It was already dark when the plane took off from Los Angeles, and it seemed to be flying in the dark all the time in the chaos, and after a tedious landing in Tokyo, it stopped for a long time in Shanghai for no reason. I didn't count the total length of the flight, the long journey and the jet lag between the eastern and western hemispheres made it feel like the morning was already wrong. When I stepped out of Beijing's new airport building and took a taxi into the city, the whole of Beijing was still detained under a dark canopy.

Although I have only been away for a few months, when I finally see the streets that I have been familiar with since childhood, see so many familiar passers-by, and smell the smell of car exhaust outside the car window, I can hardly help but shout softly: "Hey, Beijing!" I am back! ”

I am back! I used to think I wouldn't be back here again because my beloved peace of mind left me. She walked so suddenly, so resolutely, and disappeared without a trace in an instant, making people think that we would never meet again. So when I'm going to get out of here, I have to forget the past, I have to erase all the traces of my memory that would make me cry.

Now, I'm back, and I finally understand that I can't stand life without peace of mind. I'm back, and I vow that even if I search every corner of 9.6 million square kilometers, even if I spend my whole life, I will find peace of mind. This vow made me almost tearful with emotion.

I can vividly remember the afternoon when I first saw Anxin, when the sunlight slanted in through the high windows of the Kyoshi Taekwondo Gym, making the smoothed green carpet on the floor look even more stale. In the center of the old carpet, a group of senior class students are training to split legs, and the shouts of "ahhhh Our group of just humane junior class students stood in a line in a corner of the training hall, listening to the coach's serious instructions like a book.

In my impression, the training of that day was to enlighten us on the history and meaning of taekwondo - taekwondo, that is, kicking and kicking; Boxing, that is, boxing boxing; Tao is spirit! Spirit, you know? Taekwondo advocates courage, friendship, etiquette, respect for opponents, and the perfection of personality! Cultivate the spirit and temperament internally, and cultivate the technical and physical skills externally, and cultivate the moral spirit of forbearance and humility that is difficult for ordinary people to achieve...... Hey, everyone, pay attention, you have to concentrate when you listen to the class......

I know the coach is talking about me and Liu Minghao. When I listened carefully, Liu Minghao quietly stabbed me with his hand, I looked away, and sure enough, I saw a girl carrying a bucket and a handful of cloth, coming out of the small door in the corner of the hall hall, and walking along the wall to the other side of the hall. The sunlight poured down from the high windows of the training hall like a waterfall, coating the girl's silhouette with a foggy haze and brilliance. I looked a little dazed, the girl's silhouette was really beautiful, but the details of the face could not be seen clearly, perhaps because the more blurred the beauty, the more mysterious it was, so the girl's haze was even more flustering.

To be honest, the reason why I first saw Anxin and immediately fell in love with her was due to the most primitive biological impulse. The first time I saw her, I could vouch that she was definitely a budding virgin, which gave me a lot of crazy fantasies, and at the same time I was deaf to what the coach said about the techniques and spirit of taekwondo. I was looking forward to getting out of class as soon as possible, so that I could discuss with Liu Minghao as soon as possible how to design and chase her.

If Liu Minghao used to drag me to a bar and accompany me to Guoning Company to deliver a cover letter because of his friendship with me, then now, he helps me pick up girls completely for his own business. My Good Luck company is fighting for the purchase order of air conditioning equipment in Guoning Building, and I am Zhong Ning's boyfriend and the project manager of the supply department of Guoning Group, so I have naturally become a "big customer" of Good Luck Company. Liu Minghao helped me with my errands, which should be said to be a veritable customer public relations work, which is essentially a matter of his good luck company.

