This is life
Thus, a massive reckoning began.
The smashed TV, the dining table with broken legs, the stained sofa... these objects, which carried so much violence and tears, were carried out one by one by the workers and thrown mercilessly onto the huge garbage truck downstairs like corpses.
Next comes everything that belongs to □□.
The clothes in his closet that smelled of sweat and cigarettes, the gambling IOUs hidden in his bedside table, the wine glasses he had used for decades...all the things that bore his personal imprint were packed up by the mother of time and then resolutely thrown into the black garbage bag.
Lu Yu and Shi Guang stood quietly by her side. They understood that this physical cutting, which they had done with their own hands, was an important farewell ceremony for her.
When the living room and master bedroom were completely cleared, the afternoon sun illuminated the house unobstructed, and the dust particles danced clearly in the light. She breathed a long sigh of relief, looking at this illuminated emptiness, a relieved smile on her face.
There were very few things left, only the beloved books in Shi Guang's room and some of her own personal clothes.
There is also the rusty mooncake tin box that was found by time from the compartment of the bookcase.
"You have to take this with you." She carefully handed the iron box to Lu Yu as if it were a rare treasure. "This is a talisman."
Lu Yu took it solemnly.
Before leaving, Shiguang's mother handed the key to Aunt Li, who had come to help, and asked her to help look after the temporarily vacated house. As for what to do in the future, she said she would think about it slowly after she arrived in Jiangcheng and settled down.
In fact, last night, Lu Yu solemnly made that proposal to Shi Guang's mother.
"Auntie, would you like to...come with us and live in Jiangcheng?"
Shi Guang's mother had almost no hesitation about this proposal. After a brief hesitation out of fear of causing trouble, she happily nodded.
For her now, Anhe County, where she had lived for half her life, no longer had anything worth reminiscing about. Being able to stay by her only son, to whom she owed so much, watching over him and accompanying him, was her greatest and only wish for the rest of her life.
Once he made the decision, Lu Yu immediately demonstrated his amazing ability to act.
In the next two days, he took Shi Guang and his mother to methodically handle all the trivial procedures before leaving.
He consulted professional policies and helped my aunt handle her job resignation and handover; he took her to the Social Security Bureau to handle the inter-regional transfer procedures for pension and medical insurance to ensure her future life security; he even took the time to take her to the barber shop to cut off her long, dry hair and replace it with a refreshing and neat hairstyle.
On the day before leaving Anhe County, Lu Yu and Shi Guang specially prepared a special gift and went to Aunt Li's house again to express their gratitude.
The gift was given by Shi Guang, who already had some understanding of Aunt Li's family situation. He went to the bookstore personally and carefully selected a set of tutoring materials written by a famous teacher in Jiangcheng for Aunt Li's daughter who was in the third year of junior high school.
"Aunt Li, this is a small gift from Lu Yu and me. It's not much of a token of respect." Shi Guang handed the beautifully packaged book to Aunt Li with a shy yet sincere smile on his face. "I've also left my phone number and WeChat. If your sister has any questions about her studies, you can always ask me. As long as I know something, I will tell her."
Aunt Li was so excited that her eyes turned red. She held Shi Guang's hand tightly and kept saying, "Good children, you are all good children..."
"Train G1747, ticket checking will stop soon..."
Farewell is always inevitable. With the prompt sound coming from the station broadcast, the group of three finally boarded the high-speed train back to Jiangcheng.
The early autumn sunshine shone on them through the large and clean car windows, making the tiny particles floating in the air look like golden elves dancing happily.
It was the first time for Shi Guang's mother to ride such a smooth and fast high-speed train. This woman, who had never left her isolated small town for most of her life, was like a curious child, filled with novelty at everything that flew by outside the window.
She would point out the window at the endless fields and brand-new villages, marveling at the country's development. Curiously, she would pull Lu Yu aside and ask about everything in Jiangcheng—are the housing prices high? Is the food in the university cafeteria good? Are the children tired from studying?
