Rust II

Chapter 27

After speaking, she raised her head and looked at him again.

Lin An clenched his jaw tightly, his chest was filled with an unknown emotion, heaving up and down unconsciously in the cold autumn wind.

The dust-laden past surged wildly in memory along with this long-lost face.

The dark night, the abandoned gymnasium, the ripped clothes.

Amidst the choking dust, a flashlight shone down.

--it's him.Director Qi, have you seen clearly?

If I see clearly, I hope that every word I say tonight will appear where it should appear before long.

Lin An, male, a student in grade 89, the deputy director of the study department of X Middle School Student Union, was expelled from school for repeatedly attempting to moles his fellow students.

Ma Yi leaned against the car window, looking back at him leisurely, admiring the anger, anger, and...fear in those bloodshot eyes with great interest.

Just the same as back then.

Tens of seconds later, Lin An finally suppressed all the emotions that suddenly came up in his heart under the gaze, then closed his eyes, and stepped forward with a blank expression, intending to pass through the other side. .

Ma Yifu looked at the other party's forced calm, raised his arms and grabbed him, smiled and said: "Hey brother, don't go." He moved forward again, and said ambiguously : "I haven't seen you for so long, don't you want to chat with your former alumni?"

Lin An stared ahead, didn't say a word, only struggled hard, maintaining the indifference on his face and not moving a bit.

Ma Yifu stared at the cold side face of the other party, let go of his hand after a while, showed a smirk, and sighed regretfully: "It seems that I am not interested in my junior brother."

After finishing speaking, he changed the subject and asked slowly, "What about Xu Xin?"

Lin An was shocked when he heard the words, and turned around after a few seconds.

Ma Yi took all his expressions and movements into his eyes, and couldn't help showing a layer of color and sarcasm on his face. He looked at him and continued: "Where is he now, who is he with... What is he doing? Brother, don't you want to know?" ?”

Lin An looked at him without saying a word, and after a while, his lips moved unconsciously.

Seeing this, Ma Yifu smiled again, straightened up, moved away and walked towards Cuifangyuan, "I just walked around inside, and found that it was too early, and there was only one breakfast shop with beef soup open. If you don't mind, brother, Shall we go there and talk?"

He didn't look behind him, because he knew that if Xu Xin was used as bait, the other party would definitely take the bait.

Lin An really followed.

Five minutes later, the two entered the steaming beef soup shop one after the other.

The store's appearance is not small, although it is only a quarter past seven, there are already several tables of young people who get up early to catch up with work.Ma Yifu randomly picked a table by the window in the corner and sat down, then raised his head to look at Lin An who was still standing by the corner of the table with a tense face, and said, "Senior brother, sit down." With a meaningful smile, "How can we talk if we don't sit?"

Lin An stared at him firmly, didn't move, didn't respond, until the store owner came over with a smile tens of seconds later, and asked enthusiastically: "You two, what would you like to eat? Beef soup, rice porridge, fried dough sticks, steamed stuffed bun, tofu brain, everything Yes, just order whatever you want." Then he turned his head and shouted at another young man at the door: "Hey, that bowl of sweet soy milk is what the girl on the left wants, hurry up and deliver it to someone, don't make a mistake." The loud voice resounded throughout the restaurant, successfully pushing back the drowsiness unique to the morning.

When it was over, he turned around and continued to wait for Lin An's table.

Ma Yifu pushed his glasses, looked at the menu board on the table for a while, and ordered a bowl of millet porridge and a drawer of crab rice dumplings. After thinking about it, he added a portion of tofu nao. It looks like it's coming for breakfast.The boss listened with a smile, and at the same time yelled at the clerk at the door, then turned his gaze to where Lin An was standing, "Sir, what about you? What do you want?"

Only then did Lin An come to his senses, hesitated for a moment, and slowly sat down on the seat opposite Ma Yifu under the watchful eye of the shop owner, but his eyes never glanced at the menu, but kept on It fixed on Ma Yifu's body without blinking.

"...No need." After a long while, he heard him speak in a low voice.

"Okay, those two wait a moment, Xiaolong may be there for two or three minutes, and he will be here in a while."

The shop owner walked away quickly, and within a few seconds, the porridge and tofu nao were served. Ma Yi calmly took a sip of each, raised his eyebrows, and praised: "Well, not bad." He said and looked at the opposite side to take a look.

