It was getting late, and after midnight, most people ended their meaningless carnival, and there were only a few people left in the center of the stage.
After the disaster, people feel great grief, and no one knows whether they can survive until the next tomorrow. In the brief calm moments, the exchanges between people increased, became complicated and trivial.
"What kind of person did you think I was when you first met me?"
When Yang Qinghua asked this question, her complexion returned to normal, and she was already mostly sober.
"Me?" Zhou Jin smiled and answered calmly, "I didn't know much about her when we first met. I probably just thought she was pretty."
"Beautiful...that's all."
"To be precise, she is very beautiful." Zhou Jin said sincerely, "Standing together with Lin Qian and Yang Xiaoxiao, you look like three sisters."
"Oh... thank you." Logically speaking, Yang Qinghua was used to hearing compliments and flattery, but this time when she looked into Zhou Jin's eyes, she suddenly felt a little shy.
Thanks to the alcohol, a thin layer of blush crept onto her cheeks, and her earlobes turned a light rose red.
"Fill me with a glass of wine." Yang Qinghua requested.
…
In the blink of an eye, a slender hand picked up the wine glass, and the colored lights around the bar cast light onto the wine glass. The liquid in the cup is crystal clear, reflecting an increasingly dazzling shine.
The curly hair in a ripple style is draped over her shoulders, making Yang Qinghua look charming and elegant, and also reveals a hint of feminine charm and sexiness. The super fluffy curly hair style slims down the face and creates a small and delicate face.
On the fair cheeks, there is a pair of long eyes with peach blossom petals.
Looking carefully, I only found that the corners of the eyes were lowered, the ends of the eyes were raised, the eyes were shining, and the eyes were shining with hope. The skin under her eyelids was also slightly flushed, reflecting her blurred eyes that seemed drunk but not drunk.
It seems that as long as the gaze meets these eyes, the person looking at them will somehow feel an alluring smell.
Zhou Jin came from a well-off family since he was a child, and he was tall and handsome. He knew that he had come into contact with many beautiful women.
Some of them are so beautiful that they look stunning; some are pure and pure, making people feel evil and want to be stained; and some are like an unattainable iceberg and snow peak, making people want to be. The urge to conquer.
But at this moment, Zhou Jin had to admit that the woman opposite had an indescribable charm, a charm that fascinated people.
Yang Qinghua may not be the most beautiful person she has ever seen, but she is so heartbreakingly beautiful in front of her at this moment that people can't help but feel pity for her.
"Do you know?" Unknowingly, Yang Qinghua had drank half a cup by herself, "My mother, Yang Qianlan, died in an accident when we were very young."
"It was my eldest brother who raised me while working and studying. He has always doted on me, so he couldn't control me."
She gradually raised the corners of her mouth: "There was a time when I was young and liked to have sweet dreams. At that time, I was very greedy and not very smart. I just had a lovable face."
"It's just beautiful. You're right."
"When I was a teenager, I was too playful and didn't listen to my family's advice. Eventually I decided to drop out of school and enter the society."
"I didn't dare to tell anyone at the time that I actually ran away with a boy."
"His grades were also not good, but he was very kind to me. I used to think that was enough. After dropping out of school, we drifted north together for three years without telling our parents, and we shared a small basement room. During the three years, we left early and came home late. , like a mouse in a sewer, we never had the chance to see the sun rise and set in the capital. But we were still very happy. After another year, we returned to Shashi, had a flash marriage and became legal partners."
"It wasn't until I was pregnant with Xiaoxiao that I discovered that he was addicted to drugs and secretly snorted that strange powder wrapped in tinfoil behind my back."
"We had a huge row."
"Unexpectedly, I was beaten. The beating was very severe, and there were countless bruises and bruises all over my body. My body hurt so much that I couldn't sleep. My heart hurt so much that I couldn't breathe..."
"He was like a different person after that."
"It's as if the tenderness, caring and sunshine in the past are just an illusion. He loses his temper at home all day long and complains all the time. Complaining about the trivial things in life, complaining about financial difficulties, and even complaining about me and Xiao Xiao dawn."
"When drug addiction attacks, he will turn into a complete madman, manically attacking everything around him. He would like to use everything he can get in exchange for money, and then buy even a gram of "medicine powder"."
"Unconsciously, the way he looked at Xiaoxiao had completely changed. He was emotionless and like a cold-blooded scorpion. From that moment on, I was really scared."
