On the afternoon of the week before New Year's Eve, she went to Shanghai to participate in the semi-finals.
That train was a slow train starting with K, and it took an hour and twenty minutes to get there. The platform was full of people, and she walked out with her schoolbag on her back. She has been to this city several times, the familiar 104 Road, and the South Square that can't be seen at a glance.
When I arrived at the magazine office, it was still early.
As soon as I arrived at the gate of No. 675, I ran into an old friend. Jiang Lang walked over as fast as he could with all his excitement, the expression on his face was so bright. He called Meng Shengnan from afar, as if he hadn't seen him for many years.
"When did you come?"
"Just arrived." Meng Shengnan said, "You just arrived too?"
Jiang Jin smiled: "I came here eight hundred years ago."
"ah?"
This guy smiled again: "Come here two days earlier, not only me, but Lu Huai and Li Xiang are all here."
"Then why are you here?"
"Don't mention it, you will lose if you play cards with them, go out to get rid of bad luck."
Meng Shengnan laughed: "How did I remember that you played poker very badly? Can this bad luck be removed?"
Jiang Jin raised his eyebrows and raised his mouth.
"You underestimated brother too?"
"No, I just think—"
There was a vat of murderous intent coming out of his eyes.
Meng Shengnan stopped talking, stopped talking, and looked at him with a smile.
Jiang Jin encouraged her: "Say it."
"Are you not angry?"
"No birth."
"Then I said so?"
"Um."
"It's better to do less of what you're not good at." As soon as she finished speaking, Jiang Jin rolled up his sleeves and was ready to do it.
Meng Shengnan hurriedly ran away: "You're cheating."
"Where did you hear this word? Why don't you know it?"
Well, this cheap kung fu is still top-notch and invincible, it's almost the same every minute.
There is a hotel arranged by the organizing committee near the magazine office, and all those who come to participate in the semi-finals will stay there. Jiang Jin took Meng Shengnan to the gate to register, and the two returned to 2007. Lu Huai and Li Xiang were talking about the mountains when they saw Meng Shengnan's eyes light up, not much different from Jiang Jin's.
Li Xiang spoke Shandong dialect and said to her, "My New Year's Girl".
Lu Huai was still the same, smiling cheaply: "Because of my feelings for you, brother has to show it with practical actions." After speaking, he immediately came up to hug him, and Meng Shengnan was so moved that he was confused.
Several people sat around the bed, and Li Xiang bought a big bag of snacks, eating and chatting.
"Why hasn't Zhou Ningzhi arrived yet?" Lu Huai asked.
Jiang Jin said while eating melon seeds, "Do you miss him?"
"Why can't I hear a good word from you?"
Jiang Jin rubbed his palms, and smiled maliciously: "Old friend, it's normal to think about it, have you lost your mind?"
Meng Shengnan sat aside and couldn't help laughing.
Just as Lu Huai was about to stand up, the door opened a crack. Lu Huai's feet were still in the air, and he let out a surprise "Yo". Zhang Yiyan opened the door and walked in, smiling: "It's quite early, I said Lu Huai, are you practicing kung fu?"
Li Xiang answered: "He has always believed that the four bodies are not diligent and the five grains are not distinguished."
Several people laughed.
Zhang Yiyan sat down on the chair, looked down and said, "Tsk, it's a good day."
Lu Huai put his face together with a smile: "Is it okay? Just wait for you and Zhou Ning to confront each other."
"That's right, I said that kid couldn't be robbed halfway, right?" Li Xiang smiled badly.
Jiang Jin laughed and said, "If he knew that Xiaomeng was here, he might be running wildly in the desert."
Meng Shengnan blushed a little, because so many people held back.
"When did Sheng Nan come?" Zhang Yiyan seemed to notice her only then.
"Just came here for a while." Jiang Jin answered for her, "I still took it."
Meng Shengnan nodded.
Lu Huai said 'Yo Yo Yo', "It makes you look so great."
"Isn't it just to get bad luck with your tail between your legs?" Li Xiangxiao.
