After talking things out with Jiang Heng, he never bothered Lin Weixia again, and the two became colleagues again.
Not long after working in Puyang, Lin Weixia was sent on a business trip to Shanghai. She was accompanied by two older colleagues who took good care of her along the way, and the business trip went smoothly.
After arriving in Shanghai, they first met with their partners and then held a long and boring meeting together, mainly discussing some supporting data and clinical trials on the use of electroacupuncture treatment for patients with psychological depression.
After the meeting, the partner invited them to dinner at a star-rated restaurant by the Hujiang River. The meal was quite pleasant. After finishing a day's work and returning to the hotel, Lin Weixia washed up and collapsed directly on the bed.
After a long journey and a day of meetings, Lin Weixia was really exhausted. She closed her sleepy eyelids and fell into a deep sleep soon. The screen of the mobile phone in her hand lit up several times, indicating that Ban Sheng was calling.
She didn't answer in the end.
At eight o'clock the next morning, Lin Weixia woke up. As she was brushing her teeth in front of the sink, a colleague outside called her, "Weixia, your phone is ringing."
“Here I come.”
Lin Weixia spat out the toothpaste foam in her mouth, took some water from the faucet to wipe her mouth, put down the glass and walked out.
She picked up the phone beside her pillow and saw that it was her aunt calling. Lin Weixia answered the call, and the next second, her aunt's loud voice came into the receiver: "Hey, I've been calling you for a long time, why are you just answering now?"
"I'm just brushing my teeth, aunt." Lin Weixia replied.
"Oh, you know, today is your birthday. I sent you a red envelope. Remember to take it and go out for a good meal with your colleagues after work." My aunt said in a howling voice.
Today is her birthday, April 25th. Lin Weixia had been remembering it the week before, but she was so busy today that she forgot about it.
Lin Weixia put the phone in front of her eyes and opened WeChat. Her aunt had really sent her a red envelope. The corners of her lips curved slightly:
"Thank you, aunt."
It's hard for my aunt to remember her birthday this year.
Lin Weixia sat on the bed and chatted with her aunt for a while before hanging up. My colleague Ruijie was applying powder to her face and said with a smile, "Today is your birthday, happy birthday."
"Thank you," Lin Weixia said to her, remembering something. "Sister Rui, you don't have anything to do today, right? How about I treat you to dinner at the pier after get off work? I happened to see a famous restaurant there on the Internet."
Rui Jie took off the lid of the powder puff and smiled with two gentle lines on the corners of her eyes: "Okay, thanks to your birthday for letting me take advantage of it."
In the morning, Lin Weixia and her colleagues visited and conducted research at mental hospitals one by one. After walking for a whole morning, tiny blisters formed on their heels.
During a break, several colleagues went to the rooftop of the building and started smoking.
With a white ladies' cigarette between her red lips, Lin Weixia skillfully lit the cigarette and then handed it to her colleague beside her. The wisps of smoke surrounded her, making her temperament even more cool and mysterious.
Lin Weixia found a rock to sit on, holding a cigarette in her left hand and taking out her cell phone with the other and dialing Ban Sheng's number.
The phone rang for a long time before it was answered. Ban Sheng seemed to be in a crowded environment. There was a lot of noise on his end, and his cold voice was like ice in a glass:
"Hello."
"It's me." Lin Weixia replied subconsciously.
Ban Sheng smiled loosely, his Adam's apple sliding up and down, and asked:
"What are you doing?"
The slender white fingers were holding a cigarette, the tobacco was burning quietly. For some reason, Lin Weixia felt a little guilty. She pressed the burning cigarette butt on the stone, and the spark went out silently with a "sizzle". She continued:
"I'm resting."
"You didn't even call me today." Lin Weixia complained.
Ban Sheng laughed, and his low, deep voice echoed in his ears along with the unstable sound of the electric current:
"Take a look yourself. How many missed calls did you have yesterday?"
She didn't answer any of them.
Speaking of Lin Weixia, I feel embarrassed. Today is her birthday. I wonder if Ban Sheng still remembers it, so I asked:
"I'm telling you, today is—"
Someone seemed to be calling him on the other end of the phone. Ban Sheng answered nonchalantly and spoke slowly:
"I have something to do. I'll hang up now."
After a while, the phone beeped, blocking out the three words "my birthday", and a feeling of sadness suddenly filled my heart.
