Many years later, when I think back to the boy who threw himself into the river to save me when I was a child, I no longer have any more memories of him. Time pushed and eroded my childhood, leaving behind a series of footprints that cannot be guarded in my life that was moving forward without hesitation.

I repeat the same routine every day. After school, I go home and take out my key to open the door. The iron key twists in the keyhole, making a metallic clanging sound.
My name is Ji Qingnian, which is a difficult name to pronounce. I am most satisfied with the name my father gave me, although he did not give me a warm family.
Ma Wenjuan is my stepmother. I never use any title when I call her. She has a son and she loves him very much.
I am like the usual characters in reconstituted families in TV dramas and novels. I am definitely not liked by my stepmother, and I am too lazy to be liked by her.
"Why didn't your brother come back with you?" Ma Wenjuan sat on the sofa in the living room, knitting a sweater for her baby son.
"I don't know." I put down my schoolbag, walked into the kitchen, and opened the lid of the pot. There was only a sumptuous dinner left inside. I knew it was for her son Ji Ming . "He got out of school earlier than me. I stayed on duty at school today. He should have been home earlier than me."
Ma Wenjuan put down the ball of yarn in her hand, walked to the window, looked at the darkening sky outside, and said, "It's so late, and he hasn't come back yet."
I took out my textbooks and homework and worked on math problems at the dining table. Ma Wenjuan came over and urged me, "Go out and find your brother. I have to make dinner for your dad. I don't have time."
I put down the pen in my hand, thought for a while, looked up and said, "I have a lot of homework today. He is so old, I can't get lost. At most, he is playing outside and hasn't come back yet."
"What are you talking about?" Ma Wenjuan tilted her head and looked at me, her eyes full of confusion, "No matter how old he is, he is still your brother. As a sister, shouldn't you care about your brother? I see, if you don't have the same mother as him, you wouldn't care, right?"
I sighed heavily. Such scenes happen every day. Ma Wenjuan is a rare good actor in real life.
I said, "No, I just think he knows his limits and you shouldn't treat him like a pearl in your hand."
"He is my son, how can I not hold him as a pearl in the palm of my hand?" Ma Wenjuan rolled her eyes at me and spoke in a heavier tone. She paced back and forth in the living room, then took out her cell phone and called Ji Ming. She called twice but no one answered.
Ma Wenjuan put the phone in front of me, pointed at the screen and said, "Look, look! If you don't answer the phone, what if you get bullied outside or meet bad guys? Tell me."
I remained silent.
Ma Wenjuan was so angry that her chest heaved up and down. She looked at me and shook her head, sighing: "I really don't know how you can be a sister!"
I sneered, put my fingers in my hair and pressed my head, and said, "Every time something happens to your son, it's always my fault. If there's anything good about him, why don't you think of me as your son's sister?"
"What did you say?" Ma Wenjuan asked me in a shrill voice.
"You probably don't want to hear this a second time." I looked at her unwillingly.
Ma Wenjuan's eyes widened, and she was silent for 10 seconds. Then, like a lion with its fur standing on end, she flew into a rage at me: "Ji Qingnian, how did you study? How can you talk back to your elders like this? Are you unhappy when I say a few words to you? What right do you have to be unhappy? I provide you with everything you eat, wear and use? I asked you to go look for your brother, and now I treat you unfairly?"
I didn't want to fight back. I heard the sound of the door lock turning behind Ma Wenjuan. I glanced at the door and saw Ji Dahai carrying a briefcase. He changed his shoes as soon as he entered the room and squeezed and pressed the Jingming acupoint with his fingers.
When Ma Wenjuan saw Ji Dahai coming back, she immediately went over to complain: "Dahai, you're back just in time. You don't know how annoying your daughter is! I just asked her to go out and look for Ji Ming, but she thought I favored Ji Ming. Ji Ming is my son, so if I don't worry about him, who should? This girl really pissed me off!"
Seeing Ji Dahai's exhausted face, I hurriedly stopped him: "Ma Wenjuan, are you sure?"
"Look at this!" Ma Wenjuan pointed in my direction as if she had grabbed my pigtails, "You have no respect for your parents!"
"That's enough." Ji Dahai untied his tie, put his suit jacket on the sofa, and pinched his eyebrows. "You're such a grown-up, it's not like you don't know the way home."
