Two hours later, I looked at myself in the mirror. My facial features were small and delicate, and the straight bangs modified my face shape well. The dry and split ends of my hair were cut off, and my long black hair was draped to my waist, with a lock of hair hanging down to my chest.
When I was very young, Lin Dongming and his friends asked the doctor if I could have surgery on my left ear. I was too young at that time, and the doctor suggested that I consider surgery after I become an adult. Now that I have grown up, I don’t have the opportunity or money to go to the hospital.
Without this flaw, I might still be a lovely girl.
"So beautiful!" After paying the bill, Xu Xiaoran circled around me. She had her hair done in big wavy waves, and she looked a lot more mature.
"Oh, I want to lose weight." Xu Xiaoran talked about losing weight and took me to buy grilled tofu. She gave me one portion. I bought two cups of milk tea and gave her one.
"Every girl who clamors to lose weight has a mouth that never stops talking," I added.
"Lin Jingyuan, you are so annoying. It's easy for a skinny person to talk." Xu Xiaoran looked at me angrily, pulled me to the mall, and asked me to pick out the clothes I liked.
I like the clothes, but I don't like the price.
Xu Xiaoran said that a woman is truly successful when she can buy clothes without looking at the price tags.
I agree with this point.
After shopping for an hour, I bought a beige skirt, which I paired with a lace waistcoat. When I put it on, I looked gentle and generous.
I originally planned to buy a shirt, but Xu Xiaoran refused to let me. She said that my clothes were either shirts or T-shirts and I didn't look like a lady at all. I couldn't persuade her, so I spent a three-digit price and splurge to buy myself a new piece of clothing.
I have two pairs of canvas shoes, which are very versatile. Xu Xiaoran insisted on giving me a pair of high-heeled crystal sandals. She bought herself a pair of exactly the same style, but in different colors. Xu Xiaoran said that these are called "sister shoes."
When I returned to the dormitory, Tian Ye had not come back yet. Xu Xiaoran gave me a pack of facial masks she had just bought. I washed my face, and she tore off a piece and applied it on my face.
I hope everything goes well.
At seven o'clock in the morning, Xu Xiaoran pulled me out of bed.
"It's still early." I rubbed my eyes and wanted to continue lying in bed. The school was kind enough to install air conditioners in each of our dormitories. Sleeping under the quilt in the summer was more comfortable than at home.
"There are no ugly women, only lazy women." Xu Xiaoran rolled up her sleeves and whipped me to brush my teeth, wash my face, and change clothes. Then she hugged a bunch of bottles and jars and caught me to put on makeup.
"Xiao Ran, it's not that exaggerated." I covered my face with my arms. Normally, I would just apply facial cream, but now seeing Xu Xiaoran's brushes and clips, I couldn't resist.
"What are you exaggerating about? My dear Yuan, you must always understand that you are a woman, a beautiful woman. There is no woman without makeup." Xu Xiaoran stuck out her butt, came over, poured toner and moisturizer in her palms, and patted them on my face.
After doing the basic moisturizing work, she applied some cream on me several times, layer by layer, and finally patted my face with a powder puff. I obediently raised my head and let her do whatever she wanted.
Her hands were moving my face all over the place, so I simply closed my eyes and rested, waiting for her to finish.
"Alright." After drawing her eyebrows and applying lipstick, Xu Xiaoran swept everything into her makeup bag, then pushed me in front of the full-length mirror and showed off, "How is it? My masterpiece, isn't it great?"
There is a beautiful person, clear and graceful.
I suddenly thought of this poem from the Book of Songs. For the first time, I realized that I looked so good with makeup. Xu Xiaoran applied light makeup to me based on my face shape and temperament, with jelly pink lipstick, light brown willow-leaf eyebrows, and natural skin color foundation, which made me look very energetic.
"It looks good." I smoothed my hair with my hands. I straightened my hair yesterday, so it was very smooth and soft. Xu Xiaoran took out a blue butterfly hairpin from her drawer and pinned it on my hair, which made me look more playful.
"Perfect!" Xu Xiaoran patted my butt. She was in a very good mood. She hummed a song, tidied herself up, and then put on the same high heels as me and went out.
I staggered in my high heels and finally managed to walk steadily. Xu Xiaoran held my hand in a very arrogant manner and reported to me in a naughty way all the way.
"Yuan, a handsome guy just passed by. He's looking at you."
"Wow, the tall and skinny one among the three boys in front of me is winking at us. I am dying. I am so happy."
