Chapter 110 (Bonus Chapter)
Zhou Weifang and Sparrow were also heading towards Fengshou Hutong, but at the intersection they tacitly chose to turn and take a longer route, without either of them saying a word.
Zhou Weifang started by chatting casually, asking, "Where did you borrow this tricycle from?"
Sparrow: "It belongs to my aunt."
He was clearly more impatient, and after starting, it was only natural to continue, though he hesitated a bit in his wording: "You, that..."
Perhaps because they were "fellow sufferers in the same boat," Zhou Weifang knew what he wanted to ask and answered with a single word: "Yes."
Sure enough, Sparrow breathed a sigh of relief and said with emotion, "I remember you two were the worst enemies when you were kids."
So this is how it is in other people's memories? The atmosphere wasn't exactly relaxed, but Zhou Weifang still managed a smile: "I didn't expect this back then either."
In life, what is truly set in stone?
Sparrow pedaled the tricycle, feeling it was heavier than when it was carrying a cart full of melons. Not knowing what to say, it remained silent.
After all, they had been inseparable childhood friends for twenty years, and Zhou Weifang was silent for a moment. But he felt that it was no big deal to leave the conversation there, so he thought for a moment and said, "I can't believe I never realized it."
Sparrow: "I didn't want anyone to know either."
His voice suddenly lowered: "She definitely won't choose me, why bother?"
If it were anything else, Zhou Weifang would definitely have said, "Don't be so pessimistic," but at this moment, he really found it hard to encourage him, his face full of conflict.
The sparrow didn't offer encouragement; instead, it said, "How can people like us who haven't had much schooling be worthy of them?"
It's all too common for a young girl like Luo Yan to like this kind of thing. She has plenty of peers who are academically excellent and of similar age to choose from, so how could she be so blind as to choose someone as ordinary as him?
Admittedly, Zhou Weifang also understood this principle, but unlike him, he didn't jump to conclusions and say, "How would we know if we haven't even tried it?"
If we don't try, we can still greet each other and chat when we meet. But if we do try, I'm afraid we won't even have the last bit of hope left.
The sparrow smiled wryly: "The most valuable thing is self-awareness."
In that case, Zhou Weifang said, "I am a person who lacks self-awareness."
What does that mean? Sparrow initially thought he was secretly in love like her, but then she thought that given his personality, he probably couldn't do it, and said, "You have a better chance than me; she's closer to you."
An outsider's perspective is clear; in just one night, he could see how Luo Yan distinguished between close and distant relatives.
Zhou Weifang frankly said, "I don't even know whether I should say thank you for your kind words."
Sparrow honestly replied, "I don't know whether I should wish you success or not."
Even though he has accepted the reality that the person will not be him, it is still hard to openly and honestly wish his childhood friend well.
Zhou Weifang patted his shoulder: "We're even."
To be honest, it's not something that can be achieved just by offering blessings. Like you said, she has plenty of good guys to choose from.
Sparrow: "At least you dare to try."
While it's true that without hope there will be no disappointment, isn't that also a sign of his cowardice and weakness?
There are countless personalities in the world, and Zhou Weifang is the kind who, even after hitting a wall, is unlikely to turn back: "How will you know if you don't try?"
How could I not know? Sparrow thought it was quite obvious, but she didn't want to discourage her childhood friend, so she just said, "Alright, let each of you choose what you like. I have to take this car to my aunt, I'm off."
The subtext of this statement is the hope that we can remain good brothers in the future.
Zhou Weifang also hoped so, but he also knew that things in life don't always go as planned, so he sighed helplessly and went back to the shop.
Zhang Hongmin was waiting for his boss to return and hand over the shift. He was getting sleepy and was leaning back and forth in his chair. When he heard footsteps, he instinctively perked up and deliberately widened his eyes.
Zhou Weifang joked with him, "Wipe your drool."
Zhang Hongmin couldn't tell the difference between the real and fake. He subconsciously wiped his mouth and gave an awkward laugh—after all, it was during working hours, and there was always a suspicion of him slacking off.
Zhou Weifang didn't mind, and just said, "I'm going to take a shower, you can carry me a little longer."
When he returned from the bathhouse, Zhang Hongmin stood there like he was on guard duty, displaying a good mental attitude.
Zhou Weifang didn't expose him, but then remembered to add, "I'll be going out in a couple of days. Luo Hong might be a little late if he has something to do. It's okay if you take a nap, as long as nothing gets stolen from the shop."
There were no customers buying cars late at night.
The boss had given the instructions several times, and Zhang Hongmin was just short of saluting and saying yes before strutting off to go home.
This kid can be quite funny sometimes.
Zhou Weifang smiled, then remembered that he hadn't packed his luggage yet. He took out all the clothes from the closet and checked which ones were clean and unpatched.
He didn't have many clothes, only a few that were suitable for public wear. After picking them out, he counted them on his fingers and realized that he didn't have enough. The next morning, he went out early to go to the department store, but on the way, he turned back into the alley to see his mother.
Yu Shuilang's injured foot hadn't fully healed, but she was a restless person. Even though she was limping, she would still bustle around inside and outside, and when she saw her son, she would make him breakfast.
Zhou Weifang stopped him, saying, "No need, no need, you should rest well."
Yu Shuilang: "What are you resting for? The more you lie down, the less you can move."
Then, in a sarcastic tone, he said, "If I don't do it, who else can I rely on?"
Zhou Weifang wasn't buying it and said, "It's unreasonable to have my second sister do the laundry for the whole family in the first place. She's here to take care of you, not to serve these old men and women."
Moreover, it's inappropriate for men and women to be together.
