"I heard you're a writer?" "Yes." "And I heard you were a bit of a troublemaker in school?" "Yes." "So how did you go from being a troublemaker to a successful writer?"
In a romantic French restaurant, soft jazz music played gently. Through the restaurant window, one could see swaying sycamore trees and the hurried pedestrians under the neon lights of the night.
This was already the seventh question the woman across from him had asked since Cheng Xing sat down. If it weren't for the woman's rather pleasing appearance, Cheng Xing would have already left.
"Can you ask something else?" Cheng Xing asked.
The woman shook her head, "I'm just curious about this."
"I'm sorry, but I can't answer that question," Cheng Xing replied.
Upon hearing this, the woman's smile faded. She then tossed her long hair behind her ear and said indifferently, "Having a child is very painful. I don't want to have children."
"So, I don't want to get married. This blind date was forced on me by my parents," she added.
Cheng Xing smiled and said, "I don't want to get married either. I was also forced to come by my parents."
"That's good," she breathed a sigh of relief.
The two were silent for a moment.
Almost in unison, they both glanced at their watches. "It's getting late. I have to go," they said simultaneously. A moment of shared surprise passed between them before they smiled. "I'll treat you," the woman offered. "No, I'll pay," Cheng Xing insisted, signaling to the waiter.
The woman glanced at Cheng Xing and then smiled, "Actually, even if we don't get married, it's okay to leave each other's contact information and be friends."
Cheng Xing got up and waved his hand, smiling, "No need, I really do have something to do. A few of my high school classmates have organized a dinner, and I have to go there."
With that, Cheng Xing got up and left.
Staring at Cheng Xing's departing back, the woman was stunned.
After leaving the restaurant, Cheng Xing stretched and then called Zhou Yuan.
"Hey, Zhou Yuan, have you guys started?" Cheng Xing asked.
"Everyone's just arrived. Why, are you, the great writer, coming over? Didn't Aunt Chen say that the blind date she introduced to you tonight was very good, with both looks and family background?" Zhou Yuan laughed.
"It's over," Cheng Xing said.
"Oh, so fast?" Zhou Yuan was surprised.
"It's just a blind date, how long can it take? Alright, Zhou Yuan, send me the address on WeChat, I'll be right over." After Cheng Xing finished speaking, he hung up the phone.
Soon, Zhou Yuan's location sharing appeared on WeChat, and Cheng Xing took a taxi over.
"The great writer is here, come and sit, come and sit." Seeing Cheng Xing push the door open and come in, Zhou Yuan got up and greeted him with a smile.
Not only did he get up, but so did the others at the wine table.
There were a dozen or so men and women, some of whom Cheng Xing didn't recognize, but some he was very familiar with, basically all of them were high school classmates.
Cheng Xing sat down next to Zhou Yuan.
Facing this classmate who was now doing quite well and had become a writer, many people came over to greet him and toast him.
After exchanging greetings with them, Cheng Xing raised his glass and drank with them.
Then everyone started drinking and chatting.
They were all in their thirties, and since it was a class reunion, they naturally talked about things from their student days.
And the stories of youth were endless.
So, the more they talked, the more they drank.
The more they talked, the more stories there were.
"Cheng, the great writer, do you still remember me?" After a few rounds of drinks, a woman in a pink dress with bright red lipstick on her lips walked over, leaned against Cheng Xing's seat, and asked with a smile while looking down.
In the wide V-neck of her dress, Cheng Xing saw a flash of white.
He glanced at it, then looked away, raised the glass in his hand, and said with a smile, "Wang Yan."
"Hehe, you still remember me," she finished the red wine in her glass in one gulp, then smiled charmingly and said, "But the reason you remember me is probably because I had a very good relationship with Chen Qing back then, and we were inseparable."
She laughed, "Cheng, the great writer, you were so infatuated with chasing Chen Qing back then, you chased her from junior high to high school, for a full six years, I saw it all with my own eyes. But it's a pity, Chen Qing didn't have good eyesight, and actually missed you."
