Chasing Summer

If it wasn't for the fact that the voice coming from the receiver was too real, Lin Zhexia would almost think that this is just a dream.

Otherwise, she thought of Chi Yao last second.

In the next second, he received a call.

"Lin Zhexia," while she was in a daze, read her name again and said, "Can you hear me?"

"..."

"Just reply if you can hear it."

Lin Zhexia sat up, pressed the light switch, and the bedroom lit up.

She lifted the quilt and got out of bed, and said to the mobile phone, "I heard you."

Lin Zhexia held the mobile phone, opened the door and saw a person leaning against the elevator entrance.

Chi Yao came out in a hurry, didn't even wear a coat, his hair was messy hanging on his forehead, his whole body seemed to be covered with cold air, and he was holding a transparent umbrella with the tip pointing down, dripping water.

Seeing her open the door, he moved his fingertips slightly and hung up the call.

After entering the room, Lin Zhexia asked: "Are you dressed lightly? Is it cold? Do you want hot water or tea?"

"water."

She turned and went to the kitchen, and asked again, "Why are you up so late?"

Chi Yao: "Let's see if a coward is hiding under the quilt and shaking."

As the so-called coward himself, Lin Zhexia choked for a second.

She handed over the water glass: "Although what you said is the truth, can you show me some face."

Chi Yao took it: "How?"

Lin Zhexia: "For example, find some other reason, anyway, don't say it directly like this."

Chi Yao's whitish knuckles rested on the glass, Lin Zhexia was already prepared to be rejected, but he turned his head slightly and thought for a second: "Then shall I say it again?"

"Can."

Lin Zhexia nodded, and asked again: "Chi Yao, why are you up so late?"

Chi Yao's tone was flat: "I have insomnia, I can't fall asleep, so I get up for a walk in the middle of the night."

Lin Zhexia: "..."

Chi Yao: "Is there a problem? According to the law, you can't take a walk in the middle of the night?"

Lin Zhexia: "It seems a bit far-fetched to take a walk at 1:30 in the morning."

Chi Yao seems to be particularly easy to talk tonight.

He was silent for two seconds, and then found another reason: "Actually, I am also very timid. I was woken up by the thunder, and I was very scared."

"That's a good reason," Lin Zhexia said naturally, "Don't be afraid, since you came to me, I will cover you."

Chi Yao nodded slightly: "Thank you."

Lin Zhexia: "You're welcome."

"Since you are so scared," Lin Zhexia took the quilt out of the bedroom, "Why don't we sleep in the living room tonight, I will sleep on the sofa, you will sleep on the floor, this blanket is for you."

Chi Yao leaned against the wall to watch her busy, and said in a calm tone: "Your family stipulates that guests cannot wash dishes, but you allow guests to sleep on the floor. The way of hospitality is quite unique."

Lin Zhexia who was laying mats on the ground: "..."

"It's all your fault," she put the pillows on after she finished making the bed, "I really want to give you the sofa, but you are too tall, and your own superior conditions make the sofa difficult for you." It's kind of out of place."

Before Chi Yao opened her mouth, she belittled herself again, leaving him completely speechless: "And me, I'm just a dwarf."

In the end, Chi Yao could only say one thing: "I didn't expect you to be so self-aware."

Lin Zhexia: "It should."

The living room has the heater on, so even if the quilt is not covered, Lin Zhexia will not feel cold, but Lin Zhexia still wrapped herself up, curled up on the sofa and prepared to sleep.

Chi Yao stayed awake for a while, sitting on the carpet with his legs bent, leaning against the sofa.

There was still lightning and thunder outside the window, and the thunder and lightning struck down from time to time, lighting up the sky for a moment.

Probably because there was one more person in the room, Lin Zhexia suddenly felt that the thunder was far away from her.

The light in the center of the living room has been turned off.

Only one tiny light remained on.

Lin Zhexia opened his eyes, and through the light, he saw the young man's thin neck.

"Chi Yao." Lin Zhexia called him.

Chi Yao said "hmm" to show that he was listening.

Except for the voices outside the window, only the voices of the two of them talking at each other remained.

"what are you doing."

"Xu Ting is looking for me and is replying to his message."

"He doesn't sleep so late."

"Well, he's sick."

Lin Zhexia reminded: "We didn't sleep either."

Chi Yao said, "It's different."

Lin Zhexia: "...why is it different."

Chi Yao: "Because I have double standards."

"..."

Be quiet for a while.

Lin Zhexia asked softly again: "What do you want to eat tomorrow morning?"