Meng Shengnan glanced at Jiang Jin and smiled.
Zhang Yiyan came late and didn't know: "What bad luck?"
Meng Shengnan said: "His poker skills are too bad, and he lost everything."
"You play cards?" Zhang Yiyan pointed at Jiang Jin's face in disbelief.
"Why, I can't?"
Zhang Yiyan cleared his throat with a 'cough cough': "You are not afraid of death enough, I don't know who lost last year and only have a pair of pants left."
2007 is always full of vitality, you make fun of me. They come from different places, speak their own dialects, and have stories bigger than this world in their stomachs. You say a word, and he starts, and you can talk a lot until five billion years ago.
It was raining and snowing outside the window, and the lights in the house kept flickering.
Later, when we talked about the competition, Lu Huai suddenly sighed: "This time, I signed a military order with my family's old Buddha, and I vowed not to write again if I didn't win the prize."
Several people in the room were suddenly quiet.
"As for what, I'll tell you." Jiang Jin said.
Lu Huai shook his head: "I have quarreled with them more than once or twice over this matter."
Meng Shengnan frowned and asked, "Why don't uncles and aunts agree?"
Lu Huai smiled bitterly: "They feel that there is no future."
"You should communicate with them well," Zhang Yiyan said.
"Does it work?"
Lu Huai said helplessly.
Jiang Jin looked up at him for a while, "If you say there is no play this time, you really won't write?"
All four looked at him.
Lu Huai was stared at for a while, with a solemn expression, as if he was participating in some kind of sacrifice. After only a few tens of seconds, he finally couldn't hold back anymore, and suddenly smiled meanly under their naked eyes.
"Write it secretly," he said.
"Damn." Li Xiang kicked him, "I almost peed on you."
Several people had fun again.
At that time, a group of people like them always had such pain and anxiety.
In the classroom, when I was in class, my mind was always overwhelmed with hype, my grades couldn't improve, and I couldn't write well. Lu Huai said that he once thought about dropping out of school, but he is still living the same life. After all, there is only one Han Han.
When they got to know each other well, Jiang Jin asked them why they came here. Lu Huai said his hobbies are playing games and martial arts. He is crazy about Jin Yong and Gu Long, sometimes tens of thousands of words of love and hatred in the rivers and lakes a day. Although it may not be one-tenth of theirs, it must come up with something decent. Li Xiang gave him a bear hug at that time, and the two of them met each other as confidants, and it was too late to meet each other.
It was also such a winter at that time, with heavy rain and snow.
Zhou Ningzhi asked Jiang Jin back.
This guy laughed: "Brother likes new things, and you have tried everything in this world, so you don't feel wronged."
Meng Shengnan was overjoyed.
Jiang Jin smiled again: "To put it bluntly, just one sentence."
"What?" she asked.
"Brother likes to toss."
Some seniors once wrote that they are a group of people after the comments of the article. It is a good thing to be young and energetic, and you must not lose your mind and run blindly. If you really get to that point, you don't know how many detours you will have to take when you look back.
Jiang Jin said directly in front of them: "Why are you afraid of taking a detour? Isn't the earth round? Sooner or later you have to turn around."
They laughed madly, but also felt reasonable.
The bell of the hotel outside interrupted their conversation.
Later at night, they went back to their rooms to sleep. Meng Shengnan met Zhou Ningzhi at the gate of the rematch site the next day. Surrounded by contestants walking in, a couple of men and women huddled together talking and laughing. Zhang Yiyan suddenly shouted in one direction: "Zhou Ningzhi."
A 1.8-meter-long boy walked over casually with a black schoolbag on his back, and Jiang Jin just punched him when he stepped up.
"Why did you come here at this time?"
"Something is stuck at home."
Li Xiang went up and punched him: "Thought you didn't participate?"
Zhou Ningzhi smiled: "I didn't even think about participating."
Meng Shengnan looked over.
"What?" Zhang Yiyan was surprised.