Each of her questions was laced with hope for the future.
Shi Guang leaned on Lu Yu's broad and solid shoulders, wearing headphones that played soothing music. Outside the car window, the scenery flew backwards, and inside the car, his mother and lover were by his side.
An unprecedented sense of security and exhaustion came over him at the same time.
His eyelids grew heavier, and soon he fell into a deep sleep amid the steady rocking of the train.
Lu Yu turned his head and looked at his face that looked particularly quiet and sleeping in the sunlight, and unconsciously raised the corners of his mouth slightly.
He stretched out his hand and gently pulled Shi Guang's head, which was shaking restlessly in the bumpy train, closer to his shoulders.
Then he lowered his head and placed a kiss warmer than the sun on the smooth forehead.
Four hours later, the high-speed train slid smoothly into the platform of Jiangcheng Station.
When the three of them followed the crowd out of the exit filled with a modern atmosphere and breathed the fresh air of this bustling metropolis, they all felt as if they were in another world and it was unreal.
It was only a week, but it felt like a lifetime.
Just as they walked out of the station exit and were still adjusting to the bustling crowds of Jiangcheng, a loud and powerful voice exploded in front of them.
"——Welcome! A warm welcome! Welcome home in triumph!!"
Lu Yu and Shi Guang were both stunned and subconsciously looked in the direction of the voice.
Just beside the railing not far away, two familiar figures were diligently holding up a makeshift pick-up sign made of cardboard.
On the sign, there was a slightly crooked smiley face drawn with a marker, and next to it was a line of equally crooked large characters.
It’s Jiang Xiaopang and Sun Rui!
Seeing this shocking scene, Shi Guang's mother was stunned at first, then she looked at the two funny guys and couldn't help but burst out laughing.
"You two..." Lu Yu was both angry and amused. He simply couldn't bear to watch. He quickly walked up and gave each of these two clowns a slap on the head, neither too light nor too heavy.
"Ouch!" Fatty Jiang cried out exaggeratedly, rubbing his head, but his face was full of a sly smile, "Brother Yu, Boss Shiguang, you are finally back! We are here by order! Welcome the heroes back!"
Sun Rui was much smarter than him. He quickly dropped the embarrassing card and enthusiastically took the light suitcase from Shi Guang's mother's hand. His words were as sweet as honey: "Hello, Auntie! You've worked hard! My name is Sun Rui, and I'm Yu Ge and Shi Guang's roommate! You're so young, and walking with Shi Guang, people would believe you're siblings!"
These words made her cheeks turn red, and she waved her hands and said "No, no" repeatedly.
Fat Jiang also reacted and immediately came forward, calling out "Hello, Auntie" one by one. He enthusiastically surrounded Shi Guang's mother and started chattering about which snacks in Jiangcheng were the most authentic and which square dancing was the most lively. He turned the exit into a star-studded avenue.
Shi Guang looked at his mother, who was surrounded by his two lively friends and was grinning from ear to ear. The last bit of uneasiness in his heart about stepping into a strange city disappeared.
He turned his head again and looked at Lu Yu, who was looking at him with helplessness and doting. The two smiled at each other, and everything was said without words.
Lu Yu had already booked a spacious seven-seater commercial vehicle, which he parked securely in the parking lot near the station. Once in the car, Jiang Xiaopang and Sun Rui transformed themselves into volunteer promoters for Jiangcheng. One enthusiastically introduced every time-honored food stall passing by the window, vowing to take his aunt on a city-wide food tour within a month. The other, citing classics, extolled everything from urban planning to human history, praising Jiangcheng to its full potential.
The atmosphere in the car was warm and sincere, full of youthful energy. This unrestrained enthusiasm, like warm sunshine, dispelled the last trace of gloom and restraint in Shi Meijuan's heart.
The car did not drive towards Jiangcheng University, but turned into a quiet tree-lined road and finally drove into a newly built high-end residential area with a quiet environment.
