double struggle

Shangxi Road is one of the three famous pedestrian streets in G City. Among them, it has the longest history and the buildings with the most Lingnan characteristics.The arcades are connected in one piece, interspersed from the street corner to the end of the street. In the past, there were shops downstairs and houses upstairs. Now they are all used for business, and there are many tourists at any time.

Every year to welcome the Spring Festival, the big banyan trees on both sides of the road will be hung with big red lanterns, hanging down one by one, looking like red flowers blooming from a distance, adding a bit of festive atmosphere.This year, it was decorated with other decorations, strings of neon lights coiled around the trunk, but Chu Wendao said that it was daytime when they came, so there was no way to enjoy the brightly lit night scene.

There is a large sculpture at the street corner, which is a very artistic big rooster with red crown and golden feather.Chen Xintong was surprised by everything she saw, so she stood in front of the sculpture and wanted to take a picture.

Chu Wendao definitely didn't want to join in the fun, he wanted Xu Qingzhou to help coax the naughty boy, but when he saw Xu Qingzhou looking up at the zodiac sculpture, he had to choke back his words.

In the end, Chu Wendao was in charge of taking pictures, while Chen Xintong stood in Xu Qingzhou's arms, happily taking a photo with this mighty-looking big rooster.

In the camera, Xu Qingzhou smiled shyly. She had a small face, and wearing a woolen hat made her look a few years younger, like a fresh graduate.The pixels of the mobile phone are very good. Even if the distance is widened, the long and dense eyelashes of the young man can be vaguely seen.Chu Wendao pressed the photo button again, and the corners of his mouth curled up unconsciously.

"Lori! I want to eat this!" Chen Xintong pointed to a snack pawnshop and shouted.

Chu Wendao stopped explaining to Xu Qingzhou, looked in the direction Chen Xintong said, and saw that they were selling bowl cakes.He used to eat it when he was in elementary school, but it was rare to see this kind of shop later, and now he thinks of the taste and feels nostalgic.

He turned back and said to Xu Qingzhou, "I'll go buy it, you wait for me here."

Xu Qingzhou pursed her lips and nodded, took Chen Xintong to stand under the tree and waited.

A lot of people gathered in front of the small pawn shop, Chu Wendao went to line up for a while, and then came back with four bowl cakes stuck in bamboo sticks.He squatted down in front of Chen Xintong, pretending to put up four kinds of bowl cakes with different flavors.

"Little friend, which one do you want to eat?" He said, "I'll give you five seconds, after which there will be nothing left."

Chen Xintong frowned in confusion, her eyes wandered from left to right, and then from right to left.She actually wanted to eat it all, which was really hard for her.

"Five, four, three..." Chu Wendao counted leisurely.

Chen Xintong screamed, grabbed Chu Wendao's wrist, and bit one of the pastries in a hurry.The blue eyes rolled around, afraid that my uncle would suddenly regret it.

Chu Wendao couldn't bear it any longer, and laughed outright.

"This one is for you too." He took out another bamboo stick and stuffed it into Chen Xintong's free hand, "Hold it tight, I won't buy any more if I lose it."

Chen Xintong was very clever, biting one in his mouth and holding another in his hand, realizing that he could eat two different flavors, his little face was full of joy.Children are like this, if you give them a little sweetness, you will be satisfied.

"Don't worry, don't choke." Chu Wendao buttoned the girl's coat and warned.

Chen Xintong was speechless and nodded perfunctorily.

Chu Wendao turned around and asked Xu Qingzhou: "What about you, big friend?"

Xu Qingzhou immediately put away the phone and blinked in surprise.

"What are you doing wrong?" Chu Wendao raised his eyebrows and asked.

"No..." Xu Qingzhou replied falteringly, and lowered his head to look at the snack in Chu Wendao's hand like a cover-up.

One is red and the other is white. He guesses the red one is strawberry, but he can't guess the white one.

"The white one?" he asked uncertainly.

Chu Wendao handed it over with a smile: "Well, it tastes like lychee. I liked it the most when I was a child." He took Chen Xintong's wrist, shook it, and said complainingly: "At first, I thought this kid would eat strawberry flavor. In the end it's me who eats."

