California Coast
The cold current cannot bypass the moat.
The New Year in Hangzhou and Hong Kong is not very festive.
In early March, the trees along the road sprouted tender buds, hollow and green.
The setting sun cast a broken orange on the gray asphalt road.
Students at Hangzhou University started school early, and Bai Luo went to and from school, his apartment, and a food stall every day.
Charity groups are preparing for activities in the near future, and the Conservatory of Music plans to hold a large-scale performance on the playground.
Bai Luo participated in the whole process as a volunteer, coordinating the preparation of materials, site layout, equipment debugging and personnel dispatch. The work was trivial and busy.
The involvement with Wu Kai became more and more frequent.
On the day of the performance, it was a chilly spring night in mid-March, and the light blue water vapor slowly dissipated.
Bai Luo, wearing a striking red vest, checked the lines one by one in the backstage, sometimes leaning over to confirm the equipment interface, and sometimes whispering with the technicians about the details of the sound debugging.
"It's time to go out. The show is about to start."
Wu Kai brushed past her, his gentle eyes falling into her eyes.
"good."
Bai Luo responded and brushed off the dust on his body.
The two walked out from behind the scenes side by side and walked all the way to the crowded playground.
The sky was a heavy grey-blue, and it looked like it might rain at any moment.
There were several street lamps along the playground, and a layer of mist was cast under the halo.
"It looks like it's going to rain tonight. I'll take you back later."
The two of them were stuck in the surging crowd, and the night wind blew Wu Kai's voice of concern into pieces.
Bai Luo politely declined.
"That's too much trouble. The apartment is nearby. I can just walk back by myself."
She always felt that there was a pair of gazes, seemingly there and not there, playfully penetrating the night fog and adorning her butterfly bones.
Wu Kai knew that she had a cold personality and was not used to making close friends.
No longer force it, just settle for the next best thing.
"Okay, then go home and tell me you're safe."
Before he could respond, screams suddenly rang out all around him.
"He came to see the show today too?"
"Didn't you say during the early promotion that you wouldn't come?"
“It’s really hard to see him.”
"Not to mention hearing him sing."
This was Bai Luo's first time attending a music conservatory performance. Usually a loner, she was unfamiliar with the influential figures in various departments.
I don’t know who the “he” the girl is talking about is.
The south winds returned, bringing with them condensed moisture. A muffled thunder rumbled across the sky.
But she clearly heard the voice that she hadn't heard for months, which was hoarse but with a hint of magnetism.
"You want to hear me sing so much."
I subconsciously looked towards the stage, but the view was filled with darkness and I had no way of catching the boy's exact location.
The girl next to her seemed to see through her confusion and patted her on the shoulder.
"He's there."
The girl stretched out her hand and pointed, as if lighting a ray of light for her in the long night.
Following the direction of the finger, I saw the lazy figure under the spotlight.
He wore a baseball cap with holes in it, his jaw was cold and pale, and he chatted with his friend beside him with his shoulders hunched, smiling eagerly.
Wu Kai noticed her fixed gaze and his Adam's apple rolled silently.
"He's really popular with the girls, but Concubine Lu said he's getting engaged."
Bai Luo showed no emotion and threw questions casually.
"Does everyone in your circle have to face family marriage?"
"Not necessarily. Some are betrothed at birth, while others are married for the benefit of the family."
"Lu Fei and Shen Cisi are typical examples of child marriages. For some reason, his childhood sweetheart follows him around every day, but he basically ignores her."
Bai Luo knew that Bo Qi and himself were distinct, like the bright moon and darkness, and could not be confused.
There was a lot of noise and clamor.
The man in black on the stage made a move.
Holding the black microphone nonchalantly, he squatted at the edge of the stage, his chin slightly raised, looking down at the moving lights and shadows below the stage.
"I'm not feeling well today, so I won't sing."
"Ah, I want to listen to a song."
Yin Shuanghui in the first row shouted at the arrogant boy on the stage, the fluorescent stick in her hand flickered, and her cold and indifferent appearance flashed in a second.
"Come on, sing a song."
"Listen to how loud the shouting is down there."
Shen Cisi came over swayingly, took off the baseball cap on his head and put it upside down on his black hair.
In the harsh light, there are silver-gray hair and flashes of white.
The cold air blew the strands of hair on his forehead into disarray, revealing his aggressive and bold features.
Suddenly, a crimson flash of lightning appeared, instantly lighting up the entire playground in the twilight.
The drizzle fell heavily from the dark sky.
The people were caught off guard and covered in rain.
But no one cares.
The world after a sudden spring rain is like being immersed in misty mint water, with the heart filled with a cool and confused mist.
Bai Luo was drenched in the pouring rain, his moist eyes reflecting the bright and dazzling young man in the center of the stage.
The clear voice permeated the foggy campus and struck everyone's ears.
"Aren't you like the wind?"
