Thinking of this, I can't help but feel a little envious. Then I quietly left the park, took out the cigarette from my pocket, and lit a fire.

"You're negligent."

I heard Wu Jie's helpless voice. Looking back, I saw Wu Jie standing behind me.

"Why, don't follow me."

"Minors smoke, but if you get caught, you will be suspended from school."

"If you want to sue, go there."

I took a puff of my cigarette and slowly exhaled it. To be honest, I couldn't get used to it, so I just puffed the cigarette out of my mouth without going through my lungs.

"You give it to me."

Wu Jie pulled the cigarette out of my mouth as he spoke, inhaling it leisurely.

"Look, that's how the cigarette is smoked."

"Wu Jie, you smoked."

"Smoked before. It's no longer smoked...... Shen Cong likes to smoke very much. When I was in junior high school, I longed for it. ”

Ah, I see, that's why Tang Ling is interested in smoking. In "A Ray of Light", there is indeed a man who smokes cigarettes with little to spare.

"Anyway, Wu Zheng, ......"

Wu is Wu Jie's older brother. I remember the name, of course, because he is dead. He is dead and has become a special being.

"My brother is very smart, and he is good at sports. Do you think this kind of person is annoying to watch? So...... I've always hated him. Tell the truth, until he dies. However, once a person dies, the memories of him are embellished. I sometimes wonder if he's a very nice guy. Do you have a time like this? ”

It seems like the first time I've heard Wu Jie talk about his brother in person.

"Hey, what do they talk about when my brother and your sister are dating."

"I can't imagine it."

I don't seem to hear Sister Xiaoyan talk about her boyfriend.

"Will they talk about us?"

"Who knows. What did Wu Jie talk about with the girls? ”

"Ah, sometimes we talk about you."

It's uncomfortable.

"Anyway, it's my bad words."

"Sort of, let's just say I have a weird friend, or something."

He didn't deny it, so he laughed and fooled around.

"I said, the boy Tang Ling likes, is that you?"

Wu Jie suddenly muttered.

"Not really."

"You're too slow."

"Don't talk in a very knowledgeable tone."

"I'm upset."

Wu Jie said in a rare and rude tone.

"Give me some pleasure, Xiaotian."

Even if he told me that, I didn't know what was upset.

Wu Jie always said something meaningful. Can't you speak normally? ”

I accidentally struck up with him.

"Doesn't Tang Ling like you?"

Wu Jie, who didn't know anything, said this kind of off-topic, which made me more upset.

I snatched the cigarette from Wu Jie, took a puff, extinguished it, and stared blankly at the smoke rising into the sky. Suddenly, I remembered the end of "A Ray of Light".

The hero's friend suffers from luminosis, and he knows that she is dying. One day, she passed away. At night, when the girl was sent to the crematorium to be burned, the smoke from the chimney rose into the sky and shimmered. Because it was the corpse of a luminosis patient who was cremated, the smoke from it glowed in the moonlight. Then the smoke turned into a ray of light and rose into the sky. Looking at the appearance of his friend, the protagonist feels that the death of a person is beautiful.

This is the end of the novel.

In the class during the day, Teacher Fang Jiang wore mourning clothes. It seems that her university teacher has passed away, and she is going to go to the vigil at night. Before the class, she explained to us.

After returning home, in front of Sister Xiaoyan's Buddhist altar, I imagined what the funeral would be like if I died.

My thoughts are clear. It's better not to show up at the funeral. Because I don't like funerals.

Then, I remembered the night I kept vigil for Sister Xiaoyan. That's terrible. She died so suddenly that everyone was in a mess. I am Sister Xiaoyan's family and can't be absent, so I attended her funeral. Everyone is speculating about the cause of my sister's death, but I don't want to hear that at all. Everyone was crying, but I just thought it was too noisy. I didn't cry. Seeing my appearance, an uncle whispered "I don't know what he was thinking" and "I'm really cold-blooded". I hear you. Maybe he's right.

That night, there was a lot of wine and food.

Why does Sister Xiaoyan still drink when she dies? I don't understand, but everyone drank. I even saw that some people seemed to be happy. They have a problem with their heads. Taking advantage of my relatives' inattention, I took a bottle of beer, hid in the toilet and drank it with a bottle. The first time I drank alcohol, I felt that the wine was bitter and unpleasant. There were many times when there was a knock on the door outside, but I ignored them and just hid in the toilet and drank.

I'm a cold-blooded person, I'm sorry.

I quietly apologized to Sister Xiaoyan in front of the Buddhist altar.

Sister Xiaoyan has become the person in the photo, so she keeps smiling.

In the end, I tried to imagine Tang Ling's funeral. But I can't imagine what that would be like. When will Tang Ling die? Will I go to her funeral? I don't think I'll go.

"Isn't it a little strange lately?"

Sister Xiaoli asked me during the break. It's true that there are always things going wrong when working during this time. If you cook the noodles for too long, you will end up with a slimy paste, or you may make a roast chicken rice bowl into a charred chicken rice bowl or something. How could I be so reckless?

