Late ripening

City S is a city with a very weak festive atmosphere, it never snows, and the place where most young people don't care whether the Spring Festival is lively or not.In this high-end residential area where Lu Qian lives, people usually come in and out by car, and there is a large garden between each building.Perhaps it was because it was a holiday, and there were more children in new clothes running around in the community. Jing Yan lay on the window sill to watch them play, and looked at the rows of red lanterns hanging in silence.

The newly replaced curtains exude a clean smell. Yesterday, Mrs. Yu took the two-hour workers to busy with cleaning the house.Jing Yan volunteered to do something to help, but they felt that they were in the way and rushed back to the room to rest.The little uncle was busy in the study for a while on the eve of New Year's Eve, but it was rare for him to get up later than Jing Yan today.

The door rang twice, and Jing Yan ran out to unlock the door.Mrs. Yu came in with a big bag of ingredients.Jing Yan took the bag from her hand, "Let's have some soy milk and steamed stuffed buns first, and I'll prepare lunch later. Mr. Lu specifically said that he will cook a few more dishes on New Year's Eve this year, and he will be busy in the afternoon."

Jing Yan sucked on the soy milk, as if it was made by her aunt herself. The taste of beans is very strong, not too sweet. "Auntie, were you here every New Year's Eve? Are your family members here too?" Sister-in-law Yu smiled and looked up at him while stuffing things into the refrigerator, "Did Mr. Lu tell you?" Jing Yan bit the straw Shake your head.

Mrs. Yu turned her back to wash the vegetables, "When I met Mr. Lu, he was still in college." Jing Yan was a little surprised, "So early..." He thought for a while and asked impatiently, "What did uncle do at that time?" That's it." Mrs. Yu's voice was interrupted by the sound of running water, "At that time, he was not as stable as he is now," she turned her head to look at Jing Yan with a smile, "But he is much more mature than you."

Jing Yan didn't say anything, Yu Sao stopped what she was doing, and seemed to be lost in her memories. "At that time, Mr. Lu was in his third year of college and was working as an off-campus legal aid. I just came here to find a job in a small restaurant, and the boss ran away after a short time and owed us a lot of money." She sighed. , the voice was a little lower, "My parents in my hometown passed away long ago. At that time, I brought my younger sister to work here. I was not familiar with the place, and there was no way out. I almost couldn't eat."

The sun slowly illuminated the kitchen very brightly, Jing Yan listened blankly to his aunt recalling the past.He was a little sad. He always thought that his aunt was smiling and kind, but he never thought of asking her about things in life.

Not just Mrs. Yu, he realized that he also knew too little about his little uncle.Perhaps Lu Qian only regarded him as a child, and adults rarely shared their affairs with children.But Jing Yan always wanted to know more.

"Later, someone told me to go to a legal aid center. It happened that your Uncle Lu was on duty that day. He was a student at the time, and he was patient and responsible to me. He took two days off to take me here and there, and solved my problems for me. Unclear trouble. He was quite dissatisfied when he managed to get some compensation back." Mrs. Yu couldn't help laughing again when she thought of this. Come back. I am already very content, Mr. Lu saw that I would not be able to find a job for a while, so he asked me if I would like to come to his house to help. Here, you see, I have been doing it for so many years."

Mrs. Yu opened the refrigerator door, and Jing Yan saw her wiping her reddened eyes, concealing her emotions to get food.He purposely spoke in a brisk tone, "Auntie, I'll help you prepare too. Let's make more dishes this year." Mrs. Yu brought out two handfuls of green vegetables, "Okay, every year Mr. Lu eats alone, and he won't let you eat. What do I do. This year you are more poor, so Auntie will make more of your favorite food."

Lu Qian came out of the room after ten o'clock, Jing Yan couldn't help being distracted when he heard his little uncle's voice, Yu Yu laughed at him like a cat looking at the sun and wanting to roll around.Jing Yan stuck out his tongue and ran to the edge of the sofa.

