Invade the World

  Chapter 23 No Choice

  Lin Xingjie stared at the glass panel covered with a layer of white mist. She stretched out her hand and touched the dense curtain made up of large and large layers of small water droplets on the tiles, and hot water flowed down the girl's smooth skin.

  The sound of water dripping in the ears, the steaming water vapor everywhere, the whole body is wrapped in moist warmth, and the bathroom is quiet enough to be heard by needles, which together constitute a secret room that makes people unconsciously calm.

  This is the first time in her life that she stayed overnight at a classmate’s house.

  She didn't have this kind of opportunity before, Lin Xingjie thought, is this a sign that her life is getting on the right track little by little?

Lin Xingjie was still a little nervous at first; but unlike a home where she had to worry about doing anything, she found that she rarely had the opportunity to enjoy the time to take a bath, and she didn’t have to rush to the room and shut herself in after washing. Or just run away from home.

   So, she emptied her head, and all her chaotic thoughts flooded her mind for a time.

  Because she is not willing to let Xu Xiangyang know her family situation deep in her heart, Lin Xingjie always bids farewell to her friends in the alley every time she comes back, and always avoids this topic when chatting.

  Lin Xingjie said to herself that it is not so sensitive to be practical. Anyway, she didn't lose face in front of each other once or twice. When the most embarrassed, I was seen by this person. Is it really necessary to be hypocritical?

  This kind of self-comfort is not without reason, but for some reason, she still can't speak.

  So that after the real exposure, even the rare leisure time after school did not improve the mood, and it was still gloomy, as gloomy as the sky before the torrential rain.

   After Lin Xingjie changed into a large-sized dress, the man was no longer in the living room.

  She looked around curiously, and their schoolbags were neatly placed on the chairs. At the same time, the smell of cooking is coming from the kitchen.

  ...He really looks like a "good wife and mother", Lin Xingjie thought.

  The boy in the kitchen heard the noise here and shouted, "Sit down for a while, and the food will be ready soon."

"Do you need help?"

"No need to."

  After a while, Xu Xiangyang, wearing an apron, walked out carrying the dinner plate, took out the juice from the refrigerator, took out two bowls and chopsticks from the cupboard, and put them patiently in turn before sitting down.

"…thanks."

   Lin Xingjie said softly.

  "Are you okay? When you came back before, you looked tired."

   "It's okay."

  "Is it because of Xiao An?"

"probably."

  Xu Xiangyang could see that she was not very interested. He thought about it, but decided to speak up.

  "Let’s eat first." He took his chopsticks and pointed to the food on the table, "We will talk again after eating. If you don’t want to say, you can go directly to your sister’s room."

  "Can I go to bed earlier?"

  The girl blinked.

   "Of course not."

  Xu Xiangyang frowned and answered without hesitation.

   "You still have to do your homework."

"what…"

   "Tell me before the break, I want to check."

   "Do you consider me a primary school student?"

   "It's useless to say anything, please be obedient."

  As long as he mentioned learning things, he would change into this incapable tone.

   "Okay, I see."

   Lin Xingjie helplessly raised her hands to express surrender.

  *

  Sister Xu Xiangyang’s room was lit up with a dim light.

   Lin Xingjie concentrated on writing at the desk.

  After she finished the last math problem that she would do, she breathed out gently and moved her wrist. At this time, the door of the room was knocked.

  "Please come in."

   "I will cook you a bowl of red date soup, drink it while it is hot."

  Xu Xiangyang's voice came from behind.

"...You don't need to be so good to me." Turning his head to see the boy who walked in with a bowl cautiously, Lin Xingjie couldn't help laughing and shook her head, "I feel like you are really like my parent. "

  Work hard to persuade the child to study, help the child to check his homework, and prepare the nutrition for the child to study at night... What Xu Xiangyang is doing makes her feel this illusion.

  Of course, Lin Xingjie only occasionally heard of the situation in their home from others, but she has never had a similar experience herself.

   "I used to cook something to eat every night when I was studying, otherwise I would be hungry easily, and it would be difficult to concentrate. I just do more today."

  He put the steaming bowl on the table.

"Has it be done?"

"Ok."

