Stars and Lonely Islands
"Dad, I'm home!"
The sound echoed back and forth in the house, but never settled. Xu Li knew that Xu Zhengbei was not home again, and her straight shoulders slumped instantly.
"The bureau has been quite busy lately, and Captain Xu is still here," Duan Ruiming said as he stood at the door, taking off his shoes.
Xu Li rolled her eyes at the person who had followed her, her tone both dissatisfied and puzzled: "Then how come you have time?"
"Captain Xu has so many responsibilities, how can I compare? Besides, I have to go back to the team later."
Xu Li shook her head frantically, adopting a "I'm not listening, you're just being a busybody" attitude: "I think you're just bored!"
Then he slammed the door shut and went into his house.
Duan Ruiming was already used to Xu Li's temper and called out towards the door, "Come out quickly, I'll take you to eat!"
"I don't want to eat!"
...
A few minutes later, Xu Li appeared at the door wearing a coat.
Xu Li covered her mouth with her sleeve, her words somewhat muffled: "What do you want to eat?"
Duan Ruiming reached for the car keys on the table: "Whatever you say we eat, that's fine with me. It's up to you."
After thinking for a moment, he said, "Hmm... I'll have some rice noodles. I saw one of my classmates eat at a place there last time and it looked pretty good."
When the topic turned to food, Xu Li seemed to have forgotten what had just happened.
Duan Ruiming looked at Xu Li's carefree attitude and smiled, "Fine, you're exhausted from studying, so eat whatever you want."
...
After finishing their meal, Duan Ruiming took Xu Li home and then returned to the station. Xu Li leaned against the window, watching the police lights disappear into the distance, and muttered to herself, "It seems the team is quite busy."
Actually, Xu Li had pretty much guessed it when she didn't see Xu Zhengbei when she got home today. She was used to facing an empty room alone, but she still felt a little lost every time.
In fact, strictly speaking, Xu Zhengbei is not a qualified father, at least in terms of spending time with his children, he lags behind most fathers. However, if educating children requires setting an example and teaching by example, then the profession of police officer is enough to illustrate this point.
Xu Li has forgotten the scenes of a complete family, but the atmosphere of love often nourishes her in the present.
Therefore, she understands and supports it, but occasionally throws a little tantrum.
Even though Xu Zhengbei missed many meaningful moments with her because of this, Xu Li would still tell him not to worry whenever he was busy.
Because she also knew how proud she had been when she was a child, boasting to other children that her father was a policeman.
Sometimes the father and daughter wouldn't see each other for days. One would leave early and come back early, while the other would leave even earlier and come back even later. Sometimes Xu Zhengbei would take Xu Li to school, and Xu Li would ask Xu Zhengbei to stop at the intersection a few minutes away from the school gate. If her classmates saw her taking a police car to school, it would still be a bit troublesome...
Although Xu Zhengbei's presence is faint in Xu Li's memory, the love she received during her childhood is enough to support her healthy growth now and in the future.
Xu Zhengbei did not return home all night. The next day, Xu Li bought two steamed buns and milk downstairs and ate them as she walked to school.
Because she had to walk, Xu Li arrived at school a little late, and her deskmate was asleep in his seat.
Xu Li couldn't help but smile as she watched Xiao Chen's retreating figure, then tiptoed to her seat.
Feeling something poking her arm, Xu Li turned her head.
It's Fei Li.
He was a bad student, a haphazard person, and although he pretended to be a gangster, he couldn't fit in with the big shots. Everyone in the class avoided him.
Fei Lizheng crouched down and poked Xu Li's hand with a pen that had its cap on.
Xu Li frowned and asked, "What's wrong?"
"Have you done your homework? Let me copy it."
Fei Li usually doesn't do his homework, but today, for some reason, he copied the homework, but at least he did it himself. Xu Li felt a strange sense of relief: "Hmm, wait a minute, let me look for it."
