After the people left, Lin Weixia didn't know how long she had been standing there until she heard the roar of a GTR starting up from downstairs, and then it disappeared at a high speed.
Lin Weixia came back to her senses, bent down to pick up the remote control and was about to turn off the TV when Qiuyan in the bedroom suddenly called her.
Lin Weixia walked in and saw Qiuyan lying on the bedside. Her drunken eyes were unusually bright. She said, "How is he? Isn't he handsome?"
"You're not drunk." Lin Weixia asked her.
"Oh, you don't understand, we were drinking and playing dare at the party, and I just happened to catch him losing. Bansheng didn't want to tell the truth, so he had to send me home. You don't know how defensive he was, and there were a lot of people in his car to send me home together."
"I quietly sent them a message to go upstairs and not to follow me, so I had the opportunity to be alone. I'm smart, right?"
Lin Weixia pulled the corners of her lips and said, "I'll go make you some hangover soup."
"Wow, thank you. I have drunk the hangover soup you cooked countless times. If you really leave, I will be sad."
…
In the kitchen, Lin Weixia turned on the gas stove, poured the chopped apples and dried sea buckthorn into boiling water, and waited for it to boil.
The blue-green flames reflected a trance-like face.
As time went by, Lin Weixia never heard from Ban Sheng, nor could she get any news from him. Only Wu Suan vaguely told her that Ban Sheng was in Philadelphia.
But I don't know which school he is in or what major he is studying.
Lin Weixia had selfish motives when she sought the opportunity to study abroad at Pennsylvania University for three months.
Although everyone says it is not worth it, after all, it is only three months. Modern people pay attention to sunk costs and precise returns.
But Lin Weixia went anyway. She thought that if she could meet him by chance, she would just need to see him from afar and know that he was doing well.
But now it seems that this is not the case.
Lin Weixia just recalled Ban Sheng’s appearance. When he was talking to her, the arteries under his cold white neck were slightly undulating, lifeless, and it seemed as if only this handsome and gloomy skin was left on his body.
On Wednesday, a rainy day, Lin Weixia returned to the apartment with textbooks. As soon as she opened the door, she saw Qiuyan trying on clothes in front of the floor-length mirror.
"Attending the party?" Lin Weixia took off her shoes while standing at the entrance.
"Yeah, do you want to come with us? A few friends and I are going to a bar today." Qiuyan spoke while drawing her eyebrows in front of the mirror.
Lin Weixia lowered her eyes, her dark eyelashes falling like a row of sunflowers, and said, "Okay."
"Wow, really? Then you should change your clothes and pack up quickly!" Qiu Yan shouted.
Lin Weixia didn't dress up much. She changed into a new set of clothes. But when she was leaving, she hesitated for a moment when passing by the mirror in the living room, took out a peach-colored lipstick from her coat pocket, carefully applied it, and then...
With long black eyebrows and cherry red lips, a cool and moving face appeared in the mirror.
The two of them packed up and went downstairs together. They stood on the side of the road waiting for a bus.
Lin Weixia stood by holding a white umbrella. It was a little rainy today and the air was damp and cold. The cold wind penetrated into the sleeves and exposed collars.
Qiu Yan leaned on Lin Weixia, her whole body huddled in her clothes. She accidentally touched Lin Weixia's hand and was startled: "Your hand is so cold."
"Is it a physical problem? Or is it a problem with the water and soil? I didn't have this problem when I was in my hometown of Nanjiang, but after coming to Beijing to study, my hands and feet become cold in the winter. Maybe it's because it's too cold."
They chatted for a while, and soon a car drove over, its wheels spinning and rolling up white raindrops. After the two got in the car, it drove for more than 20 minutes to a theme bar.
Lin Weixia pushed the door open, holding the bronze vintage door handle. A hot air flow blew over her, and what came into view was a dance floor where people were twisting their bodies. The DJ on the stage played a fast-paced song, igniting the atmosphere.
Qiu Yan took Lin Weixia to the bar with ease, where several blond-haired and blue-eyed foreigners were sitting, chatting and drinking.
Qiu Yan walked over to introduce Lin Weixia to everyone, and several young college students greeted her enthusiastically. Lin Weixia sat there, ordered a glass of wine, and shook the ice in her hand.
"Hey, I'll send him a message to ask if he's coming." Qiuyan went over and talked to her companion.
Lin Weixia didn't dress up today. She wore a khaki tweed coat and a pair of blue jeans. The style was simple and retro.
