Tropical Highway

The real voice in the earpiece seemed to suddenly become very close.

"Which building is the dormitory?"

In the first reaction, Zhai Lan asked: "Huh? Did you order takeaway for me?"

"It doesn't count." There were clear footsteps from You Zhen, "I just got out of the subway, I remember you said that it is faster to enter the dormitory from Exit B, right? But this is... eh, where do you live?"

Ting Youzhen's tone doesn't seem to be teasing him, it only takes a tenth of a second to understand the spirit after receiving the hint——

"You came to my school?" Zhai Lan quickly kicked off two slippers, "Really?"

His breathing became slow and long, and You Zhen didn't answer him immediately, yes or no, he seemed to be thinking, after a while, he said: "I see the dormitory building now, there is Qilixiang, and now it should be your evening What time is the class? A lot of students are heading in one direction... Oh, there is the cafeteria over there, and there is a laundry room opposite..."

Zhai Lan believed it completely, these details absolutely proved that You Zhen appeared on the campus of X University at this very moment.Involuntarily, the heart beat violently, beating the chest cavity and causing all the blood to boil.

With feverish hands and feet, Zhai Lan didn't care to change clothes, so he hurried out the door in an ordinary T-shirt and shorts.

"Then you just wait for me where you are, 10 minutes!" He almost shouted, "No, 2 minutes!"

He didn't hang up the phone, Zhai Lan didn't know that when he was running, the sound of the key hitting the phone case was heard by You Zhen, as if a handful of gravel suddenly fell into a pool of stagnant water, causing ripples of chaos.

Going downstairs, he didn't succeed in swiping the access control card once. The dormitory manager unlocked it for him, teasing: "Don't be so anxious——"

Impossible not to rush.

Zhai Lan completely forgot to speculate on the reason for You Zhen's appearance at this moment.

Only "You Zhen came to see me" remained in my mind.

Less than 10 minutes before the evening bell rings, those who can stand still on the school road are particularly conspicuous.Near the laundry shop, the trot turned into a slow walk, Zhai Lan adjusted his breathing, his throat was dry, and he ran out of a sprint posture in just 500 meters, with his T-shirt sticking to his back, and his forehead was glistening with sweat.

No matter when Zhai Lan can catch You Zhen's figure at the first sight.

After agreeing to wait, You Zhen stood under a street lamp with his head down and played with his mobile phone.The temperature dropped slightly at night, so I added a shirt over the racerback vest, which was left open, and the corners of the clothes were occasionally lifted by the wind.

The summer night is no longer scorching hot, and the chirping of insects is much gentler.

"You Zhen." Zhai Lan approached him.

Seeing his embarrassment and bright eyes, You Zhen couldn't help laughing even deeper: "Didn't you agree for 10 minutes?"

"Just two steps."

Zhai Lan was not breathing anymore, but he was standing face to face with You Zhen, and suddenly he couldn't talk.He should ask You Zhen why he came, but the reason doesn't seem to be that important anymore - he also wants to see You Zhen.

The sky in the east is turning blue, the first quarter moon is looming in the clouds, and the sun has not yet fully set.

The shadow of the camphor tree surrounded them.

"Let's take a walk?" You Zhen asked.

The campus is always full of youthful joy, surrounded by lemon fragrance and a hint of creamy dessert.After Zhai Lan calmed down from the initial restlessness, he didn't think too much, and started chatting about things with peace of mind.

Soon I mentioned the dormitory issue, how to deal with teachers, how to help students achieve their goals...

"You must think that I have never seen the world, and I am complacent about such a small matter." Zhai Lan said, with a smile on his lips, "But I am very happy, I haven't vented my anger like this for a long time, and it's not all because of my classmates. "

You Zhen nodded: "It's similar to making it yourself, a sense of value."

"Yes." Zhai Lan agreed with him, stretched out his arms and sighed contentedly, "Hey... I feel that the past six months have changed a lot, in terms of personality, but Yue Chao—a very iron buddy—is mocking me, saying I used to be like this, now it’s just a stable mentality, so it’s slowly getting better.”

