Chapter 3 third chapter

On this day, Shijun, Shuhui, and Manzhen went to dinner together again. They talked about Mr. Ye, who was in charge of general affairs in the factory, celebrating his birthday, and they gave away 200 birthday bowls to everyone.Shijun said to Shuhui: You gave me the money for the gift, right?As he said that, he took out money from his side to pay him back.Shuhui laughed and said, "Are you going to pay your birthday greetings today?"Shijun frowned and said: I don't want to go.To be honest, I find this sort of thing kind of boring.Shuhui smiled and said: "Just be tactful. This is how you do things in this kind of society. There is no reason to talk about it. You don't want to offend others."Shijun nodded with a smile, and said: But I think there must be a lot of people there today, maybe no one will notice if I don't go.Shuhui also knew that Shijun's temper had always been like this, he was very easy-going when he was easy-going, but he was also very stubborn when he was stubborn, so he casually persuaded him, and it was fine.Manzhen didn't say anything beside him.

That night, Shijun and Shuhui returned home and had a rest. Shuhui went to pay his birthday wishes. Shijun suddenly remembered that Manzhen would probably be going too.Thinking of this, without thinking too much, he pushed the glass window open and leaned towards the window, trying to call Shuhui to stop him when he passed by, and go with him.However, after waiting for a long time, Shu Hui was still not seen, so he must have already passed by.The alley under the windows was dark, and the spring night wind blew on people's faces, slightly damp, as if it was warmer outside than inside.Sitting in the house, my body is always cold.The small room under this light looked small, empty, and messy.In fact, he was used to the desolate atmosphere of the guest house for a long time.But today, for some reason, I couldn't sit still for a moment.He suddenly wanted to see Manzhen urgently.As a result, Yan endured it for a while, but he stood up and went out. When he reached the street, he hired a car and went straight to the restaurant.

Mr. Na Ye's birthday banquet was set upstairs, and once he went upstairs, there was a two-drawer table slanted there, with pens, inkstones and autograph books on it.Seeing Shijun, he smiled unconsciously and thought: I thought there were so many people today, and there was no way to check who came and who didn't.Fortunately, it came!He picked up the pen and dipped it in the inkstone.It has been a long time since he has written with a brush, and he has always lacked confidence in writing with a brush, so he hesitated before writing.At this time, a hand stretched out from behind his back, pulled the pen, pulled it over, and wiped the ink in his hand.Shijun was taken aback, and when he looked back, he never thought it was Manzhen. She had never joked with him like this before, so he was stunned.Manzhen smiled and said: Shuhui is looking for you, come quickly.She hurriedly put the pen on the table, turned around and left, Shijun followed behind her in a daze.This place is a large open hall with more than a dozen tables and seats. Besides the colleagues in the factory, there are also many relatives and friends of Mr. Ye. For a while, I couldn't see where Shu Hui was sitting.Manzhen led him to the glass door leading to the balcony, and stood still.Shijun stretched out his head to look, but there was no one on the balcony, so he smiled and said, "Where's Shuhui?"Manzhen seemed a little embarrassed, and said with a smile: No, it's not that Shuhui is looking for you, wait for me to tell you, there is a reason.But it seemed that it took a long time to explain, and Shijun couldn't help being a little stunned when she didn't say why after talking for a long time.Manzhen also knew that he had misunderstood the meaning, so she couldn't help but blushed, and became more and more stunned, unable to speak.At this moment, a colleague came over with an autograph book and said to Shijun with a smile: You forgot to sign!Shijun took off the fountain pen in his pocket, signed something casually, and the man left with the notebook in his hands, but Manzhen stamped his feet lightly, and said with a low laugh: Oh no!Shijun asked in surprise: What's wrong?Before Manzhen answered, he looked around first, and then went to the balcony, Shijun also followed, Manzhen frowned and said with a smile: I have already signed an autograph for you.Because I just heard you say that you can't come, I think everyone will come, and it may not be good if you don't come alone.

When Shijun heard this, he didn't know what to say for a while, and he couldn't thank her in any way, so he looked at her blankly and smiled.Manzhen felt a little embarrassed by his smile, and turned around and leaned on the balcony railing.This restaurant is an old-fashioned western-style building, the upstairs and downstairs are brightly lit, on the balcony facing the street, the noisy sound in the room can't be heard very much, but the sound of fist fighting downstairs is quite audible It is clear, and there is also the soft and beautiful singing of the singing woman, and the Huqin is babbling.Manzhen turned her head to look at him and said with a smile: You can't tell, why did you come again suddenly?But Shijun couldn't tell her that it was because he wanted to see her.So he just smiled and remained silent for a while, Fang said: I think you and Shu Hui are here, so I will come too.

