"Take the left lane at the next intersection and prepare to turn left!"
"yes!"
The drive was fraught with danger, but thankfully we arrived at our destination safely without any major incidents.
"Yuanyuan, wait for me in the car, I'll be down in a bit!"
"Okay!" I turned on the radio, hugged the cushion in the back seat, and prepared to take a nap.
Qu Ling was making a phone call while opening the car door. I vaguely heard him say, "Is this Mr. Liu? This is Qu Ling. I'm downstairs at your company. Okay, I'll come up right away..." His voice stopped abruptly as the car door closed.
I looked up at the four-story building outside the car window; the bright gold lettering of "Jingtai Architectural Design Company" was still clearly visible in the night.
That name sounds so familiar; I'm sure I've seen it somewhere before.
The radio was playing a song I didn't know the name of, and the male singer was singing hoarsely: "You're not truly happy, your smile is just a protective mask you wear, you've decided to stop hating and stop loving, locking your soul in a forever-locked shell..."
Watching Qu Ling's figure disappear into the dark corridor, I suddenly felt that he was the person described in the song.
You are not truly happy; your smile is merely a protective facade.
Eleven years ago, Qu Ling, I still remember his smile. Although that memory is like a hazy painting swaying in the wind and rain, I remember his smile, that boy laughing heartily at the valley from the mountaintop, his happiness at that time, his true happiness.
Dean Qu, are you really happy?
The song continues, and the question of happiness still lingers in my mind.
"Crying in the crowd, you just want to become invisible."
You will never dream of pain or be moved again.
You've made your decision. You've made your decision.
You silently endured, tightly clenching yesterday in your fist...
I suddenly felt sad because of a song.
A song sparked my curiosity about Qu Ling's inner world.
Because of a song, I thought of the person who said they had no stars in their heart, and slowly fell asleep.
*****
"Yuanyuan! Yuanyuan, wake up!"
"Ugh~~~" I opened my eyes reluctantly. "Dean Qu, you're back?"
"I'm sorry to have kept you waiting so long."
"It's okay! Hmm..." I sniffed hard, then stared at the paper package in his hand, my eyes lighting up: "Dean! What did you buy that smells so good?"
"Guess?" Qu Ling deliberately pinched the opening of the paper bag.
"Hmm...it smells like coffee...there must be coffee! And..." I sniffed harder, "and the smell of meat buns too!"
"Yuanyuan, your nose is comparable to that of a hunting dog!" Qu Ling laughed as she put the paper bag into my arms.
"Ah! It really is meat buns and coffee!! The meat buns smell so good!" My eyes lit up with excitement. "Dean... Dean! You're such a good person!" I was so happy that I wanted to fly up and kiss Qu Ling.
"Eat quickly, it won't taste good when it gets cold."
"Mmm~~" Actually, I had already started eating even without his invitation. "Dean, where did you buy these meat buns? They're so delicious! Even better than the ones in our school cafeteria!"
"real?"
"Um!"
"Then I'll try one too."
"Hey~~ Don't steal my steamed bun!"
At this moment, while eating the meat bun, I think Qu Ling was truly happy.
His smile at that moment made me gradually connect him with the boy in my memory.
*****
After driving for several hours, I became more and more adept at steering and braking, and the drive back was very smooth.
To prevent me from getting sleepy on the highway, Qu Ling kept talking to me.
"Yuanyuan, I heard you had a nickname when you were little: Invincible Little Pig?"
Where did you hear that? I'm going to throw that person into outer space!
"Yes...yes~~~It's a nickname my grandma gave me."
"There's always a reason for calling you that. Tell me what glorious deeds you've done?"
Glorious deeds? Does it count if I punched the bully from the next class and sent him flying?
"Uh...it's probably because my grades are good..." Anyway, the car lights weren't on, and although I blush when I lie, Qu Ling couldn't see it.
"I heard you didn't do homework when you were in elementary school?"
I'm so pissed off!! Who leaked this to me?! I'm going to kill them!
"That's because I'm smart and doing homework is a waste of time~~" Once you start lying, the rest will come crashing down like the Yellow River.
"Yuanyuan, I heard that you..."
"Dean Qu!" I finally couldn't help but interrupt him, "Where did you hear all this from?"
"Oh, once I went to your third uncle's house to look for him, but he wasn't there, so I waited for a while. Your younger brother, Su Tiantian, was worried that I was lonely, so he chatted with me for a bit."
