I hope you will give everyone an equal opportunity.

"Table 512, please have a fruit platter!"

Ah Feng stood at the front desk and called out, "Coming!"

Then he turned around and took a plate of cut fruit from Zhou Junchang's hand.

Zhou Jun often wears gloves and holds a knife. Even with gloves on, you can still tell that the phone is slender, and he twirls the fruit knife in his hand very nimbly.

Zhou Jun often wore all black clothes, with the store's scarf around his neck. When he looked down, his hair covered his eyes, but many people still glanced at him furtively.

Only the person involved remained unmoved, continuing to keep their head down and concentrate on cutting the fruit platter.

The place is brightly lit and bustling with activity; you have to strain your voice to talk to the person next to you.

After delivering the fruit platter, Ah Feng took advantage of a break while mixing drinks to instruct Zhou Junchang: "Leave the scraps left over from cutting the fruit platter for me."

Fruit platters are one of the best-selling items in the store. People who have drunk too much alcohol need to order a fruit platter to sober up. Almost everyone who comes here orders a fruit platter, and we can sell quite a few every night.

But the fruit platter requires freshness, and it must be cut and eaten immediately. It cannot be made in advance, so throughout the night, the hands that were cutting the fruit platter were basically non-stop.

Zhou Jun ignored A Feng and pretended not to hear.

But Ah Feng didn't give up. He leaned over and nudged Zhou Junchang with his shoulder, saying, "Did you hear that? It's such a waste to throw this thing away."

Zhou Junchang stopped what he was doing because he was holding the knife unsteadily, and replied with a slightly impatient tone, "Okay."

"Our bar is so busy at night, I really envy the one upstairs."

Someone nearby chimed in, "Actually, they're all pretty much the same. I see the people upstairs are busy at night too."

"That's true. After all, this is what we do. We make our money at night, so it's only natural that we're a little tired."

After venting a few complaints, you still have to figure it out yourself and convince yourself to keep going.

“I heard that the people upstairs have been quite busy these past few days, and they're short several people, just like we are here.”

Hearing this made Ah Feng feel a little better, and he continued with his work.

Zhou Junchang then realized that he had not seen Xu Li since he handed the things over last time.

It wasn't that they hadn't seen each other because their free time was different; it was because Xu Li hadn't come to work at all these past few days.

Zhou Junchang felt a little uneasy, so he took advantage of the time when no one was taking orders to go upstairs and ask the waiter on duty.

Sure enough, the other waiters said that Xu Li hadn't come to work these past few days.

Zhou Junchang was in a very heavy mood. He always felt that Xu Li's absence was due to the contents of the box that Zhou Junchang had given to Xu Li.

The letter, the voice recorder—what exactly was written on them?

Zhou Junchang took out his phone and made a call.

It's Duan Ruiming's number.

That day, when Zhou Junchang agreed to Duan Ruiming's request, Duan Ruiming gave Zhou Junchang his phone number.

Duan Ruiming said that if Xu Li needed anything, she could call him.

At that time, Zhou Junchang was still very puzzled and thought that this was making a fuss over nothing.

Now, Zhou Junchang still dialed the phone.

Because it was getting late, they didn't answer immediately, but they knew Duan Ruiming was a policeman and might be working overtime.

The phone was ringing so many times it was about to automatically disconnect before the other end finally answered.

"Hello?"

"I am Zhou Junchang."

When Duan Ruiming heard it was Zhou Junchang, his tone became somewhat uneasy: "Is the call about Xu Li?"

"Um."

Duan Ruiming: "Did you give the things to Xu Li? Did she see them?"

Zhou Junchang didn't see whether Xu Li opened it or not, but Xu Li hadn't come to work for the past few days, so things definitely weren't that simple. She must have looked at it: she gave it to him, she looked at it, and then he never saw her again.

Duan Ruiming raised his voice several decibels: "What do you mean you've never seen her?"

Zhou Junchang's tone was flat: "She hasn't come to work these past few days."

There seemed to be some kind of discussion going on on the other end; the voices coming through the receiver were a bit noisy. After a while, it quieted down a bit, and then Duan Ruiming's voice came through again: "Do you know who Xu Li usually associates with? Or does she know any other friends over there?"

A series of images flashed through Zhou Junchang's mind. In his memory, Zhou Junchang had never seen Xu Li interact with anyone. She was always alone, walking alone on the roadside, eating alone at the table, drinking alone at night... Zhou Junchang asked Xu Li's other colleagues, but none of them remembered Xu Li interacting with anyone, and they had no idea where she lived.

Zhou Junchang replied, "No."

"..."

"Aren't you in Yangzhou right now?" Zhou Jun often asked.

The car started up on the other end: "Okay, I'm coming right now."

Do you know where Xu Li is?

“I might know, but…” Duan Ruiming couldn’t finish his sentence.

"What exactly is your relationship with her? Is Xu Li's sudden disappearance related to the things you gave her?"

Even though they were on the phone, Zhou Jun could still sense Duan Ruiming's helplessness and panic.

"The things between her and me are too complicated to explain in a short time. If Xu Li is willing, you should ask Xu Li."

Zhou Junchang stopped dwelling on it: "You're not in Yangcheng right now, and besides, Xu Li doesn't want to see you anyway, so it would be a waste of your time if you came."

Duan Ruiming knew that Zhou Junchang was right, and there was nothing he could do even if he came.

The car was turned off, and Duan Ruiming looked out the window into the distance, instructing Zhou Junchang to find Xu Li as soon as possible and ensure her safety.

Finally, he slowly uttered an address.

——

**

With two hours left before the end of the workday, Zhou Jun often asked A Feng to take over his shift, and then took a taxi.

