What do you want in life

Chapter 7 Young Love Is Like Fireworks Are Cold (1)
Eight years ago, Han Xiaoying was 16 years old, and it was her seventh year living in her uncle's house.

Seven years is enough to scar the pain of parents' death and bury it in my heart. As long as I don't move, I won't feel the pain.

Apart from reading books, Xiaoying has no other hobbies.As for books, she thinks that the more profound the better, she is used to letting herself immerse herself in an artistic conception that has nothing to do with reality, thinking about every unintelligible sentence in it, as if she just wanted to decipher those words. Passwords are born.

Of course, with her shallow knowledge and experience, she couldn't really understand the words in the book, but for her at that time, it was a good enjoyment to be able to forget the practical troubles around her for a while.

Uncle once taught Chinese in middle school for several years, but later, because his aunt was dissatisfied with the poor conditions at home, he forced him to start a business. The bookcase is a proof, on which there are many world famous and esoteric classics, history and philosophy books.

After starting a business, my uncle has neither the time nor the desire to calm down and read. Many books were covered with dust. After Xiaoying came, she fell in love with his bookshelf at first sight. Uncle was very happy to see that she loved reading, so he simply took care of the bookshelves. Everything was pushed to Xiaoying.

Whenever she felt uneasy, Xiaoying would quietly sneak to the bookshelf to be with the books.

Looking at the rows of books standing quietly, she can always feel a sense of peace from the bottom of her heart. She feels that she is not the loneliest in this world, and her restless mood will be relieved a lot.

If she could choose, she would just treat it like a book, stay in the corner forever, don’t have to think about anything, just wait for someone to read it, even if it takes 1 years, it’s just a blink of an eye for a book Kung Fu.

During the summer vacation, Xiaoyu will go to her grandmother's house in the north for about a month. Liu Juan asked her if she wanted to go with Xiaoyu, but she refused without thinking.

Han Xiaoying was shy and introverted when she was a girl, and she didn't like to get in touch with strangers. In school, she only got along with her deskmate Jiang Tongfei, but now it's summer vacation, and she doesn't have much contact with her only good friend.

She hated going to a strange place to socialize with strange elders, and it took so long.

Liu Juan didn't force her, and her mother didn't seem to really like this little girl who was always taciturn.

Xiaoyu complained to her sister in private, "Actually, I don't want to go either. My grandma still treats me like a very small kid. She wants to feed me if I eat a little slower."

Xiaoyu has been procrastinating since she was a child, and has a girlish tone.Xiaoying remembers that when she was formally led into the house by her uncle for the first time, Xiaoyu, whom she had rarely seen, was playing alone on the sofa holding a toy gun.His uncle told him to call him sister but he refused. His big eyes, which were very similar to Xiaoying's, were full of vigilance and sensitivity unique to urban children. He stared at her flickeringly. After a while, he raised the machine gun tucked under his arm, Surreptitiously shot in Xiaoying's direction, then muttered in a low voice, "Beat the bad guy."

He felt that although the strange sister in front of him was pretty, there was something in her eyes that he didn't understand at all. That kind of thing didn't exist in the eyes of children of his age, and it never even appeared in front of her before moving. In the eyes of that kind and friendly sister.

He was still too young to know what earth-shaking changes had been experienced by this sister who was suddenly brought into the house and was about to live under the same roof as him.

Under Xiaoying's dedicated gaze, fear gradually sprang up from Xiaoyu's heart like a vine, and when it finally spread to his eyes, he began to plan to escape.

But his escape didn't go smoothly at all. He couldn't stand firmly on the sofa and fell down. He lay at Xiaoying's feet in a state of a dog eating shit, and then looked up in panic.

Xiaoying suddenly giggled, this was the first time since her father's accident that she gave out such a hearty laugh, she thought she had lost the ability to laugh, but she still would.

After the two grew up, Xiaoying suddenly mentioned this past event one time, Xiaoyu was shocked after hearing it, and denied it, he didn't remember it at all.

But he remembered Xiaoying's laughter when she was a child, because at that time she laughed too little, but the sound was very beautiful, like a wind chime trembling after being blown by the breeze.

Liu Juan was worried that Xiaoying was alone at home. It happened that there was an old man in the nursing home where she went back to recuperate not long ago.

