The vertical sun is New Year's Eve, and the streets are hung with red lanterns, making it a joyous occasion.
In the morning, Tao You was still curled up in bed having a sweet dream. Tao's mother called out several times but got no response. She put her hand under her nose for a few seconds, then withdrew her hand and looked at Tao You's sleeping face, which was not very beautiful. , Tao’s mother went out to get her cell phone and came back. After playing with it for a while, she turned the volume up to the maximum and put it to her ear.
"The third set of national radio gymnastics for primary school students, "Colorful Sunshine", begins now!..." Familiar music sounded in Tao You's ears, looping continuously.
Tao You woke up from her sweet dream, frowned and opened her eyes. She was stunned for a few seconds. She turned her head slightly and searched for the source of the sound. When she saw the mobile phone placed next to her ear, she reached out to turn off the volume, turned over and tucked it tightly. Quilt, fell asleep again.
Tao's mother put breakfast on the table and heard that there was still no movement in Tao You's room. She wiped her hands and came in. Her cotton slippers made a "tap, tap" sound when she stepped on the ground. She saw Tao You change his posture and heard the sound of his cell phone. He was still locked up, and he obviously woke up and fell asleep again. Tao's mother bent over directly to Tao You's ear and raised her voice: "Get up!"
"What time is it, I can't afford it, the sun is shining on my butt!" As she said that, Tao's mother walked to the bed and opened the heavy floor-to-ceiling curtains, "Hurry up, breakfast is already cooked." She opened the window again, beautiful It is said that a room that has been closed for a night needs to be ventilated.
Tao You was woken up by the sound of her slippers scraping against the floor when Tao's mother came in. She closed her eyelids and pretended to be asleep, but her eyes rolled around and around uncontrollably until Tao's mother opened the curtains. The bright sunlight shines onto Tao You's face without any obstruction, and the cold wind that keeps blowing in helps Tao You clear up his chaotic brain. She pulled the quilt up and covered her head, leaving only a few strands of black hair outside. She turned over and faced away from the window.
"Want to suffocate yourself?" Tao's mother came over, grabbed Tao You's quilt and pulled it down, and said, "We just relaxed after the holiday. Your father has already gone to get the cake. When he comes back, we will go back to our hometown. It will be later. Come on, get up and eat quickly."
Tao You stretched out her head from the quilt, her little face was covered with redness, her mouth was slightly pursed, and she was in a bad mood: "Can I not go?" She didn't want to face those difficult relatives before the New Year was officially celebrated. .
"What are you thinking about? It's New Year's Eve today. You have to go back to see your grandparents. You haven't gone back a few times this semester. Your aunt has talked about it many times. As for the others, just ignore them."
Tao You opened the quilt and sat up, sighed sleepily, and shuffled into the bathroom.
The sun that was still there in the morning turned gloomy not long after Tao You and his family set off. Tao You leaned on his seat, wiped the mist on the car window with his hand, and stared blankly at the receding scenery outside the window. Oh my God. You know how to read minds, this dark cloud is really suitable for the occasion.
Since the past few years, Tao You has gradually lost interest in celebrating the New Year, not because the New Year atmosphere has faded or the reunion dinner can never be gathered together, but because those seven aunts and eight aunts have suddenly been stimulated by some unknown thing. Since the house in their hometown After the renovation, people who rarely come back will show up on time every Chinese New Year and even rush other people.
Tao You doesn't like to make noise. During the Chinese New Year, some family members would have a reunion dinner together, then sit on the sofa and watch the Spring Festival Gala. The atmosphere was harmonious. After midnight, they would go out to set off fireworks together. It was quiet and beautiful. But as soon as these relatives came back, the garbage on the floor could never be cleaned up. After dinner, they would gather at the table to play mahjong and poker all night long. The house was filled with smoke, and even the Spring Festival Gala couldn't be watched well.
