Out of place

The moment Hu Hai said these words, Xiang Xi felt like the thunder before the midsummer thunderstorm, slamming on him with a bang.

He suddenly froze on the chair, a little out of breath, and panicked with boredom.

Third birthday.

Hu Hai's younger brother was already three years old when he lost.

A three-year-old child can walk and talk, and will no longer be a little plush wrapped in a blanket.

It's not like he has no memory at all...

no.

Not Hu Hai's younger brother.

He is not Hu Hai's younger brother.

This answer is actually not unexpected, he kept reminding himself in his heart that this is just a possibility, it may be, or it may not be.

But maybe it was because of the long expectation of his parents and family, the jade pendant on his chest that showed off his wealth had lost the meaning of appearing before it appeared, and he couldn't accept it at once.

He doesn't even need to ask Hu Hai, do you recognize my jade, or does your brother have a tear mole on his face.

All the prepared lines and devious probing, no more.

A feeling of disappointment rushed over, all over his body, and the weight was so heavy that Xiang Xi couldn't sit still.

"You..." Hu Hai lay on the window and didn't hear Xiang Xi's voice for a long time, so he turned his head and was a little surprised when he saw Xiang Xi, "What's wrong?"

Xiang Xi came back to his senses, didn't speak, but subconsciously touched his face.

no tears.

Fortunately.

Probably just the expression on his face is not very good.

"It's nothing." Xiang Xi lowered his eyelids and looked at Qin in front of him, and couldn't help sighing softly, "I'm already three years old."

Hu Hai sat back on the chair, stared at him for a while, leaned forward, reached out to his neckline, and lightly touched the pendant with a small corner exposed: "Is it new?"

"No," Xiang Xi smiled with the corners of his mouth pulled, and pulled out the pendant, "This is...my parents', maybe."

"It's wishful," Hu Hai looked at, "I heard the old man talk about you a little bit."

"I..." Xiang Xi looked at him, "Can I see your piece?"

Hu Hai didn't speak, and directly took off the jade pendant around his neck, and put it in his hand: "This is given to me by my mother, and I wear it all the time. My brother... has no, and doesn't have... a mole like yours. .”

It seems that Hu Hai has understood his intention, Xiang Xi looked down at the jade pendant in his hand.

Just like what Cheng Boyan said, this piece of jade is very beautiful, with a good water head. It looks similar to his own piece, but the size is different. Hu Hai’s piece is smaller, and the carving is not Ruyi, it is a round one. rabbit.

really not.

Hu Hai's younger brother has no jade, and the two pieces of jade have nothing in common except that they are both good jade.

No moles either.

"Are you a rabbit?" Xiang Xi asked.

When he looked up at Hu Hai, he felt itchy in the corners of his eyes. Before he could lower his head, a tear had already flowed down his face and dripped on his hand.

"En." Hu Hai stood up, took a tissue from the tea table, and handed it to him.

Xiang Xi grabbed the tissue and quickly rubbed it on his eyes, actually crying?

I didn't feel like crying, I was just disappointed, why did tears come out?

"I thought..." Xiang Xi grabbed the tissue and smiled, "Don't think I'm funny."

"I don't think so," Hu Hai sat back on the piano bench, lowered his head and began to pluck the strings lightly, "I understand your mood, I'm not your brother, I'm a little disappointed."

Xiang Xi didn't speak, just smiled silently.

"Disappointment is also a taste," Hu Hai said. "Disappointment means that you still have hope, right, it's scary when the disappointment is gone."

"You..." Xiang Xi looked at him, "Are you still disappointed?"

"Yes," Hu Hai smiled, "I'm also very disappointed that you are not my brother."

This sentence made Xiang Xi, who had just wiped his eyes to take a breath, lose control, and tears poured out like a gate.

"Did I say the wrong thing?" Hu Hai stopped playing the piano and looked at him a little at a loss, "Xiang Xi, don't cry."

"I'm fine," Xiang Xi stood up covering his eyes with his arms, "I'm just a little...aggrieved."

Before Hu Hai could speak again, he turned and went into the small kitchen, turned on the faucet, and washed his face vigorously on the sink.

It's a grievance.

Why he was wronged, he didn't know.

I don't know why I reacted so badly because of something I had no hope for.

Hu Hai's piano sounded again, and he leaned on the edge of the pool to listen.

The pieces that Hu Hai played in the past were very quiet and slow. When there were passionate and fast rhythms, it sounded like he was crying. It was just the difference between crying happily and unhappy, but what he played now was not what he usually heard. .

It's actually Xiang Xi who can hum along.

