Chapter 67: The Last Night of McDonald's
Lily Xin and her group took the bus to the airport. Although Zhuang Yongyuan had previously told Xie Kang that he didn't need to see him off, no one stopped Xie Kang when he got on the bus.
There was still half an hour before boarding time. Everyone else had checked in and entered the waiting room. After Zhuang Yongyuan finished checking in his luggage, he followed Xie Kang directly into the toilet nearby.
They squeezed into the same cubicle, and as soon as the door closed, Zhuang Yongyuan leaned over to Xie Kang's ear and said, "You can do whatever you want. You won't have the chance anymore."
Xie Kang held his hand, and the two of them interlocked their fingers.
He said, “There’s nothing I want to do.”
Zhuang Yongyuan lifted his chin and sneered. Still hungover, his words were slurred. "You're such a shrew! If you don't want to do this, I'm leaving."
Xie Kang held his hand tightly: "Stay with me for a while."
Zhuang Yongyuan said, "Can't we just stay together and find a better place? It's so crowded here."
Xie Kang laughed out loud, then said, "There's a McDonald's next door."
Zhuang Yongyuan nodded, held his breath, and when he heard no sound of anyone moving outside the door, he opened the door and went out with Xie Kang. The two of them found a seat by the window at McDonald's and sat facing each other.
Zhuang Yongyuan ordered two iced coffees on his phone, and a few minutes later he went to the front desk to get them and pushed one in front of Xie Kang.
Xie Kang wiped the moisture off the cup with a tissue, took a sip, and asked Zhuang Yongyuan, "Nothing else?"
Zhuang Yongyuan hummed, holding the coffee without drinking much, unconsciously looking at the plane taking off from the runway in the distance, and then looked at the time.
About twenty minutes left.
The McDonald's in the university town is open 24 hours a day. Although it is already two o'clock in the morning and the lights are dim, the store is not deserted. Half of the tables and chairs are occupied. After all, it is graduation season and finals week.
Zhuang Yongyuan glanced around the shop for the twentieth time. Several tables were occupied by couples, occasionally showing affectionate gestures. One couple was arguing, and although they could be heard trying to control the volume, the noise was growing louder. Several other tables were probably discussing homework or something, sitting around computers. The noises grew quieter as the night progressed. Most of the people were staying here for the night because curfew had expired and they couldn't get in. They were all sleeping on their desks.
The door opened again, and the person who came in this time was finally Xie Kang.
Zhuang Yongyuan subconsciously wanted to wave him over, but he felt like he was electrocuted and just raised his arm a little before retracting it. Fortunately, Xie Kang also noticed him and slowly walked over to sit down opposite him.
Zhuang Yongyuan smiled at him and said, "Why are you here so late? Didn't you say 10 o'clock?"
Xie Kang scratched his eyebrows. The air conditioning in McDonald's was not turned on enough to dispel the summer night heat on him.
"The plane is delayed." Xie Kang said.
"Oh, it seems like there's going to be a typhoon tomorrow."
Xie Kang nodded without saying anything. Zhuang Yongyuan didn't know what to say. After a moment of silence, Zhuang Yongyuan spoke first: "Have you had dinner?"
"There's dinner on the plane."
"It's been a long time, eat some more."
Without waiting for Xie Kang's reply, Zhuang Yongyuan stood up and woke the sleepy waiter at the front desk to take his order. He waited at the front desk until the meal was ready, then returned with the tray.
Xie Kang glanced at the tray, which contained a hamburger meal with fries and two sundaes.
"Thank you." Xie Kang said, taking out a hundred-dollar bill from his pocket and handing it to Zhuang Yongyuan.
Zhuang Yongyuan didn't answer, just looked at him. Xie Kang didn't want to meet his eyes, lowering his head to chew on his burger. He ate quickly, choking on his Coke without even looking up, and it was hard to breathe.
Zhuang Yongyuan took a French fry and dipped it into the sundae, saying as he ate, "I told you you were hungry, right?"
His tone was brisk, but Xie Kang only felt heavy. He took the last bite of his burger, crumpled up the wax paper and tossed it onto the tray. Without looking up, he asked Zhuang Yongyuan, "What do you want to see me about?"
"Oh, did you forget there's a performance at Yuyintang next week? I heard someone from the band's management company will be there."
"Five bands competed in one night, and they only played for 20 minutes. It didn't make sense for anyone to come."
Zhuang Yongyuan half pleaded, half coquettishly said, "It's all agreed upon, let's go and give it a try."
"Why don't you just find a guitarist to fill in for you?"
Zhuang Yongyuan pleaded confidently, "I want you to be here."
Xie Kang still didn't want to look at Zhuang Yongyuan. He was afraid of him, annoyed by him, and felt he was being overbearing. The sundae was melting, but the heat persisted.
"Didn't I ask Adian to tell you?" Xie Kang said.
Zhuang Yongyuan paused, took a soft French fry, dipped it into the melted milk in the sundae cup, picked it up wetly, put it to his mouth, and dripped a few drops of ice cream on the table.
He said, "What did you say?"
When Xie Kang looked up, he thought he heard the rubbing of his cervical vertigo. The burger he had just eaten was churning in his stomach. "I said I wanted to quit. Didn't Ah Dian tell you?"
Zhuang Yongyuan was still laughing and said, "Isn't she kidding?"
"Then let me tell you seriously again." Xie Kang forced himself to look directly into Zhuang Yongyuan's face. "I'm going back to Pingnan to work. I passed the teacher exam. Lily's affairs have nothing to do with me from now on."
