57/Agave

The next day, Chen Mian developed cold symptoms. At first, she didn't take her sore throat seriously, but then she had a headache and a stuffy nose. Finally, her roommate touched her forehead and found it was hot. She immediately asked the counselor for leave and took her to the school clinic for an IV drip.

After three days of injections and medication, I returned to my dorm to find that my coursework had piled up.

After that, her life became a fixed routine, with occasional visits to the debate club she was attending. Her weekend tutoring was temporarily suspended because Yao Yao needed to undergo psychological treatment. It wasn't until Deng Momo asked Chen Mian how long it had been since she had stepped out of the school gates that she realized almost half a month had passed.

Deng Momo leaned back in her chair and looked at her for a long time before making a conclusion, "You're putting yourself on too tight, Mianmian. Look, even Yu Yu has to rest sometimes. You're only a freshman. Even top students need free time, okay?"

Su Wangqiu nodded in agreement. She had recently become addicted to Weibo, which started when she casually posted a few selfies and attracted a large number of likes and comments, and her number of followers increased by hundreds every day.

According to Deng Momo, Su Wangqiu practically compiled a record of his daily life on Weibo.

Everyone thought she was just playing around, but then some local businesses, like hair salons and bubble tea shops, contacted her to investigate, take photos, and do advertising. She rested her chin on her hand and asked her busy roommates, "Want to go to a bar on Friday night?"

Deng Momo was shocked, "Your restaurant review business has expanded to bars?"

Su Wangqiu blinked, "Yeah."

Yu Yu hesitated for a moment, "But I don't drink alcohol."

Then she looked at Chen Mian, the only one in the entire dormitory who might express the same refusal as her, and asked, "Mianmian, are you going?"

Chen Mian was reading literature on her computer when she heard this and looked up somewhat slowly.

Su Wangqiu and Deng Momo looked at her with bright eyes, both of them encouraging her.

"Go ahead, go ahead. You're in college now, it's not appropriate if you've never been to a bar, is it?"

"Just think of it as a dorm team building activity. It's free, so relax a bit. Look at you and Yu Yu, you're working like seniors every day. You can't keep studying like this every day. You need to balance work and rest."

"..."

Having no way to refuse, Chen Mian could only nod.

So on Friday night, after finishing the last class, Su Wangqiu quickly dragged them back to the dormitory.

He opened their wardrobes and helped them pick out dresses one by one. When he got to Chen Mian's wardrobe, he stood in silence for a long time before asking her, "Baby, where's your dress?"

Deng Momo quickly stopped her, "Sister, it's winter now, isn't this skirt a bit too much?"

Su Wangqiu pursed her lips, "Okay."

He took out an all-white outfit from Chen Mian's wardrobe: a sweater, wool trousers, a wool coat, and even a scarf.

When Chen Mian changed out, her roommates applauded and praised her, giving her the highest evaluation of purity.

I arrived at the bar at 9:30 p.m.

Yu Yutou was visiting a place like this for the first time, following closely beside Su Wangqiu, with Chen Mian trailing behind. Chen Mian was still looking at her phone, seeing the requirements for the debate club's recent debate competition sent by her senior. Deng Momo was holding her arm, and she said nervously but expectantly, "I feel like I'm having an affair behind Zhang Cheng's back. It's kind of exciting."

It's called a bar, but it's more accurate to describe it as a quiet bar. Su Wangqiu was the most natural one. The owner who came to greet her was her senior from school who had already graduated. He greeted them with a smile and then led them inside. Tomorrow is the weekend, and it's adjacent to the university town. There were many young men and women inside. There was no loud music. On the small stage in the center, a band was playing Jay Chou's pop songs.

The small round table reserved for them was near the band's playing position.

Deng Momo was listening to the band sing Jay Chou's "Shouldn't" with her hands supporting her chin as if she were appreciating a world-famous piece of music. Just as she was about to turn around and share her thoughts with her roommate, she caught a glimpse of a familiar figure out of the corner of her eye. She immediately squinted and leaned forward to identify the figure. After carefully looking at it, she slapped her hand on the table.

Su Wangqiu and Chen Mian, who were talking, immediately looked at her.

Deng Momo pointed angrily to a spot not far away, "Look, isn't that Zhang Cheng?"

As soon as Chen Mian looked over there, she met Zhang Cheng's bewildered gaze as he put a French fry into his mouth.

That's true.

From the moment Zhang Cheng walked towards them, Su Wangqiu realized that this small dormitory gathering was going to turn into a large team building activity. As expected, Zhang Cheng assured Deng Momo with both hands that he was just out with the team for a team building activity. As soon as he pointed in that direction, his teammates, who were drinking, waved their hands like lucky cats, "Old Zhang, aren't you going to introduce us!"

There was no way to refuse, so the seats were packed tightly together, leaving four empty seats. Deng Momo sat next to Zhang Cheng, Chen Mian sat between Su Wangqiu and Yu Yu, and Yu Yu was near the aisle, looking like a socially awkward person who was about to run away at any moment.

