Chapter 9 Chapter 9 "Happy New Year."
Qiao Yu's fever had not subsided yet, and he was afraid of infecting his grandmother, so he ran away immediately after lunch.
He first went to a tutoring institution, ready to apologize, but the principal welcomed him in with a smile, and kindly showed concern for his health. He told him that he could continue to rest if he was not feeling well, and it didn't matter whether he could substitute for the class or not, as our institution focuses on shining humanistic care.
Qiao Yu: “…”
hehe.
He suspected that Jiang Mian had done something, but when he thought about it, it was just a matter of money.
But his absenteeism should also be attributed to the other party, so after all the calculations, he does not feel guilty.
He filled in a stack of papers and left, then rushed to school without stopping.
After spending the whole afternoon disposing of the accumulated debris, I met my senior brother before dinner, who reminded Qiao Yu not to forget the dinner tomorrow.
There is also a dinner party.
Things happened one after another, pushing Qiao Yu forward like a person going to a market.
He had no time to be depressed. There were a lot of things waiting for him to do both in school and outside of school.
In fact, it is the same as before.
In the evening, Qiao Yu returned to the dormitory and took the information that his tutor would need next week, intending to go home before Aunt Sun got off work.
His roommate was playing online games, and when he saw Qiao Yu come in, he took off his headphones.
"Hey, rare guest."
Two graduate students share a dormitory, with a balcony and bathroom.
Because Qiao Yu did not live on campus, he was given a super luxurious single room by another person.
"Want to catch up on some sleep? I'll keep my voice down."
"No, just grab something and go."
Qiao Yu rummaged around on the desk a few times and happened to meet people from the next dormitory who were out eating skewers together. They called Qiao Yu along.
Qiao Yu had to work overtime to mark papers when he got home, so he put it off because he didn't have time to go.
This is normal, he is not very sociable.
But he is not particularly aloof. We can still chat if we meet on the street.
If there were two people, Qiao Yu could still say a few words, but if there were three or more people, Qiao Yu would almost just shut up in the crowd.
The topics of their conversations were nothing more than their research groups, experiments, and girlfriends.
One of them suddenly turned around and asked Qiao Yu if he was interested, saying that a girl from the next class wanted his contact information.
"Ah?" Qiao Yu reacted a little late, "No."
"See, I told you," his roommate put his arm around Qiao Yu's shoulder, his movements somewhat intimate, "He has been without love for many years."
Qiao Yu was pushed back half a step, and when he turned his head, he saw that it was Zhou Shuhe.
This person has an eccentric personality, is very popular, is outgoing, and likes to mess around.
Qiao Yu held his chin with his hand because of a headache: "Just shut up."
"Just indulge yourself once in a while," Zhou Shuhe shook his shoulders, "I won't laugh at you."
Qiao Yu was shaken back and forth and took a few steps to push the person away.
They have known each other for almost a year, and he is still a very good roommate. Although Qiao Yu is often not in the dormitory, he will inform Qiao Yu of any group activities or dormitory dinners.
They love drinking, and Qiao Yu once tried it when he first started school.
As a result, I started to feel dizzy after drinking less than one glass, and finally I was carried back by someone.
He talked a lot on the way, and although most of it was difficult to understand, we could still analyze some of the past from his words.
For example - he had an unforgettable first love.
Because of this incident, Qiao Yu is often teased by his roommates, and he still enjoys it.
"Really not going?" Qiao Yu's hair on the back of his head was rubbed by his claws until it looked like it was chewed by a dog. Zhou Shuhe let him go with some regret, "Winter vacation is coming soon. Drink more at the dinner tomorrow."
They separated at an intersection, and Qiao Yu said goodbye to them and continued on his way.
As a result, he had not taken a few steps when someone caught up with him again.
Qiao Yu thought that her roommate had forgotten something, so she turned her head away with a relatively friendly expression.
However, when he saw who the other person was, that bit of friendliness disappeared instantly.
"You're following me?"
Jiang Mian stopped beside Qiao Yu and said, "Not really. I just asked about your school."
Qiao Yu frowned, tried his best to ignore this sticky plaster, and continued walking forward.
Jiang Mian followed him and said, "Can't we talk?"
Since they met in the bar, it seems that they have never sat down and chatted quietly.
There were many things Qiao Yu was unwilling to say, so Jiang Mian pretended to be dumb. This kind of endless entanglement was boring, so it was better to talk about it so that everyone would have a clear idea.