After hearing a few words, Xiang Xi was overjoyed, pulled his clothes, wiped his face and walked out of the small kitchen: "Backgammon? Sounds like it's Chinese New Year..."

"How is it?" Hu Hai said, "Are you happy?"

"Yeah." Xiang Xi nodded.

"Don't cry for a while," Hu Haibin said while playing, "Your master should think I'm bullying you."

"Don't worry," Xiang Xi sat down at the tea table with a smile, and started to boil water, "I'm going to change my face soon, basic skills."

Old man Lu came over when Xiang Xi was making tea, and there was a little girl behind him, Xiang Xi could still recognize it, this was the one who refused to let him in when he first visited the teacher, the granddaughter of old man Lu .

"Hi," the little girl greeted him with a wave of her hand, then hopped over to Hu Hai and sat down next to her, "Master Hai gave me a melodious song. Your former master scolded me today, and I'm in a bad mood."

"My granddaughter, Lu Miaoyu," Old Man Lu took a sip of tea from his cup and sat down opposite him, "Don't worry about her, let's talk about our affairs."

"Okay." Xiang Xi nodded.

This Lu Miaoyu is quite quiet, not as noisy as it looks, she just sits beside her and listens to Hu Hai playing the piano, and comes over to get a cup of tea from time to time.

When Xiang Xi started making tea for the second round, she turned around, lay on the back of the chair and watched, then stretched out her hand: "Give me a cup, master."

"No matter how you catch everyone, you call him a master." Xiang Xi handed her a cup.

"Who said that," she said with a smile, "I don't have one. Everyone I call a master feels like a master, and you look like one."

"Thank you," Xiang Xi said, "I take it seriously."

"Really, I'm just complimenting you," Lu Miaoyu took a sip of tea, "You look really good-looking after playing this game, and you have style. I feel like you can become a teacher, right, grandpa?"

Old man Lu laughed for a long time when he heard this, then took a sip of tea and looked at Xiang Xi: "I think so."

"Huh?" Xiang Xi was stunned for a moment, "You can't make do with it without charging tuition, can you? I've only been here a few times and you want to drive me away?"

"Who drove you away," old man Lu looked at the tea in the cup, "let's have some practical experience."

"What do you mean?" Xiang Xi looked at him suspiciously.

"How about going to the tea house with me next time?" Old man Lu said, "Just Yunshui Fanxin."

"Me?" Xiang Xi was stunned, Yunshui Fanxin is considered to be a very high-end tea house, many people who go there are very knowledgeable about tea, old man Lu's words made him a little overwhelmed, "Shall I sit next to you? "

"You sit behind the tea table." Old man Lu looked at him with some distaste. "You are usually so clever, how can you be so slow when it comes to business?"

"What if I make a mistake? What if I mess up?" Xiang Xi suddenly became nervous, sitting there making tea with a group of tea-savvy people watching, just thinking about it made him want to throw the pot.

"You did it for nothing. If you smash it, you will smash it." Old man Lu said very easily.

"I lost your master's money," Hu Hai said aside, "It's okay."

"He just smashed it," Lu Miaoyu immediately pointed at Hu Hai, "so he was expelled from the school, and now he makes a living by playing the piano."

Xiang Xi was amused and laughed for a long time.

"Don't make trouble," Old Man Lu waved at her, "I'm talking serious with Xiang Xi."

"Then you two talk about it," Lu Miaoyu turned around and continued to listen to Hu Hai playing the piano.

Old man Lu was really serious, he planned to take Xiang Xi to Yunshui Fanxin, and set aside half of the time for Xiang Xi to let him feel it.

Xiang Xi was a little terrified when he heard that, he is indeed very familiar with making tea now, but old man Lu never pointed out his movements, it was all up to him how he felt comfortable, whether he liked him or not. There is no bottom line to qualify.

The old man Lu was very confident, and waved his hand: "Forgot, tea is not something that should be rigid and formal, everyone can drink it, and everyone has a different feeling after drinking it. What standard."

Xiang Xi didn't speak.

"It's fine if you make people feel that you are stylish," Old Man Lu said, "Isn't someone already thinking that you are stylish?"

Lu Miaoyu sat with her back to them, and didn't look back when she heard this, but raised her hand: "Yes."

Xiang Xi didn't struggle anymore, he thought he should give it a try, anyway, the big deal would be to lose the pot, old man Lu is so in demand, he can't invite anyone, and he might not say anything.

When I finished the tea and went downstairs, I felt a little tired.

Cheng Boyan's car had already parked in the shadow of the trees downstairs, and he was sitting in the cab with his head down playing with his mobile phone.