  Xu Xiangyang sat on the bed and checked the homework; Lin Xingjie in the chair was holding a bowl and taking a spoon to eat.

  The bedroom quieted down for a while. The dim halo of the desk lamp decorated the white walls and deep windows, and the atmosphere between the two was quiet and silent. Xu Xiangyang lowered his head and checked intently. The girl's eyes never looked away from the boy's face for a moment.

   "Well written."

  After a while, Xu Xiangyang handed back the workbook, smiling unconsciously at the corner of his mouth. Lin Xingjie could see that he was really happy for himself.

   "Is it all right?"

   "No, there are a lot of mistakes. It's just that you can finish writing, and it's better than a week ago, and you can see that it's not random writing, it's all after thinking."

   "Huh, I don't do anything like cheating."

   Lin Xingjie took it over and suggested with a smile.

   "Then you help me change it?"

"no."

  Xu Xiangyang answered firmly.

   "Hey, you are not willing to give in..."

  "The answer itself is meaningless. After being corrected by the teacher, you know what is wrong and correct it on this basis. This is the most important process in learning."

  He stood up, clapped his hands, and his tone became relaxed.

   "Okay, let's take a break. Didn't you go to bed so early? Would you like to watch the disc together? I just bought a few of them back today."

"Ah, this is also very similar to how parents encourage their children!" Lin Xingjie's eyes sparkled, "If he can complete the homework within the specified time or get good grades in the test, he will be rewarded, have a big meal or Buy what the child wants as a gift, right?"

  Xu Xiangyang did not answer, but just shrugged and turned to the living room.

"what do you want to see?"

   "Um... comedy."

   "Then Stephen Chow will do it."

  Xu Xiangyang put the disc in before, and at this moment directly pressed the button of the machine.

  *

  The two sat back on the sofa.

  The living room is quiet, and the atmosphere in the room seems to have changed back to the way they had just returned from the outside. The TV screen was shining slightly, but the two of them had their own thoughts, and neither of them paid attention to it.

  "Do you want to hear me talk about things in my family?"

  The black-haired girl spoke softly with a slightly hoarse voice, breaking the silence.

   "If I think about it, will you answer it?"

   "I said before, as long as you ask, no matter what question, I will answer honestly."

  Xu Xiangyang put his hands on his knees, straightened his back, and sat upright. He didn't look at Lin Xingjie, but tried to make his expression serious.

   Lin Xingjie’s eyes were fixed on the TV screen, and she also subconsciously did not want to look at his face.

"Please say."

  "...Actually, I haven't never had...the so-called ‘friends’."

  "You mean Shi Hui and the others?"

"Yes. I heard that they had contacts with people on the road and they often fought. He pestered me several times, saying that he wanted to get to know me, but I finally agreed. Of course, not because I was too annoyed, but because …I hope someone can help me at a critical moment."

   Without waiting for Xu Xiangyang's response, the girl lowered her head and began to laugh at herself.

  "This is ridiculous, isn't it? I think it’s funny myself, and I actually hope this kind of people."

"What's the meaning?"

   Lin Xingjie did not answer. She suddenly grabbed Xu Xiangyang's hand aside, and began to lift it upwards.

  Xu Xiangyang was taken aback, did not resist, and tried to restrain the urge to turn his head. He found that his finger was being pulled to the side of the girl's face, and a rough feeling came from his fingertips.

  That is a band-aid.

  Xu Xiangyang had noticed this wound a long time ago. And this time, he was finally able to touch the truth.

   "...who caused the wound on your face?"

   "The new boyfriend my mother found. He is in my house now."

  Xu Xiangyang took a deep breath, and then took another deep breath, clenching his hands unconsciously.

   "You...you must have told your aunt? Didn't she respond? Are you still staying with that guy now?"

   "Mom will only tell me, let me not annoy my uncle."

   Lin Xingjie seemed to shook her head. The ends of the long hair swept across the back of Xu Xiangyang's hand.

  "Can this woman still be worthy of being a mother?"—This sentence swirled around Xu Xiangyang's throat, and finally swallowed it back.

"Don't blame her." Lin Xingjie seemed to be able to hear his inner voice, with a wry smile in her tone, "That woman...my mother is just a little stupid, easy to be fooled, and very timid. She will be frightened by a man. Obediently. And that man is very difficult to deal with."

