Chapter 4 Reunion
2285 Words
I rushed over almost like a madman, snatched the phone from him, and shouted at that show - off, "What the hell are you doing with my phone?"
I was drunk at that time. Although there was a girl present, I didn't care about his face.
The show - off's face changed a bit, and then he shouted back at me, "Who the hell took your phone? This is my newly bought one!"
I said, "You're full of s**t. You can't afford it at all!"
He really couldn't afford it. Most of us in the dormitory were poor students.
The show - off was a bit embarrassed and then tried to pull the girl away.
The girl said, "Your phone is still in his hand."
He said, "It's okay. We're in the same dormitory. He'll return it to me by night."
The girl wasn't willing and said she hadn't had enough fun yet. The show - off then turned to me and winked.
"Get out!" I shouted at him, my eyes red.
The show - off then said to the girl, "He's drunk and not in his right mind now. When he sobers up, he'll naturally return it."
The girl was very annoyed and started cursing at me, calling me a lunatic.
"f**k off!" I grabbed a wine bottle and smashed it hard on the ground.
The girl was startled. She still wanted to quarrel with me, but the show - off coaxed and tricked her and finally dragged her away.
After getting the phone, I held it tightly in my arms. The feeling of getting it back after losing it gave me a bittersweet joy.
I turned on the phone and checked it repeatedly. At first, I was so happy that I cried, but then I fell into a bottomless abyss!
In the afternoon, Sister Lan sent me a lot of text messages. She apologized to me, saying she regretted kicking me and was extremely sad. She also asked if my leg was better and told me to go to the infirmary to disinfect it in case of inflammation. She even said I was quite manly and she liked watching me play ball.
Seeing these messages, I was overjoyed.
I seemed to not care about anything anymore. To hell with the so - called reality and the gap between the rich and the poor. Whether I could be with Sister Lan in the future or not, I decided to give it a try!
Even if Sister Lan didn't love me, as long as I could see her again, even if we just became ordinary friends, I'd be willing.
But then I was dumbfounded. The show - off actually sent a text message to Sister Lan saying, "f**k off, you slut! Don't harass me!"
I didn't know what his intention was, but at that moment, I wanted to kill him!
Really, I f*****g wanted to kill him!
I groped for a stool and sat down, then quickly sent a text message to Sister Lan, trying my best to explain, but there was no response.
I couldn't hold back and called Sister Lan. She didn't answer; she just hung up whenever I got through.
I thought it was all over between us, completely over. We were really f*****g over!
Damn show - off, I'll kill you!
I carefully put the phone away, then picked up a beer bottle and stormed into the dormitory with a menacing look.
The show - off was showing off at that time, saying he had held hands with the girl and kissing her would be a piece of cake. He was extremely proud.
"f**k you!" Before he could react, the bottle in my hand smashed down hard on his head. Blood gushed out. I still wanted to hit him, but was held down by the dormitory mates.
He covered his head and looked at me with a bit of fear, saying, "Are you f*****g crazy?"
I roared and struggled desperately, "Why! Why did you send that text message to Sister Lan?"
The show - off covered his head and said, "She hurt you so badly. I was avenging you. You're really ungrateful!"
We all knew what kind of person he was in the dormitory. I didn't believe he was that kind - hearted at all.
I tried to suppress my anger and said to the dormitory mates, "You guys let me go first. I promise I won't fight."
The dormitory leader said, "Let him go. Wang Yu knows what he's doing."
As soon as they let me go, I immediately held the broken bottle against the show - off's neck and said, "Tell me the truth. Why did you send that text message?"
At that moment, I really wanted to kill him!
He was scared. His legs were shaking, and he stammered, "I was chatting up a girl with my phone at that time, but Sister Lan kept sending text messages to harass me. I was afraid the girl would misunderstand, so I cursed Sister Lan."
He then begged me for forgiveness, saying he didn't know things would be so serious.
I sat on the ground weakly, then lay sprawled on the floor. I felt as if all my strength had been drained...
Later, I regretted it. I really should have killed him. Otherwise, my later brother wouldn't have died because of him!
The dormitory mates helped me onto the bed. I cried, looking at the phone. I still didn't give up and sent another text message to Sister Lan, explaining the whole thing, but Sister Lan never replied to me.
Days passed by. Sometimes I called or sent text messages to Sister Lan, but she neither answered nor replied.
Many times I wanted to go to her house and apologize to her face - to - face. But I was afraid, afraid of her cold eyes, her sarcasm, and her haughtiness.
Gradually, I gave up. It felt like Sister Lan had completely disappeared from my life.
As the final exams were approaching, I put all my energy into reviewing. Occasionally, I would still think of Sister Lan, but my heart didn't hurt as much.
The love expert was right. Time can heal everything.
After the vacation, I stayed in Haicheng for part - time work and study. The school had a department for part - time work and study, which could introduce some part - time jobs.
At that time, I got a part - time job as a porter. The work wasn't heavy. It was just moving some cultural relics, calligraphy and paintings for an exhibition. I could earn 80 yuan a day, which wasn't much.
In summer, Haicheng wasn't too hot. A gentle breeze blew, bringing a few refreshing chills.
The next day, I and several other students from the school took a bus to the exhibition center.
