Twenty-nine years old (eight)
Bian Senlin didn't say anything else, silently digesting everything that the past nine years had brought him.
In 2014, he was just a student. Apart from attending classes and staying in the dormitory to write code, he would save a little money every month with his friends, and then go out for dinner and singing at the end of the month.
Although we are poor, we are very happy. Even if there are some dirty things, they will go away quickly. After a few days, we are still good brothers.
He had been playing with Yaoger since he was a child. When he was in junior high school, Yaoger moved to Yunwu City with his parents, and they had less contact. Later, he also came to Yunwu City for college and they got in touch again.
We hadn't seen each other for many years at that time, but I didn't feel strange at all when we met again as old friends. I just felt very happy.
He thought they would always be like this, after all, they were only twenty years old, but they had known each other for fifteen years.
Nine years later, I feel both strange and familiar.
There are traces of familiar features in the unfamiliar figure, and some familiar behaviors are mixed in with the sophisticated and slick social atmosphere.
If you cover their faces and only show their eyes, they look like two different people.
Bian Senlin's eyes were clear and bright, revealing a sense of vitality; while the fat man's eyes were like intricate silk threads, calmer but a little dim.
Bian Senlin didn't know what he would experience in the next nine years, which would lead him to become the fat man he is now with a heavy burden on his heart.
His familiar friends have gone their separate ways, and even Yuzai has children.
Yao Ge'er, who thought he was a lifelong brother, also started to go his separate ways for various reasons.
The fat man was used to all this, as if it was something that would happen sooner or later and there was nothing to be surprised about.
The fat man told him that he didn’t care who was around him, he just wanted to live a more comfortable life.
The fat man also told him that the most solid relationship between people is interest, and emotions are luxurious and short-lived.
If it were him a few days ago, he would have scoffed at such utilitarian statements, but now, everything he saw was combined into one word in his mind: things have changed and people have changed.
Bian Senlin felt like there was something swollen in his chest, which he could neither spit out nor swallow.
Feeling a little uncomfortable, Bian Senlin turned around and wanted to do something, but accidentally touched the mouse on the desktop. When he shook the mouse, the external display of the laptop lit up.
A little mosaic figure popped its head out from the corner of the screen, then jumped up, dodging obstacles that were also mosaics, and jumped from one end of the screen to the other.
This is a small screen saver program that Bian Senlin wrote these days. He disliked those wallpaper softwares because they were boring and cost money, so he simply wrote one himself.
Looking at the little man, Bian Senlin suddenly laughed. These people and things were too complicated. He just wanted to write code well and didn't care about so many other things.
Just as Bian Senlin was stunned, the fat man moved into the bedroom at some point, piled up quilts, pillows and a bunch of messy clothes to form a high point, and then moved his foot up with difficulty, raising his injured foot high.
After doing this, he lay back as if he had accomplished something great, leaving himself lying in a puddle in the shape of a strange "big" character.
Seeing Bian Senlin standing at the bedroom door, he asked weakly, "Did the doctor say to apply hot or cold compresses for 48 hours after the injury?"
Bian Senlin looked at the fat man who seemed to have lost his memory and said helplessly: "Apply ice."
As he said that, he turned around to get him an ice pack. When he bought crutches and protective gear, he also ordered medical ice packs.
I don’t know why this fat guy has such a bad memory. 29 is not old. Bian Senlin muttered to himself while being alert to the possibility of memory decline in the future.
In the next two days, due to the fat man's inability to move around, Bian Senlin basically took care of all the daily chores.
The fat guy hasn't been as tough as he was in the taxi that day. He holds his legs and screams in pain from time to time.
Fortunately, the Mid-Autumn Festival and National Day holiday started the day after he injured his foot. Otherwise, in his current condition, he probably wouldn't be able to go to work, let alone type a line of code.
The fat man can't go out and doesn't like to go out. Now he spends more time lying down and browsing his phone to distract himself.
Bian Senlin would rather stay at home than go out. Apart from cooking, eating and taking care of the daily chores of their life, he would spend the rest of his time writing something on his computer.
Sometimes the fat man woke up in pain in the middle of the night and could see a faint light outside.
Every time this happened, Fatty would fall into self-doubt: Was he this curly before? Are they really the same person?
Often at this time, the fat man would make jokes and talk to Bian Senlin in a joking manner about "sustainable development" and "the body is the capital of revolution."
Bian Senlin could only roll his eyes helplessly at the fat man. He didn't know why his future self would become a nagging old woman.
Seeing that it was not working, the fat man started to use different tricks. Taking advantage of his inconvenience in walking, he began to rudely order Bian Senlin to help him get this and that.
As soon as Bian Senlin sat down, the fat man started shouting. This happened a few times. Bian Senlin was so angry that he turned off the computer and went to sleep.
