salt by salt

"I don't approve."

Wu Yanrui warmly poured me a cup of hot cocoa and made a playful face at me.I smiled back, and Wu Mian knocked on the table to bring me back to my senses: "Junyan, you are asking for trouble when you go back."

He had a symposium near City S, and took a few days to come back to accompany his daughter. Sun Ning disapproved of my decision and tried to persuade me to no avail, so he told him about it.

"My troubles have come to me." I leaned on the soft sofa, and from the corner of my eye I saw Wu Yanrui went back to the room and took a picture book and lay down on the dining table, her curious little ears turned sideways, "Here and There is no difference in City B. I can’t keep running away, identity control is already very strict now, maybe in a few years I won’t even be able to be a black household.”

Wu Mian sighed: "I understand, but your physical and mental condition can't be affected any more. I suggest that your younger brother and Yang Chen go for psychological counseling. Their problems are no less serious than yours. It's obvious that they are paranoid to this extent. normal."

I smiled, their "little flaws" in character were covered up by their high net worth and dazzling status, and they were sought after by countless people since they were young. How could they admit that they have problems: "It's okay, I have a sense of proportion."

"You are a patient." Wu Mian said disapprovingly, "Junyan, there is a gap between what you think is a good recovery and my judgment. I can't trust your sense of proportion."

"These two people are not the type to sit down and discuss. They have power and power. If they really want to do something, they will completely crush me. There is no way to have both." I laughed at myself, "Look at the characters I provoke. "

He shook his head and said softly, "For the time being, you should avoid making impulsive decisions. Let's observe for a while."

I was noncommittal, Wu Mian was busy with business, so I went to the balcony to answer the phone.Wu Yanrui put down the paintbrush in her hand, ran to me quietly and asked, "Brother Junyan's ex-girlfriend came to look for you, so you have to leave?"

"Yeah." I stroked her shofar braid, "Don't worry, I'll take you to the amusement park when I come back during the winter vacation."

She pursed her mouth, with reluctance written all over her face, she hooked her fingers with me: "I will miss you very much, but don't forget me."

"Good good."

I saw Wu Mian taking notes in a notebook, frowning, I guess he won't be free for a while.It’s already embarrassing enough for him to worry about me these past few years. I couldn’t be cheeky enough to continue disturbing his alone time with his daughter, so I said softly to Wu Yanrui, “I’ll go back first. If there’s anything I need, ask Dad to call me.” okay?"

She nodded solemnly, and said: "I will go to my father's place during the Chinese New Year, and we will play together then."

I nodded, waved goodbye to her and left Wu Mian's house.The community where Wu Mian lives is about three stops away from the house Sun Ning rented, which is not very far. Although my legs and feet are inconvenient, the doctor encouraged me to walk more instead of using transportation tools, which will help my recovery.

I thought about it for a while, and the sun was shining after four o'clock in the afternoon, so I made up my mind to walk back slowly.

There have been too many emergencies recently, and I have no time to take care of the work of the convenience store. In order to avoid causing trouble to the store owner, it is better to resign first.If I go back to City B, it will take a lot of twists and turns for the Xu family to explain, maybe my mother will stop it... There are too few available contacts in the past, I don't know how the girl Lin Ya will be after a few years... …

When the red light on the sidewalk turned green, I wandered aimlessly, and was pushed and carried by the crowd behind me to the opposite side of the street.

My wrist was suddenly grabbed by a strong force behind me. I was caught off guard and nearly fell, and took a few steps back before staggering to stabilize my body.A takeaway guy rode an electric scooter and drove past where I was standing just now, and the girl who was walking in front of me shrewdly dodged to the side, wondering if she was scratched.

"Damn it, is there something wrong with this person? Delivering food is like going to reincarnation." The man who was walking with the girl cursed and reached out to check her arm, "Is there something wrong?"

The girl rubbed her arms, and glared angrily at the direction the electric car was driving away: "I almost ran into it. Really, why are you driving so fast? You don't obey any traffic rules."

This happens often, and some adults take the opportunity to educate their children: "See, you are not as fast as your brothers and sisters, so you have to look left and right when crossing the road in the future, it is very dangerous."

It wasn't until then that I belatedly realized that I had to thank the person who helped me, so I turned around to look for it.The green light was already flashing, and many pedestrians hurried past me, but no one stayed behind me.

Maybe it was a kind person who helped me... I stayed and waited for the next green light, my fingers stroked the other wrist that was tightly held repeatedly, suppressing the inexplicable emotions in my heart.

Even though it was only for a moment, I still felt that it was a man's hand. The palm was wide and the knuckles were strong, warm and dry, and the familiar temperature from it made me numb all over.

Even the slightly rough touch of the palm is familiar.My wrist was rubbed red by myself, I was a little dazed, my fingers clenched and then loosened unconsciously, revealing the light brown scar running through the entire palm.

No, I was thinking too much.

