I still don't want to go to school today

Fu Luojia stared at the one-inch blue-background work for a long time, until he was awakened by the faint voice of "the work is not finished" in his mind.

He wanted to put the badge down, but he felt that it was not right to put it anywhere, and finally stuffed it into the pocket of his school uniform jacket.Then he took off the quilt cover in the bedroom and threw it into the washing machine. It took a lot of effort to restrain the urge to stare blankly at the pattern on the fabric as the drum slowly rotated.

He went in and out of the rooms, trying to find meaning for being busy—only after tearing down the dusty flannel curtains in the master bedroom, he realized that the washing machine was no longer full.

He turned off the light, and stole 10 minutes of laziness in the dark with peace of mind. After 10 minutes passed nothing changed, smell, sound, temperature.

Time to connect with some people.he thought.Things are not done yet.

Grandma's house had a landline, so he called back the number he called recently with the idea of ​​giving it a try.

"I told you not to call me—I still have something to do, I won't be back until later—"

"Hey."

There was a moment of silence. "Who are you? Where is my mother? I told you not to mess around, didn't we all agree to pay back the money at the end of the month..."

He turned around and accidentally knocked off the fruit plate on the table.After hearing the noise over there, they screamed: "I'm going to call the police!! I called the police and I told you——"

"It's me, Phroka."

"Ah," the screaming stopped abruptly, "Fu Luojia...why are you looking for me?"

"……Where are you now?"

"Shouldn't you be in school? Why are you holding the phone at home?" She said in a bad tone, "The adults are busy, so don't make trouble for others."

"Where are you?" Fu Luojia coughed twice, "I'm coming to find you."

"Why are you looking for me?! You said you're busy, you're busy—go back to school! I called your dad——"

"Ah, there is a knock on the door outside." He took the phone handle away slightly, and knocked on the coffee table with his left hand. "Did you hear that?"

"Don't open the door, don't open the door, don't open the door-!!!" The voice was poorly imitated, but there was a lot of chaos at the end. "Don't open the door, don't make any noise, let your grandma find a place to hide—"

"They're not here, they're going to the hospital." He was very calm. "How much do you owe?"

"I——It's none of your business, don't ask these questions! Go down on the cat's eye to see how many people are there, and be gentle!"

"Grandma doesn't know? Fu Yun is still getting money for you, right? You didn't tell him?" He didn't care how frightened she was, and continued to ask questions.

"I told you it's none of your business—"

"Where are you? I've come to find you," he repeated. "There is no one outside now. Are you short of money now? What's the use of changing the locks? My grandma and grandpa are the first heirs. We are all a family, don't you want to discuss it?"

……

It snowed again, and half an hour later the shrubs in the flower beds were topped with a few strands of white.Fu Luojia opened the plastic curtain at the door and entered the room, and the glasses were quickly covered with a layer of water vapor.

A dirty white-haired dog lay on the unpaved concrete floor, gnawing on a cigarette butt soaked in a puddle of tea.The heat lamp hanging under the mahjong table breaks out from between the jungle-like legs and feet, reflecting the walls in warm colors.

Someone turned to look at him as he entered.He scanned the raised faces, but couldn't find the one he was looking for.More people were in the midst of the battle, and they only shrank their necks in the cold wind that leaked in, and there was no pause in the movement of the code cards.

He changed his posture to embrace the thing in his arms—now he had a weird illusion, and gradually felt that what he was hugging was not a painting, but a sunflower. "Excuse me, is Xia Ningyi here?"

She didn't lie this time.A young man in a down vest came over and led him into a further room.

"I want new keys." He was blunt.

There is also a game of cards here, but the atmosphere is much heavier than outside.Everyone at the poker table had cigarettes and teacups in front of them, along with a bunch of colorful plastic cubes.

My aunt was squatting on the sofa beside her with her shoes on, in a weird posture.She raised her head slowly, with a dazed expression: "What do you want the key for? You don't need it anymore. I've contacted the buyer, and I can come to see the house after New Year's Day... I only take 40, and the remaining [-] will be given to you." You, give [-] to my mother. Leave the other money to me first, anyway, you are not in a hurry to use the money now—"

Fu Luojia lowered his eyes, "Are you on drugs?"

"Fart, when will I—"

"Then why are you still talking crazy?"

