Chapter 25

Xiao Heng finished replying and put his phone aside.

Before he could close his eyes, another message came in.

...

Fuck.

He was just about to tell a certain neighbor who was eagerly peddling goods that he'd block him if he made any more noise, but when he picked up his phone, he found it was Zhai Zhuangzhi.

Zhai Zhuangzhi had sent several voice messages.

"Boss, wanna come out for a meal? I went to your internet cafe to find you, they said you were off today. No one else, just me and Shaofeng. Shaofeng got caught cheating on an exam a few days ago. Damn, he said he wrote that English essay himself, I feel so bad for him."

"If you're coming, I can drive over?"

"To be honest, my car is parked right outside your residential area's entrance right now."

"Do me a favor."

After listening, Xiao Heng covered his forehead with his hand and stared at the ceiling for a while before finally replying: Okay.

Ten minutes later, Xiao Heng appeared at the entrance of the Seventh District.

A red convertible was parked at the entrance of the Seventh District. That outrageously flashy color, one look and you could tell it was the car that kid Zhai Zhuangzhi had recently bought.

Sure enough, Zhai Zhuangzhi's red head poked out from the car: "Over here!"

Xiao Heng walked closer.

Zhai Zhuangzhi handed him a cigarette: "Boss."

Xiao Heng took it.

Zhai Zhuangzhi: "Let's go, we..."

Xiao Heng didn't rush to light the cigarette. He said: "Get out of the car."

"?"

"Get out of the car," Xiao Heng said, "My treat."

At this moment, Xiao Heng was standing in front of that half-archway.

He was wearing a T-shirt from a night market stall's discount clearance sale, ten yuan a piece. There was no choice in color, he was clad in a sharp black from head to toe. Due to his inverted work schedule, he didn't have much time to take care of his hair, so he just went to a barbershop and had it cut short, leaving only a short stubble.

The man's figure was tall and straight. With a cigarette between his fingers, he squinted at them.

He had changed so much compared to when he first arrived in the Seventh District.

It wasn't just his clothes and appearance, nor was it just a change of hairstyle.

Zhai Zhuangzhi thought in a daze.

Xiao Heng had a bit of his salary left, enough for three people to order a few dishes at a small nearby restaurant.

"My salary this month isn't much," Xiao Heng said as he led them across two streets, stopping in front of a restaurant called "Hongfu Restaurant." He casually extinguished the cigarette between his fingers and said, "Let's go with this one."

Xiao Heng added: "Can't be helped if it's bad."

They used to frequent five-star restaurants with Xiao Heng and had never eaten at a no-name, unlicensed roadside eatery.

But this meal was a treat from a brother using his first month's salary; the meaning was different.

In their circle, who had ever gone out to work and earn their own money?

Some time ago, Zhai Zhuangzhi had taken over one of his family's subsidiary companies as an intern CEO and also received a salary, but that job was like a joke. He only knew how to doze off in meetings, all but having the word 'incompetent' carved on his face.

Zhai Zhuangzhi and Qiu Shaofeng said in unison: "Not bad, not bad at all! You can tell at a glance this is a delicacy hidden among the common folk! Look at this sign, so low-key and reserved!"

Qiu Shaofeng: "I can already smell the aroma of food, Zhuangzhi, can you smell it?"

Zhai Zhuangzhi: "Don't say it, but I actually do."

Xiao Heng laughed: "Fuck."

The three of them pushed open the door and went in.

Xiao Heng went in, found a random seat, handed them the menu, then sat on a plastic stool, leaning against the wall to watch them order.

A small TV hung on the opposite wall, replaying the morning news.

After Zhai Zhuangzhi finished ordering, he recounted Qiu Shaofeng's cheating incident with added embellishments. Only after a flurry of punches and kicks from Qiu Shaofeng did he get to the main point, asking: "Boss, what exactly... are your plans?"

What plans?

The TV was replaying the part where the man-on-the-street hero, Brother Wei, talked about having a dream.

The fan overhead swayed from side to side, creating a breeze when it turned toward their table.

Zhai Zhuangzhi waited for a long time, so long that he thought Xiao Heng wouldn't answer his question, waiting until the dishes were served one by one—just a few extremely ordinary home-cooked dishes, and the ingredients weren't very fresh either.

Just as he picked up his chopsticks, he finally heard Xiao Heng say: "Xiao Qishan said I'm useless." Xiao Heng lit another cigarette, lowered his head and chuckled, then added, "He's not wrong."

—A person who has given up on himself, what is he if not useless?

"I've already arranged everything for you, C University's Economics department. Tomorrow, you'll come with me to have dinner with the department head."

Giving up is really a very easy thing to do.

Close your eyes.

Cover your ears.

Ignore that voice that constantly clamors from somewhere inside your body late at night....

The atmosphere became a little silent.

Xiao Heng finished a cigarette without saying anything more. The air around him felt unusually thin. He pressed the cigarette into the ashtray on the side, stood up, and said: "You guys eat first."

He pushed the door open and went out, standing at the restaurant entrance for a while.

Then he saw it—across the street, a dessert shop decorated in pink, an incredibly gaudy... dessert shop.

The name was very tacky: Sweet Honey.

A promotional poster hung at the entrance: New items, 19.9 for two, welcome to come in and purchase.

Xiao Heng stared at the line of text on the poster for a while, thinking to himself, 'What kind of fucking fate is this.'

"Welcome—"

The wind chime at the door rang. Lu Yan was still looking down, settling accounts. He only looked up two seconds after he finished, and was stunned when he saw Xiao Heng: "Fuck, why is it you?"

The dessert shop wasn't big. The unsold new items were placed in the most conspicuous spot. Lu Yan was wearing a work uniform and looked somewhat presentable.

