Because it was a cloudy day, the city's street lights were all lit up at five o'clock, and the neon lights hanging on the malls were also flickering very hard, and the whole city seemed to fall into a false prosperity in an instant.

Roads are getting congested. Those who sat in the car, good-tempered, lit a cigarette and waited patiently; was short-tempered, and began to press the car horn very manically, but no one paid attention to it at all, at most just threw him a roll of the eyes.

This is what I can see now, the unreal and the real are intertwined in the wind and rain, and finally it is difficult to distinguish the real from the fake.

The onlookers gradually dispersed, and I pulled Chen Yi under a roof where she could hide from the rain, and then asked her, "Does Qin Miao know the news of Qiao Ye's return now?" ”

"I haven't told her yet, as for Qiao Ye's parents whether they have said it, I don't know."

I nodded, signaling that I knew, and after being silent for a while, I said to her: "Qiao Ye's father's behavior this time is a bit excessive, he beat Qiao Ye so badly, Qiao Ye will be angry with Qin Miao if he doesn't get it right." ”

"Well, I'm worried about that...... However, his father did not do this out of anger, I think part of it was done for Qin Miao's parents to show them, to release an attitude to them, Qiao Ye did such an irresponsible thing to Qin Miao, it was not out of their connivance...... Qiao Ye's parents also have difficulties and considerations, for the sake of the group, many times they also have to look at the faces of Qin Miao's parents! ”

As soon as Chen Yi explained this, I took a relatively comprehensive look at the situation of Qiao Ye and his family, anyway, this matter is complicated, as friends, we can't participate much, Chen Yi and I are already suspected of meddling!

I was depressed, and I couldn't help but take out a cigarette and wanted to light it, but Chen Yi next to me grabbed my hand to light the fire and said to me: "Don't smoke, I invite you to eat hot pot." ”

……

In a small but stylishly decorated hot pot restaurant, Chen Yi and I asked for a small private room, and the two of us sat opposite each other. Outside the window is a quiet alley, but it is much wider than the old alley of Tulip Road, and there are all kinds of luxury cars parked under the plane trees on both sides.

The rain was still dripping, and Chen Yi and I both looked at the antique fragrance outside the window in the same posture until the waiter brought the base soup of the hot pot......

Chen Yi stopped the waiter and said to her, "Please help us get a dozen beers." ”

"We have Budweiser Heineken Carlsberg here...... Which brand do you want? ”

Chen Yi asked for my opinion, and I finally asked for a dozen of Qingdao, and then asked Chen Yi: "Do you plan to drink so much beer with me?" ”

"Drink some, it's nothing to do at night anyway."

I looked at her in amazement, in the past, even more in the past, even if I asked very strongly, she would rarely drink with me, but today, she actually took the initiative!

I'm sure she's been under a lot of pressure lately, and she's had a lot of problems with her feelings, but she's always been calm and doesn't like to put these things on her face.

Vegetables and meat slices were put into the hot pot one after another, and I also tore open a can of beer and handed it to Chen Yi, and then tore another can for myself.

Chen Yi poured the filled beer into the cup, while Xiao Ai, like me, liked to drink with a can, which looked less hygienic but more convenient.

When I was just about to touch Chen Yi, she had already raised her glass, drank the whole cup in one go, and then poured herself another glass, but she was not so comfortable to breathe......

I'm pretty sure she's never drunk beer like this in her life, so I looked at her in a bit of surprise......

Chen Yi pursed her lips, and waited for the uncomfortable feeling to pass, before she smiled and said to me: "I don't really understand why you like to drink beer so much, and I tried it today, I'm afraid it's a feeling of fighting poison with poison, right?" ”

"Your opinion is quite interesting, anyway, if you drink yourself until you are dizzy, you don't have so much energy to think about those messy things, but the premise is that you have to drink enough, otherwise it will be even more uncomfortable to be half drunk and half awake!"

"Okay, then I'll have a drink today and try that feeling." Chen Yi said, then poured beer into his cup again, ready to drink it all.

I pressed her hand and whispered, "If there's anything you're not happy about, just tell me, and I'll enlighten you." Don't force yourself to be a woman who borrows alcohol to kill her sorrows. ”

"Just because I'm Chen Yi, I don't even have the qualifications to borrow wine to kill my sorrows?"

I sighed, but I didn't let go of her hand, I knew that she had been carrying too many things for most of the past six months. First of all, she has been working under a lot of pressure; In addition, I experienced a relationship with me that almost led to the disconnection of relations with my family; And now, the relationship with Qiu Zi'an has not come to a good result after repeated repetitions...... I can see that under her dignified and beautiful appearance, there is a scarred heart lurking!

I thought Chen Yi would cry, anyway, she would cry in front of me whenever she was wronged since she was a child, and I was used to it. But at this moment, she didn't cry, just sat in a trance...... I also took the opportunity to take the wine that was placed in front of her, because I was really afraid of seeing a Chen Yi whose love would get out of control.

It was already dark, and despite my repeated obstructions, Chen Yi still drank three cans of beer very persistently. For me, it was only enough water to drink, but for her, it was too much drinking, so her face was flushed and she needed my support to walk.

