Chapter 19
Even if one string is broken, the remaining three strings still have to be played. This is life.
-Emerson.
***
In the vicinity of ShenZhen LongHua District’s SanHe Labor Market, there was a group of people that others called “the Gods of SanHe”. These people lived hand to mouth; having eaten one meal, they would not know when the next one would be coming. They had no house, no family, and lived in illegal internet cafes for 15 yuan a night. At night they would eat a bowl of clear soup and noodles for 6 yuan.
They passed their lives day by day like this, with no hope and no tomorrow.
But this is also life.
In the Year 2000, when Gao JiaXun was about to leave to find work in Su City, his fellow villager who had returned from ShenZhen asked if he wanted to try going south to have a look.
“People like us who don’t have culture or background, we can’t compare to those big city college students, so why go to the city for? As long as we have enough to eat and drink every day, and can even go to the internet cafe to surf the internet at night, smoking 50c a piece loose cigarettes. What a good life! It’s living like a God!”
Gao JiaXun didn’t even think about it. He immediately refused the invitation of the fellow villager.
“I still want to work harder.”
So he came to Su City with a tattered backpack on his back.
Poor people also have a community of other poor people. He group rented together with seven other people. Although they couldn’t afford internet or TV, it was better than not knowing where his next meal would be coming from.
Every choice in the world may seem inconsequential at that moment but looking back a few years later, it might turn out to be a turning point in one’s life.
Who would have thought that a country boy who lived in a group rented house and worked by giving people massages would turn into the current President Gao?
LianJia Real Estate Agency’s HuaTing Office:
In the bright and clean shop, the senior employee sipped tea and said emotionally to Xiao Liu: “Let me tell you, when Mr. Gao rented in that community, I was the one who introduced him and got the agency fee from him. At that time, our company wasn’t established and I was just a worker in a small intermediary shop. Now my life is better and Xiao Gao has become President Gao.”
Xiao Liu: “Then were you the one who later sold the apartment to President Gao as well?”
The senior said, “Yes ah. I helped President Gao buy it a few years ago. I suppose he bought it because he felt nostalgic about the past.” After thinking about this, the senior sighed sadly. “There were eight people in the house back then but President Gao was the only one who survived. How can anyone feel good about that? Who would have thought that a couple fighting would actually think of going to turn on the gas tank?”
Xiao Liu thought of the information she had seen and sighed: “Has that couple been released from prison?”
The old senior: “Who knows! They moved away ages ago, so who knows what happened. Back then they turned on the gas tank and caused an explosion, and were taken by the police to the police station to mediate the dispute. Half of the building was blown up, three neighbors and even a policeman died! I remember one of the three dead neighbors was a little girl from Unit 1103 upstairs. That little girl was in the fifth grade, and she stood on the balcony to play the violin every day. Just after finishing her homework that day, she ran on the balcony to play. She was blasted straight out of the balcony window and couldn’t be saved at all. Her mother was cooking in the kitchen and ran to the balcony when she heard the explosion. When she saw that half of the balcony was gone, she knew that her girl had fallen. She almost jumped off too but was stopped by the dad.”
Xiao Liu clutched her heart: “Weren’t there fifteen deaths? You said there’s only four that died in the explosion. How come so many other people died after, didn’t they run away from the explosion?”
The old senior glanced at her, recalling the scene of hell on earth.
That’s right, the explosion was over. So why didn’t everyone run?
Are they fools?
At that time, the real estate agency was open on the street opposite the community. The explosion caused the whole street to shake. He ran outside hurriedly thinking that there was an earthquake but when he looked up, he saw there was a blaze in the sky.
Unit 803 at No 13 Huating Community was one of the households in the middle and not on the ends of the floor.
As soon as it exploded, the fire burst into flames. With Unit 803 as it’s center, the balconies on three floors directly above and three floors directly below were blown up. That wasn’t all. The raging fire engulfed the entire 8th floor and the fire spread upward, on a mission to destroy everything.
The elevator definitely wasn’t working. There were some stairs that hadn’t been swallowed by fire yet and some people did indeed run down but there were also many on higher levels who couldn’t run down in time as the corridors were already on fire.