"Your neighborhood is also well chosen, with first-class greenery and complete facilities. Although the house is a bit old, it is convenient in every way. After saying that, he knocked on the solid wood table under his arm, "How can I drink a bowl of warm water in the morning?" Heart-warming porridge. "

"Brother, don't you really order a little? I see that you didn't take a few bites of the buns on the side of the road just now."

Lin An said nothing, just continued to look at him.

Seeing that he never answered his words, Ma Yifu just stared at him with defensive and cold eyes, couldn't help lowering his head and humming, took a few more mouthfuls on his own, put down his chopsticks and straightened his expression , said: "It seems that the brother is not interested in this topic, okay, let's talk about something interesting."

He paused as he spoke, and after a short silence, he suddenly reported his home address and house number.

"Room 27, Unit C, Building 18, Cuifangyuan, No. 201, Bo'ai Road."

Lin An was taken aback.

Ma Yifu saw him slightly surprised, and smiled, "How is it, does it sound familiar?"

Lin An's hand resting on his thigh moved slightly.

Of course it sounds familiar, this is his current residence in Cui Fang Yuan.

Thinking of this, Lin An's gaze suddenly became sharper and more vigilant than before,

"Don't get me wrong, I don't mean anything else, I just sigh. I didn't expect that after so many years, Brother Lin's vision is still the same as when he was at his alma mater, so precise and excellent, even compared to the elder brother of the Xu family. ... Tsk, they are also surprisingly consistent, on par."

As he spoke, he glanced at the expression on Lin An's face, lowered his voice slightly, and explained: "The address I just mentioned is a four-bedroom apartment that Xu Guang bought in this Cuifangyuan four years ago, but due to For some personal reasons, he transferred this house to Xu Xin the year before last." After he paused for a while, he pretended to look out the already bright window, and then said: "The location is good, and it is also a school district, so Even though the house is not new, it is actually very expensive. Four or five years ago, it was a standard "cadre housing" area, so the rent has never been cheap."

Lin An's expression has changed subtly at this time.

Ma Yifu observed secretly, and after a while, he picked up the spoon and turned around in the porridge bowl, and continued to speculate casually: "So it's no wonder that I heard that Mr. Xu specially hired a few decoration workers three years ago. , made a partition from the nearly 180-square-meter house, and contacted the intermediary, saying that they would rent out one big and one small houses separately in the second half of the year. Now that I think about it... I should be worried that the original apartment size is too large. If the original area For rent, it may be difficult to find a "matching" guest for a while."

The person sitting across from him was still looking at him motionlessly, but his sharp gaze gradually became sluggish and dim following the words he had just finished speaking.

Ma Yifu knew that the other party had listened to what he said, and most of them chose to believe it, so he couldn't help but smiled again, put down his dining tools and called him in a casual voice: "Lin An." Pretending that the friendship and intimacy between the two never existed at all, "You are very smart. For this sake, you must have understood the meaning of my words."

Lin An's distracted gaze reunited.

The expression on Ma Yifu's face has changed, he is indifferent and arrogant, and his eyes are also unabashedly soaked in ridicule: "Catch the turtle in the urn. City C is the urn, and you are the turtle. This is 12 years later, which is now. , what you, Lin An, deserve, is a truly correct relationship with Xu Xin."

Lin An was shaken all over, and after a few seconds, his hands covered under the table trembled uncontrollably.

He slowly closed his eyes, allowing a dull pain to start from his heart and gradually spread throughout his body.

This sentence... In fact, why does Ma Yifu need to tell himself.

After experiencing ruthless exploitation and deception, what I should get is the long-standing disdain and hatred, or the intimacy and love for no reason.

In fact, the answer has always been obvious, but I have been blindly avoiding it all the time, not daring or willing to face it directly, clinging obsessively to the "tolerance" and gentleness given by the other party, letting the greed and timidity in my heart gradually disappear. Reason is buried and obliterated.

"...You found me just to say these things."

I don't know how long it took before he finally opened his mouth.

Ma Yifu smiled, "Of course not." He raised his chin slightly as he spoke, and looked at the other party condescendingly, "I came to you because I wanted to make a deal with you, a deal 12 years ago... you and The deal that Xu Guang made."

Lin An looked at him suddenly.

Ma Yifu clasped his hands in front of the table. Seeing his sudden sharp gaze, he leaned back and asked with raised eyebrows, "What's wrong? Don't you want to?"

Lin An looked at him without saying a word. After a long time, the corners of his tightly pursed lips were torn apart suddenly, revealing a bleak and indescribable smile.

"Ma Yifu." He opened his mouth softly, word by word, as if weeping blood, and gritted his teeth to the well-dressed person sitting opposite him, "Why do you think... I would be willing to make a deal with a beast?"