"You can't say that. In fact, Chen Qing is doing pretty well now. The fact that Cheng Xing and Chen Qing didn't end up together back then can only be said to be fate," a man wearing glasses suddenly said.
"Actually, as early as high school, I knew that Cheng Xing and Chen Qing couldn't be together," a woman named Zhao Jing suddenly spoke up, "In the second half of our senior year, wasn't the love affair between Cheng Xing and Chen Qing widely circulated in the school? I secretly went to ask Chen Qing, asking if she was dating Cheng Xing, who knew that Chen Qing said at that time that Cheng Xing was just a troublemaker, who would like him, at that time I felt that they couldn't be together."
Everyone was a little surprised and sighed when they heard this. At that time when they were in school, they all thought that Cheng Xing and Chen Qing were already a couple, after all, at that time Cheng Xing was considered the boy who was closest to Chen Qing in the school.
"I didn't expect such a thing to happen. Really, I had such a good relationship with her at that time, she didn't even tell me, and at that time I really thought she was with Cheng Xing," Wang Yan laughed.
"Okay, that's all in the past, let's drink, let's drink." Zhou Yuan suddenly said.
Everyone knew about Cheng Xing's pursuit of Chen Qing back then, and Zhou Yuan was afraid that by mentioning Chen Qing, he would remind Cheng Xing of the past and make him feel sad, so he raised his glass to break the ice.
It's just that Zhou Yuan didn't know that even though he heard this name again after so many years, Cheng Xing no longer had any ripples in his heart. In fact, he had seen her at the Ancheng No. 1 High School reunion a few years ago.
She was still as beautiful as ever.
It's just that at that reunion, what impressed Cheng Xing the most was not her, but another girl from their class.
"I saw a sentence online before, everyone will meet someone who will amaze you throughout your entire youth in high school. If there is such a person in our high school, who do you think it would be?" Deng Kai, who was sitting next to Zhou Yuan, suddenly asked with a smile.
"I think it's Chen Qing."
"No, I think it's Li Yan from the next class."
"I think it's Li Zi from the second year of high school."
"I'll mention one, and I don't think anyone will disagree." Someone suddenly said.
"Who?" everyone asked.
"Jiang Luxi," he said.
Everyone was silent.
"She, really," Zhou Yuan sighed.
"If you use the word amazing, then it really can only be her. Whether it's Chen Qing or Li Yan, we can all have some interactions with them, and we can usually talk and joke with them. But Jiang Luxi, I don't think I've ever said a word to her throughout my entire high school days," Deng Kai said.
"If there was someone in our class with whom we barely interacted, we would have long forgotten them by now. But Jiang Luxi is different. She has an extraordinary ability to leave a lasting impression on those who encounter her," Sun Li said, unfazed. "She's the kind of person who, even after years, remains unforgettable."
Zhou Yuan chuckled. "Sun Li, you're married, aren't you afraid your wife might hear this?"
"I'm just stating a fact, she's not here anyway," Sun Li said with a laugh. "And don't pretend. Remember when she asked you to collect your homework? You were so flustered, you couldn't even look her in the eye."
"It's truly unfortunate that someone as extraordinary as Jiang Luxi would choose to become a nun and dedicate her life to Buddhism," Li Li, a female classmate, lamented. "She even vowed to remain unmarried and devote her life to spiritual pursuits."
"What? Jiang Luxi became a nun?" Deng Kai exclaimed, surprised.
"Yeah, it's true. It was announced last summer, around this time. Jiang Luxi quit her job at Shenli and became a Buddhist nun, living a secluded life," Zhou Yuan explained.
"Really? I can't believe it. She was at the peak of her career at Shenli," Deng Kai murmured, still in disbelief.
You're so out of the loop. Last year, her decision to become a Buddhist nun even trended on Jitterbug," Zhou Yuan said.
