The sunlight on Xueyuan Road was like an unfurled painting, spilling across the road, warm and inviting.
“It looks like it’s going to snow soon; the weather is getting colder by the day.”
“My hands are already chapped!”
“…”
Students passed by in twos and threes, their figures huddled in down jackets, shrinking into balls against the cold wind, complaining about the weather.
“Cold?” Wu Chen paused, then couldn’t help but chuckle.
The cold wind whistled past, but it couldn’t blow away the joy in Wu Chen’s heart.
“Let’s take a nap first!”
Wu Chen thought for a moment and decided not to attend class. His nerves, strained for a whole day, needed a break, and he also needed to sort out the ensuing matters.
Future days would only get busier; the first few months might be his most leisurely time in college.
In the dormitory, the yellowed curtains were illuminated by the sunlight, casting dappled light and shadows.
Wu Chen kicked off his shoes and flopped lazily onto the bed. The bed board creaked once. As soon as his head touched the pillow, weariness enveloped him like a soft, fluffy cloud, wrapping him as he fell into a deep sleep.
He slept straight until the dormitory door rattled loudly.
“Damn, I thought it was a ghost!” Xiang Zhuo pushed the door open, instinctively took two steps back, and leaned towards Pu Songri and Chu Tianshu.
Wu Chen was woken by the noise, rubbed his eyes, and said speechlessly, “You’re the ghost!”
“Chen Ge, you’re too comfortable, just skipping class whenever you want.
We were exhausted in class all afternoon; Old Li’s film theory was so hypnotic…” Xiang Zhuo said enviously.
“Old Li’s lectures are full of substance. They might be a bit hypnotic, but there’s no harm in listening more,” Wu Chen twisted his neck, got out of bed, and put on a sweater. “Have you eaten yet?”
“Not yet. We were going to, but Songri and Tian Shu said they hadn’t seen you all afternoon, so we wanted to check where you were first!” Xiang Zhuo propped his hand on the bed frame and yawned, clearly waiting for Wu Chen to go with them.
“Alright, let’s go to a restaurant together. I’ll treat tonight,” Wu Chen adjusted the heels of his shoes, took two steps, and patted Xiang Zhuo’s shoulder. “Let’s go.”
“Hmm?” Pu Songri and the other two exchanged glances, a hint of joy flashing in their eyes.
None of them were fools; they vaguely guessed what was happening.
“Chen Ge, can we go help out now?” Xiang Zhuo was a little excited, rubbing his hands with a playful grin.
Wu Chen’s eyes sparkled with a smile, and everyone understood tacitly.
“Damn, we’re definitely going to bleed you dry tonight!” Xiang Zhuo shouted, “Tian Shu, Songri, think, what can we eat?”
“How about mutton hotpot?” As soon as Chu Tianshu suggested it, Wu Chen and Pu Songri both patted their chests in unison.
“Tian Shu, let’s pick something else. I’m tired of it; I feel nauseous just hearing about it now,” Wu Chen said with a bitter smile. The smell of mutton from last night was still churning in his stomach.
“Let’s have barbecue. We can even have a small drink tonight,” Pu Songri thought for a moment and proposed a suggestion that everyone could accept.
On a winter evening, the night sky quietly fell like a light veil, leaving no time for people to react before the starry sky, like a brocade adorned with silver light, leisurely unfolded across the horizon.
The barbecue stall was in an alley off Xueyuan Road, about a ten-minute walk.
Wu Chen then took out his cell phone, opened QQ, and checked for any missed messages.
What caught his eye were messages from Liu Yifei. Opening them, he saw that she had sent four messages.
“Junior brother, are you there?”
“Junior brother, where are you?”
“Junior brother!!!”
“Junior brother?????”
Wu Chen looked at the progression of her tone and couldn’t help but laugh out loud.
“Oh, Chen Ge, what are you looking at that makes you so happy?” Xiang Zhuo’s shout drew the curious glances of Pu Songri and Chu Tianshu.
