disco
In the brightly lit and bustling Hai Tian Zhi Lian (Sea and Sky Love) nightclub, the noise was deafening. Flashing lights and wild bass rhythms exploded in the disco, and a group of people danced wildly amidst the changing lights and flickering colors, creating a chaotic and frenzied scene. The music, like the waves of the night, assaulted people's senses wave after wave.
Amidst the endless clamor, a man sat alone in a corner of a large, circular booth. One hand casually rested on the sofa armrest, while the other toyed with a wine glass, the liquid inside shimmering under the lights. His eyes were deep and dark; all night long, his gaze remained fixed on the wine glass in his hand, as if the frenzied dancing crowd and the cacophony of music were irrelevant to him. He seemed to exist in another world, completely out of place with the atmosphere of the disco.
His facial features were sharp and defined, as if carved by a knife and axe, his cold and austere profile appearing even more profound under the interplay of light and shadow. A few wispy bangs fell casually across his forehead, partially obscuring his eyes. Beneath his high, straight nose, his thin lips were tightly pressed together, the corners of his mouth slightly downturned, exuding a coldness that kept people at a distance.
It's Yang Zheng.
Tonight, he wore a fitted black shirt, the collar slightly open, revealing a hint of his collarbone, and the sleeves casually rolled up to his forearms, the muscle definition subtly visible. He paired it with black trousers and black leather shoes. This outfit made him appear particularly aloof, exuding an aura of unapproachability, a stark contrast to his usual gentle demeanor.
Yang Zheng kept thinking about what Shen Anxia had said that day, and how he had asked her if she would separate from him if they were in the same city.
He thought of Shen Anxia's eyes, brimming with tears, and the heartless words she uttered with unwavering resolve despite the tears in them—
There are no "ifs".
He thought of the day Shen Anxia cried after getting drunk, tears streaming down her face as if she were pouring out her emotions. He thought of those two days when he felt Shen Anxia was very close to him, and their relationship was like that of a couple in love. He thought that Shen Anxia might have cried so bitterly because of the fact that she was staying in the group.
Thinking about it, she might also feel reluctant to part with it.
Thinking back to the day he returned to Yi'an from Xinfeng, when he was packing his backpack, the box that fell out of it contained the bracelet he had given to Shen Anxia for her birthday.
Thinking of all these years he had watched her from afar, never daring to get close, thinking of their meeting six years ago across a crowd of people, thinking of that night four years ago, her breakdown and his heartbreak.
Yang Zheng was immersed in his own world, a world filled with all the little things about his unrequited love for Shen Anxia over the years. Every time he thought about it, his heart would feel a sharp pain, but he was willing to be hurt like this again and again.
A pretty girl in a white strapless mini-dress stared at him for a long time at the bar. Finally, she mustered up her courage, walked up to him, picked up the red wine in front of him, poured herself a glass, clinked glasses with his, sat down next to him, and said in a sweet voice, "Brother, don't you want to drink by yourself? I'll keep you company."
His thoughts were interrupted, and Shen Anxia's image receded like a flood. Yang Zheng slightly raised his eyes, his gaze sweeping across the girl's face. His cold, emotionless gaze instantly froze the girl's smile. He uttered a single word—
"roll."
The girl was extremely upset that this person would show her no respect at all. She pouted her red lips and left in a huff.
There were a few girls at the bar who wanted to chat up the handsome guy, but after seeing the guy ruthlessly chase away the girl in the white tube top, the others didn't dare to go up anymore.
"Third brother, why don't you come dance with us? Big brother only called you out to relax because he knew you were in a bad mood." A man who had just come down from the dance floor held a bottle of wine in his left hand, took a big gulp from the bottle, plopped down next to Yang Zheng, and put his left hand on Yang Zheng's shoulder.
It's Jiang Fanxing.
"Go keep Rong Yi company! Have fun." Yang Zheng didn't budge.
"What's the point of me being happy? We're just trying to make you happy."
Yang Zheng didn't reply.
Xu Qingjing also came over, picked up a bottle of wine from the table, and sat on the other side of Yang Zheng.
"It's normal to be silent for a few days after a breakup." Xu Qingjing opened the bottle and gulped down a mouthful.
Yang Zheng still didn't respond.
"Third Brother's relationship is so innocent that Rongyi and I both think it's so pure. How old are you? Why are you acting like it's an idol drama? I told you before that being too gentlemanly in a relationship is no good. You should hold hands and kiss when you should. Look at you, being a gentleman for so long, you haven't even held hands. I'm not saying you're bad, but you're such a jerk! Let me tell you, the couple at my desk who are getting their marriage certificate, while I'm stamping the form, they're kissing right in front of me. You know, French kissing? If you had been this intense earlier, Anxia might have already gone back to Yi'an with you and wouldn't have stayed in Xinfeng at all."
