Chapter 1
A rather pleasant young man, as the department flower of their technical department, Hu Jie, who is thirty-six years old, would say, is a good child, truly good-looking. Sister really regrets having been born twenty years too early
As soon as he entered, he was taken aback. A young police officer sat on a chair, covering his nose with a pained expression that seemed to convey deep grievances. In front of him were paper and a pen. On the floor, about ten people were squatting in two groups. The room was filled with the smell of alcohol mixed with sweat, which nearly made Zuo Hang vomit the several bowls of instant noodles he had eaten that evening
Su Zhanyu, with a blood-stained tissue on his head, kept nodding vigorously: "Brother, you haven't changed at all!"
Zhuang Peng behind was spinning in his chair. In the time it took for Zuo Hang to smoke half a cigarette, he counted that this guy had spun around about fifty times before finally stopping. He turned around and said: "Keep spinning, and in another half hour, you can go take the pilot exam."
Zuo Hang stood to one side pouring himself a glass of water, watching as his parents busily surrounded Su Zhanyu.
King of Snot
This task is impossible to accomplish, Zhuang Peng kicked the table, slid over to his side, grabbed a cigarette from his desk, and then rubbed it back to his own position. Such a piece of junk could only be written by those old fools in the former technical department, and they still have the audacity to ask us to revise it; it would be better to rewrite it.
If it doesn't work, just go to the hospital and get a few stitches. " Zuo Hang poured a glass of water and placed it in front of him
Grandmother and grandfather have always lived in the countryside. Except for the second uncle, several of their children have settled in the city. The elderly have consistently refused to move to the city. My mother's siblings, aside from sending money, have not been able to provide much more assistance. Over the years, the elderly have been entirely cared for by the second uncle's family
Such a person has actually attended university and even been incarcerated. Of course, there is no necessary connection between the two.
The face that was almost right in front of him was so close that Zuo Hang's eyes nearly crossed, all he could see was a row of white teeth. He raised his hand to block the momentum of this kid moving forward, quickly adjusted the distance between his two eyes, and finally managed to see the person clearly
Zuo Hang pointed to the three empty instant noodle bowls on the table and said, "Choose one."
"Zhan Yu," Mother turned her head to look at Su Zhan Yu, "You will move to your brother's place to live tomorrow, no longer staying in the dormitory."
"This is not a big deal, is it? Does someone have to be killed to be considered a big deal and end up eating cornmeal porridge in there?" One of the junior officers covered his nose and spoke, glancing at Zuo Hang, "Who is your family member?"
What?" Zuo Hang suddenly turned around, simultaneously expressing a surprised question with Su Zhanyu.
"Brother," Su Zhanyu hesitated for a moment, wanting to say something more, "That..."
Dog ... ... Su Zhanyu? '' Zuo Hang glared at the kid who was grinning at him with white teeth, a good half a head taller than him. No matter what, he couldn't get in touch with Dog Dan. Where was that black, thin kid with snot hanging from his nose?
Zuo Hang felt that his parents were a bit overly anxious. A small scrape on a young man's head was nothing serious. Of course, he could understand this; he had always maintained the image of a good child since he was little and had rarely been injured. As a result, his mother's psychological resilience had never had the opportunity to improve.
Every time I handed myself an apple in my childhood, Su Zhanyu always had this smile, looking quite happy yet a bit shy
Zuo Hang was just about to say to that young police officer, "Buddy, you really have it tough," when someone on the ground heard the footsteps, looked up, and suddenly leaped up, landing right in front of him: "Bro!"
Your cousin, that kid from your second uncle's family, Su Zhanyu, is attending university here. He has only been here for less than a semester and has already gotten into trouble with the law. My mother sighed and urged me in a flurry, "Stop dawdling, take the money and go bail him out, quickly!"
During the fight, Su Zhanyu and his companions did not have suitable weapons, so they dismantled the tents, tables, and chairs set up by the street vendor, resulting in a need to compensate for the damages
"It's nothing, just a small injury, just a little scraped skin." Su Zhanyu chuckled for a while and then took the cup and drank heartily
"Damn," Zhuang Peng stood up and stretched his waist, "I will go to the boss's office to take a look."
My mother is very grateful to my second uncle's family, and she pays special attention to their son. However, Zuo Hang rarely comes home and is completely unaware that Su Zhanyu is attending university here. He is even more clueless about how Su Zhanyu manages to receive treatment in their home that is akin to that of a biological son.
I haven't seen the person yet, just arrived. Once I finish handling things in a while, I will call you, so don't worry.
