Luting Canteen

Because friends usually come to stay for a short stay, Jiezhou has specially set up a guest room at home.The first two single beds in the room are separated by a low bookshelf that is used as a bedside table.Like the outside, this room also retains its own stone brick wall, and there is a small black iron stove with a chimney in the corner. The chimney goes straight up, and then turns around and goes out through the round hole in the wall.

Because it wasn't cold enough to light the stove, Kua Zhou just covered the two beds with fluffy blankets.When the two returned to the room after washing, Yan Ting pointed to the iron stove and said to Li Hui:

"Luting used to have this too. When it was very cold in winter, my grandfather would tie Yan Zi and I's clothes to the stove with ropes early in the morning. When we woke up, the clothes would be warm."

"Young master's grandfather?"

Li Hui has never seen a photo of Grandpa Yan Ting, and he rarely hears about his family.So it was rare for Yan Ting to talk about it, so I wanted to hear more.

"Well, the photos you saw of us when we were young in Tang Mengna were basically taken by his old man."

Yan Ting smiled lightly, moved his eyes away from the iron stove, glanced at the single bed again and said:

"sleep early."

Seeing that he had already sat on the opposite bed, Li Hui felt a little disappointed, but thinking that he had been sleeping with the young master recently, he should let the young master sleep well by himself, so he also sat on his own bed and took off his clothes. He folded his clothes and put them on the stool at the foot of the bed, shrugged his shoulders and got into the bed.

"Lie down, I turned off the light."

"Um."

The room was dark and quiet for a moment.

Li Hui turned his back to Yan Ting, looked at the wall in front of him, and shrunk his body secretly again - now he was wearing the old pajamas of the young master, which still smelled of the young master to some extent.Li Hui closed his eyes, put his sleeves up to his nose and breathed lightly.

The clothes are naturally too big for me, but I just like it.

The son's smell seems to have some fragrance of flowers and fruits, mixed with some man's body odor.Speaking of which, that man also has a scent today, but it's different from the young master's, but it's a bit like someone's.Li Hui thought hard, and suddenly remembered that the man who was eating at Luting, when he approached him to say thank you, the smell that wafted was very similar to that of Jie Zhou, but the taste of Jie Zhou was milder.

"My son,"

Couldn't help but turned sideways, opened his mouth in a low voice, Yan Ting on the bed next to him was overjoyed, but still asked in a calm voice:

"Why aren't you sleeping?"

"I, I want to ask the young master,"

"what?"

Yan Ting was sleeping with his face facing Li Hui, so he stared at the darkness and waited for his question.

"That's right, Uncle Kua Zhou and that guest from Luting, who has a similar fragrance, do people nowadays like to mix fragrance, too?"

She thought that Yan Ting would patiently explain to herself as usual, but she didn't expect that the opposite bed was bewilderedly silent.

"Master, son?"

"...It's perfume. There are perfumes for men now. It's like mixing the fragrance and storing it in a bottle, and spraying it on when you want to use it."

Li Hui nodded, remembering that it was too dark and Yan Ting might not be able to see it, so he said:

"So that's how it is."

After the conversation, the room became quiet again.After a while, Li Hui spoke again:

"My son,"

After waiting, before Yan Ting could reply, Li Hui thought he was asleep, and carefully turned around when he heard a voice from over there:

"What's up?"

Li Hui quickly said:

"I, I want to ask my lord, do you not like to wear perfume?"

"Do you like perfumed ones?"

As soon as the words came out, Yan Ting felt a little regretful - his tone suddenly turned into a questioning tone, very similar to when an adolescent boy faces someone he likes, even an unintentional sentence can make him ponder for a long time.

--like?

Yan Ting looked at Li Hui who was on the next bed, now his eyes had adapted to the darkness, and he could see his outline.

...Yeah, I like it.This is not like it, what else?Smiling helplessly, Yan Ting felt something stretched in his heart at this moment, and was gently let go.

"Young master?"

The young master didn't seem to hear what he said just now, so Li Hui had to raise his voice slightly and repeat:

"I, I think the son's own smell is very good, and theirs is a little bit pungent."

For a long time, Yan Ting still didn't make a sound, just when Li Hui was about to say it for the third time, Yan Ting suddenly laughed softly and didn't stop for a while.

"My lord, what are you laughing at?"

It's rare to see the young master smiling like this all the time. Could it be that what I just said is interesting?Li Hui thought about it for a while, but he didn't want to understand it, but he felt that the young master was happy, so he wanted to laugh too.

"I didn't laugh at anything, by the way, Li Hui,"

"What's the matter, son?"