However, though curious, the three didn’t crowd around Wu Chen to see the specific messages.
“It can’t be a message from his senior sister, can it? Look at Chen Ge’s smile, ten to one!”
Xiang Zhuo smirked, even forming a delicate orchid hand gesture and changing to a sharp female voice, “Junior brother, oh, are you there? Junior brother, I miss you so much…”
The three burst into laughter, and Wu Chen laughed and cursed, not forgetting to kick at Xiang Zhuo.
“Look, he’s getting angry from embarrassment!” Xiang Zhuo dodged while still adding a jab.
At the same time, Liu Yifei, who had just finished filming her scene, took the bottled water handed to her by Liu Xiaoli, gulped down two mouthfuls, and patted her stomach. “Mom, can we eat now?”
“It’s being delivered. It’ll be a little later,” Liu Xiaoli turned, glanced at the crew members, and seeing them all chatting in the distance, she replied.
“Oh!” Liu Yifei heard this and had no choice but to wait, silently picking up her cell phone, resting her left hand on her chin, and opening QQ.
“No way, still no reply?” Liu Yifei muttered to herself, looking at Wu Chen’s chat window which still showed no new messages.
Just then, the chat window flickered, and Liu Yifei couldn’t help but beam with joy.
“If you have something to report, do so. Otherwise, you may withdraw!”
Looking at Wu Chen’s reply, Liu Yifei immediately pouted and furiously tapped on her cell phone keyboard.
They arrived at the barbecue stall, where a few greasy plastic tables were haphazardly arranged.
Pu Songri and the others skillfully picked out ingredients, and soon, barbecue permeated with the aroma of charcoal was placed on the table.
Wu Chen replied to Liu Yifei while clinking glasses with his oil-mouthed roommates, listening to them reminisce about the past, and couldn’t help but smile.
“I now truly understand what it means to ‘desire to buy osmanthus and carry wine, but it’s no longer like the youthful wanderings’!”
Xiang Zhuo poured himself a drink, with a comical sense of a youth feigning sorrow. “I’m telling you, time passes too quickly. I haven’t even reacted, and unknowingly, I’m in college. A few years from now, I’ll graduate, get married, have kids…”
“Xiang Zhuo, what are you going to give birth to? You don’t even have a girlfriend!” Chu Tianshu laughed and cursed.
“Oh right, damn, I forgot the key point. In that case, Chen Ge is still the best. Putting everything else aside, just with his face and talent, his love life must be incredibly smooth, absolutely plain sailing!”
“Have you been reading too much angsty youth literature recently?” Wu Chen smiled. “Actually, your love life should be quite smooth too!”
“How is mine smooth?” Xiang Zhuo looked at Wu Chen in confusion.
“There’s no one on your path!”
“Hahaha!” Pu Songri and Chu Tianshu laughed so hard they almost spilled their beer.
“Damn it!”
“…”
The clinking of glasses and laughter intertwined at the small barbecue stall.
Above the four, the starlight poured down like scattered diamonds onto the greasy folding table. The smoke of human life curled upwards, and the charcoal fire outlined the flickering silhouettes of the four.
The fat dripping from the lamb kidneys sizzled on the grill, the crackling sound mixed with the cracking voices of Xiang Zhuo and the others.
“Indeed, youth cannot be faked!”
Wu Chen let go of his inner thoughts and fully immersed himself, raising his glass high, beer splashing as the glasses clinked.
“Don’t listen to Xiang Zhuo talking about ‘desiring to buy osmanthus and carry wine.’ He’s only in his early twenties, why pretend to be old and wise?” Wu Chen stood up, his Adam’s apple bobbing. “Listen to me, today we shall break off osmanthus branches as torches, and burn them until the stars and moon are as bright as day, and our youth is a night of endless splendor!”
“Good!”
The three shouted in unison, glasses clinking loudly, the fervor of youth exploding on this winter night.