At that time, he was terrified and frozen still.
However, in this world, there were always people who will not hesitate to put their lives on the line to save others.
The senior employee: “President Gao and those seven other lads, they had actually already escaped. But when they came downstairs and looked up, they saw that there were at least 20 people trapped inside. Without even thinking, they ran back up to save them. Going up and down took a lot of effort. They saved twelve people down, running up and down. By then the fire truck was almost there. But when they went to save the last group, the fire had already spread next door and blew up their gas tank.”
“There were eight originally but only President Gao survived.”
“Later, President Gao said that when his brother ran to the eighth floor, he suddenly noticed that there was still a strong smell of gas. He hurriedly told them to evacuate. When the explosion finally happened, President Gao said he felt someone shove him from behind. He never found out who it was and woke up in the hospital alone.”
“You tell me, how can President Gao feel comfortable in his heart?”
Xiao Liu was anxious: “There are still many good people in this world and good people will be rewarded. Look at President Gao, isn’t he wealthy and successful now?”
Old senior: “En. President Gao has always been helping the parents of the seven boys who died and is very benevolent.”
…
The sky was getting dark and the street lights were beginning to come on.
After drinking a cup of bitter coffee and listening to a long story…
The two young people stood at the entrance of the coffee shop. The successful man in suit and leather shoes took out a business card from his card holder and handed it over. His eyes were red but there was a gentle smile on his face, “I always feel that I have met you two before and I have a feeling of deja vu. If you need to, you can bring this business card to me at any time. You can tell me about your project and I’ll listen.”
This time, Lian Xi did not refuse it, although he didn’t have any entrepreneurial project.
He took President Gao’s business card.
President Gao smiled and said, “Okay, then I’ll go first.”
A luxury car slowly stopped on the side of the road and President Gao got in the car and left.
After watching the taillights of the car going away, after a while Lian Xi asked, “When did you know who he was?”
Hearing this question, the handsome and unconcerned man lowered his eyes slightly and raised an eyebrow at the young man beside him: En?
Lian Xi looked at him: “Back at the bun store, I decided to follow him. Did you already know at that time that he’s the guy who lives opposite us?”
Yes, from beginning to end, Lian Xi did not recognize him. He didn’t realize that this President Gao was the guy who lived across from them until, not until he received the information from Xiao Liu.
Because President Gao looks totally different from that guy!
The guy across from them was full of sunshine and loved to laugh. His eyes were filled with vigor and hope for the future.
But President Gao has a lot of vicissitudes. He doesn’t look like a man in his 30s or 40s, but more like someone in their 60s. He had white hair on his temples and wrinkles on his eyebrows. Even the steps he walked were very heavy, as if something was pressing down hard on his shoulders, making him breathless.
Lian Xi decided to follow him because he subconsciously felt that the guy across from him must have something to do with this person, or else they wouldn’t go to the same steamed bun shop to buy breakfast at the same time. He had an intuition.
Lie Chen: “You can’t see it?”
Lian Xi: “What?”
Lie Chen: “His soul.”
Lian Xi showed a dazed expression.
Lord Black Reaper gently shook his head and said in disappointment: “You must really have amnesia.” You don’t even know this. “His soul looks exactly like that person.”
Lian Xi was startled slightly.
——The heart hasn’t changed, so it’s still the same person.
***
When they got home, the short housemate had already finished class and had been waiting for them for a long time.
As soon as Lian Xi and Lie Chen came back, Su Jiao came over very excitedly: “How did it go, did you find a clue? What’s going on with the people opposite, it’s definitely not a ghost ba.” Seeing Lian Xi did not refute his words, the short housemate immediately felt more confident. He took a quiet glance at President Lie and hummed, “I said it didn’t I? It’s not a ghost. If it’s a ghost, how can I, a XuanXiu, not realize it?”
Lie Chen laughed. He was too lazy to talk to him and so turned around to walk to his bedroom.
Lian Xi glanced at his back and said to Su Jiao: “It’s really not a ghost.”
Su Jiao: “I knew it!”
Lian Xi: “But it’s also not human.”
