Postponed
Lu Yu was asking for trouble. He felt that if he stayed any longer, he might be blinded by the glare. He drank the last sip of the wine in his glass, stood up, and patted Zhou Zizhe on the shoulder.
"I'm leaving first."
"Ah? Leaving now?" Zhou Zize still felt a little unsatisfied.
"I won't bother you anymore." There was something hard to describe in Lu Yu's tone.
He fled the nightclub and stood on the street at midnight, feeling the cool breeze, but his mind was even more confused than before.
He took out his cell phone and wanted to check the time, but found a red dot prompt on WeChat.
He clicked on it and saw an update on his Moments.
He subconsciously refreshed the page, and a familiar avatar appeared at the top of the list.
It's time.
Lu Yu's heart skipped a beat. He remembered that Shi Guang's friend circle had always been blank.
He clicked on it and saw a selfie.
The background of the photo is a quaint temple hall, red walls and green tiles, shrouded in the air by the curl of incense. In the photo, Shi Guang, wearing a simple white short-sleeved shirt, isn't looking at the camera, but rather tilting his head slightly, as if listening to someone nearby. A hint of a smile plays on his lips, and under the soft light of the temple, he appears exceptionally serene and gentle.
And the point is, there is another person in this selfie.
A boy, sitting next to Shi Guang from behind, smiled brightly at the camera. The boy looked about their age, with a delicate appearance and a clean, youthful look in his eyes.
They seem to have a very good relationship.
There is no text below the photo.
Lu Yu felt like a fool abandoned by the whole world. The glaring photo on the phone screen and the sticky atmosphere between Zhou Zizhe and Shen Ran in the nightclub intertwined into a huge web in his mind, trapping him tightly.
envy.
A bitter feeling of jealousy suddenly overwhelmed him without warning.
He envied the boy who could take such an intimate photo with time. He envied the boy who could see the time he had never seen before, the time that smiled at the camera. He even envied the temple, every wisp of incense, every piece of blue tile, because they had all witnessed a weekend he had not participated in.
Who is that boy?
What's their relationship? Childhood friends? Or...
Lu Yu didn't dare to think about it any further. Finally, he turned off his phone in frustration and stuffed it back into his pocket. He looked up at the night sky above the city, which was dyed an eerie purple-red by the neon lights, and let out a long breath.
Lu Yu spent the second half of that weekend in a state of being a walking corpse.
He felt like his core had been drained away, and he had no energy to do anything. At the dinner table, his mother asked him if military training was tough, but he answered irrelevantly. In the living room, his father discussed current affairs with him, and he was lost in thought the entire time.
His mind was full of that photo.
Like a perverse detective, he zoomed in and out of the photo, studying it over and over again no less than eight hundred times, trying to discern the slightest clue from the boy's eyes.
He even began to compare himself uncontrollably with the boy in the photo.
Taller than him? No.
Is he more handsome than him? Well...it depends on one's opinion.
Do you understand time better than him?
Thinking of this last point, Lu Yu was completely deflated. He sat dejectedly in his chair, feeling like a challenger who had been completely defeated, not even qualified to play, and was directly judged out.
He didn't want to admit it, but he knew it better than anyone else.
Lu Yao is right.
He just, fell in love.
With this curse-like diagnosis, Lu Yu returned to school in a daze. As soon as he entered the dormitory, he saw Jiang Xiaopang and Zhao Teng wailing about something.
"Brother Lu, you're finally back!" Fat Jiang said with a look of grief. "Did you see the group message? The welcome party has been postponed. I wanted to see Brother Lu be the big star on stage and bring honor to our class!"
Lu Yu's heart skipped a beat and he quickly pulled out his phone. In the class group, Lin Xiyue had just forwarded a notice from the student union.
Important Notice: Due to heavy rain that flooded some equipment in the auditorium and subsequent desilting work, the Welcome Party originally scheduled for next Saturday has been postponed. The specific date is to be determined. Please be informed.
Lu Yu looked at the notice, feeling a complex mix of emotions.
But strangely, the feeling of relief in his heart was mixed with a hint of inexplicable loss.
It was as if a very important, unspoken agreement with someone had been postponed indefinitely.
Fatty Jiang looked at Lu Yu's sour face and suddenly remembered something. With an extremely exaggerated sympathy on his face, he asked, "Are you... are you okay?"
"What's wrong with me?" Lu Yu looked at him in confusion.
"It's that... circle of friends!" Fat Jiang lowered his voice and winked, "Brother Sun and I both saw it! Who is that guy? Shi Guang... isn't he already taken?!"
"How should I know!" Lu Yu replied unhappily, throwing his backpack into the corner with a hint of annoyance in his movements.
He discovered that not only Fat Jiang, but even Sun Rui, who had never been interested in gossip, raised his head from the book at this moment, with a gleam of inquiry in his eyes.
"Where is Shi Guang?" Lu Yu looked around and found that there was one person missing in the dormitory.
"He hasn't come back yet." Fatty Jiang curled his lips. "The boss is so elusive. He left on Friday afternoon, saying he had something to do, but it turns out he was on a date with a handsome guy. Tsk tsk, you really can't judge a person by his appearance."