"I was afraid that one day he would do something to Xiaoxiao, who was only three years old, so I reported him and sent him to a drug rehabilitation center. After that, my eldest brother found someone to handle the divorce procedures for us."
Yang Qinghua looked at Zhou Jin and her smile returned to her warmth: "Then it's over. I took Xiaoxiao away and let her take her mother's surname."
"I'm sorry to hear these terrible things." Zhou Jin put his hanging wrist and the wine glass back on the table.
Yang Qinghua suppressed her smile and shook her head.
"It's all over. There is nothing more sad than heartbreak. I have been hurt again and again in the past three years, and the love in the past has long been worn away."
"You may not be able to imagine that he was curled up on the ground and twitching when he was addicted to drugs. It was really pitiful. But I didn't have even a trace of pity in my heart."
"When he picked up the knife and started mutilating himself, I even wished he would just die."
"It's a pity that I couldn't take action and didn't do any decent resistance."
"Those few years after I dropped out of school, now I think about it like a dream."
"I don't know whether I feel more fearful or guilty when facing Xiaoxiao."
"You asked me why I didn't choose to take a break, insisted on going out early and coming back late, and avoided the whole day."
"I can't answer an exact reason."
"I wasn't like this before."
"Xiaoxiao looked pink and tender when she was only a few years old. When she called me mom for the first time, I felt that my whole heart was going to melt by her."
In Zhou Jin's sight, Yang Qinghua seemed kind as soon as she talked about her children, her face became younger, and her gentle eyes showed a particularly warm light.
"She would beg me to tell her stories before going to bed, and beg me to allow her to eat snacks. But at that time, the two of us were dependent on each other and in a difficult situation. The only thing we could eat at home was boiled noodles with water. And this was a limited daily ration. .”
"After that, I found a job on my own as a waitress in a bar. Of course, not on this 'coast'."
"I was probably very clumsy when I first started working. I made mistakes and knocked over plates. The female store manager there took good care of me and often gave me some easy things to do."
"Perhaps it was the stubbornness that had not been exhausted in adolescence that caused me to reject her repeated kindnesses. Instead, I stubbornly chose to increase my attendance, from three days a week to five days to seven days, and finally to working shifts day and night. .”
"Work was hourly, and I thought that as long as I worked more, I could avoid criticism from others."
"Actually, it's difficult for a beautiful person to gain a foothold in an unfamiliar environment. The female store manager can help relieve a lot of my burden, but she can't stop the gossip from other people. They always point at me behind my back, talk about my experience, and even I doubt the relationship between me and the store manager.”
"One day, they laughed at the store manager in the lounge that he might be a lesbian. They all said embarrassing and dirty words in front of me, and they didn't shy away from it. So I tied up my hair and had a fight with them, including myself. Everyone, including me, lost their looks. After that, I took the initiative to resign and ended my first job after the divorce."
"In the past few years, I have changed jobs, but my worries have only increased. Slowly, I let them go." Yang Qinghua looked at Zhou Jin and smiled awkwardly, "Now that I think about it, I was a little too impulsive at the time."
Zhou Jin picked up the wine bottle and filled it up for the two of them again, and said lightly: "I think you did the right thing."
"Really? Thank you." Yang Qinghua grinned, and the brilliance in her eyes flashed, "I know that as long as I open my mouth, I will definitely get help from my eldest brother's family. As usual, I will be with my family without any burden. I continued to walk on without being cared for and pampered. But I was 23 years old at the time, and I knew I needed to change, and I wanted to change."
After hearing Yang Qinghua mention Xiaoxiao, Zhou Jin felt a little moved.
He held the wine glass and seemed to be reminiscing: "It's so good. I don't know how it feels to have my mother here. My situation is a little different. My mother died in a car accident many years ago, leaving us, father and son. But in my family The economic environment is much better, so fortunately we have suffered less.”
"However, my father has been very strict with me since I was a child. He always forced me to strive for this first place and that championship. There was also a period of time when I couldn't tell whether the first place was more important in his heart, or whether I was more important in his heart. . Or one day I 'dedicate my life' and die on the field of life. At that time, will he really be happy holding the trophy that I exchanged for my life or youth?"
Zhou Jin shook his head without waiting for the other party's answer.
"What about you? What were you thinking at the time?" He asked instead.
"Indeed, I hid my dilemma from my eldest brother and the others." Yang Qinghua held her chin with one hand and tilted her head, thinking, "I also know that I don't need to be so desperate."