……

After getting out of the taxi, I helped Chen Yi walk in the old alley. She stopped as she passed by the former "Mood Coffee Shop" and sat down on the steps under the canopy, she was in a terrible state of mind, and kept shaking her hand at me, motioning for her to relax.

I made room for her and just watched her hunch on her lap while the rain ticking from the eaves knocked out some of my memories of last winter.

Strictly speaking, my relationship with Chen Yi ended in this coffee shop. On that snowy night, I was so drunk that I did something very confused to Xiao Ai at the door of the coffee shop, and this was the ultimate reason why Chen Yi was disappointed in me......

It seems that a long time has passed, but the mood at that time is still lingering in the previous moment, and it has not left at all. Maybe until now, Chen Yi didn't know that I was about to lose consciousness on that night, and all I thought of was her.

I know that after being baptized by the passage of time, it is meaningless to think of this, but there is still a little indigestible taste in my heart...... So, he squinted his eyes and lit a cigarette, and just looked at the water vapor that was constantly diffusing in front of him.

When the cigarette in my hand was about to be smoked, the mobile phone rang in my pocket, the pocket was a little tight, I tried a few times before I took it out, this call was from Xiao Ai.

I connected, and after a moment of hesitation, it was Xiao Ai who opened his mouth first: "I've already gotten off the plane, you can eat with me, I brought you a gift...... I'm waiting for you here at the Confucius Temple. ”

Xiao Ai's return seemed like a surprise to me, but when I turned to look at Chen Yi, this joy faded a little. I'm not too comfortable leaving her here alone...... And in the past 20 years, I have never done anything like leaving her behind.

"Hey, Ebashi...... Can you hear me? ”

"It's not convenient for me to go over right now."

Xiao Ai on the other end of the phone was silent...... There seemed to be a feeling brewing in her heart, and I was a little uneasy, but I had no intention of changing my decision.

"Why is it inconvenient?"

At this time, Chen Yi behind me grabbed the corner of my clothes, I subconsciously looked back at her, and she asked me in a very soft voice, "Is it Xiao Ai?" ”

I nodded.

"Hurry up, I'm fine, I'm still a few steps home."

"Are you sure?"

Chen Yi nodded vigorously, and urged me to hurry back to Xiao Ai's words, I exhaled softly, and then said to Xiao Ai: "I'll just go over, you wait for me for a while." ”

Xiao Ai didn't get to the bottom of it, she hung up the phone after saying "um", I know that she is still a little affectionate, I am mentally prepared for this! A girl like her should not like to be rejected, this is the pride in her bones, but this is not a virtue that can be carried forward.

……

I sent Chen Yi home, made a pot of hot tea for her, and waited for her to wash and go to sleep, then I hurried to the street, and then waited for the taxi to come and go.

By the time I arrived at the Confucius Temple, it was already ten o'clock in the night. I thought Xiao Ai would be with Yu Xin, but she was the only one, sitting on a wooden chair in the riverside promenade, wearing very thin clothes, and kept looking in the direction where I would come. When our eyes met, there was a smile on her calm face.

I walked up to her, and her face suddenly lost her smile, and she said to me in a very dissatisfied tone: "Hey, hey, Jiangqiao...... Have you ever seen a woman waiting for a man on a date? …… I've been sitting here for a while, and I've been mad at me by a couple of men who want to talk to me and ask me if I'm out of love! ”

"And how did you deal with them?"

"Ignore any of them."

Seeing her angry look, I smiled apologetically, and then asked her again, "What about Yu Xin?" Why didn't I stay with you? ”

"They are still in Xiamen, saying that they are tired and don't want to rush too much...... So I came back by plane alone. ”

I looked at her, and she looked at me......

Then I realized why she was so angry when I just said that it was inconvenient to come to her. It turned out that she had rushed back from Xiamen by plane overnight to have dinner with me, and I almost refused her. Fortunately, Chen Yi is different from ordinary women, she is very rational and gave me enough space so that I didn't miss Xiao Ai on this night.

……

On the pedestrian street of Confucius Temple, Xiao Ai walked all the way to eat, and I helped her carry her luggage, although the sky was still raining, but it did not extinguish the mood that I wanted to walk with her for a while.

Xiao Ai stopped in front of a food stall again, she asked for a bowl of porridge, and while waiting, she asked me, "What have you been doing all day today?" ”

I replied truthfully: "In the morning, we celebrated the birthday of the edamame in the alley; Afternoon...... Alas! Qiao Ye is back, it's earth-shattering, and I haven't recovered yet! ”

Xiao Ai looked at me in surprise and asked, "How earth-shattering?" ”

"Qiao Ye was beaten by his father like a grandson! I don't have a clue how to deal with it in the end. ”

As he spoke, the vendor handed us the porridge Xiao Ai had asked for, and the topic was temporarily suspended. Actually, my current situation is not much better than Qiao Ye's, I want to continue like this, and I can't even solve the most basic food and clothing, which makes me feel really good!

I looked at Xiao Ai next to me again, and I didn't know what to talk to her about the future, and did she really care about the future we were about to face?

I always feel that when she came back from Taipei this time, she had too many unknowns and uncertainties!