Not long after the 100-day sprint, Shenzhen High School welcomed its annual carnival. This large-scale carnival event is the most anticipated festival for Shenzhen High School students.
It is also a traditional festival held by Shenzhen High School to relieve the tight study pressure of senior high school students.
The anticipation for the carnival was limited to most of the freshmen. The senior high school seniors became discouraged as soon as they saw the notice issued by the school, and immediately started a new round of complaints.
"My classmates who were studying in Hong Kong said that their carnival was a masquerade ball. As for us, our school repeats these activities every year. Can we have something new?" The girl complained, pointing at the activities above.
Ning Chao slammed the list on the table and sneered, "Who the hell participates in poetry recitation to relax?"
The senior classes were free to sign up for a program, and Lao Liu signed them up for a poetry recitation.
"Only the fireworks display at the end is interesting, that's what makes it a carnival," someone said.
On the day of the carnival, the entire campus of Shenzhen High School was filled with laughter and joy, and the transparent glass was hung with colorful ribbons.
Although these senior high school students complained that there was no novelty, they were still extremely happy when the day really came. After all, this was a rare holiday, although the activities were limited to the campus.
At least I can take a breath and escape for a short while from those exams that I can never finish.
In Class 1, Grade 3, the monitor was directing the boys to move their stools down, while some boys were chasing the girls in the classroom with snow spray.
Lin Weixia went to the bathroom and heard the girls discussing while washing their hands: "Why don't we escape? We don't have to go to class today anyway."
"Where to escape to? The problem is that we have nowhere to go."
"I don't know. Anyway, I just want to leave school for a while to get some fresh air."
"Forget it. I don't have the guts. If I get caught, I'll be fined again."
"It's a campus carnival. The school can't handle so many people!"
After a while, the sound disappeared. Lin Weixia pushed open the door, stood in front of the sink, and her eyelashes fluttered, remembering what the girl had said just now - I just want to escape from school for a short time.
I kind of want to escape.
After returning to the classroom, Fang Jiabei came over and lent her collection of Shiina Linqin's records to Lin Weixia. The latter looked surprised and said thank you with a smile.
Lin Weixia raised her eyes and inadvertently saw Ban Sheng leaning lazily against the wall, with his neck tilted, planning something with Ning Chao. The blue veins on one side of his neck were faintly protruding, and there was a hint of ruffian in his eyebrows, and it was obvious that he was planning something bad.
Looking at Ning Chao's lip shape, he said "no problem".
Ban Sheng listened to people talking nonchalantly, playing with the silver lighter in his hand from time to time. The orange-red flame jumped out from the base of his thumb, and was instantly collected in his palm.
The boy raised his eyes inadvertently, and his gaze met hers. Ban Sheng walked over and asked her in a low voice:
"Do you want to escape?"
Lin Weixia raised her eyelashes, her pupils fluctuated, and she thought for two seconds:
"think."
Old Liu quickly came up and urged those who stayed in the classroom to get out quickly. Ning Chao immediately grabbed a chair and pretended to get out. When he passed by them, he said:
"Hurry up."
When Lin Weixia expressed her rebellious thoughts of wanting to escape, her heart beat very fast, as if there was a fire burning stronger and stronger, rising all the way to her chest and making her whole body boil.
Fang Jiabei happened to be there too, so Lin Weixia asked Ban Sheng, "Can we take her with us?"
Ban Sheng let her do as she pleased and said, "Bring it."
Ning Chao was obviously a veteran truant student, so he led them to the fence near the back playground of the school.
What the girls saw was a hole that had been pried open and deformed.
"Was this done by those athletes in school?" Lin Weixia asked.
Ning Chao got out neatly and replied, "I did it."
Ban Sheng leaned over there and put his phone in his pocket, adding, "The shenggun porridge around here is pretty good."
It means he did it too.
“…”Lin Weixia.
Fang Jiabei was very small and got out quickly. Lin Weixia stood there hesitantly. She was wearing a sleeveless black and white dress, revealing a section of her round and white calves.
She walked forward cautiously, looking around, afraid that the thorns in the grass would cut her. Lin Weixia was watching intently when she suddenly felt her feet lifted off the ground and a hot chest pressed against her from behind. She couldn't help but let out a cry of surprise.
Ban Sheng actually grabbed her arms and lifted them up, holding Lin Weixia upright and walking out. He held an unlit cigarette between his thin lips, spoke in a somewhat unclear voice, and snorted:
"fool."
The hot air brushed against her ears, and the deep, pleasant voice made her ears itch. It burned her face so densely that her breathing became a little uneven.
