Hunter and Hussar

Chapter 18
"Going to your house for the Mid-Autumn Festival? It shouldn't be a problem. I'll just tell my parents. By the way, blow my hair."

He beckons me into the bathroom, where a small hair dryer is already plugged in and he's just blown it off.I took it, and lifted the switch up, there was no rumbling sound for a while, and the lights were all off.

"It's tripped, where is your distribution box?" I turned around and asked him, it was pitch black behind me, and there was no one there.

"Mi Le?" I called out to him, but there was no answer.

"Don't play pranks, okay, how old are you?" He complained.

Still no answer.

"Come out, I know where you are hiding and waiting to scare me. Talk!"

Still no sound.

I squatted down and hugged my knees.I haven't been in a strange and dark place for a long time.I have been afraid of the dark since I was a child.Xianxian is not afraid, living with him, I am well protected.I know he always sleeps peacefully lying on it or beside it.Even when he's gone and it's pitch black above my head, I know there's a board there, as if he's lying there too.The other owner of the room is still there, and he will get in front of me.

And there is nothing here, only me and the darkness.

There was another snap, and the room was all lit up immediately, but I was still squatting in place, probably because I was afraid that the lights would go out again if I moved a little.Mi Le quickly poked his head out of the door and said that he had just gone downstairs to find the landlord, and that the distribution box was on the tenth floor.

Seeing my expression, he immediately pulled me up and apologized that he should have said something before leaving.I said nothing.

"I mean you were really like a frightened kitten just now. You were sleeping and scared like that, curled up," he said.The two of us changed our clothes and went out. It was already past seven o'clock, the wind was blowing, and there were no people on the street. It seemed to be an environment where we could talk about our thoughts.

"My brother seems to have said that when I have a fever, I'm like a little sick cat. I don't have any energy at all. I don't say a word. I just lie on my stomach. I'm very obedient. As soon as he said this, I wanted to kick him, even if he was Bring me medicine at the bedside."

"Actually, when I saw you for the first time, I thought you had the personality of a big brother, the kind who is good at taking care of people." He tilted his head to look at me, and then tilted back, "However, you treat people very well." It’s really good, and the current character is also good.”

"What kind of character am I now?"

"I just... love to cry! I don't like being seen." He made a face at me.

"I don't know who cried on the first day at school, or hid in the toilet and cried." I squeezed his shoulder, a pile of bones as hard as a steel frame.

"It hurts, let go." He struggled to break free from me.The two of us continued walking down the street, the wind blowing over the jumpers we were wearing, his blue, mine crimson.The thick clothes made us fearless, but we still put on the hats together tacitly.I am not afraid of hiding in the hat, and even feel that the wind can be stronger.

"By the way, are you afraid of the dark?"

"I'm afraid, and I'm also afraid of ghosts. So don't ask me to watch horror movies or something."

"Brother Xianxian is not afraid?"

"Not afraid."

"Then what is he afraid of? Isn't he afraid of nothing?"

"Yes. He is afraid of insects, especially flying ones, except for mosquitoes. He is always worried about being hit by dragonflies or butterflies. Whenever he hears the sound of flapping wings, he lowers his head and tries to hide. Sometimes sparrows or bats are flying around. Flying, he is not at ease, he likes to run in the opposite direction, but they will still fly to the place where he ran."

"Aren't you afraid of these?"

"To be honest, I'm a little scared. But it's not easy for him to have something that he's afraid of. When I encounter something, I will tell myself to be brave, so that it will really be better."

"I'm super afraid of bugs. Flying bugs are fine, but I can't stand those worms. Just thinking about them wriggling around makes my scalp tingle. It's a nightmare. The most annoying thing is the one that vomits. The silk hanging from the tree is always hanging everywhere in spring and summer, I don't know what Jiang Yuan calls them..."

"Hang the devil."

