sleepless tonight

Chapter 26 Life
The lingering fog filled the room, and a pile of cigarette butts had piled up under my feet, but I still didn't feel sleepy at all.

The body is obviously very sleepy and exhausted, but the mind is very clear, and it is torn and stretched as soon as I lie down, making it difficult to fall asleep.

I just sat by the window like this, and when my vision came to my senses, the light outside became dim again.

The phone rang, and I woke up immediately. I took it over, saw the name on it, and sat down on the ground again.

It wasn't Chen Ke who called, it was Wu Dong's call.

The phone rang for a while before I pressed the answer button.

"Drinking?" Wu Dong didn't speak, so I asked directly.

The phone fell silent for a while.

"Are you Chen Jin?" Wu Dong asked suspiciously.

"Would you like a drink?" I asked.

"Drink, how can you not drink?" Wu Dong immediately said, "You are waiting for me at the gate of the community. I will pick you up in half an hour. Don't be in a hurry to get down. I will call you when I arrive."

After hanging up the phone, I put on a random dress and went out.

I went downstairs to buy a pack of cigarettes and squatted on the side of the road, smoking a cigarette while watching the pedestrians coming and going.

Across the road, there was a family of three, with the little girl in the middle, led by two adults, bouncing and playing for a while, the little girl seemed tired, the man picked up the little girl and put it on his shoulders.

At this time, Chen Ke, should I go to school?

I fumbled for the cell phone in my pocket, took a long puff of smoke and swallowed it all into my lungs.

"What are you doing? How long have you been waiting, why have you smoked so much?" Wu Dong walked over, glanced at the cigarette butt on the steps in front of me, "Let's go, go drink some wine."

I let go of my hand, stood up, followed Wu Dong, walked more than ten meters away, and got into Wu Dong's car.

A platinum Passat.

"Is this your company car?" I asked.

"I bought it myself." Wu Dong put on his seat belt and said with a smile, "Why do you suddenly want to drink today? This is the first time since high school."

"And it was the first time you took the initiative to contact me. The sun really came out in the west. I thought someone picked up your phone. I couldn't believe it was you on the other end of the phone."

Wu Dong drove very steadily, shuttled freely in the streets of the city, and could chat with me while controlling the steering wheel.

"That's awesome. This car probably costs 30 to [-] yuan. I bought it with a loan?" I looked around and saw that the car was in good condition, but it probably wasn't bought recently, it must have been a year or two ago.

"The full amount." Wu Dongdao, "Less than 30, 28, this number is auspicious, two eights, a good sign, I didn't continue to talk with the 4S shop, if I was serious, it could be a few thousand dollars lower money."

I was silent.

Unexpectedly, Wu Dong, who had been following me all this time, actually bought a car with the full price. From his tone, I could tell that the price of this small car was not too high in his eyes, and he was fully able to bear it. within range.

And I don't even have a penny from him.

Thinking about my rushing to pay the bill that day, I suddenly felt ridiculous.

Isn't it funny that a beggar competes with others to pay the bill?

"Go to No. [-] Middle School." I said.

"Ah?" Wu Dong didn't understand, "Don't you want to drink?"

"I want to drink, just opposite No. [-] Middle School, just find a pipe, order two small dishes, drink some wine, no need to go to other places." I said.

"Don't, how can it work?" Wu Dong shook his head, "We have to go to a better place, we have different identities now, and we have stepped out of society, how can we go to that kind of place?"

"If you want to go, I will go by myself." I said.

"But I've already driven far away. The No. [-] Middle School is on Binhu South Road, and I have already driven to Binhu North Road." Wu Dong was a little embarrassed, "Why don't we go to drink near No. [-] Middle School next time?"

"Find a place to put me down." I said directly.

"Don't, I'm just saying it casually, are you serious?" Wu Dong was taken aback, "Don't worry, I'll turn around in front, we'll go there now."

At the turntable, Wu Dong made a U-turn and drove to the vicinity of No. [-] Middle School.