Lin Weixia said nothing and did not refute. She placed her slender white hand on the arm with obvious blue veins and twisted it silently.
After Ban Sheng put the person down on the open ground, he looked at the red mark on her arm, raised his eyebrows, and was reluctant to say anything to her. He looked at her leisurely, as if to say:
The mind of a little girl.
Lin Weixia felt a little embarrassed being stared at, so she looked away, her amber eyes rolling slightly.
"Are you guys going to run away or not? There are two ready-made light bulbs here." Ning Chao couldn't bear it anymore after watching this scene.
The car that Ban Sheng got had already been parked outside. Ning Chao had just turned 18 last month and got his driver's license, so he took on the duties of the driver.
The car drifted and sped forward. The window was lowered and wind kept pouring into the car. Ning Chao let out a "yohoo" sound, put his hands on the steering wheel, and said:
"Sure, bro, you have a good eye. This GTR feels really good to drive."
Ban Sheng lazily leaned his head against the car window on his side and said:
"There are some in the basement at home. Come over some other day and pick some."
Lin Weixia hooked the boy's little finger and asked quietly: "When did you plan it?"
"A week ago." Ban Sheng replied.
The car drove forward. Lin Weixia sat in the back seat and looked at Ning Chao in the driver's seat. She spoke quietly:
"Ning Chao, I want to pick someone up."
Ning Chao met Lin Weixia's eyes through the rearview mirror, raised his hand and touched his neck, and said with a smile:
"We are thinking the same thing."
The car turned a corner and drove southeast. The altocumulus clouds hanging in the sky began to turn into a thick dark gray, always chasing after the car.
Liu Sijia glanced at the sky outside the window, which was beginning to turn gray. The administrator knocked on the table with a ruler and said sternly, "Eat!"
A group of boys and girls with anorexia were forced to eat while sitting at a rectangular table. Whoever ate the most could go out for half an hour.
Liu Sijia looked back at the food in front of her, beef with beans, and spicy and sour potato shreds. One look at the lunch made her stomach acid surge, and she subconsciously felt nauseous, and her internal organs kept turning over.
Feel like vomiting.
Don't want to eat.
But for today's plan, Liu Sijia suppressed her discomfort, took out her fork and put the rice into her mouth in big mouthfuls. She chewed the rice mechanically and wanted to cry.
Why eat food
While eating, I thought about the calories I consumed and the changes in my weight. It seemed as if my whole life was sinking, the feeling of being out of control was getting worse, and everything was out of control.
"First place, Liu Sijia, deserves praise." The administrator put a little red flower on her wrist and praised her.
This little red flower means she can get half an hour of outdoor time.
The other companions glanced at her, picked up their plates and left the table.
Liu Sijia followed the team forward with a plate in her hand, expressionless. Under the supervision of the administrator, she washed the plate obediently and put it in the sterilizer.
"I want to go back to my room to rest." Liu Sijia said to the administrator in a soft voice.
The administrator patted her on the shoulder and said, "Go ahead and have a good rest."
Liu Sijia walked up the spiral staircase barefoot and returned to her room with rapid breathing. With a snap, she locked the bathroom door and reached for her throat with ease.
I started to feel nauseous.
Liu Sijia held onto the toilet and vomited violently. The food she had just eaten kept coming out, even the vegetables and fruits she had eaten yesterday were vomited out by her.
She vomited so much that bile was almost regurgitating, and tears flowed out due to the physiological stimulation. After vomiting, she sat directly on the ground with her back against the wall.
Liu Sijia was wearing a black square-neck T-shirt today. She reached into the T-shirt with her backhand and took out the cigarettes and lighter hidden in her bra.
She held a cigarette between her red lips. Soon, she looked up at the ceiling and saw white smoke rising slowly.
Squinting and staring straight ahead, it felt like the world was sinking, but being hungry felt really good.
Because the sense of self-control has returned.
After smoking two cigarettes, Liu Sijia threw the cigarette butts into the toilet, pressed the flush button neatly, the water made a splashing sound, and she sneaked out.
Liu Sijia ran to the abandoned grocery store in the back garden. She dragged some tires and stacked them together, trying to stand on them, and climbed up the barbed wire with her arms to escape.
The cold wind kept blowing, and the dark clouds were getting thicker and thicker pressing down. Liu Sijia climbed on top of it. The barbed wire kept shaking, and her throat was dry. She was afraid of falling down, and she was also afraid that if it rained, the escape might fail.
She was lost in thought when her foot slipped and she fell straight down. Liu Sijia was wearing a pair of denim shorts today. Her snow-white legs slid along the wire mesh and were hooked by the sharp, uneven wires.
The bright red blood gushed out like a straight line.
