"It's alright," Jiang Xu said, supporting the person firmly. "If your leg hurts, try not to go out too much. What if I can't support you?"
Gu Li propped himself up. "Yeah, we're not going out." He turned Jiang Xu around and pushed him back inside. "Besides, I'm holding him up now. Come on, I have something to tell you." He hooked the door shut with his foot.
As Jiang Xu turned to look at Gu Li, Gu Li spoke again, "He has a lot to say."
Jiang Xu turned back and walked along the path he had been following. "Well, it's still early, let's talk slowly."
The stars hung in the sky, and the two lay side by side on two deck chairs, covered with matching blankets.
Gu Li pointed to the starry sky, "The weather is great today, isn't the moon beautiful?"
Jiang Xu: "Yes, it looks great, better than yesterday's."
Gu Li turned her head to look at Jiang Xu, a faint smile on his lips, "You're really cooperating."
Jiang Xu: "I think so too."
Just then, a small gust of wind blew in through a crack in the window, making a crisp "ding-a-ling" sound. Gu Li looked up.
The paper strip hanging from the wind chime fluttered in the breeze. Gu Li looked at Jiang Xu with some surprise and asked, "When did you buy this?"
Jiang Xu smiled as he looked at the small wind chime. He then magically extended his hand, revealing a delicate little box in his palm. "I also prepared one for you, but," he paused, "I don't know if you want it."
Gu Li reached out and took the small box. "The freeloader is back online, of course I want it." He placed the small box on the soft blanket. "I'll hang it up when I get back, and it'll be just like yours."
Jiang Xu said, "That's good." He looked at Gu Li and asked, "What are you planning to say today?"
Gu Li looked at Jiang Xu, "The secret we talked about before," he paused for a moment, "I want to tell you about it now, what about you?"
Jiang Xu said, "My answer remains the same. I will speak when you are willing." He had prepared for this, and he was ready to speak at any time.
Gu Li looked at Jiang Xu seriously. "Then I'll start," he said, his tone becoming a little more serious. "Do you still remember the name Shen Heng?"
Jiang Xu thought for a moment, his memory flashing by, "I've heard of it once," Liu Mingtang had mentioned.
Gu Li nodded. "He was my brother, but he's dead," he said calmly. "It happened about a year ago. He committed suicide, but he was also murdered."
Jiang Xu, "By Wang Lang and Liu Mingtang?"
Gu Li nodded. "There's another one, a little monster I mentioned before, his name is Zhao Jing," he paused and continued, "He's a scumbag, a scumbag my brother liked."
Gu Li emphasized the word "scumbag," and continued, "Actually, it's nothing more than those things: school violence, misplaced redemption, repressed despair, and," he paused for a moment, then said, "what he thought was a gentle death."
Jiang Xu looked at Gu Li and said, "Tell me properly, okay?" He sensed the sadness beneath Gu Li's calm demeanor.
Gu Li pulled the blanket up a bit. "It's a bit long, so you have to listen carefully to what I'm saying. I'm only saying this once."
Jiang Xu: "Yes, I will listen carefully."
Gu Li thought for a moment and then spoke, "We were in the same year, but I was rarely on campus for some reasons. This may be the beginning of the tragedy." He pulled the blanket up a little more.
Jiang Xu watched Gu Li's actions and said, "Don't blame yourself, this is not something you can control."
Gu Li lay there looking into the distance. “Okay, I know,” he said, clutching the blanket. “When Wang Lang and Liu Mingtang bullied him, Zhao Jing appeared. They were in cahoots, but Zhao Jing appeared as a savior.” He thought for a moment and said, “The bullied boy needs a ray of light.”
“It’s a pity that it wasn’t light, it was will-o’-the-wisp.” He sighed softly. “But the boy didn’t know that. He thought he had found salvation, and he flew towards the fire like a moth to a flame.”
Gu Li looked at Jiang Xu, "What do you think the outcome will be?"
Jiang Xu looked back at Gu Li, "That wasn't very good." He affirmed, for the truth is always cruel.
Gu Li looked into the distance again. "Yes, it's really not good." His tone became even more indifferent. "The news that he likes boys has spread. Malice always attracts more attention than kindness. He was surrounded by malice, and he went into despair."
Gu Li paused for a long time. "When I came back, he was no longer there. No, that's not right," he pointed to the sky. "Maybe that was him, and Mom was with him."
The stars in the sky are twinkling; one of them might be him, or none of them might be.
At this moment, Jiang Xu hoped that there really was such a thing.
When Jiang Xu heard Gu Li say the word 'Mom', his heart skipped a beat, and he realized something.
Gu Li remained calm. "Oh right, I forgot to mention, why is my brother's surname Chen?" He answered himself, "Because my mother's surname is Chen, and my brother was adopted by her in secret."
Jiang Xu clenched one hand into a fist, the feeling of his nails digging into his palm was distinct. "Why in private?"
"Let me put it this way," Gu Li pondered, "I have a very good mother, a very good brother, and a very, very ordinary father."
Jiang Xu thought that Gu Li had used the word 'father,' a somewhat unfamiliar term.
Gu Li's lips curled up slightly, a smile that was both gentle and pale. "My mother's health was very poor, and her heart was incurable. My brother was the only secret she kept from my father," he recalled the scene. "In her final moments, lying on her hospital bed, she quietly said that she hoped we would all be well together."
Jiang Xu, “Your mother is very gentle.”
“Yes,” Gu Li responded, his tone tinged with pride. “She’s very gentle. I used to think no one could be gentler than her, but now another gentle person has appeared in my life.” He turned to look at Jiang Xu. “Thank you, Jiang Xu.”
Jiang Xu felt a bittersweet feeling in his heart. "Mmm," he really wanted to ruffle Gu Li's hair, so he did it. "You're welcome."
Gu Li smiled slightly, even nuzzling against him, and then rested her head on Jiang Xu's hand. "I haven't finished yet. I want to say it like this."
Jiang Xu asked, "Aren't you afraid my hand will go numb?" But he didn't move, letting Gu Li use it as a pillow.
Gu Li looked at Jiang Xu and said, "Just this once, let your brother have a turn."
Jiang Xu looked into his eyes, "Okay, I'll let you have it."
“Hmm,” he responded, looking at Jiang Xu as he spoke, “My father is a successful man in everyone’s eyes, but he’s quite a failure, the biggest failure.” He spoke with a hint of resentment, “He’s found another girlfriend now, and I’m not saying this, but his taste is really bad, far worse than mine.”
Jiang Xu went along with him, "Yeah, I'm nowhere near as good as you."
Gu Li: "I'm serious."
Jiang Xu: "I know what you're saying is true."
Gu Li said, "That's good." He thought for a moment and then continued, "I took a year off from school. Do you want to know why?"
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