Help! This is so embarrassing!
The fluorescent lights of the convenience store cast a shadow under Cheng Xiaorui's eyelashes. He stared at Lu Ziyi, whose slender fingers were casually tapping on the glass counter, making a rhythmic sound.
"Why are you here?" Cheng Xiaorui's voice was colder than the frost in the freezer.
Lu Ziyi's mouth curled up, and the black earrings flashed a cold light under the light: "Why can't I be here?"
Well, it's really stupid to ask someone why they're in a convenience store. Cheng Xiaorui said, "Then what do you want to buy?"
"Do you work here?" Lu Ziyi suddenly leaned over, and a fragrant breath brushed against Cheng Xiaorui's nose.
"None of your business," Cheng Xiaorui took a step back, his lower back hitting the shelf behind him, "If you don't want to buy, leave."
The merchandise on the shelves swayed gently, and a few bags of potato chips rustled. Lu Ziyi's eyes swept over his red waist, and he suddenly smiled: "Why should I leave?"
Cheng Xiaorui's temples throbbed. He turned to leave, but someone grabbed his wrist. Lu Ziyi's thumb pressed hard, causing him to gasp in pain.
"Fuck... your mother..." Cheng Xiaorui's voice stopped abruptly.
Lu Ziyi's pupils contracted slightly.
"Cheng Cheng!" Cheng Zhixu's voice came from the end of the shelf, "Come here."
The moment Lu Ziyi let go, Cheng Xiaorui saw his own face reflected on the face of his watch—distorted like a stranger's. Rubbing his wrist, he walked towards his mother and heard a barely audible chuckle behind him.
As he sorted the shelves, Cheng Xiaorui's nails left deep scratches on the boxes. When he returned to the cashier counter, Lu Ziyi was still standing there, as still as a block of wood.
"Why don't you leave?" Cheng Xiaorui's voice seemed to be squeezed out from between his teeth.
"I came here to buy something," Lu Ziyi tilted his head, "but you just left, so I have to wait."
Cheng Xiaorui took a deep breath, his chest heaving violently: "Then what do you want to buy?"
Lu Ziyi looked over his shoulder and pointed at the pink-wrapped strawberry cake on the top shelf: "I want that one."
Cheng Xiaorui turned around, his eyes scanning the shelves. He stood on tiptoe, his fingertips only two centimeters away from his target. The shelves groaned under the weight of his exertion.
"Change it." Cheng Xiaorui's voice was filled with suppressed anger.
A muffled laugh came from behind him. Lu Zi also tilted his head, his Adam's apple rolling up and down: "Can't reach it?"
Cheng Xiaorui slammed his fist on the counter, rattling the candy cane jar next to the cash register. When Cheng Zhixu hurried over, he saw his son's red knuckles and the playful expression on the boy across from him.
"Cheng Cheng, you..." He looked at Cheng Xiaorui and then turned to look at Lu Ziyi, "Oh, it's classmate Lu. What's wrong?"
Lu Ziyi instantly put on a well-behaved smile: "Hello again, Auntie, I'm here to buy something."
Cheng Xiaorui looked at his mother and held his forehead helplessly. "By the way, I said I wanted to have dinner with you last time, but it seems that we didn't." Cheng Zhixu's voice suddenly softened. "Would you like to make time this time..."
"No!" Cheng Xiaorui's voice suddenly rang out.
Silence spread among the three of them. Cheng Xiaorui realized what he had said and was obviously a little embarrassed. Suddenly, the convenience store doorbell rang and several people walked in. Lu Ziyi's gaze lingered on them for a second, and the smile on his lips deepened.
"Okay," he took a step back and put his hands in his pockets, "It seems that Mr. Cheng is not happy about it. Then I will leave first."
Cheng Xiaorui stared at his departing back, cursing Lu Ziyi in his heart for being crazy. He came here to reminisce about the past, but he wasn't going to buy anything... After cursing, he suddenly realized that it seemed that he hadn't been able to give it to him just now. This time he felt even more ashamed, and his face flushed red.
"Aren't you friends? Why does something feel a little wrong?" Cheng Zhixu's confused voice suddenly came.
Cheng Xiaorui suddenly grabbed the rag beside him and tried to change the subject: "Mom, look over there," he wiped the already clean shelf vigorously, "There are new goods, go and sort them out..."
Cheng Zhixu hesitated as he glanced at his son's red ears, and finally sighed, "Then I'll go check the warehouse."
The automatic door dinged again, and several girls, laughing and joking, squeezed into the convenience store. Cheng Xiaorui lowered his head to tidy up the cash register and heard them whispering, "That was Lu Ziyi, wasn't it? He actually came to a place like this..."
"Fifteen dollars and eighty cents."
The sound of coins landing on the cash register was remarkably crisp. Cheng Xiaorui mechanically gave out the change, his peripheral vision glued to the window—across the street, Lu Ziyi's cigarette butt flickered in the twilight, his other hand swiping at his phone. Suddenly, he looked up, catching Cheng Xiaorui's gaze with pinpoint accuracy, and a sneer curled his lips.