The old man is getting old, his mind is sometimes sober and sometimes confused, and his daily life is very lonely, and the juniors are busy with their own affairs, so they have no time to accompany the old man all day, so the old man's daughter asked the people in the courtyard, hoping to find someone to go there every day Talk to her for a while, it's not long, just an afternoon, but it's better to be a younger girl, Liu Juan recommended Xiaoying as soon as she heard it.

When she came back and said to her husband Han Zhensheng, he immediately objected fiercely, "Xiaoying doesn't like to have too much contact with outsiders. Pushing her out like this will make her nervous."

Liu Juan argued: "I'm also doing it for her own good. She always stays at home like this and keeps silent. After a long time, she will become autistic."

"You let her go with an old man suffering from dementia just for her own good? You can figure it out! What if Xiaoying is frightened? I don't think you are doing it for Xiaoying's good, but because of her That little bit of money!"

"What did you say?" Liu Juan became angry on the spot, "You said I was greedy for money? I was greedy for money, so I could marry you, a poor bastard? For so many years, I have been a cow and a horse in your Han family. What do I do? Yes, you have been in business for several years, have you earned me gold and silver? You would not listen to any of the ideas I gave you. If you had listened to it earlier, as for still practicing with people behind your ass What about..."

Uncle and aunt are like a pair of natural debaters, they can argue for a long time no matter what, and the topic can be brought to business in an instant.In the first year of Xiaoying's arrival, they could still maintain their demeanor as much as possible in front of her. After a long time, they had no scruples.

In the end, Xiaoying came forward to stop the debate, and she said to Han Zhensheng, "Uncle, let me go."

Han Zhensheng thought she was afraid of Liu Juan, so he slashed into the air forcefully, "Xiaoying, don't be afraid, with me here, no one can force you!"

"Who forced her?" Liu Juan's anger that had finally calmed down was suddenly aroused again, "I'm also asking for her opinion, she is willing!"

"Well, I am willing." Xiaoying nodded emphatically, "Uncle, Auntie, I... don't want to stay at home all the time, it's boring to be alone."

Xiaoying expressed her willingness, but Han Zhensheng had no choice but to scratch her head and remind her, "But, but that old lady is abnormal..."

Xiaoying smiled indifferently, "It's okay."

Liu Juan was overjoyed and relieved, she got this opportunity with great difficulty, in case Xiaoying said no, she is not Zhu Bajie looking in the mirror, she is not a person inside and out?
Liu Juan hurriedly comforted Xiaoying and said, "Yes! There is nothing wrong with the old lady. Strictly speaking, she can't be considered Alzheimer's disease. It's just that she is a little confused sometimes, but she won't hurt people."

On the appointed day, Xiaoying followed Liu Juan to the home of Mrs. Wu who was to be taken care of.

Mrs. Wu lives alone in a spacious old-style building with two floors and a single door. However, the house is indeed very old, and the wooden floor will make creaking noises, which is really frightening.

It is said that Mrs. Wu became a widow in her early 40s. In order to prevent her children from being wronged, she insisted on not marrying again, and she worked hard to bring up her three sons and two daughters.Finally, all the hard work was not in vain, and now the children are all married and established, and all of them are doing well: the eldest son holds a considerable official position in the government; The marriage is quite satisfactory, but it is a pity that the old lady is poor, and she has been suffering from several illnesses since she entered old age. She does not want to drag her children down, so even though her son and daughter are willing to live with her to take care of her daily life, she still stubbornly stays behind In the old house.

She said to her children that fallen leaves return to their roots, which is the way that makes her feel at ease.

It was Mrs. Wu's youngest daughter, Mrs. Zhao, who received Liu Juan and Xiaoying. When Mrs. Wu was in the nursing home, she was the most diligent. .Mrs. Zhao's husband is also the head of the public sector, and has considerable influence on the private industry. The reason why Liu Juan flattered her was not because of the money of the nurses, but because of the latter point.Of course, she is very smart, and she never mentioned any difficulties at home in the process of getting along with Mrs. Zhao.

When Mrs. Zhao saw Xiaoying, she just glanced at her and praised in surprise and joy, "Nurse Liu, this girl of yours looks really good! Look at this little face, so refreshing, our old lady I'm sure you'll like it."

