summer passerby

He Ting's house smelled of paint, paper and pens, the coffee table in the center of the living room had been slightly moved, and an easel was placed in front of the floor-to-ceiling windows.

Jiang Xindong came out of the kitchen with a bowl of honey water in his hand. If he lifted the half piece of cloth on the easel, he would find that the person in the painting was him.

But he didn't.

"Hangover." He handed the honey water to He Ting who was on the sofa, watched him gulp down his stomach, turned around and was about to leave.

"Wait a little longer," He Ting's lips were still wet, and he suddenly grabbed a strand of his clothes, raised a finger and shook it in front of his eyes, emphasizing seriously, "Just a little while."

The moonlight like clear water poured onto He Ting's face, giving it a bit of softness.

That face was full of anticipation, and he couldn't refuse.

I had no choice but to find an open space on the sofa and sit down, quietly waiting for the "a while" said by the other party to arrive.

The interior was dimly lit, and the furniture in the room reflected the silver light of the moon.

Such a quiet and beautiful night is very suitable for heart-to-heart conversation.

"Do you prefer mathematics or music?" He Ting's voice was very soft, falling on the eardrum like a butterfly's wings.

Jiang Xindong thought about the answer seriously, after a moment of silence, he replied: "Music."

"Then you will be a singer in the future?" He Ting propped his head up with one hand, and glanced over.

"Singer?" Jiang Xindong paused, and said in a neutral tone, "I will find an ordinary job."

He Ting was puzzled: "Why?"

A fleeting sense of powerlessness emerged from the corner of Jiang Xindong's mouth. This kind of question sounded too naive to him, but it just proved once again that He Ting is a rich second generation who doesn't know much about the world.

He wanted to say that bread and ideals should be separated, not everyone can do whatever they want.But after thinking about it, He Ting may never need to understand these realities in the world, and there is no need to break other people's simple and innocent thoughts.

So in the end it was just perfunctory: "Because it's easy to find a job."

He Ting frowned deeply, and the words he said out of drunkenness were quite unreasonable: "But I like to hear you sing."

Jiang Xindong was taken aback, and flicked his forehead: "What's none of your business?"

The touch of the fingers was still on the forehead, He Ting was slowly responding to Jiang Xindong's last words, suddenly the bell rang at 12 o'clock in the middle of the night, a new day began, and it was also the beginning of a new year.

This is the "for a while" he asked Jiang Xindong to wait.

At the end of 16 years old, at the beginning of 17 years old, they all want to spend time with this person in front of them.

He sat up straight, raised the corners of his lips and smiled at Jiang Xindong: "Happy birthday to me."

"You," Jiang Xindong was stunned, "is your birthday today?"

"En." He Ting nodded, and his eyelashes trembled a few times.

In fact, he rarely celebrates birthdays in previous years, but today's situation is special, coupled with a bit of drunkenness, the joy is beyond words.

Jiang Xindong gave him enough face: "Then, I wish you a happy birthday."

He Ting was satisfied, and his eyes that were bent at night looked clean and clear: "Thanks, you can go."

Jiang Xindong is not a person who is obsessed with celebrating birthdays, and even finds it a little troublesome.He thought that a playful person like He Ting wouldn't care about such details, so he asked half-seriously and half-curiously, "Just because of this sentence?"

"Well, it may be that I haven't celebrated my birthday for many years, so I just want to hear it." He Ting lowered his eyelids in the dim light, his tone was flat, as if he was talking about something that had nothing to do with him.

But Jiang Xindong felt uncomfortable.

He found that He Ting used to describe his life in an indifferent tone, like a bystander who was pulled out, without the slightest smoke.

Such a person seems so cold-blooded that he can even abandon himself at any time.

This feeling made Jiang Xindong uncomfortable.

Hearing that he didn't speak, He looked up at the person in front of him, seeming to have doubts.

The sparse moonlight reflected in his eyes, and the bangs on his forehead were slightly curled, very soft.

Jiang Xindong couldn't help reaching out and rubbing his hair lightly, as if he sighed, but he really meant it.He repeated: "Happy birthday."

This time more solemn and attentive.

There was fine dust floating in the air, He Ting seemed to be taken aback for a while, then he laughed, more calm and joyful than usual.

Jiang Xindong thinks this happy birthday is worth it.

It was getting late, he stood up and waved his hands: "Let's go, goodbye."

"Bye-Bye."