"But I want to give Xiaoxiao a better life. A life that I once dreamed of when I was young, but could not get. A life where I don't go hungry, don't get cold, don't get bullied, and can find someone who truly loves me. Live happily and without regrets.”
"I may have been ruined, but she still has a bright future with infinite possibilities."
"However, slowly I discovered that something was quietly changing."
"I appear in front of her less and less. She also starts to avoid me more and more. She no longer dares to look at me or tell me what's on her mind."
Yang Qinghua raised her head, with a trace of confusion in her eyes: "Gradually, I no longer dare to look into her eyes."
"Maybe she's blaming me. But I... don't know how to explain it."
"In the final analysis, this situation was indeed caused by me. It was me who looked at the wrong person when I was young and ignorant, which led to Xiaoxiao becoming a child who has never seen his father."
For the first time, there was an expression on Yang Qinghua's face that Zhou Jin couldn't understand: "I sometimes wonder if it is because I have made some mistakes before that I have received retribution from God. But my mistakes have come true. Xiaoxiao's body will only make me feel more painful."
"All I can do to atone is to stand in a dark corner and watch silently."
"I didn't dare step out of the shadows or reach out."
"From then on, I had to give my salary to my eldest brother. I entrusted them to take care of Xiaoxiao for me."
"I couldn't figure out what the problem was, and I didn't know how to fix it. The situation gradually became more and more serious, and the estrangement deepened, like an iron door that had been exposed to wind and rain and eventually rusted, and I became less and less frustrated. Courage to return to her.”
"I was avoiding her for a long time."
"It's funny to say that it was only after the disaster broke out that this situation changed..."
"My eldest brother had an adopted son a few years ago. He is a dark, skinny boy who makes people feel very dangerous."
"My intuition has always been very accurate," Yang Qinghua said sheepishly, "It can be regarded as one of my few advantages."
"He is older than Xiaoxiao. I once thought that he was a threat to Xiaoxiao. At that time, I took many methods to exclude him. I even persuaded Xiaoxiao to stay away from this stranger. But in the end, it was unsuccessful. But what happened later These things probably prove that I was wrong.”
"But I was just a little sensitive at the time, from the perspective of a mother." She smiled a little sadly, "I have rarely been with Xiaoxiao for many years, so maybe I am not qualified to be called 'mother'."
"Finding a father like that for Xiaoxiao... After so many years, I sometimes wonder, is it all my fault?"
Yang Qinghua thought quietly, as if she didn't realize that this was the second time she asked such a question.
The only difference was that this time she got an answer.
Zhou Jin then put down his wine glass, looked at her seriously and said, "No, the victim is not guilty."
…
It was already late at night, and there was no longer a crowd gathering in the center of the stage.
Most of the wall lamps were turned off in front of the bar, leaving only a dim light shining on Yang Qinghua's shoulders.
The person had fallen asleep on the table. From the side, he looked like a baby, sleeping peacefully on his fair and pretty face.
After calling Yang Bensheng and his wife to help Yang Qinghua back to bed to rest, Zhou Jin returned to his seat here again.
He lit a cigarette and took a long, slow drag.
The last light was turned off, and a flickering red light spot was visible in the darkness.
Soon after, the light spot finally disappeared, and the whole room returned to silence, as if no one had ever been here.
…
An hour ago, a room in the "Coast BAR".
According to Lang Hua's request, the team members did not participate in tonight's bar revel. They gathered in twos and threes in the corner of the room, constantly discussing the matching tactics between abilities.
After experiencing two battles in succession, the average combat power of Lang Hua's team has far exceeded that of ordinary ability users at the same stage. But the rest of the return journey will not only have to pass through the dangerous jungle of Fengwei Mountain, but also face the evolving black corpses and black beasts in the wild at any time. Obviously all this is not enough.
In the next room, Lang Hua was giving individual guidance to the ability users before setting off.
"Even in combat, brain-type ability holders are not weaker than other ability users. Higher intelligence means more diverse choices. Sister Xinyan, your ability 'micro' focuses on perception and observation. In the face of low-level black corpses, there is no problem in protecting yourself. In scientific research, 'perception' will provide you with more help, but from the perspective of personal safety, in addition to 'passive perception', the next step is to think about how to 'active control' It’s not a bad idea…”
After Chen Xinyan walked out of the room, there was no sadness or joy in her eyes, and she hid the ray of surprise very well.
As an awakened person with "micro" abilities, her understanding of "micro" is actually not as good as Lang Hua's. This doesn't make sense. Everyone who has been in contact with her since she was a child has a purpose, but Lang Hua's frank and unconcealed manner makes her unable to be wary at all...
