I think that this is the end of my story with Xu Nanfang. Life must go on, and besides, I am still young.
A new life is waiting for me ahead.
On the eve of graduation, several of us girls who had already found jobs stayed in the girls' dormitory of Xizheng University and spent a leisurely time. Every day, we started with lunch. We usually slept until 10 o'clock, stayed in bed for half an hour, chatted for another half an hour, or simply sat up and turned on the computer to play for a while. In this way, the day basically started with going out for lunch at 11:30. We often went to a small restaurant outside the school to AA, "drink and eat", and then went to Shapingba to visit small shops and buy some small items for girls. The weather was hot, so we usually stayed in the dormitory in the afternoon to surf the Internet, chat, and watch movies.
The golden time for dating is from dusk to midnight. The boys stood in a long line under the dormitory building, which was spectacular. Luo Zhikun was a small civil servant in the district court. He would pick up Zhang Yaoyao every day to go out for dinner, shopping, and movies. I don’t have a boyfriend. Yang Mi only occasionally asked me out, no more than twice a week because he was busy. Yaoyao was really a rare close friend. Her relationship with Luo Zhikun had entered a stable period. She didn’t mind being a light bulb. She often asked me to go shopping or clubbing at night.
They took me to the city that never sleeps near Jiefangbei. It was really neon-lit and bustling with people. When most people came out of the day's fatigue and went home, the nightlife of the mountain city began here. The place we went to the most was a bar called "Suho". It is said that this nightclub is very popular and you need to make a reservation every day, otherwise you won't even be able to sit at the bar. At night, there are always beauties twisting their healthy bodies under the blurred lights. No matter men or women, they will inevitably be infected and dance with them. After a while, they will sweat a layer of sweat and feel the endless taste. After playing tired, you can also find traditional spicy wonton snacks in roadside shops.
From that time on, I fell in love with Soho. Maybe I cannot fully integrate into it, but it is also a pleasure to watch the life and people here with a very peculiar perspective. Here, I can wrap up all my worries and let them dissipate little by little in the frenetic air and the colorful night with God is a girl or some other music.
After graduation, I was assigned to work in the credit department of the city branch, a typical 9-to-5 job. The pace of life in western cities is very slow, and office workers in government agencies, institutions and state-owned enterprises can basically enjoy rich leisure time and colorful nightlife while calmly dealing with their work.
I can finally become financially independent and no longer have to ask my family for money. It can be said that I have fulfilled a wish.
My relationship with Yang Mi has become a habit, eating, drinking coffee, watching movies, shopping... However, our relationship has always remained above friendship, but not yet lovers. It's not that I haven't thought about being with him. In fact, later on, I have already naturally thought that if we continue like this, we will end up together one day, it's just a matter of time and rhythm.
In the second month of my official work, the head office sent a group of people to conduct research, with the main focus on credit risk control.
At the end of the working day on Friday, the bank leaders came to find people to work overtime. The leaders of our department quickly stopped a few new girls and said that they had to work overtime in the evening. We were still new and had just come in. We all wanted to leave a good impression on the leaders. We did not refuse and stayed obediently waiting for the leaders to assign tasks. As a result, the task assigned by the leaders was to entertain the group of people from the head office. We did not go to the dinner. I guess the big leaders hosted them in a high-end restaurant and talked about some business. After dinner, we started the evening entertainment.
The leaders of the office are truly good at understanding people's hearts. Everything is arranged in a perfect way. Those who like to sing are taken to sing, those who like to bathe are taken to bathe, and those who like to watch the night view are taken to take a boat trip to see the night view of the two rivers. We, the newcomers, naturally stayed to sing with them. We went to the KTV near Jiefangbei and booked a luxurious private room. There were about three or four people from the head office, plus five from our side. Fortunately, those who came from Beijing were all young people, mostly around 30 years old. From their age and dress, they could not tell that they were elders. The leader introduced us privately, but the light was really dim, and I was standing far away, so I still couldn't quite figure out who was who. Everyone took turns to go, and it was quite lively. Someone in the room was smoking, and after staying there for a while, I felt that the air was a little turbid. I had to pretend to go to the bathroom and go out to get some fresh air.
I walked to the sofa in the hall and sat down alone. The bookshelf next to me was full of magazines. I took out a magazine and flipped through it. It was the first month's issue of "Jiaren". Yang Mi often said that it was a magazine with a bit of petty bourgeoisie. It was nothing more than articles about the latest popular clothing and cosmetics, which were only for entertainment and leisure. I would never buy them, but if there were any, I would flip through them. As I was reading, I suddenly heard someone talking, "So you are here too!" The voice came from not far away. I was not sure if someone was talking to me. I looked up and saw a slender girl wearing a collared white T-shirt smiling at me one meter away from me.
I looked carefully and found that it was someone from the head office. We were singing together inside just now, but the light was dim and I couldn't see them clearly. However, because the leader introduced him to us privately, I still recognized him. "Haha, sorry, I felt a bit stuffy in there just now, so I came out for some fresh air." I quickly put down the book in my hand and stood up to speak.
