Chapter 3 third chapter

On this day, Shijun, Shuhui, and Manzhen went to dinner together again. They talked about Mr. Ye, who was in charge of general affairs in the factory, celebrating his birthday, and they gave away 200 birthday bowls to everyone.Shijun said to Shuhui, "Is it you who gave me the money for the gift?" Then he took out the money from his side to pay him back.Shuhui smiled and said, "Are you going to pay your birthday greetings today?" Shijun frowned and said, "I don't want to go. To be honest, I think this kind of thing is really boring." Shuhui said with a smile: "You should be more tactful. This is the way things are done in this kind of society, there is no reason to talk about it, you don’t want to offend people.” Shi Jun smiled and nodded, and said: “But I think there must be a lot of people there today, maybe if I don’t go, there will be no one. Pay attention." Shuhui also knew that Shijun's temper had always been like this, he was very easy-going when he was easy-going, but he was also very stubborn when he was stubborn, so he casually persuaded him, and it was fine.Manzhen didn't say anything beside him.

That night, Shijun and Shuhui returned home and had a rest. Shuhui went to pay his birthday wishes. Shijun suddenly remembered that Manzhen would probably be going too.Thinking of this, without thinking too much, he pushed the glass window open and leaned towards the window, trying to call Shuhui to stop him when he passed by, and go with him.However, after waiting for a long time, Shu Hui was still not seen, so he must have already passed by.The alley under the window was dark, and the spring night wind blew on people's faces, slightly damp, as if it was warmer outside than inside.Sitting in the house, my body is always cold.The small room under this light looked small, empty, and messy.In fact, he was used to the desolate atmosphere of the guest house for a long time.But today, for some reason, I couldn't sit still for a moment.He suddenly wanted to see Manzhen urgently.As a result, Yan endured it for a while, but he stood up and went out. When he reached the street, he hired a car and went straight to the restaurant.

Mr. Na Ye's birthday banquet was set upstairs, and once he went upstairs, there was a two-drawer table slanted there, with pens, inkstones and autograph books on it.Seeing Shijun, he smiled unconsciously and thought: "I thought there were so many people today, and there was no way to find out who came and who didn't come. ——Fortunately, he came here!" He picked up his pen and dipped it in the inkstone. dip.It has been a long time since he has written with a brush, and he has always lacked confidence in writing with a brush, so he hesitated before writing.At this time, a hand stretched out from behind his back, pulled the pen, pulled it over, and wiped the ink in his hand.Shijun was taken aback, and when he looked back, he never thought it was Manzhen. She had never joked with him like this before, so he was stunned.Manzhen smiled and said, "Shuhui is looking for you, come quickly." She put the pen on the table hastily, turned around and left, Shijun followed her in a daze.This place is a large open hall with more than a dozen tables and seats. Besides the colleagues in the factory, there are also many relatives and friends of Mr. Ye. For a while, I couldn't see where Shu Hui was sitting.Manzhen led him to the glass door leading to the balcony, and stood still.Shijun stretched his head to look, but there was no one on the balcony, so he smiled and said, "Where is Shuhui?" Manzhen seemed a little embarrassed, and smiled, "No, it's not that Shuhui is looking for you. Wait for me to tell you, there is a reason." But it seemed that it was too much to explain, and she didn't say why after talking for a long time, Shijun couldn't help being a little stunned.Manzhen also knew that he had misunderstood the meaning, so she couldn't help but blushed, and became more and more stunned, unable to speak.At this moment, a colleague came over with an autograph book and said with a smile to Shijun, "You forgot to sign!" The man walked away with the notebook in his hand, but Manzhen stamped his feet lightly, and said with a low laugh: "Oops!" Shijun asked in surprise, "What's the matter?" Before Manzhen could answer, he looked around. Looked around, then went to the balcony, Shijun followed, Manzhen frowned and said with a smile: "I've already signed an autograph for you. ——I just heard you say that you can't come, I think everyone will come, It might not be good if you don't come alone."

