middle aged

Since that evening, Qi Yunze has never come to look for Mo Fanfan again after going through that unbearable scene. He lives as before, taking care of his family and parents. It was as if the glue was on his body, and it would be impossible to peel off unless a few pieces of flesh were torn off.

His nightly insomnia also gradually improved. Originally, he could only sleep for three or four hours a night, but without taking medicine, he could slowly sleep for six hours, and sometimes he could sleep for seven or eight hours. Within a few hours, Qi Yunze's spirit seemed to be getting better. The thick dark circles under his eyes gradually disappeared, and even the bloodshot eyes in his eyes were much less. In just ten days, he looked the same as he did a few months ago.

It’s just that he has a new habit now. He likes to spend half a day on weekends around the old campus of No. [-] Middle School in Z City. This place will be relocated at the end of this year. The campus in the new urban area has already been built. He once passed by there when he was on a business trip to the airport. There are row upon row of new teaching buildings, and the garden-like campus planning style makes the entire campus look as beautiful as a royal park from a distance.But that campus is only a beautiful body for him, his memory, his soul seems to be sealed in the old school building in this old city, and will be buried completely with the demolition at the end of the year .

This Sunday afternoon, Qi Yunze drove here as usual, and when he watched the teaching building full of creepers appearing in his field of vision from a distance, the feeling of touching his own soul gradually appeared in him, which had been cold for a long time in the chest cavity.He went around in circles around a few times before he found a parking space in the corner where he could barely stop his car.After tossing back and forth a few times, Qi Yunze finally parked the car, but it's a little far away from the school, and he still needs to walk for a few minutes before he can see the gate of his alma mater.

In the afternoon of July, there was a scorching heat wave. I didn't feel it when I turned on the air conditioner in the car. When I got out of the car, the scorching sun gave Qi Yunze a big blow. The little sunshine even caused some needle-pricking pain on his body. I didn't take any sun protection measures, just looking for some shaded places, like a pilgrimage, wanting to see all the looks of this campus.

The school after the summer vacation is not as lively as usual. At this time, there is no sound of teenagers reading aloud, nor their laughter and fighting. The whole campus is quiet, except for the hissing cicadas in the afternoon. Hearing and the occasional passing car engine sound, but nothing can be heard.The weather was so sunny that even the uncle on duty was reluctant to come out, but hid in the small duty room with the air conditioner blowing, half-closed his glasses and looked at a magazine of unknown age in his hand.Qi Yunze didn't knock on the door of the duty room either, and begged the uncle to let him in to have a look. He just walked around the campus, one lap, two laps, three laps, and finally stopped in front of the school gate—that year Mo Fanfan bumped into him on his bicycle.He stood there, facing the gate of the school. On the black stone pier behind the gate, there was a statue of Confucius three to four meters high. This stone-carved Confucius seemed to come out of a book, dressed in a robe, standing with his hands folded, silent Looking at him solemnly, watching the unpredictable decades of this campus.This stone statue was donated to the alma mater by the first batch of graduates after the campus was completed ten years later. In the process of demolition in the future, it may be the only one in the entire campus that does not have to worry about being destroyed, because it confirms that dozens of people in Z City No. [-] Middle School The stone statue of Nian Fengyun will definitely be relocated to the gate of the new campus intact, and continue to wait for the future of this school.Qi Yunze just looked at the stone statue of Confucius, but there was a feeling of envy in his heart. Sometimes he would rather wait in one place unchanged for decades.However, reality pushed him helplessly to move forward.

After sunbathing in the sun for 10 minutes, Qi Yunze couldn't bear it any longer. The back of the cotton short-sleeved T-shirt was soaked with sweat, and the sticky and greasy feeling was very uncomfortable. He looked around, trying to find See if there is any place to rest your feet.The surroundings of the school during the summer vacation were much quieter than usual, and several smaller stationery stores closed their doors with thick anti-theft doors.But fortunately, there is a drink shop that looks good and the environment is still open. It doesn't look like there are many people at this point. What's more, Qi Yunze found that the shop's location by the window happened to be able to see the school gate.

After ordering a cup of lemon tea, Qi Yunze sat at the small round table by the window, and there was a long number plate on the table so that the waiter could prepare different drinks for the guests according to the number.The cool air conditioner in the shop completely wiped away the heat from Qi Yunze's body. He took a sip of the lemon tea that had just been served, and took a deep breath.A sense of wantonness and relaxation gradually flows from the brain to every part of the body.

