Salted Toffee

At seven o'clock in the evening, the street lights in the community were dimmed and the roads crisscrossed.

After leaving the unit building, there was a three-way intersection. Zhu Yu stood by the side of the road and couldn't tell the difference between south, east and north.

Fu Cizhou didn't follow, maybe he didn't get out of the elevator at all.

There was no sound of footsteps, and the other party was really angry.

Zhu Yu immediately reflected on what he said just now, and the tone was indeed a bit harsh.

He and Fu Cizhou stand in different positions, and he can't force the other party to understand him.

It's kind of...difficult.

He took out his pocket, and the cash he carried had been spent by him, leaving only a little change.

He didn't have a mobile phone, and he didn't bring a backpack. It was already night. If Fu Cizhou ignored him, he really had nowhere to go.

In the final analysis, the other party is also doing it for his own good, maybe the method is wrong, and he should not be so aggressive when speaking.

Fu Cizhou has been pampered by his family since he was a child, what can he know?Forget it, let's go back and apologize.

Zhu Yu's shoulders slumped, and before he could turn around and go back, he heard a soft "click" from the door of the unit building behind him, and Fu Cizhou ran out with a scarf like a gust of wind.

"Your uncle's!"

Zhu Yu only felt that a pig flew directly on top of him, and its arms were still strangling his neck and rubbing his head.

"Fuck..." He staggered a few steps and managed to stand still, grabbed Fu Cizhou's arm with his palm and pulled him off his body, "What are you doing?"

"I asked you just now. My parents and grandma were scolding me, so I didn't think there was anything wrong with you." Fu Cizhou pulled his clothes and wrapped the scarf around his neck. What are you doing so much?"

It turned out that Fu Cizhou ran back to ask questions.

Zhu Yu was speechless for a moment: "How old are you, master."

"Come on," Fu Cizhou rubbed his nose, "I won't worry you again."

A conflict was resolved quietly, neither of them cared about the unhappiness just now, and walked out of the community side by side.

The evening wind blows, carrying the chill of deep winter.

With an itchy nose, Zhu Yu raised his hand and pulled up his collar.

"Are you cold?" Fu Cizhou took off the scarf around his neck and handed it to him, "Ang."

Zhu Yu shook his head: "You wear it."

After walking for more than five minutes, we arrived at the Yuanzhou River. It was probably after dinner time, and more and more people went out for a walk by the river.

Zhu Yu exhaled white mist, and put his arms on the railing by the river.

Looking around, many of them were accompanied by their families. He and Fu Cizhou were just two people, and they seemed to be alone if they were a little farther away.

Fu Cizhou leaned against the railing, turned slightly sideways facing Zhu Yu, and put another arm on it.

When he squinted, he saw the wind blowing away Zhu Yu's bangs.

"Isn't it cold?" Fu Cizhou took off the scarf again, "I'm not used to wearing this."

Zhu Yu tilted his head and looked at him: "Then what are you wearing?"

"I took it out by hand," Fu Cizhou stuffed the scarf into Zhu Yu's arms, "It's new, my grandma bought it for me."

Zhu Yu didn't refuse again, and covered most of his face with a scarf.

"The smell of laundry detergent," he sniffed, and pulled the scarf off his face, "Grandma even washed it."

Fu Cizhou leaned forward slightly, raised his arm resting on the railing, and pressed it against it.

He leaned closer to Zhu Yu, closed his eyes and sniffed: "Oh, it's a little bit."

The weather was very cold and windy, and the foreheads of the two were almost touching, and it was easy to feel the warmth spit out by the other.

Zhu Yu leaned back and put the end of the scarf on Fu Cizhou's face: "You don't know how to smell here?!"

Fu Cizhou immediately became unhappy: "My scarf, I can smell it wherever I like."

The two of them started to choke without saying a few words, Zhu Yu lost his bullish temper in school, and now he is too lazy to talk to Fu Cizhou.

"Someone set up a river lantern." He pointed to the other side of the Yuanzhou River.

Fu Cizhou turned around and looked over there with him.

The one who put the river lanterns seemed to be a couple. The girl was squatting by the river, and the boy was behind her to protect her.

Fu Cizhou is tall, and he had to bend his waist when his arms were on the railing: "There is a note on the river lantern. Guess what they wrote?"

"A hundred years of friendship will always be of the same heart." Zhu Yu stared at the front and quickly answered.

Fu Cizhou thought about it, and it was almost like this.

The river is a bit deep, and the light on the shore cannot go down, and only a little bit of dark waves can be seen.

Candles were burning in the river lanterns, and the small orange flames were blown wildly by the wind, reflecting a little reflection in the river.