When Shijun heard this, he didn't know what to say for a while, and he couldn't thank her in any way, so he looked at her blankly and smiled.Manzhen felt a little embarrassed by his smile, and turned around and leaned on the balcony railing.This restaurant is an old-fashioned western-style building, the upstairs and downstairs are brightly lit, on the balcony facing the street, the noisy sounds in the room can't be heard very much, but the sound of fist fighting downstairs can be heard very clearly , and the soft and beautiful singing of the singing woman, the Huqin is babbling.Manzhen turned her head to look at him and said with a smile: "You can't tell, why did you come again suddenly?" But Shijun couldn't tell her that it was because he wanted to see her.So he just smiled, remained silent for a while, and then said: "I think you and Shu Hui are here, so I'll come too."

One of them was facing outwards and the other was facing inwards, leaning against the railing.There is a moon tonight, slightly oblong.Like a white lotus seed, the moon is surrounded by a circle of light and mist.People standing on the balcony cannot see the moonlight in the shadow of electric lights.Only a large part of Manzhen's exposed arm was bathed in the moonlight, and it seemed to be very white. Today, she is still wearing a dark blue cloth cheongsam, covered with a light green short-sleeved sweater, with a row of Green beads.She is wearing this outfit in the office today.Shijun sized her up and said with a smile: "You didn't go home, you came directly?" Manzhen smiled and said: "Hey, you see I'm wearing a blue coat, I don't look like a birthday party, do I?"

Just as they were talking, two colleagues in the room yelled to them: "Hey, if you don't come to eat, you need to be urged!" Manzhen hurriedly walked in with a smile, and Shijun walked in together .Today, because of the large number of people, we adopt the system of eating as you go, and a table will be held when the table is full.Now there is exactly one table, and everyone has already sat down. Of course, when they are seated, they rush to sit at the bottom, leaving only the two seats at the top empty.The two latecomers, Shijun and Manzhen, had no choice but to sit at the top.As soon as Shijun sat down, he had a feeling, sitting on the top like this, wouldn't it be like a bride and groom?He peeked at Manzhen, she might have the same feeling, she seemed ashamed and didn't talk to him at the banquet.

After Xi finished, everyone left one after another, and Shijun said to her: "I will take you back." He has never been to her house, and this time he said he would send her back, although Manzhen did not refuse, But there seems to be a tacit understanding between the two of them, and they only send them to the entrance of the alley instead of going in.Since they didn't plan to go in, it was meaningless to take such a trip. If they took trams and buses, they could still talk on the way. Now they are alone in a rickshaw, and they can't even talk at all.However, it is still necessary to give it away, as if there is a kind of fun in it.

Manzhen's car was ahead, and when it reached the entrance of the alley in her house, her car stopped first.Shijun always felt that her place was strictly guarded and no one was welcome. In order to show that he had absolutely no intention of going in, he got out of the car, rushed to pay the fare, and nodded to her with a hasty smile: "Then we See you tomorrow." As he spoke, he turned to leave.Manzhen smiled and said: "Otherwise, please go in and sit for a while. My house is in a mess these two days because my sister is getting married." Shijun was stunned for a moment, and smiled: "Oh, Your sister is going to get married?" Manzhen smiled and said, "Yes." Although the light from the street lamp is not very bright, you can still see the joy in her brows.Shi Jun was also overjoyed when he heard the news.He knew her family situation, and of course he was glad for her that she finally got rid of this heavy relationship, and her sister got her home.

He was silent for a while, and then asked with a smile: "What kind of person is your brother-in-law?" Manzhen laughed and said: "The man's surname is Zhu, 'blessing' Zhu. He eats at the Exchange." Speaking of this, Manzhen suddenly remembered that her mother accompanied her sister to decorate the new house today, and she didn't know if she came back. If she came back at this time and they saw her standing at the entrance of the alley talking to a man, Later, I will ask long and short questions again, although it is not important, it is not very good after all.So she went on to say: "It's getting late, I'm going in." Shijun said: "Then I'm leaving." But still standing there.However, during this time of watching, she seemed to wake up suddenly, and went in as soon as she turned around.Shijun stopped again, stunned for a while.

