Dip in fire

Where can a befuddled old man go?

Zhong Ning expected that something had happened, so he hurried home.Da Duozi stood by Xiao Huan's side, Xiao Huan slowed down and cried less loudly.

Zhong Ning took two deep breaths and told himself to calm down. He pulled Xiao Huan towards him: "Xiao Huan, tell Brother Zhong Ning, what's going on?"

Xiao Huan was still sobbing, she stumbled and said: "After my brother went out, grandpa suddenly said... that he wanted to go home. Then he left. He never... came back."

Zhong Ning seemed to have heard a joke, and pointed out the window: "Isn't this his house? Where are you going back? You just let him go? You didn't remember after walking for an afternoon? Aren't you usually very subtle?"

Zhong Ning's voice was a little loud, and he felt it was too much after shouting.Why would you blame a nine-year-old girl for something?

She couldn't stop old man Zhang from leaving, probably Zhong Ning came to look for him because he thought more and more about seeing people not coming back.

Sure enough, Xiao Huan choked up and said tremblingly, "Brother Zhong Ning, I'm afraid."

Xiao Huan couldn't bear it any longer, and shouted hysterically, "I want grandpa, grandpa, grandpa!"

Zhong Ning broke out in a cold sweat, and had no time to coax the child, so he quickly picked up the phone at home and called Zhong Pei, and immediately said, "Mom, Grandpa Zhang can't be found!"

Zhong Pei was confused: "What do you mean? Please explain clearly."

Zhong Ning: "It should be just after noon, he told Xiao Huan to go home, and then left. He hasn't come back yet."

Zhong Ning glanced out the window: "It will be dark in an hour or so. Grandpa Zhang sometimes can't even recognize people..."

Zhong Ning couldn't continue, but luckily Zhong Pei was much calmer than him.Zhong Pei told him to comfort Xiao Huan first, she would ask someone to look for her, and she would contact Yan Huiwan to go home as soon as possible.

Zhong Ning sat on the sofa with Xiao Huan in his arms and waited.

When Yan Huiwan came back half an hour later, Zhong Ning hurriedly stuffed Xiao Huan into the old lady's arms: "Grandma, where do you think Grandpa Zhang can go?"

"Did Zhangtou say he wants to go home?" Yan Huiwan was thoughtful.

"Yes." Zhong Ning nodded, "Xiao Huan said so."

Yan Huiwan hugged Xiao Huan, coaxing quickly: "Don't cry, don't cry, grandma is here." Da Duozi also squatted in front of her, blinking her watery dog ​​eyes.

"Does he want to go back to his own home?" Yan Huiwan said suddenly, "I heard that people are getting old and confused, and many of them are thinking about going back to their own home, the home they had when they were young."

"My childhood home?"

Yan Huiwan frowned and thought for a while: "Old Zhangtou is a local. I remember he said that his family used to live in the Miaoshan area, which is very close to the Miaoshan Reservoir..."

"Grandma, I'll go out and look for it!" Zhong Ning turned around and ran away.

"You must come back when it's dark!" Yan Huiwan immediately shouted an order, holding Xiao Huan and bouncing slightly.

Zhong Pei contacted many friends for help, and then called the police.

And Zhang Weilan is still working in the milk tea shop, counting the time, and will get off work in half an hour.

When Zhong Pei found him, he had just made a cup of milk tea and wanted to pass it to the little girl opposite.

"Aunt Zhong? Why are you here?" Zhang Weilan had a bad premonition when she saw Zhong Pei.

Zhong Pei's complexion was indeed not good-looking, she walked up to Zhang Weilan quickly, she didn't have the time to talk nonsense, and went straight to the point: "Weilan, your grandpa is lost."

Zhang Weilan's hand trembled, and the milk tea in her hand almost fell.With stiff hands, he handed the milk tea to the customer. It was completely empty under the skin and bones for a while, as if the internal organs were suddenly swept into the burning place in the cold winter by a big broom.

Zhang Weilan talked to the boss, left half an hour early, and left with Zhong Pei.

Zhang Weilan didn't run out to look for it like Zhong Ning did.

Zhang Weilan even touched Xiao Huan's head to comfort her when she got home. He said: "Aunt Zhong has already found someone to help and even called the police. I am absent-minded. Going out and looking around will only add to the chaos."

Zhong Pei stared at Zhang Weilan, feeling sore and sore in his heart.Zhang Weilan has become sensible to the point of cruelty.

All the immature impulsiveness and willfulness in him have been completely defeated, and all that is left is the helplessness of growing up and a maturity that is not comparable to his age.

Fortunately, there was no danger, and more than an hour later, Zhong Pei's cell phone rang.

Found old man Zhang.

Old man Zhang was indeed walking in the direction of Miaoshan as Yan Huiwan thought.But he walked halfway, and found that the surrounding building environment was different from what he remembered, his mind was confused, and he didn't know how to go.

