Difficult To Raise Chapter 37
byChapter 37 Friend He Qian looked at him carefully…
He Qian glanced at him carefully, and finally said: “What happened during that time? Can you tell me?”
“Hey… don’t, I’m just asking casually. If you don’t want to say anything, forget it.”
Sensing the embarrassment on his face, He Qian quickly said: “Let’s wait until you are willing to tell me. Who told us to be friends?”
Friends, over the years, Jiang Ran has never had many sincere friends around him.When he was ostracized in the past, He Qian was the first to reach out to him.
Jiang Ran remembered that it was a very cold winter, and it was rare for Xihe, a warm city, to have heavy snowfall.The teacher of the physical education class was a good-tempered person. He saw the excitement on everyone’s faces and quickly let the students move freely.
The classmates dispersed in a swarm and gathered together to play happily, build snowmen, have snowball fights, push familiar people into the snow, and then laugh at each other’s ugliness.
But none of these people were willing to talk to Jiang Ran. Everyone’s laughter would subside a bit as they walked past him.
Because he is gloomy, introverted and unsociable.
They had already heard that his mother ran away with someone, his father was an old alcoholic, and he had a rather unfortunate family.Perhaps privately, their parents would also tell them not to get too close to him.
Jiang Ran held the snow in his hands and sat quietly in the corner, watching a group of people running past him.
The snow is very cold and white, and it will melt away if you hold it in your hands for a long time.But the next moment, something new will fall.
He stared at those people for a few seconds, then quickly looked away and observed the appearance of the snow.A small flower with six branches branched from the middle. Each branch has forks, a bit like the shape of a cypress leaf.
Jiang Ran realized for the first time that snowflakes were really flowers.
It was strange, and there was an indescribable feeling of happiness. He smiled softly, half-smiling.
Suddenly, a glass of ice water poured down from his head, melting the snowflakes and pouring into his clothes, making him shiver from the cold.
Jiang Ran turned around and saw a boy in school uniform. He was holding an empty cup in his hand, with one hand in his pocket and a malicious smile on his face, “I’m sorry, I didn’t see you just now.”
He was obviously apologizing, but there was no sincerity in his eyes.
Jiang Ran knew this person. He was quite famous in Xihe Middle School. He was famous for causing trouble. From the first grade to the third grade, he would teach anyone he disliked.
Jiang Ran looked at the face that needed a beating quietly, his fists were a little itchy.
Although he is taciturn, he is not a submissive person. When encountering such a situation, his first reaction will definitely be to resist.
The boy noticed his clenched fist, as if he was a little surprised. He raised his eyebrows and raised his index finger arrogantly: “What? You want to hit me? You can do it if you have the ability.”
He was fearless, confident, and even faintly excited.
Jiang Ran thought about the rumor he heard by chance. It was said that his father and the principal had been friends for many years, so no matter how messed up he was, the school would not expel him, and would even find ways to help him out.
The clenched fist loosened weakly, and Jiang Ran reluctantly gave up his plan to beat someone. He did not dare to cause trouble in school, because unlike other children, once he got into trouble, no one would help him clean up the mess.
The boy seemed to be sure that he didn’t dare to resist, so he leaned over again, grabbed a ball of snow and threw it on him, saying, “Hey, they say you are prettier than girls, like a sissy, why don’t you take off your clothes and let me see, are you a boy or a girl?”
For a boy of that age, there is nothing more vicious than these words.Jiang’s face turned pale with anger, and he bit his lip, fearing that he would rush forward regardless.
It was at this time that there was a “swishing” sound in his ears, and a glass of water came from nowhere and was poured on the boy in the same way.
Pour it cleanly and without mercy.
“Fuck!” The boy was unprepared and was hit by the water. When he realized what he was doing, he immediately became angry.
He scratched his wet hair and turned around with an annoyed look on his face.
He Qian stood behind him, with the same expression that he wanted to be beaten, and repeated what he said: “I’m sorry, I didn’t see you.”