Her black hair was casually clipped behind her head, revealing a plain face with a full forehead and a cool and compelling temperament. Soon a boy came up to ask for her phone number and praised her for her classical beauty.
But Lin Weixia rejected them all with a smile.
Not long after, a glass of orange wine with lemon slices floating in it appeared in sight. Lin Weixia looked over and saw a boy with blue eyes and white skin wearing a gray sweatshirt.
"Try this, it's sweet and sour." said the blue-eyed boy.
Lin Weixia doesn't drink much, but she still took a sip. The bitter taste on the tip of her tongue made her shudder and her facial features wrinkled.
The boy laughed out loud at her amusement, and because of this little episode, the atmosphere between the two of them became more familiar.
"Is the butterfly on your face a birthmark? Or it's makeup. It looks very nice." The boy praised.
"Birthmark." Lin Weixia said.
There is a string of wind chimes hanging at the door of this retro bar. Almost every time a customer pushes the door in, the wind chimes will make a crisp sound.
Every time a sound was heard, Lin Weixia would subconsciously look back, and after seeing who was coming, her long eyelashes drooped.
Seeing this, the blue-eyed boy raised his eyebrows and asked, "Are you waiting for someone?"
Lin Weixia hesitated for a moment, not knowing how to start, and asked, "Do you have another companion?"
"Which one? You have to tell me clearly, we have many companions," the blue-eyed boy said innocently. He looked at Lin Weixia and said a few names but she didn't show any emotion. Finally, he asked, "Are you talking about Ban?"
Lin Weixia's heart sank violently.
Some people will make you react just by hearing their names.
"Huh, I knew it was him. Many girls are indeed obsessed with him. He is our companion, but Ban doesn't come to our place often. He plays in many places, and he may not be interested in people like us."
"Come and see how he feels." The blue-eyed boy explained to her.
Lin Weixia drank an ice cube while drinking her cocktail. She bit it slowly and felt a chill in her heart when she swallowed it. She grasped the key words and asked:
"What does he play?"
The blue-eyed boy shrugged and looked around and said, "I was afraid of scaring you."
Lin Weixia swallowed the remaining half of the ice cube directly, and the tip of her tongue was numbed by the ice. She stayed there for a while, then felt bored and said goodbye to Qiuyan.
Qiu Yan was playing a drinking game with a group of people. She was so busy that she could only spare one hand and replied:
"Okay, text me when you get home."
Lin Weixia smiled and said "OK", then pushed open the door of the bar. A cold wind blew in, making her shrink her neck.
It was drizzling outside. Lin Weixia opened her umbrella and walked along the street. She planned to take a walk alone and breathe some fresh air.
Lin Weixia was walking through a tunnel holding an umbrella. The light bulbs hidden on the ground were emitting a dim light. She was lost in thought when a roaring motorcycle sounded behind her.
Before she could react, a hot wind blew over her, someone suddenly grabbed the bag on her shoulder and pulled it hard, and a motorcycle sped away, leaving behind a cloud of thick exhaust smoke.
Lin Weixia lost her support and control and fell to the ground. She felt a dull pain in her body. Fortunately, she was fine, but there was some mud on her clothes.
Lin Weixia walked out onto the street and saw a red telephone booth not far away. She subconsciously touched her pocket. Fortunately, there were coins in her coat pocket from when she went to the convenience store a few days ago for change.
Although she had been here for almost two months, Lin Weixia still didn't know much about the security situation in Philadelphia. She stood in front of the phone booth and called Qiuyan.
The call was quickly answered, and Qiu Yan's cheerful voice came from the other end of the receiver, occasionally mixed with the laughter of her companions.
"Hello, who are you?" Qiu Yan asked with a smile.
"Qiuyan, it's me, Weixia. My bag was just stolen, and my cell phone and wallet were in it. Can you accompany me to the police station?" Lin Weixia said in a low voice.
Qiu Yan exclaimed "F*ck" and uttered a string of curse words. She quickly asked, "Where are you now?"
Lin Weixia looked up at a nearby billboard and reported an address. Qiu Yan seemed to be discussing something with her companions on the other end of the phone, and only the sound of electricity could be heard from the receiver.
After a moment, she came back and gave Lin Weixia an address: "Weixia, it's getting late now. I'll give you an address, you go there now. I know a friend who is very familiar with this area and will definitely find your bag for you. You go there first and I'll be there in a while."
"Okay." Lin Weixia responded.
