Chapter 34: The Old Factory’s Cement Floor

Surprise? More like a scare.

The clothes Cheng Simin was wearing clearly weren’t her size. The same outfit that fit Qiao Yusi perfectly looked like it was tying Cheng Simin up like a zongzi.

The people around them were shamelessly exaggerating their praise, especially the tall guy with hair that looked like it had been through an explosion. Why was he standing so close to Cheng Simin? Where was he even looking? His cigarette ash was about to fall on her head.

And then there was Tai Mei’s expression—her pale eyes darting around, clearly harboring some mischief.

Shi Ying had no interest in engaging with these poor actors. Without greeting anyone else, his gaze passed through the group and landed directly on Cheng Simin. “Weren’t we supposed to go roller skating? Come get your skates.”

“What skates?” Cheng Simin, who was more familiar with Shi Ying than her new friends, instinctively stepped down two steps at his command—a force of habit.

Seeing Cheng Simin dodge the secondhand smoke from Explosion Head, Shi Ying’s expression softened slightly. He opened the storage box attached to his bike and pulled out two brand-new pairs of roller skates.

“Wow, new ones? Where did you buy them? Were they expensive?” Cheng Simin, who couldn’t resist pretty shoes, rushed over to Shi Ying like a rabbit, eagerly peering at the skates.

One pair was black, the other pink. Shi Ying smirked lightly and handed her the pink pair. “Yours is cheaper. Size 34 isn’t even in the adult section—it’s only available in kids’ sizes.”

“Hmph. Who are you calling a kid?” Cheng Simin flipped the skates over in her hands, pretending to be indignant, but her dimples deepened as she smiled. She gently rubbed the bottom of the skate with her palm, and the wheels spun smoothly—far better than the rented ones.

Cheng Simin couldn’t hide her excitement for long. After suppressing her grin for a moment, she couldn’t help but beam at Shi Ying. “Even kids’ sizes are fine—they’re just as good as the adult ones. Such nice roller skates… You’re really letting me use them? Why are you suddenly being so nice?”

Ever since they became friends, he’d always been this kind to her; she just had a bad memory.

But it didn’t matter. Shi Ying was here to peacefully coexist with Cheng Simin and her new friends. He needed to overcome his petty obsession with measuring the closeness or weight of their friendship. Mission accomplished.

“Aren’t you about to have your birthday soon? Consider this an early birthday gift.” Shi Ying casually replied while glancing out of the corner of his eye. Behind Cheng Simin on the steps, a lanky ghost drifted over, unwilling to give up.

“What do you mean? My birthday is in April—April 15th, Aries! You never remember!”

“The compatibility between Aries and Virgo is three stars—they’re each other’s most loyal listeners, which is why we can be such good friends. I’ve told you this several times!”

Cheng Simin kept rambling on when suddenly, someone draped an arm around her left shoulder.

She turned her head—it was Qiao Yusi, sweetly smiling at her. Her slender fingers danced across Cheng Simin’s neck like piano keys. “Minmin, what are you guys talking about? Everyone’s waiting impatiently. Didn’t we agree to wait for your friend to arrive before playing?”

“Are these your roller skates? They’re so unique! If I’d known you were bringing your own, I would’ve brought mine too. But my skates are custom-made—they’re too heavy for my little backpack.”

Qiao Yusi leaned regretfully against Cheng Simin’s shoulder, her upturned brows drooping slightly, showcasing a fragile melancholy. Cheng Simin, tender-hearted, immediately volunteered upon seeing her like this. “Why don’t you use this pair? I’ll just rent again—I’m used to it anyway.”

As soon as the words left her mouth, Cheng Simin remembered that the skates didn’t entirely belong to her. Glancing at Shi Ying’s face, she hastily whispered, looking up at him, “Is that okay, Shi Ying? Can I let Sisi borrow them for today? Please say yes.”

