2
Perhaps I have no talent for bad behavior. No matter how many times I rehearse my lines and expressions beforehand, my expression stiffens, my words stutter, and sweat breaks out on my forehead when I pay the bill. This behavior naturally arouses the suspicion of the bosses. They frown suspiciously, hold the bills up to the light for a few extra seconds, and naturally realize they are counterfeit.
After five consecutive failures, I had no choice but to set my sights on the last businessman at the end of the alley - an old man selling tea eggs.
She was thin and petite, her back hunched, and she was standing over a pot of bubbling tea eggs. Seeing me stop in front of her, she raised her wrinkled face and said, "Want some tea eggs? Three for one dollar."
"Give me three." I took out the fake hundred-dollar bill and handed it over, my body trembling slightly with nervousness.
She blinked twice, her eyelids revealing blue veins, took the bill and looked at it in the sunlight, her cloudy and heavy eyeballs barely moving. "Oh, it's a large bill. Let me see if I can make the change."
She pulled bills from her unkempt pockets, spread them out on her lap, and after a long moment's careful counting, she managed to come up with the change. Unable to bear watching any longer, I grabbed the change and the tea egg and left.
I hadn't taken a few steps when I heard a hoarse cry from behind me, "Come back!" Turning around, I saw the old man standing up and trembling as he ran after me. I was so shocked that I couldn't move.
"I miscalculated and shortchanged you two dollars. Sigh, I'm getting old and my brain isn't working anymore." She walked towards me, groping in her pocket for change. I felt my cheeks getting hot with nervousness and shame.
"No need to trouble you for the change. I just remembered that I still have some change in my wallet." I couldn't help but say.
Coming out of the alley, Zheng Kun and Zhang Zhihao were blocking the entrance smoking.
"Has the money been changed?" Zhang Zhihao asked impatiently.
The experience just now gave me the courage to resist. "I can't do this kind of thing of cheating people with counterfeit money. You should find someone else."
Without warning, a heavy punch hit my lower abdomen, sending intense pain throughout my body.
"Are you getting carried away again? Have you forgotten that we still have something on you?"
"I won't help you do bad things anymore." I covered my abdomen and slowly squatted down, breathing hard. "If you keep pushing me, I'll be a dead end. You two are also implicated in that mahjong stall incident. My dad is a policeman. Once he finds out the truth, he will definitely not let you go."
Hearing the word "police", Zhang Zhihao's fist froze in the air, "You kid..."
"Okay, you've got guts." Zheng Kun, who was leaning against the wall smoking silently, gave me a blank look and spoke in a nasal voice, "But don't forget, you've done more bad things than just that one. You smashed the windows of shops with bricks, kept a lookout while stealing, collected protection money, and used counterfeit money to cheat people out of real money. If all these things were exposed, even if your dad were a policeman, he wouldn't be able to protect you."
"You guys forced me to do this!"
"Don't say such harsh words. When have I ever forced you? I'm just asking for your help as a friend. Don't I always give you your share after the work is done?"
"You forced me to accept it!"
"Good fellow, you only made money because you were forced to." He slowly inhaled the cigarette into his lungs, exhaled, stared at my face through the smoke and laughed, "Will anyone believe this if I tell them?"
“Hmm…”
"Besides, aren't you enjoying it yourself? The day before yesterday, when you were collecting protection money, you even took the initiative to persuade those little brats to pay up, threatening them with serious consequences if they didn't."
That's because the consequences are truly severe. I once witnessed Zhang Zhihao beating a child who refused to pay until he was black and blue, so I kindly advised those unfortunate people to cooperate.
"Alright, we're all doomed. The worst that can happen is we all go to juvenile detention together." Zheng Kun took a long drag of cigarette into his lungs and exhaled as if it were unusually delicious. "We know our way around there, and life there isn't necessarily any worse than outside. A playboy like you would be in trouble if you went in there."
Zhang Zhihao was also gloating on the side, "When they knew your dad was a policeman, they would beat you up even harder."
I wanted to yell at them, but at the same time I was so scared I wanted to beg for mercy. I stood there in a daze, unable to shift my focus to either side, unable to utter a single word.
Seeing that his intimidation had achieved its purpose, Zheng Kun patted my shoulder in time and said, "I'm just kidding, a silly joke. Don't make such a scary face. We're friends, so why make things so awkward? Forget it if you can't exchange counterfeit money. How about this, do you see that video store in the alley across the street? Go borrow a few videotapes, and we'll go to Zhihao's house later to watch a movie. You must have the newly released "Angel Agents", and other tapes are fine."
I agreed without hesitation. As long as I wasn't forced to do anything bad, running an errand was a small problem.
"By the way, return the counterfeit money to me and use your own pocket money to rent it," he added.
This was my first time visiting a video store.
