Chang Qiu still stayed in "Quiet Cliff", continued to be his design director, and spent more time on work. It seems that she and Zhou Chun have become really like partners, and she no longer plays phone invitations like having customers. People are losing weight day by day, although in the eyes and mouths of many people are praising her for getting better and better, Chang Qiu can see the sad color in her eyes. But these have never been for Chang Qiu, and I believe that they will not be the mood he should think about and figure out in the future. The only difference between him and himself is that he spends more time on the way home than before, and a bar called "Qingqing" that he accidentally discovered has become a place for him to stay before going to bed, leaving only one thing to do when he gets home---- sleep.

The first time I went to the "Qingqing" bar, it was the night I came out of Zhou Chun's house, I was walking down the street alone, I was bumped in, and I just happened to see this bar when I stopped. Without thinking about anything, I was pulled in by an indescribable attraction. There is nothing special here, and perhaps what is special about the bar is that there are not so many people, it is very quiet, most of the people are playing poker under a lamp, and a few pairs of men and women who don't know whether they are couples or friends sit there and talk in a whisper. He had no more options, as there was a small spot in the corner, which, despite having two seats, was blocked by a potted plant, and he walked straight over. Perhaps this position is rarely sitting, the chair is cold, and it is very soft, and there is no such tight feeling of being oppressed for a long time at all.

It had been almost his seat since that day, at least he would sit there every time he came, and it was always empty every time he came. The music here is always the kind of tune with a touch of melancholy, no noise, no noise. Always on his desk was a pack of cigarettes and a bottle of wine, a clean ashtray and a red candle that wouldn't go out. I don't know if it's because he comes often, or if the boss keeps it for him or for some other reason, he's used to being here, and the waiter is used to the kind of wine he wants; How much time he got used to coming over to change him into a clean ashtray and handing him a bottle of wine that had just been opened, and replacing the bottle that had just been drunk; accustomed to how much he drank; Accustomed to the fact that when he raised his hand, it was the checkout; also used to his somewhat crooked departure; He was also accustomed to the welcome he greeted when he entered the door; I'm used to the waiter's words when I go out, welcome next time. At this point, he didn't have to open his mouth, so silence became his unique personality. Although he could hear the waiters talking to him many times, it all continued, no one sat down, and even for a while the waiters seemed to be deliberately trying to tease him, and he just smiled and said nothing. He didn't have any needs but wine, and he didn't need to face anything on his own except for quiet. Life once again made him a habit at night. As long as there is no socializing, time here is the truest side of his heart.

Until one day, when the waiter who came over with his hand was looking for money to make up for him, he handed him a very special VIP card at the same time. It is special because although he is probably already half-drunk and can fall asleep quickly at this time, he still intuitively feels from his professional habits that this is not a printed VIP card, but a handmade card. Despite the fine polishing, he could still feel the traces of handwork in his hands, which made him interested in seeing what kind of card it was. And the words on it made him feel even more strange, this is a free card, there is no limit to the amount, but the number of uses is only once, and what is even more strange is that there is a very special text:

"Hopefully you'll nullify him as soon as possible"

Two small letters "QQ" fall diagonally below the last word.

Void as soon as possible? How strange! The drowsy brain didn't have any thought process to think about why, Chang Qiu said: "Thank you" and then walked out in the waiter's welcome next visit, the only difference is that today's waiter has a little strange smile, but Chang Qiu at this time can't feel it at all. Everything around him is the same for him, and everything that happens to him is normal in his eyes. He has become accustomed to any anomaly. Just like now, going home and sleeping is what he is used to, and the rest is no longer to be thought about, not to be considered.

The business of "Silent Cliff" seems to be getting better and better because of Chang Qiu's more focus, but very strange things have started to happen recently. A lot of business orders always have unimaginable changes at the last moment, and when he and Zhou Chun analyzed the business that felt that there was no hope but was ready to give up, the customer called to change the initial decision. Chang Qiu and Zhou Chun couldn't figure out why this was, and the only thing they could do was sigh that God had eyes!