It's rare for Lu Qian to wake up so late, as if his biological clock couldn't wake up.Last night, he had a conference call with Transocean investors, which could have been resolved during the day, but he thought that he had to find a way to make room for it today, so he rushed to resolve it in the middle of the night.

At this moment, he was a little tired after waking up, Jing Yan sat down beside him, "Uncle, you woke up really late today." "Well, I was busy last night," Lu Qian lowered his neck, glanced at him and smiled Jing Yan said, "To accompany you for the holidays." Jing Yan laughed twice, seeing that he was rubbing his neck, leaned over and asked, "Do you want me to press it for you?"

The boy who is almost 16 years old has grown a lot of hands and feet like branches, but Jing Yan always stumbles and shows a little uncoordinated posture when he moves.Lu Qian watched him climbing onto the sofa and about to fall, frowned and stretched out his hand to help him, "Sit down," the child said resentfully, and the heat blew past his ears.

Jing Yan sat on his knees obediently, folded his hands on the back of the chair, leaned on the sofa with his head tilted and looked at Lu Qian.The little uncle always wears a suit and shirt when he goes to work, and he takes care of it meticulously. He is rarely at home on vacation, and his whole person exudes a much softer atmosphere.There was still a bit of water from washing his face on his hair, Jing Yan stared blankly at the drops of water, "Uncle...what did you look like when you were in college?"

"Are you looking forward to going to college?" Lu Qian didn't answer his question, but leaned back on the sofa and looked at Jing Yan.Jing Yan turned his eyes away a little scared, "I haven't thought about it yet... I just want to know how you were like when you were in college, Uncle..." After speaking, he sighed again, as if he had something on his mind.I may not be admitted to the school where my father teaches, and I will not be able to visit the place where you study. He silently rated himself in his heart.

In the kitchen, Mrs. Yu seemed to have finished her lunch. Lu Qian stood up and gave Jing Yan a hug. "Come to eat, I'll take you out for a walk after dinner." Jing Yan's mood suddenly improved, "Where are you going?" The little uncle wrapped his slender wrist around, "You can go wherever you want." Alright, let's have a good meal first."

Walking out of the corridor, Jing Yan felt that it was still a bit cold, so he ran to his uncle's car and got into the co-pilot, untied his scarf tremblingly, stretched his fingers to the hot air from the air conditioner for a while.

The ten fingers stood there like white jade, and the fingertips were reddish from the cold.Lu Qian glanced at it, leaned over to adjust the temperature, the child's hand hadn't done any rough work, Lu Qian touched it, it was cold, it made him feel a bit warm from his own body temperature.

"Where do you want to go?" Jing Yan turned his head and was a little surprised, "Ah... I thought it was uncle, you want to go out..." Lu Qian took off his coat and threw it on the back seat, "I have nothing to do today , I’ll take you out for a walk.” Looking at Jing Yan again, “You don’t go out with your classmates, so I have to feel wronged that you go out with elders like me.”

Jing Yan couldn't help but chuckle, the little uncle rarely joked with him like this.He did always show his elder side in front of him, but Jing Yan gradually lost the sense of distance he had when he first met him like his father.Words such as majesty and inhumanity seem to be far away from Lu Qian. He seldom takes care of himself, but he quietly makes Jing Yan feel safe at all times.

He remembered what his sister-in-law said in the morning, and clicked on the navigation a few times with great interest.

The two walked in the crowded flower market.Surrounded by people who brought their families to buy flowers, children ran around holding windmills or candied haws.Jing Yan is actually the first time here. In the past, his mother would plant flowers in the small villa, and a few years ago, his father would buy two pots of kumquat trees in advance and put them at home.

He sneaked a glance at Lu Qian who was much taller than him. Obviously, kumquats seemed a bit weird no matter how they were placed in the little uncle's house.He thought of the black, white and gray metal furniture at home, the huge solid wood bookcase, and the dark blue curtains that were opaque when closed, and he didn't know what to buy.