"I'm sorry, I'll take care of it."

"No, it's not that you're making mistakes. No, it's also about making mistakes. I always feel like you're loveless. ”

Is my expression so gloomy? I had absolutely no idea.

"Did something happen?"

I thought it was too much trouble to fool around, so I said it bluntly.

"My confession was recently rejected."

"Eh, you have someone you like."

Listening to Sister Xiaoli's tone, she didn't seem to have thought that I had someone I liked before. This was a bit of a surprise to me.

"Sort of......

The work of the maid café is the same, the basic services are all the same, nothing special. In fact, there aren't that many regulars. But the maids may be tired of doing the same thing every day, so they make small changes to their work from time to time to adapt to the situation.

"Xiaotian, don't draw your heart on the omelet rice, write 'Happy Birthday'."

That being said, my hand that was going to write in ketchup on omelet rice stopped. How can the word "birthday" be written? Finally I wrote "happypirthdey" on it.

As usual, when the work is over, I will go back with Lico. She suddenly noted:

"Xiaotian, you misspelled the word. This word is at the junior high school level, right? Didn't you go to a good high school? Is that okay? ”

“……”

I'm not good at English in the first place, and I haven't studied at all lately. Is there a problem? I'm a little uneasy.

"Speaking of which, you haven't been working much lately."

"Well, the summer vacation is over, and we have to prepare for the school anniversary, and our class is going to have a drama. It's probably time for me to quit this job. ”

Lately, I've been working at the café almost exclusively on Mondays.

"Eh—I always feel a little lonely. I always thought you were the kind of person who didn't attend events. ”

"I used to be that kind of person......

After meeting Tang Ling, my life changed completely.

"So what are you going to play?"

"Romeo and Juliet, I'll play Juliet."

"Poof."

Sister Xiaoli looked at me with an expression of "Are you serious?" I'm used to this reaction.

"I'm normal."

“…… I always feel very concerned. ”

"What do you care about?"

"What do you mean by that?"

"Nothing special."

"So, that's it."

"What is it?"

"Hey, nothing."

This is the end of our conversation. We walked silently on the sidewalk across the main road.

"About that incident the other day......"

"A few days ago?"

"You say, 'If you have a chance next time.'"

"Ah......h

"Where are we going to play next time?"

Sister Xiaoli seemed to be out of the way.

I couldn't help but stand still. Sister Xiaoli walked a few steps forward alone.

"Don't take it seriously."

Xiao Li Ke added in a panic.

"I'm sorry."

I can't say anything but that.

Sister Xiaoli's expression was a little stiff.

"I'm kidding. Let's go, Xiaotian. ”

I didn't answer anything, just moved mechanically.

After separating from Sister Xiaoli, I suddenly wanted to see Tang Ling. It's unbelievable that I have such a strong urge. I'm too headstrong. I hesitated to go home, but my leg naturally went to the hospital where Tang Ling was.

When I entered the hospital, I suddenly felt that it was quiet tonight and the moonlight was beautiful. Here, when I don't know it, it seems that someone dies every day.

When I slipped into the ward, I saw Tang Ling standing by the window, looking out through the open window. The curtains flutter slightly in the wind.

"You go to bed early."

I said, she looked back, as if startled.

"Yikes! Why is it so sudden? ”

She said, seemingly dissatisfied.

"I'm sorry, I'm idle, so I'm here to play."

I don't know what to say. Since I didn't know how to explain it, I simply explained it like this.

"Are you stupid? Let's see what time it is. ”

Indeed, it was already eleven o'clock in the evening. Maybe I'm acting too rashly.

"Forget it. Xiaotian, come here. ”

But Tang Ling seemed to adjust her mood quickly, and she beckoned me to the window in a soft tone.

"Look."

She said, pointing out the window to the night sky.

"See what?"

As if to answer my question, she leaned her arm out the window.

Tonight, the moonlight is beautiful.

Tang Ling's arms bathed in the moonlight gradually glowed.

I can't get used to it either way. There was something mysterious about it. Tang Ling may not like me to see her like this.

"Look, it's brighter than it used to be, isn't it?"

She said. As I looked closely, the light seemed to be stronger than when she said it was when the celestial bodies were observed.

"The light has become stronger, that is...... It's worse, isn't it? ”

Tang Ling said that he didn't care.

"Hmm."

I don't know how to answer. It seems that nothing can be said.

"Now, Xiaotian, have you ever had the experience of someone important passing away?"

Tang Ling suddenly said as if she remembered something. It was as if she remembered what she had always wanted to ask, and now she had asked it.

"Nope."

I lied.

"Really? It always feels like you're used to this kind of thing, and you think you've had that experience. ”

"That kind of thing?"

"People die."

I don't want to be that kind of person.

"What's that?"

I regretted coming to Tang Ling's ward that day.

"I'm going back."

I turned around and tried to walk towards the door. She grabbed the hem of my shirt.