Invade the World

  Chapter 102 Subtle Gap

  Across the barbed wire, the deep and quiet end and the noisy and lively end separate the two worlds.

  Xu Xiangyang was taken aback, took two steps backwards, the paint bucket at his feet was kicked over, and he turned “Gululu” twice on the ground.

  But he took a closer look and found that the face was motionless.

  It turned out that it was a mannequin, half of the head was gone, only the dilapidated plastic head was left, and the rough eyeballs were staring at him. The only intact arms are two arms, one pointing to the front and the other holding the abdomen, in a strange posture.

   Before he had time to observe carefully, he glanced at it and heard a shout from behind.

"Are you OK?"

   Not far away, Lin Xingjie ran over with a nervous expression on her face, and reached out and grabbed Xu Xiangyang's shoulder.

   "...Huh?" Xu Xiangyang recovered, and quickly replied. "Well, I'm fine."

   "I saw you panicking, I thought something happened."

   Lin Xingjie stood on tiptoe, grabbed his shoulder and probed his head, and soon saw the tattered mannequin as well, and couldn't help laughing.

   "That's it? A dummy scared you? Xiangyang, I didn't think you were so courageous before?"

   "...I just happened to face to face when I saw it, and I was a little surprised, not afraid." Xu Xiangyang retorted unconvincedly.

  Zhu Qingyue followed along to the barbed wire fence, trying to spread the blue plastic a little bit more.

  However, this level is almost at the limit now, because although standing underneath is invisible, the top of the plastic sheet should be pressed by a heavy object.

   "It seems that I was right. It is indeed a part that has not been built yet, or the number of rented facades is insufficient. The boss may not be able to wait, so let's open the door early."

  Zhu Qingyue gestured with her hands.

  "From the outside, the area of ​​the three floors of this building should be the same, but when it comes to the third floor, compared to the downstairs, the shop occupies less than two-thirds of the area."

   "Hey, you still pay attention to this kind of thing..."

  The heads of the teenagers and girls stayed together, barely able to see the situation inside.

Through the barbed wire, looking at the space like a different world, one can see piles of tables, chairs, cabinets and other debris, and of course there are more than one abandoned mannequins, all displayed crookedly Where.

   "It looks like I can't get in."

  Xu Xiangyang patted the barbed wire.

   "Why go in? Do you eat ashes?"

   Lin Xingjie frowned and glared at him, obviously not interested, turned and left.

   "Let's go, let's go, nothing good."

  Before putting down the blue plastic sheet, Xu Xiangyang glanced at the world behind the barbed wire last. The doll that had lost most of its head had one arm pointing forward and one arm pointing down, still standing there motionless.

  After that, he was dragged away by Lin Xingjie with a strong attitude.

  ……

  They returned to the bustling crowd.

  Spacious and bright floor-to-ceiling windows are spread out one by one, with huge crystal chandeliers hanging above the head. The halls in the center of the shops on both sides are wide and imposing, which is equivalent to a small square, full of noisy scenes of people coming and going.

  This kind of scene makes people feel comfortable just looking at it. It is completely two worlds with that dark and undeveloped area. Xu Xiangyang quickly forgets what he has seen and heard.

  "This place is really built..." Lin Xingjie seemed to rack his brains to consider adjectives, but in the end he could only hold back a dry sentence, "It's really beautiful."

  This is no wonder. In fact, Xu Xiangyang was the first time he saw such a magnificent shopping mall in real life, and felt a little emotional in his heart.

  After all, he is still a student, and spends most of his time living a life of "home-school" two-point-one-line life, and Sister Lian rarely has the opportunity to take him where to play during holidays.

"Yes."

  Zhu Qingyue nodded slightly, agreeing.

   "It seems that the designer was specially invited, maybe it was from a well-known international firm."

  She has lived in a high-end community, and her knowledge in this area is the highest among the three.

  In this era, the architectural styles of bungalows and western-style courtyards have not been flooded in the north and south of the river. As long as the buildings are made a little bit foreign, it will make people feel that there is a kind of unclear artistic atmosphere.

  And modernist-style buildings like this newly opened department store are even rarer.

If you stand next to the stainless steel handrails in the walkway and look down, you can see the stairs spiraling down in circles, like a snake biting its own tail; and on the torso of this snake, there is a crowd like ants. Crawling up or down.

