Chapter 3 Time knows nothing about wind and rain 01
Two years have passed in the blink of an eye, and it is also my second year in Li City.
Li City is indeed one of the four hottest places in China. In the midsummer, even if you turn on the air conditioner, you can still feel the heat rising in the air. This kind of weather makes people feel restless and restless, and Jiang Sijin is a typical example.
"Tong Shuchen, dare you be slower? You have short arms, not short legs. I notified you early because I was afraid that you would be late, but you still didn't come! Today is Li Anran's birthday. Now we are all here, except you. Can you imagine how the birthday boy feels when he can't even eat the birthday cake because he is waiting for you? Are you embarrassed? Even if you are embarrassed, I feel ashamed for you!" Jiang Sijin on the phone was urging me to die. Her speaking style has not changed at all compared to two years ago. On the contrary, it is even more ruthless. I don't know if Li Anran next to me will regret being with her when he sees her like this. I thought mischievously, but I didn't dare to say it out loud.
After hanging up the phone, I stood by the road that was jammed with traffic, feeling powerless. It was the taxi driver's shift change time, so it was hard to get a taxi. I couldn't help but pray in my heart that when I got there, Jiang Sijin would not embarrass me for Li Anran's sake.
Li Anran is Jiang Sijin's boyfriend for more than a year. He is the warm-hearted man we met in the men's restroom of the shopping mall. Strictly speaking, I am the matchmaker between the two of them.
That was not long after I entered H University. One day after class, I happened to see Li Anran on the road. He was very tall and had outstanding looks. I spotted him in the crowd at a glance and took the initiative to step forward and say hello. I thought he would not remember me, but he recognized me as soon as he saw me.
To thank him for his help that day, I offered to treat him to a meal, and Li Anran did not refuse. After I made an appointment with him, I took Jiang Sijin with me. Who knew that Jiang Sijin would confront him at the dinner table as soon as he saw him? I almost thought that Jiang Sijin was going to fight with Li Anran, but fortunately Li Anran did not care at all and was always elegant. Later, because Jiang Sijin often came to our school to play with me, the relationship between the two of them became better and better. In the second semester of the freshman year, they officially became a couple. For this reason, they both invited me to have a meal at the most expensive restaurant near the school.
Of course, today is Li Anran’s birthday, so the place where they eat is much more upscale than before.
When I arrived at the commercial street that Jiang Sijin mentioned, it was already more than half an hour later. As soon as I entered the restaurant, Jiang Sijin's unique loud voice exposed their location, attracting people in the restaurant to look over. I was shy, so I walked past without anyone noticing.
I originally thought that I was just having dinner with Jiang Sijin and the others, but before I sat down, I saw a stranger sitting next to me. Although his appearance was not as outstanding as Li Anran, he had a handsome temperament and a bit of classical air. I have always liked handsome men in ancient costumes, and the person in front of me was quite pleasing to my eye. He should be Li Anran's friend.
"Tong Shuchen, didn't I tell you to dress nicely and not embarrass me? Now you just come here wearing a sack?" Jiang Sijin looked at me with dissatisfaction and disgust.
I looked at the attire of the three of them and compared it with my own. I really looked like I was wearing a sackcloth because what I was wearing today was a long cotton and linen dress, which was very simple and inconspicuous.
"I was in a hurry to come out and forgot to change it." I made an excuse for myself.
"Xiao Jin, Shu Chen is pretty and looks good in anything she wears. Why are you so fussy about it? You were angry before she came, and now she's here you're still angry. You're already 20 years old, why are you still like a child?" The birthday boy Li Anran said with a smile and pinched Jiang Sijin's face lovingly.
Jiang Sijin glared at him, blushed, waved her hand and let me go.
I instantly felt extremely grateful to Li Anran.
Li Anran smiled and nodded at me, asked the waiter to serve the food, and then introduced his friend to me.
The boy sitting next to me not only looks classical, but also has a classical name, Yan Yin. He is Li Anran's childhood friend, and now he is in his first year of graduate school. He is a well-known talent in the school. After he and I greeted each other, we didn't say much. Instead, Yan Yin took good care of me. When he saw that I was burned by the chili pepper, he calmly poured a cup of warm water and placed it next to me.
In fact, I have already guessed Jiang Sijin's intention. This meal is not only for Li Anran's birthday, but also my blind date party. Otherwise, Jiang Sijin would not have said that I was not dressed beautifully.
The meal lasted almost two hours. Jiang Sijin was a person who valued friends and relatives. After paying the bill with Li Anran, she left. Before leaving, she leaned over to my ear and whispered, "Seize the opportunity. Yan Yin is a good guy. I can see that he has feelings for you. You are also a beautiful girl in your early 20s. Don't stay in the dormitory all day. Every time I go to school to see you alone, I feel guilty."
"Just take care of yourself. You're such a tomboy. I don't know how long your Li Anran can tolerate you." I retorted unwillingly.
"An Ran said that she would tolerate me and spoil me all my life." Jiang Sijin said with a beaming face. Her happy expression that made me get goose bumps all over my body. I hurriedly pushed her and told her to leave quickly.
Jiang Sijin didn't bother to be polite with me, and took Li Anran's arm to enjoy their world of two. Only Yan Yin and I were left standing on the side of the road, feeling extremely awkward.
After a long silence, Yan Yin suggested going to the movies with a sincere attitude.
I have had no shortage of suitors in the past few years, and I have become very skilled at rejecting people. The first reason that came to my mind was that I had a paper that needed to be submitted urgently.
Yan Yin was also a very nice person. He didn't say anything more, just said he would take me back to school. I had to refuse again on the grounds that it was not convenient and it was difficult to get a taxi to the school. Later, I was worried that Yan Yin was too hurt, so I took the initiative to stop a car for him to take him back.
Seeing the taxi taking Yan Yin away, I breathed a sigh of relief. Since it was still early, I strolled along the street.
After a while, Jiang Sijin called me and scolded me for being stupid and saying that I didn't know how to cherish.
I stood on the busy street, speechless for a moment. What does this have to do with knowing how to cherish?
After scolding for a long time, Jiang Sijin calmed down and suddenly asked me tentatively, "Tong Shuchen, are you still thinking about Ning Qiyuan?"
Ning Qiyuan, Ning Qiyuan...
In the past two years, I have never forgotten this name. Whenever I think of it, I will unconsciously touch the crescent-shaped scar on my shoulder. Although the wound has healed long ago, I can always feel a slight pain, very slight, but extremely deep.
After I went back that night, I never saw Ning Qiyuan again. I thought he was devastated so much that he ran away to some other place to be quiet. But I didn’t see him for several days. My dad was so worried that something might have happened to him that he reported him missing to the police station and sent people to look for him, but they searched everywhere and found nothing. As time went by, I began to believe that he was really gone and would never come back.
If he had not left and continued to stay in our house, he and I should be living together in Li City now, breathing the same air, looking at the same sky, and enjoying the night view with bright lights together.
But now, I'm the only one here.
When I first came to Li City , I went to the school my father found for him with a glimmer of hope and looked for his name on the list of new students, but it was all in vain in the end.
He disappeared.
And I couldn't find him.
This huge Li City always gives me a feeling of emptiness as if because of his absence. After living here for two years, I still don’t have a sense of belonging here. Every place is full of strangeness and coldness, strange trees, strange people, strange cars, strange streets, strange buildings. I feel like a tiny speck of dust floating in this city, with no place to stay.
