Sludge to the Mountain Ghost

"Hmm..." Lin Pai leaned forward, put his chin on his shoulder and hugged him, Xu Rui leaned over slightly, and hugged him back.

Lin Pai heard his heartbeat that had not yet calmed down due to the violent running, but he stayed in the room all the time, and his heartbeat almost reached the same frequency as his.

After a while, Lin Pai let go of him and said, "It's getting dark outside, I should go back, let this flower go to you first."

"Aren't you going to take it back? I ran so hard to buy it..." Xu Rui put his hands on his waist, refused to let go, and looked at him a little aggrieved.

"There are my grandma and my dad at home, it's hard to explain, and..."

"And what?"

Lin Pai stood on tiptoe and whispered in his ear, "Leave the rose here, I'll steal your heart tonight."

Amused by him, Xu Rui let go of his waist helplessly, picked up Lin Pai's backpack on the ground and handed it to him, "Be careful on the road."

Lin Pai nodded, Xu Rui sent him to the door, watched him turn and walk home.

It was already dark outside, and when Lin Pai was about to get home, he saw that the lights were on in the house and the door was unlocked, so he opened it with a slight push.

As soon as she saw him, Grandma Lin Pai came up to meet him, just like he used to do when he came back from boarding school every weekend. She held Lin Pai's arms and looked him from head to toe, as if he hadn't seen anything for a few days. Like a piece of meat.

"Just waiting for you to come back! I seem to have lost weight the past few days... The dishes have just been cooked, and the soup is still in the pot. We haven't started eating yet. You go to serve the rice by yourself, and I will serve the soup. come out……"

Lin Pai's enthusiasm for grandma has formed a habit. He greeted the old man, and turned his head to see Lin Kangrong sitting at the dinner table.

He had a straight face, he couldn't say how happy he was, he seemed a little embarrassed, the rough face was horizontally grooved, not the kind of loose skin caused by aging, but a kind of vicissitudes carved by the wind and frost of the years.Lin Pai felt that he seemed to be shorter and stronger than he remembered.

The old man excitedly went to the stove to serve soup, Lin Pai took it to the door, and went to the rice cooker next to the dining table to serve rice.

"Give me a bowl too." Lin Kangrong's voice sounded from behind.

Lin Pai paused, then handed him the bowl of rice that was served, and went to get two more bowls himself.

"Lin Pai, your father hasn't seen you shouting since he came back!"

While adding vegetables to Lin Pai's bowl, the old man looked at the father and son with a smile on his face.

"This braised pork is really delicious, grandma, your cooking skills have improved again!" Lin Pai picked up the meat in the bowl and put it in his mouth, turning a deaf ear to what she just said.

Grandma Lin Pai froze for a moment, then turned to Lin Kangrong and said, "Look at you, too. Your son is still looking down when he comes back, so you can't care about him!"

"Cough, cough, Lin Pai, how are you doing with your exams this semester? By the way, are you still studying?"

"I'm studying, and the final exam results haven't come out yet."

"Oh...then what grade are you in now?"

"Sophomore year."

When scooping up the soup, the old man knocked the spoon on the bowl on purpose, and the crisp ceramic impact broke their embarrassing conversation. She rolled her eyes at Lin Kangrong and complained, "You might as well not ask, you don't have to worry about his reading." , Lin Pai is much more worry-free than you!"

Lin Kangrong coughed twice with a muffled throat, then bowed his head in embarrassment to eat.

The old man chatted with Lin Kangrong occasionally, but Lin Pai didn't speak again, and he couldn't taste the meal.He ate his food in silence, finished his meal early and went back to his room.

After eating, Lin Kangrong pushed the bowls and chopsticks forward, got up and found a chair with a backrest, sat down and raised his legs. Under this action, the beer belly that matched his age appeared in due course.

Lin Pai came out of the room and heard that Lin Kangrong had opened a recently popular mobile racing game. His mobile phone volume was turned up to the maximum, and the whole room was filled with the music of his racing car.

Lin Pai took a deep breath and walked over to help grandma clean up the dishes.The old man glanced at Lin Kangrong, who was crossing his legs, and turned to look at Lin Pai with gratified eyes. She waved her hand to let Lin Pai clean up, "I'm out of detergent at home, go to the canteen and buy a bottle."

"Oh..." Lin Pai withdrew his hand suspiciously.

"Wait a minute, do you have any money in your pocket?"

"Have."

Lin Pai closed the door and went to the street, deliberately lying behind the door to listen. The sound of Lin Kangrong's racing game came continuously, and there was intermittent sound of water from the kitchen.

After a while, just as he was about to turn around and go to the canteen, the sound of water in the kitchen stopped, and the sound of the game also stopped, and Lin Kangrong's voice rang out, "Mom, what do you mean by what I said before eating?"