"Brother, thank you," Su Zhanyu said a bit shyly, scratching his head. He inadvertently touched the wound on his head, grimacing in pain as he withdrew his hand. "We will return the money to you as soon as possible..."
"We will talk about it later, first take care of the wound," Dad said as he took out the medicine box. "Zhanyu, go wash your face, it's covered in blood."
As Zuo Hang led Su Zhanyu, whose face was still smeared with blood, through the door, he anticipated what kind of scene would unfold. Therefore, before his mother could freeze for a moment and then let out a piercing scream as she rushed over, he wisely dodged out of the way
I only remember that my grandmother passed away in my junior year, and he still saw Dog Dan when he returned to the countryside
Zuo Hang helplessly pulled out a credit card from his wallet and asked, "Can I pay by card?"
Zuo Hang arrived at the police station that his mother mentioned. Before the car had even come to a complete stop, his mother's call came through again: "How is it? Are you hurt? Did you hurt anyone? Is it serious?"
Are you at home or at the office?" The sound of my mother was very loud, as always possessing a strong penetrating quality, which relieved Zuo Hang.
"Did I ask you? Did I ask you? Who told you to stand up? Go squat over there!" The young police officer glared, and Su Zhanyu quickly turned around and squatted back down among the group of people.
"I notice that you always love to stretch out in that big split position every time you work overtime," Zhuang Peng turned to look at Zuo Hang. Zuo Hang's legs were quite long, and when he threw them over the table, they kicked the machine on the opposite side. "Is there a sense of urgency?"
Aside from the fact that his skin is still somewhat dark, which is similar to how it was in his childhood, Zuo Hang can no longer find any more similarities between him and the Dog Dan from his memories. The dirty, mischievous appearance of Dog Dan has completely vanished.
"Stop talking nonsense," Zuo Hang's fingers were tapping on the keyboard, "this way I feel like I am producing these codes one fart at a time."
Zhuang Peng directly bumped his head against the glass door of the boss's office
What nonsense, after all these years, nothing has changed, that is a fairy. Even the dog has grown to look like a human, how could he remain unchanged? Zuo Hang smiled slightly at the corner of his mouth and asked, "What happened?"
At three o'clock in the morning, Zhuang Peng's stomach let out a growl, and then he kicked his legs and slid over to Xi Hang's side: "Instant noodles."
Sitting cross-legged in the Kaifeng Prefecture... Zuo Hang leaned back and sang a line, intending to continue with another line to respectfully address the prince consort, but he pulled out his phone from his pocket and glanced at it. To his surprise, it was a call from his mother in the middle of the night. He quickly answered, "Mom?"
"Give me a bowl of noodles." Zuo Hang realized that every time he worked overtime, the fatigue was not the most unbearable; rather, it was the persistent feeling of hunger in his stomach that was the most tormenting.
Ah, yes. " Zuo Hang replied casually while changing his shoes. When he rented the apartment, there was a roommate, but that person later returned to their hometown, leaving that room vacant. Zuo Hang has not sought another roommate since then.
Zuo Hang saw that there was nothing much to do at the moment, so he stood up, intending to return to the company, as there were still a bunch of programs that needed clarification. Before he could take a step, his mother suddenly spoke up and said: "Zuo Hang, is there still a room vacant in the apartment you rented?"
Zuo Hang rested his leg on the office desk, gazing at the three essentials for overtime work before him
My younger brother?" Zuo Hang switched the phone from his right ear to his left, momentarily taken aback, "Where did I get a younger brother from?"
"You need to go to the police station right away, bring some money, hurry!" Mother immediately issued the command, "Your brother is in trouble, you need to go pick him up!"
After the call with his mother was disconnected, Zuo Hang quickly recalled this cousin from some corner of his memory. Indeed, his name was Su Zhanyu, but his first reaction upon remembering this person was to think of him as "Dog Egg"
instant noodles, coffee, cigarettes
Zhuang Peng had just arrived outside the boss's office when Zuo Hang's phone suddenly rang, and Mr. Qiu's voice echoed in the empty office of the technical department—Bao Longtu
The name "Dog Egg" is certainly not a formal name, nor is it even a nickname. It was a name given by Zuo Hang to his cousin, and to this day, he believes that his cousin at that time was the only person who could perfectly embody this name
As the car drove out of the parking lot, Zuo Hang felt somewhat bewildered. This so-called "Dog Egg," the snot king, was actually attending university in the same city as him? He had never heard of this at all. Ever since he enrolled in a demanding key high school, every winter and summer vacation had been consumed by various exhausting supplementary classes. After his third year of high school, he returned home even less frequently, and his memories of Dog Egg had faded significantly.