Lang Hua and Yang Xiaoxiao were finally left in the room, but the latter looked obviously worried.
Her fighting prowess has been obvious to everyone recently, but in Lang Hua's eyes, those skills seem much cruder.
It is true that Yang Xiaoxiao has talent, but talent cannot mean everything. Unlike Lin Qian's situation, she should still have considerable room for improvement.
"What? Are you worried about something recently?" Lang Hua said first.
"No...it's nothing." Yang Xiaoxiao's eyes dodge and he hesitates to speak.
These days were probably the longest time she and Yang Qinghua had stayed together, which made Yang Xiaoxiao think of some things from the past after a long absence.
She recalled that there was a time when Yang Qinghua, a single mother, worked hard day and night, and still insisted on making breakfast for herself every day.
When school is over, parents come to pick up other children. I have it too, but at least I have to wait until six or seven in the evening.
Most of the people who have time to pick up their children from school are middle-aged women who are full-time mothers, and of course there are also many old ladies. There are not many students that a primary school can accommodate, and almost all of them are familiar faces.
People are the most easily bored creatures in the world. When there is nothing to do, there are all kinds of rumors even in elementary school.
Whether it was due to her rebellious mentality or simple disinterest, the young Xiaoxiao never asked Yang Qinghua what kind of job she did.
But Yang Xiaoxiao knows that working in a bar is definitely not the same thing as being a "barmaid" as adults call her.
"Oh, isn't this the kid in the same class as my son? It's so late, why are you still here?"
"Xiaoxiao, hasn't your mother come to take you home yet?"
"What a poor child. It would be nice if Xiaoxiao's mother cared for her more."
"I'm busy with work."
"But no matter how busy you are, you should..."
Xiaoxiao, who usually stood at the school gate, would give these gossips a cold look. If those people didn't continue talking...
"Have you heard that she works in a place like that?"
"Which one?"
"It's just a nightclub. I heard that I usually work the night shift."
"Oh, no wonder. Who would be willing to leave a place filled with feasting and entertainment?"
It was the first time that 11-year-old Yang Xiaoxiao cursed at someone. She threw her schoolbag at the other person's face, pointed at the person's nose and said, "Fuck you, my mother is not what you think..."
"Hey, you kid is so ignorant, we are thinking about you..."
"That's right, I really don't know what's good and what's good. There's really the same kind of mother..."
Since then, Yang Xiaoxiao has changed.
She knew that Yang Qinghua had actually done a lot for her, but she just didn't appreciate it. Instead, she treated her willful words like flying knives, throwing them out one after another.
Later, Yang Qinghua also began to avoid her intentionally or unintentionally.
The two don't see each other for many days a week. In the early morning, there was only one breakfast on the table, steaming all alone.
…
"Can you tell your brother what's on your mind?" There was a long silence in the quiet room before Lang Hua finally spoke slowly.
"I have never seen my father since I was a child."
My childhood memories were not deep enough to form implicit memories. Yang Xiaoxiao can no longer remember some episodes from his childhood.
Yang Xiaoxiao said, with a layer of mist in her eyes: "I know it's not my mother's fault, and I shouldn't hate her... But as the most injured person, she has lived under my injury for so many years. .”
"Brother Lang Hua, tell me... is Xiaoxiao a bad boy?" Unknowingly, her eyes were filled with tears, "Xiaoxiao... I really want to cry."
"Cry." Lang Hua rubbed the little girl's head. "Just cry."
But Yang Xiaoxiao's eyes were red and she just refused to cry.
"I regret it so much," she said.
Lang Hua also seemed to remember some trivial details, some bits and pieces that he had not noticed in the past two years.
After being reborn, he only longed for revenge and hoped for salvation, but he didn't pay much attention to the things around him. Maybe he really missed it.
"Brother, I..." Yang Xiaoxiao suddenly hugged Lang Hua and buried her head in his arms.
"Okay, everything is over." Lang Hua also stretched out his arms and hugged her tightly, "Go, hug her too, and tell her what's on your mind."
"Um……"
In the quiet midnight, the sound of slowly opening and closing the door was particularly noticeable.
With a "click", the opened door was closed again, and the whole space returned to silence.
Ten minutes later, someone in the room suddenly said to himself:
"Perhaps this disaster can give everyone a new start."
The entire private room was empty except for Lang Hua, who was sitting alone, wondering what he was thinking.