"I'll go. I haven't been here for a few years. The change is really big. This area used to be a small alley. I remember that we would often come out to eat boxed lunches in high school. There were three boxed lunches, two meat and two vegetables, and we could eat fried fish and chicken legs. , much better than the winter melon and cabbage in the school cafeteria." Wu Dong slowed down the car, "I didn't expect that now there are buildings and communities built, and there are good shops."

Wu Dong was surprised.

In fact, it's not just Wudong, I am also the same. I am very curious about the changes around No. [-] Middle School.

No. [-] Middle School is the best high school in the city, but it is not located in the center of the city, but is built in the south of the city, which belongs to the new urban area. When I was in high school, it was still surrounded by residential buildings, which were not demolished or remodeled.

After so many years, the residential buildings are gone, and the renovation has been completed. The outside of No. [-] Middle School has a new look, beautiful and tidy, but it lacks the sense of familiarity and makes people feel a little strange.

After parking the car, Wu Dong and I walked for tens of meters along No. [-] Middle School.

Everything has changed.

"Why don't you just find a place to drink?" Wu Dong asked for my opinion.

"How about going to the mall to buy some wine, get some food, and go to the school?" I said.

I don't want to go to a strange place, I just want to have a familiar place that can make me feel not so lonely and not so out of place.

"Okay, listen to you, today you are the boss, you can do whatever you say." Wu Dong nodded.

We went to the supermarket and bought two bags of food, three bottles of Erguotou, and a bottle of beer, and we carried them into school.

"Where are you going?" Wu Dong asked me.

The school has not changed, the teaching building is a bit outdated, but everything is still familiar, there is a row of honor rolls at the entrance of the school.

In high school, my name was often on it.

"Let's go to the playground stands." I said.

"Where are you going in such a cold day?" Wu Dong shrank his neck.

"Wouldn't it warm you up after drinking some wine?" I said, walking towards the playground first.

Wu Dong helplessly followed behind me.

"Come, drink one." I opened a bottle of wine, handed it to Wu Dong, and opened another bottle for myself.

Wu Dong glanced at the bottle in his hand, and then looked at me: "Is that how you blow it?"

"Whoever told you to blow it, just take a sip." I said, raising the bottle and bumping Wu Dong, "Congratulations, you will be famous."

Lifting the bottle, I took a sip.

The thin city light does not penetrate the darkness in the stands, allowing me to be in the shadows, which makes me feel safe and at ease in this familiar environment.

The city in the school is far away from me, looking at one or two students who occasionally pass by under the campus lights, I seem to be back in high school.

Life is so comfortable, so free, all adversity seems to have nothing to do with me.

"You are too fierce, one mouthful is half a bottle, when did you drink so hard, can you drink white wine like this?" Wu Dong looked at me in horror, "Besides, what is my fame? It's still far away .”

I didn't answer him, just stared at the shadow of the teaching building in the distance, and took another sip of wine alone.

"Don't drink like this, you can't waste so much food." Wu Dong told me, opened the plastic bag, took out spicy sticks and peanuts from inside, opened them, and put them in front of me, "Eat some peanuts , Suppress the wine."

I picked up a few peanuts and stuffed them into my mouth, chewed them, and touched Wu Dong again: "You said, do people have to be rich to be eligible to live?"

"It's hard to say." Wu Dong was silent for a while, then took a sip of wine, and said quietly.

I look at him.

"See what kind of life you want. If it's like in the village, you can live if you don't want to be hungry." Wu Dong's eyes were a little dark, "If you want to be able to enter and exit hotels and high-end places at any time, this kind of life , it is better to have money, and it is more comfortable, I think, this kind of life is life."

My words seemed to have aroused Wu Dong's memories, and he continued: "Chen Jin, you know, my family's conditions are very poor. In the countryside, my parents have no education and no drive to fight. Land distribution is only a few thousand yuan a year."

"Except for favors and some other expenses, there is not much left to use. Even my tuition fee has to be delayed again and again. Every time there is a roll call in the class, I will always be one of those who have not paid the tuition fee. "

"At first, I thought it was because my parents were busy and didn't have time to go to school to pay the tuition fees. Later I found out that it was because our family had no money." Wu Dong took a sip of his wine, "Since then, I secretly vowed in my heart that I will I must not let my child do this, otherwise, I would rather not have a child."

(End of this chapter)