Where does it get better?Zhai Lan doesn't need to say much, You Zhen understands.

Walking around aimlessly, there are basketball courts and badminton courts not far from the dormitory building.Lights were lit all around, connecting with the hazy sky, and the ambiguity of dusk was long overdue at this time.

Seeing You Zhen watching the basketball court all the time, Zhai Lan asked, "Did you play basketball when you were studying?"

"No." You Zhen laughed, "Jiang Fang played. I play football and play as a midfielder. But everyone's level is not very good, and they play every time. It's very funny to say that our band started playing football. When it was formed, it was to perform at the opening ceremony of the sports meeting, and at that time sang the song of Oasis, Wonderwall.”

Zhai Lan: "I thought you all played post-rock from the beginning."

Trapped in memories of youthfulness, You Zhen's voice also softened: "No, I was like all campus bands at the beginning. I was 19 or [-] years old. I didn't have that much talent but I had a lot of passion. Slowly, I felt that cover songs were boring, so I just I started writing songs."

"Were you the lead singer in the first place?"

"Me? I'm not." You Zhen said, "Jiang Fang is the lead singer, and he was still playing the keyboard at that time. He was very beautiful."

"Then you must be the most handsome guitarist in the band." Zhai Lan said, nodding in satisfaction for self-affirmation, "But your current song, you like it better, right?"

You Zhen admitted: "Because it is a pure expression of self, it is more emotional."

"Have you been writing songs recently?"

"Too busy." You Zhen said, starting to feel a little embarrassed, "Actually, I always feel that your first impression of me was in the band, and I was always embarrassed. I'm too amateur, and I don't do much..."

"A thousand dollars is hard to buy. I like it. As long as you write it, I will keep listening."

Hitting the head, You Zhen pretended to be angry: "You think it's so easy to write?... Hey, to be honest, maybe life is getting more and more comfortable, and you will lose some desire to express."

Zhai Lan seems to understand the fatigue of adults: "But there is always something to say."

The sound of insects was amplified, and the light was brightened beyond the clouds in the sky. You Zhen watched the edges of the shadows of the two deepen in color, and suddenly couldn't bear to destroy Zhai Lan's innocence—he originally wanted to tell Zhai Lan that music would not be pure forever, He won't always be the guitarist playing on Zone's stage and not caring about any feedback.

But now he felt that if Zhai Lan always had expectations, wouldn't it mean that he would always have love for himself?

"Well, I will write it down." You Zhen said.

"That's right." Zhai Lan shook his head, "Although Lufeng doesn't have a home court, and the music style is not popular with everyone, but there's nothing wrong with keeping your own expression..."

The way he speaks the truth is so cute, You Zhen looked at it, his eyes seemed to be covered with a layer of fog.

Zhai Lan seems to have grown a bit taller than when he first met?

Mature and thinner.

Perhaps because of summer, the sun brings growth, and the outline of the bones and muscles of the teenager is about to get rid of youthfulness.Seen from behind, Zhai Lan's shoulders are still immature, but he has firmly shouldered his own future.

19 years old ...

very nice.

The heavy thing in his hand reminded You Zhen at the right time, he called Zhai Lan as if he had just woken up from a dream.

"Almost forgot." When You Zhen handed it to him with a normal expression, "This, I came here specially to give it to you."

Zhai Lan was confused: "What?"

You Zhen was completely amused by this appearance, he stuffed the white paper bag with the "Holiday" LOGO into Zhai Lan's hand, maintaining a sense of mystery: "Just take a look and you'll know."

Zhai Lan opened the bag and lowered her head, looked through the lights on the side of the school road, and was speechless.

There is a shockproof paper shell at the bottom of the bag, surrounded by a round box in the middle, wrapped layer by layer with soft white decorative paper, tied with a rope, and a small card is fixed on the top.The ambient light was insufficient, and Zhai Lan didn't read the text on the card immediately, but he knew what it was.

"Happy birthday." You Zhen said.

The last day of June is his birthday.

But this year even Zhai Lan was forgotten.

