After several days of light rain, in late August, the long-lost sunny weather finally appeared.
The sun is high, the world is gilded by the sunshine, and the asphalt road seems to be on fire. From time to time there are small insects flying in front of my eyes, and the hoarse sound of cicadas is endless.
Yunli felt like she was going to be burned out.
After meeting Deng Chuqi, they didn't bother to choose a store and went straight to the Haitian Shopping Mall next door.
The two of them casually entered a wonton shop.
"This bad weather is going to bake people alive." Deng Chuqi felt alive when the air conditioner blew on. "I really can't stay any longer. Xifu is better. I don't feel it is so hot in Xifu."
Yunli denied: "That's because you haven't been back for a long time, and it's so hot in Xifu."
"Really? Okay." Deng Chuqi said, "Oh, I really hope it will rain in Nanwu all summer. The temperature has been very nice the past few days."
"Then Nanwu will be flooded."
"Otherwise, stay out of the sun!"
"Why can't you see the light of day?"
"..." Deng Chuqi couldn't stand it anymore and leaned forward to pinch her face, "Yunli, you said you love to argue! I should have brought a needle when I came here today to sew your mouth shut!"
Yunli recoiled in pain and begged for mercy with a smile: "I was wrong, I was wrong."
Deng Chuqi reluctantly stopped. After the quarrel, staring at Yunli's face, she couldn't help but sigh: "I remember my first impression of you was that although this girl is good-looking, why is she so cold and cold? Are you trying to show off to me?"
Yunli glanced at her: "Be careful what you say."
Deng Chuqi: "As I got used to it, I realized that your lack of words before was probably just a way to protect yourself."
"Um?"
"So as not to offend many parties and be assassinated."
“…”
The waiter happened to bring two bowls of wontons.
Deng Chuqi poured a spoonful of chili pepper, suddenly remembered, and pointed upward: "By the way, is that VR experience center fun? I planned to go there before the trial opening, but I was so busy that I forgot."
"I quite like it." Yunli said truthfully, "I was a little regretful about taking it, but after I went there, I felt it was quite profitable. You can earn money and have fun at the same time."
Deng Chuqi was curious: "Besides you, who else did they invite?"
After racking her brains for a long time, Yunli named a few names she still remembered. One of them, Deng Chuqi, heard about it, and she immediately excitedly talked about the food she had eaten about this person before.
Yunli listened with great interest and commented: "It feels fake."
After a while, Deng Chuqi asked again: "Is it just these few? Are there any others?"
Yunli thought for a moment, but couldn't remember. Facing Deng Chuqi's expectant expression, the words "Fu Shize" that I searched on the web the day before yesterday suddenly came to mind.
She moved her lips and asked hesitantly: "Do you remember that when we were in high school, there was a video that went viral on Station E?"
Deng Chuqi: "What?"
"That's what it is," Yunli couldn't bear to mention the name directly, so she held it in for a long time before she could say, "...the moon in the world."
"Moon?" Deng Chuqi looked confused.
"It's the one from West Virginia University..."
"Oh! Is that the genius from Xifu University of Science and Technology?" Deng Chuqi immediately reacted when he mentioned the key words, "I remember, when I went to your house for the first time in high school, I saw you offering him his Photos posted on the wall—"
“…”
I also forgot that there was such a thing.
When the embarrassing things she did when she was young were mentioned, Yunli's cheeks became hot and she interrupted: "Okay, okay, let's eat."
Deng Chuqi was overjoyed: "Why do you suddenly mention this person? I have forgotten what he looks like."
Yunli paused for a few seconds before replying: "I think I saw him."
"ah?"
"But I'm not sure if it's a person."
This is actually similar to when she went to EAW this time and met several bloggers she had only seen on the screen before. But in comparison, the emotions brought about by meeting Fu Shize are definitely stronger.
After all, he was someone she admired.
Yunli just felt a little weird in her heart.
What was strange, she couldn't tell.