"This statement is really vivid. Before autumn came, I didn't dare to walk under the tree, for fear that I would bump into one head-on. Sometimes I saw them from a distance, and found them twisting in mid-air, and there was often one in front and one behind. , I saw another one on the left, permeating the air. It’s not a problem to go to both sides of the road. If you flee to the middle, you will find there are more. When you lower your head, there are already a few crawling on your body. My heart is completely broken. I really hope I am nearsighted.”

"What you said is really scary. But what about myopia? If you can't see them, it doesn't mean they don't exist. It's better to see them clearly and avoid them."

"That makes sense. I heard that they were afraid, so they spun silk and hung it from the leaves, which made everyone scared. Don't you think they are more exposed when they hang there? The birds will be so happy to see it, One peck at a time. I've heard a saying that fear itself is the scariest thing, it seems."

After walking for a while, the street lights became brighter.Mi Le said that his parents said there was a snack street nearby, so we went to the side of the road to drive shared bicycles.

"By the way, has your family ever told you to be more like a boy, or cultivate some manliness?"

"No." It feels like my family doesn't have any demands on me, especially in the past two years.

"I thought of this because of those bugs just mentioned. Sometimes I see them for nothing else, but a few boys will suddenly fly up and kick a certain tree while walking, and then the bugs will hang down in fright. ...that's their favorite way to scare people, especially when there are girls walking under the tree. I hate this behavior, but they think it's very powerful, like a man. I don't want to hang out with them."

"I dont like it either."

"The result is that my family always says that I don't look like a boy. I am quiet all day long and don't go out to play with other boys. My parents are fine. Those three aunts, eight aunts, and neighbors like education I, I can’t do this or that, don’t make me a little girl, anything will not work at all in the future. What the hell! What can I do? Don’t you just think I’m short, think I’m like a child, wait until I grow taller Let's see who dares to tell me that."

"Let them do what they should do." I stepped into the car.

"Yes, let's go!" He kicked away.

For a long time, I didn't learn to ride a bike.There were originally two bicycles at home, but only Xianxian was in use.He wanted to teach me several times, saying that teaching my brother to ride a bicycle was a matter of his dignity, as if my brother would hurt his self-esteem if I couldn't learn it.I did go to practice, fell badly, couldn't figure out how to keep my balance, and the handlebars were like an uncontrollable horse in my hands.And every time I sit on it, I can't help but support the ground with my feet. The fear of getting off the ground is unimaginable to me.

After Xianxian was gone, one day I felt inexplicably uncomfortable and wanted to smash something or somewhere.But I promised everyone, including myself, that I would not destroy anything or hurt anyone including myself.So I went downstairs to the parking lot and got on my little-used bike, regardless of how much dust was accumulating on its seats.I rode crazily around the residential buildings in the community, fell down a few times, and scratched my hands and knees. I also had scratches a few times when I was defending the goal on the field.I didn't care, I didn't even clean up the gravel and dust on the wound, and continued to run around the tall buildings in the sunset, perhaps at the speed of a motorcycle.Keep falling, keep getting up, I didn't count how many times I went around the same place, and I didn't count how many times I fell.But eventually I fell less and less and knew how to ride when I stopped.

But I was still so sad, sad like a bleeding wound wrapped in mixed gravel and gradually solidified in the setting sun.The last bit of sunlight hit his body, scorching his whole body.It's not because of the pain, but because I can't find Xianxian's car.

Later I learned that my parents gave the car to my sister.Maybe they were afraid that I would feel sad when I saw things were wrong, so they made things "wrong".Just because I didn't see it doesn't mean I thought it didn't exist.I still remember.

"Ke Ke eat." Mi Le handed me a piece of fried rice cake, to be precise, it was stuffed into my mouth, and the sweet noodle sauce that was not spread evenly was dipped all over my face.He said that when he was in elementary school in his hometown, he wished he could eat this stuff at a small stall every day after school, and he was willing to be fed up by it, but he didn't have so much pocket money at that time.There is no shortage of money now, but it seems that eating one piece is enough, and ordering another one is too much.

