Chapter 54 Chapter 54 You are different from others.
As soon as the school bell rang at noon, Chen Lu came to the door of Class 10 to block Ji Maili, "Want to eat together?"
Ji Maili grumbled a little, and although his face was still unhappy, he did not refuse: "Where are we going to eat?"
Shen Lu: "You have the final say."
Ji Maili didn't like going to the cafeteria. It was always too crowded and getting a seat was like fighting. "Let's go to your house for noodles."
Ji Maili was awkward and silent the whole way, and Chen Lu looked at him and suddenly smiled.
Ji Maili glared at him: "What are you laughing at?"
"Nothing." Chen Lu suddenly figured it out. He asked Ji Maili, "Why haven't you looked for me these past few days? What are you hiding for?"
Ji Maili was still angry: "Didn't you look for me too?"
Chen Lu: "God knows what I'm talking about. I go to your classroom door every day after class, and every time I go there, you're asleep. Did you go out to steal chickens at night? Are you so sleepy?"
Ji Maili really didn't know that Chen Lu had come to see him, and no one had told him: "I'm preparing a birthday present for Brother Fei."
Chen Lu said sourly: "You are so thoughtful. I haven't seen you put so much thought into my birthday gift."
Ji Maili glared at him and said, "Bullshit, when has I not prepared your birthday present several months in advance?"
"That's right," Chen Lu raised his arm, hooked it around Ji Maili's neck, and held him in front of him, carrying him forward. "Are you still angry?"
Chen Lu rarely made such a gesture. Ji Maili paused and said, "I'm not angry."
Chen Lu: "Is that so? I thought you were angry because I accepted a girl's love letter, so you ignored me for several days."
Ji Maili felt a little guilty after being told what was on his mind: "No, I wasn't. I was angry because you were angry with me first. You are so unreasonable."
Shen Lu nodded: "Well, it's quite strange. Why do you think this is happening?"
Ji Maili felt uncomfortable under his pressure and pushed him away: "Who knows what's wrong with you!"
Ji Maili had a bad temper, but he got better quickly. Chen Lu only used an egg in his noodles to coax him into peace.
On Lin Shifei's birthday, Ji Maili went back home first. Lin Shifei's birthday party was held in a small restaurant near the auto repair shop. Not many people came, and there were barely enough people to sit at two tables.
Ji Maili didn't know any of these people except Tao Dacheng's siblings and the boss who sold helmets, but Shen Lu seemed to be quite familiar with this group of people. After greeting each of them one by one, Shen Lu gave the motorcycle parts he had bought before to Lin Shifei.
Lin Shifei was very satisfied with Chen Lu's gift: "Thank you."
Shen Lu said, "Don't be so hypocritical if you are blackmailing me."
Lin Shifei smiled and patted him.
Tao Dacheng also prepared a gift for Lin Shifei. Tao Sijie said, "Brother Fei, I didn't bring any gifts. Can I have some food?"
Lin Shifei tugged at her pigtails and said, "Others can't do it, but of course you can."
Tao Sijie grinned.
Lin Shifei looked at Ji Maili: "Are you here to eat for free too?"
Before Ji Maili could say anything, Shen Lu said, "Didn't you see he was carrying such a big thing?"
Ji Maili was holding a half-person-high square object wrapped in paper, like a board. Just as he was about to hand it over, Bianyuan came over.
Lin Shifei looked at him and smiled, "Didn't you say you had to work overtime?"
Bianyuan handed him a bouquet of red roses and said, "Switch shifts with someone else."
Those who could come were not outsiders. Bian Yuan did not restrain himself. He naturally put his arms around Lin Shifei's waist and kissed him on the face.
The last time he saw them kissing was in that dark grove. Ji Maili still felt a little uncomfortable after seeing them for so long. He coughed and asked, "Do you want any more gifts?"
Bian Yuan glanced at him and asked Chen Lu, "Why are you still sharing the gifts?"
Shen Lu said: "I was originally planning to give one away, but Mai Mai said he had something else he wanted to give away, so I let him do it."
Ji Maili was a little embarrassed, "Don't despise me, this is not worth much."
Lin Shifei took the board, which was about one meter wide, and asked, "What is it?"
Shen Lu moved a position for him and said, "Open it and take a look."
Although Ji Maili didn't say it, Chen Lu almost guessed what it was. This week, Ji Maili had been working like a thief every day during the day, and the things he had created must be something worth showing off.
Lin Shifei opened the outer wrapping paper and saw a painting that had been framed.
There are mountains, water, cars and people in the painting. The man in a black leather jacket leaning on the motorcycle can be identified as Lin Shifei at a glance, and the person standing in front of him, holding the motorcycle seat with his hands and looking at him, although only his back is visible, can also be seen from a distance.
