The Breathing That Has Never Changed

Li Hongyan was really overjoyed that she could be the same tablemate as Chen Yufei.

Chen Yufei, as soon as you hear her name, you know she is not an ordinary girl. Flying all over the sky like light feathers, how romantic and charming! How does it look like my name, Li Hongyan, is as tacky as it is. It is said that when she was born, the cockscombs in the family yard were in full bloom, bright red and plump. Her father casually named her "Hongyan" and said proudly: "The girl's name is Hongyan." "It sounds pretty good."

The house with cockscombs in the yard is of course the one in the countryside. Currently, only the grandparents are left in that family. Li Hongyan and her parents moved from the countryside to the city almost half a year ago.

Li Hongyan carefully placed her schoolbag on the new seat. Before sitting down, she gave Chen Yufei a flattering smile.

Chen Yufei moved the corner of his mouth as an answer.

Chen Yufei’s original deskmate went abroad with his parents, and the transfer student Li Hongyan, who had been sitting alone at the back, was lucky enough to fill the vacancy.

Li Hongyan didn't care about Chen Yufei's cold reaction. She believed her mother’s words: a heart for a heart. Since she was a child, her mother has always taught her: treat others well, and others will treat you well.

Li Hongyan is very superstitious about her mother and father. Her parents are both junior high school graduates. In the old rural areas, junior high school graduates were very impressive. Therefore, Li Hongyan’s parents can make a fortune. They made their fortune by raising aquatic products. Li Hongyan didn't know how much wealth she had made. Anyway, her family bought a large house with three bedrooms and two living rooms in the city. Li Hongyan also paid a large transfer fee and transferred to the current middle school to study in the second grade of junior high school.

Sitting next to Chen Yufei and secretly glancing at her clean and delicate profile from time to time, Li Hongyan felt really happy. I finally have a deskmate, and such an outstanding deskmate! Li Hongyan didn't care too much about Chen Yufei's indifference to her. She had a thick figure, dark skin, and was not classy at all in her dress. However, if I wholeheartedly treat Chen Yufei well, she will eventually be kind to him too!

After class, before Li Hongyan could say a word, Chen Yufei flew away from her seat like a happy bird. She flew to the seat of Qi Li in the last row without saying a word. She said loudly and covertly: "Aqi, can we go shrimp fishing on the weekend?"

Li Hongyan suspected that she heard wrongly. Fishing for shrimp? What’s so fun about shrimp fishing? And they have to go all the way to the countryside.

Aqi, also known as Qi Li, is the sports committee member of the class and one of the core figures in the class. He shrugged his shoulders exaggeratedly and said: "Fishing for shrimps? Where are the shrimps? Are you going to the countryside by train or by plane to the beach?"

Chen Yufei patted Qi Li on the arm coquettishly. For a moment: "It's so old-fashioned! I don't even know about the latest leisure project introduced by the Green Goddess Hotel! It's on the ground floor of the hotel. It's a large man-made pool with Macrobrachium thaiensis in it. It's very big and easy to catch. The shrimps caught , it can be processed on the spot in the restaurant and tasted on the spot, isn’t it very enjoyable?”

“This sounds like a good idea, count me in.” Zhao Tian is Qi Li's deskmate.

Li Hongyan knew that the few of them, plus a few minor characters, formed a small circle in the class. Their grades are miserable, but they are highly marketable in the class. They are the fashion spies in the class, and all the latest fashions and the latest "star" news are spread from their mouths. And Chen Yufei is the elf in this circle.

Sometimes during class breaks, Li Hongyan would be very confused when she saw Chen Yufei dancing happily in every corner of the classroom like a real feather from a distance. In the past, grades were the most important thing in the countryside, so Zuo Pu, whose family was extremely poor but had excellent grades, could always occupy the position of the darling of the class and even the grade. (He doesn’t know if it’s okay now? Li Hongyan misses him sometimes.)

And here, of course, students with excellent grades are still the treasures of the class, but they are taciturn. Except for exams or competitions, they are not noticeable in ordinary days. On the contrary, Chen Yufei and his group are the bright spots in the boring two-point-one-line life. Many students are willing to interact with them during recess and listen to their gossip about what will be popular in autumn, Faye Wong and Nicholas Tse's love affair, etc. Once, two girls in the next class were arguing over how old Faye Wong was and how old Nicholas Tse was. They came to see Chen Yufei. Chen Yufei said authoritatively: "11 years old!" That magnificence and attitude really impressed Li Hongyan. Full of envy.