Immediately afterwards, she chatted with Xiaoying a few more about homework. Xiaoying was nervous, but she didn't dare to show it on her face. She answered all the answers politely, she didn't want to embarrass her aunt.

Mrs. Zhao saw that although she was beautiful, she had no frivolous words or deeds and spoke in a slow voice, so she liked her more and more, and she took Xiaoying's hand to see Mrs. Wu.

Mrs. Wu was sitting under an old pagoda tree in the yard, accompanied by a middle-aged woman in colorful thin fir.The scorching sun in summer was completely covered by the huge shade of the locust tree, and there were flat green bricks under the locust tree, which was a summer oasis that had nothing to do with the scorching heat. The old lady Wu, who was sitting in the rattan chair, was thin and The master of this cool world.

These are Xiaoying's first impressions of Mrs. Wu.

Mrs. Zhao approached her mother, bowed her head and whispered something in her ear, then pointed at Xiaoying with a slightly louder voice, "Mom, are you happy that Xiaoying will come to accompany you often in the future?"

Mrs. Wu glanced at Xiaoying, and didn't shake her head or nod, but she kept smiling all the time.

Mrs. Zhao came over and said to Xiaoying with a smile, "Grandma likes you! You can call her grandma from now on."

Xiaoying's schedule became regular again. After lunch every day, she took the bus directly to Qingshan Road at the station outside the community, and went to Grandma Wu's house to "work."

Besides her, Grandma Wu has another personal nurse beside her, the middle-aged woman Xiaoying met with her under the locust tree that day. Her surname is Wang, and Xiaoying called her Aunt Wang.

Aunt Wang's duty is to cook, feed medicine, and clean up for Grandma Wu on a fixed-point basis.As soon as Xiaoying arrived, she could relax a lot. Anyway, Grandma Wu didn't have any medicine to take this afternoon.

Mrs. Zhao did not say that Aunt Wang could leave during Xiaoying's visit to Wu's house, but Aunt Wang's home is nearby. When Xiaoying was with Grandma Wu in the afternoon, she couldn't help but take the time to go home and do it. For some housework, Xiaoying never asked her about her affairs, and it was a convention when she came and went.

Liu Juan had told Xiaoying what she needed to pay attention to when taking care of Grandma Wu. It was actually very simple, just don’t let her bump into it. If anything happened, call Mrs. Zhao in time. Of course, dangerous items such as firearms It must not be placed within the sight of Grandma Wu.

As Liu Juan said, Grandma Wu is a harmless patient. There is a flower bed in her yard with many flowers and plants planted in it.When she is sober, she likes to play with flowers and plants while chatting with Xiaoying, but she doesn't talk much. Xiaoying intuitively feels that she is an old man who is kind on the outside but strong on the inside; She couldn't come out, because she never ran around, she always sat quietly in the rattan chair, staring at something with a dazed look, as if she was lost in thought, and Xiaoying served her tea, she didn't realize it. She spoke, but she didn't respond.Gradually, Xiaoying understood what was going on.

Grandma Wu's illness was almost irregular. Sometimes, when Xiaoying arrived at Wu's house and Grandma Wu hadn't recovered from her confusion, Aunt Wang would stay a little longer because she was worried.

Aunt Wang is very easy-going, but her mouth is broken. She told Xiaoying that Grandma Wu was born in a scholarly family. Her dead husband turned out to be a big capitalist. This house was their old house. I couldn't afford to be sick, so I just left, leaving five children behind, and it was hard for Grandma Wu all her life.

But having said that, even if she was willing to marry at that time, no one dared to marry, not to mention the bad status, the five children alone were a considerable burden!Who would have thought that a weak little woman like her would be able to educate five children so well, and all of them would be very successful, whether they are officials or businessmen, there is no one who is not decent, in the north of the city , almost no one does not know the Wu family.

Aunt Wang also said that Grandma Wu's husband was rehabilitated a few years ago, and the house was returned to her. However, at that time, several children had their own families, and no one wanted to move back to live in the old house.Although this old house is old, the land is valuable. A few years ago, Grandma Wu's second son suggested to sell the place, but Grandma Wu disagreed. She is a nostalgic person. Yes, Aunt Wang and Grandma Wu have been neighbors for decades, and Grandma Wu can trust her.

