In the early morning, the mountains are quiet. A layer of gauze-like mist gathers around the green mountain tops, and the clouds in the sky are as cold as water.

There had been a spring rain at night, and the road to town was muddy, making the car a little bumpy on the road.

When Yu Hao got into the car, Lu Huaizheng was still saying goodbye to the little native dog on the roadside.

She sat in the car, lowered her head slightly, and looked out through the gap in the window. The man bent down beside the dog and said something unknown. The little native dog whined again and looked at him with tearful eyes.

Lu Huaizheng leaned over again and pressed his forehead against it, as if saying goodbye.

The driver seemed to recognize the dog, and turned around to explain to Yu Hao: "This dog was rescued by the Army when they came here for training the year before last. I remember that both legs were broken at the time, and the Army sent it to the next town.

He was treated at a pet shop for two months. As a result, the dog's legs were still not very good, so he ran to the military area every day." The driver raised his finger and pointed to a green pine tree not far away, "He just squatted there and waited every day.

It’s really amazing to say that when Lu Lu was away, it didn’t come all day, but when Lu Lu came, it ran faster than anyone else. The soldiers all laughed and said it was Lu Li’s ‘girlfriend’.”

Yu Hao also laughed.

Lu Huaizheng opened the car door, bowed and sat in. Seeing her smiling with her mouth raised, he was stunned for a moment, then closed the car door and told the driver to drive.

Forty minutes to town.

Yu Hao was hiding under the quilt last night, thinking a lot about what he should say in these forty minutes. He would be leaving when he got to town, and the time he spent together was only a few dozen minutes in the car.

A lecture that lasted forty minutes felt long to her; but the forty minutes she spent with him felt short, passing by in a whoosh.

Now there is an extra person in the car, and she is not good at talking about irrelevant topics in front of others. The driver is also an enthusiastic chatterbox, chatting with Lu Huaizheng all the way, talking about everything from current affairs to politics.

When it came to national construction, she was not used to interrupting other people's topics, and she had no room to interrupt. So, she remained silent for more than twenty minutes. When she looked down at her watch, it was already seven twenty-four.

The driver looked at Yu Hao in the rearview mirror and asked, "Doctor Yu, what do you want to buy?"

What to buy?

She didn’t buy anything, she came to give it to her sweetheart!

"Old Li, have you had breakfast?" Lu Huaizheng on the side suddenly said something out of nowhere.

Lao Li said something, looked over, and replied: "I've eaten."

Lu Huaizheng nodded, looked out the window, looked at the rushing green in the mountains, and said casually: "I'll take Dr. Yu to have something to eat. Why don't you get out of the car and walk around the town?"

Lao Li agreed readily, "It's okay. You go and eat. I'll watch people playing chess at the bridge. Doctor Yu, just buy some things and give me a call."

Yu Hao suddenly turned around and asked him, "What time is your flight?"

"Two o'clock in the afternoon."

"Is it too late?"

"It's okay. Just go there an hour early."

It takes four hours to get to the airport from here, and you can even take the nine o'clock bus there. With Lu Huaizheng's status, there is a green channel, and you can get there half an hour early. Calculating this, we can still stay together for more than an hour.

My heart began to beat loudly again, and it felt like the battery was about to run out, but in the blink of an eye it was full again, giving me a stolen sense of unreality.

There is an ancient canal with a long history in the town, with gurgling water and bridges spanning both banks, connecting the rivers.

The car arrived at Qiaotou on time at 7:40. Lao Li parked the car on the side of the road and went to watch people playing chess. The town was not big, so it was always the same group of people who gathered together. Some people recognized Lao Li at a glance.

, and started chatting with him.

The early morning rays of light filter through the clouds, leaving lingering and sparse light and shadow on the narrow bluestone road. The quiet ancient alleys are meandering and beautiful, passing through old and dilapidated residential buildings, with the walls on both sides mottled with blue and black.

, covered with green and fluffy moss, as if you can see the years of growth rings.

The clear wind blew, carrying the smell of moss.

People in the town got up early, and even before eight o'clock, both sides of the ancient road were crowded with vendors. Crowds of people were clustered here and there, especially on the street. On the narrow road of a few feet, people were flowing shoulder to shoulder, and Lu Huaizheng was holding his hands.

With Yu's good back on his back, he walked through the crowds and took her to a nearby breakfast shop.

"I thought there were no people in this town." Yu Hao muttered.

"I could have taken you to see the temple fair today." Lu Huaizheng put his hand on her shoulders, looked down at her, his eyes moved slightly, and said, "My work often makes me unable to control myself."

Yu Hao lowered his head and said, "I understand."

The two of them walked quietly among the crowds, and the sounds of shouting, hawking, arguing, and playing in the market could not be heard without stopping. Even the sound of gurgling water seemed to be heard even if she held her breath, lingering in her ears like the wind.

It stood next to her ear, like a feather, caressing it gently.