In the last self-study class in the afternoon, Li Hongyan couldn't help but asked Chen Yufei softly: "Are you really going to go fishing for shrimp tomorrow?"

Chen Yufei was a little surprised. He looked at her and said, "Yes, we have to go out for leisure every weekend."

The two sentimental words "leisure" finally made Li Hongyan make up her mind, and her speech became a bit Stuttering: "I, I want to watch you fishing for shrimp, is it possible?"

Seeing the envy and fear on Li Hongyan's face, Chen Yufei had an unknown smile on his lips: " You? Okay, whatever."

Li Hongyan was not sure whether Chen Yufei was happy for her to go or not. But anyway, she agreed, and Li Hongyan was very grateful to her.

To be honest, Li Hongyan has been very unhappy since arriving in the city for a few months. She didn't have a single friend in the class. She had been sitting alone in the back and couldn't even find anyone to talk to. The girls in the class each have their own circles, and each circle is unbreakable. She couldn't fit into any circle.

When sitting alone in her seat during class break, Li Hongyan’s thoughts would sometimes suddenly jump to her previous classroom in the countryside. At that time, Li Hongyan was always in high spirits, and girls gathered around her, vying to see the buzzing electronic watch she was wearing, or the novel and beautiful toys. Li Hongyan has always been very generous, allowing anyone to try out her new stuff. Sometimes it was passed around and lost. Although Li Hongyan was heartbroken, she didn't blame anyone. However, Zuo Pu rarely joins the ranks of such trials. Sometimes Li Hongyan specially gave him a nice-looking and easy-to-use ballpoint pen, but he just smiled but refused to accept it. At this time, Li Hongyan would scold him: "Deadheaded!" Zuo Pu was not angry, and still just smiled.

Sometimes, girls gather around Li Hongyan and ask her math questions. Li Hongyan was very good at mathematics before, and her grades were second only to Zuo Pu. She and Zuo Pu even represented the school in a math competition in the county.

But currently, her grades are lagging behind. The progress here is different, and the teachers’ teaching methods are also different. Sometimes when the teacher is happy, he talks in urban dialect, and Li Hongyan can't even understand it. Anyway, Li Hongyan felt that her brain was filled with thick paste, which could not be stirred.

I used to be one of the top math students in my class, which is a bit incredible when I think about it.

Li Hongyan sighed heavily.

At this time, Li Hongyan was sitting on the balcony of her home. He held the book in his hand, but did not read it.

Saturday morning was very quiet, and it seemed that people in the entire residential area were sleeping in. The sun has come out and is flowing happily a little away from the balcony.

My mother was standing on tiptoes to dry the clothes. When she heard her sigh, she turned around and asked her: "Yanyan, what's wrong?"

Li Hongyan said: "It's nothing." After thinking about it, Then he said: "I'm going out in the afternoon to play with our classmates."

"Going to play with my classmates? Yanyan, have you made friends in the class? Are they boys or girls?"

Li Hongyan was moved by her mother’s excited expression. She knew that her parents had always been worried about her. Her mother even wanted to send her back to the countryside. "It's better to be a country person and treat people honestly." Mom said. But dad disagreed. Dad said this: "A person cannot always hide in a corner, he always has to come out. It is better to come out early than to come out later."

Li Hongyan replied to what her mother just said: "Boys and girls Both. The leader is a female classmate who is very popular in the class. She is now my classmate!" Later, Li Hongyan started to brag. Her face turned a little red.

My mother didn’t notice her blush, and she kept saying: “That’s good, that’s good! Fashionable city girls are sensible and knowledgeable. You should learn more from her.” As she said that, her mother took out a hundred yuan from her pocket: "Bring some money with you. Children in the city are very generous with their money. Don't let others look down on you."