That night, just as Fatty started yelling, Bian Senlin stormed in, thrust his phone in front of Fatty's face, and said word by word, "It's only 10 o'clock. Are you sure you want to start?"
The fat man was startled by Bian Senlin and pointed at his phone, stammering, "My phone...is out of battery. Can you help me charge it?"
One bad thing about the house that Fatty rented was that there was no socket next to the bed, and Fatty complained about it many times.
Seeing that he had misunderstood, Bian Senlin's aura disappeared in an instant. He coughed and walked out with his mobile phone.
The fat man blinked at the ceiling and thought that it seemed that this trick would not work in the future. Anyway, he didn’t have a mobile phone. The fat man thought about it and simply covered his head and went to sleep.
On the other side, just as Bian Senlin placed Fatty's phone on the magnetic charging stand, a pop-up window appeared on the screen.
"The Geek Competition - Xuanxing Cup is about to begin!"
Bian Senlin's gaze was fixed on the line of words on the pop-up window. He paused before looking away.
His hand unconsciously opened the webpage and began to search for various information about the Xuanxing Cup.
After a long time, Bian Senlin closed his notebook and fell into deep thought amid the fat man's deafening snoring.
The next day, when Bian Senlin opened his eyes, he saw the fat man's round face and was almost scared to slap him.
"What are you doing!" Bian Senlin sat up and said unhappily.
The fat man chuckled and poked with both hands: "Today is the 1st."
Bian Senlin said, he came here on the 20th, and it has been 10 days without him realizing it.
Looking at the fat man who was using his computer chair as a wheelchair and rocking around like a drama queen, I glanced at him and asked, "And then?"
"The 1st! National Day!" The fat man said with exaggerated gestures: "Don't you think it's a perfect time to celebrate our motherland's birthday with a delicious hot pot?"
Since the fat man injured his foot, he has been eating a light diet as instructed by the doctor for the past two or three days.
But he has a strong taste for food, and he has been eating less oil and salt these days, so his eyes are almost the same color as vegetable leaves.
Bian Senlin was also very tempted after hearing this. Fatty couldn't get used to light food, so could he be used to it?
These days, he has been adhering to the principle of sharing happiness and hardships (crossed out), well, at least his patients are not greedy for his good qualities, and he also eats the same diet as the fat man.
When I heard the fat man talking about hotpot, I couldn't help swallowing my saliva when I thought of that spicy and delicious taste. But thinking of the doctor's instructions, I still hesitated.
The fat man saw that there was a chance, so he struck while the iron was hot: "My injury is my foot, not my stomach or mouth. It's just a meal, it won't be a big deal!"
When Bian Senlin heard this, he thought about it and realized that it made sense. They had been eating like this since they were young and were used to it, so it shouldn't be a problem.
So he nodded and said, "I'm going to buy groceries."
The fat man was about to cheer in triumph, but the chair creaked, and his cry of "Wow" was stuck in his throat.
The fat man looked around with difficulty facing the murderous gaze of Bian Senlin.
Fortunately, it didn't fall apart. Now his feet are not convenient, and if the chair fell apart, Bian Senlin would have to assemble it by himself.
Bian Senlin sighed, told him to take it easy, and went out to prepare the ingredients.
I slept too late yesterday and woke up at noon. If I wait for the takeaway to arrive before starting to cook, I don’t know when I can eat. It would be faster to go downstairs to buy it.
Even so, it took almost an hour for them to have their meal.
During this time, Bian Senlin remembered the news about the Xuanxing Cup he saw last night and talked about this topic with Fatty.
The fat man, staring at the tripe being simmered in the pot, said casually, "The Xuanxing Cup, yeah, it's almost time for this year. I guess the Xuanwu Forum is about to start a fight, right?"
Bian Senlin asked curiously, "A fight? Xuanwu Forum?"
Bian Senlin checked the information yesterday and saw the name of Xuanwu Forum, but it was inconspicuous among the rows of sponsors who were well-known companies in the industry.
The fat man swallowed a mouthful of tripe, feeling very satisfied. “The Xuanwu Forum was only established in 2013 or 2014. I guess there were only a few people on the forum when you were there. It’s normal that you haven’t heard of it.”
"The original intention of the founder of Xuanwu Forum was to provide a place where people could exchange questions and answer each other's questions."
The fat man chuckled as he thought of something. "Whenever there's communication, there's bound to be controversy. It's inevitable that some people won't agree with each other. For a while, the atmosphere on the forum was a mess, giving the administrators a lot of headaches."
"The forum founder saw that this wasn't going to work, so he simply called together the people who were causing the most trouble and told them, 'You guys are already dissatisfied, so why not have a fight?'"