Regardless of logic, Yu Shuilang said, "That's her brother and her father, not just anyone."
Zhou Weifang retorted irritably, "Don't her brother and father have hands of their own?"
Yu Shuilang said matter-of-factly, "Working all day is exhausting, but washing a few clothes isn't tiring at all."
Zhou Weifang was so angry that she could barely speak to her, saying, "Look, you can relax now, she's gone back to work."
Yu Shuilang's temples throbbed repeatedly as she spoke to her youngest son, giving him a huge eye roll: "I've raised you all for nothing."
The Zhou family has never had a child starve to death; you could say they raised them.
But Zhou Weifang always felt that raising a child shouldn't be limited to this standard. However, the past years had indeed been turbulent, and he seemed to have no way to criticize anything. He took out twenty yuan and said, "I'm going on a long trip, which will take at least a month or two. You can use this first."
Yu Shuilang inquired, "Where are you going? Who are you going with? And what are you going to do?"
Zhou Weifang didn't answer any of the questions, only saying, "You still need to take good care of your leg. Drink more milk powder, and I'll buy more when you finish it."
After giving those instructions, he left. In the distance, he saw the Luo siblings about to leave the alley. Luo Yan was talking to her brother, looking very excited.
Zhou Weifang caught up on his bicycle and asked in surprise, "You two are so late today?"
Luo Yan was in a good mood and answered first, "There's a weather forecast today."
Zhou Weifang was somewhat confused: "What report? Where should I report it?"
Luo Yan: "We came out after watching the news broadcast."
On July 7, 1980, the "News Broadcast" added a new weather forecast segment, broadcasting the weather of eight cities including Beijing, Shanghai, and Guangzhou in just two minutes. This was an unprecedented innovation, and people with televisions at home watched it intently.
Zhou Weifang didn't own a television, so he hadn't paid much attention to it. He simply asked, "Is it good?"
What's so interesting about weather forecasts? But the progress behind these changes is what excites every Chinese person, and Luo Yan was quite happy, anyway. But she was already late leaving home today, and glancing at her watch, she said, "Never mind, I'm going to be late."
She was in a hurry to leave, but Luo Hong had a few words to say to his childhood friend, saying, "You go first, take care."
Luo Yan responded and pedaled hard on her bicycle, quickly disappearing from sight.
Luo Hong made sure she couldn't hear him before asking, "Where did you go with Sparrow last night?"
Zhou Weifang: "Where can we go so late at night? Everyone should just go home."
His tone was quite relaxed, but Luo Hong had been worried all night. He said, "Hey Yan Yan, oh dear, it's not that you guys are all like this, this girl is really something, it's not that you guys are all like this, oh dear."
Zhou Weifang even laughed: "Just pretend you didn't notice, just like before."
"What do you mean 'just fine'?" Luo Hong pinched the bridge of his nose, his head aching. "He really knows how to keep things to himself. I think it's been going on for more than just a day or two."
Zhou Weifang: "That proves he doesn't want anyone to know."
"I don't know that's a problem," Luo Hong really couldn't understand. "I admit that Yan Yan is the best girl in the whole alley, but Beijing is so big, can't you broaden your horizons a bit?"
They just have to wander around in this alley, it's so annoying.
Zhou Weifang smiled wryly: "It's not up to me."
"Then who should it be?" Luo Hong retorted irritably, "Or should it be me?!"
Zhou Weifang punched him on the shoulder blade: "Alright, what's the use of worrying?"
He really is easygoing. Luo Hong's lips twitched: "I feel like hitting someone just talking to you. Get lost."
She added, "Yanyan had lunch with her classmates."
Zhou Weifang wasn't in a position to ask which classmate it was, so he simply said, "Want to have donkey meat sandwiches tonight?"
Luo Hong: "You look like you're on fire."
After saying that, he rode off on his bicycle, looking like someone owed him a hundred dollars.
If only people could be turned into fire, the worst thing would be being deep-fried, boiled, and then eaten.
Zhou Weifang scratched his hair a couple of times, sighed, and walked in another direction. He parked his car in front of the department store and went inside to buy himself two new outfits.
Meanwhile, Luo Yan was in class.
Today was the last physics class of the semester. After the teacher finished explaining, he highlighted the key points for the whole class.
As she was scribbling, she felt like she had covered the entire book, so she turned to Ji Ning sitting next to her and said, "No, this is just reviewing everything."
Ji Ning whispered in agreement: "I feel like I'm really doomed. There's so much I haven't understood this semester."
The lessons got harder and harder, with a dense array of knowledge points.
Luo Yan's preparations for the final exams now seem utterly inadequate. Clenching her fists, she thought: I'm not going to sleep tonight.
She was reading during the break when she heard someone call her name. She looked up at the classroom door and quickly walked over.
Chen Jinhong came to confirm with her: "Shall we have lunch together?"
They made a promise when they met at the library yesterday, but things might change at the last minute.
Luo Yan nodded quickly and slightly: "But what are we going to eat?"
Chen Jinhong knew she would ask this question, so she took out a few small pieces of paper she had prepared from her pocket: "Draw one, draw one."
Under her expectant gaze, Luo Yan pulled out a dumpling, opened it, and said, "Dumplings."
Jiaotong University students know exactly where to go for dumplings, so they don't need to think too much. Chen Jinhong had her answer and quickly went back upstairs to her classroom.
Luo Yan went back to her seat and, before the bell rang, flipped through a few more pages of her book, eager to cram all the knowledge into her brain.
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Author's note: I'm so sorry, I was so sleepy halfway through writing yesterday. I was just going to take a nap and even set an alarm, but when I opened my eyes it was already dawn! [Clown]
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