Chapter 111 Chapter 111 Just in time for the several days of violence…
Just after several days of torrential rain, the weather cleared up on Saturday, and the humid air dispelled the summer heat.
The streetlights lit up one by one. Inside the bar, a group of boys and girls who had just finished their college entrance exams sat on a wooden table with name tags and sticky notes on it.
The group whispered among themselves and clinked glasses under the soft lighting.
Newly adulthood seems to be a way for everyone to try to prove their maturity and sophistication with a glass of whiskey or a vodka mixed with a beverage.
But none of them knew then that the youthful innocence they wanted to quickly shed at eighteen would become a rare treasure they could never find again in the decades to come.
Laughter rose and fell in the crowd, the young voices like the ebb and flow of waves.
Ye Yuying was dozing off in the corner. Lin Manyin secretly nudged her with her elbow. Lin Manyin was a bit clumsy as she was learning to do makeup, and she had applied a thick layer of foundation. As soon as Lin Manyin got close, Ye Yuying could smell the cosmetics. Although they were all well-known brands, they still made Ye Yuying's nose itch.
"Hey! Don't fall asleep, it's about to start. I've screened a bunch of people for you, and tonight's group has the best looks. They're all graduates of Rongcheng No. 1 High School, all from prestigious universities, so they should all be reasonably intelligent."
Ye Yuying was at the very back and wanted to retreat several times, but when she looked up and saw that it would take five people to get up and give her a seat each time she stood up, she had no choice but to give up.
The refreshing aroma of mint and lemon wafted over the rim of the glass. Most of the ice had melted. She buried her head and took a sip through the straw, glancing briefly at the elegantly dressed crowd before closing her eyes heavily.
"This is what you've selected? Or maybe I should just get myself a drink." She might as well get drunk; at least she wouldn't have to witness the diversity of humanity.
“You’re not an adult yet, so you can only drink non-alcoholic beverages.” Lin Manyin rearranged the glass in front of her and added, “I heard there’s a handsome guy who’s the last one to meet up with, the school’s most popular guy from last year. He’s usually hard to get a date with, but we managed to get him to come out during his summer break from university when he came to Chengdu for social practice.”
Ye Yuying listened absentmindedly, muttering, "The previous school heartthrob... wasn't he your own brother..."
Lin Zhiyan has already gone to study in the United States.
Lin Manyin maintained a polite smile for everyone and then corrected them, saying, "My brother is from the previous year, thank you."
Ye Yuying was speechless and remained silent, looking at everyone indifferently.
“Three-minute self-introductions,” “Exchanging a favorite line of poetry,” “The most impulsive thing I did tonight.”
Everyone answered very seriously, talking about their aspirations, clubs, travel, and unfinished lists.
Someone said, "I want to run a full marathon next year."
Someone said, "I want to learn to scuba dive so I can see the whole blue expanse of Penghu."
Some people say, "I want to drive across Lop Nur."
Originally bored, she suddenly felt a strange envy as she listened: So this is how cool everyone else's world is.
When it was her turn, she only said two sentences: "I... want to figure out what I want to do before autumn comes."
At that moment, the room fell silent.
She had expected laughter from the crowd, but clearly, her words had no effect of making people laugh, nor did she intend to make them laugh; she was simply being blunt.
“It sounds like a lyric,” another person chimed in with a laugh.
The senior student hosting the event smoothly smoothed things over: "Then let's all hope that we can figure out our life goals before autumn arrives. Cheers to Ye!"
The clinking of glasses produced a light, crisp sound, and laughter rose again.
Ye Yuying rested her chin on her hand, her gaze passing over the crowd to the riverbank outside the terrace. String lights stretched a golden ribbon across the water's surface, and a gentle breeze rippling the surface.
She knew she really needed to try to step out of Cheng Mingdu's shadow... this emotion that was destined to remain unspoken.
Because if she said it out loud, the worst outcome would be parting ways... She didn't dare.
Lin Manyin held up her glass, chatting and laughing with the people around her. In the center of the dance floor, someone started urging her to sing, and the bar lights changed to a pale blue, swaying gently.
Voices, laughter, and music all mingled together, blurring into a blur, mingling with the summer night wind whistling past your ears.
Ye Yuying suddenly felt a bit hot, and even the floor-to-ceiling windows of the bar were faintly fogged up. She picked up her glass and walked to the terrace, pushed open the glass door, and the wind outside immediately rushed in.
The air was moist, carrying the scent of freshly washed vegetation. The Ferris wheel on the other side of the river was turning, its lights flashing on and off one by one, making everything appear as if it were encased in a crystal ball.
She leaned against the railing and sighed softly.
"What, you've come out for some fresh air all by yourself?"
Someone asked from behind, their voice gentle and with a hint of a smile.
She turned around and looked at the somewhat unfamiliar face. After thinking for a few seconds, she remembered that it was the senior who had arrived late earlier. According to Lin Manyin, he was the most handsome one from the previous year.
He was very tall, wearing a light gray shirt with the sleeves rolled up to his elbows, revealing his well-defined forearms. The bar lights shone from behind him, casting a faint golden glow on his profile.
