Chapter Seventeen: A Smile is Just a Way of Surviving

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  Na Yan said, "Thanks a lot, you've allowed me to have some backbone in front of him."

  "You're a good girl, he's not worthy of you."

  "You're also a good person, from now on we'll be friends, I'm very happy."

  "Me too, nice to meet you."

  "Today I saw all sorts of fish swimming in the water, I think they're really pitiful." Na's face suddenly looked very downcast.

  "Why does everyone think being a fish is so happy, swimming around happily every day?"

  "Fish will keep swimming, not because they like to swim, nor does it represent happiness, but just a state of survival. Just like we all look radiant and smile every day, but that doesn't mean we're living well. Others think we're happy and can't see our worries, but only we know if we're truly happy or not. Smiling and swimming are both states of survival - either keep swimming or die; either smile or go crazy in silence. Life is tough, but we can't be cruel to ourselves, so we have to keep smiling to move forward."

  "I think you're different from all the girls I've met in school."

  "Are they still flowers, while I have long become a withered branch? School is a place to nurture flowers, where every flower can bloom in purity and beauty. But society is a place that ravages flowers. It's said that society makes people grow up, but what kind of person does it make us into? It lets us wither away in the cold water of reality, leaving only dry twigs to withstand the harsh winds. Those lush petals we call dreams, those withered branches we call reality."

  Zhou Anjun, Li and others went to the nightclub together again, also bringing Yan with them. After that incident, they had become very familiar with each other. Xi Zuo's dancing was particularly good, causing the surrounding girls to scream repeatedly. Xi Zuo was just a person who would shine brightly when given some attention, and he danced even more energetically, constantly winking at people around him and showing off his charm. This kind of person, if they grew up without anything to eat, might be able to make a living by relying on their looks alone.

  Just then a shady-looking man came over and said to them, "Our boss wants to meet you." His tone was laced with disdain, implying that they didn't dare not go.

  They walked into the private room and saw a stout man with a big belly, accompanied by several younger men. Upon closer inspection, they also found that turtle grandson standing next to him, who was Yan's ex-boyfriend. What a coincidence!

  That son of a bitch finally spoke up, "Our boss heard that you're good at dancing and wants to ask you to dance for us." Yan's boyfriend was acting like a servant in front of the big shot but was condescending towards them. In this day and age, people who rely on others' power to act arrogant are really something else.

  "What dance?"

  "Striptease." Xi Ya retorted with the same disdain.

  "You... you're going too far."

  "How about not jumping? Refusing our boss will have consequences." Li Zhi stepped forward, his footsteps tight.

  An Junli had stuck to the wall with a beer bottle tightly grasped in his hand, he hadn't had time to put it down while drinking just now, and now he was going to rely on it to save his life.

  Xi Ya stood still, and that bastard actually walked over and grabbed Xi Ya's clothes. "Jump or not jump, don't let our boss wait anxiously." Xi Ya was so angry at this moment that he almost lifted Li Zhi up like a chick.

  Xi Ya didn't say a word, "Ptooey" she spat out the mixture that had been accumulating for a long time all over Li Zhi's face, and then Xi Ya was thrown out heavily.

  "Li Zhi, what exactly do you want to do?" Yan Fa asked crazily.

  "I'll deal with you later. And as for you, high-end goods, if you're willing to clean my shoes today, I'll let you off." Li Zhi ignored Yan and walked directly towards An Junli.

  An Junli aimed at the right moment, a bottle accurately hit Li Zhi's head without wasting any beer foam. Li Zhi shouted and retreated continuously, An Junli kicked him onto those thugs who were about to rush up. Then everyone basically broke out of the door simultaneously, frantically escaping for their lives. Everyone ran wildly, zigzagging through streets and alleys, finally running far away along a street.

  Until everyone ran out of breath, exhausted and panting, they stopped. Those people didn't catch up with them, so they collapsed to the ground, gasping for air. Then they looked at each other and laughed, teasing each other about who was the most scared earlier.

  Da Zi lay on the ground with his head propped up by his hands, staring blankly at the sky. He casually picked a blade of grass from the ground and put it in his mouth. After a while, he said, "Today was really great, I haven't had such a thrilling run in a long time." Then he picked another blade of grass and started whistling.

  "Junli, you're doing great. We didn't misjudge you as a brother, and Xicao didn't misrecognize you as an older brother either. Previously, I was most worried about Xicao, he's still too young. Now it's fine, take care of him more in the future." Mo Xiao said.

  Nà yán said, "Sorry, it's me who dragged you all down."

  "Don't think that way, we're no different from thugs. Fighting and getting beaten up is just a normal meal for us, today it's just an extra midnight snack." Xī Jiǎo said lightly, trying to comfort Yán's guilt.

  "Li Zhi is really a scoundrel, today he has achieved his goal as a petty person, and in the future, I will not let him off if I have the chance." Su Qi'er punched the ground with her fist.

  Na Yan lowered her head and remained silent.

  "But you're not bad, being able to keep up with us all this way." Xī Jiǎo skillfully changed the subject.

  "At first in school I was a long-distance runner and even participated in the city's marathon competition!" Na Yan became lively, her bright eyes were so beautiful.

  "I see," Xī zǎi smiled faintly, unaware that his heart had already been captured.

  Then they talked about other things from their school days, as if they were alumni who had been separated for a long time. Mo Xiao, Su Qi'er and An Junli discussed when to make a lot of money and open their own bar, whoever caused trouble would be beaten by them.

  These people are absolutely the most bizarrely calm in history, they can still chat and laugh under such circumstances.

  "At the critical moment, Meng Wei was the most awake. 'Where is this? It's a desolate and wild place. I feel like it's cold and eerie, with the wind blowing through the forest. Dazhi, didn't you just pull out the grass from someone's grave?"

  "Shut up and stop talking nonsense, I've just broken a sweat and it's already gone cold."

  "Hahaha" everyone burst out laughing, the laughter scattered in the cold air, slightly shaking the surrounding wind. On such a quiet night, it really looks very scary.

  "Never mind, it's so late, let's just hurry back, if we stay any longer, even if it's not a graveyard, ghosts will come out."

  Everyone got up and patted the dirt off their clothes, feeling their way back home.

  An Junli thought he helped Na Yan, but in fact Na Yan also helped him. From now on, Shen Fang will probably thoroughly die of heart and won't have such a fool again, tumbling every day in his world.

  But An Junlei would not have thought that she would intervene in his life in another way, and from then on, he became entangled in another kind of trouble, making his life a mess.