"That's easy!" Tong Tong said smugly. "This little thing is no problem for me!"
"It seems you really have connections everywhere!" Yang Ke said, gesturing for Tong Tong to sit down.
"Of course!" Tong Tong said, looking around Yang Ke's room. "To tell you the truth, Yuan Yuan told me!"
"Please make yourself at home, I'll go get you some tea!"
Yang Ke put the books in the drawer, and Tong Tong inadvertently noticed a bracelet inside. Yang Ke turned his head and saw Tong Tong staring at the drawer. Tong Tong, noticing Yang Ke's expression, quickly pretended to be indifferent and turned her head away. As soon as Yang Ke left the room, Tong Tong eagerly opened the drawer and took out the bracelet. It was a broken bracelet, exquisitely crafted, and clearly had been carefully treasured for a long time. Tong Tong put it on her arm and admired it closely. Yang Ke's footsteps came from the living room. Tong Tong quickly put the bracelet back and gently closed the drawer. Tong Tong turned around and saw Yang Ke walking towards her with a glass of water.
"When are you free?" Tong Tong asked. "I'd like to treat you to a meal, as a way of celebrating our extraordinary acquaintance!"
"Let me do it!" Yang Ke said. "I'll also introduce you to a friend!"
"A woman?" Tong Tong asked somewhat suspiciously. When she saw Yang Ke nod, she began to feel nervous.
Yang Ke nodded and added, "We've only known each other for a short time!"
Emerging from Yang Ke's room, Tong Tong resembled a flower battered by frost in the morning, dejectedly climbing the stairs. Yang Ke's words kept echoing in her mind, each echo further disheartening her and leaving her utterly exhausted.
"A woman? We just met!" Tong Tong muttered to herself, her head throbbing with pain, as if a knot had formed in it.
As soon as she opened the door, Ye Xun came to greet her.
"Tong Tong, you're back!" Ye Xun said excitedly. "I was just about to ask you who you went to see!"
Tong Tong didn't hear Ye Xun's question at all and continued walking into the room with her head down.
"Tong Tong, what's wrong? Are you sick?"
"Ah!" Tong Tong glanced at Ye Xun and said, "It's nothing!"
"Tong Tong, I just made a friend while you were gone!" Ye Xun said happily.
"Another 'newly met friend'?" Tong Tong muttered under her breath, climbing into bed in annoyance and burying her face in the covers. Suddenly, something dawned on her, and she sat bolt upright in bed, screaming as she asked Ye Xun, "You mean 'just met recently'?"
“Yes!” Ye Xun said, “I met an ‘older sister’ at the debate competition!”
Tong Tong was immediately deflated upon hearing this. She pulled the covers over her head again and said, "See you tomorrow!"
Seeing Tong Tong's series of unusual behaviors, Ye Xun said helplessly, "See you tomorrow!"
Dai Qiang lay in bed, staring at the ceiling. The alarm clock rang, its rapid ringing almost incessant, causing the pile of cigarette butts in the ashtray beside him to tremble. Dai Qiang reached out and turned off the alarm, then sat up in bed. He drew back the curtains, and blinding sunlight streamed in, stinging his face and eyes. Dai Qiang rubbed his forehead; a sleepless night left his head throbbing with pain. He closed his eyes and leaned against the window, lost in thought.
After a long while, he opened his eyes and looked at the calendar on the wall again. Today's date was circled in red, marking its unusual place in the year.
Yang Ke turned around in the boutique, looking at the exquisite items that spun around in his eyes, making him dizzy and unsure which one to choose. Just then, Dai Qiang also entered the boutique.
"Yang Ke, you're here too!" Dai Qiang greeted him.
"Yes!" Yang Ke smiled and said, "It's a gift for a friend who's just broken up with her boyfriend!"
"Heartbroken? Why are there so many heartbroken people these days?" Dai Qiang's words carried a hint of self-deprecation.
"Dai Qiang, what brings you here?" Yang Ke asked while picking out gifts.
"Just like you, I chose a gift for someone who's heartbroken, and also to comfort myself!" Dai Qiang said.
"So it turns out we're all heartbroken at the same time!" Yang Ke said with a smile.