It’s because they didn’t recognize the person;
Or it was because I unexpectedly met someone who I thought I would never meet in this life.
It's been seven years.
The boy is a little taller, and his facial features are also longer, adding some maturity that has been accumulated over time and cannot be faked. His appearance is not much different from before. What is most different is probably the temperament he displays.
There was a big deviation from what she imagined.
During these few meetings, he seemed a bit withdrawn and unsociable.
She originally thought that such a person should be the focus of the crowd, a moon surrounded by stars. He has grace and sense of propriety, treats people and things with ease, and knows the world without being worldly. Persistent and indestructible, powerful and indomitable.
It shouldn't be like this.
The light seemed to be covered with a layer of gray, blending into the dark night.
Silent and withered.
Yunli was distracted for a moment and remembered for no reason the scene of him sleeping on the sofa. The man was slightly curled up and had a thin figure. The bulging outline of his butterfly bones could be seen through his clothes.
Dejected, fragile, and vulnerable.
"Then maybe they really are not the same person, maybe they just look alike." Deng Chuqi didn't take it to heart, "I remember that this genius seems to be the same age as us, right? It's been several years, and he doesn't necessarily still have videos. It’s like that here.”
Yunli reacted and laughed: "That's right."
Thinking about it this way, she seemed to be overthinking it.
Even if they are the same person.
He may also be listless just because he has had a cold these past few days.
-
There are many residential areas nearby, both old and new. Yunli was not short of money, so she chose Qili Xiangdu, which has the best environment and security nearby. Opposite is the Haitian Commercial City and less than ten minutes away from Nanjing University of Technology.
After the meal, Yunli contacted the agency again, and after confirming the time, she took Deng Chuqi with her.
The house has one bedroom and one living room, fully furnished and clean.
Deng Chuqi had just signed a rental contract and had a little more experience. She was communicating with the agent throughout the process. The landlord's requirement is that you must stay for one year and pay a three-month deposit.
Yunli felt that it was not unacceptable.
It was quickly decided that the rental contract would be signed the next day.
After Deng Chuqi returned home, Yunli went online to find a cleaner to clean the house.
I also successively bought a lot of daily necessities, photography equipment and small items online to fill up the space.
One day before the hotel room was due to expire, Yunli officially moved in.
By the time Yunli tidied up the house, it was already dark. She felt hungry belatedly, and remembered that when she came back for the re-examination last time, she randomly packed a piece of fried rice noodles at a snack street next to Nanli Polytechnic, and it tasted surprisingly good.
Later, when I returned to Xifu, I ate in several restaurants and felt that it was almost boring.
Thinking of this, Yunli looked through the takeaways, but couldn't find them.
It should be that this store does not have takeout service.
Yunli glanced at the wall clock, it was early ten o'clock.
Looking out the window, you can still see the brightly lit Haitian Commercial City.
It was not too late, and the gluttons appeared, which made Yunli feel like she would not stop eating until she could eat today. I simply went back to my room, changed my clothes, picked up my wallet and went out.
Relying on his superficial memory, Yunli left the community, crossed the road, and walked straight along Haitian Shangdu. On the way, she saw several people burning paper on the side of the road.
Yunli was confused and uneasy, so she took out her phone and took a look.
I just discovered that today is the Hungry Ghost Festival.
“…”
Yunli's scalp went numb and she instantly regretted going out.
But after walking most of the journey, it was hard to return without success.
Yunli continued walking, crossed a square, crossed a road, and arrived at the familiar snack street.
The street lights are bright and there are many pedestrians passing by. She then breathed a sigh of relief.
Previously, Yunli came here for an internet celebrity milk tea shop, and within a few steps she could see the fried rice noodle shop. At this time, she didn't quite remember the specific location, she just remembered that it was quite somewhere.
Yunli opens the navigation.
A hundred meters along, I don't know if it was a delay, but the route on the navigation system was crooked. The way to remind her was to walk through an alley.
