Late ripening

Fang Fei stood at the door with two big bags in his hand, knocked twice and the door opened.Jing Yan stood in the porch in pajamas, with a blank expression.He laughed twice, "Happy New Year, Jing Yan. I'll come and see you and Lao Lu." Jing Yan finally came to his senses, took the things in his hand, and said Happy New Year.

Lu Qian came out of the room with an uneasy expression on his face, "What are you doing here so early?" He had just washed up not long ago, and he was still a bit angry about getting up.Fang Fei changed into his slippers familiarly, "Come and see you two lonely bachelors, and I will accompany my wife home in the afternoon." Lu Qian ignored him, seeing Jing Yan still standing at the door, he didn't know where to put his things. Hey, walked over, "I'll put the things on the floor for a while. You read the book late last night and then go to sleep." Jing Yan raised his head to look at him, then immediately looked away, and went back to the room without making a sound.

Fang Fei elbowed him, "The kid quarreled with you? Don't you usually follow behind you?" Lu Qian turned and went into the study, "I asked him a few days ago if he wanted to live on campus. I'm getting awkward." Fang Fei seemed to find it a bit ridiculous, and couldn't help teasing him, "I thought you were good at teaching children. Co-authoring is as doting as my mother. Give it away if you have to, and he will naturally in a few days Just get used to it."

Lu Qian frowned and looked at him, "It would be great if he had that kind of cheerful personality. I'm afraid that he hasn't come out of his family affairs, and I'll put him among strangers at this time," he sat down on the chair Rubbing his neck, "Besides, it's been so long, which classmate have you seen him go out with?" After speaking, he sighed as if he felt something wrong.

"Let's not talk about him, you have something to do with me? It's not really just a gift for the New Year, right?" Fang Fei seemed to remember his mission, and Lu Qian felt bad when he hesitated to speak.He scratched his hair and said reluctantly, "Didn't you accompany me to have a meal with Mr. Li of Zhonghe before, and he insisted that I give him your contact information... He said that he would introduce his sister to you ..." The more he spoke, the more confident he became. The person on the opposite chair just looked at him coldly without saying a word.

He jumped up, "What do you think I am doing! I can't help it, I pushed it several times, but I can't just tell people about you..." Lu Qian shot over and stared at him like a knife in his eyes. , "You can solve this kind of thing yourself and don't tell me." Fang Fei had no choice, he knew Lu Qian's uncompromising character, not to mention that this matter really couldn't be done.He was a little discouraged and planned to leave.

Lu Qian didn't intend to keep him at all, Fang Fei slandered this ruthless person in his heart, just put his hand on the doorknob and thought of something, "By the way, I saw your father come back when I accompanied my wife to the art museum a few days ago Yes," this time with a serious tone, "Are you planning to go back and see him this year?"

"Duk duk", the door rang twice, and before the people in the room could answer, Fang Fei came in, "Jing Yan, I'm leaving, I'll come see you after the Chinese New Year." Jing Yan stood up and obediently wanted to see him off go out. "Don't give it away, don't give it away, it's cold outside." She winked at him again, "I pissed off your Uncle Lu, you should go and talk to him later to calm him down. You can't celebrate the New Year with anger." After speaking, he closed the door.

Jing Yan had no choice but to sit back on the bed, dazed for a while.This is the first year he has spent with his little uncle, and he is a little embarrassed to make trouble again.But I still feel a little angry with him.

Pushing open the door, the little uncle was unexpectedly in the kitchen, so he walked over to look.There was a bowl of strawberries soaking in the pool, and Lu Qian was cutting a plate of pineapples—two of his favorite fruits that Fang Fei sent over just now.Jing Yan suddenly felt that he was not angry at all, and felt a little naive.The corner of his mouth curved, "Do you want me to help, uncle."

"No, you can sit in the living room. Be careful not to get your sweater wet." Jing Yan obediently moved away from the pool, but still stood beside him.Lu Qian doesn't usually go into the kitchen very much, and the slender hands that are good at desk work hold the knife clumsily, cutting bit by bit.The shirt rolled up to the elbow was not flat, Jing Yan wanted to roll it up for him, but held back.

After the strawberries were washed, Lu Qian took two plates and motioned for Jing Yan to sit in the living room.As soon as the fruit was put down, Jing Yan couldn't wait to pick out the reddest strawberry for Lu Qian. He took it, and the two of them sat in the living room as if nothing had happened. "What do you want to eat at noon? Sister-in-law Yu is only here tonight." Jing Yan thought for a while, as if he felt that the little uncle would not refuse him today, "I want to eat McDonald's."