It’s the moment when I can express my understanding.

Lu Huaizheng's hand on her shoulder couldn't help but tighten slightly.

"I just want you to be safe." Yu Hao suddenly looked up at him and said.

Lu Huaizheng couldn't move his eyes away anymore. He lowered his head and looked at her deeply, like a meteor falling, with sparks burning in his eyes.

He recalled that during a meeting in Nanjing a few years ago, he, Sun Kai, and several leaders were standing at the door of the hotel smoking a cigarette during lunch break. A girl came in. Her back looked very much like hers, and she was holding a half-year-old child in her hand.

The child lay softly and called his mother. He was completely stunned at that time.

For a moment, I really thought it was her.

The leader called him several times, but he didn't respond. The cigarette clip was still full of ash in his hand, so he stared blankly at the girl's back. The scene seemed to be still. Sun Kai

He said that several leaders were frightened by his eyes at that time.

Over the years, everyone here knows him.

They understood that he was the kind of person who would not show any fear in his eyes even if he knew he was going to die in the next second, but the sadness and despair in his eyes at that time were something they had never seen before.

It wasn't that he hadn't thought about it, that over the years, she might have gotten married or had children.

But when he saw it, he still overestimated himself.

The men didn't talk much to each other, but they seemed to understand all the emotions. He hadn't mentioned anything about Yu Hao to Sun Kai at that time, but Sun Kai knew that there was someone in his heart. Later I saw that he was distracted during the whole afternoon meeting.

Ning, Sun Kai said, why don't you ask someone to bring her over to you? If it's really the one you're thinking about, I'll let you give up. If you wait any longer, I'm afraid you'll really be a day lily.

It's cold.

After the meeting, Sun Kaizhen found an excuse to bring people over.

Lu Huaizheng was sitting in the front seat of the auditorium, leaning on the back of the chair with his head lowered. When someone came in, he glanced up and confirmed that it was not the case. He stood up and politely explained the whole story to the person. The girl expressed her understanding and followed.

Sun Kai left.

Then he buried his head again, resting his forehead on his knees with his hands, and sat in silence in the Great Hall all night. At that time, he made a decision in his heart: wait for another year.

In psychology, this is actually a kind of self-comfort when people are in despair. When you realize from the heart that the possibility of something happening is getting smaller and smaller, and it becomes remote, you will set up a set of settings for yourself in your heart.

A short period of time.

And this deadline will cycle in your mind indefinitely.

The breakfast shop that Lu Huaizheng took her to was not crowded, and the proprietress knew him well. When the old man saw him coming, he said hello to him, "Why are you free today?"

Lu Huaizheng smiled and pulled out a chair for Yu Hao, put his palm on her back and asked her to sit down. He turned to the boss's wife and smiled: "I want to go back to Beijing."

The store is small, with mottled walls. There is a simple business license hanging at the front door, which says Category C catering level.

The landlady smiled and nodded while wiping the table, and greeted warmly: "What are you going to eat? You sit down first."

Lu Huaizheng asked her to sit down, and he used his feet to hook a chair from the next table to sit next to Yu Hao instead of opposite, and asked her: "What do you want to eat?"

"I'm just like you." Yu Hao took a cigarette and wiped the table in front of him.

Lu Huaizheng smiled and took the paper in her hand. While wiping it, he turned to the landlady and asked for two bowls of porridge, a few stacks of side dishes, and some scattered snacks.

When my fingertips touched, it was like an electric shock, and my scalp felt tight.

Lu Huaizheng wiped her side first, passed by his side, and threw the paper into the trash can nearby.

In the past, when throwing things, I had to crumple a piece of paper into a ball, then raise my hand and use a standard shooting posture to throw a round parabola into the trash can. Sometimes it would hit the outside of the box and I would have to run over, pick it up, and throw it again.

Will not give up until you throw it in.

When Yu Hao asked him why he was so persistent, he actually said it was a man's persistence.

Just like every time after playing, the last ball leaving the court must be a three-pointer before leaving, otherwise it will refuse to leave.

There really aren't as many bells and whistles now as there used to be.

"Are you still playing ball now?" Yu Hao asked, tilting his head.

The landlady came over with dishes.

Lu Huaizheng pulled a pair of chopsticks from the bamboo tube and handed them to her. He glanced at her and said, "Not too much."

Sometimes he doesn't go to the team's football games.

He did two things in high school, one was to play ball, and the other was to chase her.

After she left, he even quit playing basketball.

Yu Hao nodded.

The landlady glanced at the two of them and asked Lu Huaizheng with a smile: "Liant Lu, is this your girlfriend?"

Lu Huaizheng had just lowered his head and took a sip of porridge. When he heard these words, he paused and glanced at Yu Hao who was standing aside. He really didn't know how to answer this. The boss lady's unexpected question made him pick up Yu Hao's chopsticks.

Stuck in mid-air.
To be continued...