Lu Yan raised an eyebrow and asked: "What, here to support my business?"

Xiao Heng used facts to tell him he was overthinking it: "Eating across the street."

Lu Yan glanced across the street and immediately saw the red-haired guy by the window.

He really was here to eat.

"That restaurant only looks decent from the outside, the food is average," Lu Yan said while packing things up. "If you guys want to eat, you can go to Chen's Restaurant on the next street next time. A few of their signature dishes are pretty good."

The entire shop was filled with the unique sweet smell of cream.

Xiao Heng's irritable mood seemed to have been soothed a little. His fingertips didn't feel so dry, and his craving for a cigarette subsided a bit. After a while, he grunted an "Mm" and said: "Got it."

But this guy could talk all he wanted, why was he packing things?

There weren't any customers in the store, what was there to pack?

Xiao Heng's question was quickly answered because after Lu Yan finished packing the two portions, he fiddled around at the cash register for a bit and then said directly to him: "Including the packaging fee, 40 in total."

Xiao Heng's perception was refreshed by this series of shameless, high-pressure sales tactics: "Did I say I was buying?" The proprietress was organizing goods in the back storeroom. Hearing voices, she called out: "Xiao Lu, is there a customer?"

Lu Yan shouted: "This gentleman is buying two portions!"

Xiao Heng: "..."

The proprietress wiped her hands and walked out from the storeroom, enthusiastically introducing, "Our new product is very good. If you buy two today, you even get a small gift. Xiao Lu, pack the gift for him."

After she finished, the proprietress handed the packed bag to Xiao Heng: "Sir, will you be paying by card or cash?" The proprietress genuinely thought he wanted to buy it, and her words were spoken with complete sincerity.

[Xiao Heng]: Fuck.

[Xiao Heng]: I'll settle the score with you when I get back.

Lu Yan was sitting behind the cash register. By the time he received these two messages, Xiao Heng had already paid and left.

The proprietress stood by and asked: "What are you laughing at?"

"Nothing," Lu Yan put his phone away, glanced across the street, and added, "I'm going to the workroom to whip some cream. You watch the shop."

8 PM, the rooftop.

Previously, when organizing the operation, Brother Wei had specifically created a group chat called Squad 63.

Before getting off work, Lu Yan received a group message from Brother Wei, telling everyone to go to the rooftop for a victory celebration.

He hadn't gotten a single dime and had just missed out on a huge sum of one hundred thousand yuan. He really didn't understand what kind of victory they were celebrating.

[Brother Wei]: This is the shared honor of our Squad 63! Everyone must attend!

[Brother Wei]: My treat, I'll treat everyone to a good meal!

He said it would be a good meal, but when Lu Yan finished his shower and went up to the rooftop, all he saw was half a case of beer and a few incredibly pathetic portions of Shaxian Snacks on the table: "Bro, this is too half-assed."

Brother Wei said embarrassedly: "Wasn't I busy catching the criminal these past few days? I took several days off, so most of my salary got deducted. Next month's salary hasn't been paid yet. Wait until I get paid next month..." When Lu Yan saw Brother Wei's face, he was reminded of the painful one hundred thousand yuan. He grabbed a can of beer and said: "The only reason you're still standing here in one piece is because of our many years of brotherly bond."

The young master who said he would settle the score with him was the last to arrive.

Lu Yan shot up, beer can in hand, and hid behind Brother Wei.

Brother Wei was completely bewildered by the two of them: "What's wrong?"

Xiao Heng's eyes were lowered as he said to Lu Yan: "You, come here."

Lu Yan: "Am I stupid? Why would I go over there?"

"..."

"Come here."

"I won't."

"..."

Lu Yan said: "Didn't I just sell you two small cakes! Do you have to be like this?!"

Xiao Heng was so angry he laughed: "You call a high-pressure sale a sale?"

Lu Yan and Xiao Heng engaged in a few rounds of an extremely boring verbal battle of "You come here" and "Come here if you dare." In the end, Xiao Heng couldn't be bothered to say more and just sat down to drink.

"No, I'm telling you two," Brother Wei looked from one to the other, shaking his head helplessly, "Separately, you two both seem quite normal. How come when you get together..."

The few of them gathered around a table.

Brother Wei was truly happy. It didn't take long for him to get drunk. The main criterion for him being drunk was that he started shouting: "Brother Yan, sing a song! Where's your guitar? Bring your guitar up!"

Xiao Heng: "..."

Zhang Xiaohui jumped up directly: "Bro, get a grip!"

By the time Lu Yan went up with his guitar, he found that Brother Wei was already asleep, hugging a beer bottle.

Zhang Xiaohui had a scene to film the next morning, so he couldn't drink much and left early. He slipped away with incredible speed, probably afraid that if he were any slower, he would be forced to appreciate Lu Yan's superb guitar skills.

The atmosphere quieted down.

The quiet was especially noticeable after the liveliness.

The small lamp on the rooftop had a limited illumination range.

Through the hazy night, Lu Yan saw Xiao Heng leaning against the low wall, smoking.

Lu Yan walked over and also leaned against the wall to light a cigarette.

The wind was strong.

The sound of the wind by his ears was especially clear.

"Hey," Lu Yan said halfway through his cigarette, his gaze fixed on the distance. He nudged him with his elbow, "Why did you leave home?"

Normally, Lu Yan would definitely not ask such an unnecessary question.

Perhaps it was the alcohol.

Or perhaps he felt their relationship could now be considered that of "pretty familiar friends," even though he had just ripped off his friend for the price of two desserts during the day.

Xiao Heng flicked his cigarette ash, and surprisingly, didn't avoid the question: "Do you still remember that thing you wrote that was like shit?"