The huge men's bathhouse was full of water, and the voices of the boys laughing and playing were echoing endlessly. Yu Ran rubbed his face and took the basin in to change his clothes.
Fang Zhao took up two extra shower seats in advance, and seeing that Yu Ran came alone, he asked where Chu Mian was.
"He doesn't want to wash with others, he's ashamed." Yu Ran turned on the shower, and warm water gushed out.
"There's nothing to be ashamed of being men... Oh, I see." Fang Zhao's face was covered with shampoo foam, and he squinted his eyes to face Yu Ran, "Is Chu Mian afraid of 'picking up soap'?"
"What's that? I keep seeing that word on the Internet."
Fang Zhao felt that it was difficult to explain in public, so he quickly washed off the foam on his face, took two steps towards Yu Ran, and whispered, "When you take a bath and bend over to pick up soap, your butt will face others, and then you will Someone took advantage of it!"
His expression and the last words are quite intriguing, Yu Ran pondered twice, and then asked Fang Zhao: "How did you 'get in'?"
Fang Zhao smiled mysteriously: "This can only be understood but cannot be explained in words."
"Really?" Yu Ran raised his hand and knocked Fang Zhao's soap box to the ground neatly, "Teach me by example."
Fang Zhao: "Fuck!"
A piece of milky White Safeguard floated on the slippery floor and moved slowly along the water to Fang Zhao's feet. His scalp felt numb all of a sudden, and his legs clamped unconsciously.
Yu Ran laughed and said, "You fucking should hurry up and demonstrate."
"You, do you think this can stump me?" Fang Zhao was not to be outdone. He first looked around to make sure there was no suspicious person around him, then straightened his back, sank into his dantian, and then bent his knees forward, "Plop " Kneeling on the ground with a sound, his face was neither humble nor overbearing.
He laughed loudly: "Haha! I didn't expect that, Yu Ran! How could I really bend down to show you!"
However, when his fingertips were about to reach the soap in front of him, Yu Ran raised his leg and kicked it away. With the help of the accumulated water on the floor, the white soap bar rushed directly into the center of the crowd, and stopped in front of the hulking squad leader of the second class.
"Yu Ran, you fucking—" Fang Zhao turned pale with shock.
Yu Ran laughed so hard that his shoulders shook, he had to stand against the wall. He watched Fang Zhao get up and go over as if he was dead, and even chopped a fork in the crowd to pick up soap, and finally slipped back to his side as if fleeing, swearing several times in a row.
"Yu Ran, you wait, I'll call someone to tree you when I turn back!" Fang Zhao said angrily, "Tree a trash can! Tree a tractor! Tree a light bulb!"
After taking a shower, it didn't mean he was on fire. He hurriedly packed up the toiletries, grabbed the towel and walked away.
Before I knew it, there were fewer and fewer people in the bathhouse. Yu Ran was drenched all over, he was not in a hurry to use the shower gel, but first enjoyed the feeling of the warm water flowing across his skin, which was numb. He was in a daze while flushing the water like this, his thoughts entangled with the air lightly.
The pain on the cheek disappeared long ago, Yu Ran raised his hand subconsciously, and pinched the spot where Chu Mian pinched just now.
Then he smiled lightly, feeling that Chu Mian is really a strange boy, different from all the classmates he met before, always very reserved and elegant, not even heavy handed when fighting, at most pinch Pinching someone else's face is ridiculously childish. But sometimes he is very domineering, saying the same thing, telling others what to do and what not to do like an order, like a majestic adult.
Yu Ran couldn't help recalling Chu Mian's usual actions, and when he came back to his senses with a smirk, he was the only one left in the bathroom.
It was already dark, and the temperature dropped a lot in the autumn night. It was a bit cold for Yu Ran to walk outside wearing a black vest, so it was better to go back to the dormitory.
He looked up and saw Chu Mian sitting on the bed in pajamas playing with her mobile phone, her hair was fluffy, and she looked like she had just taken a shower from the teachers' dormitory.
"Hey." Yu Ran raised his arms and reached out to Chu Mian, motioning him to twist himself.
Chu Mian frowned, let go of the phone, held Yu Ran's forearm as if completing a daily task, and warned him at the same time: "Quiet, don't make any noise."
