straight to heaven

After the dinner party, I sent Li Xiaoxiao home first, and then took a taxi home by myself.The road conditions in the capital are poor, with congestion all the way to the third ring road.

The apartment is in the outskirts, plus the 72-square-meter communal area, there are four people in total.

Me, a single programmer, and a young couple.Occasional friction, but generally can live in peace.

After washing, he fell on the bed, counted thirty sheep against the pale ceiling, and couldn't help touching his phone.

A year ago, in order to get rid of the bad habit of staying up late, I swore not to touch electronic devices before going to bed, otherwise I would never see Pei Yanlai again.After persisting for a whole year, I finally got used to closing my eyes before twelve o'clock.

But now I have a relapse.

When I opened WeChat, I unexpectedly discovered that the group of high school classmates who had been silent for many years had exploded.In the lengthy chat history, the word "squad leader" appears very frequently.

I swiped up quickly, until my fingers were sore, and I found the beginning of the topic.

The results of the college entrance examination were announced, and I missed the university in the capital, so I finally gritted my teeth and repeated the study.But Zhang Xiaomao completely failed the rankings and entered the society early. After graduation, he ran the family factory with his parents, and he was very well informed.

He didn't know where he heard the news, he called Pei Yan several times, and yelled: Brother Squad Leader has been abroad for so many years, and finally he is willing to return to China to develop, let's get together sometime?

It's normal for Pei Yanlai to be unable to sleep all night, but I understand him.He will pretend to be asleep.I scrolled down again, and sure enough, there was no reply from him.

But Zhang Xiaomao's words caused a stir, and half the night owls in the class came to join in the fun.

The news of "I miss the monitor, ask for a meal appointment" was quickly posted, and I poked my finger on the screen for a long time, but I still didn't have the guts to fish in troubled waters and order one plus one.

When I was in high school, my classmates who went up and down at least two grades had heard that there was such a miraculous figure in our grade.

He is tall, handsome, and has a good temperament, with a face that can make his debut in situ. He can pass the examination room and play the stadium. According to gossip, he is still a second generation.

If you want to count the bees and butterflies, no one can match the limelight.

At first, I just watched the leopard through the pipe, and the moon in the water, but later I realized that this man was really like a god.

Can't understand, can't understand.The backbone of his peers, a mature, reliable and gentle gentleman, no one has ever met him without praise.But if you want to say who he is very close to, is a friend, and you can't count anyone with your fingers.

I know next to nothing about him other than what he wants to be seen.

His fingers traced the outline of Pei Yanlai ten years ago in the air, and his heart itched badly.

What brought me back from the past was the alarm on my phone.

Looking at the notes, I remind myself to send an email at 12:30 noon tomorrow.Unexpectedly, I was blind, set the wrong time, and it rang in the middle of the night.

The alarm rang, and the couple next door had a good relationship and began to make out.

The sound insulation effect of the house is not good, and the creaking sound of the synthetic wooden bed board can be clearly heard.

"Grass……"

Now I can't sleep at all.

The next day, I followed the car to the courthouse. Seeing my tired face, Lao Hu patted my shoulder and said, "Young man is not in good health. You need to cheer up."

I lowered my eyes and said, okay.

But I am two or three years away from running to the third, and my youth is no longer.If you play games all night, you will no longer be able to live and dance the next morning.The years have left traces, and they will not favor the ordinary me.

Lao Hu will be 60 years old in two or three years. He is a big player in the industry, and his name is a sign.I have been working under him for the past few years since I graduated, and I can see that although he does not move in all directions, the pressure of this case is really not small.

Li Yangming is an online car-hailing driver under a certain transportation company. Five years ago, he was awarded the title of "Lei Feng Model" by the country for his courageous actions in the September [-]st, which rescued four minor children. Public recognition.

A bright and positive figure in the field of public opinion.

But just a month ago, he was involved in a rape and murder case.

The victimized woman was a well-known beauty blogger, and she booked a car with him on the app. The route was from Shanghai to Suzhou.The platform showed that the order was indeed completed, but two days later, the body of the beauty blogger was stuck in the sewage pipe and was fished out by the cleaning workers.A forensic autopsy revealed obvious signs of assault on the victim's body.

As soon as the case came out, Li Yangming, who was the most suspected, was criminally detained.After interrogation, Li Yangming even confessed to the crime.When the news got out, two "explosive" entries in succession dominated the hot search list for three days.

But before the trial of the first instance, Li Yangming suddenly retracted his confession.He claimed that he did not commit a crime, and the victim was picked up from the car halfway, with a familiar gesture, not like coercion.

The accident happened so suddenly that we could only temporarily change the direction of our defense.