Maybe Liu Minghao is too familiar with me, he really didn't hold me as a "big customer", he was still a little absent-minded when I begged him, he said: "You chase it, do you still need me to come up with ideas, that girl saw such a beautiful handsome guy, she looked very rich, and she didn't get sick immediately!" You just have to be careful, don't think about it in the future, and you can't get rid of it. ”

Of course, it's not difficult for me to chase girls, but in fact, in the past two years, more girls have chased me. I don't have as much confidence in anything as I do when dealing with girls. But this time, I don't know where it came from, and I have a little weakness. So I said to Liu Minghao: "This girl may be really pure, not like the kind that can mess around with men casually." ”

Liu Minghao tilted his head and looked at me for a long time, and patted me on the shoulder with a smile: "Ouch, it seems that you are really interested, it's not easy." Well, I'll inquire for you first, and see where she came from and what her name is. Hey, wouldn't it be better to know where her family lives and if there is anyone in the house, isn't it? ”

Liu Minghao smiled ambiguously at me, I didn't want to tease him, and I was seriously silent. In those days, I didn't think about anything, just waited for news from Liu Minghao, and at the same time went to the Jingshi Taekwondo Club on time every day, and practiced the Tao absentmindedly. Although it was often only for a moment, the handyman girl could still be seen quietly walking through the practice hall every day, doing odd jobs such as cleaning and putting away the mats. Whenever she appeared in the practice hall, she always attracted the attention of many students. These people are all perverts! I also seized the opportunity to see her face clearly—delicate skin, a small nose, a slightly upturned mouth, black and white eyes, clear and clean eyebrows, a bit of male heroism. I bet this face can make all men tickle and think about it.

It didn't take Liu Minghao a few days to sneak into some information, this girl's name is Anxin - a nice name - from Yunnan, she lives in the Jingshi Taekwondo gym, responsible for cleaning up utensils, cleaning, opening and closing doors in the morning and evening, and so on. From these circumstances, it can be concluded that she should have no relatives in Beijing who can help.

——A first-time worker girl who comes to Beijing, alone, and helpless, this is all about peace of mind. It's good, almost exactly what I imagined and expected. I gained confidence and began to think concretely about opportunities.

According to the regulations of the taekwondo gym, of course, and according to the "spirit" of taekwondo, we must leave two students behind after class every day to help the coach do the work of collecting practice clothes, leather targets, cleaning the venue, closing windows, and so on. For those of us who are not deeply humane, this is a chore that we are unwilling to do. But this drudgery came to me on this day, but I was surprised to find that this was actually the most natural opportunity to set porcelain with peace of mind, because we had to deliver the things to her one by one after we had collected them, and when I delivered them to her, I deliberately rubbed it in, as if I was particularly serious and responsible. Anxin just concentrates on counting, organizing, and then sorting those things into cabinets. The movements were careful and swift, and they didn't look up at me for a long time. I tried my best to be courteous and friendly, rushing to help her with everything, but it didn't seem to have any effect, and I didn't even get a serious conversation.

So I started to deliberately find fault with her again: "Hey, is this thing here, isn't it?" ”

She explained with a serious face: "Yes, it's here." ”

"What about this?"

"Put this here, I'll do it."

"I'll come, I'll come."

After collecting the things, I looked at the work of helping her to put the messy storage room in her eyes, and then her reaction was a little different, and she looked up at me attentively, probably she had never seen such an excellent young man who was so enthusiastic and diligent and loved to work.

She finally took the initiative to ask me: "You're a student, right?" ”

I said, "I'm already working." Then he lost no time in extending the topic, "What about you, you're not from Beijing, are you?" ”

She didn't answer, but asked, "Can you see it?" ”

It should be said that the wording and accent of her speech do not have too many foreign accents. But if a Beijing girl looks as delicate as her, who would come to this place to be a handyman? Of course, this argument cannot be told to her, and it would be rude to say it. I digressed and said, "Your name is Anxin, right?" ”

The girl was a little surprised, and the expression could even be said to be a little alert, and she asked, "How do you know?" ”

"Ahem, I heard from someone."

"Who told you that someone around you knows me?"

"No, I listened to Uncle Zhang."

Uncle Zhang is a temporary worker at the night watchman of the Beijing Normal Sports School. Here, probably only Uncle Zhang is familiar with Anxin.