We moved things there for the whole morning. Although the items weren't heavy, they were all antiques, calligraphy and paintings, very precious. We moved them carefully, and running back and forth made us quite tired.
The person in charge of the organizer was a fat woman, extremely stingy. For so much work, she only hired a few of us students and didn't even provide lunch.
At noon, we students ran to the roadside and bought some jianbing (Chinese crepes). There was no place to sit, so we just squatted at the entrance of the exhibition hall and ate.
At that time, I really didn't expect that fate would bring Sister Lan and me together again.
I was lowering my head, wolfing down my food. From a distance, I heard the fat woman's hearty laughter.
"Ha ha ha ha. This time, with you, a beautiful hostess, invited to the exhibition, it will surely add luster to the event! The on - site transaction volume will definitely soar!"
"Sister Fat, you're teasing me again. I don't have that much charm." This voice was so familiar. I looked up and was completely stunned...
It was Sister Lan! She was still so beautiful, so noble, and more mature than before.
Surrounded by a group of women, she was chatting and laughing, just like a movie star.
She didn't see me and was chatting intently with those people.
Instead, the fat woman rushed over and shouted at us, "Don't squat here eating like beggars. It's so embarrassing and affects the image of the exhibition!"
At that time, a student stood up and said, "You don't provide lunch, and you don't even let us eat?"
The fat woman, concerned about her face, didn't want to quarrel with us. She directly took out two hundred - yuan bills and threw them on the ground, "Disappear immediately."
The student didn't pick up the money and said, "Two hundred yuan? You're too stingy. It's not even enough for us to have a bite."
"Don't go too far!" The fat woman was a bit angry, and her voice was quite loud, which had already attracted Sister Lan's attention.
The student said, "Two hundred is not enough. You need to add another two hundred."
I knew he was trying to mess with the fat woman. I also wanted to see the fat woman get embarrassed, but this really wasn't the right time.
Hearing the quarrel, Sister Lan and the others came over. At that moment, I was extremely nervous.
The person I had been longing for day and night finally appeared in front of me. I didn't know whether to face her or run away.
Seeing Sister Lan and the others coming, the fat woman, afraid of losing face, quickly took out another two hundred yuan and threw it on the ground, "Hurry up and get out!"
The student then called us, "Come on, hurry up and pick up the money. One hundred yuan each."
The others all went to pick up the money. They really looked like beggars. I didn't move because Sister Lan had already seen me.
I slowly stood up, looking at her with a complex expression. Tears welled up uncontrollably, and my voice was a bit hoarse as I said, "Sister..."
Sister Lan looked at me, very calm. I couldn't figure out what she was thinking. There seemed to be an invisible barrier between us.
The fat woman looked at me and then at Sister Lan and asked her, "Xia Lan, do you know each other?"
Sister Lan exhaled, smiled at the fat woman, and said, "No, I don't. How could I know a porter?"
The fat woman laughed, "I knew it. What's your status as a big anchor? These young people these days try to get friendly with any beautiful woman they see. If they call you sister, would they call me mom when they see me?"
"Ha ha ha ha..." The group of them burst into laughter and then walked into the exhibition hall, chatting and laughing.
But my heart was completely cold. The woman I had been thinking about day and night actually said she didn't know me...
Sister Lan and I finally became familiar strangers.
The whole noon, I was in a trance. My heart felt like it was being pricked by needles, with bursts of pain.
A few students came over and asked me, "Do you know that beautiful woman?"
I didn't want to talk, and they left tactfully.
In the afternoon, the exhibition opened. Sister Lan was standing in the middle of the stage, wearing a burgundy dress, smiling and talking eloquently.
I leaned against the corner of the exhibition hall, watching her silently. In my mind, the scene of our first meeting emerged again. She was wearing a maroon coat, leaning against a BMW, smiling and waving at me.
But the past was like smoke. Now, things were no longer the same.
After the opening ceremony, we porters started working again.
Because if there were any on - site transactions, as soon as the customers swiped their cards, we had to box the items and move them to the customers' cars.
For this exhibition, the fat woman had invited many beautiful female docents, and Sister Lan was also among them.
Many people flocked to Sister Lan. Whatever Sister Lan introduced, those male businessmen rushed to buy.
I felt extremely disgusted. Those people looked gentle, but their minds were really dirty.
When Sister Lan asked people to move things, she didn't call me specifically. I didn't know what she meant.
Later, when it was really too busy, she pointed at me and said, "Hey, what are you standing there for? Can't you see we're busy here?"
I was so angry. She didn't call me, and then she blamed me.
I walked over angrily. Sister Lan was beside me, sneering, "What kind of people did Sister Fat find? They have no sense at all. If you can make money just by standing there, then money is too easy to earn."
This woman really didn't miss any chance to hit me.
When I was moving things out, she followed me, pointing and criticizing, saying that kids these days were clumsy and did things carelessly, which made her angry.
I was almost furious and gave her a fierce glare.
She said proudly, "What are you glaring at? Be careful I deduct your wages."
I thought Sister Lan and I were natural enemies. Whenever we met, we would definitely have a conflict!
Later, she seemed to be addicted to bullying me. She asked others to stop and made me do all the work alone. I was so tired that I was sweating profusely, and she still didn't let me rest.
I really shouldn't have met her. Every time we met, it was unpleasant.
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- Writer
