Chapter 32

◎Golden Age◎

Those two years were the golden age for everyone. The little singer they liked turned into a big star, and the first stop of the tour was set in Shenzhen in the middle of summer in July.

Zhu Yao volunteered to grab three tickets, and only informed Xu Zhaolin and Du Ningyang about it after grabbing them. They had to "reluctantly" agree to go together.

They rarely traveled far away alone. Even Xu Zhaolin went to Lanzhou alone for love, but he bought the ticket at the train station on a whim. When summer and July really came, they found that the tickets to Shenzhen had been sold out. If they wanted to get on the train, they could only wait and grab other people's refunded tickets.

As the concert date approached, the three decided to travel separately. After all, the probability of waiting for one refunded ticket was much higher than the probability of waiting for three tickets to be refunded at the same time.

The good news was that Du Ningyang was the first to get a hard sleeper ticket, and the bad news was that the hard sleeper ticket departed during the day and arrived at night.

Zhu Yao suggested: "Let Zhu He and Wu You pick you up."

Du Ningyang replied: "Then you might as well let me die."

Xu Zhaolin watched the fun and didn't mind the trouble: "You still can't get over it?"

Du Ningyang said: "You let a couple cross half of Shenzhen to pick you up in the middle of the night, can you feel at ease?"

Xu Zhaolin didn't say anything. The three of them have one thing in common, that is, they don't like to trouble others, but only their own people.

Zhu Yao advised: "Then you must pay attention to safety, don't dress so high-profile, hide your mobile phone in your socks, so that it won't be stolen by pickpockets. By the way, check how to take the subway in advance, and take the subway directly when you get there. It's very dangerous to take a taxi alone at night."

At that moment, Du Ningyang felt that Zhu Yao was very suitable to be a mother, although she had been single for 20 years. She said: "I know, but how do I book a hotel? I'll be at a loss if I can't find a place to stay when I get there."

In the end, Zhu Yao still bothered Zhu He to book a hotel. At that time, it was not popular to travel to Shenzhen, and accommodation was very affordable. Zhu He booked a triple room with a living room for them.

He also asked Zhu Yao if he wanted him to take them out to play, but Zhu Yao refused him mercilessly, "No, we already have a generation gap, and we can't play together. Otherwise, you can just give me some money."

So Zhu He waved his hand and transferred a thousand yuan to Zhu Yao, covering their meal expenses.

On a sunny day, Du Ningyang set off happily.

Everything went smoothly. First, she went to the ticket office to get a pink ticket, then followed the crowd to get on the train, found her sleeper car, and then took out the bucket of instant noodles from the plastic bag prepared by Fang Fang for her to get hot water.

Along the interlaced tracks that seemed to have no end, the train clanged all the way south. Du Ningyang sat in the booth in the corridor of the carriage with instant noodles in his hand and called Jin Zhenqi.

The signal was bad and intermittent, but they chatted very enthusiastically, some bland topics.

She had a strong desire to share. "I'm waiting for the instant noodles to soak, but why is the car shaking so much? I'm really afraid that they will spill on my pants... I only brought two pairs of pants. I heard that the temperature in Shenzhen is almost 40 degrees. Will my pants go bad when I go back?"

Jin Zhenqi helped her analyze the countermeasures. Sometimes he was so mechanical that he didn't seem like a liberal arts art student. "You can go and pour out some water."

"Okay," Du Ningyang opened the lid, and white steam surged up. "Student Jin, I mean I want to buy a few new pants in Shenzhen."

"Buy it," so that's what he meant. Jin Zhenqi said, "Wait until my part-time salary is paid at the end of the month, and I'll reimburse you."

He found a part-time job in a children's art training class in Shicheng, and the commission during the summer vacation was very high.

Du Ningyang ate noodles and said "OK" to him vaguely. The background was very noisy, and Jin Zhenqi kept listening.

She still maintained the habit of eating small meals and putting down her fork after eating one-third.

The scenery outside the window was very beautiful. The trees in the south were thin and tall, and the plains were lush and long. She suddenly wanted him to be by her side, across from her, so that they could enjoy such a beautiful scenery together.

Du Ningyang said to Jin Zhenqi: "Next time we will come together. After graduation, there will be plenty of time to work and earn money. You should cherish the time you spend with me."

Jin Zhenqi was stunned for a second on the other side of the microphone and responded with "OK".

He added: "Have fun in Shenzhen. When you are free, send me a message to tell me that you are safe. ... Forget it if you are not free."

She said: "I will call you. Every day."

But unfortunately, Du Ningyang was forced to break his promise -

just arrived at the subway station, still thinking about how to use the ticket machine, the suitcase at his feet, the backpack on the suitcase, the mobile phone, wallet and ID card in the bag were all taken away.

When she came to her senses, she only had a small coin purse with a few coins left in her hand and a round plastic subway ticket.

Du Ningyang's bright yellow suitcase was very eye-catching, and she almost immediately ran a 100-meter sprint in the direction of the suitcase - her brain crashed, and she only knew to run to get her mobile phone and wallet back.

This is a strange city, which gives people a sense of insecurity.

"Fuck you - stop right there -"

She ran out of the subway station and onto the busy narrow streets. The noisy electric vehicles and car horns around her made her dizzy.

At a corner, she kicked the thief down with a flying kick, and then started a "life-and-death struggle" with him. The two of them beat each other violently until they were forcibly pulled apart by the crowd and taken to the police station.