"Uncle Zhang?" I think about it with peace of mind. It seemed to me that the thoughtful expression and the puzzled voice were innocent, her brow furrowed slightly, her mouth half-open, childish. Every movement of her, every posture, seems to make people's hearts move.

I avoided the topic again: "You live in the sports school, so where do you eat every day?" ”

"I do it myself, I have a kerosene stove."

I paused for a moment and suddenly said, "How about you have dinner in the evening, have you ever eaten Peking duck?" ”

I noticed that this smile suddenly became a very mature and sophisticated laugh, and she said, "I'm sorry, I have something to do at night." ”

I was going to ask: When are you free? But she didn't speak, because that would be a bit of a stalker, maybe it would make her feel bad, and if she didn't feel good, she wouldn't be able to do it quickly.

I ended my small talk with her and took the initiative to say goodbye to her. Coming out of the taekwondo gym, Liu Minghao was still waiting for me, and his car broke down and wanted to take my car. When I got in the car, I asked, "How is the set, I guess that girl will ignore you." ”

I held my face: "Who said that." ”

Liu Minghao sneered: "I said it." ”

I said, "Don't be jealous, we've been talking for a long time." ”

Liu Minghao was skeptical: "Didn't invite her out for a meal?" ”

I said, "How can you be in such a hurry, you are too classless." ”

Liu Minghao almost laughed: "Okay, you have a class, you can work slowly and leisurely." ”

It seems that this has to be done leisurely. In the following week, I sent two more invitations to Anxin, each time finding a suitable reason, and the words were pre-arranged and said quite naturally, but Anxin simply and firmly rejected - I'm sorry, I have something to do tonight. Although her "I have something to do tonight" is quite euphemistic in tone and expression, she said it without thinking, so I couldn't get off the stage. My self-esteem has always been very strong in front of girls, and being rejected by girls can easily make me angry, and I can't help but use the sentence in the movie: Who do you think you are!

It wasn't until much later that I learned that Anxin's refusal of my invitation was indeed "something to do at night", and she had to rush to the Dongcheng District Cultural Palace to attend night school every day after work, and she was in a junior accounting class. Of course, these situations were also spied on by Liu Minghao. This kid is half-familiar with everyone in Beijing, the price of "viagra" has risen, Palestinians and Israelis are fighting, Clinton has bought a house, and Blair is his father, he knows half of the things in the world, and he knows everything about China.

I went to the Dongcheng Cultural Palace to inquire, this accounting class has been open for more than two months, but as long as you pay the money, you can transfer at any time. So I signed up. I went a little late for the first night of class, and the class had already started. As soon as I walked into the classroom, I saw Anxin sitting in the back row, her head down and taking notes, and the seat next to her was empty, as if it had been specially reserved for me. I walked to the back row with my schoolbag and sat down next to Anxin, only then did she look up at me inadvertently, stunned.

"Yang Rui?"

I also pretended to be surprised: "Hey, it's you?" ”

The encounter was quite natural, and from the reassuring expression, I could see that she didn't find any ill-intentioned flaws in me. The pleasant relationship between classmates began, and I offered to send her back to the sports school by car after class on the first day, she said that it was not troublesome, I insisted on sending it, saying that it was okay, anyway, it was by the way. She didn't say anything more and got into my car. I honestly drove her to the place, and there was no rap on the way except a few small talks. Since then, she has allowed me to drop her off in a car every time she gets out of class, and has since evolved to accept my offer to take her to school "on the way" after work. Later, I naturally suggested that I eat something on the way to class, and I said I'm hungry, let's find a place to pad my stomach, what do you like to eat?

When it came to eating, Anxin was resolute and decisive, saying, "I've eaten, you eat, I'll wait for you." The tone of the expression was still tactful, but it was still said without thinking.

I asked, "I came out with you after training today, what did you eat?" ”

"I ate a piece of bread and bought it at noon."

I really felt a little sorry for her: "Why are you so hard?" ”

"No, that's good." She said.