Yu Ran felt that the tightening of his forearm was more comfortable than a massage. He asked many boys in the class to cooperate with him. Only Chu Mian's hand strength was just right every time, which made him feel satisfied.
After his arm was "opened through the meridians", Yu Ran energetically moved aside to look through his luggage, and then climbed onto the bed with a pen and paper.
Chu Mian thought he was doing homework for the National Day holiday, but after a while, she took a closer look and found that Yu Ran was drawing on the bed, with a 2B pencil in his hand, tracing the lines with his head down without distraction.
After taking a bath, Yu Ran's nose was red, and his hair was pulled up on his forehead, looking very capable. Chu Mian has seen a lot of his idyllic virtues, but seeing him still have such a serious expression, she can't help but be surprised.
However, Chu Mian didn't make a sound to interrupt, but just quietly watched Yu Ran's concentration, watching him keep drawing and eraser to modify. Then, Yu Ran lowered his head and blew on the paper, and the rubber crumbs rolled towards Chu Mian's bed.
Chu Mian immediately yelled "Yu Ran" in disgust, rushed to hug her pillow, and kept patting the bed sheet clean.
Yu Ran laughed wildly, dropped the pen on the bed, and stretched vigorously.
Chu Mian glared at him, then looked down at the paper, "What are you drawing?"
Yu Ran said, "Draw casually."
Chu Mian recognized the plaster geometry sketches on the paper, which he had seen a lot in Chu Heng's album since he was a child. Although he is a layman in art, he can also judge that Yu Ran's paintings are very standard, so he asked him: "Have you ever learned to paint?"
"No."
Chu Mian hesitated to speak, hesitated for a while but did not continue. He didn't want to praise Yu Ran face to face, saying "then you are quite talented", lest the other party get carried away.
Perhaps it was because the instructors were tolerant on the first day of the military training. They called everyone out to do dozens of squats at night and then let them go back. After turning off the lights, Yu Ran was lying on the bed playing with his mobile phone, and heard the sound of an instructor going from room to room in the corridor to check the bedtime lectures.
As the head of the dormitory, it is necessary for Yu Ran to remind everyone to put away their mobile phones. After the room was completely dark, he asked again on a whim: "You said... When the instructor finds us, will he find me standing behind the door?"
The room was quiet for a few seconds, and then the others burst into laughter, scolding Yu Ran as "stupid" and "you are sick".
"I'll try. Don't expose me by laughing." The more Yu Ran thought about it, the more he felt that his proposal was feasible, so he got up excitedly and got out of bed, and quietly stood behind the door. He pressed his ear against the wall, feeling the instructor's footsteps getting closer.
crunch—
After the door was pushed open, bright corridor lights rushed in.
"You guys are quite obedient here." The instructor was very satisfied when he saw that there was no light from the mobile phone in the room, "Not bad, not bad, tomorrow I will praise you individually, and it has set a good example."
There is only one door between Yu Ran and the instructor who is talking. If the instructor opens the door at a wider angle, he will definitely feel that there is someone hiding behind the door.
This nervous and exciting feeling provoked everyone's nerves, Yu Ran bit his lower lip hard to prevent himself from laughing.
But the happiness didn't last long, the instructor's words after that made his smile froze—
"Who is the head of the dormitory? Get out of bed and have a meeting."
The instructor waited, but no one answered, and felt strange: "Where is the head of the dormitory? Asleep?"
Yu Ran really wanted to tell them to get up and pretend to be, but the lights in the room were all off, and it was impossible to see each other's expressions clearly with the light from the corridor.
The instructor urged him again, and he had no choice but to bite the bullet and slowly move from behind the door to the instructor: "It's me..."
A ghost-like figure suddenly appeared in front of my eyes, and the instructor, who had seen it even in strong winds and waves, was startled, "You, what are you doing!"
Not surprisingly, Yu Ran was taken out by him and severely criticized.
When he came back, the dormitory was filled with cheerful air.
"Fuck, you and I don't have a tacit understanding! Whoever came out to replace me just now will be fine!"
Fang Zhao laughed so hard that his stomach hurts, and he stuttered and told him: "It's okay, but we all want to see you get caught for messing up hahahaha..."
"Your uncle." Yu Ran remembered the process just now, and also laughed out loud.
