Lin Yan got on Zhou Xiaoyue's electric scooter, and after more than half an hour, they reached the county town.
Zhou Xiaoyue parked the scooter and cheerfully said, "Today you can eat whatever you want, it's my treat."
Lin Yan was not one to stand on ceremony with Zhou Xiaoyue.
They lived very close to each other, grew up wearing the same pants, and were inseparable.
Zhou Xiaoyue ordered two bottles of beer, used a bottle opener to fill the empty cup in front of Lin Yan.
"How did you end up with that kind of person? I heard it was Xiang Qingyuan's heartless dad who forced you," Zhou Xiaoyue said, looking at Lin Yan with sympathy.
Over the years, Zhou Xiaoyue had seen everything. Lin Yan had suffered miserably, despite having such a bright future, but her family wouldn't let her go to university.
Those who received admission notices the same year as Lin Yan would become seniors when school started next year.
All that aside, she was also forced to marry a bachelor she hadn't even met, whose reputation was already terribly sullied.
Lin Yan nodded, "I had no choice, I didn't belong anywhere."
Zhou Xiaoyue looked at Lin Yan's delicate and graceful features; unlike the village folks who toiled under the sun, she was pale as if bathed in milk.
Such a beautiful face wasted on an old bachelor, Zhou Xiaoyue thought indignantly.
Yesterday, she went to see Lin Yan and regretted not entering, to see that man's ugly face.
"Yan'er, you can't do this, being with that kind of person will ruin your whole life."
A lifetime was too long, Lin Yan didn't even want to think about it now, let alone dare to.
"He's not too bad, not as terrible as the villagers say, you don't have to worry about me. Look, I am clean, he doesn't lay a hand on me," Lin Yan said, rolling up her sleeve to prove her point.
There were plenty of men in the village who beat their wives, becoming lawless after just a bit of wine.
Although Lin Yan was always on edge with Lu Chenyuan, she faced no physical danger.
Zhou Xiaoyue looked at her still concerned.
"Yan'er, I'm leaving."
Lin Yan, who was skewering food, stopped, "You're leaving so soon, we just sat down, and the noodles haven't even arrived yet."
Zhou Xiaoyue, "I'm not leaving now, Yan'er, I'm moving to Hai City."
Lin Yan gulped down the beer in her cup in one go. She couldn't really drink; the alcohol burned, making her cough uncontrollably.
Her sister was moving to Hai City, Yangyang was soon going there to study, and now even her best friend was leaving.
She could understand, the youth should venture out more, She longed for Shanghai, a luxurious city with towering buildings and bustling streets.
"This is so sudden? Are you going there to work?"
Zhou Xiaoyue's face reddened, her lips curving into an unmistakable smile of sweet delight, "I'm going with Chen Bin, we've planned it all. We'll rent a place there together, get a job. It's definitely better than this poor place."
"Are you eloping?" Lin Yan's soft voice rose in surprise.
Lin Yan had always known about Zhou Xiaoyue and Chen Bin; they were classmates.
Chen Bin's family was relatively well-off. He often played clever tricks in school, was quite slick, and had a pretty boyish look.
Zhou Xiaoyue's parents just didn't agree to have him match with their daughter, saying Chen Bin was unreliable.
Zhou Xiaoyue, with a heart as firm as iron from the weights, had been fighting with her family about this, now it had escalated to eloping.
Zhou Xiaoyue was naive and free-spirited, and saw nothing wrong with eloping.
"Liang Shanbo and Zhu Yingtai, Romeo and Juliet, weren't they all about eloping? Such love should be lauded as great," she said.
Lin Yan, "In the end, they were all tragedies. Two died, two turned into butterflies and flew away, no longer humans."
Zhou Xiaoyue knew that Lin Yan was worried about her. She confidently said, "Chen Bin and I will definitely make it big in the future. When that time comes and we return home in glory, let's see what my parents will have to say."