Old man Zhang stood on the side of the road for a long time, and the cold in early spring made his face turn blue. Some kind-hearted people felt that something was wrong with him and sent him to the community.People in the community asked him what he said, but they couldn't find anything. They found that the old man was not clear-headed, so they had to call the police, and they happened to be found by the police.

After hearing what had happened, everyone broke into sweat. Zhong Pei panted heavily, then poured a glass of warm water, and said several times: "Fortunately, fortunately, fortunately, fortunately."

Yan Huiwan coaxed Xiao Huan: "Grandpa will be right back, and your Aunt Zhong will pick up Grandpa right away."

Zhong Pei had already put on her coat, and she asked Zhang Weilan, "Weilan, do you want to go together?"

Zhang Weilan shook her head and said dryly, "Please trouble Aunt Zhong."

Zhong Pei saw Zhang Weilan sitting on the sofa, her back hadn't fully grown yet.The boy bent his back, put his elbows on his knees, lowered his head and buried his face in his palms.

His breath was long, and he let out a deep breath, causing his back to rise and fall slowly.

But Zhong Pei couldn't tell, the soles of Zhang Weilan's feet suddenly went numb for a while, and she was so numb that she couldn't feel it.

——Zhang Weilan was also frightened.

After Zhong Pei left, Yan Huiwan poured a glass of water for Zhang Weilan. She sat down next to Zhang Weilan and watched Xiaohuan squatting on the ground touching the big flowers: "Don't worry, I'll pick them up soon."

Yan Hui regained her senses, glanced at the darkness, then thought about Zhong Ning, and whispered: "It's getting dark, why hasn't Xiao Ning come back?"

Zhang Weilan took a sip of water, paused, and asked Yan Huiwan, "Grandma, did Zhong Ning run out to find my grandpa?"

"Yes." Yan Huiwan nodded, "He ran to the Miaoshan Reservoir."

Yan Huiwan: "He doesn't have a mobile phone, and he can't tell him that your grandfather has been found. But it's okay, I told him that he must come back after dark, and he should be back soon."

Zhang Weilan rubbed his fingers against the wall of the cup several times. He put down the cup and stood up. The numbness on the soles of his feet got out, and he jumped up his calf like an electric shock. The pain made Zhang Weilan almost sit back again: "Grandma, I Go and meet Zhong Ning."

Yan Huiwan was stunned for a moment, a little surprised: "Aren't you waiting for your grandpa to come back?"

"It's okay." Zhang Weilan's eyelashes drooped, and the dark eyelashes covered the expression in his eyes, "I can rest assured knowing that Grandpa is okay."

"The road in Miaoshan hasn't been repaired much, so it's not easy to walk." Zhang Weilan said softly.

Mentioning the Miaoshan Reservoir is what Zhang Laotou and Yan Huiwan are most fond of talking about.It's a memory of their childhood.

The Miaoshan Reservoir is large and has sufficient water. In the past, when it was hot summer, many people would go swimming to cool off.It's just that the sand and rocks under the reservoir are hard to predict, and if they are not kept in place, they will step on the ground, and several of them will choke to death every year.

The older generation pulled out a set of sayings that "water ghosts take their lives" to scare their children and prevent them from playing.

The old man Zhang's hometown is near the reservoir, so he naturally knows a lot about the reservoir. Zhang Weilan has listened to him as a story since he was a child.

Later, the earth tile houses were laid off, and there were more buildings, and the dilapidated place in Miaoshan was gradually abandoned, and no one went to the reservoir.More and more people are moving to the city center.The government's vigorous development has expanded from the center to the outside, and the area of ​​Miaoshan has been neglected for a long time, and the roads have not been repaired very well.

Zhong Ning wanted to take a taxi after rushing out from home, but he was afraid that he would lose sight of old man Zhang while sitting in the car, so he could only rely on his feet.

He found the Miaoshan Reservoir all the way, the cold wind chapped his face, but unfortunately he didn't even see the shadow of old man Zhang.

Seeing that it was getting dark, Zhong Ning sighed in this dilapidated place: "What's the use of me running out?"

He was also dizzy.It is estimated that Yan Huiwan didn't expect him to be useful when she let him out, she just saw that he couldn't sit still and wanted Gu Xiaohuan, so she didn't have the time to care about it.

No wonder Zhong Ning was dizzy.He has Zhang Weilan in his heart.He also understood very well that if something really happened to old man Zhang - then Zhang Weilan would not be able to bear it.

Zhong Ning drooped his head and walked absent-mindedly. He didn't notice that he passed a drainage hole under his feet. He staggered and landed on his palms, then fell into it and rolled.

"Damn it!" Zhong Ning howled, covered in dirty mud.He slapped it casually and kicked out of the drain.