"What do you mean you don't know the way home?" Ma Wenjuan said excitedly, "Are you and your daughter alike? You don't care about my son, do you? Dahai, Ji Ming is not your biological son, aren't you worried?"
Ji Dahai blew out the air from his nose and said impatiently, "Worried! If you're worried, just go out and take a look. It's not a big deal. Why are you chattering endlessly? Aren't you annoying?"
Upon hearing what Ji Dahai said, Ma Wenjuan immediately wiped away her tears and complained, "Look at what you are saying. Is it easy for me to raise these two children? You only care about your daughter. When have you ever cared about Ji Ming's study and health? I have to make dinner for you. How can I have time to go out and look for him? Let Xiao Nian go out for a while, and you are still bargaining here."
"Enough!" Ji Dahai growled, looking unhappy. "I was scolded by my boss at work, and now I have to listen to your nagging when I get home. Can you please let me be quiet for a while?"
"Quiet! Quiet!" Ma Wenjuan was relentless, as anxious as an ant on a hot pot, but she couldn't help but fight against the hot pot, "Ji Dahai, if anything happens to Ji Ming, it's your fault as a father!"
"I'll go out and look for her!" I jumped up from the chair, and the chair rubbed against the floor, making a harsh sound.
I really don't want to see this kind of commonplace family war.
After I closed the door, I could still hear the faint sound of quarreling from inside. I didn't want to comfort either of them, nor did I want to pay attention to either of them. This kind of life was really miserable.
I left the community and saw a few small butterflies fluttering on the roadside green belt. I used to envy the free butterflies, the wild geese flying across the blue sky, and the colorful world outside, but I also envied other people's harmonious families.
I know Ji Ming's character. If he doesn't go home, he will usually go to the Internet cafe with his friends to play games.
I searched for several Internet cafes he frequented and finally found him in "Internet Human World". He was sitting in the corner of a two-seater, typing away at the keyboard and cursing.
I walked over and turned off the host directly.
"Who are you?" Ji Ming threw away his headphones and looked up at me.
When he saw it was me, his expression changed subtly, and his voice lowered: "It's you."
"Ji Ming, what happened?" Probably because they saw their teammate suddenly go offline, several of his friends raised their heads.
As soon as they saw me, they all shut up.
"Come home with me," I said.
"We're playing the last level, what are you doing?" Ji Ming was a little annoyed and reached out to turn on the computer.
I opened his hand and said, "Your mom and dad are arguing over you at home. If you don't go back, the house will be blown up."
After saying that, I grabbed Ji Ming's arm and pulled him outside.
"Oh, that's enough, I'll go on my own." Ji Ming broke free from my hand, looked around, and complained, "Isn't this embarrassing?"
"You also know how to be ashamed?" I glared at Ji Ming seriously. Ji Ming shook his head, put his hands behind his back, took a few small steps, and then ran out of the Internet cafe.
Seeing this, I hurriedly quickened my pace and followed.
Ji Ming was laughing so hard that he bent over outside the Internet cafe. I frowned, reached out and grabbed the back of his collar, and walked towards home: "Let's go."
“Stop pulling me like that, it’s embarrassing!” Ji Ming yelled and reached out to hit me, but his flexibility was very poor and he was powerless to grab me with his backhand. He could only let me pull him.
When Ji Ming was dragged to the doorstep, the war at home had stopped. Ma Wenjuan was cooking in the kitchen and Ji Dahai was smoking on the balcony.
Ji Dahai put out his cigarette in the ashtray and shouted to stop Ji Ming who was about to run to the kitchen to steal food: "Stop!"
Although Ji Ming was reluctant, he still stood against the wall obediently.
Ji Dahai asked, "What did you do?"
Ji Ming glanced at me and didn't answer.
Ji Dahai asked me again: "Where did my brother go?"
Ji Ming secretly tugged at the corner of my clothes and pulled it. I said, "I don't know. I met him on the street when I went out."
Ji Dahai's brows furrowed more and more, and finally he slammed the table in anger: "Still lying! Can't I see your little tricks? Childish! Stand over there, you are not allowed to eat tonight!"
Hearing the noise, Ma Wenjuan poked her head out of the kitchen with a spatula in her hand. Seeing Ji Ming, who was acting well, about to cry, she immediately pulled him into her arms and said to him, "Ji Dahai, if you are not happy at work, don't take it out on the child. The child still has to go to school tomorrow."