The two fell silent again.

Fu Cizhou looked at the water for a while and thought it shouldn't be.

As long as he and Zhu Yu were put together, they had never been so quiet.

If you think you are normal, then the problem should lie with the other party.

For example, why does Zhu Yu talk so little tonight?

"What's wrong with you?" Fu Cizhou asked.

After he finished speaking, he felt a little regretful. He was almost bald when he asked questions in school, and he still didn't find out why.

"nothing."

Sure enough, Zhu Yu's answer never disappointed Fu Cizhou.

He told the dog everything he said behind his back in the hospital.

But in the next second, Zhu Yu turned his face and said, "Fu Cizhou."

Did not call young master, did not laugh.

Fu Cizhou tilted his head to Zhu Yu's side: "Huh?"

Zhu Yu's gaze returned to the river lantern: "I really envy you."

Fu Cizhou thought about it seriously, this seemed to be the third time Zhu Yu said this to himself.

The first time was his casual remark after speaking for Zhu Yu.

The second time was the serious memory of lying on his shoulder before entering the elevator in the hospital.

"What envy me?" Fu Cizhou asked.

Zhu Yu smiled: "I envy everything."

He was smiling, but his brows were furrowed again, as if trying to keep himself from looking too tired.

"I don't know how to say it," Zhu Yu's gaze swung around in the air, looked at Fu Cizhou, and quickly moved away, "I don't know whether I should say it or not."

His eyes blinked extremely fast, as if they had entered sand, and his eyelashes fluttered on the scarf like a small fan.

"Is there something wrong with me?" Zhu Yu's voice became hoarse, "What's wrong?"

"What should I be like? And what should I not be like?"

"One person lets me do it, and the other doesn't let me do it."

Zhu Yu lowered his head, he looked at his ten fingers on the railing, and now he didn't even have the energy to laugh.

"I don't know what to do."

Zhu Yu's throat seemed to be stuffed with wet cotton, and the words he spoke were filled with moisture, hitting Fu Cizhou's heart wetly.

These sentences didn't match the preface and the postscript, and Fu Cizhou didn't know what the other party said at all.

But it couldn't stop him from suffering, it was very uncomfortable.

"If you don't know what to do, don't do it. You should eat and drink, read books in class and go to sleep after class. Old Chen talks about you every day. How can you be worthy of him if you don't study hard?"

Fu Cizhou said a lot of nonsense, and it was as if he didn't listen.

Because Zhu Yu's eyes were red, Fu Cizhou followed suit.

But even if he was messed up, he couldn't show it.

Zhu Yu finally opened his heart to him a little bit. If he continued to ask like a fool, it might backfire and make the other person's mood worse.

It is better to persuade to study than to persuade. Reading is always right.

"Why are you crying?" He took out a tissue from his pocket, "Don't cry."

Zhu Yu sniffed: "Which eye saw me cry?"

Fu Cizhou put the paper back again: "Then I'm afraid, okay?"

"You're afraid of shit." Zhu Yu muttered, pulling the scarf over the bridge of his nose.

Fu Cizhou always felt that he should say something more, but he was afraid of making too many mistakes and making trouble.

He straightened up and looked around, and saw a push stand not far away that was emitting steam, and seemed to be selling rice cakes.

"Do you want to eat rice cakes?" Fu Cizhou pointed to the opposite side with his chin, "I'll buy it for you."

"Don't eat," Zhu Yu took a look and then looked away, "What kind of rice cakes did you have just after eating?"

Fu Cizhou nodded, thinking it made sense.

He looked around again, and saw the old man who had painted sugar paintings before.

"Hey, you wait here for me," Fu Cizhou pressed Zhu Yu's shoulder, and walked over there.

Zhu Yu turned around and imitated Fu Cizhou and leaned against the railing. When he raised his eyes, he also saw the sugar painting booth.

The young master went to get him a candy painting.

Zhu Yu pursed his lips, wanting to laugh.

He watched as Fu Cizhou ran over to Pidiandian, and then ran back from Pidiandian.

Holding a pig in his hand, and a fish.

"Here, which one do you want?" Fu Cizhou ran back and forth, still panting.

Zhu Yu hesitated for a second and chose the fish.

"Why don't you want pigs?" Fu Cizhou didn't seem very happy with the result of this choice.

Zhu Yu's fingers stopped in the air: "You ate a fish before, don't you want to change the taste?"

Fu Cizhou was almost laughed at by Zhu Yu's words: "It's all sugar, what flavor do you want?"

Zhu Yu also had the same reasoning after thinking about it: "Why, do you want to eat fish?"

