Chapter 178, If Only You Were Here (3000 words plus)
There may be a hundred cicadas lying on the poplar trees in the courtyard, making all kinds of annoying noises.

Zhuo felt very annoyed, but there was nothing he could do.

Standing up and sitting down again, it was uncomfortable.

It's hard to describe this feeling in words.

It's like you're sitting there, feeling upset and wanting to smash something, and then someone poops right in front of you.

And you can't hit people because it's against the law.

And it’s not illegal for him to poop.

crunch--

The bedroom door behind him was quietly opened.

Turning around, it was Sa Chiko who was walking quietly, holding a tray with freshly baked cookies and juice in her hands.

"Are you leaving today?"

Sa Chiko placed the tray on the desk, stood up and spoke.

"Yeah, we'll leave in the afternoon." Zhuo said.

"Mmmmm - do you want to go out for a walk? I heard that the town is going to be renovated soon, and it may not be like this in the future." Sa Chiko said.

"No," Zhuo climbed up from the balcony, picked up the cup and drank a sip of juice, "It's too hot outside."

"Really! I knew you would say that." Sa Qianzi pouted in dissatisfaction and sat down at the foot of the bed.

Zhuo watched him blink silently, and instantly understood that this was the beginning of a long speech.

"That's right, it's just what you thought!"

Sa Chiko smiled happily, and put her left hand on her face with a 'yeah' sign, "It's time for my long-lost mother's craftsmanship again--"

Utsunomiya Shuo's eyelids drooped, and he looked at her listlessly and helplessly.

"Hey, why do you have that expression?" Sa Chizi pouted and slapped him, "Really, you've been the same since you were a kid—"

Then he sat back down and said, "Okay, now, let's talk about dreams. What is your dream, son?"

"..."

Zhuo didn't say anything for a while, and looked at Sa Qianzi with dead fish eyes. After a while, he slowly said: "Don't you know my dream?"

I have written it in my essays since I was a child, and didn’t I invite my parents to participate at that time?

Still asking.

"And why are you asking this? Is there any connection?" Zhuo said again.

"That doesn't count. You were still young back then, but now you've grown up. As a man, of course you have to support a family!" said Sa Chizi.

"You think too much," Utsunomiya Shuo waved his hand, "If you can't support a family, it's fine as long as you can support a quilt."

Upon hearing this, Sa Chiko pretended to be angry and walked forward, pinching the flesh on both sides of his cheeks angrily - she didn't use much force, but it still hurt a little.

Then he let go and sat back, slapping his thigh.

"Nonsense, I'll give you a chance to do it again."

Sa Qianzi stared into Zhuo's eyes and said seriously.

"..."

Zhuo looked at her for a long time and confirmed that Sha Qianzi seemed serious this time.

He lowered his head silently and thought seriously, tilting his head from left to right and then from right to left: "Getting paid without working, is this considered a dream?"

Snapped--

Sa Chiko slapped his thigh hard.

This time she used a lot of force, and I could feel the stinging pain even through my clothes - the most important thing was that after Sachiko slapped him, she covered the hand she used to slap him and blew air on it.

It seems that she is in pain too.

"Huff, huff - think of another one, like a job you want to do, or an activity you are interested in," Sa Chizi looked up while blowing air into her palms to cool them down, and said, "Emmmm... Your dream doesn't necessarily have to be a job, and that's not what mom means. Anything is fine, such as wanting to see the aurora in the Arctic? Wanting to travel around the world? Anything like that is fine."

"Oh--"

Hearing this, Zhuo clenched his lips and stretched out the tone, uttering a string of meaningless syllables.

But still no answer was given.

Sa Qianzi held her forehead helplessly, "Nothing?"

"That's not the case." Zhuo said with a little hesitation.

"What, what? Tell me quickly!" Sha Qianzi's eyes suddenly lit up and she asked.

"Dreams are something you should have. Otherwise, when you get drunk you'll brag about it to others. It hurts. Stop it."

Zhuo was about to say something when he was interrupted violently by Sa Qianzi again.

Then he shrugged helplessly, "Even if you ask me like this, I really don't have any dreams. If you're asking about dreams, I can talk about it... And why are you asking this all of a sudden?"

Sa Chiko folded her hands and glared at him.

"Because if you are tired of life, you need to have some gentle dreams in it."

"..." Zhuo was silent.

I cannot agree.

It would be easier without dreams. Without desires, there would not be so many worries.

Sa Chiko's thoughts were completely opposite to his.

"You are only eighteen years old now, son, eighteen years old!" said Sa Chizi, "When I was eighteen, the boys who pursued me in school had to draw lots. At that time, every girl fantasized about the most handsome prince riding a white horse, rushing in front of us as a general who broke through the siege, and then proposing to us without any hesitation.

"This is what an eighteen-year-old should be thinking about!"

"Oh oh!" Utsunomiya Zhuo nodded in agreement.

——The first one is absolutely bragging!
——The latter one, it seems that your dream has not come true, your father neither has a white horse nor does he seem to have the courage to break out of the siege.