Arrogant, so damn arrogant, more like a school bully than a school bully.
This was simply a provocation. How could the boy endure it? He didn’t have Jiang Ran’s worries and rushed forward with his fists clenched.
Of course the two had a fight.He Qian was not tall at the time and looked thin and weak, but he was surprisingly good at fighting. He fought with boys for a long time without losing at all.
After the fight, both of them had bright faces, and no one got any advantage.The boy probably felt that he was losing face, so he said a lot of harsh words, turned around and left without looking back. He looked extremely embarrassed.
“Don’t be afraid of scum like this.”
He was obviously so painful that he was gasping for air, but He Qian was still in the mood to joke. He took out a pack of tissues from his pocket and threw it to Jiang Ran. He grinned and said, “Do you have a dog at home? Let me tell you, this kind of person is like a disobedient dog. If he bullies you and you don’t beat him back, he will think that you are afraid, and he will dare to provoke you next time.”
“If you encounter this situation again, don’t hesitate, just beat him.”
*
He Qian turned around and went to the bar to order two more glasses of wine, this time with low alcohol content. He obviously realized that Jiang Ran didn’t like strong drinks, so he changed his taste.
When he came back, he handed over a glass of orange wine, the color of the scorching sun.
Jiang Ran reached out to take it and said softly: “Thank you.”
What he had never said before finally came out naturally this time. He repeated: “Qianzi, thank you for being my friend.”
He Qian paused in passing the wine, as if he didn’t expect him to say such a thing.After reacting, he sighed again, “Hey, what’s there to be thankful for?”
He pulled out the chair and sat down, with a look of helplessness on his face, “You are always like this, you have always been like this before, you hold everything in your heart and don’t say anything. If you hold it in for a long time, I’m really afraid that you will cause a big incident at some point. Do you remember the school bully who fought with me? After that, I was blocked every week and three fingers were broken. I suspected that it was you.”
Jiang Ran was slightly startled, “Why did you break three fingers?”
“You don’t know?” He Qian was a little surprised. “It was quite a big deal at that time. The man bullied so many people and it was fine. But it was your turn to suffer. Everyone secretly guessed that it was you who did it.”
“How could it be me…” Jiang Ran lost his temper mid-sentence.Memories from the past came flooding back, and he remembered what happened next.
After school that day, Jiang Ran walked home wrapped in wet and cold clothes. The cloth stuck to his skin and his teeth tightened with the cold.He thought about going back and changing clothes quickly so as not to be discovered by Jiang Jin.Unexpectedly, as soon as he opened the door, he was bumped into by Jiang Jin who was guarding the entrance.
When Jiang Jin saw him frozen like this, his face suddenly darkened, and he chased after him to ask what was going on.
Jiang Ran was perfunctory, but Jiang Jin didn’t believe it. Like an annoying fly, he kept asking questions.Seeing that he couldn’t fool him, Jiang Ran could only make a vague fuss and said that it was caused by a snowball fight with his classmates.
Jiang Jin stared at his earlobes that were red from the cold. He didn’t ask any more questions. He seemed to believe him. He just frowned and pushed him into the bathroom, urging him to take a hot bath.
But one night a week later, Jiang Ran was drowsily asleep when he suddenly felt someone gently slip into the bed and carefully wrap their arms around his waist.
The young man’s breath, with the fragrance after washing, brushed his ears, accompanied by the occasional soft sound of dead branches outside the window, which was a bit hypnotic.
While Jiang Ran was half asleep, she heard him whisper: “No one can bully you, brother.”
The song on the stage has reached its fourth song, the spotlight is dazzling, and the cheers from the audience are rising and falling like a tide.Jiang Ran looked at the shining young man on the stage and suddenly felt a little dazed.
Those memories that were about to be diluted by time were so clear at this moment.It was so clear that Jiang Ran could even recall the tone of his voice at that time, which was a bit fierce but also a bit gentle.