Zhou Ningzhi glanced at Meng Shengnan, then looked away: "I didn't sign up for the preliminary competition."
"What?" Lu Huai was not calm this time.
Meng Shengnan was also shocked, so he urged her to write.
"That's interesting, you've won it for three times. If you win it again this year, I'll see Lu Huai jump directly into the Huangpu River." Jiang Jin joked.
Lu Huai stared, raised his foot and kicked the guy: "Why don't you jump?"
Several people laughed.
Zhou Ningzhi said: "Okay, let's talk after the exam."
"What about you?" Zhang Yiyan asked.
"I'll just wait here."
After speaking, he looked at Meng Shengnan: "Don't be too nervous."
Meng Shengnan nodded with a smile.
"Yo, you only care about Sheng Nan?" Zhang Yiyan raised his eyelids.
Jiang Jin gave a 'tsk' sound, "Look at your heart, who would dare to marry you in the future, let me tell you."
Zhang Yiyan snorted, "Skunk Jiangjin, if you say one more thing, believe me-?"
"What's the matter?"
"Still excited, are you?"
The two started arguing again, Zhou Ningzhi smiled and shook his head lightly. After a while, it's almost time. Meng Shengnan looked at the sacred place where the crowd was crowded. Zhou Ningzhi stood beside her and said softly, "Go."
The rematch is only three hours, one proposition, one topic.
When I came out, it was already noon. Zhou Ningzhi booked a nearby hotel, and the group walked around smiling. Lu Huai put Li Xiang's shoulders and said with a smile: "I was young and frivolous."
Jiang Jinlang smiled: "Are you still frivolous?"
Lu Huai narrowed his eyes.
Jiang Jin said, "I was scared like that by your mother."
Li Xiang laughed, Zhou Ningzhi turned his head and asked what was going on.
Jiang Jin poured beans out of the bamboo tube, his expression was exaggerated and he said that he was dancing and dancing.
Zhang Yiyan and Meng Shengnan walked behind.
"How many of them do you see?"
Meng Shengnan laughed.
Zhang Yiyan asked: "Will you participate next year?"
"I don't know yet. The third year of high school next year, the class should be very heavy."
"That's true."
"However, I think you are very good, and you will take the college entrance examination next year." Meng Shengnan said.
"I'm just playing around."
Meng Shengnan smiled.
"By the way, do you know which university Zhou Ningzhi went to?"
Meng Shengnan shook his head.
Zhang Yiyan let out an 'oh' in disappointment.
"I will help you ask."
"Need not-"
Before Zhang Yiyan finished speaking, Li Xiang had already asked, obviously hearing the two of them talking.
"Zhang Yiyan asked which university did you go to?" Li Xiang patted him on the shoulder.
Zhou Ningzhi paused for a while, then said, "Fudan."
"Damn it." Lu Huai said, "Will you let me live? My dad said that I can be a Beijing international at most."
Jiang Jin smiled: "You just need a high school diploma."
"I kick you and me."
The two quarreled again.
Meng Shengnan asked, "Sister Yiyan, how about you?"
Zhang Yiyan shook his head: "I don't have such big ambitions as him, let's see when the time comes."
That afternoon, the six of them went to play near the Bund after dinner. Find a sunny place there and talk about it. Among the few of them, Zhang Yiyan and Zhou Ningzhi are one year older than them. Both will take the college entrance examination in June next year. One is in Nanjing and the other is in Chengdu.
While chatting, two young people dressed in Tibetan costumes came from a place about ten meters away, sitting on the ground. A two-square-meter cloth was spread on the floor, filled with all kinds of gadgets. The man played the guitar and sang a cappella while the woman stood aside.
Jiang Jin is a native of Beijing, and he loves Beijing movies.
He took a few sips of wine and looked at Meng Shengnan: "I heard from Zhou Ningzhi that you learned guitar."
"Well, just learned a little bit."
"The path of literary and artistic young women is really suitable for you. I said, chatting with my brother, what have you learned?"