Only then did she realize that this was a gang crime. The backpack containing her wallet, mobile phone and important documents had disappeared, and the bright yellow box was just some worthless clothes and cosmetics.

The police handed her a tissue and asked her to wipe the mud off her face. "Beautiful girl, is it worth it for such a small thing? When you go out, you should avoid conflicts with others. We will help you solve it."

The meaning was good, but Du Ningyang didn't buy it. She kicked the thief viciously. He was young and thin, and his face was scratched by her nails.

She said in a very impolite tone, "Bah, he deserves it, when can I get my bag back?"

"I will definitely help you find it, but I don't think I can get it tonight," the policeman glanced at the clock and shrugged helplessly, "Do you have any friends in Shenzhen? Call them and stay here tonight first."

It was very late, Du Ningyang said, "I'll just sit here all night."

The policeman sighed, and the door was suddenly bustling and noisy, and another wave of drunken fights came to mediate. The summer in Shenzhen is hot and humid, which can easily make people emotional.

The hall was suddenly filled with the smell of alcohol and vomit.

Du Ningyang suddenly wanted to cry. She planned to call Jin Zhenqi when she arrived at the hotel. How could she inexplicably lose her phone and wallet, and get into a fight with someone and be taken to the police station for mediation.

The policeman took a short break and came to comfort her, "Listen to me, don't be stubborn. If you have friends or relatives here, please contact them immediately. I see you are dressed up beautifully, you must be here for travel, right? Keep a good mood, wait for the notification to pick up the bag tomorrow, be happy."

Du Ningyang could only search for the phone numbers she could remember in her mind, and was surprised to find that they were Fang Fang, Du Minda and Zhu He.

If she called Fang Fang and Du Minda, it would definitely trigger an avalanche effect. They might even come by car and take her back.

In desperation, she could only call Zhu He.

Forty minutes later, Zhu He and Wu You appeared at the door of the police station.

They looked really anxious. They rushed in and surrounded her, repeatedly checking "Are you injured?" "You naughty kid?" "Do you want to go to the hospital?"

No one noticed why Zhu He's sister's good friend remembered Zhu He's mobile phone number.

Du Ningyang's tense and forced cheer finally released the moment he saw the two of them. Although he knew it was embarrassing and shameful to cry in front of Zhu He and Wu You, tears just rolled out of his eyes like beads, accompanied by unbridled crying. The summer night in Shenzhen was hot and boring, but his body couldn't help shivering.

Thinking about it carefully, it's really scary.

Strange streets, dizzying light signs, crowded streets, passers-by who walked by quickly but indifferently. She didn't realize until now, what if that person's target was not the box, but the 20-year-old girl? If she didn't catch up with him at that corner, but was taken to an empty street, would she be waiting for a van with a fake license plate?

Du Ningyang's brain went black and white, and it crashed. Only tears could vent.

Wu You sat on the stainless steel chair beside her, hugged her gently, put her head on his shoulder, patted her back, and comforted her: "We are here, we are here, don't be afraid, Ningning, don't be afraid."

Du Ningyang's tears soaked Wu You's gray short-sleeved shirt, a wet dark gray, like a twisting and expanding territory. She tried to sniff her nose, trying to wet Wu You's shoulders less, but she couldn't stop.

Wu You wiped away her tears with his fingertips, silently expressing "It's okay, cry."

The hall was still crowded. Shenzhen was prosperous, but people were also restless, with endless trivial matters to deal with.

After Zhu He and the police learned about the situation, they agreed on a time to pick up the bag. Zhu He walked over and stood in front of the two of them, saying patiently, "Let's go home first. The gang's hideout has been busted. They specifically targeted young girls who acted alone at the train station. The police will notify us after they have collected the stolen goods. I will come to pick up the bag the day after tomorrow at the latest."

They took a crimson taxi and crossed most of Shenzhen to go home. The weather report showed that dawn would break in half an hour. The sky would gradually change from peacock blue to blue-purple. At the end of the sight, an orange-pink circle of light could be seen on the edge of the horizon.

Shenzhen was always noisy, noisy, and bustling. She had seen such a quiet dawn twice

in her life, and this was the first time. Tears made her eyes tired, and Du Ningyang fell asleep on Wu You's shoulder, with her cheek touching the ends of her hair. Perhaps because she had just taken a shower and hurried out, her hair was not completely dry, and under the blessing of the humid summer, it gave off a rotten smell.

It was not bad, but it was depressing.

Du Ningyang had a dream with mixed emotions.

In the dream, Wu You was wearing a pure white dress, surrounded by a soft and cold light. In the dream, Wu You had his back to her, and without looking back, he walked away until he disappeared from her sight.

"We're here," Wu You's voice woke her up, "Ningning, let's go back to sleep."

Du Ningyang woke up suddenly, her heart pounding. Fortunately, it was a dream, fortunately, fortunately. The "92.00" flashing on the taxi meter in front of her brought her back to reality, and the sound of "beep beep, beep beep, beep beep" made her feel at ease.

After getting off the car, she followed Wu You and Zhu He into a low-rise village in the city.

The people here are very hardworking. There are carts selling various breakfasts on the street. The steaming aroma and the hawking remind her that this is still the beautiful city of Shenzhen, and it is still the vibrant midsummer.