It was dark inside and the ground was wet. The corner is about ten meters away.
From here, turn right and then left, and you'll find another street.
The journey was not far, so Yunli mustered up the courage to walk in. As soon as she turned the corner, she heard the sound of men laughing and joking from the front. As he raised his head, he smelled the overwhelming smell of alcohol.
Two men appeared in the field of vision.
One has light blue hair and a string of unknown English letters tattooed on his collarbone; the other wears a vest, exposing large muscles on his arms.
A dark and lonely alley.
Yunli couldn't help but feel terrified at this scene. He didn't dare to look at them and continued to move forward calmly. After walking a few steps, he was blocked by Lanmao: "Hey, hello, little sister."
Yunli retreated cautiously.
The big guy on the other side joked: "Dafeng, what kind of gangster are you playing?"
"Where am I acting like a gangster?" Lan Mao said drunkenly, with a big tongue, "I, I just wanted to say hello!"
Yunli wanted to avoid them, but the alley was narrow and blocked by the two of them, with no way out. Afraid that appearing too timid would make the other person go too far, she said softly: "Can you excuse me for a moment? I want to go over there."
The blue-haired man said with a shameless face, "Okay, I'll let you go, and you can go have a supper with me later."
“…”
"Is that okay, little sister?"
"...Okay." Yunli didn't dare to refuse for fear of annoying him, so she could only delay the time with excuses, "Can you let me go first? I have to buy something."
Lan Mao shrugged and moved to the side.
Several shops next to the alley have been closed, and the left side is empty, as if they have entered a deserted land. On the other side, under the dim streetlight a few meters away, there was a man standing next to him, his head lowered and smoking.
With his back to the light, his face was pale and bloodless, and he looked gloomy and strange.
Like a lonely ghost from a foreign land entering the human world late at night with the help of a ghost gate.
Yunli's heart skipped a beat and she saw his face clearly almost immediately.
It's Fu Shize.
I thought we would never meet again.
At this time, he seemed to hear the movement and looked up.
Not knowing what the next two people would do, Yunli didn't want to irritate them by speaking out hastily. She pursed her lips, with a hint of help in her eyes.
Their eyes met for less than a second.
Fu Shi opened his eyes and spat out mist as if he hadn't seen it.
Yunli froze in place.
For a moment, I couldn't believe the meaning of his actions.
—He had no intention of helping her.
Lan Mao from behind began to urge, shouting impatiently: "I asked you to come over, go have a midnight snack, sister, why don't you move? Go back on your word -"
Yunli's voice trembled and she couldn't help shouting: "Fu, Fu Shize!"
As the words fell, the air seemed to freeze.
Even Lan Mao's posture seemed to be a little weak, and he became quiet.
After what seemed like a long but short silence, Fu Shi tilted his head and waved lazily. Yunli ignited hope, thinking it was a gesture towards her, and was about to go there.
Unexpectedly, the next second, Lan Mao on the side walked over and wondered: "Brother, do you know him?"
“…”
Yunli's mind went blank.
The dream I had a few days ago, which had become quite blurry, became extremely clear at this moment.
The boy at the airport sneered and yelled in her ear again: "You're stupid! You didn't expect it! He is the leader of our organization!"
Fu Shi was noncommittal: "What are you doing?"
Lan Mao's expression was normal: "I just asked her to have a late-night snack with me, and she didn't do anything."
"I'll have supper with you..." He repeated it nonchalantly, and then looked at Yunli, "Are you willing to go?"
The sky is high and the stars are far away, the wind is dry and long, and there is still residual heat after blowing for a long time.
that moment.
Yunli didn't know where she got the courage and shook her head.
Fu Shize hummed softly and told her, "She doesn't want to go."
Lan Mao seemed to be still drunk and wanted to reason after hearing this. Before he could say anything, Fu Shize pushed his shoulder. He staggered two steps, almost falling, and turned around.
"You're scaring people," Fu Shize said lightly, "Go over and apologize."