Ma Yifu looked at him with a smile.

"If it wasn't for you..." Lin An's eyes were red, and he gritted his teeth.

"If it wasn't for you..." After a few seconds, he murmured and repeated, his clenched fingertips almost piercing into his palm.

Ma Yifu was calm and composed, without any dissatisfaction or anger at the word "animal" in the other party's mouth, and even looked at the painful struggling posture of the other party with excitement and joy, like a beast in a fight.

"Why are not you talking?"

Lin An breathed rapidly, every breath seemed to have a slight convulsion.

"Okay, if you don't say it, let me say it. Let me tell you why."

Ma Yifu leaned forward, leaned closer to the person opposite, and said in a low voice: "Since you have been pushed to the edge of the cliff, if you don't turn back in time to ask me for help, there is only one way left—— Crack, fall, there will be no bones left, and the body will be smashed to pieces."

Lin An lowered his head.

After Ma Yifu finished speaking, he stared at the top of the other's dark hair for a moment, a hint of pleasure suddenly appeared in the corner of his mouth, and then asked softly: "Mr. Lin, have you had a hard time these two days?"

Lin An's clenched hand resting on his leg moved suddenly.

"Speaking of which, we can meet so quickly this time, thanks to Zhou's parents. You see, he is far more knowledgeable about current affairs than you, with 80 yuan, he is willing to do anything, otherwise... it will be a while , I really can’t find a better opportunity to attack you.”

Lin An raised his head abruptly.

Accompanied by Ma Yifu's slightly complacent words, Zhou Tao's figure jumping down from the teaching building floated in front of his eyes again.

He stared fiercely at the other party's maliciously smiling face, and his frozen eyes gradually became more vicious than ever before.

Seeing Ma Yifu, he couldn't help being amused: "Oh, you're so excited? Hehe, no wonder you can be rated as an excellent teacher. He really loves students." He nodded again, and praised twice: "Not bad ,good."

"...Shameless."

"To each other." Ma Yifu flicked the almost-cooled tofu brain in the porcelain bowl twice, and said leisurely amidst the sound of chopsticks colliding: "You sat in front of Xu Guang and talked nonsense, trampling people wantonly. Isn't it also shameless when Old San Baba Xu sent up a heartfelt heart."

Lin An's stern expression suddenly froze, his eyelashes trembled, and fell down again in an instant.

Ma Yifu was well aware of the pain of the other party, and after poking the other party's wound, he was fine, smiled and continued: "So since they are all shameless, then don't pretend to be a gentleman in front of each other." After a pause, he continued: "Lin An, in 92, you were able to betray him once for your own self-interest, and now in 04, presumably... it won't be too difficult."

"……why."

Ma Yifu listened to him being silent for a long time, but suddenly opened his mouth in a low voice, and couldn't help raising his eyebrows, "Why?"

"……Why.

"Since I'm already a turtle in the urn, why do you force me to take this extra step?" The other party asked hoarsely.

Ma Yifu saw that although he was so depressed, he still reacted quickly, so he couldn't help laughing again.

"I don't need to worry about it, senior brother. Since I choose to do this, I naturally have my plan and reason."

The person opposite stopped talking.

Ma Yifu didn't rush, just continued to fiddle with the two porridge bowls and soup bowls with a spoon.He thinks that he is quite sure about the reality and weakness of the other party, otherwise how could he have left Xu Xin behind without hesitation when he was oppressed and instigated by Xu Guang?

Sure enough, 2 minutes later, he heard the other party's voice, which was still hoarse, but calmed down.

He asked: "...what do you want me to do."

Ma Yifu immediately stopped what he was doing, smiled, took out a card from the inner pocket of his suit, and threw it in front of him.

"Simple, you go find someone."

Lin An moved his hand on the table, and his eyes fell on the brand new bank card.

"……Who?"

"Wu Yan."

Lin An's breathing was obviously stagnant, and he asked again after a long while: "...What do you want her for?"

Ma Yifu smiled again, and after a short pause, he continued: "Tell her that you will never forget her old relationship, and that you rejected her more than 20 days ago was only because you were not ready to face your past."

Lin An stared straight at the light brown tabletop without moving.

"And I hope that I can hear the good news from you in a month at most." Ma Yifu continued, and then tapped his fingers on the table, "This little money, I will treat it as a congratulatory gift prepared by you in advance. .”

Lin An still didn't respond, just maintained the previous posture, staring at the card with fixed eyes.