One of them was facing outwards and the other was facing inwards, leaning against the railing.There is a moon tonight, slightly oblong.Like a white lotus seed, the moon is surrounded by a circle of light and mist.People standing on the balcony cannot see the moonlight in the shadow of electric lights.Only a large part of Manzhen's exposed arm was bathed in the moonlight, and it seemed to be very white. Today, she is still wearing a dark blue cloth cheongsam, covered with a light green short-sleeved sweater, with a row of Green beads.She is wearing this outfit in the office today.Shijun sized her up, then smiled and said: You didn't go home, you came here directly?Manzhen smiled and said: Hey, you see I'm wearing a blue cloth coat, I don't look like a birthday party, do I?

Just as they were talking, two colleagues in the room yelled to them: Hey, if you haven't come to dinner, you still need to be invited!Manzhen hurriedly walked in with a smile, and Shijun also walked in together.Today, because of the large number of people, we adopt the system of eating as you go, and a table will be held when the table is full.Now there is exactly one table, and everyone has already sat down. Of course, when they are seated, they rush to sit at the bottom, leaving only the two seats at the top empty.The two latecomers, Shijun and Manzhen, had no choice but to sit at the top.As soon as Shijun sat down, he had a feeling, sitting on the top like this, wouldn't it be like a bride and groom?He peeked at Manzhen, she might have the same feeling, she seemed ashamed and didn't talk to him at the banquet.

After the banquet was over, everyone left one after another, and Shijun said to her: I will take you back.He has never been to her home, and this time he said he wanted to send her back, although Manzhen did not refuse, but there seemed to be a tacit understanding between the two of them, and he only sent her to the entrance of the alley instead of going in.Since they didn't plan to go in, it was meaningless to take such a trip. If they took trams and buses, they could still talk on the way. Now they are alone in a rickshaw, and they can't even talk at all.However, it is still necessary to give it away, as if there is a kind of fun in it.

Manzhen's car was ahead, and when it reached the alley of her house, her car stopped first.Shijun always felt that her place was strictly guarded and no one was welcome. In order to show that he had absolutely no intention of going in, he got out of the car, rushed to pay the fare, and hurriedly nodded to her with a smile: "Then we will see you tomorrow." Bar.As he spoke, he turned to leave.Manzhen smiled and said: Otherwise, please go in and sit for a while, my house is in a mess these two days, because my sister is getting married soon.Shijun was taken aback unconsciously, and said with a smile: Oh, your sister is getting married soon?Manzhen smiled and said: Yes.Although the light from the street lamps was not very bright, one could still see the joy in her brows.Shi Jun was also overjoyed when he heard the news.He knew her family situation, and of course he was glad for her that she finally got rid of this heavy relationship, and her sister got her home.

He was silent for a while, then asked with a smile: "What kind of person is your brother-in-law?"Manzhen smiled and said, "That person's surname is Zhu, so best wishes."Eat at the Exchange.Speaking of this, Manzhen suddenly remembered that her mother accompanied her sister to decorate the new house today, and she didn't know if she came back. If she came back at this time, they saw her standing at the entrance of the alley talking to a man , I will ask questions later, although it is not important, it is not very good after all.So she went on to say: It's getting late, I'm going in.Shijun said, "Then I'm leaving."He left as soon as he said, walked past several doors, and looked back, but Manzhen was still standing there.However, during this time of watching, she seemed to wake up suddenly, and went in as soon as she turned around.Shijun stopped again, stunned for a while.