Su Jiao: “Huh???”
Lian Xi thought for a while: “People’s obsessions may be stronger than ghosts.”
…
While carrying a bottle of wine, Lian Xi repeatedly knocked on the opposite door.
The one who opened the door was the young guy who was very righteous- that is, Mr. Gao.
Seeing Lian Xi, he was stunned for a moment and then angrily said, “What are you doing? Do you want to apologize by giving me a bottle of wine? It’s useless for you to come and anyway it has nothing to do with you. Tell that guy in the black clothes to come over.”
Lian Xi smiled: “No, that’s not it. It’s just that I’ve moved in for a long time and haven’t made a proper greeting to you yet. I was just hoping to eat together.”
Mr Gao said suspiciously: “Just you, not your sick housemate?”
“No, I won’t bring him.”
President Lie, who was hiding behind his own door and eavesdropping with Su Jiao: “…heh.”
The young guy glanced at the door behind Lian Xi again. After ascertaining that Lian Xi was alone, he touched his nose and opened his door fully: “Okay, then you come in. Hey, how did you know that we are eating stewed pork head tonight. It’s going to be delicious!”
The black door slowly opened. Lian Xi sighed for a moment then walked in.
With a click, the door closed.
In an empty room, without any furniture, eight young men stood as if in a daze, their eyes wide open, watching Lian Xi curiously.
They didn’t seem to realize the room was empty.
The boys were very enthusiastic and helped Lian Xi move the “chair”, took him to the “table” and took out a plate of “stewed pork head” from the kitchen.
“By the way, do you like to eat stewed pork head?”
Lian Xi: “I can eat anything.”
“Okay then let’s eat together. What wine did you bring?”
“Just something I found casually. Try it.”
“Okay.”
Taking nine “cups”, the young guy started to pour the wine. When he was about to pour the last cup, he was stopped by Lian Xi.
Lian Xi: “I don’t drink.”
The young guy was stunned: “Then you want to watch us drink?”
Lian Xi: “Yeah.”
Young guy: ” Uh , I guess it’s okay.”
Eating “stewed pork head” and drinking liquor, everyone quickly became immersed.
“Next week, the store will give you a bonus, Xiao Gao. This time you will definitely be the best performer.”
“Hehe.”
“Hey surname Wang, Xiao Gao does the most work every day. From morning to night, he never rests at all. It’s only right that he should get the bonus, what are you jealous of.”
“Jealous my ass. It’s just that I think Xiao Gao works too hard and I want him to take a rest occasionally.”
“Working hard is a good thing. Xiao Gao will definitely have a promising future, unlike us.”
“Xiao Gao, you work so hard to make money. Is it because you’re saving money to go back home to build a house and marry a wife ah? “
Everyone roared with laughter.
The young guy Xiao Gao also blushed with amusement and couldn’t lift his head.
“That reminds me, isn’t Xiao Gao the youngest among us? I remember you’re just nineteen? We should all learn from him.”
“I always take Xiao Gao as our younger brother.”
“Hey you know what’s weird, how come the girl upstairs isn’t playing violin today? If I don’t hear her play the violin while I eat, I feel uncomfortable.”
“Maybe she’s tired today and wants to take a rest.”
“I’m afraid her mother will scold her again.” Then the guy pinched his throat and imitated the voice of the girl’s mother: “You think Mommy paid for you to learn violin for my own sake? Of course it ‘s for you! And you still don’t practice well. The money is all wasted, oh I’m so angry…”
“Hahahaha.”
Xiao Gao: “I will get paid a bonus next week, so tomorrow morning I’ll treat everyone to breakfast!”
The seven young men suddenly became high spirited: “You said it! I want to eat fried dough sticks and soy milk.”
“I want big pork buns! ”
“I want fried dough sticks and steamed buns, the one from Wang Ji’s store!”
Xiao Gao: “Got it!”
Everyone was eating and drinking, and they were all in high spirits. Xiao Gao suddenly caught sight of Lian Xi sitting aside quietly. He was taken aback and smiled: “I’m sorry, I was so excited I didn’t pay attention to you. You eat more, your wine is really good. I haven’t had a drink since I came to Su City.” As he said, Xiao Gao held up his “wine glass” and was about to pour it into his mouth.
