double struggle

An unremarkable dinner, at least Xu Qingzhou thinks so.After a day of travel and dust, he didn't have any appetite at first, but when he found the dishes on the table—as if his mother had specially prepared them for him, he still ate two more bites.

The TV is showing documentaries. Xu Qingzhou's father especially likes the documentaries recorded by CCTV, especially the historical ones.Xu Qingzhou read a book in the bedroom for a while, and when he heard the door opening of the opposite room, he couldn't help but look up, and happened to meet Xu Yunzhou returning to the room with a sad face.

Xu Qingzhou didn't even need to think about it, his brother must have been driven back to study by his father.No matter how much hope is entrusted, he must bear the corresponding responsibility. Sometimes he has to be thankful that the one favored by heaven is not himself.

"Ah, brother... Did I disturb you?" Xu Yunzhou noticed Xu Qingzhou's gaze and scratched his head embarrassingly.

Xu Qingzhou shook his head lightly, he didn't put much thought in between the lines.

Xu Yunzhou pointed to the bedroom and said, "Then I'll go back and work on my project."

"Ah."

The door on the opposite side was closed again, and Xu Qingzhou made sure that there was no other movement from the people inside, so she slowly got up and went to the kitchen.He filled two cups of milk and put them in the microwave oven. While it was running, he poured a cup of hot water and leaned against the kitchen door, looking absently at the living room.His parents are still sitting on the sofa, and the TV stereo is still repeating the solemn and heavy voice of the voice actor.

Xu Qingzhou himself also likes to watch documentaries, because he can always learn about the world he never knew from it.Perhaps this is one of the few genes he inherited from his parents.

"Qingzhou, come and eat some fruit?" Xu's mother looked over at him.

Xu Qingzhou looked back at the microwave oven - it would take another 5 minutes.He sat on the single sofa on the other side, and was about to peel a grapefruit by himself, but found that Mother Xu had already peeled it and handed it to him.Xu Qingzhou will not refuse other people's intimacy, especially with a little fawning gesture.

Xu Qingzhou took it with a smile, and focused on the TV while chewing grapefruit.For a moment, the living room was eerily quiet.He casually wondered if he had ruined the original harmonious atmosphere.But he can't resolve this embarrassing state, and he can't learn it since he was a child.

"Have you visited grandma?" Father Xu asked suddenly.

Xu Qingzhou was stunned for a moment, then lowered his eyelids, and threw away the residue on his hands.He remembered that when he came back, he brought the vacuum flask that Aunt Zhou gave him.

"Well, I went there after getting off the car." He said truthfully, "I have also found a temporary nurse, and I will go to the nursing home for the next few days."

Mother Xu's eyes widened slightly: "Have you found a nurse?"

"A friend introduced it." Xu Qingzhou said softly.

Wu Xia has a wide network of contacts, he mentioned it two days ago, and the next day people helped him find it.The price is affordable, the people are honest, and the most important thing is the guarantee of Wu Xia.

"Before your uncle said he wanted to look for it, but he didn't make any noise." Mother Xu complained, she had been displeased with his uncle's family for a long time, "Your second uncle and aunt also don't care about things, hey, they..."

Father Xu interrupted: "Okay, don't keep mumbling."

Mother Xu snorted, but she really stopped talking.Although the helplessness and dissatisfaction on her face have not yet converged.

Xu Qingzhou didn't participate in this topic. As for relatives, he has seen all their appearances over the years.Even if there is dissatisfaction, it is a time when it is inexperienced.

He is so eager to be in an irrelevant corner, watching other people's scrambling, but his silence has never been well understood.

"Qingzhou, what do you think about the house?" Father Xu asked suddenly.

Xu Qingzhou still maintained the original posture, staring at the TV intently, as if the advertisement could also make him watch with gusto.

He asked back, "Can I say that?"

"Go ahead."

Xu Qingzhou finds it funny, he doesn't think his ideas can play any role.

After about a few minutes, when the steady male voice sounded again, he slowly opened his mouth: "Uncle's son should be getting married soon, so Uncle wants that house; Uncle Er doesn't have much thought, he seems to have been interested in this aspect all the time." I don’t even think about it; my uncle is going to have an operation at the end of the year, and my aunt is short of money.”

He paused and closed his mouth.As for his parents—probably want to get involved in this disaster, but he doesn't want to reveal it.

In addition to the new house approved by the government in exchange for grandma's house, she can also get a certain amount of compensation.The denomination of funds is not large, but it is not a small amount.With his parents' current family circumstances, they don't have to care about the house in the new development area of ​​the city and the little money.

But where is the limit for things like matter?

Xu Qingzhou glanced at Xu's father's expression of approval, pursed his lips, and knew that this topic could be over.