"In class?" Ji Dahai stared at him with a sharp gaze, making Ji Ming dare not look at him. "Ask him whether he is in class or playing games. Ask him!"
Ji Ming frowned and cried, "Mom!"
Ma Wenjuan coaxed Ji Ming in a low voice, confronting Ji Dahai and saying, "When a child is tired from studying, what's the problem with playing games to relax? Do you really need to do that? Your old-fashioned way of education is already outdated!"
"You..." Ji Dahai was so angry that he couldn't speak. His chin trembled along with his lips. Then he pointed at Ma Wenjuan and squeezed out two words, "Stupid!"
"What's wrong with ignorance?" Ma Wenjuan patted Ji Ming's head, "I take care of my own son myself."
I was too lazy to participate in this war of words, so I put away the books on the dining table, carried my schoolbag and went into my room: "I won't have dinner."
I opened the curtains enough to see the starry night sky. Ji Dahai and Ma Wenjuan's quarrel was not over yet. I connected my earphones to the computer, and dynamic music flowed into my ears, isolating me from this noisy world.
I didn't sleep well that night, so much so that when I was in class the next day, my eyelids seemed to be fighting.
I was sleepy, and I felt uncomfortable in my lower abdomen, with an inexplicable feeling in my lower body. I rubbed the painful area in my lower abdomen with difficulty and raised my hand.
"Student Ji, do you know the answer? Okay, please answer." The head teacher's almost delighted voice scared me and made me shiver.
What? My head is like a mess, I don't know anything.
I explained: "Teacher, no, I just want to go to the bathroom."
There were suppressed laughter all around, and the head teacher was a little embarrassed. He raised his hand to signal me: "Well... OK, go ahead."
I quickly stood up and tried to walk out as normally as possible. As soon as I left the classroom, I covered my lower abdomen and quickened my pace to rush to the toilet.
"Hello..." A lazy voice suddenly came from behind.
I turned around and saw a young man standing behind me. His school uniform was loose on him, and his hands were in his trouser pockets. I was a little surprised and stared at him in confusion. Suddenly, a mysterious smile appeared on his face, and he raised his eyebrows and said meaningfully, "It seems like you have your period."
I was startled and covered my back with my hands, and sure enough, there was something sticky on my fingers. I turned around and ran to the toilet, feeling embarrassed and ashamed.
The young man behind me smiled ostentatiously, which suddenly reminded me of someone, a person whose voice and appearance were gradually forgotten as time washed away.
Time is really cruel, so cruel that I don’t want to mention it at all.
The boy I met in an awkward moment did not leave any impression on me, but a few days later during the break, I got to know him again.
After the radio gymnastics, the principal called for a gathering and criticized several boys who had been fighting outside by name, and he brought them up to the stage to criticize them.
I looked at the boy on the stage with a black eye on the corner of his mouth. He lowered his head, but his bright eyes were looking around and the corner of his mouth rose involuntarily.
Isn’t he the boy I met outside the toilet that day?
"Ling Haochen is here again?" The girl next to her covered her mouth and looked at her companion.
"Fighting is commonplace for him, but I inexplicably think he looks so handsome like this. Look at his unruly smile." The girl's companion whispered.
Oh, an unruly smile.
The principal criticized several boys including Ling Haochen in a leisurely pace, asked them to apologize and admit their mistakes in public, and then adjourned the meeting.
I was about to go back to the classroom when Ling Haochen stopped me.
"Hey so-and-so." He jumped down from the stage, came in front of me, and said, "What a coincidence, we meet again. The first time we met, I witnessed your embarrassment, and the second time we met, you witnessed my embarrassment. We are even now."
Is this something worth saying?
I frowned, walked straight past him and went to the classroom.
"Hey!" Ling Haochen shouted from behind, "Girl, what's your name?"
I was too lazy to pay attention to him. I rubbed my arm which was accidentally pulled while doing radio gymnastics just now, and left him with an indifferent back.
If time could travel between the past and the future, allowing me to see clearly my encounter and ending with Ling Haochen, I don’t know if I would be willing to see him again.
After eating in the cafeteria at noon, I returned to the classroom alone.
I ate quickly, so there was no one in the classroom at that time, except Ling Haochen, of course.