Xiang Xi stood in front of the car, he had mixed feelings that night, he didn't know what he was thinking when he was making fun of Old Man Lu and Lu Miaoyu.

Now that he suddenly saw Cheng Boyan, he had a real sense of reality. His whole body was relaxed, tired, lost, unspeakable disappointment and hope that still existed. He wanted to find a place to lie down.

"Hey," he slapped the front of the car, "robbery."

Cheng Boyan raised his head in the car, and smiled when he saw that it was him: "Get in the car."

"Come down," Xiang Xi said, "I don't want to move."

Cheng Boyan opened the car door and jumped out of the car, walking up to him: "What's wrong?"

"I'll talk about it later," Xiang Xi leaned on him and put his arms around his waist, "give me a hug."

"Hmm." Cheng Boyan didn't ask any further questions, but reached out and hugged him tightly.

"Strength." Xiang Xi closed his eyes, took a deep breath, and inhaled the familiar and reassuring lemon scent of Cheng Boyan into his body.

Cheng Boyan tightened his arms and hugged him firmly.

This sense of security wrapped up immediately made Xiang Xi relax.

After getting in the car, Xiang Xi put down the car seat, lay down and closed his eyes.

Before the car reached the intersection, Cheng Boyan heard his soft snoring, turned his head in surprise, and found that he had fallen asleep.

Cheng Boyan turned down the volume of the music in the car, he could guess the result of showing off his wealth tonight, Xiang Xi's reaction already explained everything.

In fact, this is not surprising, Cheng Boyan knew that the possibility of the two brothers meeting in the vast crowd was so low that it could be ignored, but when he saw Xiang Xi like this, he suddenly regretted it a little.

I have never been too impulsive in doing things, but this time I became so impulsive because of a pendant that only flashed for a moment, and I pulled Xiang Xi for joy.

He sighed softly, too impulsive.

Back home, Xiang Xi went into the bathroom to take a shower without saying a word, Cheng Boyan sat in the living room, picked up a book and opened it, but didn't even read a word for a long time.

When Xiang Xi came out of the bathroom, his head was covered with water and he didn't wipe it off. Cheng Boyan looked at the water dripping on the floor and didn't speak.

Xiang Xi sat beside him, turned on the TV and watched, and said after a few minutes: "Hu Hai is not my brother, his brother was already three years old when he lost it."

"That's it." Cheng Boyan said softly.

"The pendant is different from mine, and his brother didn't have it when he lost it." Xiang Xi took down the jade pendant, pulled a piece of paper, wrapped the rope in the paper, and pressed it down to absorb water.

"I didn't see clearly." Cheng Boyan reached out and pinched the back of his neck gently.

"But it's nothing." Xiang Xi opened the paper, took out the pendant and looked at it, "Didn't I also take a blood sample, maybe I can find it."

Before Cheng Boyan could speak, he said again: "Maybe we still can't match, but it doesn't matter."

Cheng Boyan didn't know what to say, hugged him, and rubbed his back hard a few times: "I'm sorry, if I hadn't been so anxious to say that Hu Hai's pendant wouldn't be like this, let you down so much."

"How can I blame you," Xiang Xi rested his chin on his shoulder, "I'm disappointed because I have hope, hope is a good thing."

"Yeah." Cheng Boyan lightly patted him on the back.

"What Hu Hai said makes sense," Xiang Xi said, "I feel much relieved when I hear it."

"Why don't you...recognize him as brother." Cheng Boyan said.

But at the same time he said this, he regretted it, and a little wanted to press the back button to go back and sew his mouth.

"Huh?" Xiang Xi tilted his head back and looked at him, "It's pretty good, that's..."

"I'm just talking casually." Cheng Boyan said quickly.

"Do you think he won't agree?" Xiang Xi said softly.

"No, no...that's not what it means," Cheng Boyan felt that his IQ seemed to be on the verge of zero recently, "I just said it casually, do you really want to recognize him as a brother?"

"Can't you?" Xiang Xi raised his eyes to look at the lamp, "I think he looks like an older brother, just like you, he's very kind, and his words make sense..."

"What do you mean like me?" Cheng Boyan clicked his tongue, "I'm your boyfriend, don't make a mistake."

"Oh," Xiang Xi thought for a while, sat upright, put his legs crossed on the sofa and stared at him for a long time, then suddenly laughed, "Cheng Boyan."

"What?" Cheng Boyan looked at him.

"I finally understand," Xiang Xi couldn't stop laughing, "Are you jealous?"

Cheng Boyan didn't speak, and after a while, he leaned back on the sofa and let out a long sigh of relief: "You finally found out?"