Tao's father and Tao's mother were not used to dealing with them. Before they returned to Weicheng, they could at least find excuses to come back later and avoid them as much as possible. Now they can't even find an excuse. When Tao You thinks about the night The scene made a nerve in the back of his head twitch uncontrollably.
"Xiaoyou." Grandma Tao had been waiting at the door early in the morning. She wore presbyopia, but she still didn't recognize it until the car arrived in front of her. 3 She waved to the people in the car.
"Grandma." As soon as the car turned off, Tao You couldn't wait to run over, "It's such a cold day, just wait in the house, what are you doing out here?"
Grandma Tao held Tao You's hand, rubbed it, and smiled so much that the wrinkles on her face were piled together. She pulled her toward the house: "I'll come out and clean up for a while. It's not cold at all. Come on, go in, I'll do it." I ordered your favorite tofu soup.”
Open the door, the noise inside the house
After hearing this, Tao You frowned slightly, glanced at Grandma Tao who was still smiling happily, and sighed inwardly.
"Hey, this is Xiaoyou, I haven't seen you for many years." An aunt came over, wearing a red cotton-padded jacket, with loose curly hair, the makeup on her face was a bit exaggerated, the powder was very obvious, and the lipstick was bright red, one by one. , as if she could eat people, she pulled Tao You affectionately and looked her up and down, "She was only this tall when we met before." She said, gesturing at her waist.
"That's right, you've grown up so much. You're in high school now," someone next to you said.
Tao You smelled the strong smell of low-quality perfume on her body and felt nauseated. He smiled stiffly and took a step back. The unique smell of lime flashed in his mind, and he suddenly missed it.
"Don't you remember me?" The aunt took a step forward and asked expectantly.
Tao You stood at the door with everyone's gaze on her. She didn't say a word, but her heart was already turning over and over: Auntie, should I know you? You are so enthusiastic, I have never seen you before. You haven't been back in these years, do you have the nerve to ask me?
"I don't really remember." Tao You took another step back and told the truth.
The aunt's face visibly stiffened for a moment.
"Xiaoyou, you should call her aunt." Tao You's little aunt came out of the kitchen and saw Tao You smiling brightly, and said to the rescue. "You don't remember it's normal. When you came back before, she happened to not be there."
After saying this sentence, the atmosphere in the living room became cold, and the aunt twitched her lips again, "Look what you said, it was just a coincidence that we were not in Weicheng before, and we came back at different times. Of course it was difficult. We bumped into each other, it's fine now, Xiaoyou has returned to Weicheng, we will see each other more often in the future." I don't know who this sentence was explained to.
Tao You laughed awkwardly, pulled back her hand, and sat on the sofa. Just as she took out her phone, she heard someone calling her next to her.
"Jiajia, call Aunt Xiaoyou." Another uncle said to the little boy sitting on the other side of the sofa, "Be polite, as I taught you."
It was probably the first time they met. The little boy was a little shy and refused to speak no matter how much he tried to persuade him. His eyes were wandering around, but he refused to look at Tao You. The other children were not afraid of strangers. They stared at Tao You but did not come up to say hello because they didn't know him and didn't know what to call him.
Tao You was sitting on pins and needles, pretending not to hear and looking down at his phone.
'Help! I hate Chinese New Year! "She complained in the group.
Soon, Hong Xiqi's message came back: 'Same as above. ".
'What's wrong? "Song Yimian also returned to his hometown at this time. He was sitting on the sofa eating melon seeds and chatting with Grandma Song. His phone vibrated several times before he picked it up and looked at it. When he saw Tao Youfa's message, he asked with a smile.
'Can you imagine the moment you enter your home, with a dozen half-familiar faces staring at you, waiting for you to call someone? "Tao You's fingers were typing on the keyboard quickly.
"Tao You, go to your room and do your homework." Tao's mother came over and handed her schoolbag to Tao You.
Tao You took it and said with a rare acceptance: "Okay." He stood up, took some snacks from the coffee table, and prepared to go to the room.
"You see Sister Xiaoyou is working hard, you should learn more from her..."