Lin When going out, Li Hongyan took another hundred yuan from her usual pocket money. She knew about the Green Goddess Hotel, a four-star hotel with a back garden. Li Hongyan had never been in it, so she didn't know what the expenses were inside. There are also Thai shrimps, they must be very expensive. In short, bring more money with you to build up your courage, in case you embarrass yourself in front of Chen Yufei and the others for the first time.

Li Hongyan deliberately went a quarter of an hour later than the agreed time because she was afraid of staying alone in a strange and elegant place.

As she walked towards them, Li Hongyan felt that the smile on her face felt a bit like it had just been frozen in the refrigerator, flat and stiff. Qi Li spotted her first, and he said "Huh" without any concealment. This "Hey" attracted everyone's attention, and their eyes were full of surprise and surprise.

Li Hongyan stopped in embarrassment. Didn't Chen Yufei tell them that I was coming?

She raised her eyes to look at Chen Yufei, who also had a look of surprise on his face. She must have only turned a deaf ear to Li Hongyan's words, and didn't expect that she would actually come.

Fortunately, she immediately showed a smile and said: "Welcome, welcome, you are welcome to join our leisure ranks."

As soon as she said this, everyone else also showed their smile. Friendly smile.

Li Hongyan breathed a long sigh of relief.

The waiters in white uniforms and red hats brought each of them an exquisite fishing rod, a small plate of bait made of fresh chicken liver, and a small fishing rod filled with clean water. Porcelain basin - used to hold caught shrimps.

Li Hongyan sat awkwardly on a white leisure chair with exquisite armrests, and carefully stretched the baited fishing rod into the crystal clear water. The big Thai shrimp just lay there motionless. For some reason, Li Hongyan suddenly felt that this method of fishing for shrimp was a bit funny, even a bit pretentious. Everything is clear at a glance, without a little bit of guessing and excitement in waiting.

In the past, fishing and shrimp fishing were done in small rivers shaded by aquatic plants in the countryside.

Are there any fish in the river? Are there any shrimps? How big is it? Everything is unknown, and everything can only be understood by actually fishing. That kind of guessing, waiting and anxiety is the greatest fun for anglers.

After an hour of hard work, Li Hongyan finally caught six shrimps. The results of others are similar. Chen Yufei shook his hair and said, "It's not cost-effective. Thirty yuan an hour is equivalent to five yuan for a shrimp."

Li Hongyan only then knew about this "leisure" Price. She secretly breathed a sigh of relief. Thirty yuan an hour is really not worth it. Not only is it not worth it, it’s also a bit baffling. But at least it was much cheaper than I expected, and I brought more than enough money.

Qi Li snapped his fingers at the waiter standing not far away: "Pay the bill!"

Chen Yufei glanced at Li Hongyan quickly.

Li Hongyan hurriedly dug into her pocket and took out all the two hundred yuan at once: "I have money here."

"Ah, you brought so much money!" Chen Yufei leaned over.

Li Hongyan handed the money to her with some hesitation.

"Hey, there is money here! Thirty per person, one hundred and eighty for six people, and you can get twenty yuan back." Chen Yufei fluttered the banknotes in his hand towards Qi Li.

The waiter took the banknote from Chen Yufei's hand and walked back to the counter. He quickly brought back the invoice and twenty yuan change and handed it to Chen Yufei.

Chen Yufei returned the money to Li Hongyan: "Give it back to you!"

Li Hongyan still couldn't regain her composure until she got home and sat on the sofa. She never understood what Chen Yufei meant. Did they lend her money, or was she the only one to treat her?

With a "bang", my mother opened the door and came in. It was a hot early autumn day, but my mother was wearing thick work pants and a pair of long black rubber boots.

"Hey, Yanyan is back. Did you have a good time?" Mom wiped the sweat from her face, hurriedly went into the kitchen to find something, and turned around to ask Li Hongyan.

"Okay, I had a good time." Li Hongyan was stunned for a moment and answered quickly.

"That's good. Go out with your classmates more often and don't stay home alone all the time. If you need money, just ask your mother. But don't be lavish. Mom and Dad earn hard-earned money. "My mother found a large black plastic bag and hurried out again.

Li Hongyan continued to sit on the sofa in a daze.

