Late night fell, and this was also Wan Qiu's first night back home.
In the huge room, which was said to be his bedroom, a man was lying on the huge soft bed.
The bed is really big. After lying down, it seems that I can't see the edge of the bed. No matter how I stretch my arms and legs, they will not hang in the air.
The night was too quiet, so quiet that Wan Qiu had more opportunities to sort out his confused thoughts.
Wan Qiu realized belatedly that he had really come to his new home.
Many words that he heard during the day kept ringing in his ears, but when Wan Qiu wanted to recall what they were, he couldn't remember anything.
Everything that happened was completely beyond Wan Qiu's understanding, and even made him unable to remember important information.
Now he not only has a father and a mother, but also two older brothers and a younger brother.
My parents have a very good relationship with their neighbors, and they even cook for them. Today’s dinner was made by them and it was delicious.
He had his own bedroom, which was as big as many of the previous bedrooms.
The heavy and incomprehensible things seemed to be pressing down on him like a huge rock, but the soft bed made him feel like he was sleeping on clouds.
New parents are new goals that Wanqiu needs to explore, but Wanqiu can't even find how to explore or what method to use.
The air was cool and the air conditioner was running all the time, beating the heat of the summer night.
This is a completely unfamiliar environment.
But for Wan Qiu, "strangeness" is a familiar experience.
The memory was pieced back together, and among the colorful fragments, Wan Qiu found the memory of his life.
He woke up in a warm bed, in a dim room which seemed very spacious to him at that time.
The old man's face was full of wrinkles. Sleeping next to him, all the warmth in the bedding came from the old man.
His hands and feet were cold, stiff, and without feeling. It took a long time before he could barely move his fingers.
The old man said she was his grandmother.
The old man called his name - Wan Qiu.
After getting this name, Wan Qiu realized that people actually have names.
But Wan Qiu couldn't remember what his name was before he died.
Is he called a monster?
Wan Qiu felt very strange as his body returned to normal temperature.
The fine and dense bites that had been spreading throughout the body and bones, as if the body was being bitten by ants, all disappeared, and I felt extremely relaxed.
In the early morning, he saw the sunlight, but the light did not hurt his eyes.
Wan Qiu got out of bed for the first time and stood up.
That was also the first time Wan Qiu clearly realized that he had stood up.
He can stretch his arms and legs just like his mother, and he has no pain in his body.
It’s so easy to do any movement without any hindrance.
The dim earthen house, where no sunlight could penetrate, was the largest house Wan Qiu knew at that time.
Wan Qiu blinked, turned his head from the soft bed, and looked at the huge floor-to-ceiling window covered with blackout curtains.
He stood up from the darkness, went to the window, and opened the heavy curtains to create a gap big enough for him.
When the bright white light suddenly came in, Wan Qiu seemed to see moonlight that was brighter than the sunlight shining through the earthen house.
There are large floor-to-ceiling windows without any signs of dirt, beautiful floor tiles outside, overlooking the beautiful woods, and wooden tables and chairs on the balcony.
There is no chicken coop, no farm tools, and no yard full of potholes that becomes muddy when it rains.
It was strange and peculiar, as if it had opened up the narrow gap in his heart and filled it with a wider space.
This is the place given to him by his parents.
The second time Wan Qiu was abandoned was when his grandmother died.
At that time, he only knew that he couldn't wake up his cold grandmother.
While the villagers were chattering, he sat next to his grandmother and tried to feed her the freshly cooked rice porridge, but he couldn't open her mouth.
Grandma gets sick easily, but if she doesn't eat, she will always be sick.
He was pulled away from his grandmother, his precious rice porridge scattered on the ground, and the bowl was broken. In a trance, Wan Qiu seemed to see his grandmother lying on the ground, cursing and standing up to beat him.
But when I opened my eyes, I saw grandma lying quietly on the ground, motionless, without any beating or pain.
"A crazy woman took care of this idiot. Now she's dead and left the idiot here. What should we do? Let his mother take him away?"
