detour

Zhuang Shaodong came earlier, and the private room was still empty.

The waiter left after delivering the menu, Zhuang Shaodong lit a cigarette for himself, and began to flip through the beautifully printed menu in his hand absently.He remembered that Zhuang Yupei's investigation report seemed to mention the eating habits of Xu You's parents, but when he went to City C, he was only thinking about choosing a better talker among Xu You's parents as an entry point. The chapter on living habits is completely skipped.

On the contrary, he remembered Xu You's eating habits more clearly.He doesn't like seafood very much, and he rarely eats pork. He likes beef the most, especially the kind that is braised softly and with a thick sauce. He has ordered it almost every time I eat with him.Other than that, there are fresh fruits and vegetables... If he follows this routine every day, then his eating habits are really healthy.By the way, he also likes to eat dumplings.

Zhuang Shaodong called for service, and first ordered two dumplings with tomato and beef.This one has to be wrapped by hand, which will be slower, and Xu You's habit is: if you don't drink, you have to eat the staple food as soon as the table starts.

Zhuang Shaodong guessed that the dumplings were about to be wrapped when he heard the sound of conversation coming from outside the concealed door.A clear voice was intertwined with the soft female voice, and to him, this voice couldn't be more familiar.

Zhuang Shaodong hastily walked over and opened the door, seeing Li Minhui and Xu You walking towards the private room, a gentle and innocent expression immediately appeared on his face, "Aunt Li, Xu Gong, you are here."

Li Minhui smiled at him, "Long time no see, Mr. Zhuang."

In fact, not a few days.Xu You reluctantly slandered to herself, why did her mother's tone sound as if she was looking forward to meeting him...

"Aunt Li, sit down." Zhuang Shaodong opened the chair for Li Minhui, and then called the waiter to bring up the menu, "I don't know your taste, so I just ordered some staple food."

Li Minhui flipped through the menu casually and handed it to Xu You, then turned to ask the waiter, "What are the main dishes? After a day of tossing around, Xiaoyou and I are a little hungry."

The waiter was a little girl, and said obediently: "Just now, this gentleman has ordered dumplings stuffed with tomato and beef, and the kitchen is making them, and they will be ready soon."

Li Minhui glanced at Zhuang Shaodong, nodded and said nothing.

Xu You just ordered some hot and cold dishes, and the dishes Zhuang Shaodong ordered earlier have been delivered one after another.Hang pepper beef tenderloin, yellow braised beef, and cold dishes are a braised beef tendon and a cold bracken. They are all ordinary home-cooked dishes, but they are all Xu You's favourites.In addition, there is a cup of rock sugar bird's nest soup for each person - this is a nourishing thing for women, Zhuang Shaodong ordered this, obviously intending to curry favor with Li Minhui.

"Auntie, try the bird's nest soup here." Zhuang Shaodong took the soup cup from the waiter and carefully handed it to Li Minhui. "It is said that this thing is Empress Wu Zetian's favorite."

Li Minhui didn't say anything, and picked up the spoon with her head down.

Is this the gap between the rich and the poor revealed in the details?Xu You himself never thought of buying these expensive supplements for his parents.In his consciousness, taking supplements and so on is something only old and rich people would do, and neither of his parents have anything to do with it.However, the moment his mother lowered her head, he suddenly discovered that there were a lot of white hairs in the bun her mother had combed.

Xu You suddenly felt a little uncomfortable.

Zhuang Shaodong did not ignore Xu You's rather complicated eyes.It has to be said that his unclear but complex eyes are very similar to the eyes that Li Minhui swept over just now.

It really is a son with his mother.Thinking of this, Zhuang Shaodong couldn't help but think, and suddenly thought that he must be like Zhuang Li Yunxin in some details. Xu You hates her. This is something that everyone in the authorities knows. One day, will he find a certain similarity? What disgusting psychology do you have for yourself?

Zhuang Shaodong held his chopsticks in a daze for a while, and when he looked up again, Xu You was no longer in his original seat.Zhuang Shaodong blinked, looked at Li Minhui who was beside him who was lowering his head in thought, and suddenly felt that the atmosphere during the banquet was a little different.

"Aunt Li..."

"Mr. Zhuang, there is something I've been wanting to ask you for the past few days." Li Minhui put down her chopsticks, crossed her hands and placed them on the table in front of her. When she looked up at Zhuang Shaodong, her eyes that looked like Xu You were focused. People can't look directly, "What is the relationship between you and Xiaoyou...?"

Zhuang Shaodong's heart skipped a beat, and he was suddenly speechless.

The dishes are very appetizing, and the dumplings are also his favorite taste.The reason why Xu You left the table was just to smoke a cigarette under the excuse of going to the bathroom.Xu You's smoking has always been hidden from the family, and Xu You is used to putting on airs in front of his mother, but he can't stand it for a long time after holding back suddenly.

