Chasing Tides

When the car drove into Quanxi Street, the sun had just set.

With 100 meters away from the canteen, Ning Lan sensed something was wrong.

He was afraid that if he came back late, his mother-in-law would not be able to reach the switch, so he would turn on the light before going out.But now there is no light in the store, and the door is ajar.

Before the car came to a complete stop, Ning Lan opened the car door and jumped down in a panic. There was no one in the shop, and there was no room. A chair was lying down beside the wall, and the electric gate above it, which was two meters high from the ground, was open.

His heart was pounding, and countless possibilities flashed through his mind, each of which made him shudder.

As he turned around and ran out, he almost ran into someone.

Seeing Ning Lan meeting her, Sui Yi's first reaction was to take two steps back, his face suddenly darkened, he turned his head to look at Lu Hao who had parked his car and walked over, and asked Ning Lan, "Where did you go with him?"

Ning Lan ignored it, turned around and wanted to go out, but Sui Yi stretched out her arm to stop her: "Grandma sprained her waist and is now in the street clinic."

Ning Lan raised her head and said in amazement, "I sprained my waist? What's going on?"

Sui Yi pointed to the overturned chair with his eyes: "Trip switch, she climbed up on the stool to pull the switch, accidentally twisted it, now it's all right, the doctor is giving her a massage."

He said it lightly. In fact, at that time, Granny Zhang was already unable to stand still and fell backwards. If he was a step late, or his reaction was half a beat slower, it might be more than just twisting her waist.

After listening to his words, Ning Lan's disordered breathing gradually stabilized.He went back to the house to get the money, and just stepped out with one foot, he turned back and asked him, "Did you pay for the medical expenses in advance? How much?"

Sui Yi was already depressed, and this question undoubtedly made things worse.He glanced at Lu Hao at the door again: "Will you give him money if you go out with him and take his car?"

Ning Lan didn't want to answer this question, so she lowered her head and counted the money on her hands: "With the clothes from last time, is two thousand enough?"

Ever since Sui Yi saw Ning Lan and Lu Hao coming back together, her temples were throbbing.

Ning Lan and him are obviously the closest relationship, so they shouldn't just talk about money like they are now.But Ning Lan was willing to give anyone a smile, but she didn't want to give him even a chance to make up.

"Not enough." Sui Yi said, "Did you forget that you have a real mother?"

Ning Lan's eyes widened suddenly, and her lips trembled a few times: "You...you gave her money?"

Sui Yi raised the corners of her lips, laughing that she could only get his attention in this way.

"Did you give her money? How much?" Ning Lan asked.

"Can not remember."

Ning Lan took two steps forward and asked persistently, "How much did you give?"

Lu Hao was afraid that the two of them would fight, so he went up to pull Ning Lan: "Let's go to see mother-in-law first."

Ning Lan shook off his hand and said calmly, "Brother Lu, please help me take care of my mother-in-law first. I'll come right after I settle the bill with him."

After Lu Hao left, Sui Yi chuckled and said, "Check out?"

Was that how he defined their relationship?

Ning Lan turned around, took a pen and paper from under the counter, and put it in front of Sui Yi: "Write the card number here, I'll call you."

Sui Yi didn't even look at it, and asked, "What's your relationship with him?"

Ning Lan didn't answer, but pushed the pen and paper towards him: "Write the card number."

Sui Yi was fed up with his avoidance of herself, raised her hand to press his shoulder, and forced him to look at herself: "I ask, what is your relationship with him."

Ning Lan frowned: "Let go."

This time Sui Yi didn't listen to him, and held on tightly, refusing to let go.

He vaguely guessed that Ning Lan had an unusual relationship with that man. The man could come in and out of his house at will, and the man's brother called him "Sister-in-law". Wait for Dr. Lu to come.

He seemed to be the redundant one, he disturbed Ning Lan's life and hindered Ning Lan's happiness.But he didn't believe it, he wanted to get an answer from Ning Lan, and wanted to ask if he really didn't need him anymore.

Ning Lan's shoulders were pinched so painfully, seeing Sui Yi's attitude of swearing not to give up if he didn't press for an answer, she said with drooping eyelids, "What's none of your business?"

Sui Yi seemed to be hit by a heavy punch from the sky, and all internal organs were shaken out of place.