Lian Xi stretched out his hand to block his wine glass.
Xiao Gao was stunned and looked up at him.
In the dimly lit room, the bustling lights from the outside seem to be unable to penetrate in so only silence and peace enveloped the room.
Lian Xi looked at the confused young guy in front of him, and said, “This is wine for the dead. A living person shouldn’t drink it.”
Xiao Gao was shocked.
Lian Xi’s voice was quiet and soft: “I once heard of a disease. For example, survivors of war, earthquake and other natural disasters, after experiencing a major and terrible disaster, they will be depressed and have nightmares. They would feel guilty and blame themselves. Subconsciously, they would always ask themselves-
“Why me?
“Why did I survive?
“Why was it me?
Xiao Gao’s pupils trembled and his lips slowly opened.
Lian Xi: “This is called survivor’s syndrome.”
In the spacious house, the sound of the seven guys making fun of each other stopped abruptly. They turned their heads in silence and, like Lian Xi, quietly looked at the man holding the “wine glass” with his mouth open. The man who didn’t seem to realize that tears were already running down his face.
Lian Xi: “It’s not your fault, they are also very happy that you can survive. You have never been wrong in surviving, this is the lucky fortune that these seven people willingly gave you.”
“You are not a shameful survivor, you are the lucky one who has worked hard.
“They are under the ground now, but they are still happy for you.”
There was a long silence in the room.
After a long time.
Lian Xi turned his head and looked at the place where the seven boys had just been “sitting”. He saw that there were no “tables”, “chairs”, and “bowls and plates” and “wine glasses”. On the ground, there were only traces of wet QiTan. That was the wine used to pay homage to the martyrs, to the seven people who gave their lives to save others.
“Thank you.”
Lian Xi turned his head and looked at the young guy.
He slowly released the hand holding the “wine glass” and looked at Lian Xi with a warm and sad smile.
“Thank you for the wine, it’s really delicious.”
The voice faded away and the young guy’s figure disappeared suddenly in the air.
At the same time, in a high-end apartment on the other side of the city, a middle-aged man in pajamas suddenly woke up from a nightmare. His forehead and body were all sweaty. He was only thirty-eight years old but his forehead was covered with wrinkles, and his sideburns were full of white hair that couldn’t be dyed.
He was panting heavily, his fingers trembling.
After a long time, he suddenly roared and buried his face in his grief.
“I’m sorry, I’m sorry…Why me, why did only I survive….”
“I’m sorry you guys!”
After nineteen years of being suffocated in his heart, at this moment all of his emotions roared out, accompanied by tears and guilt.
However it was also at this moment that he seemed to really come alive.
He no longer felt so heavy and sad, no longer felt so so stuck in the past, unable to extricate himself.
The next morning, Su Jiao got up early for class. When passing by the old street next to the neighborhood center, he suddenly saw a shiny luxury car.
“Fuck? Mercedes Benz?!”
The car stopped in front of Su Jiao.
A middle-aged man in a high-end suit got out of the car and went to a shop called “Wang Ji Bun Store”. He laughed loudly, “Lao Wang, a fried dough stick, a meat bun, and a cup of soy milk.”
The boss who was busy in the store heard this, stopped kneading the dough, and turned his head to look at the middle-aged man in surprise: “Hey, you’re not buying a whole bunch today?”
The middle-aged man smiled and said, “Don’t need it, they should have had enough for a long time.”
The Boss: “Haha, all right.”
The middle-aged man took his breakfast and turned and walked towards the Mercedes Benz.
Su Jiao wiped his eyes, and in a daze, he actually saw the young guy who should have been sent into reincarnation by Lian Xi’s figure overlap with the middle aged man’s figure. Except one turned west while the other one turned east. The young guy didn’t hold anything in his hand, he walked briskly, humming a little song. His face was filled with a brilliant smile, and his figure gradually disappeared into the air.
Under the bright and warm sunshine, Gao JiaXun straightened his back and looked up at the bright sunrise.
What good weather it was today!