After leaving the phone booth, Lin Weixia took out a tissue from her pocket and wiped the mud off her clothes while walking forward. After walking for ten minutes, Lin Weixia came to the address Qiu Yan mentioned. She took a look at the sign and it seemed to be a famous nightclub in Philadelphia.
She didn't go in, but waited at the door with her hands in her coat pockets. The rain had stopped, but the ground was wet. Lin Weixia walked out and stood in front of a telephone pole, looking at the rows of streets and counting the number of billboards on the street.
When I counted to the billboard of the nightclub in front of me, the waiter next to me respectfully opened the red door, and a boy in a black jacket walked out. His facial lines were smooth and crisp, and his dark eyebrows and eyes were sharp and murderous.
He had a cigarette in his mouth, and white mist kept coming out of his lips and dissipating along his slender arms against the wind.
The two people's eyes met in mid-air.
Then they stared at each other, neither of them looking away first.
But now Lin Weixia couldn't understand his eyes. Ban Sheng used to be very easy to guess. He never hid or covered anything from her. His eyes were extremely honest and innocent.
But now, his eyes were indifferent, and there seemed to be a frozen lake of stagnant water hidden under his dark pupils, with only a hint of shadow resting under his cold white eyelids.
Bansheng walked up to her and handed the bag to her.
Lin Weixia should have guessed it long ago, who else could be the powerful friend that Qiuyan mentioned besides him.
"Thank you." Lin Weixia took the bag.
Ban Sheng took the cigarette from his mouth and reminded:
"You're welcome. After all, you are Qiu Yan's friend."
This one sentence drew a clear line between the two of them.
The boy lowered his straight neck and started coughing violently. Lin Weixia caught a glimpse of the light blue blood vessels under his neck turning red and beating rapidly.
Lin Weixia looked at his cold expression, her hands in her coat pockets unconsciously clenched, and she swallowed back the words "How are you doing?"
When Lin Weixia wanted to say something else, someone grabbed her neck from behind. Qiu Yan said with a smile: "Baby, I'm not late, am I? I asked James to send me here."
"You're not hurt, are you?" Qiu Yan patted her chest, glanced at the bag in Lin Weixia's hand and breathed a sigh of relief. "I told you Ban would be able to find it. He's very powerful."
Lin Weixia pulled the corner of her lips and said that she was not injured. Qiu Yan did not notice the strange atmosphere between the two of them at all. She bumped her companion's shoulder and said:
"Hey, Ban helped you so much, you should leave your phone number and treat him to a meal."
Lin Weixia took out a cell phone from her bag and handed it to him. Ban Sheng put the cigarette back into his mouth, took the phone, pressed his thumb on the screen and typed in a number.
Facing the bony hand stretched out to him, when Lin Weixia took back her phone, her fingertips accidentally touched his fingers, and she felt a chill.
It was so cold that she subconsciously shrank her heart.
The screen of a mobile phone held by a hand with obvious finger bones lit up in my sight, and the caller ID seemed to be a girl's English name, but I was not sure.
Ban Sheng took a quick glance and quickly picked up the phone, responding with a low "hmm". He mouthed to Qiuyan to indicate that he had an appointment and should go first, and Qiuyan waved at him enthusiastically.
Ban Sheng brushed past Lin Weixia's shoulder and walked away. His unique cold breath was floating in the air, but he was gone.
Finally, Qiuyan and Lin Weixia took a taxi home together. The two girls sat in the back seat, and the car windows blocked out the harsh wind.
Qiu Yan took her arm and leaned on Lin Weixia's shoulder, saying, "Weixia, do you know why I asked you to treat Ban Sheng to a meal?"
"Well, he rejected me. Well, with so many girls chasing him, we should be drinking buddies. So you have to take me with you to dinner this time. I want to eat for free!"
"good."
The dinner was scheduled for Friday night, and the restaurant was a Mexican restaurant recommended by Qiu Yan. At 8 o'clock in the evening, when they arrived, they found that the Mexican restaurant was crowded, and the outdoor dining area was empty due to the rain.
Qiuyan pulled Lin Weixia into the room, which was decorated more like a bar, with a drum set in the middle and a guitar next to it.
The hanging TV was showing the World Cup, and some people were sitting at the bar, drinking and betting on football. Lin Weixia and Qiuyan picked a table and sat down. Soon a waiter came over with a menu.
The two of them took a look at the menu. Qiu Yan ordered grilled chicken and a pitcher of Lincoln craft beer, and Lin Weixia ordered a beef taco and sparkling water.