"Are you really jealous?" Xiang Xi laughed even harder when he heard that, "My God."

"I have worked so hard to be jealous for so long, are you happy?" Cheng Boyan said with a smile.

"No," Xiang Xi rubbed his face, "Are you sick, can you still eat Hu Hai's vinegar?"

"Otherwise, who would I be jealous of, your master?" Cheng Boyan said.

"My master was very talented when he was young." Xiang Xi was so happy that he lay down on the sofa and put his feet on his shoulders dangling. The words next to the tea cabinet were all written by him, and he even said that he would draw one for me when he had time..."

"Go, hurry up," Cheng Boyan patted his foot away and pushed him twice, "Go find your master."

"In two days... oh no, tomorrow." Xiang Xi thought about it and was happy again.

"Why do you go again tomorrow?" Cheng Boyan was stunned, "Additional classes?"

"No," Xiang Xi sat up, frowning, "Master said to take me out... to work, to Yunshui Fanxin, do you think I can do this?"

"It will start tomorrow?" Cheng Boyan was even more surprised than when he first heard it.

"Well, if you don't take money, let me try it and feel it." Xiang Xi rubbed his hands, "Why do I feel a little nervous?"

"You are awesome," Cheng Boyan patted him, "Are you the first one among so many apprentices of your master?"

"I haven't become an apprentice, I still have to learn, it's just the feeling." Xiang Xi said so, but besides the nervousness on his face, there was still a bit of unconcealed pride.

"Then feel it," Cheng Boyan smiled, "Is it night?"

"Afternoon," Xiang Xi said, "there are many people at night, he is afraid that I will be nervous, so he said afternoon."

"Then I can't go," Cheng Boyan sighed, "I'm going to miss your first appearance."

"What's wrong with this, if I can really do it, there will be more opportunities in the future." Xiang Xi pulled his hair and said with a smile, "Hey, today my master's granddaughter calls me a master."

"Master Xiang Xixi, you don't understand, it feels like I missed my son's first performance." Cheng Boyan felt a drop of water rushing towards his face, and clicked, "Where is the sprinkler! How about you go Sprinkle some mint on those pots!"

"You are so troublesome," Xiang Xi stood up and went into the bathroom to wipe his hair, then went into the bedroom and poured water for the mints with the elephant water bottle, "Hey, do you want to buy this water bottle for your son? ? So childish."

"Yeah," Cheng Boyan went into the bathroom, "My son is having fun using it."

As for the matter of getting rid of Yunshui Fanxin, it is also very good, it can temporarily interrupt Xiang Xi's depressed mood.

When he got up early in the morning, he set up the tea set brought back by Cheng Boyan, and practiced back and forth in the room by himself.

It's practice, but I don't know what to practice, that is, making tea over and over again.

Just like old man Lu said, there shouldn't be any standards for this matter, as long as you do it smoothly, good tea is good if you have the heart.

At noon, he suddenly remembered an important matter, and quickly grabbed his cell phone to call old man Lu: "Master! What should I wear this afternoon?"

"Put on clothes." Old man Lu didn't know if he was being stupid or teasing him.

"Can't you do this?" Xiang Xi frowned, "I mean, should I wear that, I don't know how to say it... just like you and Brother Hai."

"You have?" old man Lu asked.

"No." Xiang Xi said.

"What to wear without you." Old man Lu said.

"Didn't I just ask you!" Xiang Xi was anxious.

"Just wear your usual clothes," Old Man Lu laughed, "It seems that you are nervous, it's okay, you can do whatever you want."

"Am I wearing jeans?" Xiang Xi asked.

"Well," old man Lu sighed, "don't forget what I said once you get nervous."

"...Okay, I get it," Xiang Xi calmed down, "Tea is tea, drinking tea is drinking tea, I see."

At noon, someone delivered fast food to your door. When he called Xiang Xi and told him to go downstairs to pick it up, he almost thought it was a scam or that Uncle Ping had set him up.

"Mr. Cheng ordered the meal, saying it was for his son." The person who delivered the meal said.

"Son? I... go down and get it," Xiang Xi hung up the phone, and whispered while changing his shoes, "Fuck, I'm addicted."

Cheng Boyan ordered lunch for him, which is the tea restaurant across the street from the community. Cheng Boyan was quite satisfied with the food there, so he ordered some small pastries and a soup for him today.

Xiang Xi went upstairs with the lunch box in his hand, and sent a text message to Cheng Boyan.

The meal was received by Dad.

Cheng Boyan didn't reply to him, probably because he was too busy.

He happily sat cross-legged on the sofa while eating and watching TV. After eating, he found a big drop of soup on the sofa.