"Of course, the people she used to look for in my mother are actually not good things. I said that her vision is very bad, or it may be bad luck. She met either a liar or a playboy, or she just wandered all day long. Don't do it. It's just that this kind of people are generally pretty easy to deal with, and I can always get rid of them if I think of a way."

"But that person is different." Lin Xingjie's tone became unusually heavy, "I...I have known him. He used to be on the road, and now there are a bunch of younger brothers who listen to him. I heard that this person still has money on his hands. There are lives just released from inside."

"Even without such a background, he is not something I can deal with at all. He is too tall, strong, and grumpy... That day, on the day when he was drunk and his mother happened to be away, I came back from the street. By accident, I ran into him coming out drunk. For no reason, he suddenly became furious and slapped me while yelling'bitch'... I guess he probably admitted the wrong person."

"He wanted to punch and kick me later. It seemed that he was really planning to beat me to death. At that moment, I understood that he is a natural violent man. This kind of person will kill me at all. Surprisingly. If I hadn't reacted in a timely manner and fled to the room and locked the door, I'm afraid it would be..." Lin Xingjie stroked her cheek and let out a long sigh of relief. Until now, she still has lingering fears about what happened that day, "The price is just a touch on the face at the beginning, I think it's pretty light."

"From then on, I realized that I could only avoid him. As long as he was there, I wouldn't even dare to return home. But this kind of evasion would definitely not last long. I can't imagine going on like this. What will it become; if he really becomes my father, I have to live with this man under the same roof..."

"I have no time, let alone a way out. I can only try my best to save myself. I have tried to get help from an adult, as you said before, to find neighbors, teachers and police, but I get The results are the same. Even if there are adults who are willing to listen to me and help to see the situation, they are often stopped at the door. Everyone will only say that "the clean official is hard to break housework", so there is right that There is no point in this way of man’s obedient mother. After all, she is my guardian and my only relative in this world."

"I can only figure out a solution by myself. I have no friends, I think, I have to use all the people I know to deal with the threat that that person brings to me... Even if the other person is a complete annoyance, as long as there is such a possibility Sex can help me..."

"Xu Xiangyang, you said that for people like me, the best way to get out of the current situation is to read books. I think you are not wrong at all. From now on, it’s still too late. Yes, study hard and stay a year or a half. Going to a good university and getting a scholarship, I’m just right. I can just leave the guardian, leave the city, and leave the two people. As long as I can learn to endure, as long as I try my best to study, I can endure for a while. Time, I can, I can get out of the sea of ​​suffering... But, but ah—"

  Lin Xingjie’s words paused for a moment, as if choked, but also as if she breathed too hard due to emotional excitement, making her breathless for a while.

"...But, what I fear most is that I may not even be able to survive this year and a half. I don't know how others will think of my high school life. To me, every day of these three years is like It’s living like years. It’s too long, it’s too long!"

"Xu Xiangyang, in this world, there are always people who have no choice. There are many difficulties, and there are many ways to solve them, but there are also people who are really desperate and have no way of knowing the future... So, they will do everything. I will try any method, even if it looks stupid in the eyes of others..."

"Is it because I'm too stupid? Is it because I'm not brave enough? Isn't it because I don't know enough people? Xu Xiangyang, if it's you, you must be able to do better, and there must be a smarter way than me. , You are great, you can read, you can take care of yourself, and you are so decisive in doing things. Even fools like me who once dismissed you are willing to help... I just want you to know that at that time, I, There is really no choice."

  When Lin Xingjie spoke, she never turned her head.

  She didn't dare to turn her head, for fear of seeing an expression that would make her sad. She kept talking about herself, and only the sound of the projector was rustling in her ears.

  Lin Xingjie sniffed and took a few deep breaths. After a moment of silence, she was ready to continue speaking; and at this moment, she suddenly heard a strange and slight noise, like the sound of someone crying.

  Lin Xingjie finally couldn't help turning her head.

  Afterwards, she was surprised to find that two clear tears were shed on the boy's slightly pale face illuminated by the light of the TV.

  (End of this chapter)