Zhang Cheng's team members were very enthusiastic. Most of them were computer science majors who rarely saw girls. They kept changing the subject, and finally, one of them took out his phone and suggested that they create a group chat so they could hang out together more often.

Chen Mian held her cup and watched as even Yu Yu was forced to take out her phone to scan the QR code. She felt a little like leaving.

The air was heavy, the smells of alcohol and perfume mingling and swirling in the enclosed space, so thick that even breathing felt heavy.

Her hand didn't move, and she seemed a little dazed. Just as the conversation was about to turn to her, someone suddenly shouted.

"Holy crap, the School of Management is having a team-building event here too?"

It's like stumbling into a phenomenon of synchronicity.

Two events that should have been completely unrelated occurred simultaneously due to some slight connection.

She came to a bar she never intended to go to just because she couldn't refuse her roommate's request. As a result, she met Deng Momo's boyfriend Zhang Cheng from Tsinghua University, and then unexpectedly shared a table with Shen Yu, who was there with his friends.

These two seemingly unrelated events, connected by such a tiny, faint link, are like baseboard lights in a room, lighting up again and again as the other's face is seen clearly. They move from a synchronic phenomenon into a clichéd plot called fate.

Su Wangqiu finished her cocktail, leaned on Chen Mian's shoulder, looked at Chen Yu in the white hoodie and black trousers not far away, and asked Chen Mian, "Is that a newly debuted star?"

Someone at the table was already waving and shouting for others to join them.

The smell of alcohol wafted through the air. Chen Mian was still holding a glass of Tequila Sunset, half-finished, with the yellow sunset lemon slices on the rim of the glass emitting a sour aroma.

She tilted her head and stared at Shen Yu's peach blossom eyes in the dim light for a long time. Finally, she shook her head and said to Su Wangqiu, "No, that's Shen Yu."

Su Wangqiu: "Huh?"

She was a little confused and her mind was spinning. She subconsciously wanted to ask who Shen Yu was, but then she heard the people around her say, "Let's squeeze in a bit more and make a table together."

They lined up like chicks, one after another.

Yu Yu stood up, her face flushed. "I...I'm going to the restroom."

Chen Mian's gaze was a little unfocused, but she tugged at Yu Yu's sleeve and braced herself on the table as she stood up. "I'll stay with you."

He took a step outside.

With my gaze fixed on the ground, I could see Shen Yu's white sneakers and black trousers.

In the instant we passed each other, I smelled an even stronger scent of tequila on the other person than in the wine glass.

She was led by the hand by Yu Yu, squeezing through the crowd towards the restroom.

After entering the restroom, Yu Yu didn't rush in. Instead, she kept washing her face with cold water at the sink until the water cooled down. Then she whispered to Chen Mian, "Mianmian, wait for me."

Chen Mian leaned against the wall and nodded.

The band in my ear changed their song again, from "shouldn't have sung" to "handwritten past".

—The candy store next to the campus, a memory of sweetness.

—I look at your face and gently strum chords.

First love is a whole, handwritten memory of the past.

People below sang along. Chen Mian opened the door to the women's restroom, and as soon as she looked out, she saw Chen Yu standing in the corridor.

He leaned there, took a lighter out of his pocket, and had a cigarette in his mouth.

With his knees slightly bent and his posture languid, flames leaped from his hands. As he lowered his head to catch the flames, he suddenly looked up and met Chen Mian's gaze as she looked out.

The song repeated itself once again.

The chorus below transformed the songs into sweet tunes symbolizing youth.

The guitar sound was drowned out, and the microphone's sound followed her all the way to her feet. She pushed open the door, stepping on each word of the lyrics, until she finally stood in front of the boy's white sneakers.

The fire went out again.

With the cigarette still in his mouth, Shen Yu looked at the girl in front of him with a somewhat confused gaze, as if he were studying an extremely complex proposition.

He didn't move, letting her look.

This scene reminded him of Chen Mian at the teacher appreciation banquet. Chen Mian had a low alcohol tolerance and didn't know how to refuse. She would drink whenever others urged her to, and even when she got drunk, she didn't have any particularly strong reactions. She seemed no different from a normal person, but the normal Chen Mian wouldn't have pushed open the door and walked towards him.

He lowered his eyes and looked at her with great interest.

"Chen Mian—"

Before she could finish saying those two words, she reached out and grabbed the drawstring of the hoodie.

The moment Chen Yu's voice stopped, the girl in white stood on tiptoe, suddenly reached out and wrapped her arms around his neck. As she buried herself in his arms, her voice seemed to be hidden inside his hat.

His voice was muffled and gruff.

"Caught!"

Shen Yu stood there, letting her hug him. People passing by would occasionally glance at him, but he kept his eyes down, his gaze fixed only on Chen Mian.

He heard her voice, tinged with laughter, as she spoke to him.

"Tequila Sunset that escaped from my cup."

"I've caught him."

/

Chen Mian's alcohol tolerance: He's a lightweight when he drinks only one cup.