The next day we met as usual, but I didn't hear her mention her sister's marriage again.Shijun has been thinking about it.Not to mention anything else, it will be more convenient to communicate with her from now on, and you can also go to her house, so you don't have to have those scruples. About a week later, she suddenly mentioned in front of Shuhui that her sister was married, the house was vacant, and was going to be rented out, and she wanted them to take care of it, and if she heard anyone asking for a house, she would introduce them. Shijun enthusiastically asked everyone he met if anyone was looking for a house.Soon, I accompanied an indirect friend named Wu to Manzhen's house to look at the house.It was also the first time for him to step into this alley, and he always felt a kind of taboo about this place, so he had a sense of mystery.This alley is in a very lively area.One side of the road is full of shophouses, and the board doors removed by the shopkeepers are leaning outside the back door one by one.A group of aunts and elder sisters gathered next to the public taps to wash rice and wash clothes, splashing the cement floor wet.There is a young lady in it, but she washes her feet under the tap.She stood alone as a golden rooster, raised one foot, and splashed the water.The toenails are all bright red and painted with Kodan—that's what catches the eye.Shijun glanced at the young lady and thought in his heart, I don't know if this is a servant of the Gu family, serving Manzhen's sister.

The Gu family is No. 5, and there is a notice calling for rent at the back door.The door was ajar, Shijun knocked, but no one answered, he was about to open the door and go in, when a child was playing in someone else's chartered car in the alley, jingling the foot bell, at this time he got out of the car He jumped up and came over to block the door and asked, "Who are you looking for?" Shijun knew him as Manzhen's younger brother, who had given the keys to Shuhui's house, but he didn't know Shijun.Shijun nodded to him with a smile, and said, "Is your sister at home?" Shijun didn't ask clearly at first, but after hearing this, Jiemin regarded this person as Manlu's former guest.Although he is a child, because of the environment, he is very sensitive in many places, and has always hated Manlu's friends, but he has never had a chance to vent.At this time, he yelled confidently: "She's not here anymore! She's married!" Shi Jun smiled and said, "No, I mean your second sister." Jie Min was taken aback for a moment, because Manzhen never had any friends Been home.He still thought that these two people came here to have fun, so he stared and said, "Why are you looking for her?" Some embarrassment.He smiled and said, "I'm her colleague, we're here to see the house." Jiemin looked at him again, then turned around and followed, shouting all the way: "Mom! Someone is coming to see the house!" He didn't call My sister went to call my mother, which shows that there is still a little hostility.Shijun didn't expect that there would be so much trouble coming to her house to find her. After a while, her mother came out to welcome them and let them in.Shijun nodded to her and asked again, "Is Manzhen at home?" Her mother smiled and said, "Yes, I asked Jiemin to go up and call her. ——What's your surname?" Shijun said: "My surname is Shen." Her mother smiled and said, "Oh, Mr. Shen is her colleague." She carefully recognized his face, and was a little disappointed when she saw that he was not the young man in the photo. Downstairs there are two rooms, one large and one small, which have already been vacated. At a glance, I can only see the bare floor with a layer of dust floating on it.Empty rooms always appear large and small at the same time, like a square box.In short, it is completely unimaginable what it was like for Manzhen's sister to live here. Jiemin went upstairs to call Manzhen, but she was delayed for a long time before coming down. It turned out that she went to change into a new dress. It was a short-sleeved silk cheongsam with a pink background that she had made for her sister's wedding. It has dark blue dots the size of mung beans printed on it.She would never wear such a more delicate color before, because her sister and many friends come and go in and out of the family; A self-defense function.Now there are no such scruples.Shijun felt that she seemed to have suddenly taken off her filial piety, which made people's eyes shine. Shijun introduced her to Mr. Wu.Mr. Wu said that the house faces