She bounced off the couch. "You fuck me?! You said you wanted to come and talk—"

"The previous loan is due soon, are you still waiting to get the money for selling the house?" Their eyebrows and eyes were indeed similar to the extent that it made him uncomfortable.He looked at the poker table again, "It seems that I didn't lose much today. How much is left on me? Give it back to me first."

"Funny, what do I owe you?"

"Grandpa was hospitalized because of you. And those things that weren't yours, the cell phone you broke—"

She burst out laughing. "Oh, come and listen, what a filial child--I just cursed my own mother to death, and now I'm begging for money from my grandfather! It's so touching, my God--"

The card player didn't pay attention to this at first, but after she smiled like this, even the machine stopped shuffling the cards and concentrated on watching the show.

"I didn't..." Nothing?Fu Luojia stopped to think.She was actually right, the irony was appropriate and good, and he couldn't think of how to refute it.But off topic, he's here to fix things.

But he was still impulsive, and actually wanted a gambler who hadn't played the game table to spit out his money.It is very difficult to solve this matter.

He is poor at words, and my aunt is even more imposing. "The house and the money should be mine without your consent. I have taken care of my sister for so long—what about you? She cried and begged us not to tell you about her in the last few days, saying that you are a senior in high school and have worked so hard. , can’t be distracted. I don’t think you’re too busy, you’re still skipping class—”

"Your mother is sick and you shrank hundreds of miles away like hiding from the plague god. You usually don't pay attention to it. You pretend to be crazy and say that you are going to cure some 'disease'. I haven't forgotten those few phone calls. What did you say?" Come on? Die quickly? Now you have the face to ask for her money?! I should sue you in court! You are absolutely responsible for my sister's death, and you should pay our family money!"

"Do it, do it!!"

Exclamations, screams, and even laughter.A lively variety show is being broadcast on the TV.The dog ran away with a cigarette butt in its mouth, and the light bulb under the table dangled.

Shake, tilt, fall out—

He shivered in the snow.

"Aren't you looking for her?" He let go, and the woman curled up on the ground didn't care to comb her hair, and looked at him and screamed again. "Look hard, maybe you have money on you."

"This woman can really toss and roll in the mourning hall." The scar-faced man came out from the alleyway next to him, followed by three or four other muscular men. "Are you really her nephew? You're quite cruel. The dead one is..."

He hugged the sunflower tighter.Just came out of a warm place, the flowers still have temperature, as if they are heating up. "It's my mother."

These debt collectors are mixed in twos and threes among the elderly strolling, conspicuous like a lighthouse.When he saw them downstairs, he stepped forward to confirm and got the answer he wanted.

What are the consequences of letting them come over?He didn't think about it.But now it seemed that their presence would relieve at least a small part of his tantrums.Originally, this kind of role was not even needed, until my aunt made him very unhappy.

very frustrated.Very... guilty.

painful.

Still afraid of making people too cruel, he found a public phone booth after floating on the street for a while and called the police.Because you have to hug the flowers, your fingers are always exposed, and you can hardly bend them when you press the keys.

Floating again, the snow stopped.He suddenly felt that it was really stupid to hold this thing. Just as he thought about it, his arm loosened, and the hanging painting fell to the ground with a crackling sound, breaking it.

It's twelve o'clock, and it's already a new year.

He still has work to do.He stopped walking up and down, and sat on a bench under the street lamp.

After returning to school, many people came to him, and he couldn't understand what they said—the aftereffects of spending the night in the park were obvious, and if you don't touch

Forehead, just from the blur of vision, you can tell how badly you are burned.

The high temperature made him uncomfortable. He ran out of the classroom every time get out of class was over, so that he could not be found and breathe.

The cold wind made him shiver, but he was still hot enough to take off his scarf.

To be honest, he became a little bit happier when he heard the booing: at least it meant that Xu Zhijian had appeared.He was not sure which direction Xu Zhijian was in, so he simply opened his arms.

Xu Zhibian hugged him—he should have started running, he felt the acceleration.A piece of skin behind the ear was quickly moistened by breathing.He heard the sound of his heart pounding against Xu Zhijian's ribs with all its strength.

"There's been a lot going on recently...the love letter is still unfinished."

Xu Zhibian buried his face in his scarf. "It doesn't matter."

He patted Xu Zhibian's back lightly, and said, "I love you."