One night three months later, Chang Qiu was already late after visiting customers, and he originally planned to go back to the company to put down the information in his hand and go to the "Qingqing" bar, but he didn't expect to return to the office and find that Zhou Chun was still there. He politely asked Zhou Chun why he hadn't left yet, but Zhou Chun's answer was that he had gone and come back, and he didn't have to leave again from today. Looking at Zhou Chun's indescribable look, Chang Qiu knew that something must have happened. Putting down the information, he walked into Zhou Chun's office, sat down on the sofa, lit a cigarette and looked at Zhou Chun.

Zhou Chun looked at Chang Qiu almost with grateful eyes: "Thank you, let's go!" ”

When she said this, Chang Qiu was even more unlikely to leave.

"If you want, I have time to listen today."

Zhou Chun looked at Chang Qiu, she knew very well in her heart that if this man hadn't seen him leave so early tonight, what they had between them was just a cooperative relationship, not as the company was running like Chang Qiu before, and the business was not bad, and it could even be compared with a good one. Since Chang Qiu came, there have indeed been a lot of changes, and his credit for this is not small. But what can I say to him today? What can it do? I always thought that I was indifferent to many things in this society, but in the end, I still couldn't really be indifferent. She always thought that her husband would understand that all she wanted from her tolerance was a stable family, and her husband also needed such an environment very much, even if it was just a formality, even if it was just a dream in the same bed. But everything has changed today, maybe because the career has reached the top, or maybe because that woman can really bring more to her husband. But even if she doesn't do anything, tonight she already knows her husband's choice, and she should probably call her ex-husband at this time. This is something I have never thought of, just like this Chang Qiu in front of me, I have also had some thoughts about him, and they are all thoughts that should not be in marriage, but after all, I have never thought of changing the form of my family, I just want to find some family that has been qualitated without any happy feeling to make up for it. But all this happened, maybe it should have happened in itself, when she heard her husband say it, she didn't even ask why, but it was her husband's chatter that made her understand why so many strange things happened to the business of "Quiet Cliff" during this time. Could this be remedied? He thought it was really too simple, if he had known that this was the case, she didn't want these so-called compensation at all. She didn't even take away a piece of clothing before she went out, and when her heart didn't care about it anymore, there was no reason or need to take away those things outside her body. As for where she was going today or tomorrow, she didn't think about it at all, and she didn't want to think about it anymore. But when she saw Chang Qiu at this time, she suddenly thought that something really should have an end. With her, the mind is very calm.

"Chang Qiu, how are you going to talk today?"

Although it was very strange why Zhou Chun wanted to divert the topic and ask about work at this time, which she had not taken the initiative to ask before, Chang Qiu still replied that she had talked very smoothly, this was another change after he and Zhou Chun were ready to give up. He himself felt that he really couldn't use words like heaven having eyes, but there was no evidence to show that there were any other reasons, but he only felt slightly that there were indeed some reasons that he and Zhou Chun didn't know. He had also thought about it very carefully, but he didn't think of what it was, and there was nothing to refer to in this regard.

Zhou Chun smiled, she had already expected this result, and today should be the last one she and Chang Qiu didn't understand why the business during this period of time was so strange.

"After this case, I'm ready to shut down the company." Zhou Chun said in a very calm tone. She could imagine that Chang Qiu's reaction should be very intense, but she didn't want to give any explanation, because it was to sprinkle another handful of salt on her wounds, and the "strength" in her heart had long since passed.

Chang Qiu did take a look, but only for a moment, now he has more to bear than he can imagine, according to his personality, many things would have been unbearable, but now he has done it. The change of nearly two years seemed unimaginable before, and in the daytime he was no longer a suave and casual free man, but an urban man full of commercial smell. At night, he was no longer the otherworldly-looking man, but a man who could be called an alcoholic. All of this happened to be accepted, even intentionally. What he saw and heard today was nothing to him at all. Looking at Zhou Chun like this, in fact, he knew very well in his heart that something must have happened, as for what was behind this matter, he had no intention of pursuing any more reasons, because the results had come out, and maybe sometimes the results could be changed after hard work, but now he himself doesn't know if he still has any passion for life, in the face of a very tricky plan, he can think all night long, and never let go of every opportunity that can be fought for, but for a problem like this, The only answer he can give himself is to stop trying to fight for it, to stop thinking about why. This current way of thinking is completely different from the previous way of thinking about nothing, and it is a completely different attitude to life, on the surface, it is the same result of promoting choice, but the factors contained in it are truly clear and understandable only to himself.