To make matters worse, the damage to the driving recorder and the rental internal monitor was not repaired in time, and there is no strong direct evidence to prove Li Yangming's innocence.

The case has aroused widespread social concern, and several big media have bitten it to death.In our business, public opinion is a double-edged sword.Obviously, the traffic brought by this former "hero" has become overwhelming.

However, the result of the first-instance judgment was very unfavorable to Li Yangming, and we still need to find other entry points.

Back at the law firm, Lao Hu answered the phone in the office.

I don't know who is calling.As soon as I poured two cups of coffee, his face became a little ugly.

"Xiaoshan." He rubbed the center of his brows, "I will hand over the Li case to Pei Lu, and you will connect with him later and continue to follow up."

I was surprised: "What?" Then I recovered and said, "Okay."

The action of changing agents midway is no less than a major earthquake.

Old Hu didn't want to say more, his brows were furrowed, and he waved me out: "Go, deal with it as soon as possible."

With sharp eyes, I saw that his hand holding the cup was trembling.

Pei Yanlai has excellent professional quality and capital, so it is not uncommon for an airborne law firm to become a partner.But his direction is not in the criminal defense, what is Lao Hu going to do?

But don't ask if you shouldn't ask, I still know this truth.I can only follow suit.

I was absent-minded, and when I came back to my senses, I knocked on the door of Pei Yanlai's office.Instinct urges me to turn around and run, but my feet are firmly wedged on the ground.

The body is sometimes more honest than the brain.

But the people inside quickly said, "Please come in."

I took a deep breath, pushed the door open and walked in: "Pei Lu...it's me."

After a lot of thinking, the last sentence of greeting is enough.

The leather shoes fell on the marble floor, but they seemed to be stepping on my own heart. Every step I took was throbbing and painful, like the little mermaid's first long legs.

"En." Pei Yanlai signed, using an ordinary water-based black pen: "Lawyer Hu called just now, and I have clarified the situation." He didn't look at me.

I'm a little sad.

Putting the freshly poured coffee by his hand, I glanced at the small wooden box next to the computer.

This position of the desk is used by most people to put photo frames.Originally, I was the only one who was an outlier in the whole institute, and there was an abstract copper handicraft that Geng Zhi brought from Switzerland two years ago.

Now there is another Pei Yanlai.

This is really rare.

When I regained my senses, I nodded: "According to Hu Lv's intention, I will assist in the follow-up until the Li case is over."

Pei Yanlai was finally willing to look up at me.His eyes are gentle, without waves, and the wind can't blow Yilun of stagnant water——the same as he looks at thousands of other people.

That look made me suffer.Compared with failing the college entrance examination at that time, it was embarrassing for me to waste my mother's money and repeat the exam.

But he seemed unaware, and said, "Thank you for your hard work. Time is tight, please send the handover materials to my mailbox as soon as possible."

My nails rolled into the flesh of my palm, I blinked quickly, I was so cramped that I had nowhere to go.

Emotion is like some kind of extremely inflatable gas, compressed to the threshold, and then rebounded once again to a terrible volume, tearing me apart.

I really exploded, and took the initiative to step on the sore foot: "Pei Lu, about the box... I'm sorry."

Pei Yanlai laughed it off, and wrote lightly: "Don't worry about it. Go get busy."

I am worthless.With a fluttering word, the determination of my strong man died down.

"...Hmm." I let go of my hand, even having difficulty uttering the particle words, and my palm was mottled by myself.

Time is indeed the most paradoxical magic. People who have not been able to forget all these years feel strange when they meet again.

I even began to wonder if this cold-blooded creature had completely forgotten me.Just like he has forgotten many useless things, he will never remember them in this life.

Before I got off work, I received a call from Geng Zong.He had just returned from a business trip and offered to treat me to a steak Wellington in return for "saving his life".

I waited at the door, wearing a long dark gray trench coat over my suit. The girl at the front desk saw me and praised me for how handsome I was wearing.This is the second time today, she also praised me in the morning.

I smiled at her, unprofessional and a little stiff, but she covered her face, turned her head away, and said, oh, don't smile at me, I'm easy to be sexual.

Coincidentally, when all the troops from the institute came out together, Martha, who had been flirting all along, also stopped in front of me.

After the college entrance examination, Geng moved his family to the capital.He has been in good shape over the years, not unbelievably handsome, but at least he looks like a human being.Getting out of the car wearing a black super, it looks like the overlord has appeared on the stage.

"Hey, miss me?" Geng has always been the same height as me, but with a wider frame than me, he threw himself on my shoulder.He didn't light up Su Yan, and put it behind his ear: "I have to treat you well today, which can be regarded as making my parents happy. By the way, the girl who went on a blind date with you has taken a fancy to you, and she is looking for your contact information." .”

