PSE - 37

　　It snowed lightly when they were admitted to the hospital, and heavily when they were discharged.

　　On the first day of December, the city-wide home quarantine order in Suicheng was largely lifted.

　　The entire city, like a giant beast that had been stiff for a long time, began to slowly and cautiously shake off fleas from its fur.

　　Cao Xiaoyu, who had been forced to stay in the hospital for fetal preservation, finally sat in a taxi with her husband after lying in bed for a full month.

　　With the intervention of the Cultural Bureau, she received the compensation from the advertising company as promised, and the fetus in her womb developed normally during this month.

　　That day, to celebrate regaining freedom and the upcoming birth of their precious child, Jinzi and his wife spontaneously decided to host a dinner at a barbecue restaurant that had been closed for two months and was on the verge of bankruptcy, desperately needing business.

　　Ha Yue and Xue Jing need not be mentioned; even Director Zhao of the Cultural Bureau was on their guest list.

　　The barbecue restaurant was small, run by a young couple.

　　The decoration was outdated, the ingredients weren’t fresh, and everywhere you looked, garish floral tablecloths and lace decorations covered the place. However, the range of services was extensive. Besides barbecued and spicy dishes to accompany drinks, customers could also sing karaoke and cook hotpot in private rooms on the second floor.

　　In the cold weather of midwinter, the streets were covered in heavy snow, but the stoves inside the barbecue shop burned fiercely. A large pot of narcissus on the counter mistook the season and bloomed early, thriving under the adornment of red strings.

　　To settle family matters, Ha Yue arrived the latest. After getting out of the taxi, she pushed open the heavy door curtain of the small shop, and a wave of heat with the smell of cumin hit her face. The clamorous voices were deafening.

　　Amidst this chaos, Xue Jing, whom she hadn’t seen for a long time, had just gotten a haircut and was sitting in the booth on the far left, surrounded by a group of strong young men offering him drinks.

　　The customs in Suicheng were fierce, and drinking culture was prevalent. Everyone boasted about their ability to drink since childhood, always filling their glasses to show respect. Normally, Xue Jing rarely attended such celebratory drinking gatherings.

　　He came to see Ha Yue.

　　When the epidemic prevention personnel withdrew from the residential area early in the morning, he was writing and didn’t notice. When Jinzi’s message came in the morning, he put down his phone and immediately opened the gate to knock on Ha Yue’s door.

　　They lived right across from each other, but Xue Jing felt a surge of excitement akin to meeting an online friend in person.

　　Unfortunately, neither Ha Yue nor Zhao Chunni were home. He called them and learned that Ha Yue had gone out with Zhao Chunni to run errands after breakfast, and they would return after he went to sleep.

　　Unlike his eagerness to meet, Ha Yue’s voice on the phone was not enthusiastic. She said that seeing her now or later was the same, and they had other plans in the afternoon. She told Xue Jing to rest first, and they could meet again tomorrow at most.

　　After hanging up, Xue Jing, who hadn’t slept all night, should have gone home to catch up on sleep. But feeling dispirited, as he shuffled past the entrance in his slippers, he hurriedly retreated when he was startled by the “wild man Tarzan” in the mirror.

　　For more than a month, he hadn’t shaved or had a haircut.

　　Not only because he didn’t need to go out and see people, but also because after Ha Yue left that day, he found a sticky note with a heart drawn on his computer screen.

　　The handwriting on the sticky note was delicate and neat, with only one line, but he held it in both hands and admired it for a full ten minutes.

　　”Keep your imagination alive.”

　　Stay imaginative.

　　It was just an ordinary encouraging sentence. He had heard similar words countless times over the years, which didn’t necessarily represent sincerity. But because it was written by Ha Yue, it unexpectedly swept away the long-standing bottleneck that troubled Xue Jing.

　　His writing process these days has been incredibly smooth.

　　Every day before opening his computer, Xue Jing would meditate for ten minutes in front of Ha Yue’s sticky note, then devoutly check his phone for Ha Yue’s feedback on his work, and finally start his daily writing routine step by step.

　　He ate whatever food was available, took quick showers, and let his beard grow freely.

　　In these days, he had written more than 300,000 words, and each chapter had the potential for expansion, setting a new personal record for writing speed and quality.

　　Correspondingly, his own untidiness also reached new heights.

　　Like Tarzan, who fell in love and tried every means to win the beautiful Jane’s heart.

　　Xue Jing hurriedly took a bath at home, carefully shaved his beard clean in front of the mirror, but Ha Yue still hadn’t returned home. If he asked Ha Yue what she was doing, what she was handling, and whether he needed to accompany them, it would seem like he was being overly clingy. So Xue Jing got ready, tied a scarf, wrapped himself in a down jacket that reached his ankles, put on suede gloves, drove out, and searched everywhere for a suitable Tony teacher to style his hair.

　　Effort paid off; Suicheng still had some skilled hairdressers.

By the time he spent five hundred yuan to transform his appearance and regained his spirited, noble demeanor, he was deflated again when he got home. Ha Yue’s tricycle had returned, but she still wasn’t there; only Aunt Siqin, as usual, stood between him and Zhao Chunni.

　　She didn’t allow him to approach and exchange pleasantries.

　　Back in his car, he felt restless and couldn’t wait. He simply floored the gas pedal and drove directly to the gathering place, sitting anxiously at a table nearest to the entrance, keeping watch over the gate.

　　Because Jinzi had told him earlier that his booze-loving sister Ha Yue never missed an occasion where she could drink endlessly.

　　Whether it was four years ago or four years later, Ha Yue had never drunk with him. He even felt a bit jealous of these young people in Suicheng.