west, and it might be too hot in spring. He said a few perfunctory words before thinking about it, and said, "Then I'll take a step first, and there are still a few places to visit." He left first, Manzhen invites Shijun to sit upstairs for a while.She led him upstairs. There was a window halfway up the stairs. On the window sill were several pairs of black cotton shoes, some for adults and some for children. They were all worn all winter and dried in the sun.The sun in late spring is warm, and the sky outside the window is light blue. Upstairs, there is a room upstairs where her grandmother and several younger brothers and sisters live together. There are two large beds and a small iron bed.Manzhen accompanied Shijun and sat down at a square table by the window.They walked all the way without seeing a single person, and her mother disappeared at this time, but she could faintly hear coughing and whispering voices in the next room, and everyone must have hid there. A young lady came in with tea, and she was indeed the one who was washing her feet in the alley just now, with Kodan on her toenails.She is probably the only remnant left by Manzhen's sister.She is now wearing a pair of half-worn hollowed-out white leather shoes with bare feet, a calico cheongsam on her body, and a pink celluloid clip in her hair. She brings tea in with a smile, and says "Tea, please, sir", very polite .When I went out, I took the door behind me.Shijun noticed it, and felt a little uneasy; it's nothing else, talking behind closed doors, and letting her grandmother and mother watch, isn't it good?However, he was just a little bit cramped, but Manzhen had another feeling. She thought that it was because Abao had always served her sister and was well-trained.This made her feel very embarrassed. She immediately went to open the door, sat down to talk again, and said, "I wonder if that friend of yours thought it expensive just now?" It's similar to this one, the room is not as bright as here." Manzhen laughed and said, "Do you share a room with Shuhui?" Shijun said, "Hmm." Jiemin brought in two bowls of sugar soup and eggs.When Manzhen saw her, she was also a little surprised.Of course it was always her mother who made it, with two eggs in the guest's bowl and one egg in hers.His younger brother came in and put it on the table, with a straight face, without looking at anyone, turned around and left.Manzhen wanted to stop him, but he never turned his head.Manzhen smiled and said: "He is usually very sophisticated, but today I don't know why he suddenly felt embarrassed." Shijun knew the reason, but he didn't go to tell him, just smiled and said: "Why do you want to make snacks?" , It’s too troublesome." Manzhen laughed and said: "Country dim sum! You can eat whatever you want." Shijun asked while eating: "What do you eat for breakfast?" Manzhen said: "Eat porridge. What about you?" Shijun said: "Shuhui's family also eats porridge, but it's like this: Shuhui's father is They are very hospitable, and people often come to eat at night. Shuhui’s mother was exhausted when they came, and I had to get up before dawn to cook porridge for us. I feel really sorry, so I often always Come out without breakfast, just eat two flatbread fried dough sticks at the stall." Manzhen nodded and said, "It's like living in someone's house, and there are always some places where I feel a little wronged." Shijun said: "Actually, their family still It's good. Shuhui's parents really treat me like one of my own, otherwise I would be ashamed to live there all the time." Manzhen said: "How long has it been since you went home?" Shijun said: "It's been almost a year." Manzhen smiled and said: "Don't you want to go home?" Shijun smiled and said: "I'm really afraid of going back too If I have this power in the future, I always want to take my mother out. My father has a bad relationship with her and always gets into trouble." Manzhen said: "Oh..." Shijun said: "It's just for me. A lot of anger." Manzhen said: "What's the matter?" Shijun said: "My father runs a leather goods store, and he also does other businesses. When my brother was alive, he was at home after graduation. Helping my father and preparing to continue doing it in the future. Later my brother died, and my father wanted me to replace him, but I am not interested in those things. I want to study engineering. My father was very angry and never cared about me It’s over. Later, when I went to college, I still relied on my mother to secretly help me with a little money.” So he was often