Wintering

Chen Yue once ran too fast while playing a game. He didn't notice a small dirt pit under his feet.

So for a long time, he could only move a small bench and sit under the banyan tree, watching others play sullenly.Unbridled and arrogant laughter came bursts, like scratching his little paws, making him very irritable.

He was obviously sitting beside him, but the group of children who used to circle around him were so immersed in the fun of playing that they didn't even bother to give him a look.

He is like an outsider, lonely and isolated by the small group.

It's midsummer, the sun is high in the sky, and the sound of birds and cicadas is overwhelming.

Little Chen Yue took a stick and scribbled on the ground, and soon the ground was densely covered with distracting lines.

He threw away the twig, and he hadn't paid much attention before, and now he noticed that the birds were chirping to death.

Finding a small stone on the spot, he glanced at it casually, swung his arm vigorously, and swung it in a small half circle. The stone left his hand with a whoosh, drawing an arc in mid-air.The birds were startled, and they scattered one after another, so they took a chance and turned into a nearby balcony.Coincidentally, there was a person squatting there at some point, and was caught off guard by a stone hitting his head.

Chen Yue was shocked, knowing that he had caused trouble, and immediately apologized loudly in panic.

The man paused and quickly disappeared.

Chen Yue saw the black short sleeves that flashed by, and suddenly remembered the boy from that night.He counted the floors, and it happened to be the floor above his house, the fifth floor.

The stones he picked up just now had some sharp edges and corners, which could easily scratch people. The more he thought about it, the more uneasy he became. After all the children had gone home, he walked home step by step with a cane to pick them up. After taking some ointment, I climbed to the fifth floor.

As soon as he approached the stairwell on the fifth floor, he smelled an unpleasant smell of fermentation.

There are two families on that floor.

The door on the left was clean, and there was a carpet with the words safe in and out.There are also festive red couplets neatly pasted in front of the door, giving it an ordinary and warm atmosphere.

Chen Yue subconsciously felt that the boy in black would not live in such a home, he turned his head to look to the other side, and the stench came to his nostrils.

Scarlet paint was angrily splashed on the door, leaving one glaring mark after another.Dirty dark green wine bottles were piled up in a mess beside the door. It was unknown how long they had been there. A cockroach crawled out of the bottle and slipped past Chen Yue's feet in a hurry.

Chen Yue stood for a long time, but he mustered up the courage to knock on the door, and nervously grabbed the corner of his clothes and waited for someone to answer the door.He had never met the male owner of this family, but the man's rough and savage voice still frightened him that day.

After a while, he finally heard light footsteps coming from inside, and immediately held his breath.

The footsteps stopped at the door, and the people inside seemed to be looking at the situation outside through the cat's eyes. After confirming, they carefully opened the door a small crack, and a hoarse and calm voice came from the crack.

"Who are you looking for?"

Chen Yue recognized that it wasn't the middle-aged man's voice, and immediately let go of his hanging heart, he hurriedly raised the thing in his hand, and said, "Hello, I accidentally threw a stone at your house just now. I hit someone on the balcony. Sorry, sorry, I brought some medicine..."

After he stammered and said the reason for his visit, the door slowly opened, revealing a pale and indifferent face, it was that young man.

"unnecessary."

The boy replied stiffly.

Chen Yue's gaze flicked over his neck, and a wound was suddenly cut on that section of snow-white skin, with blood dripping from it, one could tell it had just been scratched.

After the young man finished speaking, he wanted to close the door, but Chen Yue hurriedly stepped forward, pressed his elbow against it, and hurriedly said: "Don't, I caused the wound on your body, so I have to give you medicine before leaving. "

The man's face darkened after hearing this, and he raised his eyelids and glanced at him impatiently, as if he thought he was too busy.

Chen Yue was nailed in place by that look, and felt a little regretful in his heart, when he was about to find an excuse to slip away, a skeleton-like hand stretched out in front of him.

"Give me the medicine. I, myself, apply it."