She added: "I'm a bit hungry, and I want to eat Xiaolongbao tomorrow morning."

"Then you have to sleep first." Chi Yao said.

"Oh."

Lin Zhexia closed her eyes.

There was no more thunder outside, she closed her eyes, and what she heard was the sound of pattering rain.

She remembered that it was many, many years ago that she first exposed her fear of thunder in front of Chi Yao.

It was so early that she couldn't remember the exact year.

It seems that when we moved here for the second year, there was a thunderstorm that night.

At that time, Lin Zhexia was still the "tigress" who beat up the community all over the place, and Chi Yao was still the "little brother" she unilaterally recognized.

That day, Lin He and Wei Ping went to a colleague's dinner party, and sang songs after dinner. It was past twelve o'clock when they rushed home, and the rain was intensifying. No electricity.

Lin Zhexia's fear of thunder has never been revealed in front of Lin He, because as long as there are people in the family, she is actually not that afraid. So Lin He only knew that her daughter didn't like thunderstorms, but didn't know that she was afraid of thunder, thinking that she should have gone to bed so late.

But Lin Zhexia did not fall asleep that night.

She pinched the phone, tensed all over, and kept calling Lin He.

"The phone you dialed is off..."

"Please leave a message after the beep..."

"..."

Lin Zhexia's lips were pale, and she thought in her heart:

Why can't I get through.

Even if it's just a phone call.

It is enough for her to hear a little sound.

The ensuing fear was like a rising tide, almost engulfing her.

She didn't know what to think in the end, she didn't even open her umbrella, she squatted in front of Chi Yao's house in the rain, and when Chi Yao opened the door, she was soaked all over.

"Your elder brother, I just went out," she said tremblingly as an excuse, "I forgot to bring the key."

"..."

The shrunken version of Chi Yao stood at the door and looked at her for a while: "Are you going out in the middle of the night?"

"Can't you," she said tremblingly, "I like to go out in the middle of the night."

Finally, Chi Yao let her into the house and gave her a set of unopened clothes and towels.

Lin Zhexia still had short hair back then, and after changing into boys' clothes, she looked like a little boy.

At first Chi Yao thought she couldn't stop shaking because she was too tired from the rain, but half an hour after entering the room, Lin Zhexia was still shivering in the corner of the sofa.

Chi Yao seemed to ask her "Is it cold" several times, but she didn't respond.

It wasn't until Chi Yao stood in front of her and reached out to test her body temperature that she came back to her senses.

"When I was a child," Lin Zhexia felt the temperature on her forehead, and this temperature pulled her back. She suddenly couldn't help but said, "That's how my father left."

"He has other women out there, and... other children."

"There was a lot of thunder. I begged him for a long time, but he still left."

These few words have been hidden in her heart.

She was afraid that Lin He would be worried, so she never said it.

This fear that she has been hiding all along, even Lin He doesn't know about it.

From that moment on, there was one more person who knew.

Lin Zhexia closed her eyes, and while withdrawing from her memories, she heard rustling sounds beside her, that it was Chi Yao who was lying down.

The two of them were very close to each other, and the sofa was not high, so she could touch Chi Yao's hair when she lowered her hand and moved a little to the side.

She stretched out her hand to pull the quilt up a little, covering the tip of her nose, and said in a low voice, "Chi Yao, Chi Yao, are you asleep?"

"No."

"I can not sleep."

"..."

"Can you tell stories?" Lin Zhexia said again, "Maybe I will fall asleep faster when I listen to stories."

Chi Yao asked back, "How old are you?"

Lin Zhexia: "This year is three years old."

Telling bedtime stories was just something she said offhand.

After all, Chi Yao has nothing to do with bedtime stories.

He is more suitable for telling dark fairy tales.

But today's Chi Yao is so talkative, so talkative that she can't help but make some excessive demands.

In the dark, the living room was quiet for a while, and then there was a slight noise, and then Lin Zexia saw a light shining from the diagonal under the sofa, and Chi Yao slid the phone to unlock it.

"What do you want to hear?"

"Anything is fine, preferably a story suitable for girls."

After a while, Chi Yao said without emotion: "A long time ago, there was a herd of wild boars."

Lin Zhexia huddled under the quilt, feeling a little suffocated: "What do you have for girls, misunderstand, do you?"

After a while.

Chi Yao swiped his phone for a long time, and found an article: "There are a group of little rabbits in the forest... Tsk, let's go to the head office of rabbits."

This is okay.

Stories related to rabbits will never unfold strangely.