He Ting looked at the figure in the distance, his heart trembled slightly, and the hair tip that had been touched seemed to still be warm.

In the black sky in the distance, a few stars lit up, making people feel refreshed.

A good night's dream.

When he woke up, the sun was shining all over the window. He Ting turned on his phone and saw the text message that Ye Zhiming sent on time at twelve o'clock last night, the content was to wish him a happy birthday.

Ye Zhiming is his deskmate.

The middle school they attended was the best middle school in city B.Most of the students in the key classes can enter the best universities in the country, with a 100% admission rate.

Ye Zhiming's senior high school entrance examination score is the first in a certain county next door, and he came to No. [-] Middle School, who is also a top class.

He Ting was the complete opposite of him. He Wenbin didn't know how much he had spent to get him into the key class. He lingered for two years, but he was still hopeless. Next semester, he was finally going to transfer to an international class with fewer people and more money.

Speaking of the friendship with Ye Zhiming, it was also a surprise.

Gao Yihe listened to live in the school for a few weeks, one time when he was in the corridor, he accidentally heard Ye Zhiming in the dormitory next door calling, probably the content was that his family members were sick and couldn’t pay the money, and Ye Zhiming was crying.

He Ting understands that there are indeed people in the world who do not have money to see a doctor, but when this situation actually happens to the people around them, they still feel helpless and out of control.

Being at the same table, there's not much he can do. Sometimes he secretly helps Ye Zhiming pay the school fees, and occasionally borrows the other party's meal card to swipe, and then recharge some more money.

Anyway, the money was really nothing to He Hearing, at most it was enough to buy one or two pairs of sneakers.

Later, Ye Zhiming found out and took a wad of money to pay him back. He heard that he would not admit anything and would not accept any money.

Ye Zhiming had no choice but to take the initiative to ask Ying to help He Ting make up lessons, wanting to help him in what he could.

I didn't think about it, people didn't worry about learning at all, and it was useless to teach, so I had to give up.

But the boat of friendship has set sail ever since.

"Thanks." He heard him back.

After a few minutes, Ye Zhiming sent a text message: "I'm in city B, do I need summer homework?"

In the past, He Ting borrowed his science homework to copy every holiday.

But this holiday is different, there is Jiang Xindong.At first, He Ting asked him about his homework just to find a topic, but at least he has won a gold medal in the Olympiad. He is thoughtful, easy to understand, and explains every question clearly.

He would listen carefully to what Jiang Xindong said, and after a while, he understood it.

"No need, I'm almost done." He Ting replied.

"You wrote it yourself?" Ye Zhiming was obviously surprised.

"That's not true, my dad found me a tutor." He Ting mentioned Jiang Xindong, with a smile on his face, and finally added a sentence like a boast: "He is very good."

"Okay." Ye Zhiming didn't say any more.

In summer afternoons, the air conditioner in the rehearsal room is not working well, and the air is stuffy and hot.

The day after tomorrow, Crush will have a shopping mall performance, and it is said that there will be several third- and fourth-tier stars attending the show that day.

After practicing for four hours, everyone felt that it was almost done and tired, so they went back to their respective homes.

There is a cake shop in the shop of the rehearsal building. When Jiang Xindong passed by, he suddenly thought of He Ting.

He always felt that He Ting was too lonely, maybe he had few friends, otherwise he wouldn't have rushed to his house so diligently.

Today is his birthday, and his family doesn't care much about it. I don't know if anyone will spend it with him.

He stood in front of the French window of the cake shop for a while, took out his mobile phone and called He Ting.

At this time He Ting was changing clothes at home, Xu Ming invited him and some friends to go to karaoke at night, he was a little surprised to see that the caller ID was Jiang Xindong.

Jiang Xindong: "Hi, are you home?"

He Ting: "Yes."

Jiang Xindong: "Are there any arrangements for the evening?"

He Ting remembered what happened last night, and there was a vague expectation in his heart, he hesitated for a while and lied, "No."

Jiang Xindong: "Come to my house for dinner later? It's your birthday."

He Ting pretended to decline: "That's so embarrassing."

In fact, the corners of his mouth almost reached his temples.

Jiang Xindong: "Do you still have times when you feel embarrassed?"

He Ting: "..."

Jiang Xindong: "See you at my house later."

He Ting: "Okay."

There is nothing more joyful than celebrating a birthday with someone you like, so He Ting hung up the phone and quickly sent a text message to Xu Ming.