After going to bed, the boys chatted in low voices again, and gradually fell asleep after a while. Zhou Weixi and the other two boys were snoring one after another, Yu Ran couldn't sleep due to the noise, and was bored in a daze in the dark.
He tilted his head and asked Chu Mian who was next to his bed: "Are you awake?"
Soon, the other party gave a deep "hmm".
Yu Ran didn't feel sleepy at all, turned over and lay on his stomach, and asked again: "Going out for a walk?"
"What do you want to do?"
"Boring, they are too noisy, and I don't want to sleep." Yu Ran said, "When we came this morning, I saw a lake in the woods. It looks like a park. Go and see it?"
Chu Mian is actually indifferent to the surrounding environment, but he sleeps too much during the day and suffers from insomnia almost every night until the second half of the night. Instead of listening to the deafening snoring of others in the dormitory, it is better to go out with Yu Ran to pass the time.
The two quietly got up, put on their coats and shoes, left the dormitory very lightly, walked through the corridor, and walked outside.
"Wow, there is really no one in the middle of the night." Yu Ran became excited again.
The road at the base was very quiet. They deliberately avoided the building where the instructors rested, and walked around the path into the woods. There is indeed an artificial lake in the center, which is very small and the water level is not high. The street lamps are white, attracting flying insects.
Yu Ran found a bench and sat down, calling Chu Mian over.
"Tonight in the cafeteria, I almost died laughing. There was a boy in the third class who was too fat to fit in his trousers. When he took a breath, he popped the buttons. The instructor was talking, and the buttons flew straight into his mouth." Yu Ran laughed heartily. , was reminded by Chu Mian to stay calm and not be discovered by others.
"It's fine if you find out, you can't be punished just because you don't sleep?"
"This is discipline, Yu Ran." Chu Mian said softly, "Even if you just don't sleep, you've made a mistake, and it's not surprising that you will be punished."
Yu Ran turned to look at him, and asked: "Then since you know, you still come out with me?"
Chu Mian remained silent, staring straight ahead at the calm lake. The water only reflects the light of street lamps, and when you look up, you will find that it is cloudy tonight, with no moon, let alone stars, and only a desolate night sky.
In the silence, Chu Mian heard Yu Ran's refreshing voice: "Chu Mian, what do you want to do when you grow up?"
The faint night wind blew across the back of her neck, and Chu Mian shrank her neck unconsciously.
—What kind of person do you want to be when you grow up
In the past, Chu Mian didn't pay much attention to the matter of "growing up". From birth, she was able to see a higher and farther world than her peers. Whether it was talent or family background, the precious things that others could only dream of Everything is within reach for him. All the conditions he has are the best, and he firmly believes that he will never need to wait for the "best time" like others.
Then the word "grow up" has almost no special meaning to him in the past.
"I want to be a doctor." Chu Mian replied after taking a deep breath, "Neurology is the best."
Yu Ran nodded, "It must be related to your sleeping sickness."
"Well, after all, I still don't know what its pathogenesis is, and it can't be cured." Chu Mian's vision gradually became lax, "The doctor said that many people will be cured automatically after they grow up, but how old is considered 'after growing up? ', he didn't say anything. If he was unlucky, he might have to sleep for the rest of his life."
Yu Ran stared at Chu Mian's three-dimensional profile, opened his lips, and said, "Have you ever met someone like you?"
"Not yet, but it's certainly not a rare disease."
Chu Mian's tone was very firm, "Narcolepsy is very common in foreign countries, but in China, there are very few people who are diagnosed, and no one will go to the hospital because of too much sleep. Everyone will only feel strange when they see this kind of person. This person is very lazy and feels that everything he does is perfunctory."
After a pause, he continued: "Almost one in every two thousand people, this data is much higher than the real rare disease, not to mention that this is only the number of confirmed cases in China, most of the patients are actually unaware of the situation Down-"
Chu Mian's voice stopped abruptly, and her Adam's apple rolled up and down. He felt his emotions fluctuate, so he didn't want to finish the sentence.
Most patients are actually unaware that—
Blame yourself, blame yourself, don't understand yourself.
Watching grades go backwards, messing up the simplest things, accepting cold eyes and ridicule from others, arguing with relatives and friends... So many "similar people" have similar experiences. Points of separation are crushed, curled up during the day, and lonely at night.