“Um…hahaha, I almost bumped into a tree. Yuan, you’re so charming!”
Xu Xiaoran was like a time bomb, making exaggerated explosion noises from time to time. I walked with my head down, hoping not to fall. I had never been treated like this before. Being noticed by so many people, I felt scared and shy.
Fortunately, Xu Xiaoran said she was tired of walking, so she took a taxi as soon as she left the school gate. While waiting for the taxi, she took a selfie with me, and then posted it on WeChat Moments with satisfaction.
After we got in the car, not long after, Xu Xiaoran held her phone in front of me again and said that many people in the circle of friends liked her post and said "please introduce me to someone else". I took a look at the content she posted - "My best friend, a senior beauty, single", followed by various "kiss" expressions.
I only added Chen Jinmo, Xu Xiaoran, and Tian Ye on WeChat. When I opened it, I saw that it was full of photos of Xu Xiaoran. Most of them were selfies of her and Yao Ruhua, but there were also photos of people in our dormitory, going to the barber shop together, and shopping together. I didn't expect that she had taken so many secret photos of me. I don't play with my phone very often, so there is only a horizontal line on my Moments. Xu Xiaoran once thought that I blocked her.
I received a message for friend verification from a stranger named "Mo", and I automatically chose to ignore it.
Xu Xiaoran was quite sensible and didn't take any secret photos of Guan Qianqian. He did take secret photos of me and Tian Ye, and except for today's selfie, they were only our backs.
We arrived at a theme restaurant and got out of the car. Xu Xiaoran pointed at the door and asked me to go in.
"My little Huahua is waiting for me, so I won't go in. He's at table 63. Good luck." Xu Xiaoran pinched my cheek, took out a powder puff worriedly, helped me touch up my makeup, and then pushed me forward.
I grumbled to myself and began to back out. Xu Xiaoran blew me a kiss and walked to another street, not caring whether I lived or died.
Standing under the sun, beads of sweat kept sliding down my forehead, one drop, two drops, and time passed by minute by minute. I blocked the glaring sunlight with my hands, then looked at the people in the restaurant who were enjoying the cool air conditioning, gritted my teeth, and pushed the door open.
I thought , let me die.
When I followed the number and saw a familiar face at table 63, I was so shocked that I couldn't speak. The blood in my body rushed up, as if to wash away my sanity.
——A Yuan, I like you so much.
A boy once whispered sweet words in my ear, and my lips suddenly felt hot. I was like a child who had done something wrong and wanted to escape but didn't dare to, so I stared stupidly at the person in front of me.
His eyes were still as clear as water, but ripples appeared when he saw me. He crossed his long legs, closed the order book in his hand, and smiled at me.
"A Yuan, you look even better." He was always so sincere when he praised me, making me believe that what he said was true.
"It's a small world." I laughed like an idiot, sat down tremblingly opposite him, and a waiter handed me a glass of water.
He ordered an ice cream to cool off and asked me if it was convenient. I realized later that the "convenient" he meant was whether I could eat it cold, so I nodded.
" Didn't you go abroad?" I took a sip of water and looked at him nervously.
"I'm at Polytechnic University," he said with a smile.
"What a coincidence..." I murmured to myself. The University of Science and Technology is not far from A University. Whenever Xu Xiaoran is free, he will take the subway to see Yao Ruhua. Unexpectedly, Yao Ruhua's roommate is Shen Xingmo.
"It's not a coincidence." Shen Xingmo's eyes were like the sunshine in June, which made me dare not look at him. His voice was light and gentle, "I just followed your footsteps and came to where you were."
I held the glass with both hands and drank the water. I almost choked. My hands were tightly gripping the wall of the glass, and my knuckles began to turn white. I drank up most of the remaining half of the glass of water. Shen Xingmo picked up the kettle and filled it up for me.
"Thirsty?" His tone made my heart tremble. I didn't say anything, but shook my head violently. "I was the one who handed the volunteer application form to the teacher. I looked at the schools you applied for, and none of them were outside the province, so I applied for a few schools that were closer to you."
It's a pity that he doesn't go abroad with such a high score. I sighed in my heart.
"Hua Zai and Xiao Ran are a couple. He talks about how great his girlfriend is in the dormitory every day, so we all know about Xiao Ran. Thanks to him, I saw Xiao Ran's circle of friends and found out that you and Xiao Ran are roommates. I didn't expect this." Shen Xingmo gave me a deep look. "I was going to ask the teacher which school you were admitted to and then go find you."
Xu Xiaoran's damn circle of friends! They teamed up to deceive me.