Chen Xintong raised his smug face, Chu Wendao was mean, and put his cold hand on his little face, which made the children jump up in fright.He teased his little niece for a while, and when he turned around, he saw Xu Qingzhou standing quietly aside, smiling from the tip of his eyebrows into the small dimples on both sides of his mouth.

Chu Wendao patted Chen Xintong on the head and whispered, "Let my brother hold your hand."

Chen Xintong was very happy, and jumped to Xu Qingzhou in two steps, raising her arms.

"Bert, hold hands!"

"Huh? Good." Xu Qingzhou froze for a moment, and held Chen Xintong's wrist.When he walked to Chu Wendao's side, the half-eaten Bozai Cake was suddenly taken away from his hand.

Chu Wendao put his own into his unconsciously curled fingers with a smile, and said, "Change the taste."

Xu Qingzhou glanced blankly at the strawberry-flavored bozai cake with a small bite in his hand, and when he looked up again, Chu Wendao had already put the half-eaten bozai cake in his mouth.

"Teacher, you..." He rolled his eyes in a panic.

"Ok?"

"Can you stop..." He paused, considering his words, "Trick me?"

Chu Wendao was overjoyed, and finished eating the Bozai cake in two or three strokes, and threw the bamboo stick away.In fact, the weight is not big, smaller than half a palm.

"Hmm." He seemed to think for a few seconds, and then said teasingly, "This is a bit difficult."

Xu Qingzhou's eyes widened, she shrank her neck in embarrassment, and hid most of her face in the scarf.Chu Wendao fiddled with the bangs under Xu Qingzhou's woolen hat twice, and gave Chen Xintong who was looking curiously over his eyes to silence.

Chen Xintong whimpered and continued to eat the bozai cakes that he seemed to never finish, and was too lazy to talk to his bewildered little uncle.

Near the evening, Chu Wendao drove Xu Qingzhou and Chen Xintong to Sun Hai's house.The two elders of the Sun family loved children, and when they saw Chen Xintong, a clever half-breed, they were immediately overjoyed, and the two elders almost spoiled the girl to heaven.Sun Hai rolled his eyes again and again, the disdain in his heart can be imagined.

When they arrived, some people had already gathered in the garden, not many.Chu Wendao was relieved when he saw that Chen Xintong was being taken by the two elders of the Sun family, and took Xu Qingzhou to the happy chatting crowd.He knew that Xu Qingzhou was a little shy, so he took the other's hand calmly, and scratched his palm in a comforting manner.

Xu Qingzhou subconsciously wanted to earn money, Chu Wendao shook his head and said, "It's okay, they are old friends of me and Sun Hai."

Old friends, that is to say, are familiar with Chu Wendao's sexuality.

"Chu Wendao! You are late! Have a drink first!" Someone shouted at Chu Wendao.

More people looked over, and Chu Wendao held Xu Qingzhou's hand tightly to prevent the child from shrinking back nervously.

"I still have to drive, can I owe it first?" Chu Wendao said.

The man who coaxed the wine just now pouted to Xu Qingzhou who was next to Chu Wendao, and said with a playful smile: "Every time you say that you owe something, there is basically no more to say, that's not good. Why don't you ask your new partner next to you to help you?" Or drink it yourself."

Chu Wendao reluctantly accepted the wine glass, the yellow orange beer was still foaming.He was still thinking about whether to leave the car first and take a taxi back. When his hand was empty, Xu Qingzhou snatched the wine glass away.

He stared in surprise. The beer these guys chose must not be too alcoholic, and it must be very strong.But Xu Qingzhou emptied the cup in one breath, without any redness on his face.

Xu Qingzhou's Adam's apple moved, and said in a low voice, "You drive, and I'll help you drink."

I don't know why the child lost his temper suddenly, Chu Wendao sighed helplessly, and had no choice but to throw his eyes at the guy coaxing the wine.

"Hey, it's useless for you to stare at me." The man said innocently, and stretched out his hand to Xu Qingzhou, "Hello, kid, my name is Zhou Hao, and I was the monitor of the guy next to you in college."