Tao You didn't take a few steps when she heard a parent teaching several children earnestly behind her back. She fled back to her room, closed the door, and blocked out the sounds from outside. Only then did she relax completely.
'I remember your family didn't have so many people during the Chinese New Year. "Song Yimian recalled that when she was a child, she once came to Tao You's house to celebrate the New Year. There were only a few people in the family. Her eldest aunt's family, her little aunt's family, and her own family all had very good relations with each other and there were no conflicts.
'It's a little complicated. Anyway, I'm very annoyed right now. I haven't had a good time in the past few years. I've guessed that there will definitely be a comparison meal at the dinner table later. "Tao You felt tired when he thought about this.
'What are you afraid of? Your grades are so good. "Gu Yi also came to join in the fun, 'The ranking in the final exam year has risen by several places, how awesome."
'Hey, you don't understand. "
'Xiao Youyou, there will be Lei Haozhe in this year's Spring Festival Gala! "Hong Xiqi changed the subject.
Tao You searched in his mind for a while and thought of this person, "Is he from that singing show?" "
'Um! He sings original songs today! "
...
Tao You was following a few people in the group
After chatting for a while, I put down my phone. Just as I opened the test paper and wrote a few words, there was a knock on the door.
"Xiaoyou, it's time to eat." Tao You's cousin opened the door and came in.
"Here we come." Tao You put down his pen and walked out of the door slowly.
Everyone had already sat at the table and started eating. The seats were very crowded. Tao You sat down in the empty seat next to Tao's mother. As soon as he took a sip of the drink, he heard the aunt just now say: "Xiaoyou, where are you studying now?"
"No. 1 Middle School." Tao You didn't want to answer, but neither Father Tao nor Mother Tao spoke.
"No. 1 Middle School, a key high school." The speaker was Second Aunt Tao You. Tao You still had some impression of this person. She had met him several times before, "Qianqian, you have to be like your cousin."
The aunt obviously didn't want to let Tao You go, so she took a sip of wine and continued to ask, "What a coincidence, my youngest son is in Grade 12, Grade 1, No. 1 Middle School. From now on, we can take care of each other at school. Hey, where are you?" Class? Your grades should be very good, right? I remember when you were in elementary school, your grades were not very good for a while, right?" She guessed that based on Tao You's previous grades, he was at most in the ordinary class.
It is true that Tao You's grades were poor in elementary school, and during the Chinese New Year, she was compared openly and covertly. But that was still elementary school. Tao You gave her a funny look. Outsiders thought that entering No. 1 Middle School meant that she had good grades, but they didn't know that she had good grades. Classes 2 and 13 were notoriously messy in No. 1 Middle School. Basically, all the poor students who paid money to come in were in those two classes, including some art students and sports students who were just messing around. How did she get her confidence?
"She is in Class 1 and 2 of high school, and her grades are not very good. In this final exam, her ranking is only around 100 in her year. There is still room for improvement." Tao's mother understood the sarcasm in her words and spoke calmly. Return to the past.
"Class two, the key class." My aunt said, "Xiaoyou is amazing. Not everyone can get into the key class in No. 1 Middle School! Your cousin almost didn't get into it."
The aunt turned pale, picked up the glass and took a sip. She slightly raised her lips and said, "That's great. Which university does Xiaoyou want to go to in the future? My son wants to go to Berkeley. Now he has to work hard at home after school every day. I advise him I don’t know how many times I’ve asked you not to set your goals so high because he won’t listen to you. Xiaoyou, with your grades, you will definitely have no problem going to famous universities abroad in the future.”
Can you pass the exam at Berkeley?
Tao You answered without hesitation: "Yanda. Auntie, what is your son's ranking in the school? I roughly know that if you want to get into a school like Berkeley, the academic performance is also very important, and our school has a special section for art." Student ranking." She said it sincerely, as if she was really thinking about the aunt's son.
For a moment, everyone looked at the aunt.