The riverbank painted by Ji Maili was even more vivid than what he had seen with his own eyes that day of camping. Lin Shifei was a little surprised, "I really didn't realize you had such skills."
Bian Yuan was also quite surprised. He glanced at Ji Maili and said, "You are indeed the young master."
Tao Dacheng jumped up and said, "Damn, the painting you drew for Brother Fei is too good. The one you drew for me before was too casual compared to this!"
Ji Maili didn't have the courage to say that he just drew it casually.
Shen Lu: "Nice painting."
Ji Maili smiled and said, "I haven't painted for a long time. My hands are numb."
Ji Maili didn't say that he was angry while painting, threw watercolors all over the wall, and was scolded by Ji Huan to wipe the wall.
Among the two tables, only Ji Maili and Tao Sijie were drinking. Ever since the last camping trip, Tao Sijie seemed to have found a comrade-in-arms at the table. She raised her glass and clinked it with Ji Maili's, "Brother Mai Mai, let's drink."
Lin Shifei came over with a wine glass: "Master, don't drink soda today."
Tao Dacheng agreed and replaced Ji Maili's drink with wine. Chen Lu asked, "Can you drink it? If not, I'll drink it for you."
Lin Shifei refused, "Can anyone just replace the wine? Who are you to him? If you are no one, let him drink it by himself."
Ji Maili drank one glass and then another. For some reason, Lin Shifei, the birthday boy, seemed to want to make him drunk. After a few glasses, Ji Maili started to feel dizzy.
Tao Sijie sat next to Ji Maili, "Brother Mai Mai, are you okay?"
"It's okay." Ji Maili said, "Just a little shaky."
Tao Sijie said, "Your alcohol tolerance is really poor. You're already dizzy after just four drinks."
Tao Sijie told Shen Lu that Ji Maili was drunk, and after that no one asked him to drink anymore. Instead, Shen Lu was dragged away to drink for a long time.
When Ji Maili was almost full, Shen Lu finally put down the cup.
Ji Maili asked him, "Aren't you dizzy?"
Shen Lu smiled and said, "It's okay."
Ji Maili looked at him and asked, "How can you drink so much? When did you learn how to drink?"
"I learned it during the two years you were away." He said he wasn't dizzy, but how could he be fine after drinking so much? Chen Lu usually wouldn't say these things, but now he didn't care so much.
Ji Maili rested for a while. Not only did the alcohol not wear off, but he seemed even more drunk. He asked Chen Lu, "Besides drinking, what else have you learned?"
Shen Lu: "Smoking, riding motorcycles, and making friends."
Ji Maili didn't know whether to be envious or jealous: "You have learned so many things, but I haven't learned anything. I really don't have the potential to be a top student."
Shen Lu smiled and patted his head, "It's good that you didn't learn these."
The people at the table next to them had switched to white wine at some point and kept pouring it on Lin Shifei. Bian Yuan snatched Lin Shifei's glass away and said, "I'll do it."
It was getting late, so Lin Shifei cut the cake. After Tao Sijie ate a piece, Tao Dacheng took her away first.
Ji Maili was digging into the cake while looking at Bian Yuan and Lin Shifei. Lin Shifei was drunk and was staggering and unable to stand steadily. Bian Yuan was the one who supported him. Lin Shifei was the one who said the provocative words, and Bian Yuan was the one who did the drinking.
Ji Maili was amazed by Bianyuan's drinking capacity. He drank the whole place down by himself.
Ji Maili suddenly smiled.
Shen Lu: "What are you laughing at?"
Ji Maili smiled and said, "They have a really good relationship."
Chen Lu glanced at Bian Yuan and the others and said, "They are a couple, so of course they have a good relationship."
Ji Maili asked him, "Do you think we will be as good as them in the future?"
Shen Lu: “No.”
Ji Maili turned his head and looked at Chen Lu, who said "no" without even thinking, and his eyes looked a little unhappy because he didn't like his answer.
Shen Lu repeated: "No."
Ji Maili stared, "Why?"
Chen Lu looked at his eyes that were about to burst into tears and said, "Because they are a couple." And we are not.
Ji Maili didn't speak for a long time. He lowered his head and said, "Yes, they are a couple. When you have a girlfriend in the future, you won't be so nice to me."
Shen Lu didn't know what he was thinking. Not only did he not coax him, he also said "hmm", "You too, in the future... maybe I won't be the most important to you anymore."
Ji Maili: "Bullshit! I won't do that."
The two of them suddenly started arguing. Lin Shifei came over leisurely and asked, "What are you two doing?"
Ji Maili stood up and left, kicking over a few wine bottles as he left.
Bian Yuan asked Chen Lu: "Are you okay?"
Shen Lu didn't know what was wrong with him, he had to use the alcohol to stimulate him: "It's okay, he drank too much."
