Chapter 17 Chapter 17 Meeting in the Biting Cold Wind of the First Month
Is there a sense of distance?
On the way back to the classroom, Xu Sui was thinking as he walked.
Maybe.
Apart from talking to Jiang Song, Jiang Changjia and other people from Nanjing Affiliated School, he really didn't seem to have much interaction with the people in his class. He looked cold and his lips were often pursed into a flat straight line when he was doing homework. His overly privileged family background and one-in-a-million looks made everyone feel timid when they wanted to contact him, so nothing came of it.
But she suddenly remembered the first month of this year.
That day she had just left Xiangbei and boarded the train to Chongqing.
Only half a year had passed, but she still remembered the mood and scene at that time.
During the family reunion, the elder who had taken care of her and raised her passed away and went to another world peacefully. The uncles and aunts in the village hurriedly prepared for the funeral and called Xu Changxuan one after another.
Finally, after who knows how many calls, the person on the other end of the phone finally answered.
She just stood there, in the middle of the empty hall, listening to that strange yet familiar voice. His voice was filled with hesitation and a determination that Xu Sui would never forget: "I really can't leave here, and I'm not in the country. Please help me. Money is not a problem."
The aunt on the phone yelled, "Don't ever come back, you grandson! You haven't been back in a few years. Think about it. You didn't come back even though your mom is gone? Without your mom, how could you be who you are today?! If you have the guts, don't ever come back to Xiangbei! Who cares about your little money? I knew you were a sneaky person when I was little!"
After saying that, he smashed the phone with a loud "bang".
When he turned around and saw Xu Suihou not far away, he swallowed back the curse he was about to say.
Xu Sui didn't cry, but her eyes were visibly red. She could see that the aunt was hesitant to speak. She pointed to the inner room and said to her, "I'll go see grandma. Please, thank you."
So I left in a hurry. The winter in Xiangbei is very cold and damp. The coldness starts from the soles of the feet and gradually spreads to the heart, as if it wants to freeze all the internal organs. The hands and feet cannot be warmed up, even if charcoal fire is lit.
There were many people in the house and all the doors were open. The wind blew in from all directions and came in through her collars, sleeves and trouser legs, but she was unaware of it.
Someone was asked to write a memorial that night, and the burial took place the next morning. Not long after everything was over, Zhou Xiaoling called.
"Pack your things and someone will pick you up to go to the train station. Once you get to Yu City, take a taxi to your grandparents' house."
The female voice spoke quickly and flatly without any emotion. The phone hung up with a "beep", leaving her feeling a little dazed.
Changing places again, huh?
Xu Sui slowly squatted down, with the yellow soil of northern Hunan under her feet. In 2013, most of the old houses in the countryside were not paved with white tiles, including her house.
She just stared at the yellow earth in a daze, thinking, or perhaps numb.
She was kicked around like a ball. When she was three years old, her family was happy and she thought it would last forever. Later, her parents divorced and she followed Zhou Xiaoling to Chongqing. When she was six years old, her mother settled abroad, so she was kicked to her grandmother's house in Xiangbei.
Now I'm kicked back.
**
Chongqing and northern Hunan are adjacent to each other, and the drive takes five or six hours. The trains in the first month of the lunar year are always particularly noisy and crowded, and the loud chatter of middle-aged people and the crying of children fill the entire carriage.
Sitting next to Xu Sui was a woman who looked to be in her forties, with a little girl. She had been glancing at her from time to time since Xu Sui got on the bus. Xu Sui frowned, tightened her clothes, and leaned against the wall of the car to rest.
The child was still young, about three or four years old. She probably didn't buy a ticket. The two of them sat in the same seat. The girl's feet kicked her calves from time to time. The woman patted her naughty feet and apologized to Xu Sui.
Xu Sui pulled his legs inward and whispered, "It's okay."
The woman seemed to be unable to hold it in any longer and asked, "Little sister, is there anyone here?"
It was a standard Chongqing accent. It took Xu Sui a moment to realize what she said. She asked her if she was alone here.
Xu Sui paused and said slowly, "The parents are in another carriage, and their tickets were not booked together."
The woman who asked the question suddenly realized what was going on and wanted to talk to him again, but she found that Xu Sui had fallen asleep leaning on the chair.
Xu Sui was not actually asleep, nor did she dare to fall asleep. She closed her eyes and sensed the sounds and movements from the outside world. She heard the announcement in the carriage that the next stop was Yubei Station.
The mother and daughter also got off at this stop. Xu Sui, carrying her black backpack, hurried to the next car entrance. Before leaving, the woman looked back at her and asked, "Are you getting off here?"
"Yeah." Xu Sui said vaguely, without stopping, he shuttled through the crowd as quickly as a fish. After the train arrived at the station, he followed the flow of people out and arrived in this new city.
The train station was bustling with people, and it was also the rush hour, so the traffic on the road was more than one could imagine. Xu Sui stood on the side of the road to hail a taxi. Several drivers saw that Xu Sui was a small and thin person, so they didn't even stop, and whizzed past her with a whoosh, raising a cloud of dust.
Xu Sui wiped her face speechlessly and walked forward. There were too many people at the exit, making it difficult to get a taxi. Finally, a fat driver who looked friendly agreed to take her. Xu Sui breathed a sigh of relief and quickly got into the car: "No. 8 Shapingba Community, Yunan District, thank you."