I deliberately picked a more upscale restaurant, parked the car, and pulled her in. I guess she'd never eaten in such a particular place, and that thrilled me. I like the feeling of surprise in my eyes when I see a girl following me, it makes me feel a special pleasure in face.

That day, I ordered enough food for two people, and I think Yunnan is not close to the sea, so I probably can't eat seafood. So the dishes I ordered were mainly seafood, such as oysters, scallops, blue crabs, etc., and I guess she had never eaten them in her life. Under my persuasion, she moved her chopsticks, didn't eat much, and was a little bit of a posture of resisting wooing without taking advantage of the breeze. I was somewhat disappointed by her cold response, perhaps because my expectations were too high, and I had expected her to be hooked and gobble up.

I couldn't figure out whether this treat was a success or a failure. When I asked for a second time to "eat whatever you want" on the road, she became more adamant, saying that she had already eaten and didn't want to eat again. I said, "Then sit on the side and stay with me." She didn't do it either, she said: You should order a lot of dishes again when I accompany you, it's too wasteful to not be able to eat. I said: If you think it's delicious even if it's just a bite, it's not a waste, and I'm willing to spend this money. She was silent for a moment, and then said, "You are willing, but I can't afford it."

I really couldn't say any more sweet words, we were all silent, and finally didn't stop to eat, until the car drove to the Cultural Palace in Dongcheng District, and didn't say anything more. We were the first couple in the class that day.

It was a really hard time for me, and I had never gone to such lengths to soak in any girl. In addition to picking up and dropping off Anxin to and from class, I always take the initiative to clean up the utensils for other students on duty at the end of each taekwondo training session. But Anxin to me, always polite and keep a distance. After a long time, I was a little discouraged and a little annoyed. I can see that Anxin is very poor and lives a very frugal life, but he always helps me so highly. At first, I admired her poverty and poverty, but she always refused to make people think that she was a stinky shelf, holding strength, making people difficult to get close to, and making people feel that this girl was so ignorant, why can't she be soaked and fed!

Gradually, I became a little bored, and I didn't catch up with the miscellaneous errands after the training in the gym, and the accounting class in the Cultural Palace was three days of fishing and two days of drying nets. I didn't want to study accounting in the first place!

Liu Minghao said: "I knew that there was no drama, and as soon as I saw the girl, I knew that she was the kind of small local person who let her parents close the house and shake hands with the boy since she was a child, and felt that you took advantage of her." How much work you have to put into soaking her up, it's tantamount to carrying out basic education for the society, and when it opens, you probably won't get tired of it. In addition, I guess this girl is a bit frigid, and she has no interest in men at all. You are such a tangible boy who soaked her so much, and the average girl fell early, and she didn't react at all, I guess it is. ”

I was speechless.

After chatting with Liu Minghao this time, I was very annoyed! I simply didn't listen to the boring accounting class, who wants to be a Rausch accountant. Originally, Zhong Ning had an opinion on what accounting I wanted to learn on a whim. Although she is usually busy with the company's affairs and doesn't pester me, but once she is free to feel emotional, she asks me to be on call, and I turn off my mobile phone and ignore her calls when I take accounting classes with Anxin, and she loses her temper at me several times for this.

I don't say anything when she loses her temper, and she doesn't explain or fight back, and this strategy seems to be quite effective.

The accounting class was interrupted, but I gradually became more interested in taekwondo. I was the main setter of the school volleyball team in middle school and college, and my limbs were dexterous and powerful, and in my class at the Kyoshi Dokan, I had the best physical foundation and the fastest progress. The coach always praised me in front of the class: I can use my brain in attack and defense, standard movements, tight knees, hip delivery, good landing control, and so on. In less than two months, I have roughly mastered the technical essentials of front kicks, horizontal kicks, downward splits, side kicks, back kicks and other movements, and the most beautiful back swing leg in taekwondo is also very similar to that, but the side swing is still a little raw, and if you don't swing well, you always have to fall yourself. The boxing part is also okay. The coach is right, boxing is mainly based on judgment and brain. There is also footwork, which relies on experience and physical strength, and it is not a one-day or two-day Taoism.