***
Chapter 19
Even if one string is broken, the remaining three strings still have to be played. This is life.
-Emerson.
***
In the vicinity of ShenZhen LongHua District’s SanHe Labor Market, there was a group of people that others called “the Gods of SanHe”. These people lived hand to mouth; having eaten one meal, they would not know when the next one would be coming. They had no house, no family, and lived in illegal internet cafes for 15 yuan a night. At night they would eat a bowl of clear soup and noodles for 6 yuan.
They passed their lives day by day like this, with no hope and no tomorrow.
But this is also life.
In the Year 2000, when Gao JiaXun was about to leave to find work in Su City, his fellow villager who had returned from ShenZhen asked if he wanted to try going south to have a look.
“People like us who don’t have culture or background, we can’t compare to those big city college students, so why go to the city for? As long as we have enough to eat and drink every day, and can even go to the internet cafe to surf the internet at night, smoking 50c a piece loose cigarettes. What a good life! It’s living like a God!”
Gao JiaXun didn’t even think about it. He immediately refused the invitation of the fellow villager.
“I still want to work harder.”
So he came to Su City with a tattered backpack on his back.
Poor people also have a community of other poor people. He group rented together with seven other people. Although they couldn’t afford internet or TV, it was better than not knowing where his next meal would be coming from.
Every choice in the world may seem inconsequential at that moment but looking back a few years later, it might turn out to be a turning point in one’s life.
Who would have thought that a country boy who lived in a group rented house and worked by giving people massages would turn into the current President Gao?
LianJia Real Estate Agency’s HuaTing Office:
In the bright and clean shop, the senior employee sipped tea and said emotionally to Xiao Liu: “Let me tell you, when Mr. Gao rented in that community, I was the one who introduced him and got the agency fee from him. At that time, our company wasn’t established and I was just a worker in a small intermediary shop. Now my life is better and Xiao Gao has become President Gao.”
Xiao Liu: “Then were you the one who later sold the apartment to President Gao as well?”
The senior said, “Yes ah. I helped President Gao buy it a few years ago. I suppose he bought it because he felt nostalgic about the past.” After thinking about this, the senior sighed sadly. “There were eight people in the house back then but President Gao was the only one who survived. How can anyone feel good about that? Who would have thought that a couple fighting would actually think of going to turn on the gas tank?”
Xiao Liu thought of the information she had seen and sighed: “Has that couple been released from prison?”
The old senior: “Who knows! They moved away ages ago, so who knows what happened. Back then they turned on the gas tank and caused an explosion, and were taken by the police to the police station to mediate the dispute. Half of the building was blown up, three neighbors and even a policeman died! I remember one of the three dead neighbors was a little girl from Unit 1103 upstairs. That little girl was in the fifth grade, and she stood on the balcony to play the violin every day. Just after finishing her homework that day, she ran on the balcony to play. She was blasted straight out of the balcony window and couldn’t be saved at all. Her mother was cooking in the kitchen and ran to the balcony when she heard the explosion. When she saw that half of the balcony was gone, she knew that her girl had fallen. She almost jumped off too but was stopped by the dad.”
Xiao Liu clutched her heart: “Weren’t there fifteen deaths? You said there’s only four that died in the explosion. How come so many other people died after, didn’t they run away from the explosion?”
The old senior glanced at her, recalling the scene of hell on earth.
That’s right, the explosion was over. So why didn’t everyone run?
Are they fools?
At that time, the real estate agency was open on the street opposite the community. The explosion caused the whole street to shake. He ran outside hurriedly thinking that there was an earthquake but when he looked up, he saw there was a blaze in the sky.
Unit 803 at No 13 Huating Community was one of the households in the middle and not on the ends of the floor.
As soon as it exploded, the fire burst into flames. With Unit 803 as it’s center, the balconies on three floors directly above and three floors directly below were blown up. That wasn’t all. The raging fire engulfed the entire 8th floor and the fire spread upward, on a mission to destroy everything.
The elevator definitely wasn’t working. There were some stairs that hadn’t been swallowed by fire yet and some people did indeed run down but there were also many on higher levels who couldn’t run down in time as the corridors were already on fire.