"So it's because your kissing skills are so good that Rong Yi is with you? Besides, don't you know how many years your third brother has been single? Don't bring up your past with this," Xu Qingjing laughed at Jiang Fanxing and then turned to Yang Zheng, "But I really didn't expect that you haven't even held her hand. Actually, if you really like her, you should take the initiative, maybe you can really keep her."
Yang Zheng remained silent, but in his heart he silently rejected Xu Qingjing and Jiang Fanxing's idea. After all, back then, a girl with an iron will was only a teenager, a girl who looked weak but was actually unyielding, whose dreams shone brightly in her eyes. How could he possibly keep her by forcing her hand?
“Actually, Anxia is right. She’s in Xinfeng. It’s okay for you two to date, but you have to get married now. The chances of you two staying together are slim. I guess she wants to end your relationship before you two fall in love, so that it won’t get more and more painful.” Xu Qingjing had stopped calling Shen Anxia “Sister Shen” and started calling her Anxia instead.
"She doesn't want to keep Third Brother hanging? Then this girl is indeed a good person." Jiang Fanxing sighed. He didn't actually mind her, who was younger than him, becoming his Third Sister-in-law.
Yang Zheng finally spoke, his voice tinged with self-mockery: "I wish she weren't so good."
If she weren't so good to him, she wouldn't mind keeping him hanging on, and she wouldn't have the principle to immediately say goodbye once she knew there was no future for them. He would rather be kept on hold by her.
If things weren't so good, he wouldn't have gone from liking her to loving her, and wouldn't have loved her for so many years, unable to let go of anyone else in his heart without her even knowing.
"Hey! Girls are everywhere, aren't they? Don't try to fool me. I already know there's a girl at your workplace who's been pursuing you. I heard you've rejected her several times but haven't given up. Why don't you consider it?" Jiang Fanxing said in a roguish tone.
Xu Qingjing also said, "How about I introduce you to someone else?"
"Hey? Right, Rong Yi mentioned before that she met someone who studies dance, and her personality is very similar to Shen Anxia's. Shall we get to know her?" As soon as she started to introduce her, Jiang Fanxing suddenly remembered that Rong Yi had mentioned her.
Hearing this, Yang Zheng scoffed.
"No, what are you laughing at? Your laughter is giving me the creeps." Jiang Fanxing looked like she had seen a ghost.
Then Yang Zheng said his longest sentence: "Fifth brother, I've met many women, colleagues, friends, customers at the barbecue restaurant, including girls majoring in dance. Don't you remember there's an art school right next to our school? Over the years, many people have pursued me, but none of them can compare to Shen Anxia."
At this point, not only Jiang Fanxing was seeing a ghost, but Xu Qingjing also felt that something was amiss.
Xu Qingjing lowered his head to his knees and beckoned to Jiang Fanxing. Jiang Fanxing lowered her head as well, and the two whispered between Yang Zheng's knees and the table.
"I don't quite understand what you mean, Third Brother," Xu Qingjing said, covering his and Jiang Fanxing's faces with his hands.
“I’m a little confused too,” Jiang Fanxing agreed.
"Why do I feel like Third Brother is implying that he has met Shen Anxia before?" Xu Qingjing had a bold guess.
"Huh? Fourth Brother, how did you come to such an amazing conclusion?" Jiang Fanxing asked, his face full of disbelief.
Don't you think so?
"I thought you were going to say that it's only been half a year, and Third Brother has already fallen for someone this much. I didn't expect you knew each other before? Fourth Brother, how did you find out?"
"Do you remember how we came up with the idea of introducing the girl upstairs to him?" Xu Qingjing asked.
Jiang Fanxing racked her brains for a long time and vaguely remembered some things: "It seems that once when I went to your house, you mentioned that the family upstairs wanted to find a boyfriend for their daughter. Uncle Chen made such a fuss that everyone in the two buildings knew about it. We even made fun of your neighbor back then."
Xu Qingjing nodded vigorously in praise: "Smart! Do you remember what Third Brother said back then?"
Jiang Fanxing tried hard to recall the scene, piecing it together in her mind: "Oh! I remember now! Third Brother said, 'Aren't you guys running around trying to introduce me to someone? Don't you have someone upstairs? Why don't you consider me?' And you also said something like, 'That girl from the Shen family is several years younger than you. We've only just started university after we graduated.'"