"If you don't take it away, will we still keep it? You must let that damned girl Ning Qiaozhen take it away. If you don't take care of your own offspring, why would you let someone else take care of it?"
"Why hasn't Ning Qiaozhen come back yet? She's already stinking."
Wan Qiu still didn't know what happened.
He saw the villagers take his grandmother to a place full of earth mounds in the woods and bury her in the soil.
Only then did he clearly realize that his grandmother would never come back.
The villagers said that his grandmother had left him.
Is it because he didn't take good care of his grandmother that she left him?
After his grandmother passed away, Wanqiu lost the land on which he and his grandmother depended for their survival.
Everyone said that when grandma died, the land was gone.
He had nothing. Living in the mud house, he seemed like he would disappear into the mud with his grandmother at any moment.
Until he was brought home by Ning Qiaozhen, back to the unfamiliar and brighter building.
Just like now.
Wan Qiu turned around from facing the window and looked at the bright bedroom which was shrouded in darkness but illuminated by moonlight.
After three experiences, Wan Qiu finally learned to think and recall.
Wan Qiu also realized that the feeling of being abandoned was making him more and more uncomfortable, even more uncomfortable than pain, as if something was grabbing his heart through his skin and flesh, sticking to it, holding it, tightening it little by little, and tearing it apart.
On a lonely night, Wan Qiu curled up, covering his fragile chest and abdomen, and holding his head with his hands.
No one picked up grandma, and one day no one will pick him up either.
Wan Qiu tried hard to think, when did Ning Qiaozhen start to hate him?
Wan Qiu searched for the memories of being hated from the chaotic memory fragments, but even now when he recalled all the memories of being with Ning Qiaozhen, he felt happy.
If I don't make my current mother hate me, I won't be abandoned.
If you don’t know why people dislike you, then think about how to make yourself liked.
First of all... you have to do something that won't be disliked.
Then what?
Wan Qiu's mind emerged with the educational content in the elementary school textbooks, and he thought of his teacher.
Be polite, study hard, be pretty, and... become smarter.
Become smart, don't do bad things, then study well and be polite.
What does being smart look like?
Wan Qiu couldn't imagine it.
It is so quiet here, so quiet that it seems as if the sounds that are deeply remembered in the mind are constantly lingering.
Where are his parents? Will they be away for a long time? Is it because he is always apart from Ning Qiaozhen that Ning Qiaozhen hates him?
Now even mom and dad’s bed won’t be near his bedroom?
Does this prove that parents nowadays hate him more than before?
Can't sleep.
It seemed as if if he closed his eyes, darkness would swallow him.
Wan Qiu got up from the ground, looked around, and stood under the air conditioner.
He wanted to turn off the air conditioner to save electricity, but Wan Qiu had never turned on the air conditioner or used the remote control before, not to mention that he couldn't find the remote control in the strange, dark room.
After walking around the room, Wan Qiu did not touch those strange things. Even though his second brother said that these were all his, he was still very cautious.
It was clearly his room, but it was completely different from the room Wan Qiu knew.
He opened a door in the room and the automatic light inside came on immediately. Wan Qiu squinted his eyes to adapt to the light, but wanted to turn off the light but couldn't find the switch.
The entire room was filled with all kinds of clothes, so dazzling that it looked like a clothing store had moved in. All the clothes were suitable for Wan Qiu's body type.
He wanted to change out of his sky blue short-sleeved T-shirt and shorts pajamas, but suddenly remembered that his mother was no longer Ning Qiaozhen who required him to wear long sleeves and long pants.
The pajamas he is wearing now were given to him by his mother.
There is a clean and transparent mirror at the end of the fitting room. Unlike the half-length mirror and dressing mirror in Ning Qiaozhen’s rented house, this mirror is huge, bright, and clearly illuminates the inverted world in the mirror.
When Wan Qiu looked in the mirror, it was the first time he saw his appearance so clearly and generously under the bright light.
He is ugly.
In the gorgeous mirror, he looked as ugly as a monster.
He doesn't look like his parents at all. His parents just stand there, as if they are favored by the sun, dazzling and sparkling.