"Okay, I'll do my best to get this last case right. As for the staff, I don't think I need to worry about it for you! Chang Qiu thought for a moment and said, "If there are no accidents in this case, it should take two months to be completely completed, so you have time to explain it to everyone." ”

"I know what you mean, I'll take care of it." Zhou Chun didn't expect Chang Qiu to have no effect at all, maybe this man was born with a temperament that other men don't have! He also understood the meaning of Chang Qiu's words, and the employees needed to give an explanation to close the company like this. She also has two months to plan how she will face her future life. After watching Chang Qiu extinguish the cigarette in the ashtray, he stood up and said to rest early, just like when he had been recently, he walked out without changing a bit, and even the figure was in the same rhythm.

Time always flies at some point and slowly at other times. Two months passed without a single feeling. After the last order, all the employees are gone, there is no scene of people coming and going in the empty office, some customers also naturally know with the departure of employees that the "quiet cliff" has decided to close, so in the last days there are almost few calls to come, Chang Qiu and Zhou Chun have discussed, the balance of this order will no longer be charged, as a kind of compensation for customers in the future, these considerations have not been realized in the end, and even in the middle of Chang Qiu told the customer about this, The customer's attitude is actually okay, I believe there will be no problems, like today's balance payment is actually the customer called to let Chang Qiu to collect.

Back at the company, except for the accountant, Zhou Chun was the only one in the office, and Chang Qiu put the balance in front of Zhou Chun. didn't say anything, as for Zhou Chun's future whereabouts, he didn't want to ask, in the past two months, he somewhat understood that it was the changes in her family that made her what she is today, so she should have her own plans, as for him, he didn't think about it at all, maybe leave the city, maybe find another company to work, because he knew that after the "Jingya" was going to close, several companies had already taken the initiative to contact him, but he really hadn't thought about it yet, and they all shirked and said that they would wait until this order was completed. He glanced at Zhou Chun, who had obviously aged a lot in the past two months, and sighed softly in front of her for the first time: "Take good care of yourself." ”

Zhou Chun didn't look at him either, just let out a soft "um". She knows that from today onwards, everything is already only herself, although she is very committed to completing this last order during this time, but in fact, she still thinks a lot in her heart, where she should go in the future, and what to do. Chang Qiu is not a person who can follow her, he does not belong to his own life, let alone anyone, this may not be very clear to him before, but since he came to the company, especially in the last time, she has been very clear about this person, he has a fanatical heart, but maybe there is no one in this world who can make him so fanatical, he must have a period of the past that is sad, so her plan for the future is to leave here and leave the city. She took out a bank card from the drawer and handed it to Chang Qiu.

"It's yours, and the password is your birthday."

"Thank you!" Chang Qiu took it and put it in his pocket.

"There's no need to say thank you, this is what you deserve, in addition to my promise when you came to the company, in addition to my personal point of view, thank you very much for your help in the past two years, please accept it. Originally, it was planned to end everything, but if you are interested in running this company, I will transfer it to you. ”

"Thank you" Chang Qiu said thank you again, this is a very tempting gift for him, but he can't accept it, if he wants to accept it, he will bring it up when he first knows the news, he didn't bring it up at that time, and he won't accept it now: "I think I'll start again." If there is still a chance to meet, I hope you are happy! ”

Chang Qiu left Zhou Chun's office, went to his office to pick up his bag, looked at it again, and found that he actually let out another sigh. Yes, sigh! You can't control your life, you can't even control yourself, what can you say! The corners of his mouth were gently raised, and the shadow of Chang Qiu two years ago appeared in the glass, which was clear and clear. Maybe that's my life, and it shouldn't have changed.

Outside the window is the rhythm of the city, people come and go, there are many changes similar to today's happening every day, and people who follow the rhythm can only follow, the only thing that does not want to follow is to grasp themselves, grasp their own way of life, that former Changqiu.