After Ma Yifu finished speaking, his body leaned back and leaned against the soft back of the chair, then glanced at the expression on the other party's face, bent his lips and continued: "Brother, in fact, no matter from which angle you think about it, This is a good thing that kills multiple birds with one stone. It can not only allow you to embrace Meijiao Niang, but at the same time reconcile the beautiful fate that you regretted missing in X University, and also get rid of the one that may bring you disaster at any time The homosexuality of the student makes the 'rumors' that are prevalent in the school now self-defeating. Why not do it?"

Then he paused, "As for Wu Yan's brother Huang Jun, who is not popular, I will find a time for him to personally apologize to you and come forward to explain that when you had a "conflict" on Bo'ai Road that afternoon Secretly recorded video and photos, it’s very simple to find an excuse to help you refute the rumors. Even this matter...maybe it’s not my turn to do it.”

Ma Yifu finished all the arrangements slowly, and finally asked: "How about it, senior brother, how about this proposal?"

Seeing that Lin An didn't respond for a while after asking, he tapped the thick table with his hand a few more times, and added lightly: "Of course, the final decision is still in your hands, and you can choose not to agree. But... "He frowned slightly, turned his head and pretended to be extremely distressed, "Hiss, I remember brother, your mother is going to be 60 this year, right? Tsk, I'm getting older, I don't know if I can still bear the pain like back then The same blow. You say..." At this point, I deliberately paused, stared at Lin An's ashamed face for two seconds, and then continued: "If your mother finds out, she is worried How hopeless and sad it must be for a son who has lived for so many years to be trampled and completely unable to survive in City C because of such a dirty and scandalous incident."

When it was over, he approached meaningfully and asked, "Brother, do you think so?"

Lin An still didn't answer, but the hand that landed on the table moved after a few seconds.

Without saying a word, he picked up the golden card with a faint luster under the light, moved it to his eyes and looked at it for a long time, and asked in a hoarse voice, "...how many are there?"

Ma Yifu had a clear smile in his eyes, stretched out a hand, and made a six.

After another meal, he looked at the other party playfully and said, "Is it enough?"

Lin An stared blankly at the hand, his eyes gradually changed from tired and indifferent to bewildered, and after a while, he returned from bewildered to calm and indifferent.

He didn't answer, but suddenly lowered his head and smiled at the empty table in front of him.

After one sound, he shook his shoulders and back, and laughed a second time...

Then came the third and fourth beeps in succession.

Other people around were attracted by this creepy and miserable smile, and secretly looked at the table sitting in the corner from the corner of their eyes.

Ma Yifu quietly looked at the person sitting across from him who was twitching from laughter, and felt that the appearance of the other person was both pitiful and funny.So after a moment of silence, he spoke again, "If you think it's not enough, you can add more later. I'll give you a day to think about it. You must give me the answer and the price before 8:[-] tomorrow morning. Otherwise..."

"...No need." Unexpectedly, as soon as the words fell, someone who was still giggling suddenly stopped.

Lin An looked at his trembling hand, and repeated it very softly: "No..." He stood up slowly, lowered his eyes slightly, and met Ma Yifu, who was full of contempt and disdain. Disdainful eyes, said: "The price is enough."

Ma Yifu raised his eyebrows, followed by raising his head slightly.

Lin An looked at him, suddenly smiled slightly, and continued: "...the answer, I can give it to you right now."

Ma Yifu narrowed his eyes slightly, "Oh? It's rare to see senior brother so happy..."

But he didn't want to finish his words, the person in front of the table who looked extremely tired and weak suddenly reached out and grabbed the glass bottle that was used to hold the seasoning, and swung it towards the opposite side without warning.

The moment the head came into contact with the bottle, there was a muffled blunt sound like a blunt blow from a heavy weapon.

The glass shattered instantly.Ma Yifu didn't even have time to stop and react, a thick bloodstain snaked from his forehead, and the whole body with the chair fell backwards.

The nearly 40-square-meter shop was silent for a while, except for Lin An, who was bending over slightly and panting violently as he leaned on the corner of the table.

A few seconds later, a huge panic broke out in this originally stable and quiet beef soup shop.Everyone stood up from their seats one after another, and several young girls who were a little closer to Lin An even screamed in fear one after another, grabbed the bags at hand and ran out in a panic.

The tables and chairs were collided by the turbulent crowd for a while, making a harsh sound.Several men surrounded him with some hesitation.

"Hey, hey, what's going on, what's going on? Why did you suddenly hit someone?"

