Years are warm

It was past six o'clock in the evening, and the sky outside was getting darker.

The bus was driving at a slow speed on the congested road, and every time it stopped at a stop, a group of commuters rushed up, just like a can of sardines on four wheels.Xu Huaian grabbed the handrail with one hand, and stretched out the other hand to pull Xie Zhiyao over.

Amidst the noise, she suddenly remembered for no reason what Xie Zhiyao said to Li Siyuan before, "Childhood sweetheart".

In fact, the two of them are not serious childhood sweethearts. If it wasn't because of that accident, they might really be the two incompatible people in other people's mouths.

Twenty or thirty years ago, Shenning was not a well-developed first-tier city, but a small town near the sea. Later, due to its geographical location, policies gradually came into being, and many foreigners came to do business.

Xu Huaian's parents were Shenning who arrived at that time.Probably people who set foot on foreign lands to do business in the sea always thought that they could seize the opportunity if they worked hard. In those days, it became the norm to leave early and return late.

The picture I remember most in childhood is a dark room. In an urban village with poor sound insulation, you can often hear the voices of neighbors chatting. She was pulling the balcony in the darkness, waiting for her parents to come home with her eyes open, but the number of times she waited was only a handful. It can be counted, even if there are, they are basically mothers who get off work early.

In that period of memory, except for the few times we met during the Chinese New Year, the word father was almost blank.When she is free, when her mother teaches her to read, she will always say that her name was given by her father. The place where they met was called Huai in ancient times, and the word An means peace.

At that time, she was thinking, since this is the case, why can't she always see her father?Even if she met, she looked at the strange man and lost the courage to go forward and act like a baby.

After going to school, this kind of silence in her character gradually became out of place in the crowd.

Children always learn what other people say and do. After a period of time like this, some courageous boys will naturally start to bully others.

"Your parents don't want you anymore!"

"Why don't you speak? Don't you know how to speak? Little dumb!"

"Hmph, little mute, if you dare to complain to the teacher, I'll beat you!"

Xu Huai'an heard these words many times when she was a child, and she felt sad at first, but after hearing so many times, even she herself felt powerless to refute.

Of course, she also approached the head teacher. The teacher always likes children with good grades. Hearing what she said, it really brought both parents together for questioning.

But it turned out to be of no use.

She hid outside the office door, and what she heard was the defense of the other party's parents who didn't care.

"Hey, it's just a joke between children. It's not that exaggerated. Teacher, don't make such a fuss, my son is only so old."

"That's right, maybe it's just a joke because the little girl looks good."

But when she left the office, she heard them talking again.

"Hey, it's already afternoon, and there is no sign of my parents. I think I know the child is lying and slandering our son, so I dare not come! What's wrong with learning at such a young age!"

"That's right, you said you won't lie if your grades are good, forget it."

She really wanted to rush out and tell them, no, she wasn't lying, and she wasn't an unwanted child.

But language is particularly pale and powerless in the face of these unconscious malice.

As for the reason why my parents didn't come, it's actually very simple - I'm busy with work.

A busy word can cover almost everything.

Two days after I called my parents, I was beaten as expected.She dragged her bruised leg back home, but she was still facing an empty room. It wasn't until that time that the feeling of grievance was broken, and the tears couldn't stop falling down.

But after crying, all she could do was close the door and hide in the darkness.

It was only later that I realized that that emotion was not only grievance, but also frustration.

If she couldn't feel that kind of protection in front of her closest relatives, then who should she ask for this warmth?At that time, the young child did not think about the result, but became more reticent day by day.

Keeping silent and staying away from the crowd is more like self-protection.

Until she met Xie Zhiyao.

After school that day, she was unsurprisingly blocked by a few boys from the same school in an alley on the side of the street. The malice that perhaps they hadn't noticed came to her face. She even started looking through her schoolbag to ask for money.

This is not the first time, she wanted to resist, but in the end she was pushed to the ground. She thought she could only grit her teeth and bear it, but at the moment she fell, she heard the crisp voice of a girl in the alley.

"What are you doing?! Don't bully people!"

The sound is not loud, but it is enough to attract the adults in the surrounding shops.

A group of boys around were afraid of being discovered, so they ran away in a blink of an eye. She took a breath, and tried to stand up enduring the pain of scratched skin on her knees, but her eyes suddenly went dark.

"Does it hurt?" The same young child squatted down and carefully observed the injury on her knee, and asked in a childlike voice with a wrinkled face.

She pursed her lips and still looked at her vigilantly. She recognized the school badge pinned to his chest, which belonged to the school next door, but she didn't think the other party had any reason to help her, and she was even afraid that she would be like those people before. Give her a push.

Then she saw the other party opened her small backpack, and it took a long time to find a cartoon band-aid from it, and comforted her softly in front of her: "I only have this, it won't hurt if I put it on for you, okay?"

Obviously he is also a child, but he speaks in such a coaxing tone...

She slowly loosened her clenched fist, and turned her head to acquiesce in the other party's clumsy movements. In the long silence, she finally said with red eyes: "You...why help me?"

"Huh?" The girl raised her head, blew on the wound as if she was afraid of her pain, and said seriously, "Because they are bullying you, this is wrong!"

"I saw it, so I will help you. This is the right thing to do!" She happily pointed to the sky, like a little sun in the dark, "Just like the heroes in cartoons!"

Xu Huaian was silent for a few seconds, then whispered, "But I don't know you."

"Then let's get to know each other now?"

"My name is Xie Zhiyao." As she spoke, she took out the book in her schoolbag and pointed it out to her, "What's your name?"

The dim light of the alley fell on them. Under the dim light, the girl's beautiful eyes were shining brightly, and there were hidden expectations that she had almost never seen before.She held out her hand to her, smiling brightly.

