Chapter 28 28. Now I have lost my impulse
Xie Kang had not originally intended to answer the call, but when Zhuang Yongyuan said this, he glanced at Zhuang Yongyuan and answered the phone in front of him.
As soon as Xie Tao opened his mouth, Xie Kang could tell he was a little drunk. He asked, "Xie Kang, where are you?"
"Eating out with people."
"Eat? With a man or a woman?"
Zhuang Yongyuan laughed loudly. Xie Kang's eyes focused on his face and he said, "He's a boy, a former classmate."
"You should learn from your former classmates." Xie Tao burped on the other end of the phone. "Uncle Wang's daughter got engaged a few days ago. The two young people are planning to settle down in Hong Kong. There's a talent program."
“That’s amazing.”
"What a bullshit!" Xie Tao's voice became louder. "You couldn't even get into No. 1 High School. Now I regret not letting you learn the story of the tortoise and the hare. Don't think that just because you're a little smart, you can..."
He couldn't find the right words and began to stutter.
"Not that smart," Xie Kang said softly. He continued to stare at Zhuang Yongyuan, who rested his head on his right hand, watching his joke with great interest.
After Xie Tao repeated what he had just said several times, he finally got to the point: "I had dinner with your uncle tonight, and he told me that he introduced you to a girl with a good family background. He saw your photo and was very interested in you. He sent you a message, but you didn't reply."
Xie Kang rubbed his forehead: "I don't mean that now."
Xie Tao's tone became angry again: "How many jokes do you want to make before you are satisfied?" As soon as he finished speaking, Yang Ruihui's voice was rang on the phone again, timid and neurotic. Xie Kang saw that there was a small hole where Zhuang Yongyuan had got his lip piercing, which had not healed yet, and he hung up the phone quickly.
Xie Kang touched his lower lip and asked Zhuang Yongyuan, "Are you going to let it grow back together?"
Zhuang Yongyuan nodded, and suddenly touched the end of Xie Kang's eyebrow with his index finger, saying, "There's no trace of the eyebrow piercing you had before."
Xie Kang felt itchy from his touch and shuddered, saying, "I can't eat anymore. Let's pack it up."
Zhuang Yongyuan said, "It's up to you."
As he spoke, he waved to the waiter at the front desk to bring over a bunch of take-out boxes. The waiter was very enthusiastic and wanted to help them pack.
"Thank you, we can do it ourselves." Xie Kang took the takeaway box from the waiter without saying anything.
The waiter took out another one and said, "It's okay, I can do it faster."
Xie Kang practically snatched the new takeaway box. The waiter was a little stunned and stood there awkwardly. Zhuang Yongyuan smiled at him and said, "It's okay, you can go."
Xie Kang lowered his head, frowned, and roughly stuffed the dishes on the table into the takeaway box, splashing brown sauce everywhere.
Zhuang Yongyuan wiped a drop off the back of his hand with disdain, then wiped the oil stain off Xie Kang's shirt and said, "It's so dirty."
He added, "You're almost 30, and it's normal for your parents to urge you to get married. It's not shameful."
Xie Kang was busy closing the lid of the takeaway box. The transparent plastic box was too full. A pile of twisted fried eel fry was stacked on top of the seaweed fried rice, and it couldn't be closed at all. He pressed the lid with all his might, and when half of it was closed, the other half lifted up, and finally the lid cracked.
The crisp sound brought Xie Kang back to his senses. He took a few deep breaths and asked Zhuang Yongyuan, "Have you been out with that waiter?"
Zhuang Yongyuan patiently divided some of the dishes into new takeaway boxes and said, "He has a name: Youjun."
Xie Kang fell silent again. The dishes on the table filled six takeout boxes before they were finished. Zhuang Yongyuan walked out, and Xie Kang followed with the leftovers. Seeing that Zhuang Yongyuan was not heading towards his car, he shouted after him, "You're going the wrong way. The car is on the right."
Zhuang Yongyuan turned half his head and said, "You go back by yourself. I'll go for a walk by the river."
Xie Kang watched his back as he walked further and further away, carrying his things back to his car. The light on the roof came on as he started the car, illuminating the brown coat.
Xie Kang stared at the coat for a while and cursed, "Damn it." Then he picked up the coat, got out of the car and chased after Zhuang Yongyuan.
Zhuang Yongyuan wasn't walking fast, and soon Xie Kang caught up with him. He glanced at Xie Kang, who was a little out of breath, and asked him, "If you have anything to say, can't you just send a WeChat message?"
Xie Kang walked beside him. Their shadows on the ground were very close, but they themselves were about half a meter apart.
He told Zhuang Yongyuan, "Our class monitor has formed a band and wants to perform 'Ten Thousand Typhoons' at the New Year's Eve party."
Zhuang Yongyuan said, "I know. She came to see me several times. You came after her just to tell me this?"
"She said you told them to study hard."
Zhuang Yongyuan chuckled and said, "I'm not wrong."
Xie Kang said, "I agree."
"What did you promise?"
"I agreed to be their mentor."
Zhuang Yongyuan slowed down his pace, looked at Xie Kang in surprise, and asked him, "Can you do it?"
Xie Kang was questioned for the second time today, and he replied unhappily, "Why not? Didn't I learn songwriting and composing first and then taught you?"
"That's true," Zhuang Yongyuan said thoughtfully, adding, "But it's useless anyway."
"Why do you keep saying this?"
"What kind of words?"
"Lily has finally come this far..."
"You can give up, so why can't I?" Zhuang Yongyuan interrupted him unhappily. "There are so many bands that suddenly disbanded at the height of their popularity. Why are you making such a fuss?"
They had already reached the riverbank. Zhuang Yongyuan took a few quick steps and reached the steps by the river. Nearby, an old man, wearing only a vest, suddenly jumped into the water, sending ripples across the surface.
Zhuang Yongyuan was startled at first, then realized that winter swimming in the Yanjiang River was a common occurrence. The riverside was crowded with residents, elderly, adults, and children, strolling down after lunch to digest their food. There were also stalls selling small toys and crocheted pendants. Further away, food stalls lined up beneath trees, and the smoky aroma of barbecue wafted in the wind.
The river was much quieter by comparison, tremblingly reflecting the lights on the shore. The dots of light looked like heads, swaying densely, like looking down from a stage.
After staring at the river for a while, Zhuang Yongyuan suddenly could not hear the sounds around him. The sound of the wind, voices, and footsteps all disappeared. He heard the sound of a metronome in his earphones: beep, beep, beep, beep, beep. He opened his mouth to sing, but no sound came out.
He could suddenly hear it again, "Refund, refund! What a rubbish song, too much, a flash in the pan, messed up, playing tricks...
If I had known you would be like this, I would have thrown you into the Yanjiang River when you were born. Your mother? Your mother would hate me to do this.
Zhuang Yongyuan calmed himself down, and the river surface in front of him became very calm, rocking gently like a cradle.
A different, yet familiar voice broke through the cacophony of his ears, growing louder and louder in his world. It was nothing special, just calling his name over and over again: "Zhuang Yongyuan, Zhuang Yongyuan!"
Someone tugged hard at his arm, and Zhuang Yongyuan snapped back to his senses. Looking down, he realized half of his calf was submerged in the icy river water. Xie Kang, still terrified, held his hand tightly.
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
