Ha ha

"Where are you going?" the taxi driver asked loudly.

Xu Chenchuan was still out of breath: "Oh, wait a minute—" He took out his mobile phone, reported the address sent by Shu Yingli to the driver, and suddenly found that it was not a hospital, but the name of a residential area.

I ran too much just now, and now the wound on my shoulder is throbbing with pain.Xu Chenchuan took off his clothes and took a look, there was a little blood oozing from the white gauze.He silently put on a new shirt to cover it.All kinds of emotions during the conversation with Bai Qi were mixed into a muddy mess, and at this moment they were forcibly suppressed by the news just received.

Sure enough, the car stopped at the gate of the residential area.It was already very late, and there was no walking figure on the road in the community, only street lamps dragging his shadow to change long and short.Xu Chenchuan checked the address and quickly looked for it, feeling a little emotional in his heart.

I would rather unplug the tubes from my whole body and walk quietly at home. It sounds very chic, but at the last moment, it is a second to live a second longer. After all, only a small number of people can really leave calmly.What's more, even if some people have this awareness, their family members refuse to agree.

Xu Guoqi has always had a wide range of contacts, but there is only one Cheng Rong who can be called a brother.Apart from the friendship when he was young, of course it has a lot to do with this person himself.

Xu Chenchuan walked up to the house number on the address, calmed down, reached out and pressed the doorbell.

The door opened within a few seconds, and there was silence inside.Xu Guoqi stood at the door and made a silent gesture to him before welcoming him in.

Shu Yingli sat on the sofa in the living room, her eyes were still a little red, and she nodded to her son.The couple were both wearing home clothes, and they seemed to rush over before they had time to change when they went out.

The interior is neatly arranged. There are cacti and various foliage plants on the low cabinets and window sills, which are green and lovely.You can feel the bright and warm atmosphere of life in this home without looking closely, filling every corner, and it doesn't look like a place where a dying person lives.

"Chenchuan, come." Xu Guoqi whispered.

He brought Xu Chenchuan to the door of the bedroom, gently opened the door and walked in.

Cheng Rong was lying on the bed with his eyes closed. The sheets and quilt were in warm colors, making him look more like a piece of pale paper, and he couldn't see the rise and fall of his chest. It was almost impossible to judge life and death.Shen Ji lowered his head and sat on the edge of the bed, holding one of his hands, his eyes were fixed on that hand.

Xu Chenchuan stood behind his father, looking at Cheng Rong's disheveled face.He was thin and out of shape, but he looked calm, without pain or unwillingness.Xu Chenchuan couldn't think of how a person who only lived half the life of an ordinary person could die peacefully.

When he was a child, he couldn't really understand this father's best friend, but he no longer had the opportunity in the future.Thinking about it carefully, the only serious conversation was on that snowy night, Cheng Rong said to him with a half-smile: "Life is too short, if you miss one happiness, maybe you won't be able to wait for the next one."——At that time he Concerned about whether the other party had seen through something, he didn't taste the meaning of the last words.

The other party may have...prepared for it a long time ago.

Xu Guoqi walked to the bed and called out, "Xiao Cheng."

Cheng Rong opened his eyes, but his eyes were still awake.When he saw Xu Chenchuan, he smiled as usual, but he seemed to have no energy left to say anything.

Xu Guoqi put his hand on Xu Chenchuan's shoulder: "Look, I'm here. One day I won't be here, and there will be my son." His voice was calm and reassuring, "Leave Shen Ji to us."

The hand just landed on the wound, Xu Chenchuan didn't move, and said decisively: "Don't worry."

Cheng Rong's smile deepened, and he nodded his head with difficulty.

Shen Ji turned a deaf ear to their conversation and sat aside with a blank expression.Xu Guoqi patted him, and Shen Ji came back to his senses suddenly, showing a wooden smile: "Okay, you go back and rest, I'll just stay with him."

"We're not leaving, we're outside." Xu Guoqi took one last look at Cheng Rong, pulled his son out of the room, and gently closed the door.

Shu Yingli called Xu Chenchuan to sit beside her, and asked, "Are you full for dinner?"

"Yeah." In fact, he was stabbed without taking a few bites, but now he doesn't feel hungry anymore.

"Did Uncle Shen ask us to see Uncle Cheng off?" Xu Chenchuan asked in a low voice.

Shu Yingli was silent for a few seconds, then shook her head: "Your Uncle Cheng contacted your father a few days ago, please call us every day to ask about it. He is afraid that if he leaves suddenly, Uncle Shen will not be able to hold on alone, so we will accompany you." He felt more at ease when he was beside him. He chose to leave the hospital and go home because he wanted to look good and not make Uncle Shen feel more uncomfortable. "

Xu Chenchuan didn't know what to say, he was almost out of breath under the heavy weight in the air.

"We may be waiting here tonight..." Shu Yingli changed her breath, "Go to sleep if you are tired during the day, when the time comes...we will wake you up."

Xu Chenchuan subconsciously glanced in the direction of the bedroom.Across a wall, there is still a breathing and thinking person inside at this moment, but maybe in the next minute, maybe in the next quarter of an hour, there will only be a decomposing body left.How could he feel sleepy at such a time, his eyes turned around a few times, and finally fell on the pot of green cactus on the TV cabinet.