By the time Zuo Hang had wandered around the street for half a day and withdrawn money from the ATM to bail these guys out, it was already past four o'clock
The second uncle's family has always lived in the countryside with the grandparents. Before Zuo Hang entered high school, he would visit the elderly in the countryside with his parents every holiday, and he could also see his cousin. Regardless of spring, summer, autumn, or winter, this kid was always dragging his snot, dressed in a set of old clothes discarded by some big kid, with shiny snot stains all over the sleeves
These snotty apples made Zuo Hang hesitant to bite into the ones his cousin gave him, as he always felt the need to sneak away to the kitchen to wash them again when no one was watching. Even so, he still felt that he had eaten a lot of snotty apples during each holiday
Upon hearing these words, Zuo Hang instantly felt as if he were standing outside the delivery room of a hospital. The doctor poked his head out and shouted, "Who is the family member of that person? A boy!"
This is my brother. Su Zhanyu smiled at the young police officer
He has already consumed 3 bowls of instant noodles, 4 cups of coffee, and half a pack of cigarettes, yet the work that needs to be done during overtime is still far from complete. The various intricate codes displayed on the computer screen tell him that tonight is essentially a write-off
The piece of paper on Su Zhanyu's head clearly could not stop the blood that was continuously seeping out, but he seemed unconcerned, wiping his forehead with his hand and rubbing it on his clothes: "It's nothing serious, we ... ... "
In fact, from Zuo Hang's perspective, it was indeed not a big deal. It is quite common for two groups of students to get into a drunken altercation at a large dining venue, leading to mutual disdain. The consequences are not too severe; although they all ended up bleeding, these were merely superficial injuries, and no one was disfigured.
That Dog Egg is still the same, with no significant changes. In his view, he hasn't even grown much taller; at the age of entering the third year of junior high, he remains dark and thin. Moreover, since Dog Egg has a deep bond with his grandmother, he was crying so hard that he almost passed out. Therefore, in Zuo Hang's impression, he hasn't even changed in the way he drags his snot.
He casually snatched Zhuang Peng's wallet and ran into the elevator. Aside from the two words "Dog Egg," he searched through his memories of going to his grandmother's house during the winter and summer vacations each year.
Zuo Hang has always been regarded as a model student, at least on the surface. This is his first time entering a police station, and it is also the first time he has been reprimanded by a young police officer while being held by the nose. He just wants to pay the fine and leave as soon as possible
This smell is more shocking than when a rat died in their dormitory back in the day
By the way, don't leave just yet. Come back with me to my mother's place; she needs to see that you are alive to feel at ease.
Mother rushed over and hugged Su Zhanyu tightly, then held his face and kept touching it, almost as if she wanted to examine it with a magnifying glass: "What happened? Huh? Why is there so much blood?"
But when it came time to pay, he was stunned; he didn't have enough money. That damned Zhuang Peng had just paid his salary, yet there were only a few bills left in his wallet. It felt quite thick, but when he opened it, it was all damn receipts.
"It's just this matter, Aunt, you need not worry anymore. I will be more careful in the future." Su Zhanyu smiled at his mother.
Su Zhanyu recounted the incident of the fight that occurred in the evening under his mother's urging. Just as Zuo Hang had anticipated, it was merely a group of foolish young men who got drunk and acted wildly, nothing of great significance.
Zuo Hang looked at Su Zhanyu, who was bowing his head to let his mother check his wound, and thought that even a dog could grow into something impressive. He never expected this kid not only had grown into a human figure but also looked quite decent, capable of fitting in with the handsome crowd anywhere. However, when he smiled, there was still a hint of the foolishness from his childhood.
Su Zhanyu's classmates also kept saying thank you, brother. Zuo Hang was currently thinking about the unfinished work from overtime, and tomorrow he would have to face the boss's constipated face. Just thinking about it made him feel depressed. He waved his hand at a few guys and said, "Alright, alright, you all hurry back to school and tidy up. Have your sense of smell gone numb?"
After Su Zhanyu's wounds were cleaned, his face washed, and he changed into a set of clothes that Zuo Hang had left at home, he finally got a clear look at his cousin's appearance
Working overtime at the company
Zuo Hang smiled without saying a word, draped one leg over to the side of the computer screen, pulled the keyboard closer to himself, and continued working