With a "bang", Liu Sijia fell to the ground. Her beautiful eyebrows twisted into a ball in pain. It hurt all over her body.
Liu Sijia struggled to get up from the ground, but couldn't stand up, so she sat down on the grass again. The light was getting darker and darker, and the sky was completely dark. With a rumble, a muffled thunder sounded above her head.
The cold raindrops hit her face. Liu Sijia sat on the ground hugging her knees. She felt a burning pain in her wounds. She stared at the dark red blood. Raindrops continued to fall.
Feeling more depressed than ever before.
Liu Sijia sniffed and began to cry quietly.
She just wanted to go out, why not, it was not nice here at all and no one came to see her.
Liu Sijia cried and wiped her tears, secretly despising herself for being a coward. Raindrops fell on her body, making her body wet. Her eyelashes trembled and she was sniffling softly.
Suddenly, the light in front of her eyes was blocked, the whistling sound of the wind in her ears disappeared, and a white transparent umbrella appeared out of thin air, shielding her from the falling rain.
Liu Sijia raised her face in a daze, and a snow-white wrist appeared in her sight. The girl with a butterfly birthmark on her face was standing quietly in front of her, staring at her with amber eyes, and the umbrella she held was tilted towards her side.
It was her refuge.
How long did it take to realize that the girl in front of her was the one who truly cared about her. After experiencing the betrayal of false friendship, the indifference of relatives, and the torture of illness, she finally saw that she was the one who was good to her.
And what did she do
Drop after drop of tears kept rolling out from the red corners of her eyes. Liu Sijia burst into tears, her black eyeliner and mascara mixed together. She cried so hard that she hiccuped. She opened her eyes and looked at Lin Weixia in front of her. Her vision was blurred, and she kept saying:
"I'm sorry - I'm sorry - I was wrong - I was really wrong... Can you please forgive me?"
Lin Weixia was silent for a long time before she spoke: "I won't forgive you, but I don't hate you."
"If your apology is sincere, I hope you will not hurt others again in the future."
Not forgiving you is to make you remember the pain of the victim forever. She should always have a wound in her heart, and a sword of good and evil hanging over her head, always alert - keep kindness and don't hurt others.
This was why she was here, just to give her a hand.
"Well, I will... and I... I will never forget the mistake I made." Liu Sijia hiccuped while crying, her face red from crying, and the veins on her neck were throbbing because she cried too hard.
Liu Sijia remembered that it was the same when they first met. Lin Weixia gave her an umbrella.
During the summer vacation between her freshman year and her sophomore year, Nanjiang City was hit by the largest typhoon in history. Liu Sijia received all A's in her final exams.
When she handed the report card to Wen Liyan, her mother, who had always been strict with her, finally showed an expression of appreciation.
Therefore, Wen's mother agreed to bring Liu Sijia to live in her new home for a summer vacation.
Liu Sijia came to this new home with a 24-inch suitcase, full of anticipation. She even prepared gifts for the people in that family in order to please her mother.
But as soon as she entered the house, she was intimidated by her half-sister.
Liu Sijia squatted on the ground, opened the suitcase, and was looking for Bonnie Bear, a gift she brought back from abroad.
The girl was only ten years old. Her silver pointe shoes kicked Liu Sijia hard, causing her to scream. Wen Liyan came out nervously and asked, "What's wrong?"
"My sister's suitcase hit my foot."
Wen Liyan glared at Liu Sijia, but she didn't refute. She smiled coldly, clenched the Bonnie Bear in her hand, and threw the bear into the trash can without hesitation in front of her sister while pulling the luggage upstairs.
When the two passed by each other, Liu Sijia spoke in a voice that only the two of them could hear, smiling, "Bitch."
The perfect summer vacation that Liu Sijia expected did not happen. Her sister was very cunning, often fighting overtly and covertly for her things, and openly clamoring for Wen Liyan to take her out and leave her alone at home.
Liu Sijia was not a pushover either. After she had made her cry several times, Wen Liyan finally spoke up, her tone of rebuke mixed with high-sounding partiality:
"She's your sister, can't you give in to her a little?"
Liu Sijia smiled, stared at her mother, and said, "If you are not biased, I will consider giving in to her."
"Since you are restless, you can go back as soon as possible." Wen Liyan's words caught her weak spot.
Liu Sijia looked surprised, but she didn't dare to cause any more trouble in this family.
Later, Wen Liyan was too busy and had to help her stepfather handle company affairs.
The task of taking care of the child fell on Liu Sijia. During the entire summer vacation, Liu Sijia not only had to take her sister out to play, but also had to help her with her homework.
This happens every day.