"We were equally shocked when we first heard the news last year. At that time, she was on the rise in her career at Shenli. Her female boss even saw her as a potential successor, bringing her along to almost every event. Who would have thought she would suddenly announce her resignation from Shenli and her decision to become a nun?" Li Li added.
"It's a shame, such a talented woman…"someone else sighed.
"If she hadn't resigned from Shenli, or if she had chosen to become a nun, she might have become the most famous person to come out of our Ancheng city," Wang Yan said with a hint of envy.
"Yeah, to be able to retire from such a position at this point and announce that she's resigning from Shenli to become a nun, that takes incredible willpower. She must have given up so much fame and fortune! She really doesn't care about those things," Deng Kai exclaimed."It's just a pity that she didn't get married," someone said.Even when discussing Jiang Luoxi's decision to become a nun again, it still caused a lot of sighs and regret.Such a girl who had amazed their entire youth had ultimately chosen to become a nun.How could they not feel regret?"So she's never really been one of us after all. But Cheng Xing, didn't you also go to the high school reunion last time? I heard that Jiang Luoxi was there too. Did you talk to her? Come to think of it, we haven't seen her since we graduated from high school," Sun Li asked."No," Cheng Xing shook his head.At the high school reunion three years ago, the school had invited many famous alumni. Among the five people invited from their class, just in their class alone, there was Cheng Xing, Jiang Luoxi, and Chen Qing.Seeing Chen Qing again didn't stir up any more waves in Cheng Xing's heart.But seeing Jiang Luoxi again brought back many memories for Cheng Xing.Cheng Xing's family wasn't considered poor during his student days; on the contrary, they were considered middle to upper class in Ancheng. However, in 2017, their family suffered a change.Misfortune never comes singly.The following year, Cheng Xing's mother was hospitalized due to overwork.At that time, the family urgently needed money for the surgery, and Cheng Xing borrowed from many people but still couldn't gather the last 10,000 yuan. Those friends who had seemed to get along well with him before had already distanced themselves when his family fell on hard times, and there was no way they would lend him money.Since his friends couldn't help, Cheng Xing could only turn to his classmates. But of the classmates he had been closer to in high school, apart from Zhou Yuan who lent him the two or three thousand yuan he had saved from working for two years, the other classmates were unwilling to lend him any.Including Chen Qing.Cheng Xing had still been in contact with Chen Qing when she was in college, but after she graduated, they communicated less.When Cheng Xing asked Chen Qing for money at that time, Chen Qing said that 10,000 was too much, but if it were one or two thousand yuan, she could lend it. That was the last conversation they had in the following few years.Then, three years later, there was the school reunion.Chen Qing took the initiative to greet him, and they chatted for a while.However, Cheng Xing had already forgotten what they had talked about at that time.After failing to borrow money from Chen Qing, Cheng Xing had basically borrowed from everyone he could think of.