in a dilemma at that time.Speaking of which, Manzhen also suffered from economic oppression when he was studying, and everyone talked more speculatively on this point. Manzhen said: "You probably don't have many acquaintances in Shanghai, otherwise I would like to ask you about something." Shijun smiled and said, "What is it?" Manzhen said: "If you hear that there is a part-time typing job Yes——I really want to do two more hours of get off work after work. Teaching is fine too.” Shijun stared at her for a while, then smiled and said, “Aren’t you too tired then?” Manzhen smiled and said, “It doesn’t matter Most of the time in the office is just sitting in vain, and it’s nothing to do for another hour or two when you come out.” Shijun also knew that once her sister got married, her burden became even heavier.Even if a friend has the strength to help her, it is not acceptable to her. The only way to help her is to find something for her.However, he paid attention to her for a long time, but there was no result.One day she told him: "I originally said to find something after six o'clock, but now I want to change it to after dinner." Shijun said: "After dinner? Isn't it too late?" Manzhen smiled and said: " I already found a job before dinner." Shijun said: "Oh, you can't do this! If you rush around all day long, you will really get sick from exhaustion! You don't know, at your age It's easy to get lung disease." Manzhen laughed and said, "'At your age!' It seems that you don't know how old you are!" Her second job was soon found again.After a busy summer, although she lost some weight, she was always in good spirits.Because Shijun lives in Shuhui's house and disturbs them all year round, he always buys something for Shuhui's parents during the New Year.The gift he gave on the Mid-Autumn Festival this year was bought by Tuo Manzhen.Give Shuhui's father a pure wool scarf and Shuhui's mother a woolen robe.Before this, he had also given Mrs. Xu a piece of clothing, but he had never seen her make it and wear it. He thought it was the color he chose or he was not generous, and an elderly person could not wear it.In fact, Mrs. Xu did not look middle-aged.She must have been a beauty in the past, and Shuhui looked like her, not his father.His father Xu Yufang was a fat man, in his forties or fifties, he still looked like a black and fat boy.Yufang works in a bank because he has a celebrity-like temper and is not good at flattering, so he doesn't mind doing a small job in the clerical department when he grows up.On this day, everyone was appreciating the gifts from Shijun. When Yufang saw the material of the clothes, he said, "Take it to the tailor shop and make it right away, don't put it in the box again!" Mrs. Xu laughed and said, "I want to dress like that. Why are you beautiful? Going out with you makes you even more tattered like an old servant, and if people see it, they must think that this woman is domineering and spends all the money on herself!" She turned around and turned to Shijun Said: "You don't know his temper, if you ask him to make clothes, he always refuses to make clothes." Yu Fang laughed and said: "I want to get rid of it, anyway, I will dress like this anyway, I won't be beautiful anymore, so I still Interested in comparing food." When he mentioned eating, he said to his wife: "I don't know what's new in the past two days? I'll go shopping with you tomorrow!" His wife said: "Don't go, buy what you see later, and buy it later." I need to save some money for the festival." Yu Fang said: "Actually, if you want to eat good food, you don't have to eat it on the day of the festival. It's only expensive on the day of the festival. Why join in the fun?" His wife still insisted on the secular view and said : "Festivals always have to be celebrated." The problem of whether to celebrate the festival or not was solved by others for them.A friend came to their family to borrow money. There was an urgent need, and he borrowed almost all of the salary Yu Fang had just received.This person is also a colleague of Yufang's for many years. He came here one day and chatted for a while. Seeing his expression as if he had something to say, Shijun walked out and went back to his room.After a while, Mrs. Xu came outside his room to fetch her briquette stove, and called him, "Shijun! Uncle Xu is making yellow croaker noodle soup, come and eat!" Shijun smiled. He agreed and followed.Yu Fang was shaking his fists and sleeves to prepare for the stove, and said to the guests: "Come to me, anyway, you