Chapter 6
The two walked out along the long alley.
"Okay, don't be unhappy. I'll take you to relax."
Xiang Yuzhi grabbed the person who was squatting on the side of the road playing with a cat, and took a taxi out of Yixing Street and went straight to the video game arcade.
In the past two years, the north side of the city has developed a number of internet-famous streets, and online videos have attracted many tourists. The two of them got out of the car and walked towards the mall, avoiding the crowds. The escalators were packed with people, and He Xi stared calmly ahead.
The two of them walked and talked, and followed the crowd into the video game arcade. Xiang Yuzhi was like a fish in water here, and he didn't want to leave.
As the sky darkened, He Xi dragged her out of the mall and across to the popular online snack street to find food. Xiang Yuzhi, yawning repeatedly, followed her as he paced, squeezing into the noisy crowd.
The aroma of cooking food was everywhere, making it really difficult for those with indecisiveness to make a decision.
"That's the one. Their main selling point is speed."
Xiang Yuzhi was impatient and didn't want to wait in line at all. She pointed casually at the rice noodle shop at the end of the snack street. There were only a few customers waiting in front of the stall.
"All right."
He Xi asked her to choose a seat and wait in line. After a few minutes, when it was their turn to order, she turned around to call Xiang Yuzhi, but there was no sign of him.
"What's going on?" She didn't think too much about it. After ordering the dishes, she called half an hour later. The call went through twice but was quickly disconnected.
Somehow, she had a bad feeling in her heart. Just as she was about to search for someone like a headless fly, a message came in on WeChat.
"Do you want to come over?"
"I saw your brother go to the bar!"
He Xi felt a buzzing in his ears and his heart instantly rose to his chest. Without thinking, he rushed to the bar.
She didn't know how He Xu's husky-like temper would end if he got into trouble at the bar.
"Wait for me to come over."
Nanyu Lane, around the corner from the snack street, is a completely different scene.
Bizarre neon lights, loud and dynamic music and intoxicated young men and women.
He Xi found Xiang Yuzhi, who she thought was well hidden, in a corner. Looking in the direction of her finger, she saw several slovenly-dressed boys surrounding He Xu and sitting by the window.
"Would you like to go in together?"
Xiang Yuzhi was carefree, and when she saw He Xi didn't say anything, she was about to rush in.
"Don't be impulsive."
"All right."
He Xi turned around and saw Xiang Yuzhi's half-dejected expression, and felt a little sad for a moment.
Seeing that the person had calmed down, she walked away cautiously and called He Xu's cell phone.
The beeping current was then cut off, and this happened several times.
He Xi became increasingly anxious, and after thinking it over for a while, he decided to go in and look for someone himself.
"It's okay, I'll go in with you."
Xiang Yuzhi was worried about He Xi going in alone because of her innocent schoolgirl look, so they walked all the way to the bar entrance. Just as they were about to go in, they heard a very loud and distinct female voice.
"He Xi——"
Looking back, they saw the person behind them standing a few steps away waving at them.
"Why, you can't recognize me?"
He Xi felt a physical aversion to the voice. She turned around and wanted to leave, but as soon as she raised her foot, Tan Zheng stepped forward and blocked her way.
"You haven't changed much, you're still full of thorns."
Tan Zheng had an amused expression on her face, and looked up and down at the girl in front of her with disgust.
He Xi felt his whole body tense up as soon as she spoke, and now as he stood in front of her, he clenched his fists and tried his best to endure it.
"When she's silent, she gives people a sense of distance. It will be fine once we get to know each other better, hehe..."
When the situation was tense, Xiang Yuzhi was busy trying to smooth things over. With a soft smile on his face, he quietly squeezed He Xi's hand.
"Huh, I used to think she was just like that." Tan Zheng's eyes fell on the girl next to He Xi, "But what she did later... really opened my eyes."
Xiang Yuzhi was completely confused by what Tan Zheng said. Her words were full of malice.
"What do you mean? Speak with more respect!"
Xiang Yuzhi felt that the hand she was holding was shaking violently, and she instantly became angry.
"Well, you have to ask the people around you." Tan Zheng glanced at Xiang Yuzhi, snorted coldly, said lightly, and then turned leisurely into the bar.
"Oh, right—He Xu… should be your brother, right?"
The person who had already taken a few steps suddenly turned around and after hearing what she said, He Xi's face changed instantly.
"What do you want to do?"
He Xi entered the bar filled with anger, and rushed straight to the table in front of the window with a clear goal. He Xu was lazily huddled on the sofa in the corner, looking relaxed, sitting with those people, laughing and talking about something.
This scene made her furious. She ignored the people around her and stood a few steps away, took out her cell phone and continued to call He Xu.
In the noisy environment, the ringing of the mobile phone could not wake up the boy who was chatting happily, so she had no choice but to rush over to catch him.
"come out--"
He Xu had his back to the door and didn't react until she grabbed his ear. He staggered and almost fell during the tug.
“Fuck—who the hell pulled my ears?!”
The young boy, who hadn't recovered from his shock, immediately started swearing and turned around angrily. But when he saw who was twisting his ear, he became powerless the next second.
"Who is this?"
"This chick is amazing, long legs, thin waist, and porcelain-white skin. She's just my style!"
He Xi glanced at the other people on the sofa, lowered his eyes and suppressed the disgust in his heart, "Do you want to leave by yourself or should I continue to drag you?"
"I can walk by myself, please let go first, it hurts...it hurts——"
She didn't let go until she was out of the store. Only after her tense nerves relaxed did she realize that her arm was extremely sore.