It seems we have grown up.I respond like this.However, it will continue to grow.He said yes, maybe one day he would not like to eat, or could not eat.So eat it while you can.After speaking, he took a big bite and pulled out a long sticky white thread.Startled, he grabbed it before it fell.

I can't help but want to rub his hairy head again.

After shopping around for a while, I ordered fried skewers at various stalls, stacked them golden on a plate, and found a place to sit.We ate one by one, and put the bamboo sticks we had eaten into a small bucket, and it looked like a chopsticks basket after a while.I think the taste of fried oyster mushrooms is good, dry and crispy, and the sweet noodle sauce is full, and the fragrance is overflowing after biting.

While eating, Mi Le suddenly put on the hat he had just taken off, and reached out to grab mine.I asked why, he pointed to a stall behind me, a little far away, and said, Keke, do you think that person is Brother Tao.

It seems that there is a kid who is about our age looking at the stall, and it is selling finger cakes.There are not many customers now, and when one came, he nodded and asked what he wanted, although we couldn't hear him.The guest said, he reached out to collect the money, then handed back a few coins, then spread out a piece of cake, fried it for a while, and then turned it over skillfully.I also saw the action of beating the eggs, which was crisp and neat. The egg yolks fell on the iron plate, and the egg shells went into the basket next to it.What dishes to add, what materials to paint, I can't see clearly.All that remained was his final act of rolling the cake together and putting it in a bag.After the customers left, he continued to stand and watch at the stall, without yelling, or playing with his mobile phone to do other things on his own.

I glanced at the mobile phone map, and this snack street is indeed within the scope of the Economic Development Zone.

When I was young, I especially liked to watch other people make pancakes or finger cakes. Mi Le said that it was amazing. I could knead a ball of batter or hard cakes into delicious things, just like making clay sculptures or pottery.I spent a lot of time in my childhood watching other people make pancakes. Later, my boss was a little unhappy when he saw that I only watched but didn’t buy them.Now that I think about it, it makes sense. I watched it just for my own fun, but it's not for fun that people do it non-stop.Ke Ke, don't you think it's a bit strange, we eat here, Brother Tao cooks there, we are actually classmates in the same class and in the same dormitory.

Yes, I don't feel very good in my heart, but is it really so bad?I said.The striker from another school yesterday was my elementary school classmate. He was very surprised when he found out that I lived in school, as if living in school meant that I had suffered a lot of grievances or had a bad life.Actually not.Perhaps in the eyes of those of us, Brother Tao's life is not very good, because we have never experienced and cannot imagine his life.He may feel that it is very meaningful to help his parents look after the stall, and he is willing. What right do we have to preconceive and feel bad?
you're right.So now I really don't know why I'm not feeling well.Miller said.Is it because I don't think highly of others from the bottom of my heart?Where can I go?Are we living too "light", too carefree?
We were still whispering, and he completed two more deals.

Well, it's no use just thinking about it here, we have to help him.Miller said.However, I dare not go directly to the stall to look for him. I am too embarrassed, and he must be embarrassed too.He asked me what to do and I couldn't figure it out.

It would be great if Ye Ruiyang was here.

During our hesitation, Zhang Taotao left, and an aunt walked to the back of the stall to replace him while holding her back.Tao Tao walked over here.The two of us were like two gophers in a game of whack-a-mole, trying to duck into the hole with our heads down.Fortunately, he didn't pay attention, maybe he didn't expect that some classmates would watch him "changing shifts".

He walked toward the end of the street, disappearing into the lights and the night.

"Why don't we go to his mother's place and order two finger pancakes to support him?" Mi Le asked.I said Taotao's mother had seen me and was afraid of being recognized.Miller said he hadn't seen it, so he went to order it.As for me, just put on my hat and follow him without talking.

"Auntie, I want two family portraits." Reflected under the dizzy white light bulb at the stall, Mi Le's face must be very sunny and lovely.I hid behind him with a hat covering my face, and saw a smile on Taotao's mother's tired face.Mi Le is a child who makes everyone feel comfortable when he smiles.