The next day we met as usual, but I didn't hear her mention her sister's marriage again.Shijun has been thinking about it.Not to mention anything else, it will be more convenient to communicate with her from now on, and you can also go to her house, so you don't have to have those scruples. About a week later, she suddenly mentioned in front of Shuhui that her sister got married, the house was vacant, and was going to be rented out, and she wanted them to take care of it, and if she heard anyone asking for a house, she would introduce her to her. . Shijun enthusiastically asked everyone he met if anyone was looking for a house.Soon, I accompanied an indirect friend named Wu to Manzhen's house to look at the house.It was also the first time for him to step into this alley, and he always felt a kind of taboo about this place, so he had a sense of mystery.This alley is in a very lively area.One side of the road is full of shophouses, and the board doors removed by the shopkeepers are leaning outside the back door one by one.A group of aunts and elder sisters gathered next to the public taps to wash rice and wash clothes, splashing the cement floor wet.There is a young lady in it, but she washes her feet under the tap.She stood alone as a golden rooster, raised one foot, and splashed the water.The toenails are all bright red, and that's what makes them stand out when they're painted with Kodan.Shijun glanced at the young lady and thought in his heart, I don't know if this is a servant of the Gu family, serving Manzhen's sister.

The Gu family is No. 5, and a rental note is pasted at the back door.The door was ajar, Shijun knocked, but no one answered, and was about to open the door to go in, when there was a child playing in someone else's chartered car in the alley, jingling the foot bell, at this moment Jumped out of the car, rushed over to block the door and asked: Who are you looking for?Shijun knew him as Manzhen's younger brother, who sent the key to Shuhui's house, but he didn't know Shijun.Shijun nodded to him and smiled, and said: Is your sister at home?Shijun didn't ask this question clearly at first, but after hearing this, Jiemin took it even more that this person was Manlu's former guest.Although he is a child, because of the environment, he is very sensitive in many places, and has always hated Manlu's friends, but he has never had a chance to vent.At this time, he yelled confidently: "She's not here anymore!"She is married!Shijun smiled and said: No, I mean your second sister.Jiemin was taken aback for a moment, because Manzhen had never had any friends come to the house.He still thought that these two people came here to have fun, so he stared and said, "Why are you looking for her?"The child looked menacing, but it made Shijun a little embarrassed in front of Mr. Wu who came with him.He smiled and said: I am her colleague, we are here to see the house.Jiemin observed him again, then turned around and followed him, shouting all the way: Mom!Someone come see the house!Instead of calling his sister, he called his mother, which shows that there is still a little hostility.Shijun didn't expect that there would be so much trouble coming to her house to find her. After a while, her mother came out to welcome them and let them in.Shijun nodded to her and asked again, is Manzhen at home?Her mother smiled and said: "At home, I asked Jiemin to go up and call her."What is your surname?Shijun said: My name is Shen.Her mother smiled and said: Oh, Mr. Shen is her colleague.She carefully recognized his face, and was a little disappointed when she saw that he was not the young man in the photo. Downstairs there are two rooms, one large and one small, which have already been vacated. At a glance, I can only see the bare floor with a layer of dust floating on it.Empty rooms always appear large and small at the same time, like a square box.In short, it is completely unimaginable what it was like for Manzhen's sister to live here. Jiemin went upstairs to call Manzhen, but she was delayed for a long time before coming down. It turned out that she went to change into a new dress. It was a short-sleeved silk cheongsam with a pink background that she had made for her sister's wedding. It has dark blue dots the size of mung beans printed on it.She would never wear such a more delicate color before, because her sister and many friends come and go in and out of the family; A function of self-defense.Now there are no such scruples.Shijun felt that she seemed to have suddenly taken off her filial piety, which made people's eyes shine. Shijun introduced her to Mr. Wu.Mr. Wu said that the house faces west, and it might be too hot in