Wen Liang's house has three bedrooms and a living room. One master bedroom belongs to Wen Huaiming and Ding Mei, one bedroom belongs to Wen Liang, and the other was once temporarily occupied by Ding Lan. Now Ding Lan has rented a house with her husband and children, and it is just right for Huang Gang to live in. After a simple tidying up, Ding Mei took Huang Gang to the store outside to buy some bed sheets, quilt covers and toiletries for girls. Wen Liang wanted to do hard labor, but Ding Mei despised him and hit him back, saying that men should not care about girls' affairs. Wen Liang then realized that there was really a difference between men and women. These days are not like later generations. Some things are really not suitable to be bought in front of him.
After returning, he went to the kitchen to cook, and Huang Gang helped. What Wen Liang didn't expect was that Huang Gang was also a good cook, good at frying, cooking, and everything else. Soon the whole kitchen was filled with the aroma of rice, which made people unable to resist their appetite.
During the meal, Huang Gang asked about Wen Huaiming. Ding Mei saw this and thought that this girl was very well-behaved and sensible. Wen Liang smiled and said, "No need to wait for him. It's good enough for this family to come back two or three times a week. Let's eat our own food."
Normally, she didn't feel that way, but after this comparison, Ding Mei was very dissatisfied with Wen Liang and said, "What are you talking about? Do you think your father is willing to be so busy? Isn't it just to marry you..."
Before he could utter the word "wife", the doorbell rang. Wen Huaiming walked in without giving Wen Liang any face. He was stunned when he saw Huang Gang. Wen Liang had not had time to tell him about Huang Gang, and in order to make Ding Mei forget about getting a wife, he stood up and took him to the study to talk.
"… She is my deskmate. Both her parents are gone, and her relatives are unreliable. She has a hard time. It's almost the New Year, and she feels lonely and uncomfortable, so I asked her to come to our house…"
Wen Huaiming nodded with relief. Although he didn't say it, he was always worried that Wen Liang, who had money and power, would gradually lose his original intention in the overwhelming desires, or become profit-driven, or start to indulge in pleasure, as he was at such an age where he couldn't resist temptation. However, he was still able to lend a helping hand to classmates in need, which showed that he still maintained a trace of clarity!
"That's great. Let's spend the New Year at our house. Tell your mother to be careful with her words. Little girls are very thoughtful. Don't let her get wronged."
After talking about Huanggang, Wen Huaiming leaned back in his chair, stared at Wen Liang and said, "We've been busy these days, and I haven't asked you what happened in Guanshan last time, and why you had a conflict with Chen Zongzhi's daughter? Many people called me, even Secretary Xu asked several times, but as a father, I don't know much more than them..."
The last sentence seemed to be full of resentment. Wen Liang smiled and explained that it was really an accident. He happened to meet Chen Yurui at the museum, and Yu Peidong happened to be at the scene. Everything was not in the plan. Moreover, this matter was over, and there would be no follow-up arrangements, and of course there would not be much trouble. Seeing that he could not get anything out of it, Wen Huaiming gave up and just told Wen Liang to be careful and to speed up development as the top priority at the moment, and everything else could be put aside.
After dinner, Huang Gang stayed at the Wen family. Wen Huaiming didn't know whether it made up for the lack of a daughter, but he cared for Huang Gang very much. Compared with his previous harshness towards Wen Liang, he was like a different person, a standard textbook loving father. After a period of time, they got to know each other well. Ding Mei took the initiative to recognize this daughter. Huang Gang and Wen Liang treated each other like brother and sister, and they became a family.
Who could have thought that a joking encounter in the examination room would have such a result? Life is truly unpredictable.
February 6, 1997, Lunar New Year’s Eve.
The weather was good. It snowed heavily at 3 or 4 in the afternoon. Soon, the whole Qingzhou was covered in snow. The courtyard was full of people playing and parents brought their children to build snowmen. Ding Mei and Huang Gang sat around the stove and made dumplings. Wen Huaiming poured a cup of strong tea and half-reclined in a chair, reading the latest People's Daily. Wen Liang was busy by himself, pasting Spring Festival couplets outside the door and at the stairs. Then he carried a bucket and a broom and cleaned up like Harry Potter. It was a rare time for him to be diligent. At 8 o'clock, the Spring Festival Gala started on time. The family sat in front of the TV, put a full table of dishes, opened a bottle of white wine, Wen Liang and Wen Huaiming filled it, Ding Mei and Huang Gang poured a little to show their appreciation, and then raised their glasses together, smiled at each other, and drank it all in one gulp.
Along with the laughter and songs on TV, Ding Mei commented on the quality of this year's programs from time to time, saying this one was too noisy, that one was too chaotic, but overall it was pretty good. She especially liked the song "Spring" and said it would definitely be popular all over the country. This was true, the song was indeed popular, but the singer might not be popular for long. Huang Gang was different from Ding Mei. She preferred Zhang Yu's "Because It's You", not to chase the trend of Hong Kong and Taiwan style, but to listen to the lyrics that seemed to be written for her, and she was so obsessed that she almost shed tears.