When Li Hongyan walked into the classroom on Monday, Chen Yufei was talking passionately to several girls about new weekend leisure activities. Seeing Li Hongyan come in, she waved to her in a fashionable manner and said "hi" loudly. Several girls turned their heads to look at Li Hongyan. Li Hongyan's face turned a little red when she received the attention of so many people for the first time. She nodded to everyone excitedly and panicked.

Chen Yufei continued the topic just now: "We did not process the shrimps we caught in the restaurant. The processing fees are very expensive and it is not cost-effective."

Li Hongyan stood aside helplessly. Staring at Chen Yufei's two red lips that opened and closed quickly. She really hoped that Chen Yufei could tell everyone: Li Hongyan also went fishing for shrimps, and she paid for it!

However, until the school bell rang, Li Hongyan failed to wait for what she wanted to hear.

In the next few days, Li Hongyan has been feeling uneasy. She didn't know what to expect. Should you wait for Chen Yufei and the others to pay back the money, or hope to hear a friendly "thank you"? Li Hongyan herself didn’t know much about it. Moreover, she didn't want to really think about it clearly, which would make her seem too stingy. By the way, I must be too stingy, so I keep worrying about it and always feel that this matter is not over.

In fact, Chen Yufei is currently very friendly to Li Hongyan. Every time Li Hongyan smiles at her, Chen Yufei will give Li Hongyan a foreign-style gesture in return with her unique enthusiasm and slightly exaggerated way. . Influenced by her, people in their small circle no longer turned a blind eye when they saw Li Hongyan, and sometimes smiled at her.

That's enough. We are all friends now, and there is no talk of benefit between friends.

Li Hongyan is now a little happy. She felt that she was about to, no, already, enter a small circle.

So, while listening to Chen Yufei and Zhao Tian quietly discussing what birthday gift to buy for Qi Li, Li Hongyan felt that she should also participate.

"Is today Qi Li's birthday? If you want to buy a gift, count me in." Li Hongyan boldly interjected.

Chen Yufei raised his head to look at her, then at Zhao Tian, ??then back at Li Hongyan, and said, "We are going to buy an ice cream cake for Qi Li. Ice cream Do you know Ling Cake? The latest birthday cake. Do you have any money with you now?" Li Hongyan touched her pocket unconsciously. She always had money in her pocket, and she was used to bringing money to school every day. She felt that she had a sense of security. In this strange city, she doesn't have any friends. Her parents are sometimes busy with business until midnight, and she has to eat out by herself.

She currently has 150 yuan in her pocket.

Chen Yufei noticed her hand touching her pocket: "Ah! Do you really have money?"

Li Hongyan took out the money: "I only have 150 yuan, how can I buy ice cream?" Is the Ling cake enough?"

Chen Yufei unfolded the thinly folded money, one with 100 yuan and one with 50 yuan. "That should be enough! We will go directly to the cake shop to order it after school and ask them to deliver it to Qi Li's house in the evening. Are you okay tonight? Let's go play together!"

Li Hongyan nodded hurriedly , took out a pen and paper and carefully wrote down the address of Qi Li's house.

This time Li Hongyan was not late. She rang the doorbell of Qi Li's house on time and with some confidence.

What surprised her was that Qi Li, who came to open the door, also looked surprised when he saw her.

Under Qi Li’s unabashed gaze, Li Hongyan’s mind went blank. She looked around aimlessly and said some incoherent words: "Isn't Chen Yufei here yet? She said... we are going to give you an ice cream cake. By the way, happy birthday to you!"

Qi Li didn’t speak, just nodded and stepped aside. Li Hongyan walked in stiffly. She felt that she looked very stupid.

Chen Yufei was already sitting and nodded casually when he saw Li Hongyan coming in.

Li Hongyan felt that she should ask Chen Yufei something, such as, has the cake been ordered? Do you have enough money to buy it? etc. These words could prove something for her.

However, Li Hongyan did not step forward. She didn't know why - she felt she couldn't ask. She just picked a chair next to her and sat down.

The table was filled with snacks and cheap greeting cards bought from various stalls brought by everyone. Amei's MTV was playing on the TV screen. Chen Yufei picked up the microphone and sang along. Her voice was not nice to hear, and her voice was not smooth, as if she had been pinched into pieces. But when she finished singing, everyone still cheered loudly.

