*
Song Beiting stood silently in the entryway, the smile on his face long gone. He looked calmly over the mess on the floor.
Empty wine bottles scattered about, an overturned instant noodle container, takeout containers strewn on the floor...
"I have no money." His voice was flat.
"No money? Don't think I don't know, today's your payday, isn't it?"
Song Zhiqiang mumbled incoherently and stood up unsteadily.
The smell of alcohol mixed with the stench of sweat hit him in the face. Song Zhiqiang reached into his pockets and rummaged through them, then grabbed his backpack and emptied its contents.
Song Beiting remained motionless as he searched through the items. Although he was quite used to this scene, this time, he felt a bit annoyed.
Living in a dilapidated old house reeking of mold, with an alcoholic father, what right did he have to look up to such a person?
Until a gold-embossed business card tucked inside the book gently floated to the ground.
Song Zhiqiang picked up the business card and squinted at it.
"Ning Group...Executive Chairman?"
Upon seeing these words, his drunken eyes suddenly lit up:
"You little brat, you're pretty good. You can even get close to such a big shot. I knew I hadn't raised you for nothing. With a face like yours, how many rich women would like you? Tell me, how much did she pay you? How much do you get for sleeping with her once?"
"Speak!"
"Has he become mute?!"
Seeing that Song Beiting remained silent, Song Zhiqiang suddenly flew into a rage, shoved him against the wall, grabbed his clothes, and frantically searched his pockets. Finally, he focused his attention on the phone in Song Beiting's hand and began to snatch it.
"You brat, just like your slutty mother, you were born to seduce. If you're going to sell yourself, then sell yourself. Don't pretend to be so high and mighty in front of me..."
"Let go! If you don't give me the money today, I'll go to that Ning Group tomorrow and demand it from that person. My son isn't going to sleep with anyone for free!"
"I can tell at a glance that she's rich. A woman like that would cost tens of thousands even if she just kept a gigolo. Don't even mention how she looks. Let go, I told you to let go!!"
This wasn't the first time Song Beiting had heard such humiliating words from his father; after hearing them so many times, he was no longer bothered by them.
However, when he heard Song Zhiqiang say something about women keeping gigolos, it reminded him of Nan Qing staring at the good-looking boys on campus from time to time. These words suddenly touched a nerve that had been taut all along.
"Shut up!"
He shoved the person away, his eyes chillingly cold, as if he could drag the person in front of him into hell at any moment.
Song Zhiqiang was stunned by his gaze, and sobered up considerably.
He reluctantly let go, but then roared in anger and embarrassment:
"Get out! Get the hell out of here!"
"If you've got the guts, then die out there and don't you dare get your ass back here!!"
Song Beiting silently squatted down, packed the scattered items on the ground into his schoolbag, carefully tucked the business card into a book, and then walked out of the house without looking back.
He kept walking and walking until he reached the riverbank he frequented, where he sat under a streetlamp, his eyes as calm as still water.
After some time, he took out his phone, tapped on the pinned alpaca profile picture, and opened her Moments.
But then I discovered that she had just posted a message on her WeChat Moments around 5 p.m. today.
The caption reads: Kids are so funny.
And the accompanying picture... was actually his back view.
That was the background when they went to the library to look for books that afternoon.
Song Beiting stared at that post on WeChat Moments for a long time, so long that his phone screen automatically turned off. He immediately turned the screen back on, hovered his finger over the like button, hesitated for a moment, and finally withdrew it.
Watching the shimmering water on the river sway in the night, he suddenly raised his phone, pointed it at the scene before him, and pressed the shutter.
Then he opened his Moments and posted his first status update in the blank Moments. But before posting it, he selected "partially visible" for the "who can see" option and only checked the alpaca avatar.
There was no caption, just a picture.
After posting it, he also felt that his actions were somewhat ridiculous.
I wanted to delete it, but I hesitated.
...Maybe?
He kept staring at the alpaca on his phone screen.
I watched it for a long, long time...
It went on for so long that he even started to wonder if he should get a new phone. Why wasn't he receiving the messages he wanted to see?
At midnight, he turned off his phone, leaned back in his chair, tilted his head back, and closed his eyes.
He realized he had misunderstood.
That was probably just something she posted casually, without any other meaning.
Suddenly, he felt someone sit down next to him. Song Beiting opened his eyes instantly and reflexively moved to the side to create some distance.
There were many people jogging along the riverside path at night, and he assumed it was just a tired passerby who needed to rest.
Just then, a familiar, light fragrance wafted over.
"How did my junior suddenly turn into a stray puppy?"
A smiling female voice rang in his ears. Song Beiting turned his head and saw Nan Qing sitting less than 30 centimeters away from him.
She wore a beige trench coat, her hair was slightly blown by the night breeze, and her eyes were filled with a bright smile, radiating boundless brilliance.
"you....."
"Senior, what are you doing here?"
Nan Qing handed him the hot drink she was holding: "Oh, I was just passing by and saw someone standing here in a daze. He looks a lot like the kid I just checked in with today, so I came over to take a look."
Song Beiting took the cup and noticed a faint lip print on the rim. He pretended not to see it, turned the cup around, aimed at the print, and took a sip.
"By the way, the photos you posted on your WeChat Moments are really good. I had no idea the night view here was so beautiful."
Nan Qing leaned back in her chair, tilting her head slightly back, enjoying the cool breeze on her face.
The only downside to living in a big city is that you can't see any stars at night, at most only a few scattered ones.
Song Beiting listened to her words but did not respond. He simply held his hot drink quietly and continued drinking.
But deep down, I couldn't help feeling a little happy.
Given her wealth, she must live in the city center. This is the old town in the northern suburbs; how could she possibly be passing through here so late?
Perhaps... she came specifically to see him?
Song Beiting turned his head to look at her profile. Although he felt a little ridiculous, his mind started to wander.
Perhaps, it's good enough to see her occasionally like this.
Nan Qing didn't ask him why he was still out so late, nor did she ask him why he had a bruise on his face. She just sat quietly with him for a while.
After she counted the stars in the sky five times, she stood up.
Song Beiting thought she was leaving, and his lips moved, but he couldn't think of anything else he could say besides goodbye, so he just stared at her with his head tilted back.
Nan Qing stood in front of him, looking at this slightly fragile and innocent girl.
He asked with a smile, "Song Beiting, do you want to come home with me?"
At this moment, Song Beiting couldn't think of anything else; the mere thought of "going home" was enough to throw his heart into turmoil...
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