spring, so he said a few perfunctory words before thinking about it, and said: Then I will take a step first, and there are still a few places to visit.He left first, Manzhen invited Shijun to sit upstairs for a while.She led him upstairs. There was a window halfway up the stairs. On the window sill were several pairs of black cotton shoes, some for adults and some for children. They were all worn all winter and dried in the sun.The sun in late spring is warm, and the sky outside the window is light blue. Upstairs, there is a room upstairs where her grandmother and several younger brothers and sisters live together. There are two large beds and a small iron bed.Manzhen accompanied Shijun and sat down at a square table by the window.They walked all the way without seeing a single person, and her mother disappeared at this time, but she could faintly hear coughing and whispering voices in the next room, and everyone must have hid there. A young lady came in with tea, and she was indeed the one who washed her feet in the alley just now, with Kodan on her toenails.She is probably the only remnant left by Manzhen's sister.She is now wearing a pair of half-worn hollowed-out white leather shoes with bare feet, a calico cheongsam, and a pink celluloid clip in her hair. She brings tea in with a smile, and says sir, please drink tea, very polite and thoughtful.When I went out, I took the door behind me.Shijun noticed it, and felt a little uneasy; it's nothing else, talking behind closed doors, and letting her grandmother and mother watch, isn't it good?However, he was just a little bit cramped, but Manzhen had another feeling. She thought that it was because Abao had always served her sister and was well-trained.This made her feel very embarrassed. She went to open the door right away, sat down to talk again, and said: Did your friend think it too expensive just now?Shijun wrote: I don't think so. Shuhui also lives in two rooms like this, and the rent is about the same as this one. The room is not as bright as here.Manzhen smiled and said: Do you share a room with Shuhui?Shijun said: No. Jiemin brought in two bowls of sugar soup and eggs.When Manzhen saw her, she was also a little surprised.Of course it was always her mother who made it, with two eggs in the guest's bowl and one egg in hers.His younger brother came in and put it on the table, with a straight face, without looking at anyone, turned around and left.Manzhen wanted to stop him, but he never turned his head.Manzhen smiled and said: He is usually very sophisticated, but today he is suddenly afraid of embarrassment.Shijun knew the reason very well, but he didn't go to tell him the truth, he just smiled and said: Why do you need to make snacks? It's too much trouble.Manzhen smiled and said: Country dim sum!You can eat whatever you want. While eating, Shijun asked: What do you eat for breakfast in the morning?Manzhen said: Eat porridge.what about you?Shijun said: "Shuhui's family also eats porridge, but it's like this: Shuhui's father is very hospitable, and people often come to eat at night. When they come, many people come, and Shuhui's mother is exhausted. In the morning, I still have to eat." I really feel sorry for not turning on the lights to cook porridge for us, so I often come out without breakfast and just eat two pairs of flatbread fried dough sticks at the stall.Manzhen nodded and said: Living in someone's house is like this, there are always some places where I feel a little wronged.Shijun said: Actually, their family is not bad.Shuhui's parents really treated me like one of my own, otherwise I would be ashamed to live there all the time. Manzhen said: How many times have you not gone home?Shijun said: It's been almost a year.Manzhen smiled and said: Don't you want to go home?Shijun smiled and said: I am also really afraid of going back.If I have this power in the future, I always want to get my mother out. My father has a bad relationship with her and always gets into trouble.Manzhen said: Oh.Shijun said: just because of me, I also vomited a lot.Manzhen said: What's the matter?Shijun said: My father runs a leather goods store, and he also does other businesses.In the past, when my elder brother was alive, he helped my father at home after graduation, and he planned to continue doing it in the future.Then my brother died and my father wanted me to take his place, but I'm not interested in those things, I want to study engineering.My father was very angry and never cared about me.Later, when I went to college, I still relied on my mother to secretly help me with a little money.So he was often in a dilemma at that time.Speaking of which, Manzhen also suffered from