I have to say that this small shop that doesn’t look gorgeous at the entrance has something special inside. It is different from the popular American retro decoration style. It is full of Nordic elements with simple lines and elegant colors, and small round tables with log-colored patterns. The sleek and exquisite wrought iron chairs are paired with the light gray curtains in the store and a few green plants for decoration. Even the cups for the drinks are ceramic cups spray-painted with colorful mosaic patterns.But what surprised Qi Yunze the most was that there was a row of light yellow original wood-grained bookshelves on one side of this small shop, and the bookshelves were full of all kinds of novels from their era!At that time, the covers of the campus books at the school gate were always painted with pure and beautiful boys and girls, or there were all kinds of martial arts novels written by various martial arts masters.Qi Yunze always thought that children nowadays would no longer read these books under the inundation of many online books, but looking at the texture of this book and the frayed and rolled up pages, he knew that no matter what age, this Children of all ages like almost the same.Randomly picked out a book, the texture of the book was a bit damp, it looked like it was not a newly bought book, he looked down at the cover - "The Prodigal Son of the Frontier Town".He smiled wryly to himself, but he still opened the book. Although he already knew the content of the book, but in such an afternoon, the memories can always come so long.

"Huh? Where are the books?" Qi Yunze looked over after hearing the reputation, and saw a man with a slightly hunched back and gray temples facing him, facing the bookshelf, as if he was looking for something.

Qi Yunze walked around the store. Other than him, there were only a young couple and the waiter at the bar. There were no books on the young couple's table. He looked at the half-worn book in his hand with some doubts, and found a small book in the middle. A small bookmark, isn't it...

"Are you looking for this?" Qi Yunze walked over and put the book in his hand in front of the man's eyes.

"Yes, yes, I just watched half of it yesterday, and I want to continue watching today." The man nodded repeatedly, and when he looked up at Qi Yunze, both of them were suddenly stunned.

"You..." Qi Yunze immediately recognized this old man, the boss who opened a bookstore at the school gate when he was studying.

"You... young man, have you been to a middle school here before? I see that you look familiar."

"Yes, it was more than ten years ago, do you still remember?"

"Remember, remember, I have opened a store here for almost 20 years. I dare not say anything else. I can remember the students who often come to my store to read. In my impression, you like to read martial arts novels, and you often read them in my store. Buying books, but then again, you should also be working, right?"

"Yes, your memory is really good." Qi Yunze smiled. More than ten years ago, the boss was a benevolent businessman. When he was studying, in fact, every student didn't have much money in his pocket, but he also had a lot of money. Here he only looks but does not buy, but he never chases people away.

"Why did you come here today? Go back to your alma mater? It's summer vacation now?"

"I was passing by here too, just wanted to take a look." Qi Yunze invited the owner of the bookstore to sit with him, and placed the unfinished book on the side of the small round table.

"Do you still read this book? I have the impression that you have read almost all the martial arts in the bookstore." The boss smiled. He looked more peaceful and stable than ten years ago when he was older. .

"I haven't watched it for many years. I saw it in the store, so I picked it up and flipped through it. I found that I had almost forgotten many plots."

"Hahaha, how can such a young man be like an old man like me. I also like to read the old books now, so I bought another batch and put them in this store."

"Is this your shop?" Qi Yunze looked at the capable and exquisite decoration, and couldn't imagine that this is a style that a person in the 60s can create.

"Yeah, my bookstore has been here for so many years, and it hasn't produced any flowers. In the past two years, my son has tossed about such a storefront, and he hired someone to do the decoration. I don't care about it. I put a bookshelf somewhere, and I can read books while looking at the store." The uncle said with a smile.

"I really envy you, how comfortable you are with this place."

"Haha, now it seems that this place is comfortable and peaceful, and it took me more than 20 years to get to where it is today. When the bookstore didn't make much money, my family often quarreled with me and asked me to change my job at the school gate. There is a store here, buying snacks, stationery and so on is more profitable than opening a bookstore, but I have never thought of changing it."

"I could see it before. You like books. I remember that at that time, you read books more carefully than we did. Sometimes we read them, and we had to wait for you to finish the exciting part before we wanted to pay you. "

"Yes," the uncle helped his forehead, and continued: "I was born with bad grades, and I didn't continue to go to junior high school. I caught up with it in those years, and I learned almost nothing in school. What’s the use? At that time, we could only know some words. It may be a shortcoming when I was a child. Instead, I like to read books. I used all the little money I earned when I was young to open this bookstore, although I can only read. Some strange tales or novels about martial arts, but for me, it’s enough.”