My face darkened, and I bumped his ribs with my elbow: "What is a blind date with me?"

Before the words were finished, the gossip of the crowd started.

"Okay, you, pick up girls behind my back, don't you think I'm a sister?" This is Li Xiaoxiao.

"Wow, isn't it! The fat and water don't flow into the fields of outsiders, Xiaoshan, why don't you consider me?" This is the girl at the front desk.

"Forget it. You can change six boyfriends a year, so you don't waste innocent boys." This is Xie Yi.

"Oh, young man." This is Lao Hu.

I couldn't argue, my brows were wrinkled, but I didn't bother to explain anything.

While the discussion was still going on, Geng Zongzhi suddenly took off his sunglasses and stared at the flowery front desk, like a hungry wolf seeing meat.The front desk blushed and coughed softly.It looks like a vulgar drama in a third-rate TV series, where the rich second generation falls in love with the beautiful receptionist girl at first sight.

For a long time, the fool just stared at the girl's hand, and opened his mouth to ask, "Sisters, where did you buy the gloves? Are they warm?"

The receptionist was stunned, with a froze smile on his face: "...Taobao Arctic people, one hundred and twenty pairs, very warm."

"Not bad. It's just right for me to ride a motorcycle in a few days, thanks."

As soon as the words were finished, there were sporadic titters.Only Geng didn't realize it all the time, and was still placing orders on his mobile phone.

Me: "..." This is two hundred and five.

Geng kept buying gloves, but when he looked up, he was stunned.

"I'm stupid, isn't it?"

I looked along and saw Pei Yanlai standing behind the crowd.I don't know when I came here, and how much gossip I heard.He fiddled with his mobile phone with his head down, waiting for everyone to look at him before raising his head slowly.

He didn't look at me.

I felt guilty for no reason, and clenched my hands in my pockets, the mottled palms were itchy and painful.

"Brother Squad Leader? Pei Yan is here?" Geng Zong grabbed his hair twice: "Me! I, Geng Zong!"

Pei Yanlai was wearing a coat in his arms, and stood there in a dark gray suit. He was tall, well-proportioned, and pleasing to the eye. "I recognize it." He stuffed the phone into his pocket and smiled, "Long time no see."

Suspicious eyes flicked around in the courtyard, and whispers were heard endlessly.

"Damn it, it's really you." Geng went forward and thumped him on the shoulder: "How long have we not seen each other? You haven't heard from me since you graduated. I still don't believe Zhang Xiaomao when he said you returned to China. Why? Didn't you tell your buddies?"

Pei Yanlai also gave him back and forth: "I just came back, I was busy with the handover of work, so I didn't make time, blame me."

Lao Hu was a little surprised: "Pei Lu, do you know each other?"

Geng always had emotions on his face, very excited: "We are two high school classmates, and we lived in the same dormitory! We have the same bed!"

"Hey." He Weisi raised his voice, unable to hear the emotion: "What a coincidence."

Geng kept laughing twice: "Brother Pei, me, and Xiao Shan, all graduated from the No. [-] High School in Lingshi. They have been in the same class for three years. They are destined to each other." The grandson swayed back to my side and hooked my neck , the voice was not too loud: "Why didn't you tell me when you saw Brother Pei, are you stingy?"

Everyone's eyes turned to me immediately, their expressions were subtle, and the atmosphere silently turned to embarrassment.

High school classmates?Three years of friendship?Then how come the reunion after a long absence is still no different from a stranger?

Do you still need to ask, there is a holiday.

Which pot does not open which pot.

If I had known today, I should have allowed Geng to be beaten to death by those idiots.

I cursed in my heart, but I could only twitch the corners of my mouth stiffly, holding back the two words for a long time.

"Ah, yes."

The head of the donkey is not the mouth of the horse, and anyone with a discerning eye can see that there was something wrong between the two of us-mostly it was not good.

It's so embarrassing.

I shook off Geng's arm that had been wrapped around my neck, coughed twice, maybe because of lack of oxygen, my brain was slow, and I added superfluously: "Long time no see."

——Nine years and more than 140 days, this is the first official greeting between us.

The colleagues in the office were at a loss, unable to figure out what the strange direction of the matter was.Pei Yanlai's gaze fell on me through the chaotic voices of people.

This look is different from usual, but I can't tell what is different at the moment.

His Adam's apple rolled slightly, and he said to me, "Long time no see, Lin Xiaoshan."

The little finger twitched nervously for more than three seconds.

He called my name like an overdone hallucination.