Grandma Lin Pai's voice was relatively soft, and Lin Pai leaned closer, and heard her say, "Where did I get the money? You can't make money outside, can I earn it here? Lin Pai still wants money." Studying, where can I get the money for you!"

"Lin Pai, Lin Pai should only be in the semester now, won't the next tuition payment be next year..."

The more Lin Kangrong talked, the weaker his momentum became, but he continued, "Isn't it the Chinese New Year? He Jing and I really don't have any spare money. How are you going to live when you're visiting relatives and friends..."

"Visiting relatives and friends? Where do you get relatives outside? Which relatives care about you now? Don't talk, don't talk, I don't have a penny here. If you come to ask for money, you can leave tomorrow. "

"Mom!" Lin Pai seemed to hear crying in Lin Kangrong's voice, which was completely different from the impression Lin Pai had left on Lin Kangrong's stinky face at the dinner table just now.

Lin Kangrong continued, "You always have some savings over the years, right? We are really short of money recently, or, or I will write you an IOU, and I will pay you back as soon as I have money!"

"You are really capable now, you have already made up your mind about my coffin book! If your father is still alive..."

"He must kill me, I know, you used to say that every day..."

"Anyway, I don't have any money, so don't think about it!"

"mom--"

There was another wailing, and Lin Pai walked to the window, and saw through the silhouette that they seemed to be pulling, so he pushed open the door and rushed in, only to see Lin Kangrong hugging the old man's arm Tears were pouring down, and the snot was almost rubbing on the sleeves...

The three of them looked at each other, and no one spoke for a while.

Lin Kangrong was the first to react. He let go of his arms, wiped his face, and turned his back to Lin Pai. The old man also moved in coordination to get between them.

Lin Pai ran to the sink and found a half bottle of dishwashing liquid. He took out the dishwashing liquid and put it on the dining table in front of the old man. "Isn't it just to ask for money? What's the matter?" I can't listen."

"There's nothing you can't listen to..." Lin Kangrong suddenly stiffened again, "I've raised you for so many years, it's fine if I don't ask you for money!"

"You still want to take money from me? You have ignored us for the past ten years, do you have a good conscience?"

"My conscience... I started to make money when I was your age. It doesn't look like you are still studying! Besides, I gave birth to you and raised you. Do you know how to be grateful? Have you ever talked to your father like this?"

"Was I born by you? I was born by my mother!" Lin Pai said as he walked towards Lin Kangrong, who subconsciously took a step back.

The old man frowned helplessly, walked forward a few steps to stop Lin Pai, and said, "Lin Pai, you go back to your room first!"

"If there's anything I can't listen to, just let him say it!"

"Lin Pai! I can't talk to you now, can I?"

The old man pushed him back a few steps, "In the past years, your father didn't ignore you, he also called and sent things, you just don't know!"

"Grandma? He's already like this, and you're still facing him?"

Lin Pai looked at the old man in disbelief, and saw Lin Kangrong hiding behind his grandma with a smug face.

After a while, he sighed, calmed down and said, "Forget it, you can talk slowly, I don't sleep at home recently, so I won't delay your family happiness."

Grandma Lin Pai chased him out the door, Lin Pai explained to her a few words, saying that she couldn't stay under the same roof with Lin Kangrong, and if she had anything to do, she could call him.

The old man had nothing to do with him, and seeing that he wasn't too excited, he let him go.

After taking a hot shower, Xu Rui was lazy. He put on a blanket, turned on a lamp on the desk, and was concentrating on writing and drawing on the book with the cover of kraft cardboard.

Hearing the ringing, he glanced at the caller ID, found that it was Lin Pai, and quickly picked it up, "What's the matter? Did you miss me just after we left?"

"Go downstairs, I'm at your door."

Xu Rui ran to the balcony, and Lin Pai was really standing at the door, looking up at the balcony at the moment.

"Wait, I'll come down right away." Xu Rui ran to the stairs, turned back in a hurry, tidied up the desk in a hurry, and ran downstairs wrapped in a blanket.

Xu Rui opened the door and saw Lin Pai standing at the door with both hands empty. Although he was surprised, he couldn't help smiling, "You really came here, I thought you were just talking... Now the thief is stealing things. Have you all gone to the front door?"

Lin Pai looked at Xu Rui and said dumbfoundedly, "I ran away from home again."

40. Chapter 40

Lin Pai sat back on the chair in front of the desk, propped his chin on the top of the back of the chair, watched Xu Rui take out a new quilt from the closet, hurried up and down in the room, and gave him a rough account of what happened just now, "Probably so."

"Oh...but if you run out like this, will your grandma be impatient and give him the money?"

"That's not true. My grandma is more stubborn than me. If she refuses to give it, it will be useless for Lin Kangrong to do anything."

Xu