Attempted first love

There is only silence for the rest of the journey.

Across the river bank, several low buildings look ethereal in the rain and fog. In the past two years, this area has been continuously repaired, and the art park is no longer what it used to be.

Xia Yan carried it in his pocket with one hand, and repeatedly scratched the exhibition tickets with his thumb pads. The originally sharp edges were smoothed and softened by him, and finally rolled up. His finger pads also turned from sharp pain to numbness.

When they reached the fork in the road, Lu Zhouyu stood still and turned his head to look at him, Xia Yan then raised his hand and pointed to the right, "This way."

Xiaolin Fried Noodle Shop is located on the first floor facing the street. The original unsightly gilded large-character signboard has long since disappeared, replaced by a row of glowing cursive letters.

"Actually, it's still 'Xiao Lin Fried Noodles', and it's changed to pinyin." Seeing Lu Zhouyu looking up at the sign, Xia Yan explained, "Brother Lin said it's pretty bluffing."

Lu Zhouyu smiled, without commenting, she pushed open the door with one hand and tilted her head towards Xia Yan, signaling him to go in first.

The lights in the restaurant are bluish and a bit dim, usually only dimmed when the band is playing.Xia Yan subconsciously glanced at the bar, but he didn't see anyone, so he turned around and took the lead to stop at the table not far from the bar, the noisy environment would not make the atmosphere too tense.

"Can you sit here?" He pretended not to notice Lu Zhouyu's gaze towards the box, and pulled away the chair outside.

Lu Zhouyu said "um", sat down opposite Xia Yan, picked up the glass jug on the table, and filled them with lemonade.

Lunch time had passed, and there were not many tables of customers in the store. Xia Yan took the water glass and said thank you, then scanned the QR code with his mobile phone, brought up the menu and pushed it over the table.

The phone was blocked by two fingers, "You can order. I haven't been here for a long time, I don't know what to eat."

Lu Zhouyu pushed forward with one hand, lowered his eyes slightly to look at the screen, and a second before he raised his eyes, Xia Yan withdrew his eyes, picked up the phone, and said, "Okay then."

The staple food is still the same, various flavors of fried noodles, and a lot of other categories have been added, such as appetizers, side dishes, desserts... Xia Yan flipped through it up and down, couldn't tell the difference, and directly placed an order for the most expensive couple combo.

Some of the dishes need to choose the taste, Xia Yan always got the answer "You can choose, I can do it."

It wasn't until the selection of table wine that Lu Zhouyu made a statement: "I don't drink alcohol."

"I didn't drive." Looking at the drink menu, Xia Yan changed his share of wine into butter beer, "It's okay to drink a little."

This time Lu Zhouyu was very persistent, but Xia Yan couldn't, so he changed his drink into a sparkling drink, jokingly said, "It's a lot of loss."

Lu Zhouyu sat opposite, picked up the cup calmly, took a sip of lemonade, and said, "If you lose, you lose."

After the cup was put down, he briefly overlapped his hands, which was a foreshadowing action before the opening.

Inexplicably, Xia Yan didn't dare to look up at him, feeling flustered and conflicted.Why can't we finish this meal and say goodbye, he thought to himself, but he couldn't help it, so he kept his head down, took out the tableware from the bamboo basket and distributed them, and finally held a steel table knife tightly in his hand , There is a tendency of stubborn resistance.

Before the expected conversation took place, the handle of the knife slammed on the table, Xia Yan raised his head and said, "I forgot to note that I don't want onions."

The menu could no longer be undone, and there were no waiters around, so he stood up, "I'll go to the bar and talk about it."

"It's okay," Lu Zhouyu called to stop him, "Just pick it out."

"Aren't you allergic to onions?" Xia Yan shook his head and insisted, "I'd better go and talk about it."

At the same time, Lu Zhouyu's mobile phone on the table vibrated, and there was a string of overseas numbers. Lu Zhouyu lowered his head and scanned it. After a short pause, he still got through.Xia Yan took advantage of the situation to leave his seat, went to the bar and rang the dining bell.

As soon as the button was pressed, the curtain of the back kitchen was lifted, and a flower arm came out first, Xia Yan said in surprise: "Brother Lin."

"Come here?" The boss Lin Ren raised his eyebrows when he saw Xia Yan, "Are you busy recently? Long time no see."

"It's okay." Xia Yan sat on the high stool in front of the bar, "How about you? Don't you have class today?"

Lin Ren was a drummer in his early years. According to what he said, he formed an underground band. His original words were "just playing around".Later, the band was half-dead, and they broke up once and for all. He took over the fried noodle shop and became a self-employed man.

A few years ago, with good luck, he was patronized by a popular movie star by chance, and the store also became popular. Lin Ren changed the small restaurant into a music restaurant, hired a few people, and went to a music institution to teach drumming.

"It's raining heavily, isn't it?" Lin Ren grabbed two glasses of wine from the bar and pushed one to Xia Yan, "Schools are suspended in the whole city today. Try it, I just made it."