This place is remote, there are few people, and the street lamps are sparse and dim, and the toes of shoes cannot be illuminated.

"Zhang Weilan must already know by now." Zhong Ning thought, "Did Grandpa Zhang find it?"

What if I can't find it?

Zhong Ning's mind was heavy, and his chest was stuffy.It was getting dark, he had to go home, he couldn't find old man Zhang, and he couldn't let his family worry about him anymore.

He didn't bring it back to old man Zhang, and he didn't stay with Zhang Weilan to accompany him.Nothing was done inside or out.

Zhong Ning muttered with a wrinkled face: "Why am I so stupid..."

He headed back dejectedly against the wind, his breathing was acrid by the unabated cold.He walked onto the street, the street lights became brighter, there were more pedestrians on the road, and there were small sounds in his ears.

Zhong Ning started to run sullenly, he was going to take a taxi at the next fork in the road, and hurried home.

But before he reached the intersection, he bumped into Zhang Weilan head-on.

Zhong Ning had already seen that it was Zhang Weilan, and he knew it with a blink of an eye. It was all his fault that he didn't stop when he was surprised, and bumped into Zhang Weilan.

Zhong Ning's forehead hit Zhang Weilan's forehead, grinning in pain: "Ouch—"

Zhang Weilan asked Zhong Ning: "You run so fast, don't you even look at the road?"

Zhong Ning staggered two steps back and almost sat down on the ground. His forehead hurt, but he didn't bother to rub it twice. He stared at Zhang Weilan: "Why do you..."

Zhong Ning thumped suddenly, and said in his heart, "Could it be that Zhang Weilan also came out to look for Grandpa Zhang?"

Zhang Weilan seemed to know what Zhong Ning was thinking.He pressed his forehead and said immediately: "Grandpa has been found, he is fine."

Zhong Ning was stunned for a moment, then let out a long sigh of relief in the next second, and sighed comfortably: "That's great, that's great."

After being comfortable, Zhong Ning looked at Zhang Weilan's face again and found that Zhang Weilan was still frowning.He couldn't help but panicked: "Aren't you all right? Why do you still have this expression?"

Zhong Ning blinked, his heart was filled with happiness for a moment, he moved closer to Zhang Weilan, and asked softly, "Are you... scared by Grandpa Zhang?"

Zhang Weilan's eyes trembled slightly.

It's true that Zhang Weilan was frightened by old man Zhang... Zhang Weilan didn't answer, but Zhong Ning heard the man's voice ask in a low voice: "How did you get this body?"

"Huh?" Zhong Ning looked down at himself, there was still dirt on his body that hadn't been patted clean.

Zhong Ning patted his coat and trousers with his palm again: "I just fell down and got covered in mud...Huh?"

Zhang Weilan suddenly grabbed Zhong Ning's wrist, turned over Zhong Ning's palm, and stared at it for a while.

Zhong Ning rubbed two pieces of skin off his palm.Because of the cold weather, his hands were a little cold, and he didn't even know it hurt.

"Well, I've scratched my skin." Zhong Ning said, his heart fluttered suddenly, "It's okay."

Zhang Weilan let go of Zhong Ning's hand, and he looked deeply at Zhong Ning with complicated eyes, as if he was hiding something unclear, then Zhang Weilan turned and walked forward without saying a word.

"Hey, wait for me." Zhong Ning hurriedly followed, he was out of the habit of chasing Zhang Weilan.

Zhong Ning turned his head to look at Zhang Weilan's face, thinking in his heart: "What's wrong with you?"

Zhang Weilan ignored him.

The two had their own thoughts, and the atmosphere was so weird that no one waved for a taxi when they reached the fork in the road.They walked along the side of the road. The trunk of the big tree on the side of the road was tall and straight, but the branches were bald. The shadow of the bachelor fell on the ground, swaying wildly with the wind, sneaking and clawing.

It was probably Zhang Weilan's sudden appearance that knocked Zhong Ning out of his head.Now that he was silent, he thought of another thing—since old man Zhang had been found, why did Zhang Weilan come here?

Zhong Ning came up with the most reasonable and the most unreasonable explanation—"Zhang Weilan came to find me."

When this sentence came out, Zhong Ning's whole body began to itch.However, Zhang Weilan was able to bear it, and she was not in a hurry.

Zhong Ning gritted his teeth and stomped his feet, and grabbed Zhang Weilan's arm abruptly. In the faint breeze, he was frightened and asked abruptly, "Are you here to pick me up?"

Zhang Weilan paused for a moment, and then slowly turned his gaze to Zhong Ning's face again—there was still a smear of mud on this person's cheek.

Zhang Weilan subconsciously rubbed the line of her trousers with her fingers hanging by her side.