"...Cake, thank you." The answer was somewhat awkward, Zhai Lan was holding the white bag, and the palms of his hands began to sweat again, "But how did you know?"

He didn't seem to have mentioned anything about You Zhen.

You Zhen messed up Zhai Lan's short hair, and couldn't hide his smile anymore: "The last few digits of your WeChat name, 0630."

Can't remember the details at all, and his WeChat name hasn't been changed since he registered.

Zhai Lan: "...Ah."

You Zhen: "Stupid or not?"

"I didn't even notice."

"Happy birthday." You Zhen said the second time intently, "Yesterday I remembered that you were at school, and guessed that there was a high probability that I would not celebrate with my classmates today, so I made a cake myself and came to find you."

"I……"

A little moved, inexplicably sad after a long absence, mostly happy, and a little panic beyond expectation.

Finding a free courtside, sitting on the ground, Zhai Lan opened the cake that You Zhen brought.The package is very tight, peeling off one layer and another layer like an onion, the package feels like some kind of cotton cloth, but You Zhen said it is just a decorative paper.There are tableware and candles beside them, which You Zhen lit with a lighter.

6 inches in size, spread the white cream, and the topmost decoration is only spread around the edge.Embellished with citrus, jasmine, write a line of slender words in fruit syrup in the blank space in the middle: Happybirthday.

A golden candle was inserted in the middle, and the fire was especially bright in the dark night.

"It's so beautiful." Zhai Lan looked at the cake, and then thought that it must be made by You Zhen himself, and his nasal cavity was a little congested, "I haven't eaten cake for several years..."

"You can eat it every year from now on." You Zhen said it like a promise.

Zhai Lan smiled, not believing it too much for the time being: "That's right."

You Zhen added: "You can also change the taste."

"What are you going to do next year?"

"Hmm...figs? Grapefruit? I saw that you really liked the grapefruit tart you made last time." You Zhen wrote it down carefully on his mobile phone, and before Zhai Lan could say anything, he raised his volume again, "Ah candle!"

It should be easy to carry, so the candle is very short, the little finger is thick, and it will burn out when it is blown by the wind.

You Zhen hastily stretched out his hands to cover the flames, and when he leaned forward, he was caught off guard and lightly touched Zhai Lan's forehead.Lifting his eyes, there was a cake between them, but he could feel his own heart beating at the same frequency as the other's eyelashes fluttered.

Suddenly confused, Zhai Lan shifted his eyes and pursed his lips: "...I'm going to make a wish."

"Ah, good." You Zhen stepped back.

Zhai Lan just closed his eyes and said he was making a wish, but his mind went blank.

He put on a show and blew out the candle.

"Xiao Lan is 20 years old." You Zhen applauded decently, more childish than Zhai Lan.

Zhai Lan smiled: "Why are you so happy for my birthday?"

"Because there is cake to eat!" You Zhen said, "I especially like to celebrate my friends' birthdays, eat cakes, drink wine, and watch them make wishes. But it's the first time I've been alone with someone... Hey, are you eating cake now?"

"Okay." Zhai Lan said, her heart was still hot.

The two silently shared half of the cake with a plate.

The citrus is a bit sour, the scent of jasmine is obvious, the cream is smooth in the mouth, and there are some jams and puddings in the middle of the cake... Zhai Lan, who has always liked to be a food critic, said nothing today, these are not what impressed him the most part.

Although he didn't eat cake in the past few years, his birthdays were always lively and lively. This year, he is alone, and no one will pay attention to this not-so-special date, so Zhai Lan chooses to forget it on purpose.

At the age of 20, he only received gifts from Youzhen.

"Twenty years old." You Zhen emphasized again.

Zhai Lan kept laughing: "Well, 20 years old."

Press Zhai Lan's cheek with his fingers, and apply a little force along the upward arc of the corner of his mouth.

He wiped off the cream.

"Forget some unhappiness." You Zhen said, "It will get better and better in the future."

Her lips trembled, Zhai Lan resisted the urge to cry after a while.

"……Um."