can eat whatever you have, and I will never waste an extra ocean for you, you can rest assured!" In addition to noodles, there are two kinds of cold dishes.Yufang's cooking technique is the most conceited in his life, but as a master chef, he still needs a "two to one thousand" to prepare everything for him, cut everything into shreds and mince, so Xu The wife is still busy.Moreover, Yufang cooks dishes meticulously, with various ingredients occupying many different plates and spreading them all over the room.The guests had left for a long time, and Mrs. Xu was still washing the dishes.She bought this fish this morning because Shu Hui said that she wanted to eat fish.Now that the middle part of the big fish has been removed, she still puts the remaining head and tail together to form a complete fish, put it on the cutting board, and fry it according to the original plan when preparing for dinner come to eat.When Shuhui came back, he was very surprised when he saw it, and said, "Why is this fish so big?" Yufang said, "This fish is short." Mrs. Xu couldn't help laughing too. Shuhui put his hands in his trouser pockets, revealing the fleece vest he was wearing underneath. The gray fleece was dotted with white spots like snowdrops.His mother asked, "Is your vest new? Is it machine-woven or punched?" Shu Hui said, "It was beaten." Mrs. Xu said, "Oh? Who punched it for you?" Shu Hui Said: "Miss Gu, you don't know him." Mrs. Xu said: "I know—isn't it Miss Gu from your colleague?" Manzhen originally told Shijun that he would make a vest for him, but she was very considerate in this kind of place, and she knitted one for Shuhui as well.She always carried a ball of wool in the pocket of her sweater, and kept waving it when she went to eat in a small restaurant.It was Shuhui's one that was finished first, and he put it on first.Seen by his mother, his mother may be a little nervous about her son's affairs because of her over-concern, which has added to her mind since then.At that time, she put it in her heart and didn't say anything.Shuhui's whereabouts are uncertain, it is almost impossible for a mother to pin him down and say a few confidantes to him.But Shijun, Mrs. Xu got along very well with him.She deliberately wanted to find an opportunity to talk to him, to find out from him about Shu Hui's recent situation, because when the children reached a certain age, parents and them were really separated, but friends were much closer. The next day was a Sunday, Shu Hui went out, and his father also went to see a friend.The postman delivered a letter, and Mrs. Xu saw that it was from Shijun's house, so she delivered it to his room.Shijun opened the letter to read it in front of her, and she leaned on the door frame, watched him read the letter, and asked, "Is he from Nanjing? How are you old ladies?" Shijun nodded and said: "She said she wanted to come to Shanghai for a visit." Mrs. Xu said with a smile: "You old ladies are in such a good mood!" Shi Jun frowned and said with a smile: "I think she is still worried because I have never been back. I want to visit Shanghai. Actually, I want to go back. I want to write to her and tell her that she doesn’t have to come—it’s a lot of trouble for her to go out, and she’s not used to staying in a hotel. Mrs. Xu sighed: "It's no wonder she's thinking about it, she's the only child like you now! You're alone in Shanghai, so don't blame her for being worried—didn't she urge you to get married earlier?" Shi Jun After a pause, she smiled and said: "My mother is very open-minded about this. It is also because she has suffered from the old-style marriage, so she does not interfere with me." Mrs. Xu nodded and said: "That's right. Now the world It’s okay for parents to interfere! Don’t talk about your old lady and you, one is in Nanjing and the other is in Shanghai, just like me and Shuhui live in the same house, what’s the use? He has a daughter outside Friend, how can he tell us?" Shijun smiled and said, "If he really has someone to marry, he will never stop telling." Mrs. Xu smiled and said nothing after a while, then said "Your colleague has Ms. Gu, who is she?" Shijun was stunned for a moment, blushing for some reason, and said, "Gu Manzhen? She's a nice person, but—she and Shuhui They're just ordinary friends." Mrs. Xu said dubiously, thinking, at least that young lady treats Shu Hui very well, otherwise she would know how to tie a woolen vest for him.Unless she is ugly, Shu Hui has no interest in her.Yin laughed again and said, "She's ugly, isn't she?" Shijun