"Oh, the blood in this place, call the police, call the police, there are 120, 120!"

The shop owner and the buddy also ran over quickly, seeing the chaotic scene and the messed up ground, they caught fire instantly.

"Hey, what's the matter with you young man, huh? Eat as soon as you eat, don't act wild here! It's so early in the morning, how can I do this business?" Said stepping up, wanting to push Lin An was still standing there blankly.

Lin An stood motionless, holding half of the thin neck of the remaining bottle in his hand. The broken part was like several jagged blades, dripping blood stained with sesame oil, extremely sharp.

He stared at Ma Yifu who was being picked up and dragged to the back seat for a while, smiled weakly, raised his left hand to wipe the oil splashed on his face, and after holding his breath, he turned and walked over Two or three sparse figures walked out.

The shop owner stopped him, "Hey, you can't leave, you are not responsible for this mess, you just want to leave? Besides, the person you beat is still lying here! Wait for the police! We have already called the police!"

Lin An glanced at him, subconsciously moved the right hand that was still holding the bottleneck, the boss shook unconsciously, took a step back, and muttered: "Why, do you still want to hit someone? Let me tell you, I'm not afraid of you, there are so many people here, if you have the ability, wait for the police to come and you will fight in front of the police!" While looking around for a tool that can be used for defense.

"Don't worry, I won't hurt you." Unexpectedly, just after looking around twice, the thin and frail young man on the opposite side spoke softly to him.After finishing speaking, he also took the initiative to put the bottleneck covered in blood and oil on the wooden table beside him.

"You..." The boss was rather astonished.

Lin An's right hand was probably cut open by the sharp bottle just now, and blood was gurgling out.He squeezed his palm tightly with five fingers, and there was a faint smile on his pale and terrifying face.

"My surname is Lin, and I live in Building 18 of Cuifangyuan. If the police come later, you can go there and find me if you need any special information from me." He paused and lowered his head. Looking at his dirty shirt and trousers, he said softly, "My clothes are dirty, and my palms are all wounds from the glass prick just now... Now I want to go back and clean it up. I don't know if I can?"

After speaking, he raised his head and glanced at the store again. Seeing that the boss stopped objecting in a daze, he brushed away the crowd without haste and walked towards the door of the store at the other end.

There was an inconceivable comment behind him: "I'm sure I'm crazy, right? It's the first time I've seen someone so calm after the beating, as if nothing happened..." "Hey, what did these two people talk to here just now?" What's the matter, I seem to hear something about homosexuality, dealing, perversion, etc..."

Lin An walked step by step on this road back to the residence, turning a deaf ear to all the noise behind him.

It was nearly eight o'clock, and the darkness of the morning on Bo'ai Road had long since disappeared under the washing of the sun, and the traffic on the road was no longer scattered and sparse as in the dim morning light. Cars, electric cars and bicycles that shuttle freely are all traveling on this road with different styles but clear goals.

I was the only one who stumbled, staggered, and couldn't tell where the continuously extending road under my feet should lead.

The footsteps are getting slower and slower, just like the clouds that occasionally drift by in the clear sky thousands of miles away, their whereabouts are erratic, and there is no wind to follow.

However, in the increasingly cloudy mind, he was still desperately trying to retain a trace of sobriety for a certain gentle voice that remained in his heart.

...Lin An.

All the strength in my body was finally drained.In a trance, a still youthful face suddenly appeared in front of his eyes.

Lin An's footsteps stopped completely.

He stared fixedly at the pair of eyes that were close at hand, and the whispers and calls from the past suddenly sounded in his ears.

The other party still had a gentle smile on his face, and after showing it to him quietly, it immediately disappeared into the darkness.

A burst of harsh brakes and horns came from behind, accompanied by several screams and furious curses: "Fuck! Are you sick? Do you know that walking without looking at the road is tantamount to murder for money!"

Lin An just stared fixedly at the concrete road covered with sunlight in the distance.

The dull pain hit suddenly, and the cold and hard touch of the ground spread throughout the limbs and bones in an instant.

Excited exclamations came from all directions, but he seemed to be unable to hear them at all. He only rolled his eyes as hard as he could, wanting to touch the back that was getting more and more blurred and was about to leave.

"Lin An!"

So when the last cry that was extremely clear came to his ears, he was also powerless to distinguish whether this hurried figure that dissipated halfway but turned back suddenly and hugged himself tightly was a real existence under the vast daylight. The scorching heat and warmth, or just another icy illusion that was imagined out of thin air.