Chapter 21
On the evening of the last day of vacation, Pan Yan came back wearing a straw hat and dragging a suitcase. As soon as he entered the door, he asked warmly: "Xi Da! Did you have a good vacation? Have you finished your painting?"
Tao Xi rubbed his sore wrist and said in a bad mood: "One hand pays the money, the other hand delivers the goods."
"no problem!"
Pan Yan gave Tao Xi one thousand dollars. After receiving the five paintings, he exclaimed: "This is amazing. I have a sense of déjà vu about these paintings. I feel like I drew them, but I also feel like they were not drawn by me."
Tao Xi ignored him, took the money, left the dormitory, and went straight to the street to find a mobile phone store.
The clerk saw that he was wearing the school uniform of Wenhua No. 1 Middle School and kept introducing him to high-end phones: "Take a look at this one, it has a large memory and high pixels. Even if you sit in the last row and take pictures of the blackboard, you can definitely see every word clearly."
Tao Xi was tempted, but her wallet said no, so she simply said, "Help me find one that costs less than 1,000 yuan and can download WeChat."
The clerk muttered, "Which phone can't download WeChat now?"
Tao Xi finally spent 999 to buy a domestic smartphone that was two years out of season. Holding the lonely coin he got back, he went to the business hall and bought a phone card with his own money.
After returning to the dormitory and taking a shower, Tao Xi lay on the bed to tinker with the new phone. Fortunately, he had Pan Yan to guide him, and he roughly figured it out after tinkering with it for a while.
The first thing he downloaded was WeChat. He applied for a WeChat account using his mobile phone number. He used his real name as his WeChat name and his avatar was still the original gray human head.
He tried to take a selfie with the front camera of his phone, but when he saw how stupid it looked, he hurriedly deleted it.
"Xi'an University, can you add me on WeChat?" Pan Yan was sorting out the photos he took during his travels and was planning to post them on his Moments.
Tao Xi grabbed her phone and looked at her empty WeChat friend list. She declined: "Today is not a good day. I will add you tomorrow."
He wanted Lin Qinhe to be his first WeChat friend.
Pan Yan didn't understand why he had to choose a date to add a friend, but he still needed to rely on Tao Xi in the future, so he said, "Okay, you can add me anytime, I'll be there whenever you call."
Tao Xi decided to "decorate" his WeChat account, as he didn't want Lin Qinhe to see that his WeChat account looked like an unfinished building tomorrow.
He jumped up from the bed, threw himself on his seat and started drawing.
Tao Xi used gouache to paint a small dark blue planet. The planet was surrounded by a silver-white light band and was flying silently in the universe.
He used his mobile phone to adjust the angle and light for a long time before taking the photo, and then simply cropped it and set it as his profile picture.
Then I took a picture of the moon on a snowy night that I had drawn in the art club last time and set it as the background for my Moments.
After looking at the background and avatar of his circle of friends, Tao Xi turned off his phone with satisfaction and went to bed.
The next day, Tao Xi rushed into the classroom early with a fully charged mobile phone. He read an English book, then a Chinese book, and wiped the two tables carefully. It took him a long time to calm down.
But I still get distracted when reading English, thinking about how to ask Lin Qinhe for his WeChat ID when he comes.
If Lin Qinhe didn't agree, he would nag Lin Qinhe all day long, or at worst ask other classmates for it. Anyway, he would definitely add it.
But until the bell for the first class rang, Lin Qinhe still didn't come to the classroom.
The first class, the second class, the third class...
Yang Duole was not there either, perhaps he was on sick leave, but why did Lin Qinhe skip classes?
Tao Xi held the phone in the drawer and couldn't help but ask Bi Chengfei, who was known as the top CIA.
"Didn't the academic genius tell you? He is going to participate in mathematics and physics competitions soon. He should go to the city today to attend the competition preparatory meeting. It's quite far, so he probably won't come to school today." Bi Chengfei lived up to expectations.
Tao Xi was slightly stunned. Lin Qinhe hadn't told him about this.
Forget it, I’ll ask Lin Qinhe for his WeChat ID when he comes tomorrow.