Once upon a time, he also used this sentence to force Ning Lan to let go, but now it is his turn to know how lethal it is.

He was a little at a loss, and said in an unsure tone: "I...I like you."

Knowing that the timing was wrong, he still said it.He didn't know what else to say, there was really nothing else he could do.

This time it was Ning Lan's turn to smile.He finally looked up at Sui Yi, and reminded him clearly word by word: "Don't you like Ji Zhinan?"

A ghostly shadow flashed in front of Sui Yi's eyes, the smile in front of him overlapped with the shadow, and the voice next to his ear was suddenly distant and near: "Do you think I look like him?"

This kind of Ning Lan often appeared in Sui Yi's dreams. His uneasiness and anxiety piled up to the extreme, and he grabbed Ning Lan's hand: "You don't look like you, you don't look like anyone. Go back with me, okay? What do you want?" Give it all to you, come back with me..."

"Sui Yi."

Sui Yi was stunned for a moment.

This was the first time Ning Lan called him by his name directly.

Ning Lan was smiling, but her eyes were cold: "It was you who told me to get out, and it was you who asked me to come back. Why did you say everything?"

Sui Yi's mouth moved, and suddenly he became dumb, unable to utter a word.

The corners of Ning Lan's mouth curved higher and higher: "Do you still want to sleep with me?"

After finishing speaking, he raised his other hand, started to unbutton his shirt, and said as he unbuttoned, "I said earlier, you lend me money and my mother's money, you are a great benefactor of our family, and you should give some interest... "

Every word turned into a needle and pierced his heart, Sui Yi hurriedly grabbed his hand: "Don't say it!"

Ning Lan wasn't afraid at all, and wanted to continue: "If it's not enough, you can do it a few more times until you feel comfortable, I... um."

The next words were all lost in the menacing kiss.Sui Yi pinched Ning Lan's chin fiercely, forcing him to raise his head, and grabbed his waist with the other hand, imprisoning him in his arms, attacking the city with his tongue in his mouth, and tightly entangled his lips, fiercely It's like trying to tear him apart.

Suddenly the tip of his tongue hurt, Sui Yi loosened his grip, and Ning Lan pushed him away violently.

Ning Lan was panting heavily, her chest heaved rapidly, but her tone was still cold: "If you don't do it, get out, don't waste time here."

The fishy smell spread from Sui Yi's mouth, his face was livid, and his teeth creaked.

His anger had reached a critical point, and he was afraid that he would say something irrevocable under extreme emotions, so he wiped the blood overflowing from the corner of his mouth, turned and walked out.

Ning Lan raised her head behind him, his back was reflected in her slack pupils, watching him blend into the night and walk further and further away.

It wasn't until I couldn't see anything that I slowly squatted down with my back against the wall, curled up my body, and waited to be swallowed by the darkness.

Sui Yi returned to the car and took out a pack of cigarettes from his pocket.

Lu Xiaochuan said that once in a while, if you smoke one, not to mention being happy like a fairy, at least you can get rid of your troubles for a short time.

He lit one, but didn't smoke it, watching the sparks flickering, and the ash growing in lengths, and then falling overwhelmed.

The car was filled with smoke and a choking smell. He was in it, and when he calmed down and the smoke burned to the end, he turned his head and looked out the window, only to find that it was raining.

The summer rain has the smell of grass and earth, but because the air pressure is too low, people can't smell the so-called freshness and fragrance.

The canteen diagonally opposite still didn't turn on the lights, Ning Lan must have gone to the small clinic to find her mother-in-law.

After the tongue hurts, it becomes numb, and occasionally a trace of fishy sweetness slides into the throat along the saliva.Sui Yi stretched out his hands, letting the rain wet his palms, thinking bitterly, his Ning Lan would bite when she was angry, she was as cute as before.

So cute that he wants to play a tune for him.

Sui Yi subconsciously looked for his piano, but the co-pilot and the back seat were empty. He belatedly remembered that when he entered the canteen, he was carrying the piano case, and when he saw that Granny Zhang was about to fall, he threw the piano case on the ground.

When Ning Lan found out when she came back at night, she might just pick it up and throw it outside.