"We're here." Lu Yu got out of the car first and opened the door.
Shi Guang and his mother were a little confused, as this place didn't look like the school's staff dormitory.
Lu Yu simply smiled and led everyone into the elevator of a building, pressing the button for the 16th floor. He pulled out a brand new set of keys from his pocket and opened the door to room 1602 in front of everyone's stunned gazes.
"Come in, everyone."
The moment the door was opened, the warmest afternoon sunlight poured out without reservation.
Behind the door lay a bright, clean, two-bedroom, one-living room. The natural wood floor was spotless, the light gray fabric sofa was soft and comfortable, and in the open kitchen, brand-new utensils gleamed in the sunlight. Even more heartwarming, a bouquet of sunflowers in full bloom sat on the living room coffee table.
Everything in the house is full of the breath of life, as if it has been waiting for the return of its owner.
"This... this is..." Shi Guang's mother was stunned. She stood at the door, not even daring to step in. Shi Guang also looked at Lu Yu, his eyes full of questions and confusion.
Lu Yu pushed the suitcase into the house and said, "Auntie, this is a small apartment our family invested in two years ago. We thought we'd rent it out later. But we've been so busy that it's just been vacant. It's a waste to leave it empty. I think this place is not far from our school and the environment is quiet, so you can just stay here and feel at ease. Just think of it as...helping our family look for an apartment, and it can also attract some people."
Shi Meijuan was no fool. She looked at the furniture and appliances in the room, all with labels still etched on them, the reminder note on the refrigerator door, the fresh bouquet that had clearly been bought today... How could she understand?
"I... I, Shi Meijuan, have never been so fortunate in my life... to have met a good child like you, Xiaoyu..."
"Mom!" Seeing his mother crying, Shi Guang's heart was deeply ached.
He leaned his head against his mother's neck: "Mom, don't cry. We will live here from now on. With me and Lu Yu here, this is our home."
"That's right!" Fat Jiang immediately played the role of the atmosphere leader upon seeing this, exclaiming exaggeratedly, "Auntie, look at this kitchen! My God! The kitchenware is so professional! Tonight I must show you my specialty dish - scrambled eggs with tomatoes!"
Sun Rui also smiled and took Shi Meijuan's arm, leading her to the bedroom: "Auntie, come and see your room. It faces south and has the best light! Brother Yu said you have a light sleep, so he specially chose the quietest room. Look at this bed and this wardrobe, do you like them?"
With the enthusiastic help of the two lively guys, Shi Meijuan was surrounded by them and visited the new home that would soon belong to her. Although the tears on her face had not yet dried, a smile had already appeared on the corners of her mouth.
That night, a steaming hot home-cooked meal was prepared in this brand new kitchen by several young people working together.
The lights were warm and the food was fragrant. The five of them sat around the small dining table. Fatty Jiang vividly recounted interesting stories from school, and Sun Rui occasionally added a few golden sentences, making Shi Meijuan laugh continuously.
During the meal, Shi Guang took the initiative to pick up food for his mother and joked with his friends. He relaxed completely, and the gloom and alienation that had lingered between his brows for years seemed to melt away under the warm light. He felt more relaxed and happy than ever before.
As dinner was coming to an end, Lu Yu's cell phone on the table buzzed softly.
He picked it up and saw that it was a WeChat message from his mother. Apparently, his sister Lu Yao had already finished her "report work".
The message is short but full of warmth:
"Xiaoyu, your sister has told us everything. You've grown up and are doing great. Mom and Dad are proud of you. Once Auntie is settled, bring her and Shi Guang home for dinner."
Lu Yu looked at the message and the smile on his lips became gentle.
He raised his head, his eyes passing over the steam rising from the dining table, and looked at Shi Guang, who was being amused by Jiang Xiaopang's jokes. He then looked at Shi Meijuan, who was looking at her son lovingly next to him.
This is life.
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