The car came to a stop with a screech of brakes, and Zhou Junchang looked out the window at Changhai Cemetery.

Looking at these four words, Zhou Junchang felt as if an invisible stone was pressing down on him.

Xu Li, what exactly happened to you? Why did you come here?

Zhou Jun entered the duty room, and the person inside glanced at him and said, "Register me."

Zhou Jun often fills in his information in the registration book.

Because it was evening and the cemetery was about to close, the staff on duty reminded us before we left, "It's closing soon, you won't be inside for long, you'll be out soon."

"good."

If Xu Li isn't inside, he can come out immediately.

Upon entering the cemetery, rows of tombstones are arranged in order, and within these tombstones lie the names of countless people who yearn for them day and night.

This was Zhou Junchang's first time visiting such a place.

If this place feels eerie even during the day, it must be even more so at night.

Zhou Junchang searched for the cemetery No. 341 that Duan Ruiming had told him about.

When Zhou Jun often saw Xu Xuli, she was kneeling in front of the tomb.

That day, Xu Li didn't wear a skirt; instead, she wore all black clothes and showed no signs of elaborate makeup, with not a trace of rouge or powder on her face.

However, in Zhou Junchang's eyes, it was brighter than the stars in the sky.

Xu Li was without makeup, and her hair was loosely tied up without being styled properly.

No one knows how long Xu Li stayed here.

Zhou Jun walked behind Xu Li without making a sound to disturb her.

Zhou Junchang approached and noticed that Xu Li's shoulders were trembling slightly.

Cemetery No. 341, the tomb belongs to Xu Zhengbei, Xu Li's father.

Zhou Jun often stood behind Xu Li, unsure of what to do.

Zhou Junchang had never experienced the feeling of losing someone important, and he didn't know what the departure of one person truly meant to the other.

But at that time, Zhou Junchang clearly felt Xu Li's despair and pain.

Zhou Junchang just watched Xu Li's back, seeing how much she suppressed herself, yet he was powerless to do anything about it, and he felt somewhat at a loss.

It was already quite dark, and the wind blew, making the leaves rustle.

This seemed to remind Xu Li of something.

"Xu Zhengbei, I don't want to come see you anymore."

This was the first thing Zhou Jun often heard Xu Li say.

The cemetery is closing, and Xu Li is leaving.

When Xu Li got up, her legs were weak from kneeling on the ground for so long, and she almost couldn't stand up.

Be careful.

Zhou Jun often held Xu Li's arm to prevent her from falling.

Just like the night Xu Li got drunk, Zhou Jun often pulled the dazed Xu Li back.

Xu Li opened her mouth, but didn't say a word.

There are so many things I want to ask him, but I don't know where to begin.

What Xu Li didn't know at the time was that Zhou Junchang felt the same way.

I have so much to say, but I don't know where to begin.

"Let's go, the park is about to close."

Zhou Jun often took off his coat and draped it over Xu Li.

Coincidentally, they were both wearing black clothes today, as if they had planned it together.

The two left the cemetery and walked along the roadside.

Finally, sitting on a small stone bench by the roadside, Xu Li kept looking at Zhou Junchang, her eyes seemingly glued to him from the cemetery until now.

"Because of what I gave you?" Zhou Junchang asked.

"How did you find this place?" Xu Li asked.

"Where have you been these past few days?" Zhou Junchang asked in return.

"What did he say to you?" Xu Li asked in return.

Zhou Jun often looked at Xu Li, trying to see something in her eyes.

No results.

Xu Litai is good at disguising herself; she can always act as if nothing has happened after experiencing certain events.

Zhou Jun smiled, a slight curve to his lips, and without even realizing it, his tone softened: "You're asking?"

“Zhou Junchang, have you ever seen the flowers on the mountaintop? When there is no wind, they are helpless and alone; when the wind rises, they sway precariously, yet they are never broken.”

"..."

After a long while, Xu Li thought Zhou Junchang wouldn't answer her.

Then he heard Zhou Junchang's deep voice beside him: "Never seen it before."

Xu Li gazed at the unfathomable darkness and continued, "I want to be that flower, living proudly and tenaciously, but reality always forces me to bow my head."

A gust of wind blew by, and Xu Li pulled her coat closer to her shoulders, inadvertently catching a whiff of the scent on her clothes.

Although Zhou Jun often goes to bars, he doesn't smell of alcohol on him, and his jacket has a faint minty scent, which makes people feel at ease.

“Zhou Junchang,” Xu Li called his name, “sometimes you shouldn’t just believe what others say. One person’s perspective is always narrow and incomplete.”

Zhou Junchang glanced at Xu Li: "Duan Ruiming?"

"I don't know how he found you, what he said to you, or what you would believe."

"I don't believe in anything."

Xu Li laughed: "But you still believed him and came here to find me, didn't you?"

Zhou Junchang then truly looked at Xu Li. Both of them knew that what stood between them were the two things that Duan Ruiming had asked Zhou Junchang to give to Xu Li.

But neither of them brought it up, and they both understood each other: one wouldn't want to talk about it, and the other wouldn't want to expose it.

Xu Li deliberately changed the subject: "So? What did he say to you?"

Zhou Junchang shook his head: "He didn't say anything, he just said that if you want to say it, you will say it yourself."

Xu Li knew she wouldn't get anything out of him, so she stood up to leave: "Everything we hear is an opinion, not the facts. Everything we see is a perspective, not the truth."

"Zhou Junchang, if that day ever comes, I hope you will give everyone an equal opportunity."

Watching Xu Li's retreating figure, Zhou Jun belatedly chased after her.