After that kiss, the two did not do anything else, just leaned against each other to watch TV, occasionally their eyes met and they would smile at each other. Zuo Yuxi's eyes were rolling, she smiled lightly, her red lips were slightly raised, and two dimples appeared on her face. Her eyes were not as shy and evasive as a girl, nor as charming and direct as a young woman. It was just between a girl and a young woman, hesitant to speak, reluctant to refuse but also welcoming, making people salivate.
Aunt Qiong Yao's "Three Variations on Plum Blossoms" is now on air. Chen Derong's ancient costumes had attracted Wen Liang in her previous life. Along with the TV, Jiang Yuheng's love song has spread all over the country: The first variation of plum blossoms breaks people's hearts, the second variation of plum blossoms is thought-provoking, the third variation of plum blossoms stirs up storms, and the water is vast in the depths of clouds and smoke. When Wen Liang heard this song again after crossing two time and space, he no longer had the same initial surprise. He kept thinking about another question in his heart: Fortunately, Aunt Qiong Yao wrote about plum blossoms. If it was chrysanthemums, combined with the lyrics, it would be a masterpiece!
It was almost nine o'clock when he left Zuo Yuxi's house. Wen Liang refused her plan to drive him home and rushed out to catch the last bus. Qingzhou was very deserted at night. Sitting on the bus, looking out the window, except for some main roads, it was all dark. There were few pedestrians on the road. Only in some game halls, dance halls and karaoke entertainment venues, there were groups of gangsters standing under the lights at the door. They had shaved heads, cigarettes in their mouths, loose and fluffy army green pants, black big-toed leather shoes, and they all had to be tied with shoelaces. Their jackets and leather coats were open, revealing the white vests inside. Occasionally, when they met a single girl, they would whistle a few times in a teasing manner, and when the girl looked flustered and hurried away, a group of people laughed loudly and arrogantly. These cockroaches in Qingzhou at night have extremely strong vitality and are rooted in the lives of ordinary people. You can ignore them or despise them, but you cannot deny that cockroaches will always exist, whether in the past, present, or future.
The red light came on and the bus stopped at an intersection. Among the only few passengers on the bus, a middle-aged man in his forties shouted, "Master, let's go. There are no cars here. Why are we waiting for the red light so late at night?" In 1995, there were no electronic eyes everywhere in the world, and whether or not to run a red light at night depended on personal character.
The driver was a woman who didn't bother to pay attention to him. The middle-aged man muttered angrily and didn't say anything else. Wen Liang looked out the window boredly and suddenly found that in front of a game hall about ten meters away on the roadside, a girl was blocked by four or five gangsters when she passed by. The girl lowered her head and dodged left and right to leave, but failed.
Wen Liang sighed in his heart, whose girl is so unlucky? He opened the window and leaned out to shout that the police were coming, but the girl happened to raise her head. With the light from the entrance of the game hall, Wen Liang saw the girl's face clearly, and immediately cursed, turned around and shouted: "Master, open the door, I have to get off in a hurry."
The female teacher was still calm. If she had balls, Wen Liang would curse her to have balls pain every day. The little boy got the same treatment as the old man just now, and felt helpless. Seeing that the situation was not good, Wen Liang no longer hesitated, bent down, stepped on the window, and jumped down.
There was a cry of surprise from inside the car. The middle-aged uncle opened his mouth into an O shape, thinking: Young people are impulsive. Although they have to wait for a while at the red light, it is better than walking home, right? If they get off the bus halfway, will the ticket be wasted? What a spendthrift, no sense for money!
The female driver saw Wen Liang jump in the rearview mirror, but her expression did not change at all.
Wen Liang ran into the group of gangsters, grabbed the girl's hand and shouted, "Sister, I finally found you. Let's go quickly. My brother and the others are waiting out front." This trick is the only way to save people. First, recognize your relationship, then bluff. The gangsters will just curse at you.
The girl saw the surprise on Wen Liang's face, and then thought of the hooligans around her, who immediately became a little flustered. They squeezed Wen Liang's palm and tried to get him to leave first. A good-looking hooligans looked at Wen Liang and said with a smile: "Tan Xue, how come I didn't know you had a brother?"
This girl was Tan Xue whom I hadn’t seen for a long time.
Wen Liang said innocently, "Big brother, my name is Tan Yu, Tan Xue is my sister, and my brother and the others are waiting for us in front, can you please make way?"
"Who are you asking to make way for you little brat?" another guy with a red birthmark on his chin scolded.
The handsome thug raised his hand and slapped him, saying, "How many times have I told you? You have to be polite in front of Tan Xue. What else can we do by using dirty words except to make others think we are stupid?"
The man with the birthmark grumbled, "Boss, you used dirty words too..."
The other three hooligans burst into laughter, and the handsome guy couldn't help but laugh and kicked him: "MB, isn't it because of you that I'm mad at you?"
Wen Liang knew these people too well. Even though they were talking and laughing and seemed to be getting along well with each other, if you really thought so, you were childish and naive, plus extremely stupid!
Wen Liang pulled Tan Xue and tried to get around them. The handsome man smiled, and another gangster stepped aside and snorted, "Did the boss let you go?"
Wen Liang suddenly looked behind them, the surprise on his face almost lit up the night sky of Qingzhou, and he waved his hands and said, "Brother Police, we are here."