Because of their affluent backgrounds, children often had their material desires excessively satisfied by their parents. Shi Ying didn’t have much attachment to his possessions, but Cheng Simin owned very little, so he couldn’t understand her behavior at all.

When the rich gave away money, it was called charity. What底气 did the poor have to display generosity? Was she emulating the Buddha sacrificing himself to feed tigers?

With his eyelids lowered, Shi Ying still lazily observed Cheng Simin. “I don’t mind. But…” This time, he deliberately moved his gaze slowly to Qiao Yusi’s shoes, scrutinizing them for a moment before lifting his eyes. “She probably can’t fit into your size. It’s just a pair of roller skates, not made of crystal. Surely Sisi doesn’t need to cut off half her foot to wear them.”

They were all souls trying to squeeze into another’s skin. The same species, with similar radars, could precisely identify each other upon approach. Cheng Simin was an unenlightened little Buddha, while Shi Ying and Qiao Yusi both fell under the category of beasts.

“It’s not that exaggerated,” Qiao Yusi said, her eyes clouding over with coldness after Shi Ying mocked her as Cinderella’s stepsister. But she still smiled, though her fingers twitched uncontrollably, leaving ten crescent-shaped nail marks on Cheng Simin’s shoulder. “I usually only wear size 35. It’s my dad’s fault—he insists girls should be raised lavishly and shouldn’t wear tight shoes, so he bought me two sizes bigger.”

“Look, Minmin, see how thick my socks are to keep the shoes from slipping off.”

Qiao Yusi twisted her ankle toward Cheng Simin, then yawned, looking quite tired. “Forget it, you two go ahead and skate first. I’m suddenly thirsty and want to buy some popsicles from the nearby convenience store. Minmin, what drinks do you and your friend want? I’ll bring them for you.”

With a glance from Qiao Yusi, the group of young men and women, like worker bees following their queen, all stared hungrily at Cheng Simin and Shi Ying.

“No need to worry about us,” Cheng Simin said confidently, completely oblivious to the tense atmosphere. Holding her roller skates, she eagerly asked, “Then rest for a bit and come find us later. We’ll be skating around the basketball court. We won’t go far.”

“We’ll stay right here!”

Not only would they stay close, but Shi Ying felt that this gang looked ready to pull out batons and beat them up at any moment. Inviting trouble was easy, but getting rid of it was hard. Could they leave now without losing an arm or breaking a leg?

“All right,” Qiao Yusi said, patting her bag and muttering to herself, “Oh no, I forgot my wallet.” Before she could ask anyone, Shi Ying had already proactively pulled out a hundred-yuan bill and handed it to her, his attitude warm and friendly. “First time meeting. Let me introduce myself—I’m Shi Ying, ‘time’ and ‘promise.’ Today’s drinks are on me. From now on, we’re all friends.”

That summer, every night, Shi Ying and Cheng Simin met up with Qiao Yusi and her group outside the cinema.

Their hangouts extended beyond the basketball court and roller rink to pool halls and barbecue shops. Shi Ying almost always treated, while Cheng Simin clung to Qiao Yusi, holding hands, painting each other’s nails, lips brushing ears, sharing secrets.

Shi Ying knew that delinquent girls had strong vanity and shallow pockets, using Cheng Simin to sponge off him. Adults often said children’s hearts were pure and innocent, but Shi Ying disagreed. Besides Cheng Simin, many befriended him for benefits.

A lollipop, an ice cream, a bottle of soda—for these trivial things, kids without money and craving sweets could do plenty that shocked adults.

Shi Ying was indifferent to these intentions of taking from him. He had plenty of pocket money, and whoever pleased him usually got something. But that summer was different. Though he was treating to eliminate his useless obsession, this tuition felt utterly worthless.

The more “friends” Cheng Simin had, the worse his mood became, especially when Qiao Yusi occasionally pushed Cheng Simin intentionally toward Explosion Head, asking him to take care of her. Shi Ying couldn’t describe the emotions he felt.

