bastard

Zhu Nanjiang lay at home for more than half a month, and finally he was able to go back to school again.

After going out, he didn't go to the school, but ran all the way to Sanli. After sitting on the steps for a while, he suddenly remembered that it was morning, and Wen Changling would not come here at this time.

It's not far from Sanli to Wen's house. Wen Changling carried him home that night, and the distance was only five or six minutes in my impression.

Zhu Nanjiang searched all the way based on his memory, and after passing through several alleys, he finally saw the familiar green brick courtyard full of flowers and plants.

After knocking on the door, a middle-aged man he had never seen before came out, dressed in light black long-distance running, with a pair of thin-rimmed glasses on the bridge of his nose.

After hearing about his intention, the man suddenly changed his face, and said "Changling is not here" before closing the door and entering the house.

In a hurry, Zhu Nanjiang stepped forward and hugged the door tightly with his hands: "I'll come and see him, just take a look, is he in good health?"

In fact, he has always been a little shy of strangers, and he doesn't know how to communicate with strangers, especially those who are much older than himself.

Just expressing his intention to come has exhausted all his courage, and then he simply doesn't know how to retain the indifferent patriarch in front of him who obviously doesn't welcome him.

He had already seen that the man was Wen Chengru, the owner of Jiangnan Printing Factory, and Wen Changling's father, and he also guessed that Wen Changling was actually at home now, but the other party didn't want him to see him.

"Let me meet him!"

Zhu Nanjiang insisted and repeated it again.

Strange to say, although beating and scolding is commonplace, he has never learned to be humble.He didn't even know how to plead.

"What did you see him do?"

"I, we are friends..."

"Changling is not here, I sent him to the countryside for recuperation." Wen Chengru slowly but firmly pushed away his hand, turned around and disappeared behind the door.

Zhu Nanjiang stood there affectionately and dazedly, his mind was in a mess and he didn't know what to think first.

He went to the country, where is the country?Can he still go to the old school?He bled so much, he must be slow to heal... Does his hand still hurt?

The door opened again, and Wen Chengru took a light yellow rice paper envelope and stuffed it into his hand: "Master He, the Wen family is just an ordinary family, and Changling can't afford a friend like you, you..."

He stopped abruptly in the middle of the conversation, and he seemed to want to say something more, but after the silence, he only said "sorry" and retreated into the room.

This time the door was really closed.

Zhu Nanjiang pinched the envelope, still feeling dazed.

He's gone... my brother is gone, where should I find him?

It was very cold outside the yard, so Zhu Nanjiang found a place to sit against the wall against the wind.

He didn't want to just leave like this, and he didn't know where he could go.The envelope should contain a check, which is as light as two sheets of paper, so I can't figure out how much money is there.

Someone walked along the courtyard wall, it was Mama Liu whom he had seen at Wen Changling's home that night.

Seeing Zhu Nanjiang nestled in the corner from a distance, Mama Liu showed surprise at first, then suddenly lowered her head and quickened her pace, and disappeared behind the door through the yard in the blink of an eye.

Zhu Nanjiang quickly got up and ran in the opposite direction.

He didn't dare to squat here anymore, he was afraid that Wen Chengru would come and drive him away after he found out.

Close to the north side of Wen's house is an old-fashioned single-story tile-roofed house. The roof looks very old, but the yard is tidy.

Zhu Nanjiang half leaned against the gate of the courtyard to pant, while stretching his neck to look in the direction of Wen's house.You can't actually see anything from this direction, but if someone goes out of the yard, you can always see it.

So what if you see it?he does not know.

In a daze, suddenly there was an unfriendly voice behind him: "Who are you?"

Zhu Nanjiang turned his head and saw a clean and delicate young man's face.

The young man frowned and looked at him. Seeing that he had hesitated for a long time without saying anything, he turned cold and pushed him impatiently: "Don't stand here."

Zhu Nanjiang staggered back two steps, watching the other party put the big paper bag in his hand under his feet, tidy up for a while, and then got up to push the courtyard door.

At this time, a young and beautiful woman came out of the house, trotted all the way over, took the paper bag from the boy's hand, and touched his head with the other hand.

Zhu Nanjiang suddenly remembered that Wen Changling once told him that there was a pair of mother and son living in the next door. The mother was easy to get along with, but the son had a strange temper. The children in the neighborhood didn't like him very much.

Zhu Nanjiang classified the child he had never met as his own kind, because he himself was "not very likable", but now it seems that it is far from the same thing.

—Even if it is not likable, at least his mother will love him.

The woman led the young man back to the house. She probably sensed the sight from behind. When she walked to the door, she turned around and glanced out of the yard.

Zhu Nanjiang looked away in shock, not daring to look at her, because those gentle smiling eyes did not belong to her.

The door closed, then opened again after a while.The boy returned to the courtyard gate, and handed him a small paper package the size of a palm through the fence.

Zhu Nanjiang raised his head in confusion, and was stunned for four or five seconds before reaching out to pick it up.

"Mom asked me to give it to you."

"what……"

"Give it back to me if you don't."

The young man frowned, his dark eyes seemed to be angry, which made Zhu Nanjiang, who was already reserved, even more at a loss.He couldn't say a complete sentence until the other party turned away impatiently.

Inside the paper bag was half a baked potato that was still hot to the touch.

The aroma hits the face with heat, reminiscent of a charcoal stove in the cold winter.

Zhu Nanjiang carefully wrapped the paper back to its original shape and walked back along the courtyard wall.When passing Wen's house, he turned his head to look at the lacquered wooden door.

The door was not closed tightly, and a dark shadow could be vaguely seen.

He longed to see Wen Changling's shadow behind that door, but he didn't.

He is not there.

For a long time to come, he never saw him again.

The author says:

Cloud Wishing: Friendship with a Piece of Sweet Potatoes