Not Skipping a Day Chapter 3

It took Mason a long time to move the car into a small space. After parking the car, he felt like he had retaken the second part of the test and passed it with full marks.

He exhaled, touched his pocket, and thought about smoking a cigarette before going upstairs. In order to rush home today, he stayed in the laboratory for two days. He was dizzy from working on the computer, and he felt relieved when he took a breath of tobacco.

It was already late. At this time, almost all the windows were darkened. The humid and hot summer night seemed to be as quiet as a pool of water, flowing warmly into people's hearts. Mason slowly walked towards home. He glanced to the side and found that even the stray cat that often lingered beside the fitness equipment had gone to rest somewhere.

He didn't expect to see someone who was not asleep at this time.

Noah squatted on the platform of the small flower pond, wearing a black short-sleeved shirt and a black baseball cap. In front of him was the black cat with a white stripe on its back. He hunched his back and lowered his head, feeding the cat.

The cat and the man seemed to have adapted perfectly to this huge black curtain.

Mason watched the boy gently stroking the cat's head, took a puff of cigarette, and called out.

"Easy track."

Noah heard the voice, turned around, and was stunned for a moment when he saw who it was: "Brother Mason."

He stood up, stretched his legs and jumped off the platform. The black cat seemed to be frightened and jumped back two steps, staring at the two men, one black and one white, with wide eyes and vigilance.

"You just came back?" Noah asked.

He didn't move forward, but Mason still caught sight of the two bruises at the corners of his eyes and lips. He frowned and walked towards him.

"Why aren't you going to bed so late?" Without waiting for Noah to answer, Mason grabbed Noah's chin with the hand that didn't hold the cigarette and took a look. "Did you have a fight?"

Noah tried to dodge but failed. He fixed his eyes on the small cigarette but.t held in Mason's other hand, pursed his lips, and made an almost imperceptible "hmm" sound.

The black cat nearby somehow confirmed that the visitor was harmless, so it rubbed back and continued to eat the fish sausage with relish.

Looking at it from such a close distance, Mason discovered that the injury at the corner of Noah's eye was indeed quite serious. There was a cracked wound very close to his eye.

"Have you checked your eyes? There's bleeding in the corner of your eye."

After Mason finished speaking, he let go of his hand. Noah quickly straightened his back, shook his head and said "No need".

Because Noah suddenly stood up straight, Mason realized that he hadn't seen Noah for a long time.

From this perspective, the boy in front of him seemed to have grown taller. He could only see a little above his mouth when he looked straight ahead. His hair had grown longer and it was time to cut it. His hat was pulled down and some of the hair had covered his eyes.

Mason saw the few strands of hair that had pierced the wound, frowned and pushed them away.

Noah froze there, and suddenly asked: "Why did you come back so late?"

"Yeah, something happened at school."

Noah thought, why do you have to come back if you have something to do? It is so dangerous to drive so late.

"School starts tomorrow, and I promised Amelia that I would send her there." Mason continued.

Fortunately, he didn't say it. Noah thought so and kicked away the stone under his feet.

The two men walked towards the corridor one after the other. When they passed the trash can, Mason stopped, took a last puff of his cigarette, and then put it out.

When he looked up, he found Noah looking at him, his beautiful eyes sunk in the shadow cast by the brim of his hat.

"What's wrong?"

Noah shook his head, said nothing, and continued walking forward with him.

"Come in with me. Even if you don't want to go to the hospital, you still have to deal with it." Mason raised his hand and tapped the corner of his eye. "If this area gets infected, it will be very dangerous."

Noah's hand just reached into his pocket and grabbed the cold key. He looked at the door opposite and shook his head: "No."

"It's okay, they're all asleep."

Noah still shook his head.

Mason did not force her anymore, but just said softly: "Then go in and wait for me, I'll get you some medicine."

Noah stood there holding the key. The lights in the corridor went out, but he didn't stamp his feet or make a sound.

"Why don't you go in?" Mason asked curiously as he came out with the medicine. Afterwards, he quickly understood: "Is Aunt Xiang at home?"

Noah nodded.

"Apply the white one first, then the green one," Mason handed the bag to Noah, "I've got a cotton swab for you. Use it in front of the mirror. Be careful not to get it in your eyes."

"Yes," Noah took it and squeezed the bag until it made a crackling sound. Two seconds later, he said, "Thank you, Brother Mason."

Mason looked at the person in front of him who was lowering his head slightly, his lips moved, but he didn't say anything.

Sometimes he would feel as if Noah was frozen in that summer. Others were coming and going, covered in all kinds of dust and light, but he was the only one, always keeping his head down in silence, as if he had nothing to do with anyone.

In the morning, Mason turned off the alarm clock after it rang once. He threw off the quilt and got out of bed, kicked off his slippers, and began to wash and make breakfast. When he came out with breakfast, he saw Amelia Xu was already dressed and sitting obediently at the dining table waiting.

"Brother, you're back!" Amelia smiled so much that his eyes curved. "What time did you arrive?"

"Eleven o'clock."

Amelia really likes fried eggs, especially those with a little runny core. Mason felt that the fried eggs were cooked to perfection today, so when Amelia picked up her chopsticks and reached for the fried eggs, he rarely ordered her to eat something else first before eating the eggs.

Amelia was so satisfied with his meal that he even opened the door briskly. But when he opened the door, they heard a sharp female voice. The door opposite was wide open. From the distance between the two doors, Mason could clearly see the terrible living room of Noah's house - clothes were thrown everywhere, and even the sofa cushions had flown to the ground in a miserable state.

"Looking for keys again, what the hell is wrong with you? Why are you messing around so early in the morning?"

Mason could only hear voices but could not see anyone. He carried Amelia's schoolbag, touched her shoulder, and motioned her to continue walking down. After walking a few steps, Amelia stopped and looked back.

"Let's go, we're going to be late."

Amelia sighed and stepped down a step: "Aunt Xiang is scolding Brother Noah again."

Mason's family and Noah's family are next door to each other, but unfortunately, they don't have a close and harmonious neighborhood relationship with Noah's family. To be more precise, in this six-story residential building with mottled walls, everyone's relationship is pretty good, except for Noah's family. It's not because of anything else, just because Noah has a mother who speaks very harshly and provocatively, and offends every household. Mason's mother completely hated her because of her words "a sickly little girl who will die early", and she stopped communicating with her, and no longer took care of Noah as before.