"The milk is ready, I'll get some for Yunzhou." He stood up.

"Hey, wait." Xu's mother stopped him, pointed to the plate containing the grapefruit meat and said, "You can take these to Yunzhou too."

Xu Qingzhou glanced at the fruit plate, and frowned slightly.

The pointer unknowingly stepped into ten o'clock in the evening, and the warm light came through the crack of the door. Xu Qingzhou hesitated for a moment, wondering whether his interruption was appropriate.Hesitation is hesitation, he still knocked on the door lightly.

"wait wait wait!"

There were chaotic ding ding dong dong sounds from behind the door, and after a while, the door was opened from the inside to the outside.Xu Qingzhou looked over Xu Yunzhou's shoulder, saw the floor covered with materials, and sighed helplessly.

"Brother..." Xu Yunzhou looked at him guiltily.

Because of Xu Yunzhou's heavy academic tasks, he always spends most of the day in his bedroom. Normally, Xu's father and Xu's mother take the initiative to disturb him.In the whole family, only Xu Qingzhou, who is the elder brother, can come in and out of Xu Yunzhou's room unscrupulously.

Xu Qingzhou stuffed the milk and fruit plate in Xu Yunzhou's arms, and squatted down to collect the materials thrown on the ground.His younger brother is better than him in everything, but he is not careful enough.

"Brother, don't be too busy, don't worry about throwing these away." Xu Yunzhou persuaded after him.

"It's okay, eat yours." Xu Qingzhou felt that Xu Yunzhou was in the way, and waved him to sit down quickly, "Go to bed early after drinking milk, the holiday is still long, take your time."

Xu Yunzhou gnawed on a grapefruit and complained vaguely: "The competition will start in April, and this is still the first draft. The instructor is urging me every day, and I am so annoying."

"That's because the instructor has taken a fancy to you."

"That's not true, there is a talented person in the group, and he is the mentor's proud disciple."

Xu Qingzhou cleaned up the floor neatly, folded the materials and put them on the desk.He didn't know much about IT majors, so Xu Yunzhou sorted them out by himself.

"Hey, why did Mom peel so many grapefruits?" Xu Yunzhou frowned and fiddled with the remaining grapefruit flesh, "Is it going to spoil soon?"

Xu Qingzhou was browsing the bibliography on the bookcase, when he heard the words, he replied almost indifferently: "That's because Mom loves you."

After speaking, he immediately pursed his lips again.This tone sounded so sour, even though he was sure that the careless Xu Yunzhou couldn't detect it.

"Brother, next time you go to see grandma, you take me with you."

Xu Yunzhou should have heard the conversation between him and his parents.

This is not a special request, so Xu Qingzhou naturally complied.Of course, he was a little surprised - because Xu Yunzhou rarely took the initiative to visit grandma.

In fact, it's not Xu Yunzhou's fault. After all, when Xu Yunzhou was born, grandma's health was not very good, and she seldom saw each other.When Xu Yunzhou remembers things, grandma has already begun to forget about people, so it is impossible to say how deep her feelings are.

Lost in the east, harvested in sangyu—it seems to be exactly the same when applied to him and Xu Yunzhou.

"Well, I'll be there tomorrow," he said.

Xu Yunzhou picked up his phone and looked at the schedule, frowning in frustration: "I'm going out with my classmates tomorrow."

"I'll be there for a few days. When you're free, just tell me in advance."

"Then... the day after tomorrow? I can do it the day after tomorrow."

After discussing the time, Xu Qingzhou went back to his room, thought for a while, and locked the door behind him.He sat down next to the edge of the bed, the board was eerie cold, and his calf became numb after sitting for a long time.

Only my own bedroom, it turned out to be so lonely.After a comfortable period of time, he thought he had forgotten the helplessness he once had, but he never expected it to sneak back to his side like a ghost.

He stretched his upper body, reached out and touched the bed for a while before finding the phone.

At 11:30 in the evening, Chu Wendao should not be asleep at this time, he knows his teacher's work and rest time.To be precise, he knew everything about Chu Wendao.

Xu Qingzhou clicked on the photo album, and in just a few days, the photo album was full of photos.Chu Wendao certainly didn't know how many times he was secretly photographed, so Xu Qingzhou naturally hid this secret well.

Sliding over one by one, this was taken when I was on Shangxi Road.He still remembered that Chu Wendao was teasing Chen Xintong at that time, he was already in his 30s, he still looked like a child, and the smile lines at the corners of his eyes couldn't be hidden no matter what.This was the first time he saw Chu Wendao so happy, and he couldn't help saving this picture in his phone.

He held the phone in his arms, propped his chin on his lap, and curled his lips involuntarily.

Such a good person, how can it be stored in the memory card? This is a lifetime.