“So, I like flowers, the sea, sunrises and sunsets. I can’t live a boring life at a romantic age!!!”

Sa Qianzi shouted loudly and forcefully.

"Oh, really? So that's how it is," Zhuo nodded in agreement, "So?"

"So go out and get some sun. It's good for your health. You can't stay indoors all the time."

Sa Chiko suddenly calmed down.

"I see."

"Well, I'll be leaving first then--" After saying that, Sa Chiko stood up very neatly, waved her hand, and left.

The result is that all this talk was just to get him to go out for a walk.

"..."

Quite helpless.

But I'm used to it.

The room fell silent again.

The cicadas outside the window are still as noisy as ever.

Zhuo glanced at the puffs and juice on the desk, thought about it, and then picked them up and stuffed them into his mouth. He drank the juice in one gulp, changed his clothes and prepared to go out.

……

"I am leaving."

"Be careful on the road~~"

boom--

……

outside the street.

The sun in the sky is abundant and bright.

There was not a single cloud in the azure blue sky, it was as clean as if it had been washed by water.

A breeze mixed with fishy smell and a hint of fragrance from wild flowers on the roadside blew towards him, gently rolling to his side.

hot.

Already want to go back.

Afterwards, Utsunomiya Shuo rarely met people along the way, and even if someone passed by, they would hide in the shadows of the wall and continue on their way.

I ran into someone I knew before and simply said hello.

...The main reason was that the other party greeted him first, and he had actually forgotten who that person was.

I passed by the park I didn’t play much in when I was a kid, the dry cleaner I often visited, the children’s clothing store I went to a few times, and so on…

There is no destination along the way. Just keep walking in the direction of the sun and see where you end up.

Anyway, I'm just walking around, there's no purpose at all.

Finally, the sky gradually darkened, and the sun drifted from overhead to the far west. I didn't know what time it was. The roadside lamps were lit, and the neon lights hanging outside the shops were also lit. Only the sun in the west was getting dimmer and dimmer...

When passing by the beach, I saw the old lady working at the goldfish scooping stall again.

Other merchants have already packed up their equipment and returned home, waiting for next year's fireworks display or the next festival...

The old lady seemed to have no help and had to do it herself. She was old and moved slowly, with a hunched back.

The goldfish pond had been drained and the fish were piled on a wooden cart.

The old lady pushed the cart in a certain direction.

One step at a time.

Zhuo stood there expressionlessly for half a minute. The old lady was still in his sight... After thinking for a moment, he silently walked to the back of the cart and started pushing it.

The car body is not heavy and it does not require much effort to move.

The old lady felt her body suddenly lighten and was stunned for a moment. She turned her head to look at Utsunomiya Shuo for a while, then made way and took out an apple candy from the pocket hanging around her waist.

Said it was a gift to him.

The bright red apple is covered with brown sugar coating, wrapped with a layer of edible tissue paper, and the outermost layer is a transparent film.

Zhuo thought about it and decided to take it, then put it in his pocket.

Bulging.

Then he went back and forth more than ten times. The old lady's house was not far away, but Zhuo's only means of transportation was this small cart, which was very inconvenient.

It took more than ten trips back and forth to get all the things back.

The old lady's house is neither big nor small, and it is very clean. It doesn't seem like she is forced to set up a stall because of financial difficulties... Well, I wanted to give him and Ling an apple candy each when we first met, and now I'm giving him another one - she is so generous.

Good old man.

Grandma's husband passed away a few years ago, at the age of old age... Grandma had no children and was not short of money, so she wanted to spend her money on something meaningful before she died.

Although I don't understand the meaning of giving out candied apples and setting up a goldfish catching stall.

Maybe grandma has her own memories.

Your own amazing years.

I sat at the old lady's house for a while, chatted with her briefly, then said goodbye and left.

Walking alone on the way back, the street lights were behind me and my shadow was very long.

The black cat with green eyes on the roadside came again, its black fur was shiny and oily, and it looked like it had a good diet. It followed Utsunomiya Shuo and walked slowly on the wall, its small paw pads stepped on the stones without making any sound.

Utsunomiya Shuo took a look at it, took out an apple candy from his pocket and handed it over.

The black cat rolled his eyes and glanced at Apple Candy, then lowered his head and licked the hair on the back of his paw.

Apparently it wasn't because of the candy apples.

Utsunomiya Shuo took back the candy apple and licked it.

The surface is crispy and not very sweet, but it has a rich taste. The moment the tip of the tongue touched it, it almost revived Utsunomiya Shuo's taste buds.

This slightly sweet taste is not what Zero likes. She likes sweet, but not too sweet.

"good to eat."

Zhuo had no expression and just talked to himself.

Finally, I turned around to look at the setting sun, and still didn't understand the point of walking all day.

boring.

irritable.

He turned his head to look at the black cat still following him in the corner, forced a smile, and said to the black cat: "It would be nice if you were by my side."

　Thanks to Wuqi Taweigui brothers for the 500-point reward.

　　Thank you all for your monthly tickets.

　　
　
(End of this chapter)