Ah, his brother is a policeman? Shocked, the five hooligans, including the handsome guy, all turned around to look behind them, and two of them were even ready to run away. But there was no one behind them, so where did the police come from? Turning around again, they saw Wen Liang holding Tan Xue's hand and jogging all the way, crossing the road and quickly disappearing into the night.
The gangsters looked at each other and suddenly burst into laughter.
Wen Liang didn't stop until he turned two streets. Tan Xue was panting and leaning against the wall, unable to say anything except tired. Wen Liang turned around and looked at her, smiling, "Sister Tan, it seems like every time I see you, nothing good happens."
Tan Xue didn't know whether it was because of the exhaustion from running or because of Wen Liang's words, her pretty face was flushed. After finally catching her breath, she whispered, "Thank you!"
Wen Liang walked to the street corner and looked around, saying, "Don't be polite. What's going on? I thought those guys just bumped into you by chance. How come the leader of the gang knows you?"
Tan Xue sighed and said, "That guy's name is Zhao Jianjun, he's a well-known ruffian in this area. I was working in a store, and one time I ran into him buying a bracelet, and that's it... Well, sometimes he would come and pester me..."
Wen Liang nodded, but was still a little confused, and asked: "But the jewelry store is far away from here, and does it close so late? How do you get there from here?"
Tan Xue lowered her head and said, "I still work somewhere else. I pass by here after get off work, and Zhao Jianjun and his men sometimes wait on the road. But they don't dare to do anything, they just take advantage of me verbally. I ignore them, it's okay."
Wen Liang shook his head. The patience of the little hooligans was limited. It might not matter if they did it once, twice or three times, but it would not last long before they lost their patience. At that time, Tan Xue might be in danger. After all, this was not the time of the crackdown in 1983 and 1985. Ten years had passed, and many people had forgotten those bloody lessons. They could not control their little brothers, and they began to stir.
"How about this, where are Zhao Jianjun's gang? I'll find someone to teach them a lesson and warn them not to harass you. How do you think that is?"
Tan Xue suddenly grabbed Wen Liang's hand and said anxiously, "No, don't provoke them. I heard that Zhao Jianjun doesn't care about his life. If you provoke him, the whole family will be in danger..."
Wen Liang was disdainful in his heart. Don't want to die? That was not the time to risk life! However, seeing Tan Xue's panic, he had to comfort her and said, "I know, don't worry! Let's not provoke him, negotiate, let's focus on negotiation!"
Although Tan Xue had been out in society for a long time, she was still somewhat naive in her bones, and she did not even recognize Wen Liang's perfunctory tone. She patted her chest and breathed a sigh of relief, a gentle smile appeared on her face, and she said softly: "Wen Liang, thank you, this is the second time you have helped me."
Wen Liang smiled and said, "Don't thank me. If you want to thank someone, thank Qingzhou Public Transport Corporation. I happened to be on the bus both times. Oh, Sister Tan, why are you arguing with this broken bus when you have nothing to do?"
Tan Xue found what he said interesting and started laughing. Suddenly she remembered that Wen Liang had called himself Tan Yu and said hurriedly, "I heard from Tan Yu that you were helping him at school. I really want to thank you..."
"Stop, stop!" Wen Liang put his hands down and made a quiet gesture. "It's not easy for us to meet each other. Sister Tan, don't hold a commendation meeting or a thank-you meeting. Where is your home? I'll take you back."
Tan Xue felt a little embarrassed and refused: "No, it's too late, you should go home quickly. It's not far from here to my home, I can walk back by myself."
Wen Liang said casually, "There are still four or five stops to go. I'd better take you there. It will be safer."
As soon as the words came out, they were both stunned. Tan Xue said, "How do you know my house is still four or five stops away?"
Wen Liang now lied fluently without any hesitation: "Tan Yu told me. He also said he would invite me to his home to play, but I have never been free." Of course he knew where Tan Xue's home was. In his previous life, it was almost his second home. He ate and slept the same way as Tan Yu, which made Tan Yu protest to his mother many times.
The two of them were talking and soon arrived home. Tan Xue's home was in a row of dilapidated tube buildings. The ground in front of the building was bumpy and you could sprain your ankle if you weren't careful. From time to time, you could hear all kinds of strange noises in the dark and damp stairs. When you stepped on them, there was a muffled thumping sound. If you used it to shoot a horror movie, you wouldn't even need a set.
Wen Liang stopped downstairs and said with a smile, "The mission is completed, and I should go back."
Tan Xue stroked her hair and said, "Well, then I won't invite you up. My house is very simple. It's not that I'm afraid of embarrassing you, but mainly because I don't have anything to entertain guests. When I make some money and decorate my house prettier, I will definitely invite you to come and play." Tan Xue was not beautiful, just pretty, but she was generous and not ashamed of her family background. Such a girl who was not greedy, not pretentious, and full of sincerity was easy to be liked by people.
Wen Liang didn't care about these things. It was too late today, and it was not appropriate to visit rashly. He laughed and said, "Sister Tan, please don't treat me as a rich kid. My family is not much different from yours. We are the group of people who became rich later. It's no big deal."
Tan Xue nodded vigorously and said, "Yes, we are all people who became rich later, but we are all working hard and will become rich in the end!"
Dreams are simple and pure. Since we have the opportunity to continue living in this life, there will be a day when we can realize our dreams.