Su Tiantian!! If I don't wipe you out later, I'm not a Su!
tear……
I've been working so hard to act like a well-behaved lady in front of Dean Qu, but it turns out that Su Tiantian, that scoundrel, betrayed me all along!
"Yuanyuan, I also heard..."
Dear Dean, how come you've heard about this? How many hours did Su Tiantian talk to you about? How could so much content be covered in "a short time"? TAT~~
And so, from N City to H City, Qu Ling kept asking me about embarrassing things from my childhood, from kindergarten to university, the previous twenty years flowed by along the silver-gray highway.
Although they were all embarrassing incidents, some parts were quite amusing in retrospect, and Qu Ling found them very enjoyable to listen to. His tone and manner of speaking were completely different from usual. The person beside me at this moment was not the serious dean from the academy, but the happy boy who had held me as we watched the sunrise atop Huangshan Mountain.
Finally, after exiting the last tollbooth on the highway, the neon lights on the edge of H city were faintly visible.
"Yuanyuan, how can you be so cute?" Qu Ling was still laughing. "You actually wanted to drown the fish! You're just too... too cute!"
“Dean…” I slammed on the brakes in frustration, “I was only three years old then…”
"Also, why would you imagine yourself as a little frog squatting in a water tank crying for help?"
"Is it okay to have a frog prince, but I can't even imagine myself as a frog princess?" I pouted, complaining. "Dean! Stop discussing these pointless questions! Where am I headed next?"
Qu Ling stopped laughing, thought for a moment and said, "It's already very late. This place is the closest to my house. Why don't you come to my house to rest tonight?"
"Huh? Your...your home?" The steering wheel suddenly slid to the left in my hands.
"Yuanyuan! Watch the road!" Qu Ling reacted quickly and pushed the steering wheel back, then broke out in a cold sweat from fright.
"Dean...Dean, it's not very convenient for me to go to your house, is it?"
"Whatever you want. You can take me back first, and then go back to the academy yourself."
"Should I drive back myself?"
“You walk back yourself.”
Oh my god! How could I possibly walk back? I wouldn't get there even by tomorrow morning!
"Then...then I'll stay at your place."
"Hmm." Qu Ling nodded in satisfaction.
****
Night had fallen, and the military compound where Qu Ling's family lived was quiet and eerie.
"Dean, aren't you scared to come back alone at night?" I asked nervously, peering into the deep woods by the roadside.
"What are you afraid of?"
"I... I heard my mother say when I was little that the military district compound was haunted!" I said, swallowing hard.
"Nonsense!" Qu Ling scoffed.
"Really... I heard it's a female ghost... Oh dear! It's raining!" I exclaimed in surprise.
"Don't panic, turn on the windshield wipers."
"My mom said that the female ghost hanged herself in the toilet. When she died, her face was deathly pale, and her tongue was hanging down to her stomach..."
"Yuanyuan! Watch out ahead! Someone is crossing the road with an umbrella! Brake!"
"Ah!! Okay!" I hurriedly slammed on the brakes, and in my panic, I somehow managed to turn on the high beams.
The person in front, holding an umbrella, was suddenly startled by the light and turned around.
"Ah!!!! A female ghost!!!" I screamed, stretched my right foot forward, pushed my right hand to the left, and a flash of light and shadow of trees appeared before my eyes, and then—I lost consciousness.
*****
When I woke up, everything in front of me was white.
White walls, white cabinets, white sheets—everything is white. And there's such a strong smell of disinfectant. Needless to say, I'm in a hospital.
"Yuanyuan is awake!" Her mother's voice rang in her ears.
"Yuanyuan!" My father's face appeared directly above me, his eyes bloodshot.
“Dad…” My throat was dry, and it stung a little when I spoke.
"Yuanyuan, how are you feeling now? Are you dizzy?" Dad reached out and gently touched my forehead.
"I'm fine," I blinked. "Dad, what happened to me? Did I get into a car accident?"
"You dare ask again!" Dad's face darkened. "You actually dared to go out and drive behind my back!"
"Dad!" I grabbed his arm anxiously and asked, "How is Dean Qu? Is he alright?"
Dad nodded and said, "He only hit his head and can be discharged tomorrow. He's in much better shape than you are."
Much better than me? My head doesn't hurt. How could my condition be worse than Qu Ling's?