0004 Night Rose-C.TLAY,Night.04 "Squeak——"

Chen Shanye slammed on the brakes ten meters away from the passengers, and the vacuum tires made a harsh sound as they rubbed against the ground.

White flying skirt, fiery red curly hair, petals on the legs that look like drops of blood...

It's her.

A shot was fired at the sun's acupoint, and Chen Shanye's mind went blank.

This place is not like the small county town where he was born and raised where he could meet acquaintances wherever he went. This city is so big, how could it be so easy to meet people?

His chest heaved as he tried hard to pull back the images escaping from his mind.

Chen Shanye said to herself that it had been almost a year since that night, and she was also drunk that night, so she might not remember it.

But what if she remembered?

While Chen Shanye's thoughts were in a tangle, Ruan Mei, who was wearing a mask and chatting with Yu Xiongming, caught sight of the conspicuous reflective vest out of the corner of her eye. She waved to the man not far away: "Master, here, here, I just called the designated driver."

Chen Shanye gritted his teeth, pulled the black mask on his face higher, kicked his feet, and drove towards the guests.

"Excuse me, are you the owner of the car with the cell phone number ending in 2799?" He got out of the car in front of her, and after just one glance into her round eyes, Chen Shanye quickly lowered his head.

He took out his phone, opened his electronic ID card, and handed it to the female customer: "This is my ID card, please take a look."

"Okay, Master Chen, right? Let's get in the car." Ruan Mei checked her work number, raised her head and nodded at him, handed him the key in her hand, and walked past him to the passenger side.

Chen Shanye breathed a sigh of relief. It seemed that she didn't recognize him.

Pushing the electric car to the trunk, Chen Shanye's heartbeat had slowed down when he opened the door.

But when he calmed down, Chen Shanye felt a faint pain in his heart as if it was pierced by a wire. There seemed to be an imperceptible hole in the pierced place, and air was leaking out with a hissing sound.

Chen Shanye swung his fist and punched his left chest a few times, then let out a long breath. The hot air trapped in the mask formed a humid mist.

There were several cardboard boxes of varying sizes scattered throughout the small trunk, one or two of which still had delivery slips stuck to them. Chen Shanye had to move his electric bike. Just as he was about to inform the owner, he heard the woman, who had already taken the passenger seat, say, "The trunk is a bit messy. If you can't fit everything in your car, just move it around."

Chen Shanye raised his head. The person was hidden by the car seat. The street light shone on the top of her head, and the fiery red and warm yellow were mixed ambiguously.

Yu Xiongming in the back seat turned around and said, "Can it fit? Master? If not, please give me the box. There's still room for things in the back seat."

Chen Shanye lowered his head and stacked the brown paper boxes from large to small in the corner of the trunk: "No problem, it can be put in."

He was folding the electric car for the fourth time tonight, but this time he was not as relaxed as before. When he put the car into the trunk, he did not put it firmly. Seeing the car tilting forward, Chen Shanye reached out to hold it. He managed to hold the car, but he also knocked open the lid of a white paper box next to it.

He picked up the lid and wanted to put it back in its place, but when he saw what was in the box, Chen Shanye stopped in mid-air.

He might not understand other things, but Chen Shanye still understood that slightly curved, thick and long thing.

Where he lives, there are many adult product stores on the main roads and in the dark alleys. The ones on the main roads are a little more hidden, while the stores in the alleys directly post advertising posters for Indian God Oil, Viagra and dildos in front of the store doors.

There are many such small shops in his hometown. When night falls, they light up a gaudy pink wall lamp, making the faded and chipped posters look even cheaper, more erotic, and more vulgar.

The one in the white box is not as straightforward as the one on the poster. It is light-colored, with circles of spiral patterns climbing on top, slightly narrowing at the top, just like that one.

When the boy in the back seat asked Chen Shanye again if he could put it in, he closed the lid, replied with a "yes", and slammed the door shut.

After inspecting the car, Chen Shanye found a spot of paint chipping under the right front headlight. He bent his knuckles and tapped on the half-dropped passenger window, saying, "There's a scratch in front of you."

Ruan Mei pulled the mask down to her chin and looked at him critically: "Yeah, that's right, I know."

Chen Shanye shifted his gaze away without leaving a trace, said no more, walked around the front of the car, opened the driver's door, laid out the seat cushion, and got in the car.

Chen Shanye started the car, fastened his seatbelt, and checked the route with the passenger: "Your destination is Jiangnanxi, right?"

"Yes, but please take a detour and stop at Guangmei first. My friend will get off first, and then we can go back to Jiangnanxi." Ruan Mei moved the fan blades of the air outlet to let the cool air blow towards herself.