"Rusting as you pass by"
"It's a pity that I fell into a trap"
The voices of the young man who stood on the stage and sang to the huge crowd were almost the same as those of the man who squatted at the end of the alley and sang for a part-time worker until late at night, but their moods were completely different.
The stage is passive. The end of the alley is active.
Bai Luo, whose ears were filled with the sounds of rain and wind, was completely drowned out by the boy's bright singing voice.
This four-minute and fifteen-second song rings in my ears a thousand times.
A solitary figure stands under the streetlights in the alley, sometimes blowing smoke rings, sometimes drinking Coke.
Day after day, he sang impatiently and with a hoarse voice.
So much so that she always thought his major was music.
So, who was the first to fall into the trap, him or her?
He had only sung half of the song when he threw the microphone to the lead singer of the show.
The holed baseball cap is re-fitted onto the eye-catching hair color.
Walking down the damp stairs, I pulled my phone from the pocket of my black jacket. A heart-shaped hairpin accidentally slipped onto the wet countertop.
The eyes that had been following him stared at him in surprise as he bent down to pick it up, wiped it bit by bit with his sleeve, and then put it neatly into the inner lining of his jacket.
A moment.
Bai Luo was about to go backstage with Wu Kai when the phone in his pocket flashed a few times.
Without an umbrella, it was inconvenient for her to reach out and check.
But she had a hunch who it was from.
As if aware of something, a vicious gaze drifted towards her profile.
Subconsciously, he glanced to the side.
Not surprisingly, his eyes penetrated the unreachable horizon and met a pair of gazes in the damp night.
Even though they are far apart and separated by oceans, their eyes will still cross thousands of mountains and rivers to meet each other.
The other party pulled the corner of his lips in a bad way and made a particularly bad mouthing.
"Look at your phone."
It seemed that in the vast sea of people, he was destined to approach her other side.
＿＿
In fact, when she moved out of the rental house that night, she ruthlessly deleted his WeChat from her contact list.
The next addition happened to be at the end of New Year's Eve.
At that time, Bai Luo was patiently listening to Shang Yu's chatter, when suddenly a request popped up on the contact interface.
Inside the portrait frame is an image of a finger bone wearing a ring, slender and cold white.
Nickname is BL.
Blindingly familiar.
I couldn't figure out why he added me, but I was afraid that he might contact me for something, so I agreed to his friend request.
But while fireworks were blasting outside the window, the other party's message board remained empty.
So, when the clock struck midnight, she took the initiative to send a blessing.
[Happy New Year. ]
Decorated with a firework emoji.
The other party remained silent.
In fact, Bo Qi on the other side was already drowsy.
The dilapidated rental house was dimly lit. I was alone and didn't buy any New Year's goods, only a few boxes of beer.
Lying on the rotten sofa, drinking wine in a restless mood.
Until he lost consciousness, he input the number from memory and sent it, and then fell into complete darkness.
On New Year's Eve, when the family is reunited, countless New Year's blessings come flooding in.
For some reason, all he wanted in his heart was a Happy New Year from one person.
Fortunately, my wish came true.
＿＿
Returning to the backstage, Bai Luo picked up his phone to check the messages.
[Does it sound good?]
[Which sounds better in the alley or on stage?]
I always feel that Bo Xi is teasing me again.
Why ask her?
They have no relationship at all.
While she was thinking, Wu Kai had already bent down to organize the equipment and looked up at her for help.
I had no choice but to calm down and scribbled down a line of words.
[Neither sound good.]
The rain was pouring down, but the volunteers kept the stage spotless.
The night wind ruffled Bai Luo's wet, icy-blue hair. It was crystal-clear and cold.
By the time everything was put in place, it was already midnight.
After greeting Wu Kai politely, as soon as he left the campus, the cell phone hidden deep in his pocket started buzzing.
I had no choice but to stop under the rusty bus stop sign. The bench was covered with condensed rain and was shining with light.
Bai Luo completely ignored the damp and cold chair and sat down calmly, resting his forehead against the cool metal screen frame.
Touch the Answer key.
Before she could open her mouth, the other party had already gotten straight to the point.
"Zhao Zhao, please transfer 10,000 yuan to me now. I have something urgent to deal with."
Midnight in Hangzhou and Hong Kong is early morning in Japan, and the other party should have just woken up.
"I don't have that much left."
Bai Luo always finds it difficult to control his emotions when he hears his mother's voice.
When he heard that he had no money, the other party's tone suddenly rose by octaves, sharp and piercing.
"I'm out of money. Aren't those part-time jobs of yours quite profitable? How come you can't even come up with 10,000? Don't act poor in front of me. I know you must have some money!"
Then, there was another round of coercion.
"Besides, didn't your uncle contact you? He's worth hundreds of millions now. If you ask him for it, he'll definitely give it to you. Don't be so foolish as to not take advantage of this relationship!"
"I'll borrow it for you. Didn't you say last month that you would come back to see me in early March?"