Wan Qiu lowered his head, trying to avoid looking at himself in the mirror, but the man in the mirror seemed to still be staring at him, laughing at him unscrupulously.
Wan Qiu left the fitting room without pushing open any doors that led to unknown destinations.
Wan Qiu walked out of the room.
Suddenly, the door behind him slowly closed automatically, and Wan Qiu immediately pressed the door that was about to close.
He moved a stool from the bedroom to block the door. Maybe his parents now don't like him locking the door either.
Wan Qiu turned and went downstairs, not noticing that the door of the room next to his was opened shortly afterwards.
Following the route I remembered, I arrived at the restaurant.
Wan Qiu wants to find the refrigerator.
Whether there is food in the refrigerator is the most important thing for Wan Qiu.
If mom and dad remembered to fill the refrigerator, he wouldn't have to worry so much about picking up trash to make money.
There are too few people around here, and not many people will throw away garbage. It is meaningless to pick up garbage in the countryside.
After searching around, Wan Qiu confirmed that the huge door, which was three or four times as big as the previous refrigerator in his house, was the refrigerator here.
Wan Qiu opened the refrigerator.
The bright light from the refrigerator instantly illuminated Wan Qiu's eyes.
Fresh, filled, and varied ingredients appeared before Wanqiu's eyes, just like the elves of life, dancing the dance of harvest in the bright world of the refrigerator, casting the magic of joy in Wanqiu's eyes, dazzling him.
"puff--"
Suddenly a short laugh broke Wan Qiu's concentration.
Wan Qiu turned around and saw Chu Yigui half leaning against the door, half covering his lips with a smile in the corner of his eyes.
Chu Yigui's room was next to Wan Qiu's. After hearing the sound of Wan Qiu's door lock, he followed him out.
The thin figure was silent in the silent and wide corridor, like a ghost wandering out in the middle of the night. If it weren't for Wan Qiu's clear eyes, Chu Yigui would even guess that Wan Qiu was under too much pressure during the day and was sleepwalking at night.
Chu Yigui has spent the longest time with Wan Qiu and knows that Wan Qiu will not actively explore the surrounding environment, and once a fixed pattern is formed, he will not change it.
But now Wan Qiu is in a completely unfamiliar environment. He has no one to ask for help from but to figure things out on his own.
Chu Yigui didn't think it was necessary for him to correct Wan Qiu's character, but he followed him anyway.
Until I saw this scene.
Wan Qiu looked at the refrigerator full of food with eyes like a young dragon seeing a mountain of glittering gold coins. He almost drooled to express his greed.
Chu Yigui couldn't help laughing.
Seeing Wan Qiu's look, Chu Yigui said, "Are you so happy to see these?"
Wan Qiu's eyes were fixed on Chu Yigui without moving. It was very rare to see Chu Yigui's 'relaxed smile'.
It was a happiness that Wan Qiu was very familiar with. The corners of his mouth were raised, there were sparkling tears in his eyes, and his laughter was clear and pleasant.
But Wan Qiu didn't feel that Chu Yigui was happy.
Wan Qiu looked at Chu Yigui, dazed and at a loss.
Under Wan Qiu's gaze, Chu Yigui's smile gradually disappeared.
In Wan Qiu's eyes, which were pure without any impurities, Chu Yigui saw his own reflection as if it were a clay sculpture that could not move or smile.
Chu Yigui stretched out his hand and pointed at Wan Qiu's eyes, but Wan Qiu opened his eyes and watched Chu Yigui's fingertips about to touch his eyeballs, but he didn't show any intention of closing his eyes.
Chu Yigui stopped when he was about to touch Wan Qiu's eyes.
He just didn't want these eyes to look at him, and didn't want to hurt Wan Qiu.
"Don't bully me." Chu Yigui was helpless.
Chu Yigui was unable to deceive Wan Qiu; his lies were immediately seen through.
While being stared at by those eyes, Wan Qiu seemed to be always looking at the bottom of Chu Yigui's reality.
But Wan Qiu slowly opened his eyes.
He bullied Chu Yigui?