Lin Weixia called just to say happy birthday to Ban Sheng. He seemed to have forgotten her birthday. It would have been fine if he didn't remember it. She wanted to ask him for a happy birthday but was hung up in a hurry.
A colleague just happened to call Lin Weixia downstairs. She came to her senses, took out a tissue from her bag, picked up the cigarette butt on the ground, crumpled it into a ball and threw it into the trash can when going downstairs.
After a busy day, Lin Weixia called the mobile app to search for the pier restaurant and got a number. The night was up and down, the prosperity and arrogance of Shanghai City flashed in the neon lights, and the wind at night was much cooler than during the day.
Lin Weixia and Ruijie came out of the consultation center and were about to wave for a taxi when Ruijie's phone rang with a message reminder. After checking it, she said to her apologetically:
"Xiao Xia, I'm sorry. My husband is on a business trip in the next city. He finished early and is coming here by train. I have to pick him up. Happy birthday!"
Lin Weixia raised the corner of her mouth: "It's okay, be careful on the road, Sister Rui."
After the people left, Lin Weixia stood on the street and didn't know where to go. She took out her phone and cancelled the order she had just taken. There was a lot of traffic on the street, and pedestrians kept passing by her. It was very lively.
I feel inexplicably lonely, which is very strange. It may be because today is my birthday.
She was walking aimlessly on Fu'an Street, and when she saw an ice cream dessert shop, Lin Weixia immediately bought a box of lemon-flavored ice cream. She also took the coldest layer of ice cream in the freezer out of revenge.
Anyway, he is not around now, so she can eat as much as she wants.
Lin Weixia was crossing the road while eating a box of ice cream. She was walking along the river bank and saw a young couple coming from the opposite side. The boy took off his baseball cap and put it on the girl's head. He also pushed it down deliberately so that she couldn't see. The girl was so angry that she chased him and beat him.
Lin Weixia suddenly felt that the ice cream in her mouth had lost its taste.
Suddenly I miss Ban Sheng very much.
If only he were here.
But Lin Weixia didn't want to call him now, because he didn't even remember her birthday.
Lin Weixia walked forward in frustration and arrived at Jingbai Plaza, the most prosperous place in Shanghai.
She happened to be at the crossroads. There was a huge LED screen in the mall playing a documentary about butterflies. It was so lifelike and moving that they seemed as if they were about to jump out of the screen and dance.
Since she had nothing to do, Lin Weixia simply stopped and looked at the LED screen carefully, with pedestrians passing by behind her.
Suddenly, with a "pop" sound, the LED screen went dark, which attracted the attention of some pedestrians. They stopped and looked up to watch.
In less than thirty seconds, the LED was lit up again, and a deserted auditorium appeared in sight. It was pitch black everywhere, and there was no one in the audience.
With a "pop" sound, a spotlight hit the stage. The camera slowly zoomed in, and a tall boy with a straight neck appeared, holding a guitar, with his back slightly bent, and his spine clearly visible.
My heart suddenly sank.
Ban Sheng was sitting on the empty steps in black clothes, one foot casually stepping on the next step, the other long leg crossed. He was wearing a black cap, revealing only half of his smooth and sharp profile, looking casual and unfocused.
He did not look at the camera intentionally, and was even facing sideways, which was consistent with his style: cold, arrogant, and not taking others seriously.
Ban Sheng bit the guitar pick, his sharp jawline drooped, a section of his larynx revealed a cold desire, and he raised his hand to flip through the music score in front of him.
Ban Sheng didn't look at the camera. He raised his hand and plucked the guitar, then spoke slowly:
"A song for the girl I like, "Swallowtail Butterfly". Today is her birthday."
Slender fingers with distinct knuckles plucked the guitar, creating a light sound that then slowly became lower, like a confession from the darkness.
Ban Sheng's Adam's apple rolled slowly, his voice was casual and yet revealing a seductive meaning, a low hum that told a story, singing:
When I fell from the sky
The world is upside down.
I still kneel at your feet.
When the night swallows the pupils,
I was trapped in the bottom of an endless sea.
Please let me be your loyal prisoner.
Give me your kiss of mercy
Give me your unintentional fragrance
Give me your daydreams
The ice cream in Lin Weixia's hand melted in the paper box with a snap, turning into a puddle of water. His singing affected her breathing, but the next second, her low humming voice appeared in the song, and her heart began to beat violently.
La la la la la la ~~
l have a hidden star
That was the tune that Lin Weixia hummed and sang to herself at home. The English sentences or two she hummed unintentionally were actually recorded by Ban Sheng and put into his song.