*
Jiang Jin and the others really didn’t plan to sing for a long time tonight. When the time was almost up, Jiang Ran took out his cell phone and looked up the takeout.
Perhaps because of the good location, there were a lot of restaurants around, offering all kinds of dishes including stir-fries, stews, and stews. Jiang Ran picked and picked, and finally settled on a Chinese restaurant that looked very appetizing. He ordered a few of Jiang Jin’s favorite dishes from memory.
Except for the price, everything else is good.
His timing was correct. As soon as the people on the stage left the stage, the takeaway arrived.
Jiang Ran told He Qian and ran to the door to get it. He just missed the look from the only girl in the band.Her fingertips rested on the edge of the keyboard, her eyes paused on his back for half a second, then quietly moved away.
The performance had just ended, the guitar in my hand still had the lingering aftertaste of distortion, the stage lights had been mostly dimmed, and the bar was bustling again.
“Ah Jin, there was someone who was looking at you just now.” Chen Qing carried the keyboard bag and followed Jiang Jin in small steps with a bit of curiosity in his eyes. “He is a pretty good-looking boy with pretty features.”
Jiang Jin lowered his head to arrange his guitar bag, fastened the zipper casually with his fingertips, and said a faint “hmm” without even raising his eyelids, as if he didn’t take the words to heart at all.
“What’s so strange about this?” Li Yunzhou next to him looked disapproving, “How many of the people who came here today are not here for A Jin?”
He was right. Among their bands, Jiang Jin and He Siyu attracted the most fans, but He Siyu had an indifferent personality and would not speak if he could. He seemed too inaccessible, so his number of fans was naturally lower.
“It’s different. This person looks very young, and… his eyes are different from others. I can’t tell what kind of eyes he is. Anyway, it’s quite special.” Chen Qing recalled, and his tone slowed down unconsciously.
“Really?” Li Yunzhou raised his eyebrows and glanced over there subconsciously.
“Yes, look at it if you don’t believe me.” Chen Qing reached out and turned his wrist slightly, but when he turned his head, he found that the seat by the window was empty.She blinked, with a dazed look on her face, and a bit of confusion in her tone: “Huh? Where is the person? Why did he disappear in the blink of an eye?”
“Maybe I’ll leave after watching the performance.” Li Yunzhou shrugged, “After all, the songs have been sung, so we can’t stay here forever.”
Chen Qing originally mentioned it casually on a whim. Since he saw no one, he didn’t say anything more. He turned his head and was about to follow forward. Who knows, he glanced at the door inadvertently and saw a thin figure walking in against the light.
Her eyes suddenly lit up, and she raised her hand and patted Jiang Jin’s arm, with a hint of unnoticeable excitement in her voice: “Look, look, it’s that person!”
Jiang Jin glanced at her, and his eyes immediately changed.
“Do you know him?” He Siyu on the other side noticed his eyes and asked lightly.
“I don’t know…”
Jiang Jin forced himself to look away, but unconsciously held his hand, and his finger bones turned slightly white.
He Siyu’s eyes stayed on his tense hands for a second, then raised his eyes to scan his slightly sunken profile, and lowered his eyes thoughtfully, his long eyelashes casting a small shadow under his eyelids.
“Let’s go then. I’m starving. I have to eat something quickly.” Li Yunzhou wailed, holding his stomach.
Jiang Jin followed them a few steps forward, then suddenly stopped.
“What’s wrong?”
The other three people looked back in unison.
“You guys go first.” Jiang Jin frowned irritably, “I have something else to do.”
Seeing his appearance, He Siyu couldn’t help but raise the corners of his mouth slightly, slightly.
As soon as the person left, Chen Qing pushed his arm and asked curiously: “What’s going on?”
He Siyu bent down to pack the drum stand, his fingers flexibly wrapped around the brown-red drum string, and said without turning his head, “Don’t worry about him.”
———————–
The author has something to say: Brother: I’m really convinced. No one is playing with me, so I’m just looking at the snow. Who am I provoking?[resignedly]