Tao Xi carried his cell phone with him wherever he went that day, for fear of losing it. After all, this was the first real electronic device in his life, and it would be of great use in contacting Lin Qinhe in the future.
After the afternoon class, Tao Xi put his cell phone in his pocket and went to the cafeteria for dinner, but he was caught by Li Xiaoyuan as soon as he entered the cafeteria.
"Taoxi, your father is here at school, waiting for you at the gate, go quickly."
Li Xiaoyuan had just gone to the gate to pick up a package when he saw a middle-aged man yelling at the guard that he wanted to go into the school to see his son. The guard held him back and prevented him from breaking in. He heard the man say that he wanted to find Tao Xi, so he agreed to help him call Tao Xi over.
"Tao Xi?" Li Xiaoyuan called out again. Tao Xi's face looked a little strange. When he heard that his father came to see him, he seemed to have heard some bad news. His eyes, which were usually full of energy, were now covered with a deep gloom.
Tao Xi took a deep breath, said thank you, turned and walked towards the school gate. He walked faster and faster, and finally even ran, but his steps became heavier and heavier.
As dusk fell, students in neat uniforms came and went, talking and laughing. Tao Xi ran all the way to the school gate, stepping on the long, slanted shadow as if he was bound by lead.
"I just told you that my son is studying in there, and you guys still don't believe me. Do you look down on me?!" When Tao Jian saw Tao Xi coming in panting, his first reaction was to slam the security guard's desk and shout at the top of his voice to get back his dignity for being stopped by the security guard before.
"Even if you are the mayor, you have to register and contact the class teacher before entering our school! Otherwise, if you let anyone in, who knows if something might happen?!" The security guard on duty was a young man. It was obvious that he had a quarrel with Tao Jian before, and he was even more angry at this moment.
"What do you mean?!" Tao Jian rolled up his sleeves and took a big step forward, his voice high and loud, "It's only natural for me to go to school to see my son! What qualifications do you, a security guard, have..."
"Enough!" Tao Xi clenched his fists and roared at Tao Jian.
Tao Jian paused and turned his head to see Tao Xi staring at him with red eyes and a fierce look in them.
Tao Jian clapped his hands and pointed at the guard: "I won't bother with you."
"Go out, don't block the door." Tao Xi walked outside and said to Tao Jian in a deep voice with a cold face. Many students who came to the gate to pick up express delivery were looking at them.
"Oh, now that you've gone to a good school, you can order your father around." Tao Jian stood still in the guard room, took out a wrinkled cigarette and a lighter from his trouser pocket, lit the cigarette between his rough fingers under the guard's watchful eyes, and scolded Tao Xi, "I haven't even had my meal yet to come see you, can't you take me to the cafeteria for a meal?"
"Parents cannot enter the school without a call from the class teacher!" the guard couldn't help but say again.
Tao Jian exhaled a puff of smoke and looked like he was going to argue with the security guard again. Tao Xi just felt tired and seemed to have no strength to even speak.
"I'll take you outside to eat." Tao Xi walked over, bent down and wrote her name and the reason for leaving school on the registration form of the gatekeeper, then looked at Tao Jian and slowed down her tone, "Come with me."
Tao Xi followed the narrow streets and found a noodle restaurant where she usually ate on weekends. Tao Jian was cursing all the way, but Tao Xi just remained silent.
In the noodle shop, Tao Jian ate all the noodles in the bowl with a few chopsticks. He seemed to be really hungry. After eating, he took a cheap tissue, wiped the sweat off his forehead casually, and knocked the bowl in front of Tao Xi with the chopsticks in his hand, "Go buy me another bun."
Tao Xi put down his chopsticks, went to get two trays of buns and placed them in front of Tao Jian. Tao Jian lowered his head and started eating the buns again.
Tao Xi glanced at the half-eaten noodles left in his bowl and had no mood to continue eating. He waited until Tao Jian had almost finished eating, then asked, "What do you want from me?"
Tao Jian must have learned from Guo Ping that he was going to study at Wenhua No. 1 Middle School, but Tao Jian had been working in the southern coastal areas before. Why did he suddenly come to Wenhua City? I came here specifically to find him.
Tao Jian threw away his chopsticks, took a tissue and wiped his mouth, took a sip of the small bottle of Jinjiu, burped, and then snorted and said, "Can't I come to see you?"