At that time, he was terrified and frozen still.
However, in this world, there were always people who will not hesitate to put their lives on the line to save others.
The senior employee: “President Gao and those seven other lads, they had actually already escaped. But when they came downstairs and looked up, they saw that there were at least 20 people trapped inside. Without even thinking, they ran back up to save them. Going up and down took a lot of effort. They saved twelve people down, running up and down. By then the fire truck was almost there. But when they went to save the last group, the fire had already spread next door and blew up their gas tank.”
“There were eight originally but only President Gao survived.”
“Later, President Gao said that when his brother ran to the eighth floor, he suddenly noticed that there was still a strong smell of gas. He hurriedly told them to evacuate. When the explosion finally happened, President Gao said he felt someone shove him from behind. He never found out who it was and woke up in the hospital alone.”
“You tell me, how can President Gao feel comfortable in his heart?”
Xiao Liu was anxious: “There are still many good people in this world and good people will be rewarded. Look at President Gao, isn’t he wealthy and successful now?”
Old senior: “En. President Gao has always been helping the parents of the seven boys who died and is very benevolent.”
…
The sky was getting dark and the street lights were beginning to come on.
After drinking a cup of bitter coffee and listening to a long story…
The two young people stood at the entrance of the coffee shop. The successful man in suit and leather shoes took out a business card from his card holder and handed it over. His eyes were red but there was a gentle smile on his face, “I always feel that I have met you two before and I have a feeling of deja vu. If you need to, you can bring this business card to me at any time. You can tell me about your project and I’ll listen.”
This time, Lian Xi did not refuse it, although he didn’t have any entrepreneurial project.
He took President Gao’s business card.
President Gao smiled and said, “Okay, then I’ll go first.”
A luxury car slowly stopped on the side of the road and President Gao got in the car and left.
After watching the taillights of the car going away, after a while Lian Xi asked, “When did you know who he was?”
Hearing this question, the handsome and unconcerned man lowered his eyes slightly and raised an eyebrow at the young man beside him: En?
Lian Xi looked at him: “Back at the bun store, I decided to follow him. Did you already know at that time that he’s the guy who lives opposite us?”
Yes, from beginning to end, Lian Xi did not recognize him. He didn’t realize that this President Gao was the guy who lived across from them until, not until he received the information from Xiao Liu.
Because President Gao looks totally different from that guy!
The guy across from them was full of sunshine and loved to laugh. His eyes were filled with vigor and hope for the future.
But President Gao has a lot of vicissitudes. He doesn’t look like a man in his 30s or 40s, but more like someone in their 60s. He had white hair on his temples and wrinkles on his eyebrows. Even the steps he walked were very heavy, as if something was pressing down hard on his shoulders, making him breathless.
Lian Xi decided to follow him because he subconsciously felt that the guy across from him must have something to do with this person, or else they wouldn’t go to the same steamed bun shop to buy breakfast at the same time. He had an intuition.
Lie Chen: “You can’t see it?”
Lian Xi: “What?”
Lie Chen: “His soul.”
Lian Xi showed a dazed expression.
Lord Black Reaper gently shook his head and said in disappointment: “You must really have amnesia.” You don’t even know this. “His soul looks exactly like that person.”
Lian Xi was startled slightly.
——The heart hasn’t changed, so it’s still the same person.
***
When they got home, the short housemate had already finished class and had been waiting for them for a long time.
As soon as Lian Xi and Lie Chen came back, Su Jiao came over very excitedly: “How did it go, did you find a clue? What’s going on with the people opposite, it’s definitely not a ghost ba.” Seeing Lian Xi did not refute his words, the short housemate immediately felt more confident. He took a quiet glance at President Lie and hummed, “I said it didn’t I? It’s not a ghost. If it’s a ghost, how can I, a XuanXiu, not realize it?”
Lie Chen laughed. He was too lazy to talk to him and so turned around to walk to his bedroom.
Lian Xi glanced at his back and said to Su Jiao: “It’s really not a ghost.”
Su Jiao: “I knew it!”
Lian Xi: “But it’s also not human.”