She heaved a long sigh, put on a stern face, and raised her hands to shake them as she walked. The two people following her looked at each other in anger, feeling a little scared.
"Sister Zhizhi, please save me for once." He Xu clasped his fists quietly.
Xiang Yuzhi helplessly spread her hands under the cold gazes of the people around her. After all, if she rashly intervened in this situation, He Xi would probably break off their friendship with her, so she cleverly walked to the subway exit and left.
"Sister, sister—I really didn't do anything bad, please believe me for once."
Without external support, He Xu suddenly felt short of breath and stepped forward to admit his mistake.
He Xi walked forward with a cold face, the memory of him curled up on the sofa looking eccentric and ruffian-like just now kept playing in his mind.
"Go back and tell Mom, I can't control you."
"Don't tell Mom, I won't go there anymore."
"It's too late. You have no credibility with me."
"It wasn't like I went there on my own initiative. I was playing basketball on the playground. Someone said they were looking for me, and they blocked me as soon as I left..."
He Xu started to hesitate as he spoke, and he knew that the reasons he gave did not stand up to scrutiny.
"You don't have to tell Mom." He Xi turned and stared into his eyes. "You will be fully responsible for my arrangements for the rest of the holiday."
The first year of high school will start soon, and if he still wants to waste time, it will be a waste of time.
"Hmph... you might as well just kill me."
He Xu didn't realize that He Xi was really angry this time. Not only did he not agree, he even rolled his eyes behind her. He hadn't done anything yet, so why was he sentenced to death right away?
He muttered and then complained in his heart. When He Xi spoke in a nonchalant tone, he was so angry that he clenched his fists. Without saying anything else, he turned around and continued walking towards the bus stop.
"Who told me I have a wide network of contacts? She just asked me to help connect her with Brother Lin, and she didn't do anything else."
He took a few quick steps and continued to move forward with a shy smile. Just a few words in exchange for a signed Curry basketball, who the hell could refuse that?
"Brother Lin? We've only known each other for a few days and you're already calling me so familiar."
He Xi was even more speechless when he heard him mention Zhao Lin. He was worried that he would be led astray by others, but he still felt that it was a blessing from heaven and was so happy!
"I'm telling you to stay away from him. Be discerning when making friends. Not everyone can become your lackey!"
She was already extremely angry, and as soon as she said it she realized how harsh her words were.
"I'm eager to be your lackey--!" He Xu interrupted her in a rough voice.
"I'm willing to be your lackey, okay?... You think you're so capable, but you always have a gloomy face like everyone owes you..."
Cars honked and whizzed past on the street. Under the dim street lights, He Xi slowly turned around at his roar, his eyes full of disbelief.
He Xu was furious, and after a burst of passionate outburst, he gradually calmed down. The next thing he saw was He Xi, whose face was covered with tears.
"I...I didn't mean that, sister, I just have a bad mouth..." He became more and more anxious, and his thoughts became a mess.
He Xi tried his best to break free from the random pulling of the person in front of him, but he couldn't. "Let go!" He said it in a low voice, and gave him a bleak smile.
*
Yan Runqing has been a little puzzled these past two days, not understanding why the two children suddenly seemed to have changed their personalities.
People who used to stay away from home now stay in the house all day long, and people who used to never leave the house now go out early and come back late, and don’t even come back for lunch.
"You were just fine at home, so why did you suddenly decide to go to the library to study?"
He Xi's studies never worried Yan Runqing, and sometimes he even advised her to pay more attention to rest.
"I'll be a senior in high school when school starts, Mom."
She put down her schoolbag, threw herself on the soft sofa, closed her eyes and relaxed her whole body.
"Then you should also pay attention to the balance between work and rest." Yan Runqing put down the crochet needle in her hand, "Tell me the truth, you two didn't quarrel behind my back, did you?"
She had already asked He Xu indirectly, but the brat was hesitant and didn't tell the truth.
"Why would we argue? This is exactly what you want."
After He Xi finished speaking, he leaned over, picked up a green pear from the fruit basket, tossed it casually, and was about to get up and go upstairs.
"You kid..." Yan Runqing watched her walk out, opened his mouth but said nothing more.
Arriving at the rooftop, He Xi lazily leaned back on the rattan chair, staring at everything in front of him in a trance.
A slight cool breeze brought the fragrance of the rose bushes behind her straight to her nose. She wrinkled her nose and her eyes fell on the flower bed in the corner.
The lush cherry tree in front of me was swaying in the cool breeze, as unrestrained as a child.
She stood up, pulled the water pipe over, and squatted beside the tree to turn on the water valve.
"It's so small, how long will it take for it to bear fruit?"
"I'm sure we won't be kept waiting too long."
Dad never lied, and sure enough, the little cherry tree blossomed the following year, and grew larger and larger year after year. Every early summer, the branches would be laden with tempting red fruits, attracting birds from all over Tiantai Mountain to steal the fruits.
She tried her best to suppress the bitter emotions that came with the memories, turned off the water, stood up and lay down on the fence to calm herself down.
In the shady alley, patches of ivy rustled in the wind at night, and at first glance, the blackness was particularly frightening.
“Meow… meow…”
Two stray cats screamed and suddenly flew over the wall, then rushed into the dense ivy leaves and disappeared through the drain at the corner of the wall, leaving only their hoarse and shrill cries echoing in the narrow alley.
The moonlight was obscured by clouds, and the night sky was a misty blue.
He Xi stared at the flickering scarlet spot downstairs. Somehow she had a hunch that the person was Zhao Lin.
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