Cheng Xiaorui quickly avoided the sight. His stomach suddenly ached. He was about to take out the medicine, but he withdrew his hand.
"Chengcheng?" Cheng Zhixu poked his head out of the warehouse, holding a cardboard box. "Put out the expiring merchandise—why do you look so grim?"
"It's okay..." When I looked up again, there was no one across the street, only a half-smoked cigarette butt was emitting smoke on the edge of the gutter.
The downpour came pouring down without warning. Cheng Xiaorui stood under the eaves, watching the cascading rain. The neon lights of the convenience store sign distorted into blurry spots in the puddles. The thud of raindrops hitting the ground drowned out the clatter of the automatic door behind him. Fortunately, when the evening shift was about to end, he had asked his mother to go home and rest, saying he would stay.
After about 10 minutes, the downpour hadn't let up at all, so Cheng Xiaorui had to go into the convenience store to read a magazine. He had forgotten his phone, so he couldn't contact Cheng Zhixu. Even so, he was still bored. He put down the magazine and went outside to get some fresh air.
"Did you forget your umbrella?"
Cheng Xiaorui turned around. Chen Zihan was standing half a step behind him, holding a long-handled black umbrella. Raindrops dripped down the edge of the umbrella, forming a small puddle at his feet. He was wearing a white T-shirt, looking more casual than usual.
"Why are you here?" Cheng Xiaorui asked in surprise.
"I just happened to see you passing by." Chen Zihan held out the umbrella handle. "Want to go together?"
"No, Mom..." Cheng Xiaorui was interrupted by a shrill horn. Cheng Zhixu rushed into the parking lot on his electric bike, his raincoat rustling in the wind.
"Cheng Cheng! Come up quickly!" Cheng Xiaorui knew that his mother would definitely come.
Chen Zihan smiled and took a half step back, the rain immediately soaking the hem of his sweatshirt. Cheng Xiaorui hesitated for a moment, then suddenly noticed a Band-Aid on Chen Zihan's right little finger—a scratch he had gotten when he was cleaning up the broken glass that day.
"Your hand..." Cheng Xiaorui pointed.
"Ah, this." Chen Zihan subconsciously put his hands behind his back, "It's okay, it's almost healed." The tips of his ears suddenly turned a little red, "Don't worry too much about that night, don't blame yourself."
"……Thanks."
As the electric bike pulled out of the parking lot, Cheng Xiaorui looked back. Chen Zihan was still standing there, his figure holding the umbrella gradually blurred in the rain. Only the hand covered with the Band-Aid still maintained the gesture of farewell.
The electric bike struggled forward in the torrential downpour, its wheels sending up a shower of water. Cheng Xiaorui huddled behind his mother, the smell of the plastic of his raincoat mingling with the damp air. The warmth of Cheng Zhixu's back, piercing through two layers of raincoat, drew him closer.
"Was that your friend too?" Cheng Zhixu's voice came mixed with the sound of rain. The electric bike shook slightly because he was distracted by talking.
Cheng Xiaorui paused as he clenched the corner of his mother's clothes, and said, "Yes." The rain dripped down his bangs, leaving dark marks on his raincoat.
"Cheng Cheng, I'm happy that you can make friends." Cheng Zhixu turned around a puddle and said, "You all should get along well with each other."
Cheng Xiaorui's fingertips unconsciously dug into his palms. Raindrops hit the roadside billboards, making a crackling sound, as if someone was clapping in the distance.
"He..." Cheng Xiaorui was about to speak when a gust of wind blew raindrops towards him. Cheng Zhixu's rain hat was blown half open, and the cold rain immediately wet her temples.
"Mom?" Cheng Xiaorui hurriedly reached out to help his mother pull up her hat, his fingertips touching her clammy skin. Just then, a folded piece of paper slipped from Cheng Zhixu's raincoat pocket and was instantly soaked by the rain.
Cheng Xiaorui reached out to pick it up, but in the blur of the rain, he could only make out the sign "City Central Hospital." His heart ached.
"Don't pick it up!" Cheng Zhixu suddenly raised his voice and accelerated the electric car sharply, "It's just a piece of waste paper."
The rain trickled down Cheng Xiaorui's neck and into his collar, yet he felt no cold. The words on the melting paper gradually faded, eventually becoming a blob of blue ink that disappeared into the puddles.
"Chengcheng?" Cheng Zhixu's voice softened. "Hold on tight, this road is bumpy."
Cheng Xiaorui put his arms around his mother's waist again and pressed his face against her wet raincoat. The familiar smell of laundry detergent seemed to be mixed with a hint of unfamiliar medicine.
"Student Chen is a very nice guy," Cheng Xiaorui suddenly said, his voice muffled by his raincoat, "Don't worry."
Cheng Zhixu's shoulders visibly stiffened, and the electric bike nearly hit the roadside guardrail. "That's great!"
The rain was getting heavier, and the halos of the streetlights blurred into yellow balls in the rain. Cheng Xiaorui counted the circles of light as they passed by, and suddenly remembered that Chen Zihan and Lu Zi also lived together, but their personalities were completely different...
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