Before going home, I picked some fresh meat, fruits and vegetables in the supermarket outside the community. In the past few days, because of my affairs, there have been a lot of problems. I didn’t have time to pick out the birthday gift I agreed to give to Sun Ning. I prepared the ingredients in advance, and at night Make a la carte as an apology.

Yesterday I discussed with her the long-term plans and countermeasures, and she specially asked for an extra day to accompany me to Wu Mian's place.As a result, she had a sudden abdominal pain at night. When I said to see a doctor, I was stubbornly opposed, so I had to feed her painkillers.

When I woke up this morning, Sun Ning was on the verge of collapse, and I agreed to stay at home to rest only after my insistence.

I weighed the plastic bag in my hand, and as soon as I stepped out of the elevator, I smelled a strong and delicious smell, which passed through the closed door to the outside.

Sun Ning usually does not cook, and laughs at himself that all his talents are focused on work, except for the company cafeteria, where he only orders takeout, so how can there be a smell of food at home?Could it be that kid Andre ran back?

Full of doubts, I took out the key and opened the door, only to find that her hair was loosely tied, standing barefoot on the kitchen tiles in a daze, surrounded by broken tiles and soup.

"How is this going?"

Sun Ning has always refused to admit defeat. She is an image of a strong woman with all aspects, and she seldom shows such a trance gesture. I was taken aback by her.She was about to move, but I sternly stopped her: "Don't move, be careful of scratches! You stand there, and I'll clean it up."

I asked her to put on her slippers, swept up the broken porcelain on the floor, wiped it carefully, and helped her out of the kitchen.

"It's hard to rest at home, why don't you sleep a little longer?"

Sun Ning rubbed his cheeks, a tinge of blood appeared on his pale skin: "I went to the hospital after you left in the morning and did several tests."

Perhaps it was the reason why he struggled alone for too long. In some places, Sun Ning remained independent to the point of stubbornness.Although I have generously helped me, when it was my turn, I was unwilling to rely on others anyway.

"Actually, you can ask me to go with you. We are friends, aren't we?" I sighed heavily, "You have helped me so much, let me give you some favor."

"I can do this kind of thing by myself. If I can really use you, I will not be polite. I can see from your expression that you are thinking about it. I was going to serve some soup. When I slipped my hand and dropped the bowl, I met you and came back." .”

"What about the test results?"

"...How can it be so fast, it hasn't come out yet." She stretched out her index finger and poked my forehead, and gave a faint smile, "Come on, let's not talk about this, the soup just sent by the brother upstairs, I made it myself , I haven’t tasted it yet, it’s all scattered on the ground.”

"Sit down, I'll serve you a drink."

I always felt that Sun Ning's eyes were not stained with a smile, but instead showed a bit of fragility and bewilderment.However, her performance was the same as usual, so I had no choice but to suppress this doubt and wait for the right time to ask again.

The thin blue cracked porcelain cup filled with boiling soup is plain in color, full of crispy, sweet, white and smooth shellfish and soft and tender fish. The milky white broth exudes an attractive mellow aroma, which is pleasing to the eye just by looking at it. The chef's cooking skills and aesthetics.

I clicked my tongue secretly, is this still what Sun Ning said "no interest in her"?Obviously it cost money.

The portion of soup is quite large, even if Sun Ning sprinkled some, it is still more than enough for two people to drink.It is a blessing to drink a bowl of nourishing fish soup in autumn. I have a mild taste, but this soup is salty but refreshing.

The hot soup entered my throat, and my whole body was warm and comfortable. The last time I experienced this feeling was several years ago, in the narrow and dilapidated rental house on the outskirts of City B... I interrupted the memory, and Sun Ning put down the spoon, facing the upstairs The little brother's ingenuity is full of praise.

"You can really think about him." I said seriously, "The two of you have complementary personalities. He is the insider and you are the outsider. It's a match made in heaven. But if we live together, will he misunderstand you?"

Sun Ning put down the bowl, restrained his expression of admiration, and frowned slightly: "He asked me about this when we first met."

My eyes lit up: "It means that he is interested in you——"

"I don't want to fall in love for the time being." She interrupted me, seeming very upset, "I'm sorry Junyan, I know you are thinking of me, I really... oh."

I shook my head and said softly, "It's my fault. The most important thing is that you are happy. I will pay attention not to mention these things next time."

She glanced at me with tangled eyes, stopped talking several times, and finally turned her face away: "Junyan, please return the soup container for me later."

"Okay." I agreed straight away, "I'll wash it and give it to him."

"I have one more thing to tell you, but not now, please let me be quiet first." This sentence seemed to represent some difficult decision, Sun Ning stood up and walked to his room, and turned back to tell me Said, "The little brother upstairs lives in 1206, the one on the right. By the way, his surname is Jun, Mr. Jun."

I was stunned: "What?"

"Jun, gentleman's gentleman." She tilted her head, "It's a rare surname, very easy to remember."

"……what."

Clear and clear.

The gentleman of the gentleman.

I heard my own difficult voice, my heart seemed to be falling in the air, and it kept falling, plopping into a tightened hand, and was tightly held by a gentle and irresistible hand.

"Indeed...rare."