"Okay, can we take the inner ring road?" He steadied his heartbeat and stepped on the accelerator.

"Sure, you can arrange it." Ruan Mei lowered her head and picked out the playlist on her phone.

The car drove into the golden avenue and turned into another star in the Milky Way.

The song was also sung, a Cantonese song sung by a girl, with ethereal and misty lyrics that included neon lights, harbors, and the sound of the north wind.

Chen Shanye has been in Guangzhou for four years. He can understand Cantonese but cannot speak it. He has no intention of learning to speak it. It is enough for him to understand about 50% to 60%.

After all, you are a stranger and you will have to go home one day. It is useless to learn anything.

"Sister Mei, when did you start listening to old songs like this? Wasn't your previous playlist all rap and psychedelic electronic music?" The back seat was too narrow for a 1.8-meter-tall boy, so Yu Xiongming sat with his legs open and a heroic posture.

"One of my clients shared a playlist on WeChat Moments before. She's 18 years old but she only listens to old songs. A few days ago, she shared a playlist on WeChat Moments. I thought it was good, so I kept listening to it."

"What's the name of this song?" Yu Xiongming is a few years younger than Ruan Mei, and the songs he listens to are all K-pop. He was surprised to hear an old Cantonese song after a long time.

Chen Shanye pricked up his ears unconsciously, but he didn't get any answer. The girl shared the song directly with the boy in the back row.

He loosened his grip a little, then tightened it again.

While waiting for the red light to get on the inner ring road, a voice calling "Master Chen" almost made Chen Shanye release the brakes.

He looked at her from the corner of his eye and heard the voice coming from beside him: "If you feel hot, you can take off the mask."

Her nails were painted with nail polish and had something stuck on them. Her fingertips were shining with golden light. Her white fingers tapped lightly on her lips and scratched the corners of Chen Shanye's eyes.

He gripped the steering wheel tightly and lowered his voice: "Our company stipulates that we must wear masks at all times during this period."

Ruan Mei turned her head slightly and looked at the man's thick eyebrows and big eyes immersed in the warm yellow light. His head almost touched the roof of the car, and the black mask could not cover his enviably high nose bridge. Looking down, she watched his Adam's apple rolling.

Chen Shanye could feel her gaze. This red light was the first time he felt so tormented since he started working as a designated driver.

Fortunately, the boy behind him interrupted at this time: "Master, your designated driver industry is not easy during the epidemic, right?"

Yu Xiongming moved around, but his feet were always uncomfortable, so he simply turned sideways and tucked his long legs onto the seat of the chair.

Chen Shanye answered him: "Yes, many brothers went back to their hometowns before the New Year and haven't come back yet. There were not many people eating and drinking recently. Even if you stay until three or four in the evening, you can't get any orders."

"Hey, Master, did you go home for the New Year last year?"

The red light turned green, and Chen Shanye stepped on the accelerator: "No, I didn't go back last year."

The car accelerated as soon as it entered the inner ring road. Chen Shanye drove quickly and responded to the boy's questions in the back seat one by one.

"No, Xiao Xiong, are you planning to be a designated driver?" Ruan Mei interrupted.

"I thought I'd take a part-time job in the evenings when I have nothing to do, so I can add some new topics to my vlog."

Yu Xiongming has quite a lot of fans on Bilibili. He used to post mostly interesting stories about his daily life in Korea. Recently, he has also posted some daily stories about his cross-border relationship with his boyfriend. The theme of his latest vlog is trying different part-time jobs during the epidemic.

"Don't mess around if you're just playing around. The designated drivers are working very hard."

"Hey, I'm just asking."

The two of them chatted back and forth, and by the time they finished this topic, they had already gotten off the inner ring road and were almost at the place Ruan Mei mentioned. Ruan Mei pointed the way to the driver, and after passing two or three intersections, they stopped at the gate of a residential community.

"Sister, I'm leaving now. I'll wait for you to bring me the toys tomorrow." Yu Xiongming said, his hand on the roof above the passenger seat.

"Okay, but I might not be able to deliver it to you until tomorrow afternoon."

"No rush, I'll contact you tomorrow. Bye."

"bye."

"We are heading to the address you located now, right?" Chen Shanye asked.

"Yes."

The destination was only a five-minute drive away. The road was a bit empty at half past ten, so Chen Shanye could have driven faster, but he slowed down again.

He thought that after this trip, they would never have the chance to meet again.

Thinking of this, Chen Shanye was reluctant to step on the accelerator.