Chapter 3 Bitter Wu

  Five

  As the sunset slid down the mountain waist, it took away the last touch of red glow. The black night gradually invaded this bustling southern small town for a day. Winter nights in the small town were never very quiet, and as soon as the streetlights lit up with dim yellow lights at the edge of the road, pedestrians dragged their tired bodies after work and walked slowly towards home. Lan Yu was alone pushing his bicycle through the crowd, the chain had fallen off at some point, dragging on the ground. The more prosperous and crowded the area was, the lonelier he felt. Just half an hour ago, Zhang Chongyu looked at Xiao Yi sleeping on the table and said in a low voice, "You go back by yourself tonight, I don't feel at ease with you like this."

  Blue... pulled out a smile, tears streaming down from the corners of her eyes, warmth accompanied by the ups and downs of emotions in her heart, releasing them all without reserve. Passersby looked at the girl squatting on the side of the road crying so sorrowfully with suspicion, hesitating not to move forward, only stopping their footsteps when passing by, and saying to people around, "What's wrong with this little girl? Crying so sadly." Blue... buried her face in her knees, her eyes aching unbearably.

  I don't know how long I've been holding this pose, lifting my face from my knees, tears streaming down my eyes as I gaze at the passing cars. Turning around, I suddenly realize that there's someone sitting silently beside me. Du Hongyi is quietly leaning against the flower stand behind him, his slender index and middle fingers pinching a nearly extinguished cigarette butt. He gazes at her in silence, his deep eyes mysterious like the ocean.

  "What are you looking at?" Du Hongyi stepped on the remaining cigarette butt with his shoe and raised his head to look at her with a half-smile, "Aren't you embarrassed, crying for so long by the side of the road."

  "Mind your own business." The girl raised her hand and rubbed her swollen and sore eyes.

  "Don't rub it." Her right hand was caught by Du Hongyi's hand, the boy's arm strength was a bit big, and her arm felt a dull pain. Lan Meng glared at him fiercely, he let go of her hand and said: "Your hands are so dirty, rubbing them into your eyes will get infected."

  "Who do you think you are, anyway? Everyone's in charge!" A slight lump formed in his throat as he thought about what had happened a few days ago and how he had lost control of himself, raising his voice. Afterwards, he regretted his outburst and closed his mouth, hanging his head to stare at the ground.

  Du Hongyi sat silently for a few seconds without speaking, then patted his pants and stood up. His heart skipped a beat suddenly, and he just walked away like that? Can't withstand the blow at all, and his willpower has always been so weak, just like when he was pursuing her before, being rejected and immediately giving up?! A strange anger swirled in his throat, and Lan shouted at him in a bad mood: "You can leave, it's better if you pretend not to know me from now on!"

  "Who says I'm leaving? You look so angry, I thought of buying you an ice cream to calm down." She met Du Hong's smiling eyes and knew she had lost her composure again.

  "I... I don't like eating ice cream." She lowered her head and didn't look at him.

  "Liar, I used to see you buying one every day after school, greedy to death." Du Hong gave her a disdainful look and walked around the flower bed to the supermarket by the road.

  He stood with his back to her, much taller and stronger than he was as a child. His black jacket wrapped around his increasingly mature physique. He liked wearing casual pants, and the hip-hop version of casual pants suited him perfectly. With his left hand holding an ice cream cone, he reached into his pocket with his right hand and pulled out his wallet, placing it on the counter. Using his slender fingers, he pulled out a crumpled ten-dollar bill and handed it to the cashier. After finishing the transaction, he turned around and met her sneaky gaze, flashing her a lazy smile, with a hint of rare shyness in his eyes.

  "Go ahead and eat." He took the ice cream cone handed over to him, lightly tore open the packaging paper, put it in his mouth and took a bite, "Wow!" It's so cold!

  "It's an insult to pigs to call you a pig! Eating so hastily, who dares to snatch food from you on the street?" Du Hong smiled and took out a cigarette box, then hesitated and looked at her, "Do you mind if I smoke?"

  Blue glanced at him and said, "Never mind."

  He smiled and nodded, putting away the cigarette box, sitting quietly beside him watching.

  "What's up?" He took a big bite of his ice cream.

  He smiled and curled his lips, "Can't even look at it? You've eaten the ice cream I bought for you, don't know how to be grateful, eating others' food makes one's mouth soft."

  "Scoundrel."

  "Ah, I'm here."

  "How come you're so glib?"

  "It's so unfair!"

  "Why did you still chase Xiao Yi after chasing me?"

  "Because she is good-looking."

  Lan paused for a moment, took a bite of the ice cream in her hand and stopped talking.

  Suddenly, a large hand pressed down on the top of her head with a soothing touch. She looked up and met his eyes, "But I still think you're cuter."

  "You're still saying I'm fat!"

  "What's wrong with being a little fat? Although you're a bit too fat, I still won't abandon you."

  "Ah, you're fooling me again!" Lan shouted, pushing against his broad shoulders. "Are you still going to chase after Xiao Yi?"

  Du Hong shook his head, "Suddenly lost interest, originally it was just a bet with the brothers in the class to see if I could chase her, I lost two cigarettes." Then he turned around and looked at her seriously, close enough to smell the freshness between his lips, "I conceded defeat on the night I accidentally hurt you."

  Lan's body tensed up and she shifted backwards, "Don't you want to ask me why I cried tonight?"

  "You've cried so much already, if I still expose your scars, am I still human?"

  Her still-moist eyes were again being moistened by the rising water vapor. In fact, there had always been a vulnerable spot in her heart that she intentionally hid when facing others, fearing they would discover the weakness deep within her bones. But in his presence, she felt a thread of fear. Most of the time, she wouldn't restrain her emotions in front of him, whether it was anger or sadness. Tonight, he suddenly gathered all the bad temper he had shown to others and sat with her by the roadside, chatting amicably and occasionally flashing a silly smile. If she knew that this person would play an irreplaceable role in her future life, she wouldn't be shy, and without hesitation, she would use all her strength to embrace him.