She nodded and went to get the bread.Miller asked how much it was, and she said forty.I took out 50 yuan from my wallet and put it in the money box with my head down.The aunt was busy frying two eggs and said, young man, you can take the change yourself.I nodded and didn't take it.

"Are you students?" she asked, her accent clearer this time.Maybe she speaks Mandarin more naturally when doing business, but it is a bit difficult to control when talking to other parents.Adults get nervous too.

"Yes, both of us are freshmen."

"Which school do you go to?"

"Jiangyuan No. [-] Middle School."

I tugged on the hem of La Mile's coat.If it were me, I would say that I am a student of Xinjian Middle School in nearby Jiangyuan City.It's not that I want to lie, it's just that I'm afraid of trouble.I'm so bad at talking to people.And, maybe a slip of the tongue.

"My son is also in No. [-] Middle School. Do you know him? His name is Zhang Taotao, and he is in Class No. [-]."

I pulled his clothes again.

"Oh, we are not in the same class as him, but I have heard of it. He is a very hardworking classmate, whether it is studying or cleaning. He is also good at playing football. I went to see his game yesterday."

"Did you win? Did he score?"

"We didn't win. He played very well and was almost lucky to score. He will definitely score next time."

"I don't know much about football, but I hope he can do what he likes." She put the tenderloin, square legs and bacon on the iron plate and pressed them, and looked up at us from the rising smoke smile.The bags under the eyes are a bit heavy, and the eyes are very kind.

"Yes, my parents said the same to me. Although I don't know Taotao well, I can feel that he is a very nice person, well educated, and everyone likes him. He is a bit shy, but We don't even know him, we just met him a few times, when he was with his classmates, the atmosphere was very harmonious."

"Sometimes, I feel that our parents don't have any great skills. We can only cook and work part-time. We can't compare with other parents in No. [-] Middle School. I'm afraid that he will feel inferior." She lowered her head and poked the meat with a small shovel, wanting to check Is it ready?The light from the light bulb spread evenly on her hair, making it impossible to tell whether it was illuminated or really white.

It was a bit bitter to hear this.It may be that Mi Le's sensible and cute appearance can easily win the love of adults, but she actually said this to us.Maybe it was because we lied that we were not familiar with Taotao so that she could chat with us in peace.Although we really don't know Tao Tao well enough.

"Auntie, don't think so. Your hand pancakes are delicious. You can smell them from afar. Cooking is a university science. I also want my mother to cook as delicious as you. Moreover, I think Taotao is very confident when playing games, and he will definitely not feel inferior in life."

"Don't dislike mom's cooking, she will be unhappy." Auntie added lettuce to the two cakes with ingredients.

"Hey, dad usually cooks in our house." Mi Le stuck out his tongue, making us all laugh.

"Your classmate isn't very talkative." She was bagging us, maybe I laughed and she noticed me again.

"He is a boring gourd, but I quite like his personality. In fact, he is super confident and is the star of our school, but he usually doesn't talk. So don't worry about Taotao, Auntie. Generally, the real masters It's silent!"

Ye Ruiyang was probably the last one who was so good at bragging. Mi Le must have tried his best today.

"What's your name? Next time you come here to eat, Auntie will give you discounted toppings." She handed the two bags to Mi Le, who took it and scratched his head with his hands, as if thinking about it.

"My name is Huang Zheng, and his name is Mu Minxue..."

It's not easy to hold back a laugh.If you don't slip away, you will be exposed, not everyone can be as calm as Ye Ruiyang.

Auntie sent us away with a smile, saying that she often comes to play.She looked a little tired, but even so she worked with vigor, like the light bulb that was dusty inside and out but kept on.That was the last impression I made before I turned to leave.

"Ke Ke?"

"what happened?"

"Auntie gave us double tenderloin and bacon. She probably knows you didn't take the change."

Eating finger biscuits twice a day is more challenging than eating two rice cakes at once, not to mention the ultra-luxury version of the family portrait package, which includes all the ingredients that can be added.However, we both made up our minds to eat them without any leftovers.

(End of this chapter)