Li Hongyan did not join in the cheers. She looked at the excitement that had nothing to do with her in a daze.

The doorbell rang, and Chen Yufei shouted: "The cake must have been delivered!"

She and Zhao Tian jumped to the door together, opened the door, and it was really The cake shop employee delivered the cake.

The cake is not big, but it is exquisitely made and magnificent. Chen Yufei hurriedly put birthday candles on the cake while calling Zhao Tian: "Come and help, the ice cream is about to melt!"

"It's real ice cream!" "Someone whispered enviously next to him.

"Of course! Zhao Tian and I went to order it specially!" Chen Yufei was happy and proud.

The birthday candles were lit. Chen Yufei and Zhao Tian, ??one on each side, held the birthday cake in front of Qi Li, and everyone sang along with them: "Happy birthday to you!"

Qi Li's handsome face smiled into a beautiful and soft flower: "Thank you everyone! Thank you for taking so much trouble!"

The cake began to be divided, and Li Hongyan got a small piece with a flower Delicate white floral cake.

"It looks good! I cut it especially for you!" Chen Yufei smiled affectionately at Li Hongyan.

Li Hongyan smiled back mechanically and blankly. She was not sure whether Chen Yufei was really talking to her or smiling at her.

The ice cream has really melted a bit, the outline of the petals has been blurred, and it has begun to collapse softly, with small milky white water drops slowly solidifying.

When Li Hongyan realized that the same water droplets were crawling out of the corners of her eyes, she was shocked. She lowered her head to eat the cake and hurriedly rubbed the corners of her eyes with the back of her hand.

No, not because of money, really not because of money. However, everything was so inexplicable and yet so justified. Apart from once again feeling strongly like a fool, Li Hongyan couldn't find any other feeling.

Li Hongyan left in advance. Chen Yufei said regretfully: "You are leaving so soon? Let's play a little longer. We have to play for a long time."

Same as other things Chen Yufei said before, Li Hongyan was also unsure whether this sentence was true or false.

Everything is vague and unclear, far away from my simple life experience, and also far away from my mother's teachings. Li Hongyan couldn't grasp and judge, so she had no choice but to escape.

When she got home, to her surprise and joy, Zuo Pu was sitting in the living room at home. Mom said: "Oh! Why did you come back just now? Zuo Pu has been here for a long time."

Zuo Pu stood up, with a sincere and slightly shy smile on his dark face. : "Hello!"

This is a smile that is visible and tangible. Even from several steps away, you can feel its sincerity and reality strongly and clearly. Li Hongyan felt like something was about to leak out of her eyes. She couldn't speak, she just grinned slightly at Zuo Pu as a reply to his greetings.

Zuo Pu came to the city to participate in a mathematics competition. Li Hongyan's grandparents asked him to bring a lot of things produced in their own land.

"Our team leader said that the grade contestant from your school is named Fang Xin, and she is a girl. Do you know her?"

Li Hongyan nodded.

Fang Xin is the little girl who dresses simply, has short hair, and sits in her seat reading all day long. Her seat was very close to Chen Yufei, only two rows in front, but she never seemed to participate in Chen Yufei's class discussions. She belonged to another circle.

Li Hongyan seemed to remember that there were other students and other circles in the class. Why had Chen Yufei been flying around in his eyes for such a long time?

After taking a sip of water, Zuo Pu said without knowing the importance: "Why didn't you participate this time? When I came, I thought we could see each other on the field!"< /p>

Zuo Pu’s words made Li Hongyan feel like she was dreaming. She forced a smile and said: "My current grades... how should I put it? They are not as good as before!"

My mother hurriedly smoothed things over: "Yanyan has just arrived in the city not long ago, and she is still not used to it. It will be fine in the future.”

Will it really be fine in the future?

Standing under the empty stop sign at the bus stop, Li Hongyan watched Zuo Pu board the almost empty bus, turned around and smiled to herself, and then the car came with a huge The sound of the engine drove away quickly.

Li Hongyan slowly walked home alone. The road was very quiet, with street lights shining dimly among the trees. Li Hongyan seemed to hear the sound of her own heartbeat. She listened quietly, listening to the unchanged breathing coming from deep within her body.