Letter from Home

When Shang Nanming was eighteen years old, he received two letters. One was written by his father, and the other was written by his mother. At that time, his father had been shot, and he didn't know which country his mother had gone to. The two letters were sandwiched in the drawer of the old house, and the envelopes were covered with dust. His dad said in the letter, Nan Ming, the person dad is most sorry for in his life is you. His mother said in the letter, Nan Ming, my mother has always known that you have been wronged. Shang Nanming read it for a long time, folded the letter and put it away without shedding a single tear. Later, he squatted alone on the balcony of the rental house and smoked most of the pack of cigarettes. He choked and coughed. As he coughed, he laughed, and then fell silent again. He thought, it turns out that I am not wanted by anyone. ——This is something for later. Two years ago, Shang Nanming was sixteen years old, a sophomore in high school, with short hair, six piercings in his left ear and two in his right ear. He always ranked first in his grade. He was not talkative and unreasonable. No one in the school dared to mess with him. No one knew that the words "emotional indifference" were written on his medical record, and no one knew where the shallow scars on his wrists came from. It was sheer bad luck when he got involved in a murder case. I just wanted to go to a black Internet cafe to play games, so I stood in front of the toilet for a while, and then I became a suspect. The police asked him questions in the interrogation room, but he didn't listen to a word. He only stared at the victim's information on the record, with one thought running through his mind: that number, that age, that place—— Exactly the same as that teacher back then. Later, the case was solved and the rumormongers came. There were rumors in the grade that he had something to do with that case, and it was all said and done, and it was extremely unpleasant to hear. Without saying a word, Shang Nanming arranged a group fight and beat him in the open space behind the playground until his face was covered with blood. Then he noticed a tall man standing outside the crowd with his pockets inserted. He didn't look like he was here to fight, but rather to watch the fun. The man later told him: "My name is Lu Yangqing, I am in the same class as you, second in grade." Shang Nanming glanced at him: "Is there such a person in our class?" Lu Yangqing smiled, a pretty smile, and said, "You don't even know the head teacher, so it's normal that you don't know me." Later, Shang Nanming fainted at home due to hypoglycemia, and it was Lu Yangqing who carried him down from the fifth floor. The lights in the hospital corridor were very bright. Shang Nanming opened his eyes and saw Lu Yangqing sitting by the bed, holding his medical records in his hand, with an unsightly expression. "Emotional indifference," Lu Yangqing read it again and looked up at him, "Then do you still know that I like you?" Shang Nanming didn't answer. At that time, he didn't know what liking meant. He only knew that this person's voice was neither too loud nor too soft, and it didn't bother him to listen. What happened next was fast or slow. Shang Nanming's father was arrested abroad and sentenced to death. Shang Nanming ran to the river and stood there all afternoon, almost jumping. The mobile phone fell on the slope and was picked up by an old man who was picking up bottles. He answered the call from Lu Yangqing. "He ran towards the river. Master, please help me stop him. Please, please -" When Lu Yangqing arrived, Shang Nanming had been fished out of the water. He was soaked and lying on the ground with his eyes half open, not knowing what he was looking at. Lu Yangqing squatted down, out of breath, and his voice was trembling: "If you die, where can I find the first grader to fall in love with?" Shang Nanming's lips moved but he made no sound. But later he thought that when he was in the water that day, he seemed to hear someone shouting something. I couldn't hear it clearly, but the sound never stopped. Only three people attended the funeral. Shang Nanming, Shang Chu, Lu Yangqing. Shang Chu cried so hard that his face was covered with snot and tears. Lu Yangqing stood aside and handed out tissues without saying a word. Shang Nanming didn't cry, not from beginning to end, until the three of them sat down in the small restaurant, and the waiter brought a bowl of noodles. He lowered his head and took a bite, and tears suddenly fell from his eyes and fell into the bowl. That was the last time he cried over those things. Later, he learned to listen to Xu Song's songs, learned to eat sour food, and learned to wear long sleeves on hot days. His younger brother Shang Chu is half a head shorter than him, and he clamors every day to grow taller and to surpass his brother. Lu Yangqing is still the same virtuous person, talkative and thick-skinned. He likes to say "I like you" and doesn't care if Shang Nanming stares at him. Later, Lu Yangqing confessed her love to him in front of the whole school at the high school graduation ceremony. Shang Nanming's ears were so red that they could bleed. Finally, he took out his cell phone from his pocket and played a song. The song was by Zheng Runze. Lu Yangqing had never heard of it. Later, he searched for the lyrics and was stunned for a long time before sending him a message: Is this your answer? Shang Nanming replied with one word: Yes. Lu Yangqing asked again: Can I kiss you? Shang Nanming didn't reply. Ten minutes later, a period came. Lu Yangqing took this period as agreement. Many years later, Shang Nanming received another letter at their wedding. There is no signature on the envelope, and there is only one line when you open it—— "This time it's not a letter from home, it's a love letter. Welcome home." He didn't need to read the signature to know who wrote it, because there was only one person in the whole world who could write the word "" like "". There was a missing stroke, and he couldn't change it after several years. Shang Nanming folded the letter, put it in his pocket, and looked up at the opposite side. Lu Yangqing smiled at him in a white suit, smiling like a fool. He smiled too. He thought, this life seems to have not been in vain. ——This is a story about waiting and responding. One person waited for a long time, and the other person finally learned to respond. Intention: If a person spends his whole life making up for one mistake, then this world is not in vain