Because Li Chuan agreed to watch a movie with me, Xiao Ye ignored me for the whole night. Xiaotong also tried not to talk to me too much, so as not to be angry with Xiaoye the next day. The stalemate remained until Xiaoye got off work. She gets off work an hour earlier than me. Xiao Tong whispered to me: "I was recruited by Xiaoye. She has been here for two years, and you have been here for two months. You can decide for yourself. If something happens, which side will I be on?"
"It's just to invite someone to watch a movie, what will happen?"
Xiaotong shook his head: "Say it's your country girl, you are better than the people in the city. You are declaring war on Xiaoye. Do you still want to do this job?"
I sneered: "Is it so serious? She doesn't own the coffee shop."
Xiao Tong said: "There were three people who were taken away by her before. There was a little girl who only worked for three days before she was reported. The boss's son is studying in Nanjing, and he is in her father's department. Her father It's the head of the department. Do you understand now?"
I do not speak. Because I don't know what to do. There is no door for me to please her.
Xiaotong said: "Actually, the conflict is easy to resolve. Tonight, you will work the night shift here instead of going to the movies. The next day, I will treat Xiaoye to a cup of coffee and accompany her. I promise not to spoil the situation for her. Forgive her for such an attitude of pleading guilty." I won't be entangled with you any longer."
I sneer.
Seeing my obsession, the boy sighed, "You really don't seem to be from Yunnan, you have a bigger temper than a Beijinger."
I continued to sneer. It's good that I come from the country, can't country people have a temper? I really don't like people to take my birthplace as an example. There are millions of people in Yunnan. Do millions of people have the same temper
Until twelve o'clock, Li Chuan sat by the window and kept typing on the keyboard. Xiaotong served him coffee once, and he thanked him hastily, before returning his eyes to the laptop screen. Xiaotong came to me and said, "He is replying to emails. It seems that there are countless emails to reply."
I said: "Chinese Email?"
"French. Once Xiaoye saw him sitting with a foreigner, speaking German very fluently."
I couldn't help asking: "What is your second foreigner?"
"Japanese."
"Then how do you know he wrote in French?"
"I've never eaten pork, but I've always seen pigs run away. I can tell the difference between French and English." He pretended to bow modestly.
"Xiaoye has never studied German, how do you know he speaks German?"
"German has trills, and the whole amygdala vibrates when you pronounce it."
I looked at Li Chuan's back, daydreaming.
"It's a pity that my legs are not good," Xiaotong said thoughtfully, "otherwise it would be perfect."
I glanced at him and said with a smile, "You're interested too? You're not gay, are you?"
The little boy suddenly realized something: "Maybe he is gay. Have you heard of the 'Lang Huan' across the street?"
"Wolf joy?"
"The biggest gay bar in the neighborhood. There are security guards standing in the toilets, afraid of people messing around."
"I've heard of it." I haven't heard of it, and I don't want people to think I'm old-fashioned.
Li Chuan came at nine o'clock and had been sitting here for three hours. Usually he rarely sits for so long, obviously today he is waiting for me. At twelve o'clock, I changed out of my overalls and wore a long gray sweater. If I had known in advance that Li Chuan would come, I wouldn't be wearing this sweater today. It was still in style when it was new, but after washing it once, it became deformed and turned into a windbreaker, as if I bought it from a street stall. I walked up to him with my bag, and he had already stood up and was packing things on the table. I saw that besides the computer, there was also a soft leather notebook on the table, which was old and looked like it had been used for a long time. The open page was drawn with sketches, so messy that the shape could not be seen clearly.
We walked out the gate together, the night wind was very cool. I sneezed against the wind. He stopped and said, "Are you cold?"
"Allergic rhinitis."
"That's cold." Without any explanation, he took off his coat and handed it to me.
The coat was warm, with his faint body fragrance. With my heart pounding and my head down, I blindly followed him to the parking lot. When I got to the car, I suddenly lost my courage, stopped, and said to him, "I'm sorry, I was too busy just now, so I didn't bother to ask you if you have time tonight. Do you mind watching a movie so late?"
"I have time, I don't mind."
I continued to explain: "I have a midterm exam tomorrow, and I want to relax."
"Actually... the best way to relax is to sleep."
"Can't sleep, too nervous."
"It's just a midterm exam, so there's no need to be so nervous, right?"
"I want the grade point average to be ninety-five."
"Ninety-five? So high?" He looked at me with a half-smile, listening with interest.
"I only got a score of 60 or so in the previous tests. The average score will go up only if the score in the midterm exam is high."
"Then can you pass ninety-five?" he asked.
"I'll do my best." I clenched my hands into fists and made a fighting gesture.
"Actually, there are many ways to get a high score." He opened the car door for me.
"Really?" I slid into the car and he leaned down to buckle me up.
"For example: Sitting next to a classmate with good grades, I can't help but glance at his paper."
"..."
"For example: copying difficult words down your sleeve."
"..."
"For example: Hide your laptop in the bathroom and pretend to go to the bathroom."
He introduced it solemnly.
"Understood, that's how you graduated."
"That's right." He didn't change his face, and he didn't feel ashamed.
"As for the cheater, it's just to get a pass. My goal is not to pass, so I can't copy others." I corrected him with a serious face: "So, I studied hard for two weeks and only slept three days a day. Hours. Today is my limit. If I don't watch a movie, I'll break down."
"Spirit is commendable, children who study hard must be encouraged."
He started the car: "Which theater? You show the way."