economic oppression when he was studying, and everyone talked more speculatively on this point. Manzhen said: You probably don't have many acquaintances in Shanghai, otherwise I would have another matter to ask you.Shijun smiled and said: What's the matter?Manzhen said: If you hear that there is a part-time typing job, I really want to do two more hours of work after get off work.Teaching is also OK.Shijun stared at her for a while, then smiled and said: Are you too tired then?Manzhen smiled and said: It doesn't matter.Most of the time in the office is just sitting in vain, and it's nothing to do for another hour or two when you come out. Shijun also knew that once her sister got married, her burden became even heavier.Even if a friend has the strength to help her, it is not acceptable to her. The only way to help her is to find something for her.However, he paid attention to her for a long time, but there was no result.One day she told him: I originally said to find something after six o'clock, but now I want to change it to after dinner.Shijun said: After dinner?Isn't it too late?Manzhen smiled and said: I have already found a job before dinner.Shijun said: Oh, you can't do this!Rushing around all day like this, I'm really going to get sick from exhaustion!You don't know, it's easy to get lung disease at your age.Manzhen smiled and said: At your age!It's as if you don't know how old you are! Her second job was soon found again.After a busy summer, although she lost some weight, she was always in good spirits.Because Shijun lives in Shuhui's house and disturbs them all year round, he always buys something for Shuhui's parents during the New Year.The gift he gave on the Mid-Autumn Festival this year was bought by Tuo Manzhen.Give Shuhui's father a pure wool scarf and Shuhui's mother a woolen robe.Before this, he had also given Mrs. Xu a piece of clothing, but he had never seen her make it and wear it. He thought it was the color he chose or he was not generous, and an elderly person could not wear it.In fact, Mrs. Xu did not look middle-aged.She must have been a beauty in the past, and Shuhui looked like her, not his father.His father Xu Yufang was a fat man, in his forties or fifties, he still looked like a black and fat boy.Yufang works in a bank because he has a celebrity-like temper and is not good at flattering, so he doesn't mind doing a small job in the clerical department when he grows up.On this day, everyone was appreciating the gifts from Shijun. Yufang saw the material and said, "Take it to the tailor shop to make it right away, don't put it in the box again!"Mrs. Xu smiled and said: Why do I have to dress so beautifully? When I go out with you, you look even more tattered like an old servant. If people see it, they must think that this woman is domineering and spends all their money on themselves up!She turned her face away and said to Shijun again: You don't know his temper, you ask him to make clothes, but he always refuses to do it.Yufang smiled and said: I want to open it up, anyway, I will look like this when I dress up, I can't be more beautiful, so I am still more interested in eating. When it came to eating, he said to his wife: I wonder if there is something new on the market these two days?Tomorrow I will go to the vegetable market with you!His wife said: Don't go, buy whatever you see later, and save some money for the festival.Yufang said: Actually, if you want to eat good food, you don't have to eat it on the day of the festival. It's only expensive on the day of the festival. Why bother to join in the fun?His wife still insists on the secular view, saying: Festivals are always celebrated. The problem of whether to celebrate the festival or not was solved by others for them.A friend came to their family to borrow money. There was an urgent need, and he borrowed almost all of the salary Yu Fang had just received.This person is also a colleague of Yufang's for many years. He came here one day and chatted for a while. Seeing his expression as if he had something to say, Shijun walked out and went back to his room.After a while, Mrs. Xu came to fetch one of her briquette stoves from outside his room, and called him by the way: Shijun!Uncle Xu is making yellow croaker noodle soup, you come to eat too!Shijun smiled and agreed, and followed.Yufang was shaking his fists and sleeves to prepare for the stove, and said to the guests: Come to me, anyway, you can eat whatever you want, and I will never waste an extra ocean for you, you can rest assured! In addition to noodles, there are two kinds of cold dishes.Yufang's cooking techniques are the most conceited in his life, but as a master chef, he still needs