Su Jiao: “Huh???”
Lian Xi thought for a while: “People’s obsessions may be stronger than ghosts.”
…
While carrying a bottle of wine, Lian Xi repeatedly knocked on the opposite door.
The one who opened the door was the young guy who was very righteous- that is, Mr. Gao.
Seeing Lian Xi, he was stunned for a moment and then angrily said, “What are you doing? Do you want to apologize by giving me a bottle of wine? It’s useless for you to come and anyway it has nothing to do with you. Tell that guy in the black clothes to come over.”
Lian Xi smiled: “No, that’s not it. It’s just that I’ve moved in for a long time and haven’t made a proper greeting to you yet. I was just hoping to eat together.”
Mr Gao said suspiciously: “Just you, not your sick housemate?”
“No, I won’t bring him.”
President Lie, who was hiding behind his own door and eavesdropping with Su Jiao: “…heh.”
The young guy glanced at the door behind Lian Xi again. After ascertaining that Lian Xi was alone, he touched his nose and opened his door fully: “Okay, then you come in. Hey, how did you know that we are eating stewed pork head tonight. It’s going to be delicious!”
The black door slowly opened. Lian Xi sighed for a moment then walked in.
With a click, the door closed.
In an empty room, without any furniture, eight young men stood as if in a daze, their eyes wide open, watching Lian Xi curiously.
They didn’t seem to realize the room was empty.
The boys were very enthusiastic and helped Lian Xi move the “chair”, took him to the “table” and took out a plate of “stewed pork head” from the kitchen.
“By the way, do you like to eat stewed pork head?”
Lian Xi: “I can eat anything.”
“Okay then let’s eat together. What wine did you bring?”
“Just something I found casually. Try it.”
“Okay.”
Taking nine “cups”, the young guy started to pour the wine. When he was about to pour the last cup, he was stopped by Lian Xi.
Lian Xi: “I don’t drink.”
The young guy was stunned: “Then you want to watch us drink?”
Lian Xi: “Yeah.”
Young guy: ” Uh , I guess it’s okay.”
Eating “stewed pork head” and drinking liquor, everyone quickly became immersed.
“Next week, the store will give you a bonus, Xiao Gao. This time you will definitely be the best performer.”
“Hehe.”
“Hey surname Wang, Xiao Gao does the most work every day. From morning to night, he never rests at all. It’s only right that he should get the bonus, what are you jealous of.”
“Jealous my ass. It’s just that I think Xiao Gao works too hard and I want him to take a rest occasionally.”
“Working hard is a good thing. Xiao Gao will definitely have a promising future, unlike us.”
“Xiao Gao, you work so hard to make money. Is it because you’re saving money to go back home to build a house and marry a wife ah? “
Everyone roared with laughter.
The young guy Xiao Gao also blushed with amusement and couldn’t lift his head.
“That reminds me, isn’t Xiao Gao the youngest among us? I remember you’re just nineteen? We should all learn from him.”
“I always take Xiao Gao as our younger brother.”
“Hey you know what’s weird, how come the girl upstairs isn’t playing violin today? If I don’t hear her play the violin while I eat, I feel uncomfortable.”
“Maybe she’s tired today and wants to take a rest.”
“I’m afraid her mother will scold her again.” Then the guy pinched his throat and imitated the voice of the girl’s mother: “You think Mommy paid for you to learn violin for my own sake? Of course it ‘s for you! And you still don’t practice well. The money is all wasted, oh I’m so angry…”
“Hahahaha.”
Xiao Gao: “I will get paid a bonus next week, so tomorrow morning I’ll treat everyone to breakfast!”
The seven young men suddenly became high spirited: “You said it! I want to eat fried dough sticks and soy milk.”
“I want big pork buns! ”
“I want fried dough sticks and steamed buns, the one from Wang Ji’s store!”
Xiao Gao: “Got it!”
Everyone was eating and drinking, and they were all in high spirits. Xiao Gao suddenly caught sight of Lian Xi sitting aside quietly. He was taken aback and smiled: “I’m sorry, I was so excited I didn’t pay attention to you. You eat more, your wine is really good. I haven’t had a drink since I came to Su City.” As he said, Xiao Gao held up his “wine glass” and was about to pour it into his mouth.