Tao Xi was very impatient, but he was the only one who annoyed Tao Jian, so he tried his best to calmly ask: "Now that you have seen the person and eaten the meal, is there anything else?"
Although it was already October, the noodle shop was still stuffy and cramped. Only the metal fan on the wall provided some cool air. Tao Jian took off his jacket, which had turned white from washing, and used his rough fingers to pull out a few handfuls of curly hair. After a while, he raised his eyebrows and said, "Do you have any money left? Give it to me first."
Last month, the factory where Tao Jian worked went bankrupt and the boss fled. He and a group of workers did not get paid. A fellow villager called him and said that there was a job opportunity in Wenhua City with food and accommodation. He stood on the green train all night to get here, paid some training fees, but in the end he found out that he was cheated. He always spent whatever he earned on playing cards, and now he only had a few hundred yuan on hand.
Tao Xi looked at Tao Jian. He was obviously not surprised, but he still couldn't help feeling disappointed. He felt ridiculous that he still had expectations of Tao Jian, expecting that he really just came to see him.
He pursed his lips and said sarcastically, "Do you think a student like me would have money? Is there any father who asks his son for money?"
The latter sentence really angered Tao Jian. His eyes were blazing with anger: "Don't you get a subsidy from the school every month? In addition to the money for dining in the cafeteria, there is also one or two thousand. How much of this money can you, a student, use?!"
Tao Xi just felt suffocated, and he tried his best to suppress his voice and said: "You know very well, but do you know how much your daughter spends on medicine every month? I will leave the remaining subsidy every month to Tao Le, and you can't touch a penny!"
What followed was an endless quarrel. The owner of the noodle shop tried to persuade them several times, but was scared away by Tao Jian. The other diners also hurriedly paid their bills and left.
"I have raised a son for nothing until today. The money you spend on food and education was earned by me with great effort. If it weren't for me, you would be studying in a big city today?!"
Tao Xi always thought that he would never be hurt by the person in front of him again.
He thought he overestimated himself.
He seemed to have regained his composure, but his throat was dry: "Yes, you are right, but I should have grown up in a big city and studied in a good school, right?"
Tao Jian smashed the bottle to the ground, stood up, pointed at the door and shouted, "Do you think I want to raise a son I can't raise? Then find my biological son back to me! "
The sharp sound of breaking glass seemed to pierce Tao Xi's eardrum. He closed his eyes and his eyelashes trembled violently.
He suddenly remembered that when he was very young, Tao Jian would bring him candies and toys from the city when he came back from work, put him on his broad shoulders, and take him to run and play all over the mountains and fields.
When did it start to change?
There were rumors in the village that he didn't look like Tao Jian at all, and that Guo Ping had an affair outside. Gradually, Tao Jian became more and more cold towards him. As the two met less and less, and Tao Xi grew up, they were like strangers when they met.
After learning the truth from Guo Ping, Tao Jian never looked at him straight in the eye again, and would often make sarcastic remarks to him, just like now.
But now Tao Jian came to ask him for money and asked him to return his biological son to him.
How fucking ironic.
At that moment, Tao Xi wanted to stand up and yell at Tao Jian: "Your son is in this school, in the same class as me, go and recognize him!"
But in the end, he just opened his red eyes, stared at Tao Jian with a gloomy face, and sneered: "You should find Guo Ping and ask her why she did that in the first place. Look at your own behavior. Do you think I want to have you as my father?"
Tao Jian looked at his "son" who was always silent in front of him in disbelief. He was so angry that he smashed the bowl of noodles on the table and said, "I'll come to you in a few days! Get the money ready, you owe me this!"
After saying that, he walked out of the noodle shop with a sullen face, and kicked the table hard before leaving.
The dark brown soup splashed on the sleeves of Tao Xi's white school uniform shirt. He sat on the stool for a while before his violently heaving chest gradually calmed down.
He silently wiped the soup off his sleeves with a tissue, but it didn't come off. He gave up, stood up and helped the boss clean up the debris and soup on the floor, then paid the boss and gave him some extra as compensation.