"Hey, what are you guys saying? What about our class's performance?" Fatty Jiang saw that Lu Yu was getting colder and hurriedly changed the subject. "It seems that those who signed up before have backed out because of this."
As he said, the news of the postponement of the party was like a bucket of cold water, extinguishing the initial enthusiasm of many students.
Just then, Lu Yu's phone vibrated. It was a message from senior Meng Wei.
Meng Wei: Lu Yu, did you see the notice? Although the gala has been postponed, we still have to continue preparing for the show. I've reserved a spot for your solo performance as the finale, so don't be lazy. [Keep it up]
Lu Yu was looking at the message and didn't know how to respond when there was a knock on the dormitory door.
The person knocking on the door was Xu Wenjie, the class publicity officer. He was holding a stack of documents, wearing a pair of black-framed glasses, and had a serious expression. He looked like a serious and responsible student.
"Lu Yu, Fatty Jiang, Sun Rui, you're all here." He breathed a sigh of relief when he saw everyone in the dormitory was there. "I just came back from the Student Union office. The party has been postponed, and many students who had previously signed up want to withdraw. Senior Meng Wei asked me to communicate with the class leaders, calm everyone down, and re-count the number of students who are still willing to participate."
"Damn, these people are so weak!" Fatty Jiang complained. "We've only just gotten so far, and they're already backing out?"
"We can't blame them entirely," Xu Wenjie said, pushing up his glasses and analyzing objectively. "The delay is uncertain, and everyone might feel that all the preparations are in vain, so their enthusiasm has dropped."
He handed Lu Yu a reprinted registration form, his eyes filled with the trust and expectation of a fellow class leader: "Lu Yu, you're the class monitor and have great influence in the class. What do you think we should do about this? We can't let our class go blank and not have a single performance, right?"
Lu Yu looked at Xu Wenjie, who was so worried about the class's honor, and remembered Meng Wei's advice. He knew that as the class monitor, he had to step up at this time.
"No problem," he said firmly as he took the application form. "Leave it to me. Don't worry, we absolutely cannot lose face as a class of cultural heritage preservation students!"
"Okay! I feel relieved when you say that." Xu Wenjie's serious face finally showed a smile. "If you need any help, please feel free to tell me."
After Xu Wenjie left, the dormitory fell into a brief silence.
"Brother Lu, are you really going to continue?" asked Fat Jiang.
"Why not?" Lu Yu raised an eyebrow. "Isn't it just a postponement? It's no big deal. It's just right. We can make the show even more amazing. When the time comes, it will be a big hit and dazzle them!"
"That's right!" Fatty Jiang was inspired by Lu Yu's ambition and immediately became motivated. "So... where do we start?"
"Let's start by stabilizing the morale of the troops." Lu Yu took out his mobile phone and sent a message in the class group.
Lu Yu: @Everyone, I know you might be a little disappointed about the postponement of the welcome party. But I want to say that this is our opportunity! A chance to polish our program to perfection! So, I've decided that not only will my finale solo performance not be canceled, but it will be even more grand! I hereby formally invite all interested students to join my strongest support group! Whether you can play the piano, dance, or make PowerPoint presentations, as long as you're interested, you're welcome to join! Let's give the whole school a big surprise together! To sign up, just private message me directly. Spots are limited, first come, first served!]
His words were so passionate and playful that they instantly stirred up the stagnant atmosphere in the group.
Zhao Teng: Holy crap! Brother Lu is so domineering! I'm the first to sign up! I'm starving for camera time!
Wang Qing: Class monitor! Me, me, me! I can play the piano! Even though I'm only an amateur!
Xu Wenjie: @Luyu, count me in. I can handle logistics and paperwork.
[Lao Wang next door: I can play the suona... Can I join? ]
Lu Yu: @neighbor Lao Wang, sure. You'll be responsible for playing "A Hundred Birds Paying Homage to the Phoenix" for me backstage to send our competitors away.
The group suddenly burst into laughter.
[Counselor Zhou Sisi: [Applause] [Applause]]
Counselor Zhou Sisi: @Luyu is truly our class monitor, taking charge at crucial moments! You're right, postponing the party isn't a bad thing; it gives us more time to prepare. The school also attaches great importance to this orientation event, and everyone's active participation will be recorded in their individual comprehensive evaluations! We hope everyone will sign up enthusiastically and bring honor to our Cultural Heritage Class 1! [Keep it up]]
The counselor's official certification was like a shot in the arm, completely dispelling all the students' doubts. Even with the powerful tool of extra points for the comprehensive test brought out, the students who were originally hesitant began to speak out.
Li Xiaoming: "Monitor! I know how to use Photoshop, so I can be in charge of making the poster!"
Zhang Qianqian: Then... can I sign up for the cheerleading team? [Shy]
"Great job, Brother Lu," Fatty Jiang said, looking at the constantly changing messages in the group chat with admiration on his face. "With just a few words, you turned a mess into a team-building project for the whole class."
"This is called crisis public relations." Lu Yu raised his eyebrows proudly.
He was enjoying everyone's flattery when the dormitory door was pushed open again.
Time has returned.
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