Her heart was pounding as Lin Weixia stared at the boy on the big screen. It seemed as if millions of white doves were flapping their wings and trying to get out of her chest.
Bansheng continued to pluck the strings and sang affectionately:
When the swallowtail butterfly falls into the palm of your hand
You reconstructed my death yesterday.
Give you my breath
Give you my will
Give you my freedom
My heart is like this
Only this summer
More and more people gathered around, some of them exclaimed that this birthday gift was so thoughtful, while others exclaimed that the boy was so handsome and sang so well.
"This song should be written by him. I don't think I've heard it before. It's so nice. I'm his girlfriend and I'm so happy!" an audience member exclaimed.
"It's really nice. Damn, why am I crying after listening to it?"
“I don’t know what happened, but that boy sang so beautifully.”
After the song was over and the sound was recorded, Ban Sheng was still facing the camera. After a while, he finally turned his head away, thinking of something, and looked at the camera seriously. His low and faint voice was very catchy:
"Lin Weixia, thank you for loving me."
"Happy birthday, Xia."
The girl the man was talking about was standing on the street holding a box of melting ice cream. She was surrounded by the crowd, her nose was red, her amber eyes were covered with a layer of moisture, and she looked both surprised and moved.
He actually wrote a song for her.
The phone in her pocket buzzed. Lin Weixia took it out and answered it, saying:
"Hello."
The man's breathing on the other end of the phone hooked her heart, and he asked, "Do you like it? It's a birthday present."
"I like it. It would be nice if you were here." Lin Weixia sniffed.
If I had known she wouldn't have gone on this mission.
"Come back." Ban Sheng said on the other end of the phone.
Lin Weixia suddenly turned around and looked from a distance. Ban Sheng was standing there with a gangster look on his face, a head taller than the crowd. He was wearing a baseball cap, his nose was as straight as a pillar, and the tattoo on his collarbone was obvious. He held a mobile phone to his ear in one hand and a cherry cake in the other.
The man has always been ostentatious and eye-catching. Passersby kept looking at Ban Sheng, but he only had eyes for her.
He stood behind her for a long time.
There were pedestrians and vehicles passing by behind them, and the flashing neon lights froze the scene at that moment.
Lin Weixia trotted over to him with the ice cream in her hand, wiped her nose shyly, and asked in a low voice:
“When did you prepare this song?”
"Three months ago." Ban Sheng replied.
"Where were you when I called you at noon?" Lin Weixia continued to ask.
"The airport." Ban Sheng snorted and pinched her nose. He glanced at the ice cream in her hand and his face darkened. "Again?"
"I'm wrong, I'm wrong." Lin Weixia begged for mercy immediately.
Finally, Ban Sheng took Lin Weixia to the riverside, and the two sat on the beach. In the distance, fireworks were lit, colorfully, as if they were also celebrating Lin Weixia's birthday.
Ban Sheng took out a lighter from his pocket, and they put their palms together to block the evening breeze blowing from the river. Three candles were burning, emitting crackling sparks. Lin Weixia put her hands together and earnestly made three wishes.
After making the wish, Lin Weixia pulled out the candle, picked up a cherry from the cream cake and put it in her mouth. It tasted sour and sweet. She picked up another cherry and put it into Ban Sheng's mouth.
She put the candles and ribbons into a plastic bag, then said, "I've been dreaming recently, and I keep dreaming about Shen Gao. I remember a lot of things all of a sudden."
"Ah Sheng, I actually have a question for you."
"Yeah." Ban Sheng took the plastic bag from her hand and spoke casually.
"Why did you choose me?" Lin Weixia opened her eyes and looked at him.
In her second year of high school, Lin Weixia transferred to Shenlan No. 1 Middle School. At first sight, she was noticed by Ban Sheng, who had a sharp and dangerous aura. He approached her step by step as if he saw his prey, and then firmly occupied an important position in her heart.
No matter how many storms they have experienced since then, the two have been entangled until now.
Lin Weixia believed in love at first sight, but from the first moment Ban Sheng saw her, the emotions in his eyes were too strong, revealing too strong a sense of fate.
It's not the look you would have had when you first met.
Ban Sheng was lazily biting a cigarette in his mouth, lowering his straight neck, reaching out to light a cigarette, and paused when he heard the words, and chuckled:
"It seems you really forgot."
"What?" Lin Weixia looked confused.