So I went to the taekwondo gym five times a week to train, and I still persevered. As usual, I can still see Anxin working silently in the corner, and when my eyes meet, she is very serious, and I don't have any expression. Actually, I still like her, but I don't show it, and I'm a little bit of a competitor with her!

After two months of training, the gym decided to hold an in-class competition to determine the rankings of some events. Although this is just a training method for the coaches, for the students, after all, there is a feeling of exam, so there is no one who does not pay attention to it, and comes to train early every day. Liu Minghao's figure was already difficult to practice taekwondo, and when he said that he wanted to compete, he retreated, and his business was also very busy at that time, so he simply stopped coming at all.

Our class usually trains from 4 pm to 6 pm, and Saturday and Sunday from 2 pm to 6 pm. On the last Sunday before the competition, I was almost late at half past two because I accompanied Zhong Ning to participate in a social gathering at noon, and no matter how much I rushed to the sports school, I was bound to be late. I simply drove slowly, put the car at the gate of the sports school, and slowly walked to the training hall to digest the delicacies of the mountains and seas that had just been stuffed into my stomach. Unexpectedly, when I walked to the training hall, I saw that the door was locked, and many students were blocked at the door before they passed. Those who came late were whispering to ask about the reason, those who came early were complaining loudly, and some of them had already begun to scold. I asked a classmate what was wrong, and he said, "Ahem, the one who opened the door hasn't come yet." I said, ", it's been almost an hour, I should get their club back." At this time, the coach came, and everyone stopped, because according to the spirit of taekwondo, scolding is not okay.

The coach kept a straight face and looked at his watch. Let everyone practice their footwork by themselves in front of the tree. Everyone didn't move, and someone said on behalf of everyone: I haven't changed my shoes, how can I practice. The coach was a little angry and said: Don't practice what you can practice and don't practice if you can't.

None of them moved, as if whoever was going to practice was a little stupid. Suddenly, everyone's heads turned in one direction, including the coach, who seemed to have found the same goal. I also saw that Anxin was running towards the training gym out of breath. It was only then that I realized that it was Anxin who was responsible for opening the door every day.

The coach deliberately looked at the watch, and his expression and the action of looking at the watch were like whips, and his face turned pale. She breathlessly said, "I'm sorry, I ...... I'm late, sorry ......"

Everyone was silent and looked at her. She fumbled in her clothes and backpack, unable to find the key. She suddenly remembered something, stumbled and ran to the simple room she lived in on the edge of the training hall, and the coach urged loudly behind her: "Hurry up!" ”

Someone muttered behind the coach: "It's not about firing her." The coach responded, which was a comfort to all the students: "Go back and report to the club, you can't practice like this anymore!" The coach's words and the atmosphere of the scene made my heart tense and a little uneasy, and then I suddenly had a thought, and ran to the small room with my legs, and followed Anxin into the house. Anxin had already found the key at this time, and I took it easily.

I asked, "Where have you been, nothing has happened?" ”

My tone was considerate, comforting, and worried for her, and I gasped for breath and said, "I'm sorry." ”

I ran back to the gate of the training hall with Anxin, I opened the door, and I shouted to the coach as everyone went inside: "I'm sorry coach, Anxin has something to go out today, give me the key, let me open the door, I forgot." Sorry, sorry! ”

The coach was stunned, and said for a long time: "What kind of dog memory do you have, you have to go, hurry up and go in, and then talk about it." ”

A student with a good relationship patted me behind me: "You have to have a treat!" You also stood for a long time just now, and you were still coaxing, you didn't remember? ”

Of course, Anxin was also stunned there.

I practiced very hard that afternoon, I was fully engaged, and I was very happy. Anxin seemed to have been called by the club to do other work, and we didn't see her again until we finished training and turned off the lights and left.