"What are you doing?"
I stood at the door, staring at Ling Haochen, who had turned my textbooks and homework books into a small mountain. He raised his head and glanced at me, and said very naturally: "Ji Qingnian, your grades are good, and your handwriting is beautiful."
I walked over, snatched the homework book from his hand, pushed him away, and cleaned up the mess on the table: "It seems to have nothing to do with you, right?"
"Tsk tsk." Ling Haochen walked across to me, put his hands on the table, tilted his head and looked at me, and said, "It's different from the first time we met. Ji Qingnian, did you think I was a bad student when you saw me being criticized by the principal? Yes, I am a bad student, but I am very kind ."
I am bad, but don't forget that I have been kind - is this a non-mainstream term that has been out of date for many years?
I looked up and chuckled, "Does it have anything to do with me?"
"Of course it does. You have to discover my kindness before we can become friends." Ling Haochen explained while gesturing, his words were convincing and vivid.
I sighed and put all the books I had packed into my desk. "Student, if you are sick, you need to get treatment. I don't have any medicine for you."
After saying that, I straightened my chest and strode out of the classroom. Ling Haochen shouted from behind, "Ji Qingnian, I will come to see you again."
If you come to me, you might as well go to die.
I have a very bad impression of Ling Haochen, so bad that I think I will never like such a person. Our teacher once said that plans cannot keep up with changes, which means: the things you think are good will always undergo qualitative changes in the subsequent trend of time, thoughts will always follow the times, and feelings will always follow the heart.
Life seems to have come full circle. Last time I was on duty, I faced endless quarrels when I got home. This time it wasn’t a family dispute, but it wasn’t much better.
When I was on my way back to the classroom after taking out the trash, a suspicious creature fell from the sky. When I was frightened and looked carefully, I found out that it was a girl.
She jumped down from the wall and seemed to have twisted her ankle. She was squatting on the ground, holding her ankle and crying in pain.
"Are you okay?" I asked, squatting down.
"No, it's okay!" the girl raised her hand and replied, then quickly covered her ankle and rubbed it.
"Finally caught them, huh? Hahaha!" I heard a very familiar voice behind me. The guard ran over like a bear with a baton in his hand, pointed at the girls and said, "You guys wanted to skip class and get out. You really have endless ideas. You fell down, right? You deserved it!"
The guard must have only seen her jump and get injured.
I frowned and said, "Uncle He, you should also check the situation clearly before arresting someone, okay?"
The guard heard my voice, looked at me, and said in surprise: "Student Ji, why are you...you skipping class too?"
"I'm not skipping class." I pointed to the dustpan next to me and said, "I came here with her to take out the trash. Isn't this area under the jurisdiction of our class? Look at these cracks filled with snack bags. They're so dirty. Xiaohua went up to clean them up and accidentally fell down."
"Really?" The guard looked at me doubtfully.
"Ouch, it hurts! I want to go to the infirmary." The girl covered her ankle and screamed.
"It's true." I put my arm around the girl's shoulders and said confidently, "Uncle He, if you don't believe me, you can go ask our class teacher and ask her if Yang Xiaohua and I are on duty today."
I usually have excellent academic performance. The teachers, security guards, and cleaners in the school all know me and are willing to trust me.
Uncle He nodded and said, "Well, those little bastards have escaped again. Take her to the infirmary."
"Thank you, Uncle He. You can go and do your work first." The girl raised her head, with a look of gratitude.
Uncle He nodded, turned around, put his hands behind his back, and slowly walked away like an old bear.
I glanced at the girl and asked, "Are you pretending?"
The girl grinned, jumped up from the ground immediately, looked down at me, stretched out her hand, and said, "I will never forget your rescue today. Please leave your name so that we can be friends in the future. My name is Luo Qiqi."
"Ji Qingnian." I stood up and patted the hand she extended to me.
"Oh!" Luo Qiqi nodded in sudden realization, "I know you. Tsk, people like you are not on the same level as us."
"Who is high-level and who is low-level?" I smiled faintly.
Luo Qiqi stretched out her hand and patted my chest with the back of her hand: "Of course you are high-level and I am low-level."
“Kachaka!” After being hit by Luo Qiqi, I felt like I was injured internally and started coughing violently. “You… you’re too strong, aren’t you?”
