Chapter 28

◎Sad Pacific Ocean◎

Wen Xu came back from work and passed by the street corner to buy two boxes of braised food, one box of duck collarbones and one box of crispy lotus root slices, both of which are Du Ningyang's favorites, and are also suitable for drinking with TV dramas at night. Unexpectedly,

she ran into Du Ningyang standing at the door to lock the door. He turned the key and clicked to indicate that the glass door was locked. "Why so early?" She didn't expect him to come back at this time today, and turned the key back again, "Do you want to go out and play with me, or go back to rest?"

Wen Xu walked into the house sideways and put the braised food in the refrigerator, "Of course I'll play with you. I bought your favorite food and you can eat it after you come back."

Huaguang, which was once the most bustling and bustling, is about to be demolished. It is said that it will be built into a super-high-rise commercial housing, and the old merchants are clearing out their goods.

The owner of the video game city put a big sign at the door, which read "Hot sale, five yuan for one hundred coins". He was photographed and posted on WeChat Moments, with the text: "Is it my illusion? I feel that the claws of the claw machine are tightening."

This place used to drain Du Ningyang's living expenses. In that era when the monthly living expenses were 1,000 yuan, the coins in the arcade reached an astonishing price of one yuan each, not to mention that the claws of the claw machine were loose, but it did not affect the students' enthusiasm for it at all. On weekends, when there were many people, they had to line up to play.

Today is a weekday, no one has made an appointment to the store, and it seems that no one will come. This is a good deal, so Du Ningyang decided to go there and brought a large plastic bag to catch the dolls and bring them back.

She helped Wen Xu unlock new skills and took him to scan two shared bicycles on the roadside. Wen Xu looked at the shared bicycles with a disgusted expression. He had high requirements for bicycles.

Du Ningyang rolled his eyes at him, "It's 1.5 yuan to ride this for 20 minutes, 2 yuan for half an hour on the bus, and 12 yuan for seven or eight minutes by taxi. You choose."

While Wen Xu was struggling, Du Ningyang added fuel to the fire, "You are a newcomer, you can get a free coupon, and I can get a coupon if I invite you."

"Okay," Wen Xu reluctantly scanned the bicycle. Who made her want that coupon?

This bike is indeed not easy to ride, the handlebars are heavy and inflexible, and the tires seem to be flat, but following her and seeing her lively back, I feel very happy, as if they are still students in their teens, walking through the streets full of greenery and sunshine.

When they arrived at Huaguang, they were actually out of breath. Du Ningyang wiped the sweat from his forehead with his wrist, "The weather in Huaicheng is crazy, skipping spring and going straight to summer."

Wen Xu took out a tissue from his jeans and patted her forehead, "No way, the temperature is not high, you lack exercise, wipe the sweat off quickly."

In my impression, Huaguang has a wide and imposing gate, all the shops are newly renovated, the food and drinks are very trendy, and the shops selling clothes and accessories have their own styles. The arcade is brightly lit, the big signboards are flashing dazzling lights, and the music with a strong rhythm comes.

They have grown up, right? Looking at Huaguang now, it feels like an old, yellowed building complex that is out of tune with the surrounding high-rise buildings. The arcade with a price of "5 yuan for 100 coins" is still depressed, and it has not attracted many nostalgic people because of the so-called bargain hunting discount.

Walking in, the damp and old smell hits your nose. The claw machines are surrounded by various facilities. The dolls inside are all outdated styles, lying there quietly like unlovable children. There are also knockoffs of popular IPs. It seems that you can smell the low-quality chemical smell through the machine.

Wen Xu went to the self-service machine to buy coins. He bought 500 coins in one go and only spent 25 yuan.

"Have fun today," he handed her the heavy plastic box, "Which one should we start with?"

"Let's grab the dolls," she said, "I've never grabbed one myself."

Yes, she had never grabbed one herself, but during the heyday here, she had won the biggest and cutest curly teddy bear in the biggest doll machine. That day was the first day of winter vacation, and the students were all rushing home happily. She walked on the road holding the teddy bear, attracting a lot of attention, and passers-by cast envious eyes at her.

The dolls in the past were made of solid materials, and the bear was big and heavy, almost as tall as her. She had a hard time holding it, so she handed the small shoulder bag and a bag of snacks to Jin Zhenqi. He was afraid that she would get tired, and offered to help her hold it several times, but she firmly refused, her vanity bursting.

Jin Zhenqi was an overly gentle and decent person. He never had a bad face, and he had never even quarreled with her. The cruelest thing he had done was to tell her "You will regret it" and "Don't even think about getting my blessing", and then leave her, block her, and ignore her when he met her at school again.

Later, I heard that he passed the civil service exam as he wished after graduation, and became an art teacher in a high school in his hometown. His wife taught Chinese in the elementary school next door. They had two children in three years, a son and a daughter. He bought a second-hand house in a new community near his workplace and also bought a car.

This was the happy future he had always dreamed of and expressed to Du Ningyang many times.

But at that time, she never thought about the future. She just wanted to take one step at a time. She was not interested and occasionally mocked his dream for being too plain, too ordinary, without fighting spirit, and not dreamy enough.

At this moment, standing in front of the claw machine, she rarely thought of him and wanted to wish him well. That kind of life is not necessarily bad, it may be very good.

It was just that she didn't want it.

-Jin

Zhenqi bought a hard sleeper to return to Shicheng in the early morning. Before leaving, she rushed Du Ningyang to have the last meal before the holiday. She said, "Then let's go to Huaguang, which is close to the station."

Huaguang was very lively at night. The two waited in front of a crowded small stir-fry restaurant, flipping through the menu back and forth, and writing down the dishes they wanted to eat on small pink slips in advance.