Hai City is one of the top-tier cities where every inch of land is worth its weight in gold, literally, and Zhou Xiaoyue believed that as long as they worked hard together, they would definitely get rich.
Lin Yan reluctantly said, "Keep an eye out when you're there; don't get tricked by Chen Bin."
Truthful words grate on the ear. Lin Yan had once been bitten by a snake and for ten years was scared of well ropes; she also feared that Chen Bin would be the same as Xiang Qingyuan.
Zhou Xiaoyue looked down and gave a shallow smile, certain that she was the only one who could bully Chen Bin.
"Don't you want to go to Hai City? Talk to your man about it. How can he marry you, hold a wedding banquet, if he doesn't earn money? It's not just about getting a certificate."
Lin Yan shook her head despondently; she did not know.
Zhou Xiaoyue was perhaps elevating her too much; Lu Chenyuan wasn't even willing to get the certificate with her.
He said she was a burden.
After another glass of wine, Lin Yan rested her cheeks in her hands, tipsy and a bit muddled, lamenting her lack of competitiveness.
Zhou Xiaoyue looked at Lin Yan, her cheeks flushed red, with a look of reluctance. "It would be so great if you could come with me. I won't have a single friend there."
Lin Yan remained silent, not responding. As people grow up, they gradually drift further apart, and those around them drift even further away.
Zhou Xiaoyue thought about going to the unfamiliar city, her eyes filled with confusion, but the thought of Chen Bin being with her made her determined again.
She didn't have much money left, and she wanted to treat Zhou Xiaoyue to a farewell meal, but there wasn't quite enough money.
Zhou Xiaoyue paid the bill, and Lin Yan got on her electric scooter, passing by a supermarket that was still open.
"Stop the bike."
Zhou Xiaoyue braked hard, planting her feet on the ground.
"I'm going to buy something," Lin Yan dismounted, "Wait for me."
She ran into the supermarket to the baby formula section and bought a bag of high-calcium milk powder for mixing.
Zhou Xiaoyue thought Lin Yan had developed a habit for snacking until she saw the bag of milk powder in her hand and exclaimed with wide open mouth, "Are you pregnant? With that old bachelor's, or is it Xiang Qingyuan's?"
Zhou Xiaoyue's mouth could almost fit an egg in it from surprise.
Lin Yan sensed an insinuation of her being frivolous.
"The most I've ever done with Xiang Qingyuan is hold hands; how could I get pregnant?" Lin Yan nearly blurted out that she was still a virgin.
Zhou Xiaoyue, "Then is it the old bachelor's?"
Lin Yan sighed in resignation; if it were Lu Chenyuan's child, the baby would have arrived like a rocket, so fast.
She had Zhou Xiaoyue look closely at the bag; it was adult milk powder she had bought.
Only then did Zhou Xiaoyue breathe a sigh of relief and asked in confusion, "Why are you buying milk powder? Lacking calcium?"
Looking at Lin Yan's frail figure, Zhou Xiaoyue wished she could transfer a few pounds of her own flesh to her.
Lin Yan, "I'm staying at his place, causing inconvenience, and the meals he makes are just plain soups and water. I just wanted to buy something to nourish him."
Lin Yan could no longer think about how to repay Lu Chenyuan for his hospitality except to try to make up for it in some other way.
Zhou Xiaoyue touched Lin Yan's forehead; the woman had no fever, yet she was acting so foolishly.
"Yan'er, you are like this, kind to everyone. He is a grown man. He stays indoors all day, doesn't work, and you still want to give him calcium? What's the use? In Hai City, construction workers make three hundred a day. Can't he even endure that hardship?"
Lin Yan hopped on the bike, "What right do I have to dictate his life? I haven't earned a few hundred bucks myself; just forget about sending him to a construction site."
Zhou Xiaoyue, "If not looking to him to earn money, are you planning to live off milk powder?"
Zhou Xiaoyue meant the milk powder, but Lin Yan wrapped herself tighter in her clothes.