Jian Changnian threw the used cotton swab into the trash can. She didn't feel anything about the injury, but after seeing what happened today, no matter how hard the two of them tried to explain themselves, they couldn't, and she was afraid that they would make enemies with Cheng Zhen.
Moreover, her original intention was to stand up for Zhou Mu, but instead of standing up for him, she became the scapegoat and was beaten up badly, losing so miserably.
"I'm fine, I just couldn't help you..."
Speaking of this, Zhou Mu looked a little sad, but seeing her friend so badly injured, she forced a smile to encourage her, gesturing vividly in the air with a straw.
"I think you played really well! That cross-court shot, that straight push, that pinpoint kill! I was stunned! You didn't hear how loud the audience cheered! We managed to take a point from such a strong opponent, maybe with a little more practice we can even tie with her."
The image of Xie Shi'an flashed through her mind as she thought about the match that had just taken place, and her wound began to ache again.
Jian Changnian thought about it again and again, but still felt that something was wrong. How could a school team player have a professional level?
For the first time in her life, she felt a strong sense of curiosity towards a complete stranger she had only met once.
Jian Changnian licked her lips: "Um...did you bring your phone?"
Zhou Mu hurriedly rummaged through his schoolbag and took it out.
"Yes, I brought it. Do you want to call home?"
Jian Changnian's family was poor, and a mobile phone was a luxury for her at the time. So sometimes she would borrow Zhou Mu's phone to call her grandmother.
To everyone's surprise, Jian Changnian shook her head: "No, let's investigate her."
If they were professional players, there would probably be some news reports about them.
Her words piqued Zhou Mu's interest.
The two heads came together.
“Thank...shi? Which shi?” Zhou Mu muttered as he typed.
Jian Changnian also frowned, knowing only that the person's name was "Xie Shi'an" but not knowing which characters it was.
She thought for a moment and said, "Never mind, let's try them one by one."
Zhou Mu said without turning his head as he pressed the keys.
"That's strange, you seem quite interested in her."
Jian Changnian choked for a moment: "Did I... find it yet?"
Zhou Mu tried entering several homophones, but couldn't find any results.
"No, which one is it with so many words?"
As the two were talking, the clock struck 10 p.m., and the shop assistant came over to collect the cups in preparation for closing time.
Zhou Mu suddenly looked up: "Oh no, oh no, I have to go back to school, the dorm doors will be closed if I stay any longer."
Jian Changnian pulled the person up and ran: "Then hurry up and run!"
She was in a vocational school, where the rules were very lax. Zhou Mu was different; she might even have to write a self-criticism.
The two parted ways at the intersection.
Zhou Mu waved to her, panting.
"I'll be waiting for you at the school gate at 10 a.m. tomorrow so we can go home together."
Jian Changnian also stood under the streetlight and waved goodbye to her.
"Okay, don't forget you made me wait so long again."
***
A roadside eatery run by flies.
"Come on, let's have a drink!"
The two plastic cups clinked together, and the hops spilled out. Yan Xinyuan tilted his head back and drank it all in one gulp, then refilled his and Song Wei's cups.
Before the food was even served, Song Wei's phone rang.
"Hey, right, I'm with Lao Yan. No, we didn't drink, really. I'll bring you some barbecue when I get back."
He must be talking to his wife on the phone.
It wasn't convenient to smoke at school, but Yan Xinyuan's craving for a cigarette kicked in. He pulled out his old pipe from his pocket, tapped it on the table, filled it with tobacco, lit it, took a deep drag, and listened with interest to his conversation with his family.
After a while, a child's voice came through the receiver again: "Daddy, when are you coming back?"
"Chenchen, be good. Go to sleep first. Daddy will be back soon. When you wake up, Daddy will take you to the amusement park tomorrow."
"Great! Now you have a happy and fulfilling family life, enjoying the joys of family life."
After putting the child to sleep, Song Wei hung up the phone, complaining but unable to stop smiling.
"What family bliss? You have no idea how annoying it is when kids get naughty."
He realized his words were wrong as soon as they left his mouth, but it was too late to take them back.
Although Yan Xinyuan didn't say anything, there was a hint of loneliness in his expression.
Just then, the waiter brought the food up.
"Your stir-fried snails are here!"
Song Wei found a way to smooth things over.
"Come on, don't just sit there smoking! Try this stir-fried snails, they're so authentic, spicy and delicious!"
After several rounds of drinks and dishes, several bottles of wine were overturned on the table.
After thinking for a moment, Song Wei decided to pour him another cup.
"I shouldn't be saying this, but we've known each other for many years, and I want to see you doing well."