Lin Zhexia stopped talking and asked him to continue reading.

When Chi Yao told the story, he still had no emotion, and even the words could vaguely reveal a personal attitude of "what kind of mentally handicapped story is this", but because the voice was lowered a lot, and the night set off, Lin Zhexia actually felt that there was something in his ear. The voice is even a little soft.

"Little rabbits go out to pick carrots, little rabbits, Tutu," he stopped halfway, and complained, "What's the name?"

Lin Zhexia: "Don't play it casually, it will destroy the atmosphere of the story."

Chi Yao: "It's already a rabbit, is it necessary to name it Tutu?"

Lin Zhexia: "...don't worry about it."

Chi Yao: "I'm the one who tells the story, I find it a mouthful."

Lin Zhexia huddled under the quilt, too lazy to argue with him, and said casually, "Then you can change its name."

Chi Yao's voice paused for a while, and then continued to read calmly: "The little rabbit Xia Xia went out with her basket and her beloved lotus leaf umbrella."

"..."

"Even if you want to change your name," Lin Zhexia felt a strong sense of shame, "Yeah, don't, change my, my, name, word!"

This boring carrot-picking story is long.

In the middle, the little rabbit met a black bear and a cunning fox, and the lotus leaf umbrella was tricked by the fox. Finally, the weather changed and it started to rain.

Lin Zhexia already felt sleepy when she heard the second half. Before the ending, she closed her eyes and asked sleepily, "...the final ending."

Chi Yao turned the page down.

During the pause of a few seconds, he heard Lin Zhexia's shallow breathing.

She fell asleep without waiting for the ending.

Chi Yao's eyes covered by the broken hair were lit up by the screen, he propped up his hands, half sat up and looked at the people on the sofa.

The girl's hair was messy and scattered in a mess. She was sleeping sideways, with one hand pressed against the side of her face, and the other hand hanging on the edge of the sofa. Her slender wrist almost touched his hair.

Chi Yao looked at it for a while.

The Lin Zhexia in front of him gradually overlapped with the Lin Zhexia who curled up on his sofa many years ago.

It's just that besides the thunderstorm when he was a child, he also remembered another scene.

That was a few years ago, the night before entering junior high school.

Lin He's original intention of suggesting Lin Zhexia to go to a girls' school was entirely because she was too wild in the community.

"You're a girl," Lin He said angrily, "chasing and beating He Yang all day, is it decent?"

At that time, Lin Zhexia stiffened her neck: "He was looking for a beating."

Lin He: "How dare you talk back—"

Lin He was carrying a broom and wanted to hit her, but Lin Zhexia could always run out, so the two often staged a mother-daughter confrontation scene in the community.

Lin Zhexia: "He was the one who bullied Chi Yao first."

Lin He: "Then you can reason with him, why did you do it?"

Lin Zhexia thought she said coldly: "A man's world is to solve problems with his fists."

Lin He laughed angrily, and shouted while chasing: "...Come here, don't run, I will use my fists to solve the problem between us now, stop!"

Lin Zhexia didn't think it was a problem to go to a girls' school at first, she went to school anyway, until the date of leaving school was getting closer, she found that everyone else in the community was going to the same school, which meant they could go to school together , after school together, and even go to the canteen to buy something to eat together.

Just her, all alone, at other schools.

The night before entering school, she finally couldn't hold back, and cried for a long time in front of him with a sullen face: "I don't want to go to school alone, I also want to be with you, I won't beat He Yang anymore, I'll reason with him, Is it okay for me to be reasonable?"

She cried and even hiccupped.

That night, Lin Zhexia said a lot, one of which was: "... Chi Yao, can you become a girl and go to school with me?"

That was also one of the few times she showed her vulnerability in front of him.

Like being afraid of thunder, she is very timid, very afraid of the difference between people, and always feels insecure.

The picture in memory turned one after another.

Transferring to a junior high school, after he finished filling out his application for the senior high school entrance examination, the teacher told him to go to the office. The grade director, who was in his forties, spoke cautiously and tentatively said, "Did you write too much for No. 1 and No. 2 middle schools?"

"I didn't write much," he heard himself say at that time, "I filled out the No. 2 Middle School."

…

Chi Yao retracted his eyes and looked at his phone.

I found the story about the little rabbit picking carrots, and the ending was only an understatement: when the rain stopped, they finally picked carrots and went home happily.

"Finally, the sky cleared after the rain," Chi Yao said softly, "The little rabbit saw the rainbow. Good night, coward."