The fat man said this and took out a few pieces of freshly blanched meat slices. The meat slices were marinated with ingredients from Bian Senlin and were very smooth and refreshing.
The fat man ate his meat in big mouthfuls while mumbling, "A few people got together and agreed on a competition method and rules that would convince each other. This was the predecessor of the Xuanxing Cup."
“At the beginning, only a few people in the circle came together to play, but later more and more people participated, and more and more companies sponsored it.
The larger it became, the more it became the Xuanxing Cup."
The fat man seemed to sigh with emotion: "The Xuanxing Cup has gradually become a well-known event in the industry. Not only is the prize money attractive every year, but even many headhunters are keeping an eye on the top ten in the event, ready to snatch them away at any time."
Bian Senlin listened to these interesting gossips with great interest, and then asked, "Then what happened when the fight broke out?"
The fat man sneered: "Don't you want to know where the Xuanxing Cup came from?"
"Although the event has become more formalized as it has grown in scale, it was originally intended to resolve disputes."
"Other channels are fine, but within the forums, every time this happens, a bunch of people are ready to show off their skills. The atmosphere is like a nest of fighting cocks, ready to explode at any moment."
Bian Senlin listened to the fat man's insults and asked, "Then the forum administrators won't do anything about it?"
The fat man shrugged. "As long as it can be controlled within a certain range, the forum is actually happy to see it happen. After all, without competition there is no vitality, and a lifeless environment is meaningless."
Seeing that Fatty was so clear about the origins of the Xuanwu Forum and the Xuanxing Cup, Bian Senlin asked curiously, "What about you? Have you ever participated in the Xuanxing Cup?"
The fat man paused while picking up the food, but recovered as usual after a moment: "I've participated in it a few times before."
Bian Senlin keenly grasped the meaning behind the words: "Before?"
The fat man ate his rice and said vaguely: "Yes, three years ago. I haven't participated in the past few years."
"Why?"
The fat man was somewhat helpless: "Why else? I'm busy. Look at me. I go to work as soon as I open my eyes, and it's almost midnight when I get off work. If I want to check my phone, I have to sacrifice my sleep time."
Bian Senlin recalled the Fatty's feat of sleeping two nights and one day on weekends, and nodded. Indeed, the Fatty was a miserable office animal.
Bian Senlin rolled his eyes and asked, "What about this year? It happens to be a holiday this year."
The fat man was full, put down his bowl and prepared to fight again during the intermission. He leaned back in his chair and said lazily, "No, I won't participate."
"Why?" Bian Senlin blinked his eyes curiously.
Facing the Bian Forest with a hundred thousand questions, the fat man said unhappily, "No reason, I'm not interested."
Although Bian Senlin was puzzled, he didn't say much. He just scratched his face, thinking about something.
Seeing that he was silent, the fat man thought he was waiting for his explanation, so he shook his head and said, "It doesn't really matter whether I participate in the competition or not. What if I win or lose..."
Before he finished speaking, the fat man hesitated for a moment, and finally said, "This society is a society between people. Technology... can't actually determine anything."
Bian Senlin was just about to say that he was ready to participate in the competition, but when he heard this, he suddenly looked up and stared at the fat man, and his hand holding the chopsticks tightened unconsciously.
The fat man over there was reminded of some memories by this topic. He tapped his hands on the armchair and did not notice anything unusual about Bian Senlin.
The fat man looked up at the ceiling and said slowly, "I've been very busy these past two years..."
"Sometimes I get so busy that I don't even know what I'm doing. I'm so busy that I ask myself, what am I doing?"
The fat man laughed self-deprecatingly: "I used to think I liked this line of work. I liked writing programs, typing code, and I liked that feeling..."
The fat man stretched out his right hand, as if he wanted to grasp something.
“I thought I could create small things and change the world or even create the world.”
"I later realized it was just an ignorant fantasy of a middle school student," the fat man shook his head and sighed, "It was truly ignorant and fearless..."
The fat man rubbed his face. "I used to be able to numb myself and deceive myself by obsessing over coding, but what about now?"
The fat man's round face was full of self-mockery: "Now when I go home and see the code, I feel like vomiting. Is this... liking it?"
"Then I figured it out. I probably just thought this industry was profitable, that's why I thought I liked it. But in reality, I only liked the high salary it brought."
The fat man paused and finally concluded: "That's all."
After saying that, the fat man shook his head vigorously, as if to get rid of the distracting thoughts in his mind, and thought to himself that he didn't know why he said all this.
Taking a deep breath, the fat man crossed his hands and stretched himself upwards, preparing to end the intermission and continue eating.
However, just as he picked up the bowl, he saw that Bian Senlin, who was sitting opposite him, had a very ugly expression on his face, and his eyes seemed to be red as he tried to suppress his emotions.
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