Zero-sum game

After driving more than ten kilometers, Zhou Xingchuan chatted with Shen Yan casually.

Zhou Xingchuan glanced at Shen Yan for a while, and said: "If you squint for a while, you still have half an hour to arrive."

"No, the driver will also be sleepy if the co-pilot falls asleep." Shen Yan replied, still sitting in the seat and looking ahead, paying attention to the road ahead.

Looking at him, Zhou Xingchuan suddenly realized why Shen Yan was unwilling to rest along the way.Even if there is no topic, occasionally say a few words to cheer him up.

Yesterday I went to pick up Shen Yan, and the distance was very short. He didn't realize it, but today he suddenly discovered...the reason Zhou Xingchuan also vaguely noticed, probably...it was because of the car accident a few years ago.

Thinking of this, he tightened his grip on the steering wheel, reached out and turned on the music.

Listening to the gentle male voice singing Japanese songs, Shen Yan had a feeling of deja vu, "Did you also like this song before?"

"Yes, no matter how many times you listen to your favorite songs, you won't get tired of it." Zhou Xingchuan replied.

In less than half a day, they arrived at the small town very quickly.

The weather was fine, and even the sun was still a little bit hot. Zhou Xingchuan's car passed through the bustling downtown area, and then took a provincial road. After a short drive, he arrived at the house where Shen Yan's mother, Lin Yuehe, and Uncle Wu lived.

But Shen Yan didn't ask Zhou Xingchuan to take him in, he asked Zhou Xingchuan to park the car on the side of the road and wait for him in the car.

"Do you really not need me to accompany you in?" Zhou Xingchuan asked.

"No, you went...it's complicated." Shen Yan said calmly, without much expression on his face.

After he finished speaking, he turned around and walked on the crude concrete road. Zhou Xingchuan was waiting in the car, and the passers-by looked curiously at this slightly awkward foreign-brand vehicle.

Zhou Xingchuan originally thought that Shen Yan would go for a long time, but he came back in less than an hour.

"Why did you come back so soon?" Zhou Xingchuan looked at him in surprise.

"Uncle Wu is not here, so I just said a few words to my mother and gave her the money," Shen Yan replied briefly, "She seems to be doing well, and her illness is completely cured."

After all, the money he brought back back then just filled the vacancy for his mother's medical treatment.

"..." Zhou Xingchuan looked at his expression and found nothing unusual, "That's good."

"Come on, I'll take you to buy our peaches. Now is the best time to eat them." Shen Yan put on his seat belt.

The two of them returned home with a bag of peaches, and as soon as they opened the door, Coco, who was not locked in the fence, immediately rushed over and rushed towards Shen Yan first.

"Huh? So close to you so soon?"

"Of course." Shen Yan patted the dog's head, "Is it coco."

As if Coco understood, not only wanted to pounce on Shen Yan, but also licked his face, Zhou Xingchuan pulled the collar and slipped back into the fence.

"Stay obediently." Zhou Xingchuan warned, and Coco grunted in dissatisfaction.

Zhou Xingchuan took out a large and beautiful peach, washed and peeled it while standing on the cooking table.

Shen Yan watched his movements, and suddenly said: "When I was young, I especially liked to eat this kind of peach."

"It looks delicious, there should be no one who doesn't like it." Zhou Xingchuan didn't look up, so he didn't see the slightly sentimental expression on Shen Yan's face.

"But good-looking and delicious ones are expensive, so the ones my mother buys usually have bad spots, or are crooked."

Zhou Xingchuan looked up at him, Shen Yan turned around and walked to the sofa and sat down.

At that time, Shen Yan was able to earn money by doing a summer job. On the way home, he saw a seller of this kind of big peaches, so he bought a bag for himself. After eating too many peaches, he was so flatulent that he couldn't sleep in the middle of the night.

On the one hand, his mother blamed him for satisfying his desire for the money he had earned so hard, and on the other hand sighed long and short about his father who would never come back.

He thought of the Lin Yuehe he saw just now, she looked much older than a few years ago, but her complexion was still rosy, and she was a little fatter, and the hair she had shaved off due to chemotherapy had grown to her shoulders.

He gave her most of the savings he had saved in the past two years, and her slightly frowning brows were also relaxed.When he left, he took a closer look at the small courtyard, it was well-organized, neat and tidy, perhaps this was the ordinary life his mother had been looking forward to for most of her life.

Shen Yan felt a lot of emotion at that moment.

The next day Zhou Xingchuan had to go out to work early in the morning. When he got up in the morning, he didn't intend to wake up Shen Yan, but Shen Yan still got up with hazy eyes and stood barefoot by the bedroom door to watch him change his clothes and prepare to go out.

"Where should I have breakfast?" Shen Yan asked.

"Go to the scene, we'll talk when we get there." Zhou Xingchuan said, the car that came to pick him up had already parked downstairs on time, and Mo Rui never made mistakes in these small matters.

Shen Yan opened the curtains, and the morning light immediately poured into the room, it seemed that it was another sunny day.

Zhou Xingchuan went around the dining table and kissed him on the cheek, and said, "I'm leaving. There are ingredients in the refrigerator. If you don't want to cook, you can order takeaway."

Shen Yan laughed in his heart that he still had to explain these things, as if he would starve himself to death, "I know."

"Don't feed coco too much, it can't get fat anymore." Zhou Xingchuan walked to the door.

"When will you be back at night?" Shen Yan asked.

"Not necessarily, I will text you when the time comes."

Shen Yan nodded, Zhou Xingchuan closed the door, and the room fell into silence.

Shen Yan stretched his waist, walked to the sofa and sat down barefoot, feeling relaxed for a long time.After laying down with his mind empty for a while, he casually ate some of the bread he bought yesterday, and then took coco out for a stroll.At noon, I made lunch by myself, then sat on the sofa and finished reading a novel that I had been wanting to read but hadn't finished. It was already late.

When Zhou Xingchuan came back in the evening, Shen Yan's dinner was also ready. It was a simple dish but enough for two people.After dinner, the fixed schedule is to go out for a walk with the dog, then come back to wash up, turn off the lights and watch a relaxing and funny TV series on the sofa with a projector, and then go to bed for tenderness and fall asleep together.

Zhou Xingchuan made a habit of going home every day, first quietly observing what Shen Yan was doing at home.When you see the book he has spread out on the coffee table, you know that he has read a suspense novel today, and when you see the rice paper he has written on, you know that he has practiced calligraphy today.

As the dinner chef, Shen Yan quietly observed Zhou Xingchuan's expression while eating to judge whether he liked a certain dish.Then he came to the conclusion that Zhou Xingchuan didn't like shiitake mushrooms very much, but he could accept Tricholoma and Coprinus comatus.

This kind of life lasted for a week, until Mo Rui informed Zhou Xingchuan that he would move to another city for filming next week, and ruthlessly popped his happiness bubble with the phrase "When will Mr. Shen go back?" Zhou Xingchuan didn't know Houjue—what did Shen Yan plan?

The past few days have been so comfortable that he almost forgot that Shen Yan was an autistic mountain village teacher who was still unwilling to step out of Xiaohe Village more than a month ago.

He decided to go home and discuss this matter with Shen Yan.