Passing by a big stall, Jing Yan bent down to pick and choose peach blossom branches. He was always very serious when doing these things, and he picked up two bunches of lilies and didn't know which bunch to buy.He turned around and wanted to ask Lu Qian's opinion, "Which one do you think is better?" Lu Qian looked at it carefully for a while, "I can't tell the difference, so buy both. Put one in your room."

The two of them spent the whole afternoon at the flower market before going back.Jing Yan hasn't come out so relaxed for a long time, and he was in a good mood on the way back.After driving for a while, I realized that it was not the way home.

He didn't take it seriously, leaning his head against the glass to see the street lights flashing by outside.The car stopped at the entrance of a shopping mall, "Wait for me in the car for a while, I'll go get something." Lu Qian hurriedly closed the door and got out of the car, he rolled down the car window a little, it was getting late, and the pedestrians on the road rushed back Home for New Year's Eve.

Jing Yan hummed the few songs that were often played in the supermarket during the Chinese New Year, he felt that he was no different from the people around him.Like an ordinary child, he is full of anticipation and excitement for the new year, and like a traveler with peace of mind, he knows where he is headed.The car door was opened, and a gust of cool wind was swept in by Lu Qian.

"It's for you." Lu Qian didn't say anything else, and handed Jing Yan a beautifully packaged box.Jing Yan froze for a moment, and took it with both hands. "Thank you, Uncle..." Then he reacted and immediately said, "Is it a New Year's gift?" Lu Qian seemed to be a little guilty in his unexpected tone. "No, it's a birthday present for you next month."

Before Jing Yan could say anything, he apologized bluntly, "I'm sorry Jing Yan, I'm supposed to be on a business trip next month when you celebrate your birthday, so I can't come back to accompany you. I want to give you one first, if you don't like waiting for you I’ll buy something else with you when you come back.”

Jing Yan touched the box without making a sound.Most of the good mood just now disappeared, and he was really looking forward to whether he could celebrate his birthday with his uncle next month.It wasn't because of any gift, he just wanted to have a birthday with important people by his side.

I don't know when Lu Qian became the important person in his heart. He didn't think about the starting date, and he didn't really measure how important it was.But he quickly calmed down again. The little uncle had always treated him frankly, from the very beginning, frankly telling him the reality that he should accept, and telling him to face himself frankly.

Maybe it was the softness and gentleness in his nature that made him unable to get angry with Lu Qian, let alone being angry. His presence in Lu Qian's life was already a burden, and there were many things more important than him, weren't they?

He didn't think about that any more, "Thank you, uncle, I will like whatever is inside." Lu Qian watched his expression return to normal, showing no trace of relief.

The child is so obedient, sometimes even so obedient that he is a little helpless.He hoped that Jing Yan could express his emotions freely and completely, instead of hiding everything like he is now.He had the experience of adjusting himself to adapt to his surroundings, it wasn't very pleasant, and he didn't want Jing Yan to experience it again.

"I'm a little hungry, let's go home and have dinner." Jing Yan took the initiative to speak, but Lu Qian did not insist on hearing what he said, and started the car.He buried half of his face in the seat, just now he suddenly had a birthday wish.He had never felt such a strong feeling before, and he had never taken things like making wishes seriously.

I hope that every year in the future, there will be important people who care about him to accompany him.Jing Yan knows that this wish is not very good, and even a little "unpursued", and it cannot be put on the stage, but he feels that it is as difficult to realize as other wishes.

The two of them didn't speak a word along the way, and when they got home, Jing Yan walked ahead quickly.He was cold, and closing the stairway door didn't make him feel any warmer. "Jing Yan," Lu Qian called to stop him at the door.He turned his head, not knowing what to say at the door of the house.

"Jing Yan," Lu Qian took a step closer to him, bowing his head slightly, "Every year from now on, as long as you want, I will try my best to spend your birthday with you, okay?"

The little uncle was too close to him, he was so confused by the smell of Lu Qian that he couldn't even tell whether what he said was true or not.Lu Qian's hand fell on the bangs on his forehead, he closed his eyes, and silently recited the birthday wish just now.I didn't say it myself, but it can still be counted, right?

The author says:

Maybe there might be another update tonight?