Suddenly, Yang Ke saw the fast food restaurant across from the boutique. He suddenly realized something, and when he turned back again, he found that Dai Qiang had already left, leaving quietly, like the wind.
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Chapter 007 A Wonderful Birthday Gift
Updated: 2008-04-14 21:09:56 Words: 0
Ye Xun and Tong Tong leaned against the balcony railing, gazing at the moon in the sky. The moon wasn't bright; this mountain town rarely gets to enjoy a bright moon. The moon it guarded, like its silhouette, was hazy and distant, draped in a thin, misty veil. This veil obscured the stars, making the moon appear even more unique, high above, irreplaceable, both alluring and enchanting.
"Ye Xun, did you ever think about dating in college before you went to university?" Tong Tong asked.
"No!" Ye Xun shook her head and said.
Tong Tong felt that Ye Xun's answer was somewhat vague, so she pressed further: "Did you not think about it, or did you think about not dating in college?"
"I never thought about it!" Ye Xun said. "I never even thought about it!"
"You're lying!" Tong Tong said. "I don't believe it! Everyone fantasizes about romance before entering university, as if going to university is solely for love! You must be no exception!"
"Really!" Ye Xun said earnestly, "It's all because of Dai Qiang!"
Tong Tong knew she had touched a raw nerve with Ye Xun again, but she was at a loss and could only listen. She had lived with Ye Xun for two years, but she had never heard Ye Xun and Dai Qiang's story in detail. Ye Xun was not a flamboyant person, and she never easily mentioned these things, including the romantic moments in their daily lives.
“When I was eleven, Dai Qiang’s family moved to my neighborhood, and he transferred to my class. I don’t know when it started, but we went to and from school together, played together, and studied together. We went through elementary school, middle school, and high school together, and finally, we both got into university. Perhaps, apart from my parents, Dai Qiang has been in my life the longest. I have always relied on him and taken care of him. In my eyes, he is the one I can rely on the most, and the one I should take care of the most…”
“When I was eleven, Dai Qiang’s family moved to my neighborhood, and he transferred to my class. I don’t know when it started, but we went to and from school together, played together, and studied together. We went through elementary school, middle school, and high school together, and finally, we both got into university. Perhaps, apart from my parents, Dai Qiang has been in my life the longest. I have always relied on him and taken care of him. In my eyes, he is the one I can rely on the most, and the one I should take care of the most…”
Ye Xun choked back tears, a single tear rolling down her cheek, glistening even in the darkness.
Suddenly, Ye Xun remembered something. She wiped away her tears, looked at Tong Tong standing beside her with her moist eyes, smiled, and said, "What about you? Don't you date in college?"
Ye Xun blinked her large, moist eyes, her eyelashes trembling with tears, which evoked a sigh from Tong Tong.
“Yeah!” Tong Tong sighed and said, “Everyone says the same thing to others—no dating in college, no dating in college—but seeing all those couples downstairs still makes me a little sad! People say love is something you stumble upon, or that you chase after it. I only know that Santa Claus drives a reindeer sleigh, but who knows what kind of car the messenger of love drives! What do you think, a BMW or a Mercedes?”
Tong Tong's words made Ye Xun laugh through her tears.
“No matter what a person’s love is like, perhaps the first thing they should know is who they love; how pathetic it is if a person only knows how to imagine love every day, but doesn’t even know who their true love is!” After Tong Tong finished speaking, she was silent for a while, then presented Ye Xun with a very exquisitely wrapped little box and said, “Happy birthday!”
"Thank you! I thought you'd forgotten!"
"How could that be?" Tong Tong said, "I know I'm not the main character you're waiting for, but I will never neglect a supporting role!"
Ye Xun was taken aback. Tong Tong knew she had said the wrong thing again. Just then, a knock came at the door, and Tong Tong quickly seized the opportunity.
"I'll go open the door!"
"Excuse me, is Miss Ye Xun here? A gentleman asked me to bring you something, and a letter!" asked the fast food restaurant server standing at the door.
Tong Tong was the first to eagerly open the box, only to find it full of beer. She exclaimed in surprise, "We can open a bar tonight!"