Today's "Qingqing" was as quiet as usual, and his arrival surprised the waiters. I've never seen him come so early, but it's their job to have all the procedures that should be, to bring Chang Qiu's wine, to put down a cup, to set an ashtray, and to light a candle. Chang Qiu didn't drink it, but said to the waiter who was lighting candles, "Your boss is not there?" ”

The waiter paused for a moment, and then immediately asked him very politely, "Sir, can I do anything for you?" ”

"Thank you" Chang Qiu smiled: "I want to meet your boss, please help me tell me, is it okay?" ”

"Oh" The waiter scratched his head a little and walked to the bar, saying to the people inside, and then saw that the people in the bar also flashed strange eyes, but still picked up the phone.

Chang Qiu didn't look at it anymore, he just waited now.

He poured himself a small glass of wine and took a shallow sip. I took out the handmade VIP card from my pocket and played with it carefully in my hand. This card has appeared in his hand many times, but it has never appeared in this bar, always playing with it in his hand when he is alone in the car or in the office, this is a story, but he has no interest in understanding this story, and he has no intention of using this card today, but at this time he has relaxed and does not need to use it. Although he didn't know what was behind the story, the least thing he knew was that the person who gave him this card was telling him to stop drinking like this again. What do those finely polished scratches contain? He beckoned again to one of the waiters next to him.

The waiter came over and asked him politely, "Sir, is there anything wrong with you?" ”

From the waiter's eyes, Chang Qiu could see that he was full of questions, everything he did today was fresh in their eyes, maybe they were all wondering what this guest wanted to do today? He smiled and said, "I'd like to ask you for something, can I?" ”

"If you say you need anything, I will do my best to serve you." The waiter replied politely.

"I want you to show me a VIP card that you usually give out."

"I'm sorry, sir. We have never issued VIP cards here. ”

This answer made Chang Qiu not expect it at all. Perhaps it was his doubts that made the waiter feel the need to explain a little clearly, and then said: "Sir, we are not a very big store here, so we generally only issue discount cards, that is, cards similar to vouchers, and have not issued VIP cards. ”

Chang Qiu froze, not for this eight-fold fold, he didn't expect that VIP cards had never been issued here, so the story of this card in his hand should be more, but why? He said thank you to the waiter, believing that only the boss knew the story. He suddenly felt something uneasy about him, and his original plan to come today had changed radically at this moment. He wanted to leave, yes, he had to leave, he said to himself so strongly in his heart. He took the money out of his pocket and put it on the table, he stood up, pointed to the money on the table to the waiter beside him, and then walked towards the door without looking back. He walked out in the sight of all the waiters full of all kinds of question marks, but almost bumped into someone at the gate, and he quickly said sorry.

"Sir, aren't you looking for me?"

"Are you ......?" Chang Qiu immediately understood who the person in front of him was, although he didn't know the boss, the boss must know him, so as soon as he said this, he immediately knew who it was: "I'm sorry, it's nothing, I just asked casually." ”

"And ...... you?" The boss obviously saw that he wanted to leave, this question made Chang Qiu not know how to answer, in front of him was a middle-aged woman who was a little fat, he had never seen this person in his impression, which clashed with the intuition he had just wanted to leave here. He was almost a little embarrassed by what he had just thought, took two steps back, and Chang Qiu said, "It's true that I was looking for something with you, and it was a little abrupt just now, but I suddenly remembered something." But this will be fine, can I have a drink? ”

"Hehehehehe" The middle-aged woman laughed: "You are so interesting, I opened it here, I am embarrassed to invite me." ”

The middle-aged woman made a gesture of please, and then said to the doorman next to her, "Bring two bottles of the wine that this gentleman usually drinks." ”

Back where I left off, the bottles on the table were still there, the glasses were still there, the ashtrays were still there, and the candles were still beating.

The two sat down, and the middle-aged woman introduced herself and said that her surname was Tang, and her single name was a shadow word. Chang Qiu also told him his real name honestly. Although all kinds of signs seemed to indicate that the story of this card was actually very simple, Chang Qiu still did not say his original plan for the time being. His original plan was to see if he could play the piano or sing here to pass his life in the future, money was definitely not a problem, and he even planned to achieve this wish in the form of shares if the boss hesitated. But now he didn't want to talk about it for the time being.