"You talk..." Zhong Ning bit the bullet and bumped into a wall, the more he bumped into it, the more he lost his confidence, "You..."

"Zhong Ning." Zhang Weilan said aloud, "Why?"

After asking, Zhang Weilan felt something was taken out of the air.Like a dam that blocked a flood, it collapsed in an instant, and then the water flooded the earth and boiled back to the sky.

Zhang Weilan's fingers stopped rubbing the trouser line, he raised his arm unconsciously, and wiped off the mud on Zhong Ning's face with his fingertips.

Zhang Weilan's eyes changed, became unfathomable, and seemed to be very brittle, and could be easily scratched with the little cat's paw.

The person on the opposite side has been by his side, pestering him, and getting close to him.Zhong Ning was very hard, he was like a rope, tied Zhang Weilan at the gate of hell.

In fact, Zhang Weilan should understand."Should" since he found that CD under Zhong Ning's bed.

Looking at Zhong Ning's bright eyes at this moment, Zhang Weilan knew better - he wanted Zhong Ning.

But what if he "should" be wrong?Will the light in Zhong Ning's eyes no longer be given to him?

He kept losing and losing, until now he had nothing. ——Those who have nothing are the most timid and most afraid of having.

He dare not imagine, dare not covet fire.But hell is too cold, so cold that the soles of the feet are numb, and it is difficult to move, and it is impossible to escape.He really wanted Zhong Ning—to bring him back to the world.

Zhong Ning was stunned for a moment and figured it out.

Two small sour tastes, a little bit of grievance, and a little bit of sadness quietly appeared on the base of the tongue.

He has thought many times about what a showdown with Zhang Weilan would be like, even thinking about rolling and fighting together.But he didn't expect that the appearance of his first love was so cautious and lacking in spirit.

Zhong Ning asked: "Are you being hypocritical on purpose? Or do you want me to poke the paper on the window for you to see?"

Zhong Ning rubbed his face, looked at Zhang Weilan again, and said seriously: "What do you want to hear? You tell me, and I will tell you."

"Hula."

The flood swept across the sky, the world was destroyed, and there was only one person in his pupils.

Zhang Weilan suddenly grabbed Zhong Ning's sleeve with all his strength, and dragged him behind the big tree.Zhong Ning was pushed on the tree trunk by Zhang Weilan, Zhang Weilan was so strong that Zhong Ning's back hurt.

Zhang Weilan leaned forward forcefully, but when the tips of their noses were about to meet, he suddenly stopped.He actually asked Zhong Ning: "Zhong Ning, am I right?"

Zhong Ning held his breath, and gently moved forward - the tip of his nose touched.Zhong Ning whispered, "No, that's all."

Zhang Weilan closed her eyes and kissed Zhong Ning's lips.

A very light and quick kiss.

Bare tree branches, dark night, shaking street lamps, quiet and cold air, sparse footsteps on the street, whistling wind, wheels, faint voices, breathing...

It is all concealment and all exposure.

These stimuli lengthen a short kiss and make a rough kiss delicate.

Zhang Weilan's lips were cold.When leaving, the tip of Zhang Weilan's tongue hooked in Zhong Ning's lips.Quickly.

The tip of Zhang Weilan's tongue was not warm, it was a little cold.

Zhang Weilan took a small step back.He and Zhong Ning looked at each other for a few seconds, Zhong Ning breathed a sigh of relief, and slowly squatted down against the tree trunk.

Zhong Ning stared at Zhang Weilan's shoe tip: "You...let me take it easy."

——Youth is crazy, accidentally, I kissed for the first time on the street.

Zhang Weilan lowered her head to look at the top of Zhong Ning's head, squatted down after looking at it for a while, and gave a soft "hmm".

The two squatted facing each other, Zhong Ning pursed his lips and called out, "Zhang Weilan."

"Huh?" Zhang Weilan didn't raise her eyes.

"Zhang Weilan." Zhong Ning called him again.Should say something.But the big boy has a very stupid mouth.

At this age, their bodies grow tall and straight, their spirits break out of the ground, the delicate and gentle love alone, living in a sincere heart, often don't know what to do, young and immature, but tempting as hell.

"Zhang Weilan, are you going home?" Zhong Ning asked, pulling Zhang Weilan's arm to stand up.

"Okay." Zhang Weilan said, grabbing Zhong Ning's hand.

Perhaps it was because of Zhang Weilan's kiss that Zhong Ning's hand had already started to heat up, and the place where the palm was rubbed was also gradually aching.Zhang Weilan's hands were still cold.

Zhong Ning grabbed Zhang Weilan's hand and put it in his pocket.With his thumb in his pocket, he secretly stroked the back of Zhang Weilan's hand.They were very close, shoulder to shoulder.

Zhong Ning said, "Let's take a taxi at the next fork in the road."