"Did the little girl come here by herself?" the driver asked while driving.
This time Xu Sui did not hide it anymore. He nodded softly and turned his head to look out the window. Suddenly, he saw a very familiar face talking to a young woman who looked to be in her twenties.
She immediately opened the window and looked out. It was the woman who had just spoken to her on the train. From Xu Sui's angle, she could clearly see her hidden right hand moving behind her back, and it was obvious that she was holding a pair of pliers.
The child stood beside her as a tool to fool people. Although she had a smile on her face and looked like a mother taking her child home, what she did made Xu Sui shudder.
The taxi was driving on the winding roads of Chongqing. She closed her eyes and opened them again. Even though she was very sleepy, she did not dare to relax until the driver dropped her off on a nearby street.
"It's too late to drive in, we can only drive this far." He said to Xu Sui.
Xu Sui barely understood what he meant, nodded, and asked in Mandarin: "How much?"
"twenty."
Xu Sui took out two ten-yuan notes from her pocket and handed them to him. She turned around and looked at this completely unfamiliar place to her, frowned, and walked forward while asking questions. She finally found the place when it was almost completely dark.
The last time I came here was when I was six years old. There was a big word "Eight" on the tiles outside the entrance of the community, and the detailed address was written below.
There were many elderly people coming in and out. There was a security guard in the security room. Xu Sui looked around but didn't see his grandparents. His eyes dimmed a little and he took advantage of the security guard's inattention and followed a group of grandparents who had returned from nowhere into the room.
After entering the community, Xu Sui walked around and looked at the signs of each building, recalling the past bit by bit. However, time passed too quickly and the memories became very distant.
She moved forward relying on her remaining memories.
After looking at several buildings, she felt that it was not the right one. It seemed to be the right one, but also seemed not to be. A feeling of powerlessness suddenly came over her, making her feel very tired, and she slowly squatted down.
Suddenly I felt a little resentful towards Zhou Xiaoling and Xu Changxuan.
Why didn't she say more when she called, and tell her the location clearly, which building and which floor? It was obvious that it had been nine years since she last came to this place. She definitely didn't call to tell her grandparents that she was coming today, otherwise the two old people would not have come to pick her up.
Why was Zhang Changxuan unwilling to come back? Instead, he pushed her towards his mother, didn't even discuss things with her, and didn't answer her calls at all.
Xu Sui pulled at her hair and stood up, wanting to go to the security office to ask, but this neighborhood was crowded, and the only household information was on paper. Could they really help her? Would they think she was a stranger and kick her out, or would they simply ignore her?
All her emotions surged up at once. The fatigue and grievances of the day made her nose sore, and her tears were about to fall but were forcibly pushed back.
The schoolbag was also very heavy. It hurt his shoulders to carry it all the way from Xiangbei to Yu'nan. Xu Sui regretted carrying so many things.
In fact, it was not a big deal, but at this moment, this little thing was magnified again and again, and it almost became the last straw that broke the camel's back.
The dim yellow streetlights in the residential complex illuminated the cobblestone pavement. Occasionally, a few figures moved about and talked. In the dim night, Xu Sui heard a deep male voice asking, "Are you a resident here?"
The voice was very close, as if it was right in front of her. Xu Sui raised her head from between her knees and saw a tall figure standing in front of her. He was wearing a black short down jacket and wide-leg pants. His clothes were open, revealing the black wool sweater underneath. From this angle, she could only see his sharp jawline, but not his eyebrows.
Xu Sui didn't answer for a long while. He frowned and asked again: "Where is your home?"
Xu Sui was stunned for a moment and quickly said: "My grandparents are here, I can't find them, and my phone is out of battery."
In fact, she didn't even know her grandparents' phone numbers.
Song Shiyang looked at her for a few seconds and suddenly asked: "What are your family members' names?"
Huh? Xu Sui thought for a few seconds and immediately answered: "Zhou Xianzhi!"
She still remembers the names of her grandparents!
Hearing this, the boy paused for a moment, lowered his head and asked again: "Is your last name Zhou?"
Xu Sui stood up and asked, "Well, do you know him?"
Only then did she see the boy's face clearly, and then she took a deep breath at an inappropriate time and pinched the corner of her clothes.
"I don't know him, but I know him." The boy's voice was lazy, and it was a bit cold in the sharp cold wind of the first month of the year. Xu Sui blew a breath of warm air into his palm, and his mood brightened up, and he didn't think too much about it.
"Well, do you see that blue shed? It's across the street, on the fifth floor. Remember, don't go the wrong way." He pointed to an apartment building about fifty meters away, then walked towards the gate. His back was thin and straight, revealing a lazy look, as if he had just woken up, and his voice was tired and hoarse.
Xu Sui looked at his back and saw an old man pulling him to talk. He lowered his head and listened sideways. He didn't know what he said that made the old man laugh.
Xu Sui didn't think much about it, turned around and walked in the direction he said, and added the thank you in his heart that he didn't have time to say.
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The author has something to say: I failed [burst into tears] I finally finished it after a long time [burst into tears].
I want to collect [poor] why not collect [poor]
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