A mysterious encounter
It was already deep autumn, and the sky in Beijing suddenly darkened unexpectedly.
In the evening, in front of the Drum Tower, Di'anmenwai Street, a mixture of heavy history and modern noise, is now suffocated by too many tourists.
Xiangyang walked alone, a lingering weariness thickening between his brows. The road ahead seemed to grow longer because of his restlessness.
He unconsciously quickened his pace, wanting only to escape from this hustle and bustle as quickly as possible.
He walked through Yandaixie Street and crossed Yinding Bridge. The noise in Shichahai Bar Street was as usual, or even worse.
All he longed for was a quiet beer that could cleanse his mind.
So he continued forward and went into the alley next to him, looking for those quiet corners hidden deep in the ground and exuding a bit of loneliness.
Leaving the bustling bar street, Xiangyang strolled into a secluded alley.
Here, two or three small bars converted from courtyard houses exude a unique literary and artistic atmosphere.
He slowed down his pace, strolled around aimlessly, and felt a little relaxed.
At this moment, a song hit his eardrum without warning, like a weak but persistent electric current, instantly grabbing his attention.
"I'm the one who loves you the most, how could you bear to make me sad... When I needed you the most, you left without saying a word..."
The guitar is crisp, the voice has a frosted texture, the loneliness and escape are so thick that they cannot be dissolved, and the deep empathy of hoping for a hug but always stubbornly straightening the spine and pretending to be brave, all fit so perfectly in the most secret corner of his heart.
It is the theme song of "Lan Yu".
More than 20 years have passed, and this heart-wrenching love story that took place at the end of the last century is still the destiny that every man who uses men as his harbor in this capital city suitable for wandering is subconsciously pursuing.
Xiangyang's chest tightened, and he involuntarily followed the singing and pushed open the door of the courtyard bar called "Passing By".
However, he was one step too late after all.
When he stepped into the dimly lit bar, the heart-wrenching song had already ended.
On the stage, a long-haired female singer took the microphone and prepared to start a new performance.
Xiangyang's eyes searched the crowd eagerly, but he only caught a glimpse of a figure that had just disappeared into the darkness from the side passage beside the stage. The figure was of similar height to him, thin, but with an unusually straight back, revealing an inexplicable arrogance that was about to burst out.
Just a back view, but it was like a brand, deeply engraved in his heart.
That was the first time their souls recognized each other's breath in the vast crowd.
Time flies, and half a year later it is already midwinter in Beijing.
The air was so dry that every time I opened a door, I would jump in surprise at the static electricity built up on the doorknob.
It was a cold and beautiful late night.
The thread of fate is unpredictable and the weaving of destiny is ingenious and endless.
Over the past six months, for some unknown reason, the singer who had left only a shadow in the bar and the listener who missed him in the audience, Xiang Yang and Jin Yu, had unexpectedly become part of each other's lives. Online, they had already been friends for six months.
This night, this destined night, the sky is late and the world is quiet. Outside the window is the outline of sleeping Beijing, with sparse star-like lights dotted in the boundless ink-black sky.
Xiang Yang and Jin Yu were in their respective bedrooms, silently typing away on the cold screen using the communication software on their laptops, having a late-night conversation. This was one of the many conversations they had had.
Jin Yu's face is handsome and delicate, but through the dim light of the screen, there is always a lingering touch of vicissitudes.
The room he was in was dimly lit and simply furnished with a bed and a desk, that's all.
Compared with the wide window view in the sunny bedroom that overlooks the dazzling night view of the city, it is like two completely different worlds.
At this moment, he stared at the screen intently, his fingertips dancing lightly on the keyboard, typing the next line of words:
"If there really is an afterlife, I would rather not be so brave, not have to shoulder everything alone, and have someone say to me: 'Thank you for your hard work.'"
On the other side of the Internet, Xiangyang looked at these words, his heart ached slightly, and an indescribable sadness surged up.
He quickly replied, "Why wait until next life? I can do it right now..."
Xiangyang suddenly stopped typing halfway.
He took a deep breath, reached out, and decisively pressed the "Voice Call" button on the communication app with his fingertips.
Almost at the same time, he picked up the phone beside him and opened the familiar conversation page.
The phone was connected. After a slight hissing sound of electricity, his deep voice came through clearly: "A Cang, I've been hearing people urging me lately...you two...should meet up."
For some reason, Xiangyang called Jin Yu "A Cang".
There was silence on the other end of the phone for a few seconds, and then Jin Yu's slightly hoarse laughter was heard, like the subtle cracking sound under the ice when the snow first melted: "Hahahaha, I... heard it too."
The two chatted casually for a few minutes about daily life before hanging up the phone.
Jin Yu put his phone down and returned his gaze to the computer screen, the dialog box belonging to Xiangyang and the name that held so much meaning for him. A faint smile played on his lips, a little lonely, a little weak, yet strangely revealing a faint glimmer that could almost be called happiness.
However, the avatar representing "A Cang" displayed on the laptop's communication page was not Jin Yu's own photo.
It was a young and heroic face, with a smile as bright as the summer sunshine, and the background was the boundless blue sea.
That was his younger brother, Jin Cang, who lived far away in his hometown of Taipei.
For some unknown reason, over the past few months, Jin Yu has been interacting with Xiang Yang on the Internet using his younger brother Jin Cang's appearance and name, sharing each other's lives and thoughts.
Those secrets hidden deep in their hearts, those dislocations and ties that "for unknown reasons" are still shrouded between them like a hazy and alluring mist.
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