So by accident, she held the other person's palm, took the pen and wrote her name on the notebook.

"Huai'an. My name is... Xu Huai'an."

That's the beginning.

Xie Zhiyao is different from her. Her parents are professors at Ningcheng University of Science and Technology. Some people call them "senior intellectuals" when they chat after dinner. In front of her, she knew the truth of that kindness.

But this kindness is also unfamiliar.

"Aren't you afraid of being beaten?" She hesitated holding on to the strap of her schoolbag, and finally asked, "I...I can't beat them, I can't protect you."

So, stay away from me...

Of course, she didn't say the second half of the sentence.

At that time, Xie Zhiyao turned her head back, blinking her eyes in confusion, she thought seriously for a while, and said firmly, "It's okay."

"Then let's be friends, let me protect you."

The girl looked at her with a light in her eyes, washing away the shadows that had been surrounding her, so she hesitated for a moment, and still stretched out her hand to grab the corner of Xie Zhiyao's clothes.

Humans always unconsciously seek the light.Fortunately, fate was not harsh any more, and she really grasped that ray of light in the darkness.

The neon lights of the city fell on the girl's black eyes, casting a shadow, and the sound of the electronic voice announced the stop, which brought her back to her thoughts. She clenched the suitcase in her hand and followed the crowd to get off the bus.

"What were you thinking just now?" Xie Zhiyao pulled the lever and didn't forget to turn around and ask her.

"what?"

"Don't pretend, you just stayed in the car for so long, it's too obvious, okay?" She slowed down and tilted her head, and suddenly became nervous as if thinking of something, "Could it be that you just trained for seven days?" Have you been bullied again?!"

"No, don't think too much. I'm not a child anymore, can I still be bullied?" Xu Huai'an shook his head with a low laugh and said, "It's that childhood sweetheart you said, remembering things when I was a child."

as a child?Xie Zhiyao was stunned for a moment, and seeing the complexities in her eyes for a moment, she thought for a while, then deliberately stretched out her hand to hook the other party's neck, and said with a smile: "That's right, childhood sweetheart, childhood sweetheart, dare you say it's not right?" ?”

Xu Huai'an almost staggered her, and said helplessly, "Yes, I'll just talk about it."

There was no gloomy look in her eyes, Xie Zhiyao secretly heaved a sigh of relief, and the conversation turned excitedly: "But you said it like this... Now that you think about it, do you think I look like a hero? Huh?"

The latter's expression was indescribable: "...can you not be narcissistic?"

"The truth." Xie Zhiyao said and pinched her face, "Huai'an, you were really cuter when you were a child. Who was it that grabbed the corner of my clothes?"

Xu Huai'an raised his head back, raised his hand that was originally in his pocket, and slapped her outstretched hand, and took two steps forward at a faster pace.

hero?Maybe.But it is impossible to admit it, how embarrassing it is.

Xie Zhiyao, who was behind, chased after her with a suitcase, and kept whispering in her ear: "Wow, if someone who knows your face sees you like this, it will be really big news."

"Huh?" She slowed down and looked sideways.

Xie Zhiyao looked into her eyes with a serious face, and said with a straight voice: "On the first day of the closing of No. [-] Middle School, the first and second names of the former Beizhong Middle School did not get along. It's a real blow!"

Xu Huaian: "..."

It's a pity that she didn't maintain this serious look for long. Instead, she failed first and was out of breath laughing on the side of the road. In the end, Xu Huaian came over helplessly and led her to continue walking.

After graduating from junior high school, my father's business stabilized, the company moved back to Shenning, and their family also moved from the original urban village to Jingjiang Xinyuan near Haiwan Park. It's not far, but it takes about 15 minutes to go around the cross-river bridge.

Coincidentally, when she was a child, Xie Zhiyao sent her back to wait for her parents' car, but now it's the other way around.

"The next time you take so many things, you should take the subway." Before entering the community, Xie Zhiyao said, "Otherwise, it would be tiring to walk for such a long distance."

Half a year ago, a new line of subway was connected to Haiwan Park, and as soon as you exit the station, you will be at the entrance of the community.

Xu Huaian shook his head and said, "It's okay, it's not too far away, it's boring for me to go back alone, and no one is home anyway."

I've gotten used to it a long time ago, so it's better to accompany her for a longer walk.

Xie Zhiyao didn't try to persuade her anymore, just looked at her and said with a smile: "See you at school? I don't believe it anymore, I can't compare to you in high school."

"Then I'll wait and see?" Xu Huaian smiled slightly, waved his hand and said, "Go back, see you at school."

"Remember to send a message when you get home!"

"Know it."

The house was still dark when the door was opened, apparently no one had come back yet.Xu Huaian changed his shoes and went to turn on the small light and air conditioner in the living room. After putting away his things, he went to the kitchen to cook a bowl of noodles.

The steam steamed upwards and blurred her vision. She looked up at the closed door and sighed softly.

Forget it.

She took out her mobile phone, sent Xie Zhiyao a message to report her safety, and fiddled with the noodles in the bowl carelessly.

After a few minutes, the mobile phone on the table vibrated, she picked it up and took a look, it turned out to be Xie Zhiyao.

【Already read, remember to eat well, kids~】

Xu Huai'an couldn't help laughing, and typed back to her with one hand.

[Who is the kid? 】

The other party responded quickly.

[My April, someone's November, whoever is younger than me can be called. 】

[It's only half a year. 】

[That counts!Children, children! 】

You can feel Xie Zhiyao's expression that you can do anything to me through the screen, Xu Huaian imagined that scene, and his eyebrows and eyes were crooked with a smile.

【childish. 】