I don’t know how long it took, but the sky outside the car window turned dark, and the jeep slowly stopped in front of a military nursing home.
Zeng Fang took Shen Zhen out of the car and walked into the nursing home.
"where is this place?"
"Don't you recognize the big sign at the door?"
"I'm asking you what are you doing here? Are you visiting an elder, a friend, or someone else?"
After a long silence, Shen Zhen spoke in a low voice, "Come to see my brother."
Zeng Fang opened her eyes curiously, "Your brother? My biological brother?"
"Um."
Zeng Fang was a little annoyed, "Then if you didn't tell me earlier, I would have come empty-handed. How rude."
Shen Zhen was amused by her statement and said, "It's okay, my brother has already received your meeting gift."
"when?"
"arrive."
Zeng Fang immediately did not dare to talk nonsense anymore, and quietly arranged her hair and collar, trying to leave a good impression on the eldest brother of the Shen family.
Walking into the room along the opened door, Zeng Fang was so shocked that she could not speak when she saw the lifeless and emaciated strange man on the hospital bed.
"Brother, Fake is gone."
The first words Shen Zhen said to the man on the bed almost made Zeng Fang shed tears.
His tone was obviously calm, but her nose felt sore and she wanted to cry.
"Brother Shen, hello, I'm Zeng Fang. I came in a hurry and didn't have time to prepare a gift. I will make up for it with a generous gift next time."
Seeing that Shen Zhen had no intention of introducing herself, Zeng Fang took the initiative to introduce herself to Shen Chen on the bed, while sizing him up without leaving any trace.
Although the man on the hospital bed had become so thin that he had lost his appearance, he could still vaguely see some resemblance to Shen Zhen's appearance between his brows and eyes.
Zeng Fang stayed with Shen Chen until after 10 o'clock in the evening.
On the way back, Zeng Fang finally couldn't help but ask out her curiosity.
"Shen Zhen, your eldest brother, is he sick or injured like this?"
silence.
Just when Zeng Fang thought that Shen Zhen wouldn't tell her, the other party spoke.
"Is it okay if you don't go home tonight?"
"ah?"
Zeng Fang was a little dumbfounded, and her heart was pounding suddenly.
What does it mean not to go home?
Could it be that he invited her to spend the night outside with him?
She is not such a casual person.
After a series of thoughts flashed through her mind, Zeng Fang couldn't help but feel angry, "Shen Zhen, what do you mean?"
"I'll take you somewhere, but it's a bit cold there. If you don't want to go, just forget it."
Zeng Fang couldn't tell whether she felt relieved or disappointed, "I didn't say I didn't want to go, you lead the way."
After nearly two hours of driving, including filling up at a gas station along the way, the two finally arrived at a beach.
On a cold winter night, the temperature drops below zero, the beach is covered with thin ice, and the ice cracks when you step on it.
Zeng Fang was wrapped in a thick wool blanket, but she still couldn't resist the biting sea wind that penetrated into the seams of her bones.
Seeing Shen Zhen walking in front of her, wearing only a down jacket, Zeng Fang subconsciously took a few steps to catch up.
"The blanket is big, you can wrap it up with me."
"I'm not cold."
Zeng Fang grabbed Shen Zhen's ice-like hand and said, "How can it not be cold? Your hands have no warmth at all! Are you afraid of suffering from hypothermia?"
Zeng Fang couldn't help but unfold the wool blanket, trying to wrap Shen Zhen's body, but unfortunately she was not tall enough, so she could only barely wrap it around his chest and waist.
"Tsk."
Shen Zhen looked down at the little chubby girl who was trying to keep him warm. He suddenly took the wool blanket from the other person's hand, unfolded it and draped it over his shoulders, and then tucked the little chubby girl under his arm like a chicken.
"Okay, let's go."
Zeng Fang hid under the blanket like a quail, only half of her face showing, "Where are you going?"
"Blow the air."
"Shen Zhen, are you sick? It's such a cold day and you drove for such a long time just to bring me here to blow the cold wind?"
"Um."
Shen Zhen smiled and said, "I'm sick, and I'm quite sick."
I don’t know how long I walked, but a huge boulder suddenly appeared on the beach in front of me.
The surface of the boulder is flat enough for two people to lie flat on it and rest.
Shen Zhen jumped onto the boulder first, and then pulled Zeng Fang up.
The two of them were wrapped in blankets and stood side by side on the boulder.
After a while, Shen Zhen pointed to the rough sea ahead and said: "My brother was injured there. There are often turbulences here, and there are many rocks at the bottom of the water. If you are not careful, you will be picked up by the waves and hit the rocks. resulting in injury.
I have been rebellious since I was a child. The more things others don't let me do, the more I do it. It was my birthday and I heard my family discussing the matter of marrying my father.
I almost went crazy. Less than half a year after my mother died, they forgot about my mother and couldn't wait to marry my father. I couldn't figure it out, so I ran away from home and came here alone.
It was almost dark when my brother found me. He asked me to go back with him, but I refused and insisted on going to the sea. My eldest brother had no choice but to accompany me.
After my brother's accident, although no one in my family blamed me, I couldn't forgive myself. I was the one who hurt my brother. He was supposed to be in the army that day. He took leave to celebrate my birthday and came back because he was worried about me. Come to the beach. If I had been obedient and followed him back home, nothing would have happened."
"But this was an accident, and you didn't want it either."
"Fake is the birthday gift that my eldest brother is going to give me. Even though Fake is gone, my eldest brother still hasn't woken up. No one will give me a birthday gift in the future."
Zeng Fang looked at the man beside her, feeling the sadness on his body, and tears flowed down from her eyes uncontrollably.
"Shen Zhen, if you don't mind, I will give you a birthday gift every year from now on."
"Today is my birthday."
Hearing this, Zeng Fang subconsciously touched her backpack. After feeling empty, she remembered that she had left her backpack in the car.
What came to her mind was, "Shen Zhen, did you bring your lighter?"
"What?"
"Lend me a loan, I'll be useful."
Shen Zhen glanced at her, took out a lighter and handed it to her.
Zeng Fang lit the lighter and carefully protected the flame with her hands while singing happy birthday.
"Happy birthday to you……"
After singing a birthday song, Zeng Fang asked Shen Zhen to make a wish and blow out the candles, "I heard that making a wish to the sea is very effective. Shen Zhen, try it."
"Tsk, making wishes is just a trick to trick children."
"You try it."
Staring at the girl's warm face illuminated by the dancing firelight, Shen Zhen smiled and said, "I lied to you, today is not my birthday."
Zeng Fang raised her face slightly, her eyes were firm and bright, "I know, just think of it as a birthday that I made up for you, and hurry up and make a wish."
The two stared at each other for a long time, and Shen Zhen finally gave up and slowly closed his eyes.
I wish that my brother can wake up.
The waves suddenly surged on the sea surface, and I don't know if I heard his voice.
—
"A sneeze! A sneeze!"
Looking at Zeng Fang who was sitting on the bed, wrapped in quilt and sneezing, Shao Mo handed over the boiled brown sugar ginger water.
"What on earth did you do last night? Why were you sick when you came back this morning?"
Zeng Fang held a cup of brown sugar ginger water and briefly told the story of Fake's death while drinking it.
When he learned that his friend and Shen Zhen had gone to the beach to enjoy the breeze in the middle of the night, Shao Mo didn't know what to say, so he had to get up and get some cold medicine.