Then Xu Li buried her head in her schoolbag to find her homework.
"Fei Li, you're not handing in your homework, are you?" the class representative asked without turning his head.
"Yes, yes, right away!"
Xiaochen, who was next to her, was also woken up. She rubbed her sleepy eyes and asked, "Xu Li, what are you looking for?"
"Found it!"
Xu Li quickly handed the homework to Fei Li, and then replied to Xiao Chen: "Looking for homework for Fei Li."
Xiaochen yawned, glanced at the time, and drawled out, "You're such a kind person!"
...
As usual, many students fell asleep during math class. Then, in Chinese class, the teacher asked everyone to write an essay on the topic of "some viewpoints derived from an accident."
Xiaochen asked, "Xu Li, is there anything you want to do?"
Xu Li was somewhat taken aback by the question.
Although Xu Li grew up under the spotlight of Xu Zhengbei being a policeman, and people around her would look at her with slight envy whenever she talked about it, compared to herself, she didn't seem to think it was such a glamorous profession. Perhaps it was because Xu Li had seen the light still on in Xu Zhengbei's room at dawn, and she had seen the threatening letters in her father's pocket... There were many things that no one knew about, and these were things that Xu Zhengbei had never mentioned to her. Xu Li didn't dare to think about what might be even more serious.
"Me?...I don't know, what about you?"
Xiaochen tilted her head and thought for a moment: "I might become a teacher, because I like the feeling of being seen. Teachers teach every day and need people to watch them. Although I sometimes get annoyed by teachers, I think I'm happy most of the time."
"Yes, finding something you love is something to be happy about in itself."
Seeing that Xu Li was in low spirits, Xiao Chen comforted her, "Oh, it's okay if you don't know now. There's plenty of time. Maybe you'll know what kind of life you want to live by then. At least people like us don't have to sleep on the streets. Look at Fei Li."
Following their gaze, the two turned to look at the person sleeping with their head on their arm: "He spends all his time in bars, I wonder how late he was out yesterday. People like him should be the ones worrying about their future. We don't want to work in those messy places like bars and internet cafes."
Xu Li did not respond at the time, but in her heart, she mostly agreed with Xiao Chen.
At that time, Xu Li had no idea that she would appear in the "messy" place Xiao Chen mentioned a few months later.
So let's not talk about the future too much, because there are too many unknowns and uncertainties in the future.
Some people live in high-rise buildings in the city center, yet they are still secretly pointed at and gossiped about; others are adept at navigating the police force, and those who have met them naturally label them as "unclean."
So stop judging people by their appearance; only you know whether someone is clean or not.
——
**
Zhou Jun often smoked a cigarette in the stairwell. He had spent a day in the bright moonlight and had almost gotten used to it, but he still felt a little dizzy every time he came out.
An elegant lady walked towards them. As she passed Zhou Junchang, she subtly frowned, then covered her mouth and nose and quickened her pace where Zhou Junchang couldn't see her.
Zhou Junchang took another drag of his cigarette, then turned around and opened the window opposite, exhaling the smoke he had just inhaled.
Zhou Junchang actually saw it.
This situation is not uncommon, but some people deliberately make a big show of disgust to demonstrate their superior character, while others genuinely cannot stand the smell of smoke, as was the case with Zhou Junchang at first.
The first time Zhou Junchang smoked was at his grandfather's grave. He was burning paper money for his grandfather when the smoke stung his eyes so badly he couldn't open them. Surprisingly, it made him forget his sadness. After that, Zhou Junchang came over and actually smoked again, but this time it was different from the smoke. The smoke he inhaled burned his lungs with a burning pain.
After finishing one cigarette, he felt much more alert from coughing and lit a second one, still shivering.
Addiction is a truly indescribable feeling. Even though he didn't like the feeling, Zhou Junchang only realized it when he found himself unconsciously reaching for cigarettes in his pocket one time at school out of boredom.