couldn't help smiling, and said, "No, she——isn't ugly. But I do know that she and Shuhui are just ordinary friends." I feel that his ending sentence is very weak, and it does not guarantee the possibility of Shuhui and Manzhen's combination at all.Mrs. Xu still has doubts if she wants to.Just let her go. Shijun wrote a letter to his mother, promising that he would be back soon.His mother was very happy, and wrote again to ask him to invite Shuhui to come with him.Shijun knew that his mother must have been living in Shuhui's house because he had been staying at home. She wanted to see what kind of person he was as a friend and whether he had a bad influence on him.He asked Shuhui if he was happy to go to Nanjing for a visit.This year's Double Tenth Day happens to be a Friday, which is combined with the weekend and has a total of three days off.They decided to take this opportunity to have fun for two days. On the eve of departure, after dinner, Shu Hui put on his coat and ran outside again.Mrs. Xu knew that he had a girlfriend calling just now, so she said: "I have to go out so late, and I have to get up early to catch the train tomorrow!" Shu Hui said: "I'll be right back. A friend has two things Ask me to take it to Nanjing. I'll go and get it." Mrs. Xu said: "Oh, how big is it, can't it fit? I've already packed your suitcase for you." She was still muttering Then, Shuhui had already disappeared without a trace. He went away for a while, but came back again, and when he got to the bottom of the stairs, he called up: "Hey, there is a guest!" It turned out that Manzhen had come, and he met her at the entrance of the alley, and he accompanied her again Come in together.Manzhen smiled and said: "Aren't you going out? You go, really, it's okay. I have nothing to do—I brought you some snacks, you can eat on the way." Shuhui said: "What are you doing? Do you want to buy something?" He led her upstairs together, on the stairs there were clotheslines nailed by other tenants on the wall, filled with diapers, and a rope was slanted all the way to the upstairs.At the top of the stairs is a briquette stove, an empty soap box, and foreign oil barrels; several families live in one Shanghai house, and it often becomes such a three-dimensional courtyard.Shuhui usually goes out, dressed in a suit so neatly, people probably would not have imagined such a situation in his house.He was also thinking there: This is Manzhen, it doesn't matter, if you change to a girlfriend with a more lady-like temper, you can't take him home. Walking to the door of the room on the third floor, he made a humorous smile on his face, stretched out his hand vainly, and said with a smile, "Please, please." A few calligraphy and paintings and a ham.Shuhui's father was washing dishes under the lamp.He put a washbasin on a square table in the middle, dangling in the washbasin and washing the dishes.Today he was the one who washed the dishes, because his wife was busy with cotton-padded jackets there after dinner—they had two children who were studying in the north, and the weather in the north was cold early, so they had to make their cotton-padded jackets for them. They sent it. Mrs. Xu saw a visitor, and when she heard that it was Ms. Gu, she knew that it was the maker of the fleece vest. She felt a little flustered for some reason, and she stood up with a smile and offered to sit down, muttering: "Look at me like this! It's covered in cotton!" He was busy patting the cotton clothes stuck to her clothes.Xu Yufang was wearing a bronze double-breasted jacket at home. Although he was usually so nonchalant, the presence of such a young woman made him extremely embarrassed, so he hurriedly added a long gown.Shijun also came over at this time.Mrs. Xu smiled and said, "Miss Gu, have you eaten yet?" Manzhen smiled and said, "I have." After Shuhui sat with him for a while, Manzhen urged him to leave again, and he also left. Yu Fang kept silent by the side, and only now did he ask his wife, "Where did Shu Hui go?" Although his wife knew that Shu Hui had gone to his girlfriend's house, she was very tactful at the time. She replied: "I don't know, I just heard him say that he will be back soon, Miss Gu, please sit down for a while. It's really messy here, otherwise, go sit in the room over there." She let the guests Go to Shuhui and Shijun's room, let Shijun accompany him, and walk away by himself. Mrs. Xu brought over the cup of tea she had made for Manzhen just now.Shijun picked up the thermos to add some boiling water, and turned on