Lu Qian resisted the thought of dismissing, and had no choice but to look at Shang Jingyan's eagerly looking eyes, "Okay, just once today. I'll give you some, don't eat too much." Jing Yan didn't Showing the triumphant smile he expected, but grasping the meaning of his words, "Uncle, don't you want to eat? Then...you don't want to eat, and I don't have to.. What do you eat? I can do it."

Seeing that Jing Yan was so obedient, he couldn't help pinching his face. The child's face was slightly fleshy and childish, "I have something to go out for a while. I'll be back in the afternoon." "I have to go to work after the holiday." Ah..." Jing Yan lowered his head, his face seemed to be pinched red. "Instead of going to work, I'm going to see my father."

"Ah..." Jing Yan was a little surprised, he had never heard his little uncle talk about his family, and he seemed to agree that his uncle only had this family.He was a little ashamed that he had never tried to understand Lu Qian's real life, he only looked forward to seeing Lu Qian one more time every day, and never thought about the past and the future.Lu Qian looked at his watch, "I'll tell you when I come back." He stood up, turned his head and looked a little reluctant, "Do you want ice cream at McDonald's?"

After leaving home, Lu Qian's expression became much lighter.It was not a pleasant thing to go back and see my father whom I had not seen for two or three years, standing in the underground garage smoking a half-cigarette.After Jing Yan was at home, he restrained himself a lot. Children couldn't smell the smoke, and would cover their mouths and cough when they smelled it.

While driving, he thought about the last words he said when he saw his father last time.When he was young, his father was already well-known in the oil painting circle. At that time, he didn't understand, he just felt that having such a father was something to be proud of.Not long after he was born, his mother left home. His father told him that his mother could not understand his art world, and that people who could not understand each other were destined not to be together.He nodded and told his dad he could do it.

Lu Qian drove to the garden gate of the villa and stopped, got out of the car and sneered.He said to his father the day he left home to go to college, I can't understand, and I don't want to understand.

He didn't bring the key, so he knocked on the door, and the servant opened the door, looking very surprised, "Mr. Lu is back." He hurriedly found slippers for him and poured water.He didn't say anything. My father always held art exhibitions, watched exhibitions, and attended art lectures.He rarely came back to this house, so he left it to a fixed cleaning company to take care of it.

Lu Zhonghong was sitting on the sofa reading a book, while Lu Qian was silently watching him in the living room. "I'm back", my father said without looking up, turning a page of the book leisurely.Lu Qian sat down. He hadn't seen each other for more than two years, but there seemed to be nothing to talk about between father and son.He stared at the grandfather clock in the living room, and remembered that Jing Yan also had one at home.

"Let's have dinner together when we get back," Lu Zhonghong sighed, closed the book and looked at his son.Lu Qian didn't have the slightest bit of his artistry, nor did he have the soft nature that literati often have.On the day he went to college, he was not without anger. He knew that his son had no talent for painting, but he was disappointed that Lu Qian, like his mother, refused to try to understand his own life.He admits that he is selfish, even a little narcissistic and arrogant.

He is not a good father when it comes to educating children.But the son has grown up and done well now, hasn't he?Although it is the legal profession that he hates, he deals with money every day, is full of capital operations, and walks on the edge of morality.In his cognition, this kind of impure work that is driven by interests is sad.At first he couldn't believe how his son could be in a career he despised most.

"I heard that you adopted the child of the former teacher?" Lu Zhonghong coughed a few times and opened his mouth.Lu Qian thought he probably learned about it from Fang Fei's wife who invested in art.Speaking of Jing Yan, he couldn't help calming down his tone, "Well. There is no one else in his family, and Mr. Lin is good to me. I think at least I have to watch him graduate from college." Lu Zhonghong nodded, looking at the picture With a somewhat similar but indifferent face to himself, he somehow felt a little impatient, "Will you take care of the children? Don't grow up like you and only know how to make money."

Lu Qian stared at his father expressionlessly, thinking that he would not be moved by these words anymore. "Like me?" He repeated, "If I don't know how to teach, I will always spend more time than you." Lu Zhonghong slapped the book on the table after hearing this, "What are you talking about? Did I treat you badly when I was growing up? You are promising now, and you are starting to educate me in reverse?" Lu Qianping looked at his angry father and did not respond.