Until two years ago, this was a children's toy store that also sold stationery. Perhaps because parents in this small town are tightening their belts, the struggling landlord decided to give up and sublet the shop, leaving us, including myself, feeling very sad for the children who played with the toys but didn't buy anything.
The new sign read "Red Sail Video Rental." The new owner seemed to dislike turning on the lights; the sunlight streaming in from the roller shutters stopped at the tiled floor at the entrance. The light was diffusely reflected by the low-quality disc boxes on the shelves, providing virtually all the daylight. When the place first opened, I couldn't resist my curiosity and peeked in, but was immediately struck by the giant posters for "Bleeding Zombietown" and "Night of the Living Dead." I quickly fled and never considered going near it again.
A television hung high on a shelf, blaring a scene of blood-spattered blood. The dim light and musty odor made it feel like I was in the world of a horror film. I didn't dare look directly at the owner, who was sitting in the corner watching a movie, and began searching the shelves for a videotape.
Surprisingly, the further you go, the fewer horror films there are. The multi-story shelves are filled with videotapes, and judging by the labels, they offer films from every country and genre. I wander over to the Hong Kong film section, searching for comedies, kung fu films, action films, and more action films... but not the spy films Zheng Kun specifically requested.
Just as I was feeling worried, I suddenly saw a small room with a curtain at the back. There was a handwritten poster on the door: New Movies: Angel Agent, When the Peaches Ripen...
I lifted the curtain, but was stunned the next second.
On the shelves are boxes of seemingly different but ultimately similar videotapes. The covers are all different colors, but the focus of the images is always on women posing in all kinds of coquettish ways, wearing very little clothing, or even nothing at all.
Zheng Kun and the others were guarding the door, and leaving empty-handed would definitely lead to bad consequences. After much hesitation, I finally decided to rent the disc.
I peeked out from behind the curtains. There were only two or three other customers in the store. I pretended to be selecting videotapes from the shelves, observing the scene in the store.
People kept coming in and out. After waiting for a long time, I finally took the opportunity when no one was around and rushed to the counter at the door.
"That's all."
I handed over a stack of five videotapes, the other four randomly chosen as cover-ups. The one Zheng Kun wanted was tucked in between like the cream filling in a cookie. I looked down at my shoelaces, silently praying the boss wouldn't notice.
"Are there any members?" The voice was very childish.
"without."
"If you want to rent, you need to become a member and pay a deposit of one hundred yuan."
"So expensive?" I looked up and saw the boss's face and couldn't help but exclaimed.
It wasn't that the face was particularly scary. An uncle among my relatives survived a fire and had noticeable facial scars. Having been forced to visit relatives during the Lunar New Year since childhood, I'd become immune to scarred faces. In fact, it was quite lovely, with bright eyes and fair skin. It could have been featured on skincare packaging.
The problem is, I recognized this face. She was a classmate of mine. I remember her name was Li Zitong.
"Don't yell. The deposit is twenty dollars for one videotape, and this is the price if you rent five at a time." Li Zitong explained in a businesslike manner, completely disregarding the friendship between classmates.
Without waiting for my answer, she spread out five videotapes on the table, said "Huh", and pointed to the one of "Angel Agent". The beauty on the cover was almost naked, wearing only a white bikini, covering the recognized important parts of her bronze body.
"Did you take this from the back room? The deposit is thirty."
I can't remember what happened a minute later; it feels like watching someone else perform in a movie. The me in the camera frantically explains that I hadn't been in that room, and that someone else might have taken the disc, and that I accidentally picked it up by mistake when choosing a movie.
After a halting explanation, I fled the store without even taking a single videotape. As soon as I reached the alleyway, Zhang Zhihao stopped me.
He held out his hand, "Where's the stuff?"
"I didn't find it. Maybe it was rented out to someone." I stammered.
He clenched his fists and cracked his joints, and the crisp and ominous sounds came one after another.
"Just let me go. You can change it to counterfeit money. The girl who's looking after the store is my classmate. If I rent porn in front of her, I'll be finished. The whole school will know."
"What's so scary about this?"
"Wait a minute," Zheng Kun came closer and squeezed in front of Zhang Zhihao, "You said the one running the store now is a young girl?"
I grasped at a glimmer of hope and nodded repeatedly. He walked around the store entrance and peered through the glass window. "So that's how it is. The owner goes home at noon, and his children help run the store."
Zhang Zhihao and I were both confused and had no idea what he wanted to say.
"Are you familiar with her? The one who works in the shop."
"Just an acquaintance."
I'm not exaggerating. Although we were classmates, I had never spoken to her.
"I understand. Don't worry about the videotape anymore." He patted my shoulder. "Try to be friends with her."
"Why?"
"Don't be lazy, this is very important."
"But why?"
There was no answer. He simply held my shoulders and smiled faintly, a smile that could be interpreted in many ways.