As soon as he raised his face, a tall black figure stood beside the bed. Before Li Hui could recover, Yan Ting picked him up and pressed him into his arms with the quilt.

"—Young Master, Young Master?"

Seeing that Yan Ting just hugged him and didn't make a sound, Li Hui was a little worried.Just as she was about to pull out her arm to touch Yan Ting's face, she was immediately hugged tightly again.

"Li Hui, do you... like me?"

Yan Ting asked in a low voice, at this moment, his voice was a little unstable.

"I like you son!"

Li Hui immediately gave the answer without thinking, Yan Ting understood the general meaning, and after a while, he lowered his head and kissed Li Hui's hair, and didn't leave for a long time.

"Today, can I sleep by myself?"

"Yes, yes! You must sleep well, too, my lord."

Thinking that Yan Ting really wanted to sleep alone, Li Hui suppressed the guilt and reluctance in his heart, and tried his best to reply with a lively tone.Seeing his straightforward answer, Yan Ting pressed his chin to the top of his head again, looked at the dark wall and sighed inwardly, then gently put Li Hui back on the bed, tucked the quilt for him, and lay down himself went back.

Just now I wanted to hug this little guy so much that I didn't even bother to put on my slippers, so I just stepped on the ground.Now only a trace of coldness on the soles of the feet can remind myself to be calm.After each lay down, the two closed their eyes and did not speak any more.

While smelling the smell of Yan Ting on his clothes again, Li Hui was thinking about going to Jiangling in the future, so dawdling until the early morning, but still couldn't fall asleep.After lying down for almost another hour, sleepiness came slowly, and then he had a dream between half-dream and half-awake—although it was a dream, it seemed to replay the memories of his childhood in the dream again.

There was smoke everywhere in that dream, and I hadn't eaten much. I staggered through the smoke and walked into the alley, my feet were not steady, and I was about to fall to the ground, but was grabbed by someone.He turned his head, but he couldn't really see the appearance of that person. He only knew that it was a young man wearing a long white gown, hugging him gently like a soft cloud in the lavender-blue smoke.

"What’s wrong with you?"

At that time, I was only [-] years old, and I couldn't speak for several days, and my throat was so dry that I couldn't make a sound.

"Why are you bleeding?"

Probably because he saw the blood on his hands and feet, Li Hui hurriedly took a few steps back, fearing that the young man's clothes would be stained. The other party seemed to have seen his thoughts, and said with a smile:

"The clothes are borrowed, and I have to return them later, otherwise nothing will happen. Would you like some water and something to eat?"

Maybe you saw the longing expression on your face?The young man handed over a transparent bottle, and put a ball of sweets wrapped in a paper bag into his hand.The palm of his hand felt the heat immediately, Li Hui couldn't wait to take a bite, the soft and glutinous rice grains were filled with salty and sweet things, he was anxious when he tasted the taste, he choked on the sweet powder inside, the young master quickly patted it My back went down again:

"My child, what are you in a hurry for? Drink your saliva first and eat slowly."

Yiyan drank water, and took a few big bites, even breathing became short of breath after eating.The young master then took out the white handkerchief, wet it with water, and handed it over, Li Hui took the handkerchief and held it tightly:

"By the way, where are you from? Where are your parents? Why are you wandering outside alone? Lost?"

Li Hui was shocked.

The smoke became thicker and separated the two, but the young man's voice kept coming, asking himself.

——No, I managed to get to Jiangling,

——I, I want to learn from the most powerful chef, and I can't be sent back here.

--I have to go,

—Thank you, young man, but I have to go.

In the dream, Li Hui kept running, but he couldn't run fast no matter how he ran.He kept striding forward desperately, rushing back and forth in the alley, but he didn't seem to be able to run very far.The smoke followed him, and the taste in his mouth also followed him, holding the wet white handkerchief in his hand, he ran forward and ran like this.

"—Hui, Li Hui, wake up, Li Hui,"

How did you hear the son's voice?

Li Hui tried hard to open his eyes, but for some reason he was so sleepy that he didn't even want to lift his fingers.

"What's wrong? Still sleeping?"

"Maybe it's because he's been up too early, and it's the first time he came here by car. It's okay, let him continue to sleep."

"Okay, let's go eat first."

Although he couldn't open his eyes, the whispered conversation between Yan Ting and Jie Zhou could still be heard in his ears.Hearing that he can continue to sleep, Li Hui finally couldn't bear the drowsiness of drowsiness. Before he fell asleep again, he remembered that he had brought the white veil that he had kept on his chest in Heng Le Lou before. It's gone, and now it's lying quietly in that little suitcase.