"It was me who asked Hua Zai to meet. Xiao Ran didn't know that we knew each other." Shen Xingmo must have noticed the change in my expression. I blushed without warning. Am I being a little too petty?
"Oh." I picked up the spoon and poked the ice cream. Uh... How did Shen Xingmo know that I liked chocolate? Wu Li and I went to the school canteen to eat chocolate several times after class. Did Shen Xingmo see us? Was he always watching me? It was terrifying to think about it.
"Do you have a grudge against ice cream?" Shen Xingmo said with a smile, looking at the chocolate block that I had poked into a puddle of mud. I glanced at him and quickly started eating it honestly.
He handed me a pack of tissues and pointed at the corner of my mouth. I wished I could find a hole in the ground to crawl into and bury my head even lower.
Life seems to be a circle. After going around in circles, everything returns to the starting point.
That day, Shen Xingmo chatted with me as casually as if we were daily family matters. He talked a lot, and he was the one who spoke most of the time.
I watched his thin lips opening and closing, and the scene of confession reappeared in front of me. Shen Xingmo seemed to have forgotten this incident before graduation, and I would not be so stupid as to bring it up.
I naively thought, maybe it was just a joke?
After all, he was so dazzling.
Shen Xingmo wanted to take me back, but I declined.
He was sad and said that I was always rejecting him.
I pretended not to understand and politely said that I didn't want to trouble him, and took the bus back to school.
So, no matter how good-looking my appearance becomes, it cannot cover up the humbleness in my bones. I hate myself for being like this, but there is no other way I can deal with it.
In fact, it’s not just Shen Xingmo who makes me at a loss as to what to do.
Walking downstairs to the dormitory building, the fragrance in the air is refreshing. From afar, you can see a row of osmanthus trees. Beige petals slowly fall and land on a pair of people hugging each other. The girl is wearing a black dress and her jet-black hair is braided into a pigtail. The boy is charming and handsome. He is holding a red rose. He pinched off a branch and put it in the girl's ear .
The first time I saw Guan Qianqian smile, she was like a charming poppy. Chen Jinmo lifted her chin, looked at her face from left to right, and kissed her brow devoutly.
Xu Xiaoran once said that beautiful women love handsome men, and this is a truth.
They said goodbye to each other, Guan Qianqian turned and went upstairs, and Chen Jinmo took a big step, put his hands in his trouser pockets, and left briskly.
I stood under the osmanthus tree, looking at the small osmanthus flowers and quietly smelling its strong fragrance. A gust of wind blew over, and the osmanthus branches swayed gently, as if nodding and greeting me.
There was a small blood scab on his finger, left from sewing a button for him.
With the wind, a few osmanthus flowers fell. I picked up the fallen osmanthus flowers, put them in the palm of my hand, and observed them carefully. The osmanthus flowers had six or seven petals, which were very beautiful.
Lin Jingyuan, why are you doing this?
Then, I blew a breath, and the osmanthus flowers flew before my eyes, returned to the dust, and left no trace.
The next day, I returned the jeans to Chen Jinmo.
I asked him, "Are you in love?"
Chen Jinmo touched my forehead, leaned forward, looked into my eyes, and laughed wildly: "Jingyuanyuan, are you sick? Oh, I heard that Lin Jingxiang is in love, the campus hunk of A University, and he's a rich young man, amazing."
Yes, what’s going on between Chen Jinmo and Guan Qianqian is not called love, it’s called ambiguity.
I didn't expect that Guan Qianqian would fall for his trick.
"Then you are heartbroken?" I asserted.
"When have I ever been heartbroken?" Chen Jinmo showed off his "secrets to picking up girls" with great experience. "When I meet a cool girl, I act like a gangster. When I meet a playful girl, I pretend to be innocent. Do you know which road is the longest in the world? That's my trick, Chen Jinmo."
"Oh, then you're great." I smiled.
How could I have a crush on such a bastard? The annoying thing is that I am like a stubborn bull who won't turn back until I hit the wall. Maybe, there is no wall to hit.
"You're not secretly in love with me, are you?" Chen Jinmo's face was almost touching my nose. After knowing his true nature, I admired myself for being able to look calm even though my heart was in turmoil.
"Go to hell." I kicked him and distanced myself from him.
"Thank you, Pants." He laughed when he saw me turn around and leave.
My heart was filled with disappointment and there was an unfriendly gaze above my head. I looked up and saw Guan Qianqian leaving the balcony.