"I'm fucked!" He tidied up the lunch box in horror, and checked it carefully on the sofa.

After checking for about 2 minutes, I was sure that there was only this drop of soup, but because the sofa is a fabric sofa made of hemp material, if the soup drips on it, it cannot be wiped off with paper.

He was a little depressed. Although Cheng Boyan would take off the sofa cover and send it to the laundry every few months, it has not been 20 days since he put on the sofa cover...

It also dripped on such an obvious place, on Cheng Boyan's usual seat.

After tossing and tossing for a long time, he couldn't get rid of the drop of soup. Old man Lu called and said that the car had arrived here and asked him to go out.

He had to take a mat and put it on the dripping soup, then grabbed his bag and ran out the door.

Old man Lu said that the car was parked at the gate of the community, and he basically went out of the gate and looked around, only a white q7.

He was hesitating whether to go over and take a look, when someone in the car honked the horn, and then a head poked out from the cab, beckoning to him.

He saw clearly that this person was Hu Hai, and was immediately a little surprised. To be honest, neither Hu Hai nor old man Lu seemed to be driving a Q7. He went over and looked at the car: "Whose car is this?"

"Your master's," Hu Hai said, "get in the car."

"My master still has such a nice car? He..." Xiang Xila opened the door and got on the back seat, and after sitting in, he turned his head and saw that there was another person beside him, and he looked like a mafia boss wearing a pair of sunglasses Yes, he froze for a moment, "Master...Father?"

"Here we come." Old man Lu said.

"It's cloudy today," Xiang Xi looked out the window, then waved his hand in front of his eyes, "What time is it?"

"Don't make a fuss," Old Man Lu smiled, "My eyes are uncomfortable today, and I keep crying when the wind blows."

"Did you not rest?" Xiang Xi leaned over to his glasses to see his eyes, "Do you want to go to the hospital? My friend is in the hospital."

"No, it's often like this." Old man Lu patted his leg, "You should spend a little longer today, I'll be here for about 10 minutes."

"What?" Xiang Xi was stunned for a moment. Old man Lu usually performed for an hour, and he thought that it would be enough to let himself go up for ten minutes at the end, but he didn't expect the time to be reversed now.

Old man Lu smiled and did not speak.

"Come on!" Hu Hai said in front.

Now it was too late to struggle and discuss, and Xiang Xi hadn't adjusted to the chaos caused by the sudden change of time, the car had already arrived at Yunshui Fanxin's back door.

When I came that day, I saw the woman in a printed dress who was introducing tea to the guests standing at the door. Seeing their car stop, she smiled and bent slightly.

When Xiang Xi got out of the car, he took a look at old man Lu. Normally, old man Lu didn't wear sunglasses, but today he was wearing a gown and sunglasses, which suddenly gave him the illusion that the boss of the underworld came out with a younger brother and a driver and bodyguard to have fun.

"Mr. Lu, you are here." The woman said with a smile.

"I thought you weren't here, but this is the apprentice I told you about, Xiang Xi," the old man Lu pointed at Xiang Xi with a smile, and then introduced him, "This is the boss of Yunshui Fanxin, Peng Yunfan .”

boss?female?

"Hello." Peng Yunfan smiled and held out his hand to him.

Xiang Xi quickly took a step forward and shook hands with her: "Hello, Boss Peng."

"Today I'm going to let Xiang Xi come," Old Man Lu said, "Do you have any objections?"

"Of course I don't have any objections. We don't have any objections to your apprentices." Peng Yunfan turned his head and looked at Xiang Xi, "I've worked hard for you today."

"It's not hard work." Xiang Xi said, it's good if you don't mess with the pot, so why bother.

Before the time came, Peng Yunfan asked them to go to her lounge first, and Xiang Xi followed at the end. When passing by the room where old man Lu made tea last time, he took a look in.

There were already seven or eight guests sitting inside, drinking tea and chatting, not too many people, Xiang Xi heaved a sigh of relief, just when he was about to turn his head and walk forward, a guest at the table by the window suddenly raised his hand and charged. He swayed.

He was stunned when he saw it, Song Yi?

"Brother Song?" He leaned against the window and asked in a low voice, at the same time he saw Lin He sitting opposite Song Yi, "Why are you here?"

"Bo Yan asked us to support you." Lin He smiled.

As soon as he heard Cheng Boyan's name and saw Song Yi and Lin He again, Xiang Xi's heart suddenly warmed up. Most of the previous tension suddenly dissipated. He tapped lightly on the window sill and said with a smile: "Thank you!" , look at me later."