Bai Luo's voice was trembling, with a sweet ending.
My mother asked for money more and more frequently, and the amount she asked for kept rising.
The mother's voice on the other side coaxed her as usual.
"I don't even have the basic living expenses now, where will I get the money to buy a plane ticket? Don't worry, transfer the money to me. I will definitely return to China in early May."
Bai Luo bit his lips hard, and the taste of blood spread to the tip of his tongue.
"Is it okay for me to go to Japan to see you and not stay at home?"
Before he could finish his words, he was cut off by the sharp sound of electric current.
"Don't come to Japan to find me. Do you want them to dislike you even more? If you don't obey, I won't call you again. Just find someone else to be your mother."
The lonely figure under the bus stop was stretched into a thin shadow by the moonlight on a rainy night, so thin that it seemed to be soaked by moisture.
"I'll be obedient, I'll be obedient. I'll lend you the money later. I'll wait for you to come back to see me in early April."
Bai Luo was devastated.
"That's more than enough. Okay, I'm hanging up."
My mother ended the call quickly, leaving only the mechanical busy tone in my ears.
Bai Luo stared blankly at the notification on the phone screen that said "call duration 1 minute 57 seconds". Her mother had never taken the initiative to care about whether she had enough food and clothes, or whether she was too tired to hold on.
The cold wind pierced through my thin shirt and back, draining away my body temperature bit by bit.
The station’s fluorescent screen is playing a promotional video of Hangzhou University students in a loop.
The girl was shivering from the cold, her eyes dazed and crooked.
A pair of pupils with a cold blue light hit the screen.
The corners of his eyes are raised, giving him a naturally sharp look.
She was in tears and her mind was bound.
Thin.
Why is there no light in your eyes?
Dejected and tired, he hung his head, unable to distinguish between rain and tears, or hope and loss.
"Bai Luo."
The coolness of the spring rain seeps into the cochlea, and hearing becomes increasingly vague.
"Bai Luo."
It was not until the second clear call broke the ice that the figure on the bench at the bus stop responded.
Slowly, slowly, she raised her slender swan neck.
Under the spacious black umbrella is a person who looks exactly like the one in the promotional video on the big screen.
His silver-gray hair remained the same, and his dark pupils reflected the rainlight.
Real, living flesh and blood.
Tonight the boy arrives before the darkness.
Every time I lose my voice in the fog.
Why is it always you who calls my name?
The long night is full of mottled lights.
Bo Xi flashed to her side like a startled wild goose.
As if the wind and rain were rolling in, he insisted on going against the current and moving towards her.
"Why are you crying?"
The heat spread to every inch of her senses. His slender finger bones wiped away her tears bit by bit.
Tears welled up and my senses were aching.
Bai Luo couldn't tell whether they were physiological tears due to lack of oxygen, or the collapse of long-suppressed emotions.
The chilly spring air blew away the thin hem of her clothes. He took off his jacket and covered her neck and shoulders with it.
The body temperature still remained in the fabric, and the silent warmth brought her into a quiet place.
The air was bitingly icy.
Bai Luo sniffed and met his eyes uncomfortably.
"Why are you here?"
I see her miserable face every time.
The cold wind caused the rain to flow down Bai Luo's silver-gray hair bit by bit, rolling down his tear-stained cheeks.
"Come and see which poor little guy is homeless again."
He leaned forward, approaching the cold eyes that reflected his own figure.
The fog makes the spring night damp.
The belated bus rolled over the wet asphalt road, its headlights piercing through the gray mist.
The passengers in the car window looked at the figures sitting and leaning on the platform. The interweaving of light made it look like a pair of lovers hugging and kissing.
"So, you want to take me in?"
Bai Luo raised his rosy little face, his frozen fingers clasping the corner of his thin hooded sweatshirt.
She looked just like she was five years old, holding onto her mother's clothes tightly. At that time, she didn't know what darkness was, she only knew that if she held onto the light, she wouldn't fall.
Now the hem of his clothes was almost pulled out of place, but he still refused to let go.
It’s like catching a ray of sunlight in the airless darkness and not wanting to let it go.
He looked down with his eyelashes drooping, his collar was mostly open, and the biting cold wind poured into his chest.
He didn't feel cold at all, only one thought was burning in his heart.
"go home."
The cold fingers were shining brightly in front of the girl's eyes.
He waited for her to catch him.
Bai Luo barely hesitated for a moment, and with his hands, which had turned white from grabbing the hem of Chun Ye's clothes, he covered her palm, which was hot from the spring night, with trembling hands.
The hand extended by the young man is the sun that never goes out.
Bo Xi's response was swift and decisive, as if he wanted to embed her into his own bones and blood.
The darkness began to fade.
It turned out that the light had always been within his reach.
The boy's world cracked open, letting in the entire spring.
The mountains and plains were completely barren.
Tonight's endless rain seemed so wet that only the one breath they shared remained.
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