Sludge to the Mountain Ghost

Going out for a short walk in a cool and refreshing way, coupled with the evening self-study get out of class of the third year of high school, the street is still lively.

The rice noodle shop is run by a middle-aged couple. Most of the business in the shop is during the day, and if there is no business at night, it closes early.

The proprietress cleaned up the back kitchen and yelled at her husband who was still in the front hall to close the door and turn off the lights.

The boss responded, took a long hook from the side, and prepared to close the anti-theft rolling door.

As soon as the hook was on the shutter door, he saw two students in school uniforms striding over, the taller one waving at him.

The boss stopped his movements and said through the rolling shutter door, "We are closing the door, come back tomorrow."

"Let's make two more copies, we'll come over right after class!" Xu Rui caught Lin Pai's hesitation at the right moment and sneaked into the shop with Lin Pai.

The boss put down the long hook, pushed the shutter door up again, and explained back, "The door is really closed, my wife has already gone upstairs."

"But aren't you always busy in the kitchen?" Lin Pai broke him down abruptly.

Xu Rui responded immediately, "That's right! Master, it's not the first time we've come here, and you usually cook it in the kitchen, so you can't fool us."

"Oh, just make two copies for them!" The proprietress shouted down from the second floor, "We were studying at that time, how can we study so late..."

The boss nodded helplessly, told them that there was nothing to choose from tonight's taste, and then turned and went into the kitchen.

Lin Pai sat at the dining table, holding a chopstick in one hand, and looked over to the kitchen from time to time.

Xu Rui put the two schoolbags aside, stared at Lin Pai playing with chopsticks, and asked him, "Where are we going after eating? Go home?"

"It should be less than ten o'clock after eating, so go to your house and stay later."

Xu Rui glanced at the kitchen to make sure the boss hadn't come out yet, and asked with bright eyes, "Aren't you going back tonight?"

"Of course I have to go back. My grandma is still at home. I think I can wait until after eleven o'clock..."

Xu Rui curled his lips when he heard the words, and muttered dissatisfiedly, "What can I do for more than an hour? It's not enough to do anything."

Lin Pai raised a chopstick and struck him on the head, saying seriously, "You can study! I plan to finish my self-study at night and read for two more hours. Anyway, there is no need to go to bed so early."

Xu Rui grabbed his wrist and pulled out the chopsticks from his palm. Just as he was about to say something, Lin Pai's cell phone rang.

"Um, um, yes...it's in the cabinet next to the stairs, on the second or third floor...um, yes...okay..."

Lin Pai talked on the phone, until the boss came up with steaming rice rolls, he still didn't hang up.

Xu Rui also took out the chopsticks he was holding in the other hand, and when Lin Pai hung up the phone, Xu Rui held a chopstick and handed it to his mouth, asking, "Look at you for a long time, who's it? Phone?"

"My grandma, I can't find anything." Lin Pai replied vaguely.

"Have you found it now?"

Lin Pai nodded, picked up the pair of chopsticks again, and started to eat.

-

In the month since then, Lin Pai really went home with Xu Rui every night after self-study and get out of class, and did not go home until nearly twelve o'clock in the middle of the night after reading.

Xu Rui vowed every time, threatening to study and make progress together with him, but as the training intensity continued to increase during the day, he always fell asleep on the bed, and the number of times he could persist was only a handful.

What's even more mysterious is that he always wakes up on time when Lin Pai is about to go home, then gets up in a jerk and says, "I'll take you back."

"Aren't you tired?" Lin Pai asked him once downstairs after sending him off a few times.

Xu Rui rubbed his eyes a few times, then shook his head energetically, "I'm not tired."

"You were snoring just now."

"Really? Is it loud?" Xu Rui opened his eyes wide and covered his mouth shyly like a girl.

Lin Pai looked at him dumbfounded, and thought that Zhou Ning should really see him like this, or that if a third person saw him, his prestige would be ruined overnight.

Lin Pai stepped forward and patted him on the shoulder, and said, "No noise, just a few noises. Or I can go back to my home to read a book tomorrow, and let you sleep more comfortably."

"No, you have to let me stay with you."

"That's fine, just don't send me back in the future, you have to come back when the time comes, wasting time."

"No, it's late at night, and you look so good-looking."

"I'm not a girl."

"What's the matter? Girls need protection, and so do you."

"According to what you said, I have to send you back again."

……

The two argued nonsensically for a full quarter of an hour, and finally they agreed on a decision, one, three, five, two, four, six, no, and the decision will be based on the results of the boxing game on Sunday.

This problem was solved, and Xu Rui discovered a new clue——

Lin Pai has been answering the phone more and more frequently recently, and also received two strange packages from off-campus.