She was studying the menu with her head down, and her sight came into view of a pair of crisp and neat black overalls, and further up, the hem of a windbreaker with a dark snake-like pattern. Arrogant and casual, it was Ban Sheng.
Ban Sheng sat next to Qiu Yan, opposite her. He held a silver lighter, a red and white hardcover Marlboro, and a cell phone that he threw on the table.
His bony hands were clasped on the table, frozen red by the wind and rain outside.
Lin Weixia was distracted for a moment, and the waiter smiled and asked, "Madam, do you need anything else?"
"No, thank you. Just ask him what he needs." Lin Weixia said with a smile.
Bansheng communicated with the waiter in fluent English. He ordered a taco, toasted corn chips, and a pitcher of craft beer.
Qiuyan was the one talking most of the time during the meal, with Bansheng occasionally responding with a casual remark or two. After three rounds of drinks, it seemed that an acquaintance came over.
The other person was a thin foreigner, with a loose and decadent look between his eyebrows. For some reason, Lin Weixia smelled a kind of rotten smell on him. She had seen those people on those dark streets, so decadent that only skin was left.
The boy leaned close to Ban Sheng's ear and whispered. Lin Weixia heard him say intermittently, "Brother... do you want to... go have some fun?"
Ban Sheng chuckled and gave him a look. Lin Weixia didn't understand what that look meant. The other party smiled, picked up the wine glass on the table and drank it all. Finally, he patted him on the shoulder and left.
After a while, Ban Sheng picked up the cigarettes and lighter on the table and whispered, "Excuse me."
Qiu Yan lowered her head and chatted with a boy she had just met on Tinder. She also came over to ask Lin Weixia with a distressed tone:
"Baby, are those photos of his abs real or photoshopped?"
"I can't really tell." Lin Weixia took a look, and then paused as she recalled the figure that had just left. "Qiu Yan, I want to go to the bathroom."
Qiu Yan nodded and said, "Go ahead."
Lin Weixia stood up. She remembered that Ban Sheng seemed to have left the booth on the left. She followed him all the way, walking through the narrow corridor.
The lights here were dim, emitting an orange hue that fell on the ground. Lin Weixia was looking for something at the booths on both sides. There were couples cuddling together and taking photos to celebrate their anniversary, men and women hugging and kissing, and also confused teenagers.
Go all the way to the end.
She didn't see Bansheng.
Suddenly, Lin Weixia caught a glimpse of a tall, thin figure passing by. It seemed to be him. Along the way, Lin Weixia's heart couldn't help but beat fast.
She recalled the last time in that bar, the blue-eyed boy talked about Bansheng:
[He plays in many places and doesn’t look down on people like us.]
[What is he playing? I won’t tell you, for fear of scaring you.]
Lin Weixia walked to the right and subconsciously raised her eyes. It was the fire escape, which was suddenly plunged into darkness.
The person disappeared, and she had walked into a dead end.
Everything in front of her was pitch black. Lin Weixia had night blindness, so she didn't dare walk forward any further. She leaned against the smooth concrete wall, breathing lightly.
Suddenly, a dangerous breath approached, and the warm breath blown on the face made people think of cold and damp animals, which scared Li Lin Weixia so much that she screamed.
At the same time, with a "click", the sound of lighter gears rubbing against each other came from the darkness, and a cluster of orange-red dark flames instantly lit up the surroundings.
Ban Sheng stood in front of her. He took a step forward, and Lin Weixia subconsciously pressed herself against the wall, her throat tightening. His long legs pressed against her crotch, and as the fabric rubbed against her thighs, she felt a warmth and an electric shock.
Ban Sheng pressed himself against the wall, raised his eyelids, and looked straight at her. The fire flickered, illuminating a stranger.
"You dare to follow me out without the courage." Ban Sheng chuckled with a hint of mockery.
A pair of dark eyes stared at Lin Weixia, not even looking at the expression on her face: "Are you worried that I'll do something depraved?"
Ban Sheng's eyes were scrutinizing, like an animal in the dark night, and there was no doubt in his eyes that if Lin Weixia dared to lie to him again, he would strangle her to death.
"Yes." Lin Weixia opened her eyes and looked back at him.
Her eyes were always bright and sympathetic. Then, the fire at Ban Sheng's mouth went out, and they fell into darkness again. It was so quiet that they could hear each other's breathing.
The next second, a low, slightly mocking voice sounded, his voice was as cold as rust, and he said:
"But what happens to me doesn't seem to have anything to do with you."