Fu Cizhou was speechless for a while: "No."

"If you want to eat, just say so, it's not that you won't be allowed." Zhu Yu took the pig, then leaned back on the railing to look at the river lantern.

Fu Cizhou looked at the fish in his hand with complicated emotions.

"Someone released river lanterns again." Zhu Yu bit off a piece of candied pig's ear, "There are five of them."

"Do you want to let it go?" Fu Cizhou turned the little fish in his hand, "I'll let you go."

"Huh? Do you want to call Dad?"

"No, do you want to go?"

Zhu Yu turned his face away and asked in confusion, "Master, why are you so good today?"

Fu Cizhou bit the bullet: "I'm fine every day."

Zhu Yu rested his chin and sighed: "It's fine to see if others let it go, I don't believe it."

"No one believes this," Fu Cizhou pulled Zhu Yu's arm, "Go if you want, and it doesn't cost much."

The juvenile's concern is blunt and clumsy.

He went to buy rice cakes, pick up sugar paintings, and set off river lanterns. Everything he did was purposeful.

——Let Zhu Yu be happy, make Zhu Yu happy, make Zhu Yu happy.

It's like a child wants to make others happy, so he puts what he thinks is the best in front of him.

It doesn't matter whether others want it or not, like it or not.

Give you, give you all.

Zhu Yu was dragged away by Fu Cizhou, and smiled as he walked: "I really don't want to let go."

"I want to let it go," Fu Cizhou insisted, "you can let it go with me."

Zhu Yu coughed with a smile: "You really are..."

The river lamp costs ten yuan each, half the size of a palm. I heard from the seller that it is water-soluble environmentally friendly paper. Zhu Yu felt that it would not last an hour in the water.

Inside the lamp were candles the size of fingernails, and a rolled-up note.

Fu Cizhou took out the note, turned the pen on his thumb several times, and didn't think about what to write.

"Let's write about family reunion," Zhu Yu suggested, "write whatever you want."

He was squatting by the river and tinkering with the small candle, and the lighter was pressed several times before the thread was ignited.

"Hurry up, note!" Zhu Yu put the candle into the river lantern, turned around and patted Fu Cizhou's leg.

With a note on his palm, Fu Cizhou suddenly wanted to write something else.

He drew a fish, and then added a few words next to it - happy.

"What are you in such a hurry for?" Fu Cizhou put up his pen, rolled up the note and squatted beside Zhu Yu, "Give me the river lantern, I'll stuff the note."

Zhu Yu held the edge of the river lantern with one hand, and the candle flame flickered when the evening wind blew.

He hurriedly closed it with both hands, and carefully held the river lantern in front of Fu Cizhou.

Candlelight is weak and glows orange-yellow on winter nights.

The lower half of Zhu Yu's face was immersed in it, and it was coated with a layer of warm brightness.

The exhaled white mist wrapped around the line of sight of the two of them, blurring the surrounding scene.

Fu Cizhou's hands paused, staring at Zhu Yu's tiny nose.

Frozen red again.

"Let go," Zhu Yu urged, "What did you write?"

Fu Cizhou came back to his senses suddenly, and hurriedly put the note into the river lantern.

"Hey, happy family." He stammered.

"So obedient?" Zhu Yu held the river lantern in front of him again, without giving Fu Cizhou a chance to react, he took out the note and unfolded it, "Your family's happy closing is definitely written..."

His words stopped abruptly, staring at the note in a daze.

The candle shifted and burned the paper top of the river lantern.

Fu Cizhou held Zhu Yu's wrist and shook the burning river lantern into Yuanzhou Hanoi.

Then, he stretched out his arms, and all four hands of the two of them were immersed in the cold river.

"Is it burning?" Fu Cizhou curled his fingers and let go of Zhu Yu's hand.

Zhu Yu lowered his eyes, still pinching the note between his fingers.

"I wrote it casually," Fu Cizhou explained feebly, "These four characters are easier to write."

Zhu Yu didn't speak, just took the note out of the water, shook it lightly, and unfolded it for a closer look.

The writing pen was not filled with good ink, and the note was not good paper.

After being soaked in water so lightly, the words on it fainted.

Zhu Yu lowered his head to look carefully, and could vaguely make out the outline of a small fish.

"Don't look at it." Fu Cizhou's face was a little hot and panicked.

A mess of paper.

and a messy mood.

The waves on the river surface rippled round and round, and a rickety river lantern floated down from the upper reaches.

"Fu Cizhou." Zhu Yu wrapped his arms around his knees, his voice choked with sobs, "Thank you."