When Explosion Head unscrewed a bottle cap for Cheng Simin, Shi Ying fantasized about twisting his neck with a rope.

When Explosion Head draped a jacket over Cheng Simin, Shi Ying imagined peeling his skin with a scalpel.

His mission unaccomplished, the pettiness in his heart grew instead of fading. He couldn’t even pretend to be generous and tolerant in front of Cheng Simin anymore. Several times, despite smiling beautifully at her, Cheng Simin actually asked if his eyelid was twitching.

On the last day of summer vacation, he was on the verge of self-abandonment. To prevent losing control completely, he decided to pick up the phone and tell Cheng Simin he no longer wanted to treat her and her new friends to food, drinks, and entertainment. Moreover, he didn’t want to remain best friends with Cheng Simin either.

At best, they could be acquaintances who nodded when they met—it would be better for his mental state.

As for whether Qiao Yusi and Cheng Simin’s friendship would fall apart without freebies, everyone had their fate. He couldn’t be bothered worrying about Cheng Simin. Anyway, she wouldn’t be his best friend anymore—why should he care?

There were so many people in the world; managing them all would drive him crazy.

The call connected, but Shi Ying’s decision remained unspoken because Cheng Simin excitedly informed him that to celebrate their friendship and thank him for treating them all summer, Qiao Yusi was inviting him and her to watch a midnight movie at the cinema.

Cheng Simin had never watched a movie in a theater before, so she was extremely excited. But Shi Ying’s mother, Li Xiangqun, loved going to the cinema. Whether domestic films like In-laws Celebrating the New Year and Monkey King: Uproar in Heaven or foreign ones like Sherlock Holmes 2 and Iron Man 3 , there wasn’t a single one Shi Ying hadn’t seen.

Yet strangely, he’d never heard of the movie Qiao Yusi mentioned.

Driven by curiosity, he postponed announcing the death of their friendship to Cheng Simin. At 11 PM, while Li Xiangqun and her mystical church friends were busy in the attic, he stuffed pillows under his blanket and quietly slipped out of the house. He wanted to see what exactly Tai Mei was up to.

Sure enough, Qiao Yusi didn’t disappoint him—the “cinema” she referred to was a private video store run by Explosion Head’s cousin.

An old factory with a cement floor, a dilapidated two-story building swaying in the night. It perfectly matched Shi Ying’s stereotypical image of these societal dregs.

The first floor was the customer reception area, with rusted supermarket shelves packed tightly with brown paper boxes filled with pirated DVDs. The second floor was the Blu-ray screening room—a large space divided into small private rooms by gypsum boards. Each room had the same layout: sticky carpets, secondhand sofas, and old TVs connected to DVD players.

As Shi Ying followed the group inside, his gaze was full of mockery. It felt like he’d traveled back to the era when his parents were dating. As for what movies were usually played upstairs, a quick glance at the wads of tissues in the trash bin told him everything he needed to know.

Did Tai Mei kindly invite them to watch a movie? Clearly, she was dragging them along for vulgar entertainment and ideological corruption. How hard was it to study? Watching these yellow videos killed time, and if they weren’t careful, someone might end up pregnant as teenagers, muddle through life, blink, and reach middle age with a bunch of hungry mouths to feed and nothing achieved.

Only idiots would abandon the righteous path for shortcuts.

After finishing the tour, Explosion Head proudly led them downstairs to choose DVDs.

Cheng Simin didn’t have Shi Ying’s experience and was afraid of embarrassing herself in front of her new friends. So, when the group dispersed, she stuck close to Shi Ying, pretending to search calmly as if she were a seasoned visitor to such places.

When the crowd moved toward the shelves up front, Cheng Simin seized the moment to whisper into Shi Ying’s ear while standing on her tiptoes. “Shi Ying, what movie are we watching?”

“Do you have a type in mind? How do we pick? Just look at the covers?”

“Hurry up and teach me.”