South of Chutian

They didn't say anything else that night. After dinner, Li Yuechi took Tang Heng's changed clothes and went out. Tang Heng lay on the bed and heard him washing dishes, cleaning the table, and then washing his clothes outside.After a while, there was another low growl on the second floor, and Li Yuechi's mother went upstairs to coax him. Soon, the upstairs became silent.

It was still raining, and the countryside was quiet, and it was so dark outside the window that I couldn't see anything.

Tang Heng listened silently. Li Yuechi scrubbed, poured, and received water. The wooden basin knocked on the concrete floor, making a muffled sound, while the sound of him pouring and receiving water was crisp and clear. The two sounds intertwined, as if with a certain rhythm.

Maybe he is like this often. In this quiet village, doing something alone, whether it is spraying pesticides on fruit trees, washing clothes and washing dishes, Tang Heng doesn't know what he is thinking when he is doing these things, will he feel lonely? ?Or he didn't think about anything, just repeating mechanically, day by day, year after year.

After Li Yuechi washed his clothes, he walked in and handed Tang Heng his phone.

"It's fully charged," he said, "but it's not on yet."

"Stay away."

"A lot of people are looking for you."

"Didn't you not allow me to communicate with the outside world?"

Li Yuechi stopped talking, held the phone and looked at Tang Heng for a few seconds, then opened the drawer and put the phone in.

The two were squeezed together on the single bed, clinging to each other. Tang Heng grabbed Li Yuechi's hand and asked in a low voice, "Are you still doing it?"

Li Yuechi touched his forehead with the back of his hand, and said, "No more burning?"

"Ah."

"Then go to sleep."

"...Anyway, we can do it in the future."

Li Yuechi didn't answer, it seemed that Tang Heng said this to himself.

The next morning, the weather was clear again.Li Yuechi collected the clothes he washed last night and put them beside the bed: "Can you wear them yourself?"

The shirt was warmed by the sun, and the trousers of the jeans were still slightly wet. Tang Heng said, "The clothes are not dry."

Li Yuechi touched it twice: "Didn't do it?"

"You know me," Tang Heng pushed his clothes aside, "I'm too spoiled."

Li Yuechi: "..."

"I'll just wear yours."

Li Yuechi nodded resignedly, got up and brought two pieces of his clothes.One is a simple white T-shirt, the material is already a little thin, and it has probably been worn for a long time.The other is black sweatpants, very loose.

Tang Heng leaned on the bed, dressed slowly, thought for a while, and said softly: "Senior, now I belong to you from the inside to the outside, and so do the underwear."

Li Yuechi didn't answer his words, but instead asked, "Are you hungry? There is food in the kitchen."

"I want to eat noodles," Tang Heng had already made up his mind to push his nose on his face, "You used to cook that kind, remember? Stir-fry chopped green onion, fry an egg, and put some sour cowpea..."

Li Yuechi was silent for a few seconds, then said coldly, "Wait," then took off his jacket and threw it into Tang Heng's arms, "Zip it up."

"what?"

"neck."

"Oh——" Tang Heng raised his hand and touched the red mark above the collarbone, which was left by Li Yuechi yesterday, "I'll forget it if you don't tell me."

Li Yuechi turned around and went out, closing the door with some force, as if venting his anger.Wrapped in Li Yuechi's jacket, Tang Heng felt that he was a very small person.

Director Xu arrived before the noodles were finished.I haven't seen him for two days, but he is indeed a lot haggard, with big dark circles hanging on the bags under his eyes, and his voice is hoarse again, not as majestic as before, but rather embarrassed.Tang Heng, on the other hand, was wearing baggy sweatpants, his jacket was zippered up to his chin, and he was tightly wrapped and leaning on the bed, looking like an old man smoking opium.

"Little Tang, how is your body?" Director Xu's tone was very concerned, "You don't have a fever anymore?"

Tang Heng smiled and said, "It's okay, I can't die."

"Hey, you little kid! Don't worry about it anymore, get well soon, let's go back to Macau."

"Back to Macau?" Tang Heng glanced at the door, but couldn't see Li Yuechi, "I want to go back to you, Director Xu."

"what do you mean?"

"I have other business."

"I understand, I understand!" Director Xu also looked out, then got up and closed the door, and said in a low voice, "Do you think I don't know about you and this kid?"

Tang Heng: "Oh."

"Xiao Tang, if you want to deal with him, you should have said so earlier! Why do you have to make it like this..."

Tang Heng: "Huh?"

"I really didn't expect it! You can meet your family's enemy in this poor country!" Director Xu moved his chair forward and approached Tang Heng, "If you want to punish him, just say it directly. Get a Sun Jihao!"

Tang Heng was speechless for a moment, and asked, "Who told you this?"

"Who else needs to tell? Don't you just think that Sun Jihao is in the front and can't do anything?"

Tang Heng: "..."

Should he be said to have too much imagination, or too little?

Tang Heng asked hesitantly: "Then why do you think I came to him?"

"Of course we have to look for him," Director Xu said confidently, "If we don't look for him, what if he runs away?"

……

Actually, there are reasons.

Tang Heng raised his voice and said, "Senior!"

When no one answered, Tang Heng raised his voice and shouted again: "Li Yuechi!!!"

"Hey, what are you doing!" Director Xu was startled, "Don't be impulsive, Xiao Tang! We can't rush this matter—"

Li Yuechi walked in from the yard: "What's wrong?"

Tang Heng crossed his arms and said lazily, "Light me a cigarette."

Director Xu glanced at Li Yuechi, his face full of bewilderment.

Li Yuechi stood still and did not speak.Tang Heng urged: "The Zhonghua in the drawer, I'll buy it for you when I'm done." Li Yuechi then opened the drawer and threw the cigarette case by Tang Heng's hand.Tang Heng took out a cigarette, held it in his mouth, and said vaguely, "Where's the fire?"

Director Xu seemed to have come to his senses, and said in embarrassment: "I'm angry..."

With a sullen face, Li Yuechi took out the lighter and lit it for Tang Heng.

"Anything else?"

"Well," Tang Heng patted the bed, "Sit here."

Director Xu: "Then what, Xiao Tang..."

"It's okay." Tang Heng took a deep breath, feeling the smell of smoke rushing into his lungs, making him feel comfortable. "I know my senior very well."

The atmosphere became weird—three men were sitting in a small room, one was sickly and crookedly smoking a cigarette, the other was silent with a cold face, and the third looked confused and hesitated to speak.

After a while, Tang Heng smoked enough before asking, "Do you know about Lu Yue and Tang Guomu?"

Director Xu looked left and right, and pointed a thumbs up at himself: "Are you asking me?"

"Yes."

"No way," Director Xu smiled, "Lu Yue said you don't know, I don't believe it."

Tang Heng pressed his cigarette and looked at him coldly.

"Since you don't need to avoid Xiao Li, then I won't be bothersome," Director Xu raised his legs, and his tone became ambiguous, "Let me tell you, Xiao Tang, this kind of thing, it depends on the outcome—something happened. , that’s illegal and criminal, if nothing happens, that’s literati.”

Tang Heng clenched his fists suddenly, feeling the hot cigarette butt in his palm, crushed to pieces by him.

"Your uncle is capable. Any girl who comes to him is a literati." Director Xu shrugged and said innocently, "I thought you knew it all."