When I returned to the dormitory, I saw a red rose lying in the trash can. Guan Qianqian pulled the bed curtains and was watching a TV show. There was an empty glass bottle on her desk.
The flowers were just thrown away.
In the evening, Qin Fangrui called and said that she had quit her job as a cleaner and told me to find a way to pay for my living expenses next month.
Be it a spare tire or cannon fodder, I don’t care about these things until the problem of survival is solved.
One urgent thing is that I need to find a part-time job.
I borrowed the computer of my roommate in the next dormitory and searched for several jobs with suitable hours on the website. However, when I rushed there, I found that there were many tricks. Many part-time jobs were posted by intermediaries, and the wages were inflated. After asking me a few questions, they either asked me to pay for a card or charged some inexplicable fees. Some part-time jobs can only be done with a computer, so I had to rule them out. Some part-time jobs would take up most of my class time. I am a student, so of course I have to distinguish between the primary and the secondary.
After three days of running, I found nothing.
"Yuan, are you tired?" Xu Xiaoran sat down beside my bed and massaged my shoulders. I was looking down and searching for newly posted part-time job information on my mobile phone.
"Not bad." I put down my phone, took out a bag of snacks from the drawer, tore it open and gave it to her. Xu Xiaoran likes to eat snacks. After knowing her habit, I always keep a bag of snacks in my drawer.
"Ruohua has an uncle who runs an Internet cafe, just outside our school. I asked him to ask for me yesterday, and his uncle said he was hiring." Xu Xiaoran showed me the picture saved in her phone album, "Look, it's right next to Starbucks, familiar, right? And we said that you are our friend, and we need his uncle to take care of you, so you can go to work on Saturdays and Sundays, and you can go in the evening if you have time. The latest will not be after 10 o'clock, and the salary is calculated by the hour."
The job that Xu Xiaoran introduced to me was undoubtedly a timely help. More importantly, it was close to the school, so I didn't have to spend too much time in the car, and to save money, I could eat three meals a day in the school cafeteria.
"I've roughly calculated it for you. It's more than 3,000 yuan a month. If you work overtime, the overtime pay will be calculated separately." Xu Xiaoran counted on his fingers and calculated for me, "After deducting food, shopping, and daily expenses, there is still some left. Yuan, do you want to go?"
"Go!" I agreed immediately. This is much better than what I could find myself.
"Internet cafes are formal, but you know, those who go there to surf the Internet are not good people. Most of them are gangsters, and there are also some students who climb over the wall. Sometimes it is very noisy in there, with smoke and quarrels. You have to be able to bear it." Xu Xiaoran reminded me.
"No problem." I felt like I had eaten candied fruit. I was lucky enough to meet Xiao Ran, a cute and kind girl.
"Hey, hey... don't look at me with that smile, I'm scared." Xu Xiaoran jumped up from my bed holding her bag of potato chips, staring at me in a defensive posture.
"I'll treat you guys to a meal after I get my salary." I said cheerfully and handed Xu Xiaoran's cell phone to her.
I excitedly went to the water room to fetch water and filled up Xu Xiaoran, Tian Ye and Guan Qianqian's thermos, regardless of her yelling behind me, asking if I was possessed by a ghost.
The Internet cafe that Xu Xiaoran introduced where he worked was called "Yiwang Qingshen", and it was more than 800 meters away from the school.
The boss has a beard and is very enthusiastic, much like a hero in a martial arts drama. His name is also quite heroic, Shi Yubiao, and we affectionately call him Uncle Shi. There are more than a dozen people working in the store, and the job assigned to me is mainly front desk reception.
I learn quickly and was able to start work online in just one day. In fact, what I have to do is very simple. When customers come, I just register them and turn on the computer. If the computer breaks down, I will notify the master to check it out. The Internet cafe has cooperation with the restaurant next door. If customers call for service or order food over the phone, I am responsible for ordering takeout.
In less than a week, many customers got to know me, and some young people also made inappropriate jokes on me. I blushed at first, but later I just smiled. They didn't dare to touch me in broad daylight.
Chen Jinmo found out about my working in the Internet cafe after only ten days. He brought his friends there every now and then, and without exception, they came to play games.
I told him not to do that, because the Internet cafe's business was not related to my salary. Chen Jinmo disagreed, saying that the boss knew that I also had the function of attracting customers, and would definitely give me more money. But I never expected that I would meet an old classmate I hadn't seen for a long time in the Internet cafe. It was past nine o'clock that day, and the lights were bright outside. Chen Jinmo and his buddies were playing games enthusiastically. He smoked heavily, and harsh and ugly swear words came out of his mouth. The mouse and keyboard were clattering because of him. Halfway through, Chen Jinmo's screen turned gray, and I knew that he had died in the game again.