"We do know each other," Qiao Yu stopped and quickly sorted out the prophecy, "high school classmate, you occasionally came to my house. Later, your father asked you to go back, and we haven't seen each other since you went home."
It seemed like a simple matter, and Jiang Mian did not raise any questions.
But he thought for a moment: "Just like that?"
Qiao Yu said nothing.
Jiang Mian looked embarrassed: "I always feel something is wrong."
"Didn't you lose your memory?" Qiao Yu asked.
"I did have a car accident five years ago, but it's not like I can't remember anything."
"Can you remember me?" Qiao Yu said with a smile.
"That's the truth." Jiang Mian shrugged. "Our relationship should be more than just classmates. Your reaction is wrong, and my feeling is wrong too."
This confident and relaxed look was somewhat ironic. Qiao Yu lowered his eyes and suddenly felt that the past five years had seemed even more ridiculous.
"No matter what, it's only the past. Five years is too long. Now we each have new lives, and I hope we can stop disturbing each other."
The street lamp cast a warm light, and Qiao Yu stared at the distance between himself and Jiang Mian's toes.
The shadows cover the dim and unclear outlines of the floor tiles. He never thought that one day he would observe these things so carefully. It's funny to think about it now.
-
When he got home, Qiao Yu felt exhausted both physically and mentally.
Aunt Sun saw that he looked unhappy and said a few more words of concern before leaving.
Qiao Yu made some noises to get through it, then slumped over beside her grandmother's bed as if her bones had been pulled out, burying her face in her arms.
I want to cry, but crying is very troublesome.
He wiped his tears with a tissue before they came out, sniffed, and calmed himself down to calm down.
Grandma's breathing was very heavy when she was asleep, but Qiao Yu felt very relieved listening to it.
He was used to lying on the edge of the bed and feeling the other person's presence. With his grandma around, it seemed like no difficulty was too much to overcome.
Suddenly, his head was gently stroked by a hand. Qiao Yu raised his face and saw his grandmother looking at him.
"What's the matter?"
The emotions that had been suppressed at first burst out like a flash flood just because of a question.
He bit his lower lip and buried his face in the other's hand.
"Are you crying again? Who bullied you?" Grandma sat up and wiped Qiao Yu's tears. "Where's Xiao Mian? Let him teach those brats a lesson!"
Grandma’s timeline is very confusing, mostly stuck in the few years before she became ill.
Maybe because he had seen Jiang Mian recently, he mentioned him much more frequently than before.
Qiao Yu had already developed an immunity to the sound, but so many things had happened recently that they easily broke the "present moment" that he had gotten used to with great difficulty.
"Why did you come back?" he whispered, not knowing who he was asking, "and why did you want to lie to me?"
"Who is it?" Grandma called out several names in a row, all old names from five years ago.
Qiao Yu shook her head, wiped the tears from her eyes, and leaned back to her grandmother's side: "It's okay, I just feel a little sad."
Grandma touched his head and asked: "Why are you sad?"
"Because..." Qiao Yu closed his eyes and said softly, "Something that shouldn't have happened."
-
The next day, Qiao Yu's eyes were red.
It's a very obvious red color, like eye shadow, which is a bit funny.
He rolled his way with boiled eggs and attended a day's class at a tutoring institution.
After get off work, I went straight to school to attend the evening dinner.
Fortunately, the swelling in my eyes had basically subsided by then, so you wouldn’t see anything unless you looked carefully.
Qiao Yu is not good at socializing and has very few friends.
I spent most of my spare time outside of school, which made me seem a bit out of place at the dinner table.
He doesn't talk much and just eats his food.
When someone approached him for a chat, he would join in a few words, but he couldn't come up with any new topics and the conversation would soon end.
After eating a few bites, Zhou Shuhe squeezed next to Qiao Yu, picked up his orange juice and drank it in one gulp, then poured him a glass of wine.
"You haven't been happy lately."
Qiao Yu took his face out of the bowl: "I don't drink."
"I'll carry you back," Zhou Shuhe smiled and patted Qiao Yu's back, "Happy New Year."
It’s late January and the Chinese New Year is just a few days away.
Time flies so fast, it’s New Year again.
Qiao Yu shook his head: "I'm afraid I'll say something nonsense when I'm drunk."
"Isn't it just your first love?" Zhou Shuhe raised his eyebrows, "It's like everyone has it."
Qiao Yu thought about it and smiled: "That's right."
It’s just a first love. He’s already 23 years old, why is he writing about the pain of youth?
As if by magic, Qiao Yu took the glass of wine and clinked glasses with Zhou Shuhe: "Happy New Year."
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