"Ping An Studios, close to our school."
"Which way?"
I thought for a while: "... I don't know. All the students in my dormitory go to watch movies there. Students get a 20% discount. This week is dedicated to old Oscar movies."
So he sighed: "You have been in Beijing for so long, have you never been to a movie?"
"You can watch videos, there are video studios everywhere near the school, it's cheaper!"
He drove the car fast again.
"Slow down, please? You're going to get into trouble driving like this!" I yelled.
"Is this called fast? It's completely within the speed limit," he ignored me, "Didn't you put on your seat belt?"
"My heart can't take it."
"You have a heart condition?" He slowed down.
"No. I'm nervous, okay?"
"What movie is tonight?" He started to speed up again, deliberately changing the subject to draw my attention.
"What movie do you like?"
"Horror Movie."
"Good luck! Tonight is 'The Silence of the Lambs'. English lines and Chinese subtitles... Li Chuan! Please slow down!"
I don't know why I called him "Li Chuan" out of my mouth, as if I've been calling him like this for more than ten years, and I felt a little embarrassed when I said that.
"In order to see this movie, your heart needs to warm up."
I got angry, stopped talking, and arrived at school in the blink of an eye. He drove around the campus and quickly found the cinema. When I entered the hall, I said to him: "You wait here, I will buy tickets, soft drinks, popcorn and grilled chicken wings."
"It's off-duty time, no need to do aitress anymore. You wait here, I'll buy tickets. What do you drink?"
"Cola."
I watched him buy a ticket, go to buy popcorn... I followed him quickly. He relies on a cane for mobility and has only one hand for holding things. The auditorium was empty, with less than ten people seated. We're going to sit in the last row. The steps were shallow, but he walked very slowly. Go up the right leg first, then drag the immobile left leg up the steps, stand firmly, and then walk down the next step. I regretted that I was going to sit in the last row, but I changed my mind at this time because I was afraid that he would mind, so I obediently followed behind him.
By the time we sit down, the movie has already started. I started eating chicken wings. The purpose of sitting in the last row is to prevent others from hearing me chewing.
He took a sip of mineral water and asked, "Have you had dinner yet?"
"No. I was in a hurry to drive when I came here, so I forgot."
"There's always something to eat in a coffee shop, right? Don't you have coffee break?"
"It's so expensive, and the boss is stingy, how can I afford it?" I quickly ate one chicken wing, and then went to eat another, "The chicken wings are delicious, do you want one?"
"Thank you, no."
"Then... popcorn?"
"I won't eat it," he said flatly, "It's all yours."
"How can this be? Watching horror movies without eating." I muttered. After a while, he whispered again: "Listen carefully, the following paragraph is my favorite."
I saw the doctor Hannibal inside said to Judy Foster: "First principles, rice. Simplicity. Read Marcus Aurelius. Of each particr thing ask: hat is it in itself?" hat is its nature? hat does he do, this man you seek? "(Translation: The first principle, Kress, is "simplicity." Read Marcus Aurelius's book carefully without missing any particular point: what is in it? What is its nature? You The person you are looking for, what is he doing?)
"… No. e begin by coveting hat e see every day. Don't you feel eyes moving over your body, rice? And don't your eyes seek out the things you ant? " to find what you want?)
I imitated the mouth shape of the people in the film, exactly the same.
He turned to look at me and said, "It turns out that this is where your spoken English came from."
After a while, the person in the film continued:
"... Terns? Mmh. If I help you, rice, it ill be "turns" it us too. Quid pro quo. I tell you things, you tell me things. Not about this case, though. About yourself. Quid pro quo. Yes or no? " ]'One thing for one thing. I tell you something, you tell me something. It has nothing to do with this case. It has something to do with yourself. One thing for one thing, would you like it?)
Li Chuan turned around again.
"What's wrong?"
"Find it? This one rhymes," he said.
"Where is it?"
"Quid pro quo, yes or no?"
I remembered the first time I rode with him in a car. "If I answered your question, you will answer my question." Quid pro quo…
The rest of the time I basically covered my eyes with my hands. I have watched this film ten times, and I can memorize the lines, but I have never been able to see the beginning and end with my eyes open.
I didn't look at his face and knew he was laughing at me.
After watching the movie, it was almost morning. He wanted to see me off, but despite my repeated refusals, he insisted on taking me downstairs to the dormitory.
On the way, I talked to him casually: "You know, although I have watched this movie many times, there is one thing I still don't understand."
"You've been covering your eyes. There should be many things you can't understand, right? Didn't you say that movies are visual art?"
"Why put a moth? Why?"
"Do you want to hear my explanation?"
"Do you have an explanation?"
"Moth means reproduction. Moths lay many eggs and their bodies change. Doesn't that ill always have identity problems?"
"But why put moths in the mouths of dead bodies?"
"That's a woman's body, isn't it. What's the difference between a woman and a man? Reproduction, isn't it? Image-linking, that's what you literary people do best."
I stopped, looked at him, and asked, "Then, Li Chuan, what do you study?"
"Economics. Later I studied architecture. Quid pro quo, why are you in a bad mood at the coffee shop today?"
"Arguing with people."
"Lose or win?"
"On the surface, I won, but in fact I lost. Country people, who used to live a comfortable life, came to the city, and suddenly they didn't care about everything."
"So you're not happy here?"
"Unless I get a ninety-five in the midterm."
"Are scores so important to you?"
"I have identity problem. (Translation: I have identity problems.)"