Xu Qingjing nodded again: "It's rare that you can still remember this. But do you remember what Third Brother said?"
"Get lost!" Jiang Fanxing wasn't happy at all from the praise. Following Xu Qingjing's question, she continued, "Third Brother seemed to have said something about being pretty much the same or something, but I forgot."
“Third Brother’s exact words were,” Xu Qingjing continued, “both families are urging me to get married, and going on a blind date won’t hurt. Shen Anxia has graduated, so we’re all in the same boat. He even said that if I helped introduce someone to someone, it would be like neighbors helping each other out, so he reluctantly agreed. I was puzzled at the time. He saw the whole thing when our house was flooded upstairs, and he still wanted me to introduce someone to the upstairs neighbor? I immediately told him that the girl upstairs had already been on two blind dates, but she hadn’t liked either of them. He replied, ‘So, it’s just a blind date. We’ll see if it works out.’”
“Yes, yes, but at the time I thought Third Brother was annoyed by Uncle Yang’s nagging and just wanted to go on a blind date and get married casually,” Jiang Fanxing was very impressed with Xu Qingjing’s memory, but still a little confused, “But that doesn’t mean Third Brother already knew Shen Anxia, does it?”
"What else did Third Brother say just now?" Xu Qingjing asked.
"What else did you say?" Jiang Fanxing asked in return.
Xu Qingjing remained silent and repeated to Jiang Fanxing, "He just said that he has met many people over the years, but no one can compare to Shen Anxia." He especially emphasized the words "over the years."
"Oh right, right, right, he also said he knows quite a few girls from art schools!" Jiang Fanxing exclaimed excitedly.
Xu Qingjing rolled her eyes: "Third Brother didn't say that. He just said there's an arts school nearby. I was thinking, he's only known Shen Anxia for half a year, how come he suddenly said 'all these years'? Besides, what did he say when we and his family asked him to go on blind dates? No! No meeting! No dating! What, now that he heard Anxia is looking for a partner, he immediately goes on blind dates?"
“That’s right! Fourth Brother, your analysis makes perfect sense! But when did he ever see Shen Anxia before?” Jiang Fanxing was full of admiration.
Xu Qingjing stroked his chin: "I'm thinking it might be the time my house was flooded by the upstairs neighbor."
“Oh————” Jiang Fanxing nodded, drawing out a long, drawn-out tone at the end of her sentence, “But how many years has that been? Shen Anxia was just a child back then, wasn’t she?”
Xu Qingjing did the math and shook his head: "It's not that young. I remember we were sophomores in college that year. If you count, An Xia was 17 years old then, and should have been in her second year of high school."
"So many years? It must have been five or six years! Is Third Brother really that loyal?" Jiang Fanxing was a little skeptical.
“Six years,” Xu Qingjing said definitively. “Aside from this incident, they shouldn’t have had any other opportunities to contact each other. I see. Now I understand why Third Brother hasn’t looked for her all these years.”
Jiang Fanxing sincerely admired Xu Qingjing's calculation ability and gave him a thumbs up.
The two seemed to have discovered some incredible secret, their gazes towards each other were full of meaning, and after receiving the corresponding acknowledgment, they slowly stood up.
Both of them looked at Yang Zheng and found that he was still in the same position as before. He seemed not to have noticed that the two of them had been cricketing at him. He just kept staring at the wine glass in his hand, and the wine in the glass did not move at all.
Xu Qingjing and Jiang Fanxing exchanged another meaningful glance.
"What's wrong? Are you unhappy?" A male voice interrupted from the other end.
The group looked up and exclaimed in unison, "Second Brother!"
Seeing that the three of them insisted on squeezing to one side, Duan Lixing laughed and said, "What's wrong? This big booth can't fit all three of you, so you have to squeeze together?"
"Isn't your work finished yet, brother?" Jiang Fanxing asked.
"Almost there. You look radiant, you're having a great time. What do you want with your older brother? Want some milk?" Duan Lixing teased Jiang Fanxing.
"Fifth brother just said he wanted to French kiss," Xu Qingjing teased with a smile.
"With Big Brother? I'll beat you to death!" Duan Lixing exclaimed in surprise.
"I didn't say that! Listen to Fourth Brother's rant!" Jiang Fanxing exclaimed, denouncing Xu Qingjing. "Where did that perfect understanding you showed me just now go?"
“It won’t stop me from suing you,” Xu Qingjing teased Jiang Fanxing.
Duan Lixing watched Xu Qingjing and Jiang Fanxing joking around and asked Yang Zheng, "Aren't you infected by this lively atmosphere at all?"
Yang Zheng smiled but didn't reply.
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