"Boss Tang, I want to ask you a question."

"What kind of soup boss, oh, I'm out of sight like this. You're a regular visitor to my place, it looks like I'm going to be older than you, so call me Sister Tang. ”

It can be seen from the words that this is a very bold person, Chang Qiu didn't go to the etiquette anymore, and asked directly: "Sister Tang, okay." I just asked. ”

Tang Ying filled Chang Qiu's cup with some wine, and looked at Chang Qiu: "Say it, what do you have to ask!" ”

Chang Qiu took out the card: "Sister Tang, can you tell me what's going on with this card?" ”

I don't know if it's because this question is too sudden or for some other reason, Tang Ying didn't answer Chang Qiu immediately, and didn't even have a little expression to show anything, just took a sip of the wine glass. Then he looked at Chang Qiu's eyes as if he wanted to know clearly what he meant, but all he saw was a question.

"What do you mean by this card?"

"Sister Tang, don't say anything else, this card is extremely precious. There are many, many questions, and I don't know how to ask you, but I hope you can give me a reason why I don't have doubts. Since it's been given away, why do you only let me consume it once? ”

The thing that flashed in Tang Ying's eyes was something that Chang Qiu didn't understand, but it was certain that Tang Ying was thinking about how to give Chang Qiu a more reasonable explanation, but this explanation was not necessarily true, it was just a suitable reason for Chang Qiu.

"Hehe, if there is no restriction on your drinking method, do you want Sister Tang to close the door?"

This is indeed a reasonable explanation. Chang Qiu seemed to know that it was useless to ask any more, but he decided to give up, give up asking and give up this bar, he didn't have any strength to face it, and being lazy might be the best way for him. He put a card on the table and gently pushed it to Tang Ying: "Sister Tang, thank you for your kindness." I probably won't need this card. ”

"Why?" Tang Ying looked at Chang Qiu, and was also thinking about how to face this question that should have arisen a long time ago, although he had thought about how to answer, but these answers obviously did not seem to have any practical meaning to this man named Chang Qiu.

"Today may be the last time I'll be here with you, and tomorrow I may leave the city." Chang Qiu could only give an explanation like this, and he himself had no way to put together a suitable reason to explain.

"In this way, Sister Tang has nothing to say, I have lost another guest." Tang Ying didn't know how to answer anymore, and all this had nothing to do with her, it was just all accident, just a friend's entrustment, and all she could do was this. She raised the wine glass in front of her, touched it lightly with Chang Qiu, and drank the wine in the glass in one gulp. And Chang Qiu also drank the wine in the wine glass in his hand.

Life is like this wine, it is often easy to drink when you want to drink, and it is more difficult to swallow than medicine when you don't want to drink.

Today is the first time he doesn't want to drink in "Qingqing".

After drinking the wine, Chang Qiu stood up and said goodbye to Tang Ying. As soon as he took two steps, Tang Ying stopped him, raised the card that Chang Qiu had returned to him just now and said, "Chang Qiu, you helped Sister Tang make a fortune." This card was given to you by a friend, no matter how much you spend, she paid for it, and paid me 10,000 yuan first, but you didn't use a penny, Sister Tang made a lot of money. ”

Chang Qiu finally understood the story of this card, as for who the owner of the card was, now he didn't care at all, in fact, his intuition was correct. No matter who the owner of this card is and what the purpose is, he has long understood the true meaning of the card, but now this card and the owner of this card will only be a past for him, an eternal past. Maybe it's really as he told Tang Ying in his cover-up, leaving this city is his only choice.

didn't stay any longer, but when Tang Ying spoke, he stopped and listened, and didn't even want to say a word, and walked out of "Qingqing" in the welcome of the waiter's habit of coming next time. There is no turning back and there is no need to look back, he no longer belongs here.

Everyone has a lot of movie clips in their lives, but maybe there are too many clips of themselves, Chang Qiu feels that he is becoming more and more calm and indifferent in the face of changes in life and psychedelia. The burden of life has been oppressive for so many years, and being more relaxed may be the theme, just like the shadow of the former self I saw in the office today.