"The room is a bit stuffy, so I came out to get some fresh air. I didn't expect you are not keen on this kind of activity." There was a smile in his eyes, strange yet kind.
I was thinking, how do you know I'm not interested? I just don't like to accompany the leader, it's a bit awkward. But I couldn't say what I was thinking, after all, he was from the head office, and he was also a leader. "I'm really sorry, I was caught slacking off here."
"Haha, I originally came here to discuss work, but I didn't expect the leaders in your bank to be so enthusiastic. It's hard to refuse such a kindness. I'm really sorry to take up the dating time of you young people." Although he said this in a polite manner, it seemed to make some sense. I felt comfortable after hearing it, and the nervousness I had just felt disappeared immediately.
"No, I have nothing to do tonight anyway. I don't know what to do if I go back home, so I might as well come out."
"The night view of the mountain city is so beautiful! Delicious food, beautiful scenery and beautiful women." I didn't expect him to exclaim.
"Uh-huh, have you seen it?"
"I took a boat at Chaotianmen yesterday. Is there anything more fun here than the karaoke bar?" he asked.
I thought about it and said, "There are a lot of them around here. Are you interested?"
"When you come here, you have to experience the life here. It is said that Chongqing is a city that never sleeps."
"How about I take you for a walk around the neighborhood later?" I looked at him and smiled. At least we don't have to go back to the smoky room just now.
He nodded. He called someone on his cell phone and said, "Why not go now?"
We left the hall together. As we were walking, I suddenly remembered that I didn't know his name. I only knew that his last name was Li. What should I call him? Manager Li? Too low-brow... President Li? Wow, so vulgar.
As if he could see through my thoughts, he stopped, turned around and said, "I forgot to introduce myself. I'm Li Shuming, the book from the bookstore, Ming for tomorrow. This is Su Liang... What about you? I heard them call you Xiao Zhao."
Su Liang next to me nodded at me.
"Zhao quilt. Jin Yi quilt."
"Hmm, a special name. Excuse me, where are we going?"
"Would you like to go to a place where you can see beautiful women?"
He smiled, and I could see his face clearly. His skin was fair, his face was deep, his eyebrows were sharp, his eyes were bright, and his nose was high. What a handsome man with extraordinary bearing.
Su Liang's eyes lit up, "Okay!" Li Shuming didn't say anything, I just took it as tacit agreement. Everyone who comes to the mountain city wants to see the grand scene of Maggie Cheung every three steps and Brigitte Lin every five steps.
I took them to Soho. It was still early, a quarter past nine, and the seats in Soho looked deserted. I called the waiter and found out that the seats had been reserved and only the bar was left. Fortunately, Zhang Yaoyao is a regular here. I gave her name and quickly arranged a table. We ordered some drinks, plus a plate of fruit, and started chatting. Unknowingly, it was close to ten o'clock. Under the flashing lights, a crowd of people rushed in, and the swaying figures increased. The dynamic of the melody became more and more intense, and the fanatical people danced to the fanatical music with their own moods. Men holding up their glasses and moving through the crowd without making a sound, beautiful women standing on the stage dancing like they were intoxicated, lovers or lovers entangled in each other's bodies, well-dressed pink-collar workers, and of course, groups of young and frivolous boys and girls... ... This is also a gathering place for beautiful women in the mountain city.
"It's quite lively." Li Shuming raised his glass and clinked it with the two of us, his fingers clean and slender.
"This is where beautiful women gather."
"Yeah, it's exciting to watch them dance." Su Liang said.
"Do you want to go dancing?" I asked him. At that time, I thought that such a good-looking young man must like such activities.
He hesitated for a moment, "I won't go. If you want to go, go ahead. I'll sit here and wait for you."
Su Liang turned sideways but didn't move, looking at me.
I shook my head. “I don’t really like dancing either.”
Li Shuming took a sip of his drink, picked up a small piece of apple and handed it to me, "I've seen the beauties, they are very beautiful... If you don't like dancing, let's go back."
… .
It turned out that Li Shuming didn't like noisy entertainment. The first time I accompanied the people from the head office to entertain myself, it ended in failure.
When I went to work on Monday, the people from the head office who came to inspect our work had already gone back. My colleague Qiufang asked me secretly, "Qinqin, where did you take them on Friday?"
"Go out for a stroll."
"Our leader is still talking about it. The main character has left. There are only a few soldiers left here. How can we keep in touch with them?"
"Oh, oh. They say KTV rooms are stuffy."
"Hehe, I just don't like smiling at people." Qiufang smiled a little weirdly.
I later learned that Li Shuming was the leader of this group. He was said to be the vice president of the credit review department of the head office, and he was probably not young. Unfortunately, I was not good at observing other people's preferences. This was the first time I failed to curry favor with my boss since I started working. Fortunately, I did not go to the office, otherwise I would not have been able to survive. (To be continued)