For these two uncles, the long-term memory has been blurred, and it is hard to say how close they are.What really makes Xu Chenchuan feel suffocated is that even with just a quick glance at this moment, he can imagine how Cheng Rong has used his way to protect Shen Ji in every detail all these years, even if he can't see it after closing his eyes. Places also want to be well cared for.But mortals are mortals after all, and there will always be a day when they will be beyond their reach.The more happy the company was at the beginning, the more bleak the road of traveling alone will be.

It is melancholy that the achievement is late and the parting is early.

Time passed by, and the three people in the living room fell into a long silence, each staring blankly at somewhere.

If they were not so persistent in staying together in the beginning, if they kept a little sincerity and did not deliver, would the two of them suffer less now?Xu Chenchuan was seized by this idea, his thinking gradually slowed down, and he thought over and over in his mind: In fact, people who don't know what feelings are all their lives live happily in their own world.Never had it, so why miss it?

After midnight, there was a slight sound in the bedroom, like a stone breaking the ice of silence.The three people who were sitting dry were startled at the same time, moving their numb and cold limbs and looking towards the door.

I don't know how long it took before Shen Ji pushed the door open and stated quietly: "He's gone."

Shu Yingli held back her tears and stood up: "Shen Ji..." She quickly walked over to hug him, but she didn't dare to use force like she was dealing with a fragile object.Shen Ji stood up straight, and even reached out to pat her on the back: "At least he won't suffer anymore."

"That's right, that's right..." Shu Yingli said quickly, "At least he left at home, and you were by my side." She carefully held him back, "Come and sit with us, okay?"

Shen Ji shook his head, turned straight and walked back: "I have to wipe his body and change his clothes."

Xu Guoqi followed in a few steps: "Let me help you."

"No, he's so ugly now, I definitely don't want you to see him." Shen Ji tiptoed and took out a shroud from the closet, turned around and said in a daze, "Oh, I need to fetch water..."

Xu Guoqi rushed to the bathroom to bring a basin of warm water, Shen Ji insisted not to let him get close to Cheng Rong, twisted the towel himself, and wiped Cheng Rong's body bit by bit.

Shu Yingli finally cried outside, Xu Chenchuan was busy comforting her.Under such circumstances, the woman's cry was very contagious, even Xu Guoqi's eyes were wet, but Shen Ji just focused on his face, as if nothing in the world was more important than the actions of his subordinates.In his state, Xu Guoqi was worried about letting him stay inside alone, so he stood guard at the door.

Shen Ji scrubbed very slowly. When changing clothes, he couldn't lift Cheng Rong by himself, so Xu Guoqi stepped forward to help.Shen Ji looked very confused, and after a moment of hesitation, he whispered: "Obviously I have become so thin... They said that the corpse would become heavier, so it is true."

He leaned over and carefully smoothed out the wrinkles on his clothes, Xu Guoqi seemed to be cruel before reminding him: "Shen Ji, it's best to turn on the air conditioner."

"Ah, yes, I'm really confused." Shen Ji found the remote control to turn on the air conditioner, adjusted the temperature to the lowest, hesitated for a while, then rolled out the quilt to cover Cheng Rong, and explained to Xu Guoqi, "He's afraid It may still be uncomfortable if it’s cold.”

Xu Guoqi gritted his teeth and dared not speak. He came to help Shen Ji, so he couldn't hold on first.

"Come on, let's go out."

After doing these things, Shen Ji seemed to have exhausted all his strength, and sat in the living room without moving, his dry eyes opened wide.Shu Yingli held back her tears, and leaned over to try her best to persuade him gently, but seeing that Shen Ji didn't respond, she could only hold his hand and sit quietly.

A tiredness that was deeper than drowsiness enveloped the brightly lit room, Xu Chenchuan curled up on the sofa with his back arched, his shoulders ached.

The night outside faded inch by inch. At dawn, Shu Yingli suddenly reached out her hand and waved it in front of Xu Guoqi, then pointed to Shen Ji beside her.Shen Ji closed his eyes and breathed steadily, as if he couldn't resist the sleepiness and fell asleep.

Xu Guoqi quietly stood up and turned off the lights, then took out his mobile phone and walked aside, contacted the nearby hospital and funeral parlor, reported the address in a low voice, and arranged for the issuance of a death certificate and cremation.

When he hung up the phone, Shen Ji, who had his eyes closed, suddenly said, "Aqi."

Xu Guoqi was startled: "What?"

"Do you blame me for not taking good care of him and causing him to leave so early?"

"What are you talking about, how is it possible!"

Shen Ji pursed his lips, and asked after a while: "Then he himself, will he blame me?"

"Shen Ji, Cheng Rong will never blame you." Xu Guoqi tried his best to dispel his thoughts.

Shen Ji opened his eyes slowly, looked at the bedroom hesitantly, and then looked into Xu Guoqi's eyes: "Then tell me, will he be willing...to wait for me?"

His voice trembled and flinched, like a child terrified by his own supplication, and a denial could break him.

Xu Guoqi clenched his fists tightly, desperately trying to stabilize the emotions that were about to burst, and said calmly: "Of course he will, who else can he wait for if he doesn't wait for you?"

Shen Ji seemed to relax all of a sudden, nodded and stopped talking.

The hazy twilight before sunrise flows into the window, wrapping the foliage plants in a faint green, like an illusory vision.

Xu Chenchuan stared at the touch of greenery, only seeing the ending as a bystander, but it seemed as if he had already walked through it himself, from the ups and downs along the way to the exhaustion at the end.