Luo Qiqi smiled a little exaggeratedly, came close to me, put one hand around my shoulder, and asked: "Since you saved me, I'll take you to a good place, do you want to go?"
"Where?"
"bar!"
Luo Qiqi whispered these two words in my ear in a very seductive voice, and I laughed. This place is the opposite of me. I always feel that I don't belong to the kind of place that adults go.
Luo Qiqi's hands rested on my shoulders, patting them rhythmically. I turned to look at her, and she looked at me with her eyes slanted and her head raised.
Actually provoking me.
Luo Qiqi sighed like a little adult and said regretfully: "Oh, that's right, good baby can't go to that kind of place, I won't force you." After that, she looked heartbroken, covering her chest, and walked past me trembling like an old man.
I frowned slightly and called her: "Which bar?"
"How dare you!" Luo Qiqi jumped over like a chicken, grabbed my hand, and said, "I'm not saying you're how dare you, I mean the name of the bar is 'How dare you'."
"I'll go." I replied softly.
Yes, I wanted to go, I wanted to be unbridled, I wanted to indulge myself, I didn’t want to see Ma Wenjuan’s wrinkled face when I got home, I didn’t want to face the never-ending war. I also longed to fly out of the cage, but I was always alone.
Luo Qiqi saw me in deep thought and said, "Nianzi, I won't force you. Are you okay?"
"It's okay, just take me there." I sorted out my thoughts and looked at her with a smile.
"Okay!" Luo Qiqi patted my shoulder, looked at the dustpan on the ground, and said, "Finish your work at school first, and we'll leave right away."
When I walked out of the classroom, Luo Qiqi saw me carrying a black schoolbag, looked at me carefully, and said, "You can't look like this." After that, she took me, stopped a car at the intersection, and took a taxi to her house.
Luo Qiqi asked me to leave my schoolbag temporarily at her house, and then took out a pile of clothes and cosmetics.
"Please pick out an outfit and I'll put some light makeup on you. You won't be allowed in if you're wearing a school uniform, and there are many people inside who will deliberately bully students." Luo Qiqi said to me, holding up a makeup brush.
I picked out a pair of denim overalls and asked as I changed, "Qiqi, do you live alone?"
"Well, my parents are abroad and they don't care about me." Luo Qiqi answered me while applying lipstick.
I changed my clothes and stood in front of the fitting mirror. I looked very different from usual.
"Perfect!" Luo Qiqi hugged me from behind, looked at the person in the mirror and praised me, and untied the rubber band for me, "It looks better with your hair down."
Luo Qiqi pushed me to the dressing mirror, grabbed the makeup and smeared it on my face like an adult, and said, "Nianzi, your skin is so good, I will put some light makeup on you, so you can't see it, but you will look energetic."
I closed my eyes and let her do whatever she wanted.
Five minutes later, Luo Qiqi exclaimed: "Nianzi, you are so beautiful. How can you have the heart to hide your beauty from the world?"
I was silent for a moment, then replied, "The world is too blind, and I am too lazy."
"Hey, I like you." Luo Qiqi nodded and placed a heavy palm on my back. Seeing my surprised look, she added, "I just like your personality."
"Can we go now?" I tilted my head slightly, looked at the different me in the mirror, and suddenly felt a little nervous.
The other me in the mirror is quiet and introverted, as if I don’t exist in this world.
"Let's go." Luo Qiqi took my hand and pulled me out of the room.
I took more taxis in one day than I did in a year. The driver didn't know where the Fangsi Bar was, and Luo Qiqi didn't know which specific road it was on, so she leaned over the back of the front seat and gestured left and right to the driver.
"Yes, Master, go to the left. Yes, it's the Summer Royal Hotel. Go straight at the intersection in front, then turn right, then pass two large intersections, go straight for about a kilometer, turn right again, it seems you have to pass four traffic lights, and then turn left. Go right at the first intersection, it is a secluded road, then you can go in and take a look. The outer door of the Insolent Bar is a red wooden door, which is very eye-catching."
I stretched out my hand, covering my face and laughing.
Since Luo Qiqi didn't know the way, the driver drove the taxi with sweat on his face and took more than an hour to take us to the door of the Fangsi Bar during the rush hour after work and school.
The price indicator clearly showed "76.00".