After spending more than half a month in the Internet cafe, I learned that the most popular game among boys is "League of Legends". The map is divided into three groups. Chen Jinmo likes to play alone in the top group. There is a game called "Mo Mo's Little Sweetheart". I often play with him. I saw this name several times when I went to bring him water. It's not that I deliberately snooped, but the name of the game was too eye-catching. I saw it once and remembered it. I sat stiffly and saw Chen Jinmo answer a phone call while waiting for the resurrection. After he answered the phone, an incredible smile appeared on the corner of his mouth.
More than ten minutes later, a red sports car arrogantly stopped at the door of the Internet cafe, and a girl wearing sunglasses got out of the car. It was quite strange to see her wearing sunglasses so late at night.
The girl pushed her sunglasses to the top of her head, opened the door and walked in. She had a hot body and was wearing sexy clothes. Her top was a black suspender short dress that revealed her slender honey-colored waist, and her bottom was a leather miniskirt that just covered her hips. The pair of long, slender, white legs under the skirt were very tempting.
The high heels were at least nine centimeters high. The girl shook her ponytail, and the two big red earrings swayed left and right. She walked towards me with a smile on her delicately made-up face, which was extremely seductive.
I have been working for so long and have seen many beautiful customers, but it was the first time I saw such a fashionable and beautiful girl, and I was still dazzled. Sure enough, besides me, many people in the Internet cafe were attracted to her. The boys' exclamations and frivolous greetings came one after another.
But why does this person look so familiar?
"Hey, Lin Jingyuan, don't you recognize her?" Her sharp and contemptuous tone was exactly the same as my impression. I didn't recognize her at first glance, but as soon as she opened her mouth, I knew who she was.
However, after not seeing each other for more than half a year, Yu Xinna has become even more beautiful and charming.
"Hi!" Chen Jinmo put down his headphones. The game wasn't over yet and his friends were complaining. He walked over with a cigarette in his mouth, put his arm around Yu Xinna's shoulders, and glanced at her chest dishonestly.
I heard sighs of disappointment from people all around me.
It turned out that the one who played games with Chen Jinmo was her.
"Are you working here? Are you not studying anymore?" Yu Xinna asked with a smile. My left ear ached slightly. Just because I don't bear grudges against the past doesn't mean I've forgotten them.
"Hey, didn't I tell you that Lin Jingyuan is working part-time here to earn his living expenses." Chen Jinmo explained to her patiently like a god. What he said was the truth, but at this moment, in front of Yu Xinna, I felt very embarrassed.
"Oh, how much a month? Is this enough?" Yu Xinna looked down on this Internet cafe. She looked at the ceiling and the equipment inside and suddenly sneered, "I wouldn't be able to stay in this shabby place if it were me. Momo, no wonder you always lose when you play here."
"How can I compare with you? How about Brother Lei? I haven't played with him for a long time." Chen Jinmo was holding a cigarette in his mouth and speaking in a gangster tone. Yu Xinna took his cigarette with a smile, took a puff herself, and blew air at him ambiguously, just like she did in the billiard room before.
"That's all, just fooling around." Yu Xinna lazily lay on the front desk, holding a cigarette between her fingers, looking at me lazily, her eyes fell on my chest, and smiled, "You've grown up and can seduce men, Lin Jingyuan."
My blood was boiling in my chest. If it wasn't time to get off work, I wouldn't want to stay for a second. Yu Xinna looked down on this place and asked Chen Jinmo to go out with her. Chen Jinmo walked over and turned off the phone. His friends scolded him for "forgetting friends for the sake of beauty", but Chen Jinmo laughed and ignored them.
After saying hello to me, Chen Jinmo put his arm around Yu Xinna's waist and walked out the door.
"Don't bully her." Chen Jinmo pinched her waist.
"Are you heartbroken?" Yu Xinna giggled.
"How could that be? I feel sorry for you."
"Really? Will it hurt tonight or tomorrow night?"
"That depends on you."
…
I was mortified by their obscene conversation.
Looking up, they talked and laughed as they went out. Yu Xinna threw the keys to Chen Jinmo and got into the passenger seat. Chen Jinmo drove her sports car, stepped on the accelerator, and quickly drove away from the entrance of the Internet cafe.
Dust flew up everywhere, something had gone bad.