Although Song Wei was in Jiangcheng, he was part of the same circle, and he had heard a little about Yan Xinyuan's involvement with the national team.
If he were truly as nonchalant and indifferent as he appears, he wouldn't have left the national team.
Song Wei tentatively asked, "Old Yan, haven't you thought about finding someone else? It's been so many years, and Mingming... We're not young anymore. When we can't hold a racket anymore and can't walk anymore, someone will have to take care of us, right? If you're willing, I'll have my wife keep an eye out for you..."
Yan Xinyuan waved his hand, picked up the plastic cup and drank it all in one gulp, indicating that he should have some more poured in.
"Let's not talk about it anymore, let's not talk about it anymore, I... I don't want to think about those things right now."
After a few bottles of beer, Yan Xinyuan's face flushed, and his eyes began to wander.
Song Wei covered his cup.
You can't drink anymore.
"I can drink, I can drink, burp, I'm so happy today!"
"Fill it up, fill it up...fill it up!"
***
On Saturday, Jian Changnian got up very early. Seeing that the sun was shining outside, she washed yesterday's clothes and hung them on the balcony. She also took the quilts and pillows out to air them.
After finishing all that, I saw that it was still early, so I swept the dorm room again, took the trash downstairs, and then went to the cafeteria to buy breakfast.
"Auntie, two white steamed buns."
With a soft "beep," the meal card was swiped on the machine, displaying a balance of 9.46.
Jian Changnian's monthly living expenses were only two hundred yuan, which averaged out to only fifty yuan per week. This fifty yuan covered her food and other living expenses, so she had to be frugal. Steamed buns were the cheapest food in the canteen, and they were filling. She especially liked them when she mixed them with some chili sauce made by her grandmother.
She saved almost ten yuan this month, so her grandmother can give her less living expenses when she goes home this week.
Thinking of this, the boy took the bag handed to him by the cafeteria lady, smiled, and almost skipped away.
The cafeteria lady behind him shook her head and muttered to her colleague, "I've seen her come to buy steamed buns almost every day since the start of the semester..."
***
This week, Zhou Mu finally arrived on time. Jian Changnian had only been standing at the entrance of No. 1 Middle School for a short while when she saw Zhou Mu running out with her schoolbag on her back.
"Come on, Chang Nian, let's go home. I'm telling you, I really miss my mom's braised pork, steamed pork with rice flour, and stir-fried pork..."
"Alright, alright, I'm just reading the recipe."
The person who had only eaten two large white steamed buns for breakfast couldn't stand hearing this and turned to leave.
Zhou Mu caught up with her and put his arm around her shoulder from behind.
"Hey, if my mom asks you what I did on Friday, why I didn't come home..."
"I stayed in the library to study and do practice tests."
Zhou Mu poked her in the stomach, beaming with joy.
"This child is teachable."
"Go to hell." Jian Changnian retaliated with his gossip-free claws.
The two of them walked and joked around.
"Hey, what am I supposed to say if your grandma asks me?"
"Just make things up, she'll believe whatever you say."
Why are you bringing a badminton racket home?
"Take it home to play with. I'm not like some people who don't take their homework home but take some dirty clothes home for their mothers to wash."
"Wait, wait, wait... When did I ever ask my mom to do my laundry? I'm in high school now!! Stop right there, don't run away!!!"
***
Returning home each week is the happiest and most relaxing time for Jian Changnian. After helping her grandmother with farm work, she can go to the open space at the edge of the village to play badminton. Zhou Mu went to her cousin's house this week and couldn't find anyone to play with, so she tied the badminton shuttlecock to the big banyan tree at the edge of the open space with a rope.
The wind blew by, and she hit it back with a bang. The momentum swayed back again, and she hit it back again. This cycle continued from when she was ten years old, when her grandmother picked up this racket from the garbage dump, until she was fifteen.
As the sun sets, wisps of smoke rise from chimneys in the twilight.
Grandma came to the village entrance to call her home for dinner.
Jian Changnian responded, untied the badminton shuttlecock, and ran over in a flash.
Sometimes, when she didn't have enough money to buy books and notebooks for living expenses, she wouldn't have enough for the bus fare. She rarely went home, and her grandmother would always cook something delicious. This time, she slaughtered the old hen she raised herself and made soup. She also used the money she had for sewing shoe soles to buy some leftover pork from the butcher shop at the village entrance. The fat was used to render oil, and the lean meat was stir-fried into a dish, all of which ended up in her bowl.
While wolfing down her food, Jian Changnian put some of the meat from her bowl back into her grandmother's bowl.
"Grandma, you eat too."