The noodle shop owner took the money, looked at Tao Xi, sighed, hesitated and asked: "Is it serious? Do you want to call the police?" He listened for a while and suspected that Tao Xi was abducted as a child.
Tao Xi smiled, shook her head and said, "It's okay, sorry to bother you."
After he finished speaking, he turned and walked out of the noodle shop. The red-gold glow covered every street and alley in the city, but there were still many dark corners that could never be illuminated.
He walked through these dark corners and headed towards the gate of Wenhua No. 1 Middle School.
The tall school gate stood quietly in the twilight. Tao Xi recalled the first time he came here. He was full of ambition and hope, as if a new door to life had been opened and he was about to embark on a smooth journey.
But now he was looking at this door, wearing the school uniform that belonged to this place, and he was doubting whether he had ever walked in.
It's okay, Taoxi.
He said to himself.
Even if his feet were stuck in the mud, he would try his best to climb up.
Tao Xi walked into the guard room and was about to register with the guard. She saw a slender man talking to the guard. He was wearing an expensive suit that looked very valuable. He was holding a small black shopping bag in one hand. He raised his wrist to check the time and said to the guard:
"I called him but he didn't answer. Can you help me contact his class teacher? I'll hand the things over to the class teacher and leave."
The guard was obviously very polite to the man, smiling the whole time. He saw Tao Xi coming in and said to the man, "This student seems to be in the same class as your son. How about you give the things to him and ask him to pass them on?"
The man turned around and looked at Tao Xi. When he saw Tao Xi looking up, he was slightly startled, then he showed a gentle and polite smile and asked, "Classmate, are you also in Class 1, Grade 2?"
Tao Xi looked at the man and nodded woodenly.
The man took a step closer, glanced at Tao Xi's dirty sleeves, and said in a warm tone: "Can you do me a favor? This is a small gift I brought back for my son when I came back from a business trip. He didn't answer my calls, so I would like to trouble you to bring it to him."
There was no trace of embarrassment in his words about his son not answering his call.
Tao Xi glanced at the small black shopping bag. He couldn't recognize the brand, but it should contain something very valuable.
He didn't really want to help, fearing that he would be held responsible if something went wrong. When he was trying to find an excuse, he heard the man continue:
"By the way, my son's name is Yang Duole. He just transferred to Class 1 this semester. You should know him."
Tao Xi looked at the man suddenly, and at that moment he could hardly feel his own breathing.
He heard an extremely slight cracking sound exploding in his head, and his throat seemed to be suddenly blocked by a ball of wet cotton. He seemed to want to say something, but couldn't.
The man looked at the boy's red and wet eyes, and was stunned for a moment. After a while, he still asked with a smile: "Is it okay?"
Tao Xi lowered his eyelashes in embarrassment, nodded helplessly, and said "OK", but found that he couldn't make any sound at all, he just made lip movements.
"Thank you so much." The man handed the shopping bag to Tao Xi and joked, "If my son was a little more obedient, I wouldn't have to go through so much trouble to give him a gift."
The guard at the side said flatteringly: "Children like to throw tantrums during their rebellious period. They will be fine after a while. You don't have to worry too much."
The man smiled, as if his son was just making a fuss, and said in a helpless tone, "I can't help it. I spoiled him when he was little."
Tao Xi closed her eyes, took a deep breath, picked up the shopping bag and was about to leave, but a hand gently patted her shoulder.
The man lowered his head slightly to look into his eyes, his gaze focused and gentle, and asked with a smile: "I forgot to ask you just now, what's your name?"
Tao Xi was silent for a while, and then heard her own dry voice saying, "Tao Xi."
"Tao Xi? It's a nice name." The man paused, then took out a business card from his business card holder and handed it to Tao Xi: "If my son doesn't want to answer, you can call me."
Tao Xi lowered his head and saw three words printed in the center of the light gold business card: Yang Zhengming.
There was a cell phone number at the bottom, nothing else, just a faint scent of perfume.
Tao Xi blinked hard.
He thought.
It turns out that his father's name is Yang Zhengming.
He seemed to use all his strength to raise his hand and take the business card.
Then he left there quickly.
The author has something to say:
Don't worry, everything about your origins will become clear in the end. There is one more chapter.
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