"I came here with my friends today." Xia Yan glanced at the colorful glass of wine, declined, and said, "Table [-], one of the set meals I just ordered doesn't include onions."

Lin Ren opened the curtain, rushed to the back kitchen and raised his voice to explain. When he glanced at table number seven, he paused, "Yo, old friend?"

"Huh?" Xia Yan also turned his head to look. Lu Zhouyu was still answering the phone, lowering his head to write and draw on the paper, not paying attention to their gazes.

"Isn't that so?" Lin Ren took a sip from his glass, "We used to always come together, but later we separated, and now we're together again."

The art park is always sunny and snowy, and there are coffee shops and western restaurants everywhere. When the fried noodle shop first opened, the business was very bleak. Only two students from the studio upstairs frequented it, so Lin Ren was deeply impressed.

"It's been so many years, yet you still recognize him." Xia Yan smiled, he always thought that he got to know Lin Ren because of his hard work in the past few years.

"His surname is Lu, right?" Lin Ren drank another big gulp of wine, half leaned on the bar, and asked towards their table.

"Yes." Unconsciously, Xia Yan picked up the wine in front of him, and took a sip, "You just said, what do you mean we separated, and he came later?"

Perhaps Xia Yan's question was too strange, Lin Ren looked at him for a while with his head on one hand, and then recalled the last time he saw Lu Zhouyu in the store, "Four or five years ago, the government and the developer were arguing. do you remember?"

"Remember, four years ago."

That year, there were rumors that the art park would be transformed into an amusement park. Xia Yan once felt it was a pity, but at that time he had just joined Ji Qilin's team and was busy with the first exhibition of his career. never came.

At that time, Lin Ren also believed the rumors, so anxious and annoyed, he thought about closing the shop and leaving, but for three consecutive days, Lu Zhouyu visited in the evening, ordered a plate of fried noodles, finished eating without haste, and then left .

Lin Ren didn't recognize him at first, until the fourth day, he uncharacteristically ordered a bottle of wine, cheap liquor with high alcohol content.

Lin Ren had already decided to close the shop the next day, so he was going to give the last customer a free order. He sat down opposite the customer with wine and two glasses, filled them up and pushed them over. Lu Zhouyu just glanced at him and didn't say anything. What, just drink it up in one gulp.

The two drank one cup at a time, and opened another bottle after drinking one bottle. Lin Ren said with a big tongue: "I will quit tomorrow, good brother, have a good drink today!"

Lu Zhouyu couldn't tell whether he was drunk or sober, and held the wine glass in a calm and unhurried manner. He only nodded slightly when he heard the words, and asked, "Why didn't you do it?"

"It's going to be demolished here, don't you know?"

"know."

"Then don't come tomorrow. If I don't open the door, your trip will be in vain."

"Ah."

Lin Ren noticed that there was a kraft paper bag in his hand, the seal was open, and there was a stack of white paper inside.When drinking, Lu Zhouyu would look at it from time to time.

"Put the documents away so they don't get dirty." Lin Ren said kindly, reaching out his hand to help him pack it up and put it aside, but unexpectedly, his hands and feet became weak, his wrist loosened, and the paper bag fell to the ground, white papers scattered out one after another.He hurriedly bent down to pick them up, took them all back and stacked them together, but saw the "Shop Transfer Contract Agreement" written in black and white.

Blinking hard, Lin Ren didn't care about being polite, looked at the contract briefly, and asked in surprise, "You bought the studio upstairs?"

"Ah."

"It's going to be demolished here," Lin Ren frowned, pointing to the floor, "Because it's an illegal building, you won't lose money, you just wait to die if you buy it."

Although the developer and the government later reconciled, various procedures were completed, and the art park resumed operations, the silent war lasted for a long time. For a long time, shops in the park closed down one after another, and Lin Ren came back occasionally after closing his shop. Taking things, in my impression, the signboard of the upstairs studio is always on.

"It should be a lot of money lost," Lin Ren recalled the staggering transfer fee in the contract while drinking, "I don't know if I have earned it back now."

Until he finished speaking, the wine glass in Xia Yan's hand bottomed out unknowingly, his thinking began to slow down, and he remained silent for a long time.

Lin Ren is a person who talks more after drinking, he continued: "But he probably doesn't care."

"Why?" Xia Yan asked slowly.

After seeing the contract, Lin Ren was so drunk on the spot that he pulled Lu Zhouyu to find the former owner of the studio to argue and accuse him of extorting others, but was stopped.

"He said, 'If you lose money, you will lose money. If you can make money every day, it will be a day'. Listen, what are you talking about? Is money so wasted?"

After drinking the last sip of wine, Xia Yan put the glass back on the bar, smiled with the corners of his mouth open, and said, "Yes, what are you talking about."

Lin Ren probably always thought that they had long since lost contact and met, like all friends who have drifted away, so he was quite emotional when he saw the two again, saying that he must beat the drums for the occasion.

On the stage in the middle of the restaurant is a DW Collector's Series snare drum, which is worth a lot, and he spent a whole year's income on it.