   Lin Xingjie and Zhu Qingyue walked in front, commenting on the clothes or other products displayed in the window with smiles, and occasionally they would step in side by side when they saw a store of interest.

   Xu Xiangyang followed silently, sometimes standing in front of the store waiting, sometimes being forced into the store.

Along the way, he has seen the sight of little sisters shopping together hand in hand; although Lin Xingjie and Zhu Qingyue only talked and did not do that, but just looking at the happy atmosphere in them, he felt that It's just a matter of time to develop to that extent.

  And Xu Xiangyang, as a man in the trio, should have felt out of place in this situation...

  However, whether it is Lin Xingjie or Zhu Qingyue, they will always pull him over during the conversation, tell him his thoughts, and hope to hear his evaluation and judgment.

  Even if he refused, or showed a look of disinterest, the two girls still enjoyed it.

  Seriously speaking, Xu Xiangyang still has a little relief in his heart, because in this atmosphere, they are normal even if they don't bring him.

  It’s just that Lin Xingjie and Zhu Qingyue always throw some questions that people don’t know how to answer. After getting up frequently, Xu Xiangyang would rather have his ears clean.

  ……

  At this moment, Zhu Qingyue went to the bathroom.

  Xu Xiangyang and Lin Xingjie sat side by side on the bench.

  He put the bag on his feet, moved his stiff and numb fingers, and looked at the people coming and going in front of him, undulating like a flowing ocean.

  Lin Xingjie was holding a marshmallow and slowly tasting it, as if burying her face in a soft and sweet cloud. The corners of the girl's lips rose slightly, and a happy atmosphere was gradually brewing on her face.

  Xu Xiangyang realized that Lin Xingjie’s mouth seemed to have never stopped since seeing her today.

  Zhu Qingyue bought this to her again. When Lin Xingjie walked past the shop selling marshmallows, she was involuntarily drawn away for a while; Xu Xiangyang didn't notice this at all, but Zhu Qingyue caught it keenly, and bought one for her neatly. .

  Think about it now, Xu Xiangyang is indeed ashamed of his ability to observe in this respect.

  Of course, he was not too upset. If a person feels discouraged just because he can't keep up with others in a certain way, what a frustration to live!

  Everyone has what they are good at and what they are not good at. If you really care about a certain aspect, then you can make progress little by little on the basis of admitting that you are not as good as others and just catch up.

  Xu Xiangyang planned in this way. Even when it comes to dealing with others, he will slowly catch up until he surpasses her, just like in an examination room.

  "Are you happy when you come out to play today?"

   Xu Xiangyang sorted out his words and asked actively.

"Ok."

  Lin Xingjie ate happily, and nodded vigorously at the same time.

   "...Now it seems that it is indeed my fault."

  Xu Xiangyang sighed.

   "It's because I haven't been able to notice your mood."

   "This is not your problem."

   Lin Xingjie shook her head.

   "If it were me before, even if I had a chance to go out to play, it would not be interesting. I had to hide from people all day, and I had to worry about it when I got home. It would be better to sleep on the rooftop."

  She lightly pointed to the boy's chest.

  "But it’s different now. Of course I’m happy to be with my friends. From this point of view, isn’t it the same at home to have you with me? I think it’s all the same."

   "So, I don't actually need to take you out to play, just arrange your studies as before?"

  Xu Xiangyang thought it was a bit funny.

  "This is not bad, but it is a pity that Zhu Qingyue must be left alone. But in order to improve your grades, let her make a small sacrifice."

   "Don't misunderstand others!"

  The long-haired girl puffed out dissatisfiedly.

"What I want to say is that only when we are together, studying at home and playing outside will make a difference. In short, everyone has already made an appointment and will be free on rest days in the future. You can't go back. what?"

   "Okay, OK, I see."

  Xu Xiangyang smiled and raised his hand to express surrender.

  Lin Xingjie turned her head and ate her head in silence for a while, and ate the marshmallows completely, leaving only a little bit of soft sugar on the stick.

  She has no habit of wasting food, so she stuck out her tongue and licked it down the stick.

  From the perspective of the onlooker, the picture of the beautiful girl eating is of course pleasing to the eye, but on the other hand, this action is indeed a bit too unsightly...