Luo Qiqi generously took out a red RMB note from her black wallet and handed it to the driver, saying, "Sorry, you don't need to give me the change."
After saying that, she opened the car door, turned around and pulled me out.
"I guess he won't want to come here again." I laughed.
Luo Qiqi turned around and said with a smile: "But you will definitely want to come."
I don't know how far away from City A the Fangsi Bar is located. There is only a supermarket and a residential area 500 meters away, and a bus stop 100 meters away.
The exterior of the Fangshi Bar looks like an abandoned warehouse , with neon lights above the red-painted wooden door, forming the word "Fangshi".
Luo Qiqi pulled me into the bar like lightning.
Unlike what I expected, the interior decoration of the bar is very unique, with the theme of "travel". The buildings inside are mostly retro solid wood, and the walls are hung with photos of places that guests have visited. The lighting in the bar is soft and not noisy, which is slightly different from the name "unrestrained".
Luo Qiqi took me into a private room where two boys were playing a childish game of "Rock, Paper, Scissors". The tall boy in a white shirt looked helpless and perfunctorily dealt with the boy next to him who was making a fuss.
"You two stop playing!" Luo Qiqi was full of energy, slapping her hands on the table and stopping them, "I brought a friend with me, let me introduce him to you."
The two boys raised their heads, and I subconsciously avoided their gazes and walked over to turn off the popular song scrolling on the electronic screen.
"Ji Qingnian, please take care of me."
"Ah? That good student Ji Qingnian?" The boy, who was at the top of his energy, walked up to Luo Qiqi and asked in surprise.
Luo Qiqi covered her mouth with a smile and said, "Yes, Nianzi is my guest today, you are not allowed to bully her." She pointed at the boy and said, "This is Yang Yanxiao, that is Mu Shaobai, they are all my friends."
"Hi, beauty." Yang Yanxiao greeted me, and Mu Shaobai also nodded to me.
Luo Qiqi hit Yang Yanxiao on the head with a chestnut and said, "Don't tease me."
"Yes, yes, I obey your command." Yang Yanxiao nodded and bowed, then took out a cigarette and lit it for Luo Qiqi.
I suddenly felt like I was in a different world from them. I walked over, poured a glass of wine, and asked, "Is today a special day?"
Luo Qiqi was teased by Yang Yanxiao, and a mouthful of cigarette choked her throat and she kept coughing. Mu Shaobai answered me: "It's not a special day. We get together here every week. At 8 o'clock in the evening, there will be a beer competition in the bar."
"You guys want to join?" I asked.
Luo Qiqi pushed Yang Yanxiao into the sofa and explained, "No, ka ka... damn Yang Yanxiao, it's not us, it's Ling Haochen, he hasn't come yet."
"Ling Haochen?" I exclaimed.
Luo Qiqi and the other two looked at me in confusion. She was the first to ask, "Do you know each other?"
"I don't know him." After saying that, I picked up the cup and drank.
I regretted it after I finished drinking it. My throat was burning and I looked around awkwardly for purified water. Mu Shaobai took out purified water from under the sofa, unscrewed the cap and handed it to me. I gulped down most of the bottle.
Luo Qiqi put a hand on my shoulder and smiled thoughtfully: "Don't try so hard."
Before I could explain anything, the door of the private room was kicked open. Ling Haochen ran in with a bunch of snacks and piled them all on the table. Finally, he turned his head and looked at me, looking at me carefully without blinking.
"I met an acquaintance." Yang Yanxiao looked a little gloating.
Ling Haochen's expression seemed to be frozen. After a long while, he slowly asked, "Who brought her here?"
"Me." Luo Qiqi patted his chest.
Ling Haochen had a heavy expression on his face. He held Luo Qiqi's hands with both hands and said with emotion: "Oh, benefactor, benefactor! I will pay for all the drinks today." After saying that, he immediately changed to a playful smile, supporting his head with one hand and looking at me.
I turned around and sat next to Mu Shaobai. Ling Haochen followed me and sat between Mu Shaobai and me, continuing to look at me.
"Luo Qiqi, I'm leaving!" I shouted loudly, feeling angry.
"Don't!" Ling Haochen stopped him, "There will be a beer contest soon, Ji Qingnian, wait, I'll go win a gift for you."
"Who wants your gift?" I said coldly, and stood up to leave.