In terms of appearance, after spending a lot of time with Cheng Mingdu, it's hard to think of any man who is better looking than him, but the man in front of me has a good temperament.
When he walked up to her, the familiar height difference made her instinctively lower her guard.
“Hmm,” she nodded, “it’s a bit boring.”
“I think so too.” He said, walking over to her and leaning against the railing, looking relaxed. “What you said earlier was quite interesting.”
Which sentence?
"Think clearly about what you want to do before autumn comes."
He turned his head and smiled, "It's pretty much like how I felt after I finished my college entrance exam."
"And then what?"
"Later..." he thought for a moment, "later I found that it seems that not many people can really figure it out. Those who can figure it out even halfway are considered lucky."
Ye Yuying asked, "So, how much have you thought about it?"
“Exactly half,” he said in a low voice. “But there’s more time to think than just this summer. You can change your major in college, or switch majors for your master’s degree. You can think things through at any stage of your life.”
Those words gently struck her heart; the tone was unremarkable, yet they gave her a sense of security.
He extended his hand: "Gu Ci."
“Ye Yuying.” She reached out and gently shook his hand.
His palms were at a moderate temperature, neither sticky nor cold, and carried a clean, scholarly air.
She suddenly realized that she would always be attracted to one type of person: someone who could be even just a little bit similar to Cheng Mingdu in some small aspect.
It's past 10 p.m. now, and the bar has completely entered party mode, with the music several times louder.
"Should we go somewhere else? It's too noisy in here."
Where to?
"That dessert shop across the street is still open, are you interested?"
Ye Yuying hesitated for a few seconds before finally nodding.
She hadn't met any new people in a long time, and this agreement carried a hint of self-coercion.
However, she felt that she might really need a healthy and normal encounter.
*
The dessert shop's menu is a simple hand-drawn sketch. The owner is a young and beautiful woman who wears an apron and walks around the shop enthusiastically, chatting with customers. A sign on the floor-to-ceiling window reads "Open until 11:30 PM." Soft piano music plays inside.
They ordered two cups of grapefruit tea and two pieces of matcha cake.
The grapefruit tea on the table was bubbling with tiny bubbles, and the pale pink pulp floated on top of it, shining brightly even with a shimmering light when illuminated.
Gu Ci picked up the spoon and stirred it gently, making a crisp sound as the glass bumped against the side.
“This dessert shop is a place I frequented during high school. It’s not very famous, but it has the quietness I’ve been looking for,” he said. “Back then, I would come here for a drink after every exam as a treat for myself.”
Ye Yuying rested her chin on her hand, listening to his tone, which was gentle, clean, and without a trace of aggression.
"You're still coming even if you didn't do well on the exam?" she asked casually.
"Of course." He smiled, revealing a youthful sincerity. "You should come even more when things are bad."
Ye Yuying smiled too, the spoon gently swirling at the bottom of the cup, the sound and music blending together, leaving only a hint of sweetness in the air.
"Where do you usually like to go?" he asked.
She thought for a moment, "I'm pretty much a homebody, I only like listening to music and watching movies."
"Old movies?" Gu Ci continued.
Ye Yuying nodded: "I only like old movies, even black and white silent films, and I also like some older forms of music."
Gu Ci didn't interrupt, but listened attentively, as if he were experiencing something wonderful.
After a few seconds, he said softly, "I also like old things. Joni Mitchell's 'Blue,' Nick Drake's 'Pink Moon.'"
Ye Yuying looked up, paused for a moment, and then a smile slowly crept up her face: "You listen to Joni too?"
“Yes.” Gu Ci nodded. “I also like Ryuichi Sakamoto, especially the song ‘Merry Christmas, Mr. Lawrence’. My mom used to collect vinyl records. When I was little, I didn’t understand and thought it was troublesome. Later I realized that the noise in those records is what holds the real time. Every vinyl record is damaged every time it is played, so every time it is played, it is unique.”
Ye Yuying paused for a moment, looking at the orange light reflected in his eyes, and suddenly felt a little dazed.
They have many similarities, even their mothers' love of collecting vinyl records is quite similar...
She suddenly felt a little unreal.
The similarity wasn't a coincidence that she deliberately tried to create; instead, it gave her a feeling of being saved from a desperate situation.
"Which song from 'Blue' do you like?" she asked.
Gu Ci thought for a moment, then answered slowly: "The Last Time I Saw Richard..."
"All the beautiful dreamers will one day pass by here, hiding behind bottles in the dark café. The dark café, before I grow magnificent wings and fly away, is just a dark cocoon. It's just a phase, these dark café times."
Ye Yuying immediately understood: "You're probably implying something to me."
Gu Ci raised his eyes and looked at her, his gaze so gentle it was almost devoid of any sharp edges.
“Yes, that somewhat reflects your current state of mind, doesn’t it?” he said.
After a brief silence and eye contact, they both smiled.
She thought for a moment and said, "...I quite like the noise of vinyl records."
Gu Ci looked at her without saying anything, just listening.
In the dessert shop, there are conversations about old songs and a classmate you meet for the first time.
She forced herself, little by little, to look more at the people in front of her, which allowed her to briefly and fortunately let go of a certain obsession.
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