"Is there anything you want to hear?"

"I don't understand this." Xia Yan propped his hands on the bar, jumped off the high stool staggeringly, and said, "If possible, can you play a quieter song, I have something to say to him."

"Of course." Lin Ren took off the apron.

"Thank you Brother Lin, I'll go eat first."

Xia Yan turned his back to Lin Ren and waved his hands. He walked back a little vainly. After walking a few steps, he realized that he was a little drunk and his thoughts were at a loss. A conversation was played back and forth in his mind.

Why don't you get drunk thoroughly, he thought, it's better to be drunk enough to let go of your worries and pour out all your doubts.

Whether he has an answer or not, what his answer is.

He desperately needs an exit.

Swaying back and forth to his seat, the dishes were ready, and Lu Zhouyu was still holding a pencil in one hand to write and draw on the back of the receipt while the phone call was still in progress.From the conversation, Xia Yan heard that there seemed to be a data error during the operation of a certain art installation, and it seemed urgent.

Seeing him sitting back, Lu Zhouyu stopped writing, pointed to the phone and said, "Sorry, I'll be fine soon."

Xia Yan waved his hands and said softly, "It's all right."

On the performance stage, Lin Ren was making preparations, and the drumsticks lightly struck the cymbals, making a swaying metal vibrato, like a ray of mourning when everything returns to one, and then everything turns into nothingness.

The restaurant suddenly fell silent, so the sound of beer froth breaking could be clearly heard.Xia Yan picked up the beer mug that was covered with drops of water, and took a sip.It was probably because of the strong wine that he had just drunk, but the beer tasted sweet in his mouth, like drinking spring water.

He swallowed one mouthful at a time, until his wrist was held by a warm force, and he felt cold all over his body.

Lifting his face from the mouth of the cup that was as big as his face, Lu Zhouyu hung up the phone at some point, leaned forward with his upper body, took the wine glass from his hand with the other hand, and put it on his side.

"If you drink any more, you'll be drunk."

"I'm already drunk." Xia Yan said honestly, "Your hands are very hot, but I'm cold."

The evidence was mediocre, Xia Yan grabbed the back of Lu Zhouyu's hand with his backhand, and covered his phalanges with the palm of his hand, "Is it cold?"

A few seconds later, the palm of my hand was empty, and then I was stuffed into a fork, "Don't drink when it's cold, eat."

After drinking a full stomach, Xia Yan couldn't eat anything, he just felt the alcohol rolling and transpiring in his body, he stretched out his arms to grab the wine glass, just as he held it in his hand, he was lightly sucked away again.

Lu Zhouyu raised his wine glass and looked directly at him for a long time before asking, "You want to drink so much?"

"Think." Xia Yan begged, "Give it to me."

Lu Zhouyu didn't speak, and didn't look at him anymore. He put the wine glass in front of his eyes, shook it back and forth, and then drank it all in one go.

Xia Yan only saw his Adam's apple rolling up and down violently, a drop of wine rolled down from his chin, meandering through his neck, and finally didn't enter the neckline, soaking a small piece of fabric.

He swallowed too.

"No more," Lu Zhouyu put down his glass and said to him calmly, "Let's eat first."

Xia Yan slowly picked up the tableware, and suddenly asked: "Are you leaving?"

"Isn't that what you want to tell me?" Seeing that Lu Zhouyu was silent, he began to ask and answer, "I see."

Alcohol is really a good thing, Xia Yan thought, so that when he said these words, his originally resisting mood was extremely calm and calm.

Calmly state the facts like a bystander.

"No." Lu Zhouyu put down the tableware and looked at him from the other side of the table, seemingly helpless, "You are drunk, can you remember what I said?"

"I don't know, I'm drunk." Xia Yan hesitated, and didn't want to end the topic easily, so he mumbled intermittently until a glass of warm lemonade was stuffed into his hands.

"Drink more water if you don't want to eat, and we'll talk about it when you sober up."

"I don't want to wake up." Xia Yan closed his eyes, "If you don't tell me, then I'll ask."

He didn't want to be like walking on the ground, snaking like a mouse, he didn't want to be full of doubts and pretend nothing had happened, he didn't want to be just friends, and he didn't want to say goodbye so lightly.

"Okay, you ask." Lu Zhouyu smiled, his attitude was gentle towards drunks.

"You have to answer truthfully, you promise."

"I promise."

Xia Yan lay down on the table, put his face on it, and after pasting the right side to the left, until his cheeks were numb, he straightened up, folded his hands on the table, and made a serious negotiation appearance.

"Why did you buy the studio upstairs?" He heard himself asking, no, obviously the first question should be 'Didn't you say you haven't been back for seven years', but it was too late to revise.

Lu Zhouyu kept looking into his eyes, but his gaze was not serious, as if it just happened to fall there, but he said without hesitation in his voice, "Because I like it."

After speaking, he smiled, his eyes fluttered away like a dragonfly, "Can you remember? Drunk."