Liu Sijia didn't know whether it was meaningful for her to put in so much effort and try her best to spend a summer vacation with her mother.
She took her sister out every day as if she had a mission, either taking her to an ice cream parlor or to McDonald's.
Later, Liu Sijia was too lazy to change places, so she always took her sister to a nearby cafe, which was where she first met Lin Weixia.
Liu Sijia was in a bad mood that day. As soon as she entered the coffee shop, she found a booth by the window and sat down. With a cold face, she ordered a milk coffee.
Her sister ordered a lot of things, including green coconut oolong, croissants and pineapple buns.
Knowing that Liu Sijia was in a bad mood, her sister kept ringing the table bell to urge her to go to the bar to get her meal, and kept throwing the menu in her hand, leaving a red mark on Liu Sijia's porcelain-white arm.
Liu Sijia glanced at her, stood up and walked to the bar. The waitress, wearing a brown apron and with long hair draped over her shoulders, was whipping cream.
The nail polish-colored fingers tapped the table, and the girl looked up. Liu Sijia glanced at the new product promotion board in front of her and said, "Hello, please change the order. The original green coconut oolong on No. 29 will be replaced by iced Americano."
"All frozen." Liu Sijia added.
The girl looked past Liu Sijia at the little girl behind her, moved her fingertips on the ordering device, and responded in a gentle voice, "Okay."
Liu Sijia turned and walked towards the dining table. She wondered if it was her illusion or not, was the girl just now smiling
The iced Americano was quickly delivered. Liu Sijia secretly added sugar and plant milk to it. Her sister gulped down several gulps without even looking at it. Halfway through the drink, she realized something was wrong and frowned, saying, "Is this Green Coconut Oolong?"
"You country bumpkin, you don't know about the new products, do you?" Liu Sijia lowered her head to look at the fashion magazine, raised her eyelids and glanced at her.
Only ten minutes later, her sister held her stomach and cried out in pain, running to the toilet four or five times.
"Idiot." Liu Sijia said, staring at her back.
Not long after, her sister came back, stared at her fiercely, then picked up her phone and called Wen Liyan, shedding tears with a familiar voice:
"Mom—my sister bullied me. Her father got a girlfriend and took it out on me because he was in a bad mood. He made me drink things I shouldn't drink. Mom, my stomach hurts so much now—"
Wen Liyan's gentle and soothing voice came from the other end of the phone, and she said that she would send a driver to take her home immediately. In a moment, Liu Sijia's phone vibrated repeatedly. It was Wen Liyan calling.
Liu Sijia just pressed the power off button.
When the driver came to pick up her sister and take her home, the little girl rolled her eyes at her viciously and said with a vicious smile:
"You deserve it. My mom doesn't want you anymore, and now your dad won't want you either."
Liu Sijia sat in the cafe for the whole afternoon. She did nothing and just stared out the window in a daze.
As night fell, a typhoon passed through the city that day. Shared bicycles and trees on the roadside were blown down by the strong wind. Some subway lines stopped operating. A large number of cars were driving and stopping on the road. Neon lights were flashing and the lights were flickering.
The whole city fell into chaos.
It seems like the world is ending.
Liu Sijia sat there in a daze, not even noticing that the last customer in the cafe had left.
She stared out the window in a daze until a gentle female voice sounded: "The store is closing."
"Can I stay a little longer?" Liu Sijia asked.
"Okay." The girl nodded.
That day, after the girl cleaned up the tables and the bar, the shop was supposed to close at 9:30, but she didn't close the door until 11 o'clock, so Liu Sijia had to stay there all the time.
She handed Liu Sijia a white umbrella and said:
"Don't get wet."
Liu Sijia suddenly wanted to confide in a stranger, her red lips opening and closing: "What if no matter how hard you try, your mother doesn't love you, and your father treats you well, but he has his own family, what should you do?"
“I will love myself first.”
"Don't let your parents' mistakes punish you."
The slow tone of voice sounded, like a glass of light boiled water, and Liu Sijia felt a little comforted, as if feathers were wrapping around her broken heart.
She looked up at the girl in front of her, smiled, and said:
"My name is Liu Sijia, what's your name?"
"Lin Weixia, Wei means decline, Xia means summer."
"Will you still be on duty tomorrow?"
"No, if you want to come, I will ask my colleagues to leave an umbrella for you."
Later, after the two became familiar with each other, Liu Sijia blocked the knife for Lin Weixia without hesitation. Seeing Lin Weixia crying, she comforted the girl and said that having a scar on the palm is cooler.
"What time do you get off work every day in this cafe?"
"From nine-thirty to ten."