Xu Qingzhou's fingers holding the ear of the cup moved, showing a slight smile for a while.

After the two shook hands in goodwill, Chu Wendao pulled Xu Qingzhou to his side like a chicken and a fox cub, and stared at Zhou Hao with an unpredictable expression.

"Chu Wendao! Come and help!" Sun Hai's voice came from the barbecue pit.

Xu Qingzhou grabbed Chu Wendao and said with a smile, "I'll go."

Chu Wendao was stunned, rubbed the back of Xu Qingzhou's hand with his fingertips, and nodded after a while.He looked at the young man's receding figure, watched Sun Hai grab his shoulders, and seemed to be able to hear familiar laughter.

"This kid is pretty good." Zhou Hao smiled meaningfully, withdrew his appreciative gaze, and raised his glass to Chu Wendao, "I have reserved a space for us two old classmates to chat, and our minds are quite flexible."

Chu Wendao shrugged noncommittally, and looked over the figures beside the barbecue pit.With Sun Hai around, Xu Qingzhou should be able to blend into the atmosphere quickly.He hoped that this child could be here and gain real happiness.

"Sister-in-law didn't come?" He felt thirsty and took a glass of ice water from the table.

Maybe it was because the charcoal in the barbecue grill was burning vigorously, or maybe it was because there were so many people, or because the ceiling above his head blocked the wind, Chu Wendao suddenly felt a little hot.

Zhou Hao said: "Take care of the child at home, she was still thinking about you a few days ago, when will I come with you to see your sister-in-law?"

"If you're free, I should be here from now on."

Zhou Hao's wife and they are also college classmates. There are not many boys studying Chinese, and there are even fewer good-looking boys.In Chu Wendao's class back then, Chu Wendao seemed to be unique, and he was secretly admired by girls in the Chinese department.

At that time, Zhou Hao and him were roommates, and he had a crush on the study committee member in the class, but he also knew that the girl he liked had a crush on his roommate, so it was a long time.Chu Wendao was still focused on Zhang Zhiyuan at that time, and he didn't take it seriously.

Later, I didn't know what happened, but it was unintentional. After a summer vacation, Zhou Hao got married with the study committee member, and it lasted for several years, and finally they even entered the palace of marriage.

Some people are happy for a lifetime, and some people have been with them for a long time but return empty-handed.

Zhou Hao took a sip of beer slowly and said, "When did you and Zhang Zhiyuan break up?"

"At the end of last year." Chu Wendao smiled at Xu Qingzhou who was looking over.

"Honestly, how did you meet that kid?" Zhou Hao asked.

Chu Wendao saw that Xu Qingzhou was taken away by Sun Hai again, so he looked away: "Why are you all asking me this?"

"Are there a lot of people?" Zhou Hao gestured cheerfully, "You don't realize that the way you get along is very special, not the one you used to have with Zhang Zhiyuan, but..."

After thinking for a while, he continued to add: "It feels like we've known each other for a long time, so long that even if we don't say anything, both parties can easily detect it. Maybe this is called bosom friend?"

Chu Wendao opened his mouth, and was amused for a moment: "Why don't you talk about Boya and Ziqi?"

"Yes, yes, this is it." Zhou Hao responded with high fives.

"It's your size." Chu Wendao almost wanted to pat this person awake, "He was a graduate student I supervised before, and we worked together for a while."

Zhou Hao suddenly realized, and smiled meaningfully.

Chu Wendao couldn't stand being scrutinized so strangely by the former squad leader, so he put down his water glass and wanted to leave.After taking half a step, he turned his head again.

"Squad leader, I entrust you with something."

His tone was so serious that Zhou Hao also became serious.

"Try not to mention those things about me in front of that child, can you?" Chu Wendao rubbed the back of his neck and said, "Especially about Zhang Zhiyuan."

"That kid minds your past?" Zhou Hao asked in a little surprise.After the rush just now, he thought that the child was a very tolerant person.

Chu Wendao shook his head: "I still can't let go."