When he was ten years old, after a perverted murder case occurred, Ban Sheng was still lying in the hospital for treatment. On the day his mother was taken to the funeral home, he pulled out the infusion tube and ran away, but he was one step too late. Song Zhili's body had already been taken away from the morgue.
The morgue was eerie and chilling, but Ban Sheng was not afraid at all. After he came out, he wandered around the hospital, his mind was in a mess, and he was at a loss. Finally, he sat on the flower bed in front of the inpatient department and cried.
Is he completely motherless
Ban Sheng sat there, his long eyelashes drooping, his hands on his knees, clenched into fists that turned blood red, and crystal tears fell silently, landing on the ground, and then melted and evaporated.
His chest was heaving violently. Ban Sheng took out a blue fountain pen from his pocket, stretched out his left hand, and stared at the blood vessels flowing in his wrist. He wanted to try what it would feel like to poke it and whether it would relieve the pain. After thinking for a while, he raised his hand to poke it down.
A cold voice sounded: "What are you doing?"
Ban Sheng thought it was an adult, and threw the pen into the flower bed in panic. When he looked up, he saw a girl about his age.
The girl had a small red butterfly birthmark on her cheek below the end of her eye. She was wearing a blue plaid skirt. Her fair calves were in nice shape. The canvas shoes she was wearing were brushed to a rough edge. Although she was a little girl, her actions and facial expressions seemed precocious.
The girl came over and sat next to Ban Sheng without saying a word.
Ban Sheng had been suppressing his emotions for too long. The nurses in the hospital looked at him with sympathy, his father never showed up in the ward, and they silently blamed him. Occasionally, he heard other patients whispering that this man had killed his mother.
Everything was like an invisible rope, tightening around his throat, making it hard for him to breathe.
Maybe I just need someone to listen to me.
Ban Sheng began to tell what happened, some of which he concealed, and some of which he did not. After he finished speaking, the air was silent, and the girl remained silent.
Ban Sheng lowered his eyes, and the girl suddenly turned his cheek to him. She pointed at the scorching red sun across the street and began to speak. Her tone was no longer cold: "It's not your fault. It was just an accident. The sun is fair and kind, but sometimes it forgets to shine on us."
The sun sometimes forgets to shine on kind people.
"But the sun will always be there," the girl looked up at the sky and squinted her eyes, "Believe it or not, the sun will come over soon."
After waiting for fifteen minutes, as expected, the sun slowly moved over. The dazzling and warm sunlight sprinkled on them, infinitely wrapping Ban Sheng's uneasy and painful heart, like a mother's embrace.
Ban Sheng, who had no expression on his face, suddenly burst into tears and spoke with a sob: "I... I miss my mother so much."
The girl was at a loss for a moment, but she still reached out and hugged Ban Sheng. She patted his shoulder stiffly and spoke in a softer tone: "Don't cry. I'll give you my favorite plum candy."
"My mother once told me that some people's lives are like plum candy, sour at first but sweet later. If you hold on, things will get better."
"Don't cry, the sun will always be there."
The girl said this and left. The sun shone on her, bright, warm and beautiful. The last conversation was in the hot summer when she was ten years old.
"May I have your name?"
"It's a secret."
"Can I come see you later?"
"If there is a destiny."
The fireworks in the distance stopped burning. This was the first time Ban Sheng told anyone about this. He had never told anyone. Others asked him why he liked to eat that brand of plum candy, which was sour and old-fashioned.
Ban Sheng said because he liked it.
There are some sweet things that you want to remember for a lifetime once you taste them accidentally.
After hearing this, Lin Weixia blinked and her rosy lips slightly opened. This was indeed something she would do.
Lin Weixia's personality has always been cold on the surface, but actually she likes to meddle in other people's business. After Ban Sheng said this, she had a vague impression that she had met a little boy before, but she didn't expect it was him.
"Do you know how long I have been looking for you?" Ban Sheng raised his eyes and locked them on her.
Nanjiang is a big city, and Ban Sheng looked for Lin Weixia for a long time, but he couldn't find her. It wasn't until the transfer in the second year of high school that Ban Sheng recognized her at first sight and only identified her.
Caught his light.
"Oh, so you have liked me since you were ten years old." Lin Weixia's attention was diverted and she joked.
"I was only ten years old at that time." Ban Sheng denied it with a calm face, but his ears turned red uncontrollably.
Ban Sheng answered her original question and watched her speak slowly:
"You chose me."
—You are my hope of survival.