deep in time

Chapter 16 (1)
[one]
"Lonely people are shameful."

Cheng Lichen, who went home alone because Ji Nan was temporarily called by someone to help, seemed to be the best interpretation of this sentence.

"Except for Ji Nan, he can't find any other friends!"

"You have to be awesome to pretend to be B."

"I hate his face of being number one in the world."

There was such a disdainful voice vaguely.

The boy's face became even colder.

The tyrannical rhinoceros coexists with the small birds that clean up its parasites, and the small herd fish with a body length of no more than 7 cm swims freely among the tentacles of jellyfish that shoot venom to sting their prey.No one is an individual and must have friends, and the derivative words of "lonely person" are probably related to "solitary", "unsocial", and "unlikeable personality".

That's not a good thing to say about any high school student.

You can choose to avoid other people's malicious comments, cynicism, but you silently carry this heavier and heavier shell, you can feel the pain in your heart that can no longer bear it, you are powerless, and you are helpless.

Twist the derailleur to its final point, and the bike rides effortlessly like it's idling.

The sun melted away wetly, like a cup of warm milk shining finely on the boy's face.

Eyelashes fluttering in the light.

The boy looked at the trees on both sides of the street wistfully, thinking about something gloomy, until he saw Baili walking on the sidewalk.

Baili was wearing a white school uniform, with her head bowed, her short hair softly covering her cochlea, her back looked no different from any ordinary high school student, but Cheng Lichen recognized her at a glance. The sentence "I can't find any other friends except Ji Nan" is still in the cochlea, like a stubborn cancer.Between "pretend not to see and slip past" and "say hello because she cooks every day is not bad", the boy not only chose the latter by mistake, but also looked at her with a frown after saying hello. With the vegetable basket in his hand, Baili said, "I'll take you."

At this time, Cheng Lichen had just returned home after playing golf, and Baili had gone to the vegetable market to buy vegetables and returned home. The two of them were indeed on the same road. ——

"Your car doesn't have a back seat." Baili didn't hesitate, but looked at Cheng Lichen's shiny silver-gray mountain bike, tilted his head, "Where should I sit?"

The afterglow of the setting sun cast a warm color on Baili's eyes.

Cheng Lichen was a little embarrassed.There is no rear seat on mountain bikes, but there is a cross bar between the front of the bike and the leather seat.In the past, Ji Nan and Ji Nan saw a boy riding a bicycle on the street, holding the handlebars with both hands, just surrounding the girl who was sitting sideways on the crossbar, and they would curl their lips together and say "sauce", but they couldn't help it from the bottom of their hearts After guessing, "This is a disguised form of profiteering."

Before he stopped and spoke, the boy's uncharacteristically impulsive brain directed his reason.Imagine that Baili is sitting on the crossbar. The leather seat of the mountain bike is tilted forward. Indescribably ambiguous.

His relationship with Baili is not that close.

"That's it." Cheng Lichen breathed a sigh of relief, shook his hand, said "goodbye" quickly, and rode away quickly.

Out of the corner of his eye, he saw Baili's lips curled up slightly.

He rode straight ahead and bypassed the bicycle repair shop at the corner. The wheels slid forward more than ten meters rapidly. The boy suddenly put one foot on the ground, the toe of his shoes rubbed against the rough ground, and the wheels were fixed under the tree on the street.

In front of the bicycle repair shop, the pedals are hanging dangling on iron hooks—the pedals are inlaid with screws on the rear wheel axle just enough for a person to stand on, like a pair of small goose feet, in the sight of the boys Surprisingly clear.

The boy turned the handlebar slowly, and then rode back at a slower speed, looked at the soles of the feet with seemingly unripe eyes, and said in a flat voice: "Boss, install the pedals."

[two]
There are so many things that I didn't expect.

I didn't expect to forget to bring an umbrella when it rained.

I didn't expect to find my wallet when I was shopping.

Unexpectedly, the mother who has been missing for many years is actually close at hand.

What Cheng Lichen didn't expect was——

When he was standing in front of the bicycle repair shop with an inexplicable emotion, in the distance, a boy and a girl in school uniform came slowly around the corner.

The leaves are rustling by the wind.

With her hands behind her back, Baili stepped lightly on the road with her white canvas shoes. Her short soft hair was blown up by the wind, revealing her round and white earlobes. The vegetable basket she was carrying was hanging on a fiery red mountain bike. on the handlebar of the car.

Pushing the cart, Ji Nan smiled slightly and looked sideways at Baili, the light falling on his pupils was a light warm yellow.

The sunlight slanted in from behind them, and the boy's shadow and the girl's shadow leaned close together.

For such a beautiful scene, the air was filled with beautiful pink bubbles.

Cheng Lichen turned his head almost subconsciously, leaning slightly towards the inner side of the bicycle repair shop.

Right in front is a row of bicycles for sale, and on the right is the slightly yellowish wall of the store. The position where the boy is standing should be a blind spot in sight.

"Don't be seen." This thought, as vague as water mist, strangely surged up in my heart.