Xiaoying just smiled after listening to Aunt Wang's hypnotic description. In her eyes, Grandma Wu is still the same Grandma Wu.

What Xiaoying didn't expect was that Grandma Wu's greatest hobby was reading, but she was old and her eyesight was poor, so she asked Xiaoying to read to her every time. Instead, drudgery became her pleasure. She seemed to jump from the ocean of books at her uncle's house to another ocean of books, which was both strange and familiar.

What made her even more delighted was that Grandma Wu's collection of books was several times larger than that of her uncle's—she had a separate study room full of books.

Grandma Wu has a book index. Every time she wants to listen to a book, she will open the index to find the book she wants, and then point Xiaoying to find it. She can always find the book in a short time. come out.

On a drowsy summer afternoon, under the lush old locust tree, two figures, one old and one young, are immersed in the wonderful world depicted in the book. This is one of the few warm moments in Xiaoying's memory. one.

However, Grandma Wu often feels sleepy after a short period of time. In the afternoon, she must go into the house and take a nap to be energetic. She does not need Xiaoying to accompany her when she takes a nap. Continue to sit under the old locust tree and read to pass the time.

She quickly got used to this new way of life, and even became grateful to Liu Juan, because in the apartment of her uncle's house, there were no such beautiful pagoda trees, nor such quiet time.

One afternoon, Grandma Wu went into the house to take a nap as usual, and Xiaoying buried herself in the bamboo chair under the tree to read Zhang Henshui's novel "Yangliu Qingqing" that she had just finished.

A hostile and vigilant boy's voice suddenly rang in her ear, "Who are you? Why are you here?"

Xiaoying looked up in astonishment, and saw the face of a boy about her own age. He was wearing a white sports T-shirt and sports shorts of the same series with excellent material and style, and a backpack was slung across his shoulder. , staring at Xiaoying's eyes full of suspicion, yet unable to conceal her confidence and pride.

Although the boy's face still has a little childishness that hasn't faded away, the word "handsome" is not too much to describe this face. Fang Zhengjun's fair face has piercing eyebrows and eyes, and the bridge of the nose is high. Quite, except that his lips are a little too thin, which makes his whole face lack the sense of kindness that Xiaoying appreciates.

She remembered that she had seen it in a face book that men with thin lips usually had sharp teeth, and his haughty question just now confirmed this for her.

She had reason to believe that a boy like him in school definitely belonged to the peacock type that could make girls make noise.

"Who are you?" She put the book upside down on her knees, instead of standing up, she asked him, "How did you get in?"

Xiaoying is often at a loss in front of politeness, but she will not feel awkward and unnatural when it comes to rude people, because everyone can go straight.

The boy walked up to her with his arms folded, and looked down at her condescendingly, "I asked you first, and you should answer first."

There was an unquestionable firmness in his tone, as if he had caught an international spy, which made Xiaoying laugh.

However, after a short consideration, she still chose to compromise. Her blood probably flowed with the same temperament as her mother, and she would not be willing to fight back unless it was a last resort.

"I am the caretaker of Grandma Wu invited by this family." She answered him indifferently.

"Nurse?" The boy showed an unbelievable expression, "Isn't the nurse always Aunt Wang? Besides, you are so young, how could you come out to do such a thing? Tell me, how old are you? 14, or 15?"

"There's nothing you can do if you don't believe me." Xiaoying whispered, turned the book on her lap again, and continued to read down calmly. She would never be so stupid as to tell the other party's age honestly—he Whoever he thought he was, wasn't he just a kid who was about the same age as him.

When the boy saw that she gave him a cold treatment, he suddenly felt a little embarrassed, and his voice, which had already slowed down, raised his voice, "Since you are a caregiver, what are you doing now? Where is the person you care for? Where did you hide my grandmother?"

When he yelled like this, Xiaoying suddenly understood his identity. It turned out to be Grandma Wu's grandson. No wonder he didn't hear the doorbell just now.

"Grandma Wu is taking a nap." Her eyes continued to be fixed on the book, and she replied without raising her head.

After a while, there was no more movement around her. Xiaoying secretly glanced around with the corner of her eyes, and the proud guy had slipped away at some point.

The corner of her mouth twitched slightly, and she continued to read.

(End of this chapter)