Two hundred and twenty-five places of longing

Luo Da went to school a week early. Before leaving, he called Li Wei and said only one sentence: "I'm leaving."

Li Wei held the microphone but didn't say anything, she didn't know what to say, she just shed tears.

It wasn't until I heard the busy signal on the microphone for a while that I snapped out of my daze.

Damn it, I should be ashamed of myself for getting so sentimental! If they're gone, they're gone. They can go see them whenever they want. What's the big deal? It's not like the old society anymore, who can tell us what to do about freedom of love!

No one is openly intervening, but that's what it means to be unfree. Just thinking about my mom and dad makes my heart heavy, like I'm wearing shackles, dragging around chains that rattle and clank painfully.

Looking back, I should have treated Luo Da better; maybe things wouldn't have turned out like this today. Sigh!

No, I can't think about it anymore. The more I think about it, the more I cry. Wipe it away, wipe it away, let's do some homework.

Unfortunately, senior year of high school has no holidays, no rest days, and... it's a life with absolutely no humane treatment.

Immersed in a sea of ​​exam questions all day long, time seemed to stand still, and I lost track of the years as the winter raged. Eventually, doing practice questions became an instinct; I would just grab the paper and start working on it without asking any questions, like a robot.

Because of Luo Da's departure, Li Wei and her siblings took a taxi to school every day. Later, Li Wei got impatient and simply bought a Beetle to drive. Anyway, she had practiced driving with Luo Da and could drive it forward, but she couldn't reverse.

This kind of technical skill belongs to Li Lianhui.

Li's parents initially didn't want her to drive, fearing it might be dangerous since she didn't have a driver's license and little experience. But Li Wei simply said, "I won't die, I haven't lived enough yet," and drove off.

Since Luo Da left, Li Wei's relationship with her parents has been in a rather delicate and distant state. Li Wei does whatever she wants without consulting them, since she has her own money. Li Zhaoxing and his wife can't control her, so they can only sigh helplessly. After all, their child leaves early and returns late every day, and they are quite tired, unable to bear saying anything more.

Now that Luo Da is gone, Li Wei suddenly feels capable, whereas before, when Luo Da was around, she practiced driving a few times with him watching. Even so, she was terrified. She was afraid of accidentally stepping on the wrong pedal and hitting something, even though Luo Da kept assuring her he would keep an eye on her. She was just so scared.

Now, it's all good. No matter which street it is, whatever they're going to do, this person who can't reverse just drives off, even though they keep going straight ahead, and then they can drive back.

Li Lin and Li Lianhui whispered to each other behind her back: "Xiaohui, what if my sister really has to reverse? She can't just keep looking for a place to turn, can she? Reversing is much easier, isn't it?"

Li Lianhui: "Idiot, there are plenty of people on the street who can drive and are willing to help her back up. They should all fight over it."

Li Lianhui —

Actually, one of the main reasons Li Wei drives is that if she doesn't rest properly or take a nap during lunch and afternoon breaks, she won't have any energy for the entire afternoon and evening self-study sessions.

During her senior year of high school, she always attended evening self-study sessions at school, eating the infamous "pig slop" there. Now, it wasn't actually that bad; it was about the same as what she ate at home.

Ding Anni and Zhou Xiaoyan said their taste buds had deteriorated and they both seriously missed Dafantong. Then they both secretly glanced at Li Wei a few times and didn't say anything more.

Waking up at 5 a.m. and going to bed at 11 p.m. every day, working non-stop, this kind of high-intensity study life is indeed depressing.

What's particularly depressing is that whenever Ding Anni and the others look for Li Wei for more than ten minutes, Li Wei chases them away, saying, "Read your books, do your homework."

Li Lin and Li Lianhui were no exception.

Her relatives and friends all kept their distance from her, creating a low-pressure, cold atmosphere around her.

On New Year's Day, the school held a New Year's party, which was the only group entertainment activity for the senior students this year. Everyone enthusiastically prepared the supplies and food.

Li Wei was too lazy to participate in the planning, but as a member of the class committee, she couldn't just stand by and do nothing. So she said, "I'll run errands, you guys take care of the rest. Just let me know if you need anything." Li Wei was responsible for bringing everything back, while the other classmates were responsible for purchasing. She was just the driver, waiting around. She was too lazy to even get out of the car and go see what was going on. She sat there leaning against the cushions, pretending to doze off. She usually didn't listen to music; it bothered her.

Once, Ding Anni was in a car and immediately turned on the stereo. Li Wei didn't hold back at all and said, "Turn it off, I don't like listening to it."

That expression and tone of voice left Ding Anni completely bewildered. Her intuition told her that this look was just like that guy Luo Jianhua.

After half a year of hard work, everyone can finally take a breather. After the party this afternoon, we can have a day off tomorrow. Everyone is very excited, both for the event and for the rare holiday.

Everyone enthusiastically decorated the classroom with flowers, filling it with festive cheer.

Li Wei was completely confused. She thought, "Why bother making such a fuss? It's too much trouble to clean up." She sat lazily to one side eating oranges. Despite her pretty clothes, no one expected her to do any work.

Luo Da hasn't been idle in the past six months. The school has implemented a very strict police-style management system, and his daily schedule is very tight, which is a kind of torture for him who was used to being free.