　　What was the use of pursuing graduate studies and becoming a writer? What was the use of selling his face and courses every day?

　　The girl he liked had never drunk with him, and he didn’t even know that Ha Yue enjoyed drinking.

　　After waiting and waiting, Mr. Xue, who had a low tolerance for alcohol, initially managed to fend off drinks with words. But he wasn’t Zhuge Liang; his silver tongue eventually failed against the crowd. As more strangers came to greet him, his seat moved further and further away from the entrance.

　　His down jacket was long forgotten somewhere, and even the cashmere cardigan inside was taken off by Jinzi and thrown onto the corner sofa because Xiaoyu was afraid he’d be too hot.

　　Xue Jing hadn’t seen sunlight all month, especially since he wore all black, which made him look almost fluorescently pale. Moreover, he hadn’t eaten well while writing, making him appear even thinner than when he first arrived in Suicheng. His clothes were overly loose, adding to his ethereal demeanor.

　　But on the drinking scene, no one cared about his aura as a writer. They only cared about how many bottles he could chug and how straight he could walk after getting drunk.

　　Jinzi first held his hand affectionately and said, “Brother, you’ve lost weight. Being single doesn’t mean you should neglect yourself. You need to eat well and take care of yourself.” Then he shoved a big bowl of sour soup with small noodles into his hands. However, just as Xue Jing started eating a couple of mouthfuls, the tipsy Director Zhao came over, grabbed his other hand, and said, “Little Xue, you can’t disgrace our Ji University. Why are you just hiding here drinking noodle soup? Come on, let me pour you some wine! Observing isn’t enough; art comes from life, and you need to immerse yourself in it.”

　　”Which young man here doesn’t understand life better than you?”

　　Indeed, although Xue Jing had been to many cities in his life, each time he traveled by plane, in first class, just sightseeing superficially.

　　On the other hand, Jinzi’s friends at the table were different. Each of them had gone to Lhasa on foot without a penny after graduating from elementary school.

　　Some hopped on trains without tickets, others hitchhiked along the way, and some carried ten pounds of bulk liquor, making friends by drinking their way through the journey.

　　These unconventional paths were unimaginable to Xue Jing.

　　Thus, Xue Jing alternated between sips of noodle soup and beer. In less than half an hour, his thoughts slowed, and his tongue felt heavy. Just as a group of mischievous young men, eager for more excitement, handed him a hero cup bigger than his face to challenge him, the door curtain was suddenly pushed open, and Ha Yue entered.

　　”Yueyue!”

　　Xue Jing was so drunk that his vision blurred. He blinked hard in Ha Yue’s direction and instinctively called out her nickname loudly without thinking.

　　The people around him also turned their heads towards Ha Yue in unison, calling out in chorus: “Yueyue?”

　　”Yeah, Yueyue. Don’t you know Yueyue?” Xue Jing nodded, and if he had a tail, it would have wagged like a propeller. With one arm, he swung Director Zhao out of the booth, stood up, and waved to Ha Yue, “I saved you a seat!”

　　”Over here, this spot is closest to the heater.” Not only that, but this position was also farthest from the restroom. These drinkers often left the restroom door open, and he didn’t want Ha Yue to smell any unpleasant odors.

　　Director Zhao was already short and slight, and with Xue Jing using brute force, he stumbled and nearly fell. Fortunately, Jinzi was quick to catch the nearly falling Director Zhao and settled him into a seat across the table.

　　Ha Yue immediately knew Xue Jing had been drinking when she saw his flushed temples. Walking up to the booth and seeing the hero cup on the table, she understood—soft persimmons are always squeezed. These guys must have forced him to drink relentlessly.

　　That morning, Ha Yue had taken Zhao Chunni to a real estate agency to inquire about the price of transferring the storefront. Reminded by the staff, she realized she needed to update the owner on the individual business license before selling. In the afternoon, she went home, entrusted Aunt Siqin to take care of her mother, changed her clothes, and went out again.

　　Since she was going to handle matters in a building, she dressed formally before leaving. She brought a few essential cosmetics in her bag and applied light makeup in the public restroom on the first floor of the government service hall.

　　A well-tailored overcoat, a crepe blouse with a tie, a sharp high-waisted wide-leg trousers, and ankle boots with kitten heels.

　　Clothes make the man, and horses rely on saddles. When Ha Yue pulled out her old work attire from her days in Jicheng, her presence instantly elevated by several degrees.

　　Her palm-sized face shone like the bright moonlight.

　　With Xue Jing, whose face was as flawless as jade, by her side, they made a striking pair. No one expected such a refined couple to appear at this humble gathering, akin to figurines on a wedding cake.

　　Dozens of eyes darted back and forth, including Director Zhao’s.

　　He exclaimed several times before recognizing her as the girl who loaded piglets onto a tricycle the other day.

　　Director Zhao nudged Jinzi’s arm and whispered behind his hand, “Isn’t this your neighbor? Since when did she become ‘Yueyue’?”

　　Jinzi was equally baffled, thinking, wow, in just a month, Teacher Xue and his sister Ha Yue were already calling each other by nicknames? Didn’t they say the lockdown was strict, with nucleic acid tests conducted door-to-door, preventing neighbors from even seeing each other?

　　When did they become so close?

　　Could it be that letting Xue Jing ride the tricycle with the pigs actually worked wonders? If so, didn’t that make him an unwitting matchmaker?

　　Ha Yue took off her coat and plopped down to Xue Jing’s right. She didn’t hide their relationship in front of others. The moment she opened her mouth, she began scolding him unreservedly.

“You’re supposed to be resting at home! If you can’t handle your liquor, why are you joining in the fun? Did you throw up?”