a second knife to prepare everything for him, shred and chop everything, so Mrs. Xu still Be on the go.Moreover, Yufang cooks dishes meticulously, with various ingredients occupying many different plates and spreading them all over the room.The guests had left for a long time, and Mrs. Xu was still washing the dishes.She bought this fish this morning because Shu Hui said that she wanted to eat fish.Now that the middle part of the big fish has been removed, she still puts the remaining head and tail together to form a complete fish, put it on the cutting board, and fry it according to the original plan when preparing for dinner come to eat.When Shu Hui came back, he was very surprised when he saw it, and said, "Why is this fish so big?"Yufang said, "This fish is short."Mrs. Xu couldn't help laughing too. Shuhui put his hands in his trouser pockets, revealing the fleece vest he was wearing underneath. The gray fleece was dotted with white spots like snowdrops.His mother then asked: Is this vest new for you?Is it machine woven or punched?Shuhui said: "It was a beating."Mrs. Xu said: Oh?Who called you?Shuhui said: Miss Gu, you don't know him.Mrs. Xu said: "I don't know your colleague's Miss Gu?" Manzhen originally told Shijun that he would make a vest for him, but she was very considerate in this kind of place, and she knitted one for Shuhui as well.She always carried a ball of wool in the pocket of her sweater, and kept waving it when she went to eat in a small restaurant.It was Shuhui's one that was finished first, and he put it on first.Seen by his mother, his mother may be a little nervous about her son's affairs because of her over-concern, which has added to her mind since then.At that time, she put it in her heart and didn't say anything.Shuhui's whereabouts are uncertain, it is almost impossible for a mother to pin him down and say a few confidantes to him.But Shijun, Mrs. Xu got along very well with him.She deliberately wanted to find an opportunity to talk to him, to find out from him about Shu Hui's recent situation, because when the children reached a certain age, parents and them were really separated, but friends were much closer. The next day was a Sunday, Shu Hui went out, and his father also went to see a friend.The postman delivered a letter, and Mrs. Xu saw that it was from Shijun's house, so she delivered it to his room.Shijun opened the letter to read it in front of her, and she leaned on the door frame, watched him read the letter, and asked: "Is it from Nanjing?"How are you old ladies?Shijun nodded and said: She said she would come to Shanghai for a visit.Mrs. Xu said with a smile: Your old lady is in such a good mood!Shijun frowned and said with a smile: I think she is still worried because I have never been back, so she wants to visit Shanghai.Actually, I want to go back.I wanted to write a letter to tell her that she didn't have to come. It took a lot of work to go out, and I was not used to staying in a hotel.Mrs. Xu sighed: No wonder she is thinking about it, she is only a child like you now!You are alone in Shanghai, don't you blame her for being worried? Didn't she urge you to get married earlier?Shi Jun paused, then smiled and said: My mother is very enlightened about this.It's also because she has suffered from the old-style marriage, so she doesn't interfere with me.Mrs. Xu nodded and said: That's right.In today's world, it's okay for parents to interfere!Not to mention your old lady and you, one in Nanjing and one in Shanghai, like me and Shuhui living in the same house, what's the use?He has a girlfriend outside, how can he tell us?Shijun smiled and said: If he really has someone to marry, he will definitely not stop talking about it.Mrs. Xu smiled and said nothing, and after a while, she said: "Your colleague has Miss Gu, how is she alone?"Shijun was taken aback for a moment, his face blushed for some reason, and he said: Gu Manzhen?She is a nice person, but she and Shu Hui are just ordinary friends.Mrs. Xu gave a dubious oh, thinking, at least that young lady treated Shu Hui very well, otherwise she would know how to tie a woolen vest for him.Unless she is ugly, Shu Hui has no interest in her.Yin laughed again: "She looks ugly, doesn't she?"Shijun couldn't help smiling, and said: No, she is not ugly.But I do know that she and Shu Hui are just ordinary friends.He himself also felt that his ending sentence was very weak, and it could not guarantee the possibility of Shuhui and Manzhen's combination at all.Mrs. Xu still has doubts if she wants to.Just let her go. Shijun wrote a letter to his mother, promising that he would be back soon.His mother was very happy, and wrote again to ask him to