stay gold

Chapter 11

August 2012, Gu Ren’s fourth month in Hiroshima

He didn't think about going to the sea to see if he could drown. He didn't have enough time every day, and he didn't have time to form strange thoughts in his mind.The schedule for classes and part-time jobs is full, and every day is exactly the same, even when the part-time job comes home from work every day, the time and place to meet Li Ye are the same.

Sometimes Gu Ren appeared behind the boy pushing the bicycle unhurriedly, and sometimes she would ride the bicycle and stop in front of the boy like a wind, but it was always at that time, neither early nor late.

I forgot which day it was, on the way Gu Ren came home from work, the boy was standing under the same shade of a tree as always, Gu Ren reached out to pick up his schoolbag, and asked with a smile, "Are you waiting for me? "

The boy handed the bag in his hand to Gu Ren, sat in the back seat, and replied with a smile: "Are you here to find me?"

Gu Ren didn't answer, who knows, it might just be a coincidence.

The bicycle moved quickly towards the beach, the afterglow of the setting sun in the west hid in the sea at some point, and the moon in the east changed from a shallow mark to a big halo.

When it was completely dark, Gu Ren and the boy had been sitting on the rock for a long time.

Gu Ren still occasionally has brain twitches, maybe because it was a full moon night, or for other reasons.Gu Ren kept thinking about the question that had no answer in the afternoon, looked at the moon for a long time, and said to the boy next to him without thinking: "I'm looking for you."

The boy was paddling back and forth on the reef with a small stone. When he heard his words, he stopped his movements for a moment, but he didn't look up. He just nodded and replied in a neutral voice, "Oh."

Gu Ren was a little dissatisfied with his reaction, moved his position, and moved closer to the boy, his voice was a little more urgent than the waves hitting the rocks: "Hey, aren't you waiting for me?"

The boy still lowered his head: "I don't know."

Gu Ren moved her head closer to the boy, trying to see his expression, but the boy never looked up.

Gu Ren thought about why this kid is so awkward, so she tried to provoke him: "There is something you dare not admit, don't you just like me!"

The boy didn't move for a while.

Gu Ren felt as if she was taking it off, so she decided to cover it up with a laugh.

The boy suddenly raised his head, with a sweet smile on his face.

Gu Ren looked at the smile and was slightly taken aback, the boy's bright eyes seemed to glow with the stars and moonlight on the sea.

Gu Ren couldn't remember if the boy nodded his head, it seemed like he did and he didn't.

"That..." Gu Ren wanted to be sure, but couldn't ask, the afternoon arrogance just now seemed to be swallowed up by the sea, and only two words came out after a lot of effort.

A gust of sea wind hit without warning, the boy closed his eyes, folded his arms and dodged backwards.

Gu Ren turned around to block the boy, and before the boy opened his eyes, he pecked the boy's forehead with his lips.

Gu Ren thought about it, and sure enough, because it is a full moon night, people are more prone to brain twitches.

The sea wind was getting stronger and stronger, Gu Ren felt that the wind and waves were going to tear the night sky and the moon apart, so she simply hid the boy in her arms, but she didn't dare to look down at the boy's face, she could only look up and stare at him. The round moon complained half-truthfully: "The moon on the sea is not as beautiful as the one on Xiaoyu Mountain."

The boy listened quietly in his arms.

The sea breeze is really cold, but no one wants to go home.

October 2012 The sixth month since Gu Ren arrived in Hiroshima

Gu Ren was on night shift at the convenience store that day, around [-]:[-] p.m., before it was too late, a very kind-hearted old lady came to buy some canned tuna, and whispered something softly when she checked out, Gu Ren I didn't understand it, and thought it might be a local dialect, or it might be chanting scriptures.

The old lady turned her head when she reached the door, and said to Gu Renting with concern: "Young man, go home early tonight, the sea is not so calm."

Gu Ren nodded, and the old lady went out.Although Gu Ren was a little worried, it was work after all, so of course it was impossible to leave directly.

After nine o'clock, there were not too many customers in the store. After all, the island is no different from a big city, and it will calm down at night.

Gu Ren was putting chewing gum on the shelf next to the cashier counter. For some reason, her hand shook. The box of chewing gum in her hand fell to the ground, and the small balls rolled all over the floor.Gu Ren felt a little baffled, and was about to use a broom to clean it up, but the chewing gums that had just been placed on the shelf fell down one after another, and then Gu Ren also staggered, and subconsciously quickly grabbed the cash register to avoid falling fall.

Gu Ren came to his senses, cursed a dirty word, rushed out of the convenience store and ran towards the sea, the ground shook violently again and again, Gu Ren fell down twice, and didn't notice it pain.

It was the first time that Gu Ren felt the panic hitting his organs. He had heard that an earthquake would cause a tsunami, and there lived a child by the sea that he wanted to hide in his arms.

The wind on the sea sounded like a big drum that was about to be broken, as if everything on the entire island would be swept away in the next second, and then collapse in the air.

The shortcut I usually take takes only 10 minutes, but Gu Ren seems to be unable to run no matter what, her mind is wandering, thinking that everything is a pile of fragments.

When he finally saw the front of the house, Gu Rencai was even more frightened because the lights in the house were not turned on.

Gu Ren opened the door with a "bang", almost breaking the handle with so much strength.

In the dark room, Gu Ren caught the little boy huddled in the corner.

When rushing over, the feet crackled and I didn't know how many things were crushed.

"Xiaoye", Gu Ren pulled the boy into his arms, tightly tightening his arms.

The boy held onto Gu Ren's clothes tightly, trembling gently in his arms, without making a sound.

Gu Ren stroked the boy's back, her voice was so hoarse that she could hardly speak: "Don't be afraid,"

The boy's chin tapped lightly on Gu Ren's shoulder.

There was another violent shaking. Behind the boy seemed to be a bookshelf embedded in the wall. Two books fell heavily, but Gu Ren blocked it with his arms.

Gu Ren heard movement outside the door, turned her head, and saw a thin middle-aged woman just walking to the door with a flashlight.

"Is Xiao Ye okay?" The woman took a picture of the room and asked, the accent should be a local.

The boy came out from behind Gu Ren, and whispered to the door: "I'm fine." Turning around, he explained to Gu Ren, "It's the landlady."

"That's good. There was a power outage just now. Stay at home and don't run around." The landlady instructed.

The boy responded with a "yes".

The landlady looked at Gu Ren by the light of the flashlight, and asked, "Is it my brother from China?"

Gu Ren nodded, leaned forward slightly: "Yes, hello"

The landlady handed the flashlight to Gu Ren: "This earthquake is quite severe, and there may be heavy rain in a while. Don't go out. I'm upstairs. If you need anything, come up to me."

Gu Ren took the flashlight and thanked the landlady.

After the landlady left, Gu Rencai hugged the boy again and breathed a sigh of relief. Judging from the landlady's tone, the earthquake should not be very serious.

"Has there been an earthquake before?" Gu Ren asked.

"Yeah," the boy leaned against Gu Ren's arms, not shaking much now.

Gu Ren recalled that when he just entered the door, in those previous nights like this, did he always huddled in a corner by himself until dawn.

The light of the flashlight was not very bright, and the room was still very dark. It was raining heavily outside at some point, and when the white lightning struck, it was as bright as day outside for a moment, followed by More intense thunder roared.

Gu Ren was not afraid of anything before, not afraid of lightning, not afraid of thunder, and not afraid of the dark.But when those boys came towards him, Gu Ren was afraid that he would not be by his side.

Gu Ren hugged the boy tightly, and said to him during that long night, "Don't be afraid."