"You..." Zhuang Yongyuan uttered one word and said nothing more. He blinked quickly. The light was too dim, and Xie Kang couldn't see the details of his expression.
Xie Kang felt that he had made his point clear. He pushed the tray in front of him forward and stood up to leave. Zhuang Yongyuan almost screamed, "Wait a minute!"
Xie Kang sat down again under the curious gazes of the people around him and asked Zhuang Yongyuan, "Is there anything else?"
His tone was calm, his words articulated clearly, but inside he harbored a secret longing. He wanted Zhuang Yongyuan to slap him in the face, overturn the tray, and cry and rage for him to stay, threatening to commit suicide to prevent him from leaving.
But no, Zhuang Yongyuan just took a few deep breaths, forced a smile, and asked Xie Kang, "Are you mad at me? Is it because I forgot to hang out the clothes and they got moldy?"
Xie Kang remained silent, and Zhuang Yongyuan continued, "I won't do that again. I'll remember to set an alarm."
He cautiously proposed his next hypothesis: "Is it because I'm always late for practice?"
Zhuang Yongyuan didn't make a solemn promise to change this time. He lowered his eyes and said, "I will try my best to stick to the time."
Xie Kang shook his head: "It has nothing to do with these."
Zhuang Yongyuan adjusted his hair uncomfortably, tugged at his collar, and muttered, "It's so hot."
"Oh, is it because I asked you to accompany my dad back last year when he left? You think it's unlucky? I'm sorry, I didn't think much about it at the time. I only have one dad, and this won't happen again."
Xie Kang laughed out loud when he heard him say seriously that he only had one father. He couldn't stop laughing, and Zhuang Yongyuan also laughed. At the end of the laughter, Xie Kang didn't want to laugh at all, but he still pulled the corners of his mouth hard and said, "It has nothing to do with you. I just thought it would be better to stay in Pingnan. I don't suit myself outside."
"It's not just you, there's also me..." Zhuang Yongyuan said halfway, and when he saw Xie Kang's helpless eyes, he swallowed the rest of the words.
He changed the subject: "How can you be unsuitable? You just fell short of the admission to graduate school. If you want to take the exam, you can. There are job fairs now, and many of my classmates have found good jobs. You go to a better school and have better grades. What are you afraid of?"
Zhuang Yongyuan licked his lips as his mouth was dry. Xie Kang subconsciously pushed his half-drunk cup of Coke to him, and Zhuang Yongyuan took it and drank it as a matter of course.
He seemed to take this as a sign that Xie Kang was softening, and smiled expectantly: "Okay, don't leave, okay? Lily can't live without you."
Xie Kang asked, "How's your song writing going?"
Zhuang Yongyuan looked away guiltily: "I will definitely be able to write it this year."
He went to shake Xie Kang's hand, but as soon as he touched it, Xie Kang pulled his hand under the table.
"The performance is next Wednesday night. We are the second to appear, and it will start around nine o'clock." Zhuang Yongyuan pretended not to notice his avoidance.
Xie Kang lost his patience. "Zhuang Yongyuan, can you be more realistic? I was too naive before. I didn't consider many things thoroughly. Playing in a band is too risky."
"I can't keep wasting time with you guys like this. Don't push me."
Without even looking in the mirror, Xie Kang knew his expression must be ferocious. Zhuang Yongyuan rarely showed a timid look, his voice trembling, "Then we..."
Xie Kang was afraid that if he slowed down, he would lose the words he needed to say, so he continued with a breath, "Let's leave our affairs at that."
The last four words were still soft.
Zhuang Yongyuan cried, "Please don't do this, okay? I'm scared."
Xie Kang ignored him, and Zhuang Yongyuan continued to chatter: "If it really doesn't work out, you don't have to worry about the band's affairs. Just go and work. As long as you don't go back to Pingnan and stay in Shanghai, it's fine."
"Didn't you promise me before? Didn't you say many times that we would leave together and not go back to Pingnan?"
A night car passed by the road near the window, and the headlights illuminated the crystal water stains on Zhuang Yongyuan's face. Xie Kang really wanted to eat those marks.
Zhuang Yongyuan talked so much to himself, but Xie Kang didn't respond at all, and only his voice became hoarse in vain.
He finally asked Xie Kang: "Can you tell me why?"
Xie Kang could no longer bear to listen to anything Zhuang Yongyuan said. He stood up suddenly, and the legs of the plastic dining chair scraped across the ground, making a sharp and piercing sound.
After turning around and running a few steps, Xie Kang heard Zhuang Yongyuan calling his name behind him again, calling the two words "Xie Kang" seriously and carefully.
Xie Kang turned around and said, "You can keep any of my things in the rental house that are useful to you. If you're not, you can sell them second-hand or throw them away. There are still seven or eight thousand in the bedside drawer..."
Zhuang Yongyuan interrupted him: "Xie Kang, you forgot to eat your ice cream."
He picked up the melted sundae on the table and walked over to hand it to Xie Kang. Xie Kang hesitated for a moment, then took the sundae. Zhuang Yongyuan nodded at him, returned to his seat, and sat down again with his back to Xie Kang.
Xie Kang took the sundae, walked to the trash can, and gulped down the melted ice cream. Novels always say that when people are in a bad mood, food tastes bitter or bland, but this cup of melted ice cream was still fragrant and sweet. Xie Kang licked the sides of the cup clean before he stopped.
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