invite Shuhui to come with him.Shijun knew that his mother must have been living in Shuhui's house because he had been staying at home. She wanted to see what kind of person he was as a friend and whether he had a bad influence on him.He asked Shuhui if he was happy to go to Nanjing for a visit.This year's Double Tenth Day happens to be a Friday, which is combined with the weekend and has a total of three days off.They decided to take this opportunity to have fun for two days. On the eve of departure, after dinner, Shu Hui put on his coat and ran outside again.Mrs. Xu knew that he had a girlfriend who called just now, so she said: I have to go out so late, and I have to get up early tomorrow to catch the train!Shuhui said: "I'll be right back."A friend asked me to take two things to Nanjing.I'll go get it.Mrs. Xu said: "Hey, how big is the thing, can't it fit inside?"I've packed your suitcases for you.She was still muttering about it, but Shuhui had already disappeared without a trace. He went away for a while, but came back again, and when he got to the bottom of the stairs, he called up: Hey, there is a guest!It turned out that it was Manzhen who came. He met her at the entrance of the alley and accompanied her in again.Manzhen smiled and said: Aren't you going out?You go, really, it's okay.I have nothing to do. I brought you some snacks to eat on the way.Shuhui said: "Why do you still need to buy something?"He led her upstairs together. On the stairs, there were clotheslines nailed on the wall by other tenants, full of diapers, and a rope was slanted all the way up the stairs.At the top of the stairs are coal pellet stoves, empty soap boxes, and foreign oil barrels; several families live in one Shanghai house, and it often becomes such a three-dimensional courtyard.Shuhui usually goes out, dressed in a suit so neatly, people probably would not have imagined such a situation in his house.He was also thinking there: This is Manzhen, it doesn't matter, if you change to a girlfriend with a more lady-like temper, you can't take him home. Walking to the door of the room on the third floor, he made a humorous smile on his face, stretched out his hand weakly, and said with a smile: Please, please.Looking in through the door, there are several calligraphy and paintings and a ham hanging on the facing wall.Shuhui's father was washing dishes under the lamp.He put a washbasin on a square table in the middle, dangling in the washbasin and washing the dishes.Today he washes the dishes, because his wife is busy cotton-padded jackets after dinner. They and two children are studying in the north. The weather in the north is cold early, so they have to send their cotton-padded jackets to them. went. Mrs. Xu saw a visitor, and when she heard that it was Ms. Gu, she knew that it was the maker of the fleece vest. She felt a little flustered for some reason, and she stood up with a smile and offered to sit down, muttering, "Look at me like this!"Get a whole body of cotton!He was busy patting the cotton clothes stuck to her clothes.Xu Yufang was wearing a bronze double-breasted jacket at home. Although he was usually so nonchalant, the presence of such a young woman made him extremely embarrassed, so he hurriedly added a long gown.Shijun also came over at this time.Mrs. Xu smiled and said: "Miss Gu, have you eaten yet?"Manzhen smiled and said: I have eaten it.Shuhui sat with him for a while, but Manzhen urged him to leave again, and he left too. Yu Fang kept silent at the side, and only now did he ask his wife, "Where did Shu Hui go?"Although his wife knew that Shu Hui had gone to his girlfriend's house, she paid attention at the time and replied tactfully: "I don't know, I only heard him say that he will be back soon, Miss Gu, please sit down for a while."It's really messy here, why don't you sit in the room over there.She let the guests go to Shuhui and Shijun's room, let Shijun accompany her, and walked away by herself. Mrs. Xu brought over the cup of tea she had made for Manzhen just now.Shijun picked up the thermos to add some boiling water, and turned on the desk lamp.Manzhen saw an alarm clock on the table, took it over and asked: What time do you get on the train tomorrow morning?Shijun said: "It's the car at seven o'clock."Manzhen said: Set the alarm clock to five o'clock, right?She turned on the clock, and the chugging sound revealed the silence in the room. Shijun smiled and said: I didn't expect you to come today.Why do you still have to buy some snacks?Manzhen smiled and said: Hey, didn't you say that you feel bad for causing Aunt Xu to cook porridge for you before dawn in the morning, I think you will get on the train tomorrow, and