— But it's clearly not our fault.
"So, I want to be a doctor." In the quiet night, Chu Mian repeated it again.
Yu Ran knows that majors such as medicine and finance require high grades, so of course he can understand why Chu Mian races against time to study every day, "Then where do you want to go to university?"
"Peking Union Medical College."
"I've never heard of it, is it the most powerful?"
"As of this year, probably, maybe 2015 will change."
"I knew it." Yu Ran laughed, "You must go to the best one."
Chu Mian bowed her head, the corners of her mouth raised.
Talking about your goals in front of Yu Ran will easily get the affirmation of the other party, because Yu Ran basically has no idea about the scores of the college entrance examination, he will not know how difficult it is for a narcolepsy patient to achieve high goals thing.
But even in the case of ignorance, Chu Mian is very willing to hear Yu Ran's trust in him.
"What a coincidence, I also want to be admitted to a school in Beijing." Yu Ran leaned comfortably on the chair, looked up at the gray night sky, "Do you know the Central Academy of Fine Arts?"
"I know." Chu Mian replied, he remembered that his aunt graduated there.
"Baidu said that this is the best school for drawing."
Chu Mian thought of the plaster geometry that Yu Ran drew today, and asked him, "Didn't you say you haven't learned it?"
"It's true that I haven't studied formally, but my master taught me before." Yu Ran said, "He said that drawing is something that practice makes perfect. He asked me to practice more, and there are many online teaching videos. There is no need to go to the studio before the third year of high school."
Chu Mian turned to look at him, "Do you want to be an illustrator?"
"I want to be a cartoonist."
Chu Mian heard from her aunt before that the domestic comic environment is very narrow, and the possibility of making it a career is very slim, and most of them are transition illustrations or designs. He just wanted to tell Yu Ran that, but he opened his mouth and held back immediately.
Just as Yu Ran trusted him, he didn't want to say anything to disappoint Yu Ran.
After thinking about it, he told Yu Ran earnestly: "You are very good at sketching, better than serious studies."
"No, I feel bad."
Although Yu Ran said that, the brilliance in his eyes did not weaken at all, "But it doesn't matter, one day it will improve to a very great level."
Chu Mian originally thought that Yu Ran would be complacent after hearing the praise, but he was unexpectedly humble in this respect.
"Then what do you want to draw?"
"Um... the "One Piece" kind."
"have not seen."
"It's "One Piece"! Why don't you even know its real name!"
"Oh."
When Yu Ran mentions the things he likes, his eyes always sparkle, especially bright. Chu Mian looked sideways at Yu Ran's smile, but what appeared in his mind was not long ago, when he was lying on the bed and concentrating on painting, expressionless, calm and composed.
Chu Mian felt that she might have seen another side of Yu Ran that no one else had seen before. She restrained herself and flamboyantly, but it was more eye-catching than any unrestrained situation.
It was also at this time that Chu Mian realized slowly—it turned out that she was talking about dreams with Yu Ran.
What was hidden in the softest corner of his heart, he unconsciously revealed to Ran.
When he was in a daze, Yu Ran's left hand had already been clenched into a fist and was raised to the height of his chest.
"Since we both want to be admitted to a school in Beijing, let's make an agreement to see you in three years."
"..." Chu Mian recovered and looked directly at his face.
Although there is nothing wrong with the current atmosphere, the appearance of two boys sitting here in the middle of the night holding their fists up to "promise" something... is a bit weird and shameful.
But in the end, Chu Mian stretched out her right hand, clenched it tightly, and then lightly slammed it into Yu Ran's fist.
The juvenile's joints were intertwined and intertwined, and there was the same temperature between his fingers.
Chu Mian suddenly felt her chest warm up, and her mood seemed to lighten up. He wanted to talk to Yu Ran, but now he couldn't raise his head, his eyelids closed slowly, and then his body fell down unconsciously.
Yu Ran quickly opened his arms to embrace him.
Chu Mian fell asleep peacefully, with her head resting on Ran's shoulder. Yu Ran felt his warm breath brush against his skin, as comfortable as the water temperature of a hot bath.
Now only she is still awake, Yu Ran couldn't help laughing, leaning close to Chu Mian's ear and whispering, "Good night."