Lian Xi stretched out his hand to block his wine glass.
Xiao Gao was stunned and looked up at him.
In the dimly lit room, the bustling lights from the outside seem to be unable to penetrate in so only silence and peace enveloped the room.
Lian Xi looked at the confused young guy in front of him, and said, “This is wine for the dead. A living person shouldn’t drink it.”
Xiao Gao was shocked.
Lian Xi’s voice was quiet and soft: “I once heard of a disease. For example, survivors of war, earthquake and other natural disasters, after experiencing a major and terrible disaster, they will be depressed and have nightmares. They would feel guilty and blame themselves. Subconsciously, they would always ask themselves-
“Why me?
“Why did I survive?
“Why was it me?
Xiao Gao’s pupils trembled and his lips slowly opened.
Lian Xi: “This is called survivor’s syndrome.”
In the spacious house, the sound of the seven guys making fun of each other stopped abruptly. They turned their heads in silence and, like Lian Xi, quietly looked at the man holding the “wine glass” with his mouth open. The man who didn’t seem to realize that tears were already running down his face.
Lian Xi: “It’s not your fault, they are also very happy that you can survive. You have never been wrong in surviving, this is the lucky fortune that these seven people willingly gave you.”
“You are not a shameful survivor, you are the lucky one who has worked hard.
“They are under the ground now, but they are still happy for you.”
There was a long silence in the room.
After a long time.
Lian Xi turned his head and looked at the place where the seven boys had just been “sitting”. He saw that there were no “tables”, “chairs”, and “bowls and plates” and “wine glasses”. On the ground, there were only traces of wet QiTan. That was the wine used to pay homage to the martyrs, to the seven people who gave their lives to save others.
“Thank you.”
Lian Xi turned his head and looked at the young guy.
He slowly released the hand holding the “wine glass” and looked at Lian Xi with a warm and sad smile.
“Thank you for the wine, it’s really delicious.”
The voice faded away and the young guy’s figure disappeared suddenly in the air.
At the same time, in a high-end apartment on the other side of the city, a middle-aged man in pajamas suddenly woke up from a nightmare. His forehead and body were all sweaty. He was only thirty-eight years old but his forehead was covered with wrinkles, and his sideburns were full of white hair that couldn’t be dyed.
He was panting heavily, his fingers trembling.
After a long time, he suddenly roared and buried his face in his grief.
“I’m sorry, I’m sorry…Why me, why did only I survive….”
“I’m sorry you guys!”
After nineteen years of being suffocated in his heart, at this moment all of his emotions roared out, accompanied by tears and guilt.
However it was also at this moment that he seemed to really come alive.
He no longer felt so heavy and sad, no longer felt so so stuck in the past, unable to extricate himself.
The next morning, Su Jiao got up early for class. When passing by the old street next to the neighborhood center, he suddenly saw a shiny luxury car.
“Fuck? Mercedes Benz?!”
The car stopped in front of Su Jiao.
A middle-aged man in a high-end suit got out of the car and went to a shop called “Wang Ji Bun Store”. He laughed loudly, “Lao Wang, a fried dough stick, a meat bun, and a cup of soy milk.”
The boss who was busy in the store heard this, stopped kneading the dough, and turned his head to look at the middle-aged man in surprise: “Hey, you’re not buying a whole bunch today?”
The middle-aged man smiled and said, “Don’t need it, they should have had enough for a long time.”
The Boss: “Haha, all right.”
The middle-aged man took his breakfast and turned and walked towards the Mercedes Benz.
Su Jiao wiped his eyes, and in a daze, he actually saw the young guy who should have been sent into reincarnation by Lian Xi’s figure overlap with the middle aged man’s figure. Except one turned west while the other one turned east. The young guy didn’t hold anything in his hand, he walked briskly, humming a little song. His face was filled with a brilliant smile, and his figure gradually disappeared into the air.
Under the bright and warm sunshine, Gao JiaXun straightened his back and looked up at the bright sunrise.
What good weather it was today!
***
