was dizzy from what he said, and when he saw Xu Hongqi coming back, Xu Nian fell silent again.
Just looking at the full bowl of rice, Xu Hongqi ate it very quickly and happily. Xu Nian sighed a little frustratedly, but still said with a smile: "The food cooked by Brother Hongqi is really delicious. I ate it very happily. Thank you Brother Hongqi for the treat."
Xu Hongqi didn't care about what she said at all. This was what he usually ate. Even if she was just saying polite words, there was nothing he could do but to entertain her here.
However, since Xu Fengkai was a rare classmate who had helped him, he replied, "Normally."
As soon as he finished speaking, the gate creaked loudly, and then a little girl's voice came in, "Xu Hongqi, you're still closing the door in broad daylight. What shameful things are you doing in my house?"
Xu Nian and Xu Fengkai didn't know who had come and who was so arrogant, so they all looked at Xu Hongqi.
But the host cleared the dishes without reacting and said to the two, "Maybe we won't be able to study today. If you don't have anything else, you two can go home."
After hearing this, Xu Nian looked at her brother, as if to say, "Didn't you say on the way that your classmate lives alone? Then who is shouting about this?"
But seeing her cousin's confused look, she thought it was useless to ask, as she could see that these two people might not even be familiar with each other.
Xu Nian thought that he couldn't leave, as this was a rare opportunity to get to know each other more deeply. Seeing Xu Hongqi carrying the cleaned dishes out, Xu Nian followed him. Xu Fengkai, feeling a little uncomfortable, also followed him out.
As soon as I walked out of the main hall, I saw two girls, one big and one small, and a boy following them in the yard.
One of the two girls was probably fifteen or sixteen and looked a bit timid. The other girl, about the same age, had a rather arrogant expression. As for the little boy, probably around seven, with a dark face, he was being held hand by the older girl.
The three of them were looking at the brand new and "stylish" bicycles in the yard. When they felt someone around, they looked at Xu Nian and the others.
And they seemed to know that Xu Hongqi didn't even look at them and didn't care.
The younger girl said to Xu Fengkai, "We are relatives of Xu Hongqi. My name is Liu Li, my sister is Liu Ping, and my brother is Liu Xuelong." Then she pointed to the corresponding people.
This made Xu Nian sure who the person who had just spoken so arrogantly was. Without waiting for his cousin to speak, he deliberately said, "Who you are has nothing to do with us. You don't need to introduce yourself to us."
Liu Li was both angry and embarrassed. The reason why she didn't talk to Xu Nian at the beginning was because she was a little afraid of Xu Nian. They were in the same elementary school but different classes. Xu Nian was quite famous in school. She was good-looking, had a good personality, and was eloquent. Many classmates in the school liked to play with her.
The most important thing is that she likes Xu Cong from the captain's family, and Xu Cong also likes Xu Nian, who is good-looking and has a good family background in their school.
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