Chapter 23 Twenty-two, life is also He Huan

Seeing that Xia's mother was still pointing at the closed anti-theft door and cursing, his brother excitedly chimed in, while seeing Xia just stood at the bottom of a few steps blankly, waiting for the two of them to retreat. No wonder the rush to get her back.Grandma's hemiplegia got worse last week, and the final battle was about to start, and Chen Jianxia was also a banner to fight. As she expected, at noon and in the afternoon, mother took their siblings to the aunt's house and uncle's house to visit one by one. According to her mother, Chen Jianxia is a filial and promising granddaughter, just like her younger brother. "Grandpa liked her when he was alive, and he said she was promising. Grandma doesn't know anyone now, so she recognizes both of them."

Chen Jianxia was still listening numbly, occasionally smiling, holding a PHS in his trouser pocket with his right hand. After hanging up the phone, Li Ran didn't call back.No text messages no inquiries. Chen Jianxia couldn't tell what pity and shame felt in his heart, like two hands gently pinching her neck. While waiting for the bus at the bus stop near her second uncle's house, she saw "Dick Tock" again. As long as Chen Jianxia can remember, "Dicking" is a famous person near the second uncle's house.Some people said that he was twenty years old, others said that he was thirty years old, but more than ten years have passed, and the appearance of "Dick Tock" has not changed in Chen Jianxia's eyes.He always wears the old dark blue overalls with loose hair. When the suspenders are broken, he replaces them with plastic ropes. Even the lid of the tin biscuit jar that acts as a "steering wheel" in his hand is the same as before—the red one, falling off. Painted, rusted, and marked with yellow cookie patches.

"Dick Tock" never even let go of the steering wheel with one hand. He always looks solemn, keeps his eyes on the front, holds the steering wheel tirelessly, turns it in coordination every time he makes a turn, whistles "tick tick tick tick", and gives way to pedestrians when turning right. When Chen Jianxia was very young, he and his friends ran after Didi Da, imitating him to walk with a limp and throwing things at him. "Dick Tock" never paid attention to it, nor did he offend the children. He drove his car day after day, rain or shine. It had been almost ten years since I last saw him.Chen Jianxia stared blankly at "Di Di Da" turning away from a distant intersection.

In the past, Chen Jianxia was ignorant, and would use his ego to pity this lunatic.She felt that it was pathetic for him to live like this. It was better to die, so as not to be bullied and laughed at. But who can live without being sad?This is a frozen small county town. The grocery store from more than ten years ago is still in place, and the chess and mahjong players at the door seem to be the same group of people, selling the same outdated snacks and local beer, for the old life and the old. House and tear your face, don't want dignity. They are not as dignified as "Dick Tock".The second aunt, mother, the demented grandma who was supported because of the house, and even herself were all inferior to him.

Chen Jianxia felt that he was about to be swallowed into this aging gray building. The midterm exam will pass soon. The difficulty of each subject was much higher than that of the preliminary exam. Seeing Xia answering the questions felt very uncomfortable and stumbled, but he didn't make any major mistakes, so it was not a failure. The first place in the school year was Chu Tiankuo again.Jian Xia was ranked 16th in the school year last time, but fell out of the top 50 this time. Fortunately, she was still in the top 10 of the class. Jian Xia was a little disappointed by this ranking, but it was enough to pass Sisi and Li Zhenping in the exam.

Grades are her only amulet now. As soon as October passes, winter begins in full force.After the first snowfall, the day becomes colder and colder. The sun goes down at five o’clock every day, and the lights in the classroom are turned on. Chen Jianxia can see a mirrored class from the window glass. Everyone is numb and buried in self-study. I have lent my youth to the future, so I don't have to live at this moment. After school, Chen Jianxia walked alone on the way back to the dormitory, stepping on the snow creakingly, looked up and found that Zheng Jiashu was chatting and laughing with the foreign girl from the second class, not far in front of him.

Jian Xia deliberately slowed down her pace, being pulled further and further away by them. Sometimes my father would call and tell her to build a good relationship with the classmates in the dormitory, not to fight alone, and the classmates should take care of anything when they are away from home.Chen Jianxia agreed to everything well, but never did it. To get close to a person, to get resources and benefits from the other person, and even to get a sincere heart... It's not as easy as it is said. Even if someone takes the wrong medicine and gives unconditional help and companionship without thinking, they will take it back when they wake up.

Such as Li Ran. Chen Jianxia feels that life is pretty good now.After the explosive news about her passed, everyone gradually understood Chen Jianxia's duty and boredom, and even Lu Linlin let her go.Jian Xia tactfully slid to her own marginal position in the class layout, firmly embedded in it, and did not make a sound. Seeing Xia walking silently, she scratched her nose from time to time.There are two small pimples on the tip of the nose. It's all because she bought cheap nose strips to clear blackheads frequently. After all, she is still allergic. Don't use it in the future, she thought, anyway, it doesn't matter if it is beautiful or not, no one will look at it.