"The pedals are done." The car repair shop master stood up and said to the dazed Cheng Lichen.There was no response, and the car repair shop master raised the volume: "Young boy, it's ready."

With an obvious regional accent, even if the voice is lowered, it seems to be arguing, let alone the volume is turned up all of a sudden.

"Hmm." Cheng Lichen stretched his hand into his trouser pocket, and he was stunned by the feeling of emptiness.

Looking at the doubtful expression on the face of the car mechanic, I became more and more embarrassed that I couldn't find my wallet.

Hesitantly, he was about to say something like "I'm sorry, I put my student ID here and come back tomorrow to pay back the money".

The car mechanic yelled suspiciously, "Didn't bring any money?" The rest babbled in his native dialect, probably guessing the meaning.

Most of Cheng Lichen's attention was on the outside of the bicycle repair shop, and when he raised his eyes to look out, it just so happened that Ji Nan's gaze also tilted in at this second.

Eyes meet and cross.

"Achen?" Ji Nan raised his hand, and when he smiled, his body shone even brighter.

Cheng Lichen nodded, but remained silent.

Ji Nan understood the situation, blinked narrowly, and said to Baili, "Chen forgot to bring his wallet again." Parking the mountain bike on the side of the road, the boy strode into the repair shop, paid first, His eyes lit up when he saw Cheng Lichen'an's pedals, and he said loudly to the car repairer, "Ha, master, I want to put on a pair too."

Ji Nan seems to have a strange magic power that can blend into everything around him.He first looked for the pedals with the car repairer, and then squatted aside and chatted with the car repairer from "business is good" to "Master, how many children do you have?"Baili also came in, and squatted down with Ji Nan to watch the car repairer tighten the screws clockwise with cross pliers.

Standing sideways all the time, his body is as straight and stiff as Bai Song, and his hands are holding the handlebars tightly.

"Bike repair is also a technical job. I can tell by your hand gestures, master, that you have worked hard."

Ji Nan, who speaks just the right amount of flattery, has a face that is never offensive, and Cheng Lichen, who is indifferent to others, has a lot of negative emotions, and always seems to be in trouble.

"Achen, Baili also likes Mike very much. Don't you have many original English versions in your MP3, let me borrow them."

"No." The wording was very blunt, and there was a pause for a few seconds before Cheng Lichen added indifferently, "The MP3 is lost."

"Wow, you kid, you lost something again." In a helpless tone.

The sunset gradually sank.

[three]
After dinner, Ji Nan was sitting in the living room playing games. Just as he was about to get excited, Ji Hao walked in. The face of the young boy who had just entered puberty began to have edges and corners, and his voice became rough as if sandpaper had been added.

"Can you stop being so noisy!" Ji Nan was a little impatient.

"But, it's been half an hour, you said, let me play in half an hour."

"Have I said that?"

"Yes." Ji Hao straightened his body with persistence.

Probably when he was engrossed in playing, he agreed casually in order to deal with it.

Ji Nan scratched his head, and finally looked away from the screen. Sure enough, Ji Hao stubbornly looked at his brother, with a posture of swearing not to let go.

Ji Nan pressed the exit button helplessly, stood up, and handed the remote control to Ji Hao. When he walked out of the living room, he was still worried and said, "Have you finished your homework?"

"Well, just a little bit."

"You can only play for half an hour, you know?" The boy's tone became serious, "I will check the post later."

"Got it." He replied impatiently.

After carefully closing the door of the living room, his tense and serious face suddenly relaxed, and the corners of Ji Nan's mouth slightly raised, revealing a helpless and indulgent smile.

The air conditioner was turned on in the bedroom, and the temperature was just right. The boy sat on the desk with a book spread out, and after doing his homework for a while, ten o'clock passed before he knew it.

The night outside the window was like a mantle, the boy rubbed his sore fingers, stretched his slender legs, the chair slid backwards, he stretched himself, at this time, the QQ on the phone beeped.

A senior in the photography club sent him a photo. The data on his mobile phone was not enough, so he had to go to the computer to view the picture. Ji Nan turned on the computer. When he clicked, the mouse moved to the QQ historical login number. I almost forgot about the QQ account I applied for to post the ID of the indecent photos.

The boy entered the password casually. After logging in to QQ, he clicked on his frequently used club account. When he entered the password, a symbol in the shape of a small horn jumped out. His fingers paused, and then quickly turned on the small horn.

A line of official characters appeared on the computer screen—Sakura Ming accepted your request and added you as a friend.

Sakura Ming's head is a snow-white cloud.It's ironic that people with dark hearts are best at covering themselves with pure things.

Ji Nan tapped a smiling face on the screen and sent it.

But this time, there was no response for a long time.

The light from the desk lamp on the desk was dim, and when the phone rang again, Ji Nan’s nerves that had been tense all the time seemed to be flicked suddenly, and he was startled, he realized that he connected the phone, it turned out to be the senior of the photography club After waiting for a long time, he didn't see him receiving pictures, so he called to ask.

"Well, well, senior, I just had something to do, and I've already entered."

Ji Nan logged into his frequently used Q number, but the QQ that was minimized to the bottom of the screen flickered, Ying Huaming also responded with a smile and a word.