the desk lamp.Manzhen saw an alarm clock on the table, took it over and asked: "What time do you get on the train tomorrow morning?" Shi Jun said: "It's the train at seven o'clock." Manzhen said: "Set the alarm clock to five o'clock The clock, right?" She turned on the clock, and the chugging sound showed the silence in the room. Shijun smiled and said: "I didn't expect you to come today. Why did you buy some dim sum?" Manzhen laughed and said, "Hey, didn't you say that Aunt Xu would cook porridge for you in the morning before dawn? You feel uncomfortable, I think you will get on the train tomorrow, even earlier, you must not bother others, and you must go to the station hungry in the end, so I brought some food." When she said this, she couldn't let Mrs. Xu and the others hear her, so her voice was naturally very low.Shijun came over to listen. She was sitting there, and he was standing very close. At that moment, he seemed to be standing on the edge of a beautiful deep pool.She had finished speaking long ago, and he hadn't left yet.It might have been only a moment, but already he felt that he had lingered too long, and she must have felt the same, for in the light she could see a little blush on her cheeks.She was eager to break this situation, so she said, "You forgot to cover the thermos bottle." Shijun turned his head to look, and sure enough, the thermos bottle was steaming like a chimney, and he forgot when he poured the boiling water just now. Gai Shang, I don’t know why I’m so in a trance today.He smiled and walked over to cover it. Manzhen asked, "Have you packed your suitcase?" Shijun smiled and said, "I don't bring much." He had a suitcase on the bed, Manzhen walked over, lifted the lid of the suitcase to have a look, It's a mess inside.She smiled and said, "Let me take care of it for you. Don't let your family members say that you can't even take care of the box, let alone let you go outside alone." Shijun thought at that time, she would take care of him I'm afraid it's not appropriate to sort the boxes, because people will gossip if they see it.However, he couldn't think of appropriate words to stop her. There are some things about Manzhen that are very strange. She is shy when she is shy, and naive when she is innocent-and she is not a blindly naive person, nor is she a blindly shy person.Her contradictions are really puzzling. Seeing that he was silent for a long time, Manzhen said, "What are you thinking there?" Shijun smiled, and said, "Huh?" He couldn't answer, and seeing her folding a shirt there, he went He said casually: "When I come back, my vest can probably be finished?" Manzhen laughed and said, "Can you come back on Monday?" Shijun smiled and said: "I will definitely come back on Monday. No I don’t want to ask for leave for something necessary.” Manzhen said: “You haven’t been back for so long, your family must keep you for a few more days.” Shijun smiled and said: “No.” The lid of the box was automatically snapped off, and it was on the back of Manzhen's hand.It took a while to lift it up, and then buckled it down again.Shijun went to support the lid of the box for her.他坐在旁边，看着他的衬衫领带和袜子一样一样经过她的手，他有一种异样的感觉。 许太太装了两碟子糖果送了来，笑道：“顾小姐吃糖。——呦，你替世钧理箱子呀？”世钧注意到许太太已经换上了一件干净衣服，脸上好像还扑了点粉，那样子仿佛是预备到这儿来陪客人谈谈似的，然而她结果并没有坐下，敷衍了两句就又走了。 曼桢道：“你的雨衣不带去？”世钧道：“我想不带了——不见得刚巧碰见下雨，一共去这么两天工夫。”曼桢道：“你礼拜一一定回来么？”话已经说出口，她才想起来刚才已经说过了，自己也笑了起来。就在这一阵笑声中忽忽关上箱子，拿起皮包，说：“我走了。”世钧看她那样子好像相当窘，也不便怎么留她，只说了一声：“还早呢，不再坐一会儿？”曼桢笑道：“不，你早点睡吧。我走了。”世钧笑道：“你不等叔惠回来了？”曼桢笑道：“不等了。” 世钧送她下楼，她经过许太太的房间，又在门口向许太太夫妇告辞过了，许太太送她到大门口，再三叫她有空来玩。关上大门，许太太便和世钧说：“这顾小姐真好，长得也好！”她对他称赞曼桢，仿佛对于他们的关系有了一种新的认识似的，世钧倒觉得有点窘，他只是唯唯诺诺，没说什么。 回到房间里来，他的原意是预备早早的上床睡觉；要铺床，先得把床上那只箱子拿掉，但是他结果是在床沿上坐下来了，把箱子开开来看看，又关上了，心里没着没落的，非常无聊。终于又站起来，把箱子锁上了，从床上拎到地下。钥匙放到口袋里去，手指触到袋里的一包香烟，顺手就掏出来，抽出一根来点上。既然点上了，总得把这一根抽完了再睡觉。 看看钟，倒已经快十一点了。叔惠还不回来。夜深人静，可以听见叔惠的母亲在她房里轧轧轧转动着她的手摇缝衣机器。大概她在等着替叔惠开门，不然她这时候也已经睡了。 世钧把一支香烟抽完了，有点口干，去倒杯开水喝。他的手接触到热水瓶的盖子，那金属的盖子却是滚烫的。他倒吓了一跳，原来里面一只软木塞没有塞上，所以热气不停地冒出来，把那盖子熏得那么烫。里面的水已经凉了。他今天也不知怎么那样糊涂，这只热水瓶，先是忘了盖；盖上了，又忘了把里面的软木塞塞上。曼桢也许当时就注意到了，但是已经提醒过他一次，不好意思再说了。世钧想到这里，他尽管一方面喝着凉开水，脸上却热辣辣起来了。 楼窗外有人在吹口哨，一定是叔惠。叔惠有时候喜欢以吹口哨代替敲门，因为晚上天气冷，他两手插在大衣袋里，懒得拿出来。世钧心里想，许太太在那里轧轧轧做着缝衣机器，或者会听不见；他既然还没有睡，不妨下去一趟，开一开门。 他走出去，经过许太太房门口，却听见许太太在那里说话，语声虽然很低，但是无论什么人，只要一听见自己的名字，总有点触耳惊心，决没有不听见的道理。许太太在那儿带笑带说：“真想不到，世钧这样不声不响的一个老实头儿，倒把叔惠的女朋友给抢了去了！”裕舫他是不会窃窃私语的，向来是声如洪钟。他说道：“叔惠那小子——就是一张嘴！他哪儿配得上人家！”这位老先生和曼桢不过匆匆一面，对她的印象倒非常之好。这倒没什么，但是他对自己的儿子评价过低，却使他太太感到不快。她没有接口，轧轧轧又做起缝衣机器来。世钧就借着这机器的响声作为掩护，三级楼梯一跨，跑回自己房来。 许太太刚才说的话，他现在才回过味来。许太太完全曲解了他们三个人之间的关系，然而他听到她的话，除了觉得一百个不对劲以外，紊乱的心绪里却还夹杂着一丝喜悦，所以心里也说不上来是一种什么滋味。 叔惠还在楼窗口外吹着口哨，并且嘭嘭嘭敲着门了。