"I'm sorry." Wan Qiu immediately lowered his head, his eyes downward, his fingers tightened, and his apology was as soft as a mosquito's whisper. Wan Qiu was afraid that Chu Yigui couldn't hear him, so he said in a louder voice, "I'm sorry, I'm sorry."
Chu Yigui looked at Wan Qiu and said sorry three times, his voice trembling more and more each time.
"Are you so uneasy?" Chu Yigui tilted his head. Wan Qiu's nervousness was too obvious.
Wan Qiu lowered his head, unable to answer the question he didn't know how to answer.
"Are you hungry? I can cook for you." Wan Qiu asked. Chu Yigui must be hungry since he appeared in the kitchen at night.
Occasionally, Ning Hai would come back in the middle of the night and would wake him up to cook.
"No, I'm just looking at you." Chu Yigui stood beside Wan Qiu and turned his head. "Can't sleep?"
Wan Qiu was very nervous.
The closer Chu Yigui got, the more tense Wan Qiu became.
Wan Qiu lowered his head, and suddenly raised his eyes: "Brother."
It was the first time that Chu Yigui heard Wan Qiu call him brother. Chu Yigui, who was much taller than Wan Qiu, half bent down and stared at Wan Qiu: "What's wrong, brother?"
"I will never bully you, absolutely."
Chu Yigui thought he could understand Wan Qiu's thoughts, but now it seems that he can't keep up again.
"I was just joking just now." Chu Yigui said.
"Brother." Wan Qiu promised seriously and sincerely, "I won't bully you. If I bully you, you hit me."
Chu Yigui's expression gradually changed slightly.
Wan Qiu hugged his arms: "I remember the pain, and I remember not to bully you."
Chu Yigui looked at Wan Qiu, as if he saw the fragile glass entering a bubble called chaos, which caused cracks to appear on the originally fine, dense and solid glass.
Chu Yigui stretched out his hand and lifted up Wan Qiu's lowered head, holding his chin with his palm as if he was looking at a helpless canine cub.
The wet, clear and trusting eyes reflected him and only him.
"I understand." Chu Yigui said so. He couldn't guess what Wan Qiu was thinking when he said this, but he knew that he should ease Wan Qiu's uneasy mood at the moment. It's not just about comforting him, but also about proposing a method. "Then get closer to me."
Wan Qiu could feel the warmth of Chu Yigui's palm.
Chu Yigui's voice seemed to blend into the breath of nature in the deep night, and the mist dispersed in Wan Qiu's ears: "As long as we are close enough, bullying will not exist."
Why will being close to others stop bullying?
Wan Qiu didn't know.
But since Chu Yigui said it, it is correct.
Chu Yigui's hand was gently stroking Wan Qiu's chin. Wan Qiu tilted his head slightly, leaned forward, and got close to Chu Yigui's hand.
Chu Yigui changed the action of lifting his chin into gently pinching Wan Qiu's cheek.
Wan Qiu rubbed Chu Yigui's fingers with a lot of intimate gestures.
In the calm, Wan Qiu's attention was diverted by Chu Yigui's hand.
The sadness and uneasiness that seemed like suffocation seemed to have dissipated because of this casual little game.
"Are you calm now?" Chu Yigui asked. Wan Qiu's reaction made him feel as if he was teasing a sleepy puppy.
Wan Qiu blinked and looked up obediently.
Chu Yigui noticed Wan Qiu’s relaxation.
"Brother." Perhaps because of dependence, or perhaps because he was allowed to be close, Wan Qiu wanted to be smarter, so he learned from the smarter Chu Yigui, "What do I need to do?"
Wan Qiu believes that he and Chu Yigui are brothers, and they are both their parents' children.
Chu Yigui must be liked. Wan Qiu couldn't imagine Chu Yigui being unloved.
Then Chu Yigui is his role model.
"Brother, don't you know what you should do?" Chu Yigui obviously saw Wan Qiu's worry immediately.
Wan Qiu nodded obediently, and he was so confused that he couldn't fall asleep.
"Hmm..." Chu Yigui held his chin and thought about it as if he was thinking hard.