"I have nothing to do anyway, so I will be responsible for sending you home every day to prevent your father from bullying you again."
"Oh, no, you can't get hurt again."
"What are you afraid of? I brought pepper spray and an alarm."
…
Ning Chao, who was standing nearby, looked at the crying girls speechlessly and reminded them, "Girls, it's going to rain heavily."
"It's too late."
Liu Sijia opened her red and swollen eyes, which were covered with makeup. The makeup was smudged into a line under her eyelids. "What time is it? Didn't you come to see me?"
Ning Chao looked at her and laughed: "I'll take you to escape. Don't you want to leave here?"
"Really?" Liu Sijia jumped up from the lawn, completely ignoring her wounds.
Ning Chao and his friends were allowed in only after they pretended to be volunteers and delivered several boxes of water and fruit. Now they could no longer leave through the main gate with Liu Sijia.
"This way." Ban Sheng said.
He had been keeping watch for them, and found a wire fence that was easy to climb. Bansheng stood there, and with his two strong arms, he found a point to exert force, climbed up easily, and jumped.
The man stood outside the wall easily.
Liu Sijia looked at Ban Sheng's skillful movements, then looked down at her wound and uttered a swear word.
Lin Weixia had the experience just now, so she was not so scared anymore, not to mention there were so many people watching her. She climbed up using her hands and feet, and her heart trembled when she was about to jump.
"Come down, I'll catch you." Ban Sheng said.
Lin Weixia closed her eyes and jumped down. A pair of strong arms wrapped around her waist and slammed into a broad, heart-beating chest. She heard Ban Sheng chuckle in her ear, and his hot breath brushed her ears:
“Why is it still quite heavy?”
"You're so annoying." Lin Weixia's ears suddenly turned red.
But Liu Sijia was not so brave because she had fallen once. She climbed up and squatted there but refused to come down no matter how much people persuaded her.
Ning Chao persuaded her so much that her throat was about to smoke, but Liu Sijia still looked hesitant and repeatedly emphasized:
"What if I hurt my face? I'm so pretty."
"Can you catch me? You seem quite skinny, which makes people feel insecure. I saw that Ban Sheng had abdominal muscles when he was climbing the wall just now, so Wei Xia jumped down without hesitation."
“… I have one too! I give in. You can make your home there if you want or not.” Ning Chao turned around and was about to leave.
"Hey, don't go, I'm jumping—"
Liu Sijia made up her mind and jumped up. Ning Chao caught her, but her posture was wrong. Liu Sijia swooped down and hit him, and slapped him in the face.
It was so loud that even the air fell silent.
"So you have a broken palm." Ning Chao said gritting his teeth.
As the group was about to flee, a sharp whistle sounded from behind. Everyone turned around and saw the administrator running out for some unknown reason, shouting as he ran:
"Number 17, come back!"
"Run." Ban Sheng made a prompt decision.
Before Lin Weixia could react, Ban Sheng grabbed her wrist and ran forward. Ning Chao also grabbed Liu Sijia.
They also ran forward with all their strength.
The administrator behind him was running after him, cursing angrily. Thick clouds hung overhead, a dark grey sky, the rain gradually became heavier, and the summer wind blew over the boys and girls.
They were drenched by the rain and were running out of breath. They happened to look at each other, then suddenly stopped and laughed out loud.
Each of them ran forward with all their might, the wind lifted up everyone's clothes, and the billowing clothes looked like the sails of youth.
Paradise is just ahead.
Fang Jiabei had been sitting in the car anxiously waiting for them to come back. When she saw them running towards her from afar, she opened the car door in advance.
Ban Sheng stood next to the car and let the girls get on first. He was the last one to get on.
Seeing that the administrator was chasing after him like a mad dog, Ban Sheng closed the car door with a snap. Ning Chao immediately stepped on the accelerator, and the car sped forward with a rumble. The window was lowered, and Ban Sheng stretched one arm out of the window and arrogantly raised his middle finger to the back.
He also asked Ning Chao to open the roof of the GTR, so that the damp air could flow in, which was very comfortable. Anyway, it was already like this, so he didn't mind being a little more embarrassed.
There was some exciting electronic music playing in the car, and the atmosphere between Lin Weixia and Liu Sijia was still a little awkward.
Liu Sijia suddenly stood up, and seeing the administrator gradually walking away, she became malicious and made a funny face.
The car drove forward, Lin Weixia's hair was a little wet, Ban Sheng sat next to her, raised his hand to touch her head, and asked with a smile:
"Are you happy?"
"Yeah, very happy." Lin Weixia reached out and gently scratched his palm, looking back at him with a smile.
This was the first major escape for this group of people.