Sakura Ming: Are you someone I know?

Ji Nan typed slowly: This world is so small, people who may not know each other now may have the opportunity to meet in the future.Are you a student?

Sakuraming: Hehe, I am, what about you?

Ji Nan: Me too, which school are you from?

After waiting for a while, there was no response.

Ji Nan stared at the dialog box while downloading photos from his senior.Just when he thought he said something wrong or acted too anxiously, a line of words appeared on the screen.

Sakura Ming: Hehe, I am a student of the famous X Middle School.

Sure enough, she is a girl from the same school, but Baili just came to X Middle School not long ago, what is the reason that caused Yinghuaming to spread Baili's indecent photos on the Internet, and Baili fell into rumors and scandals?
What kind of dark psychology is it?
Ji Nan couldn't figure it out, he wanted to know more, but apart from the school, Ying Huaming had vaguely mentioned other things like age and grade, let alone name and so on.

Ji Nan: Do you like small animals?
Sakuraming: Well, I love puppies and cats.I am also a cute cat uncle.

Ji Nan: You are very popular at school, right?
Sakura Ming: It’s okay, everyone loves me, so tolerate my shortcomings.

Ji Nan: Liar.

Yinghuaming: Hehe, I never tell lies.

A girl who loves small animals often uses a coquettish tone when chatting, just like a cute and simple girl.Who knows what's under the mask?Or——is there any reason why she has no choice but to do so?

Suddenly such a flashing thought is like a touch of emerald green emerging from the ground, growing up against the wind.

[Four]
Entering October, the weather is gradually getting cooler, and long-sleeved autumn school uniforms are issued.

The long-sleeved school shirt for girls is a white jacket with three red and black threads on the sleeves and collar, while the school shirt for boys is a blue one instead of white.

"Dress like a dolphin." Jinan once complained.

"The analogy is inappropriate. Dolphins are black and gray." Cheng Lichen unceremoniously broke the stage.

"In short... it's just an analogy." Ji Nan posed a poss, and looked sideways at Cheng Lichen, "A person with a suave appearance like me, even wearing such a cowardly school uniform doesn't lose his charm at all! Hahahaha."

"You look very unworthy of a beating." Cheng Lichen tried his best to ignore the coquettish big peacock beside him.

The discussion about the school uniform came to an end, but overnight, X seemed to turn into a sea of ​​white and blue.

In the early morning with the scent of tree needles, a girl with clear eyes on the school road became the focus of everyone's attention.

The girl sometimes stood on the rear frame of a fiery red mountain bike with her hands on Ji Nan's shoulders, and sometimes stood on the rear frame of a silver-gray mountain bike with her hands on Cheng Lichen's shoulders. shoulder.

"Wow, I'm so envious, why wasn't I the one who was carried?"

"You dream! You are jealous."

"Is that girl the famous Baili a few days ago? Didn't I hear that she and Cheng Lichen had a fierce fight and even kicked Cheng Lichen? Could it be that Cheng Lichen, an indifferent man, is so barbaric?" Lost in thought Gossip girl.

——I have to say that the handsome boy and the soft black-haired girl are speeding in the autumn wind, which is indeed a very pleasing scene.

Farther away, under the paulownia tree, the long-haired girl watched the scene with a gloomy face, pinching the rough tree trunk with her hands behind her, and her fingernails were bluish white due to the force.

——Why did you blend into the best group in this school so easily, and be with them so naturally?
——Why are you here?

[Fives]
The sunlight filtered through the gaps in the trees, casting large and small light spots on the ground.

Tiny dust particles dance in the sun like twinkling galaxies.

The students on duty at the gate of the school are urging the students who are riding bicycles to stop at the gate, and they are allowed to enter the school after checking the school badge and school uniform.

Ji Nan carried Baili and parked the car smoothly, and Baili jumped down briskly with his shoulders on his shoulders. I don't know what Jinan said to Baili, but Baili narrowed his eyes and showed a mischievous smile.

He waits at the gate of Yulongwan community every morning, and the two-person trip of the original friends gradually becomes a journey of three people.

Ji Nan is always their stimulant. Around him, even breathing seems to become much lighter. Sometimes Cheng Lichen can't help but wonder, if he were Jin Nan, would he look at the divorce of his parents more optimistically? Will he be more relieved, will he be braver, will he not be as cold and lonely as he is now, and... Will he get along with Baili and everyone else more harmoniously?
Cheng Lichen stared blankly, his eyes seemed to be covered with a layer of glass, with burrs.

At [-]:[-] in the morning, the school gate is the busiest at this time. The huge gate is only half opened, and almost everyone is walking in a hurry.Ji Nan said loudly, "Excuse me, excuse me", while the petite girl squeezed in sideways from the gap between the bicycle and the bicycle.

In the blink of an eye, Ji Nan and Baili were overwhelmed by the crowd ahead.

In a dark corner that no one noticed, a man in a cheap suit was stroking his hair that was heavily waxed with one hand, staring intently at the passing students.

(End of this chapter)