Ye Xun unfolded the letter, and a sentence stood out on the paper:
"Our encounters seem to be filled with the aroma of wine. Sometimes I think: perhaps the seeds of our friendship were planted in wine. Today, I will use wine to water the budding of our friendship, so that it can grow strong and become a forest! Happy birthday!" — "Big Sister"!
The phone rang, and Ye Xun guessed that it must be Yang Ke calling, and she was right.
"Did you receive it? My special birthday present!"
"Received it!" Ye Xun said. "It really is a very special birthday gift. I could never have imagined it, no matter how hard I try!"
"So, do you like it?" Yang Ke asked.
"Then how should I answer?" Ye Xun countered. "Should I affirm it, or deny it?"
“You should say yes out of politeness!” Yang Ke said.
"Then I'll just deny it!"
Why?
"Because you were too generous, you actually bought so much. Even ten Liu Lings would get completely drunk!"
Ye Xun glanced into the room and saw Tong Tong holding a can of beer, secretly reading the letter Yang Ke had written to her. Tong Tong noticed Ye Xun watching her, so she stuck out her tongue and raised the beer in her hand, whether to express apology or gratitude, it was unclear.
"Then you may use the remaining wine to worship the god of wine!"
"Forget it, I don't want to do that. I couldn't get the God of Wine to come, but those drunkards from next door have all shown up!"
Yang Ke laughed heartily.
"Big sister, when is your birthday?" Ye Xun asked.
"Why are you asking this?" Yang Ke asked curiously.
"I'll also give you a special gift then!"
"I'm really looking forward to it!" Yang Ke said. "Okay, the last day of Gemini!"
Ye Xun turned off her phone and walked from the balcony into her dorm room. She glanced at the clock on the wall; it was already midnight. Ye Xun knew that the person she had been waiting for all day would never come. This was the first time in eleven years that she hadn't received a birthday present from him. Did this mean that after this moment, they would never be able to catch up with each other again?
Ye Xun took a can of beer out of the box, opened the cap, tilted her head back, and took a big gulp.
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Chapter 008 Always Enemies Meeting
Updated: 2008-04-15 23:29:00 Words: 0
Dai Qiang knocked on the door, and after hearing a reply, he pushed the door open and went in. Yang Ke was sitting at his desk, which was covered with various tools, and he was concentrating on repairing a bracelet.
"Yang Ke, is there something you need?" Dai Qiang asked.
Yang Ke looked up and said, "Do you have time today? We've all been living together for a while now, so I'd like to treat you to a meal!"
"Yang Ke, you're too kind!"
"I have two other friends who might come over often in the future, so let's all get to know each other!" Yang Ke said sincerely. "That way, it will be easier for everyone to visit each other in the future!"
"Okay!" Dai Qiang agreed, "Thank you!"
Suddenly, Dai Qiang noticed Yang Ke's bracelet and couldn't help but pick it up from the table and examine it carefully. This bracelet was all too familiar to him.
"I found this a few days ago!" Yang Ke hurriedly explained. "It was broken, but it's very delicate. I'll try to fix it when I have time!"
Dai Qiang seemed not to hear Yang Ke's words, still intently staring at the bracelet. After a long while, he suddenly realized his lapse in composure and hurriedly returned the bracelet to Yang Ke.
"It is indeed very exquisite!" Dai Qiang said.
When Ye Xun went downstairs, she looked back at Tong Tong. Tong Tong was a little too excited today. After answering a phone call, she kept humming. Her bed was covered with clothes. At this moment, she was putting on makeup in front of the mirror.
"Tong Tong, are you sure you don't want to come with me?" Ye Xun asked.
"No!" Tong Tong said without hesitation. "I have to see someone important today! I have an appointment!"
"I could tell!" Ye Xun said. "I guessed it when you answered the phone. Well, I'm leaving now!"
"Goodbye!" Tong Tong waved without turning her head.
Tong Tong twirled around in front of the mirror a few times, straightened her clothes, then picked up her bag and went downstairs. Once on the street, Tong Tong entered a restaurant and looked up to meet Ye Xun sitting across from her at the table.