The young man spoke very slowly, and his voice was as harsh as it had been rubbed on the gravel, making it very uncomfortable to listen to.

Chen Yue hurriedly handed the things to him, and after the young man took them, he closed the door with a bang without saying a word.

After his legs recovered, the group of friends came over and invited him to play marbles together.During playtime, Chen Yue would raise his head intentionally or unintentionally, pretending to glance casually at the balcony on the fifth floor, and occasionally he would see the young man sitting there alone with his head down, leaning against the railing, looking blankly into the distance.

Sometimes the wind is very strong, pouring into his baggy clothes, making them crumbling, Chen Yue is always worried that he will be blown away by the wind.

I don't know why, but when there are teenagers around, Chen Yue's voice is louder than usual.

It's been a week, and there is still no news from Mo Dong.

After thinking about it, Chen Yue decided to ask Mo Dong's parents about the situation.

After driving for a long time in the well-connected old town, the buildings in front of him became more and more unfamiliar. Chen Yue finally realized that he was lost again, so he had to turn on the navigation.

Counting it, he hasn't been back to that neighborhood for nearly ten years.

Father Chen partnered with a friend to start a company when he was in the first year of junior high school. It was just catching up with the trend and made a lot of money. After the economic situation improved, Chen Yue's family moved out of that place.

After seven turns and eight turns, Chen Yue's car parked beside an old residential area.

Many buildings in the surrounding area have been marked with temporary isolation perimeters and classified as dangerous buildings, warning pedestrians not to approach.

Chen Yue got out of the car, walked to the iron gate of the community, and looked inside with his head. There was an old man dozing off next to him. Chen Yue called a few times to explain why he came.

The banyan tree growing on the open space in the community has been cut down, leaving only a dry stump standing there alone.The sandy place he played in when he was a child has been paved with concrete and a shed has been set up for shade. Several electric cars and bicycles are placed there, which looks like a small parking lot.

Chen Yue walked to the tree stump, raised his head habitually like many years ago, and focused his gaze on the fifth floor of the unit building.

It was still the same as before, the balcony was deserted, there were no potted plants of any kind, it was bare, only rusted railings.Except for the boy who was always wearing black clothes hiding in the corner of the balcony, everything else was the same as before.

Chen Yue didn't have a key, so he couldn't open the door of the apartment building, so he could only wait for someone to open the door.

At noon, his temples were very intense, so he hid under the big shed next to him, and as soon as he stood still, a kitten suddenly jumped out from behind a small tram, not afraid of life, and meowed at him a few times, unexpectedly Tilted to the ground revealing a dirty gray belly.

This is asking for food.

Chen Yue didn't bring anything with him, so he had no choice but to run out of the community, and only found a grocery store after walking around.He was worried that the kitten had waited too long to leave, so he picked out a piece of white bread and hurriedly paid for it, then ran all the way back to the community.

The kitten squatted obediently on the spot as if knowing that he would come back.

Chen Yue tore off the bread piece by piece and fed it.The kitten lowered its head to eat, and the small protruding ears on its head trembled.

He looked at him, and suddenly remembered that when he was still living here when he was a child, there were many stray cats nearby, looking very skinny and pitiful.Every day after school, he would run into one or two cats following him, rolling and begging for food.

So his schoolbag is always bulging, except for books, there are all kinds of cat snacks.

After a long time, the kittens in the neighborhood got to know him well, and when the hour came, they all gathered together and waited for him. The scene was quite spectacular.There is a yellow kitten waiting for him at the intersection he must pass every day.

As soon as the get out of class bell rang, Chen Yue quickly packed his schoolbag and stepped on his bicycle to feed the cat.

One time the teacher was procrastinating for class testing, and it happened to be his turn to be on duty. After everything was done, the sky outside was almost completely dark. When he thought that those kittens might still be waiting for him on the road, he hurried to the office. Speeding on the bike.

When approaching the intersection, he saw a litter of cats gathered there by the dim streetlights, and a person next to him squatted to feed the cats with his back turned to him.