After smoking two cigarettes and washing her face under the faucet in the bathroom, Xu You thought that the smell of cigarettes on her body was no longer obvious, so she slowly walked back to the private room, shaking the water on her hands.As soon as he put his fingers on the doorknob, he heard his mother's voice in the concealed private room sighed, "I didn't think much about it when you came to City C. But look at the dishes you ordered: Stewed beef, cold bracken, and dumplings stuffed with tomato and beef... These are all Xiaoyou's favorite things, you remember it better than me as a mother, how could I not think about it?"

Xu You's fingers froze.Is this making trouble again?Wanting to treat my mother as the mother-in-law-to-be... Bah, bah, to please the mother-in-law-to-be, but failed to please, and was exposed by the mother-to-be mercilessly?

Xu You instinctively felt that he should pretend that nothing happened, and pushed the door open as if nothing had happened to interrupt their very weird-sounding conversation.But for some reason, he just stood at the door without moving.After a long time, the slightly deep and familiar voice slowly asked, "Aunt Li, let me ask you, do you really mind that Xu You can't accept women?"

Li Minhui didn't make a sound.

"Things are indeed as you expected. I am trying to please him with all my heart. But I have no further relationship with him. He has never had that kind of thought for me. If Aunt Li just wants to ask this, then you can rest assured .”

"He said it himself?"

"He needn't say it." Zhuang Shaodong smiled wryly, "His attitude says it all. To be honest, I'm not afraid of your jokes. Although Xu You and I are currently colleagues, if I want to see him, I have to take great pains to find someone An excuse. It is thanks to you that I can sit here and have a meal with him today."

Li Minhui sighed slightly, "How can two men live a lifetime..."

"How many times can a man and a woman live a lifetime?" Zhuang Shaodong asked her back, "Whether two people can grow old together has nothing to do with gender."

Li Minhui was silent.

There was a hint of self-mockery in Zhuang Shaodong's voice, "Aunt Li, if Xu You still can't accept women, then there will be other men without me. You really hope that he will twist his temper to be hypocritical for the sake of others' eyes." Do you pretend to live a lifetime with someone who doesn't love each other? I think, no matter what others think, you have to live a comfortable life. Otherwise, every day is suffering. What's the meaning?"

"Your affection for Xiaoyou, I can see it. But...how long can this kind of affection last? By then, he will still be alone, being pointed at behind his back. He has already suffered such a loss once. Already!"

"I won't let this happen a second time!"

"Young man..." Li Minhui sneered slightly, "Didn't you say that what happened last time has something to do with the elders in your family? How can you go against the elders in your family?"

"They are my family, and if I leave them or they leave me, it won't have much impact on either of us. But Xu You can't, he means much more to me than myself."

"..."

"Aunt Li, if you still feel uneasy, then I can make another promise to you: I won't make any further comments to Xu You until my family's affairs are settled."

"you……"

Zhuang Shaodong said slowly: "They are my family, and this matter is not easy to deal with. So maybe there will be a long period of time where I can only let myself stand still and watch him from a distance. As long as I know that everything is fine with him... ..."

Xu You's fingers on the doorknob trembled slightly.He let go of the doorknob and quietly retreated to the terrace at the end of the corridor.

Looking down from here, the island city in the afternoon is full of traffic and crowds.In Xu You's eyes, this kind of hustle and bustle has always been like a background, and it doesn't have any substantive meaning to him.But at this moment, for some reason, he felt a little inexplicable emotion.It was as if for the first time I really realized that I was also a part of them. What I saw was not only the lives of others, but also my own life.

Xu You stared at the bustling streets under his feet, and suddenly felt that the city looked different somehow.Maybe it's because the autumn sun is too bright, maybe it's because the parents who once abandoned him spread the wings on his head that can keep out the wind and rain, maybe...

Maybe it's because I found out that this empty body of my own is actually loved by someone so seriously.

There are people like him...

Xu You himself felt incredible.However, because of this cognition, his cold heart unknowingly had a little more warmth.

That person once said that every day must be taken seriously.When something happens, you can't pretend it didn't happen.

Do not deceive others, nor can you deceive yourself.

Even if you are sober and alive, you will be in pain, and you can’t let yourself get drunk in the smog of this world—he always thought he remembered this sentence, but now he realizes that he used pain as a name on the way of growing up, and it is a matter of course. Forget it.

On this autumn afternoon, the sun was shining brightly and the breeze was warm.Lying on the stone railing of the hotel terrace in a daze, Xu You had the strange feeling of a little bug waking up from a long sleep at the time of the sting.As if the tentacles stretched out and touched the first ray of spring breeze blowing from the grassland in the distance, my heart was full of joy and throbbing like a new life.

Xu You leaned on the stone railing, and gently closed her eyes.

After a long time, he took out his mobile phone from his pocket and sent a text message to Zhuang Shaodong: Let's talk.

The author has something to say: Xu Xiaoyou: I'm going to face the bleak life~

Zhuang Xiaodong: Then why was it dismal...it was me...

【Volume [-] Deceiving myself and others】