Jian Xia passed by the side gate of the school and saw Chu Tiankuo. He was standing by the green fence in a black down jacket, without a hat, and the tip of his nose and ears were frozen red. "Squad leader? Why don't you go home?" Chu Tiankuo was taken aback for a moment, and when he was about to say something, he glanced behind Jian Xia. Jian Xia followed his gaze and turned around and couldn't help laughing. "I'm going back to the dormitory. Goodbye, monitor!" Jian Xia ran away after speaking, his schoolbag bouncing behind his buttocks.She had to run some distance before she dared to look back at those two people.

Chu Tiankuo was talking to that extremely beautiful girl, face to face, but separated by a distance of about one meter, there was a kind of deliberately unfamiliar and awkward. Seeing that Xia knew that girl, Yu Sisi had introduced her to her during the military training. The beautiful girl in the second class next door was named Ling Xiangqian.Coincidentally, Jian Xia and her were tied for 16th place in the ranking list of the preliminary examination, but if the factor of appearance is taken into account, I am afraid that the three words of Ling Xiangqian need to be bolded, enlarged and underlined on the paper.

The students in Class 1 didn't know that Chu Tiankuo and Ling Xiangqian knew each other. Only Chen Jianxia had met a few times because of the different schedule of living in school. Fortunately, she had a strict mouth and poor popularity. Chu Tiankuo should be very lucky. Those two people felt Jian Xia's gaze and looked at them together. She was so frightened that she turned her head and continued to run until she reached the door of the dormitory building. . Chen Jianxia turned her head and saw the dark sky behind her, the white snow, so monotonous and lonely that it made people want to cry. When going to school the next day, Yu Dan called Chu Tiankuo and Chen Jianxia to the office together.The Health Bureau came to inspect, and the school arranged a general cleaning. See Xia, one head and two big.The tap water in winter is icy cold, throwing in rags, changing the water, twisting the mop...every job is like a punishment. The students are already lazy and dirty, so don’t expect them to work now. In the end, it's not about falling on your own head. Chen Jianxia looked gloomy, and followed Chu Tiankuo out of the language office. "What's the matter, so unhappy?" Chu Tiankuo noticed, and smiled narrowly, "Don't worry, let me mobilize the boys this time, and you girls just use newspapers to wipe the glass. We will deal with the water." Seeing Xia froze for a moment, he immediately realized: "Is this considered a hush money?" It was Chu Tiankuo's turn to be deflated, and he blushed slightly and said seriously, "It's just a friend." Jian Xia nodded: "I also think you are friends. It's good. Good-looking people should be friends with good-looking people." Chu Tiankuo was delighted to see Xia Qi. "It's true," he emphasized, "Ling Xiangqian likes to read very much. One time, I was waiting for a meeting in the head teacher's office. We chatted for a while. I happened to have a book here that she wanted to read, so..." "I believe it," Chen Jianxia sighed, "I'm just envious." Chu Tiankuo raised his eyebrows, a little wary: "What are you envious of?" Chen Jianxia disdained: "Don't worry, I'm not envious of her being a 'friend' with you. That's what the girls in our class envy." Chu Tiankuo shrugged exaggeratedly: "It's over, Bai is narcissistic." Both of them laughed.After walking for a while, Chu Tiankuo asked seriously again: "So what do you envy?" "Envy..." Seeing Xia scratching her forehead, she thought hard for a long time, "I envy you all are good-looking, you can easily talk about common topics in a meeting, and you can see each other when you read a book, and your grades are good, anyway. , all kinds of places match. In this way, no one else will say that one is not worthy of the other. In your own hearts, you will not feel that you are not worthy.” Jian Xia lowered his head in disappointment. She also wants to be a worthy person.But everything about her is so miserable. Chu Tiankuo was thoughtful, and he didn't speak for a long time. There were only two footsteps in the corridor. "She's better than me," he said softly after a while, "I'm not as good as I appear." Jian Xia looked at him in surprise. For some reason, she suddenly remembered that when she first met Chu Tiankuo, the other party taught her not to "think too much". At that time, he nonchalantly said that he himself used to be a person who "overthinks". "It's okay," Jian Xia comforted, "It's enough to be good on the surface. I'm not even good on the surface." This riddle-like conversation came to an end at the class gate. Jian Xia finally told Chu Tiankuo as if she was loyal, and she would not say anything.Whether it's his relationship with Ling Xiangqian, or he is not as good as Ling Xiangqian. Anyway, I won't tell anyone a word. Chu Tiankuo looked at her intently without smiling. After a long time without warning, he stretched out his hand and flicked her forehead very quickly, and then went back to work in a dignified manner, leaving her standing alone in the corridor in a daze. After being stunned, Jian Xia smiled helplessly, and finally felt a little warm in his heart, diluting the loneliness. "Why are you so unruly when you touch your hands in public?" Chen Jianxia turned his face sideways. Li Ran, who had shaved a round inch, sat on the steps of the stairs with a big face, looking at her with a dim smile.