Sui Yi braved the heavy rain and rushed to the entrance of the canteen. He knew that Ning Lan usually didn't lock the door when he went out, and when he pulled the handle, the door opened.

It was pitch black inside, and Sui Yi turned on his mobile phone as a light source before he could clearly see the piano case lying beside the shelf.

There are also people huddled together in the corner.

The room was very quiet, but the voice of the man could not be heard, only the muffled sound of raindrops hitting the eaves.

Sui Yi's heartbeat suddenly became heavier, thump—thump—thump—thumping against his eardrums, as if the whole world was left with only this resounding heartbeat.

Ning Lan's head was deeply buried in her knees, she remained motionless, her half-unbuttoned clothes were not buttoned, and one shoulder was exposed in the air, so thin that it made people tremble.

Even when he got close, he couldn't hear the panting sound, and he seemed to have completely sealed himself up.

Sui Yi took a deep breath, squatted down slowly, touched his hand, and called him softly: "Lan Lan."

Ning Lan hugged herself very tightly, Sui Yi grabbed his cold wrist, but couldn't break it apart, like a frozen stone, only warm things can slowly thaw him out.

Sui Yi couldn't find a place to apply force, so he knelt down on his knees and pushed Ning Lan into his arms.Now I can finally feel his body trembling, I don't know if it's because of fear or because it's too cold.

Sui Yi kissed his protruding ear tips, and continued to call him: "Lan Lan."

Ning Lan didn't reject his closeness, maybe she was unconscious and had no time to resist. Since the reunion, this was the first time Sui Yi hugged such a good boy in her arms.

But Sui Yi couldn't be happy, he would rather Ning Lan get up and beat him, scold him, bite him, make him bleed and hurt him.

Just stop torturing yourself like this.

He should have noticed something was wrong with Ning Lan just now.Ning Lan's heart is so soft, but every word she speaks has a knife. While stabbing the other party, why didn't she hurt herself?

He didn't want to show his vulnerable side, so he killed a thousand enemies in this way and harmed himself by eight hundred, which is so stupid that it makes people feel distressed.

"Lanlan, look up, look up at me, huh?"

Under Sui Yi's patient persuasion, Ning Lan's tense body slowly relaxed, and her head, which was buried in the ground, was lifted up unsteadily.

Ning Lan didn't cry, which made Sui Yi heave a sigh of relief. He touched Ning Lan's cold face with his warm hand, trying to transfer the temperature to him through the tight skin.

The originally closed eyes slowly opened, and Ning Lan's dark pupils stared at him closely, like a child who just opened his eyes to look at the world, with surprise and bewilderment in his eyes.

Sui Yi pinched his face: "Don't you know me?"

Ning Lan shook her head slightly, without taking her eyes off him for a moment.

"It's cold on the ground, let's get up first."

Sui Yi let go of his arms around his waist, preparing to get up first before hugging him.Ning Lan suddenly panicked and grabbed his clothes to prevent him from moving.

Sui Yi heard Ning Lan talking, the voice was as thin as a mosquito, he had to bend over, hold Ning Lan's face, and half-jokingly said: "Isn't it very fierce and loud just now? What's the matter now..."

All the remaining words were blocked and returned.

Sui Yi saw the water in Ning Lan's eyes surge violently, and then two lines of tears overflowed from his eyes, ran across his cheeks, and were already cold when they dripped onto his hands.

Ning Lan's hands were tightly clutching the hem of his clothes, just like when he turned to leave three years ago.

"I... I was wrong, I know I was wrong, you... don't go, don't go, don't want me..."

Sui Yi's eyes suddenly went dark, and then a wave of pain swept through his whole body.

When Ning Lan cried, there was no sound, and when she was crying and talking, she could only hear her choking.Now these cautious sobs turned into a sharp arrow and pierced deeply into his heart.

Ten thousand arrows piercing the heart is nothing more than that.

Even during the three years when he couldn't find Ning Lan, he kept forcing himself to look forward. He believed that Ning Lan was working hard in some corner of the world that he didn't know, just like what he saw when he came to Quanxi Street. Arrived the same.

But he didn't know that the damage he caused to Ning Lan was so deep and heavy that Ning Lan could only walk forward with an empty shell, and the soul that was lost because of being overwhelmed was in the boundless darkness. After staying for three years, I have not found a way out.