Therefore, whenever Zhou Junchang smokes, he likes to space out, stay alone without saying a word, as if this allows him to escape reality for a short time.
"Junchang, are you back yet?"
Someone inside the private room was urging them on.
Today, everyone invited by Zhou Ji is a group of people, including classmates and friends. They all know Zhou Ji's background and are prepared to work for him.
Zhou Junchang hadn't been to school for a long time. His teacher had called him many times. Zhou Junchang didn't understand why his homeroom teacher was so persistent, since his grades weren't good, just barely passable.
Zhou Junchang lived in a nursing home for a period of time, and after his grandfather passed away, he was also taken care of by the government welfare institution for a period of time.
Zhou Junchang got into this high school on his own merit. He was aloof and didn't like to talk. He had little presence in the class and went to school every day in an orderly manner. He barely made ends meet with the government subsidy and the room left by his grandfather. If it weren't for Ah Feng, whom he met at the nursing home, Zhou Junchang wouldn't have known the people at the dinner table today.
A-Feng first met Zhou Ji at the school basketball court. He dragged Zhou Junchang to play basketball. Zhou Ji first noticed Zhou Junchang, who was quite skilled, and then asked A-Feng about his background.
That's how it is on the court. You don't need to know each other. As long as you're good, you don't need to say anything. Playing a game is enough to make you acquainted.
After that, the two often ran into each other and became acquainted.
Ah Feng knew Zhou Junchang's situation well, so he brought Zhou Ji over to work under Zhou Ji.
At that time, Zhou Junchang was short of money and was looking for ways to make money, so he agreed.
This dinner can be considered half of Zhou Ji's celebration for his college admission.
After graduating from high school, Zhou Ji continued his studies. His family wanted him to start working for the family as soon as possible. Zhou Ji had no objections and was prepared to follow his family's arrangements.
However, Zhou Ji did not want to simply take over his family's store business and follow the established practices; he still wanted to "start from scratch."
The people at the dinner table came from all over the country, but Zhou Ji didn't care about that. He accepted everyone who came, but whether they could stay depended on their own abilities. Everyone here had passed Zhou Ji's scrutiny. He couldn't say for sure, but at least they were willing to work and their professional skills were up to par.
Anyone who has worked under Zhou Ji for a few days knows that Zhou Ji is a very easy person to talk to. He doesn't have the cunning and scheming of an old capitalist, or rather, they can't see through him. He's a very sincere person, and he'll bring up anything directly.
So, I'm planning to go solo and specifically asked my subordinates where they'd like to work.
“I went to the shop to clean it up. I’ve worked there before, so I know pretty much everything about the business.”
“I’ll go too, it’s a nice place.”
"I'll stay in Tian Guang Hall. If I get tired, I can go downstairs and have a drink."
"I'm going to the Moonlit Night."
The group at the table recited the names of the places they wanted to go, as if listing dishes.
Zhou Ji would generally satisfy their needs, knowing that everyone has their own area of expertise and that interest is the best teacher.
His gaze swept over a few more people: "The rest of you are still studying. I have no problem with you coming over to work for a few days now and then, but you need to know what you're supposed to do at what time. You're different from me. If you can go back to school, then go back to school. That's the easiest way..."
Zhou Ji took a swig of wine, appearing drunk, but they all knew that Zhou Ji wasn't so easily intoxicated.
Then I heard Zhou Ji say, "Maybe after you finish your studies and go abroad, I'll have to call you 'boss' when you come back..."
A group of people laughed and joked, not believing that this was something that could be achieved.
"What about Junchang?"
Zhou Jun was called inside, his hands in his pockets, his face expressionless.
Zhou Ji looked over as well and asked, "What about you? Where do you want to go?"
The dinner table fell silent as everyone stared at Zhou Junchang, seemingly waiting for him to reveal a crucial answer.
"Me? I'll go with Bright Moon Night."
Later, on a moonlit night, Zhou Jun often encountered Xu Li.
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