  Xu Xiangyang, who was sitting next to her, just turned his head and glanced, his heart pounding for some reason, and he didn't dare to look at it again.

   "However, I am a little bit worried."

   Lin Xingjie threw the stick into the trash can not far away, and spoke softly.

"Ok?"

  "We go out to play on the day off, will it delay your study?"

  Xu Xiangyang froze for a moment, smiled and shook his head.

"Will not."

"real?"

"of course."

   Now that he talked about his own job, Xu Xiangyang immediately became energetic.

  He put on a posture of sitting upright and began to explain to Lin Xingjie.

"Now with the help of Zhu Qingyue and I, you have basically mastered most of the knowledge taught in high school. A considerable number of students do not even have this kind of most basic work because they are not serious in class or homework. Complete it well; therefore, as long as you are willing to work hard in this area, you will be promoted very quickly. This is why you can greatly improve your ranking within a short period of time. It’s just because you are in a hurry, and the foundation is not. It’s very reliable and needs to be—"

   "This..." Lin Xingjie couldn't help holding her forehead, as if trying to cover her eyes, "Can you tell me the point?"

"The point is," Xu Xiangyang said with a serious face, "Once you reach your ranking, in fact, everyone will be on the same level. And according to the teaching plan of the teachers, at this point in time, the textbook Basically, all the new knowledge on the above is taught, and the next step is the process of repeated consolidation, and this will be a long water milling effort. It will not fall after a few days without learning, but it will not be improved by working hard for a few days. What needs to be paid attention to is the efficiency of learning and the mentality of the exam..."

   "Wait, wait a minute, I don’t mean to say something like this—"

  The girl soon began to regret it. Why did she bring up this topic? She resisted the urge to shout "Master, stop reading!" and hurriedly wanted to divert her attention.

"What is'this kind of thing'?" Xu Xiangyang said dissatisfiedly, "Xingjie, I promise you that you can come out and relax regularly in the future, but this does not mean that you can underestimate your study, and don't be proud of making a little progress. arrogant……"

   "I mean Qingyue!" Lin Xingjie had to quickly throw out the topic she just wanted to talk about. If you don't say anything, I'm afraid it will be too late.

  "——This time the three of us came out to play together, let me confirm one thing. Qingyue...is there something to hide from us?"

  And after hearing this, Xu Xiangyang really fell silent.

"How did you know?"

  After a moment of silence, he asked in a low voice.

   "It's just intuition."

   Lin Xingjie answered very calmly.

   "I've said it before," Xu Xiangyang said, "Even if you become a friend, it doesn't mean you have to be honest and open all your secrets, does it?"

   "If it's just a small matter."

   Lin Xingjie's expression became a little serious.

"For example, she refused to tell us the reason why monsters invaded the house. I still can't figure it out. Her explanation can't convince me. But I can put this kind of thing aside. It's unbearable for me, but..."

   She lowered her head and thought for a long time before she seemed to grasp a certain feeling vaguely, and described it cautiously:

   "...a vague sense of isolation."

   "Obviously she bought you a bunch of delicious food?"

  Xu Xiangyang pointed to the sugar stain on the corner of the long-haired girl's mouth, and joked.

  It seems that Xingjie is the type who will not be soft when eating others. I really don’t know if this is a good thing or a bad thing.

   "Because she is kind to me, that makes me care more."

   Lin Xingjie stretched out her tongue, licked the corners of her lips, and replied casually.

   "Then you mean, she didn't actually treat us two as friends?"

   "That's not enough..." She thought for a while, "If she really doesn't have such a desire, there is no reason to take the initiative. If she just wants to be close to us, she doesn't have to be friends."

  Hearing this, Xu Xiangyang couldn't help but let out a sigh.

  Some things, Xingjie always sees more clearly than herself. In just a few words, he summed up the confusion he had been lingering in his heart these days.

   "...you are right. Actually, I feel similar to you."

"right?"

  While Lin Xingjie was about to continue to say something, Xu Xiangyang stretched out his hand to signal her to pause.

   "Hey, the two of you are really weird. Looking at it from a distance, the conversation was very lively, and I stopped talking when I came back. Isn't it a bad topic for me to hear?"

  Zhu Qingyue paced, appeared behind Lin Xingjie slowly, and asked half-jokingly.

  (End of this chapter)