In the evening, I went to the accounting class of the Dongcheng Cultural Palace. Because I wanted to see Anxin, and I wanted to see how she reacted to what happened this afternoon.

Anxin was a little surprised to see that I came to class again, and wanted to ask me anything but didn't open my mouth. I didn't speak, and I deliberately didn't mention the afternoon. We all made it look like we were listening attentively and taking notes. In fact, I fell behind a lot of classes, and I didn't understand most of what the teacher said about "pay-as-you-go and accrual-based".

After class, we packed our school bags, and I asked Anxin: Do I want to send you?

An Xin hesitated, nodded, and said: Okay.

We walked out of the classroom and out of the building together, and it wasn't until we got into my car that I was relieved:

"Can you tell me about it, why are you being so nice to me?"

I said, "Nothing, I think you're pretty good." ”

I didn't start the car, and both of them were silent. It was raining, and there were some sparse raindrops on the windshield in front of the car. Anxin said, "How can I thank you?" ”

I said, "Invite me to a meal, I'm a man who likes to eat." ”

Anxin said: "I can't afford to ask for those things you like to eat." ”

I said, "You know what I like to eat right now?" I like to drink porridge and eat pickles now. ”

Look at me and try to see if I'm serious or funny. She said, "Okay, when you're free, I'll invite you." ”

I said, "I'm free, I didn't eat tonight." ”

Anxin didn't know if he was unprepared, or if he wanted to prevaricate, and said, "Today? Not today, I don't have any money with me. ”

As if I had to eat today's meal, I said, "It's okay, I'll borrow you first." ”

Anxin said, "I don't want to owe money to others. ”

I said, "Then you'd rather owe someone else." ”

Having said that, of course, peace of mind can't get rid of this set. So we drove to Di'anmen, where there is a restaurant called Jialing Pavilion that is open 24 hours a day, which is not a high-end restaurant but Sichuan cuisine is very good, and there are not many people, and the environment is elegant. After we sat down, I asked Anxin to order, and Anxin said that I had eaten, and you can order whatever you want. I said that I am so embarrassed to have such a treat. Anxin didn't understand the humor of the Beijingers, so he took the recipe with a little blushing and said, "Then what do you want to eat?"

To be honest, I really like to see her cramped appearance, and I believe Liu Minghao's words even more, she is definitely a virgin, and she is wrong. I smiled, took the recipe back, and said, "I'll do it myself, but you have to promise me one condition, otherwise I won't eat this meal." She asked: What? I said, "You have to eat with me."

I ordered the dishes, all of which were very cheap and home-cooked dishes, and I was afraid that I would not be able to stand it psychologically, so I didn't dare to order expensive dishes. But I asked for wine.

The wine and food are all together, I drink liquor, and I am forced to drink beer with peace of mind. We raised our glasses and said with peace of mind, "Thank you for saving your life." ”

I laughed and said, "This is a big deal, I let you have a treat to tease you, I can't afford to save my life." ”

Anxin is quite serious: "It's not a life-saving grace, if I let the club resign, I won't have a job." ”

I calmed down and looked at her, she has such a beautiful face, will a girl with such a face have no job! I said, "Don't worry, your stay in Beijing is too short, and after a long time, you will find that you will definitely have a lot of opportunities, and it may not take more than a year for you to do this kind of work as a club handyman." There will always be a shortage of beautiful girls in Beijing, and you may become richer than me in the future. ”

Anxin looked at the wine in the glass, her face was surprisingly indifferent, she said: "I'm in Beijing, I just want to learn a specialty, and I can support myself on my own." After a pause, she added, "I just want to live in peace." ”

I was silent, her plainness and low-key seemed to hide a lot of deep meaning, and her delicate face suddenly looked old. I saw her bow her head and take a big, big sip.

I said, "Anxin, I really want to know, where are you from, who are in your family, how are you living at home, why do you want to come to Beijing alone?" Did you come to Beijing just to make a living? ”

At the moment, indeed, all this I want to know. But what I don't know is if Anxin can answer me with the real her.