Wan Qiu couldn't find his own position and value in a completely unfamiliar environment. The environment was completely different from his former family, which made him very confused.
"Usually, I do what I want to do." Chu Yigui's words obviously only made Wan Qiu more confused.
Wan Qiu didn't have anything he wanted to do.
We pick up trash so that we have money to buy groceries when we have no food to eat, we do homework because it is assigned by the teacher, and we go to school because everyone is going to school.
Chu Yigui obviously had a better way to guide, but he still chose to confuse Wan Qiu.
Confusion leads to thinking.
Wan Qiu finally looked away and looked at the refrigerator.
The only thing he could think of doing now was to cook for his family.
Chu Yigui immediately understood Wan Qiu's plan.
"You don't need to cook." Chu Yigui said.
It was denied.
“But if you want to cook, you can try it.”
Under Wan Qiu's gaze, Chu Yigui reminded: "There is a chef at home, do you understand what this means?"
Wan Qiu blinked.
"Just like when you go to a restaurant to eat, there will be a chef to cook for you. Mom and Dad spent money to hire a chef to cook for us."
Chu Yigui guided him slowly, using a tone that Wan Qiu could think about and understand.
"The meal tonight was delicious, wasn't it? That's what the chef made."
Wan Qiu opened his mouth and understood this sentence: "That's the chef."
"Yes." Chu Yigui nodded.
"Is this a restaurant?" Wan Qiu asked again.
Chu Yigui lowered his eyes slightly. Wan Qiu was asking him.
Wan Qiu was unconsciously asking for his help.
Chu Yigui smiled and said, "This is not a restaurant, this is home."
Wan Qiu was very confused.
"Do you remember the gate you saw during the day? It was tall, white, and had a long fence." Chu Yigui got Wan Qiu's affirmative nod and continued, "From there on, everything you see is home."
Wan Qiu repeatedly chewed over Chu Yigui's words, and suddenly opened his eyes wide in confusion.
"Where we are standing now is the kitchen of our home, where we eat. Where you sleep is your bedroom. My bedroom is next to yours. Mom and Dad also have their bedrooms, also in this house."
This paragraph is very long.
However, Chu Yigui used repetitive, simple words and the most appropriate speaking speed to help Wan Qiu understand this matter that ordinary people did not need any additional introduction.
Wan Qiu blinked and looked at the outside of the kitchen again. The huge dining room and living room, the garden and the green trees kept circling in his memory.
His huge place, which could accommodate many people, was just a bedroom.
The concept of home continued to expand and expand in Wan Qiu's mind, as if it had expanded to the starry sky. He looked at the stars again, connecting into lines to form a new family.
Wan Qiu finally said it, the first thing he understood here: "What a big house."
"Yes, what a big house." Chu Yigui responded with a faint smile.
Wan Qiu was surprised. After experiencing everything, it was Chu Yigui who finally brought Wan Qiu surprise.
"Then where did mom and dad go?" Now he couldn't see his parents, not because they left, but because they went to their own bedroom?
Chu Yigui understood Wan Qiu's confusion and responded, "I haven't gone anywhere. Mom and Dad are at home now. They are in the bedroom."
Suddenly, the huge empty space no longer seemed so cold and spacious because it was home and he lived under the same roof with his parents and even his brothers.
Suddenly he felt relieved. It was not because his parents hated him that they lived far away, but because their home was too big.
Looking at the little bit of joy in Wan Qiu's eyes because of understanding, that was the joy that Chu Yigui made Wan Qiu taste.
Wan Qiu stared at Chu Yigui, and vaguely felt that there was a unique tone of emotion in Chu Yigui's mood, which was lingering from Chu Yigui's body.
Wan Qiu thought of daytime.
After returning home, Chu Yigui has never been by his side.
The transparent, gray wall created a distance between him and Chu Yigui. Wan Qiu could not see Chu Yigui clearly on the other side of the wall through the dim wall.
But Chu Yigui could easily break through the wall and come to Wan Qiu's side when Wan Qiu needed him most.
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