"…Fish-flavored pork shreds, spicy chicken gizzards, steamed egg cake," Jin Zhenqi invited them, "How about some greens?"

They were all Du Ningyang's favorites. She nodded like a chicken pecking at rice, "Yeah, yeah, yeah. They're all good with rice. You'll get fat if you eat too much rice."

"Not fat," he said. He wasn't very sweet, and couldn't say sweet words, but he meant it.

The two of them waited in the cold wind for another ten minutes. There were still two tables left in front of them. Du Ningyang said, "Eat quickly, or we won't have time to go to the arcade." "

Okay, okay," Jin Zhenqi smiled. He didn't like playing these games. They were quite childish. The music and drum beats made him dizzy. His mind was full of thoughts about internships after returning to Shicheng.

His parents used their connections to get him an internship at a newspaper. His major was actually not related to his major, but the newspaper was quite large and the opportunity was rare. It would look good on his resume in the future.

Sixteen hours of hard sleeper, from the south to the north, arrived home at about five in the afternoon, and had to go to internship the next day. He felt that time waits for no one. For people like them who come from ordinary families, if they want to gain a foothold in the future, they must work harder and earn opportunities in advance.

"You will come back two weeks after the start of school? Have you asked for leave from the instructor?"

"Yes, I have to stay for two months, otherwise they won't issue an internship certificate."

"Do you need me to pick you up when you come back?"

"No... I'll let you pick me up."

A gust of warm wind blew, carrying the rich aroma of stir-fry sauce, and a group of people came out noisily. The leading boys stood on the side of the road to light cigarettes, and the girls behind them lingered a little. Seeing them smoking, they stood by the door curtain to rub the heat.

"Du Ningyang...?" Li Yashan waved his hand in front of Du Ningyang, "Oh, it's really you!"

Hearing Du Ningyang's name, several other girls also gathered around, as excited as if they had seen a relative. They have similar tastes. When they were in high school, they loved to eat braised beef noodles, and now they love to eat in stir-fry restaurants.

Du Ningyang hadn't seen Li Yashan for a long time. She left the studio after the second semester of her sophomore year. I heard she went to England. I didn't expect to see her here. She said, "How can it be such a coincidence? Do foreign countries also have holidays at this time?"

"It's a coincidence. It's winter vacation. I'll be back the day after tomorrow," Li Yashan's eyes moved to Jin Zhenqi, "Do you have a boyfriend?"

The topic changed too quickly. Du Ningyang's mouth corners curved upwards. She didn't admit or deny it. Jin Zhenqi was still in the probation period. Does it count?

"I understand, someone is shy," Li Yashan looked at the two of them cunningly, took out his mobile phone, the latest model of Apple, the third generation, "It's a rare coincidence that we can meet, let's take a photo together. Later, no one talked in the studio group, which was a pity. I'll ask in the group tonight if there are any people in Huaicheng. Let's play together when we have time."

"Okay," Du Ningyang replied. Several girls came to the camera of Li Yashan's mobile phone, smiling like flowers.

The boss called Du Ningyang and Jin Zhenqi. Jin Zhenqi stood up and said, "Ningning, you guys chat. I'll go in and order some food first."

"Oh, Ningning," Li Yashan imitated Jin Zhenqi's tone and called Du Ningyang several times, "Ningning, Ningning, come in and eat. We're going to the video game arcade."

Jin Zhenqi had already sat down at a small table in the corner. Du Ningyang patted Li Yashan on the back and said, "You're brave now. You dare to make fun of your sister."

Li Yashan smiled and said, "You care about your image in front of your boyfriend. You pretend to be a lady."

She wore shorts and a vest in Xicun and helped Li Yashan kill two unknown big insects with her bare hands. Their friendship was established from then on.

Du Ningyang lowered his voice, "Not completely... He is still in the probation period, you know?"

"There is a probation period for dating, I don't know shit," Li Yashan rolled her eyes, "You city people are really having fun, I'm leaving, see you in two days."

"Okay," Du Ningyang said, "See you in two days."

Li Yashan is a executor. Du Ningyang saw the group photo she posted in the studio group while he was still eating.

Aka Shanshan: [Guess who I ran into? Raise your claws in Huaicheng these days, let's go eat hot pot together. ]

Huaicheng and the United States have a twelve-hour time difference. Wen Xu is taking a nutrition practical class. The experiment has been completed. He leaned on the operating table and was bored. He glanced at his phone.

The group that had been silent for several years suddenly became lively.

Someone replied: [Adu has grown beautiful again. ]

Li Yashan said angrily: [Hmm? Do you only know Adu here? ]

Other girls also echoed: [Be careful not to run into us when walking at night! 】

The man was being mean again: [Tsk, Adu is just beautiful, you bunch of beasts. 】

Du Ningyang was speechless and replied with a sweaty expression. Jin Zhenqi said: "Stop looking at your phone. Be careful of indigestion while eating."

"Yeah," she put the phone back into her bag and scooped a spoonful of egg cake to mix with rice.

Seeing Du Ningyang's reply, Wen Xu couldn't help laughing, but the smile soon froze on her face.

Aka Shanshan: [Are you interested in Adu? ]

Aka Shanshan: [Humph, don't think about it, she came to eat with her boyfriend! She's so handsome. ]

Du Ningyang concentrated on eating and didn't reply. These words were drowned out by the subsequent chatter. She was in a hurry to go out and play, and to send Jin Zhenqi to the bus, so she didn't climb the stairs to see.

She never thought that someone across the Pacific Ocean was sad about this.