But I wasn't in the mood to go out for a stroll, so I focused all my attention on school.

Luo Da's department of criminal investigation has only forty students in his class this year, including two girls.

Luo Da excelled in physical fitness and combat skills from the very beginning of his schooling, and was promoted to instructor.

He was also good at academic subjects thanks to his intelligence, and he was efficient and decisive in his work. Although he was a man of few words, he was highly regarded by his counselor.

His senior's friend was a director in the college office and a professor of a major course. Luo Da only paid a courtesy visit at the beginning of the semester and didn't expect anything from them. After all, he was still a student and his main job was to study hard.

Unexpectedly, Luo Da suspected that his senior classmates had helped him behind the scenes. The office staff there had prompted him to submit his application to join the Party shortly after he enrolled. Because of his excellent performance both before and after enrollment, Luo Da faced little resistance and became one of the first three students in his class to join the Party.

Among the students, Luo Da's closest friends were his four roommates: Chen Weiqiang, Bi Yongsheng, Sun Tie, and Zou Yulong.

On weekends, the other families, who live in the city, go home. Those from out of town go out for a stroll, but Luo Da is the only one. Since the start of the semester, he hasn't gone out at all. He spends his free time either training at the gym or reading in bed. He just doesn't go out.

Sun Tiehe, also a student from out of town, found this strange: "Hey, fourth brother. Why do you act like you don't have a home? You never go out. You're like a wanted criminal, afraid someone will arrest you!"

Luo Da was the youngest in the dormitory and even the class, so young that it shocked everyone who knew him. Most people had never seen such a young freshman. Yet, this young freshman was not young at all, and quite fierce. It wasn't his physique, but rather his aura and presence that was quite powerful.

Luo Da threw the book aside, unable to bear it any longer: "Tell me, where are we going? Let's make it clear first, I'm not going to places like the Teachers' College or the Academy of Fine Arts to look at girls."

Sun Tie sighed, "You're so boring. Maybe you're just too young, or maybe you haven't figured it out yet? Both of them went off to have fun, and you're not even a little bit tempted. You're a freak!"

"What is it? Tell me or not. If you don't want to, then forget it." Luo Dayi always had limited patience.

Shuntian waved his hand: "Okay, okay, I'll tell you. You know, other schools hold New Year's parties and dances, but our school only has a variety show. We have to sit and watch obediently. It's not interesting at all. How about... we go to the Teachers' College today. They're having a lot of fun there. We're just killing time anyway. We have a day off tomorrow, so it's okay to come back later."

Luo glared at him: "I'm not going." He then lay down again and picked up a book to read.

"No, no, no, it's fine if you don't go. Come with me to the mall to get some things first. Zou Yulong broke my little tape recorder last time and he didn't even offer to replace it. I'm really at my wit's end."

Luo Da thought for a moment and decided to go. He could buy some things to take back during his holiday in a few days, maybe a gift for Xiaoming, so he could find an excuse to ask her out. Otherwise, who knows if she might jump off the building if he went to her house? And that window, just thinking about it makes him angry! It's even nailed shut! Why didn't she just put a seal on it? It could say, "Sealed on such and such a date, Luo Jianhua, no entry allowed."

When Luo Da arrived at the dormitory building and passed the gatehouse, he stopped and checked his watch. At this time, school should usually be over, otherwise he wouldn't be attending evening self-study sessions at school...

Luo Damai stepped into the guard room: "Sir, I need to make a phone call."

Old Sun, the gatekeeper, always keeps an eye on the time when others make phone calls, reminding them not to talk for too long. But he never does that when it comes to Luo Da.

It wasn't that he was particularly kind and loving towards Rondo, because Rondo never spoke. He would dial a number, listen for a few seconds, and then hang up, never saying a word.

At first, Old Sun thought no one was answering, but after Luo Da left, he checked the call time and found that it had actually gone through. How strange.

This has been the case without exception for the past six months.

Zou Yulong knew a little bit about it, and stood aside waiting, secretly thinking to himself, "Could this guy have a crush on someone, but the person doesn't want him, so he can only do this kind of sneaky thing?"

This time, the call didn't go through. It rang for a long time without anyone answering. Luo Da put down the phone somewhat disappointed and turned around, saying, "Let's go."

Zou Yulong felt a pang of pity for him: "Hey, Luo Jianhua, I'm telling you, this behavior isn't quite right. Why don't you just go and see for yourself? All this sneaking around is making you look like a nuisance. Why don't you just get straight to the point? Instead, you let people see the school gate and then say, 'What do you know? I saw it when I went home for vacation. It's not as bad as you think. You don't need to go around investigating like you guys.'"

Zou Yulong didn't believe it: "Then why don't you say anything every time? Would it kill you to say a few words, brother!"

Luo Da: "I won't die, but I will when I run home. I'm just afraid I won't be able to resist."

Zou Yulong looked up at the sky: "You're something else, a real romantic. I was so wrong about you, my apologies. No wonder you never go to the teachers' college or the art academy to look at girls. You can endure the loneliness in this monastery here, so you must have some kind of spiritual support, haha... Tell me, tell me, what's it like?"

Luo Da...