He Ting: "I can't go today, you guys have fun."

Xu Ming: "???"

Xu Ming: "Why?"

He Ting: "There is something very important."

Xu Ming: "Grass, I was going to celebrate your birthday today."

He Ting was depressed, Xu Ming had always been careless, he couldn't see that he would play the trick of giving birthday surprises to buddies.

He Ting: "Huh? How do you know that today is my birthday... You guys sing first, and I'll rush over after dinner."

After all, he let others dove, so it would be embarrassing not to go.

Xu Ming: "Zhiming said it. It's alright, make your movements more sloppy."

2 minutes passed.

Xu Ming: "No, who is eating with, is it so important?"

He Ting: "Secret."

Xu Ming: "Grass, you won't be in trouble, will you?"

He Ting: "Don't ask."

Xu Ming: "!!"

Putting down his phone, Xu Ming shrugged his shoulders at Ye Zhiming: "He won't eat with us anymore." After finishing speaking, he rested his chin on his hand and muttered in a low voice, "This kid has been acting strange recently, it seems that there is something wrong."

Ye Zhiming understood the phrase "there is a situation", and suddenly stopped, and the smile on the corner of his mouth stopped in the middle without embarrassment.

"If you are in a hurry to go back to school, I can help you bring him a gift." Xu Ming didn't notice the other party's sudden sad expression, and still said to himself, "If you don't go back tonight, you can stay at my house to sleep .”

After saying the last sentence, he glanced at Ye Zhiming nervously.

"Well, thank you." Ye Zhiming lowered his eyelids, and didn't say whether to stay or not.

On the street, Jiang Xindong entered the cake shop.

Ai Siyi, who was walking home with him, saw him seriously choosing the cake, and couldn't help asking, "Whose birthday is it?"

"He Ting." Jiang Xindong didn't know what flavor He Ting liked, but only remembered that his house had a lot of fruit, so he pointed to a cake covered with fruit pieces in front of the cabinet and said to the waiter, "Please make this cake."

Ai Siyi felt that weird feeling again - jealousy.

Jiang Xindong also celebrates her birthday, but every year is with the band members, and will never do anything special.

It's funny to say, He Ting is a boy, and Jiang Xindong is also a boy, sometimes she doesn't understand where her dark thoughts come from.

Maybe it's because Jiang Xindong has always been polite and alienated to people, and it's rare to see him get close to people other than band members, so I'm a little envious and a little jealous.

Ai Siyi pursed her lips and jokingly said, "You two have such a good relationship."

"Well," Jiang Xindong didn't deny it, pressed his slender fingers on the phone a few times, then turned his head and said, "He's not what you see."

At most, Ai Siyi privately felt that He Ting was a little arrogant, but she never said a bad word about him in person, so she didn't understand what Jiang Xindong was talking about.

It's just that the other party's slightly protective tone made her feel a little bit more jealous, so the next sentence she uttered was a bit off-putting: "What do we see?"

"Actually, he," Jiang Xindong replied calmly as he walked to the cashier counter, "it's pretty good."

He Ting is a man with thorns all over his body, he is really not attractive at first sight.But after a few more contacts, the image of an ignorant kid from a rich family really can't support him.

It seems lazy and heartless, but in fact, it is very good at painting and photography, and even picks up stray dogs and raises them.

It seems that there is always some inhuman indifference, but I also look forward to a happy birthday from others.

All these make it impossible to really hate him, and even occasionally soft-hearted and want to take care of him more.

"How is he good?"

The person who asked the question had a cold voice with a bit of disdain.

As soon as the words came out of her mouth, Ai Siyi regretted it, and asking the bottom line made her look like a messy woman.

Jiang Xindong didn't catch her mood turning negative, or he noticed it but didn't know how to respond.

Without saying a word, he calmly paid the money at the cashier, walked out of the store with the piano on his right shoulder and the cake in his left hand, his tall back showing a chill.

There are many pedestrians and traffic on the street, and the sound of "jingling bells" can be heard from the bicycle lane.

They paced side by side, walking for the first five minutes in silence with each other.

When she walked to the corner and waited for the traffic light, Ai Siyi's tone softened: "Sorry, I'm not in a good mood today."

"It's okay," Jiang Xindong stared at the traffic light ahead, and suddenly said when the red light jumped to the green light, "He's fine everywhere."