Although the courier was full of study materials, and according to him, the calls were all from grandma, but Xu Rui was still worried.

Until the end of September, the time for the provincial competition was getting closer and closer, and Xu Rui spent more and more time with Lao Gao. In the end, he didn't even have dinner with Lin Pai, and often started self-study for half an hour late. It was only an hour before returning to the classroom.

That night, the electric fan on the side was blowing wind, and the French windows leading to the balcony had no curtains, reflecting a faint square of warm light outside the house.

Lin Pai was doing the questions at the desk, writing smoothly on the draft paper with the gel pen in his hand.

Xu Rui took out a ticket from his schoolbag, handed it to Lin Pai, and explained, "For relatives and friends, you can sit in the front row."

Lin Pai took the ticket, looked at the front and back, and asked, "When is your game?"

"It's written here, after the National Day." Xu Rui pointed to the row of dates on the back of the ticket, and his fingers inadvertently avoided touching Lin Pai.

Lin Pai put the ticket in the book and asked, "Is it Thursday? In the morning or in the afternoon?"

"If there is a pre-final, it may be divided into morning and afternoon." Xu Rui yawned and added, "National Day is next week, do you have any arrangements?"

"No, I should just read a book at home."

"I guess I don't have time to accompany you during the day..."

"It's okay, just do your own thing." Lin Pai said caringly.

Xu Rui got up and lay down on the bed. From this perspective, he could only see the back of Lin Pai writing at his desk. An unreasonable embarrassment spread between the two of them.

We meet each other every day, so why do we suddenly feel like we have a cold war after a quarrel?

Is there something that made him unhappy?Xu Rui thought about it, and closed his eyes half asleep.

After an unknown amount of time, he heard the sound of Lin Pai walking, but his eyelids were too heavy, and he lay there without moving.

After a while, he felt warm breath on his face, and this time his eyelids were lifted, but he chose to pretend to be asleep.

Lin Pai lay on the edge of the bed, stretched out his index finger cautiously, and brushed his eyelashes.It's not as interesting as expected, and I don't know why Xu Rui is so interested in his eyelashes.

The tip of his nose almost collided with Xu Rui, Lin Pai stepped back a little.

It seems that he has never seriously watched Xu Rui sleeping. Although he has restrained his usual aggressiveness, he still has a ruffian air.

"Have you been working hard recently? It seems that you are still a little unhappy..."

Lin Pai muttered in a low voice, his index finger gradually slid down from the center of his eyebrows along the bridge of his nose, and finally landed on his lips.

Lin Pai moved his finger away and leaned forward. Just as his lips touched, the ringtone of the incoming call rang inappropriately.

He turned his head to look for the phone, and from the corner of his eye, he saw Xu Rui opened his eyes.Lin Pai couldn't react in time. Just as he touched the phone, Xu Rui pulled him back and snatched the phone away.

"Don't answer." Xu Rui said vaguely, and kissed the back of his head.

Xu Rui's kiss had a hint of aggression. Lin Pai was originally in a squatting position, but he couldn't stop Xu Rui's strength and sat on the ground for a while. Xu Rui got off the bed and rolled around on the carpet with him in his arms.

Xu Rui's feet caught the quilt, and he slid down to the ground with his mobile phone. The ringtones were still ringing one after another. Lin Pai found a gap to take a look, and said without looking away, "Well...my grandma called... "

Xu Rui stopped in frustration. He had just raised the hem of his clothes and put it on his waist, but now he lost his strength and lay on Lin Pai's body.

Lin Pai picked up the phone and said a few words, then pushed the person who was pressing on him, Xu Rui had to cooperate and let him go to the corridor to answer the phone.

This phone call took longer than usual, Xu Rui stood up from the carpet, fell straight onto the bed, and lay down into a "big" character.After finally waiting for Lin Pai to come back, he only saw a serious expression on his face.

"What happened?" Xu Rui asked.

"I have to go." Lin Pai said as he packed his things, "My grandma suddenly said that she would live with Lin Kangrong, and she is talking to them on the phone right now. I have to go back and find out."

"I'll see you off." Xu Rui hurriedly tidied up his clothes, and followed him downstairs.

Lin Pai only sent him to the intersection, and Xu Rui stood where he was. After a while, Lin Pai's figure disappeared into the night.

63. Chapter 63

The light in the living room was off, Lin Pai pushed open the door, the room was pitch black, he walked forward following a narrow slit of light, and arrived at the door of grandma's room.

Walking into the room, Lin Pai saw that the old man was sitting cross-legged on the bed, holding his ankles with both hands, swaying back and forth slightly, staring at the lamp beside the bed in a daze.

"grandmother?"

After Lin Pai yelled, she turned her head slowly and said, "Oh... you're back, I've finished talking to them."

"so