Lin Shifei was so drunk that his tongue was hoarse. He patted Shen Lu on the shoulder and said, "Come on, Shen Lu."
Shen Lu smiled bitterly, "Yeah."
When Chen Lu chased out, the man had already disappeared. After running for a while, Chen Lu suddenly heard someone crying in the corner. He looked closely and saw that the man was really drunk.
Chen Lu walked over and stood in front of Ji Maili for a while, "Why are you crying?"
Ji Maili buried her head and yelled at him, "Why? You are my best friend, why don't you want to be with me forever? What have I done wrong? Isn't it okay for me not to find a girlfriend and not like others?"
Shen Lu's voice was a little hoarse, and he squatted down: "Mai Mai."
Ji Maili raised his head and continued yelling, "Don't think I don't know. You left that year because I told you that I had someone I liked. What about your parents' divorce? What's so special about not telling me about your parents' divorce? I'm not a fool."
Shen Lu raised his hand and hovered it above his head for a long time, and finally placed it on his head tremblingly, "Mai Mai."
Ji Maili cried even louder, "You liar, you said I was your best friend, but that's not true at all. You have so many friends, and I'm the same as them. In your heart, we will eventually break up. That's what you think."
"Yeah, that's what I think." Chen Lu couldn't stand his crying and shouting, "How else can I think differently? Teach me."
What can Ji Maili, a poor student, teach him?
Chen Lu said: "You said you don't like others, but you will eventually get married and have children. When that time comes, will you still be able to stay with me all day like you do now? You said you envy Bian Yuan and Lin Shifei, but I said, they are a couple, they have a good relationship and it is natural for them to be together. What are we? Even the best friends will break up one day. Will you..."
Ji Maili suddenly stood up.
Shen Lu looked up at him.
Ji Maili wiped his face and said, "I want to go home."
Chen Lu looked at Ji Maili who had suddenly changed his mind: "Didn't we agree to stay at my house today?"
Ji Maili shook his head, "No, I want to go home."
"Okay," Shen Lu didn't want to provoke him anymore. He had talked too much today, and it was not convenient to take him home. "I'll take you home."
In the taxi, Ji Maili leaned against the door in a daze. It was rare for Chen Lu to fail to guess what he was thinking, but now, he really couldn't guess.
He was too quiet, so quiet that it seemed a little unlike him.
The taxi arrived downstairs of Ji Maili's house, and Shen Lu got out of the car: "Go to bed early, don't be late tomorrow."
Ji Maili nodded randomly a few times, turned around and ran into the corridor.
In the corridor, Ji Maili had his back to the door with his head lowered. He didn't even know when the sensor light went out. In the darkness, he stared blankly at the ground.
Chen Lu was right. They were not Lin Shifei and Bian Yuan. They could not be together all the time like them. But he felt uncomfortable when he thought that they might become like other people in the future, just nodding when they met and occasionally getting together, and being so unfamiliar and strange.
The cell phone suddenly rang and the sensor light in the corridor lit up.
Ji Maili then realized that he had been standing in the dark for a long time. He was frightened and ran upstairs. When he got home and closed the door, he took out his cell phone to see who called him.
Looking at Chen Lu's name, Ji Maili hesitated for a long time before answering.
Shen Lu: "Why are you so slow in answering the phone?"
Ji Maili returned to the room and said, "He's going upstairs."
Shen Lu: "You've only been home for a while and are still going upstairs?"
"Yeah." Ji Maili sat on the edge of the bed, picking at the sheets. "What do you want to talk to me about?"
Shen Lu said: "It's okay, just asking if you have arrived home."
Ji Maili's nose felt sore, and he asked Chen Lu, "Is there poison in the wine? Why do I always want to cry?"
Shen Lu smiled and said, "Because you are a crybaby."
The phone suddenly fell silent. Neither of them spoke anymore, nor did they hang up.
After an unknown amount of time, Ji Maili called him with a nasal voice, "Chen Lu."
Shen Lu exhaled, probably smoking: "Hmm?"
Downstairs, Chen Lu silently watched the corridor getting darker again. Just now, he just looked at Ji Maili standing in a daze at the door. He didn't dare to call him for fear of scaring him, so he called him.
Ji Maili took a deep breath and said, "You're right. We may not always be like this, but can I always be your best friend? The best kind, the kind that's different from everyone else."
God knows how much courage Shen Lu mustered to deceive him with those words just now, but in the end, all his efforts were in vain.
Having known him for so many years, he should have known long ago that it was impossible for him to make that straight guy Ji Maili gay.
The weather in November was really cold. Shen Lu's fingertips, which were pinching the cigarette, were numb from the cold. His chest seemed to be filled with cold wind. Even breathing was chilling. His throat was blocked and he could hardly make a sound. He cleared his throat and put out the half-smoked cigarette in his hand: "Well, you are different from others."
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