Zhang Yiyan held back his breath in the afternoon, and pushed forward: "Every mouthful is a brother, when did Sheng Nan promise to call you brother?"
Jiang Jin smiled maliciously: "What's the matter, you want to call too?"
Lu Huai and Li Xiang were chatting about World of Warcraft, and they were amused to hear the sound, trying to stimulate them to watch the fun. Zhou Ning insisted on not drinking or smoking, and just sat there. When I was looking for it, I asked her, "What have you learned?"
The two sat quietly on the side, the wind blowing from the Huangpu River.
Meng Shengnan thought for a while and said, "I learned a few things, but I'm not very familiar with them."
"Can it bounce off?"
"A friend counts as one."
"Zhou Huajian?"
"Um."
Li Xiang interrupted suddenly: "I said go and have a look?"
Everyone applauded unanimously, stood up from the table and walked over. As soon as the man finished playing the song, the woman with a smiling face took out a notebook from her pocket and handed it to Zhou Ningzhi, who was closest to her, and said, "You can write down your wishes."
Then give them each an Alpine.
After chatting for a few words, I learned that they were old friends who had trekked in Tibet. Starting from Jinan, go west all the way to the highest place of the Potala Palace, then stand on the mani pile and blow the wind under the flag of the wind horse, pass the prayer wheel and light the butter lamp, read the Buddhist scriptures and lamas once after seeing the colorful prayer flags Said Tashi Dele.
What a beautiful trip.
After Zhang Yiyan finished writing his wish, he turned over a page and handed the notebook to Meng Shengnan.
Meng Shengnan glanced at the unique Tibetan costumes on the woman, thought for a while, and handed them a few after finishing writing in a minute.
Jiang Jin had malicious intentions, and Zhang Yiyan caught him when he wanted to take a peek, with a playful smile on his face.
Zhang Yiyan stared at him, then smiled and asked the man: "Hello, can we play a song?"
"Of course." The man smiled.
A few of them didn't understand what it meant.
Zhang Yiyan took the guitar handed over by the man, turned his head and asked Meng Shengnan: "Play one, young artist?"
Zhou Ningzhi and Jiang Jin looked over at the same time.
Meng Shengnan stammered and pointed to himself: "Me?"
"Can you?"
Zhou Ningzhi glanced at Zhang Yiyan, then at Meng Shengnan.
Jiang Jin was about to speak.
Meng Shengnan had already taken it carefully, and asked them softly, "What if I'm out of tune?"
Zhou Ningzhi breathed a sigh of relief: "It's okay."
"Don't worry, brother won't laugh at you." Jiang Jin said.
Lu Huai also immediately stated: "Out of feelings for you, brother too."
"We sing along." Li Xiang said.
Meng Shengnan was delighted to hear them talk.
A group of them gathered together, and the breeze swayed over. Meng Shengnan stood in the open space with a guitar in his hand, calming down his nervousness. At that time, the sky was still slightly bright, and there were not many men and women strolling along the river. The Oriental Pearl Tower stands there far away, and the city is prosperous like a flower.
The strings move and move, soothing and gentle.
"In these years, alone. The wind also passes, and the rain also passes."
"There have been tears and mistakes. I still remember what to stick to."
"If you have truly loved, you will understand. You will be lonely, and you will look back."
…
"I'll say this."
Lu Huai smiled, "I will always have a dream, and I will always have you in my heart."
At that time, the sky was always blue, and we were still us. I came here because of a thought and met such a group of people. We are chic, talking and laughing. If you say a word to me, if he starts, you will be able to travel 50,000 miles.
In the direction of the river, the boy stared at this place.
"Look over there."
The boy said to another boy next to him.
Both were wearing gray coats, tall and thin, leaning against the fence. The boy who was asked lazily raised his eyes and pursed his lips lightly. He fiddled with the lighter in his hand, trying to light a cigarette.
Just as he looked over, Meng Shengnan was lowering his head.
"Is it the place or the people?" He laughed cynically.
The boy chuckled: "Your eyes are poisonous enough, you can just look at people."