Stealing or making friends with girls. Comparing them side by side, I honestly can't decide which is more challenging. After entering sixth grade, it was as if I'd crossed a subtle threshold: boys and girls stopped talking to each other. Occasionally, there were boys who dared to cross the line of taboo and approached the opposite sex, but I considered them eccentrics, and I couldn't understand their thinking.
I hated Barbie dolls as a child and never got along with girls. My friends were all men, most of whom were rude and trouble-making.
People like Li Zitong had absolutely no connection to my social circle. She was a transfer student, enrolled in her second year. Her parents' work forced her to move from a big city to study here. She had an intelligent face, impeccable manners, and a gentle, soft voice... She clearly had a temperament that didn't fit in with our small town.
Rumor has it that her family is quite wealthy and her parents are both officials.
My best friend in class, Gao Yang, once said, "She will definitely play the piano."
"Have you heard of it?"
"No. But don't you think she looks a lot like the rich girls in foreign movies? The kind of girls who come from a wealthy family and learn piano with a private tutor. She must live in a Western-style house, with uniform white curtains and a vase of fresh lilies. I secretly observed her when I was collecting homework, and her fingers are so thin and long, they must be perfect for playing the piano."
Although this is completely Gao Yang's wishful thinking, it sounds quite credible.
How could a girl like this be working in a video store that also sells pornographic films? I wondered if I had mistaken her for someone else, but after sneaking in and observing for several days, I could still tell that it was her face.
I walked into the video store.
Li Zitong sat behind the counter, not noticing me. His narrow eyes, reminiscent of a Persian cat, were fixed on the TV.
A zombie-themed movie about the apocalypse was playing on TV. The dim lighting and musty smell in the store only added to the eerie atmosphere.
The screen was filled with ghosts and blood splattering everywhere. I took one quick glance and didn't dare to continue watching, but Li Zitong was watching with gusto, chewing a red apple with a "crunch crackle" sound.
On weekdays, when her mother, Xu Lan, was in charge of the shop, she'd usually show the usual Hollywood action blockbusters. Watching these kinds of zombie movies was probably purely a personal hobby for her. I once witnessed her immediately switch to an R-rated film as soon as Xu Lan left the shop, completely ignoring the frowns of the customers selecting movies.
I picked up a videotape at random and handed it to her, saying, "Rent this one."
"Deposit 20." She took the money quickly and turned back to watching the movie.
"You really do like zombie movies."
Without even looking at me, she casually replied, "Is it not possible?"
"Of course, no problem..." I had to change the subject. "By the way, have you finished your summer homework?"
She turned her head and glanced at me, her dark pupils seemed to be frosted. "What does my summer homework have to do with you?"
"Just a little curious..."
Finally, I succumbed to her unblinking gaze and fled in embarrassment.
The result was the same as the previous few days. I don't know if it was my approach or her natural dislike for conversation, but we couldn't even establish a smooth conversation, let alone become friends. Her mental defenses were so strong that no matter which direction I stood on tiptoe, I could only see a high wall.
After much deliberation, I decided to give it another try. I lingered in the store for a while, pretending to select discs. Around two o'clock, her mother arrived to take her shift. This was my chance.
I followed Li Zitong and we boarded the same bus. I had planned to talk to her again on the bus, and I had even thought about my lines: "What a coincidence, we meet again." "Are you taking this bus too?" "Of course, it's the same bus. By the way, have you finished your summer homework?"
But this bus was packed like a can of sardines. I was sandwiched between two adults, my face pressed against the back of a middle-aged man. My vision was pitch black, and the stench of sweat filled my nostrils.
Finally arriving at my stop, getting off was another challenge. The conductor, pushing people up at the door, yelled, "Get off! The next bus will be here soon, or no one will be able to leave!" I squeezed under the arms of adults, getting scolded over and over again. When I finally squeezed out, I saw Li Zitong had already gotten off and walked away.
I ran after her and finally caught up with her in a narrow alley. Perhaps she heard the footsteps and turned around in confusion.
"What a coincidence, we meet again." I said breathlessly.
She pursed her lips tightly, the corners of her mouth slightly curved downwards, "You're following me?"
"No, it just happened to be the same car..."
"I remember you. Every day you pretended to borrow a disc to chat with me. What was your plan?"
"No..." I racked my brains, but no good excuse came to mind.
"Don't come over here," her lips trembled slightly, and her voice became weaker. "Please, I don't have any money on me, please let me go."
Come to think of it, being chased down in a deserted alley like this is truly terrifying. She lowered her head, looking like she was about to burst into tears. "I'm not a bad person..." I hurriedly approached her. In that instant, a sharp pain shot through my crotch, and I collapsed to the ground.
"Don't come near me! I'll destroy you! You bastard!"
She only screamed like that even though she was already being kicked. Then, Li Zitong, the symbol of the piano, the white house, and the lilies, ran away cursing without looking back.
It was not until she ran so far away that I could no longer see her that I managed to get up and went home holding on to the wall.
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