"You once accompanied me through the long dark nights, and you once accompanied me through joy and sorrow... I know that my dream is still far away if you don't appear, but I believe that having you by my side through every ups and downs is enough..."
Huang Gang quietly turned his head and looked at Wen Liang who had been answering the phone on the balcony, his eyes filled with unspeakable gratitude and admiration.
This person became my brother. Fate is truly a wonderful thing. But I am really lucky to have met you among millions of people!
Really, thank you very much!
Wen Liang's phone never stopped ringing, and he received many calls to wish everyone a happy new year. At that time, mobile phones were not yet popular, so he was not bombarded with text messages like in later generations, but it was still quite overwhelming. When the midnight bell rang, he unexpectedly received a call from Xie Yan.
“Wenliang… I wish you a happy new year and a prosperous Year of the Ox!”
Wen Liang was stunned for a moment before he recognized Xie Yan's voice from the deafening sound of firecrackers outside. He smiled and said, "I wish you good luck in the Year of the Ox as well... It's so late, where did you call from?"
"The store outside Gongti just installed a telephone a few days ago... I told the boss to open the store at this time..."
It was still snowing heavily outside. Wen Liang could imagine that Xie Yan must have begged for a long time for this call, otherwise no one would be willing to open the door to do business on New Year's Eve. He hurriedly said, "Go back quickly. It's so late, it's not safe for you to be outside alone."
Wen Liang was not exaggerating. The little hooligans in Qingzhou were like wound-up jumping frogs. They would not be at peace on New Year's Eve. At this time, there were countless people drinking and making trouble on the streets. Gongti was a key area. If they really ran into them, with Xie Yan's appearance, it would be difficult for him to escape.
"Okay, got it." Xie Yan hung up the phone silently. She hated herself for always being so stupid. She obviously had a lot to say to Wen Liang, and even silently recited it in her mind for a long time before calling. But when she really heard the other party's voice, her nervous brain went blank, and she couldn't say what she wanted to say no matter what:
How are you
Wen Liang shook his head. Although he understood Xie Yan's intention to wish him a happy new year, it was still unwise to put himself in danger. At this time, Ding Mei shouted, "Go down and set off the fireworks. Turn off your cell phones. Why are you so busy?"
He smiled gently and turned to leave the balcony, then looked back outside. The sky above Qingzhou was filled with colorful fireworks, as if bidding farewell to 1996 in such a gorgeous way.
Wen Liang suddenly remembered the ending of "Party A and Party B" that he had seen in his previous life, and used a line from Ge You:
1996 has passed and I miss it so much!
The winter vacation was long and short. After the Spring Festival, everyone had their own things to do, and there was not even a chance to get together. Xu Yao, Ji Suning, and Xiao Ning went to Yishan, where they received devilish training in performance, body shape, and lines under the guidance of professional teachers. The training was in a completely closed mode, and it was not easy for Wen Liang to see them. Huang Gang went to Bi Ya Si to work as a summer intern, working as a cashier and guest-servant. Although the clothes he sold were not very good, at least he was very happy, which was enough. Ren Yi used the tuition funded by Wen Liang to enroll in three cram schools. The time was arranged precisely to the minute, and even going to the toilet was done at the speed of a 100-meter run. In his own words, even the beauties in his spring dreams were outlined by solid geometric lines, which showed that he really risked his life. Liu Zhihe was the most relaxed. I don't know what means he used to hide it from Liu Tianlai and Yang Yihang, and enrolled with Yang Yang. They organized a winter camp for outdoor sports, and went to a northern city to experience life together; Tan Yu was not inferior to Liu Zhihe, and even better. During the winter vacation, he formed a band called Leopard, and together with two other rock-mad youths from No. 1 Middle School, they dreamed of shouting for youth. From time to time, they would go to the streets and alleys to sing a few songs for the aunties passing by. Although they would be scolded eight out of ten times, occasionally when they met a soulmate and received praise, they would instantly feel that the meaning of life lies in singing, so they sang more vigorously; by the way, there was also Xie Yan, who I hadn't seen for a long time. After New Year's Eve, he called Wen Liang again. He had the same clear voice, but he didn't seem to be as timid as before. He became cheerful and more generous. However, Wen Liang was not in Qingzhou at that time. She just said two words and then hung up. I don’t know what kind of changes and experiences the six months of college life have brought to her. As for Meng Ke, with the division of classes in the second year of high school, she is no longer in the same grade and has rarely appeared in Wen Liang’s life. This is not a pity, because life is like this. Different people will appear at different times, and then gradually fade out of each other’s sight. Maybe when you think of it many years later, you will remember that there is such a person who walked through those years of weeping and complaining with you side by side in silence!
Years are like songs! (To be continued)