it will be early, so you must not bother others, but in the end I must have come to the station hungry, so I brought something to eat. When she said this, she couldn't let Mrs. Xu and the others hear her, so her voice was naturally very low.Shijun came over to listen. She was sitting there, and he was standing very close. At that moment, he seemed to be standing on the edge of a beautiful deep pool.She had finished speaking long ago, and he hadn't left yet.It might have been only a moment, but already he felt that he had lingered too long, and she must have felt the same, for in the light she could see a little blush on her cheeks.She was eager to break this situation, so she said: You forgot to cover the thermos bottle.Shijun turned his head to look, and sure enough, the hot water bottle was steaming like a chimney, and he forgot to cover it after pouring the boiling water just now. He didn't know why he was so absent-minded today.He smiled and walked over to cover it. Manzhen said: Have you tidied up your boxes?Shijun smiled and said: I don't bring much.He had a suitcase on the bed. Manzhen walked over and lifted the lid of the suitcase to have a look. It was a mess inside.She smiled and said, "Let me sort it out for you."Don't let your family members say that you can't even handle the box, let alone let you go out alone.Shijun thought at the time that it might not be appropriate for her to unpack his suitcases, and people would gossip if they saw it.However, he couldn't think of appropriate words to stop her. There are some things about Manzhen that are very strange. She is very shy when she is shy, and naive when she is innocent. She is not a blindly naive person, nor is she a blindly shy person.Her contradictions are really puzzling. Seeing that he was silent for a long time, Manzhen said: What are you thinking there?Shijun smiled and said: Huh?He couldn't answer, and saw her folding a shirt there, so he said casually: When I come back, my vest can probably be finished, right?Manzhen smiled and said: Are you sure you can come back on Monday?Shijun smiled and said, "I will definitely be back on Monday."There is nothing necessary and I don't want to ask for leave.Manzhen said: You haven't been back for so long, your family must keep you for a few more days.Shijun smiled and said: No. The lid of the box was automatically snapped off, and it was on the back of Manzhen's hand.It took a while to lift it up, and then buckled it down again.Shijun went to support the lid of the box for her.He sat next to him, watching his shirt tie pass her hand like a sock, and he had a strange feeling. Mrs. Xu brought over two plates of candy and said with a smile: Miss Gu eats candy.Yo, are you straightening the box for Shijun?Shijun noticed that Mrs. Xu had put on a clean dress, and her face seemed to be powdered, as if she was going to come here to have a chat with the guests, but she didn't sit down in the end. Just leave again. Manzhen said: Don't you take your raincoat with you?Shijun said: "I don't think I'll take it with me. Maybe it just happened to be raining. It took me two days to go there."Manzhen said: Are you sure to come back on Monday?The words had already been spoken, and she remembered that she had said it just now, and she laughed too.In this burst of laughter, he hurriedly closed the box, picked up the leather bag, and said: I am leaving.Seeing her like that, Shijun seemed quite embarrassed, and it was inconvenient to keep her, so he just said: It's still early, don't sit down for a while?Manzhen smiled and said: No, you should go to bed early.I am leaving.世鈞笑道：你不等叔惠回來了？曼楨笑道：不等了。 世鈞送她下樓，她經過許太太的房間，又在門口向許太太夫婦告辭過了，許太太送她到大門口，再三叫她有空來玩。關上大門，許太太便和世鈞說：這顧小姐真好，長得也好！她對他稱讚曼楨，彷彿對於他們的關係有了一種新的認識似的，世鈞倒覺得有點窘，他只是唯唯諾諾，沒說什麼。 回到房間裏來，他的原意是預備早早的上床睡覺；要鋪床，先得把床上那隻箱子拿掉，但是他結果是在床沿上坐下來了，把箱子開開來看看，又關上了，心裏沒著沒落的，非常無聊。終於又站起來，把箱子鎖上了，從床上拎到地下。鑰匙放到口袋裏去，手指觸到袋裏的一包香煙，順手就掏出來，抽出一根來點上。既然點上了，總得把這一根抽完了再睡覺。 看看鐘，倒已經快十一點了。叔惠還不回來。夜深人靜，可以聽見叔惠的母親在她房裏軋軋軋轉動著她的手搖縫衣機器。大概她在等著替叔惠開門，不然她這時候也已經睡了。 世鈞把一支香煙抽完了，有點口乾，去倒杯開水喝。他的手接觸到熱水瓶的蓋子，那金屬的蓋子卻是滾燙的。他倒嚇了一跳，原來裏面一隻軟木塞沒有塞上，所以熱氣不停地冒出來，把那蓋子熏得那麼燙。裏面的水已經涼了。他今天也不知怎麼那樣糊塗，這隻熱水瓶，先是忘了蓋；蓋上了，又忘了把裏面的軟木塞塞上。曼楨也許當時就注意到了，但是已經提醒過他一次，不好意思再說了。世鈞想到這裏，他儘管一方面喝著涼開水，臉上卻熱辣辣起來了。 樓窗外有人在吹口哨，一定是叔惠。叔惠有時候喜歡以吹口哨代替敲門，因為晚上天氣冷，他兩手插在大衣袋裏，懶得拿出來。世鈞心裏想，許太太在那裏軋軋軋做著縫衣機器，或者會聽不見；他既然還沒有睡，不妨下去一趟，開一開門。 他走出去，經過許太太房門口，卻聽見許太太在那裏說話，語聲雖然很低，但是無論什麼人，只要一聽見自己的名字，總有點觸耳驚心，決沒有不聽見的道理。許太太在那兒帶笑帶說：真想不到，世鈞這樣不聲不響的一個老實頭兒，倒把叔惠的女朋友給搶了去了！裕舫他是不會竊竊私語的，向來是聲如洪鐘。他說道：叔惠那小子就是一張嘴！他哪兒配得上人家！這位老先生和曼楨不過匆匆一面，對她的印象倒非常之好。這倒沒什麼，但是他對自己的兒子評價過低，卻使他太太感到不快。她沒有接口，軋軋軋又做起縫衣機器來。世鈞就藉著這機器的響聲作為掩護，三級樓梯一跨，跑回自己房來。 許太太剛才說的話，他現在才回過味來。許太太完全曲解了他們三個人之間的關係，然而他聽到她的話，除了覺得一百個不對勁以外，紊亂的心緒裏卻還夾雜著一絲喜悅，所以心裏也說不上來是一種什麼滋味。 叔惠還在樓窗口外吹著口哨，並且蓬蓬蓬敲著門了。