When he was almost desperate, Cheng Xing contacted someone he thought was the least likely to lend him money.That person was Jiang Luoxi.In high school, Cheng Xing was the biggest troublemaker, and apart from studying hard, he did everything else. Jiang Luoxi, as the class monitor, naturally hated people like Cheng Xing.Fighting with students from other schools, writing love letters, early dating, smoking, and drinking.In Jiang Luoxi's eyes, none of these were things a student should do.But Cheng Xing did them all.Therefore, Cheng Xing naturally didn't think that someone like him could borrow money from Jiang Luoxi.Moreover, Jiang Luoxi's family was not well-off. Unlike Chen Qing, who had a monthly allowance of one or two thousand yuan in college, Jiang Luoxi's salary was not high when she first graduated from college. The 10,000 yuan was probably most of her savings. She was working in Hai City at that time, and the housing prices and living costs in Hai City were not low.When Cheng Xing asked Jiang Luoxi to lend him money, he was surprised.Jiang Luoxi gave Cheng Xing a simple answer:"When Sun Qi bullied me, you helped me. We're even now."Hearing this answer, Cheng Xing was silent.He didn't expect that Jiang Luoxi would help him with her hard-earned savings just because of this small incident. If this could be considered help, then Cheng Xing had helped countless people during his school years.In their class, whenever someone was bullied by students from other classes or schools, Cheng Xing would step in to help. Because he was the biggest troublemaker in the school, he felt that the people in his class shouldn't be bullied by outsiders. He had fought many times because of jealousy or to help Chen Qing seek justice.Actually, he didn't really help Jiang Luoxi that time.He knew in advance that Sun Qi was going to bully Jiang Luoxi, and it was related to Chen Qing. Originally, Cheng Xing wouldn't have gotten involved because of Chen Qing.However, he happened to be walking home late that day and saw Jiang Luoxi being bullied. The sight of the girl standing stubbornly in the wind and rain left a deep impression on Cheng Xing.Perhaps he didn't want to leave an unpleasant memory of this cold and aloof girl in his youthful memories, so Cheng Xing stepped in to help her.The last time Cheng Xing saw Jiang Luoxi was at the high school reunion three years ago.The last time they talked was six years ago, when she helped him in the snow.But these two encounters were enough to keep her image in Cheng Xing's memory for many years.He would never forget her words: "When Sun Qi bullied me, you helped me. We're even now.""Come on, Brother Cheng. Because of you, we weren't bullied by anyone from other classes in high school. I have to toast you for that. Come on, let's drink," Sun Li said, and drank the whole glass.The others also raised their glasses to toast Cheng Xing.At that moment, Cheng Xing, who was already a bit drunk, drank one glass after another.For some reason, Cheng Xing, who hadn't been drunk for a long time, just wanted to get completely drunk and forget his sorrows.When the dinner was over, everyone was drunk."Brother Cheng, do you want me to help you?" Zhou Yuan asked."No, you guys go ahead," Cheng Xing said.Zhou Yuan was with his girlfriend, and he himself was being supported by her. Cheng Xing couldn't ask him for help."It's okay, Zhou Yuan. You guys go first. I can manage," Wang Yan came over and supported Cheng Xing.Cheng Xing's head was a bit dizzy, and he couldn't tell who was around him. He could only smell a strong fragrance. When he got downstairs and felt the cold wind, his head cleared up a bit. He realized that it was Wang Yan who was supporting him.He discreetly avoided Wang Yan's lips, which were about to touch his, and hailed a taxi. After getting into the car and fastening his seatbelt, he said to Wang Yan outside the window, "It's late. You should go home early."Watching the taxi disappear, Wang Yan pouted and sighed.After getting home, Cheng Xing lay down on the sofa.He turned on the air conditioner and opened Douyin, scrolling through videos aimlessly.Finally, Cheng Xing's eyes stopped on a video.It was almost September, and schools all over the country had already started the new semester.This was a welcome party for a certain experimental high school.The girl in the video was wearing a red hat, an orange shirt, and a gray plaid skirt.Her slender, fair legs were bare, and she was wearing white socks and white sneakers.The girl was wearing glasses, and her hair was braided into two pigtails that hung down to her chest.At that moment, Cheng Xing suddenly saw the shadow of Jiang Luoxi in her.It was as if he had returned to the graduation ceremony of their senior year.On that day, Jiang Luoxi's ponytail swayed as she performed a song on stage.However, the girl in the video was not as beautiful as Jiang Luoxi.But the youthful campus stage, the girl's pure outfit, and her clear and healing voice made Cheng Xing mesmerized.♫ ~I will slowly grow up, under the sun, moon, and stars, occasionally talking to the plants.
♫ ~Then, riding the wind, I will scatter to the ends of the earth, falling into the soil to take root and sprout!
♫ ~You must wait for me, in the fleeting time, even though the years struggle.♫ ~I will come, under the moonlight, after the dawn, before the sunset!The lyrics were beautiful, and the singing was beautiful too.As Cheng Xing listened, a wave of fatigue washed over him, and he gradually fell asleep.