The living room fell silent, and the servant who was going to refill the tea just now also silently avoided it.Neither father nor son intended to speak out to break the deadlock. "I asked the kitchen to add two dishes. Come and see the new paintings I received in Italy this time." Lu Zhonghong sighed, got up and walked to the door of the study.

Lu Qian relaxed his hands. He has calmed down from the unknown fire when he entered the door.He thought that in this life, he would not be able to understand why, for a father, a child is something that can be manipulated and discarded as long as it doesn't suit his wishes.The anger was quickly quenched by ice water, yes, he has always been like this, since he was a child, he has been used to his father's state of not caring about world affairs, hasn't he?

Occasionally he feels a little envious of his father, a man who has become obsessed with his artistic career.Lu Qian felt that he might not be able to have something that made him unable to extricate himself in this life. He did not inherit his father's enthusiasm, but he inherited his indifference to everything.At this moment, he only felt pitiful, pitiful for Lu Zhonghong, and pitiful for himself.

There was no point in staying any longer, and he woke up from the fire. "No need. I just came to see how you are before the Chinese New Year. Take care of yourself." His father left him behind at the door of the study without moving.Lu Qian walked out of the gate, he still had a word that he didn't say, maybe I won't come again in the future.

During the Chinese New Year, there are always those New Year’s movies on TV over and over again, and Jing Yan doesn’t want to watch them after changing a few channels.He turned over and lay on the sofa. On the table was the half-eaten cup of ice cream that had melted into a ball of cream, and there was a small pool of water under the plastic cup.Jing Yan dipped his fingers and scratched a few strokes on the table.

Sister-in-law Yu brought a cup of yogurt and accidentally kicked something, Jing Yan lowered her head, it was another bag that Uncle Fang sent over in the morning.He flipped through, there were a few books for himself, and two boxes of Lego and puzzles.Fang Fei seems to know that he likes these gadgets, so he always sends them home.

He unpacked a new one and put it on the living room table, slid down from the sofa and sat on the floor to work on it, looking at the clock while doing it, wondering when the little uncle would come back.

When Lu Qian came in, Mrs. Yu had just finished cooking and left, Jing Yan was lying on the table drowsy, he walked up to Jing Yan and sat down, stretching his legs as if he was a little tired.Jing Yan sensed that someone beside him woke up immediately, so he took the initiative to move to his side, "Uncle, you are back."

"En, have you eaten yet?" Jing Yan shook his head, "I'm not very hungry, I want to eat together when you come back." Lu Qian suddenly felt that the depression in the afternoon dissipated a lot, "Of course I'm not hungry after eating so many fried chicken nuggets at noon "Jing Yan was a little embarrassed to hold on to a piece of the jigsaw puzzle, and then remembered what he had been thinking about this afternoon, "Uncle, you are going home to visit your family this afternoon, right?"

Lu Qian suddenly seemed to be more patient with him, "You want to know?" Jing Yan nodded hesitantly, "I haven't heard you talk about your family... If it's your privacy, it's okay if you don't want to talk about it... "It's nothing," Lu Qian interrupted him, and after thinking about it, he said, "You live with me, so I should tell you something in advance."

"My mother left home very early. I don't have much memory, and I didn't even think about looking for her. As for my father," he paused, "I'm probably far from the son he expected. He didn't have much patience with me. And almost not by my side. I don’t tell you because,” he paused again, thinking about how to word it better, “I don’t tell you because it might be in my heart, and it can’t be called a family over there. "

Jing Yan didn't make a sound, and moved a little closer to Lu Qian, flipping a puzzle piece in his hand, Lu Qian looked at his drooping head, there was a swirl in his hair that was very similar to his own, and somehow added He said, "We look alike in this way. No one cares, right?"

"No way," Jing Yan looked up at Lu Qian, his voice suddenly seemed to get louder, with a somewhat natural tone, "How could it be the same? Don't I still have you, little uncle?"

Lu Qian looked down at his simple and determined eyes, smiled, and helped him put together the piece of the puzzle that he had been unable to find, "Yes, you and I are different."

The author says:

Some friends I know told me that the progress is too slow.After thinking about it for a long time, I feel that I still want to describe the process of a child growing up as completely as possible.Maybe I don't believe in love without a reason in my heart, and I want to make these two characters more three-dimensional.But within five chapters, two people will be able to perceive each other.