He smiled again, lowered his head to light the cigarette, raised it again, and squinted slightly to look over there. The girl turned sideways to play the guitar, only looking at the profile. Surrounded by a group of men and women, sixteen, seventeen or eighteen years old, they are a kind of people.
"Ah Zheng, what do you think of that girl?"
He took a look, looked away, turned his head and said, "Want to chase?"
The boy smiled, "Just ask."
"Come on you."
The boy laughed and said, "I dare not compare with you."
He smoked a cigarette, snorted, pouted his chin towards Meng Shengnan's back, and asked, "You like this?"
The boy paused for a while, then asked, "What about you, which one do you like?"
He snorted again.
"You don't know?" he asked back.
The boy laughed.
He raised his eyebrows and licked his front teeth with the tip of his tongue: "Lu Sibei, are you kidding me?"
The boy shrugged, and the two of them turned their attention away from talking nonsense again.
The song over there is still singing, long and melodious.
"Friends walk together for life, those days are no more."
"..."
The singing floats in the air and dissipates with time. The wind on the riverside is getting stronger, and the men and women have already left, carrying their wishes to the Potala Palace. That night they went to KTV to play until midnight, and the six of them walked back to the hotel along the street. Shanghai at night is always full of feasting lights.
That was a day that Meng Shengnan especially missed.
That night, Zhang Yiyan said later: "You play very well."
Meng Shengnan smiled.
The list of winners was announced the next afternoon, and only Meng Shengnan was left in the room at that time. Zhou Ningzhi had something to do temporarily, so he returned to Nanjing early in the morning. The rest went out to play again. She rested alone in the hotel, and her aunt came in the morning, and she fell asleep at noon when she couldn't bear the pain. Later, she waited for a while and still didn't see the notification. She thought it might be a dead end.
When going out, Jiang Jin just came back.
The snow has melted and the sun is particularly good.
He looked at her for a while, then smiled cheaply, "Sister, Brother and I will come back next year."
As soon as those words came out, Meng Shengnan knew what was going on. She just suddenly had a sore nose and was so stuffy that she couldn't speak. Jiang Jin walked over slowly and hugged her gently: "Brother can't coax people, but don't cry."
Meng Shengnan bit her lip, and shook her head slowly after a while.
"What do you want to eat, brother will take you there."
Meng Shengnan shook his head.
"Just come here to visit relatives."
Meng Shengnan stood up straight, with wet eyes: "What relative?"
"Brother isn't it?"
Meng Shengnan twitched the corner of his mouth.
"There's still a long way to go, right?"
Meng Shengnan was not that kind of fragile person, but he was a little bit too lost and aggrieved.
She smiled at Jiang Jin and said, "They must be too busy now, so I won't wait."
"Back now?"
"Well, say congratulations for me."
"become."
Meng Shengnan lowered his head and then raised it again: "Am I pretty worthless?"
"Who said that, I beat him up."
Meng Shengnan smiled lightly.
Jiang Jin said, "Be strong, what a big deal."
"Um."
Jiang Jin rubbed her hair and said with a smile, "Okay, I'll take you to the train station."
"Don't."
Jiang Jin asked, "Then the head office of the bus station?"
Meng Shengnan nodded, went back to the room and quickly packed his schoolbag, fearing that he might run into them. Jiang Jin sent her to the bus stop, and before leaving, he said, "Turn back and contact me on QQ, don't keep hiding, do you know?"
"Ai."
"I'll call your home to harass." He was still shouting.
"Got it, let's go."
The bus moved slowly, and Jiang Jin was still waving at her.
The wind is still blowing and the snow has melted away. Meng Shengnan sat in the last row and opened the window to look out. Rows of high-rise buildings stood everywhere. At that time, Shanghai was really beautiful and contained all her dreams. She always thought that she would get it again, but it was still not enough, and she didn't work hard enough.
Many years ago when she was studying, a teacher asked her to use an idiom to describe her mood at that time.
"Overjoyed and saddened," she thought.