Luo Qiqi hurried over to stop me and winked at Ling Haochen. Ling Haochen came over and stood in front of me, with his arms folded across his chest, looking at me meaningfully.
I stared at him angrily and said word by word: "Classmate, don't try to gain a sense of existence in front of me."
Ling Haochen didn't answer me directly. He came over, raised his arm and pointed at the watch on his wrist. He looked at me motionlessly and counted with a smile: "3, 2, 1!"
As soon as he finished speaking, the bartender opened the door from outside the private room, the voice of the host on the venue sounded, and the quiet bar began to become lively.
Luo Qiqi came over and grabbed me, and pushed me to the center of the crowded dance floor.
The Fangshi Bar holds a beer competition every weekend. Whoever drinks the most will have a chance to leave a travel photo on the bar wall. The bar also provides free drinks for a week and gives away small gifts.
Luo Qiqi squeezed into the crowd and twisted her body flexibly, greeting me from time to time. I didn't like squeezing in to dance, so I sat down on the sofa in the corner.
Yang Yanxiao was beside him, massaging Ling Haochen's shoulders and back like a boxer, handing him water to wipe his sweat. Mu Shaobai sat next to me and whispered in my ear, "Haochen is a great drinker, you'll see it later."
"I don't want to see that at all." I leaned back on the sofa and lazily looked at the noisy bar.
I reached into my trouser pocket and found that I had left my phone at Luo Qiqi's house. Thinking that I would be scolded by Ji Dahai and Ma Wenjuan when I got home, I rolled my eyes helplessly, picked up the wine glass on the table, and drank slowly.
The competition venue was packed with people, and I could clearly distinguish the voices of Luo Qiqi and Yang Yanxiao from the cheers of the crowd. I thought for a while and asked Mu Shaobai next to me: "If Ling Haochen gets drunk, who will be responsible for sending him home?"
Mu Shaobai frowned and said, "He can't get drunk. He won't get so drunk that he can't even go home."
As soon as Mu Shaobai finished speaking, I heard Yang Yanxiao shouting. He jumped off the table and threw the beer cap in his hand. Ling Haochen walked out of the crowd wiping his mouth. The host called his name when announcing the victory.
Ling Haochen walked up to me, with a low glass table between us. He raised his hand, made a gun-aiming gesture, and shot at me with a "bang". Luo Qiqi and Yang Yanxiao both flattered Ling Haochen like bootlickers, praising him for being so amazing.
Ling Haochen sat next to Mu Shaobai and asked me, "Student Ji, don't you want to praise me?" Then he waved a Doraemon plush doll in front of me and said, "For you."
"I like Winnie the Pooh," I refused.
Who knew that Ling Haochen would reach out his other hand in front of me, holding up a Winnie the Pooh doll and laughing, "Hahaha, these two dolls are the gifts, classmate Ji, you are so lucky."
It was like a sticky piece of taffy and a dying, smelly fly. I took the Winnie the Pooh and put it on the table.
Luo Qiqi invited Ling Haochen and Yang Yanxiao to dance. The two noisy people started dancing in the middle of the dance floor. Within two minutes, they became the overlords of the dance floor.
I turned to look at Mu Shaobai and asked, "Can you take me to the bus stop?"
Mu Shaobai didn't ask any more questions, just nodded.
I stood up and walked out, and he followed me with his coat.
After leaving the bar, the world became much quieter. There was only a full moon in the night sky, which made the world look extremely desolate.
“It’s okay to get used to this atmosphere, but don’t get too addicted to it.”
Mu Shaobai said this to me like an old friend, and I responded indifferently with a "hmm".
"Can you lend me two dollars?" My money and cell phone are at Luo Qiqi's house.
Mu Shaobai took out two coins and said with a smile, "Just right."
I caught the last bus of 101 and gestured "goodbye" to Mu Shaobai at the door: "Tell Qiqi that my family will be worried if I come home late, so let her have fun and help me bring my schoolbag and cell phone to school tomorrow."
"Okay." Mu Shaobai nodded, "Be careful on the road."
When the bus started, there were only , and Mu Shaobai's figure was getting farther and farther away outside the window.
That night, I did nothing, but for no reason I felt like something in my heart was overturned.
I began to escape from my not-so-peaceful home and longed to stay outside, even if it meant being lonely.